So, States 2011 has come and gone (and good riddance) and I have learned my lesson. I am never going to States again. This year's Oklahoma tournament was a full blown joke. More than half the field was from Texas, the PWP multiplier was 1x, and to top it all off the prize support wasn't even Innistrad. That's right, AussieFox brought Scars Block packs as prize support... We need to do something about that ass-hat and his horrific "organizing" of tournaments. I urge everyone to contact our DCI Regional Coordinator and try to oust AussieFox.
Anyway, enough ranting, on to what we should all be playing in standard. I looked through the results from multiple states and it seems like there are a hand full of decks which have potential. I think the deck at the top of the heap is Dungrove/Wolfrun. Cutting red sources and adding a turn 2 beatstick with hexproof seems really good in a ramp deck (especially when your ramp spells pump the beatstick). I do think that cutting Viridian Emmisary is a mistake, at least in the short term. Emmisary is a very versatile card. It can hold back aggressive decks or get through for a minimum 6 damage against control decks. I also think you should be running 2 Mountains instead of 1, just in case people actually start using Ghost Quarter.
In 2nd place I have U/X "counter-all-your-spells" control decks. I have seen lists with red and black as the 2nd color. When given that choice I think it's best to play black, as the red variants have no easy ways of killing the few threats that do resolve. Being able to play the first 7 turns at instant speed is pretty solid. I am not a control player myself, but for those that are I suggest U/B Snapcaster with Frost Titans, maindeck Surgical Extraction, and Black Sun's Zenith. The biggest problem for the deck is how bad Think Twice really is. You need much better card selection, and more cheap card-draw. If the next set provides that I might just have to sleeve up some counter spells...
Those decks are the cream of the crop, but there are several tier 2 decks around that might just need a bit of tweeking to get there. Mono-Red, Mono-Black Infect, W/U Blade/Humans, Solar Flare (which I will contend is on the way out), and W/x Tokens. W/G Tokens is what I have run at the start of new standard so I will focus on that from here.
My list was a few cards off but if I am playing standard tomorrow then this is the list I will run:
Creature:
2 Doomed Traveler
3 Blade Splicer
2 Hero of Bladehold
Enchantment:
4 Intangible Virtue
3 Honor of the Pure
3 Oblivion Ring
Artifact:
3 Shrine of Loyal Legions
Planeswalker:
4 Elspeth Tirel
2 Garruk Relentless
Instant:
3 Beast Within
4 Midnight Haunting
Sorcery:
3 Day of Judgment
Land:
3 Forest
10 Plains
4 Razorverge Thicket
4 Sunpetal Grove
3 Gavony Township
Sideboard:
3 Timely Reinforcements
3 Celestial Purge
3 Leonin Arbiter
3 Dismember
3 Surgical Extraction
I feel like this list is powerful enough to beat any deck game one. It has the raw power to swing for 24 on turn 5 but enough control elements to maneuver around a lot of varied threats. In most matches you take the roll of control after game 1. Thus, the sideboard is packed with various forms of control for different match ups. Purges and Reinforcements are for mono-red, Arbiter and Dismember are for Wolfrun and Pod, and Surgical Extraction is for control.
I'm sure I just heard some of you say "Wait, what? Extraction for control?" That's right, I bring these babies in against anything with counterspells. For a deck that relies on point control and countering any kind of mass creature generation this card is pretty brutal. You run your first threat headlong into a Mana Leak/Dissipate then Extract the counter once it resolves. For a deck that makes 5 creatures a turn the only think you fear is permission. Once you strip them of their control and look at their hand you can make your real line of play for the next few turns. Extraction is very underrated right now.
Well, there you go Dear Readers. I hope this helps you figure out what to play at FNM or a Star City event. Speaking of which, you should all plan on going to SCG Kansas City next weekend! Many of us from the shop are going and I guarantee we will have a good time! Until next week kids, I have some Planeswalker Points waiting for me in a Lenexa, Kansas PTQ this weekend.
"This is the third time I have had Kurin Outlaw in a draft or sealed deck...I have still never sleeved it up" :-(
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