Obligatory but humiliating PTQ summary: As posted, I ended up playing Bant in both the NJ and Brooklyn PTQs a couple weeks ago. I went undefeated against non-zoo decks, but went entirely defeated zoo, resulting in double X-2-drop finishes. /end summary

Alara Reborn releases this weekend, and I don’t think I have to tell anyone who has been following the unofficial spoilers out there that this is shaping up to be an exciting set. Looking forward to Regionals and the T2 PTQ season, I thought it might be fun to speculate a bit about how some of these new cards could be used to update the GW “Little Kid” deck that I was fond of during the last block constructed season.

Here are some of the new cards that could be played in this deck:

Bant Sureblade (Unconfirmed)
(G/U)(W)
Creature - Human Knight?
As long as you control another multicolored permanent, Bant Sureblade gets +1/+1 and first strike.
2/1

Behemoth Sledge (Confirmed!)
1(G)(W)
Artifact - Equipment
Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has lifelink and trample.
Equip 3

Knotvine Paladin (Unconfirmed)
(G)(W)
Creature - Human Knight
Whenever Knotvine Paladin attacks, it gets +1/+1 for each untapped creature you control.
2/2

Mycoid Shepherd (Confirmed!)
1(G)(G)(W)
Creature - Fungus
Whenever Mycoid Shepherd or another creature you control with power 5 or greater is put into the graveyard from play, you may gain 5 life.
5/4

Qasali Pridemage (Confirmed!)
(G)(W)
Creature - Cat Wizard
Exalted
1, Sacrifice Qasali Pridemage: Destroy target artifact or enchantment.
2/2

Dauntless Escort (Unconfirmed)
1(G)(W)
Creature - Rhox Soldier
Sacrifice Dauntless Escort: Creatures you control are indestructible this turn.
3/3

Naya Hushblade (Unconfirmed)
(R/W)(G)
Creature - ??
As long as you control another multicolored permanent, Naya Hushblase gets +1/+1 and has shroud.
2/1

Knight of New Alara (Confirmed!)
2(G)(W)
Creature - Human Knight
Each other multicolored creature you control gets +1/+1 for each of its colors.
2/2

I think a couple of these cards can be eliminated right away. Wilt-Leaf Liege seems a lot better than Knight of New Alara. They give equivalent bonuses in the frame of the deck, while the Liege is a 4/4 that will live through a Volcanic Fallout or Infest.

Mycoid Shepherd and Knotvine Paladin both feel a little below the power level curve. Mycoid might be a sideboard card, but that seems unlikely. Knotvine Paladin is just not a good enough bear, and is competing with for the all-of-a-sudden crowded 2-drop slot.

With the T2 card pool, we have the option of including turn 1 accelerators like Noble Hierarch, Birds of Paradise, or Llanowar Elves. There could be a build of the deck that relies more on 3 and 4-drops instead of 2-drops. However, I love Treetop Village and Mosswart Bridge, and would rather try a build with CIP tapped lands that curves out with 2 and 3-drops. Maybe something like:

3 Mosswart Bridge
3 Treetop Village
3 Brushland
4 Wooded Bastion
6 Plains
5 Forest

4 Path to Exile
3 Garruk Wildspeaker

4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Bant Sureblade
4 Steward of Valeron
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Dauntless Escort
3 Wilt-leaf Cavaliers
4 Wil-lead Liege
3 Cloudthresher

The most notable cut here is Gaddock Teeg. With testing he may work his way back in, but with Path to Exile and Terminate (confirmed!) in the format, it seems like he would much less effective against 5c Control. Sure, he can still stop a Wrath and Cryptic Command, but Dauntless Escort can give the deck some insurance against sweepers. Cryptic will still be a beating, but I would rather play some better 2-drops and Garruks than hope that the control player doesn’t have a 1 or 2cc solution to Teeg.

Also missing is the Shield of the Oversoul. The plethora of excellent spot removal make me think that the shield is a little too risky. How often will I be dropping the Shield into a 2-for-1, courtesy of Terror, Path, Agony Warp, or Terminate? Until some testing is done it is hard to say, but I anticipate these cards will see a lot of play for Regionals, and I want to nullify their effect as much as possible.

Depending on how the format shakes out, I would definitely love to find myself rocking a Treetop Village at Regionals. Right now virtually everything seems viable, or at least “good in theory,” so I would not be surprised if I ended up playing mountains or islands instead.

What cards are getting you excited for Regionals? What do you anticipate being popular now that we have seen so many cards from the new set? If you have been hard at work home-brewing or theorizing, post in the comments!

~WillPoP

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