With resilient Rally the Ancestors decks, pump-happy Atarka Red, and decks like Abzan and Esper Dragons focusing on sticking one or two high-impact creatures, mass removal is quickly fallout out of fashion in Standard. Even Esper Dragons, the primary control deck of the format, often plays only one or two board wipes in the main deck and sideboard combined.

This opens up the way for a different kind of aggro deck, one that would have a lot of trouble fighting back after a mass removal spell. By flooding the battlefield with tokens and small creatures, you can invalidate spot removal spells like Ultimate Price and Abzan Charm, overwhelming your opponent even through big blockers like Siege Rhino. Here’s the list I put together.

Foul-Tongue Aggro ? Battle for Zendikar Standard | Mike Cannon

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Abbot of Keral Keep
• 4 Bloodsoaked Champion
• 4 Goblin Glory Chaser
• 4 Zulaport Cutthroat
• 4 Drana, Liberator of Malakir
• 4 Zurgo Bellstriker

• Spells (17)
• 2 Trumpet Blast
• 3 Outnumber
• 4 Foul-Tongue Shriek
• 4 Dragon Fodder
• 4 Hordeling Outburst

• Lands (21)
• 3 Swamp
• 4 Mountain
• 2 Polluted Delta
• 4 Bloodstained Mire
• 4 Smoldering Marsh
• 4 Wooded Foothills

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The Creatures

A suite of strong 1-drops is a key component for this type of deck, which is why this deck plays twelve of them. Bloodsoaked Champion is the first, giving you a 2-power creature that can come back from the grave if killed. That kind of ability is valuable on its own. However, things become really interesting when you combine it with Zulaport Cutthroat. Unless your opponent has a 0-power creature to block with, the attacking with the Champion will effectively get in at least 1 damage every time, giving you a bit of reach in case your opponent somehow stabilizes.

Goblin Glory Chaser is a card I’ve really become enamored with. While it does lose some effectiveness later in the game, it will almost always become renowned if you cast it on turn one. With the +1/+1 counter comes menace, a valuable ability in any aggro deck.

With so many 1-drops in the deck, Abbot of Keral Keep seemed to be an interesting option. While this deck isn’t as well-equipped to trigger prowess as some, it does give you a high chance of being able to play whatever the Abbot exiles. Even with just 1 mana available, you have a nearly one in three chance of exiling a spell you can cast. With 2 mana, that rises to nearly one in two.

Zulaport Cutthroat works great in a deck like this, punishing your opponent for blocking and killing your creatures. It will often create situations in which your opponent will die regardless of whether he blocks your attackers. On the off chance you do run into a board sweeper, Zulaport Cutthroat can prevent your opponent from casting it at all if you have enough creatures on the battlefield.

Drana, Liberator of Malakir is the perfect top-end card for this deck. Putting a +1/+1 counter on all your creatures, every turn, for free is already an enticing prospect. Doing it before they deal combat damage is truly absurd. There is a distinct lack of flying creatures under 5 mana right now, so Drana should be able to get through unhindered most of the time.

The Spells

Foul-Tongue Shriek does a ridiculous amount of damage for its mana cost. Most of the time, it’s Flame Javelin at the very least, and it’s often a 1-mana Lava Axe or more. This card is an easy way to end the game a turn sooner than you would otherwise be able to.

Speaking of 1-mana Flame Javelins, Outnumber serves as the other half of that spell. Like Foul-Tongue Shriek, the damage scales along with your army, allowing you to kill even the largest creatures. It costs half as much mana as Roast and tacks on the ability to kill Dragonlords and Wingmate Rocs.

Trumpet Blast costs a bit of mana, but it’s a great finisher. Most of the time, it will at least double the damage you deal in combat, allowing even a meager Goblin token to take a significant chunk out of your opponent’s life total.

The Strategy

The number of creatures you control will increase rapidly and then deteriorate as you run out of threats and your opponent plays more blockers. Keep that in mind when using Foul-Tongue Shriek and Trumpet Blast. Don’t be afraid to play Outnumber aggressively. Waiting for the strongest creature is usually worse than just taking an early blocker out of the way.

Most of the time, you want to keep attacking, even running your creatures into larger blockers. One exception is if you’re going to drastically increase the number of creatures you control this turn. If your opponent has two creatures to your three and you have Hordeling Outburst in hand, you’re going to get in more damage by waiting to attack with all six.

I think this deck is very well-positioned to attack the current Standard environment, especially if Esper Dragons grows in popularity after winning Grand Prix Brussels. A slow deck with load of spot removal is going to have a very hard time dealing with this type of strategy. If you’re looking for a fast aggro deck that can stymie some of the major players in the format, give this one a try.