To say that the Top 8 of the pro tour was disappointing is an understatement. In all honesty, I wish the entire thing was Red or so maybe something would happen. I, as well as many of you can't wait for Kaladesh block to leave Standard. The last set I remember being this oppressive must be Mirrdoin block and the Affinity era. Let us not dwell on the disappointing almost all Red decks in the Top 8, but instead focus on new decks, decks that beat the Mono Red and menace. Today we will be talking about Zac Elisk's God-Pharaoh's Gift deck and a deck how you can even morph your Red deck to beat on the other Red decks. Some Red on Red crime!

Zac Elisk is known to play some wacky cards in his crazy brews and do well with them. The list I want to look at right now is one he got second with at a PPTQ. He played four Red decks during the swiss and three variants and went 7-1. That's a stellar record against the best decks in the format. Let's have a look at his deck.

Gift of Orzhov -- Dominaria Standard | Zac Elisk

• Creatures (30)
• 2 Shalai, Voice of Plenty
• 3 Aerial Responder
• 3 Knight of Malice
• 3 Ravenous Chupacabra
• 3 Vona, Butcher of Magan
• 4 Kitesail Freebooter
• 4 Miasmic Mummy
• 4 Vizier of Deferment
• 4 Walking Ballista

• Artifacts (6)
• 2 God-Pharaoh's Gift
• 4 Gate to the Afterlife

• Lands (24)
• 4 Swamp
• 6 Plains
• 3 Forsaken Sanctuary
• 3 Ifnir Deadlands
• 4 Concealed Courtyard
• 4 Isolated Chapel

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Duress
• 3 Fatal Push
• 2 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• 3 Liliana, Death's Majesty
• 3 Thopter Arrest

Buy This Deck Export text format

Zac had a transformational sideboard where he would cut the God-Pharaoh's Gift package if he beat his opponent Game 1 with it. He would bring in Lilys, Gonti, Lord of Luxury, Duress / Fatal Push / Thopter Arrest.

Zac's deck looks like other God-Pharaoh's Gift decks for one second, then you see Miasmic Mummies, Aerial Responder, Ravenous Chupacabra, Shalai, Voice of Plenty, and freakin' Vona, Butcher of Magan. Now that's a sweet card when you're gaining life, it's even better when she has haste.

Kitesail Freebooter backed up with Miasmic Mummy seems like a nightmare for any deck, especially control decks. If they resolve you're almost forced to pitch countermagic so you can attempt to crawl your way back into the game with Teferi or Settle the Wreckage only to have another Kitesail Freebooter take it away or your opponent resolving a Shalai, Voice of Plenty and then not being able Seal Away or Settle the Wreckage your opponent.

We briefly mentioned Vona with God-Pharaoh's Gift but we didn't talk about how powerful her ability is in this current metagame. When Thrashing Brontodon and Abrade are commonly played, destroying any non-land permanent is extremely valuable. You can destroy things like opposing Gifts, Teferi, Karn, Seal Away, Cast Out. The Mirari Conjecture, and more! I'm super excited that this card is seeing playing and not as a singleton but a whopping three copies. What more could you want?

Well, how about this weird card that everyone will (including yourself) will have to read? Vizier of Deferment. It does a lot of things efficiently. It can save a creature in combat from removal or Settle the Wreckage, act as a pseudo fog by blinking a big attacking creature, it can rebuy enter the battlefield abilities like Miasmic Mummy, it can be used to kill an opposing Walking Ballista in combat, and it can be flashed in at end of turn to just pressure a planeswalker or your opponent's life total.

Overall this is a very interesting deck that uses creatures with tiny abilities to take over a game. It kind of reminds me of humans because the ability of one creature isn't going to beat your opponent but the abilities add up quickly when you're able to deploy them again and again.

I personally haven't played this deck, but Zac Elsik is known for his innovative brews that attack metagames and this looks like a fun one to try out, especially since it appears to have a good matchup against the aggressive Red decks.

The other deck I wanted to talk about is a deck that plays Red but goes a bit bigger to combat by playing White cards.

Peddle to the Mettle -- Dominaria Standard | Geoff Mullin

• Creatures (20)
• 2 Ahn-Crop Crasher
• 2 Glorybringer
• 2 Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
• 3 Hazoret the Fervent
• 3 Lyra Dawnbringer
• 4 Bomat Courier
• 4 Earthshaker Khenra

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

• Instants (6)
• 2 Lightning Strike
• 4 Abrade

• Enchantments (7)
• 3 Path of Mettle
• 4 History of Benalia

• Lands (24)
• 4 Plains
• 8 Mountain
• 1 Stone Quarry
• 3 Shefet Dunes
• 4 Clifftop Retreat
• 4 Inspiring Vantage

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Magma Spray
• 2 Aethersphere Harvester
• 1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
• 1 Fragmentize
• 2 Invoke the Divine
• 3 Kari-Zev's Expertise
• 3 Shalai, Voice of Plenty

Buy This Deck Export text format

The card Geoff was most excited to talk about was Kari Zev's Expertise from the Sideboard. He said the card turns games around very quickly and is arguably the best card in his Sideboard. Shalai, Voice of Plenty is another great card. If you're able to curve Shalai, Voice of Plenty into Lyra Dawnbringer, you soft lock opposing creature decks out. Not to mention that Shalai is also a terrific way to turn off your opponent's Settle the Wreckage.

I think this deck could get away with playing one or two Settle the Wreckage for opposing creature decks in the Sideboard. Settle the Wreckage is one of the more powerful cards in Standard and it could do a lot of work in certain matchups, especially if your opponent is not expecting it.

These are two great decks to combat decks. I've personally still been having success with Mirari Conjecture, even against the aggressive decks. This is where I'm currently at with Mirari Conjecture.

UB Mirari Conjecture -- Dominaria Standard | Ali Aintrazi

• Instants (17)
• 1 Negate
• 2 Blink of an Eye
• 2 Cast Down
• 4 Fatal Push
• 4 Opt
• 4 Vraska's Contempt

• Sorceries (12)
• 2 Divination
• 2 Duress
• 2 Mastermind's Acquisition
• 3 Secrets of the Golden City
• 3 Yahenni's Expertise

• Enchantments (6)
• 2 Search for Azcanta
• 4 The Mirari Conjecture

• Lands (25)
• 5 Island
• 7 Swamp
• 2 Submerged Boneyard
• 3 Field of Ruin
• 4 Drowned Catacomb
• 4 Fetid Pools

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Battle at the Bridge
• 2 Duress
• 2 Negate
• 1 Torment of Hailfire
• 2 Bontu's Last Reckoning
• 1 Disallow
• 1 Phyrexian Scriptures
• 1 Gonti, Lord of Luxury
• 1 Scarab Feast
• 1 Metallurgic Summonings
• 1 The Scarab God
• 1 Lich's Mastery

Buy This Deck Export text format

Yahenni's Expertise has been amazing, it's why I have basically five Divination affects, it's just so powerful to wipe the battlefield and then draw a couple of cards. It's just gross when you're able to Secrets of the Golden City late in the game off a Yahenni's Expertise to draw three cards. One thing I want to make sure people are aware of while playing this deck is that you can Blink of an Eye your The Mirari Conjecture after it gets the third counter. This means all your spells will still be copied this turn and The Mirari Conjecture will be back in your hand to redeploy when you are ready.

I'm qualified for the SCG Invitational, but sadly I cannot make it because I will be working at Bonnaroo. I would 100% play Mirari Conjecture at the Invitational or any big Standard event if I was playing Standard this weekend. The deck is very powerful and rewards good play. It's also just a blast to pilot.

Well folks, that's all I got for today. I'll catch you all next Friday.

As always, thanks for reading,

Ali Aintrazi

@AliEldrazi on Twitter