Thats a big fat "oops" on that Domri Rade , lol. Sorry for that everyone, didnt realize the image was so large. Regardless i hope everyone enjoys the article!

I also love Soldier of the Pantheon , not just in white weenie decks but just as a card in general.

Forgot Armored Cancrix ...

I'm a green player hands down favorite card in standard would be Kalonian Hydra . This card has game over all over it.

lookoutimscary Damn! I knew i was forgetting something! Ugh, i feel like such an idiot. Don't look at me everyone, i'm ashamed.

I play much more modern than standart, but, I think Jace, Memory Adept is my favorite card. It can refresh your hand when you need and you can mill a lot. Before Theros, Dimir Mills had much more card options than now for starndart, but, I still liking it.

Oh! With a keyrune you can play it at turn four.

Also, where is the deathrite alternate art from?

Young Pyromancer single-handedly made RDW and Izzet viable again. Heck, any burn decks, really.

Pack Rat didn't get a spot ;(

Favourite card in Standard? Hmmms AEtherling

I know he isn't out yet, but Mogis, God of Slaughter will be my absolute favourite card once he's out.

As for what is currently available, it's a tie between Slaughter Games , which is insanely useful against control decks (which I hate) and High Priest of Penance who I believe is the most criminally underrated card from RTR. He is insanely good, and the fact that he can kill planeswalkers is insane.

@Khaotica: I agree. Mogis, God of Slaughter does look pretty awesome, especially combining it with Desecration Demon . I could imagine a pretty decent Rakdos deck coming after BNG is released. Some great control with some great finishing cards.

I think mogis looks like a bad ghost daddy. Daddy doesn't give them a choice of whether they lose life or creature gains you life, has protection, (albeit slightly worse) and is more reliably a creature. I know they're different colours, but he seems a bit underwhelming in my books.

I wants that alternate art Deathrite Shaman ... Dude!!!

Well written!

Trostani, Selesnya's Voice is my favorite.

DRS really shouldn't be on there, virtually no competitive decks are playing it. Junk isn't really played at all, and I don't even think GB dredge(ish) has made a significant top 8. I also disagree with Domri (not as good as he used to be), Blood Baron of Vizkopa (sees good play, but somewhat niche), Desecration Demon (should be Gary, represents MBD much better and is more powerful), and Elspeth (should be AEtherling . Period.).

Favorite card: Chandra, Pyromaster

Rakdos's Return is by far my favorite card in standard.

Favorite card in standard? Voice of Resurgence .

I'm a little curious why he didn't get a spot.

anewsome Last standard season, yes he was definitely a big name. And without a doubt he is an incredibly strong card, he just currently seeing play in any super competitive (tier one) decks.

My favorite in Standard is absolutely Haunted Plate Mail . It's criminally underplayed.

My favorite card in standard is Volatile Rig . I am working on finding it a good home, because it is awesome.

But that is the same story for Deathrite Shaman , isn't it? It isn't really played in any tier one decks, but used to.

You seem to have forgotten the greatest card of all time on your list here. Master of Cruelties . If your thinking he's not worthy of a spot, you've obviously never seen a player going from 40 life to dead in one turn. Swing with master, +1 Chandra or tap Lobber Crew or just Shock the mongrel, and instant death. He doesn't deal combat damage so you can't fog to save yourself. He's amazing. And first strike and deathtouch! Best attacker and blocker. Please take Sphinxes rev off your list for Master of Cruelties .

Thanks jfriday09! I was going to make the same point, but you beat me to it. haha!

Fair enough point anewsome jfriday09. I don't claim to be an expert, this is my personal top ten power cards of standard as i stated. People will differ in opinions and that's fine, i very well could be wrong on some of my choices. Some other cards very well could have had a place on the list but didn't. I still stand by Deathrite Shaman however. He is one of the best cards in standard even if he isnt being played in standard all too much. He is a staple in eternal formats and will continue to hold that role. Voice of Resurgence isn't quite as versatile. Shaman can go into a variety of decks, voice has to be more tailored to.

I would go with Deathrite Shaman , I even have a deathrite shaman playmat! I'm not even using the dude but to hell with it, I like the art, the skulls flying around, the purplish spotlight, the everything; he's the epitome of golgari-ness! I haven't used him as much as I want to (by that I mean I haven't used him in ANY deck) but I keep a playset of him just in case.

Deathrite Shaman sees a lot of modern play.

The only card I don't think deserves a spot on this list is Deathrite Shaman . It may be a Modern powerhouse, but it sees very little Standard play and is underwhelming without fetch lands.

If I had to pick a card to take its spot, it would be Supreme Verdict . Aggro decks live and die based on their ability to outrace or survive this boardwipe. But Stormbreath Dragon , Thassa, God of the Sea (MUD has been so dominant that 2 slots seems appropriate), Gray Merchant of Asphodel , Polukranos, World Eater , Fanatic of Mogis , and Voice of Resurgence all have a much bigger impact on the format. Heck, I'd even place Garruk, Caller of Beasts and Boon Satyr on the list before the Shaman.

Otherwise, it's tough to argue with any of the cards on the list, although I might put one of the cards in that first sentence in over Blood Baron of Vizkopa . Great card without a doubt, but outside of Orzhov Control, which I haven't seen much of at my shop, he only finds himself in fringe decks. Imo, his inclusion in Esper Control makes the deck worse since they have better win cons and he can't survive Supreme Verdict .

My favorite card in Standard? Check out my name and take a wild guess. Although Prophet of Kruphix is pretty awesome too.

Just read the comment that Deathrite Shaman can go into any deck but Voice of Resurgence has to have a deck tailored for it- what are you talking about? The only "tayloring" Voice needs is GW lands, and he wreaks havoc against aggro (basically a 2-for-1) and control (forget playing counterspells or anything else on opponent's turn, and gives them something to worry about after Supreme Verdict ). Deathrite is basically unplayable in Standard unless you have Grisly Salvage or Commune with the Gods putting lands into your graveyard, and he's especially worthless if you're not playing GB even though he could technically be played without both colors.

Are you joking? You realise Deathrite Shaman says 'A graveyard' not 'YOUR graveyard'. Any deck that plays a large number of instants or sorceries (oh like you know..... esper control) should be severely afraid of DRS. DRS is able to force verdicts etc - and he's just a 1-drop. His second ability isn't great but is useful in modern against the T1/2 reanimator strats.

I resized your Domri Rade image for you. Use HTML sizing notation next time.

If you had to pick cards #11-15, what would you include? Ten is often such a low limit.

Right, but without the option of using the ramp ability, he's just mediocre at best (hence my fetch lands comment). Any deck that plays a lot of instants and sorceries can deal with him without breaking a sweat since typically those instant and sorceries do something (and Rakdos Cackler also does 2 damage per turn for one mana against Esper without investing mana every turn). My impression was that this thread was about Standard, and there's a reason Deathrite Shaman doesn't see much play in that format. No one is saying that he's not effective in Modern.

I can't even.....

...read? We got that.

DRS doesn't see play in standard at the moment because the black archetype is aggressive enough to forgo him and green just doesn't see play that much. Although saying that he sees no play is inaccurate as a search on mtgtop8 will reveal. So first of all I would say that it's inaccurate to say that he doesn't see any play in standard.

Secondly: regarding the comment about instants and sorceries being able to deal with him. Yes this is absolutely true but you must note he cannot be hit by Doom Blade or Ultimate Price . All esper can hope to do is counter him when he's played OR use detention sphere. This in itself is problematic because ideally he's a T1 play. This means that a) he's uncounterable (on T1) and b) they're wasting 2/3 mana on a 1cmc creature. So you can see how he causes trouble, no? Furthermore he is the absolute perfect creature to bait out counterspells. If they let him be played he does a ton of damage in all likelihood, if they spend 2/3 mana countering him, it sets you up nicely to follow with another threat, given that the esper player is low on mana by this point (in all likelihood).

Thirdly: rakdos cackler may initially be the better play against esper control in the early game, but you're kind of comparing chalk and cheese. Rakdos is famed for aggressive openings. Golgari isn't. It's like saying Goblin Guide is better than than Arbor Elf . It's meaningless. They achieve completely separate functions. What you have to consider is that both DRS and RC force a response, in that respect they're equal. However, DRS does damage without swinging in. This is FAR, FAR more useful when the AEtherling s or Blood Baron of Vizkopa s start coming out. DRS is a relevant threat to any opponent even when they have the biggest creature you can imagine - because he can't be blocked. Rakdos cackler becomes meaningless because he stops doing damage. The ability to ping direct damage for one mana is absolutely massive against a variety of decks designed to cause stalemates.

Fourthly: Deathrite Shaman just does stuff. It ramps in modern, it pings in standard, it holds off early aggro in standard by gaining you life. It has three functions that you can tailor it to. There's virtually no other one-drop creature EVER that has this flexibility. It's the kind of thing that does exactly what you want it to, when you want it to. It's not a dud against any kind of deck because it helps out against aggressive openings by your opponent and midrange openings too. The importance of a card that's relevant against any matchup can't be understated.

First off, apologies for the "reading" quip; that was out of line, tho I'd appreciate if you didn't misrepresent my statements (such as that "Deathrite Shaman sees NO play" or my previous references to using lands).

I just did the search on mtgtop8.com, and exactly one deck used it in a major tournament since rotation, and that was back in early October, before the format was really defined. To give an idea, there was only one MBD deck in that Top 8, no MUD, and the dominant list in that tourny was Green Devotion / ramp. So combined with the fact that I've seen maybe one deck this whole Standard season use it at my shop, I stand by assertion that he doesn't see MUCH play.

And again, since we're talking about Standard here, not Modern, DRS basically has two functions unless you're running some sort of dedicated graveyard theme. One of those functions is basically irrelevant against control decks, and the other is predicated on them having cards to ping. Early game, you're likely just doing 1 damage per turn and inviting a 2-for-1 from Supreme Verdict if you want to do more than that. Late game, sure it's more effective than other one-drops, but if you're running a less aggressive deck, I'd rather topdeck a Nightveil Specter . Having to use 2 or 3 mana to deal with a one-drop is less relevant late-game. At the end of the day, you're still spending a card in either case, even if that card only costs one mana.

Against aggro, the life gain can be useful if mixed with kill spells, but again, you're spending a card on essentially a bad Scavenging Ooze since he's a worthless blocker and can only use his ability once per turn. You only get so many cards to work with in an MTG game, and DRS' small and slow impact doesn't justify using one.

When I searched on mtgtop8 there were a few from December, November, October and others that ran him.

I think he's better than the ScOoze in some respects. Just because he comes in earlier and uses less mana to make that initial impact. He definitely is a worthless blocker but then again the lifegain he provided negates that T2 Rakdos Shred-Freak which is pretty cool. I like ScOoze as well though. I'm not sure between those two, it is a hard comparison. Perhaps in standard the ScOoze is better because of it's ability to be a threat.

Anyway, it doesn't matter.

There were four from online tournies, but just the one from a Pro tourny. It's worth noting that one of those decks did run 4 Grisly Salvage and 4 Commune with the Gods . What's funny considering we were considering it to not be an aggro card, the other 3 online decks were a Rakdos aggro build, Golgari aggro that still ran a decent amount of removal, and MBD that didn't have any Green.

That's peculiar. I guess it can be high impact - but 2 damage a turn doesn't seem too scary.

In response to Epochalyptik, an 11-15 is hard. Making a top 10 is hard because standard holds so many good cards and every archetype should be represented. Some other cards i think could be deserving of those spots are Stormbreath Dragon , Supreme Verdict , AEtherling , Voice of Resurgence , Polukranos, World Eater , Thassa, God of the Sea and Soldier of the Pantheon (though that might be slightly biased)

Stormbreath Dragon is a very powerful card in the Mono Red/Boros devotion decks, and also gruul devotion (R/G monsters)

Supreme Verdict A turn 4 board wipe alongside Sphinx's Revelation is what really makes W/U/x control possible. It cleans up aggro quick and can immediately reset a boardstate for the most part which helps control tremendously

AEtherling Probably should have had a place on the original list. It is run in nearly any control deck running blue and for good reason. The card is incredibly hard to remove if played correctly, and if you don't have an answer this card resolving might as well read "you lose"

Voice of Resurgence Selesnya aggro makes up some (although not much) of the meta and voice is still an all star. It's not as good as it once, but it's still a great card. It makes you think twice about blocking it for fear of that token. Unfortunately Pillar of Flame isn't standard anymore.

Soldier of the Pantheon Okay, yes this is slightly biased. But white weenie does make up about 3% of the meta, and this card is an all star. He is good on the curve and the protection from multicolor just makes him incredibly good. In some cases he can also gain you a small amount of life too.

It's just so hard to list a top ten or even fifteen. But these are some other cards that i think could fit the spots.

I guess we're all biased a little bit, but I think that a card that will eventually be on everyone's top 10 will be Read the Bones .

3 Mana is a good spot on a mana curve, and needing only 1 black makes it easy to splash. If it just dew 2 cards for 2 life, or just scried 2 cards without the loss of life it would still be an ok card. Both at once, with the scrying before the drawing? Really? I mean, really? It's only a matter of time before it starts catching on enough that people will splash black just for Thoughtseize and Read the Bones . Any blue deck that's already running Nightveil Specter should take a moment to think about adding this sweet card.

cheers,

Favorite card in standard? That'd be Maze's End , of course.

Building a maze deck is good fun, be it control or turbofog, but playing is what makes the cake. Playing a maze deck is like playing pen&paper; your Quest: Reach the 10 Gates.

While you're trying to achive that, the opponent must stop you in every way he can. So you're running through your deck, fighting the opponents cruel spells and mighty creatures, until either failure or victory arises.

While I enjoy being cruel and a total dick with my black and grixis control decks, I also enjoy having fun and I'm glad this seasons standard allows me to have fun. :)

TexasDice I really liked that answer. I think a Maze's End deck would be really fun to play though i don't run one.

I just recently stopped running my MBD deck because it felt so stale. Instead I'm going for a seles-bant brew that pushes the boundaries of what it means to be above the curve.

For now it's "bant" but I might change the companion color depending on the BNG spoils.

My favorite card in standard is Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver . Everyone hates seeing this guy hit the field and I love it.

I can't believe Supreme Verdict or Boros Reckoner did not make the top 10! My favorite card in standard right now would have to be either Ash Zealot or Jace, Architect of Thought

My favorite.

It took 1 day for somebody to mention Boros Reckoner ... facepalm tapped out community. Not saying it is top 10 but it deserves a honorable mention at least. Reckoner and Nightveil Specter see widespread play and their impact is format defining, without them devotion is most likely not dominating standard. Top 15 cards at minimum.

I'm with most in thinking that DRS and BBoV don't belong on the list and Supreme Verdict and AEtherling do.

man, i can't stand Soldier of the Pantheon . it's one of the best one drops in standard, and most of my decks can't do shit to it. remember when a 2/1 for 1 needed a downside? as opposed to 2 separate upsides? anyway, my favorite card is either Xathrid Necromancer , Pack Rat , or AEtherling

Boros Reckoner was definitely overlooked, but Nightveil Specter ? No way. He's simply a cog that just happens to be in the 2 most popular Devotion decks. He's only made playable due to the power of Devotion cards like Thassa, God of the Sea , Master of Waves , and Gray Merchant of Asphodel . But a powerhouse? Not a chance.

AEtherling is also an interesting one. Yes, he is a brutal, unkillable game-ender that makes an opponent's heart sink when he hits the table, but is he as vital to control decks as Supreme Verdict and Sphinx's Revelation ? I say no, as he simply mops up after those cards have done the heavy lifting. The reason the same argument can't be applied to Elspeth, Sun's Champion is that she also sees play outside control in decks like Boros midrange, Naya Control, etc.

Nightveil Specter itself isn't very powerful but if it's not in standard MUD & MBD are not the top decks. All of it's power lies in its mana cost, not it's slightly above curve flying body or sometimes useful ability. Those 3 symbols make it a top 15 card in my eyes. Staple it to the cards it makes work and it makes multiple apperances in the top 15. Without it maybe they aren't here.

I disagree. Those decks would certainly take a hit without him, but they would still be quite viable archetypes, and those Devotion cards would still see extensive play. Conversely, take away those cards, and Nightveil Specter isn't even playable. Top 15 cards is pretty high honors considering some of the cards that were left out of the top 10. The Specter might crack the top 30, but no way he's in the top 15.

I kinda gotta dispute adding Nightveil Specter as a top 15 just based on mana symbols. You don't see people going apeshit over Rubblebelt Raiders and she could add a lot to G/R devotion too.

I played a MBD deck up until recently and I have to say, I never resolved Nightveil Specter without watching it die in response to Gray Merchant of Asphodel being cast. It just dies, a LOT. I always regret playing it and I always side it out first.

I'm surprised how little attention Pack Rat is getting here. The rat just totally wins games on it's own even when you're not counting black mana symbols.

I guess Obzedat, Ghost Council gets no love. I could probably argue that Scavenging Ooze and Hero's Downfall should make the list.

Ral Zerak. As a competitive player I know there are better cards but no one, and I mean NO ONE wants Ral's ultimate to hit. He has become the star in my Izzet build and has one me several tournament games.

*won

nice top 10 list with pics.

@Ohthenoises not sure how important Nightveil Specter is for MBD but for mono-blue devotion, nightveil is clutch as it allows you to go Thassa, God of the Sea into Nightveil Specter into a Master of Waves which is just enough devotion for Thassa and just barely almost lethal if you can connect with everything, so when I saw you say he's one of the first things you side out, I immediately thought how that in mono-blue, there's literally no match-up I would take them out. So Nightveil Specter may be showing some signs of being less amazing in MBD but he's still relevant enough to be a mainstay in mono-blue until further notice.

Great list. I think Deathrite Shaman fits nicely here. Being one of the greatest 1 drops EVER. If you don't think so then you don't understand the power. Also bbov fits in here as well. AEtherling is over rated and can suck it. Can't remember the last time I lost to him. As for my favorite card in standard I'm gonna go with Slaughter Games

...sigh... is it really that hard to grasp why DRS isn't anything special in Standard? It's a great Modern card that happens to be Standard legal.

And @Behgz: The question isn't whether you'd ever side out Nightveil Specter , it's whether it's a top 15 "powerhouse" in the format. Hell. F-ing. No.

ChrisHansonBiomancin

......sigh

Just because everyone doesn't agree with you doesn't make everyone wrong. My friend uses it in his golgari deck and it is a must kill

"Just because everyone doesn't agree with you doesn't make everyone wrong."

"If you don't think so then you don't understand the power."

Yes, those two sentences came from the same person.

Luckily, I don't feel the need to expand more on this issue since most players agree with me, as evidenced by this thread and its complete absence from Pro tables since early October.

Man I thought picking a favorite standard card would be easy and found myself debating on what was my favorite. Late game my favorite is Consuming Aberration but favorite card has to be the only card that makes me keep a hand almost instantly and that is Omenspeaker I see that card and as long as I have my 2 land sources its a keeper.

Stormbreath Dragon its killer against control, can be played in multiple archetypes. With more dual/trip coloured decks making the pro tour (how could they not, the gods are coming) expect this to appear in more decks.

You missed Boros Reckoner

ChrisHansonBiomancin - DRS will come back, I assure you. It'll be when Golgari gets some love in the final set. It's just poorly placed at this particular moment in time. Its rise will come again.

Nightveil Spectre was and still is a junk rare. It just so happens to have a u/b u/b u/b mana cost, making it perfect for u/b devotion

This is my top 15 list in order. I guess I didn't have Nightveil Specter in there.

1) Thoughtseize

2) Supreme Verdict

3) Mutavault

4) Desecration Demon

5) Jace, Architect of Thought

6) Domri Rade

7) Sphinx's Revelation

8) Elspeth, Sun's Champion

9) Master of Waves

10) Stormbreath Dragon

11) Pack Rat

12) Thasa, God of the sea

13) Boros Reckoner

14) Hero's Downfall

15) Gray Merchant of Asphodel

ChiefBell it will comeback only if things like Grisly Salvage are used to dump cards in your graveyard and get use out of them and reanimation is a real thing.

But the current standard does not have him the top 10 and wholly disagree that this card should be in this list. Especially since Thassa, God of the Sea and AEtherling are completely missing from it. Which both see more play.

Because they are in standard and powerful cards should not mean anything. The top 10 should populated by cards used in standard in a high number of decks, regardless if they are "junk rares" or not.

With this in mind I agree to a point Rasta_Viking29s list. I would probably re-order a bit more.

gufymike - DRS says 'a graveyard' not 'your graveyard', therefore he works fine against most decks and doesn't rely on Grisly Salvage . Particularly potent against control.

ChiefBell the problem you're not seeing is that you can't guarantee what goes/will be in the graveyard of an opponent in standard most of the time. The loss of the mana ability also is an issue with him. Most of the time he ends up being a 1/2 turn 1 blocker against aggro. You want to make the best use of the 60 and he's just not up to par. Scavenging Ooze is a better choice due to the heavy creature decks and reanimation in black (read Whip of Erebos ). 1 life and a +1/+1 counter on my creature for 1 green without tapping is better right now. Please note I'm saying right now, not in the future.

Scavenging Ooze better against creature decks. Trash against control. Too slow against aggro.

DRS fantastic against control, fantastic against aggro, trash against midrange (most of the time). That's how I see it.

@ChiefBell: You may be right about DRS being more widely-played as the format evolves, but I honestly doubt it. Even pre-rotation, he wasn't a major player in Standard, even though the Golgari Rock deck was fairly popular. As gufymike reaffirmed, not having reliable access to the mana ability (sans Grisly Salvage etc.) takes away a big part of his game.

Now, I should mention that just because a card isn't widely played doesn't necessarily mean it's completely worthless and not viable; it just doesn't deserve a place on a "Top 10 / 15 Standard Powerhouse" list. For example, I obviously love brewing and winning games with Master Biomancer (and equally enjoy how even experienced opponents often have to read the card when he comes into play), and although he can be extremely powerful in the right deck, I'm not about to argue that he deserves a spot on a list that should be reserved for format-defining staples.

DRS is not fantastic against control. It's nominal. If it was fantastic, you would see more play with it. it's only good against aggro right now. Reason is It's not reliable to stay on board against control to do that much work. You want things that actually do work against control more than what it brings to the table. You're only looking at 2 points of damage at most per turn, if it stays out that long. Only a few would play a turn 1 Thoughtseize with a drs on board, only a few more would t1 Thoughtseize in general. turn 2 is a sac effect when you cast your t2 spell/creature. There again are better choices, from Sin Collector to Voice of Resurgence . If you disagree, you do. But the numbers are not in your favor for standard.

I think this thread was a fun idea at first, but now it's just an argument about Deathrite Shaman . Here's my opinion; if you think he's good, then I encourage you to use him and wish you the best of luck. If you don't think he's good or just happens to be colours you don't use, don't use him. This game used to have originality and surprise, but now the majority of the meta is copy/pasted pro tour decks. Now, a personal favorite card of mine is Havoc Festival , you know why? Because it's fun as hell! I used it back in innistrad and my opponent was flickering Thragtusk with no life gain, and it was beautiful to watch. This concludes my rant.

Swagbreath Dragon or Master of Babes are My favorites, but I agree on the DRS not deserving the spot, he thread is names "standard powerhouses" and he just isn't one, hes a modern powerhouse but at the moment not a standard one.

OKAY

Maybe i was wrong about Deathrite Shaman , maybe i wasn't. But in all honesty who cares? This thread has turned into a big argument rather than a discussion about standard and some of the cards you enjoy playing most. To everyone i've seemingly offended by having the audacity to put Deathrite Shaman on the list then my humblest apologies. Can you all please now lower the pitch forks and actually discuss the damn topic and stop arguing? Alright thanks you're the best.

The title of this article is "Standard Powerhouses: a Guide," not "What's Your Favorite Standard Card?" So ya we might've gone a little overboard, but I don't see what's wrong with debating the merits of the cards included on your Top 10 list, and Deathrite Shaman is clearly the most controversial.

Besides, you may have noticed that no one is commenting on others' selections for favorites, which many have offered, probably because it's hard to give input on something as personal as subjective as a favorite card ("No way, you're crazy, your favorite card should be Yoked Ox !"). Conversely, everyone has an opinion on what they feel to be the most powerful and defining cards in Standard, but there's a lot more concrete evidence on that issue. That subject is much more conducive to lively debate, and I find it interesting to hear everyone's take on it.

Nice list mate! As stated many times above, DRS would be the only card that I would remove. Pack Rat would probably take his spot.

Really?

Pack Rat HAS been making a lot of waves recently so it's not inconceivable.

To weigh in on the DRS issue, I think he was a LOT better last block with flashback and snap daddy. It was always fun to land him T1 against Junk Rites. Now that the graveyard isn't such a big thing, I'm not really sure the grave-haters (Deathrite Shaman and Scavenging Ooze ) are as good as they once were.

That being said, he is still a wicked cool card and no-doubt one of the best 1-drops ever printed.

Not sure about the whole powerhouse thing, but without a doubt my favourite card is Fabled Hero . Although recently I have been taking a liking to Daxos of Meletis , the hero got me 3rd in a draft when the only magic I'd played prior to that was an FNM and a few casual games with a friend of mine.

A card that should be on a top10 list should be Sylvan Caryatid . If you play any deck with green this bad boy should be in the deck x4. Also I have noticed that not many people like green, is green getting the shaft?

I think the strength of green right now is in fast aggro decks. G/W has some amazing potential with cards like Experiment One Soldier of the Pantheon Fleecemane Lion and Voice of Resurgence . You really don't need the caryatid, though because you can top out at 4 cmc with Advent of the Wurm and still pack plenty of punch.

I'm currently running Selesnya Aggro if you'd like to check out what I'm talking about!

anewsome Green is no good mono. It has to be in multi colored decks. The best thing green has going for it is ramp. This is were Elvish Mystic and Sylvan Caryatid come into play. For fast aggro.

Agreed, Green (my fav color) currently is best when splashing another color, though mono green Devotion lists turn up in Top 8's in major tournaments every so often (such as SCG Columbus this last weekend).

Although none of the true powerhouse decks in the format use it, there are plenty of viable archetypes. Selesnya is one, as it puts out efficient creatures as well as any deck (tho a little lacking in draw power for my tastes), and powerful options come from those that use the Devotion shell as well. GR is as popular as any aggro deck not named MUD, MBD, or RDW, and GU has also made a splash in Pro tournaments; I've had pretty good success with my own version of that deck- My Prophet, Your Loss (Top 4 FNM). Cyclonic Rift is devastating in this format and Green offers the best ramp to Overload it consistently.

I didn't suggest a mono-green build. I was talking about G/W. I just don't think the ramp is actually necessary when using those colors because their powerhouse cards happen at the 2 and 4 cmc spots.

i.e. Voice of Resurgence Fleecemane Lion and Advent of the Wurm

Green is my color, I wish it could stand alone.

Green is my color too, but part of its beauty is that it integrates other colors more easily than any other thanks to cards like Sylvan Caryatid (or, in the past, Farseek ). The ramp it offers also makes cards in other colors that would be unplayable within reach, such as my previous example with Cyclonic Rift , or say Angel of Serenity . Limiting yourself to on color is boring anyways.

Boros Reckoner has many awsome utilities that's why it my favorite card:-)

I guess whatever the best Wrath of God is at the time should pretty much always make the top 10. Supreme Verdict is probably in every deck or sideboard that has blue mana.

I think Mutavault is a bit low. It's a 4 of in basically every tier1 deck right now, i would (personally) move it up above the Walkers, up to #3 behind Rev and Thoughtseize . I respect your guys opinions though, that's just mine.

Nobody yet has mentioned Xathrid Necromancer ... this dude is my all-star of standard at the moment. Your opponent is immediately put forth this dilemma (unless they happen to have exile powers available to them): "Do I kill it now and immediately waste my turn and two-for-one myself, or do I leave it and give my opponent's creatures pseudo-undying?". Turns out both are great; he can walk straight into Supreme Verdict (which should definitely be up here) and that gives your B/X aggro decks persistence, or you can go one up on that and use him in a midrange list, then /wrath yourself/ if the opponent overcommits into your mini-human board.

If you ever get two out, you suddenly profit on the exchange of killing off your own guys. Say, with Cartel Aristocrat . Insanity! He's won me so many games, in so many different decklists - Orzhov aggro, Rakdos aggro, Esper midrange... just too good. Definitely underappreciated; probably deserves one of these spots.

commodorecanary The list isn't in any particular order, without a doubt Mutavault is one of the best on the list.

Dalektable I know you got frustrated with the direction of the responses but it got a good convo started. Good job on the article, I'll check the next one out.

Personally I wouldn't include Boros Reckoner on the list, and this is coming from someone who loves playing Boros decks (though my current brew is MBD). Aside from the infinite life combo with Reckoner/Boros Charm /Gift of Orzhova /any damage source, you don't see the Reckoner doing much of anything besides trading off damage done by attacking/blocking creatures.

Tbh I would put Whip of Erebos as the best card in Standard right now. It adds 2 to devotion, if that matters, and even if it doesn't, it's got a hell of a reanimator ability (that, by the way, can be activated the turn it comes out, as non-creature artifacts don't suffer from summoning sickness).

Really enjoyed this article, especially after you included 11-15. for the most part, I would agree with a lot of those numbers.