Oath of the Gatewatch looks to add a great deal to a variety of formats, only some of which have already been identified. This set provides a unique spin on mana and therefore may take some time to fully be explored. Of course, most of what I am here to focus on is the implications Oath will have on Standard—it does look to impact Modern Eldrazi in a major way. On the subject of Modern, I do want to unveil a deck I have been working on to tackle the format, pre-bannings, and briefly go over some of the reasons this deck, or one like it, could shine at the coming Pro Tour. First, though, it is time to cover some more Standard action: a few tweaks to an existing deck and a fresh brew to move forward into the new season.

Full Speed Ahead

As always, I believe it is best to approach a new format full speed, and this Jeskai build for the coming set does just that. Never before have there been so many haste options, and I feel we now have the support to push this deck beyond just another midrange list.

Jeskai ? Oath of the Gatewatch Standard | Ryan Bushard

• Creatures (22)
• 4 Stormchaser Mage
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 1 Eldrazi Obligator
• 2 Zurgo Bellstriker
• 4 Abbot of Keral Keep
• 3 Seeker of the Way
• 2 Reflector Mage
• 2 Jori En, Ruin Diver

• Spells (17)
• 4 Titan's Strength
• 4 Wild Slash
• 3 Slip through Space
• 2 Expedite
• 2 Treasure Cruise
• 2 Dispel

• Lands (21)
• 21 Lands

Buy This Deck

While this list certainly needs some work, there is a strong foundation here for really any base-U/R deck that you want to build. There may not be a reason to splash a third color, as plenty of cards didn't make the list that may be better in a complete aggro shell than Seeker of the Way. I really like Reflector Mage to set that extra turn or two you need against midrange decks, but even that may be replaceable with Act of Treason effects.

Overall, I am really excited to see where this Prowess Sligh shell can go—and whether the clock is fast enough to warrant this over the Standard Atarak Red shell we have seen for almost a year now. Jori En, Ruin Diver may prove to be a little slow, but I really like the reusable card advantage presented with a reasonable body that can be activated the turn after it is played. With so many cantrips already in the deck, I may just end up cutting these or Treasure Cruise, and since the Cruise builds prowess, a final list may be missing the Ruin Diver, but I would certainly consider the card worth testing.

Stoneforge We Deserve

This set is not all about Eldrazi, and though I certainly do enjoy that race and storyline, I also find the Kor to be among the more unique cultures. Of course, we have not seen a whole lot of Kor showing up in tier-one lists, and while Stoneforge Mystic attempts to represent in Eternal, there are a few new brethren in the new set—and they brought their Equipment. This underlying theme in the set suggests to me that, when we enter Innistrad, the Kor will have a few new tools to work with—for now, they don't exactly come sporting many gems, but there is a deck to be found even if we aren't looking just to the Kor to carry a sword.

Kor Equipment ? Oath of the Gatewatch Standard | Ryan Bushard

• Creatures (23)
• 3 Oath of Gideon
• 4 Stoneforge Acolyte
• 4 Stone Haven Outfitter
• 2 Kazuul's Toll Collector
• 4 Weapons Trainer
• 3 Zurgo Bellstriker
• 3 Relic Seeker

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

• Spells (11)
• 4 Captain's Claws
• 2 Strider Harness
• 2 Stoneforge Masterwork
• 2 Sword of the Animist
• 1 Dragon Throne of Tarkir

• Lands (23)
• 23 Lands

Buy This Deck

I was not nearly as excited about this shell when I started as when I finally finished. There is not a huge amount of card selection when it comes to Equipment, but the support cards are phenomenal. I would be more excited if we had a better form of card-draw, but this list certainly has the capability to stack a large number of creatures in play while building toward a possible endgame involving the long neglected bulk rare Dragon Throne of Tarkir. Kazuul's Toll Collector seems fairly sweet, and while there is nothing busted in Standard with this card, I can see the appeal to checking him out in Modern—equipping a Sword or Batterskull for free can certainly make this an instant threat. With Stoneforge Mystic still on the ban list for now, I don't see anything cropping up soon, but in the meantime, check this Standard variation out; it looks to be a blast to play at least locally.

Lockdown: The Ghostly Prison Story

While I have not made any real attempt at the Pro Tour in years, I was always like to theory-craft the new formats when they arise, and since Modern comes about only once a year, I usually lack any real understanding of the format and therefore rarely find anything I am happy playing—until this year, that is.

Modern is a format full of cheating—Wizards knows that, and that is why the bannings keep happening. If people would just play honest games with creatures turning sideways, Infect not included, there wouldn’t need to be bans. Of course, that hypothetical format sounds like a complete bore, and as sad as some are right now mourning the loss of their Deceiver Exarchs, it is a far cry from pulling the plug on unfair decks all together. So what will rise to the challenge? It will probably be something else in the same vein—perhaps Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker steps in like nothing happened, or maybe we see Modern go the way of control finally. That is what we have the upcoming Pro Tour for: to fill us in on where the format is headed.

Back to Starfield of Nyx, it is hard to believe in a format as fast as Modern that I could even fathom a 5-drop that doesn't win me the game. This is where the brewing started: What if instead of winning quickly, I instead halt my opponent to my pace and lock him or her out of the game completely? Enchantments have always been known for their blanket influence on the board, and over the span of Modern, some fairly annoying ones have been printed—Blood Moon, anybody? So what happens when we take the best of the best of this ragtag bunch and jam them into one deck using Starfield as the win condition? This magnificent piece of work is what happens. Just let it all soak in for a minute; then, continue:

Starfield of Nyx ? Modern | Ryan Bushard

• Creatures (9)
• 2 Simian Spirit Guide
• 3 Eidolon of Blossoms
• 3 Herald of the Pantheon
• 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

• Spells (29)
• 4 Kruphix's Insight
• 1 Porphyry Nodes
• 2 Blood Moon
• 2 Leyline of Sanctity
• 2 Oblivion Ring
• 2 Sphere of Safety
• 2 Starfield of Nyx
• 2 Trace of Abundance
• 4 Ghostly Prison
• 4 Suppression Field
• 4 Utopia Sprawl

• Lands (22)
• 5 Plains
• 7 Forest
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Sacred Foundry
• 2 Stomping Ground
• 4 Temple Garden
• 2 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Open the Vaults
• 1 Simian Spirit Guide
• 1 Greater Auramancy
• 2 Leyline of Sanctity
• 1 Nevermore
• 2 Rest in Peace
• 2 Idyllic Tutor
• 3 Stony Silence
• 1 Blood Moon
• 1 Porphyry Nodes

Buy This Deck

As it appeared to me when I built the first version of this deck, I am sure you are scratching your head right now and wondering what this deck can possibly do in the face of this format. After testing the deck extensively, I was really pleased to see just how susceptible to hate this format is—from the mana base to the lack of enchantment removal in most lists, this deck is sitting in a prime position.

Infect has been very positive, as Pendelhaven and Inkmoth Nexus both are destroyed by Suppression Field, and the entire deck usually slows to a grinding halt once you find a Ghostly Prison or Sphere of Safety. You have cards like Utopia Sprawl and Trace of Abundance to bring you into the late game quickly all the while throwing haymakers that each may singlehandedly ruin a lot of decks. Any deck looking to win fairly with creatures has been great in testing— perhaps outside of Burn. As you can see, we lack life-gain, relying on Leyline of Sanctity and Herald of the Pantheon in this matchup. You do earn some free wins with main-decked Leylines; even locking out your opponent's opening hand with a discard effect or two can usually prove to be enough to set him or her behind in his or her game plan.

I would like to find another Utopia Sprawl effect for the first turn, as that would take the deck over the top, but from Gatherer, I could find nothing, and that is why the Spirit Guides are so key in some matches and warrant the extra copy in the ’board—mostly for when you are on the draw or against decks that look to end the game on or before turn four, such as Infect. I don't want to bore anyone too much, but if you have local events and are looking for a deck that has a very reasonable game against the field, this may be exactly what you are looking for. It’s not the control deck anyone was looking for, but after some testing, I am certain if this deck were picked up before the Pro Tour, it could easily make a splash.

If anyone has any suggestions or comments on any of the lists in this week’s article, feel free, as always, to leave a message in the comments section below or find me on Twitter. Next week, I will be continuing the Standard grind, shelving Modern until the Pro Tour Qualifier season, and looking at the first few results with Oath included that will come trickling in this weekend. As always, thank You for reading, and have a great weekend!

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand