Hello everyone! After taking a look at some themed decks last week, I've decided to take a look at some decks this week whose only thing in common is that they all look fun to play. These decks use some great new cards from Murders at Karlov Manor to shake up things in Standard. Let's get started.

Bant Cloak and Blink Deck

We'll get started this week with a deck that's looking to utilize the new cloak ability from Murders at Karlov Manor in the most broken way possible. Let's take a look at the deck.

Cloak and Blink | MKM Standard | SwayzeMTG, aetherhub user

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 The Eternal Wanderer

• Creatures (24)
• 2 Gruff Triplets
• 3 Atraxa, Grand Unifier
• 3 Titan of Industry
• 4 Ambitious Farmhand
• 4 Topiary Stomper
• 4 Unyielding Gatekeeper
• 4 Vannifar, Evolved Enigma

• Spells (9)
• 2 Planar Incision
• 4 Touch the Spirit Realm
• 3 Cryptic Coat

• Lands (25)
• 1 Island
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Forest
• 2 Plains
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Deserted Beach
• 2 Overgrown Farmland
• 2 Spara's Headquarters
• 2 Yavimaya Coast
• 3 Dreamroot Cascade
• 3 Razorverge Thicket
• 3 Seachrome Coast

Buy This Deck Export text

While you have Vannifar, Evolved Enigma on the battlefield, you'll be able to cloak a card from your hand at the beginning of combat on your turn. You'll want to do this with your high mana value creatures, as this will allow you to turn them face up later on. Normally, you'd need to pay the creature's full mana value to turn it face up, but as you'll see, this deck attempts to cheat the system and turn these expensive creatures face-up in other ways.

One of the best creatures to cloak is Unyielding Gatekeeper. While it only costs two mana to turn it face up, doing this will allow you to exile another nonland permanent, and then return it to the battlefield. Doing this to a cloaked creature will return it face up, without paying the mana value of the creature. This same trick can be accomplished with the channel effect of Touch the Spirit Realm, with Planar Incision, and with the +1 loyalty ability of The Eternal Wanderer.

Some notable creatures that you'll want to cloak, if possible, are Gruff Triplets, Atraxa, Grand Unifier, and Titan of Industry. When you blink a cloaked Gruff Triplets, it will trigger its enter the battlefield effect, giving you three copies of it. You'll also get the EBT abilities of Atraxa and Titan of Industry if you blink them while they are cloaked. That blinking of cloaked creatures is what makes this deck so powerful.

Zero-Rare Slime Deck

The next deck I have for you features Slime Against Humanity. It also has zero rare cards in it, making it a great deck to play if you're on a strict budget. Let's check it out.

Zero-Rare Slime | MKM Standard | PhantasmsPlayground, aetherhub user

• Creatures (8)
• 4 Blanchwood Prowler
• 4 Rubblebelt Maverick

• Spells (32)
• 1 Ambitious Assault
• 2 Volt Charge
• 4 Kami's Flare
• 2 Hard-Hitting Question
• 3 Witch's Mark
• 15 Slime Against Humanity
• 2 Invigorating Hot Spring
• 3 Bitter Reunion

• Lands (20)
• 8 Mountain
• 9 Forest
• 1 Tocasia's Dig Site
• 2 Racers' Ring

Buy This Deck Export text

Slime Against Humanity is the latest in a series of cards that allow you to have as many copies as you'd like in a deck, instead of the usual limit of four copies. When you cast Slime Against Humanity, you'll be able to create a 0/0 Slime creature token that will get a number of +1/+1 counters on it equal to two plus the number of cards that you have in your graveyard or in exile that are either Oozes or are named Slime Against Humanity. That means that each copy of Slime Against Humanity you cast will progressively create a bigger and bigger Ooze token.

Since the Oozes you create have +1/+1 counters, it seems only natural to expand these counters to other members of your team. Rubblebelt Maverick is a terrific early drop that lets you manipulate the top two cards of your library. It also has an ability that allows you to place a +1/+1 counter on a creature you control. Blanchwood Prowler is also able to gain a +1/+1 counter if you decide not to have it smooth out your mana.

You can also utilize Invigorating Hot Spring as a means of giving a creature you control a +1/+1 counter. While it is on the battlefield, modified creatures you control also have haste. This means that any new Oozes you create with Slime Against Humanity will be able to attack right away. As a way of helping to clear the battlefield of potential blockers, you can cast Volt Charge. This has the added benefit of allowing you to proliferate, which could result in your creatures gaining a ton of +1/+1 counters.

Vannifar Artifact Aggro

The final deck I have for you this week combines aspects from each of the other decks I've shown you this week. Let's take a look at the deck.

Vannifar Artifact Aggro | MKM Standard | LegenVD, aetherhub user

• Creatures (30)
• 2 Simian Simulacrum
• 4 Gingerbrute
• 4 Halo Hopper
• 4 Iron Apprentice
• 4 Patchwork Automaton
• 4 Surge Engine
• 4 Teething Wurmlet
• 4 Vannifar, Evolved Enigma

• Spells (8)
• 4 Zoetic Glyph
• 4 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire

• Lands (22)
• 3 Island
• 7 Forest
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Dreamroot Cascade
• 4 Mishra's Foundry
• 4 Yavimaya Coast

Buy This Deck Export text

Once again, Vannifar, Evolved Enigma is a vital piece of this deck. Instead of utilizing her first mode to cloak cards, you'll be using her second mode more often. This will place a +1/+1 counter on each colorless creature you control. Since the majority of creatures in this deck are colorless artifacts, you can grow your creatures throughout the game to be quite large and imposing.

Those +1/+1 counters will be especially beneficial when placed on Gingerbrute. This Food Golem has haste, allowing it to attack right away. It also has an ability, that you can activate for one mana, that makes Gingerbrute unable to be blocked by any creature that doesn't have haste. This can enable you to deal a lot of damage directly to your opponent, but it will also place quite a target on Gingerbrutes back.

Another way to make Gingerbrute a super powerful attacker is by enchanting it with Zoetic Glyph. This will provide the artifact that is enchanted a base power and toughness of 5/4. This enchantment can also be used on any of your other artifacts to increase their stats, turning them into a target for your opponent's removal spells in the process.

Wrapping Up

The addition of Murder at Karlov Manor into our current Standard environment has provided so many new potential decks to be created. Each of these decks is unique, and all of them look very fun to play. We're just scratching the surface of what this new set has provided.

What do you think of these decks? 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