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How to break standard --- 3 easy steps!!!

Standard Competitive Enchantment GWU (Bant) Tempo

Sorin_Markov_1947


Sideboard


  1. Play enchantments
  2. Make sure your opponent doesn't overwhelm you
  3. Play Dance of the Manse and crush your opponent into oblivion using the power of a thousand stars into which their soul will be sucked from the lifeless husk that is their Magic career
  4. Have fun!

Take a look at the history of the past few standard sets. Throne of Eldraine standard, Core Set 2020 standard, the Ravnica block. All of those standards were broken using strategies that took the marquee strategy/mechanic, and twisted it in some way to make it immune to the built-in checks on it. This is my attempt to do so for THB standard: Bant Enchantments.

Not a lot of people remember (because it wasn't a tier one archetype), but enchantments was a decent strategy in Throne of Eldraine standard. Mostly, it was on the back of one card: Dance of the Manse. So, we're going to combine the strategies of Dance decks with the newer enchantment decks.

  • Alseid of Life's Bounty is a very useful protection creature that can be used on either our creatures or enchantments. It's also our only one-drop, and counts as an enchantment itself. What's not to like?
  • Banishing Light is a simple catch-all removal spell that - again - counts as an enchantment.
  • The Birth of Meletis is a very important enchantment. It helps us stall with a wall and a tiny bit of lifegain and it helps hit our land-drops.
  • Elspeth Conquers Death is very good in the right matchup. It can be removal, anti-spell, and reanimation all for five mana. Against aggro, you'll probably side it out.
  • Shatter the Sky is when we're behind in the creature game and need to step it up. Reset your opponent, then get your own creatures rolling!
  • Omen of the Sea gets us some card filtering, as well as leaving behind an enchantment that Dance of the Manse can bring back. I'd like to fit Thirst for Meaning back in the deck, but slots are at a premium, and I can't afford to spend too many on card draw.
  • Setessan Champion is... A champion. Every single enchantment we play (which is usually at least one per turn) gets us a card and makes him bigger! Certainly, it's something worth using your protection to keep around!
  • Teferi, Time Raveler is mainly for the control matchups, where we reeeeally don't want Dance of the Manse getting countered, but he can also bounce our sagas for extra value, get our sorceries out whenever we want, and cause our opponent headaches as they try to deal with him.
  • Dance of the Manse. Ahhhh, we get to the key card. The deck performs pretty well without this card, but with it it's a beast! Thryx, the Sudden Storm makes it cheaper if needed, it gets all our enchantments back, and if you need it in the lategame, it's a game ENDER. Imagine getting 10 enchantments back, getting ALL of their effects, AND 10 4/4s that your opponent has to deal with!

I think this deck has the potential to be a serious contender, but only if people start playing it. Unfortunately, as a 16-yr-old student with little money and only a Mac to play on, I can't do it on Arena or any other platform. So, the task falls to you.

  • Will you take the task of leading this format-breaking deck to its first 5-0 league finish?
  • Will it dominate your FNM this weekend?
  • Will you show the world that there's a new best in town? I certainly hope you will, and that this deck is the tool for you.

Please let me know if you do, because I take pride in my decks. Especially when they actually work and people get use out of them, which this deck certainly has the potential to do.

Advice is appreciated on the sideboard and maybeboard, as I think those are the decks weak points.

Sideboarding guide!

Believe it or not, Jund Sacrifice is still around - and strong! This is actually a difficult matchup, since this strategy left to propagate on its own is unstoppable, and we don't have a ton of disruption. +2 Devout Decree and +2 Whirlwind Denial is a solid call here, as is a possible Disenchant or two for the ovens. As for what to take out, -2 Elspeth Conquers Death, -2 Alseid of Life's Bounty works here. If you need more, flicker of fate isn't that great in the matchup either. Sorcerous Spyglass targets Witch's Oven, or is sideboarded out.
+3 Whirlwind Denial for the Krasi (or anything else that annoys you), and use your removal carefully! -1 Shatter the Sky, -1 Flicker of Fate, and -1 Teferi, Time Raveler seems about right. Sorcerous Spyglass should target Nissa, Who Shakes the World.
This is nearly a mirror, so it's rather interesting. Remember - especially in games 2-3 - to play around the wipes of Shatter the Sky and Heliod's Intervention. +3 Disenchant, +1 Sorcerous Spyglass, -2 Banishing Light, -1 The Birth of Meletis, -2 Shatter the Sky is my choice for this matchup. Depending on how heavy your opponent goes on counterspells vs enchantments, you might want 1-2 Thryx, the Sudden Storm instead of (or even in addition to) Disenchant.

The main reason I put Sorcerous Spyglass in this deck is for this matchup. Azorius control usually only has one way to kill you, to actually deal the 20 damage it needs to win: Dream Trawler. Now, it's a daunting task to kill all four copies when it can give itself hexproof, when they have Elspeth Conquers Death, and a Banishing Light isn't likely to stick any longer than a turn or two. What you have to do is play Sorcerous Spyglass (naming Dream Trawler), then hit it with Elspeth Conquers Death. If you're having trouble with either one getting countered, Thryx, the Sudden Storm can help.

This is probably our weakest matchup. Mono-red aggro has started taking over arena, and we don't have a great response to it. +2 Devout Decree, +2 Aether Gust, +1-2 Disenchant, -1 Elspeth Conquers Death, -2 Sorcerous Spyglass, and -1-2 Teferi, Time Raveler is the way to go. Use shatter the sky when death seems imminent, and always assume they have Embercleave!
A combo deck has finally made it into standard! Unfortunately, we aren't prepared for that. They'll be ready for counter-wars with a sideboarded Mystical Dispute, so our best bet is to go for +3 Disenchant hitting the namesake of the deck, +1 Dovin's Veto, and if you want, bring in some Mystical Disputes too. As for what to take out, -2 Sorcerous Spyglass, and the rest to take out is Shatter the Sky. Don't discount your removal, since after game one a lot of Temur Rec decks like to bring in flash bois and become a Uro/flash midrange deck. Especially don't discount Elspeth Conquers Death, which is a gamesaver in games 2-3 vs Rec.
This deck has really taken off since the weeks before World Championship XXVI! Unfortunately, it's another problem for us. +3 Disenchant, +2 Aether Gust, +2 Mystical Dispute, -3 Alseid of Life's Bounty, -3 Shatter the Sky, -1 The Birth of Meletis is my best idea here. Lifegain is important against fires, because it helps you race and stops potential Cavalier of Flame 18-damage game-ends.
Currently working on how to sideboard/play against Temur Clover.

Suggestions

Updates Add

As per Khunzo 's suggestions, I've removed 3x Narset, Parter of Veils and 2x Flicker of Fate from the mainboard, adding 2x Dream Trawler, 1x Archon of Sun's Grace, 1x Omen of the Sea, and 1x The Birth of Meletis.

In the sideboard, +2 Narset, Parter of Veils, and -2 Disenchant. I think artifact/enchantment removal is very important, but we already have 3 Knight of Autumns in the sideboard, and I think a 2/1 body and versatility is acceptable for one extra mana.

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Revision 10 See all

(4 years ago)

-1 Breeding Pool main
-1 Hallowed Fountain main
-1 Temple Garden main
+1 Temple of Enlightenment main
+1 Temple of Mystery main
+1 Temple of Plenty main
Top Ranked
  • Achieved #8 position overall 4 years ago
  • Achieved #1 position in Standard 4 years ago
Date added 4 years
Last updated 4 years
Legality

This deck is not Standard legal.

Rarity (main - side)

37 - 3 Rares

9 - 12 Uncommons

3 - 0 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 3.06
Tokens Pegasus 2/2 W, Wall 0/4 C
Folders Renee sample decks, Ideas for Later, Decks to study, Lit decks, Fun decks
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