Since the most recent ban announcement hit three Standard all-stars, the format’s metagame has experienced some major shifts. Players have quickly begun finding success with forgotten and revamped archetypes that are finally seeing the light of day. A sweet Naya Delirium shell, for example, has been making the rounds in Magic Online Leagues and Challenges.
Maximizing the Graveyard as a Resource
Unlike most traditional aggro decks in Standard, this archetype is built to abuse Delirium, turning Fear of Missing Out and Wildfire Wickerfolk into massive threats. These creatures even have the upside of doubling as a second card type, further fueling Delirium when they die. Patchwork Beastie and Hardened Academic can also speed things up, dumping cards into the graveyard.
Once you get four card types into your graveyard, there are some nasty “combo” kills you can set up. Casting Practiced Offense to give Wickerfolk Double Strike, for example, enables a 20-damage Trampling attack if Fear of Missing Out is in play. A similarly brutal kill can be achieved with Keen-Eyed Curator once you exile four card types.
Notably, Curator also pairs perfectly with Hardened Academic, letting you grow creatures with each activation. With a stocked graveyard, it won’t take long before Hardened Academic can grow absolutely massive and one-shot opponents alongside Practiced Offense or Violent Urge.
An Upward Trajectory
In the current Standard metagame, Naya Delirium has plenty of appeal. Thanks to the addition of Hardened Academic and Practiced Offense, this deck is capable of explosive draws that race removal-light strategies like Mono-Green Landfall. At the same time, most of your creatures are beefy enough to stave off early pressure from Mono-Red Aggro.
Interestingly, this deck’s high density of three-toughness creatures lines up nicely in a format ruled by Burst Lightning and Firebending Lesson, too. Even beating board wipes isn’t outrageously difficult, since Wickerfolk, Academic, and any creature hit off Break Out all have Haste.
All of that said, this deck runs into issues when facing down cards that do answer your creatures efficiently, like Requiting Hex or Spell Snare out of Dimir Midrange. On top of that, Naya Delirium is also vulnerable to graveyard hate pieces like Rest in Peace that mess with all of your synergies.
Still, while Naya Delirium is far from perfect, the deck presents a strong gameplan that’s surprisingly versatile. If you’re looking for something fun to play that attacks from a unique angle, this archetype has you covered.
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