Hey everybody! Now that the dust from pre-release weekend has settled, everyone is excited to brew and find the next best deck in Standard(myself included). I think we can all agree that Journey into Nyx has been infinitely better than Born of the Gods was and the ideas people are coming up with are looking good. I didn't get a chance to play with too many of the new cards but I've already started brewing and I'm looking forward to trying out a new idea. I've been a little disinterested with Standard lately so today I'm going to discuss the Theros Block format and what kinds of archetypes to look out for.
I've just started looking into the format and from what I've heard, Naya good stuff seems to be the deck to beat. I found a list for all y'alls viewing pleasure:
Naya:
Lands: 25
8 Mountain
6 Forest
4 Temple of Plenty
4 Temple of Abandon
3 Temple of Triumph
Creatures: 18
2 Courser of Kruphix
3 Polis Crusher
2 Polukranos, World Eater
4 Stormbreath Dragon
4 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Voyaging Satyr
Spells: 17
3 Chained to the Rocks
4 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
2 Lightning Strike
4 Magma Jet
1 Nylea's Presence
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
This list isn't much different than the standard format version that has access to Domri Rade, Mizzium Mortars and Shock lands. This deck definitely looks tough to beat with huge power in the top end with Elspeth, Polukranos and Stormbreath Dragons so beating this will be no easy feat. I feel like the best way to combat a foe like this would be some good early game hand disruption, cheap spot removal and ways to answer their bigger threats that hit the board. A wrath effect couldn't hurt either. There's not much to work with in block but we do have Thoughtseize, Hero's Downfall and, with Journey into Nyx, we have access to Extinguish All Hope. Extinguish hits everything in the Naya deck except for Courser of Kruphix so it's going to be very important to see every game so I'm thinking about running 2 copies. It costs 6 mana, so any more copies than that will just fill your hand with expensive cards that could be something else that you could actually cast and use in the early game. Thoughtseize is a perfect 4-of and Hero's Downfall could be a 4-of too but I want to see how the rest of the list plays out.
Like I mentioned before I had a fun idea for block so before I get too far into the list I'll just spill the beans here. I came up with what I like to call Death and Taxes... the H&R Block version!
Unlike Legacy or Modern, you don't have access to some really good hate bears, but I think there's enough to work with and I'm excited to see how it plays out. I'm looking at cards like Spirit of the Labyrinth and Fate Unraveler to put a tax on their draws, Oppressive Rays to put a tax on their creatures and Mogis, God of Slaughter to put a tax on their upkeep. To top it off, I'm utilizing the new Constellation mechanic with Grim Guardian and Underworld Coinsmith to keep your life total in a reasonable spot and to put extra pressure on your opponent's life total whether you're attacking them or not. Here's the latest list I've come up with:
Death and Taxes:
Land: 24
4 Mana Confluence
4 Plains
8 Swamp
2 Temple of Malice
4 Temple of Silence
2 Temple of Triumph
Creatures: 24
4 Underworld Coinsmith
4 Spirit of the Labyrinth
4 Brain Maggot
4 Grim Guardian
2 Athreos, God of Passage
2 Herald of Torment
2 Fate Unraveler
2 Mogis, God of Slaughter
Spells: 12
4 Oppressive Rays
4 Thoughtseize
2 Banishing Light
2 Extinguish All Hope
As you can see, everything in this deck is an enchantment other than the land and a few non-creature spells. This allows you to hit Constellation triggers consistently throughout the game and put a lot of pressure on with Grim Guardian. Thoughtseize and Brain Maggot are perfect for getting in some great hand disruption while providing synergy with Constellation. Oppressive Rays puts a tax on your opponent's creatures and Banishing Light provides an all-around versatile removal spell, again, that provide Constellation triggers. For the creatures, Spirit of the Labyrinth and Herald of Torment are aggressively costed so you can maintain a quick clock on your opponent while disrupting their hand in the early game and putting the oppression down later on. Athreos, God of Passage is in here because it puts a tax on your opponent trying to remove your creatures. If they have exile effects, then he's not so hot here, but either they pay 3 life, or you get your Brain Maggots back to take another look at their hand or you get Heralds back to bestow for bigger flying beats. Not to mention the added Constellation triggers you'll be getting! Also, like I mentioned before, all the creatures are enchantments so when you drop the hope extinguisher, it'll only be fuel for your enchanted flames.
All in all this deck looks like a lot of fun and probably pretty annoying to deal with so I'm hoping it does well. I haven't had a chance to play it yet since we don't have all of the new cards yet, but I feel like it might need to cut some creatures for some more removal elements. The Coinsmith is only there for a life-gain element. Since it's the only way to do that in this deck, it'll be hard to cut, but it's probably my first target to cut for some more removal. Hero's Downfall, extra Banishing Lights, or Feast of Dreams are good removal spells I'd look at including.
Well, thanks for taking a look at my new idea. I hope you think it's cool, if not, let me know what you would change or what ideas you're planning on for Block!
Until next time,
DannyO
WizardDen.com
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