Welcome back everyone! Before we start this article, I’d like to start off with a rant about people ranting. It’s like rantception. I hear people talking about how Standard sucks right now and how they have nothing to play. Except what’s funny is almost every weekend Standard has some new break out deck that’s “insane” or “unbeatable.” Let me tell you why that is.

Okay! I’m done, you won’t hear anymore from me. However, today I’d like to talk about what I just ranted about. We have a new deck and a deck where someone switched a couple of cards out to make their list very powerful. Again, simply by tweaking the list to combat the current meta. I’m also going to talk about the Modern deck I’ll be playing this weekend. So hopefully you’ll enjoy this article if you like Standard or Modern.

First up I want to talk about the new deck on the block that’s apparently all the rage. It’s a Temur (U/R/G) Dynavolt Tower deck that not only plays the said Towers, but also four Torrential Gearhulks and seven other creatures. At first, I’d think that’s way too many creatures for a Dynavolt Tower deck but all seven of those creatures generate energy when they enter the battlefield so it ends up just working out. Here’s a 5-0 list that did well recently on Magic Online by Shir Kahn.

Temur Tower ? Aether Revolt Standard | Shir Khan, Magic Online

• Creatures (11)
• 2 Rogue Refiner
• 2 Shielded Aether Thief
• 3 Whirler Virtuoso
• 4 Torrential Gearhulk

• Instants (18)
• 2 Anticipate
• 2 Disallow
• 2 Natural Obsolescence
• 2 Negate
• 2 Shock
• 4 Glimmer of Genius
• 4 Harnessed Lightning

• Sorceries (6)
• 2 Incendiary Flow
• 4 Attune with Aether

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Dynavolt Tower

• Lands (21)
• 3 Forest
• 3 Mountain
• 4 Island
• 3 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Aether Hub
• 4 Botanical Sanctum

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Disallow
• 2 Negate
• 1 Shock
• 2 Confiscation Coup
• 3 Dispel
• 3 Radiant Flames
• 2 Release the Gremlins

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This list was also playing two main deck Natural Obsolescence. I sincerely believe any deck can get away with playing one main deck artifact destruction card in this current metagame. I originally thought that two might be a little too much but after thinking about it, every deck plays some number of artifacts. The deck that plays the least is probably B/G. However, B/G still plays Verdurous Gearhulk and a lot are still playing some number of Aethersphere Harvester. The blow out potential against Mardu decks and Scrapheap Scrounger is stellar. I can get behind two main deck Natural Obsolescence.

I don’t have much to say about the Sideboard except Confiscation Coup is sweet! Stealing the best creature on the battlefield, the biggest vehicle, a Dynavolt Tower, or heaven forbid an Aetherworks Marvel, is such a huge blow out. Especially against the slower decks.

If you like Dynavolt Tower, Torrential Gearhulk, Temur, or just like playing different and new things then give this list a go. It’s powerful!

The other deck I want to talk about is a different take on Four-Color Saheeli. This is what I mean by just switching around a few cards to make an archetype better for any given metagame.

Four-Color Saheeli ? Aether Revolt Standard | MJQ, Magic Online

• Creatures (17)
• 1 Cloudblazer
• 4 Felidar Guardian
• 4 Rogue Refiner
• 4 Servant of the Conduit
• 4 Whirler Virtuoso

• Planeswalkers (8)
• 2 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 2 Tamiyo, Field Researcher
• 4 Saheeli Rai

• Instants (4)
• 4 Harnessed Lightning

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Attune with Aether

• Enchantments (6)
• 2 Oath of Chandra
• 4 Oath of Nissa

• Lands (21)
• 1 Island
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Plains
• 6 Forest
• 2 Inspiring Vantage
• 2 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Aether Hub
• 4 Botanical Sanctum

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Authority of the Consuls
• 2 Baral's Expertise
• 2 Dispel
• 2 Natural State
• 3 Negate
• 1 Release the Gremlins
• 3 Tireless Tracker

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Nothing too out of the ordinary here from traditional four color saheeli decks. The only thing that is different are the two Tamiyo, Field Researchers in the deck. However, this is a fantastic example of how something as simple as adding two cards can allow for big plays. Here are a few things Tamiyo adds to the mix for this deck.

• It can lock down Vehicles or creatures for a couple of turns so you can squeeze in the last few points of damage.
• It can lock down up to two Dynavolt Towers so you can combo off with Saheeli Rai and Felidar Guardian without having to deal with your opponent bolting your Saheeli Rai.
• It will make combat very difficult for your opponent. Either they must block with the creature you upticked on or, if they should pressure and try to kill Tamiyo by attacking her but also netting you cards. Combat becomes much more difficult for your opponent.
• You can double down or even triple down on all these things if you have a Felidar Guardian. Upticking Saheeli on your creatures and then blinking her to uptick on your creatures again will allow you to draw four cards. You can even minus Tamiyo to lock two things down, blink her, and then lock some more stuff down. That’s extremely powerful, especially the drawing four cards one. That’s basically a second combo for the deck, blinking Tamiyo with Felidar Guardian.

If you like Saheeli combo or just doing all the things, then I recommend this deck. I really do thing is deck is great and I personally believe it’s the best Saheeli deck in Standard now just because it can abuse Saheeli and Felidar Guardian a lot on their own. You don’t need Felidar Guardian if you’re cloning Cloudblazer or Rogue Refiners anyway. Same thing can be said if your Guardian is blinking Cloud Blazer, Rogue Refiners, Oaths, and Planeswalkers. Everything just works so well together.

All right, the last thing I want to talk about is the Modern deck I’ll be playing this weekend. I was originally on B/G Tron but I’ve decided to give Chord another whirl.

Kiki-Chord ? Modern | Ali Aintrazi

• Creatures (26)
• 1 Courser of Kruphix
• 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
• 1 Huntmaster of the Fells
• 1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
• 1 Pia and Kiran Nalaar
• 1 Qasali Pridemage
• 1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
• 1 Scavenging Ooze
• 1 Spellskite
• 1 Woodland Bellower
• 2 Eternal Witness
• 2 Restoration Angel
• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 4 Voice of Resurgence
• 4 Wall of Roots

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 Nahiri, the Harbinger

• Instants (8)
• 4 Chord of Calling
• 4 Path to Exile

• Lands (23)
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Plains
• 2 Forest
• 1 Fire-Lit Thicket
• 1 Gavony Township
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Grove of the Burnwillows
• 1 Horizon Canopy
• 1 Raging Ravine
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Temple Garden
• 2 Razorverge Thicket
• 4 Windswept Heath
• 4 Wooded Foothills

• Sideboard (14)
• 1 Worship
• 1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1 Kataki, War's Wage
• 2 Lightning Helix
• 2 Engineered Explosives
• 2 Stony Silence
• 1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 1 Eidolon of Rhetoric
• 1 Reclamation Sage
• 1 Fulminator Mage
• 1 Burrenton Forge-Tender

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The main thing I try to keep in mind with this deck is I want value first and combo second. That just translates to, try to just generate value out of your cards instead of going straight for the combo of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Restoration Angel since you’ll bury your opponent in card advantage if you do that while your opponent is fretting about the combo. Sometimes the threat of comboing off is just better than doing it.

Hopefully I can come back to you next week with a strong finish, if that’s the case I will go more in depth with the deck and talk about what potential changes I’d make.

Until then take care and enjoy Modern Masters 2017 spoilers.

As always thanks for reading,

Ali Aintrazi

@AliEldrazi on Twitter