Hello everyone. Now that The Lost Caverns of Ixalan has been released, it's a great time to start building some new decks. I usually like to start things off with some mono-colored decks, since they will usually require the fewest number of new cards to complete. This week, I have a few mono-colored decks that you can use while you're building up your collection of new cards. Let's get started.

Mono-Black Control

We'll start things off this week by taking a look at a Mono-Black deck that controls the battlefield until it can attack for massive amounts of damage. Let's take a look at the deck.

Mono-Black Control | LCI Standard | MtgMalone, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (12)
• 3 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead
• 3 Bloodletter of Aclazotz
• 3 Greedy Freebooter
• 3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Liliana of the Veil

• Instants (8)
• 2 Sheoldred's Edict
• 3 Bitter Triumph
• 3 Infernal Grasp

• Sorceries (4)
• 2 Corrupt
• 2 Pilfer

• Enchantments (4)
• 2 Phyrexian Arena
• 2 Virtue of Persistence

• Artifacts (5)
• 2 Tithing Blade
• 3 Visage of Dread

• Lands (24)
• 20 Swamp
• 2 Hidden Necropolis
• 2 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

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Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal // Temple of the Dead is a terrific top end creature for this deck. When it attacks, your opponent must discard a card. This will either force them to discard a spell that could have been played on a future turn, or a land card, which will generate a 1/1 Bat creature with flying for you. If they cannot discard a card, then you get to draw a card instead. Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal has lifelink, allowing you the opportunity to recover some of the life you lost while getting enough lands in play to cast it.

In addition to Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal, this deck includes three copies of Bloodletter of Aclazotz. While this Vampire Demon is on the battlefield, if your opponent would lose life during your turn, they'll lose twice that amount instead. Since a quick look at Gatherer shows us that damage causes loss of life, as long as you're able to connect on your opponent without being blocked, you'll defeat them in half the time.

Mono-Red Aggro

Next, we'll look at the Mono-Red deck, which is usually the first deck I try to build when a new set releases. Let's take a look at the deck to see what improvements our latest release has provided.

Mono-Red Aggro | LCI Standard | MTG_Joe, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Feldon, Ronom Excavator
• 1 Squee, Dubious Monarch
• 2 Bloodthirsty Adversary
• 2 Phoenix Chick
• 3 Goddric, Cloaked Reveler
• 4 Charming Scoundrel
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Voldaren Epicure

• Instants (12)
• 4 Lightning Strike
• 4 Monstrous Rage
• 4 Play with Fire

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Kumano Faces Kakkazan

• Artifacts (3)
• 3 Urabrask's Forge

• Lands (20)
• 16 Mountain
• 2 Mishra's Foundry
• 2 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

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This deck is still as good as ever and can be blindingly fast. If you manage to stick a Monastery Swiftspear or Phoenix Chick right away, you're likely to steamroll over your opponent. Lightning Strike and Play with Fire can deal a ton of damage directly to your opponent, and Monstrous Rage boosts one of your creatures in addition to providing it with trample. Also, Urabrask's Forge does a great job of creating a formidable threat each turn, which also happens to have trample.

Mono-White Aggro

Next, I have a Mono-White deck for you that's also on the aggressive side of the spectrum. Let's check it out.

Mono-White Aggro | LCI Standard | MTG_Joe, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (35)
• 3 Warden of the Inner Sky
• 4 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
• 4 Brutal Cathar // Moonrage Brute
• 4 Coppercoat Vanguard
• 4 Hopeful Initiate
• 4 Knight-Errant of Eos
• 4 Recruitment Officer
• 4 Sanguine Evangelist
• 4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Ossification

• Lands (23)
• 18 Plains
• 2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
• 3 Mishra's Foundry

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That extra power can make blocking Thalia, Guardian of Thraben even more difficult than usual. Since Thalia has first strike, she'll need to be blocked with creatures that have a total toughness greater than her power. You'll also need to make sure that those creatures also have enough power to destroy Thalia when they block, otherwise it will all be in vain.

Mono-Green Ojer Kaslem

The final deck I have for you this week is Mono-Green and features Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth // Temple of Cultivation. Let's take a look at the deck.

Mono-Green Ojer Kaslem | LCI Standard | HelloGoodGame, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (31)
• 2 Jadelight Spelunker
• 2 Kodama of the West Tree
• 2 Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth // Temple of Cultivation
• 2 Silverback Elder
• 2 Thrashing Brontodon
• 3 Armored Scrapgorger
• 3 Augur of Autumn
• 3 Gwenna, Eyes of Gaea
• 4 Defiler of Vigor
• 4 Evolving Adaptive
• 4 Quirion Beastcaller

• Instants (3)
• 3 Tyvar's Stand

• Sorceries (2)
• 2 Feral Encounter

• Lands (24)
• 22 Forest
• 1 Argoth, Sanctum of Nature
• 1 Boseiju, Who Endures

• Sideboard (4)
• 1 Ascendant Packleader
• 1 Doomskar Warrior
• 1 Titania, Voice of Gaea
• 1 Vorinclex // The Grand Evolution

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Even though Ojer Kaslem, Deepest Growth // Temple of Cultivation has a mana value of five, having a copy of this legendary creature in play should be of utmost importance to you. As a 6/5 creature with trample, you're very likely to deal some damage to your opponent when Ojer Kaslem attacks. This will allow you to reveal cards from your library, hopefully revealing a creature or land card that you can put directly onto the battlefield. Any time you can get a card in play without having to pay for it, it's bound to be good.

This deck is not without other big heavyweights that you'll hopefully be putting into play for free. Silverback Elder is a 5/7 creature that has a trio of modes for you to choose from to activate whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control. There's also a playset of Defiler of Vigor in this deck, which also has an ability that triggers whenever another creature enters the battlefield under your control. With this much stomping power, it might be difficult for your opponent to stop you.

Wrapping Up

Mono-colored decks are always a great place to start when a new set comes out. I usually try to build a mono-colored deck of each color to use on Magic Arena, helping me achieve my daily tasks more easily. Even though I will build other decks as the format progresses, I still find myself coming back to the mono-colored decks every now and then for their consistency.

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