Hello everyone. Now that we've had a couple of weeks since the release of Bloomburrow, I can start my deep dive into decks that are centered on a particular color. Over the next five weeks, I'll be focusing on one of Magic's five colors, looking at decks that are that color only as well as decks that pair that color with each of the other colors. I'll be starting with White decks, so let's get started.
Mono-White Elemental Control
As usual, I'll start with a mono-colored deck to see what cards stand out. Let's take a look at the decklist.
Mono-White Elemental Control | BLB Standard | MtgMalone, aetherhub.com user
- Creatures (20)
- 2 Anointed Peacekeeper
- 2 Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
- 3 Archangel of Tithes
- 3 Aven Interrupter
- 3 Grand Abolisher
- 3 Salvation Swan
- 4 Beza, the Bounding Spring
- Instants (6)
- 3 Get Lost
- 3 Parting Gust
- Sorceries (7)
- 2 Requisition Raid
- 2 White Sun's Twilight
- 3 Starfall Invocation
- Enchantments (3)
- 3 High Noon
- Lands (24)
- 1 Mountain
- 16 Plains
- 1 Blast Zone
- 1 Fountainport
- 1 Hidden Courtyard
- 2 Demolition Field
- 2 Mirrex
Beza, the Bounding Spring brings a ton of value to the battlefield when you play it. If your opponent has more lands, life, creatures, or cards in their hand than you have, you'll benefit from Beza, the Bounding Spring entering the battlefield. Whether you're creating a Treasure token, gaining four life, creating two 1/1 Fish creature tokens, drawing a card, or a combination of these effects, you'll usually get some value when this Elemental Elk comes into play. Take extra advantage of this by playing Salvation Swan or Parting Gust to 'blink' Beza for added value.
To make things tough on your opponent, you'll want to have Archangel of Tithes in play. While this Angel is untapped, your opponent will need to spend one mana for each character they want to attack you with. If Archangel of Tithes is attacking, your opponent will need to pay one mana for each character they want to block with. Having to choose whether to play new creatures and spells, or whether to attack or block will certainly cause them to feel behind in the momentum of the match.
Azorius Artifacts
Next, I'll add some Blue mana and show you an Azorius deck that's all about Artifacts. Let's take a look at the deck.
Azorius Artifacts - BLB Standard | Sonio, aetherhub.com user
- Creatures (9)
- 1 Karn, Legacy Reforged
- 4 Thran Spider
- 4 Market Gnome
- Instants (6)
- 2 Soul Partition
- 4 Three Steps Ahead
- Sorceries (1)
- 1 Season of Weaving
- Artifacts (18)
- 1 Fabrication Foundry
- 1 Spring-Loaded Sawblades // Bladewheel Chariot
- 1 The Irencrag
- 1 The Mightstone and Weakstone
- 1 Thousand Moons Smithy // Barracks of the Thousand
- 1 Transmutation Font
- 4 Braided Net // Braided Quipu
- 4 Candy Trail
- 4 Simulacrum Synthesizer
- Lands (26)
- 3 Island
- 3 Plains
- 1 Fomori Vault
- 1 Fountainport
- 3 Mirrex
- 3 Restless Anchorage
- 4 Adarkar Wastes
- 4 Meticulous Archive
- 4 Seachrome Coast
- Sideboard (6)
- 1 Annex Sentry
- 1 Deduce
- 1 Assimilation Aegis
- 1 Clay-Fired Bricks
- 1 Collector's Vault
- 1 Unstable Glyphbridge
With this deck, you want to try to control things in the early stages of the game by countering your opponent's threats and tapping down the ones you can't counter. Once you're able to cast Simulacrum Synthesizer, you can turn the corner and become a bit more aggressive. Continue casting artifacts that have a mana value of at least three, and you'll begin creating an army of Construct creature tokens that get bigger and bigger with each new artifact you put into play.
Aiding your Construct army is Karn, Legacy Reforged. His power and toughness is equal to the greatest mana value of the artifacts you control, making him quite powerful indeed. This deck also has a nice combo pairing in Braided Net // Braided Quipu and Spring-Loaded Sawblades // Bladewheel Chariot. Tap an opponent's creature down with Braided Net, then use Spring-Loaded Sawblades to deal five damage to that tapped creature. You won't get this combo often, but when you do, it's certain to be quite memorable.
Orzhov Fliers
The next deck I have for you adds Black and White mana along with a bunch of flying creatures to dominate the game. Let's take a look at the deck.
Orzhov Fliers | BLB Standard | Hex_MTG, aetherhub.com user
This is a deck that features a lot of synergy. Let's talk about Jackdaw Savior first, who allows you to return another creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield whenever a creature you control with flying dies. Even though that has to have a lesser mana value than the creature that dies, you'll be able to bring back a bunch of useful creatures, such as Deep-Cavern Bat and Dust Animus.
Another point of synergy is the interaction between Salvation Swan and Phyrexian Fleshgorger. As I mentioned before, Salvation Swan will 'blink' a creature you control that doesn't have flying. Phyrexian Fleshgorger is a great target for this ability. If you've cast Phyrexian Fleshgorger for its prototype ability, it will be a 3/3, but if it gets 'blinked', it will return to the battlefield as a 7/5. It feels great to save four mana when you take advantage of this trick.
Boros Mice
Next, we'll add Red mana to the mix and take a look at a deck featuring a bunch of Mice. Let's check it out.
Boros Mice | BLB Standard | MTG_Joe, aetherhub.com user
- Creatures (24)
- 2 Mabel, Heir to Cragflame
- 2 Nettle Guard
- 4 Cheeky House-Mouse
- 4 Emberheart Challenger
- 4 Flowerfoot Swordmaster
- 4 Heartfire Hero
- 4 Manifold Mouse
- Instants (13)
- 2 Lightning Helix
- 3 Rabid Gnaw
- 4 Might of the Meek
- 4 Monstrous Rage
- Enchantments (1)
- 1 Warleader's Call
- Artifacts (1)
- 1 Lost Jitte
- Lands (21)
- 5 Plains
- 6 Mountain
- 1 Lupinflower Village
- 1 Rockface Village
- 4 Cavern of Souls
- 4 Inspiring Vantage
Manifold Mouse is an all star for this deck. While this Mouse Soldier starts off small, it can be simple enough to increase its power to four with the help of just Mabel, Heir to Cragflame and Monstrous Rage. Manifold Mouse also has a pair of abilities that can double its effectiveness as an attacker. First, it has offspring, which can create a token copy of itself. It also has the ability to gain either double strike or trample during your combat phase (and lasting until the end of the turn). Which you choose will be decided based on the number and strength of the creatures your opponent has in play.
As a fan of Boros decks, I've seen firsthand how they can sometimes run out of steam. All too often, you're in top deck mode, praying to draw a card that will be beneficial for you during your turn. Emberheart Challenger can help with this. When this Mouse Warrior becomes the target of a spell or ability you control for the first time each turn, you can exile a card that you're able to play until the end of the turn. If you're short of spells to target it with, you can always use the bottom ability on Rockface Village to trigger Emberheart Challenger's exile effect.
Selesnya Rabbit Swarm
The final deck I have for you this week is a Selesnya deck that is filled with Rabbits that pack a punch. Let's take a look at the deck.
Selesnya Rabbit Swarm | BLB Standard | MTGArenaOriginalDecks, aetherhub.com user
- Creatures (26)
- 2 Serra Paragon
- 4 Burrowguard Mentor
- 4 Finneas, Ace Archer
- 4 Pawpatch Recruit
- 4 Regal Bunnicorn
- 4 Valley Mightcaller
- 4 Valley Questcaller
- Sorceries (4)
- 4 Hop to It
- Enchantments (7)
- 2 Case of the Uneaten Feast
- 2 Tribute to the World Tree
- 3 Innkeeper's Talent
- Artifacts (1)
- 1 The Skullspore Nexus
Everywhere you look, you'll see Rabbits, if you play this deck. It's full of powerful Rabbit creatures that help each other throughout the course of the game. Finneas, Ace Archer gives +1/+1 counters to all of your other Rabbits and token creatures. This will allow you to be able to draw extra cards in no time. Pawpatch Recruit also adds +1/+1 counters to creatures you control, but only adds to one creature at a time. In addition to 'going big', this deck also goes wide which helps Burrowguard Mentor and Regal Bunnicorn become huge.
Since nearly all of the creatures in this deck have a mana value of two or less, you'll have no shortage of creatures to return to the battlefield with Serra Paragon. She also provides you with a bit of evasion, which can be very helpful in finishing your opponent's last few points of life off.
Wrapping Up
Decks featuring White mana are a combination of creature control along with small creatures that get bigger as the game goes on. Each of these decks speak to me in different ways, scratching different playing itches that I have.
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