Khans of Tarkir Standard Standouts

Hey Everybody!! It’s Josh Kreiter with WizardDen.com 's team RogueT3ch. This will be my first article with Wizard Den and I wanted to start off with an exciting subject. Khans of Tarkir!!! A new standard is just around the corner and I am excited beyond words to kick my unhealthy Pack Rat addiction. Pack Rat Anonymous only got me so far....*looks disheveled* 

With the Khans of Tarkir prerelease coming in a few weeks it’s time to say goodbye to a stale standard format and hello to the colorful world of the wedges. There are a lot of cards that seem to carry quite a punch and are sure to be things you’ll see right out of the gates when Khans becomes standard legal. Let’s dive in:

End Hostilities- This card is going to see play in most control decks. The problem here is this is a far cry from the supreme verdict that control players have been use to slamming without care due to its can’t be countered clause. Not only that but the five mana requirement of End Hostilities could have you in a position a wrath can’t pull you out of against aggressive decks. Add this with the lack of life gain with Sphinx’s Revelation and you’re left with a control deck that will have a hard time surviving long enough to even begin to play magic.

Suspension Field- I’m surprised I haven’t heard more people talking about how sweet this card is. Green decks are going to have access to some pretty disgusting things that involve some really big creatures thus; this is a great way to answer those. Back to nature is a card, but I expect Suspension Field will have a home in standard. 

Clever Impersonator- Clone is back and better than ever! This guy, quite literally, does it all. One thing that is pretty nifty is he doesn’t target so he can do anything from kill an opposing Garruk, to having a beater like Soul of Shandalar, Clever Impersonator has you covered.

Stubborn Denial- This is a pretty awesome counter spell that could play a big role in the next standard. Temur seems to be the best option for this card to fit in the main deck as can be seen by the list below:

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Sylvan Caryatid

3 Courser of Kruphix

4 Savage Knuckleblade

3 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Stormbreath Dragon

2 Genesis Hydra

2 Xenagos, God of Revels

3 Stubborn Denial

3 Mindswipe

2 Temur Ascendency

3 Frontier Bivouac

3 Wooded Foothills

2 Shivan Reef

2 Yavimaya Coast

2 Mana Confluence

7 Forest

5 Mountain 

2 Island

This deck takes perfect advantage of the loss of the “can’t be countered” cards. You will often have 4 power creatures in play allowing you to get the most of Stubborn Refusal. This allows us to play Temur Ascendency, an exciting new enchantment I can’t wait to get my hands on. You will often be drawing cards, which makes Courser of Kruphix a much more valuable card. For example with Ascendency and Courser in play you can reveal a Stormbreath Dragon, if you now cast something like Polukranos or Savage Knuckleblade you have the opportunity to draw the Stormbreath Dragon and reveal a land digging you even deeper in to your deck. Another fun interaction with Ascendency comes with Genesis Hydra. If  you cast your Genesis Hydra for four or more you can draw a card then reveal the top cards; if you play another creature with four power off the Hydra you get to draw another card. That just seems absurd. You will often get ahead on board so don’t be afraid to pass the turn to your opponent with monstrosity mana or an activation of Knuckleblade available and, instead, Mindswipe for the win when your opponent tries to make a play. Why no Surrak Dragonclaw in the main-deck? Xenagos, God of Revels actually does more in the deck. There is no shortage of creatures in the deck allowing Xenagos to constantly enable damage and has fewer ways to be answered than Surrak Dragonclaw. He will be in the sideboard as will Temur Charm. This deck may change as future spoilers arrive but this should be a good place to get started.

Let’s jump right to the exciting new multi-colored cards!

Ankle Shanker- I’m with a lot of the pros on this one: saying Ank Shank rules. This guy is exciting but a little concerning as he is a 2/2 for five. The ability tacked on to Ankle Shanker is nothing to be ignored; giving all of your creatures first strike and death touch makes any kind of blocking nearly impossible. The only only reason this guy wouldn’t see play is his casting cost.

Butcher of the Hoarde- A fine card and with the spoil of Bloodstained Brave a possible way to get a lot of value off the guy. I’m not too keen on him myself but time will tell how big of a role he will play in the new standard world.

Deflecting Palm- This has to be my favorite fog type effect I have seen printed. I can imagine having my opponents monstrous Stormbreath Dragon deal 7 to themselves and stealing a game I have no business winning. I feel this card will go in some iteration of a control deck and will probably be a win condition alongside something like Mindswipe. 

Jeskai Charm- I would like to start off by saying the charms are sweet; like eat a bag of sugar sweet. I know that we are losing the RTR Charms but this is a perfectly acceptable trade in my book. Jeskai Charm is everything I loved about Boros Charm and Azorius Charm rolled in to one terrific Magic Card. Dealing 4 to close a game feels like it will be big in new standard. Not only that but it allows you to win the race if you are working with a board of massive creatures with it’s +1/+1 and Lifelink clause. Since the creature doesn’t have to be attacking to be placed on top of your opponent’s library it can even help you punch through a blocker by removing it temporarily. I believe all of the charms will be HUGE players in Khans standard.

Mardu Ascendency- Goblin Rabblemaster Ascendency would have been a far better name. This is going to be an interesting card for aggressive strategies. I believe it’s existence in standard will depend on how big Bile Blight becomes. This dodges bile blight very well and helps you generate a huge board fast enough to deal some serious damage to your opponent. My concern with it is how much will an aggressive want to slow down it’s game in order to cast this enchantment? If you have creatures out and can swing the turn it enters, you’ll trigger for several creatures. However, If you’ve just been had a board wipe hit the board, how good of a draw or card on the board will Mardu Ascendency actually be?

Mindswipe- This is an awesome counter that will have a number of deck boxes it calls home in the coming months. It allows you to play a creature based deck like the one shown earlier and close out the game by holding up a monstrosity activation. It also gives the control player a way to keep spells off the board and close out games against their opponent.

Savage Knuckleblade- This is probably my favorite creature spoiled so far. For more reasons than being able to call him my main man knucks, this guy can do some pretty awesome things. He can dodge removal when played properly, he can provide a card draw engine if you begin to flood with Temur Ascendency, and in all of that he can still attack for four throughout this process. This guy is going to be a nightmare to play against. 

Siege Rhino- Siege Rhino reminds me of a Loxodon Smiter in a lot of ways. The rhino is a huge presence once he hits the board, draining your opponents life total is a pretty relevant ability as could be seen by Gray Merchant of Asphodel over the last year. This is kind of like if Loxodon Smiter and a potentially drunk Gary, the traveling insurance salesman had a baby… Then gave said baby a bunch of steroids.

Surrak Dragonclaw- Wizards definitely decided to push the Temur Wedge pretty hard. This guy allows you to punish your opponent for tapping out a majority of the time by trumping whatever creature they are playing, while also protecting future plays you make with his “Creature’s you control can’t be countered” text. Surrak Demands an answer from your opponent or his dragon claws will surely take over the game. 

Temur Ascendency- I’ve already ranted about the cool things you can do with this card. Might I say again you get Oodles of cards off this with a Genesis Hydra for anything over four? If getting potentially 4 cards off of a 2 card combo turns out to be bad in the next format I will be VERY surprised.

Temur Charm- As can be seen by throughout this article, I have a huge soft spot for the Temur wedge. This charm is amazing and all of the abilities have the change to be huge in any game. Instant speed fight is nothing to be taken lightly as can be seen by the addition of Stessan Tactics in a lot of green sideboards. Mana Leak is a card that has always seen play when in a constructed format. Wizards had to change the cost due to the extra abilities but I believe Wizard’s has found the perfect way to reprint the essence of an amazing counter spell in the form of Temur Charm. The last ability tacked on to this card usually says I win I would presume. A surprise "you can’t block this" alpha strike is usually going to lock up the game for you.

Utter End- This card seems like another Silence the Believers at first. On second glance, we can see that this card does it all. Problematic Elspeth? Does Temur Charm have you dead to any creature due to it’s ability to give haste to whatever your opponent may draw? Utter End is your answer. This is a great catch all that will most likely see more main deck play than it’s big brother Silence the Believers.

- Josh Kreiter
www.WizardDen.com