Standard - WU - Hexproof Aggro

Deck Rating (at time of initial publication):

 ★★

"Can be fairly explosive. Hexproof creatures are extremely resilient."

      What This Deck Does

• Puts out an hexproof creature then loads it up with enchantments.
• Controls the board with yet more enchantments.

     Features Worth Noting

• Very strong hate exists for a deck like this, but it is fairly unlikely that hate will be encountered.
• This deck can be very fast, but because you are only running 8 creatures that cost 3 or less, you may find yourself stuck without a creature.
• Strong synergies.

     Deck List

Artifact - 1 1 x Silver-Inlaid Dagger Creature - 12 4 x Geist of Saint Traft 4 x Invisible Stalker 4 x Lone Revenant Enchantment - 19 4 x Curiosity 4 x Detention Sphere 4 x Ethereal Armor 3 x Oblivion Ring 4 x Spectral Flight

Land - 22 4 x Glacial Fortress 4 x Hallowed Fountain 8 x Island 6 x Plains Instant - 6 3 x Azorius Charm 3 x Think Twice

     I've seen similar decks spring up all over the place, typically running Bonds of Faith or other pacifism effects. These enchantments do allow you to shut down some decks, but more than likely they'll just lead to a slower match loss.
     The one-of Silver-Inlaid Dagger is entirely replaceable, and is mostly a throw-back to another deck I built for the format. Silver-Inlaid Dagger is a great equipment for Invisible Stalker, however it does not have very good synergy with the deck. I would strongly advise against adding more than one, even if you find it to be useful in the deck.

     This deck was originally built before Return to Ravnica came out, as a Bant deck. It had an amazing potential to explode, but it also had a lot of early game mana problems, even with Abundant Growth.


     What A Good Hand Might Look Like

• Land and an Invisible Stalker or Geist of Saint Traft with practically any enchantment is a good hand.
• Land and Ethereal Armor with a few draw cards is a mediocre hand.

• Land and Lone Revenant is not a good hand. Lone Revenant is a good deal too slow to be your first creature.
• Land and any number of good enchantments is not a good hand. With only 8 cheap creatures in the deck, you may never draw into something worth playing.

     Match Ups Worth Noting
     Board wipes are annoying but don't really spell out a game loss for this deck. Rolling Temblor and Mutilate are to be feared, but there's a very good chance you'll outrace both cards without trying. If not, you can delay yourself a turn to play your creatures--after all, if they're hoping to wipe the board, they aren't trying to race you for early game damage (and that's your trickiest match-up).
     Zombies and other aggro decks typically go about 50/50 with this deck. This is due in-large to the random nature of having so few hexproof creatures. Luckily those decks have a hard time removing your creatures without a very lucky Bonfire of the Damned, and if Bonfire is a card that gives you a lot of trouble, you can go so far as to sideboard in a Redirect for one of the funniest interactions in the standard format.
     Be sure to board in Pithing Needles against planeswalkers that can give you trouble (notably Jace, Architect of Thought and Lilliana, of the Veil).

Standard - WBG - Repository

Deck Rating (at time of initial publication):

 ★★★★

"Fast, consistent, and possibly adaptable for modern play."

      What This Deck Does

• Ramps off of two sets of mana dorks, Farseek, and the star of the show: Druids' Repository. For a total of 4 primary sources. 
• Plays one of 3 large bombs extremely early and fairly consistently.

     Features Worth Noting

• Often times when Druids' Repository is out early in the game, it allows you to cast another spell on turn 3 (usually playing Farseek or Gather the Townsfolk)--both of which allow you to ramp considerably more efficiently than other decks in standard.
• Can win as early as turn 4 without drawing Druids' Repository.
• Is surprisingly more resilient to board wipes than it would appear to be (although that will almost certainly change if, and when, a new low-costed red board wipe is printed for standard)

     Deck List

Creature - 16 2 x Angel of Serenity 4 x Arbor Elf 4 x Avacyn's Pilgrim 3 x Craterhoof Behemoth 3 x Thragtusk Enchantment - 7 3 x Collective Blessing 4 x Druids' Repository Sorcery - 11 4 x Farseek 4 x Gather the Townsfolk 3 x Lingering Souls

Land - 24 8 x Forest 2 x Isolated Chapel 4 x Overgrown Tomb 2 x Plains 2 x Sunpetal Grove 4 x Temple Garden 2 x Woodland Cemetery Planeswalker - 22 x Garruk, Primal Hunter

 
     What A Good Hand Might Look Like (w/o interference)

• Turn 1: Land > Mana Dork
• Turn 2: Land > Mana Dork > Gather the Townsfolk
• Turn 3: Land > Druids' Repository > Swing with 3 creatures for 3 counters on Druids' Repository > Lingering Souls/Gather the Townsfolk/Mana Dork
• Turn 4: Land >  Your choice of bomb, victory this turn or the next one depending on which bomb.

     Different Hand

• Turn 1: Land > Mana Dork
• Turn 2: Land > Mana Dork > Mana Dork > Mana Dork
• Turn 3: Land > Gather the Townsfolk/Lingering Souls + Flashback
• Turn 4: Land > Your choice of bomb, victory this turn or the next one depending on which bomb.

     Slow Hand

• Turn 1: Land > Mana Dork
• Turn 2: Land > Lingering Souls / Gather the Townsfolk
• Turn 3: Land > Farseek > Gather the Townsfolk/Farseek
• Turn 4: Land > Anything you can play
• Turn 5: Land > Thragtusk or Collective Blessing
• Turn 6: Your choice of bomb, victory this turn or the next one depending on which bomb.

     Of course all of these hands are being played without interference and a typical game won't go over quite so smoothly.

     An even slower hand might include additional bombs or Thragtusks that will further delay you.  Garruk, Primal Hunter can really help you catch up in a particularly slow game.


     Match Ups Worth Noting

     This deck typically outruns other aggro decks of the format, however red and white decks can slow you down with an early burn or an O-ring to druids' repository. Also with white decks, it's possible you'll have to sacrifice more creatures early game than to other colors.
     Against heavy board control you may end up relying on your Garruk, Primal Hunter. I find it is a wise choice to have 2 additional Garruks in the sideboard.
     Boardwipe control via Supreme Verdict, Terminus, or any red board wipe may slow you down considerably, but it typically still loses.
     This deck has not been consistently tested against turbo fog, which I still believe to be a threat.
     Life gain decks typically do not gain enough life to stop this deck.
     Token decks that rely on anthems are typically too slow to match this deck.
     Reanimator decks are usually too slow, however it can be a toss-up.
     Jund midrange decks are almost always consistently too slow--this may change if they begin to incorporate more hand control. This deck could have a problem against atypical discard effects.
     This deck outruns any form of enchantment shenanigan deck, with exception to a god hand from a certain bant variety.
     Counterspells are currently the biggest threat to this deck. Although not every bomb is a creature, a well placed essence scatter or dissipate can cause you to lose a game. This is more likely to be relevant games 2 and 3.