Hello everyone. Last week I started a series of articles that feature two-color decks. The decks from last week were focused around White mana, and this week we'll be taking a look at some decks focusing on Blue mana. Let's get started by taking a look at our first deck.

Azorius Mentor

We'll get started by looking at an Azorius deck that can put a serious amount of Monk tokens into play. Let's take a look at the deck.

Azorius Mentor | LCI Standard | LegenVD, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (12)
• 4 Haughty Djinn
• 4 Monastery Mentor
• 4 Picklock Prankster

• Instants (12)
• 2 Make Disappear
• 2 Otherworldly Gaze
• 4 Consider
• 4 Get Lost

• Sorceries (16)
• 2 Recommission
• 2 Sunset Revelry
• 4 Chart a Course
• 4 Helping Hand
• 4 Sleight of Hand

• Lands (20)
• 3 Plains
• 7 Island
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Adarkar Wastes
• 2 Deserted Beach
• 4 Seachrome Coast

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Another helpful creature in this deck is Haughty Djinn. It has an ability that will reduce the cost of instant and sorcery spells you cast by one colorless mana. By having a single copy of Haughty Djinn in play, every noncreature spell in this deck will now cost only a single mana. Also, since every noncreature spell is either an instant or a sorcery, Haughty Djinn's power can grow to be quite large, providing you with an evasive threat to end the game with.

Dimir Horrors

The next deck exchanges White mana for Black mana and focuses on the kindred of Horrors. Let's take a look at the deck.

Dimir Horrors | LCI Standard | DrSuckIt, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Dusk Mangler
• 2 Phyrexian Obliterator
• 2 Raffine's Silencer
• 2 Sludge Monster
• 2 The Ancient One
• 2 Toxrill, the Corrosive
• 3 Concealing Curtains // Revealing Eye
• 3 Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
• 4 Chupacabra Echo
• 4 Roaming Throne

• Instants (4)
• 4 Thirst for Discovery

• Sorceries (6)
• 3 Defossilize
• 3 Graveyard Shift

• Lands (24)
• 6 Island
• 6 Swamp
• 4 Darkslick Shores
• 4 Restless Reef
• 4 Shipwreck Marsh

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The Lost Caverns of Ixalan provided us with a creature that helps bring some level of cohesion to the Horrors. That creature is Roaming Throne. Since each of the Horrors in this deck has a triggered ability, they can all benefit from having Roaming Throne on the battlefield. If you've chosen Horror as Roaming Throne's additional creature type, each triggered ability that a Horror has will trigger an additional time for each copy of Roaming Throne you have in play. This is certain to cause your opponent a ton of grief.

Izzet Pirates

The next deck I have for you features a Pirate theme and includes a lot of new cards from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan. Let's check it out.

Izzet Pirates | LCI Standard | JayVillain, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
• 3 Breeches, Eager Pillager
• 3 Captain Storm, Cosmium Raider
• 3 Goblin Tomb Raider
• 3 Roaming Throne
• 4 Kitesail Larcenist
• 4 Spyglass Siren
• 4 Staunch Crewmate

• Instants (7)
• 2 Lightning Strike
• 2 Play with Fire
• 3 Spell Pierce

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Zoetic Glyph

• Artifacts (3)
• 3 Subterranean Schooner

• Lands (22)
• 3 Mountain
• 5 Island
• 1 Mirrex
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Restless Spire
• 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
• 3 Cavern of Souls
• 3 Stormcarved Coast
• 4 Shivan Reef

• Sideboard (5)
• 1 Abrade
• 1 Rending Flame
• 2 Make Disappear
• 1 Nahiri's Warcrafting

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Captain Storm, Cosmium Raider has a lot of good choices for where to place the +1/+1 counters she creates. One option is to place them on a creature with flying, such as Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel. This will allow Malcolm to attack more easily, which allows him to get four chorus counters quickly. Those chorus counters can allow you to cast a card for free, which can result in some amazing turns for you.

Simic Merfolk

The final deck I have for you this week focuses on the Merfolk creature type, which has a tendency to do a lot of exploring. Let's take a look at the deck.

Simic Merfolk - LCI Standard | MtgMalone, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (23)
• 3 Deeproot Wayfinder
• 3 Jadelight Spelunker
• 3 Nicanzil, Current Conductor
• 3 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 3 Vodalian Hexcatcher
• 4 Cenote Scout
• 4 Sentinel of the Nameless City

• Instants (9)
• 2 Spell Pierce
• 3 Make Disappear
• 4 Fading Hope

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Deeproot Pilgrimage

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Subterranean Schooner

• Lands (23)
• 3 Forest
• 4 Island
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Restless Vinestalk
• 4 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Dreamroot Cascade
• 4 Yavimaya Coast

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With those +1/+1 counters gained from exploring, and the +1/+1 bonus that Vodalian Hexcatcher provides to your Merfolk creatures, you'll certainly be in a position to attack your opponent. If you happen to have a copy of Deeproot Pilgrimage in play, you'll be able to reinforce your army by creating a 1/1 Merfolk creature token with hexproof each turn you have at least one nontoken Merfolk become tapped. Alternatively, you can tap a creature to crew the Subterranean Schooner, which will also result in the creation of a Merfolk token.

Wrapping Up

As you can see from these decks, Blue mana can be used for many more things than just countering your opponent's spells. Each of these decks utilize Blue mana in the way I prefer to play, which is more aggressive than control. If you prefer playing control decks, fear not, as I'm sure to find more decks in the future that suit your playstyle.

What do you think of these decks? Feel free to share this article with your friends anywhere on social media. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

- Mike Likes