Against Ruby Storm's goldfish-style kill, Martyr of Sands gains a large chunk of life for just {1} and a creature sacrifice, buying crucial turns against their Seething Song/Big Score-fueled burn finish. Standard Bearer can absorb their few direct-damage spells (though they run little removal, it still blanks any stray burn effect) and is a cheap body to pressure them with before they go off. Guardians' Pledge is a weak pump spell against a deck we're not racing in combat, and we trim some Elite Interceptor copies since speed to close the game before they assemble their combo matters more than card selection.