Updating Mono Colored Decks for Historic Anthology 2

The March game update, Historic ranked queues and Historic Anthology 2 cards are right around to corner and over the next few days, we will be providing you with some decklists and insights to get you started in the new format! In this article, we will be theorycrafting and updating each of the five mono colored deck archetypes; Mono White Lifegain, Mono Blue Tempo, Mono Black Devotion, Mono Red Aggro, and Mono Green Stompy.

These are a good place to start for newer players wanting to dive into Historic, since they generally require less Wildcards to build. Some of them are also not in a bad position overall, since Theros Beyond Death was also a set looking to further strengthen single color strategies following Throne of Eldraine in the form of the Devotion mechanic.

Try the below decks in the Historic events before the ranked queues go live (substitute the Anthology cards of course) and let us know your thoughts! Remember, you can find all the new Historic decks here going forward.

Mono White Lifegain

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White received a boon in Theros, and combined with Soul Warden and Serra Ascendant from Historic Anthology 1, we can put together a formidable list. I also think that the four copies of Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is a must include in the main deck, since we are a creature based deck and our opponent’s attempts to remove them will be greatly slowed down. For Magic veterans, you will already know how good she is. Nyx-Fleece Ram and Ranger of Eos are also potential inclusions in the deck, and definitely worth experimenting. Here is where I am at the deck so far.

[sd_deck deck=”GkxVFxK0″]

Mono Blue Tempo

Mono Blue Tempo is a deck that offers some rewarding game play beyond counterspells and Curious Obsession. The deck remains largely unchanged from Theros or the second Anthology, but Thassa, Deep-Dwelling is worth taking a look at since Devotion is not too hard to reach with the deck and you can protect her creature status quite well. Beyond the single copy, it’s hard to find room for Thassa since the deck is mana hungry but it is worth trying to synergize her with cards like Merfolk Trickster and Exclusion Mage.

[sd_deck deck=”w9d30YLF”]

Mono Black Devotion

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Mono Black Devotion is a deck that players reminisce about from back in when the first Theros was released in 2013, and we rejoiced when “Gary” – Gray Merchant of Asphodel, made its return. It didn’t quite make an impact on Standard as it quickly faded away, but I cannot wait to try it in Historic. Pack Rat was another component of the previously successful deck that makes its return in Historic Anthology 2. Combine all that with card advantage engines and a decent suite of hand disruption and removal spells, everything might fall into place nicely for this deck.

[sd_deck deck=”s44FenjE”]

Mono Red Aggro

Mono Red Aggro is doing quite well in Standard at the moment, mostly thanks to Anax, Hardened in the Forge. While Anax is very good especially with Embercleave, in Historic the three drop slot is congested in Historic with cards like Rampaging Ferocidon and Goblin Chainwhirler. Other than that, the Historic version remains basically unchanged and Anthology is also slim pickings here.

[sd_deck deck=”9Mhhdm8Y”]

Mono Green Stompy

Theros Beyond Death or Historic Anthology 2 does not add much for Mono Green decks other than sideboard cards such as Shadowspear, Mystic Repeal or Destiny Spinner. On the other hand, Mono Green Stompy is already a well-tuned deck with powerhouses such as Steel Leaf Champion and Ghalta, Primal Hunger and is still expected to perform decently moving forward. Gruul Aggro is probably the closest deck (which we will cover at a later date), if you are looking for a similar deck with the biggest upside being able to use Embercleave.

[sd_deck deck=”xyQJADJw”]