Post Rotation Part 1

It’s that time of year again. The time of year that makes every Standard player weep as their carefully crafted deck plummets in value and half of its cards rotate out of the Standard meta game with the release of the new fall set. Soon players everywhere will be trying to trade away those choice Mythics they fought so hard to get before they become bulk chaff, all the while wondering what they will be playing on week one of this new and exciting meta.

But all is not lost my friends, for if you want to be prepared and not have to worry about what post rotation brings, there are a few choice decks that, once suitably readied, will allow you to play in any events you might be interested in no matter what Throne of Eldraine might bring. So, if you have a Standard tournament scheduled for week one of post rotation Standard and also need a strong playable deck ready to go right now, today’s and next week’s articles will have you covered.

Temur Gates

Unsurprisingly, the Gates deck consisting of cards from Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, and War of the Spark survives rotation pretty much intact. A three to four colour deck that can ramp up to some great payoff, Gates has been a popular archetype on Arena for the last few months and is more than capable of holding its own against some of the current meta’s heavy hitters.

Now, while some players will want to slam down giant goats and stone colossi to smash their opponents in the face (a completely fair strategy), there are a lot of ways you can build on the basic Gates package thanks to the sheer number of colours the mana base can support.

Creatures (10)
Gatebreaker Ram
Gate Colossus
Archway Angel

Spells (24)
Lava Coil
Deafening Clarion
Circuitous Route
Guild Summit
Gates Ablaze
Electrodominance
Growth Spiral
Lands (26)
Gruul Guildgate
Izzet Guildgate
Azorius Guildgate
Simic Guildgate
Mountain
Forest
Plaza of Harmony
Island
Boros Guildgate
Selesnya Guildgate
Gateway Plaza

One of my personal favourites is the Reclamation Gates version of the deck. this deck (based on the Temur Wilderness Reclamation strategy) is designed to destroy your opponent in a single end step. After ramping up with cards like Circuitous Route and Growth Spiral, you then resolve a copy or two of Wilderness Reclamation in order to double up on your mana. Then, with all this extra mana, you cast a giant Expansion // Explosion or Electrodominance in your own endstep while also been able to hold up a Dovin’s Veto for good measure.

Spells (34)
Shimmer of Possibility
Dovin’s Veto
Expansion // Explosion
Circuitous Route
Wilderness Reclamation
Guild Summit
Gates Ablaze
Electrodominance
Growth Spiral
Lands (26)
Gruul Guildgate
Izzet Guildgate
Azorius Guildgate
Simic Guildgate
Mountain
Forest
Plaza of Harmony
Island
Boros Guildgate
Selesnya Guildgate
Gateway Plaza

But there are numerous other ways to build this deck. While it’s true that we’re losing Scapeshift from the format, we can still ramp up to seven different lands rather quickly with this little brew, so there might be room for a post rotation Field of the Dead deck. Perhaps you could make use of Elvish Reclaimer in order to tutor up the land you need, or even add a Hydroid Krasis or two to add more card draw and the ability to claim air superiority. Whichever way you look at it, it seems the Gates deck is far from finished.

W/U Flying Men

A traditional and oft successful limited strategy that has seen many a player winning their draft pod, filling the board with a tonne of one power flyers and swinging away with impunity is as much a part of the game as Counterspell and Lightning Bolt. While this style of deck is not always the most competitive when it comes to high level tournament Magic, when it is viable it usually becomes very popular.

While it might at first seem a fool’s errand to build flyers for the upcoming Standard season (since we are losing Favourable Winds and Supreme Phantom), there is actually a surprising amount of support for this deck that will remain after rotation. Empyrean Eagle and Rally of Wings provide amazing anthem effects that can quickly turn an army of 1/1’s into a serious threat, while Faerie Miscreant, Spectral Sailor, and Winged Words provide the deck with a ton of card advantage.

The deck also has some great creature-based removal in the form of Dungeon Geists and Hanged Executioner, making sure you’ll be able to continue piling on the pressure while handling your opponents’ threats. Couple that with the fact that we are sure to see some faerie tribal support in Throne of Eldraine, and it isn’t hard to see the potential for improvement once rotation is in full swing.

Creatures (30)
Healer’s Hawk
Faerie Miscreant
Spectral Sailor
Hanged Executioner
Loyal Pegasus
Nightveil Sprite
Empyrean Eagle
Dungeon Geists

Spells (8)
Rally of Wings
Winged Words
Lands (22)
Plains
Island
Hallowed Fountain
Azorius Guildgate

But what if you’re not a fan of a Ramp or Flyers decks? Well fear not, there are still more rotation proof decks that I am still yet to look at, so if you don’t want to miss out on them when part two comes out next week, make sure you like and subscribe to keep up to date with all we do here at Master of Magics.

We also have a Patreon so if you want to support future content for the site consider becoming one of our Patrons. Just $1 a month would do so much to help us create more of the content you enjoy. If you have any ideas for new and exciting decks you want me to look at, you can contact me directly @MTGTengu over on Twitter. But until next time, remember: no matter the game you play or where you play it, good luck and have fun.

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