G'day folks! It is my favourite time of the Magic calendar, that sweet, sweet time where all of the cards of a new set have been spoiled, the Standard format is rotating, and we get to try out all sorts of new decks (or update old decks with new toys)!

My play group and I have all been furiously testing the new format thanks to the Magic Online beta (of which we are all a part of - I highly recommend you join as well; you can test new formats as well as help improve the program!). We have found out some decks that we thought would perform well that haven't lived up to expectations, as well as found some decks that performed above what we thought they would.

This week I am here to show you just a sampling of the decks we have been playing. There is more to come, as well: look for more next week! I can't promise these are all tier 1 decks for the new format, but I can promise that they have been playing out nicely and are at least competitive (in our testing environment, at least).

Let's jump into it, shall we?

Red/Black Aggro Creatures

3 Drana, Liberator of Malakir

3 Olivia, Mobilized for War

4 Hangarback Walker

4 Thopter Engineer

2 Pia and Kiran Nalaar

2 Thunderbreak Regent

4 Heir of Falkenrath



Other Spells

3 Fiery Temper

3 Fiery Impulse

3 Grasp of Darkness

2 Ruinous Path

2 Duress Lands

7 Swamp

6 Mountain

4 Foreboding Ruins

4 Smoldering Marsh

4 Cinder Barrens



Here is the deck I have been playing a fair bit of in our testing sessions. At the end of the last Standard season, I played red / black dragons a lot, and this deck is a follow on from that. Gone is Kolaghan, the Storm's Fury, and instead we get some new toys from Shadows over Innistrad:

Olivia, Mobilized for War is a powerful card. A 3/3 flyer for 3 mana is obviously good, but her other rules text is where it gets interesting. Being able to play a Thunderbreak Regent and give it a +1/+1 counter and haste on turn 4 is insanely good and reminds me a lot of the days of casting Stormbreath Dragon.

Heir of Falkenrath is another card that is extremely good. Usually, if things go right, you are attacking with a 3/2 flyer on turn 3. My opponents have commented on how unfair it often seems, especially if you have discard Fiery Temper to flip it and remove their creatures.

Speaking of Fiery Temper, it turns out casting Lightning Bolt is still one of my favourite things in Magic to cast, and being able to do it in Standard is even better. Olivia and Heir of Falkenrath are the discard outlets for the deck (and, although I haven't included a sideboard, as that will be meta dependent, Lightning Axe in the board is quite good) and the one-two punch is as powerful as it seems.

While she's not a new card to the format, Drana, Liberator of Malakir is the replacement for Kolaghan. She pumps your team and is especially potent if you can cast her with an Olivia on the board and a card in hand to discard. The double black in her casting cost and Heir of Falkenrath at the two mana slot has dragged the deck more towards a black base rather than red, as well, which makes it easier to cast Grasp of Darkness (which has gotten a little better with the loss of Siege Rhino ) and Ruinous Path.

All in all, the deck plays in a very similar manner to red black dragons so, if you liked that deck, you'll likely enjoy this one as well.

Naya Tokens Creatures

4 Sylvan Advocate

4 Hanweir Militia Captain

2 Archangel Avacyn



Other Spells

4 Secure the Wastes

2 Dromoka's Command

3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

2 Oath of Gideon

4 Oath of Nissa

3 Gideon, Ally of Zendikar

2 Arlinn Kord

4 Atarka's Command

2 Stasis Snare

Lands

4 Forest

4 Plains

3 Mountain

4 Evolving Wilds

3 Canopy Vista

3 Game Trail

3 Fortified Village

Another deck that has been doing reasonably well in our testing, this one is a bit of an update to the green white tokens decks of last season. Let's look at the new cards:

Hanweir Militia Captain is insanely easy to flip in this deck if you get to untap with it after about turn 4 or so, at which point it usually becomes a large threat your opponent has to deal with quickly before it gets out of hand. You do need to get it to flip, though; as a 2/2 for 2 mana it is not that great.

As our first werewolf planeswalker, Arlinn Kord does not disappoint. She is a token generator like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, as well as being able to pump if needed, though this is a mode rarely used in this deck. When she flips, she can buff your team or be a Lightning Bolt, both of which are quite powerful abilities. If you have managed to go wide and already buffed your team with Gideon and/or Nissa, giving your creatures an additional buff as well as trample can quickly end the game.

Avacyn is here for pure value. Opponent plays a sweeper? Flash Avacyn in to save your team. Need a sweeper yourself? Make a suicidal attack with one of your creatures and flip her to destroy the field (this play is even better if you have Planeswalkers out who can then make more tokens after the flip).

Red Deck Wins Creatures

2 Dragon Whisperer

4 Falkenrath Gorger

3 Lightning Berserker

3 Zurgo Bellstriker

2 Village Messenger

4 Abbot of Keral Keep

4 Ravenous Bloodseeker

2 Incorrigible Youths





Other Spells

4 Fiery Temper

3 Lightning Axe

4 Exquisite Firecraft

4 Fiery Impulse



Lands

21 Mountain





Whenever a new format comes out, I always make it my mission to brew a mono-red aggro, Sligh-style deck. It's the type of deck I've been playing since "Sligh" became a term, and it always has been and likely always will be my favourite style of deck.

The aim of the deck is to play out creatures on curve and attack for as much damage as possible before your opponent can stabilize. It runs on a strict mana curve, with more one drops than two, more two drops than three, etc. Play creatures, attack, and save your burn spells to remove blockers or go for the face if you are close enough.

There are quite a few new cards from Shadows over Innistrad in the deck:

While Falkenrath Gorger is not quite as good as Monastery Swiftspear, it's a close enough replacement. It is mostly in the deck for its 2 power for 1 mana, though the second ability does sometimes become relevant, especially if you are discarding another vampire to a Lava Axe.

Village Messenger is a really hard card to evaluate. On the play, it is quite good if you cast it turn 1. Usually the opponent will not play anything on their turn, in which case you have a 2 power creature that is hard to block next turn. On the draw - or drawing one turn 4 or so - is not very good at all, however, as it will be nothing more than a Raging Goblin. It may be correct to side two more of them in when you know you are on the play, but be a little wary of this card.

Ravenous Bloodseeker is a fantastic addition to the deck. Not only does it enable madness, you can swing with it and your opponent has to be very careful due to the threat of activation it has. If they don't block, you can either let it hit for 1, or discard a madness card (or vampire with Falkenrath Gorger out) or an excess land to hit for an extra 2.

Incorrigible Youths is a card I originally had as a four-of, though I feel that is not the correct number. You are usually playing this often playing this off a Lava Axe, meaning it's on turn 4 or later, which is still fine; ideal situation is you play this on turn 3 off of a Ravenous Bloodseeker. If you can pull this off, you are often on your way to winning.

The last two cards are reprints, and are there as removal and/or extra reach. I said everything about Fiery Temper in the write-up on the red-black deck, but it is just as good here. Lightning Axe can be used to remove pesky creatures with high toughness, and although Siege Rhino is no longer a threat, this still pulls its weight as it hits most creatures you'll care about (especially Mindwrack Demon, which, in testing, has proven very strong and very popular. Expect to see a lot of this guy turning up).

That'll bring us to a close this week, but next week there is a lot more to come. Until then - keep on brewin'!

Follow Shane on Twitter @CrymsonKnight