Hellrider is a great aggressive card that has seen extensive play in Innistrad Block Constructed. R/W/b tokens was a very strong deck before the banning of Lingering Souls and Intangible Virtue, and building a version of the deck for Standard shouldn't be too difficult—even on a budget. Here's the list I put together:

"Hellrider Tokens"

• Creatures (9)
• 1 Hero of Oxid Ridge
• 4 Doomed Traveler
• 4 Hellrider

• Spells (28)
• 2 Rally the Peasants
• 4 Midnight Haunting
• 3 Faithless Looting
• 4 Gather the Townsfolk
• 4 Lingering Souls
• 3 Oblivion Ring
• 4 Honor of the Pure
• 4 Intangible Virtue

• Lands (23)
• 1 Swamp
• 7 Mountain
• 7 Plains
• 1 Shimmering Grotto
• 3 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Clifftop Retreat

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Gut Shot
• 3 Celestial Purge
• 2 Stony Silence
• 2 Revoke Existence
• 2 Timely Reinforcements
• 3 Shrine of Loyal Legions

Buy This Deck

The Threats

Hellrider is the reason for playing red in the first place, and it's a pretty good one. Getting to deal 1 damage for every creature you attack with is pretty good, especially since that damage goes through even if your opponent blocks everything. The fact that you receive that bonus even when Hellrider doesn't attack can come in handy when facing down larger creatures.

Doomed Traveler is a great 1-drop for a token deck. It's resistant to removal, and the token it makes when it dies is pumped by both Honor of the Pure and Intangible Virtue. This card has proven to be much better than it seems at first glance, seeing play in almost every deck that uses small, white creatures.

Midnight Haunting is an efficient way to deploy a pair of evasive attackers, and it does it at instant speed to boot. With the various pump effects in the deck, it's very rare that these tokens will only deal 1 damage.

Lingering Souls has proven its power in Standard, seeing extensive play in deck across the format. At worst, it's a sorcery-speed Midnight Haunting, which is just fine. If you find black mana, the card's true power reveals itself, and you essentially get to cast a second copy of the card without ever having to draw it. If you can get your hands on more dual lands such as Isolated Chapels, you can be sure to have that extra power most games.

Gather the Townsfolk can be cast a turn earlier than the other token-making spells, and it often paves the way for a very fast start. Casting one of these on turn two is often followed by Midnight Haunting or Lingering Souls on turn three and Hellrider or a pair of anthems on turn four. Either way, you can then deal 12 damage in a single turn.

The Support

Rally the Peasants is an underestimated card that is often limited to seeing play in . . . well, Limited. Giving your tokens an extra 2 power for a turn can often finish the game, and if it doesn't, flashback can give them the boost a second time. It you have 6 mana, you can even give all your tokens +4/+0, which will almost assuredly end the game on the spot.

Oblivion Ring is the gold standard for white removal in the current format. It can get rid of anything you might have trouble with—especially the dreaded Sword of War and Peace.

Faithless Looting provides a lot of value here. It helps make the most of an admittedly shaky mana base, and you can often discard Lingering Souls and Rally the Peasants that you can cast from the graveyard anyway. This card will go a long way toward smoothing out your draws, and it will often help you kill your opponent faster in the long run.

The Sideboard

Gut Shot is very good in the current Standard environment, and it does a lot in this deck. It takes care of threats that might be able to race us—such as Delver of Secrets and Champion of the Parish—and gets rid of any mana-producing creatures that might pump out an early Daybreak Ranger or Huntmaster of the Fells.

Stony Silence stops two of the most dangerous cards against this deck dead in their tracks. Ratchet Bomb won't be able to wipe away your board for a mere 2 mana, and Sword of War and Peace won't be able to grant its protection to any of your opponent's creatures. Although you might have to sacrifice the ability to play a threat for one turn to cast this, it will usually pay off in the long run.

Revoke Existence can also help get rid of pesky Swords. However, it exiles enchantments as well. Against other token decks, it helps ensure that your tokens are bigger than your opponent's, and it can deal with otherwise-difficult cards like Angelic Destiny as well.

Timely Reinforcements helps you win races against other aggro decks, giving you a trio of threats as well as a significant life boost. Although you usually hope you're not in a situation in which this card becomes active, you can often plan out your plays in such a way that you can cast it at the opportune moment, putting you far ahead both on the board and in life before you start dropping even greater threats.

Shrine of Loyal Legions is an amazing card when dealing with a plethora of board wipes. It can help you instantly recover from a bad situation, and with the help of Hellrider, it can often win the game out of nowhere.

Playtesting

Mage-Blade – Game 1

I drew a Mountain and played it, then cast Intangible Virtue. I passed the turn. My opponent cast another Ponder, chose to keep the three cards, and played an Island. He ended his turn.

I drew Gather the Townsfolk, played my Mountain, and cast Lingering Souls for a pair of 2/2 Spirits. My opponent cast Vapor Snag on one of them when I ended my turn. He then played Moorland Haunt and passed the turn.

I drew Faithless Looting and attacked with my Spirit. My opponent cast Snapcaster Mage, flashing back the Vapor Snag to kill my token and drop me to 18. I passed the turn. My opponent cast a second Snapcaster Mage, flashing back a Ponder. He shuffled, and then played a Glacial Fortress. He attacked for 2 with the first mage, and I took the damage, dropping to 16. He passed the turn.

I drew Lingering Souls and attacked with everything. My opponent traded his two Snapcaster Mages for a Human token and dropped to 8. I cast Lingering Souls and ended my turn. My opponent passed the turn with no play. I drew Faithless Looting and cast it, drawing Gather the Townsfolk and Midnight Haunting and discarding Gather the Townsfolk and my second Faithless Looting. I attacked with my creatures, and my opponent cast Vapor Snag on a Spirit. He then cast Snapcaster Mage, flashing back the Vapor Snag to deal with another Spirit. Dungeon Geists blocked the last Spirit, and Snapcaster blocked the lone Human token. I cast Midnight Haunting and passed the turn. My opponent drew his card and conceded.

Sideboarding:

−3 Oblivion Ring

−2 Doomed Traveler

+3 Gut Shot

+2 Timely Reinforcements

Mage-Blade – Game 2

Delver didn't transform, and my opponent swung for 1. He then cast Ponder, keeping the three cards, and passed the turn. I drew Faithless Looting, played my Plains, and cast Intangible Virtue. I then ended my turn.

A Timely Reinforcements transformed Delver of Secrets, and my opponent swung for 3. He then played Moorland Haunt, cast Geist of Saint Traft, and passed the turn. I drew Doomed Traveler, played a Mountain, and cast Timely Reinforcements. My life went up to 22, and I put three 2/2s onto the battlefield. I passed the turn.

My opponent played a land and cast his own Timely Reinforcements, going up to 26 and putting a trio of 1/1s into play. He then attacked with Insectile Aberration and passed the turn. I drew a Plains, played my second Mountain, and cast Hero of Oxid Ridge. I swung with everything, and my opponent traded his Geist of Saint Traft for my Hero before taking 9. I passed the turn.

My opponent exiled his Geist of Saint Traft with Moorland Haunt during my end step to make a Spirit token. He then dropped me to 13 with Insectile Aberration, cast Invisible Stalker, and passed the turn after playing a second Moorland Haunt. I drew Lingering Souls and attacked with everything. My opponent's five 1/1s blocked my five 2/2s, and he took 1 from Doomed Traveler. I cast Lingering Souls, flashed it back, and passed the turn.

My opponent drew his card and conceded.

This deck definitely packs a serious punch, and it can deal a ton of damage out of nowhere thanks to Hellrider and Hero of Oxid Ridge. In addition, Faithless Looting can make sure that your hand is full of spells rather than extra lands. This deck has what it takes to compete against the top decks in Standard, and it has a decent amount of surprise value as well. If you're looking for a more aggressive take on Lingering Souls, be sure to give this a try.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @Twinblaze2, or simply leave a comment below.