3 Decks to Try Out on New Capenna Release Day

A new Magic: The Gathering is on its way, and players are gearing up to roam the streets of New Capenna. The newest standard set revolves around five different families, each representing a color shard. Some players were fortunate enough to play in the prerelease this past weekend and saw the power of the latest standard cards first hand. For those waiting for the New Capenna release day on MTGA, there is only one week left before they can get their turn.

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After the the initial drafts and sealed events, players will focus their attention to Standard. Whenever a new set enters Standard, there is an air of excitement that fills the format as players discover what list is the strongest. The tough part is knowing where to even start. Luckily TGH is back with the recurring Release Day column to help out players and provide a jumping-off point for those looking to brew new standard decks.

UW Magecraft

Archetype: Aggro, Combo

Creatures (18)

On the fringes of Standard is a UW deck that wants to win the game as fast as possible. It utilizes the explosive nature of the Magecraft keyword to cast a whole bunch of cheap spells to kill the opponent in one go. Leonin Lightscribe and Clever Lumimancer are the two key cards in the deck and they truly can end games on turn three or four. The problem with the list is just how weak it is to spot removal. But with New Capenna, the deck should have much more staying power.

Not only does this deck get a powerful new threat in Illuminator Virtuoso, but it gains a brand new protection spell that should take the deck over the top. Slip Out the Back is a unique card in that it protects the target by phasing out. When a creature phases out, they do not lose the counters they own as they would with it was returned to hand or flickered. The deck also gets a massive boost from the Connive creatures in the list, allowing the list to power through the deck to find more relevant cards.

Esper Graveyard

Archetype: Midrange

The Obscura have an interesting mechanic that might be worth looking into this Standard season. There are several cards with payoffs that require a player’s graveyard to have five or more mana values in among cards in the graveyard. It is a unique condition, but not totally tricky to pull off. This midrange deck wants to win with fliers, and use a wide variety of spells to gain advantages over the opponent. Over the course of the game, the graveyard should easily have five or more different mana values, allowing cards to have the full effect.

Aven Heartstabber was the card that really stood out during the spoiler season. A potential 3/3 flier that draws a car is just an insane value for only two mana. It’s a card that helps other copies reach that important threshold, making every copy of it valuable. Another interesting card in this list is Sanguine Spy. Cards like Asylum Visitor are usually a little stronger than they appear. Additional draws are always powerful, but it will force players to keep track of their life totals towards the end of the game.

Jund

Archetype: Midrange

There is a handful of cool cards to try out in a Jund shell, namely Tenacious Underdog. A recurring threat that draws a card is a powerful engine for Jund decks to run on. Shakedown Heavy is a card that could remind players a lot of Desecration Demon. A punisher card that cheap can be a tricky threat to handle. Otherwise the deck gets to play with powerful spells like Riveteer’s Charm, Ob Nixilis, the Adversary and the new Thragtusk, Workshop Warchief. Sadly this list is very expensive in terms of MTGA wildcards, so it might be a bit tough to build on day one.

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