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This past weekend we witnessed the breakout of Dark Ascension onto the Standard scene, with all sorts of new tech making an appearance. Today, I'm going to talk about what I find to be the most exciting of the new decks.

Wait, basically no new cards to be seen anywhere? People are holding their tech for this Pro Tour thing, so all we have is a bunch of old decks? That's no fun.

Well, here's a peek at what's in store for next weekend. The Michigan crew from Philadelphia got back together for this event, and we put some serious work in in an attempt to follow up our last performance.

Wait, can't do that one either. It's no fun to watch the show if you know all the plot twists.

Well, let's try this. I've been pretty deep in the tank for this event, and not all of the brews have made the cut. Here are a few of the ones that just barely fell short. While I'm not considering running any of these decks for this weekend, I can't say any of them are actively bad. They all do very powerful things, and if you want to do something cool that puts up match wins, these are the decks for you.

Let's start with the one that has already seen the most exposure.

Heartless Summoning Featured by Ari Lax on 2012-02-12 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/23560.html Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifact Creatures 1 Moltensteel Dragon 4 Myr Superion 3 Perilous Myr 3 Wurmcoil Engine Creatures 3 Grand Architect 3 Havengul Lich 4 Treasure Mage Enchantments 4 Heartless Summoning	Instants 3 Doom Blade 3 Forbidden Alchemy Sorceries 4 Ponder Basic Lands 8 Island 5 Swamp Lands 3 Buried Ruin 4 Darkslick Shores 4 Drowned Catacomb 1 Evolving Wilds	Stats: Average mana: 1.68 Average creature mana cost: 3.52 Average creature power: 3.24 Average creature toughness: 3.71 Deck Composition: Artifact Creatures: 18.33% Basic Lands: 21.67% Creatures: 16.67% Enchantments: 6.67% Instants: 10.00% Lands: 20.00% Sorceries: 6.67%
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The core of this deck was based on the list fellow Ann Arborite and October 2011 StarCityGames.com Open Indianapolis Top 8er Jason Golembiewski used to put together a 5-2 record at the Charlotte Invitational. I watched him completely thrash opponents with free 4/5s and four-mana Wurmcoils and was very interested. I got the list, and off we went.

We started this list with some Massacre Wurms, but they were unexciting. BBB was hard to swing, and often tokens just powered up with multiple Anthem effects. The Perilous Myr-Havengul Lich plan, on the other hand, was phenomenal. Your opponent could have almost anything, but as soon as you landed it, they had one turn until you just double Fireballed them out. Lich was also just insane in general, and Perilous Myr as a zero-mana Shock was fine. Unlike Priest of Urabrask, the cards actually do things on their own.

The Rune-Scarred Demon–Phyrexian Metamorph combo Ali ran this past weekend was also something we considered, but overall the Grand Architect plan was something I felt more comfortable with. Once you stick a Summoning, the Demon plan goes bigger than just a couple Wurmcoils, but the Architect combo plan gives you more consistency. Not only do you have Architect to back up Summoning as an enabler, but you have Myr Superion to get immediate value out of a resolved Summoning. One of the big issues we were having was that Summoning would often get snap Oblivion Ringed, or your big man would just get bricked with Mana Leak or Vapor Snag. Superion helps bridge the gap here. While it is a blank when you don't have an enabler, you aren't actually going to win without one of those are you?

That last part was the reason we ended up shelving the deck. It had some powerful draws, but it wasn't reliable enough. When you had Summoning, your deck was stupidly overpowered, but without the card, you were too far behind on power to compete. Having an Architect left you functional, but not on par with the format. There were also enough answers to Heartless Summoning (the card) to make leaning on it that hard very risky.

The deck was fundamentally unable to beat Wolf Run, but that might be in part due to the Architect over Demon decision. The deck wasn't bad, but it wasn't where I wanted to be in the format. Given how unreal some of the draws are, I wasn't surprised to see it pop up in Richmond and expect it to make waves in the future.

Puresteel Paladin Featured by Ari Lax on 2012-02-05 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 4 Flayer Husk 3 Mortarpod 4 Piston Sledge 3 Silver-Inlaid Dagger Artifact Creatures 4 Etched Champion 4 Vault Skirge Creatures 2 Glint Hawk 4 Invisible Stalker 4 Puresteel Paladin	Instants 4 Dispatch Legendary Artifacts 2 Mox Opal Basic Lands 9 Plains Lands 4 Glacial Fortress 3 Inkmoth Nexus 2 Moorland Haunt 4 Seachrome Coast	Stats: Average mana: 1.12 Average creature mana cost: 2.11 Average creature power: 1.56 Average creature toughness: 1.56 Deck Composition: Artifacts: 23.33% Artifact Creatures: 13.33% Basic Lands: 15.00% Creatures: 16.67% Instants: 6.67% Lands: 21.67% Legendary Artifacts: 3.33%
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Puresteel Paladin, like Heartless Summoning, was one of the super powerful cards we wanted to try to abuse in the format. We also noticed the Gindy-style Delver lists were fairly unexciting barring a couple specific events, one of which was suiting up Invisible Stalker. Combining these, we started with the concept set forward by Ben Isgur at Atlanta and moved a bit further in.

Simply put, a lot of fairly inappropriate words were said to describe how this deck played out, but I think this video really captures the true feeling. When you had the hookup and built your own Progenitus, it was good times. When you didn't, your other cards all sucked. We stopped work on this deck fairly quickly because we got the joke, and, again, there were a few too many ways to interact with your non-creature permanents to get there.

If I wanted to improve on this list, I would take a hard look at Mortarpod. Puresteel is a bit more of an incidental backup plan, and without that card in play, you aren't doing enough with the card to make it worth it. This would also mean cutting Glint Hawk, but that's no big deal. Instead, I would overload on more of the lethal equipment. Sword of War and Peace was notably the worst option, as it was a bit too expensive to get going, but you just want more of the effect in order to assemble your two-card combo. Unfortunately, you can't Angelic Destiny people, as it doesn't work out well with Champion. Moorland Haunt was also unimpressive, as you only have ten guys that ever died, and Dispatch could be replaced by a lot of similar cards.

One card I would never play in this deck is Geist of Saint Traft. The cards that make Geist good are irrelevant, as your other guys don't need to be forced through, and because your other guys don't fight in combat, all of their blockers hang around.

If you want to take this deck for a spin, I have just one word of advice: Waaazzooooo!

Puresteel Paladin Featured by Ari Lax on 2012-02-05 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 2 Avacyn's Collar 4 Flayer Husk 4 Mortarpod 4 Sword of War and Peace Artifact Creatures 4 Vault Skirge Creatures 4 Doomed Traveler 4 Hero of Bladehold 4 Puresteel Paladin	Enchantments 2 Oblivion Ring Sorceries 4 Lingering Souls Basic Lands 9 Plains 2 Swamp Lands 4 Evolving Wilds 1 Inkmoth Nexus 4 Isolated Chapel 4 Vault of the Archangel	Stats: Average mana: 1.33 Average creature mana cost: 2.25 Average creature power: 1.75 Average creature toughness: 2.00 Deck Composition: Artifacts: 23.33% Artifact Creatures: 6.67% Basic Lands: 18.33% Creatures: 20.00% Enchantments: 3.33% Lands: 21.67% Sorceries: 6.67%
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This was a slightly less linear Puresteel deck we put together based on a convergence of a bunch of specific answers. Hero of Bladehold spikes the Wolf Run matchup; Sword of War and Peace trumps Tokens similar to how it trumped Tempered Steel in Block; Lingering Souls beats Delver, and Puresteel Paladin gives you a powerful override to random garbage.

Unlike the previous deck, Mortarpod is actually very good here. The free equip side of Puresteel matters a lot more because you have Swords instead of Sledges, so the extra artifact in play is more relevant. You are playing more of a real game of Magic, so the removal is actually relevant. Lingering Souls gives you a relevant amount of creatures, so you have enough fodder to keep it going. Finally, you have Vault of the Archangel to level up from a Mogg Fanatic to a Seal of Doom, which actually matters when you are loading up on threats and are short on removal.

The issue this list had was that, despite having so many powerful proactive game plans, you had the old Rock issue. Sometimes you didn't draw the right cards for the right matchup and had your 1/1 fliers against their 3/3s or your Hero of Bladehold against their Vapor Snag. The whole “only X real cards and a bunch of garbage filler” plan only works when your X threats are good against the field. Your cards also didn't have cross synergy.

Aside: This is also the same reason I don't like Tempered Steel right now. Four threats are not enough to get there, which is why the original deck jammed four Hero of Bladeholds when they were awkward on the mana. Now that Delver invalidates Hero as a threat, you are stuck between fighting the “best” deck in the format and having a functional deck against the rest of the field. Add in all the splash hate from Sword of War and Peace, and you don't have a recipe for success. I think the recent success of Tempered Steel this past weekend was due to its being good at beating up on random decks as well as its currently being inbred for Delver. Etched Champion does some hard work, but he doesn't kill them well enough to fill in for Hero. Four mana, suspend one, you're dead, thanks. That's what the deck is missing, and I don't know what can fill those shoes and not lose to Vapor Snag. If you have the answer, then you have a deck. Until then, I'm unimpressed.

If you care less about what happens next weekend and more how you are going to get to Barcelona, I've got some things for you.

Esper Gifts Featured by Ari Lax on 2012-02-05 (Modern) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 1 Talisman of Dominance 2 Talisman of Progress Creatures 1 Grave Titan 4 Snapcaster Mage Instants 2 Cryptic Command 2 Forbidden Alchemy 4 Gifts Ungiven 2 Mana Leak 1 Mystical Teachings 1 Negate 4 Path to Exile 1 Slaughter Pact 1 Smother 1 Thirst For Knowledge Legendary Creatures 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria	Sorceries 3 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Thoughtseize 1 Unburial Rites Basic Lands 2 Island 1 Plains 1 Swamp Basic Snow Lands 1 Snow-Covered Island 1 Snow-Covered Plains 1 Snow-Covered Swamp Lands 3 Creeping Tar Pit 1 Godless Shrine 2 Hallowed Fountain 4 Marsh Flats 2 Misty Rainforest 4 Scalding Tarn 2 Watery Grave	Sideboard: 2 Baneslayer Angel 1 Realm Razer 1 Darkblast 3 Disenchant 1 Negate 1 Rest for the Weary 1 Night of Souls' Betrayal 1 Damnation 1 Thoughtseize 2 Timely Reinforcements 1 Wrath of God
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To do the thing where I rave about the same deck every week, this deck is still awesome. Really, I just wanted to go off about one card.

Tron was actually an unwinnable matchup for this deck. You aren't beating them with any of the control elements because Tron is known for savaging blue decks. They just go over the top of anything with their millions of mana and Mindslavers, even discounting the endgame of Eye of Ugin into Eldrazi that kills you even deader. That leaves you trying to combo them out with Gifts. Usually, if you just play for resolving it, you can force down a Gifts into Unburial faster than they can Tron up into a bomb. The issue was always that none of the threats were good enough. In most other matchups, Elesh Norn or Iona is enough to instantly win or put them on minimal outs. Against Tron, Iona on white leaves them with all the blue cards; Iona on blue leaves them with Path to Exile and Wrath of God, and regardless they can just Karn or Mindslaver you out. The best shot you had was to untap twice with Grave Titan, and that wasn't fast enough.

Enter the crowd sourced answer of Realm Razer (thanks to Reuben Bresler and James Vogel!). Welcome to the Stone Age. Now Gifts sets up a legitimate kill, and your sideboard Disenchants let you kill their non-land mana to set them even further back. I can't say Tron is a good matchup now, but I feel like I am playing legitimate matches against them now and am probably favored post-board. At the cost of one sideboard slot, an actual 0% matchup (seriously, approximately 1-16 in games) turned into probably around even.

The one thing I want that I am missing is a legitimate answer to artifacts and enchantments to either maindeck or board in when I can't afford potentially dead cards, like against Caw-Blade. Artifacts are more of a concern than enchantments, specifically Swords, but randomly snagging a Blood Moon or Splinter Twin would be cute. My kingdom for a Vindicate!

And now for this real brew:

Gifts Tron Featured by Ari Lax on 2012-02-05 (Modern) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 1 Engineered Explosives 3 Expedition Map 4 Izzet Signet Instants 3 Condescend 4 Gifts Ungiven 4 Remand 1 Spell Burst 4 Thirst For Knowledge 4 Through the Breach Legendary Artifacts 1 Mindslaver	Legendary Creatures 3 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 1 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre Sorceries 1 Firespout Basic Lands 2 Island 1 Mountain Lands 1 Buried Ruin 4 Scalding Tarn 3 Steam Vents 1 Tolaria West 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 4 Urza's Tower Legendary Lands 1 Academy Ruins 1 Eye of Ugin	Stats: Average mana: 2.27 Average creature mana cost: 14.00 Average creature power: 13.75 Average creature toughness: 13.75 Deck Composition: Artifacts: 13.33% Basic Lands: 5.00% Instants: 33.33% Lands: 35.00% Legendary Artifacts: 1.67% Legendary Creatures: 6.67% Legendary Lands: 3.33% Sorceries: 1.67%
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This list is probably a little loose, but something similar demolished me in the MOCS (Magic Online Championship Series). The addition of a cheap win condition gives you more range and raw power, as well as more play against a Blood Moon. Nice enchantment, I'll make five red mana and a 15/15.

Maybe I'm trying a bit too hard to force Emrakuls into this format, but I think that combo is one of the remaining superpowers that people haven't figured out how to use yet, and it doesn't have the level of hate that Affinity or Twin has facing it down. With Twin dying down a bit, things are getting a bit more favorable to try to attack with a 15/15 and not get Twiddled down. I think you might want a few more removal spells somewhere in the deck, and I think there should be a fourth Emrakul, but this is a good start.

To tie things back to the last time I talked about this interaction, while Tron doesn't really have extra copies of the Emrakul or Through the Breach to make the combo more reliable, you have lots of card filtering to deal with a glut of dead cards. Tron having a ton of Emrakuls isn't ideal, as 15 is still a lot of mana, but when you can Thirst away extra Eldrazi, it isn't a huge issue. Through the Breach–Emrakul is a sick two-card combo, but you can't just jam it in and assume it will get there.

That's about all I can talk about now, but there's so much more to talk about. Join me next week for all I can't say now and probably more.

P.S. If you want to see an example of a deck that wasn't even remotely good enough, try this on for size.

Unburial Rites Reanimator Featured by Ari Lax on 2012-02-05 (Standard) As written about in http://www.starcitygames.com Print this deck!
Maindeck: Artifacts 2 Ratchet Bomb Creatures 2 Grave Titan 3 Phantasmal Image 3 Sun Titan Enchantments 2 Oblivion Ring	Instants 4 Desperate Ravings 4 Forbidden Alchemy Legendary Creatures 3 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite 1 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur Sorceries 4 Faithless Looting 4 Unburial Rites 2 Whipflare Basic Lands 4 Island 4 Mountain 2 Plains 1 Swamp Lands 2 Clifftop Retreat 4 Evolving Wilds 3 Glacial Fortress 3 Shimmering Grotto 3 Sulfur Falls	Stats: Average mana: 2.08 Average creature mana cost: 5.58 Average creature power: 3.92 Average creature toughness: 4.58 Deck Composition: Artifacts: 3.33% Basic Lands: 18.33% Creatures: 13.33% Enchantments: 3.33% Instants: 13.33% Lands: 25.00% Legendary Creatures: 6.67% Sorceries: 16.67%
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All in means all in. The two issues here. First, Unburial Rites on Titans isn't much better than just playing them. You can just Rampant Growth and get the same effect. The other issue is that without Entomb it's hard to hit the right target on time. The one thing I would try is just maxing out on both of the Praetors and seeing if Jin Gitaxias is enough for this format. Just don't get Vapor Snagged!