Welcome, everyone, to a new weekly segment I’m calling Neat-Decking. I’m your host, Anthony.

For avid readers or listeners of the Fireside Magic podcast, you might know that I’m a brewer at heart across formats, and while I definitely play to win, I like to do so by the beat of my own drum whenever possible.

So it is very inspiring to me to watch other players do the same thing, by trying new things. Whether it be entire unique decks or interesting techs for existing decks. So I’m going to start highlighting those decks and techs we see in leagues and challenges every week across Standard, Modern, and Pioneer. And we’re starting off Neat-Decking with some interesting ones! 

Standard

I only found one deck from standard this week I wanted to highlight, but it’s a doozy. This comes from MTGO user Sculld who played this iteration of the “Fae Blade” deck that’s been going around for a few weeks now.

I had a standard deck similar to this way back when Jeskai Fires was around. It was built around Burglar Rat and Yarlok’s Fenlurker, using Charming Prince to blink them and this list is a spiritual successor to my list from five years ago.

I’ve seen a lot of people high on Nurturing Pixie and it definitely shines in this list, with the ability to re-buy pretty much anything you’ve already played to generate nice value. It also is quite nice that a lot of these cards are things you don’t mind sacrificing to Rottenmouth Viper.

While I recognize that this list has been going around for a while now, what stands out to me with this version is that Sculld has cut most of the cards that are bad on their own. A lot of other lists play Spiteful Hexmage and other cards like that that need more support but this version opts for quality over synergy, which I believe is a good call in this Standard meta.

This deck is capable of some pretty explosive victories but can also grind with the best of them. I also personally like a lot of the cards in the sideboard so that earns points with me as well. Good stuff, Sculld. Also, this list is a cool 30ish Tix on MTGO.

Pioneer

I had a suspicion that post-ban Pioneer would see the rise of Ygra-based Food/Sacrifice decks and that suspicion seems to have been correct. The reason I’m showcasing the list from SolarPotato here is for the inclusion of the full playset of Bristlebud Farmer. Bud here is an absolute house and seems to fit in well with the rest of the deck. It gives you food, fills your yard, draws a card when it attacks, and is a 5/5 trampler to boot for just four mana. I like this inclusion a lot because it is a card that demands an answer the turn before you slam your Ygra. 

This is the deck I was most excited to write about. I absolutely love everything about these GW Company lists that have been popping up, and better yet, this list specifically was successfully piloted to fourth place in the August 26 Challenge by A_Turtle. A very similar list, piloted by Succulent, placed sixth in the same challenge.

My only issue with this deck is that I despise playing eight Elves in a Collected Company deck, but I recognize that it is a necessary evil. Other than that though, Anointed Peacekeeper, Aven Interruptor, and Werewolf Packleader are all cards I enjoy, the Werefox Bodyguards in the sideboard make me happy, and seeing Trostani, Three Whispers show up in a Pioneer deck is fascinating. My only recommendation for these pilots going forward would be to include some copies of Yasharn in the sideboard. While I know it can’t be hit by Collected Company, Sacrifice decks are going to return from the grave in a big way and Yasharn is a great answer to them.

Rakdos Midrange is as net deck as a net deck gets, even post-Sorin ban, but this list from SpicyLeche does something I find very interesting.

While Jegantha as a Companion is not exactly a daring concept, the full set of Hostile Investigators is a pretty cool take on the deck. It’s also fascinating to me to see Sheoldred absent from these lists entirely, which wasn’t even fully the case when Sorin was legal. I guess getting to play the Companion at the cost of Sheoldred and nothing else isn’t super steep.

I’m curious to see how the three-drop creature slot evolves with these decks. Right now, Graveyard Trespasser is back, but the deck has several options in that slot, including Preacher of the Schism and The Infamous Cruelclaw, but with how relevant Phoenix is right now, Trespasser makes some sense.

Swagtusks, RowdyGainz, and _Cygnus all piloted pretty much this exact same 75 to 5-0s and it’s a bit of a blast from the past. The last UW Humans list came from around May 2023 and, thanks to Mockingbird, it might be back on the menu.

Mockingbird is an incredibly powerful card in lists like this and UW Spirits, being able to copy your best threat already on board or whatever your opponent has going on. In this list specifically, having copies 5-8 of Thalia’s Lieutenant, Coppercoat Vanguard, and Reflector Mage all in one card, while also getting to make a flying version of whatever your opponent has makes this a very flexible threat. I also like having access to Spell Pierce in the sideboard.

Parting Gust is also very cool in these lists, allowing you to either remove a threat for lethal at the end of turn or on your turn (the fish coming in tapped is very good) or protect a creature of yours from a removal spell or even a wrath. I don’t think I’d hate seeing a full four in the 75.

Modern

While this deck has technically been around for longer than a week, these Izzet lists have stuck around this week post-ban. I want to highlight specifically the lists similar to Oz0’s 5-0 list here because of the awesome combo of Crackling Drake and Arena of Glory, which lets you swing for a *checks calculator* metric ton of damage out of nowhere with a resilience to graveyard hate.

Thundertrap Trainer is also one of the standout cards from Bloomburrow for Modern, as it does pair pretty well with Flare of Denial, letting you both find it and cast it for free. Trainer being a Wizard for Flame of Anor is also quite nice. Overall, I like seeing this archetype around and I hope it continues to put up results.

Speaking of Thundertrap Trainer, here it is again in the Sultai Murktide list, this one by UninspiredMehagic, which has been popping up over the last week and a half or so.

Dimir Murktide has been popular since Psychic Frog came out and I like the Green splash in these decks, mainly for the sideboard copies of Pick Your Poison to help play against The One Ring. Ice-Fang Coatl has sort of become a relic of a Modern Horizons past but it pretty much does everything this deck wants to do. It cantrips, blocks well, and is a good creature to sacrifice to Flare of Denial.

While I’ll likely be sticking to UB Murktide personally, I’m a sucker for Sultai at heart and I think it’s cool having a Sultai build hanging around. Having a Grist in the sideboard is also an objectively sick inclusion.

Finally, we have this sweet BW deck from bless_von, that is both a midrange deck capable of grinding and just a crazy combo deck that can kill your opponent Cauldron Familiar-Witch’s Oven style.

Warren Soultrader, Gravecrawler, Guide of Souls, and Marionette Apprentice combo together to just murder your opponent, and if you have more life than your opponent, you don’t even need Guide of Souls. If that doesn’t work right away, you have Chthonian Nightmare to recur on of the combo pieces and Knight-Errant of Eos to find them. Orcish Bowmasters and Ocelot Pride are also in there to give you some generic “good stuff” power. This is also a very clean sideboard plan, where it is just hate cards instead of any kind of juke-plan.

While I think this type of list would be pretty weak to graveyard hate like Rest in Peace, it is a pretty explosive combo and doesn’t really require you to play any bad stand-alone cards.

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And that’ll wrap the first installment of Neat-Decking! I’m looking forward to scouring the leagues every week (which is something I already do anyway) and pointing out the things that catch my eye.

If you want to voice your favorite decks or techs of the week, or share your techs that have been working for you, you can find me in the TheGathering.gg’s discord @adolce95.