Magic 2014 Core Set (M14) quickly made its presence felt in the very first weekend of Standard eligibility. The top decks at StarCityGames Open Richmond featured plenty of cards from the newest core set. Twenty-nine of the Top 32 decks included at least one newcomer to Standard. Some fueled interesting new deck ideas, and others served to enhance existing strategies. I’ll outline some of the most interesting decks below. If you want a comprehensive look at all the new cards to Standard, how many were played in the top decks at Richmond, and what decks they appeared in, check out the M14 Summary section below.

New Decks

M14 inspired some new deck ideas to success at Richmond, including the tournament-winning list.

"W/B Tokens by AJ Sacher, 1st Place at SCG Open Richmond"

• Creatures (21)
• 1 Bloodthrone Vampire
• 4 Blood Artist
• 4 Cartel Aristocrat
• 4 Champion of the Parish
• 4 Doomed Traveler
• 4 Xathrid Necromancer

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

• Spells (13)
• 1 Orzhov Charm
• 4 Tragic Slip
• 4 Gather the Townsfolk
• 4 Lingering Souls

• Lands (23)
• 5 Swamp
• 7 Plains
• 1 Orzhov Guildgate
• 2 Mutavault
• 4 Godless Shrine
• 4 Isolated Chapel

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Lifebane Zombie
• 2 Sin Collector
• 2 Profit
• 1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
• 2 Appetite for Brains
• 2 Intangible Virtue
• 1 Brave the Elements
• 2 Doom Blade
• 1 Pithing Needle

Buy This Deck

Xathrid Necromancer is among the most interesting cards of M14, and here it is anchoring AJ Sacher's tournament-winning deck. The deck runs a bunch of Humans that arise as Zombies after death, thanks to the newest necromancer. Blood Artist knows a kindred spirit when he sees one and is at the ready with brushes in hand.

Next, let’s check out this mono-green monstrosity:

"Mono-Green Aggro by Richard Nguyen, 3rd Place at SCG Open Richmond"

• Creatures (25)
• 2 Craterhoof Behemoth
• 3 Strangleroot Geist
• 4 Arbor Elf
• 4 Elvish Archdruid
• 4 Elvish Mystic
• 4 Predator Ooze
• 4 Wolfir Silverheart

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Garruk, Caller of Beasts

• Spells (11)
• 3 Ranger's Guile
• 4 Revenge of the Hunted
• 4 Rancor

• Lands (22)
• 18 Forest
• 4 Mutavault

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Primeval Bounty
• 4 Thragtusk
• 3 Wolfir Avenger
• 2 Garruk Relentless
• 2 Scavenging Ooze
• 2 Naturalize

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This Elf ramp deck looks to play hard-to-handle green threats, such as Garruk, Caller of Beasts, as early as possible. The deck also has Mutavault in the main (it counts as an Elf) and Primeval Bounty and Scavenging Ooze in the sideboard.

Let's move from mono-green to mono-white with the following heavily-Human deck.

"Mono-White Humans by Joshua Everly, 8th Place at SCG Open Richmond"

• Creatures (30)
• 3 Banisher Priest
• 3 Precinct Captain
• 4 Champion of the Parish
• 4 Doomed Traveler
• 4 Dryad Militant
• 4 Frontline Medic
• 4 Imposing Sovereign
• 1 Mikaeus, the Lunarch
• 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride

• Spells (6)
• 4 Brave the Elements
• 2 Oblivion Ring

• Lands (22)
• 18 Plains
• 4 Mutavault

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Celestial Flare
• 3 Fiendslayer Paladin
• 2 Renounce the Guilds
• 2 Immortal Servitude
• 2 Gideon, Champion of Justice
• 1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
• 2 Purify the Grave

Buy This Deck

White Weenie is back . . . at least in week one of the newly updated metagame. The deck has thirty Humans, if you count the four copies of Mutavault, including newcomers Banisher Priest and Imposing Sovereign. All of the creatures are white, with four Brave the Elements in support. The sideboard is packed with interesting cards, including Fiendslayer Paladin, Immortal Servitude, and Gideon, Champion of Justice.

There were a couple other new deck ideas that missed the Top 16 but still landed in the Top 32 of the tournament.

Here is another Elf ramp deck that includes red and ramps up and powers out planeswalkers, Thundermaw Hellkite, Ruric Thar, the Unbowed, and some really big Bonfires.

Twenty-fourth place is where we see our first glimpse of the interaction of Ogre Battledriver into Kalonian Hydra that received a lot of M14 preview press. The deck is full of 4- and 5-drops along with a half-dozen mana dorks and set of Farseeks to accelerate them onto the battlefield. Scavenging Ooze brings more counters to the table for the Hydra to double.

New Toys for Old Favorites

With the release of M14, the rich got richer, as some established archetypes picked up some excellent new additions. Jund Midrange is even more potent with the addition of Scavenging Ooze. It was included in the main deck of all six players to make the Top 16 piloting the deck, including the runner up in Richmond.

"Jund Midrange by Andrew Boswell, 2nd Place at SCG Open Richmond"

• Creatures (16)
• 2 Arbor Elf
• 3 Scavenging Ooze
• 4 Huntmaster of the Fells
• 4 Thragtusk
• 3 Olivia Voldaren

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Garruk, Primal Hunter

• Spells (17)
• 1 Abrupt Decay
• 1 Doom Blade
• 2 Putrefy
• 2 Tragic Slip
• 1 Dreadbore
• 2 Rakdos's Return
• 4 Bonfire of the Damned
• 4 Farseek

• Lands (25)
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Forest
• 1 Rootbound Crag
• 2 Kessig Wolf Run
• 3 Dragonskull Summit
• 4 Blood Crypt
• 4 Overgrown Tomb
• 4 Stomping Ground
• 4 Woodland Cemetery

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Rakdos's Return
• 2 Underworld Connections
• 2 Tragic Slip
• 1 Grafdigger's Cage
• 2 Curse of Death's Hold
• 3 Liliana of the Veil
• 2 Barter In Blood
• 2 Duress

Buy This Deck

Most Jund midrange decks also included one or two copies of Doom Blade between the main and sideboard.

Bant Auras is another beneficiary of M14 goodies, with three decks in the Top 16. As expected, Gladecover Scout made the cut.

"Bant Auras by Eric Edelkamp, 11th Place at SCG Open Richmond"

• Creatures (19)
• 3 Fiendslayer Paladin
• 4 Gladecover Scout
• 4 Invisible Stalker
• 4 Voice of Resurgence
• 4 Geist of Saint Traft

• Spells (19)
• 3 Selesnya Charm
• 4 Ethereal Armor
• 4 Rancor
• 4 Spectral Flight
• 4 Unflinching Courage

• Lands (22)
• 2 Glacial Fortress
• 4 Breeding Pool
• 4 Hallowed Fountain
• 4 Hinterland Harbor
• 4 Sunpetal Grove
• 4 Temple Garden

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Fiendslayer Paladin
• 3 Mending Touch
• 3 Spell Rupture
• 2 Sigarda, Host of Herons
• 4 Strangleroot Geist
• 2 Ray of Revelation

Buy This Deck

This deck, as well as the twelfth-place deck at Richmond, also played Fiendslayer Paladin in the main. First strike and lifelink are both quite useful for an attacker loaded up with enchantments, and quasi-hexproof against black and red eliminates many removal options.

The Aristocrats deck in twenty-second place sported some new additions as well.

"The Aristocrats by Jeremy Sunell, 22nd Place at SCG Open Richmond"

• Creatures (27)
• 1 Archangel of Thune
• 3 Blood Artist
• 3 Skirsdag High Priest
• 4 Cartel Aristocrat
• 4 Champion of the Parish
• 4 Doomed Traveler
• 4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
• 4 Xathrid Necromancer

• Spells (9)
• 4 Tragic Slip
• 2 Bonfire of the Damned
• 3 Lingering Souls

• Lands (24)
• 1 Plains
• 1 Swamp
• 1 Vault of the Archangel
• 2 Cavern of Souls
• 2 Clifftop Retreat
• 3 Blood Crypt
• 3 Dragonskull Summit
• 3 Sacred Foundry
• 4 Godless Shrine
• 4 Isolated Chapel

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Obzedat, Ghost Council
• 2 Nearheath Pilgrim
• 1 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
• 2 Blasphemous Act
• 1 Liliana of the Veil
• 2 War Priest of Thune
• 2 Mark of Mutiny
• 1 Doom Blade
• 3 Duress

Buy This Deck

This deck features a couple new creatures that take advantage of death: four Xathrid Necromancer and one Archangel of Thune. The necromancer provides a new body for the battlefield when a Human dies, and the Archangel scales up the team with each Blood Artist trigger.

Here are other established archetypes with new M14 technology:

• R/W/U Tempo in fifth place with two Encroaching Wastes
• Naya midrange in seventh place with Scavenging Ooze
• Esper control in fifteenth place with Ratchet Bomb and Doom Blade
• Naya midrange in thirty-second place with Kalonian Hydra, Scavenging Ooze, and Garruk, Caller of Beasts in the main and Ratchet Bomb and Smite in the sideboard

M14 Summary

What new-to-Standard cards from M14 saw play in the SCG Open Richmond Top 32?

What decks played these cards?

There was a lot of M14 at Richmond, and it’ll be interesting to see where things go from here as players adjust to what we saw. Join me next week when I'll refocus on the overall metagame and analyze how the new set impacts deck success and card selection. Thanks for reading!

Nick Vigabool

@MrVigabool