Well folks, it has been a minute since I last felt the compulsion to write about Magic: the
Gathering. Personally, my life has been somewhat of a whirlwind. I have kept up with the
current events to a point, and I am aware that a new set has been released. I, also, happen to
know that the Standard format is about to change dramatically. Gone are the days of Olivia
Voldaren, Huntmaster of the Fells, Restoration Angel, and Thragtusk. We now usher in a new
era brimming with divine intervention. Theros beckons for us to tread her rolling plains. She
begs we conquer her illustrious mountain peaks. She pines for us to dive deeply into her
sprawling waters. She wills us to creep ignorantly about her fetid marshlands. Her forests urge
all passerby to venture between the trees. With that in mind, I would like to make an attempt at
some Standard decks that could potentially show some teeth come this fateful Friday.

G/W Aggro

Main
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Experiment One
3 Imposing Sovereign
4 Voice of Resurgence
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Loxodon Smiter
4 Advent of the Wurm
2 Archangel of Thune
2 Brave the Elements
3 Selesnya Charm
2 Spear of Heliod
4 Temple Garden
4 Selesnya Guildgate
2 Mutavault
7 Forest
7 Plains

Sideboard
1 Sundering Growth
3 Glare of Heresy
2 Rootborn Defenses
3 Banisher Priest
4 Unflinching Courage
2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion

This is a pretty straightforward affair. Firmly rooted in the school of play dudes, and turn ‘em
sideways, I strongly believe that G/W aggro strategies are primed to be extremely successful in
Theros Standard. The threats are incredibly efficient at all spots on the curve. Admittedly, the
three spot is shallow, but playing Guildgates allows for some play there. Often times I imagine
this deck will play a two drop on turn three along with a Guildgate, or a two drop and a one drop.
The amount of power that this deck can provide in the early turns of the game is astonishing, and
it will easily go bigger than any other aggro deck out there.

Of course, in typical Jeremy fashion, this deck plays some top end to allow it to slug games out
with decks looking to go into deep into the turns. Fleecemane Lion is above the curve in stats,
and the monstrous ability allows it to become nigh impossible to answer. Sliding under counter
magic, which I anticipate will become more popular with the rotation of Cavern of Souls, will
become more important. Fleecemane Lion is efficient, and allows the aggro player to maintain
pressure without overcommitting to the board. Likewise, at 3/3 for two, Fleecemane Lion is
going to be larger than almost any other card at that cost, allowing it to stymie aggressive
strategies that may have the jump on the G/W player. The big kitty is a purrfect fit for this deck.

Advent of the Wurm stands to become an allstar in the new Standard. It is amazing to me that
a 5/5 for four mana that you can play at instant speed has not caught on faster, but the
environment just never allowed for G/W to really get a foothold in tier 1 Standard. Too often,
creatures would be on the end of an angry removal spell or just outclassed by some superior
midrange threat. However, the burgeoning new Standard allows for instant wurm to cook up
some real disaster in under sixty seconds.

Similarly, I have included Archangel of Thune as a final way to lock up the game against another
pesky midrange or aggressive deck. Typically, one hit from this gal will lock up the game, as any
sort of board presence causes things to get out of hand quickly. Even by her lonesome,
Archangel of Thune is almost impossible to effectively race. She certainly demands a swift
answer.

Taking a peek at the sideboard, we see some standard fare… or is it Standard fare?
Regardless of the puns, the sideboard is looking to focus the deck in games two and three. If
creatures are an issue, Banisher Priest would love to escort that pesky blocker to a confessional
booth. If those creatures happen to be white, judge them accordingly for their heresy. Control
deck got the green and white meanies down? Bring Elspeth and the Rootborn to the defense! Is
some silly red mage trying to fry all the dudes? Suit up with some Unflinching Courage and
pulverize accordingly.

Overall, I feel this deck is a strong choice for early in the season. I am certain that it will be
refined, and will consistently place in the Standard tournament scene. Correspondingly, another
deck that I feel is primed to really succeed in the new environment is an oldie but a bonafide
goodie:

U/W Control

Main
1 Ætherling
4 Divination
4 Supreme Verdict
3 Essence Scatter
4 Azorious Charm
2 Dissolve
3 Sphinx’s Revelation
1 Blind Obedience
4 Detention Sphere
4 Jace, Architect of Thought
2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Azorious Guildgate
2 Mutavault
1 Encroaching Wastes
8 Island
8 Plains

Sideboard
1 Ratchet Bomb
1 Renounce the Guilds
1 Glare of Heresy
2 Last Breath
4 Negate
4 Fiendslayer Paladin
2 Jace, Memory Adept

I opted for a blend of tapout and permission, and I did it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the card
draw available to blue permission/flash based decks has been kicked down considerably. No
longer will we see Thought Scour, Think Twice, flashback Think Twice/Snapcaster Mage
targeting Thought Scour as a line of play. Losing this early cantrip ability makes it harder for blue
control decks to do what is most important to their overall game plan; cast Sphinx’s Revelation
for a bunch. Sure, keeping the board clear, and countering a spell here and there allows
everyone to believe that establishing control is the primary objective, but that is a damn lie. All
the U/W player wants to do is cast Sphinx’s Revelation for some backbreaking amount, and
watch the opponent squirm trying to fight past a full grip of solid action on turn fifteen. As a
result, lands are the most important cards in the deck. All the other filler is just that, filler. Lands
are where it is at for this deck. So, Divination becomes a necessary evil. I actually feel that
Divination gets a lot of flack for being a perfectly playable card. It is not exciting or flashy, but it
does exactly what a control deck wants. I chose to maximize the number of Divination because
Omenspeaker is just really sad, especially if we are drawing comparisons to Augur of Bolas. If
Frostburn Weird could activate off white mana, I would probably include it (and I may still).

The win conditions are varied between Jace, Architect of thought, Ætherling, and Elspeth, Sun’s
Champion. Honestly, Ætherling and Elspeth are probably the only cards that will serve as a
finisher, as Jace is going to be digging for juicy goodness or stemming the oncoming aggressive
tide more times than not.

This brings about what is an important observation of Theros Standard. Games are going to
revolve around planeswalkers. Yes, there are some aggro decks that will forgo a planeswalker
plan in order to play efficient on curve threats in an attempt to reduce the opponent’s life total
from twenty to zero as quickly as possible. However, for the most part, planeswalkers are going
to be the most important cards to be able to interact with in Standard. There are just far too
many that are good enough to see play: Jace, Elspeth, Xenagos, Domri, Chandra, and Garruk
are all capable of being the backbone of tier one strategies, and more than likely, they will be.

So, aggro, then control, I suppose I should address the most beautiful of archetypes, midrange. I
am excited to see how midrange develops in Standard. The rotation of some of the best
midrange cards to ever see play makes creating a competitive midrange strategy especially
compelling to a brewmeister such as myself. I will not promise this is the best deck in Standard,
but I can promise, it is absolutely something I will play:

G/U Midrange

Main
4 Elvish Mystic
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Boon Satyr
4 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Arbor Colussus
3 Prime Speaker Zegana
2 Rapid Hybridization
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Simic Charm
2 Plasm Capture
2 Mystic Genesis
1 Nylea’s Bow
2 Nylea, God of the Hunt
4 Breeding Pool
4 Temple of Mystery
2 Mutavault
1 Simic Guildgate
7 Forest
6 Island

Sideboard
2 Pithing Needle
4 Tidebinder Mage
4 Negate
2 Domestication
2 Master of Waves
1 Primeval Bounty

I admit I may have a problem, but Prime Speaker Zegana is too good to not see play. Added to
that, is the newest weapon available to the green arsenal, Polukranos, World Eater. This is a
hydra that puts the pain on aggro decks. With base stats at 5/5 for four mana, Polukranos is
already going to lock up the ground as well as any creature can. Where it gets interesting is the
monstrous ability. Polukranos, World Eater negotiates with small creatures with extreme
prejudice. What I love about it most, is how Polukranos sets up the following turn with this deck.

Ideally, Polukranos represents upgrading with monstrous 2 the following turn, possibly destroying
one, or in the dream scenario, two creatures. However, what if the opponent tries to play a spell
that needs countering? Well, then we get to obliterate them with Mystic Genesis or Plasm
Capture (which is insane with Polukranos’ montrous ability). Then, the follow up of Prime
Speaker Zegana for a full grip should give this deck the tools to go over the top of other midrange
decks.

As always, I looked to supplement the deck with cards all along the curve. Boon Satyr is an
impressive creature that is capable of putting pressure on control decks, can trade with
aggressive decks, or allow us to outsize other midrange decks. This deck can actually utilize
the bestow ability more frequently than most, as it looks to accelerate to the six mana threshold
and dominate the game with haymakers that happen to draw a lot more haymakers.
Speaking of ramp, Elvish Mystic and Sylvan Caryatid will be featured prominently in many green
decks throughout the course of their legality in Standard. The rotation of Farseek from the
format impacts the green midrange decks brutally. Luckily, Sylvan Caryatid steps into Farseek’s
shoes to help alleviate color constraints for green. It does make green decks more susceptible
to Supreme Verdict, but the tradeoff is the increased defensive capability against aggressive
decks.

Arbor Colussus makes the deck in the roll of undercosted fatty that happens to whip the hobbit
snot out of Stormbreath Dragon. Reach is an underappreciated keyword ability, but I am of the
opinion that it is good enough to warrant play in this particular deck. Cards that are traditionally
difficult for green midrange decks to interact with normally possess flying. The fact that Arbor
Colossus is a 6/6 for only five mana allows for it to meaningfully impact the board exactly when it
needs to, and I am torn as to whether I should include a third in the sideboard. At this time, I
have elected not to, but that could be flat out wrong.

There is a light countermagic suite in the deck, and unlike the U/W deck, we are not messing
around with cards like Dissolve and Essence Scatter. I want the counterspells we play in this
deck to be positively soulcrushing. Plasm Capture allows for ludicrous tempo swings. Mystic
Genesis develops board presence while helping to control board development. These cards will
come out against just about every aggro deck under the sun, but against control decks and other
midrange strategies, they will almost always pull their weight and then some.

The remainder of the spell selection is there to help keep the threats in check, or continue to
pressure the opponent with the threats in play. Simic Charm will never impress, but it will
always find a use. Rapid Hybridization can remove problematic creatures, or respond to
removal to keep the beatdown in full effect. Then, there is Cyclonic Rift a.k.a. the blue Overrun.
Cyclonic Rift is a bit of a Swiss Army knife. It plays early to help keep the aggression off. It
comes in late to salvage an unwinnable game, or it translates to “tap seven mana, win target
game.” I happen to be very fond of all of those modes. I know that I have been playing Cyclonic
Rift for a long time, and I am rarely disappointed to have it available.

Lastly, I included Nylea, God of the Hunt, and her bow. I am unsure that Nylea’s Bow does
enough to be included, but I do want to try it before I decide I do not like it. Much in the same
vein, the actual god Nylea may not be worth the cardboard it is printed on, and if it were not for
the synergy with Prime Speaker Zegana, I would probably not even consider playing the card.
However, being able to stack triggers and draw seven cards is pretty swell. Being able to grant
the team trample for a minimal investment with the potential for a big payoff is also dynamite. In
the end, both of these cards may not be worth the inclusion, but I would be remiss to not give
them a chance.

The sideboard is slanted to beat up on red and green decks. I expect Tidebinder Mage to make
waves in the new Standard. Being able to lock up opposing Elvish Mystics, Scavenging Oozes,
Loxodon Smiters and other green meanies for a minimal investment is powerful. Domestication
is mostly on Boros Reckoner patrol, but it can nab other small creatures in a pinch. Master of
Waves is comes in to stem red aggression. It may be a better card than Domestication in the
sideboard, though in tandem, they are excellent. I opted for variety as to open up options against
other decks.

Once again, the full four pack of Negate make it to the sideboard. I stand by my claim that
Standard is a planeswalker driven format. I want to have access to four Negate in any deck that I
tap lands for blue mana until I am proven otherwise. Also, cards that are difficult for strategies
like this to beat, such as opposing counterspells and Rakdos’s Return can all be answered by
Negate. I am a big fan of Negate out of blue decks right now.

Pithing Needle merely supplements the planeswalker answers, and has the added bonus of
being able to deal with unconventional angles of attack from the opponent. Pithing Needle is
never stellar, but always has a use.

Traditionally, midrange decks have difficulty beating true control strategies. Primeval Bounty can
turn a questionable game, into a steamroll. While vulnerable to Detention Sphere, Primeval
Bounty does fight control decks on an unusual axis. Being able to generate value from every
single permanent adds up against decks trying to control board development. Likewise, being
able to generate 3/3 beast tokens from underwhelming late game draws like Elvish Mystic and
Sylvan Caryatid is exactly why Primeval Bounty gets a spot in the sideboard.

Well girls and boys, that wraps up this episode of Explore. I can not say for sure what Theros
Standard has in store, but I know that I am stoked to build a deck with Prime Speaker Zegana in
it that challenges the tier one that is established.

As always, thank you for reading.

Jeremy Skelton
@peeps_champ