Hi everyone, and welcome back to Raise Your Standards. For me, White/Red decks are my favorite decks to play. In the current Standard environment, there are multiple ways to build a competitive White/Red deck. This week we’ll take a look at a few of these builds.
Let’s start with a deck by Andrew Tenjum that took 10th place at SCG Standard Open Knoxville on 11/19/16.
W/R Midrange – Andrew Tenjum – 10th place – SCG Standard Open Knoxville 11/19/16
Creature
- 2 x Archangel Avacyn
- 1 x Bruna, the Fading Light
- 4 x Fairgrounds Warden
- 2 x Gisela, the Broken Blade
- 1 x Linvala, the Preserver
- 2 x Thalia’s Lancers
- 4 x Thraben Inspector
- 3 x Veteran Motorist
Planeswalker
Spell
Land
- 1 x Geier Reach Sanitarium
- 4 x Inspiring Vantage
- 6 x Mountain
- 4 x Needle Spires
- 11 x Plains
Sideboard
- 2 x Fragmentize
- 3 x Fumigate
- 4 x Galvanic Bombardment
- 4 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
- 2 x Tears of Valakut
This deck looks to ride out the early game by trading your early threats with your opponents if necessary in order to get to the mid-game. Once you’ve hit 5-6 lands, your deck is set to start playing your bigger flying creatures. At that point, it should be difficult for your opponent to keep up with your aerial onslaught. And if you’re really lucky, you might get a chance to meld into Brisela, Voice of Nightmares.
Next, let’s take a look at another deck from the same tournament that’s called W/R Vehicles.
W/R Vehicles – Cameron Rolen – 13th place – SCG Standard Open Knoxville 11/19/16
Creature
- 2 x Archangel Avacyn
- 4 x Eldrazi Displacer
- 3 x Pia Nalaar
- 4 x Selfless Spirit
- 2 x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
- 4 x Thraben Inspector
Planeswalker
Spell
- 1 x Declaration in Stone
- 1 x Harnessed Lightning
- 2 x Skysovereign, Consul Flagship
- 4 x Smuggler’s Copter
- 3 x Stasis Snare
Land
- 4 x Aether Hub
- 4 x Inspiring Vantage
- 3 x Mountain
- 4 x Needle Spires
- 8 x Plains
- 1 x Warped Landscape
- 2 x Westvale Abbey
Sideboard
- 1 x Blessed Alliance
- 1 x Built to Last
- 2 x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
- 1 x Declaration in Stone
- 2 x Fragmentize
- 1 x Fumigate
- 3 x Galvanic Bombardment
- 1 x Gideon, Ally of Zendikar
- 1 x Harnessed Lightning
- 1 x Key to the City
- 1 x Tears of Valakut
While this deck plays similar vehicles to the previous deck, it’s goal is to close out the game much quicker than the midrange deck. It also uses Eldrazi Displacer to gain an incremental advantage by blinking your Pia Nalaar and Thraben Inspector which allows you to get extra thopters and clues. It does have tools to use in the mid-game in the event you cannot finish your opponent off as quickly as desired though. If you’re able to blink Pia to get enough thopters to sacrifice to Westvale Abbey, I’ve found that many opponents can’t contend with Ormendahl, Profane Prince.
Another W/R deck to come out of this tournament is the 19th place W/R Humans deck.
W/R Humans – Zan Syed – 19th place – SCG Standard Open Knoxville 11/19/16
Creature
- 4 x Hanweir Garrison
- 1 x Hanweir Militia Captain
- 4 x Inventor’s Apprentice
- 2 x Pia Nalaar
- 2 x Thalia, Heretic Cathar
- 4 x Thalia’s Lieutenant
- 4 x Thraben Inspector
Planeswalker
Spell
Land
- 1 x Hanweir Battlements
- 4 x Inspiring Vantage
- 6 x Mountain
- 4 x Needle Spires
- 8 x Plains
Sideboard
- 2 x Blessed Alliance
- 2 x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
- 2 x Fragmentize
- 2 x Nahiri, the Harbinger
- 2 x Selfless Spirit
- 3 x Stasis Snare
- 2 x Weaver of Lightning
This deck takes advantage of the synergies that playing with an all-human creature base. The potential to get a host of human tokens out with your Hanweir Garrison prior to playing your Thalia’s Lieutenant is amazing. However, it’s also enticing to play the Lieutenant first and gain a bunch of counters each time Hanweir Garrison attacks.
Also, let’s not forget that each of the previous three decks are playing a full playset of Smuggler’s Copter, quite possibly the best card introduced in Kaladesh. While this card is amazing when attacking, I believe it is best when saved for defense, as it can successfully block many threats while also filtering your deck.
Finally, here’s an interesting W/R Equipment deck from Kevin Crimin.
W/R Equipment – Kevin Crimin
Creature
- 4 x Expedition Envoy
- 4 x Inventor’s Apprentice
- 3 x Pia Nalaar
- 4 x Reckless Bushwhacker
- 4 x Stone Haven Outfitter
- 4 x Stoneforge Acolyte
- 4 x Toolcraft Exemplar
- 4 x Weapons Trainer
Spell
- 4 x Bone Saw
- 4 x Inventor’s Goggles
Land
- 4 x Aether Hub
- 4 x Inspiring Vantage
- 4 x Mountain
- 4 x Needle Spires
- 5 x Plains
Sideboard
- 2 x Chasm Guide
- 1 x Declaration in Stone
- 2 x Firemantle Mage
- 2 x Fragmentize
- 2 x Harnessed Lightning
- 3 x Lantern Scout
- 3 x Stasis Snare
While this deck hasn’t been tested in a tournament environment, it still looks to be a fun deck to play. Inventor’s Goggles gives a decent boost to an equipped creature’s stats, and if it’s in play, you have 11 chances to equip it for free when you play Inventor’s Apprentice, Pia Nalaar, or Toolcraft Exemplar. Any time I can get something for free, I’m a happy player.
There’s also a lot of synergy in this deck with equipment that can be searched for and can be played for zero mana and the creatures that gain a bonus when you have an artifact on the battlefield. It’s also a deck that uses Ally’s and the Rally mechanic which hasn’t seen much play recently. If you’re looking to surprise your opponent with a blast from the past, this might be the deck for you.
As you can see, White/Red has a lot of various styles of decks that can be played in the current Standard format. Whether your play style is more agro based, or whether you’d rather play a longer game, White/Red has a deck you might enjoy.
Please let me know in the comments what your favorite deck is, and let me know of any improvements you would make. Also, if you have a deck that you would like featured in Raise Your Standards, please feel free to contact me. And join me next week when I take a look at more Standard deck lists.
