Decks in the extended.
Boros Deck Wins
"So what does the deck do? BDW has a very simple plan, it plays weenie creatures, usually ranging from 1-3 drops, and then burns all opposing blockers out of the way. Burn to the head usually ends the game for the opponent.
The deck is very fast, and overwhelms any opponent who isn't ready to deal with BDW's fast clock. Turn 5 wins are pretty much the norm.
There are different variants of BDW, some with more creatures than burn, some with more burn than creatures, some packing land destruction."
Example build:
Lands 21
----------
4 x Sacred Foundry
4 x Battlefield Forge
4 x Gemstone Mine
4 x Flagstones of Trokair
3 x Plains
1 x Godless Shrine
1 x Mountain
Creatures 20
----------
4 x Savannah Lions
4 x Icatian Javelineers
4 x Soltari Priest
4 x Knight of the Holy Nimbus
3 x Skyknight Legionnaire
1 x Serra Avenger
Spells 19
----------
4 x Lightning Helix
4 x Char
4 x Volcanic Hammer
4 x Rift Bolt
2 x Griffin Guide
1 x Demonfire
Sideboard 15
----------
4 x Honorable Passage
3 x Worship
3 x Rain of Gore
3 x Ronom Unicorn
2 x Pacifism
Blue/White Control
"Like most Control decks, this deck not surprisingly wants to control the flow of the game, and there are numerous paths by which it does so. In general, it wants to use blue's counterspells and card draw to maintain huge card advantage and to stop the opponent's spells from affecting or landing on the board, and white's sweepers and removal to gain still more card advantage & tempo, and stopping anything that does resolve from having a huge impact. It maximises the effectiveness of these by using very few permanents other than lands, making the opponent's removal dead and making sweepers one-sided. UW Control then closes out the game with either long-term attrition devices or a small number of powerful, game-ending creatures.
There are three main 'schools' of UW Control widely played in Standard at the moment, each with it's own advantages, disadvantages, good and bad matchups.
The first is reminsicent of the older decks, masters of card advantage and permission, that essentially play the "Draw, Go." game. Funnily enough, these are known as Draw-Go or Do Nothing decks.
The second is a newer development, a much more proactive deck designed to control tempo, but not procure such stable card advantage as Draw-Go types. These are known as Proactive or Flare-esque UW decks, after the similarly-styled three-colour deck of this and last season, Solar Flare.
The third is an off-shoot of the Draw-Go decks, that replace some cards with 'bad' alternatives to maximise synergy with the Coldsnap "Snow" engine."
Example build:
5 Island
1 Plains
3 Desert
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Adarkar Wastes
2 Flagstones of Trokair
3 Azorius Chancery
2 Urza's Factory
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
4 Condemn
4 Wrath of God
4 Cancel
4 Rune Snag
3 Rewind
4 Think Twice
3 Sacred Mesa
2 Tidings
3 Repeal
1 Commandeer
3 Compulsive Research
//SIDEBOARD
2 Circle of Protection: Red
2 Shadow of Doubt
3 Disenchant
4 Dodecapod
2 Sacred Ground
2 Tormod's Crypt
Dralnu du Louvre
"This is a “draw-go” style deck. The plan is to just play a land every turn and pass. You almost never play a spell in your own turn in order to keep mana open during your opponent's turn. If your opponent plays something threatening, you use your open mana to counter it. The deck includes 15 counterspells, so you should usually hold one. If you happen to have mana open at the end of your opponent's turn, you can cast Mystical Teachings or Think Twice. Mystical Teachings can even fetch another Mystical Teachings, so that you never run out of gas. Eventually you play Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir, flashback Mystical Teachings to get Dralnu, Lich Lord (which has flash thanks to Teferi), and re-use all the Rewinds you have in your graveyard. Well, that's the plan at least. In case a creature has slipped under your countermagic, you can either Repeal it, or tutor for one of the one-of answers, such as Sudden Death."
Example build:
5 Creatures
3 x Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 x Skeletal Vampire
1 x Dralnu, Lich Lord
.
31 Spells
4 x Rune Snag
3 x Spell Snare
3 x Mana Leak
1 x Cancel
4 x Rewind
4 x Think Twice
4 x Mystical Teachings
1 x Cremate
1 x Last Gasp
1 x Sudden Death
1 x Seize the Soul
4 x Repeal
.
24 Land
2 x Dreadship Reef
4 x Watery Graves
4 x Underground River
3 x Dimir Aqueduct
4 x Desert
7 x Island
.
Sideboard
4 x Deathmark
1 x Seize the Soul
2 x Trickbind
2 x Moonlight Bargain
1 x Spell Snare
1 x Cancel
1 x Darkblast
1 x Shadow of Doubt
2 x Dreadship Reef
URzatron/Izzetron
"The deck is a blue/red control deck that uses the advantage of the Urza's Tron lands, Urza's Tower, Urza's Power Plant, and Urza's Mine, to power out big spells fast and effectively stop others from playing many threats. It aims to keep the board clear until it can drop a Bogardan Hellkite or Triskelavus, or hit for a lethal amount with Demonfire. Many variations exist, including the URg version, "Sizzetron," and a URW version."
Example build:
3 Shivan Reef
4 Urza's Power Plant
4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Tower
4 Steam Vents
3 Yavimaya Coast
1 Island
2 Bogardan Hellkite
4 Simic Sky Swallower
3 Electrolyze
2 Demonfire
3 Wildfire
4 Rune Snag
4 Compulsive Research
4 Remand
3 Repeal
2 Tidings
3 Izzet Signet
3 Simic Signet
Sideboard:
1 Repeal
3 Spell Snare
2 Copy Enchantment
4 Annex
2 Confiscate
3 Savage Twister
UG Aggro-Control
"The UG Aggro-Control or "Critical Mass" Archetype was a popular archetype from the days of Kamigawa/Ravnica T2, with the early versions winning Mike Flores a Kamigawa block constructed PTQ and then Antoine Ruel posting an unbeatem 6-0 record at Day 1 of Worlds 2005.
Later revised with the release of Dissension and the Graft Mechanic, the deck again performed well at alot of regionals events. It finally made a name for itself in a large way towards the end of the old T2 format with the release of coldsnap, and ohran viper, which led to the "Dutch Simic Aggro" deck which posted 3 finishes in said National Championships T8, including the champion who posted an astonishing 9-1 game run in the T8.
With the rotation of the Kamigawa Block, the UG archetype lost it's Kodama of the North Tree, Meloku, the Clouded Victory and the Pointy Stick (tm) ."
Example build:
1 Pendelhaven
4 Yavimaya Coast
4 Breeding Pool
8 Forest
3 Island
3 Yavimaya Dryad
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Scryb Ranger
4 Plaxmanta
3 Ohran Viper
3 Spectral Force
3 Call of the Herd
4 Mana Leak
4 Psionic Blast
3 Moldervine Cloak
1 Unknown Card
// Sideboard
3 Mystic Snake
3 Voidslime
3 Krosan Grip
1 Trygon Predator
2 Serrated Arrows
3 Reprisal
RWB Firemane Control
"RWB Control is based on having access to the best point removal, the best mass removal, and the best disruption in the format. Between the three colors it also has access to a versatile pool of excellent creatures."
Example build:
1 Orzhova, the Church of Deals
2 Plains
2 Sulfurous Springs
3 Battlefield Forge
4 Godless Shrine
3 Sacred Foundry
4 Blood Crypt
2 Boros Garrison
2 Orzhov Basilica
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23 land
2 Angel of Despair
4 Firemane Angel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 creatures
1 Demonfire
3 Hide // Seek
3 Castigate
4 Lightning Helix
3 Faith's Fetters
4 Phyrexian Arena
2 Moonlight Bargain
2 Searing Meditation
3 Orzhov Signet
4 Wrath of God
2 Void
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
31 other spells
3 Condemn
3 Sacred Ground
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Castigate
1 Hide // Seek
3 Rise // Fall
1 Faith's Fetters
1 Sacred Mesa
Mono-green Aggro
"The "Aggressive Evasion" deck has a relatively simple purpose. It aims to overwhelm by pumping weenies with evasion, such as Dryad Sophisticate and Silhana Ledgewalker. Beating face isn't hard when your creatures are mostly unblockable. Untargetability makes sure your creatures stay around, and a reclaim can always get back anything that's been killed. Recurring pump in the form of Moldervine Cloak will not let you down."
Example build:
// Lands
20 [6E] Forest (3)
1 [LG] Pendelhaven
// Creatures
4 [GP] Silhana Ledgewalker
4 [TSP] Scryb Ranger
4 [5E] Llanowar Elves
4 [GP] Skarrgan Pit-Skulk
4 [GP] Dryad Sophisticate
4 [GP] Giant Solifuge
// Spells
4 [TSP] Stonewood Invocation
4 [TSB] Call of the Herd
4 [9E] Blanchwood Armor
3 [RAV] Moldervine Cloak
// Sideboard
SB: 3 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 3 [TSB] Hail Storm
SB: 4 [PC] Mire Boa
SB: 2 [GP] Moratorium Stone
SB: 3 [TSB] Avoid Fate
Roxodon Hierarchy
"Roxodon Hierarchy tries to maintain control by clearing the board and the opponents hand of threats then dropping a beater for the win. Versus aggro and burn it will use mass removal plus life gaining cards. Versus control and combo it will use hand disruption to remove counters and combo pieces. It has an excellent card drawing engine."
Example build:
Creatures
3 Angel Of Despair
4 Birds Of Paradise
2 Grave-shell Scarab
4 Loxodon Hierarch
Enchantments
1 Debtors' Knell
4 Faith's Fetters
3 Phyrexian Arena
Instants
2 Condemn
Sorceries
2 Crime / Punishment
4 Farseek
2 Persecute
4 Wrath Of God
Basic Lands
4 Forest
2 Plains
3 Swamp
Lands
4 Godless Shrine
3 Overgrown Tomb
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
4 Temple Garden
3 Vitu-ghazi, The City-tree
Legendary Lands
1 Pendelhaven
Sideboard:
3 Circle Of Protection: Red
1 Debtors' Knell
2 Leyline Of The Void
2 Condemn
2 Krosan Grip
4 Castigate
1 Crime / Punishment
Ghazi-Glare
"Ghazi-Glare is a G/W Aggro-Control deck that originated at 2005 Worlds before Guildpact was released. The original deck used efficient creatures to beat while Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree created tokens to combine with Glare of Subdual to lock the opponent down. Ghazi-Glare consistantly beats aggro decks by using this stratagy. On the other hand, the deck can easily convert to aggro to race control decks. Post rotation, Ghazi-Glare has proven itself as a contender by winning more U.S. Champs than any other deck while keeping a very similar stratagy.
Ghazi-Glare plays an early game similar to other aggro deck -- it drops a lot of threats. Optimal games involve a turn 1 Birds of Paradise followed by a turn 2 Watchwolf or Call of the Herd. Then, mid game, the stratagy changes slightly. Early Glare of Subduals fueled by Vitu-Ghazi, the City Tree locks down aggro while beats like Loxodon Hierarch and Call of the Herd tokens.
Games against control have a very similar early game, dropping threats as fast as possible. Continually swinging is your best bet."
Example build:
//Lands
4 Temple Garden
4 Brushland
5 Forest
1 Pendelhaven
3 Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
3 Selesnya Sanctuary
2 Flagstones of Trokair
1 Plains
//Creatures
4 Spectral Force
3 Thelonite Hermit
4 Yavimaya Dryad
4 Selesnya Guildmage
3 Scryb Ranger
4 Loxodon Hierarch
4 Llanowar Elves
//Spells
4 Call of the Herd
3 Stonewood Invocation
4 Glare of Subdual
//Sideboard
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Circle of Protection: Red
4 Spike Feeder
3 Krosan Grip
2 Thrill of the Hunt
UR Magnivore
"UR Vore is a deck that has survived the recent rotation of Type 2. Though many thought the rotation would put an end to the deck, recent Champs results have shown that Vore is still a contender.
Vore is a tempo based deck. It's path to victory is mana denial, both through blue "bounce" spells and traditional red land destruction. Very little can beat Vore's "godhand" because most decks need mana to play spells.
The ideal curve is turn one draw spell, turn two Boomerang, turn three Stone Rain. Usually, just this will guarantee a pretty good shot at victory, as if you went first, they have nothing in play on your turn three.
Other key components include sorcery speed draw spells and Wildfire. The draw spells keep you going and the Wildfire is going to be a very important tool against both control and aggro.
As most of the cards in the deck are sorceries, they fuel your win condition, Magnivore."
Example build:
2 Izzet Boilerworks
6 Mountain
8 Island
4 Steam Vents
4 Shivan Reef
3 Magnivore
4 Pyroclasm
4 Boomerang
4 Stone Rain
3 Demolish
4 Remand
4 Compulsive Research
3 Wildfire
3 Ancestral Vision
4 Sleight of Hand
Sideboard:
2 Blood Moon
3 Repeal
3 Trickbind
3 Cryoclasm
4 Wipe Away
Solar Flare
Example build (not Standard legal):
Main Deck
60 cards
2 Adarkar Wastes
2 Hallowed Fountain
4 Godless Shrine
4 Caves of Koilos
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Plains
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
2 Orzhov Basilica
1 Azorius Chancery
1 Miren, the Moaning Well
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
23 land
4 Court Hussar
3 Angel of Despair
3 Kokusho, the Evening Star
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 creatures
4 Remand
4 Compulsive Research
4 Condemn
4 Wrath of God
3 Persecute
2 Zombify
2 Dimir Signet
4 Azorius Signet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27 other spells
4 Descendant of Kiyomaro
3 Mimeofacture
2 Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni
3 Sacred Ground
2 Last Gasp
1 Cerulean Sphinx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
15 sideboard cards
Blink!
"This is a control deck that uses 187 (comes into play) effects iin combination with the Time Spiral Common Momentary Blink to wreak havoc on the opponent's deck.
Ramp out some early accel via Yaviamya Dryad or Wood Elves, and then Blink one to get more mana. Then, as the game goes on further, use the Blinks to re-use 187s for very contolling effects (Mystic Snake in one build which is common, Angel of Despair in another).
Blink! is a control deck through and through. It has a brilliant early game mana engine and therefore has a solid base. It uses a card that several other decks ignored entriely- Momentary Blink. Playin it is a very controllish situation, as opposed to the combo of Pandemonium and other such decks."
Example build:
4 Temple Garden
4 Breeding Pool
4 Yavimaya Coast
2 Brushland
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Simic Growth Chamber
3 Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Pendelhaven
22 land
3 Yavimaya Dryad
4 Loxodon Hierarch
2 Llanowar Elves
4 Mystic Snake
3 Selesnya Guildmage
1 Mangara of Corondor
4 Coiling Oracle
4 Birds of Paradise
25 creatures
3 Glare of Subdual
4 Momentary Blink
3 Chord of Calling
3 Call of the Herd
13 other spells
4 Carven Caryatid
1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
1 Azorius Guildmage
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Glare of Subdual
3 Mana Leak
1 Indrik Stomphowler
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1 Jolrael, Empress of Beasts
15 sideboard cards
RGW Zoo
"Zoo is a 3-color deck (Red, White, and Green) whose game plan is to attack with quick, cheap, efficient creatures. Zoo also runs a suite of burn spells to win the game after a board-distrupting spell like Wrath of God or removal targeted at your creatures. Some Zoo runs pump spells like Moldervine Cloak, but they're generally not played, which we'll get to later.
oo plays itself for the most part. For the first few turns, you play your efficient creatures and turn those men. Once you get close enough to end the game, burn them out with your damage spells like Lightning Helix or Char. There is one rule when playing Zoo, and this goes for all other aggro decks, too.
Do not overextend
What? Do not overextend. Do not overcommit. What does this mean? Play enough creatures that will win you the game, but do not play more than needed. Doing this will put you in a perfect positions to get destroyed by aforementioned Wrath of God, and will lose you the game if you're not holding burn. Other than that, Zoo is an easy deck to get used to.
Ok, technically there are two different types of Zoo. The first is the more popular Sligh, or Weenie Zoo, and the second is Fires Zoo.
Sligh or Weenie Zoo plays cheap creatures, mainly which cost 1 or 2 mana. This Zoo play Kird Ape-esque cards to get the most damage in the early game and then uses it's burn to win. This type of Zoo is more popular, probably because it is more effective at winning. It performs well against Control Decks, can race Combo decks, and has a fair game against Aggro.
The second type of Zoo will be called Fires Zoo for all intents and purposes. The name is derived from from the Fires of Yavimaya decks of old, which followed a simliar gameplan. Fires Zoo play early turn mana acceleration cards like Birds of Paradise and Farseek, and then plays big beaters like Rumbling Slum. It does not play weenie crearures, but prefers to run burn and large, hard-to-deal-with fatties."
Example build:
Lands- 22
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Stomping Ground
4 Temple Garden
2 Forest
Creatures- 19
4 Savannah Lions
4 Kird Ape
4 Scab-Clan Mauler
4 Watchwolf
3 Magus of the Scroll
Spells- 19
4 Call of the Herd
4 Char
4 Lightning Helix
4 Rift Bolt
3 Griffin Guide
Sideboard
4 Cryoclasm
4 Fiery Justice
4 Stone Rain
3 Ronom Unicorn
Solar Pox
"Solar Pox is the deck many people consider to be the natural progression of Solar Flare. It runs a similar game to Solar Flare, but with the very exciting card-drawing engine of Haakon, Stomgald Scourge and Court Hussar. Though having an Impulse on a stick is nice, what really makes this deck overpowering is Smallpox. Its interaction with Flagstones of Trokair and Haakon often makes is a 3-for-1 or better on turn 3. Smallpox plays as a critical role-player. It can be a Cruel Edict when Simic Sky Swallower is on the other side. It can be a Sinkhole when you have Flagstones in play. It allows you to dump Haakon or a finisher into your graveyard."
Example build:
Lands (24)
4 Godless Shrine
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Watery Grave
4 Flagstones of Trokair
2 Ghost Quarter
1 Snow-Covered Swamp
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Plains
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Urza's Factory
Creatures (11)
4 Court Hussar
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
3 Angel of Despair
1 Skeletal Vampire
2 Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
Spells (25)
4 Smallpox
3 Compulsive Research
1 Peace of Mind
2 Persecute
2 Mortify
2 Condemn
3 Dread Return
4 Wrath of God
1 Phyrexian Totem
3 Orzhov Signet
Sideboard (15)
1 [card]Persecute
1 Haakon, Stromgald Scourge
1 Tormad's Crypt
1 Disenchant
2 Faith's Fetters
2 Sacred Ground
3 Trickbind
3 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Ivory Mask
Gruul Beats
"Gruul Beats is an extremely strong and fast aggro deck using the best red and green creatures avaliable, and burn to finish an opponent off. There are two versions of this deck a sligh version and a beatdown version. The sligh version uses more of a sligh type build with a sligh like mana curve. The beatdown version uses a mix of small and big creatures to effectivly start out strong and end strong."
Example build:
Lands 23
5 Mountain
8 Forest
4 Stomping Ground
4 Karplusian Forest
2 Skarrg, The Rage Pits
Creatures 29
4 Kird Ape
4 Burning-Tree Shaman
4 Rumbling Slums
4 Scab-Clan Mauler
4 Scorched Rusalka
4 Dryad Sophisticate
3 Kodama, of the North Tree
2 Arashi, the Sky Asunder
Instants 4
4 Char
Enchantments 4
3 Moldervine Cloak
1 Blood Moon
SideBoard 15
3 Blood Moon
3 Leyline of Lifeforce
3 Naturalize
3 Galvenic Arc
3 Flames of the Blood Hand
Proclamation FTW
"Well there is obviously a million variations, some have snow, some have a splash, some have tron. The main idea is to get the Proclamation of Rebirth + Martyr of Sands combo going, and gain a ton of life. You kill by either fat, a ton of Mesa tokens, or with Milling techniques."
Example build:
16 Snow-Covered Plains
4 Scrying Sheets
4 Mouth of Ronom
4 Martyr of Sands
3 Children of Korlis
2 Chronosavant
3 Adarkar Valkyrie
4 Coldsteel Heart
2 Debtors' Knell
3 Story Circle
4 Wrath of God
4 Faith's Fetters
3 Proclamation of Rebirth
4 Condemn
3 Ivory Mask
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Circle of Protection: Red
3 Disenchant
3 Jester's Scepter
B/W aggro-control
"B/W Aggro-Control is basically a mix of both aggressive and controllish strategies. Although it doesn't have the fast and explosive prowess of dedicated aggro decks, it has a greater staying power due to it's disruptive and controlling nature, be it through creature removal or disruption. Unlike straight-out control decks, this deck houses firepower that can finish games quicker, an advantage especially against aggro decks that seek to finish control decks before they can set up a solid lockdown on the board.
B/W AggCon's greatest strength is it's ability to adapt to any strategy it faces. This is a great advantage since the current standard metagame is still diverse and changing, save for a few prominent archetypes such as Eminent Domain and Ghazi-Glare. Both Black and White houses such strong control and aggro elements that leads me to think this color-pair is a match made in heaven (or hell) for Aggro Control strategies."
Example build:
Creatures (20)
============
2 Angel Of Despair
4 Blind Hunter
4 Nekrataal
4 Orzhov Pontiff
4 Ravenous Rats
2 Ghost Council Of Orzhova
Enchantments (7)
==============
3 Faith's Fetters
4 Phyrexian Arena
Instants (9)
==========
3 Ghostway
3 Mortify
3 Otherworldly Journey
Lands (24)
=========
5 Plains
4 Swamp
4 Caves Of Koilos
4 Godless Shrine
4 Orzhov Basilica
2 Tendo Ice Bridge
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
Sideboard (15)
============
1 Faith's Fetters
4 Leyline Of The Void
1 Pillory Of The Sleepless
4 Demystify
1 Mortify
4 Castigate