States 2011 was my first Magic tournament ever, save one FNM a few weeks before. I blindly chose a deck that was putting up results (Mono Red) and sleeved up. I X-3ed and was kind of broken up because I didn’t have that much fun due to the deck being uninteresting to play. This was the same story for an entire year. Tempered Steel, Solar Flare, and Delver. Never placing and not really having fun. I always thought playing the best deck was the only way to win, even at the cost of enjoying the game. The Timmy in me disagreed and needed to come out in order for me to succeed. It finally did at States 2012 and I achieved the little taste of success I was looking for.

Origin
There was only one standard tournament and some speculation to base building a deck on. Todd Anderson had won the first semi-major standard tournament with American Miracles. The deck was a little pricey so that’s wasn’t on the top of my list of threats but it was definitely there. Jund midrange was there and very threatening. Aggro decks included G/W, W/U, and B/R. 4-Color and Junk Reanimator decks had results so grave hate was a must. Bant was just a good idea and there were lists floating around. The tenth place deck at SCG Cincinnati caught my eye. I made what I thought the necessary adjustments were and was ready for states. It had everything I wanted in a deck, big spells and U/G.

The Deck
I’ve come to call this little lady: BIG BANT

I Top 8ed Ohio States with this list and enjoyed every second of it!
I’m not going to give a report because the builds I played against are a little outdated so the match ups won’t be as relevant. I believe this deck can still be a contender but needs a little update:

Changes
-The first change I made was cutting the Entreat the Angels for another Angel of Serenity. The only real reason is that Entreat just doesn’t have the impact that Angel does. If you manage to miracle it and then untap with it 100% intact it’s fine but Angel is more consistant in it’s ability to change the game.
-Next up was Sphinx’s Revelation. I underestimated this card a lot at the beginning of the format. Every time I drew one I wanted another. There are times with this deck where you will need a way to dig through your deck a little faster than one card a turn. Think Twice and Azorius Charm aren’t exactly what this deck want’s to do. You aren’t slowly digging for counter spells or flash creatures on your opponent’s turn so why not tap out and get a hand full of Fatties for your main phase. I’m messing around with 2 or maybe 3 with an Elixir of Immortality.
-During my first go around I was overly scared of B/R Zombies (I forgot what Thragtusk did) so I loaded up on Terminus to combat Geralf’s Messenger and Blood Artist. I never ended up playing that many aggro decks at states and I’m not to scared of them now. I’m cutting Terminus down to 2 but going up to 3 Supreme Verdict to have a little extra something against the blue creature decks. The extra slot opened up by the other cut Terminus is a Sphinx’s Revelation.

The sideboard is kind of up in the air but it definitely includes:
-2 Negate
-2 Ray of Revelation over Sundering Growth
-An extra Cavern of Souls
-And at least 2 Crushing Vines if U/W Flash/Midrange continues to put up numbers.
-Other possibilities include Centaur Healer for aggro, Geist of Saint Traft for Geist of Saint Traft, and whatever grave-hate you prefer.
-The B/R splash I’ve seen in some Bant lists for Slaughter Games is possible in this deck and I believe it’s a strong idea but doesn’t mesh well with the Gatecreeper Vine/Borderland Ranger consistency plan this deck runs on. If you were to decide to go down the Slaughter Gamespath I’d take out one Island for Steam Vents and one for a Hallowed Fountain, a Forest for Overgrown Tomb, and all of the Borderland Rangers and one Gatecreeper Vine for 4 Centaur Healers.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions/ideas/comments about the deck or if you have any suggestions for my writing I’d love to hear them and I’ll be sure to reply as fast as possible. Just leave a comment or contact me through:
Twitter: @ZacheryAHill
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ZacheryAHill/
Email: zacheryhillmtg@gmail.com
-Zach