Hello everyone. Now that Foundations has officially released, it's time to start looking at some cool decks featuring these new cards. When a new set releases, fast, aggressive decks usually do better, so this week I'll be looking at a few decks that you can use to quickly defeat your opponent. Let's get started.

Foundations Standard

Orzhov Instant-Kill Combo

I'm starting off with a combo deck that can instantaneously defeat your opponent. Let's take a look at the deck.

Orzhov Instant-Win Combo | FDN Standard | SlothMtg, Aetherhub user

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General

• Creatures (7)
• 3 Bloodthirsty Conqueror
• 4 Enduring Tenacity

• Instants (10)
• 1 Bitter Triumph
• 1 Mortify
• 4 Go for the Throat
• 4 Union of the Third Path

• Sorceries (8)
• 2 Fumigate
• 3 Day of Judgment
• 3 Duress

• Enchantments (9)
• 2 Authority of the Consuls
• 3 Virtue of Persistence
• 4 Unholy Annex

• Lands (25)
• 5 Plains
• 6 Swamp
• 1 Crawling Barrens
• 1 Demolition Field
• 3 Caves of Koilos
• 3 Fountainport
• 3 Restless Fortress
• 3 Shadowy Backstreet

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This combo deck relies on having both Bloodthirsty Conqueror and Enduring Tenacity in play at the same time. Bloodthirsty Conqueror will have you gain life whenever an opponent loses life, which includes taking damage. Enduring Tenacity forces your opponent to lose life whenever you gain life. These effects will set up a chain reaction causing you to defeat your opponent as soon as they either take any damage or you gain life.

Since this combo triggers off of your opponent taking damage, you can try to ensure that your creatures are able to attack unimpeded. To do so, you might need to clear the battlefield from any pesky blockers your opponent might have. You can do this in a variety of ways. There's targeted removal like Virtue of Persistence or Go for the Throat. However there are also mass removal spells, like Day of Judgment and Fumigate, that can be used.

Fumigate doubles up as a way of gaining life for you, as you'll gain 1 life for each creature it destroys. Since gaining life will also set off your combo, this can be a great way for you to finish off your opponent. There are a few other ways you can gain life in this deck, including Union of the Third Path and Authority of the Consuls, which can help you finish off your opponent with ease.

Mono-White Cats

The next couple of decks I have for you are all focused on creatures of a particular type. The first is Cats, so let's take a look at the deck.

Mono-White Cats | FDN Standard | LegenVD

• Creatures (30)
• 2 Kutzil's Flanker
• 4 Arahbo, the First Fang
• 4 Helpful Hunter
• 4 Leonin Vanguard
• 4 Regal Caracal
• 4 Roaming Throne
• 4 Savannah Lions
• 4 Skyknight Squire

• Instants (3)
• 3 Get Lost

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Patchwork Banner

• Lands (25)
• 15 Plains
• 2 Three Tree City
• 4 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Soulstone Sanctuary

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Arahbo, the First Fang is a new card from Foundations that adds a 1/1 Cat creature token to the battlefield each time Arahbo or another nontoken Cat enters the battlefield under your control. This Cat Avatar also provides a +1/+1 bonus to other Cats you control, turning the meekest of threats into a mighty force to be reckoned with. Okay, that might be a little over dramatic, but with the number of Cats you'll be able to create, your opponent will certainly notice the bonus Arahbo provides.

Skyknight Squire is another new addition from Foundations that will gain a +1/+1 counter whenever another creature you control enters the battlefield. Once Skyknight Squire has three or more +1/+1 counters, it will gain flying and the Knight creature type. As I'm sure you can imagine, if you have both Skyknight Squire and Arahbo, the First Fang in play at the same time, Skyknight Squire has the potential to become a huge threat.

The abilities of both Skyknight Squire and Arahbo, the First Fang are boosted while you have a copy of Roaming Throne on the battlefield. As long as you've chosen Roaming Throne to become a Cat when it entered the battlefield, your other Cats will all get a second triggering for their triggered abilities. You'll be creating a ton of Cat creature tokens and gaining a bunch of +1/+1 counters, turning your cute and cuddly team into a clowder of ferocious felines.

Mono-Red Goblins

The final deck I have for you focuses on one of my favorite creature types, Goblins. Let's see what Foundations has in store for this type of aggressive creature.

Mono-Red Goblins | FDN Standard | Redd_Cat_MTG

• Creatures (28)
• 2 Fugitive Codebreaker
• 2 Squee, Dubious Monarch
• 4 Cacophony Scamp
• 4 Dropkick Bomber
• 4 Fanatical Firebrand
• 4 Frenzied Goblin
• 4 Rundvelt Hordemaster
• 4 Searslicer Goblin

• Instants (7)
• 2 Goblin Surprise
• 2 Witchstalker Frenzy
• 3 Monstrous Rage

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Dragon Fodder

• Lands (21)
• 20 Mountain
• 1 Cavern of Souls

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Featuring 24 cards that are capable of putting Goblins into play for only one or two mana, it's safe to say that this deck gets off to a fast start. While all of these creatures are minor threats, your opponent will feel as if they are being slowly killed by papercuts. Having 2 power, Searslicer Goblin is the biggest of these threats, and it is capable of creating additional 1/1 Goblin creature tokens every turn you attack.

Rundvelt Hordemaster really shines in a deck like this. It gives all of your other Goblins a +1/+1 boost. It also offers a bit of pseudo-card drawing, by allowing you to exile the top card of your library whenever it or another Goblin you control dies. As long as that card is a Goblin creature card, you can cast it until the end of your next turn. In a deck like this, where nearly half of the cards are Goblin creatures, you're likely to have access to that extra card fairly often.

Often, Red decks will get outclassed on the battlefield when their opponent begins to cast bigger, more beefy creatures. For those times, you'll want to have a copy of Dropkick Bomber in play. Not only does Dropkick Bomber give your other Goblins a +1/+1 bonus, but it can also provide one of them flying for the turn. The downside is that the creature you gave flying to will be sacrificed when it deals combat damage, but if it happens to have a death trigger like Cacophony Scamp, you can often finish off an unsuspecting opponent by basically dealing double the amount of damage to them.

Wrapping Up

Foundations has a ton of cards that are sure to make an impact on Standard. Not only are some archetypes that were thought to be dead receiving life support, but new archetypes are popping up. It's an exciting time, for sure, and I can't wait to bring you new and exciting decks in the upcoming weeks.

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