Hello everyone. As we approach the end of the year, I've been thinking about all of the new and innovative decks I've written about over the past year. I've tried quite a few of those decks on Magic Arena, and while they have not all been great, they've all done their part in making me a better player. I have three new decks for you to wrap up the year, and while I can't guarantee you'll win every game you play with them, I think you can definitely learn something by playing them. Let's get started.

Lord of the Slugs

The first deck I have for you features a reanimator theme along with one of my favorite creatures from Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Toxrill, the Corrosive. Let's take a look at the deck.

Lord of the Slugs | VOW Standard | Symphoneers, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (20)
• 1 Ebondeath, Dracolich
• 2 Burning-Rune Demon
• 2 Toxrill, the Corrosive
• 3 Lord of the Forsaken
• 4 Egon, God of Death
• 4 Reclusive Taxidermist
• 4 Tangled Florahedron

• Sorceries (4)
• 2 Diregraf Rebirth
• 2 Path of Peril

• Enchantments (10)
• 2 The Meathook Massacre
• 4 Binding the Old Gods
• 4 Ranger Class

• Artifacts (2)
• 1 Mask of Griselbrand
• 1 Poet's Quill

• Lands (24)
• 5 Forest
• 5 Swamp
• 2 Branchloft Pathway // Boulderloft Pathway
• 2 Brightclimb Pathway // Grimclimb Pathway
• 2 Field of Ruin
• 4 Darkbore Pathway // Slitherbore Pathway
• 4 Deathcap Glade

• Sideboard (2)
• 1 Environmental Sciences
• 1 Mascot Exhibition

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There are a couple of good ways to get Toxrill onto the battlefield, but both require you to have Toxrill in your graveyard. The first is Diregraf Rebirth. This sorcery will be able to return any creature in your graveyard to the battlefield. The second is Lord of the Forsaken. With Lord of the Forsaken, you can pay one point of life to be able to cast a spell from your graveyard, with an extra mana to use for this to boot. Both of these cards require a large amount of mana to cast, so you're not likely to cast them until later in the game.

In order to survive to the later stages of the game, this deck includes a pair of artifacts that will provide lifelink to one of your creatures. Both Mask of Griselbrand and Poet's Quill give lifelink to the equipped creature, providing you with the additional life you'll need to stay alive to cast your bigger spells, as well as the life to burn when you use Lord of the Forsaken's ability that allows you to cast a spell from your graveyard. In addition to gaining extra life, this deck includes copies of Tangled Florahedron // Tangled Vale and Reclusive Taxidermist, which act as a means of mana ramp. With them, you'll be able to cast your big spells sooner and won't have to rely on regaining as much lost life.

Boros Enchantments

Next, I have a deck that features Hallowed Haunting, which is a really interesting card from Innistrad: Crimson Vow. Let's check out the deck.

Boros Enchantments | VOW Standard | ElHurondeMagicYT, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (1)
• 1 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr // Katilda's Dawnhart Martyr

• Instants (2)
• 2 Cinderclasm

• Sorceries (7)
• 3 Burn Down the House
• 4 Doomskar

• Enchantments (26)
• 1 Barbarian Class
• 1 Paladin Class
• 1 Showdown of the Skalds
• 2 Rune of Sustenance
• 2 Sigarda's Splendor
• 3 Circle of Confinement
• 4 Borrowed Time
• 4 Hallowed Haunting
• 4 Stensia Uprising
• 4 Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity

• Lands (24)
• 3 Mountain
• 6 Plains
• 1 Lorehold Campus
• 2 Cave of the Frost Dragon
• 2 Den of the Bugbear
• 2 Field of Ruin
• 4 Needleverge Pathway // Pillarverge Pathway
• 4 Sundown Pass

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Stensia Uprising is another component in winning matches. With Stensia Uprising in play, you'll create a 1/1 Human creature token at the beginning of your end step. If you ever find yourself with exactly thirteen permanents in play, you can sacrifice Stensia Uprising to deal seven points of damage to any target. There will be times that sacrificing Stensia Uprising is the best move to make, while there will be other times that you will want to keep it on the battlefield. For me, I usually keep it unless dealing seven damage will allow me to win the game on the spot.

Since this deck only includes one creature spell in it, you'll need to rely on controlling your opponent's side of the battlefield in other ways. Most of the time, you'll use enchantments for this such as Borrowed Time and Circle of Confinement. Doing this will increase the number of enchantments you have in play, putting you closer to gaining flying and vigilance for your creatures with Hallowed Haunting. For those times when your opponent is particularly aggressive, you can use other spells, such as Cinderclasm or Doomskar, to keep the battlefield clear.

Dimir Necroduality

The final deck I have for you this year features Necroduality alongside some powerful Zombie creatures. Let's take a look at it.

Dimir Necroduality | VOW Standard | Aen_Synergy, aetherhub.com user

• Creatures (19)
• 2 Geralf, Visionary Stitcher
• 3 Bladestitched Skaab
• 3 Headless Rider
• 3 Tainted Adversary
• 4 Champion of the Perished
• 4 Falcon Abomination

• Sorceries (12)
• 2 Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt
• 2 Blood on the Snow
• 4 Cram Session
• 4 Feed the Swarm

• Enchantments (9)
• 2 The Meathook Massacre
• 3 Ghoulish Procession
• 4 Necroduality

• Lands (20)
• 4 Snow-Covered Island
• 4 Snow-Covered Swamp
• 2 Clearwater Pathway // Murkwater Pathway
• 2 Field of Ruin
• 2 Hall of Storm Giants
• 2 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
• 2 Ice Tunnel
• 2 Shipwreck Marsh

• Sideboard (7)
• 3 Introduction to Annihilation
• 4 Environmental Sciences

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One of the best creatures you can cast when there is a copy of Necroduality on the battlefield is Falcon Abomination. When Falcon Abomination enters the battlefield, you'll create a 2/2 Zombie creature token with decayed. Getting four creatures for three mana is a great deal. Another terrific Zombie to cast is Bladestitched Skaab. For each copy of Bladestitched Skaab on the battlefield, other Zombies you control will get a +1 power bonus. Even though you don't increase the toughness of your Zombies, they'll still make it difficult for your opponent to attack.

Since you'll already be casting Zombie creature spells, you should try to get a copy or two of Ghoulish Procession into play. This enchantment will create a 2/2 Zombie creature token with decayed whenever one or more nontoken creatures die, but only once per turn. This works whenever either player's creature dies, so your opponent might not want to attack on their turn in order to deny you the chance to create another Zombie. If you have a copy of The Meathook Massacre on the battlefield, those Zombies with decayed will be a double threat, as your opponent might not block them and lose a creature, plus they will be sacrificed at the end of combat which will trigger The Meathook Massacre.

Wrapping Up

Now that we're at the end of 2021, I want to take a moment to say 'Thank you' to all of you for reading my articles this past year. I appreciate the feedback and comments you have left for me. Without you, there would be no reason for me to write these articles. I look forward to continuing to find innovative decks for you to try out in the future.

What do you think of these decks? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? Let me know by leaving a comment below. Also, 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