Locations
Hello, everyone! With everybody's eyes looking ahead to the cards being previewed from War of the Spark, it's the perfect opportunity to look backwards to see if there are any decks that could be fun to play that focus on themes from previous sets. This week, I have for you some decks featuring the tribes of Ixalan. Let's get started with the dinosaur tribe.
Domri's Dinos
Do you like playing large, stompy creatures? If so, then this deck is for you. Let's take a look at it:
Domri's Dinos | Allegiance Standard | ButterFingerz, aetherhub.com user
- Creatures (25)
- 2 Beast Whisperer
- 2 Charging Monstrosaur
- 2 Ghalta, Primal Hunger
- 3 Carnage Tyrant
- 4 Gruul Spellbreaker
- 4 Kraul Harpooner
- 4 Pelt Collector
- 4 Zhur-Taa Goblin
- Planeswalkers (2)
- 2 Domri, Chaos Bringer
- Enchantments (4)
- 4 Rhythm of the Wild
- Lands (24)
- 8 Forest
- 8 Mountain
- 4 Rootbound Crag
- 4 Stomping Ground
While I'm not completely sold on Rhythm of the Wild, I can certainly see its usefulness in this deck. Many of your creatures are big, imposing dinosaurs. Giving them haste can be all that's needed to turn a relatively midrange deck into a full-on aggressive deck. Once War of the Spark releases, I could see either Samut, Tyrant Smasher or Vivien, Champion of the Wilds being good additions to this deck. Samut gives all of your creatures haste and Vivien allows you to cast creatures as though they had flash.
Zegana's Merfolk
The next deck I have for you features the Merfolk tribe. If +1/+1 counters are your thing, you'll want to check this deck out:
Zegana's Merfolk | Allegiance Standard | ST0NEHE4RT, aetherhub.com user
- Creatures (28)
- 4 Jadelight Ranger
- 4 Kumena's Speaker
- 4 Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
- 4 Merfolk Branchwalker
- 4 Silvergill Adept
- 4 Wildgrowth Walker
- 4 Zegana, Utopian Speaker
- Planeswalkers (4)
- 4 Vivien Reid
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Enter the Unknown
- Lands (24)
- 6 Forest
- 6 Island
- 4 Breeding Pool
- 4 Hinterland Harbor
- 4 Simic Guildgate
- Sideboard (15)
- 4 Kraul Harpooner
- 4 Negate
- 4 Spell Pierce
- 3 Wizard's Retort
A great addition to this deck from War of the Spark will be Jiang Yanggu, Wildcrafter. Not only does his -1 loyalty ability allow you to put a +1/+1 counter on any of your creatures, but his static ability allows all of your creatures with a +1/+1 counter to be tapped to create 1 mana of any color. With that potential for extra mana, there's a few ways you could choose to go. You could cast large creature spells with X in their converted mana cost, such as Hungering Hydra or Hydroid Krasis. You could take control of your opponent's creatures with Mass Manipulation. You could dump a huge amount of threats onto the battlefield with Kamahl's Druidic Vow. Or, if you're feeling super spicy, since the mana created can be of any color, you could burn your opponent out with a massive Banefire.
Dimir Pirates
Pirates are known for taking things that don't belong to them. That's exactly what this deck is looking to do. Let's take a look at it:
Dimir Pirates | Allegiance Standard | Live_Grenade, aetherhub.com user
- Creatures (23)
- 1 Ruin Raider
- 3 Fathom Fleet Captain
- 3 Hostage Taker
- 4 Dire Fleet Poisoner
- 4 Kitesail Freebooter
- 4 Siren Stormtamer
- 4 Thief of Sanity
- Instants (6)
- 1 Sinister Sabotage
- 2 Dive Down
- 3 Lookout's Dispersal
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Thought Erasure
- Enchantments (4)
- 4 Curious Obsession
- Lands (23)
- 6 Swamp
- 8 Island
- 1 Dimir Guildgate
- 4 Drowned Catacomb
- 4 Watery Grave
- Sideboard (15)
- 3 Cast Down
- 2 Deadeye Tracker
- 1 Disdainful Stroke
- 3 Moment of Craving
- 2 Negate
- 1 Price of Fame
- 1 Ruin Raider
- 2 Vraska's Contempt
Not only does this deck steal things with Hostage Taker, but it also plays Thief of Sanity which has the ability to cast anything from your deck when it hits you. Since Thief of Sanity has flying, it can be difficult for low-to-the-ground aggro decks to block. That means that you'll likely be able to cast multiple of your opponent's cards, adding insult to injury when you beat them with their own cards.
ReVamped
The final deck I have for you features the Vampire tribe. But this isn't your typical tribal deck, since it also features a token theme as well. Let's take a look at the deck:
ReVamped | Allegiance Standard | gladheater, aetherhub.com user
- Creatures (18)
- 2 Teysa Karlov
- 3 Hero of Precinct One
- 3 Legion Lieutenant
- 3 Regal Bloodlord
- 3 Vizkopa Vampire
- 4 Pitiless Pontiff
- Planeswalkers (1)
- 1 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
- Instants (4)
- 2 Settle the Wreckage
- 2 Vraska's Contempt
- Sorceries (6)
- 3 Call to the Feast
- 3 Kaya's Wrath
- Enchantments (9)
- 1 Legion's Landing
- 2 Divine Visitation
- 2 Ethereal Absolution
- 4 Ixalan's Binding
- Artifacts (2)
- 2 Glass of the Guildpact
- Lands (20)
- 8 Plains
- 8 Swamp
- 1 Isolated Chapel
- 3 Godless Shrine
Those Angel tokens can really get out of hand if you have Teysa Karlov in play. With Teysa, any creature token you have will get vigilance and lifelink. Even if the tokens you have are just Humans, giving them both vigilance and lifelink can make it so that it's no longer profitable for your opponent to attack you. Use that reprieve to continue building up your forces and attack your opponent with vigor. Once you're able to get them on their heels, victory should be well within your grasp.
Wrapping Up
War of the Spark is nearly here, but that doesn't mean that the cards from previous sets will no longer see play. These decks all feature tribes that have been in Standard for quite a while, and they can still pack a punch. Decks like these can continue to evolve when new cards are released, so don't be afraid to look through your older cards to see if you can find any sweet combinations you can take advantage of in Standard.
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
