At times, nothing is better than getting away from Magic for a few days. I recently took a 4 night cruise on the Disney Cruise Line and it was wonderful! Plenty of food, plenty of eye candy and plenty of relaxation can really help take the mind off off Magic, particularly Standard.

Who am I kidding?!?!

I spent majority of my time thinking about how to beat Planeswalkers and Conscriptions over and over. This is the last part of my Standard overview and I felt like Jund continues to be the deck in transition. Very few Top 8 Jund lists are the same and it's inexpensive price tag allows for more players to pilot a deck with Top Tier effectiveness.

I played in a PTQ last weekend for Amsterdam where I ran Jund:

[cardlist]4 Putrid Leech

4 Nest Invader

3 Sprouting Thrinax

3 Vengevine

4 Bloodbraid Elf

2 Seige-Gang Commander

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Blightning

2 Sarkhan the Mad

3 Trace of Abundance

2 Maelstrom Pulse[/cardlist]

Don't worry about the lands, as they weren't an issue.

1. The Vengevines worked really well and did provide an added solution to Wall of Omens and as a recurring nightmare.
2. I only played 4 rounds but was able to play Putrid Leech/Invader to activate the Vine on a couple of occasions. The Nesting Invader was a great target for Sarkhan as well as an Accelerator for the four cc guys.
3. Sarkhan the Mad is a BOMB! I wouldn't want to draw 2 in my opening hand but he was phenominal when I had a creature to transform into a dragon or to draw an additional card.

Here's how I lost:

1. Gideon Jura is a bomb
2. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is a bomb
3. Ajani Vengeant is a bomb
4. Day of Judgment is a bomb

You get the idea.

I lost twice to the "Superfriends" deck. The majority of the time, I was able to empty my opponent's hand quickly. At that point one would think that I could overcome anything. With 1 Wall of Omens and 1 Planeswalker of your choice, my opponent could stall me long enough to draw into another answer.

Everyone knows that Jund benefits most with Blightning or Bloodbraid Elf, mostly because of the dual purpose of the card. The Planeswalker deck is much the same in that EACH card draws cards, removes creatures or "cleans" the deck. The diversity means more than the cost/effect of any given card. Jund has some of the best aggressive creatures in the format. Wall of Omens is one of the best defensive creatures in the format. In order for Jund to continue it's dominance, the creatures need to evolve or get bigger.

For the Nationals Qualifier here in Orlando I played:

[cardlist]4 Putrid Leech

3 Sprouting Thrinax

4 Bloodbraid Elf

2 Seige-Gang Commander

4 Goblin Ruinblaster

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Blightning

3 Maelstrom Pulse

3 Sarkhan the Mad

2 Trace of Abundance

1 Rampant Growth[/cardlist]

This version ran better than the PTQ version I ran. However, 2 times vs the Planewalker 'Superfriends' deck, my opponent rips a solution/answer in game 3 of the match. Ruinblasters work well in the mirror match and vs the Celestial Colonnades, he also adds to the Seige-Gang fodder which is a plus. Sarkhan the Mad has really made an impression on me as I moved him up to 3. Sprouting Thrinax has really been subpar for me of late. He doesn't get through Wall of Omens and gets sent into Oblivion or ran down the Path to Exile. With so many Spreading Seas being pitched, it really makes casting the beast difficult in the first place.

Now there's a very popular version of Jund that has popped it's head into the Standard gauntlet:

[cardlist]4 Putrid Leech

4 Plated Geopede

3 Siege-Gang Commander

4 Sprouting Thrinax

4 Bloodbraid Elf

2 Borderland Ranger

2 Sarkhan the Mad

3 Maelstrom Pulse

4 Blightning

4 Lightning Bolt[/cardlist]

This one runs alot of sac-lands into basic lands. The significance in this is that there are less lands to draw by thinning the deck. They're basic lands, which mean it makes Ruinblaster less effective (yet still key for the match.) Also, makes Plated Geopede a potential 5 powered monster. In the mirror, the edge speedwise goes to the Geopede controller. This version is much more of an aggro-style, yet still has the key components of it's deck class. Though loses a bit of the late-game bombers and acceleration in items like Broodmate, rampant growth or trace. Spreading Seas has a bit of a tough time being valuable as it has to wait for lands to be sacked to be played.

Mythic Conscription is an interesting build as it really has very few defensive cards. It's almost ALL about creatures here, which gives it massive card loss vs Planewalkers and it's 'Judgment'. However, The Conscription Crew has many of the "best in show" creatures in it and matches very closely with Jund. It runs a combo that makes it VERY deadly in Sovereigns and Eldrazi Conscription. This combo puts Conscription over the top when it's safe to use. The inclusion of Gideon and Jace are just show-off inclusions but they're great cards that could be replaced by other cards. Sphinx of Jwar Isle has been seen main deck and or sideboard which really gives problems.

In the last 3 tourneys I've played in I'm 8-7-1 in matches. Four of those losses to Planeswalkers, one to Conscription and one to the mirror. I've beaten Planewalkers three times, Conscription once and Jund twice. I cannot even remember the other two decks as they were rogue decks. It's a rough gauntlet for anyone who plays what I call the trifecta of standard, Jund, Planeswalkers and Conscrips/Mythics. The next tier of decks includes Mono-Red and U/W control.

The Planeswalker deck is SO freakin' expensive! It's a wonder that anyone has it, and if you do have it, lend it to me! :)

Oh, and thanks for reading.