My Favorite Decks from the Pro Tour M15

Not necessarily the best, but a bunch of decks I found the most fascinating at the tournament.

Source: DailyMtG. Sadly, they didn’t list match wins for each deck this time. On the other hand, only decks with 18 points or at least six match wins (out of 10 possible in the Swiss rounds) are listed.

… but first one deck that didn’t make it on the decklists, because you can’t even talk about something like this without mentioning Conley Woods. Gladly, we have this on video:

Its based on [scryfall]Necromancer’s Stockpile[/scryfall] and its basically a Zombie-tribal. Conley is the greatest.

Another tribal was played by Alex Sittner.

[cardlist]
[Creature]
4 Akroan Crusader
3 Favored Hoplite
4 Dryad Militant
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Boros Elite
4 Legion Loyalist
[/Creature]
[Spell]
4 Launch the Fleet
4 Raise the Alarm
4 Dynacharge
4 Obelisk of Urd
1 Spear of Heliod
[/Spell]
[Land]
4 Plains
1 Mountain
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Mana Confluence
3 Mutavault
[/Land]
[Sideboard]
3 Keening Apparition
3 Boros Charm
3 Gods Willing
4 Electrickery
2 Phyrexian Revoker
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]

Technically you don’t need soldiers to get the [scryfall]Obelisk of Urd[/scryfall] to function, but they are cheap and plentiful. With 23 soldier creatures and two spells producing soldiers, getting to battallion is also easy, but that’s just one little side benefit. What you really are interested in are all the one mana guys hitting for three, four or five points of damage at a time.

This next beauty made it into top 8.

[cardlist]
[Planeswalker]
3 Vraska the Unseen
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
3 Chandra, Pyromaster
[/Planeswalker]
[Creature]
4 Courser of Kruphix
4 Sylvan Caryatid
3 Elvish Mystic
[/Creature]
[Spells]
4 Read the Bones
2 Rakdos’s Return
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Dreadbore
2 Putrefy
1 Hero’s Downfall
2 Golgari Charm
1 Abrupt Decay
[/Spells]
[Land]
2 Blood Crypt
4 Llanowar Wastes
4 Stomping Ground
3 Temple of Abandon
2 Temple of Malady
4 Temple of Malice
1 Mutavault1 Forest
2 Overgrown Tomb
[/Land]
[Sideboard]
1 Rakdos’s Return
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Golgari Charm
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Slaughter Games
1 Pithing Needle
4 Magma Spray
2 Duress
2 Thoughtseize
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]

There are similar lists with even less creatures and a different mix of walkers. The point is to just kill everything your opponent tries to put into play and use the recursive nature of the walkers abilities to your advantage. I can see why this is very powerful, as the walkers are currently way too powerful, although you can’t use some of the better ones here ([scryfall]Elspeth, Sun’s Champion[/scryfall], or [scryfall]Domri Rade[/scryfall] for example). Some versions emphasize [scryfall]Nissa, Worldwaker[/scryfall] and [scryfall]Garruk, Apex Predator[/scryfall].

Zwi Mowshowitz was named the best deckbuilder of all time by Chapin and his committee in Chapin’s book Next Level Deckbuilding, so there must be something interesting in his list. Its subtle, but its there:

[cardlist]
[Planeswalker]
2 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
[/Planeswalker]
[Creature]
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Precinct Captain
4 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
4 Pack Rat
1 Herald of Torment
2 Desecration Demon
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
[/Creature]
[Spells]
4 Thoughtseize
3 Hero’s Downfall
3 Bile Blight
2 Ephemeral Shields
[/Spells]
[Land]
4 Godless Shrine
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Temple of Silence
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Swamp
2 Mana Confluence
4 Plains
4 Mutavault
[/Land]
[Sideboard]
3 Duress
4 Banisher Priest
3 Lifebane Zombie
2 Devouring Light
1 Deicide
2 Blood Baron of Vizkopa
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]

Mostly, this deck is interesting because it takes a pretty basic strategy (aggressive creatures) and just pushes it by using a very greedy manabase to cast plenty of three drops that require double colored mana, and of course [scryfall]Obzedat, Ghost Council[/scryfall]. And then there’s the totally unexpected blowout of [scryfall]Ephemeral Shields[/scryfall] lurking in the main deck…

Taisuke Ishii decided to put the strength of [scryfall]Generator Servant[/scryfall] into a test.

[cardlist]
[Creature]
4 Burning-Tree Emissary
3 Frostburn Weird
4 Generator Servant
4 Boros Reckoner
2 Fanatic of Mogis
1 Purphoros, God of the Forge
3 Stormbreath Dragon
3 Scuttling Doom Engine
[/Creature]
[Spells]
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Shrapnel Blast
3 Hammer of Purphoros
3 Chained to the Rocks
[/Spells]
[Land]
3 Battlefield Forge
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Temple of Triumph
4 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
10 Mountain
[/Land]
[Sideboard]
1 Deicide
3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Banishing Light
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Assemble the Legion
1 Harness by Force
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]

Also, [scryfall]Shrapnel Blast[/scryfall] + [scryfall]Scuttling Doom Engine[/scryfall]. That can kill out of nowhere and [scryfall]Hammer of Purphoros[/scryfall] probably makes people think twice before letting their guard down.

There were a couple of these Naya Midrange lists, but this one was played by Michael Majors. No real reason to highlight his, but I do like the idea here. [scryfall]Scion of Vitu-Ghazi[/scryfall]. I guess its pretty good with [scryfall]Selesnya Charm[/scryfall], [scryfall]Voice of Resurgence[/scryfall], and [scryfall]Purphoros, God of the Forge[/scryfall], as well as [scryfall]Archangel of Thune[/scryfall] out of the sideboard. Of course, six points of power and toughness for five mana isn’t that bad either. Especially since part of it flies. What’s the deal with the single [scryfall]Skylasher[/scryfall] in the main. Probably a target for [scryfall]Chord of Calling[/scryfall].

[cardlist]
[Planeswalker]
3 Xenagos, the Reveler
[/Planeswalker]
[Creature]
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Sylvan Caryatid
4 Voice of Resurgence
1 Skylasher
1 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos
3 Polukranos, World Eater
2 Purphoros, God of the Forge
4 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
[/Creature]
[Spells]
3 Selesnya Charm
2 Chord of Calling
2 Banishing Light
[/Spells]
[Land]
4 Temple of Plenty
4 Temple Garden
4 Stomping Ground
4 Mana Confluence
3 Forest
1 Plains
4 Battlefield Forge
[/Land]
[Sideboard]
3 Skylasher
1 Chord of Calling
1 Xenagos, the Reveler
1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes
3 Setessan Tactics
2 Archangel of Thune
1 Spirit of the Labyrinth
1 Reclamation Sage
2 Ajani Steadfast
[/Sideboard]
[/cardlist]

What do all this lists with the inclusion of the top 8 lists and the general feel from the other lists on DailyMtGs page make me think I should play in Standard? [scryfall]Burning Earth[/scryfall]. Seems to be totally forgotten. Time to bring it back. Maybe.

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