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Main » Articles » A Trio of Tribal Decks

A Trio of Tribal Decks

Mike Likes
Posted on January 6, 2022
 Reddit

Hello everyone. 2022 is here and we're still a month and a half away from our next release, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty. In the meantime, as the previews slowly trickle forth, I'll be looking for some fun and competitive decks to play. This week I have a trio of tribal decks for you to try out against your friends, at your local Friday Night Magic event, or on Magic Arena. Let's get started.

Izzet Giants

We get started with one of the biggest tribes that Magic has to offer. I'm talking about Giants, of course. Let's get started by taking a look at the deck.

Izzet Giants | VOW Standard | bob23, deckstats.net user

Aegar, the Freezing Flame
This is a deck that's been around for a while and didn't receive anything to upgrade it in our last few sets. One of its primary creatures is Aegar, the Freezing Flame. When Aegar is on the battlefield, you'll get to draw a card whenever one of your creatures or spells deals more damage to your opponent's creature or planeswalker than it takes to destroy them. Drawing more cards can give you an advantage over your opponent, as you'll have access to the things you need more easily. You can increase the likelihood that you'll deal excess damage by playing Calamity Bearer. This Giant Berserker doubles the amount of damage a Giant will deal, which can allow you to defeat your opponent in half of the time.

Quakebringer is another important Giant in this deck. While you have a copy of Quakebringer on the battlefield, your opponent won't be able to gain life. Quakebringer will also deal two points of damage to your opponent at the beginning of your upkeep as long as Quakebringer is on the battlefield or it's in your graveyard and you have another Giant in play. If you have a Quakebringer on the battlefield and one in your graveyard, both will trigger and each will deal damage. And remember that this damage will be doubled if you have a copy of Calamity Bearer in play.

This deck also includes a pair of cards that are easily playable in a Giant themed deck, but are generally overlooked for other decks. The first is Glimpse the Cosmos. While this might see some fringe play in non-Giant decks, paying two mana to look at the top three cards of your library and put one into your hand and the others on the bottom of your deck is a bit underwhelming. Getting this effect for a single Blue mana is much more feasible. This deck also includes Squash, which sees no play otherwise. Squash will deal six damage to a creature or planeswalker, but paying five mana for this is simply too expensive. Luckily, in a Giant deck, this spell only costs two mana, which makes it worth playing, especially alongside Aegar, the Freezing Flame.

Gruul Werewolves

Next, we're taking a look at a deck whose bite is much worse than its bark. Of course, it's a Werewolf deck. Let's check it out.

Gruul Werewolves | VOW Standard | nikinelk, deckstats.net user

Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge

Unlike the previous Giant deck, this Werewolf deck wouldn't be possible without cards from our latest trip to Innistrad. One key creature you'll want to get into play quickly is Tovolar, Dire Overlord // Tovolar, the Midnight Scourge. While Tovolar is on the battlefield, you'll get to draw a card whenever a Wolf or Werewolf you control deals combat damage to your opponent. Just like the previous deck, the more cards you draw, the more likely you are to have drawn a card you need. Tovolar will transform once you have three or more Wolves and/or Werewolves in play, making him more difficult to destroy. While there are plenty of creatures in this deck that are Werewolves, this deck has a terrific way to create Wolf creature tokens.

Of course, creating Wolf creature tokens is a simple matter with the -3 loyalty ability of Arlinn, the Pack's Hope // Arlinn,the Moon's Fury. Activating this ability creates a pair of 2/2 Wolf creature tokens, which is the perfect number needed for Tovolar to transform. By transforming Tovolar, day will turn to night and Arlinn will also transform to her Nightbound side. On this side, Arlinn has a +2 loyalty ability giving you access to a pair of mana. She also has a 0 loyalty ability that you want to use to deal copious amounts of damage to your opponent. This ability turns Arlinn into a 5/5 Werewolf creature that has haste and trample and is indestructible. Having trample will usually guarantee that you'll deal some damage to your opponent, allowing you to draw a card thanks to Tovolar.

This deck also has a couple of spells that you can use to finish off your opponent if the battlefield becomes too congested to attack favorably. Magic Missile will deal three damage divided amongst up to three targets. Light up the Night can deal any amount of damage to a target, provided that you have enough mana for it. It can also potentially be cast from your graveyard thanks to having flashback, but this will be difficult. You'll need to have a planeswalker in play to do this, and will need to remove loyalty counters instead of spending mana.

Rakdos Vampires

The final tribal deck I have for you features the Vampire tribe. It also features lots of ways to create Blood tokens. Let's take a look at the deck.

Rakdos Vampires | VOW Standard | Zeru, deckstats.net user

Voldaren Epicure
Blood tokens are very important in this deck, which makes sense since this is a Vampire tribal deck. Start off with Voldaren Epicure, which deals a point of damage in addition to creating a Blood token when this Vampire enters the battlefield. Follow that up with a Bloodtithe Harvester who also brings another Blood token when it enters the battlefield. Falkenrath Forebear creates a Blood token whenever it deals combat damage to your opponent. Voldaren Bloodcaster also creates Blood tokens whenever it or another creature you control dies. Each of these creatures is a great way to start your collection of Blood tokens.

Another great way to create Blood tokens is by having a copy of Anje, Maid of Dishonor in play. She will create a Blood token whenever a Vampire enters the battlefield under your control. She also provides you with a use for those tokens (other than their usual use, drawing cards). Anje allows you to pay two mana and sacrifice a Blood token (or another creature). Doing this will cause your opponent to lose two life and you will simultaneously gain two life. It's possible to build up your board during the game and win by draining your opponent in this manner.

This deck features one additional way to create a Blood token while also acting as a possible board wipe. Vampires' Vengeance will deal two points of damage to each non-Vampire creature while also creating a Blood token. This can be a great way to remove annoying blockers from your opponent's side of the battlefield while keeping your creatures intact. Clear their side of the battlefield of blockers and attack for a bit of damage. Then use the Blood token to drain them a little bit more, hopefully for the win.

Wrapping Up

I'm a big fan of tribal decks. The synergy they offer makes for a very satisfying game. Do you have a favorite tribe you like to play? Let me know in the comment section below.

What do you think of these decks? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Also, feel free to share this article with your friends anywhere on social media. And be sure to join me here again next week as I continue my search for innovative decks in Standard. I'll see you then!

-Mike Likes

TAGS articles, standard, constructed, analysis, vampires, werewolves, decklist, tribal, mike likes, 01062021, giants, vow standard

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