Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the stage, Magic Arena‘s newest Super Group band: Bard Storm! That’s right today we’re taking on Bard Storm in Historic. We got some new cards previewed in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, and so we’ll be taking a look at the deck pre and post Historic Horizons release. Can we “storm off” with this band of legendary creatures?
How are we Storming?
Our main way that we are “storming off” is with the help of
Bard Class
Bard Class
(Gain the next level as a sorcery to add its ability.)
Legendary creatures you control enter with an additional +1/+1 counter on them.
{R}{G}: Level 2
Legendary spells you cast cost {R}{G} less to cast. This effect reduces only the amount of colored mana you pay.
{3}{R}{G}: Level 3
Whenever you cast a legendary spell, exile the top two cards of your library. You may play them this turn.
. The main big effects of this card that we look to abuse are levels 2 and 3, which reduce the cost of our legendary spells that we cast, and also let us exile 2 cards from the top of our library that we can cast whenever we cast a legendary spell. Our deck is full of legendary spells and ones that take advantage of the mana reduction as well.
Our Legends
The main legends that we’re really looking to cast are the ones above.
Gallia of the Endless Dance
Gallia of the Endless Dance
Haste
Other Satyrs you control get +1/+1 and have haste.
Whenever you attack with three or more creatures, you may discard a card at random. If you do, draw two cards.
and
Targ Nar, Demon-Fang Gnoll
Targ Nar, Demon-Fang Gnoll
Pack tactics — Whenever Targ Nar attacks, if you attacked with creatures with total power 6 or greater this combat, attacking creatures get +1/+0 until end of turn.
{2}{R}{G}: Double Targ Nar's power and toughness until end of turn.
are free when we have a level 2 Bard Class.
Domri, Anarch of Bolas
Domri, Anarch of Bolas
Creatures you control get +1/+0.
+1: Add {R} or {G}. Creature spells you cast this turn can't be countered.
−2: Target creature you control fights target creature you don't control.
gives us extra mana and protects our creatures from counter magic.
Birgi, God of Storytelling
Birgi, God of Storytelling
Whenever you cast a spell, add {R}. Until end of turn, you don't lose this mana as steps and phases end.
Creatures you control can boast twice during each of your turns rather than once.
also nets us 1 mana when we cast a spell, so our 3 mana legends become free as well.
Radha, Heart of Keld
Radha, Heart of Keld
During your turn, Radha has first strike.
You may look at the top card of your library any time, and you may play lands from the top of your library.
{4}{R}{G}: Radha gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of lands you control.
is also a way for us to find mana from our library if we happen to be land light.
Grumgully, the Generous
Grumgully, the Generous
Each other non-Human creature you control enters with an additional +1/+1 counter on it.
is one of the first creatures we want to play since that helps pump up our team even further.
Mox Amber
Mox Amber
{T}: Add one mana of any color among legendary creatures and planeswalkers you control.
is a free legendary spell that helps us go mana positive when we play multiples of it, which can be very relevant in certain situations. Finally, we have
Samut, Voice of Dissent
Samut, Voice of Dissent
Flash
Double strike, vigilance, haste
Other creatures you control have haste.
{W}, {T}: Untap another target creature.
to give all of our creatures haste, and lets us close out the game very quickly. You can play
Samut, Tyrant Smasher
Samut, Tyrant Smasher
Creatures you control have haste.
−1: Target creature gets +2/+1 and gains haste until end of turn. Scry 1.
in this spot to fill the haste enabler role, but the creatures Samut is a serious threat with double strike so having that extra fire power on board is preferred.
Jumpstart: Historic Horizons Upgrades
So what upgrades to we get from Jumpstart: Historic Horizons? The big one really is
Aeve, Progenitor Ooze
Aeve, Progenitor Ooze
Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn. Copies become tokens.)
Aeve isn't legendary if it's a token.
Aeve enters with a +1/+1 counter on it for each other Ooze you control.
. This card really brings the “storm” to Bard Storm, and it fits in really well because it’s also a legendary creature. We don’t get the full extent of the mana cost reduction from Bard Class, but we should have plenty of mana to cast this and from there we can truly swarm the board. We’ll still play Samut to give everything haste, but sometimes our opponents have blockers and we just need that little extra oomph to close out the game. We can also look to play
Chatterstorm
Chatterstorm
Create a 1/1 green Squirrel creature token.
Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn.)
as a finisher. It’s a lot less desirable but it’d work.
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Bard Storm was an awesome deck to play. It’s a really fast strategy, linear definitely, but it’s one that can catch opponents by surprise. If we don’t end up going for the storm kill, we can always just play a normal aggro style game and push through some insane damage with our legends. What do you think about this one? Have you played this deck before, whether it’s in Historic or Modern? Let us know in the comments!