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Main » Articles » Last Days of the WAR

Last Days of the WAR

Mike Likes
Posted on July 4, 2019
 Reddit

Hello, everyone! With all eyes looking forward to the release of Core Set 2020, you would think that there are no more innovations taking place in our current Standard. Luckily, that's not the case. This week I have a few more decks that you might want to try out before Core Set 2020 releases.

Mardu Aristocratic Midrange

Sacrificing creatures for value is what this next deck is all about. Let's take a look at it:

Mardu Aristocratic Midrange | War Standard | sea-gray666, aetherhub.com user

Cruel Celebrant
Mardu Aristocrats decks have been popular for quite a while. They originally found popularity during the time when Innistrad was still Standard legal, and ever since the engine pieces rotated from Standard, people have been on the lookout for possible replacement cards. It seems as if that time has finally come. By pairing up Priest of Forgotten Gods and Cruel Celebrant, you have an engine that allows you to sacrifice your own creatures as a way to deal damage to your opponent, while also gaining life to boot. The only thing missing is a large supply of creatures to be sacrificed. That's where Hero of Precinct One comes into play. With her, since there are a ton of multicolored spells in this deck, you can easily create enough to sacrifice to deal a handful of points of damage to your opponent, while simultaneously gaining that same amount of life. If you happen to also have Judith, the Scourge Diva on the battlefield (who just so happens to be a multicolored spell), you can double the damage dealt when you don't have the tokens to sacrifice.

However, those pieces alone might not be enough to finish the job. Sometimes you'll need to deal out a bit more damage. This deck offers the perfect way to do just that while also finding a good use for that extra life you've gained. With Bolas's Citadel, you're able to keep a steady supply of cards flowing onto the battlefield, and since the majority of permanents in this deck have a converted mana cost (CMC) of three or less, you can quickly amass the ten permanents to sacrifice to Bolas's Citadel to deal ten damage to your opponent. If you have either Judith, the Scourge Diva or Cruel Celebrant in play (whether they are sacrificed or not), you can deal out twenty or more damage and potentially win on the spot.

One quick change I would make to this deck is to switch out the copy of Rakdos Guildgate for a copy of Dragonskull Summit instead. There are no cards in this deck that would benefit from having a Gate in play, so I would rather replace it with a land that comes into play untapped the majority of the time.

Jeskai Auras

The next deck I have for you uses Auras to great effect. Let's take a look at the deck:

Jeskai Auras | War Standard | Pockets817, aetherhub.com user

Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin
Every creature in this deck is a great choice to target when playing nearly any of the Auras in this deck. With Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, each Aura that is attached to him equates into additional Goblin tokens every time he attacks. That can mean you'll be able to quickly overwhelm your opponent with attacking creatures in a turn or two. Placing Auras onto Adanto Vanguard offers a little extra durability for them, as you have the ability to make Adanto Vanguard indestructible as often as you would like. When you combine Adanto Vanguard with any Aura that gives it lifelink, you have a threat that can stay on the battlefield almost indefinitely.

If you're looking for a deck to play on Magic Arena for the next few months, this is a good choice. Most of the rare cards are Lands, so even if you have to spend a few wild cards on them, it's still worthwhile since Lands always find a way to be useful in non-rotating formats. The majority of the deck is made up of common and uncommon cards, and you will get common and uncommon wild cards on Magic Arena much, much quicker that you get rare wild cards, so the deck shouldn't be difficult to build. I've played an Izzet deck similar to this one in the past, and I can say it can be very explosive. I'm excited to put this version together to see how it compares.

Gruul Smash

Are you a fan of chaos and destruction? Do you like seeing just how far into the negative you can put your opponent's life total? If so, you should check out the final deck for this week, Gruul Smash:

Gruul Smash | War Standard | omega_iidbzii, aetherhub.com user

Ilharg, the Raze-Boar
In the early turns of the game, you'll want to begin by casting spells that will accelerate your mana production. Llanowar Elves and Paradise Druid offer ramping the turn after they come into play, while Domri, Anarch of Bolas helps immediately. Once you're able to, you'll want to cast Ilharg, the Raze-Boar and begin attacking with it. Attacking will allow you to put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield tapped and attacking for that turn. The best creature to do this with is God-Eternal Rhonas, which will double Ilharg, the Raze-Boar's power. That can be especially devastating since Ilharg has trample.

If your opponent happens to play a creature or planeswalker that you really don't want them to have on the battlefield, Domri's Ambush can be used as an answer. Not only does Domri's Ambush make your creature just a little bit bigger by giving it a +1/+1 counter, but it also offers a one-sided fight where you'll deal that creature's power as damage to an opponent's creature or planeswalker. It's best to use this on a creature with flying or a planeswalker that you'll have difficulty attacking outright. The only way Domri's Ambush could be better is if it were an Instant instead of a Sorcery.

Wrapping Up

War of the Spark's time in the spotlight is almost over. Soon, that spot will be taken by cards from Core Set 2020. I'm excited to see what the future brings and what new decks pop up.

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. 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, constructed, decklists, mike likes, war standard, 07042019

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