3 Decks to Try Out on Crimson Vow Release Day

Crimson Vow release day is finally here, and exciting new cards are available to players worldwide on Magic: Arena. As with any new release, deciding on a new deck to try on the very first day is pretty tricky. Sometimes players don’t want to rush into anything too crazy in order to save wildcard. For others, just trying out a new deck is plenty worth the wildcard investment. With the Crimson Vow release day arriving today, here are just a few lists that players can give a whirl featuring brand new cards from the set.

[Related: Experimental Deck Tech: Standard Abzan Teleportation]

RB Vampires

The werewolves were the stars of Midnight Hunt, but now it is time for the vampire tribe to take over Standard. Already players have tinkered with the idea of an aggressive vampire-centric deck only to be met with middling results. The problem was the lack of meaningful vampires to play that were viable for aggro strategies. Eventually, some players opted for a more midrange style deck, but the archetype still failed to make a mark on the meta.

With the introduction of Crimson Vow, Standard vampires has a new lease on life. Early game threats like Bloodtith Harvester and Falkenrath Forebear give the deck much-needed firepower aside from Vampire Socialite. Anje, Maid of Dishonor is a card that will serve as that bridge for this aggro deck to deal the last few points of damage. It’s no Siege Rhino, but it will do its best impression.

Grixis Reanimator

Reanimator strategies have been bad for quite some time in Standard. For a lot of players, that is a very good thing. Reanimating threats is a tricky line to walk for Magic, as it usually fits between unplayable and completely ban-worthy. The last few Standard sets have had a few options to reanimate creatures, however the creatures have typically been bad. Koma, Cosmos Serpent has been the go-to target, but really is has been easier to just cast it than it has been to cheat it out onto the battlefield.

In comes Olivia, Crimson Bride to the rescue. Olivia flies into battlefield with an incredibly powerful textbox. She can reanimate any creature, and it does not leave the battlefield and the end of turn. Even more exciting is the idea that reanimating another legendary vampire means that the new creature won’t leave the field when Olivia dies. Dreadfeast Demon is the best option to grab for this deck as you can start creating multiple threats. Combine that with a Koma on the board, and the game is sure to end very quickly.

Sultai Frog

This is probably the most “rough draft” of the list’s in this article because there are just infinite possibilities as to how this deck wants to run. The core of the deck is built up of Old Rutstein and Grolnok, the Omnivore. The idea for this deck is to generate value with Old Rutstein, then play the milled cards once Grolnok and OR are on the field at the same time.  Once the engine is running, the plan becomes to simply out-value the opposition.

This deck looks like it should have a good gameplan against the hordes of aggro decks in Standard at the moment. The combination of green and black provides all of the removal the deck could ever want, while also granting access to a couple of real threats to close out a game. While this version of the deck may not be a world beater, the bones look to be there. There are plenty of new midrange cards that can potentially push a new deck into the format. Sooner or later, someone will notch some big victories with the frog.

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