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Warning!
The decks you are about to see are mostly untested first drafts! They were played during Jumpstart: Historic Horizons release day on MTG Arena and are my first stabs at the new Historic Horizons Historic format. Most are brews jam packed with Historic Horizons cards, while there are also a few updates to previously established archetypes, but it's important to note that these are the first steps and not finished products! Use them as stepping stones for your own deck brewing process, but play them card for card at your own risk!
Historic Horizons is perhaps the largest influx of playable and impactful cards that Historic will ever see.
Over 300 new to MTG Arena cards are being adding to the Historic format via the Jumpstart: Historic Horizons release and what's great is that so many of them are awesome "nuts and bolts" kind of synergy cards that help to flesh out a large variety of archetypes. These are the cards that get deck-builder's gears turning and if I'm being honest, I probably could have built 20 decks. It's also the advent of the new online-only mechanics, which were pretty awesome!
Today we are going to go over all ten decks I played as part of my Ten New Brews on YouTube and stream, briefly going over each list and my thoughts on how it was, giving it a letter grade, and talking about what kind of potential it has going forward. I played five games with each deck in best of one so the deck's record will also be included.
Let's go!
LoxoAffinity | Historic | Jim Davis
- Creatures (36)
- 1 Hope of Ghirapur
- 1 Zabaz, the Glimmerwasp
- 2 Ingenious Smith
- 4 Arcbound Mouser
- 4 Esper Sentinel
- 4 Gingerbrute
- 4 Ornithopter
- 4 Steel Overseer
- 4 Thought Monitor
- 4 Vault Skirge
- 4 Venerated Loxodon
- Artifacts (4)
- 4 Nettlecyst
- Lands (20)
- 2 Plains
- 2 Blinkmoth Nexus
- 4 Hallowed Fountain
- 4 Hengegate Pathway
- 4 Spire of Industry
- 4 Treasure Vault
Deck's Record: 1-4
Deck's Grade: C-
Deck Potential: Low to Medium
Our first deck is one I'm excited to see start to make waves in Historic, but definitely isn't quite there yet.
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If you know me, you know that I love Venerated Loxodon, having built a deck called Loxobots in Modern and transposed it to Historic before. Loxobots was already Affinity-adjacent, but I think I allowed Loxobots and my love of Venerated Loxodon to cloud this build a bit. Once you add actual affinity and all-in synergy cards like Thought Monitor and Nettlecyst to the deck, the bar for non-artifact cards is unbelievably high. Venerated Loxodon can be a part of that plan, but four copies are definitely far too many.
Despite this, one card that has continued to impress it basically every format or spot I've played it in is Ingenious Smith. Providing card advantage as well as a reasonable scaling threat, it's hard to ask for more from a 2-drop. It is also not technically an artifact itself, but almost always produces one. Going forward I'd probably play the fourth Ingenious Smith before I played the first Loxodon.
There will eventually be a good artifact aggro deck in Historic, but I don't think we're there yet.
Rakdos DeathWhirler | Historic | Jim Davis
- Creatures (24)
- 2 Grim Lavamancer
- 2 Skyclave Shade
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 4 Goblin Chainwhirler
- 4 Managorger Phoenix
- 4 Plaguecrafter's Familiar
- 4 Seasoned Pyromancer
- Instants (2)
- 2 Kolaghan's Command
- Sorceries (11)
- 3 Call of the Death-Dweller
- 4 Faithless Looting
- 4 Thoughtseize
Deck's Record: 3-2
Deck's Grade: B+
Deck Potential: Medium to High
From a dud to a stud, our second deck was jam packed full of new Historic Horizons cards and did not disappoint.
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The catalyst for the deck is the interaction between Plaguecrafter's Familiar and Goblin Chainwhirler, helping to replicate a combo that has been seen a few times before in a few different formats. Plaguecrafter's Familiar is able to give Goblin Chainwhirler deathtouch while it's still in your hand, making for an amazing curve against any creature deck. But that's not all! It also interacts extremely well with Bonecrusher Giant, as it gives Stomp deathtouch too! And when you cast that Bonecrusher Giant it will also have deathtouch. Grim Lavamancer brings up the rear as a third great target for deathtouch.
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Of course, you need to be able to beat more than creature decks, which is where the other new tools come in. Managorger Phoenix is an awesome new card that is right at home with the discard effects of Faithless Looting and Seasoned Pyromancer, recurring quickly and easily while always getting bigger. Speaking of Seasoned Pyromancer, the card is just as good as it is in Modern, providing synergy and power all at once.
Perhaps that's the best part of this deck, that so many of the cards are already great on their own, which makes the synergy a bonus rather than a necessity. This one was great!
Bazaar One | Historic | Jim Davis
- Creatures (21)
- 1 Ox of Agonas
- 4 Bazaar Trademage
- 4 Blazing Rootwalla
- 4 Dragon's Rage Channeler
- 4 Flameblade Adept
- 4 Hollow One
- Planeswalkers (1)
- 1 The Royal Scions
- Instants (11)
- 3 Lightning Axe
- 4 Fiery Temper
- 4 Unholy Heat
- Sorceries (7)
- 3 Expressive Iteration
- 4 Faithless Looting
Deck's Record: 3-2
Deck's Grade: B-
Deck Potential: Medium
Our first of two decks based around the madness mechanic, this one looked to take advantage of discard cards alongside Hollow One.
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New madness cards like Blazing Rootwalla and Fiery Temper lend even more power to Faithless Looting and friends, as every madness card you discard and cast is basically like drawing a free card. If you Faithless Looting and discard a Rootwalla and Fiery Temper and cast both, you've essentially made Faithless Looking one Red mana to draw two cards. Bazaar Trademage is here to push that to the extreme, while also allowing you to cast Hollow One immediately for free while providing a good body.
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Modern all stars Dragon's Rage Channeler and Unholy Heat are on full display here and while they aren't as dominating as they are in Modern, they are still extremely good. Dragon's Rage Channeler in particular really just does everything, while also allowing the deck to keep an aggressive slant without sacrificing power level alongside Flameblade Adept.
Expressive Iteration is fantastic, but it's very possible this deck would be better as a Mono-Red deck. Still some exciting stuff going on here and something to watch.
Mega Blink | Historic | Jim Davis
- Companion (1)
- 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad
- Creatures (46)
- 2 Arboreal Grazer
- 2 Elvish Rejuvenator
- 2 Mulldrifter
- 2 Quandrix Cultivator
- 3 Prosperous Innkeeper
- 3 Yorion, Sky Nomad
- 4 Blade Splicer
- 4 Llanowar Elves
- 4 Lumbering Lightshield
- 4 Restoration Angel
- 4 Skyclave Apparition
- 4 Soulherder
- 4 Thragtusk
- 4 Wall of Blossoms
- Instants (3)
- 3 Ephemerate
Deck's Record: 3-2
Deck's Grade: B-
Deck Potential: Reasonable If The Format Is About Fair Value
Thragtusk and Restoration Angel are reunited again and it feels so good!
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Once the defining feature of Standard, Restoration Angel and Thragtusk are a value pair of epic proportions. As long as your opponent isn't comboing you or going way over the top with something like Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, it's going to be exceedingly difficult for your opponent to grind through this deck's value engines.
Modern Horizons standout Soulherder is at the center of the deck, which is jam packed with all sorts of enters the battlefield value shenanigans. And the best part is that pretty much every card in the deck is just great even without needing Soulherder or Restoration Angel to gain max value.
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However, I'm not convinced that companioning Yorion was the right call with this build. Some of your best cards, like Skyclave Apparition, Llanowar Elves, and Soulherder are cards you really want to draw, which of course becomes more difficult when your deck is 80 cards. Given how good the deck is at drawing cards and gaining value, you probably wouldn't be giving up a ton to just play 60 cards, even if you end up playing a Yorion or two in your maindeck.
It's also possible the deck could be a Collected Company deck as well. More work is needed here, but there's certainly some power here. It's also great to find a home for Ephemerate.
Momir Rock | Historic | Jim Davis
- Creatures (4)
- 4 Quandrix Apprentice
- Instants (4)
- 4 Fatal Push
- Sorceries (22)
- 2 Casualties of War
- 2 Compulsive Research
- 2 Languish
- 2 Maelstrom Pulse
- 3 Inquisition of Kozilek
- 3 Thoughtseize
- 4 Explore
- 4 Into the North
- Enchantments (2)
- 2 Binding the Old Gods
- Artifacts (4)
- 4 Pool of Vigorous Growth
Deck's Record: 2-3
Deck's Grade: D+
Deck Potential: Very Fun But Low
I always make one off the wall deck for my Ten New Brews and with Pool of Vigorous Growth in the list you know you're looking at it.
If you're a Magic Online player you may recall the Momir Basic format, a format where your deck is 60 basic lands and you're allowed to pay X each turn on your turn once to get a random creature of that cost. It's a silly and random format that was a fun way to play a random and exciting game of Magic. Well, Pool of Vigorous Growth is essentially just that in a real game of Magic!
This deck plans to use Pool of Vigorous Growth as its primary win condition, turning excess lands into threats as it works its way up the curve while playing quality disruption.
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Quandrix Apprentice is actually a supremely powerful card that doesn't really have a home, producing a large amount of cardboard into your hand very quickly. The issue is turning those excess lands into something useful, which Pool of Vigorous Growth does. Add this onto some ramp, card draw, and the usual Black disruption package and you've got quite the brew!
Is this deck going to win a Pro Tour? Probably not, but it was a blast to play and was one of the highlights of the whole stream.
Merfolk Dinner Party | Historic | Jim Davis
- Creatures (34)
- 1 Glasspool Mimic // Glasspool Shore
- 2 Faceless Agent
- 3 Merfolk Trickster
- 4 Kumena's Speaker
- 4 Master of the Pearl Trident
- 4 Merfolk Mistbinder
- 4 Merrow Reejerey
- 4 Shoreline Scout
- 4 Silvergill Adept
- 4 Svyelun of Sea and Sky
- Instants (6)
- 2 Memory Lapse
- 4 Collected Company
- Lands (20)
- 8 Island
- 2 Hinterland Harbor
- 2 Unclaimed Territory
- 4 Botanical Sanctum
- 4 Breeding Pool
Deck's Record: 4-1
Deck's Grade: A-
Deck Potential: High
If Goblins got all the tribal goodies from Modern Horizons, then Merfolk was the beneficiary from Modern Horizons 2.
Svyelun of Sea and Sky was the only Modern Horizons 2 card to make it into Historic, but oh boy is it a good one. Put simply, Svyelun is the best Merfolk card ever printed. Most cards in the Merfolk deck are critical mass cards, only good when there are a lot of them in play. Svyelun is different, slamming hard at a great rate, drawing cards, protecting your creatures, and being difficult to kill. Like a true 2021 Magic design, it's the kind of card where if you don't answer it in a turn or two, you're just dead.
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Historic Horizons provided even more tools as well, with the new Shoreline Scout providing quick beatdowns alongside easy mana fixing when needed. Master of the Pearl Trident gives the deck one of its most namesake effects, while Faceless Agent helps to double up on Silvergill Adept effects.
Considering it already played one of the best cards in the format in Collected Company and has a number of good sideboard options, it's very likely Merfolk go from a fringe deck to something far more serious.
Snake Scales | Historic | Jim Davis
- Creatures (27)
- 1 Grakmaw, Skyclave Ravager
- 1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
- 2 Venerated Loxodon
- 3 Stonecoil Serpent
- 4 Conclave Mentor
- 4 Luminarch Aspirant
- 4 Pelt Collector
- 4 Swarm Shambler
- 4 Winding Constrictor
- Planeswalkers (2)
- 2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
- Instants (3)
- 1 Snakeskin Veil
- 2 Dromoka's Command
- Enchantments (4)
- 4 Hardened Scales
- Artifacts (1)
- 1 The Ozolith
Deck's Record: 2-3
Deck's Grade: C+
Deck Potential: Medium?
This was by far the worst set of games in the entire Ten New Brews. Five games, about 17 minutes total, and about zero choices made. We died on turn three and two to combo decks, flooded very badly one game, and crushed both games we won in four or five turns as our opponents floundered and didn't do anything. As such, both the records and results are a bit skewed here from lack of information.
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There's no doubt that the engine is here. Hardened Scales is the new card and the best enabler, but both Winding Constrictor and Conclave Mentor do a good enough job at filling the gaps as well. All three allow you to grow your creatures extremely quickly, giving you far more power and toughness than you'd expect for one and two mana.
The issue was that without Walking Ballista or Arcbound Ravager like the Modern versions have, there was a distinct lack of interaction. Finding that proper mix of interaction and synergy will be key to putting this one together.
This Is Madness | Historic | Jim Davis
- Creatures (26)
- 2 Asylum Visitor
- 2 Haunted Dead
- 2 Scrapheap Scrounger
- 2 Seasoned Pyromancer
- 3 Kitchen Imp
- 3 Rakdos Headliner
- 4 Blazing Rootwalla
- 4 Magmatic Channeler
- 4 Rotting Regisaur
- Instants (6)
- 2 Lightning Axe
- 4 Fiery Temper
- Sorceries (6)
- 2 Bone Shards
- 4 Faithless Looting
Deck's Record: 5-0
Deck's Grade: A
Deck Potential: High
If there's a "best in show" award for Ten New Brews, you're looking at it.
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I said in my set review for Historic Horizons that I was very high on the madness cards and enablers, with Blazing Rootwalla always on and cards like Fiery Temper and Kitchen Imp super-efficient, and I was not wrong. Madness is just an amazing mechanic; every time you discard and cast a madness card it's like you drew another card for free. When you think of Fiery Temper as a cantrip Lightning Bolt or Kitchen Imp as a cantrip 2/2 flying haste for one mana, it's easy to conceptualize how good madness really is.
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Of course, a lot of this madness is subsided by how good Faithless Looting is, but free discard outlets like Magmatic Channeler, Rotting Regisaur, and Rakdos Headliner were all both extremely impressive as madness outlets while also just being super solid cards in their own rights. Even with Asylum Visitor and Haunted Dead dragging everybody down a bit we still cruised to 5-0.
It needs to be tightened up a bit, but there's something very real here.
Foolish Hoomans | Historic | Jim Davis
Deck's Record: 2-3
Deck's Grade: C-
Deck Potential: Low
Look, Humans is a very serious deck in Modern and a playable one in Legacy, so I understand wanting to transpose it.
Thalia's Lieutenant is perhaps the biggest payoff for playing humans in any format, giving global pump while also being a good scaling threat in and of itself. So, when you see Thalia's Lieutenant hanging out alongside Thalia, Guardian of Thraben proper and other huge lords like General Kudro of Drannith and Benalish Marshal, it feels like it all should work out.
The problem is the 1-drops just aren't there.
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No Aether Vial. No Champion of the Parish. No Noble Hierarch. There's just no 1-drop that is providing any meaningful impact by itself, which puts too much weight on the big payoff card's shoulders.
I can only imagine that Champion of the Parish will eventually make its way to Historic, and probably Aether Vial too, but until then the power just isn't there.
Cycling Control | Historic | Jim Davis
- Creatures (4)
- 4 Benalish Partisan
- Planeswalkers (2)
- 2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
- Instants (14)
- 2 Renewed Faith
- 4 Censor
- 4 Hieroglyphic Illumination
- 4 Neutralize
- Sorceries (3)
- 3 Wrath of God
- Enchantments (11)
- 2 Baffling End
- 2 Drake Haven
- 3 Shark Typhoon
- 4 Cast Out
- Artifacts (1)
- 1 Abandoned Sarcophagus
Deck's Record: 1-4
Deck's Grade: D-
Deck Potential: Very Low
Cycling was a niche control deck during its time in Standard, with awesome fringe cards like Abandoned Sarcophagus and Drake Haven giving a unique spin on the more traditional Blue/White Control shell. So why am I trying to resurrect that here in Historic?
Benalish Partisan is the new Historic Horizons card that caught my eye, providing a Nether Spirit-style never ending and uncounterable threat that can also gain life and grows as the game goes on. And to be honest, Benalish Partisan wasn't really the problem here. It was certainly passable and did what was expected.
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The issue was that it was in no way even close to powerful enough to prop up a motley cast of mediocre cycling cards all by itself. Cards like Drake Haven and Renewed Faith may be fine in Standard, but Historic is a very fast and powerful format that is not forgiving to clunky and ineffective cards.
I'm happy I got to try the card, but this one was a huge dud.
So Many Cards!
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This is perhaps the largest influx of new and impactful cards that the Historic format will ever see. Frankly, I could have probably brewed 20 or even 30 new brews given enough time, but alas there are only so many hours in the day.
The best part of this release is that none of the new cards are Oko, Thief of Crowns or Thoughtseize. There's a ton of playable cards, but most of them require careful deck-building and synergy to make work - it's not just raw power. That's awesome!
I was also pleasantly surprised with how smooth the digital-only cards played and am excited to see them explore this design space more. But, for now, we've got quite the cookie to chew on here, as we're going to be digging out the gems of this one for a long time.
