Hello everyone. We're right at the cusp of the release of Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, at least in digital form. But, since it's not quite here, we'll be taking a look at a few decks this week featuring some cool legendary creatures from Theros Beyond Death. Let's get started.

Alirios, Enraptured

The first deck I have for you features Alirios, Enraptured. Let's take a look at the deck.

Alirios, Enraptured | THB Standard | EagleEyedJoe007, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (24)
• 1 Benthic Biomancer
• 1 Brazen Borrower
• 1 Eternal Skylord
• 1 Fblthp, the Lost
• 1 Nadir Kraken
• 1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
• 2 Alirios, Enraptured
• 2 Brineborn Cutthroat
• 2 Cloudkin Seer
• 2 Dungeon Geists
• 2 Elite Instructor
• 2 Murmuring Mystic
• 2 Riddlemaster Sphinx
• 2 Thoughtbound Phantasm
• 2 Warden of Evos Isle

• Instants (10)
• 2 Arrester's Admonition
• 2 Commence the Endgame
• 2 Essence Capture
• 2 Precognitive Perception
• 2 Quench

• Sorceries (2)
• 1 Mass Manipulation
• 1 Quasiduplicate

• Lands (24)
• 24 Island

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This deck also features a couple of other combinations worth mentioning. The first revolves around drawing additional cards. Both Elite Instructor and Cloudkin Seer allow you to draw additional cards when they enter the battlefield. Benthic Biomancer allows you to draw a card when one or more +1/+1 counters are placed on it. All of these cards combo with Nadir Kraken, which enable you to increase the Kraken's size as well as create a 1/1 Tentacle creature token. Those tokens can be used for chump blocking or going wide when attacking.

The other combo pairs up Riddlemaster Sphinx with Thassa, Deep-Dwelling. With Thassa on the battlefield, at the beginning of your end step, you can exile one other creature you control and then return it to the battlefield immediately. By 'flickering' Riddlemaster Sphinx like this, you'll be able to activate its ability to return a target creature your opponent controls to their hand. You can do this turn after turn to make sure your opponent isn't able to attack with their best creature. Just be careful not to give your opponent an advantage by returning a creature that has a beneficial effect that happens when they enter the battlefield.

Kunoros, Hound of Athreos

The next deck I have for you features the legendary Hound, Kunoros. Let's take a look at it.

Kunoros, Hound of Athreos | THB Standard | zk02150930, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (20)
• 1 Erebos, Bleak-Hearted
• 1 Rankle, Master of Pranks
• 2 Gray Merchant of Asphodel
• 2 Knight of Autumn
• 3 Daxos, Blessed by the Sun
• 3 Kunoros, Hound of Athreos
• 4 Deathless Knight
• 4 Woe Strider

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Garruk, Cursed Huntsman

• Instants (6)
• 3 Eat to Extinction
• 3 Gods Willing

• Sorceries (6)
• 2 Shatter the Sky
• 4 Agonizing Remorse

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Doom Foretold

• Lands (23)
• 6 Forest
• 6 Plains
• 7 Swamp
• 2 Temple of Malady
• 2 Temple of Plenty

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Kunoros, Hound of Athreos doesn't stop cards like Deathless Knight from returning to your hand from the graveyard. Because of this fact, feel free to swing with Deathless Knight as often as you'd like. You'll find it's easy to gain life with this deck, thus allowing you to return Deathless Knight from your graveyard to your hand. While a little mana restrictive, Daxos, Blessed by the Sun offers an easy way to gain life simply by casting additional creatures. Gray Merchant of Asphodel and Knight of Autumn also provide additional ways to gain life. Also, don't forget that Kunoros, Hound of Athreos has lifelink.

One card to pay attention to in this deck is the planeswalker from Throne of Eldraine, Garruk, Cursed Huntsman. Garruk's 0 loyalty ability to create two 2/2 Wolf creature tokens works remarkably well with Daxos, Blessed by the Sun. You'll be able to gain life when the Wolves enter the battlefield as well as when they die, which helps pump Garruk's loyalty. If you're able to use Garruk's -6 loyalty ability, you'll get an emblem giving all of your creatures +3/+3 and trample. That bonus will usually be enough for you to be able to put the game away.

Taranika, Akroan Veteran

The final deck I have for you features Taranika, Akroan Veteran. Let's take a look at it.

Taranika, Akroan Veteran | THB Standard | DrSpilikin, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (20)
• 1 End-Raze Forerunners
• 3 Taranika, Akroan Veteran
• 4 Bonecrusher Giant
• 4 Fervent Champion
• 4 Gilded Goose
• 4 Paradise Druid

• Instants (8)
• 2 Infuriate
• 2 Samut's Sprint
• 4 Giant Growth

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Finale of Devastation
• 4 Light Up the Stage

• Artifacts (3)
• 3 Embercleave

• Lands (24)
• 1 Plains
• 2 Forest
• 7 Mountain
• 1 Castle Embereth
• 3 Fabled Passage
• 3 Sacred Foundry
• 3 Stomping Ground
• 4 Temple Garden

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Since Taranika, Akroan Veteran is only a 3/3, you'll usually want to save back a mana to use for one of your many combat tricks. Samut's Sprint gives a +2/+1 bonus. Infuriate gives a +3/+2 bonus. Giant Growth gives a +3/+3 bonus. By having at least one unused mana when you attack, you can often protect Taranika, Akroan Veteran from dying if she were to become blocked. You can also bluff that you have one of these pump spells, even if you don't, which might make your opponent hesitant to block with exactly 3 power.

While it's possible to end the game fairly quickly due to the sheer aggressiveness of this deck, there will be times you'll stall out. For those times, there are a couple of cards to be on the lookout for. The first is End-Raze Forerunners. By casting this Boar, you can often win the game on the spot thanks to its haste, trample, and the +2/+2 bonus and trample it provides to all of your other creatures. The other card to look for is Finale of Devastation, which you can use to find End-Raze Forerunners from your deck or return it from your graveyard.

Wrapping Up

Theros Beyond Death brought us some great legendary creatures to use. The decks I've shown you this week just scratch the surface of what it possible.

What do you think of these decks? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below or email me directly at mikelikesmtg@gmail.com. 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