Standard in Casual - Magic 2012 Edition

A few months later, Magic 2012 is pretty much almost at the middle mark for it's run in Standard.  Today I want to say a few things about my favorite cards from the set, and elaborate on them a small bit.  Our draft tournament is coming up soon, so it pays to think ahead!

1. Chandra's Phoenix

This is a great, great addition to decks that are heavy on instant spells. I love red's direct damage abilities, and I love to build decks that are based on Shock and Fireball!  Yeah, you can get a few sideways looks in certain circles, but come on.  Nothing says loving like a nuke to the face, and just because your combo is fancy doesn't mean my Shatter and Red Sun's Zenith is somehow less than worthy to beat you.

Anyway, this bad girl is exactly what those decks needed to pull out some interesting wins.  Anything less than 16 creatures in a deck and you're running the risk of getting over run by your opponents' monsters on the board.  Even trading removal spells on a 1 to 1 basis vs. a deck with a large number of creatures and you're going downhill.  This lets you trade creatures on a more even basis, and the Haste really comes into play late game when you need a finisher.  Got 2 Phoenix in your Graveyard?  Lava Axe on your main phase, then attack!

2. Vengeful Pharoah

The days of huge and powerful drops costing six or more mana are gone.  Today, you have to look at what's offered in your color that's both Rare and cheap to drop.  Generally, the cutoff point is five mana.

Vengeful Pharoah is up beside recent black monsters like Phylactery Lich from M11 and is only a little more expensive.  Instead of the invulnerability of it's  undead predecessor, it has a different ability (which will make a certain black Modern deck interesting) that can remove offending creatures and put it back on the board in a round.

At this cost, however...it pretty much demands you play solid black, unless you can somehow outsmart the mana.  For me, I usually play solid colors when I build constructed, usually using a single set.  Four copies of these in a deck and you'll be putting your opponent on creature defensive as soon as you muster the mana.

3. Dungrove Elder

Hexproof is quite interesting.  If you're an older player, Shroud kept your opponent from playing removal spells, but also kept you from targeting the creature with Equipment and anything else beneficial.  This keyword removes that targeting restriction from your own spells and abilities, while still keeping your opponent's harmful spells off your monster.

Though there have been a few Hexproof bashers before, and the always fantastic Sacred Wolf.  This is literally an upgraded version of the Wolf, with a scaling ability that demands a solid green build.  With a few other cards, keeping a total anti-magic shell over your creatures hasn't been easier.

Got other creatures that don't share the Hexproof ability?  Spread it around with some Asceticism.  With foot soldiers, a "boss" type and all the support abilities available, Hexproof as a deck idea is viable.

Well, that's about enough out of me for today.  There are some neat abilities that are emerging as deck themes, what's not reassuring is that Mythics dominate the landscape so much.  In Limited, it's really less of an issue as every player does not possess four copies of every Mythic in the set in the same inane and thoughtless arrangements.

Soon we'll be scheduling the M12 Draft Tournament, so see your Project Coordinator for details!