MTG Salvation

Quote from Etrian_Oddity »

I don't know how you don't run a playset of Lathnu Hellions in this deck. The pressure those things generate is real, and seems like a no-brainer over Bristling Hydra unless your meta is completely dominated by control/spot removal.

I've been playing a budget Temur version of this deck, and it's super fun. I splash Blue for Empyreal Voyager which keeps Energy in my pocket, and I have two counterspells and a couple Woodland Wanderers to make use of the mana. Attune with Aether and Thriving Turtle are great first-turn drops to not waste mana.

Quote from Sp3llsling3r »

Hi there everyone!

I'm getting back into Standard after not playing since the first Innistrad. Following a post in the "What Should I Play" thread, I've decided to build an R/G Energy deck to acclimate to Standard again. I have a couple thoughts after reading through the bulk of this thread:

I think that any deck that is aggressive should probably be capitalizing on Smuggler's Copter, and most Red decks be capitalizing on Chandra, Torch of Defiance. Having no experience in this meta those assumptions could just be total bogus, but that's my impression as of right now. Copter speaks for itself. Everyone knows how valuable that card is (even me, and I haven't even played with it yet). Chandra on the other hand is probably more debatable, but she just feels so strong. Ideally, I think a deck that could consistently drop her T3 or T4 and make use of her +RR ability would shine in building an oppressive board state. Sadly, we don't have a lot of use for RR to drop a creature, but I think she's strong in our lists nonetheless.

From what I can see, there's R/G Electrostatic Pummeler combo, R/G Aggro, and R/G Midrange. I'm not really much of a combo player, so I'm not considering the first list much. The question then is how aggressive should we slant our midrange deck. In keeping with my notes above, the more aggressive the deck, the more likely it can benefit from Copter. However, the more midrange-y variants can likely slot in Chandra much easier.

So, I'm going to build up two lists below, one more aggressive and one more midgame-oriented. I'm going to be making some assumptions that are probably wrong because this environment is completely new to me. If you all would drop your input, tell me where I'm going wrong, and maybe even suggest the better of the two decklists, I would be really grateful! Also small note before we get started: for now, I'm just going to be playing straight R/G. Blue and White and whatnot are cool, but my gut tells me to stick to two colors for now to maximize efficiency. All of you have been playing the deck much more than I, so I'm sure I will come to similar conclusions as you about a third color, but for now I'm keeping it simple.

Aggro List:

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Creatures 4x Kessig Prowler 4x Longtusk Cub 4x Voltaic Brawler 4x Lathnu Hellion 4x Bristling Hydra	Artifacts 4x Smuggler's Copter Planeswalkers 2x Chandra, Torch of Defiance Instants and Sorceries 4x Blossoming Defense 4x Attune with Aether 2x Incendiary Flow 4x Harnessed Lightning	Land 4x Game Trail[/card 4x Aether Hub 2x Cinder Glade 6x Forest 4x Mountain

This deck is fast and low to the ground, with only six cards that are over 3CMC. I've seen people go back and forth on Kessig Prowler, and I'm not sure if I'd rather have that or Bomat Courier, but I think a one drop creature is necessary to maximize Smuggler's Copter and keep the board pressure on. Since we aren't playing any five cost cards, Prowler's ability becomes better as a mid-late mana sink. Bomat would also be fine for refilling our hand. Pia Nalaar is certainly a consideration over Lathnu Hellion here as well to interact even better with Copter, but I think Lathnu is better at pressuring the board in most lines.

The main line we want to see is something like Prolwer -> Cub/Brawler -> Lathnu -> Chandra + Copter/Flow/Lightning. Copter can also come down on two, or we can Attune into Cub, or we can use T3 to drop a 2CMC creature along with Attune, Blossoming Defense or a Prowler. The lines feel versatile and reasonably strong. Whiffing the fist couple turns probably means we lose, but them's the breaks with aggro decks. We're relying on Brawler's Trample, Hellion killing blockers, removal and Chandra to push damage through.

The most obvious question to me is, if we're going full aggro, is B/R or R/W Vehicles just better? I have no idea. Let me know if you think this list has any chance of standing on its own.

Midrange List:

DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards
Creatures 4x Voltaic Brawler 4x Servant of the Conduit 2x Longtusk Cub 4x Tireless Tracker 3x Bristling Hydra 3x Verdurous Gearhulk	Planeswalkers 3x Chandra, Torch of Defiance Instants and Sorceries 4x Blossoming Defense 4x Attune with Aether 4x Harnessed Lightning 4x Larger than Life 3x Incendiary Flow	Lands 4x Aether Hub 4x Game Trail 4x Cinder Glade 6x Forest 4x Mountain

This version uses ramp and value creatures to get on the board faster than the opponent and outvalue them. As with most of the midrange variants running around, one drop creatures are absent. The best T1 play is Attune to Aether, but in case you don't have that, you can always just drop a Game Trail tapped and not lose much tempo. The deck is still capable of winning early with a good Cub line, and Larger than Life supplements that plan by sneaking in damage through chump blockers. Tireless Tracker comes in here as a way to keep playing into the late game, while Bristling Hydra, Chandra, Torch of Defiance, and Verdurous Gearhulk act as our big beaters/finishers.

Best lines include Attune -> Cub -> Tracker -> Chandra + Removal -> Gearhulk, as well as Servant -> Hydra -> Gearhulk. This one overall feels a little clunkier but has access to much more staying power in the midgame. As seen in all of these lists, the 3 cost spot is weird and makes our lines sometimes not feel great. This list is unable to benefit much from Smuggler's Copter, because all the early creatures have things they'd rather do than crew a Vehicle.

Final Note: Having zero experience with the meta, I don't have any sideboards worked out yet. After getting some feedback and settling on a list, I'll start crafting an SB.

OKAY! Sorry to spam the thread with such a huge post! I hope I'm able to spark some worthwhile discussion and I don't end up just needlessly cluttering the thread Thank you for reading, I'm really looking forward to your responses!