It's been a year and a half since I left Gainesville, Florida to get my life and education in order back home in the Boston area. Since then I've kept in touch every now and then with my friends down south, hoping someday I can head back there if just for a weekend. I asked them about standard post-Zendikar, and one good friend, Jon Gatson, showed me his pet project that he's been working on with his friend Steven Keys. It has won him five standard tournaments, including three FNM's since the beginning of the month. Here it is, neo-Angelfire.

[deck title="Angelfire" author="Jon Gatson and Steven Keys" align="center"]

Main Deck

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Burst Lightning

4 Path to Exile

4 Negate

3 Double Negative

3 Ajani Vengeant

4 Baneslayer Angel

4 Guardian Seraph

2 Sphinx of Lost Truths

2 Magma Phoenix

4 Glacial Fortress

4 Scalding Tarn

4 Arid Mesa

4 Island

4 Plains

3 Mountain

3 Sejiri Refuge

Sideboard

2 Pyroclasm

2 Day of Judgment

1 Magma Phoenix

1 Banefire

2 Jace Beleren

3 Flashfreeze

3 Goblin Ruinblaster

1 Mindbreak Trap[/deck]

Gatson told me he wanted to find a deck that could beat Jund and Vampires, and came up with this. And it worked out - he won those three consecutive FNMs in a room full of Jund. When things work out the way you expect them to, it's easy to understand why he has fallen in love with his concoction. When I asked him about another red-white-blue control deck, Calosso Fuentes' Luminarch Ascension deck (seen here: http://mtgurl.com/2U3f )

Gatson felt Fuentes relied too much on mass removal in a Jund-heavy metagame. When you look at the average Jund "aggro" list, it runs only 15 creatures. (Four Putrid Leech, four Bloodbraid Elf, three Broodmate Dragon, and four Sprouting Thrinax populated Jack Wang's winner in Philadelphia.) So what's the point of mass removal if there aren't that many masses to remove? Of course, Jund is not all there is to fear. Lest we forget there are decks with nearly twice the creatures Jund packs in this format, such as Vampires and Bushwhacker. So, not oblivious to this caveat, Gatson pointed out a key change in his list: he cut two main deck Jace Beleren and one Ajani Goldmane for an additional Sejiri Refuge and... Magma Phoenix. Hoo boy. Trade with one vampire, kill all the others. Way to be.

Aside from the concept of Kentucky Fried Vampires, what I really love about this deck is that in addition to Baneslayer Angel and Ajani, this work of art (yes, I said it) is chock full of cards that are nearly invisible on the standard radar, and unjustly so. Have a look at some of the more eye-opening choices.

Guardian Seraph

Such an underrated card in my view, and the most underrated card in standard according to Gatson. What part of "four mana for an offensive threat and a defensive juggernaut that's out of Lightning Bolt range" do people not understand? Yes, it dies to Path to Exile and Doom Blade, but so does 95% of anything ever printed in this game.

Sphinx of Lost Truths

Much like Conqueror's Pledge, in no way do you have to kick this spell in order for it to be effective. If you don't have at least four cards in hand on turn 5 (or whenever you plan on casting the Sphinx sans kicker), you're obviously not playing control.

Double Negative

In most cases Double Negative is just an even worse Cancel. But remember what Angelfire wants to beat - Jund. Also remember what specific cards are typically in Jund - four Bloodbraid Elf and two Bituminous Blast. Nice two-for-one.

Magma Phoenix

Again, when faced with Vampires, Bushwhacker, or any creature-heavy aggro deck, Phoenix tells the opponent "Roll over and play dead while my airborne buddies smash your face." Phoenix wasn't originally going to be in the main deck until more Bushwhacker and Vampire decks started showing up. Talk about good reads.

Mindbreak Trap

One of those cards that, despite its true calling against storm decks in Legacy and Vintage, is still randomly good in Standard. And not just against Great Sable Stag. This uber-counterspell saved Gatson from losing to a Pyromancer Ascension homebrew when his opponent cast Banefire for 7 with two counters on the red enchantment - when Gatson was at 14 life, no less. Remember, kids, you don't need to pay the trap cost to make a trap effective.

For the budget player, this deck is difficult to pull off with eight fetchlands and four Baneslayers, and maybe the two Day of Judgment in the sideboard. If you can get that far, though, the rest of the deck is much easier to put together. (Thank heaven for no more Reflecting Pool and Vivids, huh?) Whatever your deck of choice, don't forget Zendikar Game Day this weekend at stores across the country. And remember, if you have your own pet project you want me to dissect, shoot me an email at samuraientertainment@gmail.com

Until next time, stay under the radar.

-Sam