My dearest Phyrexians, it has been too long. Dragon’s Maze is legal in Standard, and everything has changed. Well, honestly, not much has changed. Junk Rites is still the deck to beat, as Sin Collector allows the deck more interaction versus dedicated hate cards. The midrange Jund strategies gained a powerful weapon with Sire of Insanity. Red Green Aggro lists have become the default aggressive shell in the format, as widespread adoption of Ghor Clan Rampager seems to finally have taken a foothold in the aggressive decks.

All in all, Dragon’s Maze has not been format shifting, but it did bring a few golden nuggets out of the woodwork. Yet, if we look closely, there are few new decks that can be found amongst the Forest, Plains, and Islands. SCG Charlotte has come and gone, and the Bant shard yearns to be seen. First things first, how about we crank the annoyance up to eleven?

Armadillo Cloak 2nd coming...

Bant Auras

by Robert Rusch

Creature [20]
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Fencing Ace
4 Invisible Stalker
4 Voice of Resurgence
4 Geist of Saint Traft

Instant [2]
2 Simic Charm

Enchantment [16]
4 Ethereal Armor
4 Rancor
4 Spectral Flight
4 Unflinching Courage

Land [22]
4 Breeding Pool
2 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden

Sideboard:
2 Nearheath Pilgrim
4 Strangleroot Geist
1 Feeling of Dread
2 Fog
2 Negate
2 Ground Seal
2 Nevermore

Bant Auras, or Bant Pants, is surging to the forefront as a real contender in Standard. As it turns out, not being able to cast spells that affect the opponent can be a handicap. Bant Auras is looking to assemble Voltron, and could not give a damn about the person sitting across the table. There is, basically, nothing worse than staring at a Geist of Saint Traft with an Unflinching Courage and and a Spectral Flight attached to it.

Luckily, between Tribute to Hunger, Devour Flesh, Liliana of the Veil, Away, Barter in Blood, Glaring Spotlight, Terminus, Supreme Verdict, Rolling Temblor, Magmaquake, Mutilate, and hell, even Slum Reaper we have the capability to go toe to toe against the all in strategy of Bant Auras. There are plenty of answers to Hexproof in Standard, but Dragon’s Maze saw fit to introduce this number one busta into the environment:


Voice of Resurgence changes a lot of how Standard will be played. For the most part, the card has become a sideboard staple out of Junk Rites and midrange Bant decks. The card is so innately powerful, it has to be respected. Voice of Resurgence challenges the opponent to play a game that is inconvenient at best, and board dominating at the worst. Just looking at lists from SCG Charlotte shows the influence of Voice of Resurgence coming to a head. Pillar of Flame has seen an upswing in play. Instant speed removal is much less common, with only midrange Bant decks trying to fight on an instant or flash axis (as it is their best course of action with the cards available). There are few ways to profitably play a game against Voice of Resurgence, so expect to see the card push Standard decks in a direction that mimic the Thragtusk effect of;
play Voice of Resurgence or ignore Voice of Resurgence.

Bant Auras uses Voice of Resurgence as insurance against the assorted creature sacrifice cards in Standard. The inherent card disadvantage of auras against traditional removal is offset by the hexproof keyword. However, sweepers and sacrifice effects are the most common ways to combat hexproof. Voice of Resurgence is an excellent answer to both of these. In a pinch, Voice or it’s elemental spawn can even wear an aura.

Bant Auras will continue to be refined, and is going to create a lot of frustrating games during its tenure in Standard. The strategy is excellent against the plethora of midrange decks trying to make their assorted four, five, and six drops actually matter. If we take a step back, it is easy to see why this deck is, and will continue to be successful in Standard.

Of course, not every deck confined to the Bant shard is centered around reducing interaction. Some decks want to make every phase matter. Let us take a look at another innovation from offered up by Dragon’s Maze:

Cue incoming Dune reference...

Bant Control

by Zachery Byrd

Creature [9]
3 Augur of Bolas
2 Restoration Angel
4 Snapcaster Mage

Instant [25]
4 Advent of the Wurm
4 Azorius Charm
2 Rewind
2 Selesnya Charm
1 Simic Charm
3 Sphinx's Revelation
2 Syncopate
4 Thought Scour
3 Unsummon

Sorcery [1]
1 Supreme Verdict

Land [25]
1 Forest
1 Island
4 Breeding Pool
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
1 Moorland Haunt
3 Sunpetal Grove
3 Temple Garden

Sideboard:
2 Clone
3 Deathrite Shaman
4 Voice of Resurgence
2 Dispel
2 Renounce the Guilds
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Runechanter's Pike

Bant Control / Bant Midrange (as this is not really a control deck in the truest sense) has surged forward as the best Sphinx’s Revelation deck. I understand that Dragon’s Maze introduced a lot of hate cards against Sphinx’s Revelation, but it remains the best stalemate breaker in Standard. Well less oppressive than before, any deck playing Hallowed Fountain and friends had best have an extremely good reason for not playing Sphinx’s Revelation.

Bant Control looks to play mostly during the opponents turn, which can be a dangerous proposition with Voice of Resurgence in the format. However, much like the Faeries decks of old, being able to flex decision trees into the opponent’s turn allows for more opportunities to dictate the pace and flow of the game. As a result, the opponent often has to make a decision that is unfavorable. Over the course of several turns, unfavorable decisions will ideally mount into a game loss for the opponent. Also, instant speed makes people feel clever, and who does not want to feel clever?

Mostly though, Bant Control revolves around the angle presented by Advent of the Wurm. The Blue / White / Red Flash decks of old offered a lot of reach with Boros Reckoner, Harvest Pyre, and other assorted burn packages. However, the ability to make 5/5 tramplers instantly, and flood the board with the help of Snapcaster Mage creates racing situations that are favorable for the Bant deck. While not “reach” by the strictest of definitions, Snapcaster Mage plus Advent of the Wurm can be a functional Fireball for seven against a careless opponent.

Also, Bant Control makes the best use of countermagic in Standard, in particular, Rewind. Being able to present the dilemma of Advent of the Wurm / Restoration Angel / Rewind is a complicated scenario that has few good outcomes for the opponent.

Brief aside

Counterspells are at a strange place in the Standard environment of Magic: the Gathering right now. Cavern of Souls and Burning Tree Emissary have created a unique format where going all in on countermagic is potentially catastrophic. Yet, against the assorted midrange decks of Standard, countermagic is rarely a stone cold blank. Sure, there will be times where Cavern of Souls naming “beast” results in a neverending stampede of Thragtusks, but most decks eschew Cavern for the more powerful assorted creature types and the more reliable dual lands in the format.

End brief aside

All in all, Standard has not changed much at all with the inclusion of Dragon’s Maze. The environment is healthy overall. Right now, any deck can win at any time. Yes, Junk Rites may be the boogeyman, but it certainly is not the only playable option, as evidenced by SCG Charlotte. The player base is constantly evolving to challenge the consensus best deck. Standard is in a good place right now. I know that hardcore control freaks would disagree, but I the vast majority of players appreciate where Standard has settled.

Alright my fellow Phyrexians, that ends another Explore. I truly feel Magic the best it has been in an incredibly long time. Wizards of the Coast has put a ton of work into their flagship product, and it really shows.

As always, thank you for reading.

Jeremy Skelton
@peeps_champ