Hello everyone. For the past four weeks I've done a series of articles where I'm looking at decks featuring a specific color, including decks where that featured color is paired with another color. I've previously looked at decks featuring Black, Red, Green, and White mana, so this week I'll be looking at decks featuring Blue mana. Let's get started.

Mono-Blue Aggro

As always, I'll start with a mono-colored deck featuring Blue cards. It's a more aggressive deck that you'll usually see from Blue thanks to some help from artifacts. Let's take a look at the deck.

Mono-Blue Aggro | OTJ Standard | Lucifeller, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (27)
• 3 Living Lectern
• 4 Gingerbrute
• 4 Harrier Strix
• 4 Malcator's Watcher
• 4 Razzle-Dazzler
• 4 Spyglass Siren
• 4 Unctus's Retrofitter

• Instants (4)
• 4 Shore Up

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Zoetic Glyph

• Artifacts (5)
• 1 The Key to the Vault
• 4 Levitating Statue

• Land (20)
• 20 Island

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Gingerbrute, Malcator's Watcher, and Living Lectern are all artifact creatures in this deck that provide you with a lot of value. Gingerbrute is capable of only being able to be blocked by creatures with haste, giving it a very unusual form of evasion. Malcator's Watcher is a small flier that lets you draw a card when it dies, making it a wonderful blocker. Living Lectern doesn't look like a threat, but it's the perfect target for Zoetic Glyph, which turns it into a big attacker.

Since no spell in this deck costs more than three mana to cast, you'll be able to get a lot of value from Razzle-Dazzler. By casting your second spell in the turn, Razzle-Dazzler will get a +1/+1 counter and it becomes unable to be blocked for the remainder of the turn. By using evasive creatures, like this, to attack, you can deal quite a bit of damage that your opponent simply has to absorb.

Azorius Flash

Next up, we'll add some White mana to create an Azorius deck that wants to cast its spells during its opponent's turn. Let's take a look at the deck.

Azorius Flash | OTJ Standard | LegenVD, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (18)
• 2 Errant and Giada
• 2 Faerie Mastermind
• 2 Horned Loch-Whale
• 2 Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
• 2 Stoic Sphinx
• 2 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 2 Werefox Bodyguard
• 4 Aven Interrupter

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 The Wandering Emperor

• Instants (12)
• 2 Elspeth's Smite
• 2 March of Otherworldly Light
• 2 Memory Deluge
• 2 Soul Partition
• 4 No More Lies

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Virtue of Loyalty

• Lands (26)
• 3 Island
• 5 Plains
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Blast Zone
• 2 Restless Anchorage
• 4 Adarkar Wastes
• 4 Deserted Beach
• 4 Seachrome Coast

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The only spell you'll ever need to tap mana for on your turn is Virtue of Loyalty. It can be well worth it to do this, though. While Virtue of Loyalty is on the battlefield, during your end step each creature you control will gain a +1/+1 counter, plus you'll get to untap those creatures. That untapping ability allows you to attack often while still being able to defend your life total.

Dimir Sphinx Control

The next deck I have for you leans into Blue's strength, control magic. Let's check it out.

Dimir Sphinx Control | OTJ Standard | SlothMtg, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (4)
• 4 Stoic Sphinx

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Liliana of the Veil

• Instants (19)
• 1 Negate
• 1 Sheoldred's Edict
• 2 March of Wretched Sorrow
• 2 Quick Study
• 3 Go for the Throat
• 3 Phantom Interference
• 3 Three Steps Ahead
• 4 Memory Deluge

• Sorceries (7)
• 1 Duress
• 3 Deadly Cover-Up
• 3 Path of Peril

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Virtue of Persistence

• Lands (26)
• 5 Island
• 5 Swamp
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
• 3 Undercity Sewers
• 3 Underground River
• 4 Restless Reef
• 4 Shipwreck Marsh

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It even has a powerful creature to help you finish off your opponent, Stoic Sphinx. Stoic Sphinx has flash, making it perfect to cast on your opponent's turn as a surprise blocker. Once it's on the battlefield, it can be difficult to get rid of. That's thanks to having hexproof as long as you haven't cast a spell during the current turn. Targeted removal will have a difficult time getting rid of this sneaky Sphinx.

Izzet Dragons

Next, I have a deck that adds Red mana and features one of Magic's most popular creature types. Let's take a look at the deck.

Izzet Dragons | OTJ Standard | MtgMalone, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (16)
• 2 Bonehoard Dracosaur
• 2 Terror of the Peaks
• 3 Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
• 3 Sarkhan, Soul Aflame
• 3 Shivan Devastator
• 3 Smoldering Egg

• Instants (17)
• 2 Great Train Heist
• 2 Make Disappear
• 2 Three Steps Ahead
• 3 Fading Hope
• 4 Big Score
• 4 Lightning Strike

• Battles (3)
• 3 Invasion of Tarkir // Defiant Thundermaw

• Lands (24)
• 2 Island
• 5 Mountain
• 2 Demolition Field
• 2 Shivan Reef
• 2 Swiftwater Cliffs
• 3 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Stormcarved Coast

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All of the creatures in this deck, with the exception of one, are Dragons. The only one that isn't a Dragon is Sarkhan, Soul Aflame. While Sarkhan is on the battlefield, you'll get a one mana discount when you cast any of your Dragon spells. That allows your Dragons to enter play earlier than usual, plus Sarkhan becomes a copy of a newly played Dragon for the turn, giving you an attack with that 'Dragon' even earlier.

Simic Merfolk

The final deck I have for you this week focuses on our fine, fishy friends, Merfolk. Let's take a look at the deck.

Simic Merfolk | OTJ Standard | Dasein2600, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (33)
• 1 Deeproot Wayfinder
• 1 Tatyova, Steward of Tides
• 1 Vodalian Mindsinger
• 2 Nicanzil, Current Conductor
• 2 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 3 Deepfathom Echo
• 3 Jadelight Spelunker
• 4 Cenote Scout
• 4 Merfolk Cave-Diver
• 4 Roaming Throne
• 4 Sentinel of the Nameless City
• 4 Vodalian Hexcatcher

• Sorceries (3)
• 3 Croaking Counterpart

• Lands (24)
• 2 Island
• 3 Forest
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 1 Otawara, Soaring City
• 2 Restless Vinestalk
• 2 Secluded Courtyard
• 4 Botanical Sanctum
• 4 Dreamroot Cascade
• 4 Yavimaya Coast

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You can turn those small benefits into even greater benefits by triggering those abilities additional times with the help of Roaming Throne. When this Golem enters the battlefield, you should always choose to make it a Merfolk, since every other creature in this deck is a Merfolk. Doing this not only gives you those extra triggers for your abilities, but it also benefits Roaming Throne by allowing it to get the +1/+1 bonus provided by Vodalian Hexcatcher to your other Merfolk.

Wrapping Up

Over the past five weeks, I've brought you 25 unique decks that you can use in Standard. They include aggressive, control, midrange, and combo decks. I encourage you to check out each of these articles if you're interested in playing Standard. I guarantee that there's a deck for everyone, no matter what style of deck you prefer to play.

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