The set finally comes out tonight, which means a brand new Standard season is before us. Today I am going to be talking about a budget deck that got a serious upgrade thanks to this set, and it is from a relatively unassuming card. This deck is crazy cheap and wins through an infinite combo that can be assembled as soon as turn 4. The card that I am so excited about is Sentinel’s Mark!
This uncommon that is going to end up in draft chaff piles across the world, is a huge component of the combo in today’s deck. The keyword on this card that makes it so important is lifelink. This card is the cheapest way to give lifelink in Standard at the moment, and that is what makes it so important. Previously we have had to use Squire’s Devotion and On Serra’s Wings in order to enact the combo, and getting that effect for only 2 mana is huge for the deck.
Here is how the combo works, and how we can enable it as soon as turn 4. Turn 1 play a Sorcerer’s Wand.
Next play Famished Paladin. On turn 3 equip the wand to the paladin.
Give it lifelink on turn 4 with an enchantment and you can ping your opponent to death. The way this works is because the wand makes the creature deal the damage. If the creature has lifelink you will gain 1 life, and whenever you gain life you can untap the paladin. Now that we know what is required for the combo, the next part is finding the combo pieces.
Obviously, one of the most important pieces of the combo is Famished Paladin. Fortunately, finding him is a breeze thanks to Forerunner of the Legion being able to tutor for him exactly and put him on top of the deck. In the case that you already have Famished Paladin, Forerunner can search for other cards such as more Forerunners to help you flood the board, Adanto Vanguard to have a sticky threat, or even Bishop of Rebirth to revive your Paladin from the graveyard.
Thanks to the printing of Sentinel’s Mark we can run as many as 12 cards that give lifelink, but I believe that playing 7-8 is more reasonable and gives you room for other utility cards such as removal. If we choose to play On Serra’s Wings over Squire’s Devotion we can actually also play Board the Weatherlight which gives us a cantrip that can dig 5 cards deep for either the Wings or the Wand. While it can only grab 7 cards in the deck, it’s one of the only ways we can consistently find Sorceror’s Wand which makes it valuable enough to include.
This deck is never going to win a pro tour, but for less than 15 bucks you can get yourself into Standard with an effective deck, that knows exactly what it is doing and goes after that. The combo is easy to disrupt, but if your opponent doesn’t know what the combo even is, you can catch them off guard and steal a win. Thank you all for reading I hope you have a great week and an amazing Tuesday!
Link to Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1587248#paper
