Standard: Selesnya Liege - Deck Tech & Sideboard Guide

The Standard of early 2025 is one of the most diverse we've seen in recent years. From well-established decks like Dimir Midrange to new archetypes looking to take advantage of unexplored cards, with the rise of Esper Pixie as the main example, there's no shortage of opportunities to play something different in the format.

Last week, this "something different" was presented by player Tulio_Jaudy in one of the Standard Challenges with Selesnya Liege, a deck that seeks to make the most of the Wilt-Leaf Liege reprint while taking advantage of the card's interaction with discard effects that became more popular with Hopeless Nightmare.

In this article, we analyze this strategy with an updated list and present a Sideboard guide for the main matches of the current Metagame!

There are a few specific differences in this deck when compared to Jaudy's version. The first was the removal of Dryad Militant, an aggressive card that interacts well with Wilt-Leaf Liege, but doesn't offer much in the current Metagame and creatures need to do a bit more than just be a 2/1 for one mana to work in 2025 - consequently, it was replaced by Pawpatch Recruit.

The second change was with Split Up. While its interaction with Seraphic Steed or Unidentified Hovership is quite powerful and can win games against Aggro, it was a very common side out in many matchups and, in others, it seemed like a win more card than necessary and made room for a copy of Loran of the Third Path in the maindeck.

The Sideboard also has some specific changes around some cards that I consider essential for the Metagame today in decks, such as Thrun, Breaker of Silence and Get Lost.

Maindeck

Llanowar Elves is our ideal one-drop since we focus on jumping from one to three mana value to play our most important cards, and it is usually the card we want to see in our starting hand.

Pawpatch Recruit is an aggressive one-drop that benefits our creatures through removal and opponent interactions. Its Offspring cost offers a very efficient two-for-one against specific removals and even against bounces.

Seraphic Steed is a core card for this deck to work. In addition to having a cost that guarantees +2/+2 for it with Wilt-Leaf Liege, a body with Lifelink and First Strike guarantees good trades against other Aggro.

Since many of our creatures with a mana value of three have four power, it is easy to saddle it from the third turn onwards, guaranteeing another body on the board with the Angel token.

Melira, the Living Cure can even be a 5/5 for with Wilt-Leaf Liege in play. Its first ability interacts with Toxic, but this archetype is low in the Metagame today - what matters is the second ability, which operates almost as a “protection against removal” for important creatures.

Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero has the perfect interaction with Seraphic Steed, since it always guarantees an extra draw whenever it is tapped, and on its own, a 4/2 with Vigilance for three mana with the potential to become a 6/4 is a viable option for this archetype.

Trostani, Three Whispers doesn't generate any value on its own and requires a high mana investment to work. But, in addition to interacting with the deck's theme. Its ability to double strike a creature guarantees a very efficient clock in non-interactive games.

The reason behind the origin of Selesnya Liege was the rise of Esper Pixie as a competitive archetype and the deck's interaction with Hopeless Nightmare, which naturally drains the opponent's resources, especially against Aggro. Wilt-Leaf Liege was for years a common answer in Modern to Liliana of the Veil and now its main function is replicated in Standard, with the potential to have a 4/4 on turn one if the opponent opens the game with a discard spell.

Loran of the Third Path is a one-of due to the growth of artifacts and enchantments in the current Metagame and the need for answers that we can reuse if they are returned to the hand and/or that function as another body on the board to pressure the opponent.

Unidentified Hovership is a very efficient spot removal against a dozen creatures in the current Metagame and without returning the exiled permanent to the battlefield. In addition, it also interacts with Wylie Duke, Atiin Hero and also with Split Up, a sweeper that allows us to tap all the creatures we control to crew the vehicle, attack with it, and then use it to clear the battlefield of untapped creatures.

Sheltered by Ghosts is an important spot removal that greatly helps in Aggro matches and protects your threats from cheap removals. Despite this, it is a common side out in games with a lot of board interaction because we don't want to give our opponent a two-for-one, especially since we generate almost no immediate value with our creatures.

Our mana base is extremely straightforward, with four of each dual land that comes into play untapped, plus Restless Prairie as another two-color creature for Wilt-Leaf Liege that interacts well with our go wide plan.

Sideboard

Elspeth’s Smite is a cheap removal that we use in the mirror or against red Aggro, or against other go-wide strategies where dealing with specific creatures is necessary.

Get Lost does a bit of everything, from dealing with Planeswalkers to destroying larger creatures. Its tokens make a difference in some matchups, but its flexibility makes it so present in the side-in that it perhaps deserves a slot in the maindeck.

Invasion of Gobakhan and Aven Interrupter are essential parts of our disruption package in games where we need to be less proactive, with Aven Interrupter contributing to the deck's overall game plan as a creature while Invasion of Gobakhan provides access to information and, if transformed, puts significant pressure on the opponent while protecting creatures from sweepers.

Rest in Peace is our standard answer to graveyards. Perhaps something like Cease // Desist would do a good job in the current Metagame where the only competitive archetype with high graveyard recursion is Azorius Oculus, but I'm going for a more definitive answer in this list.

Nissa, Ascended Animist and Vivien Reid double as powerful answers to artifacts and enchantments, while also acting as a threat and/or source of card advantage in attrition games.

Thrun, Breaker of Silence is the ultimate threat against midrange and has built-in protection while having a body with evasion, doing a bit of everything we need against the decks in the format today.

Dimir Midrange

IN

OUT

Esper Pixie

IN

OUT

Gruul Prowess

IN

OUT

Azorius Tempo

IN

OUT

Four-Color Zur

IN

OUT

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!