Over the past few weeks, I've been playing a ton of Magic Arena. As such, I've managed to acquire my three free packs for winning 15 games each week. Upon opening some recently, I discovered that I had received a full playset of Smothering Tithe. Smothering Tithe was always a card I had found interesting, so I decided to look for some decklists to try out featuring this card. We'll be taking a look at the decks I've found that I'm anxious to try out.

Emergency Tithe

The first deck I found is an Esper deck that features a splash of Red in the sideboard. Let's take a look at it.

Emergency Tithe | Allegiance Standard | keith-stacy, mtgarena.pro decklist

• Planeswalkers (5)
• 2 Karn, Scion of Urza
• 3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

• Instants (18)
• 3 Chemister's Insight
• 3 Settle the Wreckage
• 4 Emergency Powers
• 4 Opt
• 4 Revitalize

• Sorceries (10)
• 2 Cleansing Nova
• 4 Discovery // Dispersal
• 4 Mastermind's Acquisition

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Smothering Tithe

• Lands (23)
• 7 Island
• 7 Plains
• 1 Arch of Orazca
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 4 Hallowed Fountain

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Chromium, the Mutable
• 2 Deputy of Detention
• 3 Essence Scatter
• 3 Sinister Sabotage
• 4 Absorb
• 1 Banefire
• 1 Mnemonic Betrayal

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As I looked at this decklist, I began to realize it probably wasn't the one I was searching for. This deck is very much an Azorius Control deck with a couple of cards that need Black mana. Getting that Black mana is very dependent on sticking a Smothering Tithe, so if your opponent might be able to counter it or remove it (based on the colors they're playing), you might want to wait to cast it until you're able to protect it.

There are a few routes to victory with this deck. The first is through use of your Planeswalkers. Teferi, Hero of Dominaria can draw out a game long enough for you to get his Emblem and then draw enough cards to wipe out your opponent's board completely. You also have Karn, Scion of Urza that can create Construct tokens that have the ability to grow massive the longer the game goes.

Another way to win is through the use of Mastermind's Acquisition. As long as you're able to get a couple of Treasure tokens from a Smothering Tithe, you can use Mastermind's Acquisition to get Banefire from your sideboard, which you can use to deal lethal direct damage to your opponent. Mastermind's Acquisition can also put Chromium, the Mutable into your hand and you can attack with it for lethal damage. You can also get Mnemonic Betrayal from your sideboard and use your opponent's own card to beat them with if you'd like.

Smothering Vraska

As my search continued, I discovered the next deck. It had likely been created specifically with Magic Arena in mind since it didn't include a sideboard. Let's take a look at it.

Smothering Vraska | Allegiance Standard | Khromm, mtgarena.pro decklist

• Creatures (15)
• 1 Pitiless Pontiff
• 1 Ruthless Knave
• 1 Teysa Karlov
• 2 Dire Fleet Hoarder
• 2 Legion Lieutenant
• 4 Imperious Oligarch
• 4 Vizkopa Vampire

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Vraska, Relic Seeker

• Instants (4)
• 4 Mortify

• Sorceries (8)
• 1 Dead Revels
• 1 Kaya's Wrath
• 3 Revival // Revenge
• 3 Ritual of Soot

• Enchantments (9)
• 2 Revel in Riches
• 3 Smothering Tithe
• 4 Hieromancer's Cage

• Lands (23)
• 10 Plains
• 10 Swamp
• 1 Isolated Chapel
• 1 Sunpetal Grove
• 1 Woodland Cemetery

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This is a deck I could see myself playing. It looks like more of a typical midrange deck that hopes to take advantage of some death triggers to create a mass of Treasure tokens. Once critical mass is reached, this deck can win via the use of Revel in Riches. However, winning via accumulating Treasure tokens isn't the only means of victory for this deck.

Since this is a midrange deck, you have plenty of creatures that you can attack your opponent with. And, since most of your creatures have an ability that happens when they die, you can attack with impunity knowing that either you'll get damage through on your opponent or you'll get a beneficial death trigger. Plus, if you happen to get Teysa Karlov in play, you'll double up on those death trigger benefits.

Vraska, Relic Seeker also acts as a great finisher for this deck. Her +2 loyalty ability can help you create an army of Pirate tokens that your opponent might have trouble blocking thanks to Menace. You can also use her -3 loyalty ability as a means to remove almost any troublesome nonland permanent your opponent has in play. While it can't deal with everything, it can destroy most things while also giving you a Treasure token to use later on to boot.

This deck feels like a good deck to start with on Magic Arena for this type of build, but it seems like it could be a little unrefined. There are an awful lot of single copies of cards in the deck that might make it more inconsistent than you might like, but it's definitely a deck to consider.

Mardu Treasure Control

The final deck I found is perhaps my favorite. It includes a way to burn my opponent out as well as a way to win via an alternate-win condition. Let's take a look at it.

Mardu Treasure Control | Allegiance Standard | NineTenths, aetherhub.com decklist

• Instants (6)
• 2 Fiery Cannonade
• 2 Price of Fame
• 2 Vraska's Contempt

• Sorceries (18)
• 2 Banefire
• 2 Deafening Clarion
• 2 Lava Coil
• 2 Pirate's Pillage
• 2 Ritual of Soot
• 4 Cleansing Nova
• 4 Contract Killing

• Enchatments (8)
• 2 Dawn of Hope
• 2 Revel in Riches
• 2 Smothering Tithe
• 2 Trove of Temptation

• Artifacts (4)
• 2 Fountain of Renewal
• 2 Treasure Map

• Lands (24)
• 3 Mountain
• 3 Plains
• 6 Swamp
• 2 Blood Crypt
• 2 Clifftop Retreat
• 2 Dragonskull Summit
• 2 Godless Shrine
• 2 Isolated Chapel
• 2 Sacred Foundry

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While I'm not normally a big fan of control decks, Mardu control decks are usually fun to play. There are a lot of ways in this deck to kill your opponent's creatures, and if you happen to have a Revel in Riches in play when doing so, you'll be able to create a lot of Treasure tokens that you can use to win the game with. Plus, with so many ways to destroy an opponent's creatures, it won't matter that you have Trove of Temptation in play. You can sit back and remove their threats while reaping the rewards of a free Treasure each turn.

Dawn of Hope can also act as a backup win condition as well. While it can take a while to build up an army of 1/1 Soldier tokens, the key thing to remember is that those Soldiers also have lifelink. That life that you gain when you block one of their creatures can really add up over a few turns. It also allows you the option to activate Dawn of Hope to draw additional cards. Combine Dawn of Hope with Fountain of Renewal and you have a way to draw extra cards turn after turn.

This deck also features one of my favorite cards currently in Standard. Banefire can be cast for a huge amount of damage with this deck thanks in no small part to the Treasure tokens you'll be creating. Once you're dealing at least five points of damage with Banefire, you no longer have to worry about it being countered or the damage being prevented in any way. It's a great way to get a win from seemingly out of nowhere.

Wrapping Up

Smothering Tithe has a lot of potential in Standard. The decks I've shown you today are likely just the tip of the iceberg. If you've had luck with a deck featuring Smothering Tithe, I'd love to hear about it.

What do you think of these decks? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below or you can reply to me directly on Twitter (@mikelikesmtg), or email me directly at mikelikesmtg@gmail.com. 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