Welcome to my JOU analysis Part 2. In part 1 we took a look at the format and tried to identify some of the cards that we thought might offer us some answers to existing problems in the format. Hopefully after having had a chance to play with some of the cards we can now better identify how those cards play and start brewing. So, without any further delay. I offer you some deck lists.
Let’s start with the aggressive variety
W/B Aggro
| Creatures (36) 4 Boros Elite 4 Dryad Militant 4 Rakdos Cackler 4 Soldier of the Pantheon 4 Gnarled Scarhide 4 Tormented Hero 2 Spiteful Returned 2 Brain Maggot 3 Xathrid Necromancer 3 Mogis’s Marauder 2 Athreos, God of Passage Spells (3) 2 Orzhov Charm 1 Immortal Servitude Enchantments (1) 1 Spear of Heliod | Lands (20) 2 Mutavault 5 Swamp 5 Plains 4 Mana Confluence 4 Godless Shrine Sideboard (15) 3 Lifebane Zombie 3 Sin Collector 3 Banisher Priest 2 Thoughtseize 2 Fiendslayer Paladin 2 Doom Blade |
While the idea for this deck was mostly inspired by Gnarled Scarhide, he’s not the only JOU card featured in this list. An aggressive shell like this probably will be able to get the most use out of a card like Mana Confluence as well. Once I knew I wanted to build something aggressive using these two cards, I also noticed something pretty special about these color combinations. You get access to a ton of one drops. The idea here is just to be aggressive as possible and create an overwhelming board state for your opponent to deal with. I was unsure about the number of Brain Maggot or Spiteful Returned to play in the list, but I knew I wanted some number of both, so a 2/2 split seemed fine. We get access to some resilience with cards like Xathrid Necromancer and Athreos, God of Passage and Mogis’s Marauder can help us push through damage when we stall out against an opponent. We have a flexible and disruptive sideboard and can attack our opponents hands, as well as having a diverse set of flexible 3 spot options.
Some other cards I thought pretty hard about were these guys
not sure how good/bad they are but they are definitely powerful for their cmc.
Here’s a modification of a list that showed up in sparks over the past few months…
R/B Aggro
| Creatures (33) 4 Rakdos Shred-Freak 4 Spike Jester 4 Rakdos Cackler 4 Tormented Hero 4 Mogis’s Warhound 4 Gnarled Scarhide 3 Xathrid Necromancer 4 Mogis’s Marauder 2 Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch Spells (7) 3 Dreadbore 4 Lightning Strike | Lands (20) 2 Mutavault 5 Swamp 5 Mountain 4 Blood Crypt 4 Mana Confluence Sideboard (15) 2 Magma Spray 3 Searing Blood 2 Dark Betrayal 4 Thoughtseize 4 Skullcrack |
We don’t get as many one drops, but our hastey nut draw is probably better. It would be really nice to be able to play Ash Zealot , but I’m not convinced that 4 mana confluence is good enough to hit doudble red consistently enough.
I really like both of these decks for aggression, but maybe there is another archetype that hasn’t been seeing enough play; however, with un-counterable wraths there is probably a reason. Welp, here we go…
R/U Tempo
| Creatures (15) 4 Young Pyromancer 4 Prophetic Flamespeaker 4 Chandra’s Phoenix 2 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Keranos, God of Storms Enchantments (1) 1 Bident of Thassa Spells (20) 2 Syncopate 1 Cyclonic Rift 1 Mizzium Mortars 4 Magma Jet 4 Lightning Strike 4 Titan’s Strength 2 Dissolve 2 Izzet Charm | Lands (24) 2 Mutavault 4 island 6 Mountain 4 Steam Vents 4 Mana Confluence 4 Temple of Epiphany Sideboard (15) 2 Counterflux 2 Izzet Staticaster 2 Gainsay 1 Mizzium Mortars 1 Negate 2 Searing Blood 2 Skullcrack 1 Bident of Thassa 1 Jace, Memory Adept 1 Aetherling |
I had a hard time finding the right number of spells/creatures and this is probably more of a starting place than a really tuned list. The idea is here though, and I really think its a solid one. We might need to tune more for a control meta-game, maybe a white splash for boros charms might help. Either way, if the format ends up getting a bit faster I think this list will be a good option and be just below the pure mid-range lists…
Speaking of…
Let’s continue our climb up the archetype curve.
Junk Mid-Range
| Creatures (15) 4 Scavenging Ooze 4 Sylvan Caryatid 4 Courser of Kruphix 1 Obzedat, Ghost Council 2 Archangel of Thune Enchantments (4) 2 Underworld Connections 2 Banishing Light Spells (12) 4 Abrupt Decay 4 Thoughtseize 4 Hero’s Downfall Planeswalkers (4) 2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion 2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes | Lands (25) 3 Forest 3 Swamp 2 Godless Shrine 4 Temple Garden 4 Overgrown Tomb 2 Temple of Malady 3 Temple of Plenty 4 Temple of Silence Sideboard (15) 3 Mistcutter Hydra 3 Sin Collector 2 Underworld Connections 1 Dark Betrayal 1 Deicide 1 Golgari Charm 2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa 2 Doom Blade |
Naya Monsters
| Creatures (24) 4 Fleecemane Lion 4 Voice of Resurgence 4 Courser of Kruphix 4 Polukranos, World Eater 4 Stormbreath Dragon 4 Ghor-Clan Rampager Enchantments (2) 2 Banishing Light Spells (2) 2 Boros Charm Plainswalkers (7) 4 Domri Rade 2 Xenagos, The Reveler 1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes | Lands (25) 1 Forest 4 Stomping Ground 4 Temple of Abandon 2 Temple of Plenty 2 Mana Confluence 4 Temple Garden 4 Sacred Foundry 4 Temple of Triumph Sideboard (15) 2 Selesnya Charm 4 Mistcutter Hydra 2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion 1 Xenagos, The Reveler 1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes 1 Boros Charm 2 Deicide 2 Setessan Tactics |
Dega Mid-Range
| Creatures (12) 4 Brimaz, King of Oreskos 4 Desecration Demon 2 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Obzedat, Ghost Council 1 Sire of Insanity Enchantments (7) 4 Banishing Light 3 Underworld Connections Spells (15) 4 Thoughtseize 1 Deicide 2 Warleader’s Helix 2 Dreadbore 3 Hero’s Downfall 2 Anger of the Gods 1 Rakdos’s Return | Lands (26) 3 Godless Shrine 4 swamp 3 Sacred Foundry 4 Blood Crypt 4 Temple of Triumph 4 Temple of Malice 4 Temple of Silence Sideboard (15) 2 Doom blade 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Duress 1 Underworld Connections 3 Lifebane Zombie 3 Sin Collector 2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa |
G/B Mid-Range
| Creatures (17) 4 Sylvan Caryatid 3 Scavenging Ooze 4 Courser of Kruphix 4 Reaper of the Wilds 2 Pharika, God of Affliction Enchantments (3) 3 Underworld Connections Spells (13) 4 Abrupt Decay 4 Hero’s Downfall 4 Thoughtseize 1 Golgari Charm Plainswalkers (2) 2 Vraska the Unseen | Lands (25) 7 Forest 7 Swamp 3 Mutavault 4 Overgrown Tomb 4 Temple of Malady Sideboard (15) 2 Lifebane Zombie 3 Mistcutter Hydra 2 Doom Blade 4 Duress 2 Dark Betrayal 1 Golgari Charm 1 Underworld Connections |
RUG Mid-Range
| Creatures (15) 4 Sylvan Caryatid 3 Scavenging Ooze 4 Courser of Kruphix 2 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Keranos, God of Storms 1 Aetherling Spells (12) 2 Syncopate 4 Dissolve 1 Cyclonic Rift 1 Mizzium Mortars 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Turn // Burn Plainswalkers (8) 2 Xenagos, The Reveler 2 Kiora, the Crashing Wave 4 Jace, Architect of Thought | Lands (25) 4 Forest 1 Mountain 4 Breeding Pool 4 Steam Vents 4 Stomping Ground 4 Temple of Abandon 4 Temple of Mystery Sideboard (15) 4 Mistcutter Hydra 2 Negate 1 Cyclonic Rift 1 Mizzium Mortars 2 Gainsay 1 Jace, Memory Adept 2 Stormbreath Dragon 2 Turn // Burn |
There are tons, literally tons of options in the mid-range category as these strategies have not been extremely effective so far in Theros Standard. I think the closest we might have gotten to a really effective mid-range list was the Jund Monsters List that has managed to top 8 a few events. I provided a few shells, but am unsure as to which is my favorite. I think i’m actually learning towards dega as I believe Anger of the Gods is going to become a major player as the format leans down, and I don’t really want to be nombo-ing my own Caryatids :(.
Another card that peaked my interest was this guy: Eidolon of Blossoms; however, onne predicament with this card however is that its a 4 drop, this guy has a lot of competition for his spot and I don’t think alone he is necessarily better than any of our other options.
Nylea, God of the Hunt Polukranos, World Eater Reaper of the wilds Xenagos, the Reveler Ghor-Clan RampagerSince, he’s not good enough to plug-in, we might go for a more synergistic approach…
G/W-Blossoms
| Creatures (17) 4 Nyx-Fleece Ram 4 Courser of Kruphix 4 Eidolon of Blossoms 2 Heliod, God of the Sun 3 Archangel of Thune Spells (3) 3 Kruphix’s Insight Enchantments (14) 2 Pacifism 4 Mana Bloom 4 Banishing Light 2 Sphere of Safety 2 Font of Fertility Planeswalkers (4) 2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion 2 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes | Lands (22) 8 Forest 4 Plains 2 Mana Confluence 4 Temple Garden 4 Temple of Plenty Sideboard (15) 3 Rootborn Defenses 4 Voice of Resurgence 3 Boon Satyr 1 Rest in Peace 4 Mistcutter Hydra |
Here’s another synergistic based deck. This time built around graveyard interaction.
G/B-Dredge
| Creatures (30) 4 Elvish Mystic 2 Deathrite Shaman 3 Herald of Torment 2 Lotleth Troll 4 Nemesis of Mortals 4 Satyr Wayfinder 1 Shadowborn Demon 4 Nighthowler 2 Nyx Weaver 2 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord 2 Pharika, God of Affliction Spells (9) 1 Strength from the Fallen 4 Grisly Salvage 1 Kruphix’s Insight 1 Whip of Erebos 2 Commune with the Gods | Lands (21) 6 Forest 5 Swamp 2 Mana Confluence 4 Overgrown Tomb 4 Temple of Malady Sideboard (15) 4 Mistcutter Hydra 2 Shadowborn Demon 3 Thoughtseize 2 Doom blade 2 Golgari Charm 2 Abrupt Decay |
I think Pharika has been getting an unreasonable amount of hate towards it, and I truly believe that she is the most underrated card from JOU. I’m not sure this is 100% the best list for her, but she’s certainly not terrible here either.
Let’s look at another archetype…Combo!
Well not really. But probably the closest thing to it in Standard. We’re still putting a few cards together to do some really broken things.The main idea with these next decks are to just go wayyyy over the top using devotion and ramp.
R/W Devotion
| Creatures (27) 4 Ash Zealot 4 Burning-Tree Emissary 4 Frostburn Weird 4 Boros Reckoner 4 Fanatic of Mogis 2 Stormbreath Dragon 1 Aurelia, the Warleader 2 Iroas, God of Victory 2 Purphoros, God of the Forge Enchantments (6) 2 Banishing Light 2 Chained to the Rocks 2 Hammer of Purphoros Spells (4) 2 Boros Charm 2 Mizzium Mortars | Lands (23) 4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx 9 Mountain 2 Mana Confluence 4 Sacred Foundry 4 Temple of Triumph Sideboard (15) 1 Deicide 2 Boros Charm 2 Assemble the Legion 1 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion 1 Chandra, Pyromaster 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Burning Earth 2 Chained to the Rocks 2 Banishing Light |
R/W Devotion has had some success in Theros Standard but never really caught on in popularity, Iroas + banishing light might just fill whatever needs they still had and could potentially move this guy from tier 1.5 to tier 1.
These next two are near and dear to my heart.
Prophet Bant
| Creatures (22) 4 Elvish Mystic 4 Sylvan Caryatid 4 Courser of Kruphix 3 Prophet of Kruphix 2 Sylvan Primordial 3 Angel of Serenity 2 Kruphix, God of Horizons Enchantments (6) 2 Banishing Light 3 Detention Sphere 1 Dictate of Kruphix Spells (6) 2 Cyclonic Rift 4 Sphinx’s Revelation Planeswalkers (3) 2 Kiora, the Crashing Wave 1 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion | Lands (23) 8 Forest 4 Breeding Pool 4 Hallowed Fountain 4 Temple Garden 2 Temple of Mystery 1 Temple of Plenty Sideboard (15) 2 Deicide 4 Mistcutter Hydra 2 Banishing Light 2 Elspeth, Sun’s Champion 2 Jace, Architect of Thought 1 Jace, Memory Adept 2 Plasm Capture |
U/G Devotion
| Creatures (24) 4 Elvish Mystic 4 Sylvan Caryatid 4 Burning-Tree Emissary 3 Courser of Kruphix 3 Prophet of Kruphix 2 Sylvan Primordial 2 Prime Speaker Zegana 2 Kruphix, God of Horizons Enchantments (2) 2 Dictate of Kruphix Spells (3) 3 Cyclonic Rift Planeswalkers (8) 4 Kiora, the Crashing Wave 4 Garruk, Caller of Beasts | Lands (23) 7 Forest 4 Island 4 Breeding Pool 4 Temple of Mystery 4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx Sideboard (15) 4 Mistcutter Hydra 4 Jace, Architect of Thought 1 Jace, Memory Adept 2 Plasm Capture 2 Syncopate 2 Negate |
These may not have the best spot in the current meta with all of the removal heavy decks running around, but who knows maybe things are going to get completely shaken up with the arrival of JOU. I do know for sure though, that if your opponent happens to stumble, both of these lists will just overrun them.
Hopefully one of these lists caught your eye or at least inspired for an idea of your own.Thanks again for reading and feel free to comment on what you think!
