Hello, everyone! I hope you all had a great time at a prerelease event for War of the Spark. I know I did. Now that the cards are legal for Standard play (as of tomorrow, May 3), it's time to start looking at new ways to shake things up with these new cards. I have a few decks this week that I think look like a blast to play. Let's get started.

Esper Artifacts

The first deck I have for you is primarily a Dimir deck with a splash of White mana. It focuses on creating artifacts as a route to victory. Let's take a look at it:

Artifacts | War Standard | 1800DNKMEME, MTGArena.pro user

• Creatures (2)
• 2 Soul Diviner

• Planeswalkers (14)
• 2 Tezzeret, Artifice Master
• 2 Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge
• 3 Dovin, Grand Arbiter
• 3 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
• 4 Karn, Scion of Urza

• Instants (11)
• 2 Chemister's Insight
• 2 Tyrant's Scorn
• 3 Mortify
• 4 Vraska's Contempt

• Sorceries (5)
• 2 Kaya's Wrath
• 3 Discovery // Dispersal

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Search for Azcanta

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Treasure Map

• Lands (24)
• 1 Island
• 1 Plains
• 1 Arch of Orazca
• 1 Karn's Bastion
• 3 Glacial Fortress
• 3 Godless Shrine
• 3 Hallowed Fountain
• 3 Isolated Chapel
• 4 Drowned Catacomb
• 4 Watery Grave

• Sideboard (14)
• 1 Cleansing Nova
• 2 Cry of the Carnarium
• 4 Dovin's Veto
• 2 Sorcerous Spyglass
• 3 The Eldest Reborn
• 2 Unmoored Ego

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Much of the remainder of the deck are cards that are specifically used to deal with troublesome creatures your opponent brings into play. One card you'll want to be careful with is Kaya's Wrath, as it will wipe your opponent's creatures as well as your own. While you will gain a point of life for each of your own creatures you destroy with Kaya's Wrath, you'll want to make sure you have a plan to create a battlefield presence again before your opponent can recover. As long as you have a couple of Planeswalkers that can create Artifact creature tokens, you should be okay.

This deck also has quite a few ways to draw additional cards in it. Soul Diviner can be held as a blocker and then at the end of your opponent's turn it can draw you a card by sapping away a point of loyalty from one of your Planeswalkers. If you have a good board presence and don't need to create a Thopter with him, Tezzeret, Artifice Master can usually draw you two additional cards each turn. The deck also has Treasure Map, which will eventually be able to create three Treasure tokens for you that both help you draw cards when you need them or help pump up Karn's Construct tokens when you have everything you need in your hand.

Ajani's Tokens

The next deck I have for you this week features Ajani, the Greathearted. If you're looking for a deck that's great on both offense and defense, look no further. Let's take a look at the deck:

Ajani's Greathearted | War Standard | bp_pilar, MTGArena.pro user

• Creatures (15)
• 1 Huatli's Raptor
• 2 Emmara, Soul of the Accord
• 2 Tithe Taker
• 2 Trostani Discordant
• 4 Law-Rune Enforcer
• 4 Venerated Loxodon

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Ajani, the Greathearted

• Instants (6)
• 2 Unbreakable Formation
• 4 March of the Multitudes

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Saproling Migration

• Enchantments (10)
• 2 Conclave Tribunal
• 4 History of Benalia
• 4 Legion's Landing

• Lands (22)
• 5 Forest
• 9 Plains
• 4 Sunpetal Grove
• 4 Temple Garden

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As your army begins to swell in size, you'll want to cast Ajani, the Greathearted as soon as you can. Use Ajani's -2 loyalty ability aggressively to give all of your creatures a +1/+1 counter. You'll want to grow your creatures large enough that you can overpower your opponent's creatures. A ground stall is not your friend, as it only gives your opponent more time to find a board wipe, so be a little aggressive and try to keep your opponent on their heels.

Izzet Adeliz

The final deck I have for you this week is a Wizard tribal deck that features a new tool from War of the Spark. Let's take a look at it:

Adeliz, the Wizard Wind | War Standard | mekaron, MTGArena.pro user

• Creatures (14)
• 3 Adeliz, the Cinder Wind
• 3 Beamsplitter Mage
• 4 Dreadhorde Arcanist
• 4 Goblin Electromancer

• Instants (22)
• 2 Dive Down
• 4 Narset's Reversal
• 4 Opt
• 4 Run Amok
• 4 Sure Strike
• 4 Wizard's Lightning

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Maximize Altitude

• Lands (22)
• 11 Mountain
• 7 Island
• 1 Steam Vents
• 3 Sulfur Falls

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A nice upgrade for this deck came from War of the Spark in the form of Dreadhorde Arcanist. Not only is Dreadhorde Arcanist a Wizard, but it also allows you to cast an instant or sorcery card from your graveyard whenever it attacks. With Adeliz, the Cinder Wind on the battlefield, that equates to an additional +1/+1 for all of your Wizards. Dreadhorde Arcanist also has trample, so the bonus power it gets from Adeliz isn't wasted if Dreadhorde Arcanist gets chump blocked.

Wrapping Up

The first few weeks after a new set releases is such a magical time. Anything seems possible and tons of new decks pop up. Not all of them have what it takes to become all-stars, but it's fun trying to find the diamonds in the rough.

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