This is a version of the blue/white budget deck I have been working on.I am constantly updating this deck according to my local meta. All suggestions are welcome.
+1 here and I would be happy to give a +1 in return. :)
The main board is all about aggro by using evasion to hit your opponent. You don't want to cast more than 2 creatures at a time. Instead your goal is to protect them while triggering heroic at the same time. You want to attack then react.
The sideboard is meant to be a 13-15 card trade off on the 2nd game against control. This is due to the high amount of removal in control decks. This allows me to throw my opponent off and often wins me games one and two without having to play the third.
CLICK HERE FOR CARD BREAKDOWNHIDE CARD BREAKDOWN
Aqueous Form - Heroic trigger that gives scry. Evasion is so vital for any aggro deck within standard. Having the ability to evade a
Prognostic Sphinx
or Courser of Kruphix or Hornet Queen can mean the difference between a good aggro deck, and an unprepared one.
Battlewise Hoplite
- Scry makes this guy the best 2 drop heroic creature. Others may have great bonus abilities, but none beats a scry.
Defiant Strike - Heroic trigger that replenishes itself. Very useful tactic when you use it on a creature that can net you a scry first.
Devouring Light - The only mainboard removal. It synergies well with triton tactics. If you curve correctly into
Fabled Hero
and an evasion aura, you will most likely only need to remove 1 problem threat.
Fabled Hero
- This is your best win con. You want to have a protection spell ready for this one because it will only take 2-3 turns to finish off an opponent if it's left unanswered. Best played on turn four when you mana up to protect it.
Feat of Resistance
- I call this gods willing #5-8. Along with protection, the extra +1/+1 counter can make
Fabled Hero
a beast just by itself.
Gods Willing
- Cheapest form of protection in the deck and a scry.
Ordeal of Thassa
- Works fast to pump your heroic creatures. You want to hold off casting this until the first activation will net you the 2 card draw because, ordeal can make your creature a big target for removal.
Seeker of the Way
- Great way to keep up with the damage race against burn or heavy aggro. You'll want to save an evasion aura for this guy to maximize the life swing this guy provides you. Triggering prowess even once can mean a 6 life swing. (which totally negates the life swing of siege rhino drops)
Stratus Walk
- Card draw and evasion. Flying is the key to this meta,
Mantis Rider
and Wingmate Roc can eat you alive.
Triton Tactics
- The versatility of this card is amazing. It untaps both of your creatures to set the oppenent up for Devouring Light, or taps down your oppenents attacking creatures in a trap, or puts your creatures out of reach of Anger of the Gods &
Bile Blight
& Drown in Sorrow & one for one burn. It does all of these things all while triggering heroic on two creatures.
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
- This 0/4 makes it a complete wall against early aggro threats. With one heroic trigger it can easily outrun any burn or pacify Siege Rhino. Much better choice than any other heroic 1CMC drop.
Artisan of Forms
- With a complete sideboarded control mode, you'll want to save this as a win con in case of a board wipe.
Disdainful Stroke - This is here to deny midrange drops and wincons like Stormbreath Dragon & Dig Through Time or any plansewalker.
Glare of Heresy
- siding this in against Azban and Jeskai can make it really difficult for them. Think Siege Rhino
Mantis Rider
& Wingmate Roc & Elspeth, Sun's Champion &
Brimaz, King of Oreskos
.
Singing Bell Strike
- Use this card to tap down annoying cretaures. Against Jeskai this should be saved for use against Stormbreath Dragon.
Stubborn Denial - There are plenty of answers for creatures in this sideboard package. This is mainly for answers against Delve spells & Crackling Doom & Thoughtseize & plansewalkers.
Swan Song - This is great against early turn Thoughtseize or Despise and Suspension Field or Banishing Light to save your creatures from losing their +1/+1 counters, and is for when you need that hard counter over the non-ferocious Stubborn Denial.
CLICK HERE FOR OPTIMAL CURVEHIDE OPTIMAL CURVE
Turn 1. Temple of Enlightenment to set up your early draw.
Turn 2.
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
with a land up for
Gods Willing
.
Turn 3.
Seeker of the Way
/
Battlewise Hoplite
to bait out some removal.
Turn 4.
Fabled Hero
with a land up for
Gods Willing
.
Turn 5. Unload your heroic triggers on the Fabled Hero for a critical hit.
It is unnecessary to hit your land drops after the 4th however. Having 2-3 all game can still grant you a win.
These are all based on a mix of casual and competitive play.
VS AZBAN SHELLHIDE
-
Odds: 60/40 - Post SB: 80/20
Strategy: You will want to keep close to your optimal curve throughout the game in order to deal with their threats and beef up fabled hero by protecting him.
Dead cards: None
All stars:
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
to defend against their aggro,
Seeker of the Way
to negate Siege Rhino and aggro damage, or
Stratus Walk
to give evasion or blocking power against Wingmate Roc.
Sideboard plan: You want some counter to handle plansewalkers, Thoughtseize, and Banishing Light. You also want all of your
Glare of Heresy
. You may also want
Artisan of Forms
against a more midrange-aggro version.
VS JESKAI SHELLHIDE
-
Odds: 60/40 - Post SB: 80/20
Strategy: You will want to get in as much damage as possible during these matchups. Their burn will end up being ineffective against your creature base thanks to
Triton Tactics
, pumping your creatures out of range, and all of your protection spells. This will however make them more likely to try and burn you more often. That's why it's important to keep their aggro in check. Having a Goblin Rabblemaster or
Mantis Rider
on the board can quickly out run the damage race. Bait your opponents into burning your creatures.
Dead cards: None
All stars:
Seeker of the Way
to ensure you end up winning the damage race,
Stratus Walk
to deal with Mantis or Sarkhan,
Triton Tactics
to totally ruin the chances to burn out your creatures.
Sideboard plan: You want to morph your deck to control by adding your counter magic and removal spells. Adding in
Glare of Heresy
and
Artisan of Forms
will help you deal with threats like
Mantis Rider
or Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker respectively. You will also want to side in
Singing Bell Strike
to protect you from Mantis or the possible Stormbreath Dragon. The Dragon can be a real pain in the ass. You want to be aware that most jeskai decks have a sideboard plan to use Keranos, God of Storms along with tons of control. This shouldn't be a problem as long as you remember to use your counter magic for Karenos or threats, not to protect your creatures from burn unless you really have to.
VS MARDU SHELLHIDE
-
Odds: 40/60 - Post SB: 60/40
Strategy: Mardu midrange is the most common Mardu matchup you'll face. You need to watch out for Stormbreath Dragon and Crackling Doom because there is nothing you can do about them pre-Sideboard. This can make this matchup a one way street coupled with the aggro they pack. You need to have evasion early on even if it means using your protection spells to swing in for some direct hits. You also need to stall your opponent by baiting them into removing your creatures instead of playing board threats. Be very aware of Deflecting Palm
Dead cards: Devouring Light to an extent this will work on every creature except stormbreath, which is usually the one you want to get rid off
All stars:
Fabled Hero
to beef him up and swing in hard can easily win you the game.
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
can defend you from
Brimaz, King of Oreskos
and Bloodsoaked Champion.
Sideboard plan: This sideboard has plenty to offer to tip the scales in our favor You want to side in all of your counter magic to use against hand disruption, Crackling Doom, and the bigger creatures. Be aware that some Mardu decks use Harness by Force.
Glare of Heresy
is a hit or miss. It is mainly for
Brimaz, King of Oreskos
maybe siding in 1-2 should be effective enough.
Singing Bell Strike
is your ace in the hole to pacify their threats.
VS TEMUR SHELLHIDE
-
Odds: 50/50 - Post SB: 60/40
Strategy: This deck relays a lot on going off on turns 4+. You need to exploit this fact as much as possible in early game. Aside from 4-6 burn spells, you won't need to protect your creatures from much. Hand disruption like Thoughtseize or creature steals like
Clever Impersonator
or Harness by Force will be tough to deal with if you aren't prepared for them. Some Temur decks run early threats like
Icefeather Aven
which can prove to be a pain in the butt. Decks that don't have this early game plan and rely on Courser of Kruphix and chump blockers to defend will find it hard to deal with the fast beefy aggro we possess.
Dead cards: No dead cards per se but again, if they use more than 1 Stormbreath Dragon mainboard, you will be in trouble when they resolve this guy.
All stars:
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
will defend you against mid/late game aggro. Be aware that going monstrous after blocking a Polukranos, World Eater Will most likely kill Lagonna so saving a
Gods Willing
until after the block is advised.
Ordeal of Thassa
or any draw will come in handy. You will be depleting your hand steadily in order to compete with your opponents threats.
Sideboard plan: The sideboard plan should be used in pieces for this matchup. Red can be one of the more difficult matchups. Counter magic and removal are your best bet in the 2nd game. Going complete control orientated can easily increase your odds of winning the pivotal 3rd match.
VS G/x SHELLHIDE
-
Odds: 60/40 - Post SB: 80/20
Strategy: Your goal is to hit your curve consistently and to stay away from late game. The ramp provided in these green devotion/midrange decks can be impossible to overcome in the late game. Especially when they use Eidolon of Blossoms to net cards.
Dead cards:
All stars: Any scry trigger will help set up your draws to hit your curve. You can out-damage your opponent just by playing the deck naturally.
Sideboard plan: Stubborn Denial will be useless but Disdainful Stroke and Swan Song will work fine.
Singing Bell Strike
and Erase are excellent at creature removal because of the enchantment creatures and Stormbreath Dragon
