With Khans of Tarkir at the forefront of players’ minds, it’s no surprise that we’re seeing a large number of wedge-based decks in Standard. This makes for mana bases that are slow and inconsistent and that require players to take significant amounts of damage. It seems to me that a streamlined aggro deck could take advantage of this weakness, even when built on a budget. To make it happen, I decided to modify and update one of the staples of Theros Block Constructed.

Mono-Black Aggro ? Khans of Tarkir Standard | Mike Cannon

• Creatures (30)
• 3 Herald of Torment
• 4 Bloodsoaked Champion
• 4 Gnarled Scarhide
• 4 Master of the Feast
• 4 Mogis's Marauder
• 4 Pain Seer
• 4 Tormented Hero
• 3 Phyrexian Revoker

• Spells (10)
• 3 Bile Blight
• 4 Hero's Downfall
• 3 Despise

• Lands (20)
• 20 Swamp

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The Creatures

Pain Seer has been a staple of mono-black aggressive decks since it was first released. Although 2 power for 2 mana isn’t spectacular, the chance to draw extra cards for free is too good to pass up. Even if you only get one attack and one card from the Seer before your opponent blocks and kills it, it’s already pretty good value for 2 mana.

The 2-drop slot in black is pretty bare right now, with nothing over 2 power and no impressive abilities beyond Pain Seer. Mardu Skullhunter was the other option I tested, but since the deck should be killing the opponent long before he runs out of cards in hand, the discard ability is almost never relevant. In the end, I turned to artifacts, with Phyrexian Revoker providing the requisite 2 power as well as a relevant ability. Being able to shut down Planeswalkers such as Elspeth, Sun's Champion and Xenagos, the Reveler is pretty sweet. To put an attacker on the board, you can often make a speculative guess on turn two based on the colors of the deck you’re playing against—since there isn’t a lot of variety in the area of activated abilities right now.

Herald of Torment adds another evasive threat to the deck, with a drawback that’s even less relevant than that on Master of the Feast. It also give the deck some late-game power with its bestow ability. Cast it on any creature in the deck, and you have a 5-power flyer ready to attack.

Mogis's Marauder is the big finisher, making all your creatures almost unblockable for a turn, in addition to adding another 2 power to the attack. There aren’t a ton of black creatures other than Siege Rhino going around right now, meaning most of your threats should be able to make it through unchallenged. Phyrexian Revoker also becomes nearly impossible to block since it doesn’t share a color with anything.

The Removal Spells

Bile Blight is the other option. It can get rid of multiple small creatures for just 2 mana or help your creatures take down larger ones. You can wipe out an army of Elspeth’s Soldier tokens to clear the way for a big attack or make any of your creatures trade with a Siege Rhino, making sure subsequent attacks break through.

Despise may look like discard, and if you got ahold of a few copies of Thoughtseize to replace it, it would be, but it’s really just a preemptive Hero's Downfall. It gets rid of annoying blockers like Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix, and with any luck, your opponent won’t have another inexpensive creature to cast instead. Later in the game (which, for this deck, means around turn four or five), it can dispatch larger threats such as Elspeth and Wingmate Roc that would otherwise make multiple blockers to ruin your day.

Playtesting

Temur Monsters — Game 1

I attacked for 2, and he took the damage. I cast two copies of Tormented Hero and passed the turn. My opponent cast another Mystic along with Sylvan Caryatid and passed back.

I attacked with everything. My opponent blocked one creature with the Caryatid and took 4. I cast Despise, taking Polukranos, World Eater. My opponent cast Nissa, Worldwaker. He turned a land into a 4/4 and ended his turn.

I cast Phyrexian Revoker, naming Nissa, and I ended my turn. My opponent played a land and passed.

I cast Master of the Feast and passed back. My opponent cast Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker, using is minus ability to kill the Revoker. Nissa turned another land into a 4/4, and he ended his turn.

I killed Nissa with Master of the Feast and cast a second copy. My opponent used Sarkhan’s +1 and passed the turn.

I cast Mogis's Marauder, gave all my creatures intimidate, and attacked for the win.

Game 2

My opponent opened with just a land, and I cast Bloodsoaked Champion.

He played Mana Confluence and passed the turn, and I attacked with my Champion before casting Despise and taking Courser of Kruphix.

My opponent played a land and ended his turn. I swung in for 2 again and cast Master of the Feast.

My opponent cracked a fetch land and took 2 more damage from his mana base in order to cast Polukranos, World Eater. I killed it with Hero's Downfall and swung in for 7.

My opponent tried to stay alive by throwing out a Stormbreath Dragon, but Mogis's Marauder finished things off.

Wrap-Up

The amount of damage players can take from their own lands in this format is pretty impressive, and it certainly helps this deck out. Mogis's Marauder and Master of the Feast are just as amazing as I had hoped, and Despise overperformed to the point that I think it may be worth finding room for a fourth copy. The deck doesn’t feel quite as fast as some other aggro decks, but the sheer power Mogis's Marauder and the two flying creatures often ends the game very quickly. If you’re interested in a deck that can punish greedy mana bases despite being built on a conservative budget, give this one a try.