Most players expected a return to prominence for Tribal mechanics in Standard after Ixalan was released. Unfortunately, that hasn’t really proven to the case. We’ve seen a handful attempts at Merfolk and Dinosaurs, but there’s nothing that’s really pushed tribal synergies to the top tables of Standard events. This week, Pat Cox put together an exciting tribal list that features not a tribe from Ixalan, but rather the premier tribe of Kaladesh Block. Let’s take a look at this tribal Artificers deck:

Blue-Red Artificers - Ixalan Standard | Nacatls4Life, 5-0 Standard League

• Creatures (28)
• 2 Freejam Regent
• 3 Aether Chaser
• 3 Aether Swooper
• 4 Bomat Courier
• 4 Glorybringer
• 4 Maverick Thopterist
• 4 Walking Ballista
• 4 Whirler Virtuoso

• Instants (1)
• 1 Abrade

• Artifacts (6)
• 2 Heart of Kiran
• 4 Inventor's Goggles

• Lands (24)
• 4 Island
• 6 Mountain
• 2 Spire of Industry
• 4 Ramunap Ruins
• 4 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Unclaimed Territory

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Abrade
• 2 Crook of Condemnation
• 1 Heart of Kiran
• 4 Magma Spray
• 4 Negate
• 1 Spell Pierce

Buy This Deck

There aren’t enough efficient artificers to really flesh out this deck, so you’ve got a couple of slots that are dedicated to super powerful threats. Bomat Courier has proven itself to be a great way for aggressive decks to get in a couple points of damage and then recoup some cards. In this deck is has the added benefit of letting you cast improvise cards. Additionally, you have Heart of Kiran and Glorybringer as threats that are far too efficient not to play.

If you’re looking for a new way to beat down, this deck seems like a fun option. You have the ability to go wide with tokens, play an evasive beatdown plan, or just go big with Inventor's Goggles depending on the matchup. You can go over the top with haymakers like Glorybringer and Freejam Regent or just get your opponent dead with Artifice-fueled beatdowns. On top of all of that, you have the option to board heavily into Red removal or Blue counterspells depending on the matchup or metagame. A flexible gameplan backed up by all the sideboard options seems like a good place to be to me.