As many of you fellow Planeswalkers are aware, Standard just had its biggest ban shakeup in years with the removal of Emrakul, Reflector Mage and Copter from the format. Those bans plus the soon to be released Aether Revolt have left a huge gap in the meta that is racing to be filled.
So this thread is dedicated to exploring new brews for the Aether Revolt standard, posting lists, bouncing ideas and providing constructive feedback for decks.
Here's my current decklist I've been working on for Week 1 Standard.
No matter how good it is it's going to be really popular for novelty reasons.
Caleb Ortiz
The decks that are all in on the Cat Combo are pretty prone to getting BTFO, however there's talks of a Jeskai Control shell that might use Copycat as late win combo.
David Cruz
Bumpity, there's gotta be some love for Standard left in this board.
Connor Gutierrez
Is there any hope of making a mono green stompy with this format? Sure I wont be as flexible as other multi color decks, but feeling of putting out that big 7/7 creature you've been holding in your hand since turn 1 is practically unbeatable
Andrew Diaz
I believe the tools are there. You got some solid pump in blossoming defense. There are some +1/+1 synergies, sylvan advocate still exists, a few above curve bodies. It can work. The problem is trample is not very existent, which would make fighting delirium or other playstyles that clog the board a metric pain in the ass.
Charles Ortiz
Blossoming Defense and Heroic Defense are some of the best combat tricks Green has ever had. I'd say go Green with Energy production so you can use Bristling Hydra as another form of hexproof.
Oliver Peterson
If you want to bet on the viability of a mono G stompy, buy a playset of Rishkar. That dude is the key component of rushing your fatties in early.
Thomas Russell
R/B Zombiefag. My deck is completely unchanged. I never had copters in the first place because I wanted more removal over it and neonate to be able to sac and discard/draw whenever while also being fuel for scrapheep scrounger. I'm glad Em. I cannot deal with W/U flash or getting mindslavered on T4. Although seemingly half the time I do wind up getting mindslavered I had absolutely nothing going on anyways.
William Thomas
Puresteel 2.0 is a real possibility, between Sram, Stone Haven Outfitter, Ornithopter and other efficient small creatures, and the critical mass of 0 and 1 cmc equips and Gryff's Boon, along with Sigarda's Aid. The biggest question becomes which colors to splash with the white core of the deck to get the biggest boost. I'm thinking either U or R.
U/B control. Using metallurgical summonings. Dropped the removal count for some more mb counters in anticipation of less copters and more control and combo decks.
Chucked the new tezz in just for fun probably would take out if I wanted to win more games.
Any spice I'm missing out on?
Samuel Walker
Veeky Forums you've let me down. Why are you not shitting your collective trousers about Sam Stoddard's latest mothership article on Standard?
Jason Gonzalez
The one where he explains the bannings? Eh, my lgs only plays constructed for ptq and game day. Other than that they only play drafts.
Wyatt Nguyen
I like how copycat is now the de facto official name for the saheeli-felidar combo.
Other than that, it seems like more frequent bans are the right answer to the increasing speed at which the format is getting solved. Even though I feel sad for the players who lost their copters, I'm glad brewing aggro became a 60 card instead of a 56+copter enterprise.
Christopher Taylor
how do i get better at playing magic and building decks? i wanna start playing fnm but i dont want to just netdeck
James Young
What your experiencing is a desire to be what you can't without netdecking first. In order to be competitive at this game, you have to acknowledge that there are really good lists. You need to play those lists and understand what makes them great. While you're doing this you can tune your sideboard to your local environment, which will allow you to start gaining insight on how to customize.
The reality of the fact is that there is very little customization that is optimal in MTG. There are tens of thousands of dedicated grinders trying to come up with the best deck. They will almost always see it before you do, because they live and breathe the game. Netdecking is a part of constructed.
If you want to feel like a deck is your own, then play draft.
Jackson Hughes
im just wondering if theres a way to get into the competitive scene without dropping thousands on a competitive deck in modern or standard.
Ryan Flores
Magic is about mechanical consistency and understanding why to do things
it is not about being creative so I would accept that. if you want creative playing tabletops is probably better for you
Colton Russell
You aren't going to be competitive in modern unless you drop a shitload of money. You could buy some shit tier 2 deck and spend hundreds and constantly lose, but that's frustrating and stupid.
You can play competitive standard with the low to the ground aggro deck in a given standard format. Those are normally the best winrate decks for the least cost. They aren't going to be cheap, but they can pull their weight at an open while being cheaper than archetypes that give the user more of a sense of being in control. Playing a hyper aggressive deck is very skill intensive about starting hand, understanding when to mull, knowing what you need once you realize what deck they have, and knowing when to pull the trigger. It is a common mindset in the MTG community that such decks are less skill intensive, but this just isn't true. A player like Tom Ross shows how aggressive decks can consistently perform in the hands of a player who understands them.
I'm rambling though. Magic is a fucking expensive game. Like I said, limited gives you the most innovation and is the cheapest.
Blake Harris
play limited
Hudson Morris
Hell no. The only high level competitive environments that aren't Standard or Modern are Sealed PPTQs and GPs and you have to be very practiced at limited to compete at those well.
Start at the beginning. "Netdeck" isn't a dirty word (don't fucking listen to DesolatorMagic that fuck is bad for his audience), trust me I know. After a while you just stop using the term. They're not "netdecks", they're just "lists". Find a list that looks fun to play, either through articles or through youtube videos.
Use metadeck.me to create a proxy copy of the deck.
Buy 100 decent sleeves. Sleeve up the proxy deck. Start practising. If it's fun to play, even if you're losing, you can buy in confidently.
Kayden Scott
There's nothing to shit your pants about. The only real impact more aggressive bannings in Standard might have is stop cards like Copter from skyrocketing in price and speculation on cards that aren't on the Reserved List isn't viable.
Adrian Wright
>Start at the beginning. "Netdeck" isn't a dirty word
It took me a long time to come to terms with this when I first started playing, but this is really what you need to accept to enjoy constructed.
Owen Lee
Build green red energy
Asher White
Seriously. I watched the "netdeck supercut" youtube video and I realized that at some point, I'd just stopped using the term entirely. I'd stopped thinking of the best decks as "netdecks" and I'd stopped thinking of the people playing them as "netdeckers", because it wasn't useful. It didn't make me better, it just restricted my thinking and stopped me appreciating how the game played out. And I realized as soon as I stopped thinking in terms of "netdecks", I got MUCH better at Magic.
Jackson Jones
you can use hope copter to protect your big stompy from removal so you can tap out to cast him and on your next turn you can protect with blossom whatev
Jack Jones
i just bought a pretty cheap uw aetherflux storm list that ran sram. i dont really care much if itll be good enough for tournaments since i rarely go. it just seems hilarious
Lincoln Ward
U
Jacob Clark
What I learned from the pre-release is that Improvise can be degenerate as fuck. Ornithopters act as a Lotus Petal everyturn and that's basically overpowered as shit. I think that a tempo deck that relies on getting shit early, then basically becoming counterspell city can do a lot of degenerate stuff if constructed and piloted well. Who's with me?
Carson Ward
hey guise, i want to start going to casual FNMs at my local store but i don't want to be a tryhard either. I just want to go in there and have some fun even if it means i will get stomped by mouthbreathers. Could you recommend me some nice cards for mono-white?
Aaron Torres
Does Ornithopter has a place on monoblue storm? I was thinking on reducing the number of 0 mana equips for maybe a Reverse Engineer or 1-2 Whirs to search Reservoir directly from deck.
Christian Nelson
from the new set alone there's Aether Geode Miner which if i remember correctly is a 3/1 for 2 mana that gives you 2 energy when it attacks, and then whenever you want you can pay 2 energy to bounce it. There's also Solemn Recruiter from the new set which is a 3 mana 2/2 double strike that gets a +1/+1 counter if revolt triggers at the end of the turn. Also from Kaladesh there's Aerial Responder, 3 mana 2/3 flying vigilance lifelink
Angel Peterson
thanks user, guess i could go UW too
Samuel Williams
meme/10
Go Grixis. Red gives you good creature removal.
Xavier Kelly
I don't really like playing triple coloured deck in standard. I hate getting screwed on mana. You'd be surprised how well this deck can remove creatures. Most of the time I end up with too much removal.
There's been several games where I just chucked 3 murders onto my own 1/1 creature at the end of my opponents turn to swing for lethal next.
I also think with the addition of push we'll see alot less aggro decks. Push also deals with most things red removal hits and black can just outright kill creatures.
I personally think the only thing meme about this deck is tezz and I've acknowledged that before I just like the card.
Charles Harris
Im new to mtg and have no idea what i'm doing, please tell me how to improve my deck
I played mono u storm during kaladesh but I like the idea of splashing white for sram since he's pure value. the problem is I might get BTFO by aggro if I cut some of my bounce spells to slot him in. suggestions?
And next I'm thinking Esper, Izzet, MonoGreen Stompy, and Orzhov lifegain.
Daniel Foster
use gatherer.wizards.com and look for standard cards about servos, you'll like what you find. Also geode miner is a jackhammer.
Samuel Hill
That's something an uncreative dumb person says. If you're cool with the existential threat of being a T2 deck but you're showing up for FNM, you can go 5-0 on some pretty dumb shit. And we're loaded with possibilities that could reasonably be called T2.
Michael Moore
For that U/B artifact aggro deck you REALLY need those new improvise creatures. They're insane in this type of deck
David Gomez
This. I started going Esper for the removal in black with the idea of splashing for Saheeli, but Jeskai has all the tools you need.
Daniel Miller
Add Green for some fog and artifact/enchant removal, plus a Cryptoliyh Rite or two.
Elijah Rodriguez
noted and adjusted
Carson Rogers
Why not just run Inspiring Statuary?
Colton Morris
one guy pulled a blue gearhulk and foil saheeli from his first pack at a pre today, and pulled off that combo a couple of times.
On a slightly different note, triskellion 2.0 (walking balista) is murder in limited (i had 6 good rares today, pulled off quicksmith spy + panharmonicon, drawing 3 cards per turn is OP as fuck. also whale, hydra, balista and blue expertise).
Adrian Morgan
it doesn't hit creatures, they have to natively have it; and in fact I just switched it over to crypt rite to better work with lili and splashed green for that exact reason. Between six lands and tez you should be able to cast crypt at some point for the lili ramp, you can even treasure keeper into it by chance and not care.
Carter Reyes
Is running five saheeli's necessary in cats?
Isaiah Gomez
>Nonartifact spells have improvise
As long as it's not an artifact creature, it does indeed.
Matthew Wilson
>artifact creatures
John Bailey
>Five Saheeli
U wot m8?
Hunter Taylor
In the deck being talked about it would hit 2 creatures
Easton Ward
Ah, my bad.
Juan Long
> 1x call the gatewatch
Daniel Johnson
No need. You're not trying to hit her quick, necessarily.
Bentley Sanchez
It's a Turn 4 win in a control hub.
Eli Taylor
Notes on the deck: I think you can run that 4/4 hexproof improvise blue creature. You can cheat it out early and a 4/4 hexproof is a pain to deal with.
Additionally, you can also run Herald of Anguish which seems like a wincondition in itself.
In the sideboard I would probably run at least two Battle At The Bridge to deal with opposing aggro decks.
Other considerations for the 75: - Sky Skiff - Foundry Hornet in the sideboard - Negate in sideboard - One copy of efficient construction
Connor Powell
It makes people salty af and that's all that matters.
Charles Ross
Noted and adjusted.
Xavier Smith
If I build anything new, I am calling it "Elf Energy Ramp" at the moment. Red is possibly just splashed for Spontaneous Artist to make it go faster, black for counters snake is an option as well.
Something like All 3 modules Longtusk Cub Servant of the Conduit Rishkar Metallic Mimic Cryptolith Rite Armorcraft Judge Spontaneous Artist Energy Lizard
Maybe Walking Ballista as an alternate win
Joshua Roberts
I love the sultai zombie tribal. List looks awesome. I wish I wasn't poor and could afford the lilis and flayers
Jaxon White
I'm using it right now and it's pretty sweet. Lost to U/B but cast lili six times in a game.
Jackson Sanchez
After further playtesting, Rite is INSANE with the artifact reduction creature.
Also, you should add Natural Obsolescence in the sideboard ( I put two ). It is necessary to battle the artifact-based strategies there, and I seem to have encountered a few of those already.
I added one Herald of Anguish as it is simply the best card in the deck.
I would consider removing the Mimic as it doesn't do much in our gameplan. I didn't think something more fitting though.
Lucas Kelly
what were you running in place of copters before?
Ian Sanchez
>construct >less mimic no u
Logan Fisher
Well that's just my view on it user. I think the deck is better if we focus on getting improvise stuff earlier and beating down our opponents, rather than getting +1/+1 counters on stuff we will probably use to get those threats. And it only works for stuff we cast after the mimic, making it a bit less useful overall. But that's just my opinion.
TL;DR: Mimic's too cute
Leo Young
I've liked Appetite over Obsolescence but I know why you'd like it more
I added two Herald but he didn't show in either set i played
James Ross
This is the first time I've been interested in standard in a while.
Going to try out a Paradoxical Outcome Aetherflux deck with the new Inspiring Statue and other improvise cards.
Oliver Perez
The deck that runs Copy Cat with Aetherworks Marvel is super dumb but I think it might actually do well.
I also came up with the stupid idea of running 4x Aethertide Whale to get free rerolls on Marvel, but I think that is less practical.
Robert Cook
I'd rather use Appetite since it hits enchantments. You never know when you'll need to kill a mechanized production
You can simply Obsolescence the artifact it's on. Besides, I think that there aren't many enchantments that you're willing to destroy that way.
Luke Edwards
>After further playtesting, Rite is INSANE with the artifact reduction creature.
...in what way?
Jacob Ramirez
I think Sigarda's Aid might see more play now that Sram will be in Standard, but I might be wrong. Besides, it's always nice to remove stasis snares
Hudson Phillips
Our deck is mostly 2 CMC stuff, so then we can cast a creature to cast another one, which is ultra good.
If it turns out those kind of effects are there a lot, I'll consider the switch.
Leo Jones
>Our deck is mostly 2 CMC stuff, so then we can cast a creature to cast another one, which is ultra good.
But they have summoning sickness?
Colton Wright
Who said that we did that?
I just simply said that it was sweet, nothing else. It's not insane to the point of being good, but very good nonetheless.
Nicholas Thompson
Honestly it's more good than bad.
I disagree with banning Reflector Mage and Emerakul but his article didn't change the fact that they got banned.
What was interesting was when he mentions that "the pendulum between threats and answers has swung too far towards threats and we are looking to fix that". It implies to me that potentially as early as Amonkhet but definitely by Hour of Devastation, we will start seeing more viable removal. I'm super happy about the Improvise Mana Leak and Fatal Push so I'd like to see stronger answers continue to exist.
Wyatt Ward
>Ornithopters can become lotus petal every turn No. Ornithopters can become llanowar elf every turn. Except they can't pay for colored mana and only work on a specific subset of cards.
If improvise had truly degenerate cards (Darksteel Colossus level) then it could be bad. The strongest Improvise card is either mana leak or UU draw 3 and neither of those are degenerate enough to really go wild.
Isaiah Thompson
Just play a few game's with friends or something, then figure your deck out from there.
I will say though that you seem to have too many expensive things, add in a few more 2 and 3 drop spells for a better mana curve
Alexander Taylor
>It implies to me that potentially as early as Amonkhet but definitely by Hour of Devastation, we will start seeing more viable removal
No chance, Amonkhet is already locked in for printing by this point. Maybe for Ham & Eggs, but more likely Soup & Salad.
Elijah Lewis
>herald of anguish isn't good enough
Honestly the deck as is isn't explosive enough but it's still good. I've had a guy running even more cheaper artifacts and going to town with improvise stuff. He was U/R.
There's a lot of potential, and it can become tier 1 with some refining.
Alexander Bennett
Alright lads, could something like this work
>that new mythic wincondition card
>trail of evidence >erdwal illuminator >blue spells with investigate >improvise cards >artifact that gives spells improvise
Meme or dream????
Matthew Stewart
Going all in with sigardias aid, onithopter, cheap equip (both 0 cost and stichers graft), Sram, Inspiring Statuary, eternal scourge, paradoxical outcome, and ulamog
Clue Construction is probably legitimate enough for FNM play, but I doubt it will be top 8ing any events
David Turner
Even if you don't netdeck go ahead and look at some decklists. They can give you some good ideas on what makes decks good and why.
Chase Wilson
>Oath of Ajani >Oath of Nissa >Oath of Gideon >Call the Gatewatch
If Standard or Frontier had a better scene to it right now I would build 5 Color Superfriends and have a blast with it.
Hunter Diaz
Yeah, instead you could try to build it in a real format.
Daniel Long
>disagrees with reflector mage >clearly hasn't fought InfiniteCats.dec yet
Parker James
I really don't see it being that huge of an issue if your deck has some decent agro or burn to keep Saheeli down or instant speed removal to kill the Cat Monkey Goat before Saheeli can duplicate it.
Hell, you can wait to respond until the person pays the 2 loyalty before blasting the little fucker.
Joseph Hill
Hows the blue white control deck? Im thinking of splashing red for shock and copy cat
Henry Martinez
I was going to the prerelease bringing my saheeli but in the end i kept her. Right now i can easily find one for less than 15 locally because everyone is trying to sell. With that price, it's not worth it to sell her now.
Christian Nelson
I really like pump spells. Would a deck use any copies of Invigorated Rampage? Also, I have 2 Heart of Kiran and wondering if I should hang on to them.
Justin Sanders
You're two years late mate. Theros-Khans standard UWx Heroic was a top deck. Outside of that specific standard environment (which had lots of cheap protection in the form of God's Willing and Ajani's Prescence) playing pump spells is at best a risky move since you will often run into two-for-one trades when they remove the creature that they were going to remove anyway.
Samuel Davis
>Stay bad at magic /tg
Sebastian Sanders
You could probably fit it into a vehicle or pummeler deck pretty easily.
Wyatt King
What are some good payoff cards for having lots of Energy? Aetherwork marvel, Electrostatic Pummeler and what else? Gonti's Aether Heart looks kind of expensive to cast.
Josiah Adams
This could be switch with Larger Than Life in that pummeler deck (), it's a instant and offers that additional mode, and you don't need the +0/+4 for just about anything.
