Prophetic Flamespeaker is my favorite card in Journey into Nyx. I am a huge fan of double strike, and seeing it combined with two other great abilities on a creature that only costs 3 mana is simply awesome. The first thing that came to mind when I saw the Flamespeaker was my old Bloodstrike deck, which used another red double striker: Markov Blademaster.

This was probably my favorite deck of all time, using cards such as Rancor and Ghor-Clan Rampager to push through a bunch of damage with Markov Blademaster, which also gained +1/+1 counters each time. With Rancor's departure and Prophetic Flamespeaker's built-in trample, using green seems much less helpful now. Therefore, I turned to white to take advantage of some other creatures with double strike.

Aurastrike ? Journey into Nyx Standard | Mike Cannon

• Creatures (18)
• 2 Akroan Skyguard
• 4 Fabled Hero
• 4 Fencing Ace
• 4 Mogis's Warhound
• 4 Prophetic Flamespeaker

• Spells (20)
• 4 Gods Willing
• 4 Titan's Strength
• 4 Chained to the Rocks
• 4 Ethereal Armor
• 4 Madcap Skills

• Lands (22)
• 10 Plains
• 8 Mountain
• 4 Boros Guildgate

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The Creatures

Akroan Skyguard gives you a couple extra creatures that can come down before turn three. Although less powerful than the double-strikers, it does gain a +1/+1 counter whenever you target it with an Aura or a Gods Willing, and the evasion can help you deal with decks that ramp out large creatures.

Prophetic Flamespeaker's trample makes blocking a nightmare for your opponent. Not only will a pumped up Flamespeaker kill almost anything you put in its way, it'll keep right on going. Then, when it deals damage to your opponent, you'll effectively be able to draw a card. Since all the cards in the deck cost 3 mana or less, casting the cards you gain shouldn't be a problem in most situations.

Fabled Hero is the beefiest of the double-strike creatures currently available. It starts out with a respectable 2 power, but it gains another 1 for free each time you pump it. A single Madcap Skills will make it into a terrifying 6/3, and if your opponent tried to kill it, that only gives you a sweet opportunity to cast Gods Willing and make it even larger.

Mogis's Warhound may look like a creature, but that's rarely the case in this deck. Even if you don't have a 2-drop, it's often better to wait to bestow this later. It only costs 1 more mana, which is just crazy, and it gives you double the damage output when attached to a creature with double strike. About the only time it will be a creature is if your opponent manages to kill whatever you bestowed it onto. At that point, gaining a free 2/2 out of the deal certainly isn't bad.

The Spells

Ethereal Armor will generally give you at least 2 extra power for 1 mana, which is plenty good enough to make it worth including. Although first strike isn't very relevant here, the potential to give a creature an extra 3 or 4 power with enough Auras on the board certainly is.

Titan's Strength gives you a trick to cast after your opponent has declared blockers, foiling an attempt to trade with one of your creatures or allowing you to deal an extra 6 damage. It also allows you to scry 1, which works quite nicely when you're about to hit your opponent with Prophetic Flamespeaker.

Gods Willing helps protect your creatures from removal, which is always a bad time when playing this kind of deck. While playing my Bloodstrike deck, I slowly came to realize that I wanted four Ranger's Guile in the main deck, so that's where I'm starting from here. Unfortunately, Gods Willing doesn't give +1/+1, but it can be used to skirt past blockers to push in that final, lethal hit.

Chained to the Rocks can get rid of any large creatures that come down early, such as Desecration Demon. Although most creatures will be rolled over by a pumped-up Flamespeaker, you will occasionally want to just get rid of something permanently, and Chained to the Rocks is a great way to do just that.

Playtesting

Mono-Blue Devotion – Game 1

My opponent played a second Raptor and passed back. I played a Plains, cast Fencing Ace, and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Frostburn Weird to evolve the Raptors and attacked for 2. I bestowed Mogis's Warhound on the Fencing Ace and attacked for 6. My opponent took the damage, and I ended my turn.

My opponent attacked for 5 after pumping the Weird twice, and he passed the turn. I attacked for 6, and my opponent returned Fencing Ace to my hand with Cyclonic Rift. I cast Prophetic Flamespeaker and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Nightveil Specter, evolving the two Cloudfin Raptors, and then he dropped me to 9 and passed the turn. I cast Madcap Skills on Prophetic Flamespeaker and attacked for 8. My opponent chose not to block, and I cast Titan's Strength to make lethal damage.

Game 2

Tidebinder Mage evolved Cloudfin Raptor, which attacked for 1, and I cast Mogis's Warhound.

My opponent cast Frostburn Weird, evolving the Raptor again, and attacked for 4. I bestowed Mogis's Warhound on Mogis's Warhound and attacked for 4. My opponent took the damage, and I passed the turn.

My opponent cast Nightveil Specter and attacked for 4 again. He ended his turn, and I bestowed another Warhound. I attacked for 6, and my opponent blocked with Frostburn Weird. I exiled Nightveil Specter with Chained to the Rocks and ended my turn.

My opponent dropped me to 7 and passed the turn. I attacked for 6, and he cast Rapid Hybridization on the Warhound, turning the other two into creatures and giving me a 3/3 Frog Lizard. I ended my turn.

My opponent cast Bident of Thassa and hit me for 2 with Cloudfin Raptor, drawing a card. I cast Madcap Skills and Ethereal Armor on the Frog Lizard and attacked with everything. Tidebinder Mage blocked Mogis's Warhound, and with me lacking a second red mana to cast Titan's Strength, my opponent survived at 3 life. I passed the turn.

My opponent hit me for 2 with the Raptor, drawing a card, played a Mutavault, and cast Master of Waves, making four tokens. He ended his turn. I cast Titan's Strength on Mogis's Warhound during my upkeep to scry 1, putting a Plains on the bottom of my library. I drew a Fencing Ace and conceded.

Game 3

I played a Plains and passed the turn, and my opponent cast Tidebinder Mage to evolve the Raptor. He attacked for 1 and passed.

I cast Fabled Hero and ended my turn. My opponent played Mutavault and cast Tidebinder Mage, making the Cloudfin Raptor a 2/3. He passed the turn.

I cast Madcap Skills to make the Hero a 6/3, and I cast Ethereal Armor to pump it up to 9/6. Finally, I cast Gods Willing, giving it protection from blue and making it a 10/7. I attacked for 20 to win the game.

Wrap-Up

This deck is capable of some crazy-fast games. Going in, I thought Fencing Ace or some weird situation with Akroan Skyguard and all the best Auras were the only ways to deal 20 damage by turn four, but apparently, Fabled Hero is capable of getting there in just one attack.

Although Prophetic Flamespeaker's card-drawing ability never was able to do anything, the trample along with Madcap Skills certainly made my opponent not want to block, which ended up being a fatal mistake. Even if he had blocked, however, killing two creatures and dealing 7 damage doesn't seem too bad, especially since the Flamespeaker would be threatening lethal the following turn.

Although it doesn't quite have the surprise factor of Bloodstrike's Ghor-Clan Rampager blowouts, this deck is certainly capable of powering out some unexpected wins. If you're looking for a powerful, aggressive deck that can deal 20 damage out of nowhere, give this one a try.