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Main » Articles » Killing it in Kaldheim Standard

Killing it in Kaldheim Standard

Mike Likes
Posted on March 11, 2021
 Reddit

Hello everyone. Approximately once each week, Wizards of the Coast posts data containing decks that have won six or more matches in a row by Platinum or Mythic Ranked players. Within that data, I usually find a number of interesting and innovative decks that I would like to play on Magic Arena. This week, I have a few of those decks to share with you, so let's get started.

Golgari Midrange

We start this week with a deck featuring Tergrid, God of Fright, one of my favorite new cards from Kaldheim. Let's take a look at the deck.

Golgari Midrange | KHM Standard | Unknown Platinum/Mythic Ranked Player

When you have a copy of Tergrid, God of Fright on the battlefield, any nontoken permanent your opponent sacrifices or discards will get put into play under your control. That ability works great when used in conjunction with certain other cards in this deck. Pelakka Predation allows you to look at your opponent's hand and choose a card with a mana value of three or more to discard. This can be a game ender if you choose your opponent's most expensive creature, as you'll put in into play under your control. Watch your opponent squirm to find a way to destroy their best threat.

Skull Raid can allow two permanents of your opponents to come under your control. It can also act as a source of card drawing for you if they have less than two cards in their hand. Rankle, Master of Pranks offers both a means of having your opponent sacrifice a creature as well as discarding a card. That's a lot of value, which doesn't even account for the three points of damage Rankle has dealt to them. Rankle also offers you a way to draw extra cards, although you'll also allow your opponent to draw a card as well. Often, you getting an extra card will be worth that minor inconvenience.

Doom Foretold offers you a way to see all of your opponent's nonland, nontoken permanents sacrificed, putting them back into play under your control. You can then choose to sacrifice that card when Doom Foretold affects you on your turn, or sacrifice a smaller threat. Finally, if you already have a copy of Tergrid, God of Fright in play, playing Tergrid's Lantern can help you end games quickly. Losing life or sacrificing nonland permanents can be a difficult decision for your opponent, especially with Tergrid in play to put those sacrificed cards back into play.

Naya Midrange

The next deck I have for you can be very aggressive, but still has a plan for the late game. Let's take a look at it.

Naya Midrange | KHM Standard | Unknown Platinum/Mythic Ranked Player

While this deck is capable of picking up a quick win, you'll likely find yourself in a slugfest with your opponent the majority of the time. Luckily, this deck has the firepower needed to overwhelm most opponents. Showdown of the Skalds helps you overpower your opponent in two ways. First, it allows you to draw additional cards that you'll be able to play until the end of your next turn. This includes the ability to play lands that are exiled with this saga. You can ramp up your mana at the same time that you're adding additional creatures to the battlefield. In chapters two and three of this saga, you'll put a +1 +1 counter on one of your creatures whenever you cast a spell. This allows you a means of growing your creatures bigger than your opponent's creatures.

One great target for those +1/+1 counters is Goldspan Dragon. Since you'll create a Treasure token whenever Goldspan Dragon attacks, you can find yourself in a position where you can use the mana from the Treasure token you created when attacking to cast an instant, potentially triggering Showdown of the Skalds to put an additional +1/+1 counter on Goldspan Dragon before damage resolves. Plus, since Goldspan Dragon allows all of your Treasure tokens to create 2 mana of any one color, you'll set yourself up for future turns where you're able to cast multiple spells.

There are a couple of great Instants in this deck that can help you win games unexpectedly. With Unleash Fury, you're able to double the power of a creature until the end of the turn. Suddenly, your 4/4 Goldspan Dragon will now deal eight points of damage, and as a bonus, you get to create a Treasure token by targeting Goldspan Dragon. You can use that extra mana after damage has been dealt to cast Kazuul's Fury, sacrificing Goldspan Dragon as part of the spell's casting cost. This will allow you to deal eight additional points of damage to any target. These two spells allow a ton of damage to be dealt, which can easily defeat an unprepared defender.

Mono-White Midrange

The final deck I have for you this week is a Mono-White deck that offers a lot of lifegain. Let's check it out.

Mono-White Midrange | KHM Standard | Unknown Platinum/Mythic Ranked Player

This deck has three things that I like that make me want to play it. The first is lifegain. Many creatures in the deck naturally have lifelink. That allows you to gain life whenever they deal damage. Alternatively, with a copy of Daxos, Blessed by the Sun on the battlefield, you'll gain a point of life whenever another creature enters the battlefield. You'll also gain a point of life whenever any creature in this deck attacks while you have a copy of Linden, the Steadfast Queen on the battlefield.

All of that lifegain works well when combined with Heliod, Sun-Crowned. With Heliod on the battlefield, whenever you gain life you'll be able to put a +1/+1 counter on a creature or enchantment you control. These +1/+1 counters can add up quickly, allowing you to attack with a huge creature. If that creature happens to have lifelink, you'll continue the cycle and put an additional +1/+1 counter somewhere when you deal damage. There's also the +1/+1 counter that Luminarch Aspirant adds to a creature at the beginning of each of your combats. The amount of +1/+1 counters and extra points of life you can gain with this deck can become ridiculous.

In addition to lifegain and +1/+1 counters, this deck features a lot of great removal. Glass Casket can help you remove an early threat, removing it from play for as long as Glass Casket remains on the battlefield. Banishing Light is similar to Glass Casket, except it can exile any nonland permanent. Elspeth Conquers Death exiles any permanent your opponent controls that has a mana value of three or more, so you'll be able to deal with threats of any value. Finally, Sigrid, God-Favored can be flashed in to exile any attacking or blocking creature until Sigrid leaves the battlefield. No matter how big it is, no creature is safe from Sigrid.

Wrapping Up

The decks featured from Magic Arena can range from normal looking decks, like these, to crazy looking decks that leave a person wondering how to play them. Come back next week to see what type of decks I bring you then.

What do you think of these decks? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Also, 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

TAGS articles, standard, metagame, constructed, analysis, decklist, mike likes, khm standard, 03112021

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