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A new kind of Zoo in the Standard environment
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It is well known that the Naya-colored (RGW) Zoo deck in the Standard environment has been trying to get back in the limelight since Shards of Alara was released. Since the much anticipated release of Zendikar, a small resurgence has been noticed around the tournament scenes here. The age-old theme of "I have the biggest, baddest, most efficient creatures and if you don't have a way to get more creatures out faster than I and swarm me by turn X you are dead" is still the best way to build this deck and there are ample cards that serve as efficient control to go along with them to win consistently. When building this deck for yourself, here are a few must-have staples as well as other choices and reasons to include them based on your play style.
Creatures
There are two creatures that should be in every Zoo deck - Woolly Thoctar and Bloodbraid Elf. The first is a monster for a three mana casting cost, and the second is just a speed advantage that is almost unfair. Jund decks have recently been able to use the Elf to gain great advantages, so why can't Zoo? With things like Cerodon Yearling, Rip-Clan Crashers, Ball Lightning, Hellspark Elemental, and Hell's Thunder that can be cascaded into that also have the Haste ability, this deck can be very fast. If you are building for a less-suicidal / more mid-game power, of course the aforementioned Thoctar can be found with the cascade, but also consider the Enlisted Wurm - a 5/5 creature that costs 6 that can cascade into most everything in the deck. If you go this route and are also lucky enough to own Baneslayer Angels, you will see many unsettling looks from your opponents along the way.
Also consider the other decks that you will be playing against when picking creatures for the deck - Valeron Outlander is great right now with the presence of Jund and Vampire decks. This week's tournaments also showed a lot more control than was expected, so Spellbreaker Behemoth and Great Sable Stag are good choices as well. If you are facing an artifact heavy deck, Vithian Renegades is often overlooked but works well here.
Non-creature spells
Since you are playing white and red, control is not an issue. The issue is having enough slots to play all the cards that you want in the deck. Here is where your budget, or like the previously recognized luck of owning some high dollar power cards like the Baneslayer Angel will effect your decision.
The obvious choice if you are playing the super fast version of the deck is Path to Exile. It might even be the most obvious selection if you are playing a slower version. With the 1 casting cost, remove this creature from the game ability, it simply clears the way for all of your big fat creatures to stomp on through to victory. Don't worry too much about the fact that it gives your opponent help with their mana base by allowing them to search for a basic land of their choice - most often when you play this it will be for the win or get them within lethal damage range for next turn.
Other control cards and removal to consider in white are Oblivion Ring, Journey to Nowhere and Harm's Way. Since there are a few creatures that you might face that have protection from white and cannot be targeted by these spells, Lightning Bolt is a classic that every red player that ever lived is ecstatic about having been reprinted in M10 and is also a must have compliment.
The other way to get rid of protected creatures - mass removal. If you have the cash to go get or have been lucky enough to trade for or pull Day of Judgments from packs, they are great here. If you are not running too many small creatures in the deck yourself, Pyroclasm or Volcanic Fallout also work well. Most often you can reset a stronger army of creatures faster than your opponent in times of need.
Land / Mana Base
This is actually pretty easy, but again hinges on what you have and the means to obtain the necessary cards. The new fetch lands will work well here but are not necessary to win, so don't break the bank if you don't need to. Since the M10 dual lands are roughly half the cost I would recommend investing in those first. Rampant Growth, Khalni Heart Expedition and Harrow are all spells that will help you accelerate as well as fix the mana that you are given. Birds of Paradise have also been a choice of many Zoo decks in the past.
I would love to hear feedback on the article as well as see any results that you may have had with this deck style recently. Please leave comments and check back often for more Magic the Gathering examinations!
-gkk
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