Old Tech, Retranslated: Decks After Outlaws of Thunder Junction

Note: This article was translated from Chinese by AI and may contain errors. Read the original Chinese version.

Before We Start

With the release of Outlaws of Thunder Junction and The Big Score, the Standard card pool, now changed to a three-year rotation, has finally reached its peak. Taking the opportunity, I’m giving the Standard decks I’ve published on this site a final update for this season and talking about what upgrades they’ve received in the meantime! Decks with no changes, or that only gained fastlands, will be skipped. Interested readers can use the author function to search for my past articles.

Boros Equipment

Original article

Decklist

The five enemy-color fastlands reprinted in Outlaws of Thunder Junction gave all the enemy-color decks a tempo boost. Adding Inspiring Vantage greatly lowers the chance of stumbling on turn one, so you can reliably do Equipment on turn one and Rebel Salvo on turn two. Meanwhile, Outlaws of Thunder Junction and The Big Score also gave us quality one-mana Equipment like Lavaspur Boots and Lost Jitte, giving the adventures of Kellan, the Fae-Blooded more diverse options, and with Get Lost and Geological Appraiser from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan reinforcing removal and resources, it plays a lot more smoothly.

Dimir Ninjas

Original article

Decklist

Honestly, since The Lost Caverns of Ixalan came out, Ninja decks have become very hard to play in Standard… With Spyglass Siren and Deep-Cavern Bat flying everywhere, small fliers lose the evasion that is the core of how the deck operates, and having your hand looked at by a Bat all day makes the flash strategy hard to run, so the tempo got completely messed up. For the sake of Satoru, the Infiltrator from Outlaws of Thunder Junction, I added ninjutsu creatures and adjusted the deck into a version that values triggering his draw ability. To survive in a Standard environment full of small fliers, I brought back Network Disruptor to improve the ability to clear the way, and added the two-mana counterspell Reasonable Doubt from Murders at Karlov Manor to assist in getting through.

Jeskai Meld

Original article

This is essentially a joke-themed mana-rock ramp deck. Although many new artifact-related cards came out in the last three sets, the cards that suit this theme feel rather subtle. To adjust it, I’d probably have to first remove fun cards like Invasion of Kaladesh and Mechtitan Core, replace them with more stable removal like Get Lost, and narrow the game plan down to making the Skitterbeam Battalion / Urza, Planeswalker meld to end the game.

Gruul Dinosaurs

Original article

Decklist

The original Gruul version had a rather low ceiling, and in the current Standard environment even a 7/7 trampler isn’t a body that can effectively finish off an opponent. For that reason I mixed in white and switched to Ghalta and Mavren as the finisher. This choice looks a bit flashy without substance at first glance, but in fact Ghalta and Mavren, paired with Belligerent Yearling, can swing for as much as 24 trample damage on the turn it enters, turning opponents who thought their life total was safe into stars in the sky. I also added Lukka, Bound to Ruin to supplement the ramp curve, and when conditions allow it can even do a one-sided sweep. Since white is mixed in, putting in Get Lost to strengthen removal is only natural.

Mono-Green Stompy

Original article

Decklist

Mono-green gets some degree of reinforcement in every set. For this ramp-focused Mono-Green Stompy, I put in Sharp-Eyed Rookie from Murders at Karlov Manor, which balances damage and investigating, and the feature-rich Archdruid’s Charm, as well as Smuggler’s Surprise from Outlaws of Thunder Junction, which covers resources, surprise attacks and protection at once. With enough mana, it can instantly drop two giants from the top of your library with hexproof and indestructible that turn, adding quite a bit of flexibility to the otherwise by-the-book Mono-Green assault.

Izzet Pirates

Original article

Decklist

Outlaws of Thunder Junction brought us the red-blue fastland Spirebluff Canal as well as the new versions of Breeches and Malcolm. Breeches, the Blastmaker doesn’t get to shine in this deck with its low curve and many legends, so I put in Malcolm, the Eyes, which has flying and haste and can investigate, replacing Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel, which has little interaction with the theme. This strengthens hand refilling while making the theme more focused. Cryptic Coat from Murders at Karlov Manor is also a usable piece, but it’s not to my taste, so interested folks can try it out.

Cabaretti Voja

Original article

Decklist

The biggest difference in the new version is the addition of Annie Joins Up from Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Besides being a long-range removal spell on its own, its passive copying of triggered abilities of legendary creatures turns the already strong Voja into a monster that is extremely hard to deal with. For this I added Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer and Selvala, Eager Trailblazer, legendary Elves with triggered abilities, so that Annie Joins Up can get even more value.

Conclusion

Although the current Standard card pool is billed as the largest ever, in practice there is surprisingly much that doesn’t need to change when updating decks. On one hand, the current release pattern is that every set is a standalone big set stuffed with mechanics, so some more limited themes are not only squeezed out by other themes within the same set, but also run dry after one set, and when you want to modify them you often face the awkward situation of having no cards to swap in. On the other hand, thanks to the overall improvement in removal quality, even with an extra year of cards only a few cards run into the situation of being strictly upgraded, so choosing according to personal preference is not really a big problem. In any case, the current Standard card pool has plenty of tech worth playing, and I hope everyone enjoys it!