Standard Geistblade

Geistblade is an aggro-control strategy centered around Geist of Sain Traft and various mythic swords, namely Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of War and Peace. Geistblade uses a number of counterspells as well as removal to defend itself. Hero of Bladehold, Snapcaster Mage, and Thrun, the Last Troll are all very powerful and cost-effective creatures that are used alongside Geist of Saint Traft to apply a considerable amount of pressure in the early- mid game.

Most Geistblade lists are blue and white, but a number splash green for mana acceleration or black for additional removal and hand disruption. Subsequently, UWG lists are sometimes referred to as Bantblade, and UWB lists Esperblade. Although they were not initially as popular as Wolf-Run ramp decks, they gained momentum as Innistrad cards became more popular in the standard metagame.

Other variations of this deck include "Mageblade", which are focused more on Delver of Secrets and Snapcaster Mage in conjunction with more instants and sorceries. Mageblade often runs Runechanter's Pike to take advantage of all the non-permanents in the deck.

Bant Geistblade