Hello, and welcome to another episode of Raise Your Standards. A couple of weekends ago while playing at a Battlebond preview event, I overheard a conversation about a deck in Standard playing a full playset of Mox Amber. Immediately I knew I wanted to learn more about this deck. Mox Amber is a card that has the potential to be busted, and as everyone knows, the decks with busted cards are the most fun to play. This week I’ll share with you the deck I found as well as a few more that attempt to harness the latest in the line of Moxen.
Amber Aggro
When I asked about the deck, I was told it was called Amber Aggro and that the decklist could be found by searching the decks on TCGPlayer.com. Let’s take a look at the deck I found there.
Amber Aggro – (by SBMTG_Dev)
Creatures
- 4 x Bomat Courier
- 2 x Bristling Hydra
- 2 x Greenbelt Rampager
- 3 x Hazoret the Fervent
- 3 x Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
- 4 x Llanowar Elves
- 4 x Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
- 2 x Pia Nalaar
- 1 x Rhonas the Indomitable
- 2 x Rishkar, Peema Renegade
- 4 x Voltaic Brawler
Spells
- 2 x Adventurous Impulse
- 2 x Aethersphere Harvester
- 3 x Heart of Kiran
- 4 x Mox Amber
Lands
- 4 x Aether Hub
- 6 x Forest
- 1 x Mountain
- 4 x Rootbound Crag
- 3 x Spire of Industry
Sideboard
- 3 x Abrade
- 3 x Blossoming Defense
- 2 x Crushing Canopy
- 1 x Hope of Ghirapur
- 2 x Lifecrafter’s Bestiary
- 2 x Nissa, Vital Force
- 2 x Thrashing Brontodon
If you manage to start with a Forest, Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter, and Mox Amber in your starting hand, you’re feeling pretty good. Turn one, you’ll play the Forest, tap it for mana and play Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter. That allows you to play your Mox Amber and you now have the ability to play a Llanowar Elves if possible. that gives you a total of four mana on turn two assuming you’re able to play a second land. It also gives you quite a jump on your opponent, since you’re able to play things two turns earlier than normal. I know the scenario I laid out might not come up in every game, but when it does you should likely win that game.
Naya Big Legends
The next deck I have for you that is looking to maximize the use of Mox Amber is called Naya Big Legends. Let’s take a look at it.
Naya Big Legends (by TheDarklingGlory)
Planeswalkers
Creatures
- 3 x Kari Zev, Skyship Raider
- 3 x Lyra Dawnbringer
- 3 x Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
- 2 x Pia Nalaar
- 1 x Rhonas the Indomitable
- 3 x Rishkar, Peema Renegade
- 2 x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
- 4 x Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy
Spells
- 2 x Jaya’s Immolating Inferno
- 4 x Lightning Strike
- 4 x Mox Amber
- 3 x Urza’s Ruinous Blast
Lands
- 4 x Clifftop Retreat
- 4 x Inspiring Vantage
- 4 x Rootbound Crag
- 4 x Scattered Groves
- 4 x Sheltered Thicket
- 3 x Sunpetal Grove
Every creature in this deck is Legendary, so Mox Amber should be able to tap for any color you need fairly early on. This deck looks like it’s a blast to play, but I am a little worried that there might not be enough lands. There are only 23 lands in the deck, which feels a little light, but since Mox Amber can tap for nearly any color you need, it might be just right. I’m not certain that this deck will dominate your local Friday Night Magic, but it does look fun to play.
Abzan Legends
The next deck I have for you shaves off one copy of Mox Amber, but still hopes to utilize its power. Let’s look at Abzan Legends.
Abzan Legends – (by ripple182)
Planeswalkers
Creatures
- 4 x Jadelight Ranger
- 4 x Llanowar Elves
- 3 x Lyra Dawnbringer
- 3 x Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter
- 2 x Rishkar, Peema Renegade
- 4 x Servant of the Conduit
- 3 x Shanna, Sisay’s Legacy
- 3 x Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle
Spells
- 3 x Fatal Push
- 3 x Mox Amber
- 2 x Settle the Wreckage
- 2 x Urza’s Ruinous Blast
Lands
- 4 x Blooming Marsh
- 4 x Concealed Courtyard
- 3 x Forest
- 1 x Hashep Oasis
- 2 x Plains
- 4 x Scattered Groves
- 1 x Shefet Dunes
- 4 x Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard
- 1 x Ajani Unyielding
- 2 x Deathgorge Scavenger
- 4 x Duress
- 1 x Heart of Kiran
- 1 x Settle the Wreckage
- 3 x Shalai, Voice of Plenty
- 2 x Thrashing Brontodon
- 1 x Urza’s Ruinous Blast
Here’s another deck that hopes to utilize the early power of Oviya Pashiri, Sage Lifecrafter alongside Mox Amber. It also features Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle who can bring back every creature you have with the exception of Lyra Dawnbringer. And with a full 20 cards in the main deck being Historic, the possibility of bringing back multiple threats from the graveyard is pretty high. The value that Teshar creates can be off the charts.
Aetherflux Reservoir Combo
The final Mox Amber deck I have for you this week looks to take advantage of a card from Kaladesh. Let’s take a look at Aetherflux Reservoir Combo.
Aetherflux Reservoir Combo – (by daibloXSC)
Creatures
- 3 x Glint-Nest Crane
- 4 x Ornithopter
Spells
- 3 x Aetherflux Reservoir
- 3 x Baral’s Expertise
- 2 x Commit // Memory
- 4 x Inspiring Statuary
- 3 x Metallic Rebuke
- 3 x Mox Amber
- 4 x Paradoxical Outcome
- 4 x Prophetic Prism
- 4 x Renegade Map
- 4 x Reverse Engineer
- 1 x Traveler’s Amulet
Lands
- 1 x Inventors’ Fair
- 13 x Island
- 4 x Zhalfirin Void
Sideboard
- 2 x Baral, Chief of Compliance
- 3 x Karn, Scion of Urza
- 4 x Negate
- 1 x Padeem, Consul of Innovation
- 2 x River’s Rebuke
- 1 x Silent Gravestone
- 2 x Sorcerous Spyglass
For those of you that play Modern, there is an archetype there called Eggs. This deck is fairly similar to that style of deck. You’ll want to drop all of your cheap artifacts once you have Aetherflux Reservoir in play in order to gain as much life as possible. Then, play Paradoxical Outcome and play them all again. Your main route to victory is by dealing 50 points of damage with Aetherflux Reservoir to your opponent. While this deck is a bit of a glass cannon, it did place in the top 16 of the Standard MOCS (Magic Online Championship Series) on May 20, 2018, which shows that it has what it takes to do well in Standard.
Wrapping Up
Mox Amber was greatly overhyped when Dominaria spoilers started. Now, a couple of months later, we have a few decks for Standard that are able to utilize the power that some people knew Mox Amber could have. Which of these decks is your favorite? Let me know by leaving a comment. Or you can reply to me directly on Twitter (@mikelikesmtg), or email me directly at mikelikesmtg@gmail.com. And, don’t forget to like our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MTGDeckTechs/) to be sure to be notified when a new article is posted.
Also, be sure to check out my articles every Thursday on GatheringMagic.com. If you like the innovative decks I write about here each week, you’ll want to check out my articles there as well.
Be sure to join me back here next week for another installment of Raise Your Standards. I’ll see you then!
— Mike Likes