Being a member of the Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame, you may think that I’m very different from the casual player and completely unable to relate to them. In some ways, you might even be right. I take tournament games very seriously, whether it’s a PT Top 8 or the first round of FNM. I hold both myself and my opponents to high standards. I play to win, and I’m often surprised when others don’t seem to be taking the game seriously.

This doesn’t mean the game has lost all of its magic for me (no pun intended). I still get a thrill every time I crack a pack, excitedly ripping it open, wondering what treasures I’ll find inside. I love making cool decks that do cool things. Sometimes, I even have to be careful to make sure I’m putting winning first when choosing a deck to play in a tournament, and not just choosing one that’s fun to play.

Another way that I’m just like most other Magic players is that I always get excited when a new Magic set comes out. Magic 2012 is no exception. I jumped online and found an M12 spoiler, and immediately started thinking about cool ways to make use of the new cards being introduced and the cards that are being brought back after being out of Standard for some time.

After reviewing the M12 spoiler, I decided there were four cards I wanted to design decks around, two new ones and two returning cards: Angelic Destiny, Chandra's Phoenix, Goblin Grenade, and Zombie Infestation. I’m not generally a fan of creature enchantments, but Angelic Destiny seems too impressive for me to ignore:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

4 Birds of Paradise

4 Fauna Shaman

4 Lotus Cobra

4 Mirran Crusader

4 Sacred Wolf

4 Squadron Hawk

4 Vengevine

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Angelic Destiny

4 Oblivion Ring

[/Spells]

[Lands]

4 Plains

8 Forest

4 Razorverge Thicket

4 Stirring Wildwood

4 Sunpetal Grove

[/Lands]

[/cardlist]

I’ve done several things to maximize the power level of Angelic Destiny in this deck:

• I’ve created a target-rich environment. I’m playing twenty-eight creatures (not counting Stirring Wildwood). Also, by playing Vengevines and Squadron Hawks, it increases my chances of having creatures in play, even against removal-heavy opposition.
• I’m playing with creatures that make especially good targets. Sacred Wolf can hit the table the turn before you get to 4 mana for Destiny, and your opponent can’t kill it with targeted removal in response to you enchanting it, because it has Hexproof. Mirran Crusader is invulnerable to cards like Doom Blade and Go for the Throat. In addition, it has Double Strike, which means it can hit for 12 in the air.
• I’m playing with fast mana. By playing with Birds of Paradise and Lotus Cobras, I can be attacking with an enchanted creature as early as turn three.

The other M12 card I’m playing with in this deck is Oblivion Ring. It’s a great all-around answer card for White in the current environment. Not only can it deal with problem creatures, artifacts, and enchantments, but it can even get rid of planeswalkers. The main weakness of this deck is a lack of instant creature removal, thus making it vulnerable to Splinter Twin decks in Game 1. Brittle Effigy, Beast Within, and Naturalize are all sideboard possibilities that might help.

As most people know, I love burn, so Chandra's Phoenix seemed like an obvious card for me to experiment with:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

4 Chandra's Phoenix

4 Goblin Guide

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Burst Lightning

4 Incinerate

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Searing Blaze

4 Staggershock

4 Forked Bolt

4 Shrine of Burning Rage

[/Spells]

[Lands]

16 Mountain

4 Arid Mesa

4 Scalding Tarn

[/Lands]

[/cardlist]

When I first started playing in Magic tournaments, there was only one format, what is now known as Vintage. I played several different decks as I tried to compete with players who had decks filled with cards costing hundreds of dollars. While I had several second- and third-place finishes, I didn’t win a tournament until I acquired the Blue “Power” cards, a set of Moxes and a Black Lotus. Once I acquired these cards, I starting winning events frequently. The deck I played was a burn deck. The key to the deck was speed, potency, permanent threats, and fuel.

The first three qualities are the easiest to replicate in Standard. My Phoenix deck has sixteen 1-mana spells and nothing higher than 3 to cast. This deck can do 20 damage by turn four, especially if it gets a turn-one Goblin Guide. The damage-potential-to-mana-cost ratio of the cards in the deck is impressive; I also featured Lightning Bolts and Incinerates in my Vintage deck. My Vintage deck used Black Vices and Atogs as cheap permanents that did damage quickly and steadily. This deck uses Goblin Guides, Shrines, and Phoenixes to fill this role. Shrine of Burning Rage may not deal damage steadily, but the amount of damage it’s going to deal increases steadily.

The biggest problem with burn decks in Standard in comparison to Vintage is fuel. My Vintage deck was filled with cheap spells like Vices, Bolts, and Moxes, and I could quickly empty my hand. Thanks to Timetwister, Wheel of Fortune, Ancestral Recall, and Demonic Tutor, though, I rarely ran out of gas. Chandra's Phoenix helps a little bit with this problem by giving you a threat you can keep replaying.

The amount of quality burn in Standard currently is impressive. I would love to find room for cards like Volt Charge, Artillerize, Galvanic Blast, and Arc Trail in this deck. In spite of this, the return of Incinerate manages to make me find room in this deck. It may not be as good as Lightning Bolt, but what is, really? It was good enough for my Vintage deck, and it’s certainly great in this deck.

As far as direct damage for your mana goes, it’s impossible to beat Goblin Grenade. I’m excited to see it back in the format, and I couldn’t help but design a Goblin deck with it:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

2 Goblin Arsonist

4 Goblin Bushwhacker

4 Goblin Chieftain

4 Goblin Guide

4 Goblin Wardriver

4 Spikeshot Elder

4 Warren Instigator

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Mutagenic Growth

4 Goblin Grenade

[/Spells]

[Lands]

16 Mountain

2 Smoldering Spires

4 Teetering Peaks

[/Lands]

[/cardlist]

Besides the obvious awesomeness of 5 damage for 1 mana, I also really love just the threat of Goblin Grenade in the format. I feel that it changes how people have to play against Goblin decks. In the past, you mainly just had to focus on efficiently defending yourself against a swarm of weenies, while just being sure to be ready for a Bolt or two once you took control. Now, there will be a desperate sense of urgency in the early game as you struggle to avoid your life total falling below 14 (safe from two Grenades and a Bolt). Never mind the danger of getting to 6 life, where Grenading an Arsonist will end you.

Mutagenic Growth and Spikeshot Elder give this deck cool facets that Goblin decks didn’t have when last Goblin Grenade was part of the format. Mutagenic Growth gives you a way to protect key creatures like Guide, Chieftain, and Instigator (it also goes great with Double Strike!) In addition, it helps you keep alpha striking after your opponent plays a 3/3, when you don’t have a Bolt or if you’ve tapped out to play a Chieftain. Spikeshot Elder gives you something to do if you get mana-flooded, typically doom for a deck like this. It also combos really well with Teetering Peaks and Mutagenic Growth.

The other old favorite of mine that I was excited to get to design a deck around again was Zombie Infestation:

[cardlist]

[Creatures]

4 Bloodghast

4 Enclave Cryptologist

4 Hedron Crab

4 Merfolk Looter

4 Phyrexian Rager

4 Renegade Doppelganger

4 Vengevine

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

2 Ponder

4 Preordain

4 Zombie Infestation

[/Spells]

[Lands]

5 Swamp

9 Island

4 Darkslick Shores

4 Drowned Catacomb

[/Lands]

[/cardlist]

If you read my articles frequently, you’ll know that I’m always looking for new ways to get Bloodghasts and Vengevines into the graveyard. Zombie Infestation is a great fit. A turn-one Crab followed by a turn-two Infestation can quickly lead to a lethal swarm. With a really good draw, this deck can also kill by turn four, which is a good benchmark when building aggressive decks in Standard, especially given how quickly you can get locked down by a Splinter Twin deck. Fortunately for this deck, Black offers lots of good instant removal to help with that matchup after sideboarding.

The return of Merfolk Looter is another good reason to give this deck a look. Playing with Looters, Cryptologists, and Infestations are good reasons to try and keep your hand size up, making Ragers a perfect fit for this deck. The return of Ponder gives you more cards besides Preordain to help ensure you get a Looter, Crab, or Infestation early or to help set up your Crabs when you’re about to activate them.

Given how much I love Vengevines and mono-Red decks, I guess it’s not that surprising that these were the first decks that M12 inspired me to design. I do think these are some powerful ideas worth exploring, though. What cards in M12 do you think could affect the Standard environment?