While the majority of Magic players have been loving Standard, I’ve been left feeling out of place without a deck I’m attached to. There have been a lot of words written about Abzan Aggro over the past few months and I’ve done my fair share of contributing to that. Through that whole time playing the deck though, I never really felt it was my deck. It was the deck that I was playing because I didn’t have anything else to play.

There were some minor innovations on my part, mostly in the sideboard, but I was basically playing a stock deck. Contrary to what history has taught me about myself, I did find success with Abzan Aggro, but even then, it didn’t really feel like my deck. I was doing the same thing as everyone else, which is fine, but that’s not how I get my edge.

My success typically comes when I attack with an unseen stinger and my opponents are left trying to react to situations they are not used to being put into. Hopefully Hornet Nest is the right orb for the job.

Right now everyone is enamored with the synergistic interaction of Den Protector and Deathmist Raptor. When you have a combination of cards reminiscent of Bloodbraid Elf and Vengevine, players will eventually take notice. With the hive mind at work, interactions like these rarely stay hidden for long. Even though these two Standard cards are not of the power level of their predecessors, they are one of the most potent combinations in the format.

Even though they are indeed powerful, the obsession of the masses is going too far. We don’t need to be jamming these two cards into every deck. If players are doing that though, let’s counter them. I thought the best way to do that was with Anafenza, the Foremost, but that didn’t go so well. So, the next theory is that Hornet Nest is the hard counter I’ve been looking for. Certainly it will never block Den Protector, but it will clog the ground for everything else.

Let’s start by taking a look at the deck designed by Caleb Durward over at Channel Fireball. After playing with the deck a bit, I’ve changed a couple cards.

After the usual green suspects, we get into some interesting numbers on previously played cards due to the inclusion of Chord of Calling. When M15 first came out, Chord of Calling was one of the most powerful cards in the format. Chord is inherently powerful on its own, but as the format progressed, it was pushed out of the metagame. You need to be running early creatures to fuel the deck, but as long as you are, the card is an amazing tutor.

When I first looked over the deck, I was surprised because it didn’t seem like a Chord of Calling deck. Usually decks that run the tutor spell have many singleton targets for a variety of situations. In this deck, you do have some targets maindeck that you would want in certain situations, but mostly the convoke spell adds consistency to the deck. You can get powerful threats against control or Hornet Nest against aggro. Then once you are able to sideboard, you have access to some more tutor targets.

By playing a card that gives you so many options in deck building as well as gameplay, you are setting yourself up to have a lot of decisions. This will allow you to play whatever roll you would like, but typically each game will involve planning a couple turns ahead.

You may make plays like baiting your opponent’s removal with Courser of Kruphix because you would rather have Hornet Nest in play. Sometimes waiting until you have five mana so that you can play both Hornet Nest and Roast in the same turn will be the right strategy whereas other games you will need to Roast your opponent’s creature and then follow up with your other creatures.

Each game is different and you need to use the tools in your hand to the best of your ability while playing to your outs in your deck. Unlike with other decks, sandbagging lands in your hand to bluff your opponent is almost never a good idea because there are often times when you want ten mana so that you can Chord for Dragonlord Atarka.

The biggest reason to not play this deck is due to the rough tactical match against strict control strategies. Esper Dragons and Abzan Control are some such strategies that typically provide a severe challenge and are difficult to defeat. That is the case for every deck that faces them, but it may seem worse with this deck because it’s designed to defeat creatures that are attacking.

Fortunately, your aggressive matchups are so favorable, the sideboard is your playground for control decks. I have sided in as many as ten or twelve cards against certain decks. So far, my record against control decks is more wins than losses, but each match is always a challenge. You need to use your resources, no matter how awkward they are. I’ve cast Setessan Tactics to have my two creatures fight, used it to counter Drown in Sorrow, as well as a mini-Overrun to finish off an opponent. Every card, no matter how out of place, can be used to help you win.

So many cards in this deck are well positioned in the metagame right now. Hornet Nest is great against Deathmist Raptor. Stormbreath Dragon is amazing against Dragonlord Ojutai, Wingmate Roc, and Abzan Charm. Ashcloud Phoenix and Whisperwood Elemental are great against everything. Dragonlord Atarka is a huge blowout against every deck. This deck is built on cards that match up well against other players’ strategies.

There are two black cards in the sideboard that may look out of place, but serve an important role. Both are typically found with Chord of Calling, but can also be cast with Sylvan Caryatid.

Merciless Executioner is another answer to Dragonlord Ojutai that can also be used in a variety of situations. Minister of Pain is a potent weapon against any token decks like Jeskai or Mono-Red. No opponent will be playing around your Chord for this card and will usually play right into their own defeat. The same goes for Merciless Executioner, but it’s less of a blowout because they are only losing one threat, whereas with Minister of Pain they are losing all or most of their army. These two singletons are like a sucker punch to the face.

If you are looking for something a little different but not as intense as R/G Bees, I’ve also been working on a deck that uses a lot of these same cards but also takes advantage of the Deathmist Raptor plus Den Protector interaction.

This deck is quite similar to other strategies available in Standard, but it uses different cards to accomplish its goals. So many of these creatures are hard to kill and you have a variety of morphs to confuse your opponent with. This list is untested, but I would be happy bringing this deck to battle with no testing.

At $2, Ashcloud Phoenix seems like a great pick up in your trades this week. If the format shifts and more players start going back to playing it, players will quickly remember the previous price and the card will jump back up. We have a lot more time to play this card in Standard so there is plenty of time for the price to bump back up.

It’s not a dragon for Draconic Roar, but the fact that it blocks and survives both Thunderbreak Regent and Dragonlord Ojutai is a huge point in the Phoenix’s favor. If Hordeling Outburst, an uncommon from the same set with a promo, can sustain $2, there is no reason that a mythic that’s seeing play should be the same price.

Additionally, I think Rattleclaw Mystic is a card you want to stock up on. Once Sylvan Caryatid rotates out of the format later this year, players will be looking to Rattleclaw for their mana acceleration. This also gears decks towards playing Temur because the mana dork gives you access to all three colors. If we don’t get another way to accelerate our mana, the everyone is going to need their Rattleclaws.

While you’re at it, pick up some Savage Knuckleblades because if everyone’s playing Temur, he’s their best threat. The fetches may be keeping the prices of every other card in the set down, but that can only last for so long. Now that players have stopped drafting Khans, we should start seeing cards from that set increasing.

Top Sellers

Recently, I’ve had some particularly interesting top sellers at my store. Most of these are real-time data evidence of what casual players are into these days. No surprise that at the top of the list are random planeswalkers. It hasn’t been the new ones that have been selling well for me though, but rather the iconic characters from M15.

[tt n='Ajani Steadfast'][tt n='Jace, the Living Guildpact']

You may not be seeing Ajani Steadfast or Jace, the Living Guildpact across the table at your competitive events, but I can barely keep these two in stock. As of this writing I have one copy of Ajani and two of Jace. My buy price on these two cards is above average and so is my sell price. Nevertheless, I still sell most of the copies of these cards that I get in stock.

Chandra, Pyromaster has also been selling well, but she is at least a competitive card so it’s easier to understand why she is selling.

[tt n='Godsend'][tt n='Icefall Regent']

The award for most interesting card I’m sold out of goes to Godsend. This overcosted equipment from Theros block has been selling steadily since its release and its price has stayed surprisingly constant as well. Recently I even bumped it up to five dollars. Based on my sales of this card, it seems like a good trade target and one that will likely increase over the next year or two. No competitive player will be interested but there will be a lot of interest from those playing for fun.

[tt n='Ojutai Exemplars'][tt n='Zurgo Bellstriker']

From Khans block we have the following cards leading my top sellers list. Icefall Regent, Ojutai Exemplars, and Zurgo Bellstriker are all almost sold out. Exemplars might be worth trading for because it’s close to bottoming out and could be a major player later on once we have some other cards to go with it.

That’s all for me today. If you have played with or against R/G Bees, post your thoughts in the comments below. Is this the next deck to break into the metagame? Is it too wacky to be consistent? Also, please share your thoughts on my trade targets. Are there other cards that are moving well for you?

Until next time,
Unleash the Force!

Mike Lanigan
MtgJedi on Twitter
Jedicouncilman23@gmail.com