So, the format Standard
format has gotten a bit
of a shake-up recently.
It came in an
interesting way this
year. We got a host of
decks from the Pro
Tour. It appears that
using the Standard
format for a Pro Tour
turned out to be a huge
success.
Players were interested
in the results. It was
a format that
participants were eager
to test for and play
with. It’s also a good
way to step up the
creative level for the
format.
Of course, even with all
this information
available, I can’t just
put it to the side and
let it lie. Of course,
I’ve got to try new
decks. I think everyone
does though. But, I’ve
recently had people
asking me about White
Weenie again. And
honestly, I still come
back to White
Weenie/Red. The reason
is that WW just doesn’t
have the finishing power
that you need to get the
job done. Even with
that in mind, the
current builds of
Red/White that I’ve seen
floating around come up
a bit short.
What’s that all add up
to? Who the heck
knows. I do know
though, that I got a
wild hair and wanted to
build a better ww/r
deck. I like having a
format that’s wide open
and the current Standard
format allows that. So
why not give ww/r a
shot? It’s far from
unviable.
Here’s the build I want
to go with:
Fire Wire
2 Isamaru, Hound of
Konda
4 Lantern Kami
3 Samurai of the Pale
Curtain
3 Skyknight Legionnaire
4 Leonin Skyhunter
3 Hand of Honor
3 Paladin en-Vec
3 Glorious Anthem
3 Umezawa’s Jitte
4 Shock
3 Char
4 Lightning Helix
1 Sunhome, Fortress of
the Legion
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Mountain
9 Plains
Sideboard:
4 Reciprocate
3 Terashi’s Grasp
3 Blood Moon
2 Ghostway
3 Kami of Ancient Law
We can start at the top
and work our way down
for explanations on card
choices. For starters,
I know a lot of people
like having three or
four copies of Isamaru.
I’m highly against
this. I don’t like have
that many copies of a
legendary creature in an
aggressive or rush
deck. Too often, they
can kill your other
creature that may be on
the table with Isamaru,
and then leave you
unable to play another
creature because the one
in your hand is an
Isamaru as well. I
can’t stand that
happening. However, the
card is still too good
to be without.
For the longest time,
Samurai of the Pale
Curtain had found it’s
way out of the deck.
However, with recent
developments showing
lots of the legendary
dragons being played,
make this much more
wanted for the deck.
Against other creature
decks, it’s one more
creature that’s hard to
stop. It’s also cheap
and relatively easy to
cast still. And, this
card does have a few
small benefits against
Green/Black. I’m glad
there was a reason to
play this card again
though, because I really
like it.
Hand of Honor and
Paladin en-Vec are both
great cards. But, their
color protection really
brings their stock way
up. And truthfully, the
Paladin gets a chance to
shine against
Green/Red. Keeping your
guys on the field (or
being unblock able late
in the game) is really
good. It just gives
you one more way to add
pressure.
The rest of the spells
and creatures are pretty
basic. If you play the
deck a few times, you
can see why each other
card has its place.
There’s not much need to
go into boring details
and explain those
cards. However, the
sideboard is a bit of a
different situation.
There are three
different cards in the
sideboard that are
really important and/or
innovative. The first
is Reciprocate.
Reciprocate is neat for
a lot of reasons. It’s
simply outstanding
against Red/Green.
Because of creatures
like Burning Tree Shaman
and Rumbling Slum, you
can get some easy
creature kill. Players
seem to forget that a
creature just has to
deal damage to you in
order to be killed by
Reciprocate. It doesn’t
have to deal COMBAT
damage, which is
completely different.
Any damage, including
upkeep effects like
Rumbling Slum, will make
them fodder for the
Reciprocate.
The second card to key
in on is Blood Moon.
There are several decks
packing three colors
that are using more than
10 nonbasic lands. This
allows Blood Moon to
give them some serious
fits. And remember, you
don’t have to stop them
for Blood Moon to be
useful. You just have
to slow them down for a
few turns. With the
amount of speed and
damage you can produce,
sometimes and extra two
turns is all you need.
The last card to look at
is Ghostway. It’s an
insurance policy. When
you come up against
cards such as Hideous
Laughter ot Wrath of
God, you can still save
your team. This keeps
the pressure on your
opponent and doesn’t
give them an out. Your
creatures will just keep
coming. Another thing
to note is that you can
add damage to the stack
in combat and still save
your team while your
opponent loses theirs.
So, it’s a little more
versatile than players
give it credit for.
I think that about
covers it. Sometimes,
it’s fun to revisit
older decks. I love the
fun ones like this.
It’s a fun deck to play
that people have written
off. So, you could just
surprise your local
tournament by busting
this one out again.
Have fun.
Until next time,
DeQuan Watson
a.k.a. PowrDragn
PowrDragn at Pojo dot
com
