Ral Zarek and His Best Friend

Standard* Control Four Color

Castform

Creature (7)

• 2x AEtherling
• 3x Angel of Serenity
• 2x Obzedat, Ghost Council

Planeswalker (5)

• 2x Jace, Architect of Thought
• 1x Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker
• 2x Ral Zarek

Land (25)

• 3x Clifftop Retreat
• 2x Drowned Catacomb
• 4x Godless Shrine
• 4x Hallowed Fountain
• 2x Nephalia Drownyard
• 2x Sacred Foundry
• 4x Steam Vents
• 4x Watery Grave

Enchantment (2)

• 2x Assemble the Legion

Artifact (6)

• 4x Chromatic Lantern
• 2x Haunted Plate Mail

Instant (12)

• 3x Azorius Charm
• 2x Doom Blade
• 2x Forbidden Alchemy
• 3x Izzet Charm
• 2x Syncopate

Sorcery (4)

• 4x Supreme Verdict

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Sideboard

Creature (5)

• 2x Lifebane Zombie
• 3x Sin Collector

Enchantment (6)

• 2x Blind Obedience
• 2x Detention Sphere
• 2x Rest in Peace

Sorcery (2)

• 2x Dreadbore

Unknown (2)

• 2x mizzium mortar

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Maybeboard

Creature (2)

• 2x Thundermaw Hellkite

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Jace, Memory Adept

Artifact (4)

• 2x Orzhov Keyrune
• 2x Ratchet Bomb

Instant (2)

• 2x Far / Away

Sorcery (7)

• 2x Duress
• 3x Obzedat's Aid
• 2x Slaughter Games

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First off, I want to point out that I am a fan of solar flare and although this deck is not solar flare it utilizes some key elements that can make or break this deck. If you are unfamiliar with solar flare, the key idea is a control deck that utilizes both creatures and spells to control your opponent. The deck focused on the quality of creatures over quantity, so creatures tended to have great defensive capability while having a big offensive power.

Below I will explain some key card choices that I feel make the deck work.

--Izzet Charm: faithless loot, conditional counterspell, and removal all in one.

--Supreme Verdict: Uncounterable board wipe. Gets the deck past turn 4, great against aggro and great against control. Essential against the many aggro and mid-range decks currently being played.

-- Ral Zarek : Utility. can tap down a land or creature, which either forces my opponents hand or allows for my creatures to get through. The untap can accelerate the deck allowing for a critter to be dropped a turn early or provide pseudo vigilance. Also, he can lightning bolt right off the bat if a creature needs to be removed or he can finish off my opponent.

--Jace, Architect of Thought: Slows aggro and protects himself by reducing damage. Card advantage with his minus.

--Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker: Everything you want out of a planeswalker besides his mana cost.

--Assemble the Legion: Puts out more and more haste dudes every turn, which puts a big clock on your opponent. Works well with sweepers because they just keep coming back.

-- Haunted Plate Mail : Versatile equipment/creature that dodges board wipes and equips to dudes with evasion.

--Syncopate: A counterspell that exiles, only requires one blue, amd can provide a counter for turn 2.

--Forbidden Alchemy: Digs at instant speed and has flash back to reuse it later in the game to find that needed removal or bomb.

--Chromatic Lantern: Ramp, and helps fix inconsistencies in the mana base.

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Creatures

-- Angel of Serenity : Defensively, deals with my opponents critters, and or helping me bring back mine. Offensively, is a 5/6 flying body.

--Obzedat, Ghost Council: Defensively, 5/5 body that can avoid board wipes and can gain you a net 2 life every turn. Offensively, 5/5 body that can hit for 2, and a possible 5 more.

--AEtherling: Defensively, 4/5 body that can blink, and can gain more power or toughness. Offensively, an unblockable that can become a 8/1.

I plan on running this at FNM. I am sorry for the lengthy description. I feel that the description is a good tool for someone checking out the deck but also for me, because if I can describe my deck to its fullest than I too should know the strengths, weaknesses, and ways to improve. Please tell me what you think, and do not forget to playtest!

Top Ranked	Achieved #21 position overall 11 years ago
Date added	11 years
Last updated	11 years
Legality	This deck is not Standard legal.
Rarity (main - side)	8 - 2 Mythic Rares 41 - 8 Rares 8 - 3 Uncommons 4 - 0 Commons
Cards	61
Avg. CMC	3.81
Tokens	Soldier 1/1 RW
Folders	Decks I like, Interesting Decks, Deck Ideas, Fav's, Borrowed Decks (Copies), Eldrazi, Cool standard decks, Standard, not mine, Competative Decks