Hello, everyone! Normally I enjoy playing Red aggro decks, but there are times that I like to shake things up. In my hunt for fun and interesting decklists, I came across a few different decks that all had one thing in common. They are all decks. These all look like decks that would be interesting to play before Standard rotation happens this fall. Let's get started by taking a look at the first deck.

Orzhov Vampires

The first deck I have for you features a tribe from Ixalan that has made quite a name for itself. Let's take a look at Orzhov Vampires:

Orzhov Vampires | Core Set 2020 Standard | d4sy92120, deckstats.net user

• Creatures (24)
• 1 Elenda, the Dusk Rose
• 2 Adanto Vanguard
• 2 Champion of Dusk
• 2 Forerunner of the Legion
• 2 Legion Lieutenant
• 2 Mentor of the Meek
• 2 Vampire of the Dire Moon
• 3 Bloodthirsty Aerialist
• 4 Bishop of Binding
• 4 Knight of the Ebon Legion

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 2 Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord
• 2 Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord

• Instants (3)
• 3 Mortify

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Kaya's Wrath

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 Ashes of the Abhorrent
• 2 Oath of Kaya

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Icon of Ancestry

• Lands (23)
• 3 Plains
• 8 Swamp
• 4 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Forsaken Sanctuary
• 4 Scoured Barrens

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Sorin's second +1 loyalty ability offers the deck a bit of reach. At some point during the game, the battlefield might become so congested that it will become difficult to attack without losing some of your creatures. You can use this +1 loyalty ability to deal three points of damage to any target, including directly to your opponent's life total. It's a great ability to use to deal those last few points of damage needed to finish your opponent off.

With Sorin's -3 loyalty ability, you're able to put any Vampire from your hand directly onto the battlefield. While it can feel great to use this ability to play Champion of Dusk or Elenda, the Dusk Rose simply because of the mana you'll save, there are times that it can be worthwhile to use the ability to play a cheaper Vampire instead. There might be a time when you have more mana of one color available than the other, and using this ability can allow you to get additional creatures into play with ease.

Orzhov Knights

The next deck I have for you is another tribal deck, this time featuring Knights. Let's take a look at it:

Orzhov Knights | Core Set 2020 Standard | Lebo Rambo, deckstats.net user

• Creatures (28)
• 2 Cavalier of Dawn
• 2 Cavalier of Night
• 4 Adanto Vanguard
• 4 Dauntless Bodyguard
• 4 Knight of Grace
• 4 Knight of Malice
• 4 Knight of the Ebon Legion
• 4 Valiant Knight

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 History of Benalia

• Artifacts (4)
• 2 Icon of Ancestry
• 2 The Immortal Sun

• Lands (24)
• 6 Plains
• 6 Swamp
• 4 Godless Shrine
• 4 Isolated Chapel
• 4 Temple of Silence

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Ashiok, Dream Render
• 2 Cast Down
• 2 Despark
• 4 Duress
• 2 Legion's End
• 2 Noxious Grasp
• 2 Prison Realm

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This deck also offers a lot of ways to give your creatures a boost to their power and toughness. With Icon of Ancestry, you'll want to choose Knights as your creature type so that nearly every creature you control will get +1/+1. It also acts as a way to filter through your deck to find additional Knights to play. Valiant Knight also boosts all of your Knights by +1/+1, plus it offers them the chance to gain double strike. The Immortal Sun gives an additional +1/+1 bonus to all of your creatures, not just Knights. In addition, it offers a break on mana costs for your spells as well as shutting off Planeswalker loyalty abilities. Talk about value!

Another card in the deck that allows your creatures to become bigger than your opponents is History of Benalia. This enchantment not only gives you a pair of additional 2/2 Knight tokens that can be boosted by the cards I mentioned earlier, but it also gives all of your Knights a +2/+1 bonus when the third lore counter is placed on it. This works really well when combined with the double strike granted by Valiant Knight.

Orzhov Lifegain

The final deck I have for you isn't based on a single tribe, but around gaining life. Let's take a look at the deck:

Orzhov Lifegain | Core Set 2020 Standard | Calado, deckstats.net user

• Creatures (30)
• 3 Impassioned Orator
• 3 Midnight Reaper
• 4 Ajani's Pridemate
• 4 Angel of Vitality
• 4 Banehound
• 4 Bloodthirsty Aerialist
• 4 Healer's Hawk
• 4 Vampire of the Dire Moon

• Planeswalkers (6)
• 3 Ajani, Strength of the Pride
• 3 Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord

• Lands (24)
• 8 Plains
• 8 Swamp
• 4 Godless Shrine
• 4 Scoured Barrens

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With Ajani, Strength of the Pride, you're able to create multiple copies of Ajani's Pridemate. Once you have one in play (either with Ajani's -2 loyalty ability or by playing one from the deck), you'll want to use Ajani's +1 loyalty ability to gain a point of life for each Creature and each Planeswalker you have in play. That will help your Ajani's Pridemate(s) grow in size, becoming threats that your opponent will need to deal with.

Sorin, Vengeful Bloodlord gives all of your Creatures and Planeswalkers lifelink as long as it's your turn. Not only does this offer you a way to gain a lot of life, but doing so will also continue growing your Ajani's Pridemate(s). Also, those Pridemate(s) that you've already been growing will also have lifelink on your turn, so you can quickly finish the game by attacking with them. You'll make your life total difficult for your opponent to lower to a manageable amount while dealing out a ton of damage to your opponent's blocking creatures or the opponent directly.

One final thing to note is the importance of Scoured Barrens in a deck like this. Since the majority of creatures in the deck cost anywhere from one to 3 mana, having a land that comes into play tapped won't be as much of a problem. The fact that Scoured Barrens gains you one point of life when it enters play is the key selling point for its inclusion since it offers an additional trigger for any Ajani's Pridemate(s) you have in play.

Wrapping Up

While none of these decklists are decks I would normally play on a weekly basis, I think each of them looks fun to try out as an alternative to my regular style of decks. If you're looking for something new to play, you might want to give one of these decks a try.

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. 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