Sideboard


This is a take on Zoo for Standard. It features 15 1-drop creatures, with Experiment able to grow to 4/4 if left unchecked. Dryad Militant's ability is useless in this Standard, but it's still a 2/1 for 1. Firedrinker Satyr is better in my opinion than Cackler here, since any open mana can be used for an extra bit of damage. Soldier is nice, even though the meta has shifted from multicolored removal. He can stop a Reaper of the Wilds if he needs to, though.

Going up the curve we have 4 Fleecemane Lion and Burning-Tree Emissary--BTE in particular is a fun card, enabling a full 6-8 power on board on turn 2 given the right draws. Fleecemane Lion also provides much needed power early on the board, but we never aim to make him go monstrous. In a long, grindy aggro game, it may happen, but mostly he stays a 3/3. I'll also list Ghor-Clan Rampager in the 2-drop slot, since playing him as a creature is usually not the best play. Bloodrushing can be devastating, as I learned in my time playing Naya Blitz during the last Standard season. The 4-power boost gives you what you need to push a game out of their reach and keep you in command.

The 3-drop slot has the heavy hitters, 3 each of Boros Reckoner and Loxodon Smiter. Given the actual usefulness of counters in Standard nowadays, having a creature that can't be countered is nice. Boros Reckoner is just a beast in combat, and provides a juicy Domri Rade fight target.

For non-creatures, we have 3 Lightning Strike, 3 Boros Charm, and 2 Domri Rade. Domri can slowly refill our hand with more threats, and can close out a game with Reckoner on board. Lightning Strike kills most creatures, and Boros Charm just does a lot.

A full set of each shock land, and 5 ETBT lands (2 of each relevant temple and a Selesnya Guildgate) are the nonbasics, and 2 plains and 1 mountain round out the whole deck.

It's a very aggressive build, and one that I like. It's got a lot of lines of play, and can just be a beast in combat. Mostly it's straightforward--play dudes and turn them sideways, with some extra support spells to help you seal the deal. There are some nice interactions in it that help, but you mostly just run into the red zone.

The sideboard is mostly a work in progress. As Zoo goes, having an exile ability is good, as is artifact/enchantment removal. I've got Skylasher as a hedge against Mono-Blue and Nightveil Specter, and a few extra burn spells when I need to be extra aggressive.

This is a mostly untested deck in its current form, and I'll be tweaking and playing with it a lot in the coming months.

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After my 1-3 drop finish at SCG Las Vegas, I looked over it and tried to figure out what to change. Firedrinker Satyr was an automatic drop--he did nothing for me all weekend. The damage I took off him was not enough to justify a 2/1 for 1. I also took the chance to mainboard the Skylashers and the full playset of Rampager. A flash blocker is useful in many situations, even when the rest of his abilities are not relevant. Soldier of the Pantheon and Fleecemane Lion continue to do work in the list, and the kind of synergies I can get with Domri's fight ability are just too good.

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Date added 10 years
Last updated 10 years
Legality

This deck is not Standard legal.

Rarity (main - side)

2 - 0 Mythic Rares

31 - 6 Rares

20 - 6 Uncommons

4 - 3 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 2.12
Tokens Emblem Domri Rade
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