There's no doubt that Standard these days is all about midrange.

Very powerful and versatile threats like Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki and Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity have pushed Standard into a sort of midrange arms race, where decks are trying desperately to out midrange each other. It's just too difficult for aggressive decks to overcome tons of removal, Sheoldred, and Reflections of Kiki-Jiki, so the midrange decks get to focus on trying to out-midrange each other as much as they can. This is what has led rise to decks like Mono-White Midrange, which looks to play as many midrange trump cards as possible.

Well, what if we just ignored all that and played 9-drops instead?

Time Stamps:

03:57 - Match 1

30:35 - Match 2

52:54 - Match 3

Grixis Ramp | Standard | Michele Carretta | MTGO Challenge Top 8

• Creatures (11)
• 3 Cityscape Leveler
• 4 Junkyard Genius
• 4 Skitterbeam Battalion

• Instants (10)
• 3 Abrade
• 3 Go for the Throat
• 4 Stern Lesson

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki

• Artifacts (8)
• 4 Reckoner Bankbuster
• 4 The Mightstone and Weakstone

• Lands (27)
• 2 Mountain
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Underground River
• 3 Shivan Reef
• 3 Stormcarved Coast
• 4 Haunted Ridge
• 4 Shipwreck Marsh
• 4 Sulfurous Springs
• 4 Xander's Lounge

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Duress
• 3 Cut Down
• 3 Disdainful Stroke
• 3 Brotherhood's End
• 2 Phyrexian Fleshgorger

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An update to the Izzet Ramp deck that has been floating around for a few weeks, this deck looks capitalize on the lack of aggro decks and utilize the time it is given to ramp up to huge eight- and nine-mana plays that dominate the game.

While midrange players try to nickel and dime with their Reckoner Bankbusters and Corpse Appraisers, you're gearing up your powerstones to start dropping Skitterbeam Battalions and Cityscape Levelers. Black adds Junkyard Genius to the equation giving you a trio of 3-drops that can all ramp while gaining other value.

Adding Black lets you upgrade your removal a bit to the Sheoldred, the Apocalypse-killing level, but the perhaps bigger draw is Duress. Counterspells are the natural enemy of eight- and nine-mana spells, but Duress can help pave the way for them while also just being great against various other midrange elements.

Step outside the midrange arms race and start going big!