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Main » Articles » Wedges in Standard

Wedges in Standard

Mike Likes
Posted on March 22, 2018
 Reddit

Hello everyone. This week we'll be taking a look at some decks that have recently gone 5-0 in a Constructed League on Magic Online (MTGO) that are all in different wedges. For those of you who may not know, a wedge is a grouping of three colors of mana that consists of one color alongside its two enemy colors on the Magic color wheel. I have one deck from each of the five wedges to show you, so let's get started.

Mardu

The first deck I have for you is a from the Mardu wedge, which is made up of White, Black, and Red mana. Let's take a look at Mardu Control.

Mardu Control -- Rivals Standard | Gosaku, (5-0) MTGO

Through the use of creature removal spells and Planeswalker abilities, this deck attempts to keep their opponent's threats in check until you're able to take over the game with your own creatures or possibly with your opponent's creatures thanks to Gonti, Lord of Luxury and Profane Procession. It's also quite possible to win by activating the -7 loyalty ability of Chandra, Torch of Defiance and then casting a few spells, even if they're not cast for optimal effect.

Temur

Moving around the color wheel, we get to Blue alongside its enemies, Red and Green. Let's take a look at Temur Energy.

Temur Energy -- Rivals Standard | chris_kirklen, (5-0) MTGO

If you've been playing Magic for the last couple of years, you're probably familiar with Temur Energy decks. They were a real problem until the recent banning of Attune with Aether and Rogue Refiner back in January 2018. But now, Energy appears to be at the proper power level to be playable without dominating the format.

This deck utilizes the Energy it acquires to protect its own Bristling Hydra, make colored mana with Servant of the Conduit and Aether Hub, and make Thopter tokens with Whirler Virtuoso. It also uses Energy via Harnessed Lightning as a means of removal. But once the energy that these cards provide upon entering the battlefield is gone, there's no way to repeatedly gain additional energy, so you must use it wisely. I believe this is how the designers envisioned Energy when the mechanic was originally designed, and how it will be used in the future when we have Energy as a returning mechanic.

Abzan

The next wedge we'll take a look at is Abzan, which is comprised of Black, Green, and White. The deck I have for you is Abzan Ramp.

Abzan Ramp -- Rivals Standard | BlackMaster24, (5-0) MTGO

Ramp decks are all about finding ways to increase your mana production so you can cast large threats earlier than usual. This deck has many ways to ensure you hit your land drop each turn, and in some cases multiple times in a turn. Both Seeker's Squire and Merfolk Branchwalker explore when they enter the battlefield which helps get lands into your hand more often. Wayward Swordtooth allows you to play an additional land each turn for each Wayward Swordtooth you have in play. Ramunap Excavator allows you to play lands from your graveyard. This includes a number of deserts that can be used for their effect and then played again when the Excavator is in play. Plus you have Hour of Promise which is the best ramp spell currently in Standard.

Once you have the mana flowing, you have numerous ways to close out the game. One way is by using the activated abilities of your deserts again and again, assuming you have Ramunap Excavator in play. Another way is by activating your Walking Ballista repeatedly and pinging your opponent or their creatures turn after turn. Or you could just cast any of your Planeswalkers to gain enough of an advantage to win. This deck has a lot of interaction, so if you're a newer player you might want to proceed with caution if you're going to try out this deck. It's not simple and straightforward, but playing it can be very rewarding if you're up for a challenge.

Jeskai

Our next deck focuses on the Jeskai wedge, which is made up of Red, White, and Blue mana. Let's take a look at Jeskai Madcap Gift.

Jeskai Madcap Gift -- Rivals Standard | No_Justice, (5-0) MTGO

This deck, at its heart, is a simple God-Pharaoh's Gift deck. The main goal is to get God-Pharaoh's Gift into play so that you can take over the game by attacking with creatures in any player's graveyard. However, there are many different ways this goal can be accomplished other than simply casting the God-Pharaoh's Gift.

The first way is by using your card drawing spells that also require you to discard cards to get a God-Pharaoh's Gift into your graveyard. Then, as early as turn four, you can cast Refurbish to put the Gift directly onto the battlefield.

Alternatively, if you're not able to get a God-Pharaoh's Gift into your graveyard, you can cast Madcap Experiment, also as early as turn four, in an attempt to find a Gift. This isn't a great late-game plan as it's difficult to know just how much damage you might take before you find a Gift.

Once the God-Pharaoh's Gift is in play, you're hoping to get a Combat Celebrant into play (either by casting it or via Gift), which can give you an additional combat phase. If you happen to have multiple Combat Celebrant's in your graveyard, you can amass multiple combat phases in one turn, which might be enough to allow you to get lethal damage on your opponent.

Sultai

The final wedge is Sultai, which is comprised on Green, Blue, and Black mana. Let's take a look at Sultai Hadana's Constrictor.

Sultai Hadana's Constrictor -- Rivals Standard | Fastfake, (5-0) MTGO

This deck takes the traditional Winding Constrictor shell and splashes Blue for Hadana's Climb, one of the premier ways to get +1/+1 counters in Standard. And once you're able to transform Hadana's Climb into Winged Temple of Orazca, the boost you can gain can allow you to close out the game quickly.

Winding Constrictor is such a powerful card, and I'm glad to see it's back to putting up good results. The ability to add additional +1/+1 counters to creatures you control can make your creatures grow at an uncomfortable rate for your opponent. Combine that with the doubling ability of Winged Temple of Orazca plus the evasion it also grants and your opponent might not be able to withstand more than a couple of attacks. If you're looking to modify this deck, one card you might consider is Rhonas the Indomitable, simply because the bonus he provides to another creatures power also comes with Trample.

Wrapping Up

That brings us to the end of this week's article and our look at wedge decks in Standard. Which wedge is your favorite? Let me know by leaving a comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

And be sure to join me here again next week when we'll take a look at Shard decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

Mike Likes

@mikelikesmtg on Twitter

mikelikesmtg@gmail.com

TAGS articles, metagame, constructed, analysis, standard, decklist, rivals standard, mike likes, 03222018

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