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A Journey Through The Desert (Competitive/Budget)

Standard Aggro Budget Competitive Mono-White

-Sylex-


Sideboard


It's the middle of the day in the Shifting Wastes and the Sun's at zenith.

Everywhere around you, there's countless miles of sand and dunes. The only traces of civilization in sight are the faraway rooftops of the City-Fortress of Arashin.


This is Dromoka's domain.

This desert provides your clan shelter and eternal protection. It is your duty to defend it. But don't worry, you're not alone !

You've got the clan's finest Warriors and Soldiers at your side and even the military support from a few outsiders who decided to join your cause.

As an old Dromokan proverb says, ''Many can stand where one would fall''.Now, you and your loyal troops will go forth with honor and pride and conquer the enemies hordes for Dromoka's glory !


Hello everybody ! My name is -Sylex- and I'm back with my third Mono white Standard deck.

What's the difference this time ? Well, this time, instead of going off the beaten path with a token strategy, I've decided to go more onto a aggro route, with cheap, well-costed creatures and protection/grind spells.

Even if I really like my other decks and how fun they are to play, I think this one is a league above in terms of Standard viability. I could even see this kind of deck becoming Tier 1-2 if they reprint a card like Brave the Elements in Battle For Zendikar.

Grab the playsets of Hidden Dragonslayer and Arashin Foremost while they're 1 $ each, thoses cards truly have potential and they could skyrocket in price if a Mono White Aggro deck shows up at a Top 8


Card Choices :

Arashin Foremost : This deck features a lot of warriors and it might be the best place for this card to shine ! Do not underestimate the power of double strike, especially when it's paired with triggers that enhance creatures power, like a renowned Consul's Lieutenant or even better Citadel Siege.* Try to use the surprise factor of double strike to your advantage. The deck has ways to conceal your creatures ( Mastery of the Unseen ) and also ways to push for some unexpected damage ( Ajani's Presence on a double striking Seeker of the Way for instance)

Consul's Lieutenant : This new addition from Magic Origins has some very powerful abilities. It's a 2/1 with First Strike that comes down very early, meaning your opponent will have a hard time blocking it profitably in the first turns of the game.

* Once he gets renowned, he becomes a 3/2 First Strike that's going to be even harder to block and on top of that, he gives a Anthem effect to your attacking creatures !

Dragon Hunter : It's just a simple 2/1 for with the upside of being a Warrior and having protection from Dragons. Not bad.

Hidden Dragonslayer : This guy is the deck's best answer to many creatures in the format : Siege Rhino, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, Thunderbreak Regent, Polukranos, World Eater, Whisperwood Elemental , a pumped-up Goblin Rabblemaster, the Dragonlords and many more while also having a decent lifelink body.* It won't happen very often, but if you manifest a Hidden Dragonslayer, you can turn him face up for with megamorph or turn him face up for , his mana cost. The trigger will still go on the stack but it'll leave you with a 2/1 instead of a 3/2.

Knight of the White Orchid :This reprint from Shards of Alara has 2 things in his favor :

First, it's a 2/2 First Strike, which are good stats for a 2 drop.

Then, the enter-the-battlefield ability : If you have less lands then your opponent, you get to fetch a Plains for free ! It's excellent because it allows you to keep hands with a low land count without having to worry.*A little trick when you're on the draw : Try to play another 2 drop on turn 2 then cast Knight of the White Orchid on turn 3 before playing your land. This will ensure you get your third Plains and you can even play your land afterwards to have 2 mana up for another 2 drop or a instant.

Mardu Woe-Reaper : Are you tired of thoses pesky Deathmist Raptor/Den Protector shenanigans ? Well here's the solution !At first glance, a 2/1 for is decent, but boring. However, it has a major upside : It allows you to hinder opposing graveyard recursion strategies while also gaining a life on top of that !* Unless you're in a really dire situation, try to keep your creatures in your graveyard, except for Arashin Foremost. It's because Return to the Ranks can always bring them back later on.

Seeker of the Way : This card is simple, yet very powerful. A 2/2 for , not bad, but once you cast a noncreature spell, it turns into a 3/3 lifelinker, which is very powerful for such a low initial investment. It also has the upside of being of warrior, which means synergies with Mardu Woe-Reaper and Arashin Foremost.

Soldier of the Pantheon : Are you also of multicolored spells, like Fleecemane Lion, Rakshasa Deathdealer , Anafenza, the Foremost and Siege Rhino ? This guy, while also being completely immune to theses cards, gains you a life each time a opponent cast them ! Even without this impressive upside, Soldier of the Pantheon's a 2/1 for which is decent versus almost any deck.

Lightform : While this deck has a pretty decent ground game, it severely lacks flying creatures. For this purpose, I decided to include Lightform , which gives a simple yet useful flying body to break theses long ground stalled games.

Ajani's Presence : This spell's usefulness is impressive : It can save a creature from a removal spell, act as a combat trick, trigger prowess easily, etc.* The best part about this card is Strive : If you have enough mana to do so, you can target multiple creatures. The more creature you protect, the merrier !Valorous Stance : Another excellent and versatile spell : It can do exactly what Ajani's Presence does for one more mana and it can also kill huge creatures ! Say goodbye to thoses Courser of Kruphix, Polukranos, World Eater and Siege Rhino that are blocking your way.Mastery of the Unseen : This is one of the deck's key components. This card is kind of a ''plan B'' in case you run out of gas. It has a cheap mana cost, it allows you to use your mana efficiently troughout the game and gain some life. It's a slow and very grindy card but it's extremely efficient at what it does.

  • Mastery of the Unseen conveniently happens to be one of the best card white has versus midrange and control decks. Your opponents simply won't draw enough removal spell to keep up with the manifests.

Return to the Ranks : Another slow, yet efficient card. Most decks in the format have removal spells in their mainboard and this card is here to punish them for that. Once you've got enough stuff in the graveyard, just bring it all back !

Citadel Siege : I really like this card as the top of my mana curve. It's better then Ajani Steadfast in my opinion since it can't be killed by most removal spells and it's also useful when you're behind on board.

  • You name Dragons when :

-You're behind on the board and cannot wait until you have a lifelink creature on the board. -There's a big dumb creature you can't deal with on the opponent's side.

After a couple weeks of playtesting, I've came up with a sideboard that I'm satisfied with. Be aware that this list is and will be subject to changes.

Arashin Cleric : This guy is your best friend versus Monastery Swiftspear, Foundry Street Denizen , lightning berseker and goblin tokens. He's easy to cast, gains you some life, blocks well and they'll need to waste a Lightning Strike to kill it.

VS Red Deck Wins : -2 Valorous Stance, +2 Arashin Cleric

Devouring Light : This removal spell is very useful in certain matchups. I usually bring some versus decks with Deathmist Raptor, Hangarback Walker, Den Protector, etc but I also found the card to be particularly good vs UR Ensoul Artifact decks. It straight up 2 for 1 thems and it exiles, which means the 5/5 Darksteel Citadel goes away for good.

VS U/R Ensoul Artifact : -1 Soldier of the Pantheon, -2 Lightform , +3 Devouring Light

Erase : Pretty straightforward card. I don't think I need to explain in-depth against which decks it is good. This slot could also be occupied by Revoke Existence , but I prefer the instant speed and cheaper cost of Erase

VS Enchantment decks : -2 Citadel Siege, +2 Erase

Hallowed Moonlight : This is one of the most flexible sideboard cards you have access to. You should bring it in versus any deck that runs Chord of Calling, Collected Company or Rally the Ancestors , but you can also use it versus token generators. The fact that it's a instant and that it draws you a card is really nice because it can be cycled away.

VS G/B Elves, Abzan Rally the Ancestors : -1 Citadel Siege, -1 Mastery of the Unseen, +2 Hallowed Moonlight

Hidden Dragonslayer : The list of creatures this cards kills is very long. The card is at his best when the games tend to go long since he's a very good topdeck or manifest late game with Mastery of the Unseen. What's a bit ironic about this card is the fact that he's a dragonslayer but can't kill Stormbreath Dragon... you still want him in this matchup to kill Thunderbreak Regent and Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury

VS Abzan midrange, Esper Dragons, Mardu Dragons : Matchup dependant

Return to the Ranks : The third copy of Return to the Ranks is here for the matchups where all your opponents want is get your creatures dead : Abzan midrange, Mardu, and to a lesser extent Red decks with high Burn spells density.

VS Grindy removal decks : Matchup dependant

Surge of Righteousness : This card is good versus RDW, but it's also very useful against multicolored creatures. It kills Siege Rhino, Mantis Rider , Butcher of the Horde and lot of other creatures while also gaining you 2 life, which is great.

VS RDW : -1 Soldier of the Pantheon, -1 Mastery of the Unseen

Valorous Stance : In the matchups where it's good, it's one of the best card in your deck. There's a TON of targets for this card in Standard. You bring the 2 extra copy when you see Siege Rhino, Courser of Kruphix, Tasigur, the Golden Fang, the list is long.

VS Anything with Siege Rhino or 4 toughness + : Matchup dependant

1 Kytheon, Hero of Akros   instead of 1 Dragon Hunter : Kytheon is good as a early beater who can protect himself and eventually flip up to become Gideon, Battle-Forged  , which can be a beater himself and manipulate the opponent's creatures into attacking him. He has a fairly high price tag, but he's a good upgrade to this deck.3 Archangel of Tithes instead of 2 Lightform and 1 Soldier of the Pantheon : This is kinda obvious... Archangel of Tithes offers so much more then Lightform and it plays basically the same role, breaking the ground stalls


Conclusion :

Thanks for reading my deck !

I have put a lot of efforts onto this one, so please upvote if you like it :-) It really makes me proud of working 5h and more on a decklist.

Other then that, if you have any suggestions/remarks/advices/anything else to share with me, please leave them in the comment section below.

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Revision 7 See all

(9 years ago)

-1 Arashin Cleric side
+1 Hallowed Moonlight side
Top Ranked
  • Achieved #5 position overall 9 years ago
Date added 9 years
Last updated 9 years
Legality

This deck is not Standard legal.

Rarity (main - side)

20 - 4 Rares

11 - 7 Uncommons

7 - 4 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 1.95
Tokens Manifest 2/2 C, Morph 2/2 C
Folders Consider, standard choices, Decks interessants, 1-Favourites, Standard, Just Playing Around, The Hieromanciers, Check me out, budget, Wanted.
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