Hello everyone. Every week I try to find fun and innovative decks that you can play against your friends or at a tournament at your friendly local game store. This week I have a few decks from Magic Arena or Magic Online (MTGO) for you that I think look like they will be a lot of fun to play. Let's get started with our first deck.

Naya Velomachus Reanimator

I'll begin with a deck that recently won six or more matches in a row during Ranked play by players at Platinum or Mythic ranking on Magic Arena. It features the legendary Velomachus Lorehold. Let's take a look at it.

Naya Velomachus Reanimator | SNC Standard | Random Platinum/Mythic Ranked Player

• Creatures (10)
• 2 Professor of Symbology
• 4 Fleetfoot Dancer
• 4 Velomachus Lorehold

• Instants (8)
• 4 Cathartic Pyre
• 4 Fateful Absence

• Sorceries (15)
• 2 Angelfire Ignition
• 2 Emeria's Call
• 3 Burn Down the House
• 4 Invoke Justice
• 4 Seize the Spoils

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki

• Lands (23)
• 1 Mountain
• 5 Plains
• 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 2 Branchloft Pathway // Boulderloft Pathway
• 3 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
• 3 Overgrown Farmland
• 4 Jetmir's Garden
• 4 Sundown Pass

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Goldspan Dragon
• 4 Snakeskin Veil
• 1 Basic Conjuration
• 1 Containment Breach
• 1 Environmental Sciences
• 1 Illuminate History
• 1 Reduce to Memory
• 2 Incandescent Aria

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For a mere five mana, you can cast Invoke Justice, which will return a permanent from your graveyard to the battlefield along with four +1/+1 counters that you can distribute. That will save a couple of turns, allowing you to get Velomachus Lorehold into play on turn five. You can also use Treasure tokens to help with the cost. You can get Treasure tokens from the 2/2 Goblin Shaman creature token created by Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki or by casting Seize the Spoils.

Now that we've figured out how to cast Invoke Justice easier, we'll need to get Velomachus Lorehold into our graveyard. In addition to creating a Treasure token, Seize the Spoils will allow you to discard a card from your hand in order to cast it. You also have Cathartic Pyre, which allows you to discard up to two cards. Finally, you can choose to learn Illuminate History when Professor of Symbology enters the battlefield. Illuminate History will allow you to discard any number of cards from your hand when you cast it. With these cards, getting Velomachus Lorehold into your graveyard shouldn't be too difficult.

Azorius Midrange

Next, let's take a look at a pair of decks that recently went 5-0 on Magic Online. We'll begin with an Azorius Midrange deck. Let's check it out.

Azorius Midrange | SNC Standard | HENNYSOFIA, 5-0 MTGO

• Creatures (18)
• 1 Symmetry Sage
• 1 Usher of the Fallen
• 1 Vortex Runner
• 1 Waterfall Aerialist
• 2 Clarion Spirit
• 2 Clever Lumimancer
• 2 Kelpie Guide
• 2 Soothsayer Adept
• 2 Wormhole Serpent
• 4 Battlefield Raptor

• Instants (2)
• 2 Test of Talents

• Sorceries (6)
• 2 Mentor's Guidance
• 4 Guiding Voice

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Valor of the Worthy

• Lands (30)
• 14 Island
• 16 Snow-Covered Plains

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Environmental Sciences
• 4 Expanded Anatomy
• 4 Introduction to Annihilation
• 4 Introduction to Prophecy

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To start things off, you'll likely play some small, unassuming creatures to the battlefield. Battlefield Raptor, Clever Lumimancer, Usher of the Fallen, or Symmetry Sage are all perfect creatures to play on turn one, starting your presence on the battlefield. Follow them up with Soothsayer Adept, who will allow you to draw a card and then discard a card. Clarion Spirit is another great follow up, and you'll begin to be able to create 1/1 Spirit creature tokens on future turns.

Later on, you'll be able to cast Kelpie Guide, who has an ability to untap another permanent you control, or to tap any permanent in play if you control eight or more lands. You can use this to get a second activation from another creature you have in play, or target a land you control to create additional mana. As a means of ending the game, you can use the activated ability of Wormhole Serpent to make one or more of your creatures unblockable. While there are no massively powerful creatures to make unblockable, using this ability over a few turns will nibble away at your opponent's life total and hopefully give you the win.

Gruul Counters

The final deck I have for you has the potential to score some pretty quick wins, but also has the tools to survive if the game goes longer. Let's take a look at it.

Gruul Counters | SNC Standard | DANVX25, 5-0 MTGO

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Goro-Goro, Disciple of Ryusei
• 2 Halana and Alena, Partners
• 2 Kodama of the West Tree
• 2 Ochre Jelly
• 4 Gala Greeters
• 4 Oran-Rief Ooze
• 4 Swarm Shambler
• 4 Thundering Raiju

• Instants (11)
• 1 Kazuul's Fury // Kazuul's Cliffs
• 2 Snakeskin Veil
• 4 Flame Discharge
• 4 Kami's Flare

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Invigorating Hot Spring

• Lands (24)
• 7 Forest
• 7 Mountain
• 2 Crawling Barrens
• 4 Cragcrown Pathway // Timbercrown Pathway
• 4 Rockfall Vale

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Outland Liberator
• 2 Snakeskin Veil
• 2 Tangletrap
• 3 Burning Hands
• 3 Flame-Blessed Bolt
• 3 Reckoner Bankbuster

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This deck has multiple ways to add +1/+1 counters to your creatures, which can help you keep Ochre Jelly in the fight as long as possible. Invigorating Hot Spring gives you four +1/+1 counters to distribute throughout the game. It will also give haste to any modified creature, making it harder for your opponent to attack with everything they have. Thundering Raiju gives a +1/+1 counter to one of your creatures whenever it attacks. It also provides some additional damage to your opponent based on the number of modified creatures you control.

Another way to get a +1/+1 counter is by attacking alongside Oran-Rief Ooze. Any creature that already has a +1/+1 counter will gain an additional +1/+1 counter when it attacks with Oran-Rief Ooze. This is a great way to make sure that the Ochre Jelly tokens you've created will continue to come back after being destroyed. Finally, Halana and Alena, Partners will give +1/+1 counters equal to their power at the beginning of combat during your turn. By boosting their stats, you'll help to increase the stats of the rest of their teammates, enabling things to ramp up very quickly.

Wrapping Up

It's nice to see that even though we're starting to reach the end of our current Standard season, there are still new decks to try and new strategies to explore. All of these decks have done well online, and hopefully they'll do well for you if you should try them out.

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