Locations
Pteramander is an uncommon from Ravnica Allegiance that looks very unassuming at first glance, but has found great success in Standard. Costing only a single Blue mana, it is a 1/1 flying creature that can grow to become a 5/5 fairly easily. And since that growth can happen at instant speed, it can make combat quite difficult for your opponent. This week I have for you a few different homes for Pteramander that have proven themselves in Standard. Let's get started.
Izzet Drakes
Perhaps the most obvious deck that Pteramander would slot into is the Izzet Drakes deck. The Izzet Drakes archetype has been commonplace since the printing of Crackling Drake in Guilds of Ravnica. This past weekend there was a Standard Premier event on Magic Online (MTGO) where the second place deck was an Izzet Drakes deck featuring Pteramander. Let's take a look at that deck:
Izzet Drakes | Allegiance Standard | TOIRO, 2nd Place, MTGO Standard Premier
- Creatures (12)
- 4 Crackling Drake
- 4 Enigma Drake
- 4 Pteramander
- Instants (14)
- 3 Dive Down
- 3 Spell Pierce
- 4 Opt
- 4 Shock
- Sorceries (13)
- 1 Maximize Velocity
- 4 Chart a Course
- 4 Discovery // Dispersal
- 4 Lava Coil
- Lands (21)
- 4 Mountain
- 8 Island
- 1 Blood Crypt
- 4 Steam Vents
- 4 Sulfur Falls
Once you have a few threats on the battlefield, you can begin attacking your opponent with one of your Drakes. It's usually not necessary to attack with everything unless you know for certain your opponent will be defeated that turn. A better plan of attack for this deck is to slowly nibble away at your opponent's life total with a single creature each turn while leaving back some defenders to dissuade your opponent from attacking. While it can work that way sometimes, this deck isn't an aggro deck. It's more of a controlling midrange deck, so keep that in mind when planning your attacks.
Mono-Blue Tempo
The next deck I have for you featuring Pteramander is another deck that was popular in the not-so-distant past. Let's take a look at the Mono-Blue Tempo deck:
Mono-Blue Tempo | Allegiance Standard | MAX_9, 7th Place, Standard Premier
- Creatures (18)
- 2 Surge Mare
- 4 Merfolk Trickster
- 4 Pteramander
- 4 Siren Stormtamer
- 4 Tempest Djinn
- Instants (18)
- 3 Essence Capture
- 3 Spell Pierce
- 4 Dive Down
- 4 Opt
- 4 Wizard's Retort
- Enchantments (4)
- 4 Curious Obsession
- Lands (20)
- 20 Island
- Sideboard (15)
- 2 Disdainful Stroke
- 2 Entrancing Melody
- 1 Essence Capture
- 3 Exclusion Mage
- 2 Negate
- 2 Sleep
- 1 Spell Pierce
- 2 Treasure Map
Pteramander is a great addition to this deck as it offers you a turn one play that has evasion. It can also grow in size, making it another large flying creature that your opponent will need to deal with in a hurry.
Temur Drakes
The next deck I have for you featuring Pteramander is the 23rd place deck from this past weekend's Standard Premier Event. It takes the Izzet Drake deck and adds a bit of Green to it to create an all-new deck. Let's take a look at it:
Temur Drakes | Allegiance Standard | MALFICO, 23rd Place, Standard Premier
- Creatures (12)
- 2 Hydroid Krasis
- 2 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
- 4 Crackling Drake
- 4 Pteramander
- Instants (18)
- 3 Dive Down
- 3 Spell Pierce
- 4 Growth Spiral
- 4 Opt
- 4 Shock
- Sorceries (8)
- 4 Chart a Course
- 4 Lava Coil
- Enchantments (1)
- 1 Search for Azcanta
- Lands (21)
- 1 Mountain
- 2 Island
- 1 Rootbound Crag
- 1 Stomping Ground
- 4 Breeding Pool
- 4 Hinterland Harbor
- 4 Steam Vents
- 4 Sulfur Falls
- Sideboard (15)
- 2 Banefire
- 2 Disdainful Stroke
- 2 Entrancing Melody
- 3 Fiery Cannonade
- 2 Naturalize
- 2 Ral, Izzet Viceroy
- 1 Sailor of Means
- 1 Star of Extinction
While Hydroid Krasis is a terrific reason to add Green to an otherwise Izzet deck, it's not the only reason. Growth Spiral is the other card in this deck requiring Green mana. Not only does it help you draw additional cards, but it also ramps your mana as well. With a couple of Growth Spirals, you have the very real possibility of casting Niv-Mizzet, Parun as early as turn four. If that happens, your victory is almost assured. Growth Spiral also speeds up the clock on being able to Adapt your Pteramander. Not only does a Growth Spiral in your graveyard reduce the Adapt cost by 1 mana, it also provides you an additional land on the battlefield. So, in a way each Growth Spiral reduces the cost of Adapting Pteramander by 2 mana.
Azorius Fliers
The final deck I have for you is an untested deck from aetherhub.com. It uses Pteramander in a more traditional role in a 
Fliers deck. Let's take a look at it:
Wing and Claw | Allegiance Standard | LegenVD, aetherhub.com
- Creatures (14)
- 2 Warkite Marauder
- 4 Healer's Hawk
- 4 Pteramander
- 4 Siren Stormtamer
- Planeswalkers (4)
- 4 Dovin, Grand Arbiter
- Instants (8)
- 2 Depose // Deploy
- 2 Settle the Wreckage
- 4 Warrant // Warden
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Chart a Course
- Enchantments (8)
- 4 Curious Obsession
- 4 Favorable Winds
- Lands (22)
- 6 Plains
- 8 Island
- 4 Glacial Fortress
- 4 Hallowed Fountain
In this deck, Pteramander acts as both a great turn one play as well as a great late game play. It alone has the potential to become your biggest creature. If your opening hand includes Pteramander alongside a couple of other creatures, you might want to hold off on casting it until later in the game when you're able to make it a 5/5 right away.
Wrapping Up
When Ravnica Allegiance was beginning to be previewed, who would have thought that a tiny 1/1 Salamander Drake would be one of the most versatile creatures in Standard? Hopefully these decks show just how amazing Pteramander can be.
What do you think of these decks? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below or you can reply to me directly on Twitter (@mikelikesmtg), or email me directly at mikelikesmtg@gmail.com. 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
