Shards of Alara: Bant

The Bant shard was one of the most interesting shards in the Magic: The Gathering expansion, Shards of Alara, and its unique exalted mechanic has a single creature bringing the pain down on your opponent.

The flagship card for the Bant shard is Stoic Angel. This heavenly creature has the potential to stave off an entire army of creatures, while whittling away at your opponent's life total each turn. The addition of the vigilance keyword is also an asset to this creature, because you can attack with two creatures each turn, as well as keeping a blocker back to guard your life total.

Once called the best card for Bant, Kitchen Finks is an advantage machine, coming back after it dies and netting you two extra life each time it hits play. This card is still an essential piece to the deck.

Rafiq of the Many is a powerhouse that can win games single handedly. The turn he comes down, he turns your strongest creature into a more powerful, double-striking menace, capable of tearing through creatures, players and planeswalkers alike.

Snakeform and Bant charm are two underused removal spells that also have extra effects. The extra card that snakeform draws you is a potential Rafiq of the many or a Stoic angel, and the sheer number of options that Bant charm gives you is simply too good to pass up. The key concept that must be stressed in this deck is utility: the ability to gain multiple effects off of fewer cards, and these two cards are prime candidates for that type of effect.

Since Bant plays many multicolored creatures, the hybrid auras from the Shadowmoor and Eventide expansions have the potential to make the player's threats even more deadly. Shield of the Oversoul can make creatures evasive and indestructible, while Favor of the Overbeing can give you that extra boost you need to finish off your opponent.

The final cards are just a couple creatures to ensure we have enough to take advantage of the exalted bonus granted by our creatures. The addition of Rhox War Monk and Akrasan Squire will do nicely for this job.

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