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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:37 am |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
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Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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A walkthrough on Magic’s most popular format.
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This article was written before the release of Time Spiral and 10th Edition. Reviews should take this fact into consideration.
Now, this is going to be a specially long read, so if you don’t have some spare time right now, I sincerely suggest you to stop right here, while inviting you to come back later, with a little more free-time.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1. "Rotating out"
1.2. Re-printing
1.2.1. The Core Sets
2. Popularity
2.1. Why is Standard so popular?
3. Is Standard more expensive than other formats?
3.1. How much does a Standard deck costs?
3.2. So if I netdeck, will I win tournaments?
3.3. Is it true that I can get money from playing Magic: The Gathering?
4. What should I play in Standard?
4.1. GBr Aggro
4.1.1. How to beat it
4.2. Snakes
4.2.1. How to beat it
4.3. UWB Counter Top Control
4.3.1. How to beat it
4.4. Vore
4.4.1. How to beat it
4.5. Solar Flare
4.5.1. How to beat it
4.6. Erayo Ninja
4.6.1.How to beat it
4.7. Hand in Hand
4.7.1. How to beat it
4.8. Satanic Sligh
4.8.1 How to beat it
4.9. Zoo
4.9.1. How to beat it
4.10. Heartbeat
4.10.1. How to beat it
5. Building a Standard deck
6. Quick list of good Standard cards
6.1. Artifacts
6.2. Creatures
6.3. Enchantments
6.4. Instants
6.5. Sorceries
6.6. Lands
7. Member’s Choice Top Ten Standard Cards
8. A bit more on the Guilds
8.1. The Azorius Senate
8.1.1. In story
8.1.2. In game
8.1.3. Putting it into cards
8.2. The House Dimir
8.2.1. In story
8.2.2. In game
8.2.3. Putting it into cards
8.3. The Cult of Rakdos
8.3.1. In story
8.3.2. In game
8.3.3. Putting it into cards
8.4. The Gruul Clans
8.4.1. In story
8.4.2. In game
8.4.3. Putting it into cards
8.5. The Selesnya Conclave
8.5.1. In story
8.5.2. In game
8.5.3. Putting it into cards
8.6. The Boros Legion
8.6.1. In story
8.6.2. In game
8.6.3. Putting it into cards
8.7. The Izzet League
8.7.1. In story
8.7.2. In game
8.7.3. Putting it into cards
8.8. The Simic Combine
8.8.1. In story
8.8.2. In game
8.8.3. Putting it into cards
8.9. The Golgari
8.9.1. In story
8.9.2. In game
8.9.3. Putting it into cards
8.10. The Orzhov
8.10.1. In story
8.10.2. In game
8.10.3. Putting it into cards
_______________________________________________________________________
1. Introduction
Standard is the most played format in tournaments world-wide, and consists solely of the last two Blocks released, plus the current Core Set. It currently consists of Champions of Kamigawa, Betrayers of Kamigawa, Saviors of Kamigawa, Ravnica: City of Guilds, Guildpact, Dissension and Coldsnap (if the counting seems odd, it’ll be explained later). Standard format doesn’t have banned and/or restricted cards. You may also hear older players referring to it as “Type 2”, since this is what it was called a while ago.
Nowadays, the format is facing a rather different situation, due to the release of the long-lost Coldsnap Expansion (the last Expansion in a block consisting also of Ice Age and Alliances, two very old sets), which was incorporated in Standard play, so it now has more Editions available than usual.
1.1. “Rotating out”
Each time a new Core Set is released, the older one “rotates out” (meaning cards in it can no longer be used in the Standard format), and each new Expansion rotates the oldest one. At the end of this month, a new Expansion (Time Spiral) will be released. When that happens, as soon as it becomes legal for tournament play, Champions of Kamigawa is rotating out, and all cards present in it will no longer be legal in Standard. This means players can kiss cards like Sakura-tribe Elder, Sensei’s Divining Top, Kodama of the North Tree, Yosei, the Morning Star and that dreaded Umezawa’s Jitte good-bye!
1.2. Re-printing
Cards can be re-printed in newer Editions. When that happens, that card becomes legal again in Standard, and players can use any version of the same card they might have (not only the newer one). So, for instance, since Birds of Paradise was re-printed in the Ravnica set, it is currently legal in Standard, and players can use any version of it, like the one from 7th Edition, or even the one from Alpha (the first set of Magic: The Gathering ever released).
1.2.1. The Core Sets
If you check out a recent Core Set, like 7th, 8th or 9th Edition, you’ll see it consists solely of re-printed cards. Core Sets are like this so they only contain the “easier” cards (meaning not very tricky to use or build a deck around), while giving new players the chance to dabble around the most basic abilities, like Trample, Haste, Flying, etc… However, they serve another purpose, this one focused on more experienced players, which is exactly having some cards re-printed, so they are Standard-legal. This is why, every time a new Core Set is about to be released, Wizards’ web site promotes the “Selecting X Edition” area, where players get to vote, from a given card pool, which one(s) they want to see re-printed. You can check the latest results, for 10th Edition, here.
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2. Popularity
Standard is a very popular format among tournament players because it’s the format with the biggest number of tournaments available at any given time, these ones also featuring the best prize pools (although there may be exceptions). The World Championship, which happens once a year, is always played in Standard format.
2.1. Why is Standard so popular?
Standard is not so popular by coincidence. Wizards of the Coast (the company which produces Magic) makes it so that the best prizes are awarded in Standard tournaments, so players will always have to purchase new cards in order to keep playing competitively and winning some booster packs. Also, since some older cards are hard to come by, a lot of new players fear they might be crushed in a Legacy tournament, for instance, so even though most players start playing Magic in “Casual” format (meaning they don’t care for banned and/or restricted cards), they usually start playing tournaments in Standard.
Last, since there are A LOT of different Magic cards printed after all these years, it’s really hard for the development team to keep track of them all, and sometimes a lot of broken combos emerge when you combine older cards (some even forgotten by most) with newer ones. For this reason, by keeping the format restricted to only a few Editions, Wizards’ development team can keep an eye out, so broken combos don’t emerge in Standard play (at least nothing that’ll make every single player want to play the same deck).
Proof of this is the fact that Wizards only bans or restricts cards AFTER they rotate out of Standard, exceptd on VERY RARE occasions, like Ravager and the Artifact Lands (check out articles on Ravager Affinity decks, on Wizards of the Coast’s website).
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3. Is Standard more expensive than other formats?
This is a common question, and the only true answer to it is: “it depends”. Any format you choose, if you want to seriously compete, you’ll have to build a competitive deck. This usually means a lot of rare and good cards (not all rares are good, and not all good cards are rare). Since Standard IS the most popular format, good cards that are Standard-legal USUALLY (there are exceptions) cost more than rotated ones. However, I got to have fun at the Regionals (but didn’t place that greatly, though) with a relatively cheap deck.
3.1. How much does a Standard deck costs?
This is another “it depends” question. If you check out the most played decks, at Wizards’ web site and try to copy them (this is called to netdeck), it may cost you around 200-500 dollars, and that if you get a good deal on the cards, like here in Cobra Cards (  ). However, you WILL have a fairly powerful deck in your hands, definitly tournament-winning material.
3.2. So if I netdeck, will I win tournaments?
This is not necessarily true. You may get a powerful deck from netdecking, but you will still have to learn how to play with it, since each deck plays differently. Also, without knowledge of the rules, and at least SOME experience (when to block, which creature to sacrifice, which card to neutralize/destroy, etc), you’re bound to get beaten badly in a high-level tournament. Also, no deck has an answer to every single threat they face, all decks have some kind of weakness, it all depends on what you’ll face. Specially because netdecking is a very popular practice among players, skilled players will try to build their decks so they can neutralize the most popular ones. A cool idea to learn how to play the game (and to use the deck you’ve constructed, so you may tweak it to make it better) is to go to FNM (Friday Night Magic), since it is a Standard tournament that does not “pay” very well, so players usually play it for fun, with different decks, and may be pleased to help a new player get in the business.
3.3. Is it true that I can get money from playing Magic: The Gathering?
Yes, this is true. The biggest tournaments (namely, Worlds) DO offer payment in money, and in a very reasonable amount. However, if playing Standard for the prizes can cost you, playing for money will cost you A LOT, and demand SERIOUS experience. Players in this level can guess what you’re packing in your deck with a simple look at your first land drops, as well as guess your hand, so there’s no room for mistakes in this kind of competiton. Consider carefully before diving into one of those.
Also, competitions like this often require previous qualifying, usually by placing well in other big tournaments, so it’s not like you’re going to pay na entry fee and you’ll be in.
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4. What should I play in Standard?
Well, Standard is a format with a rather limited card pool to choose from, but due to the release of the Ravnica set and the dual lands it introduced (like Steam Vents), added with the painlands from 9th Edition (lands like Llanowar Wastes and such), Standard now is no man’s land, meaning you can see (and make) decks with any combination of colors, and they will still be competitive. Check this link if you want to see the most popular builds in Standard right now. I’ll now walk you through how the ten most popular ones (this week) play, and how they can be beaten. Note, however, that these are NOT the “only” ways to beat them, and that this list may suffer alterations each week. Just click on a deck’s name to see the decklists, and a review made by Wizards on each one of them. The cost to make is based solely on the prices on Cobra Cards (basic lands are not accounted in the total cost).
4.1. GBr Aggro (MAIN DECK: U$ 478.90 SIDEBOARD: U$ 17.05)
This deck plays aggresively, with mana acceleration and heavy beating. It also contains massive card advantage, in the form of Hypnotic Specters, Ohran Vipers and Dark Confidants. It can easily disrupt a deck’s strategy with a turn two Specter and a turn three Persecute (with aceleration), while Putrefy and Demonfire take care of whatever slipped through your discarding/is giving you a headache. Ink-Eyes, Servant of Oni is just mean.
4.1.1. How to beat it
This deck relies heavily on acceleration and its creatures, so a deck with heavy removal and/or counterspells could give it quite a headache. Either a Simic (Green and Blue), Golgari (Green and Black), Orzhov (White and Black) or mono-blue deck would be perfect for facing this build.
Simic has acceleration and some really good bombs, like Simic Sky Swallower, which is immune to spot removal. Carven Caryatid and Drift of Phantasms also almost shut down this deck, specially when you have counterspells to back them.
Golgari has massive spot removal, namely Feast of Flesh, Dakrblast, Putrefy, while also packing card-advantage and acceleration.
Orzhov has very powerful removal, in the form of Faith’s Fetters, Mortify and Wrath of God, all the way to the less populars Gelid Shackles, Pacifism and the uprising Angel of Despair.
Mono-blue is just annoying, specially if you decide to pack in the Counterbalance lock, as this deck can’t really do anything about it, once its out.
4.2. Snakes (MAIN DECK: U$ 257.20 SIDEBOARD: U$ 117.25)
This deck is very popular, since it can create an army of Snakes very quickly (even quicker than Goblins!), which gets pretty big once Coat of Arms is out. The snakes Ohran Viper, Sakura-Tribe Elder and Coiling Oracle also provide massive card advantage, with a somewhat hint of mana acceleration. Sosuke’s Summons is also killer in this build.
4.2.1. How to beat it
Now, this deck is just plain hard to beat, unless you’re packing some nice early-game defense and some artifact hate. Golgari, Izzet (Red and Blue), Dimir (Black and Blue) and mono-red are your best bets against it.
Golgari, as noted above, has massive removal power, while you can also add in Cranial Extraction and Night of Soul’s Betrayal (or even Necroplasm) to get rid of the pesky little snakes. However, unless you’re packing Naturalize or something like it to deal with Coat of Arms, if it comes into play, you’re doomed.
Izzet’s Vore build can give it a headache, since you can counter/bounce Coat of Arms, and a well played Wildfire can wipe the board clear. Also, it tends to pack some artifact hate, in the form of Shattering Spree, which can take care of Umezawa’s Jitte and Coat of Arms easily, too. However, this should be a tough match, no room for mistakes.
Dimir’s version of ‘Owling Mine can wreck havoc in this build, since Cranial Extraction, removals, counterspells and Exhaustion are just mean against it. However, if they can outspeed you, there’s nothing much this deck can do, so it’s a dangerous bet.
Mono-red just has a lot of answers, if packing artifact hate. It has a lot of massive removals, in the form of Wildfire and Pyroclasm, as well as the newly-released Martyr of Ashes. However, the recurring Sosuke’s Summons will be a pain.
4.3. UWB Counter Top Control (MAIN DECK: U$ 310.40 SIDEBOARD: U$ 46.00)
This deck abuses Sensei’s Divining Top, so Counterbalance will have a better shot at working, while Dark Confidant won’t hurt you that much. If anything slips by the combo, the deck also packs other counterspells and removals, like the underrated Remove Soul and the bizarrely splashed Condemn. Meloku the Clouded Mirror provides defense as well as finishers, specially if Orzhov Pontiff is boarded in for a surprise attack.
4.3.1. How to beat it
This deck is very annoying, but it lacks bounce spells, like Repeal, Eye of Nowhere and Boomerang, so almost any aggro deck packing Leyline of Lifeforce or a combo that uses Boseiju, Who Shelters All, will give it trouble. Dovescape decks may also give it quite of a headache, if well played, specially a three-colored build, splashing  for mana acceleration.
4.4. Vore (MAIN DECK: U$ 132.90 SIDEBOARD: U$ 14.30)
This deck plays by denying land to the opponent in the early turns, by either bouncing them or destroying them, until a Wildfire wrecks the board completely, leaving it wide open for a huge, hasting Magnivore to swing in for the win, usually in three turns, tops. It contains some card-drawing power, as well as some counterspells, should the need to use’em arise.
4.4.1. How to beat it
This deck relies heavily on going first, since it has to bounce a land turn two to actually stall your opponent’s tempo, so any deck containing cheap creatures with acceleration will kill it. Gruul (Red and Green), Simic and Azorius (Blue and White) are the most recommended builds.
Gruul has acceleration and cheap creatures, in comparison to the body they provide you (namely Kird Ape, Burning-Tree Shaman and Rumbling Slums), and with a single, well-played Moldervine Cloak, it’s game.
Simic, as noted above, has speed, counter-power and a heavy beater that can’t be bounced back to your hand. In short, it’s got it all to beat Vore.
Azorius is a bit trickier to play, but Vore just don’t have the power to deal with Devouring Light, Condemn and Dovescape, since they come backed with a fair amount of counterspells.
4.5 Solar Flare (MAIN DECK: U$ 277.45 SIDEBOARD: U$ 51.50)
Solar Flare is a huge amalgamation of good cards. Every single card in it provides some level of card advantage (either by giving you new ones, or by denying your opponent theirs), while it has cool bombs for the win. Although at first sight this deck seems like it can’t win at all, it is a very solid build, ascending every week on the list of the most played decks.
4.5.1. How to beat it
The deck doesn’t have a lot of counter power, being more creature-hate oriented, and it’s color-heavy. Izzet , mono-blue and mono-red are your best bets against it.
Izzet’s Vore build is perfect against color-heavy decks, and this is no exception.
Mono-blue counter power is terrific against it, since the deck does not pack a lot of threats, so you have to use a rather limited number of counterspells to stay alive.
Mono-red is great because Solar Flare has no answer to burn spells, specially if by the dozen. The four Remand it contains simply are not enough.
4.6. Erayo Ninja (MAIN DECK: U$ 161.70 SIDEBOARD: U$ 115.20)
This deck relies heavily on cheap (0 cost, actually) spells to quickly flip Erayo, Soratami Ascendant, so you can wrap things up. The rest of the build is purely card advantage and counter-power, so the combo comes out quickly and protected.
4.6.1. How to beat it
Erayo Ninja’s just hard to beat. Unless you can keep Erayo off the board, you’re bound to lose. Removal-filled and counter-filled decks are your best bet against this.
4.7. Hand in Hand (MAIN DECK: U$ 392.25 SIDEBOARD: U$ 83.20)
Hand in Hand is a bizarre aggro deck, that does not swing early and heavily, but rather with quality. It has a lot of protection tricks up ots sleeve, so almost any creature carrying Umezawa’s Jitte will be a pain, while Ghost Council of Orzhova is a great card to have around in any aggro build also packing Wrath of God.
4.7.1. How to beat it
You have two simple ways of beating it. Either you outspeed it, or you shut it down. Gruul, Simic, mono-white, mono-red and anything packing  and counterspells can deal with it.
Mono-white weenie is cool because of its speed and protection tricks, namely Eight-and-a-half-Tails.
Mono-red can crush it since burning can both keep creatures off the board as well as win a game. However, specially fast builds using Hidetsugo’s Second Rite are recommended, since a Paladin en-Vec carrying Umezawa’s Jitte is game over for you.
4.8. Satanic Sligh (MAIN DECK: U$ 165.60 SIDEBOARD: U$ 127.00)
Satanic Sligh is an aggro build, the same way good old Boros (White and Red) used to play. Get damage in early game, burn your opponent after for the win. However, this deck packs A LOT more burn and Genju of Spires, since it evades Wrath of God and the like, while providing you some really nice damage source.
4.8.1. How to beat it
Any deck packing protection can evade this build, while the underrated Ivory Mask simply kills it. Hand in Hand is a great deck to use against this one, as well as White Weenie, due to the protective power they have. Dovescape can give it quite a headache, too, since some Drift of Phantasms will shut down most of the offense, and it has no answer to Enchantments.
4.9. Zoo (MAIN DECK: U$ 349.60 SIDEBOARD: U$ 105.10)
Zoo had got to be the most popular build a while back, being aggressive to the core, with a lot of early drops (and big ones, considering their mana cost, like Kird Ape, Watchwolf, Isamaru, Hound of Konda and Scab-clan Mauler) and late burns like Char and Lightning Helix, being really simple to play with, and really destructive. This deck is also one of the few who breaks the “22-land minimum” rule without having too much trouble.
4.9.1. How to beat it
This deck is so aggressive that it’s really hard to deal with, unless you have A LOT of removal around and some early defense, namely Carven Caryatid, since it can take out attackers rather than just stalling their damage-dealing. Denying a color with Land-Destruction builds can also provide an effective answer, although this is usually hard to accomplish.
4.10. Heartbeat (MAIN DECK: U$ 94.30 SIDEBOARD: U$ 16.85)
Heartbeat is the modern version of mono-red burn decks, that used to pack Mana Flare (which, in essence, does the same thing as Heartbeat of Spring, but the colored mana in its cost is  ). However, due to the massive card advantage some cards now provide, and with the creation of the Transmute ability (which essentially turns 4 Drift of Phantasms into 4 more Heartbeats for the deck), this deck has seen a lot of play, due to the Early Harvest + Blaze / Demonfire combo. Too bad Heartbeat of Spring AND Sensei’s Divining Top are both about to rotate out of Standard...
4.10.1. How to beat it
There’s really only one way: DON’T LET HEARTBEAT SEE PLAY! EVER!
The Vore build is perfect against it, if you board in some more counter power, since you can counter Heartbeat, and then destroy their small number of Mountains, shutting down their burn capability.
Golgari builds (usually splashing ) are also nice, since you can accelerate into a Cranial Extraction (usually backed by Boseiju, Who Shelters All), and/or counter the main threats it has to offer.
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5. Building a Standard deck
So, in order to get a Standard deck up and running, you’ll have to think of a strategy. There’s 3 ways of winning a match:
1 - Depleting you opponent’s life points (which start at 20, but can go over that, with no limit);
2 – Waiting/Making your opponent’s deck run out of cards (If he must draw a card and can’t, he loses the game);
3 – Using cards that clearly state that you win the game if you meet certain conditions, like Battle of Wits.
First, you’ll have to figure out how you want to win. After you decide that, you’ll have to select the cards that will best help you accomplish that goal. Then, you have to build the rest of the deck around them: either adding cards to keep the board under control to buy enough time (if you’re playing a rather slow combo), defending your combo (protecting creatures, countering spells, etc…), speeding it up and/or complementing it (this usually means splashing a second or third color to the mix) AND keeping in mind that you may be faced with all the combos above and much others in any given tournament, so you have to have some kind of answer for them, either in your Main Deck or in your Sideboard. So, as you see, building a Standard deck is not a simple task, but it sure is rewarding, since you can get a lot of free booster packs out of tournaments!
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6. Quick list of good Standard cards
This list is just to provide a guide to new players, so they don’t get ripped off when trading. Also, note that this is NOT a COMPLETE list, but rather a guide, so players can learn to evaluate the cards themselves. Some of these cards are not necessarily rare cards, just cards that go in a lot of popular builds, or have some potential on them for future builds. New cards can arise to the post of “fairly good” in a pinch, as soon as it sees play in a major tournament and become “popular”.
These cards are ALWAYS good to have around, and should be traded highly, or not at all:
6.1. Artifacts
Sensei’s Divining Top
Umezawa’s Jitte
Pithing Needle
Coat of Arms
Howling Mine
6.2. Creatures
Eight-and-a-Half-Tails
Isamaru, Hound of Konda
Keiga, the Tide Star
Kodama of the North Tree
Kokusho, the Evening Star
Yosei, the Morning Star
Hypnotic Specter
Magnivore
Paladin en-Vec
Savannah Lions
Birds of Paradise
Dark Confidant
Loxodon Hierarch
Angel of Despair
Burning-Tree Shaman
Ghost Council of Orzhova
Giant Solifuge
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Rumbling Slum
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
Pride of the Clouds
Simic Sky Swallower
Ohran Viper
6.3. Enchantments
Heartbeat of Spring
Promise of Bunrei
Annex
Blood Moon
Confiscate
Glorious Anthem
Greater Good
Ivory Mask
Phyrexian Arena
Worship
Glare of Subdual
Dovescape
6.4. Instants
Flames of the Blood Hand
Goryo’s Vengeance
Shining Shoal
Sickening Shoal
Boomerang
Early Harvest
Char
Voidslime
Remand
6.5. Sorceries
Cranial Extraction
Exhaustion
Persecute
Pyroclasm
Tidings
Traumatize
Wildfire
Wrath of God
Demonfire
6.6. Lands
Boseiju, Who Shelters All
Miren, the Moaning Well
Adarkar Wastes
Battlefield Forge
Brushland
Caves of Koilos
Karplusan Forest
Llanowar Wastes
Shivan Reef
Sulfurous Springs
Underground River
Yavimaya Coast
Overgrown Tomb
Sacred Foundry
Temple Garden
Watery Grave
Godless Shrine
Steam Vents
Stomping Ground
Blood Crypt
Breeding Pool
Hallowed Fountain
Dark Depths
Scrying Sheets
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7. Member’s Choice Top Ten Standard Cards
While the cards listed above are all "good" cards, if you want a more advanced look, this is the Top Ten list, by popular demand, by Cobra Cards’ members La_Sin_Grail, physcosick, inresponse, r2d2quino, c3poquino and yours truly (the list actually has more than 10 cards, since some of them tied for the same spot):
1 ) Umezawa’s Jitte and Dark Confidant
2 ) Remand
3 ) Wrath of God
4 ) Loxodon Hierarch
5 ) Shining Shoal
6 ) Wildfire
7 ) Yosei, the Morning Star
8 ) Kird Ape
9 ) Burning-Tree Shaman
10) Cranial Extraction and Pithing Needle
As you can see, there are 2 uncommons between the Top Ten (err, twelve), so that proves the theory that a card does not have to be rare to be good. Also, on this subject, some cards that were voted but didn’t make it included Compulsive Research, Sensei’s Divining Top, Mortify, Skred and Tidings.
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8. A bit more on the Guilds
After a request from La_Sin_Grail, I decided to add this last part on the ten Guilds that Ravnica launched upon the Standard meta. I’ll write the info I got from "Ask Wizards", asd to what their role in the Ravnican society is, and then I’m gonna make an in-game analysis, as well as show some cards that capture the essence of the guild (not necessarily the best cards, just flavorful ones). The cards are in no particular order, and I didn’t even bother listing any cards already belonging to a Guild (featuring the dual-mana symbol and the Guild Symbol behind the game text) or the Signets, since they’re pretty obvious on this matter.
8.1. The Azorius Senate
8.1.1. In story
Ravnica’s ostensible government, particularly its legislative and higher judicial functions.
8.1.2. In game
Azorius is the Guild of denyal, packing great power for locking the board and optimizing their card usage with Forecast, as well as some powerful counterspells and lifegain.
8.1.3. Putting it into cards
Overrule
Pride of the Clouds
Dovescape
Azorius Herald
Court Hussar
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV
8.2. The House Dimir
8.2.1. In story
No known function beyond subversion of other guilds and maintenance of a thieves’ guild.
8.2.2. In game
Dimir is the Guild of milling by excellence, dealing greatly with adaptation in the form of Unblockable cards, the Transmute ability and shapeshifting. It also has some control power, due to the ability of selecting the opponent’s draws to some extent, and packing some counterspells and removal.
8.2.3. Putting it into cards
Dimir Infiltrator
Dimir House Guard
Drift of Phantasms
Perplex
Dimir Doppelganger
Glimpse the Unthinkable
Dimir Machinations
Thoughtpicker Witch
8.3. The Cult of Rakdos
8.3.1. In story
Parties, festivals, demolition, murders for hire, and all manner of hedonistic diversions.
8.3.2. In game
Rakdos is the Guild of plain, raw aggression, sacrificing their own cards for more sheer power, achieved through Hellbent.
8.3.3. Putting it into cards
Rakdos the Defiler
Jagged Poppet
Drekavac
Cackling Flames
Gobhobbler Rats
Avatar of Discord
Delirium Skeins
8.4. The Gruul Clans
8.4.1. In story
No known function beyond destruction of abandoned areas and maintenance of a beggars’ guild.
8.4.2. In game
Gruul is the Guild of aggressive playing, although not as rough as Rakdos, packing immensely large (or evasive) creatures on very few mana, as well as having the ability to deal more damage out of the damage they deal, due to Bloodthirst.
8.4.3. Putting it into cards
Scab-Clan Mauler
Burning-Tree Shaman
Rumbling Slum
Streetbreaker Wurm
Skarrgan Pit-Skulk
Silhana Ledgewalker
Dryad Sophisticate
Scorched Rusalka
8.5. The Selesnya Conclave
8.5.1. In story
Spiritual refuge and communion, although it is viewed by some simply as a very large cult.
8.5.2. In game
Selesnya is a more "oriented" aggresive Guild, packing a good punch, but relying more in numbers and strategy than in sheer power to win, depicted by their Convoke ability.
8.5.3. Putting it into cards
Watchwolf
Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
Autochthon Wurm
Congregation at Dawn
Glare of Subdual
Loxodon Hierarch
Faith’s Fetters
8.6. The Boros Legion
8.6.1. In story
Enforcement of Ravnica’s laws.
8.6.2. In game
Boros is another aggresive build, with burn power to back it up, making it a force to be reckoned with. Fast creatures that beat hard and with quality, which also affects their spells, as shown by their Radiance ability.
8.6.3. Putting it into cards
Lightning Helix
Skyknight Legionnaire
Razia, Boros Archangel
Firemane Angel
Bathe in Light
Boros Swiftblade
Sunhome Enforcer
Sunforger
8.7. The Izzet League
8.7.1. In story
Design and maintenance of Ravnica’s infrastructure, such as heating and water distribution.
8.7.2. In game
Izzet is all about card advantage and optimizing spells, making copies of them with abilities like Replicate, even if the cost is high.
8.7.3. Putting it into cards
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Electrolyze
Train of Thought
Pyromatics
Char
8.8. The Simic Combine
8.8.1. In story
Caretakers of what’s left of the natural world, deemed on scientific experiments.
8.8.2. In game
Simic is the Guild to go crazy trying to pull off crazy tricks, since each creature you play gathers power from all the others by means of Graft, making it a powerhouse that opponents won’t even see coming, or is already a powerhouse on its own.
8.8.3. Putting it into cards
Simic Sky Swallower
Trygon Predator
Assault Zeppelid
Vigean Hydropon
Experiment Kraj
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Coiling Oracle
Plaxmanta
8.9. The Golgari
8.9.1. In story
Custodians of the dead and providers of food for Ravnica’s poor.
8.9.2. In game
The Golgari Guild is the Guild to play when you want threats out of your way, packing some pretty powerful removal, and manipulating your graveyard to bring your own threats back via the Dredge ability.
8.9.3. Putting it into cards
Svogthos, the Restless Tomb
Golgari Grave-Troll
Putrefy
Last Gasp
Darkblast
Moldervine Cloak
Sisters of Stone Death
Bloodbond March
Savra, Queen of the Golgari
Plague Boiler
8.10. The Orzhov
8.10.1. In story
Stewardship of Ravnica’s economies and money, although the methods are usually in their interests.
8.10.2. In game
The Orzhov are very similar to the Golgari, but they tend to use more controlling, keeping boards low on creatures, since they lack the graveyard manipulation, and try to take full advantage of their cards even after they’re used, abusing their Haunt ability.
8.10.3. Putting it into cards
Orzhov Pontiff
Mortify
Angel of Despair
Blind Hunter
Souls of the Faultless
Culling Sun
Castigate
I hope you all liked this rather long walkthrough on one of the most exciting formats in Magic, and that new players got a feel for the format’s power and potential.
Reviews are welcome, and thanks for the attention!
This article was written before the release of Time Spiral and 10th Edition. Reviews should take this fact into consideration. |
| Last edited by Felipe Musco on Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:16 pm; edited 19 times in totalI don't like YOU. |
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| Cobra |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 12:56 pm |
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Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 1202
Location: Austin, TX, USA
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Good article Felipe!  A couple suggestions:
- Organization could be made a little more clear, for folks who want to skip to a certain section. You might add a "table of contents" like you’ve done before, and also give a visual cue for each major section (for example, a dividing line and slightly larger header text).
- In the deck section, sample builds are conspicuously missing. The analysis is already there, so just paste in a typical decklist and you’ll have a series of little mini deck articles that will be very helpful for those new to the format, and for playtesting.  |
| http://cobracards.com -- Web's best deals on Trading Card Games. |
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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:07 pm |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 2434
Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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Actually, each deck is linked to a decklist on the Wizards’ site, which is where I’ve taken the statistics, and there’s also ANOTHER analysis to each one of them there, that’s why I didn’t add the decklists. Or are the links not working?
I’ll make the changes you suggested right away!
Thanks for the editing help, Cobra! Did you actually read the whole thing? If you didn’t, I hope you can find the time to do so, I think you’ll like it! I’m writing one of these for the Lord of the Rings area, as well! |
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| physcosick |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:38 pm |
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| I didnt get to read all of it and i dont know when i will be able to. But, the one thing i noticed right away is at the Intro. You say that standard is the last 6 sets. Which is incorrect... it’s actually the most current 2 blocks and the most recent core set. |
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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:41 pm |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
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Location: Florianópolis, SC, Brasil
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Yep, I could’ve put it that way, but you see: when Time Spiral is released, what will make up Standard? So, it’s more easy to understand if you break it down into numbers. And I mentioned it includes the latest Core Set, didn’t I?  |
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| physcosick |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:29 pm |
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Felipe Musco wrote: Yep, I could’ve put it that way, but you see: when Time Spiral is released, what will make up Standard? So, it’s more easy to understand if you break it down into numbers. And I mentioned it includes the latest Core Set, didn’t I? |
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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 3:34 pm |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
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| Ok, I’ll fix that. Thanks, physcosick |
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| elf lvr |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 4:11 pm |
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Joined: 13 Jun 2006
Posts: 3065
Location: Rivendell
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Good article, VERY informative, and relatively interesting, considering. I love the links to the decks, I will have to check those out sometime.
Something that would just be interesting to include is, at the beginning you said how the cost ’just depends’, perhaps you could include approxamate costs with each deck? I think that would be cool. (esp. the cost of a snake deck, I think making one would be awesome!)
Very good, although I didn’t read EVERY description of EVERY deck. |
Happy Hunting! Elf Lvr
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| Felipe Musco |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 4:33 pm |
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Joined: 18 May 2006
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Thanks for the tips, I’ll do that!
EDIT: Working on it |
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| PorterTroll |
![]() Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 5:54 pm |
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Joined: 23 Jun 2006
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| Nice Article, i couldn’t finish the whole thing though so ill have to come back later, i like what im readin! |
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