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Main » Articles » We Are the Champions

We Are the Champions

Mike Likes
Posted on September 7, 2018
 Reddit

The Core Set 2019 Store Championship is coming up at a store near you next week. For my article, I've got a few different decks that you could play to bring home that sweet Championship playmat. Each deck is a different archetype, so no matter what your playstyle is, I've got a deck for you. And, each of these decks has recently gone 5-0 in a Magic Online (MTGO) League, so they've all seen some testing.

Aggro

For those of you that have followed my writings for any amount of time, you're likely to know that I'm an aggro player and proud of it. So, for that reason, let's get started by taking a look at the archetype I feel gives you the best chance of winning your Store Championship.

B/R Aggro | Magic 2019 Standard | TERUTERU8140, (5-0) MTGO

br Aggro has been one of the best, if not the best deck in Standard for months now. It uses early threats like Bomat Courier to chip away small amounts of your opponent's life total. Then, when Bomat Courier can no longer profitably attack, you can cash in the Bomat Courier for a new hand of cards.

This deck also plays creatures that are difficult to deal with. Even though she only has 1 power, Kari Zev and her monkey, Ragavan, can deal a ton of damage over the course of a game thanks to her having menace. She also has first strike which can make it difficult to block her effectively.

Speaking of other creatures with first strike that are a pain to deal with, Goblin Chainwhirler can be an absolute nightmare to block. In addition to its first strike ability, the fact that it deals a point of damage to each creature your opponent controls when it enters the battlefield can allow you to attack in spots you otherwise might not be able to. By casting Goblin Chainwhirler in your post-combat main phase, you can attack into a battlefield of larger blockers allowing you to nearly kill all of them, and then deal that final point with Chainwhirler. This won't happen often, but when it does it will be sweet.

Control

Maybe you're not an aggro player like I am. Maybe the thought of having a bunch of creatures on the battlefield makes you feel a little ill. Maybe you should play this control deck for your optimal results.

Esper Control | Magic 2019 Standard | LUPEN2, (5-0) MTGO

With this deck, your early game will be playing lands and holding up counter magic. For an aggro player like me, this can be a very odd feeling. Your goal is to play a land each turn and try to counter or remove any creatures your opponent plays. Once able, you'll want to cast Teferi, Hero of Dominaria in order to be able to draw cards every turn and untap lands that you can use for counterspells and removal. If you're able to get Teferi's emblem, you can then start exiling your opponent's biggest threats or focus on exiling their lands to prevent them from regaining any sort of foothold in the game.

In the event that you're not able to stick a Teferi, Torrential Gearhulk is a great backup plan for this deck. Typically you'll want to flash this in on your opponent's turn to act as a surprise blocker or to get a second use out of a counterspell or removal spell you played earlier in the game. By flashing it in on the opponent's turn, you're able to start attacking with it on your next turn. It doesn't take too many hits from a Torrential Gearhulk to end the game.

Midrange

But what if you don't want to go all-in on aggro or control? What if you want to be somewhere in the middle of these two archetypes? That's where my next deck comes in. It's a little bit aggressive and can have some explosive starts, but it also can last well into the late game. Let's take a look at our midrange deck.

Mono-Green Stompy | Magic 2019 Standard | MORTEN_ROSENBAK, (5-0) MTGO

If you get a lucky draw, you can play a Llanowar Elves on turn one, Steel Leaf Champion on turn two, and both Heart of Kiran and Ghalta, Primal Hunger on turn three. Sure, it's a 7-card combo, but it's certainly possible. More realistically though, you can easily play Ghalta on turn four or 5 regularly with this deck. Having that amount of power on the battlefield can be hard for your opponent to deal with thanks to Ghalta having trample.

While this deck doesn't have many ways to deal with the opponent directly, since your creatures are likely larger than the opponents are, you can quickly take control of the game. If you don't want them to attack, you don't attack. If they start getting too large of an army, start attacking and forcing them to double or triple block your creatures. Also don't forget that whenever you attack with Skysovereign, Consul Flagship you'll be able to deal 3 points of damage to an opposing creature or planeswalker. Use this damage to keep them softened up so you're able to make profitable attacks.

Combo

The final deck I have for you fills the fourth archetype of Magic decks, combo. This one uses one of the best alternate-win condition cards available in Standard. Let's take a look at it.

Mono-White Approach of the Second Sun | Magic 2019 Standard | TIXIS, (5-0) MTGO

I honestly can't decide if I'll be happy once rotation happens and Approach of the Second Sun leaves Standard or if I'll be sad. I hate playing against this card so much, but I love having access to an alternate way to win. It's a real catch-22 situation for me. Regardless of my feelings, if you're looking for a deck that has the capability to win out of the Blue, then this is the deck for you.

Ultimately, in Game 1, this deck will play out most similarly to a control deck. Use your enchantments and sweepers to stay alive long enough to cast Approach of the Second Sun. As long as it resolves, the 7 life you'll gain will help keep you alive long enough to either draw enough from your deck to be able to play the same copy of Approach again or to play another copy that's lurking in your hand.

Game 2 can play out much differently if you'd like. Usually you'll want to sideboard out Approach of the Second Sun and some of your removal in order to bring in some of the creatures from your sideboard. Your opponent will probably have taken out some, if not all, of their removal, since you didn't play a single creature in Game 1. However, your opponent might be familiar with this usual game plan of Approach decks, so you could actually gain an advantage by keeping the deck the same, not sideboarding anything, and sticking to the plan of winning with Approach of the Second Sun. The choice is yours and you might find yourself choosing differently against different opponents.

Wrapping Up

If you're able to play at a Store Championship tournament this next week, I wish you luck. These four decks I've gone over today are the decks that I feel have the best chance of allowing you to win the Championship playmat. What do you think? Do you agree that these are the best options, or is there a different deck you think will do better? 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

TAGS articles, metagame, constructed, analysis, standard, decklist, mike likes, magic 2019 standard, 09072018, core set 2019 store championship

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