Deck Tech Tuesdays: Secret Standardized Deck Revealed

The story of Theros is the story of normal people who ascend through a greater calling. They complete quests, help friendly moo cows cross fields, gain experience, and, ultimately, become the heroes they were meant to be. I believe MGR and I will become the heroes that Food Chain Griffins needs. He's already started his journey and has done well at States and the most recent Game Day but it is not too late for me to jump in and try and succeed too! Together, we'll one day conquer a PTQ and GP and, maybe just maybe, become world champions. I've been gaining xp via limited Theros events and have done okay so far. I've got a lot more to learn to take down one of the bigger limited tourneys but am excited. It's been a fun experience so far. But today, I join the ranks of standard players with a deck of my own. Designed with MGR's help over the past couple days, we feel this deck will be able to hold its own in future local tourneys. I can't wait to test it out!

I consider this deck similar to Jund decks of years past. It's what a friend of mine likes to call a "value" deck. Every card has lots of value and you just try and drop enough and hope for the best. Untap, upkeep, play bomb, go! In true Timmy fashion. There may be some synergies here and there but mostly it's just cards I like mashed together. MGR was there to help refine the list and be a very helpful play test partner.

Here's the list:

Lands - 24
2 Forest
2 Mountain
2 Swamp
3 Blood Crypt
2 Rakdos Guildgate
3 Stomping Ground
1 Gruul Guildgate
3 Temple of Abandon
2 Overgrown Tomb
3 Golgari Guildgate
1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

Creatures - 17
4 Elvish Mystic
3 Sylvan Caryatid
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Ember Swallower
2 Reaper of the Wilds
1 Ghor-Clan Rampager
1 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Underworld Cerberus
1 Sire of Insanity

Artifacts Enchantments - 6
1 Rakdos Keyrune
1 Bow of Nylea
1 Hammer of Purphoros
2 Whip of Erebos
1 Deadbridge Chant

Sorcery Instants - 13
3 Dreadbore
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Read the Bones
3 Anger of the Gods
1 Doom Blade
1 Devour Flesh
1 Putrefy

Sideboard - 15
1 Mistcutter Hydra
2 Duress
1 Pithing Needle
1 Destructive Revelry
1 Ratchet Bomb
2 Golgari Charm
1 Underworld Connections
2 Slaughter Games
1 Erebos, God of the Dead
1 Deadbridge Goliath
2 Arbor Colossus

So time to explain some card choices. As you'll come to find out, I'm a budget player first and foremost. I love powerful and pricey cards but unfortunately I do not have the monetary capabilities to go all out with a Phelddagrif EDH deck with foil Unhinged lands. This is partly why I enjoy EDH so much as a format: you only need one of certain power cards and a lot can be made up for via budget alternatives that maximize deck synergy. So as of now, this deck is currently a work in progress and it explains the questionable mana base. Not too bad for a start though, I must say. Once again, big thanks to MGR for assisting me with trades to getting the deck this far. I'll continue to add to it over time if it proves to be a worthy Standard deck. But for now, I'll point out some of the more interesting card choices one by one.

These are the mana rampers that help me hit my key 4 and 5 drops a turn earlier. In a deck like this that's very mana hungry, these are great help. Hitting a turn 3 Ember Swallower or Reaper of the Wilds has been great so far and even in the late game, casting a large Rakdos's Return or activating monstrosity abilities has proven pretty potent.

My powerhouse 4 drops. They each sport above curve power and toughness and come with powerful abilities. I'd like to get another Polukranos if I could as his ability to fight small toughness creatures like stray mana dorks or the rather scary Master of Waves has been great. Ember Swallower offers the least initially but the ability to threaten the land sacrifice ability can all but close games in your favor. Reaper of the Wilds has been an all-star through all three of her abilities. Scrying off creature deaths keeps the deck running smooth. Deathtouch means she can trade with any creatures to happen to be bigger than her. Hexproof has proven to be incredibly valuable in turning off removal or removal like abilities like those from Banisher Priest and Boros Reckoner.

These last four creatures round out my utility support creatures. Gore-Clan Rampager threatens a lot of damage for the low price of two mana. It's not so bad on its own either. Underworld Cerberus has the potential to be very strong but I haven't had the chance to use it enough just yet. It's anti-graveyard ability is potent in shutting off opponent's Scavenging Oozes and Whips. It does shut down mine too but at least I'll have an evasive 6/6 life linker at that point. Scavenging Ooze is there to cover up the two drop and help stop opposing Whips. Sire of Insanity is just like his name states: insane. Dropping it early enough when an opponent doesn't have an answer that turn can strip a slower opponent's victory out of their hands.

I've elected to run the trio of God weapons. It's still quite funny to see enchantment artifacts but for the most part that minor detail has been set aside as these have performed very well. Bow of Nylea's static ability turns my creatures into fearless attackers and combos very well with Gore-Clan Rampager. It also turns Polukranos into a more fearsome monster that threatens to 2 or 3 for 1 any creatures who dare stand in its way. The activated abilities are varied enough that they've been useful. Shocking fliers has been great against Chandra's Phoenix and the mono blue aggro list's many fliers. The +1/+1 counters can turn Sylvan Caryatid into a potent blocker or make combat math tricky. The 3 life gain has been great to help race opponents. And lastly, this deck even uses the graveyard thinning ability via it's secret tech: Deadbridge Chant! More on that soon.

Wow, I've been really gushing on the bow. On to the other weapons, the Hammer of Purphoros turns top decks into scary threats and it's ability to pump hasty 3/3s can help push board stalls into your favor. The Whip of Erebos has been so powerful that I've put two in the deck. Lifelink with huge creatures makes racing impossible and it's reanimation ability means your monsters perform double duty in helping to finish the late game. Very powerful.

I initially put this in because I lacked a 4th Sylvan Caryatid but it's proven itself to be quite useful. With the bow out, it's scary good and even without any help, it's a nice wrath proof attacker that ramps the turn it comes out.


My pet card for the deck. I initially put it in because I loved the effect as a continual source of card advantage and for that exciting little moment where you wonder if you'll get lucky and cheat a creature back into play or get back a critical removal spell. In testing, it's proven to be even more than that with great synergy with Scavenging Ooze, Underworld Cerberus, and the bow and whip. It does cost a lot of mana and doesn't give you an effect till next turn but the listed cards help minimize the uselessness of that one turn. Plus I love mini games within games.

My heavy removal suite is pretty sweet (and standard). Low cost and powerful, they help get rid of problem creatures and clear the way for my dopey 4/5s and above into the red zone where they just want to hug opponents (the life loss is an unfortunate side effect). Dreadbore's unconditional kill ability has been great and taking out pesky planeswalkers becomes a whole lot easier. Putrefy's flexibilty to take out opposing god weapons has proven useful and worth the one extra mana. That can't be regen clause was hilariously relevant when MGR held a Golgari Charm in hand. Meanwhile, since my deck can sometimes stall in getting to my critical 4-5 drops, Anger of the Gods helps make sure early aggression is put to an end. I don't want your aggressive low cost hugs! The exiling clause is a great bonus against Voice of Resurgence and opposing whips.

Read the Bones helps dig me into more gas. Divination has always been playable according to MGR (I believe him) and this is even better! Meanwhile, Rakdos's Return is designed to do the opposite: cause my opponents to run out of steam. With the nice amount of ramp in the deck, firing off a timely Rakdos's Return can sometimes guarantee me a victory I wouldn't have otherwise had.

I used MGR's expertise in the Standard metagame to help design the sideboard and it looks fairly solid. Each card has a role to play but I'm currently to sleepy to write about specific match ups currently. I just wanted to point out one of the dreams I hope to achieve: Bringing in Erebos and getting him active and swinging to win games. I believe it's going to happen!


I'll keep you all posted on how this deck performs. MGR and I are going to a free Standard tourney on Thursday and there the deck will finally be field tested. The field should be softer than at a pay tourney but I hear some of the promo prizes are still worth winning so I won't hold back nor expect easy competition. If the deck performs well, I'll keep slowly upgrading it and think of a cute nickname to give it. My plan to draft Theros weekly should help in obtaining the missing pieces like Thoughtseize and Heroes Downfall. Everything else I think I'll be able to trade for. That's all for now and stay tuned for the results in this Saturday's Under Construction article!