Hello everyone. Every week, I like to look at some innovative decks to use against friends, either in tournaments, like Friday Night Magic, or just around the kitchen table. This week I have a few decks for you that look like they'll be a lot of fun to play. Let's get started.

Dimir Ninjas

Let's get started this week by taking a look at a deck featuring Ninjas. We'll start by taking a look at the deck list.

Dimir Ninjas | NEO Standard | VENOM6, 5-0 MTGO

• Creatures (26)
• 2 Merfolk Windrobber
• 2 Nashi, Moon Sage's Scion
• 2 Satoru Umezawa
• 4 Biting-Palm Ninja
• 4 Network Disruptor
• 4 Prosperous Thief
• 4 Silver-Fur Master
• 4 Thousand-Faced Shadow

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Kaito Shizuki

• Instants (8)
• 1 Power Word Kill
• 2 Fading Hope
• 2 Infernal Grasp
• 3 Spell Pierce

• Lands (23)
• 3 Swamp
• 7 Island
• 1 Access Tunnel
• 1 Hall of Storm Giants
• 1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• 4 Clearwater Pathway // Murkwater Pathway
• 4 Shipwreck Marsh

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Nezumi Prowler
• 1 Annul
• 3 Negate
• 4 Ray of Enfeeblement
• 2 Bloodchief's Thirst
• 3 Duress

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Dealing extra damage with your Ninja is great, but each of them also has a special ability that you can gain an advantage from. Silver-Fur Master provides a +1/+1 bonus to all other Ninja and Rogue creatures you control. It also reduces the cost of activating a ninjutsu ability. Thousand-Faced Shadow creates an attacking copy of another attacking creature you control. Since it only does this on turns where it entered play from your hand, you'll want to try to replace it with another creature with ninjutsu on a future turn. Other ninjutsu abilities allow you to create a Treasure token, exile and play the top card of your opponent's library, and choose a non-land card from your opponent's hand to exile.

By having a copy of Satoru Umezawa on the battlefield, you have a great way to filter through your deck for the cards you need. By activating a ninjutsu ability, you'll be able to look at the top three cards of your library. You can put one of those cards into your hand, while the other cards go to the bottom of your library. Even though you can only use this ability once per turn, it will help you find what you need much more quickly than simply waiting to draw it as your card for the turn. Satoru Umezawa also provides a ninjutsu ability for each creature in your hand, although the cost to activate it is likely higher than you would usually pay.

Selesnya Midrange

Next, I have a Selesnya deck for you that has the tools needed to outlast most aggressive decks. Let's check it out.

Selesnya Midrange | NEO Standard | QUIKSNAX, 5-0 MTGO

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Katilda, Dawnhart Prime // Katilda's Rising Dawn
• 1 Legion Angel
• 2 Tangled Florahedron // Tangled Vale
• 2 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
• 3 Welcoming Vampire
• 4 Luminarch Aspirant
• 4 Prosperous Innkeeper
• 4 Skyclave Apparition

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 4 The Wandering Emperor

• Sorceries (6)
• 3 Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave
• 3 Starnheim Unleashed

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Esika's Chariot

• Lands (21)
• 3 Forest
• 6 Plains
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Cave of the Frost Dragon
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1 Lair of the Hydra
• 4 Branchloft Pathway // Boulderloft Pathway
• 4 Overgrown Farmland

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Yasharn, Implacable Earth
• 2 Guardian of Faith
• 3 Legion Angel
• 4 Valorous Stance
• 1 Borrowed Time
• 4 Circle of Confinement

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This deck starts off looking very unassuming. Tangled Florahedron // Tangled Vale is just a 1/1 creature that can be tapped for Green mana. Prosperous Innkeeper is also a 1/1 creature, but it creates a Treasure token when it comes into play. These are the meekest of the meek, yet they can grow in size quite dramatically in this deck.

The goal of this deck will be to overwhelm your opponent with massive creatures. You'll accomplish this by creating creature tokens with Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity and The Wandering Emperor. If you have a copy of Welcoming Vampire in play when these tokens are created, you'll be able to draw additional cards. Stay alive until you have enough lands in play to create some 4/4 Angel tokens with Emeria's Call // Emeria, Shattered Skyclave and Starnheim Unleashed. At that point, you can begin raining death from above onto your opponents.

Alternatively, you can play Katilda, Dawnhart Prime // Katilda's Rising Dawn and use her ability to put +1/+1 counters onto all of your creatures each turn. While this ability does cost six mana to activate, Katilda allows Human creatures you control to tap for one mana of a color in their casting cost. Since you can activate this ability on either player's turn, you can get to a point where your opponent won't be able to attack because you will boost all of your blocking creatures to be larger than their creatures. If you like playing decks that allow your creatures to grow in size over time, give this one a shot.

Mono-Red Goblins

Our last deck this week features the Goblin tribe. They're usually all about aggression, and this deck is no exception. Let's take a look at the deck.

Mono-Red Goblins | NEO Standard | BLACKDONUT, 5-0 MTGO

• Creatures (21)
• 2 Hulking Bugbear
• 3 Goblin Javelineer
• 4 Battle Cry Goblin
• 4 Fireblade Charger
• 4 Hobgoblin Bandit Lord
• 4 Hobgoblin Captain

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Chandra, Dressed to Kill

• Instants (5)
• 1 Raze the Effigy
• 4 Flame-Blessed Bolt

• Sorceries (8)
• 2 Igneous Inspiration
• 2 Roil Eruption
• 4 Reckless Impulse

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Kumano Faces Kakkazan // Etching of Kumano

• Lands (21)
• 20 Mountain
• 1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Prismari Pledgemage
• 3 Raze the Effigy
• 4 Burning Hands
• 1 Introduction to Annihilation
• 1 Introduction to Prophecy
• 2 Environmental Sciences
• 2 Thundering Rebuke

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Next, try to get a copy of Battle Cry Goblin into play. By using its activated ability, you can give a power boost to your team multiple times, enabling quite a bit of damage and destruction. You can also bring out Hobgoblin Bandit Lord, who will provide a +1/+1 bonus for all of your other Goblins. Hobgoblin Captain is able to gain first strike if it attacks with other creatures that have power totaling three or more. One creature that fulfills this requirement is Hulking Bugbear, which has haste.

In addition to a group of attackers that synchronize together very well, this deck boasts some direct damage that can help you finish off your opponents. Igneous Inspiration and Roil Eruption can be used against any target, while Flame-Blessed Bolt can only target a creature or planeswalker. Kumano Faces Kakkazan // Etching of Kumano deals a point of damage to each opponent and each planeswalker they control. Finally, Chandra, Dressed to Kill can use her top +1 loyalty ability to deal a point of damage to your opponent or one of their planeswalkers while providing you with a Red mana to use for the turn.

Wrapping Up

Even though we're reaching a point in our current Standard environment where many of the same decks are being played, there is still some innovation to be found. It won't be long until we start receiving copious amounts of preview cards each day for Streets of New Capenna. Take this time to try out a new deck that might not be your usual play style. It will help you to become a better player, and you'll learn new strategies that can help you in the future.

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