Gatecrash: Wolf Run Bant (Standard)

So, I haven't played Standard in a LONG time. I think the last time I played was in early 2012 with R/G Kessig Titans back when Primeval Titan was boss and the format bowed to him. Those were some good times.. Now the format is full of powerhouses like Sphinx's Revelation, Boros Reckoner, and Restoration Angel. However, the new green monstrosity aiming to claim the throne is none other than Thragtusk.

Thragtusk is undeniably a format-defining creature that's a huge beater and creates a ton of Tempo for decks needing time to stabilize against the multitude of hyper aggressive decks in the format. I find this large, hairy friend to be a great place to start. Since the Modern PTQ season is ending for us Floridians in just a short couple weeks with the close of PTQ Dragon's Maze: Ft. Lauderdale, I started looking for some Standard lists that caught my eye to play for the upcoming Standard tournaments in March (including the TCGPlayer.com 5K and the SCG Orlando Open series) and to get a small sample of what to expect for the upcoming Standard PTQ season if I elect to play in it.

But more on Thragtusk; I love this card. This beast brings buddies, gains life and is frankly.. huge. Thraggy also has amazing synergy with Restoration Angel, which I conveniently have 4 of from my Kiki Pod list in Modern. Hooray for overlap! I didn't know exactly what I wanted to play, but I knew these 8 cards had to be in the list.

After getting crushed in the Tampa PTQ this season, I took some days off to regain some clarity and reevaluate some of my priorities. Luckily, Pro Tour: Gatecrash in Montreal came rolling around that featured amazing coverage and was probably one of the best Pro Tours ever held. I was definitely not tearing up when Eric Froehlich was talking about what Magic and his friends meant to him. Not one tear. Nope.

One of the most amazing feats of Pro Tour Monteal 2013 was the debut of Magic's first female player to make a Top 8 of a Pro Tour, Melissa De Tora. Absolutely incredible.. Personally, I'm really excited for the direction that the game is heading into and could not be more anxious to see more women inspired by Melissa's performance and aspire to hunt the Pro Tour dream. Conveniently, Melissa's deck also fit my desired formula: 4x Thragtusks and 4x Restoration Angels. Perfect. Her list can be found everywhere on the internet, but more notably click HERE to see it. I really like her list not only because it looks super fun with really flashy spells, but it also has my extremely nostalgic Kessig Wolf Run.

After playing Kessig Titans back in the day, I have a ton of respect for this card. It's extremely difficult for your opponents to play around it and it can deal an absurdly large amount of damage when you have a flood of resources. Fortunately, both decks have the ability to abuse this card in a very similar way. Wolf Run Bant (U/W/G) uses board wipes like Supreme Verdict, removal spells like Azorius Charm and countermagic to keep opponents' threats at bay while you accumulate resources for your end game. Primeval Titan in Kessig Titans would give you a 6/6 Trampling body to fight with along with two more lands and a backup plan of Inkmoth Nexus and Kessig Wolf Run to punish your opponent for running Sorcery speed removal or wasting their removal spells killing off Primeval Titan. The card advantage engine of Primeval Titan that Kessig Titans used as its finisher is paralleled with a new devastating bomb, Sphinx's Revelation. The card-drawing and life-gaining instant fuels your game in a similar way by buying you more resources, giving you some reach in your life total against Aggro or Tempo decks, and finally fueling your array of bombs that your opponent will find difficult to deal with. Cue: Thragtusk.

The most important card in the deck is similar to Kessig Titans as well. In the Titan list, the most important cards were Rampant Growth and Sphere of the Suns. Both ramp spells would fuel your turn 4 titans and the Sphere would help turn on Metalcraft for your Galvanic Blasts to ether kill Hero of Bladeholds or hit your opponent's face (figuratively speaking in most cases). Farseek in Wolf Run Bant plays an extremely vital role to the deck's timings, which is very similar to how the Titans list played out. Farseek gives you access to a turn 3 Supreme Verdict, which is really important for escaping opponents' Boros Charms and awfully painful Hellrider hits, since they're often spending their turn 3 trying to overextend for the kill. It also does the obvious by giving you an extra land that puts you virtually a turn ahead of your opponent and fixes your extremely greedy 4-Color mana base; sorry Black :(

So far, the list I have concocted is very similar with a few minute differences.

Creatures (15):
3x Augur of Bolas
3x Centaur Healer
4x Restoration Angel
4x Thragtusk
1x Snapcaster Mage

Spells (21):
4x Azorius Charm
1x Detention Sphere
2x Dissipate
4x Farseek
3x Sphinx's Revelation
3x Supreme Verdict
1x Syncopate
2x Think Twice

Lands (25):
3x Breeding Pool
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Temple Garden
3x Hinterland Harbor
4x Glacial Fortress
3x Sunpetal Grove
2x Kessig Wolf Run
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Steam Vents

Sideboard (15):
2x Rest in Peace
2x Negate
1x Garruk Relentless
1x Detention Sphere
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Centaur Healer
1x Witchbane Orb
1x Triumph of Ferocity
1x Unexpected Results
1x Angel of Serenity
1x Elixir of Immortality
1x Dissipate
1x Blind Obedience

So the list is a little shoddy at the moment. I finally grabbed most of the pieces for this deck a couple days ago. It's missing a 4th copy of Sphinx's Revelation, so I put in a Snappy Mage instead hoping it'll carry the weight of the slot. The worst part of this deck is the Sideboard. I really don't know what Standard looks like right now other than the results from the Pro Tour and the small amount of Standard I saw when I was hosting FNM and Gameday at Campus Cards and Games. I think for tomorrow, I'm gonna try a bunch of 1-ofs and see how it goes. The Unexpected Results is obviously inclusive from cookie bets taken place between Travis and Geo. As cookie bet commissioner, I must personally test this card for effectiveness.

The mana of my deck is also a little different. I thought 3 red sources were somewhat superfluous, but didn't want to just have 1 since this list is really weak to Ghost Quarter, so I put in two. I thought Blue and White were the most vital sources of mana because I want to cast both Sphinx's Revelation and Supreme Verdict without fail.

Overall, I really like this deck because it has the tools to survive the early game and has a really powerful late game with some of the best threats in the format. Not to mention that Wolf Run Bant feels really similar to my beloved Kessig Titans list. I haven't had a chance to play it yet, but I'm hoping I'll have the opportunity to do so tomorrow at FNM at Campus Cards and Games (CCG).

Did I mention that I'm the Tournament Organizer of CCG? I just started a week ago and it's been pretty sweet so far. I've definitely learned a lot about the small details that go into running events and have already realized how hard it is to answer rulings questions. Looks like I'll have to brush up on my knowledge base xD I really do hope that I get better at hosting events and that the players enjoy those events.

I wish this article was full of more hard data, but I can't get any of that until tomorrow. I'll be sure to let you guys know how the deck does! What decks are you slinging for Standard? Until the post results of FNM, Magic players!

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-David J. (Player Profile)