SCG Indianapolis showcased week one of new Standard with Ravnica Allegiance. There were many cool new decks, but only a handful shined this past weekend. Sultai Midrange and Esper Midrange stood out the most, with Sultai winning the Open. Mono Red Aggro didn’t do quite as well, but still had multiple copies in the Top 16 of the Open. Nexus of Fate decks came up a bit short, but show a lot of promise. Let’s talk about those.
Sultai
The Sultai decks impressed me the most to me this weekend. Both Sultai Midrange and Sultai Climb were represented all over the Top 8 and 16 of the Open, and in the Top 8 of the Standard Classic. The Sultai decks are very close to the classic Golgari decks that dominated last Standard, using cards like Wildgrowth Walker, Jadelight Ranger, Vivien Reid, and Find // Finality. The new Sultai decks supplement that Golgari shell with Hydroid Krasis and some sideboard counterspells. Some also chose to add Hadana’s Climb.
I played Sultai Climb in the Standard Classic this weekend and went 5-3. I think if I would have practiced Sultai at all before the event I would’ve gotten a decklist published because of how powerful the deck was week one. Noah Strasler made Top 8 of the Classic with a similar list. You could easily play the deck without Hadana’s Climb as well. Anthony Devarti won the Open with Sultai Midrange, and I think his list has a lot of good things going on, especially for week one of Standard.
Sultai Midrange by Anthony Devarti
| Creatures (26) 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Wildgrowth Walker 4 Merfolk Branchwalker 1 Seekers’ Squire 4 Jadelight Ranger 2 Midnight Reaper 2 Ravenous Chupacabra 3 Hydroid Krasis 2 Carnage Tyrant Spells (10) 3 Vivien Reid 2 Cast Down 3 Find // Finality 2 Vraska’s Contempt | Lands (24) 4 Breeding Pool 4 Overgrown Tomb 2 Watery Grave 4 Woodland Cemetary 1 Drowned Catacomb 2 Memorial to Folly 4 Forest 2 Swamp 1 Island Sideboard (15) 4 Duress 3 Cry of the Carnarium 2 The Eldest Reborn 1 Tendershoot Dryad 1 Crushing Canopy 2 Negate 1 Vraska’s Contempt 1 Disdainful Stroke |
These decks are good at tackling anything they face. They can gain life with Wildgrowth Walker and Hydroid Krasis. Cast Down and Vraska’s Contempt provide interaction. And Sultai is one of the most resilient decks in Standard currently, with graveyard recursion from Find // Finality and card advantage from Hydroid Krasis and Vivien Reid.
Esper Control
Esper was the one deck I had never considered in my testing for SCG Indianapolis, so I was relatively surprised to see all the results it put up this weekend. My assumption is that a lot of people came into the Open not wanting to lose to the traditional week one gameplan: Aggro. Folks sleeved up Absorb, Moment of Craving, Kaya’s Wrath, and many more anti-aggro cards. And it seems to have worked. Esper Control made an appearance in the Top 8 of the Open and won the Standard Classic.
Esper Control by Raja Sulaiman
This list won the Standard Classic. Lots of good cards. Expect to hear more from this color combination as the metagame develops.
Mono Red
Mono Red Aggro has a few cards it can build around: Experimental Frenzy, The Flame of Keld, or splashing black for Theater of Horrors. Some people tried to combine those options. Personally, I had success testing with The Flame of Keld version, and if I could go back I would register it again, or possibly the Experimental Frenzy version instead. For week one playing the red deck, the goal was to be as explosive as possible. These decks are fast, have a high power level, and often kill on turn four.
Mono Red Flame of Keld by Taylor Stephens
| Creatures (14) 4 Ghitu Lavarunner 4 Electrostatic Field 4 Viashino Pyromancer 2 Goblin Chainwhirler Spells (26) 3 The Flame of Keld 3 Risk Factor 4 Lightning Strike 4 Skewer the Critics 4 Wizard’s Lightning 4 Shock 4 Light Up the Stage | Lands (20) 20 Mountain Sideboard (15) 2 Goblin Chainwhirler 3 Rekindling Phoenix 1 Risk Factor 3 Fight with Fire 4 Lava Coil 1 Act of Treason 1 Mountain |
Both Experimental Frenzy and The Flame of Keld versions of the deck help enable the explosive gameplan. The Theater of Horrors version was built to help grind through tougher matchups. While I liked the idea behind this, it appears that the more aggressive strategies put up better results this weekend. It’s likely that Flame of Keld/Experimental Frenzy versions were the best choice in Mono Red decks for week one, and that Theater of Horrors versions will be better when the metagame is more developed.
Nexus
There are a couple flavors of Nexus of Fate decks currently running around Standard. Bant Nexus is the most similar to what the deck looked during Kaladesh Standard. It still plays Root Snare, Search for Azcanta, and Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. The deck wants to take as many extra turns as possible to ultimate Teferi and exile all opposing permanents. With the printing of Hydroid Krasis, the deck now has an extra way to win, as well as a powerful new way to draw cards. Pair all of this with Wilderness Reclamation and you have an extremely powerful deck. Andrew Hakenewerth got second place in the Standard Classic with this version of the deck.
Bant Nexus by Andrew Hakenewerth
| Creatures (1) 1 Hydroid Krasis Spells (35) 3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria 4 Wilderness Reclamation 4 Growth Spiral 4 Nexus of Fate 4 Chemister’s Insight 4 Revitalize 4 Root Snare 1 Dawn of Hope 1 Anticipate 3 Settle the Wreckage 3 Search for Azcanta | Lands (24) 4 Breeding Pool 4 Hallowed Fountain 2 Temple Garden 4 Hinterland Harbor 3 Glacial Fortress 3 Sunpetal Grove 1 Arch of Orazca 2 Forest 1 Island Sideboard (15) 4 Frilled Mystic 3 Lyra Dawnbringer 2 Knight of Autumn 1 Hydroid Krasis 4 Negate 1 Disdainful Stroke |
Another version of the deck has been termed “Nexus of Gates,” which plays guildgates to support cards like Gates Ablaze and Guild Summit. In this deck you are likely trying to win with Hydroid Krasis and extra turns or Expansion // Explosion for massive mana via Wilderness Reclamation. You can also play Simic Nexus, which focuses on making a large Hydroid Krasis and attacking with it over multiple free turns. I think both of these decks are decently powerful, but Nexus of Gates might be much more powerful than it appears.
While there were no Nexus decks in the Top 16 of the Open, I still believe the deck is extremely powerful. The deck is not easy to play, so it may not have displayed its full potential as an archetype yet. Standard is far from solved, and there will likely be more decks that emerge in the weeks to come. If you’re looking for a Standard deck at SCG Baltimore Team Trios event (or any other Standard event), right now I would recommendy Nexus, Esper, or Sultai.
Ally Warfield is a Magic grinder and personality. She is an up-and-coming grinder with an impressive range in terms of archetype selection. You can find her on Twitter @ArcticMeebo.