Izzet and Grixis Red deck replacing Atarka Red?
Standard Deck Help forum
Posted on Jan. 11, 2016, 2:05 p.m. by Rothus
After seeing Stormchaser Mage in OGW spoiler and seeing how Atarka Red has slowly been disappearing from the standard scene; I was contemplating the fact that with a little work a new version of the deck could be made.
Basically, take Swiftspear and other hasted cheap red creatures and instead of going green; they should splash blue for counter and card draw.
I went full steam with it and also added black for Gurmag Swiftwing and better mana control. Also saw other decks following the same concept with their own unique spin on it.
Was just wondering everyone else's thoughts on if such decks would be competitive enough to replace Atarka.
TheHelvault says... #3
I agree with wasianpower, Atarka Red is by no means disappearing. It won't even rotate out until April.
What you could do with an Izzet deck is, like wasianpower said, you could build a semi-conpetitive midrange deck. Wandering Fumarole is an absolute 4-of for this. A land that can turn into a 1/4 that can switch to a 4/1 at instant speed? Genius. If this is your build, Oath of the Gatewatch is for you. I would suggest running 4-6 Cheap, Versatile counterspells like 2 or 3 Negate, then 2 or 3 Clash of Wills or whatever counter fits you best. Then I would look for prowess creatures, which I'm sure you've found plenty of by now. Add plenty of ways to make your creatures bigger and protect them. Hexproof creatures are a beast in Standard right now bc they can only be killed by boardwipes. Also, run pinging stuff in your deck. 3 or 4 Thopter Engineer will work great, because flying and haste are things to envy in a deck. Thopter Spy Network will give you more flying 1/1 hasties, and Hangarback Walker will not only have haste but also be able to make more thopters. Hope this helps!
January 12, 2016 8:40 a.m.
I concur that atarka red isn't going away. I do see a very strong grixis control deck at my local shop. I am working on an izzet prowess deck that might be as strong as atarka red in the aggro department.
January 13, 2016 12:01 a.m.
I think Atarka Red is in for some trouble, but it has more to do with Flaying Tendrils. Backed up with spot removal, a card like that can just put a midrange/control deck far enough ahead (T1 Shambling Vent into T2 Arashin Cleric into T3 Flaying Tendrils (which doesn't kill the Cleric, for the record), backed up with a Ultimate Price or Murderous Cut sounds like a not altogether unlikely sequence).
Maybe G/R Landfall starts overtaking the Atarka Red decks, but I don't see an Izzet aggro deck replacing it. In the end, I do see Stormchaser Mage seeing significant play, but in more of a (Dark?) Jeskai Monastery Mentor deck.
wasianpower says... #2
Short answer: No.
Long answer: First off, atarka red has not been disappearing. Atarka Red is still more than 5% of the standard meta.. Stormchaser is great, but it won't replace swiftspear. I could see an izzet midrange deck being somewhat competitive, but it won't replace atarka so much as go alongside it. Become Immense + Temur Battle Rage is too good to pass up. Countermagic and card draw don't go in aggro decks (see the failure of temur aggro decks), they take up spots that could be taken by burn spells or other quick creatures. Also gurmag swiftwing is just not a good card. 2 mana for 1 point of power is just not something an aggro deck wants to do.
January 11, 2016 5:02 p.m.