Hello everyone. With just over one month until our next release, it's time for me to start taking a look at some decks from the Final Fantasy Standard era that all feature a single color. I was supposed to start with Red decks this week, but because of the bannings that happened earlier this week, Red needs a little more time to settle. So, I'll start things off by looking at some decks featuring Green mana. Let's get started.

Mono-Green Tifa and Friends

I always start things off with a mono-colored deck, and this one features one of my favorite new cards, Tifa Lockhart. Let's take a look at the deck.

Mono-Green Tifa and Friends | FIN Standard | Hael, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (16)
• 4 Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Mossborn Hydra
• 4 Tifa Lockhart

• Instants (18)
• 2 Royal Treatment
• 4 Giant Growth
• 4 Snakeskin Veil
• 4 Tifa's Limit Break
• 4 Tyvar's Stand

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Bushwhack

• Lands (22)
• 14 Forest
• 4 Escape Tunnel
• 4 Fabled Passage

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While I'm not super knowledgeable about the Final Fantasy series, I have seen Tifa Lockhart in commercials before. While I don't know if her Magic card portrays her in an accurate light, I will say that she has a lot of potential to be a very powerful card. Any creature with trample is worth taking a look at, and the fact that her power doubles for the turn when you achieve landfall makes her a decent threat. Combine that ability with lands that can be sacrificed to find other lands, like Escape Tunnel and Fabled Passage, and things can get pretty crazy.

This deck also includes a lot of ways to boost your creatures' power, which is very beneficial for Tifa. Giant Growth is the original pump spell, giving a +3/+3 bonus to a creature for the turn. Other pump spells, such as Snakeskin Veil and Tyvar's Stand, provide additional benefits like hexproof and indestructibility. There's also Tifa's Limit Break, which can potentially triple a creature's power and toughness for the turn.

Selesnya Birds

Next, we'll take a look at one of my favorite new decks. It features a ton of new Chocobos from Final Fantasy.

Selesnya Birds | FIN Standard | Mylife2ezy, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (25)
• 2 Ambrosia Whiteheart
• 2 Healer's Hawk
• 2 Summon: Choco/Mog
• 2 Summon: Fenrir
• 3 Bartz and Boko
• 3 Miner's Guidewing
• 3 Traveling Chocobo
• 4 Sazh's Chocobo
• 4 Valley Questcaller

• Instants (3)
• 3 Get Lost

• Sorceries (6)
• 3 Chocobo Kick
• 3 Requisition Raid

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Sidequest: Raise a Chocobo

• Lands (23)
• 5 Forest
• 5 Plains
• 2 Hushwood Verge
• 3 Fabled Passage
• 4 Brushland
• 4 Razorverge Thicket

• Sideboard (7)
• 1 Salvation Swan
• 1 Battle Menu
• 1 Get Lost
• 1 Restoration Magic
• 1 Snakeskin Veil
• 1 Tail Swipe
• 1 Lupinflower Village

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Get things started right away by playing a copy of Sazh's Chocobo on turn one if possible. This little 0/1 Bird gains a +1/+1 counter every time a land comes into play under your control. Traveling Chocobo makes playing lands a little easier by letting you play lands (as well as cast Bird spells) from the top of your deck. Traveling Chocobo also causes triggered abilities that are triggered by a land or a Bird you control entering play to trigger an additional time. You can gain a bunch of +1/+1 counters with this 2-Bird combo.

Bartz and Boko continues the theme of powerful Chocobos. By having affinity for Birds, you'll often be able to cast Bartz and Boko as early as turn three. When this duo enters play, all of your other Birds will deal damage to one of your opponent's creatures equal to the power of those Birds. Bartz and Boko are both a threat on the battlefield and a removal spell, all rolled into one spell.

Simic Mill

The next deck I have for you is a mill deck. If you know anything about me, you know that mill decks are some of my favorite decks to play. Let's take a look at the deck.

Simic Mill | FIN Standard | Redd_Cat_MTG, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (3)
• 1 Sagu Wildling
• 2 Marang River Regent

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 Jace, the Perfected Mind

• Instants (14)
• 2 Aetherize
• 4 Bounce Off
• 4 Heritage Reclamation
• 4 Three Steps Ahead

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Esper Origins

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Glacierwood Siege

• Artifacts (7)
• 1 Ghost Vacuum
• 2 The Water Crystal
• 4 Riverchurn Monument

• Lands (24)
• 3 Forest
• 4 Island
• 2 Fabled Passage
• 3 Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital
• 4 Botanical Sanctum
• 4 Hedge Maze
• 4 Willowrush Verge

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Jace, the Perfected Mind and Riverchurn Monument have been the basis of mill decks in Standard for a while now. Jace, the Perfected Mind is able to mill your opponent for 15 cards in one fell swoop. Follow that up with Riverchurn Monument's exhaust ability which mills a number of cards equal to the number of cards in your opponent's graveyard, and you are likely to finish things off quickly.

A couple of new cards help out the milling plan for this Simic deck. First is Glacierwood Siege. By choosing Temur when you cast this enchantment, you'll be able to cause your opponent to mill four cards whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell. Four is the magic number for these additions, because The Water Crystal also mills four additional cards from your opponent's deck whenever they mill one or more cards. I'm excited to try this deck out to see just how quickly I can defeat my opponent.

Golgari Scythe

The next deck I have for you features a new equipment card from Final Fantasy. Let's check it out.

Golgari Scythe | FIN Standard | SlothMtg, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (20)
• 1 Dragon Sniper
• 1 Qarsi Revenant
• 2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
• 4 Cecil, Dark Knight
• 4 Fynn, the Fangbearer
• 4 Glissa Sunslayer
• 4 Unstoppable Slasher

• Instants (4)
• 2 Go for the Throat
• 2 Stab

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Bushwhack

• Enchantments (9)
• 2 Hollowmurk Siege
• 3 Virtue of Persistence
• 4 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Magitek Scythe

• Lands (22)
• 4 Swamp
• 2 Restless Cottage
• 4 Blooming Marsh
• 4 Llanowar Wastes
• 4 Soulstone Sanctuary
• 4 Wastewood Verge

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Of course, the equipment card I referred to before the decklist is Magitek Scythe. While this is equipped, the creature it is equipped to gets a +2/+1 bonus. However, where this equipment really shines is in its 'A Test of Your Reflexes!' ability. Giving a creature first strike and requiring that creature to be blocked is a great way for you to thin out your opponent's defenses.

This deck also features a deathtouch theme. If you give a creature with deathtouch first strike, they'll be able to destroy any opposing creature, regardless of its size. Plus, since every creature in this deck has deathtouch, Fynn, the Fangbearer acts as a secondary way to achieve victory, in the event that your opponent has a ton of chump blockers.

Gruul Hydra Titan Landfall

The final deck I have for you focuses on landfall again as a route to victory, but also features a bunch of creatures that are iconic, Hydras. Let's take a look at the deck.

Gruul Hydra Titan Landfall | FIN Standard | JayVillain, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (21)
• 2 Goldvein Hydra
• 2 Summon: Titan
• 2 Warden of the Grove
• 2 Zell Dincht
• 3 Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
• 3 Mossborn Hydra
• 3 Tifa Lockhart
• 4 Sazh's Chocobo

• Instants (12)
• 2 Burst Lightning
• 2 Defend the Rider
• 2 Snakeskin Veil
• 2 Tifa's Limit Break
• 4 Self-Destruct

• Sorceries (3)
• 3 Bushwhack

• Lands (24)
• 4 Mountain
• 13 Forest
• 1 Restless Ridgeline
• 1 Temple of Abandon
• 2 Thornspire Verge
• 3 Fabled Passage

• Sideboard (7)
• 1 Overlord of the Hauntwoods
• 1 Rydia, Summoner of Mist
• 1 Overprotect
• 1 Royal Treatment
• 1 Torch the Tower
• 1 Ordeal of Nylea
• 1 Lumbering Worldwagon

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Warden of the Grove offers a great way for all of your newly-cast creatures to become immense threats. As far as Hydras go, it's my least favorite Hydra in this deck, but it does serve a valuable purpose. Goldvein Hydra offers you both a powerful attacker and defender due to its vigilance. Having trample makes blocking it difficult, and you're likely to be able to push some damage through. Mossborn Hydra also has trample, plus it gets bigger every time you play a land, doubling the number of +1/+1 counters on it.

The Titan portion of this deck is filled by Summon: Titan. This enchantment creature is a 7/7 with reach and trample. It offers you a way of returning all of your land cards in your graveyard to the battlefield, where they will trigger landfall abilities once again. For its final chapter, another creature you control gains trample and +X/+X, where X is equal to the number of lands you control. If you haven't won already, this ability should be able to put you over the top.

Wrapping Up

Landfall, +1/+1 counters, and trample are some of the big reasons to play these decks. If you like any of these, or if you enjoy decks that feature alternate ways to win such as milling or poison, you're likely to find a deck that speaks to you from the ones I've shown you today.

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