With the Pro Tour firmly in our sights and our focus likely to shift over the coming weeks to the decks that did well at the Pro Tour in Vancouver, I would like to share with you one last brew that I would be excited to play in standard:

Creatures (27):                                                                                 Lands (23):

4 x Elvish Mystic                                                                                 3 x Wooded Foothills

3 x Gnarlroot Trapper                                                                       2 x Bloodstained Mire

4 x Dwynen’s Elite                                                                             1 x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

4 x Elvish Visionary                                                                           1 x Mountain

3 x Nissa, Vastwood Seer// Nissa, Sage Animist                            6 x Forest

4 x Shaman of the Pack                                                                    4 x Swamp

2 x Sylvan Messenger                                                                       2 x Mana Confluence

2 x Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen                                                             4 x Temple of Malady

1 x Gilt-Leaf Winnower  

Spells (10):                                                                                         Sideboard (15):

2 x Chord of Calling                                                                           2 x Nylea’s Disciple

3 x Collected Company                                                                     3 x Den Protector

3 x Atarka’s Command                                                                      2 x Bile Blight

2 x Ultimate Price                                                                              3 x Thoughtseize

.                                                                                                            1 x Reclamation Sage

.                                                                                                            1 x Hunt the Hunter

.                                                                                                            3 x Self-Inflicted Wound

Elves have yet to make a big splash on standard since Origins has become legal, whilst cards like Hangarback Walker, Nantuko Husk and Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy have all found homes in Tier 1 decks, our small woodland friends have remained hidden and yet to show their strengths in numbers.

If, like me, you have experienced the power of Elves in Origins draft and eternal formats then you know how good it can feel to swarm your opponent and over-power them quickly and efficiently.

The list above builds on the predicted G/B Elves tribal that R&D seemed to have suggested by borrowing a powerful command from Atarka. Atarka’s Command has 3 useful functions in the deck by; pumping all of our team by +1/+1, dealing 3 damage to our opponent or preventing them from gaining life from their pesky Siege Rhino. Even the little used ‘hidden’ mode of putting a land in to play can help ramp us and allow us to play more elves on the next turn.

Highlights of the deck come from the powerful Collected Company, with 22 of our creatures costing the requisite 3 or less CMC, this card can allow us to put multiple creatures in to play. This card is particularly powerful with Enter the Battlefield effects like Dwynen’s Elite or Shaman of the Pack.

The sideboard is geared towards beating some of the most popular decks around; Self-Inflicted Wound allows us to remove blockers from our Abzan opponent, Nylea’s Disciple can help stabilise us against our mono-red opponents with some much needed life gain, whilst Den Protector and Thoughtseize allow us to grind through our control opponents.

As always I hope the above list gives a different point of view on the current standard format. Please let me know in the comments your thoughts and any changes you would make, I’ll be back with some more thoughts and reflections on the Pro Tour and a new list in my next article.