Standard with M12

M12 is released today and I started looking around the internet for any insights into what the new Standard format was going to look like. I found a few articles from people who didn't really seem to know what they were talking about who gave a bunch of decklists that had never been tested. Not great, but many of them at least explained how these decks could fight existing decks. Wizards recently banned two cards from Standard so it's not like there's a lot of pre-M12 data either, but I did get a rough idea about what to expect.

Standard actually sounds like it will be reasonably robust. You have a few aggressive decks (including red burn), a control deck, and a couple combo decks. Aidan advised I should look at playing red burn spells since it should be pretty good and fairly easy for someone out of the game for 2 years to pick up. Sound logic, and one I applied in the 2007 Nationals. Problem is, I don't actually like playing burn. When I don't like playing something I tend to just play it worse. Or so I was thinking today, and I thought it might be interesting to look at my past records to see how things panned out. Hurray for Wizards having complete match histories!

2002 - Psychatog Control - 4-2  (3-2-1 limited)
2003 - Wake Combo - 2-3  (4-1-1 limited)
2004 - WUR Obliterate Control - 4-1-1  (3-3 limited)
2006 - RU Land Destruction - 4-3  (5-1 limited, including 3-0 with a land destruction draft)
2007 - RB burn - 3-3  (4-2 limited)
2009 - GWU Exalted - 2-3  (4-2 limited)

History certainly indicates that when I play control I do well, and when I don't I don't. Part of that is probably also that those tended to be the decks I actually practiced a lot with, and it's the deck type I'm most comfortable with. Even back to the days of Turkish Prison, though it didn't have a very good record. I don't think I should write burn off just yet, but it just isn't my style.

I will say that when I saw the M12 list the first card that jumped out at me was the rishadan airship reprint, but that was more for nostalgia. The actual card that excited me for constructed was actually mana leak. I love cheap counters and will be looking for a good control or aggro-control deck using it to try out.

I did find an article with a very interesting 'combo' deck in it. It's a deck list that was actually played in a 'Magic-League' event, which I may need to look into for practice. At any rate, it all centers around one little card: Birthing Pod. It costs 3{GP} ({GP} will represent a green phyrexian mana, so it can be paid with G or with 2 life) and is an artifact with an activated ability: 1{GP}{T}, Sac a creature: Tutor for a creature that costs 1 more mana and put it into play. Play only as a sorcery.

I see that and I think wow. I love creatures but just attacking with them is so boring. The general idea of building a deck around the birthing pod seems to be to have all mana costs covered with creatures that have good comes into play abilities. Eventually you end up with a bunch of good effects and a huge fatty that you go to town with. You have to make choices about what to go get at each stage so there's lots of skill involved. I like it! As an added twist this deck also has an infinite life combo built into it, and the ability to make an infinitely sized trampler. Infinity is a number I can get behind. (Are they still making me say arbitrarily large? Do I have to pick a specific life total still?)

Hopefully more people will play actual events now that the set is out and there will be some real decklists showing up so I can do more thinking. And hopefully the deck that appeals to me is cheap since I don't have any cards. 8P