Another weekend of SCG Standard has passed and sitting at the top of the heap we find a successful jumble of acceleration into monstrous beasts and powerful planeswalkers. What we find there is essentially the GR Monsters shell that’s been prevalent in Standard for quite a while, but dipping into White for additional planeswalkers and some removal options. And judging by the popularity of this archetype in the Theros Block format it looks like it has quite a future ahead.
It is no stranger that the most prevelant duo of Green mana dorks both in Standard and Block is Sylvan Caryatid into Courser of Kruphix. This not only fixes your mana and even effectively draws you additional cards but also gains you vital life points which are so crucial in this aggressive metagame. The downside is that Courser provides your opponent with nearly perfect information which can foil you bluff when playing off the top of your deck. As an additional accelerent there is also Voyaging Satyr which won’t help if you are missing a color but will still allow you to gain extra mana. All of that goes towards powering out some monstrous fatties quickly so you can activate their Monstrosity abilities and close out games quickly. The two we find in the deck are Polukranos, World Eater which also acts as much needed removal in this deck and also the hasty flier Stormbreath Dragon which peeled off the top is often the recipie for certain doom. If those monsters are the meat of the deck we then find the fine wine pairing in the foursome of planeswalker to accompany them. The main player is party animal himself Xenagos, the Reveler who not only brings his satyr buddies with him but also helps acheive Monstrosity fast with his ramping ability. Next to join the party is Ajani, Mentor of Heroes who has a dual purpose between pumping up your creatures and digging into your deck to find more threats, but also when protected can threaten its ultimate to bolster a diminishing life total. There is also a major contribution from Elspeth, Sun’s Champion with her legion of soldiers following her, but be wary of her second ability as your bombs tend to be destroyed as well as the opponents. And why not a misers Chandra, Pyromaster as well to add a little card advantage to the deck and her first ability helps slip your big boys past their chump blockers handily. The rest of the deck is rounded out by some varied pieces of removal. There is Keening Apparition which is able to destroy any enchantment the opponent presents to the board such as Chained to the Rocks or even Underworld Connections. As a great sweeper Mizzium Mortars is able to be overloaded to deal four damage to all the opponents creatures and cast aside any would be blockers for your giant monsters. Then the last piece of the puzzle comes with the flexible Selesnya Charm that can either pump and grant Trample to a creature to rampage for a win, exile a creature that has power greater then five, or even add another threat to the board with a vigilant knight token.
So here we find that the GR Monsters deck which has already been a force in Standard continues to have room to grow and adapt as it proves it is a major player in Standard. What really interests me with this list is that the core of the deck is all from Theros Block and will undoubtedly continue to be a force into the next rotation of Standard. If you are looking for a deck to invest in as a long term prospect then this is undoubtedly the one.
The opening strategy is focused on your mana dorks to come and ramp to the fatties. We find full sets of Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix all of which can speed you plan up by several turns. Also, removal aimed at them means less removal to deal with the big boys. As far as those ‘big boys’ are concerned there is Polukranos, World Eater and Stormbreath Dragon who’s ability to become Monstrous will often spell certain doom for your opponents well before they’re ready to deal with them. Then there are a few support creatures with Reaper of the Wilds with a Scry ability helpful when the opponent is removing your creatures or chumping with his, Ghor-Clan Rampager which can turn a game saving chump block into a game ending surprise, Scavenging Ooze with incidental lifegain and graveyard hate, and Xenagos, God of Revels pushing the beatdown plan into high gear. Speaking of Xenagos we find the same standard package of Planeswalkers as in Gruul with Domri Rade and Xenagos, the Reveler which both are invaluable in a creature heavy deck both accelerating and digging for them while also working hard to control the battlefield. The addition of Black is what allows an interesting one of Vraska, the Unseen which can spell certain doom if her assassins are able to infiltrate through the enemies defenses but will most often be used as removal of various types of threats. And speaking of removal the deck is completed with a minor removal suite which consists of a pair of Dreadbore and pair of Mizzium Mortars but is also somewhat supplemented by the Monstrous ability.
G/R Monsters
Jonathon Habel
1st Place at StarCityGames Standard Open on 2/22/2014
This deck is nothing new as this big monster strategy has been very successful for the past few months but what strikes me as odd was that the new players from Born of the Gods Xenagos, God of Revels and Courser of Kruphix are inexplicably absent from this list. Seeing as he did win the event I’m not so much questioning the decision but more wondering the reasoning, was it some sort of meta choice or more of a card selection issue.
Creatures (17)
Sideboard
Now here’s a pretty wild looking deck. With a very strong curve of Soldier into Voice into Reckoner into Advent it has some serious beef out of the gate. Backed up with Satyr and Fleecemane with an Ooze for utility it has a very aggressive creature package. Using Chandra as a source of card advantage it also helps to slip by any nuisance blockers. Finally it is rounded out with a removal package of Chained to the Rocks & Lightning Strike, which doubles as reach to hit the dome, and Mizzium as a sweeper. The Charm is there for some real utility that can either push through some lethal damage with trample or surprise an alpha strike with a knight…but most important may be the exile mode as a way to deal with pesky Gods.
Creatures (16)
Spells (19)
Sideboard (15)
Matt Costa was able to pilot this deck to a win against Boros Aggro in the finals. Following along traditional Jund lines of incremental advantage into the midgame this deck combines power and versatility. The creature suite has two ‘monstrous’ heavy hitters at the top end with Stormbreath Dragon and Polukranos supported by utility from Reaper of the Wilds, Scavenging Ooze and Sylvan Caryatid. This is backed up by a very potent package of removal with Abrupt Decay & Hero’s Downfall for spot removal and Anger of the Gods & Mizzium Mortars as sweepers. Finally the deck is rounded out with Thoughtseize & Rakdos’s Return to disrupt the opponents hand and Read the Bones to ensure that the right answers show up at the right time.
Boros Aggro Devotion – Midrange
Carlos Davi Montenegro
28 creatures
6 other spells
1 planeswalker
15 sideboard cards
We have another Boros deck that made Top 8 this weekend, but this one was in Chile at Grand Prix Santiago. The first one piloted by Benjamin Lundquist was like a White Weenie deck with red splash for Boros Charm and more answers in the Sideboard. You can check it out here. This version borrows from Mono-red devotion and RDW with a splash of white. Boros Charm is used again, but this time in the board. Chained to the Rocks is great and cheap white removal that demands using Mountain. Assemble the Legion, also in the board, can get quickly out of hand against decks without an answer.
The creatures are all red with as much red mana symbols to abuse the four of Fanatic of Mogis. Purphoros, God of the Forge in the Board mut also get activated quickly in this strategy. This deck is not like the other devotion or aggro decks, because it borrows from the control strategy. Using the Mizzium Mortars to sweep the opponents board is a powerful strategy in this aggro meta.
