Standard Legendaries

In case you haven't noticed, there are quite a few legendary creatures in Standard so far, 56 in fact.

Let's consider a quick breakdown of how many there are...

5 White
4 Blue
6 Black
4 Red
6 Green
25 Multicolored (2 colors)
5 Multicolored (3 colors)
1 Multicolored (5 colors)

So, with all these legendary creatures, there has to be something we can do with them. There has to be something much more useful that having them to use in just any deck or in an EDH deck, or for several of these, Tiny Leaders. Fortunately, there is a card to aid in a Standard deck full of legendary creatures.

That's right, Hero's Blade boosts legendary creatures and can instantly be equipped upon a legendary creature entering the battlefield. Considering some of the great creatures available to us, how about a powerful deck?

Naya Legends

Creatures x4 Zurgo Bellstriker x4 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit x4 Avatar of the Resolute x2 Alesha, Who Smiles at Death x2 Yasova Dragonclaw x2 Anax and Cymede Land x4 Wooded Foothills x4 Windswept Heath x4 Battlefield Forge x2 Mana Confluence x2 Plains x2 Mountains x2 Forest

Artifacts x4 Hero's Blade Other Spells x2 Chained to the Rocks x4 Artful Maneuver x4 Atarka's Command x3 Dromoka's Command x2 Outpost Siege x3 Stoke the Flames

    

So what are we looking at? For starters, Zurgo costs a single mana or can enter with haste for two mana. If you can play him on Turn 3 following a Hero's Blade the previous turn, you have a hasty 5/4. Sure he'll go away at the end of your turn, but that's still five points of damage going in.

Anafenza has the awesome Bolster ability that will allow you to boost a creature each time Zurgo enters the battlefield. Sure, Bolster could trigger whenever you play a creature, but if we're dashing Zurgo, he'll trigger it most.

I know Avatar of the Resolute isn't a legendary creature, but Avatar does play off Anafenza pretty well. with the creatures on the field, anything that will boost Avatar will be making a great creature even better. Besides, reach is the one thing this deck needs badly.

    

Alesha is here for the ability of summoning any of the previous two legendary creatures back to the battlefield. You could get a Zurgo in which instantly equips Hero's Blade or maybe Anafenza who does the same. Either way, it's an extra 5 damage coming in.

Yasova Dragonclaw steals creatures and is already a 4/2. Playing her on turn three gives you a trampling 7/4. Sure, she can't attack until turn 4, but she's still really powerful.

Anax and Cymede provide targets for Artful Maneuver and Dromoka's Command, but we'll get to those later. Boosting your team and giving them trample can win games.

    

Chained to the Rocks is our removal. Since we run Mountains, I see no reason as to why we'd exclude this.

Artful Maneuver, as mentioned earlier, is a spell for triggering Anax and Cymede's Heroic ability. Attached to a Hero's Blade, they'd be a 6/4, given +2/+2 and then boosting the rest of the creatures with +1/+1 and trample, and we have a 9/7 with first strike, vigilance, and trample on turn four. Hypothetically, paired with a Zurgo played the first turn, Hero's Blade on turn two, and Anax on turn three, by turn four, you will have dealt 16 points of damage. A control deck would have a problem overcoming this because this takes off fast and doesn't stop while a control player wouldn't even have the spells to stop it this fast.

Atarka's Command is for burn. Or mana acceleration. Or boosting your team. And I guess blocking life gain in control... It's versatile.

    

Dromoka's Command interferes with burn, removes enchantments, boosts a creature (think Anax and Cymede maybe?) and takes out a potential threat. It's as useful as Atarka's Command here, so it's included.

Outpost Siege either gives you extra card access or deals damage to your opponent every time you dash Zurgo and bounce him at the end of your turn or when you kill off one legendary creature by playing another copy. It fits pretty well in this deck, don't you think?

Stoke the Flames is just extra burn. When I play Naya, I think "Creatures, Pump Spells, Burn." My first foray into Modern was actually a Naya deck using creatures like Strangleroot Geist, Giant Growth, Lightning Helix, and Lightning Bolt. Lifegain was added into the mix there, but this deck is about the same. Creatures, pump spells, and burn.

Like the deck? Got a couple cards that would fit better and make this run faster? Comment below!