I haven't played any of the Jeskai Ascendancy decks in standard so I'm wondering why you would play a full combo deck like this over something like Jeskai Tokens which seems to just combo enough. Can you explain this to me? (Not a criticism, just curious).

@tclaw12 This deck is listed under the 'Theme/Gimmick' deck hub, I'm aware of the Jeskai Tokens deck list.

That deck doesn't have a way to actually 'go infinite' as it doesn't run Retraction Helix or Springleaf Drum. I wanted a combo deck that could win as soon as turn 4. The Deck I have here can win on turn 4. Jeskai Tokens can win on turn 4, but not nearly as consistently.

It can get frustrating running Jeskai Tokens at an FNM (which I've done) and fall short or just flat out lose to more established archetypes like Abzan and Mardu, a.k.a. 'fair archetypes' and it makes me want to push the envelope, so to speak, and go for a hard lock infinite combo deck, as opposed to an almost combo deck. Both versions can lose, but I don't want to lose because I couldn't go infinite, where a timely Retraction Helix is the difference between a free win via the combo versus almost getting there with the tokens variant, because when you lose with Jeskai Tokens, you feel pretty bad.

Thanks for the explanation. I'm considering picking up a Jeskai Ascendancy deck for FNMs and I just wanted to see what your thoughts were.

I went 2-1 in a 3 round FNM with Jeskai Tokens (small pool and we had people dropping after the first round to play draft just so that the draft could fire) but the meta was weird and the first round I played and beat mono-white heroic splashing red for Akroan Crusader and Titan's Strength 2-0, then I lost to a really well tuned mardu list (Crackling Doom is crazy good) 0-2, then I beat a rogue Altar of the Brood deck 2-0, which had no synergy, just ran the 4x copies of the Altar and actually almost got there in game one incidentally, But Jeskai Tokens pulled out the win as the opponent was a home brew half mill deck, it never really stood a chance in the event and went 0-2 in all three rounds (paired down against him as he was one of the only few remaining players).

I guess based on all that, the 2-1 is a little shaky, I didn't even play against Abzan or Sultai, only Mardu. But I've seen games play out in person and online, and Abzan is a real thing, I can see Jeskai Tokens slowly losing the long game against Siege Rhino and Whip of Erebos as it doesn't have a way to 'go infinite' and just end the game. Why deny yourself that ability if it's readily available.

The deck list I have here, it makes some concessions to playing a normal game of magic in exchange for being able to win the game in a completely borderline-unfair way. No matter what my opponent plays in the turns leading up to a legit 'combo win' unless it's specific hate cards, I can just play my combo pieces and go off, unstopped. The best part of a combo deck is ignoring your opponent and the fact that they even exist, your just playing a game of solitaire that you rarely lose. Your opponent can play their Jeff Hoogland F6 token.