Brewing new standard, came up with this spirits tempo deck. Instead of the straight up tribal aggro deck that most people have been brewing with spirits, I wanted to make more of a pure aggro control/tempo list with counterspells and other tempo cards like Unsubstantiate, Reflector Mage, and Thalia.
Card Choices
The deck runs 22 lands, as the highest card in my curve is Ojutai's Command, at 4 CMC, and there are only 2 copies of it. 22 lands tends to let you get to 4-6 mana over the course of a game, which is plenty for this deck to function. There are no utility lands in the deck, as most of them are mediocre in our archetype or don't make sense in our colors.
4x Clash of Wills: As one of the only playable counters in standard (aside from Silumgar's Scorn, which requires dragons) I am running 4 in game 1. I have a few other counters in the sideboard to make my counters in subsequent games more specialized and (hopefully) more effective than CoW against specific decks.
2x Ojutai's Command: Great value in a tempo deck, in the late game you can get back a 2 mana flyer and counter a creature which does wonders for tempo, as well as draw cards in a grindy matchup or give you emergency life gain. The card is just extremely versatile and will almost always have a use in some capacity.
3x Unsubstantiate: Unsummon effects have always been a staple in tempo decks throughout the years, and this new card that allows you to target creatures or spells on the stack at instant speed seems like just the thing this deck wants.
3x Declaration in Stone: The best white removal spell in standard. If you are playing white, you play this card. Period.
4x Reflector Mage: This is a tempo deck in White and Blue. I would be crazy not to include one of the best tempo creatures ever printed in those colors in this deck. It may not be a spirit but it doesn't have to be to do insane work. This isn't a pure spirit tribal deck, it is mostly just using spirits because they're the best archetype for tempo in this new standard. Thus why the mage gets his slots in the deck.
3x Thalia, Heretic Cathar: Again, not a spirit, but this card creates insane tempo for you and destroys the tempo of the opponent. I would be crazy not including her in a white deck.
2x Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit: Anafenza is your pseudo spirit lord. She is one of the only cards in the deck not focused on generating tempo and instead helps you get some beats in after you derailed the opponent's game plan. As she is not focused on generating tempo, she is only a two-of, but she helps smooth out my mana curve, and is just too fun not to include in the deck.
2x Nebelgast Herald: This card does work against creature strategies (of which there are tons in standard) Allowing you to tap down your opponent's biggest beaters everytime you play spirits just makes creature decks slow to a halt.
2x Bygone Bishop: Helps you refill your hand if the game goes long, and as all of our creatures are CMC 3 or less, every creature you play will give you a clue.
2x Selfless Spirit: The deck tends to be weak to board wipes, so this is your protection against them. Even if your board isn't in danger of being wrathed, a 2/1 flyer for 2 is on par with the rest of the deck and can get some beats in as well.
THE CORE SPIRITS PACKAGE: 3x Mausoleum Wanderer, 4x Rattlechains, 4x Spell Queller: These are the cards that the deck is based around, and forms the core playstyle of the deck: Flash in spirits on your opponent's turn to catch them off guard and generate as much tempo as possible by countering spells, bouncing creatures, and leaving behind evasive bodies to wear down at your opponent's life total. I'll go over each of these creatures one by one:
Mausoleum Wanderer: So this is literally just objectively better Cursecatcher (With the caveat that it isn't a merfolk). It gets pumped when you play spirits, and it can be anywhere between a Force Spike and a Mana Leak on a stick in this deck. This card is insane in the early game.
Rattlechains: The spirit from SoI that didn't have enough tribal support finally got the rest of his deck, and he acts as the catalyst for the entire deck. He allows for spirits without innate flash to be flashed in, which lets you do some cheeky instant speed Mausoleum Wanderer counters, or lets you flash in a Selfless Spirit to save your team. Also, Rattlechains lets you protect your vital spirits by flashing it in in response to a removal spell, and giving the target hexproof. The deck would absolutely not function without Rattlechains.
Spell Queller: Arguably the biggest payoff card for playing this archetype, this card is insanely strong. It shuts down an opponent's play while solidifying your board state, swinging tempo hugely in your favor. This card is bonkers and is going to be one of the strongest cards in this standard for sure.
Cards Not Included
There are a few cards that have come up in other lists that aren't included here, and although I can't be sure until I have tested them more extensively, here are my reasons for not including them:
Topplegeist; Honestly just doesn't seem impactful enough, and delirium is hard to achieve with this deck as almost all of our spells are creatures and instants, and we don't run Evolving Wilds to put lands in the grave.
Always Watching: I decided to eschew this card for more tempo, as the extra beats don't really matter to me when our opponent can't do anything anyways. Also, I almost never am going to want to block with our flyers, so the vigilance isn't too amazing here.
Thunderclap Wyvern: As not every card in this deck is a flyer, I decided not to include this one. Also, the 4 mana spent casting this generates you basically no tempo other than the fact that your board is now bigger. I'd prefer just countering something and playing a weenie instead.
Conclusion
I'm extremely excited for this deck, and I believe it will be one of the new tier 1 decks competing with GW and Bant. Even though it isn't what most blue players wanted, the spirits archetype definitely seems to make blue a playable color in standard again, and I'm excited to see how this deck evolves through the coming months. Anyway, if you have any feedback/suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading, and good luck in EMN standard!
