As a fan of Aggro decks but also someone who likes to see diversity in the format I was happy to see that it wasn’t Mono-Black Devotion that took the cake this past weekend. While not exactly a new concept this is quite a powerful and spicy little number. With its very aggressive curve it is poised to burst out of the gates and lay the smack down immediately to dispatch any opponent swiftly.
The deck works on a very strong a linear path up the mana curve from one to three in an effort to clog the board with beaters. We start it off with Dryad Militant and Soldier of the Pantheon that both unchecked can start to swipe chunks off the opponents life total. Next are the Selesnya two drops with Voice of Resurgence which is amazing against control decks or removal in general and Fleecemane Lion which given the chance will turn into a Monstrous beast which opponents will be having fits to try and remove. Then we have continued profit in three drops from Boros Reckoner which can attack into small blockers and still push through damage or act as a brick wall against attackers and Loxodon Smiter which is basically a great 4/4 for three with some added value. The sole four drop creature in the deck is Ghor-Clan Rampager but it will most often be used for its Bloodrush ability to pump an attacking creature to push through extra damage to finish off the opponent. Moving over to the spells in the deck we start first with the ever useful Brave the Elements which with almost every creature being White, Ghor-Clan Rampager is the only exception, will be a key tool enabling alpha strike pushes past defenses to destroy the opponent or a way to ensure your creatures survive to fight through removal or as blockers against a flurry of attackers. The deck also sports two different charms with multiple useful modes to take advantage of. Selesnya Charm is capable of either giving a creature a boost with Trample to push for a kill, can exile a large creature as long as it has power of 5 or more, or is able to put a 2/2 Knight token onto the battlefield which is also White to take advantage of Brave the Elements as well. The other charm is Boros Charm which can be used as direct damage to scorch your enemy, is able to save all your permanents from destruction in a pinch, or will grant Double Strike to one of your creatures if you need it to deal a final blow to take you on a path to victory. The deck also takes advantage of the new mana fixing land Mana Confluence in order to smoothly run a three color manabase using a bare minimum of into play tapped lands.
Eric J Seltzer
@ejseltzer on Twitter
Email: ejseltzer@hotmail.com
Creatures (21)
Spells (15)
Sideboard
While this deck is billed as a Bant Aggro list it is in essence a White Weenie variant. With its mana base such as it is sporting eight Scry lands there is no one drop in the deck instead looking to open with a Scry of the bat. The two drops then power the deck out of the gate with Voice of Resurgence, Precinct Captain and Fleecemane Lion to start laying the beats. Then we have the popular newcomer Brimaz, King of Oreskos and Loxodon Smiter next at three on the curve. Also filling at three mana there is the decks utility removal Detention Sphere and the creature buff Spear Of Heliod. All of that serves to build the devotion count for the two gods which fill the four drop slot with Heliod, God of the Sun able to clutter the board while granting Vigilance to all your creatures and Ephara, God of the Polis which serves as the decks primary draw engine. In true White Weenie form this deck uses Brave the Elements as both a way to save it’s creatures from targeted removal and as an enabler for Alpha Strike wins. Finally we have utility from Selesnya Charm which is able to either push a creature over the top, exile a big nuisance creature including a god or just add an extra body to the board to keep the pressure on. All in all a powerful and exciting deck sure to hold a spot in the meta.
Creatures (24)
Spells (12)
Sideboard
Lands (24)
Creatures (26)
Spells (10)
26 lands
7 creatures
Sideboard