You know my first crack at this format has to include
Master Biomancer
. It's been awhile, but from my extensive building with him during his Standard days, one of my favorite uses for him is alongside Red hasty token generators. Instead of the slow process of playing Biomancer, paying additional mana for another creature, and then waiting a turn until that creature can attack, this strategy speeds up the process tremendously & converts the Biodaddy's value into damage almost immediately.
Beyond biomancy, the basic strategy of this deck is to hit fast & create value on the board. Against aggro, we can quickly create an overwhelming board state & race to 20, with a wide variety of possibilities to win as early as turn 4. Against control, our threats can help win the 1-for-1 battles against spot removal by creating value in the form of creature tokens or +1/+1 counters, and there are several planeswalkers to help maintain aggression in the face of sweepers. Here's the basic list of ingredients:
ONE DROP MANA DORKS
Elvish Mystic
,
Llanowar Elves
, and
Gilded Goose
give the deck twelve one-drop dorks, which should help to hit the 3 drops on turn 2 with consistency. They also aren't terrible draws later on, as Biomancer & friends will turn these little dorks into respectable creatures. The Goose makes an especially appealing late draw due to its flying.
HASTY TOKEN GENERATORS
Goblin Rabblemaster
&
Legion Warboss
are the ideal turn 2 plays for the deck, as they immediately begin creating a token every turn free of cost.
Xenagos, the Reveler
comes in a turn slower, but being a Planeswalker helps to not overcommit against decks with sweepers, and his plus can enable big combo plays from the hand.
Hornet Queen
is just a one-of due to its cost, but it gives the deck an insanely potent out.
BIOMANCER & IMITATORS
With all of the cheap dorks & tokens around,
Master Biomancer
will be making Mutants left & right.
Purphoros, God of the Forge
pings the opponent to death while the rest of the deck does its thing, and the Firebreathe ability is a great outlet for excess mana.
Nissa, Voice of Zendikar
does double-duty by improving the existing board with its minus & chipping in some tokens with its plus.
A LITTLE UTILITY
Simic Charm
always has a useful application thanks to three relevant abilities - don't forget that you can use the Giant Growth on Biomancer for some serious +1/+1 counter shenanigans.
Domri, Anarch of Bolas
helps with both the ramping cause & pumping the team, while also offering some much-needed removal.
OH YEAH, LANDS TOO
Due to the fact that this deck really wants to hit the three-drops on turn 2, the mana base heavily emphasizes lands that come into play untapped early, especially those that can tap for Green on turn 1. Therefore, even though Red is more prevalent then Blue,
Botanical Sanctum
&
Breeding Pool
are both important 4-ofs to help hit those fast starts.
Mana Confluence
also helps make sure we have all the colors we need off the bat, but is just a 2-of so the life loss isn't too extreme.