Are you ready to kick off this new season with a bang? The 2012 State and Provincial Championships are a great way to begin playing Standard with this new set that everyone is crazy about, Return to Ravnica. With intense flavor and powerful new cards, this set will surely sell out, as many people who took breaks are returning to the game in excitement. What would be better to start off the new Standard format than to be deemed a State Champion?
One of the most interesting things about States this year is the major shift in the format due to the rotation. Although this happens many times to Standard when a new set is released, I think we can all agree that Return to Ravnica is going to shake things up more than usual. This can be an inviting reason to compete in the 2012s, as there are, as yet, few powerhouses to watch out for or prepare against.
Of course there is that one thing… Zombies. We are all aware of how powerful they are, as they’ve already demonstrated their ability to win, and the deck doesn’t lose anything aside from [card]Mortarpod[/card]. BX Zombies featuring 4 [card]Gravecrawler[/card], 4 [card]Geralf’s Messenger[/card] and 4 [card]Diregraf Ghoul[/card] will be sure to see some play on the top tables, since many players are already comfortable with the archetype, and they already have the cards.
The remaining variance in Zombies will depend on personal preference or the best metagame call you can make. One likely popular choice will be to use red for cards like [card]Pillar of Flame[/card], [card]Brimstone Volley[/card], [card]Falkenrath Aristocrat[/card], and [card]Dreadbore[/card]. Red is a great second color of choice, since you can easily mainboard ways to kill [card]Knight of Glory[/card], which will be a quick go-to sideboard card for any deck with white mana symbols.
The other obvious color choice for Zombie players is green, which mainly allows [card]Lotleth Troll[/card]. This card is exactly what Zombies was looking for: a two-drop that is a serious threat and hard to deal with. This card will help out the curve, as well as giving the deck more angles in combat. Another noteworthy card is [card]Dreg Mangler[/card]. Although you’ll rarely use his scavenge ability at five mana, having that option could mean the difference between victory and defeat in certain circumstances.
Personally, if I were going to play Zombies, my other color of choice would be… both! I think playing both red and green is not only doable with our available mana base, but also adding the third color gives us better sideboard options. I think [card]Lotleth Troll[/card] is a must, and having red to kill [card]Knight of Glory[/card] and [card]Falkenrath Aristocrat[/card] as a good sacrifice outlet for [card]Blood Artist[/card] is just too good to pass up. Here is an example list:
[Deck Title=”Jund Zombies by Aaron Davis (Standard)”]
[Creatures]
*4 Gravecrawler
*4 Geralf’s Messenger
*4 Diregraf Ghoul
*4 Blood Artist
*4 Lotleth Troll
*2 Dreg Mangler
*3 Falkenrath Aristocrat
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*4 Tragic Slip
*3 Brimstone Volley
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*3 Sign in Blood
*2 Dredbore
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*3 Cavern of Souls
*4 Blood Crypt
*4 Overgrown Tomb
*3 Dragonskull Summit
*2 Woodland Cemetery
*6 Swamp
*1 Grim Backwoods
[/Lands]
[/Deck]
This list is not yet final or fully tested. This is just a basic shell to give you an idea of some of the cards you can expect to play against. Many numbers as well as cards could change and still be functionally the same. The most variance you should probably expect is in the spot removal of choice. Also, you shouldn’t be surprised to see [card]Bonfire of the Damned[/card], although I don’t think that’s what players want to be doing in Zombies.
Since Zombies will be the most expected deck to some degree, I don’t think it is a very wise choice to bring to the first large tournament of the season. You don’t want to be playing the “target” deck in a new format, even if it is an established powerhouse. Everyone is going to be playing hate against it, and I’m sure that hate is going to work at some level. That’s not to say Zombies can’t win or isn’t good, as I’m sure there will be a few successful lists; I just think it might be risky given that it’s the “hate target” archetype.
So the question will arise: “What archetype should I play?” I think, for the most part, you want to play something you’re familiar with and enjoy. Since the question isn’t about what specific deck yet, playing with a familiar, enjoyable archetype is always a good way to approach a new format. In terms of answering the question directly, I think it is important to answer what not to play first.
Control
I don’t think control is a very good choice this early in the format. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but control tries to attack a specific metagame and gears its strategy in correlation with the decks that are winning. Since there is no identifiable winning deck at the moment, you don’t have adequate information to construct a reliable control list. That’s not to say it’s impossible to win or do well with the archetype. It will just be much more difficult, as you can only guess what decks you must prepare for.
When answering the question of what to play, you should always keep in mind the other cards in the format that you are playing against. Something that people, including myself, often do is take a deck that was good in the previous Standard set and update it with the new cards to make it as functionally similar as possible. I think this is a mistake for the reason I just mentioned: the cards you are playing against are different. Your angle of attack will not be the same. I think we all know of a few cards in the previous standard format that can fall into this category, and that we are all glad to see rotate.
Mana Leak
[card]Mana Leak[/card] was the most played around card, as it could dictate how you play your spells and the order of setting up your win condition. Often this card, even with [card]Cavern of Souls[/card], would define how decks lists were constructed. Without this card in the format, everything changes, especially the viability of archetypes and cards.
Ponder
[card]Ponder[/card] was definitely the best enabler available pre-rotation, and it’s probably one of the best of all time. This card allowed a lot of decks to exist, giving efficient fixing to strategies that would otherwise be difficult to manage. Also, this card made the best deck in the format, Delver, so consistent, allowing it to play fewer lands and easily flip [card]Delver of Secrets[/card]. Without this card, Delver-based tempo strategies will be much more difficult to construct and pilot.
Titans
These five Titans were loved and hated, all for their power. The absence of these creatures at the top of the castable curve will change how we approach the playability of creatures and removal, as well as many other cards. Also important is the lack of [card]Primeval Titan[/card] decks. A lot of decks and archetypes just couldn’t exist in the presence of such a strategy, and even though ramp-style decks might still be around, they won’t be nearly as potent without [card]Primeval Titan[/card].
Now we can move on to archetypes that I find to be the best choice for a new format. I don’t think this is a strict black-and-white answer, but I think it is a good approach, especially with some of the creatures in the new set.
Combo and Beatdown (Aggro and Midrange)
Generally, what you want to be doing in the midst of new format chaos is either turning guys sideways or doing something unfair and unexpected. These strategies are the most punishing to people trying to bring something new to the table. Although combo doesn’t exactly have a lot of centerpiece cards to thrive on, I think the best thing to be doing in that strategy is cheat game-winning creatures into play.
[Deck Title=”Reanimator by Aaron Davis (Standard)”]
[Creatures]
*4 Arbor Elf
*4 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
*4 Lotleth Troll
*4 Thragtusk
*4 Craterhoof Behemoth
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*4 Grisly Salvage
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*4 Lingering Souls
*4 Mulch
*4 Unburial Rites
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*4 Temple Garden
*4 Overgrown Tomb
*3 Woodland Cemetery
*2 Sunpetal Grove
*1 Isolated Chapel
*6 Forest
*1 Swamp
*2 Gavony Township
*1 Vault of the Archangel
[/Lands]
[/Deck]
Yes, this is a very, very straight-forward list and could have many alternative cards and quantities. This list is similar to Brad Nelson’s Junk Reanimator, and the general idea of the deck is very simple: use early mana accelerators to power out graveyard manipulation and [card]Lingering Souls[/card], and if you have at least three other bodies, a reanimated [card]Craterhoof Behemoth[/card] is usually lethal. This deck is fast and consistent, almost always demands a quick answer, and will punish players for tapping out early in the game.
Quick aggro decks are also not a bad choice when it comes to punishing players. They can give you free wins for drawing a crazy-fast hand, which can mean the difference between making top 8 and going home early. Zombies can fall into this category, but I think green-based aggro is also a fine way to go.
[Deck Title=”GW Aggro by Aaron Davis (Standard)”]
[Creatures]
*4 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
*4 Arbor Elf
*4 Strangleroot Geist
*3 Elvish Visionary
*4 Wayfaring Temple
*4 Dryad Militant
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*4 Selesnya Charm
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*4 Call of the Conclave
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*4 Rancor
*2 Oblivion Ring
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*4 Temple Garden
*4 Sunpetal Grove
*3 Gavony Township
*2 Ghost Quarter
*8 Forest
*2 Plains
[/Lands]
[/Deck]
The interesting thing about this style of deck is that there are so many playable aggressive creatures. You can make a lot of different versions that will all beat in the red zone effectively. A perfect card for this archetype is [card]Selesnya Charm[/card]. The Charm does everything you want it to, and it’s like playing three different spells in that slot, since every single mode is relevant. Often, large creatures just get in the way of decks like this, but you can just remove them once and for all and continue to apply pressure. It also gives you creature tokens to populate and allows you to get in those extra few points of damage to finish off your opponent. The pump effect can also set up some good combat tricks, acting as pseudo removal that will usually result in a trade. I hope to see a lot of green-based aggro decks use this card, because I think it can be an all star.
Another way to attack the red zone with creatures in a green-based strategy is to use good midrange guys, such as [card]Thragtusk[/card] and [card]Huntmaster of the Fells[/card]. Although black has some really good midrange cards, I just can’t justify playing those two creatures without [card]Restoration Angel[/card]. Naya might not have the best mana base available, but I do think you can make it work.
[Deck Title=”Naya Aggro by Aaron Davis (Standard)”]
[Creatures]
*4 Arbor Elf
*4 Avacyn’s Pilgrim
*3 Borderland Ranger
*3 Huntmaster of the Fells
*4 Restoration Angel
*3 Thragtusk
*2 Zealous Conscripts
*2 Trostani, Selesnya’s Voice
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*3 Cloudshift
*2 Selesnya Charm
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*3 Call of the Conclave
*3 Pillar of Flame
[/Sorceries]
[Lands]
*4 Temple Garden
*4 Sunpetal Grove
*4 Rootbound Crag
*2 Clifftop Retreat
*2 Grove of the Guardian
*5 Forest
*2 Plains
*1 Mountain
[/Lands]
[/Deck]
The synergy in this deck is quite good. With many enter-the-battlefield effects, cards like [card]Restoration Angel[/card] and [card]Cloudshift[/card] let you generate extra value out of your creatures. Also the lifegain will be more relevant than expected, given that aggressive archetypes will be favored in such an undefined format. [card]Borderland Ranger[/card] helps fix your mana as well, and hitting your land drops is key, since this deck is rather mana hungry.
There are many more ways to approach midrange and aggressive strategies. I think these lists can provide a good introduction to help you get started, as well as give you a few ideas to build from. You may notice an apparent lack of sideboards, which is because there isn’t really a metagame yet, and what you expect to play can vary from region to region.
I hope this was helpful and encouraging for the 2012s. This is going to be an exciting year of States, which you can find information on here (http://www.sleeveup.com/Home_Page.html). Thanks for reading, everyone!
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