How Many Nerds Does it Take to Summon a Demon?

Standard Aggro Competitive GW (Selesnya) Jank Midrange Tempo

thuzra

Creature (27)

• 4x Bygone Bishop
• 3x Dragon Hunter
• 3x Duskwatch Recruiter  ^Flip
• 4x Hanweir Militia Captain  ^Flip
• 4x Kor Castigator
• 2x Kytheon, Hero of Akros  ^Flip
• 3x Tireless Tracker
• 4x Veteran Warleader

Land (20)

• 4x Canopy Vista
• 2x Evolving Wilds
• 2x Forest
• 4x Fortified Village
• 4x Plains
• 4x Westvale Abbey  ^Flip

Enchantment (6)

• 3x Cryptolith Rite
• 3x Ulvenwald Mysteries

Instant (4)

• 4x Dromoka's Command

Sorcery (3)

• 3x Declaration in Stone

---

Sideboard

Creature (3)

• 3x Lantern Scout

Enchantment (3)

• 2x Stasis Snare
• 1x Ulvenwald Mysteries

Instant (9)

• 3x Clip Wings
• 3x Hallowed Moonlight
• 3x Natural State

---

About as many as you'd expect...

A Too-Long Intro

Now, I'll be the first to say that I am not a fan of Aggro decks. They're just a step above Midrange. Anyway, I think I've stumbled on something good here. This is more or less fresh from the lab, and I will continue to refine it til perfect, rest assured.

This began, as many great decks do, as a draft deck. My first card was Bygone Bishop , and I knew what I was playing from that point on. Every card I picked was green or white and fit the Bishop-curve gameplan. What I noticed was really good, though, was Ulvenwald Mysteries . And I had two. Do you know how backbreaking two Mysteries is at once? Especially in limited! This card is the reason I survived a deck that cast two Devils' Playground and The Gitrog Monster in one game - I stalled to time, and it was hard to say who would've won. Awesome game.

Anyway, I took this deck philosophy home and immediately set to work coming up with this. Obviously, development is still going on, and I'll keep the Description as up-to-date as I can!

Proper Primer Primer

Do not be misled - this is an Aggro deck, but it is not a true Aggro deck. I have a penchant for shenanigans, and this deck exhibits that to a decent extent. At first glance, it looks like your stock G/W Humans list, or the Abbey Aristocrats archetype people have been brewing since spoiler season. However, this is an entirely different animal. Investigate, I have found, is not as disappointing as I expected; I was disappointed in how little I was disappointed. In fact, I was impressed. I think it's one of the best things to be doing right now, honestly.

With this in mind, the deck came to be. I have the ability to kill quickly, but if need be, I can grind out a long game because of my many Clues. I never have an empty hand if I can help it, but I'm always applying pressure.

By following the pattern I had set forward in the beginning, I have labeled my cards under the following categories: Nerds, Threats, Engine, and Utility. My Nerds are the dorky creatures that don't really do anything and/or trigger Bygone Bishop for no lost value. The Threats are my obvious game-enders. The Engine is what keeps me going, but all engines require fuel. Utility denotes everything else; cards that just don't fit in the other categories.

Nerds

Each of these is very important to the proper function of the deck - they're the bones and sinew that make the deck possible. They are also the primary resource of fuel in the deck, if you check the Engine panel.

• Dragon Hunter - It's just strictly better than Expedition Envoy, to be honest. I needed one-drops, don't judge me.
• Kytheon, Hero of Akros   - Better than Envoy, as well, but he also turns into a bigger body and an insurance policy.
• Kor Castigator - You'd be surprised how effective a 3/1 for is. Honestly, this is so good I ran seven of them in the first version of the deck (read: Devilthorn Fox ).

• Duskwatch Recruiter   - Now, this one's a sleeper. I don't really need it, it's mostly just a bear. But, as you will see soon, creatures with no text are more than capable of being massive value swings. He does, however, have text. Basically, if it doesn't flip, I'm fine. But when it does. OH BOY. Oh boy.

Threats

These are non-negotiable. All of these are here because they are the best at what they do and they provide simply massive bodies. These are the muscle and brains of the deck.

Veteran Warleader - I mean, it's a Voice of Resurgence token and an Ally - what's not to love?

Hanweir Militia Captain   - A bear that flips into a Voice token. Amazing. And the flipside adds at least two power to my board every turn.

Westvale Abbey   - I mean, if we get there and they don't have Clip Wings , we win. GG.

Engine

Also non-negotiable, at least to an extent, the Engine pieces are just that: Engines. For a given input, they will produce a different output, one that I can either use with the fuel or more effectively than the fuel. This is the digestive property of my deck, in a way feeding off of itself to advance the endgame.

Bygone Bishop - This is the main powerhouse, here, and is legitimately the reason this deck exists at all. Every creature will trip it.

Ulvenwald Mysteries - This card isn't the best card in the deck (cough Abbey cough), but it is the most important. My deck is aggressive, sure, but it isn't always fast enough to get in under Control. This is my insurance.

Tireless Tracker - This one, honestly, slipped under my radar, so thanks to amhood for bringing it to my attention! I draw a lot of cards, and sometimes they are lands. Oh well. I guess I'll draw more cards and pump my dude-bro right here.

Utility

The immune system of the deck, these slots are my removal and protection package.

Declaration in Stone - I mean, it's our new premier removal spell in Standard, and one of the reasons I would argue that White is the best colour in Standard right now. I don't care if they Investigate, because I'm probably doing more of that.

Dromoka's Command - It only does everything! It's a pseudo-spot-removal spell, it pumps, it protects... Yes.

Cryptolith Rite This one's new to the scene for this deck, but it shows enough promise that I have included it. The plan is to ramp better into Ormendahl and to keep my mana under control since that seems to be the most consistent problem with the deck so far.

Sideboard Tech

As sad as it is to say, we don't have everything we could possibly need in the main. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Clip Wings - If you have to ask, maybe Standard isn't your format right now.

Hallowed Moonlight - More of same, but this is for more specific problems. Reanimator and the like. I'm waiting for the game that ends with Eerie Interlude...

Lantern Scout - This is for those matchups where I need a massive Tempo shift and I need it NOW. Also Mono-Red and B/R Vampires, &c. Whenever it's good.

Dromoka's Command - Sometimes I need more everything. Those times are answered with a Command.

Ulvenwald Mysteries - If the game goes especially long or if I'm in the Control matchup, or if they have enchantment-hate, I have an extra one of these handy so I can more consistently generate the obscene value I love so much.

Stasis Snare - I mean, I have yet to use them, but I think they'll become better over time. I can conceive of a time when I would need these and so I have them.

Natural State I cannot beat Brain in a Jar, so I have to kill it. My thanks to itsbuzzi!

Matchups

I know this is more or less what you've all been waiting so long for, and while I may not have a lot of data, I have more than zilch, so let's go.

Mono Blue Brains Show

I have yet to win this game. I believe very strongly that this deck beats any and all creature-based aggressive strategies 90-10, and my maindeck does not have any appropriate answers. Though I have added some certain fixes to my sideboard for this matchup, I have not yet had the opportunity to try them out.

Red/Green Dragons Show

This one is bad because no one plays this deck, yet here I am and I can't quite seem to get away from it, so here it is. This comes down to a smart player sniping my Hunters and my threats before I can amass a proper boardstate and just absolutely going ham with Thunderbreak Regent. The only saving graces are Declaration in Stone and Clip Wings in the board, and I definitely recommend siding those in. Against a less experienced wielder, though, it is far easier for me to get under their guys by holding back a Hunter or two because they didn't know they were there.

Ally Aggro Show

This is more or less exactly the sort of deck my deck was made to beat an aggressive creature-based strategy. Colour is irrelevant because they all do the same thing, whether they use Kalastria Healer or Lantern Scout or both. Again creature-based. They'll do what they do, and unless they draw the nut hand flush with removal, we just win off of inevitability. The only game I've lost in this matchup is to a mull to five on my part, if that gives you any idea.

Green/White Insert Creature Aggro Show

Now, I don't have a lot of experience with this matchup, mostly because no one in my area plays it because everyone who does play it bought all the available pieces, but I have some trends I've noticed. I have greater inevitability, most of the time (I can often deal with Sigarda, Heron's Grace, therefore I win), and that decides the game. Many of my creatures are meant to be duly used as attackers and removal spells with Dromoka's Command, so I can snipe all their guys with Kor Castogator without losing any momentum.

Red/Black Eldrazi Show

I have at least a pretty good matchup against this, as I do with most Aggro decks. This, again, comes down to inevitability. Depending on what's going on (and this Eldrazi list is really inconsistent, so that's better for me!), my threats are generally more than sufficient to at least hold them at bay until I generate enough value with my engine to pull ahead. I'd give myself 60/40 on a bad day, 75/25 on a better day.

Assault Formation.dec Show

This is a very defensive, but still aggressive brew a good friend of mine runs as his deck of choice. While it has a tendency to die to things going completely over the top (looking at the Rites deck's combo and Westvale Abbey  ), it is extremely good at what it does. That being said, I can snipe most of the creatures, and Abbey is GG (though being able to snag one of my Abbeys with Oblivion Sower is spicy, and fighting Ormendahl with Ormendahl is a strange game, trust me).

And this is what I've got, for now. I'll be adding to this as more and better data are gathered, so stay tuned!

Top Ranked	Achieved #37 position overall 8 years ago
Date added	8 years
Last updated	8 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 37 - 6 Rares 9 - 3 Uncommons 6 - 6 Commons
Cards	60
Avg. CMC	2.23
Tokens	Clue, Human Cleric 1/1 BW, Human Soldier 1/1 W
Folders	Decks, SOI Standard Plan., GW, Selesyna (Modern/Standard), Standard decks to build, to build, Decks, Decks, cool decks