Magic: Origins is the best Magic set for brewers this decade. I’ve built over a dozen decks in the last twenty-four hours and each feels unique and new (and I haven’t even tapped into those pesky thopter tokens yet). It might be a side effect of Standard hitting its yearly eight-set-largesse, but it feels like Standard has as many interesting deck possibilities as Modern.

Origins is going to give the format a major face lift. Some of my early observations on the upcoming Standard (based on very early, very limited testing, obviously):

• Goblins is real and real fast. The secret to the deck seems to be Obelisk of Urd and (weirdly) Subterranean Scout. Obelisk of Urd is a big, “Duh,” but the Scout’s power wasn’t really evident until it kicked me in the teeth. Making Goblin Piledriver or Goblin Rabblemaster unblockable before combat only to watch them grow to terrifying proportions is a common way for games to end. You can’t rely on your Courser of Kruphix or Sylvan Caryatid to be able to reliably stop a suddenly monstrous Piledriver.

• Elves is also a real deck. It’s almost like we’ve traveled back to Magic’s roots (which was probably the point, given this is the last Core Set). Unlike Goblins, which looks to either overwhelm you with tokens or get in one good hit with Piledriver/Rabblemaster, Elves is resilient, and Dwynen’s Elite really opens the door for Chord of Calling and the toolbox approach. Swarm decks got a major boost from Origins.

• … But control decks got Languish. I hope these creature decks enjoyed the short-lived “no Wraths until turn five!” trip into Shangri-La, because a premium turn 4 board wipe is back.

• Exquisite Firecraft is very good.

• If the above bullets didn’t make it obvious, five toughness is where it’s at now.

• Starfield of Nyx is good enough to make Constellations a legit tier 1 deck. If you’re playing green, remember that Back to Nature is legal and that it totally wrecks their shit.

• Harbinger of Tides lives up to its potential and look for it to be paired with Ojutai’s Command and/or Collected Company. Likewise, Mono-Blue Devotion is back.

• It is ridiculously easy to flip the walkers. You will see these creatures find their spark in Standard, and I expect that each of them will see play (even Chandra).

• Archangel of Tithes changes everything about the game when it resolves. Notice, it has that five toughness I talked about earlier (and dodges Roast).

• Keep an eye on Erebos’s Titan and Despoiler of Souls.

• In the next two weeks, you could play eight rounds and see a different deck each time you shuffle up.

This is what happens when Standard gets to eight sets, more decks pop up and more cards see play. With all this in mind, I feel that Black and Green still offer the most answers to the randomness of the format. When fooling around with the new cards, I think I’ve found a deck that offers a ton of value and has the ability to win the long game against every other deck currently in the format.

This is one of the grindiest decks you’ll ever play, but it should trump just about everything in Standard in the long game. My podcast co-host Will Blondon may finally be right, it’s time to play Jund.

[deck title=Travis Hall – Evolu-Jund-ary Leap]

[Lands]

4 Temple of Malady

1 Temple of Abandon

4 Wooded Foothills

2 Bloodstained Mire

2 Llanowar Wastes

1 Mountain

5 Forest

3 Swamp

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

[/Lands]

[Creatures]

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Satyr Wayfinder

4 Den Protector

2 Yasova Dragonclaw

4 Liliana, Heretical Healer

1 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death

2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer

3 Deathmist Raptor

3 Goblin Rabblemaster

1 Tasigur, Golden Fang

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

2 Hero’s Downfall

4 Evolutionary Leap

2 Bile Blight

1 Ultimate Price

[/Spells]

[/deck]

Isn’t this thing a creation of exquisite durdley beauty? This deck builds off the power of Evolutionary Leap and Liliana. Evolutionary Leap seems to be commonly derided as “not being Survival of the Fittest” or “not being Birthing Pod”. It’s not. But, both of those cards are BANNED in their respective formats. There is a ton of room for a card to not be either of those and still be tier 1 in power. This isn’t meant to be a combo card, it’s pure card “advantage”. Evolutionary Leap makes much of the “1-for-1” removal sub-par, and can even help you rebuild from a board wipe in an instant. Look at some of the combinations this deck gives you:

Evolutionary Leap + Liliana, Heretical Healer: The “engine” of the deck. Outside of the solo Tasigur, Liliana’s minus ability can grab every creature in the deck immediately. You can use the discard ability to set up reanimations, or dump Deathmist Raptor to return with Den Protector. Powered by Satyr Wayfinder, you can practically turn Liliana into a tutor.

Evolutionary Leap + Yasova Dragonclaw: This is game wrecking. For four mana, you can take your opponent’s creature, attack with it, and then sacrifice it to draw a creature card.

Evolutionary Leap + Alesha, Who Smiles at Death: Sacrifice a creature before combat, attack, return the creature as attacking. Late game, you can even use this to give your creatures pseudo-haste.

Evolutionary Leap + Goblin Rabblemaster: Need a particular creature? Turn those goblin tokens (which are probably just charging into a blocker anyway) into legit creatures.

Evolutionary Leap + Deathmist Raptor/Den Protector. If you are about to flip Den Protector, sacrifice your Deathmist Raptor first for added value.

Evolutionary Leap + Elvish Mystic/Satyr Wayfinder. These provide you the ramp early and turn into better creatures in the late game.

The deck does have weaknesses. Ugin is still Standard’s original gangster. Elspeth can still muck up the ground and make it difficult to get through. An unanswered Atarka can wipe you out in two turns. The aggro decks can always charge through if you stumble in the early game. But, it does attack the format from a grindy, “let’s see who runs out of things to do first” way, and you get a ton of mileage from Den Protector returning your removal spells for repeated use. The sideboard options should be the best in the format, with access to Thoughtseize, Duress, Back to Nature, Kolaghan’s Command, Chandra, Pyromaster, Minister of Pain, and extra copies of Hero’s Downfall.

I am excited by Evolutionary Leap and the options it presents Standard. Overall, I think Origins will leave its stamp on Standard like no other set in the format.

Bonus deck list: stop me if you’ve heard this before, but three Planeswalkers walk into a bar:

[deck title=Travis Hall – Johnny ‘Walkers Black]

[Lands]

4 Temple of Malady

4 Temple of Mystery

4 Temple of Deceit

4 Opulent Palace

2 Jungle Hollow

3 Forest

1 Island

2 Swamp

[/Lands]

[Creatures]

4 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy

4 Harbinger of Tides

4 Den Protector

4 Liliana, Heretical Healer

2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer

3 Merciless Executioner

2 Silumgar Sorcerer

3 Deathmist Raptor

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

1 Bile Blight

2 Ultimate Price

3 Hero’s Downfall

4 Collected Company

[/Spells]

[/deck]

If you like my suggestions, you can follow me on Twitter: @travishall456. I throw around random observations and deck ideas every day. You can also hear me on the Horde of Notions podcast each week, discussing deck ideas for FNM level events and the PTQ grinders.