Hi everyone. I've been feeling a little under the weather this week, so I'll apologize in advance for the shortness of my article. Normally I try to go over a few different decks that show some signs of innovation, but this week I've only got one for you. Let's take a look at it.

Mono-Blue Midrange | Magic 2019 Standard | DELAS0UL, (5-0) MTGO

• Creatures (20)
• 2 Baral, Chief of Compliance
• 2 Thriving Turtle
• 4 Merfolk Trickster
• 4 Siren Stormtamer
• 4 Slither Blade
• 4 Tempest Djinn

• Instants (11)
• 1 Dive Down
• 1 Revolutionary Rebuff
• 2 Spell Pierce
• 3 Essence Scatter
• 4 Wizard's Retort

• Sorceries (3)
• 3 Chart a Course

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Curious Obsession

• Lands (22)
• 22 Island

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Thriving Turtle
• 2 Nimble Obstructionist
• 2 Shielded Aether Thief
• 1 Revolutionary Rebuff
• 1 Jace's Defeat
• 2 Negate
• 2 Unsummon
• 1 Metamorphic Alteration
• 2 Aether Meltdown

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Thriving Turtle hasn't gotten much love during its time in Standard, but it's a real role-player in this deck. Its three toughness performs the same role that Baral does in the early game, but if you're able to hold off your opponents' initial attacks and get to a stable place, you can start attacking with Thriving Turtle in order to get the +1/+1 counter on it. While you'll only be able to do it once, that added boost make it so you can block bigger threats, or possibly kill off some of the smaller ones.

Merfolk Trickster is a great trick to play during combat, allowing you to kill off your opponents' most dangerous threats. It can help remove lifelink when your opponent needs it most, or turn a flying threat into a non-flying one.

Finally, Tempest Djinn can really hit like a brick house, especially as the game goes on. Since you only have Islands in your deck, you can grow Tempest Djinn's power to huge amounts. I've played against decks running Tempest Djinn where my opponent has had 6, 7, or 8 Islands in play, and there's no worse feeling than facing down a threat with evasion like this that can kill you in a matter of 2-3 turns. You have to hope for a removal spell right away, otherwise the game will be over fast.

Curious Obsession and Slither Blade go hand-in-hand in this deck. While I think it's better to play Curious Obsession on a bigger creature, Slither Blade allows you to attack unimpeded every turn, allowing you to keep Curious Obsession in play as long as possible.

This deck also plays various spells that help you counter an opponents' removal spells. Revolutionary Rebuff and Spell Pierce help you keep your threats in play for as long as possible. Siren Stormtamer helps with this too, but you'll want to wait to use that as your last resort so you can keep this flying attacker in play as long as possible.

The deck also includes a few Essence Scatters to use on those threats your opponent plays that might be difficult for you to block profitably. There's also a full playset of Wizard's Retort that can usually be cast for just two Blue mana. Use these to either keep your opponents' side of the battlefield clear of threats or to counter a removal spell the opponent plays. And, don't forget, all of these cards that counter an opponents' spell will also allow Baral to loot.

Wrapping Up

If you're looking for a deck that looks fun to play, this could be the deck for you. It has big, powerful creatures, counter spells, and card drawing. I think it's a great choice for a new player to try out, or for that person that wants to play a deck with some counterspells but doesn't want to play a full-on control deck. What do you think of this deck? You can 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