My first real take on Praxis Midrange with Defiance out. Refer to my older decklists for takes on older cards, for new cards:
Darya, Warrior Poet: Extremely potent 4 drop, ahead of the curve offensively in terms of damage and has REAL late game potential, combining with a
Heart of the Vault for later reanimation or a
Xo of the Endless Hoard can make some amazing things happen. The real dream is buffing something with Darya and using
Shugo Tactic for massive damage.
Dissociate: A card I consider to be among the best of the new set and has been mostly neglected by people. The amount of tempo you gain by playing this is incredible, sometimes it just downright win games vs harsh rule decks.
The Praxis Arcanum: Potent card if you have board control or just need to sneak a tiny bit of extra damage to win, single copy in here because the deck doesn't rely too much on it for anything and is extremely fragile.
Xo of the Endless Hoard: What can I say? It is a
Wisdom of the Elders at 2 and slow if you can market his body, quite possibly the second best card of the set, second only to
Howling Peak
The deck's playstyle is very similar to old Praxis Midrange, just try to curve out as smoothly as possible and end the game with the tempo advantage you secure early on. The main difference is that Xo has helped Praxis have a hold on the game for longer when combined to the card advantage from Heart and a single 4+ drop sticking on the board can spell doom for the opponent with a Darya in the later stages.
Initiate of the Sands
x4
1
Torch
x4
2
Dissociate
x3
2
Temple Scribe
x4
2
Trail Maker
x4
2
Xenan Initiation
x2
3
Auralian Merchant
x4
4
Darya, Warrior Poet
x4
4
Sandstorm Titan
x4
4
Shatterglass Mage
x2
4
The Praxis Arcanum
x1
4
Xenan Obelisk
x2
5
Worldbearer Behemoth
x4
6
Heart of the Vault
x4
6
Xo of the Endless Hoard
x4
Fire Sigil
x2
Time Sigil
x4
Crest of Impulse
x4
Granite Waystone
x4
Praxis Banner
x3
Seat of Impulse
x4
Shugo Standard
x4
View Deck on Shiftstoned
Now, the Vanguard is a very sad card in my opinion, It dies to Gun Down generated by Howling Peak which is the card to beat in this meta and is just outcompeted by Worldbearer Behemoth, both in stats and effect, Praxis is one if not THE best faction when it comes to attachment removal so not having endurance isn't a problem. That said, I still think the Vanguard has a place in sentinel themed decks like reanimator, but not anywhere worldbearer fits or until skycraggro is SO POPULAR that the endurance is just huge.