One of the things that this Standard format is lacking is an efficient, game-breaking sweeper. Sure, we have access to the likes of Languish and Planar Outburst, but these effects miss large portions of the creatures in this format, and are consequently not really good enough to really enable sweeper-oriented decks. Negi_negimaster may have solved this puzzle, assembling a wacky, four-color deck that plays two sweepers that we haven’t seen a whole lot of thus far in the format. Let’s take a look:

Four-Color Crush ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | negi_negimaster, 5-0 Standard League

• Creatures (13)
• 1 Den Protector
• 2 Dragonlord Atarka
• 2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
• 4 Elvish Visionary
• 4 Reflector Mage

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Jace, Unraveler of Secrets

• Spells (23)
• 1 Traverse the Ulvenwald
• 2 Anticipate
• 3 Crush of Tentacles
• 3 Descend upon the Sinful
• 3 Oath of Jace
• 3 Part the Waterveil
• 4 Explosive Vegetation
• 4 Oath of Nissa

• Lands (23)
• 7 Forest
• 3 Island
• 1 Mountain
• 3 Plains
• 1 Canopy Vista
• 1 Lumbering Falls
• 3 Prairie Stream
• 4 Evolving Wilds

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Dragonlord Dromoka
• 1 Linvala, the Preserver
• 1 Planar Outburst
• 2 Immolating Glare
• 2 Tireless Tracker
• 2 Tragic Arrogance
• 3 Dragonlord Ojutai
• 3 Negate

Buy This Deck

This deck is… weird. You’ll see a lot of powerful cards, but we generally don’t see them in this combination. Reflector Mage and Explosive Vegetation, what could be going on here? The idea is simple: sweepers are awesome against the various Green-White decks of the format, as long as you can get back on the board first. Consequently, negi_negimaster is trying to maximize the power of Crush of Tentacles and Descend Upon the Sinful. So how exactly do we do that?

Oath of Nissa is perhaps the most important card in the deck. This is the one-mana spell that enables both of your powerful sweepers. Oath of Nissa gives you easy surge for Crush of Tentacles, and nets you a card in the process while the ability puts extra Oath of Nissas in your graveyard via the Legend rule. All of this powers up Descend Upon the Sinful. Anticipate and Oath of Jace are similar enablers, giving you reasonably cheap ways to turn on both surge and delirium.

But what about Elvish Visionary and Reflector Mage? These cards are here exclusively to buy you time to hit land drops and set up your sweepers. You don’t mind trading them away early, but the ability to rebuy them later off of Crush of Tentacles is certainly not to be overlooked. Similarly, Den Protector is a card that you’re excited to bounce with your own Crush of Tentacles. You’ve even got access to Nissa, Vastwood Seer who can come down early, smooth out your land drops, and can flip to avoid a Descend Upon the Sinful.

That still leaves Explosive Vegetation and Part the Waterveil. Explosive Vegetation is critical here, as it both helps to find splash colors and helps to ensure that you can cast Descend Upon the Sinful and Dragonlord Atarka before you die. This is a deck that is looking to spend six or more mana in one turn before it can begin to turn the corner, which means that Explosive Vegetation is exactly what you’re looking for. Part the Waterveil, on the other hand, is how this deck closes out games. It’s not hard to imagine resolving a Crush of Tentacles or Descend Upon the Sinful, then casting an awakened Part the Waterveil on the following turn to just end the game. 4/4 fliers and 8/8 octopi tend to end the game pretty quickly, especially when you can sneak in an extra turn.