Here it is, the culmination of a three-week process to find and play a Standard deck that suits me. In the first week I put out a cry for help. I was tired of playing pet decks and weird last-placers. I wanted to see what it feels like to play a real, hard-hitting, meta-sensitive deck. In week two I playtested a deck that I liked. I made proxies, traded for (and bought half of) the deck, and finished the sideboard.
Last week, I woke up early for Dragon’s Maze Game Day. I was excited. I was ready to win. Here’s the decklist:
Giaco Aggro
| Creatures (27) 4 Vexing Devil 4 Flinthoof Boar 4 Hellrider 4 Burning-Tree Emissary 4 Ghor-Clan Rampager 4 Experiment One 2 Gyre Sage 1 Thundermaw Hellkite Planeswalkers (2) 2 Domri Rade Spells (8) 2 Rancor 4 Searing Spear 2 Bonfire of the Damned | Lands (23) 1 Kessig Wolf Run 4 Rootbound Crag 4 Stomping Ground 7 Mountain 7 Forest Sideboard (15) 2 Mizzium Mortars 2 Pillar of Flame 1 Glaring Spotlight 2 Legion Loyalist 2 Ground Seal 2 Act of Treason 2 Skullcrack 2 Pyreheart Wolf |
I really like this deck. I think it has a lot going for it. It needs a few tweaks and changes (which I will discuss below) but overall this deck really played fluidly in playtesting. There’s a certain strange thrill in casting multiple Burning-Tree Emissary‘s that you’ve got to play to believe.
Round One was against Bant Auras. I was excited but I didn’t really know what it was exactly that Bant Auras did. In Game one, when he turn one played a land and said, “go,” and I dropped a Vexing Devil…I felt great. I played a Burning-Tree Emissary into a Flinthoof Boar turn three and now I was riding high. What does Bant Auras even do? Why is it supposed to be so nasty? And then his deck started picking up steam, and soon I was staring down a Geist of Saint Traft that I just couldn’t deal with, loaded up with auras and slamming me to zero before I knew what hit me. Game two went similarly with Invisible Stalker doing most of the work. I sided in a Glaring Spotlight and some Pyreheart Wolf‘s but they never showed up. I couldn’t outrace him and my deck felt super light on the back-end.
0-1 in rounds. 0-2 in games.
But no matter, on to Round Two. I played good guy and store regular Jon with his, I don’t know, Thragtusk and Restoration Angel deck? I’m sure there was more to the deck than that, but I’m still so shell-shocked by that classic duo. Game one I got Jon down to one before he stabilized and crushed me. In the back of my head I heard my boss saying, like a mantra, “If you got your opponent down to one life but lost…you could have won somehow.” He’s right, I’m sure I missed an attack, or misplayed my timing of something. Game two I fared no better, getting him down to two life before he got his deck under control and smushed me.
0-2 in rounds. 0-4 in games.
Prize payout started at 3-2 (even though, because this was Magic Game Day, everyone got a pack for playing). I needed more practice with my deck, so I sat down determined for Round Three. I’d be lying if I said I was in high spirits. I felt dejected, with the wind knocked out of my sails a bit. My opponent, Mike, is a seriously good Magic player and not someone I wanted to tangle with in the 0-2 bracket. Game one he showed me what his Progenitor Mimic deck could do, and I felt like I was witnessing a Shock and Awe campaign on my board state. But game two I came back quick, hitting my curve perfectly and swinging before he could start building a dangerous board state. And game three I struck hard enough to eek out a win as well.
1-2 in rounds. 2-5 in games.
Round Four I played an opponent who ran Orzhov Zombies. His deck was a home-brew and my aggressive deck was just too fast. It was a decided victory from early on in both games, and especially when I drew three Ghor-Clan Rampager‘s in three turns. What? Not fair, but it was fun to play.
2-2 in rounds. 4-5 in games.
Round Five I played James. An extremely nice guy with a fun deck. He was creating big threats with Boros Reckoner and Silverblade Paladin, but I recommended that he consider not soul bonding the two together. It removes the threat of Reckoner if I can never get damage in on him. I’ll happily chump block your double-striking Reckoner with a Burning-Tree while I build up my late-game board state (which by now I was learning how to deal with). And a strange thought occurred to me: I was giving someone else Magic advice. I looked at a deck I was playing against, saw where there could be a small tweak, and explained it succinctly. (I hope, maybe I didn’t. If not, sorry James!) This was a first for me. And I look forward to playing against James’s deck again as he keeps working with it!
3-2 in rounds. 6-5 in games.
Game Day held a lot of downs and ups (in that order) for me, and it showed me a lot of things I want to tweak in my deck. I think I want to switch the Bonfires for Mizzium Mortars. And Gyre Sage, the card that I love so much, is probably out for a Firefist Striker or something. Help me! I need that perfect two-drop! And then there’s the question of Lightning Mauler and Rakdos Cackler and oh! It’s all too much to comprehend right now. But one thing’s for sure…I love this deck. I love this play style. And I want to thank all my opponents, readers, friends, and colleagues for their invaluable support and advice. I’m going to keep with this Standard thing. I think I like it a lot.