The current Standard format is extremely creature-based. There are decks like Esper control and mono-black devotion that play significant numbers of spells, but we also have decks such as mono-blue devotion and Gruul midrange that consist almost entirely of dudes. This kind of format seems perfect for dusting off an old deck of mine: Hold the Gates. Unfortunately, several good cards have rotated out of Standard, but even with a bit less power than before, I think it might still be a great option for players on a tight budget. Here's the updated list I've been working with.

"Hold the Gates"

• Creatures (24)
• 2 Seller of Songbirds
• 3 Banisher Priest
• 3 Deathgaze Cockatrice
• 4 Gateway Shade
• 4 High Priest of Penance
• 4 Liliana's Reaver
• 4 Thrill-Kill Assassin

• Spells (12)
• 4 Dreadbore
• 4 Assemble the Legion
• 4 Hold the Gates

• Lands (24)
• 1 Mountain
• 2 Plains
• 3 Swamp
• 2 Selesnya Guildgate
• 4 Boros Guildgate
• 4 Golgari Guildgate
• 4 Orzhov Guildgate
• 4 Rakdos Guildgate

Buy This Deck

The Spells

Assemble the Legion is your biggest game-winner. It's been known to win games on its own in decks like American control, but with Hold the Gates backing it up, it is far more devastating. Not only do your Soldier tokens survive being blocked by just about anything, they have vigilance, allowing them to use that high toughness on defense as well. As Assemble the Legion continues pumping out tokens, it will quickly become impossible for your opponent to block all the damage coming at him, and it will become nearly as impossible to deal any damage to you.

Dreadbore addresses one of the largest potential problems the deck faces: planeswalkers. Attacking with a 4/8 Liliana's Reaver every turn isn't going to do much if your opponent keeps making tokens with Xenagos, the Reveler. In a pinch, you can also use it to get rid of almost any creature you want.

The Creatures

Thrill-Kill Assassin isn't the greatest 2-drop, especially considering it will often be incorrect to unleash it. However, it does have deathtouch, which is incredibly valuable in this deck, and I think the option to unleash it beats out the bestow option on Baleful Eidolon.

Gateway Shade doesn't become much better with Hold the Gates aside from the ability to be used as an effective blocker, but it does help your Gates have some power even if you don't draw the enchantment. Casting the Shade on turn four, with four Gates on the battlefield, allows you to threaten a 7/7 attacker next turn. Once your opponent declares blockers, you can pump it however much you need to, perhaps saving your mana to cast a spell as well.

Seller of Songbirds is not a card I ever thought I'd find myself playing, but the deck does need a certain number of flying creatures to block Nightveil Specter and Desecration Demon, and making two small creatures is much more valuable with Hold the Gates there to make them difficult to kill.

Deathgaze Cockatrice also adds to the flyer count. Although it boasts a paltry 2 power and toughness for 4 mana, it does fly and have deathtouch, allowing it to deal with Desecration Demon permanently.

Liliana's Reaver is an awesome threat that had been held back by its low toughness. With Hold the Gates on the battlefield, it has no such restrictions. Your opponent is left with the option to kill off one of his creatures or give you a 2-power Zombie with some massive amount of toughness.

Playtesting

Mono-Blue Devotion – Game 1

My opponent played another Island and cast Frostburn Weird. I drew Orzhov Guildgate, played it, and ended my turn.

He attacked for 1 with the Weird and then cast Nightveil Specter and passed. I drew a Plains, played it, and cast Seller of Songbirds. I ended my turn.

He attacked with both creatures. I took 3 damage, and he cast Thassa, God of the Sea before passing the turn. I drew Orzhov Guildgate, played it, and cast Hold the Gates. I attacked for 1 with my Bird and ended my turn.

My opponent attacked with Thassa, God of the Sea, and I took the damage. He then cast Master of Waves, making seven tokens. I drew another Gate and conceded.

Game 2

I drew Seller of Songbirds, played another Rakdos Guildgate, and passed. My opponent attacked for 1, cast another Judge's Familiar, and ended his turn.

I drew Deathgaze Cockatrice, played my Plains, and cast Seller of Songbirds. I ended my turn. My opponent played an Island, cast Nightveil Specter, and passed back.

I drew another Seller of Songbirds, played Selesnya Guildgate, and cast Hold the Gates. I ended my turn. My opponent cast a second Specter and passed the turn.

I drew Assemble the Legion and cast Deathgaze Cockatrice. I attacked with Seller of Songbirds, and my opponent took the damage. My opponent cast Bident of Thassa and ended his turn.

I drew a Mountain, played it, and cast Assemble the Legion. I attacked Jace with Liliana's Reaver, and my opponent blocked with Judge's Familiar. I ended my turn. My opponent used Jace's +1 again and then cast Thassa, God of the Sea and passed the turn.

I made a token with Assemble the Legion and drew Banisher Priest. I cast it, exiling Thassa. I attacked Jace with Liliana's Reaver and Deathgaze Cockatrice. My opponent blocked the Reaver with a Judge's Familiar, and Jace took 1. I cast Gateway Shade and ended my turn. My opponent used Jace's +1 and cast Master of Waves, making eleven tokens. He passed the turn.

I made two tokens with Assemble the Legion and drew another Liliana's Reaver. I attacked Jace with my first Reaver as well as Deathgaze Cockatrice and Gateway Shade. My opponent blocked the two ground creatures with Elemental tokens, and Jace took 1. I cast the second Reaver and passed the turn. My opponent cast Tidebinder Mage, tapping down a Soldier token, and he then used Jace's +1 and ended his turn.

I made four tokens with Assemble the Legion and drew a Plains. I attacked with everything. My opponent blocked the Reavers and the Shade with Elementals, blocked a Soldier with Tidebinder Mage, and dropped to 3 from the other creatures. I played the Plains and ended my turn. My opponent played Mutavault, cast Judge's Familiar and Frostburn Weird, and then cast Master of Waves for sixteen tokens. He passed the turn.

I made five tokens with Assemble the Legion, drew Golgari Guildgate, and played it. I attacked with everything. I won't go into all the details, suffice to say the casualties were all his Elemental tokens, Frostburn Weird, Judge's Familiar, and both of my Liliana's Reavers. He took no damage, and I ended my turn. Unfortunately for me, my opponent found another land, giving him just enough mana to make Thassa and three 2-power creatures unblockable to kill me.

Wrap-Up

Well, Thassa and Master of Waves are even bigger pains in the neck than I thought. Moving forward, I would go up to four Banisher Priest and switch Dreadbore to Hero's Downfall if possible. The second game did show off the power of Assemble the Legion and Hold the Gates, however. Even with two copies of Master of Waves, the fragile Elemental tokens were steamrolled by my Soldiers.

If you're looking for an inexpensive way to get into Standard, you can also swap the Dreadbores for Ultimate Price. With that change, you can buy the entire deck on CoolStuffInc.com for about $36, or even less if you already have some of the commons and uncommons. It may not win every match, but it's certainly a lot of fun when it does, so if you're looking for something a little different, give it a try.