So this is my current standard deck that I've been running at my LGS, and it's consistently been a great deck among the matchups I've seen. The main idea is to build midrange power and manifest synergies into ridiculous lategame power. Depending on your opening hand and matchup, this deck can excel at full ramp to all-out aggro.
Sideboarding and matchups:
These are the cards you should sideboard out after game 1 before deciding what to put back in:
Hooded Hydra, Shamanic Revelation and Monastery Siege.
After removing those 6 cards, the cards you put back in depend on your matchup:
Vs Abzan Control:
2x Sagu Mauler, 2x Monastery Siege, 2x Thassa, God of the Sea, 1x Stubborn Denial (replace an icefeather aven)
Expect the game to go long, but don't hold back on the aggro. Play threats as fast as they draw answers, baiting those answers out before a whisperwood if possible. Get in the damage you can manage early, protect your powerhouses with sideboard tech, and use Thassa, God of the Sea to close out the game.
Vs Abzan Aggro/Megamorph:
2x Stratus Dancer, 1x Surrak, the Hunt Caller, 1x Stubborn Denial, 1x Thousand Winds, 1x Shamanic Revelation
This deck has a few variations, so make sure you know which one you're up against when making decisions. Against Collected Company, always be ready to counter that garbage. Against Rakshasa Deathdealer, play for lategame power and chump block to stay above 10 life. Against Den Protector + Deathmist Raptor, let the board stalemate until you can swing for lethal in 1-2 turns. Killing their creatures just means they come back, while yours grow exponentially if left alone.
Vs Mono Red:
1x Hooded Hydra, 2x Thousand Winds, 2x Stubborn Denial, 1x Stratus DancerJust don't die before you can play a Whisperwood Elemental. Trade away any and everything to prevent early damage, and don't hesitate to counter goblin tokens and removal. (Counter burn only below 10 life)
Vs Sidisi Whip:
2x Stubborn Denial, 2x Thassa, God of the Sea, 1x Shamanic Revelation, 2x Burn Away (replace an icefeather aven)
A very difficult matchup, Sidisi Whip not only outscales you by a large margin but also runs a plethora of kill spells and sideboard hate. Play your threats and pray that burning your counterspells to protect them doesn't open up a chance for them to drop a Whip of Erebos.
Vs Atarka Ramp:
2x Thousand Winds, 1x Shamanic Revelation, 2x Prophet of Kruphix, 1x Thassa, God of the Sea
Go aggro for early damage since they won't have real answers, then laugh as their giant dragon can't block a horde of magical bears. Thousand Winds is an incredible blocker.
Vs Jeskai Tokens:
2x Stubborn Denial, 2x Stratus Dancer, 1x Surrak, the Hunt Caller, 1x Thousand Winds
Always play around end hostilities, and make sure you counter Jeskai ascendancy if possible. I see most of these decks running Banishing Light, but if they aren't sideboard in both Hooded Hydras since they can block the tokens so well.
Right now I'd say this sits at about a tier 2 deck. This deck's main weakness is sideboard hate against an army of bears, and unfortunately Theros has quite a bit of that. Once Theros rotates out however, this deck should shoot up to tier 1.
Right now I rely heavily on scry lands to fill out gaps in my mana curve, so once Theros rotates out both Ghostfire Blade and Obscuring AEther will be mainboars cards to fill out the curve instead.
I'd love to see some more suggestions, and feel free to ask why card XYZ is or isn't included!
