With both Aetherworks Marvel and Saheeli Rai combo to worry about, Aether Revolt Standard is set to be a format where games are decided on and around turn four. That means good things for decks that want to try to end games before then. Green-Red Energy wasn’t really a player in the previous Standard format after the Pro Tour, but Seth Manfield thinks that may be about to change:

Green-Red Energy - Aether Revolt Standard | Seth Manfield

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Greenbelt Rampager
• 2 Lathnu Hellion
• 2 Longtusk Cub
• 4 Bristling Hydra
• 4 Servant of the Conduit
• 4 Voltaic Brawler
• 4 Electrostatic Pummeler

• Instants (13)
• 1 Highspire Infusion
• 2 Blossoming Defense
• 2 Harnessed Lightning
• 4 Invigorated Rampage
• 4 Uncaged Fury

• Sorceries (6)
• 2 Larger Than Life
• 4 Attune with Aether

• Lands (19)
• 3 Mountain
• 8 Forest
• 4 Aether Hub
• 4 Game Trail

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Blossoming Defense
• 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 4 Galvanic Bombardment
• 2 Lathnu Hellion
• 2 Natural Obsolescence
• 2 Natural State
• 1 Nissa, Vital Force

Buy This Deck

While the deck itself is largely unchanged, the format has shifted around it substantially, and may be exactly what it needed to come back into the spotlight. The banning of Emrakul may substantially reduce the amount of delirium decks at the top tables, and consequently the number of Liliana, the Last Hopes you need to fight through to take down an event. That’s great news for Electrostatic Pummeler. Similarly, the banning of Reflector Mage makes it easier for your straight-up beatdown plan to be enough to get the job done.

One of the problems that this deck faces is that instant-speed removal is going to be at a premium, given its ability to shut down the Saheeli Rai combo with Felidar Guardian. That means the format may be hostile to this strategy of casting pump spells on creatures. Granted, you are more than capable of fighting through most removal spells with a combination of Blossoming Defense and other effects that pump toughness.

If you’re looking to race in the new format, then this might just be your best option.