A Bit About Me ✌✌✌

Hello! I’m Raj and I’ve been “actively” playing Magic since 2023..? Around whenever March of the Machine was the newest set. I got hooked again for whatever reason and it’s been one of my hobbies since then. I don’t usually play weeklies despite having a fully-paper deck because I like holing up in my house. 🤫🤫

Because of that, I usually end up just goldfishing by myself going through how the early game would go with specific matchups that I’ve run into and reading up on guides like The Boulder’s, and RyanC’s. I also review VoDs and some bo3 games from high ranking players on Arena because you can just look them up on Youtube. The deck is simple enough as is without that much in-depth tech, you just really have to simply draw into your things and win out 🤤🤤🤤

My journey on standard was pretty simple - I started playing with Mono Red Aggro after finding a cheap package. I enjoyed aggro strats but my return to Magic came with me learning about storm and spellslinging and I experimented with plenty of other burn archetypes, but didn’t really find much success into it until I discovered my new best friend in Stormchaser’s Talent. Izzet Otters was my break in to a “bigger” event and I had a great run going 3-1 and finishing 3rd in the event.

Since then I’ve bounced around different combo builds like Temur Stormsplitter and my personal favorite: Izzet Hellraiser - but now that Stormsplitter is in a bad spot and

Hellraiser rotated out and Prowess was shot in the back - I have settled on a simple deck in Spellementals. A lot of my time learning magic also came to playing the game a lot in school with my friends -

Shoutouts to Alex, Reiner and Glad! Hello! 👋👋👋👋👋👋 Thank you for being subjects to my torture chamber.

Thoughts Going Into Store Champs

I just came fresh another 4-0 Sweep from Standard Showdown the day before playing Store Champs and I was absolutely riding that wave into this. I wasn’t really nervous about it or anything I was sort of just dreading running into 4C Control because those games take forever.

My Decklist

I didn't make any changes to the deck at all since I wasn’t ready for the mental game of regretting changing the deck for a shake-up that might happen. It happened in the previous Store Champs where there was a fresh ban list and I expected red / green decks to show up and I put in flashfreeze and I lost to Dimir Mid. Knowing time and time again store champs will be the same couple decks that I’d run into and I just needed to understand how to play them, minus the usual wildcards that spawn in out of nowhere.

The deck’s gameplan is simple, and anyone that’s gone through Magic 102 should be able to get the gist of its 5-step plan.

• Cantrip

• Filter

• Hearth/Crab

• Cacaw

• GG Shake My Hand

And just like that you have two lava axes going at their face.

Sideboard Specifics

I haven’t really changed the deck in who knows how long…My recent change was dropping Legend of Kuruk for Hydro-Man because I already ran 2 copies of Ral, Crackling Wit for the long game. 

About Horse

I love this card. It’s almost like Wizards took a peek into my head after June 26, 2025 and then decided to

 develop this card. It’s amazing.

I don’t really get to clone it much given my habit of cutting out Burst Lightning

 in lists when I play this sometimes - taking me out of another way to trigger Opus’ 5mv requirement.

That being said, this is my favorite card to board in versus control and Bx midrange decks that decide to go 5 million copies of strategic betrayal. Yes it gets hit by it but atleast I’m not bugging that “Oh I guess this flock’s dead in my hand now

Is that Pit of Offerings?

Yes I still run Pit even though I have lanterns & vacuums. I don’t have a reason really for why outside of I just prefer the idea of “The one-shot yard hate piece being able to act as a resource to keep getting along. I forgot who started it but I’ve been on that since then. I do get that wanting to run the other yard hate pieces lets you nuke a fat yard and hits more than 3 and that vacuum keeps going but I guess it’s just what I’ve been used to.

Round 1 - Mono Red Aggro - 2/1

My first game was against one of the people that have been getting into standard recently. Unfortunately there was a cool Jace card on the line so I had to actually play the game. The red aggro matchup is simple enough and plays like all the other aggro matchups - blow up their stuff and then start dropping walls into birds.

Sideboarding : +1 broadside barrage, +1 abrade / -2 sleight of hand (Is how I would probably board from now on. I cut other cards in favor of horse if I recall correctly.) 

Game 2 was a cautionary tale of being greedy and not playing removal and opting for card draw to get my gameplan going faster. I kept a hand full of cantrips and critiques. There were Two Razorkins that I had 0 answers to and I got exploded and rightfully so. I don’t know why I kept that but atleast I was reminded why I shouldn’t do that.

Game 3 was an open & shut game. I learned from my previous mistake and kept a better hand that let me keep my tempo and then I simply lava axed my opponent over and over.

Round 2 - Azorius Flyers - 2/1

The UW Momo / Flyers deck is something that people always tell me is a good matchup which I agree but the

 way they build the board out of nowhere and draw cards and tutor out extra lands to filter, etc. etc. etc. I like the value the deck makes for itself and leads to cool matches. That being said I HAAAAAAAAAATE how much damage it pushes out of nowhere especially with Practised Offense. Absolutely demonic card this one.

That being said, the deck folds to back to back flockery which is what happened in Game 1.

Game 2 is a blur I got touched by the lemur. I did Not draw into my crabs and flocks.

Game 3 was another slow-ish game but I drew into what I needed and had back to back flock. I got hit with a Rest in Peace but that really didn’t matter now that I was able to stick a crab on the board so eitherway you were getting hit with the 2 mana bird special.

Sideboarding: -2 Spell Snare / +1 Abrade, +1 Broadside Barrage

Round 3 - Dimir Midrange - 2/0

The matchup that I mentally prepped myself for instead of 4C because I was banking on it not doing well this store champs and my gamble paid off - My games were very simple, I drew into my crab & flock then we went to game 2 very fast. Afterwards I kept a hand that was chock full of removal and counterspells just to get around the first 4 or so turns and then congratulations you are a crab victim.

Sideboarding : -4 Sunderflock, -2 Impractical Joke, -1 Into The Flood Maw / +4 Colorstorm Stallion, +1 Hydro-Man, +1 Disdainful Stroke, +1 Broadside Barrage

Round 4 - ID Into Top 4

Round 4 was supposed to be against UW flyers and we both agreed “yeah this matchup is buns let’s just meet up later.”

I proceeded to scroll on reels for the next hour or so instead of getting something to eat.

While thinking about what to do in finals I decided to spectate my friend who was playing Rakdos Changelings. He was having a good run too and had good odds at getting into the top 4 as well. We agreed early on that we would just split the prizes if we got in to grand finals. I think? I don’t know.

Semi-Finals - Dimir Midrange - 2/0

It was against the same Dimir Midrange player - Same lines, same story. HOORAY SUNDERFLOCK AND HORSE!!! The game was very fast, and I just simply drew the stuff I needed to deal with the opponent.

REINIERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

(That’s another one of my friends I went to play the event with. His brew is fun)

THEY QUANTUM DIDDLED HIS ASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I CAN’T STAND BY THIS. I NEED TO AVENGE HIS ASS AND WIN THE EVENT #NOWWWWWWWW

Finals - Azorius Flyers - 2/1

I finally made it to the finals - Another UW Flyers game (I didn’t think he would be playing this I thought it’d be something else until I watched his game vs Reinier.)

Game 1 was another case of Sunderflock being a favored matchup. 

Game 2 showed me the limitations of my manabase. Had I not ran Mountains in it I would’ve been able to flood maw something to let me win the game because I would have been able to keep myself healthy enough and bounce something and then drop flock for game. But alas - the mountain I kept because I thought I needed them by not having 2 more verges has failed me. I think it would’ve been curtains had it not been for that but oh well.

Game 3 I was very comfortable with because I drew into what I needed. Crabs, Sunderflocks, I think I had some counter magic there too but that’s besides the point. I had two birds in my hand and that is absolutely tragic to recover from, especially in turns where I can bounce the bird to redo the board. The winning turn was from after a full board refill and my opponent taps out to cast get lost on one of my creatures but in response to that I broadside their only blocker left, lending me to a free swing for game. 

Sideboarding : -4 Sleight of Hand / +1 Abrade, +2 Annul, +1 Broadside Barrage 

The Next Step ✌✌✌

Looking forward to the RCQ this November, I think it’s logical to take the next step and run into that next. I sure hope Star Trek bans don’t do anything to me! (PLEASE WOTC PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE)

Thoughts About Moving From Spellementals

With the introduction of all these planeswalkers in Reality Fracture and Crab + Hearth going bye bye with the February rotation - my long-term goal would be making an Izzet superfriends deck. I’ve already been brewing it with a friend that’s had decent results in other stores so here’s to hoping I can find those Theorists. Spellementals is a deck that obviously holds a place near and dear to my heart and fits the type of deck I love playing but since standard rotates it’s days of running rampant in the meta are soon to be over.