With the Pro Tour behind us and an as-of-yet unsolved Standard still ahead, it's time to start taking a look at some decks that feature cards not currently seeing play in Standard. Maybe we can discover a diamond in the rough that the pros haven't discovered. This week I have a few of these untested gems for you, so keep in mind that they have not proven themselves on the battlefield yet. Most of the time I bring you decks that have done well in tournament play, but this time is different. These decks don't have a winning pedigree, but that doesn't mean they're not worth looking at and trying out. They still show the signs of innovation I'm looking for in the decks I provide to you. So, with that being said, let's get started.

Naru Meha, Master Wizard

The first deck I have for you plays a full playset of Naru Meha, Master Wizard and can beat you in a few different ways. Let's take a look at the deck.

Naru Meha Infini-Mill | Guilds Standard | patshandofdoom

• Creatures (15)
• 3 Diamond Mare
• 4 Beamsplitter Mage
• 4 Naru Meha, Master Wizard
• 4 Omenspeaker

• Instants (14)
• 1 Syncopate
• 2 Wizard's Retort
• 3 Expansion // Explosion
• 4 Opt
• 4 Release to the Wind

• Sorceries (4)
• 4 Discovery // Dispersal

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Drowned Secrets

• Lands (23)
• 4 Mountain
• 5 Island
• 3 Izzet Guildgate
• 3 Watery Grave
• 4 Steam Vents
• 4 Sulfur Falls

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In order to "mill" your opponent out, you'll need to get Drowned Secrets into play. Getting multiple copies into play will help speed up the process. As you can see, every card in this deck except for your lands and Diamond Mare is a Blue spell, which will trigger Drowned Secrets. If possible, try to make sure you get at least one copy of Drowned Secrets in play before casting too many of your other spells, to ensure maximum effectiveness.

Naru Meha, Master Wizard, Beamsplitter Mage, and the Expansion half of Expansion // Explosion all create copies of spells that you've cast, so those copies will not trigger Drowned Secrets. However Release to the Wind is entirely different. It allows the card that was exiled with it to be cast without paying its mana cost. Because of this slight difference, you're able to cast Naru Meha, Master Wizard an infinite amount of times. Here's how.

On your turn, you cast Release to the Wind, targeting any nonland permanent on the battlefield. In response, you then cast Naru Meha as she has flash. When she enters the battlefield, choose Release to the Wind to copy and target Naru Meha. Allow the copy of Release to the Wind to resolve. This will exile Naru Meha. Then, thanks to flash and the ability granted by Release to the Wind, you can cast Naru Meha for free. When she resolves and enters the battlefield, you choose to copy the original Release to the Wind (that is still on the stack targeting any nonland permanent). With the copy, target Naru Meha and repeat the cycle. You can do this as many times as you would like to ensure that you're able to "mill" your opponent out.

Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle

The next deck I have for you attempts to gain an advantage by returning creatures from the graveyard to the battlefield each turn with Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle. Let's take a look at it.

Teshar's Sentry | Guilds Standard | GADDoran85

• Creatures (26)
• 1 Cabal Paladin
• 2 Plague Mare
• 2 Plaguecrafter
• 4 Pitiless Plunderer
• 4 Ravenous Harpy
• 4 Trusty Packbeast
• 4 Chamber Sentry
• 1 Whisper, Blood Liturgist
• 4 Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle

• Instants (4)
• 2 Moment of Craving
• 2 Settle the Wreckage

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Banefire

• Enchantments (1)
• 1 Ixalan's Binding

• Artifacts (2)
• 1 Desecrated Tomb
• 1 Golden Guardian

• Lands (25)
• 7 Swamp
• 8 Plains
• 2 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Forsaken Sanctuary
• 4 Isolated Chapel

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With Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle, whenever you cast a historic spell, you can return a creature from your graveyard to the battlefield if its converted mana cost (CMC) is 3 or less. While there are not a ton of historic spells to enable Teshar's ability, there are a few. The best one will generally be Chamber Sentry. It not only acts as a creature that you can attack with, but it can also be used as straight up removal as well. Chamber Sentry is also a great target to return to your hand when Trusty Packbeast enters the battlefield.

This deck has a few notable combos in it. Teshar works wonders when paired with both Plaguecrafter and Plague Mare. Returning either of these to the battlefield spells trouble for your opponent's creatures. If you know you have Teshar on the battlefield alongside Ravenous Harpy and will be able to cast a historic spell on your next turn, don't be afraid to activate the Harpy's ability to put a +1/+1 counter on it if you have another creature in play with a CMC of three or less. This is especially true if you have a Pitiless Plunderer or Desecrated Tomb already in play.

This deck has a lot of moving parts and sequencing things can be tricky. If this deck appeals to you, I would suggest playing it a time or two outside of a tournament environment to get a feel for it first. Even though it looks somewhat tricky to play optimally, it looks like a ton of fun.

Traxos, Scourge of Kroog

The final deck I have for you this week tries to put the pressure on your opponent with a gigantic 7/7 creature - Traxos, Scourge of Kroog. Let's take a look at the deck.

Legendary Traxos - Guilds Standard | dante77

• Creatures (20)
• 2 Aurelia, Exemplar of Justice
• 2 Resplendent Angel
• 2 Tajic, Legion's Edge
• 2 Valduk, Keeper of the Flame
• 3 Adanto Vanguard
• 3 Captain Lannery Storm
• 3 Danitha Capashen, Paragon
• 3 Traxos, Scourge of Kroog

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
• 2 Karn, Scion of Urza

• Sorceries (6)
• 3 Take Vengeance
• 3 Urza's Ruinous Blast

• Enchantments (6)
• 3 On Serra's Wings
• 3 Squire's Devotion

• Artifacts (2)
• 2 Traveler's Amulet

• Lands (22)
• 3 Mountain
• 4 Plains
• 3 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Boros Guildgate
• 4 Clifftop Retreat
• 4 Sacred Foundry

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Adanto Vanguard
• 1 Lyra Dawnbringer
• 2 Rekindling Phoenix
• 2 Squee, the Immortal
• 2 Settle the Wreckage
• 2 Deafening Clarion
• 3 Banefire
• 2 Sentinel Totem

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Traxos, Scourge of Kroog enters the battlefield tapped. It doesn't untap during your untap step and doesn't untap until you cast a historic spell. However, once you're able to untap and attack with it, it can be a wrecking machine. And untapping it is fairly easy with this deck, since there are a large number of legendary creatures/planeswalkers/sorceries to be played.

One important legendary creature in the deck is Danitha Capashen, Paragon. Not only does she come with a whole slew of keywords (first strike, vigilance, and lifelink), but she also makes it easier to cast Auras and Equipment. While this deck doesn't have any equipment, there are a couple of great Auras to be used. On Serra's Wings and Squire's Devotion both grant the attached creature lifelink. If you manage to cast either of these on Traxos, you'll gain an absurd amount of life every time Traxos deals damage.

One thing to note is that this deck is running three copies of Take Vengeance instead of Seal Away. While they cost the same mana, Seal Away has the added benefit of having flash. So why would you want to run Take Vengeance over Seal Away? The answer is Urza's Ruinous Blast, which would exile your Seal Away and return to the battlefield whatever creature it had exiled.

Wrapping Up

While Standard is closer to becoming settled, it's still a place you can find innovative decks. Which of these decks is your favorite? 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