Hello ManaNation readers, my name is Ben Hayes. I've been playing Magic for around 12 years. Most of that time was spent competing in FNM's and store drafts, although in the last few years I've shifted my focus towards higher level competition.

In 2009 I made Top 4 of Regionals and played in my first Nation Championship. I also made Top 8 of a PTQ for the first time in an Extended PTQ at Pro Tour Austin, and then made Top 8 again the next weekend in a Sealed PTQ in New York. I lost in the first round of the Top 8 both times, but definitely felt like the matches were winnable if I had been able to keep my nerves a bit more in check. In January of 2010 I won a Magic Online PTQ for San Juan with the Tezzeret Gifts deck that broke out at Worlds.

Unfortunately, my ability to test Block Constructed for San Juan was impaired because the people local to me who were qualified all ended up on an exclusive team. I played a lot of Magic Online to prepare. I kept telling myself that as long as I knew how all the decks in the format worked, I would be comfortable piloting whatever I determined to be the best choice, with whatever information I could gather.

Fortunately, I was able to gather a good amount of information the day before the event (not recommended). Gavin Verhey hooked me up with a sweet Aggro-Control deck, and everything worked out as planned. All ten opponents that I faced in Block Constructed were playing decks that I was familiar with from my practice on Magic Online, and I was able to effectively pilot a deck that I only first saw a day earlier to a perfect constructed record.

So now I'm qualified for Pro Tour Amsterdam and US Nationals. I'll be going to both events, as well as a handful of GP's over the course of the rest of the year.

Alright, enough about me. You're here for competitive strategy, not my biography.

This week I'm going to be writing about M11 cards. Although Standard is less important to me right now than Extended and Legacy, it is more than likely the most important format to you. This weekend there will be PTQs with M11, and then there are Nationals the Nationals Grinders for the main event.

M11 is a very playable set, there's no arguing with that. Looking at the list of Mythic Rares, I would say that the worst Mythic in the set, Demon of Death's Gate, is still potentially constructed playable. Every other Mythic is either already being played, has been played, or is very likely to end up in a deck. Moving over to the Rares, I think you've got a long list of borderline playable cards that will fall on one side or the other after Shards block rotates. There are certainly Rares that I think will not be played, but it seems to me that a very decent number have possible constructed applications.

Of the new Rares and Mythics, there are a few that I've been trying to build around.

Fauna Shaman

The obvious place to go with Fauna Shaman is a toolbox of utility creatures, but I think that is not the most effective way to use Fauna Shaman in Standard.

A toolbox is at it's best when a format has an abundance of decks with very linear strategies. What you have to ask yourself is "how often is tutoring up my Qasali Pridemage going to be better than just getting a Bloodbraid Elf, Vengevine, or Baneslayer?" I think the answer to that one is "only against Mythic, as Sovereigns insurance." Then you have to figure out how many situations you're likely to be in where tutoring up that Pridemage "on time" would be better than getting something like a Cunning Sparkmage, which is less effective against Sovereigns, but probably more Devastating overall. Finally, if your plan is to sacrifice your Pridemage to save yourself from a hit from their Eldrazi Conscription, what do you do when they attack again next turn?

I know that was a lot to say about something minor, but it illustrates a bigger point. Don't just do something. If a card is in your deck, you should know exactly why it's in the deck, and you should be able to defend it's inclusion over other powerful cards.

This applies to how you play as well. Before you make a play, you should always know why you are making it. You should have a plan in mind at all times that extends beyond that turn and the cards in your hand. You should be aware of cards that you can be fairly certain your opponent does or doesn't have in their hand, and you should plan with that information in mind. You should know, roughly, what the chances are that you will draw a card that will assist any plan you are attempting to execute. Always make the play that you think has the highest chance of winning you the game, and be extremely careful of going on autopilot.

But I was talking about Fauna Shaman, wasn't I? Toolboxes for toolbox sake, not a fan. If that Qasali Pridemage was going to blow up an Aluren, or a Counterbalance, or a Hive Mind (ok, maybe not that last one), then I'd be on board. As is, I think the best plan is to just keep playing the powerful creatures you were going to play otherwise, with a very short list of exceptions. All of this is said under the assumption that we're building a Naya deck with Fauna Shaman, as I think that is the best color combination to put her in.

Obstinate Baloth. This guy is worth it, he just does so much. He fulfills the role of a life gain creature to Shaman for, and his presence also allows Fauna Shaman to double as Blightning protection. I think it will be very rare that your opponent chooses to Blightning you while you are able to activate Fauna Shaman, but for the times that you get called, I think it's worth it to be ready. The best part about this guy? He's a great man to just draw. Naya tends to not have a tough time against RDW, and he certainly helps out there. Gaining 4 life against Jund and being a body that stops most of their guys is solid as well. As far as I can tell, the Baloth is all positives. The only reason I would only play 1 in the main deck is that the other 4-drops in the format are even better.

Realm Razer. If you're playing Fauna Shaman, you're playing lots of creatures, and you're probably also playing a good number of Birds of Paradise and Noble Hierarch, because not only are those cards very good, Fauna Shaman allows you to turn them into threats if it becomes active. Lots of creatures and mana producing creatures both go well with Realm Razer. I'm looking mostly at Naya colors for Fauna Shaman decks, and Naya has access to the best in must-kill creatures, ranging from Knight of the Reliquary to Baneslayer Angel, and now Fauna Shaman. Realm Razer is another must kill creature, the catch is that they have to kill him on your turn, and they usually only get one chance. He has an effect that no other creature can match, and finally, he's a creature that actually fights Turboland, which is likely to be very important for this last PTQ.

Linvala, Keeper of Silence. I think she'll be good for this last PTQ, but I'm unsure about her for Nationals. What I like about her is that she's very good in the mirror and against Mythic. Naya vs Mythic has mostly been a coin flip in the past, and that's not a good place for Naya to be, given the popularity of Mythic. I think dedicating one slot to fighting Mythic is definitely worth it. Linvala is another creature that is just fine to draw. Flying is surprisingly important in this format, and her ability has applications against Jund as well, shutting off Putrid Leech, Siege-Gang Commander, and Lavaclaw Reaches +X/+0 (am I stretching here?)

Stoneforge Mystic. This is a card that I've seen a lot of people including in their Fauna Shaman decks, and I think it deserves the slot. Being able to tutor up a Basilisk Collar to go with your Cunning Sparkmage for a mini-Visara, your Knight of the Reliquary for huge life swings, or even your Fauna Shaman, to allow her to trade up once you've spent all your creatures. I don't like including equipment other than Basilisk Collar, as I think the other options are too expensive to play and equip without risking massive tempo loss.

My Naya Shaman list has the following staples:

[cardlist]2 Birds of Paradise

4 Noble Hierarch

4 Fauna Shaman

4 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Vengevine

4 Bloodbraid Elf

1 Stoneforge Mystic

1 Cunning Sparkmage

1 Obstinate Baloth

1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence

1 Baneslayer Angel

1 Realm Razer

1 Basilisk Collar[/cardlist]

I want to be running 25 land, which leaves me with 6 slots to work with. I think that Cunning Sparkmage is good enough right now to warrant the full set of four. He's a beating against any other creature deck, and he's actually surprisingly effective against Control as well, whether he's dealing the last point to a Wall of Omens or ticking down Planeswalkers or your opponents life total, he is far from ineffective. With our 3 more slots I'd add another Birds of Paradise and 2 more Baneslayer Angels. Baneslayer is really at her best in a deck like this, because she is surrounded by other serious threats, some of which can even protect her. Naya is looking to play more game ending threats than their opponent has answers for and Baneslayer ends games, especially again, conveniently, your worst matchup.

The final list comes out to:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

3 Birds of Paradise

4 Noble Hierarch

4 Fauna Shaman

1 Stoneforge Mystic

4 Cunning Sparkmage

4 Knight of the Reliquary

4 Vengevine

4 Bloodbraid Elf

1 Obstinate Baloth

1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence

3 Baneslayer Angel

1 Realm Razer

[/Creatures]

[Equipment]

1 Basilisk Collar

[/Equipment]

[Lands]

6 Forest

2 Mountain

2 Plains

4 Arid Mesa

3 Verdant Catacombs

2 Misty Rainforest

1 Terramorphic Expanse

2 Jungle Shrine

2 Raging Ravine

1 Sejiri Steppe

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

3 Obstinate Baloth

4 Path to Exile

1 Baneslayer Angel

1 Linvala, Keeper of Silence

3 Dauntless Escort

3 Manabarbs

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

The Baloths come in against RDW and Jund. The Path to Exiles come in against other GW Creature decks and RDW. The Baneslayer comes in against other GW Creature decks, Jund, and RDW. Linvala comes in against other GW Creature decks. The Dauntless Escorts come in against UW Control decks. Manabarbs come in against UW Control decks and Turboland.

Destructive Force

Wildfire has always been a favorite of mine, and it also happens to have been very strong in certain formats that it's been legal in. I'm not going to say that Destructive Force is better than Wildfire in a vacuum, but it's certainly much better suited for the current Standard format. As it stands, Destructive Force kills almost everything, with the notable exception of the Titans and Knight of the Reliquary. Destructive Force also doesn't touch Planeswalkers, but it usually leaves nothing left to harass them, and we can use that to our advantage.

With that in mind, we can start to build. At least for now I've been starting every Destructive Force deck with 4 Knight of the Reliquary. The card is great on it's own, it ramps into Destructive Force, and it protects itself if your opponent tries to get tricky and kill it in response to you blowing everything up. To me, it's the main reason to be Forcing right now.

Next up are Planeswalkers. I think Garruk and Gideon are the best for thiis deck. Garruk ramps you into Destructive Force and starts making tokens as soon as the path is clear. He also allows you to rebuild quickly, turning 2 leftover or post-Force lands into 4 mana. Gideon does everything else. He buys you time, stealing attack phases from your opponent. He can force an opposing Knight of the Reliquary to tap or attack and then potentially -2 to assassinate it. Probably most important of all, he can use his 0 ability to take out opposing Planeswalkers after a Destructive Force. Opposing Planeswalkers and Knight of the Reliquary are the big concerns for this deck, since it's really just looking for Force with something good leftover. Gideon solves all those problems and helps keep you alive until you can find and cast Force.

Ajani Vengeant and Elspeth are the next best, and I think Ajani works slightly better with what this deck is trying to do, and his +1 ability can also be especially devastating on turn 3, which this deck is going to be very capable of.

Finally we've got the Titans. I don't want to play Sun Titan because I don't think I'd have good stuff to return most of the time. Obviously returning a Knight of the Reliquary is absurd, but Sun Titan seems mediocre at best if Knight isn't involved. Inferno Titan is nice for his ability to finish off large creatures post-Force, but other than that I think he's lacking compared to our next contestant. Primeval Titan... now we're talking. This guy seems great. He can help you get the last few lands you need for Destructive Force, he can fetch out utility lands like Sejiri Steppe, Tectonic Edge, and Mystifying Maze to set up an alpha strike or just to get value. Additionally, if he manages to attack even once, then you're almost completely immune to the damage a Destructive Force would do to your land base.

Here is the list I'm starting from:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

4 Wall of Omens

4 Knight of the Reliquary

3 Primeval Titan

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Explore

4 Cultivate

3 Oblivion Ring

3 Destructive Force

[/Spells]

[Planeswalkers]

2 Garruk Wildspeaker

3 Ajani Vengeant

3 Gideon Jira

[/Planeswalkers]

[Lands]

2 Sunpetal Grove

2 Raing Ravine

1 Stirring Wildwood

4 Forest

3 Mountain

2 Plains

4 Arid Mesa

1 Misty Rainforest

2 Terramorphic Expanse

1 Sejiri Steppe

2 Evolving Wilds

2 Tectonic Edge

1 Mystifying Maze

[/Lands]

[Sideboard]

4 Obstinate Baloth

3 Condemn

1 Oblivion Ring

2 Realm Razer

3 Earthquake

2 Elspeth

[/Sideboard]

[/cardlist]

The Earthquakes and Condemns are against GW Creature decks. The Baloths are against RDW and Jund. The Oblivion Ring, Elspeth, and Realm Razer are against control decks, where you plan becomes to overload them with Planeswalkers while threatening to blow everything up. This specific list is untested but I think the concept is solid. I'm looking forward to tuning this deck towards beating whatever comes out of this weekend of PTQs. Hopefully by Nationals I can have a Destructive Force based list that I'm happy with.

I hope you enjoyed my first article here. Check back next week for some results from the testing of the two decks listed today, as well as an analysis of the results from this weekends PTQs.

-Benjamin Hayes