If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Magic, it’s that there’s always more to learn. I’m just diving back into Standard, and I haven’t played the format much since PT Khans. At the Pro Tour, I played Jeskai Aggro:

PT Khans Jeskai

Creatures (17)
Seeker of the Way
Welkin Tern
Mantis Rider
Goblin Rabblemaster
Brimaz, King of Oreskos
Stormbreath Dragon

Spells (19)
Lightning Strike
Magma Jet
Jeskai Charm
Stoke the Flames
Suspension Field
Chandra, Pyromaster
Lands (24)
Mountain
Plains
Island
Flooded Strand
Temple of Epiphany
Temple of Triumph
Battlefield Forge
Shivan Reef
Mystic Monastery

Sideboard (15)
Disdainful Stroke
Magma Spray
Reprisal
Prognostic Sphynx
Erase
Hushwing Gryff
Brimaz, King of Oreskos

I like the deck well enough, but wasn’t thrilled about it. Looking at how the format has evolved, this deck has proven itself to be solidly tier two, as far as I can tell. I hunted around for more exciting, off-the radar lists before the PT: I reached out to the clever deck designers I knew who weren’t qualified who might have ideas, and Matt Ferrando sent me this about two weeks before the Pro Tour. It looked interesting, but I never actually tried it out:

Ferrando Tokens

Creatures (16)
Goblin Rabblemaster
 Monastery Swiftspear
Firedrinker Satyr
Soldier of the Pantheon

Spells (44)
Jeskai Ascendancy
Stoke the Flames
Hordeling Outburst
Defiant Strike
Dragon Mantle
Raise the Alarm
20 Lands

Looking at this now is really maddening. The heart of the current Jeskai Tokens deck is right there! Kudos to Ferrando, who sent me a number of iterations on this list leading up to the Pro Tour, for spotting this degenerate interaction between Jeskai Ascendancy, the token-maker spells, and Stoke the Flames early in the format. Ferrando’s decks often need some disciplined refining, but that’s my specialty. I’ve been testing versions of the current Jeskai Tokens deck, and I love the deck. So, 2014, thanks for the missed opportunity and the lesson that comes with it.

Next time I’m qualified for the Pro Tour: more exploring. The Pro Tour rewards risk-taking more than the PTQ and Grand Prix circuit — it’s an adjustment I need to make.

Until I qualify again, though, there’s one last season of PTQs to play. For old time’s sake, I’m thinking of taking a classic control deck to my first shot this season:

Kolos Control

Creatures (2)
Pearl Lake Ancient

Spells (30)
Dig through Time
Jace’s Ingenuity
Perilous Vault
Aetherspouts
Hero’s Downfall
Bile Blight
Murderous Cut
Thoughtseize
Despise
Dissolve
Nullify
Disdainful Stroke
Negate

Land (28)
Radiant Fountain
Dismal Backwater
Polluted Delta
Temple of Deceit
Bloodstained Mire
Flooded Strand
Evolving Wilds
Swamp
Island
Urborg
Sideboard (15)
Pharika’s Cure
Thoughtseize
Negate
Grindclock
Drown in Sorrow
Jorubai Murk Lurker

This thing is like a deck that travelled through time from the 90’s: all Counterspells, card draw, and a few invulnerable win conditions. Then again, I’m also pretty tempted by the aggressive Abzan lists: leading off with a Thoughtseize into an aggressively costed attacker feels like my Mono-Black Aggro deck from last season.

And then there’s Jeskai Tokens: a cross between a combo deck and an aggro deck, with Treasure Cruise and the ability to win from impossible-looking positions:

Watanabe's Jeskai Tokens

Creatures (8)
Goblin Rabblemaster
Seeker of the Way

Spells (28)
Jeskai Charm
Lightning Strike
Raise the Alarm
Stoke the Flames
Hordeling Outburst
Treasure Cruise
Jeskai Ascendancy
Chandra, Pyromaster
Lands (24)
Battlefield Forge
Flooded Strand
Island
Mountain
Mystic Monastery
Plains
Shivan Reef
Temple of Epiphany
Temple of Triumph

Sideboard (15)
Anger of the Gods
Disdainful Stroke
Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
End Hostilities
Erase
Glare of Heresy
Magma Spray

Look at this 8-creature aggro deck! I think Magic in 2015 is going to be pretty fun.

Gabe Carleton-Barnes has been playing Magic for over 20 years, mostly as a PTQ grinder and intermittently as a Pro Tour competitor. Currently based in Portland, Oregon, where he is an Open Source web developer by day, Gabe lived in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for three years. While there, he failed to make a documentary about competitive Magic but succeeded in deepening his obsession with the game. Gabe is now a ringleader and community-builder for the competitive Magic scene in Portland, wielding old-timey slang and tired cliches to motivate kids half his age to drive with him to tournaments.

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