Daily Dominaria Deck Tech: Reanimator Redemption

Every workday while the set is new, Insight is taking a quick look at one deck featuring the latest additions from Dominaria United. Amid the black midrange sludge and drudge, there's hope for justice in Standard still. A string of successful performances proves: You can be the bigger strategy and invoke justice!

invoke the new


While Standard is mostly cast in darkness, we can see one bright white light at the end of the tunnel. In this case, it doesn't herald a move to the next world but a return to the land of the living. (Though it often involves the appearance of an Angel too.) Raising the dead has long been a domain of black magic, but the premier reanimation spell in Standard today is the whitest card imaginable: .

Standard Challenge results list three distinct builds built around the card. One finished second at the second post-rotation Challenge on September 4, then put a different player into the Top 8 at the next Challenge and a third into its Top 16. One day later another version ended up in eleventh place and yet another in seventeenth. You can find decklists for all three approaches below: one focused on filtering via red cards, one only splashing for Fable, and one monowhite.

They all share full playsets of: Invoke of course, , , and . Here it is important to note that the whole thing works perfectly fine as a midrange design. Some versions even summon another midrange monster in , which is particularly sweet when it reveals a Saga or planeswalker off the top upon dying. Most of the intended reanimation targets can be hardcast too.

But cheating a big creature into play and turning it bigger is the biggest play available to players. The best Invoke targets in the format, next to Sanctuary Warden, include and . The Restoration of Eiganjo can discard one of them, but does the job even better. It can discard, provide a fifth mana on turn four, and copy Warden or Titan later. The red-heavy version of the deck also employs and as discard outlets, while the others use , , and the odd night shift from instead.

Finally, some opponents happen to +1 without triggering afterward. Or the Trespasser itself forces a discard when you target it. For the Invoke Justice department either is an easily punishable offense.


Red-White Reanimator by _Falcon, 2nd at Standard Challenge, September 4
Main DeckSideboard
  • 4
  • 4
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  • 4
  • 4
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  • 1
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  • 1
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  • 1
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Red-White Reanimator by JUJUBEAN__2004, 11th at Standard Challenge, September 11
Main DeckSideboard
  • 4
  • 4
  • 3
  • 4
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  • 4
  • 2
  • 1
  • 1
  • 4
  • 4
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  • 1
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  • 13
  • 1
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  • 4
White Reanimator by HinaHara, 17th at Standard Challenge, September 11
Main DeckSideboard
  • 2
  • 4
  • 2
  • 4
  • 4
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  • 4
  • 2
  • 1
  • 4
  • 4
  • 4
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  • 1
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  • 20
  • 2
  • 2
  • 2
  • 2
  • 2
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  • 2

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