Examining the Standard Metagame at Game Day.
After a new set releases, Standard
fluctuates more than any other Constructed format (excluding the lesser-played Block
format), so the Game Day tournament that comes after a set hits the streets is
always an interesting one. Because it comes on the tail end of Prerelease and
Release events, it has the potential to showcase a more mature Standard
environment. An environment that's put new cards through the wringer. An
environment that's put new cards on trial in front of a jury of their peers and
deemed them worthy of inclusion or denounced them as "unplayable in the
current meta." Some cards are forced to quickly pack their bags, fresh
borne from their booster pack, exiled forever to Jankville. In the case of the
most recent Game Day, (held at your local, friendly game store, Fanatix #Plug),
the Standard format had already been put through the paces at Pro Tour Magic 2015. In Portland, the brightest
minds in the game came together to dismantle the format and then put it back
together, leaving only the most potent strategies standing.
With the Pro Tour results at
front of mind, the local spellslingers had a chance to choose their weapon in
an attempt to take down their friends in a battle for pride and prizes. Would
they look to mimic the front-runners of the Pro Tour, lean on the results of
the large third-party circuits, or attack the format with something just a little off kilter...the ever-elusive:
winning brew. I 'm happy to report that the Fanatix Game Day had representation
from all three camps. Let me set the stage: I wanted to get in on the action
myself, but I was without a deck and I was without practice. As I've found many
times throughout my Magic-playing
career, it's oftentimes really fun just to watch and discuss Magic with some other fans of the game.
With that in mind, I approached Phil about doing some "coverage" of
the event. By this time, round 1 was underway and I needed to hustle. I asked
him first about the turn out. His response was perfect: "It's small, but
potent." Sixteen players had come out to battle. With regular FNM turn
outs of more than thirty, sixteen was a little on the skinny side, but what a
perfect number. Already it had the feel of an invitational-style event. Plus,
this was my first crack at doing any type of event coverage ever, so this would
be a stellar way to tip-toe into the waters. As it turns out, these waters were
infested. Infested with spiky sharks.
When I walked into Fanatix, I
was quick to notice the mix of players at the tables. The tournament was loaded
with many of Dothan's most regular and renowned players. Small, but potent,
indeed. Lots of these guys had earned my admiration as thoughtful, skillful
players. It looked as though the gloves were off. There will very little jank
at the tables tonight. Before we dive
into the deck lists (BEWARE: the water/aqua/fish/shark puns are going to keep
coming. Watch out for the buoys!), let's examine the heart of the matter. The purpose
of the article. The hearticle, if you will. My goal here is to paint some broad
strokes and showcase some of the decks and cards seeing play in the area. With
this article, I'd like to take a snapshot of the local scene and present you
with the decks to beat. Sure, there will be some ebb and flow (that's what
makes Standard so fun and popular) but, as the saying goes: "A gamer's
gonna game," so you can count on many of these winning strategies to show
up again and again.
Archetype Breakdown
First,
let's take a high-level view of the decks that saw play during Game Day. I'm
not familiar with any consistently performing Combo decks in Standard, but the
other core archetypes, Aggro, Mid-Range, Aggro-Control, and Control, were all
represented in some form or fashion. Behold, the contenders and their weapon of
choice.
Player
|
Deck
|
Archetype
|
Andrew Tharpe
|
UW "Floch" Control
|
Control
|
Brandon Weaver
|
Mono-Blue Devotion
|
Aggro
|
Brentney Washington
|
UW Control
|
Control
|
Danny Abeyta
|
Mono-Black Devotion
|
Aggro-Control
|
Dean Burger
|
UG Prime Speaker Mid-Range
|
Mid-Range
|
Dustin Thornton
|
Naya Walkers
|
Mid-Range
|
Freeland Hollowell
|
Mono-Red "Sligh"
|
Aggro
|
Garrett Darley
|
Wr "Firemane" Aggro
|
Aggro
|
Jason Temple
|
Mono-Black Devotion
|
Aggro-Control
|
Johnny Page
|
Jund Walkers
|
Mid-Range
|
Matt Campbell
|
Naya Walkers
|
Mid-Range
|
Nick Newman
|
Mono-Black Devotion
|
Aggro-Control
|
Ryan Grace
|
Jund Mid-Range
|
Mid-Range
|
Trevyn Albrecht
|
Jund Walkers
|
Mid-Range
|
Tyler Lindsey
|
Esper Control
|
Control
|
Tyler Underwood
|
Mono-Black Devotion
|
Aggro-Control
|
Before we get submerged any further, I want to address
one thing above. I feel like the "Aggro-Control" label for the popular
Mono-Black Devotion decks might cause some of you to raise your eyebrows.
Depending on the specific build, you can certainly make arguments that the deck
plays more aggressive or more controlling, but I think much of the deck's
strength comes from its dual nature and its ability to switch roles in a match
very quickly and efficiently. Think about some of the openings you see from the
common builds of this deck: Thoughtseize, Pack Rat, Nightveil Specter,
Desecration Demon. This is an aggressive curve out! Pack Rat alone can play an
aggressive game, deploying threats that grow in size while maintaining a static
cost. This is a great tempo advantage! Desecration Demon, in particular, also has
a tempo feel because when you stick him early, it's so far ahead in regards to its
mana cost to power/toughness ratio that you feel one or two turns ahead of your
opponent. In the case that this deck opens the game with this kind of early
aggression, the spot removal is used to clear the way and beat down quickly,
leaving just a light bit of mop-up duty to our friend (and one of the
hardest-hitting cards in Standard) Gray Merchant of Asphodel. Obviously, in
other matchups, the mono-black deck can take a more controlling bent and use its
removal early to preserve its pilot's life total, deploying threats after weathering
the storm of a more aggressive deck. What about against control? Thoughtseize
and Underworld Connections really shine here, removing key spells and keeping
pace in the card advantage race.
Anyway, other authors have spent
many more intelligent words exploring the intricacies of the mono-black
devotion deck and its strengths and weaknesses in the greater metagame. My
purpose here is to assert that I feel we can safely label the MBD deck as an Aggro-Control
deck without losing too much sleep at night. If you feel differently, be sure
to make your case in the comments. I love reading other's thoughts on Magic theory.
With that said, let's look at
MBD's share of the tournament. A full quarter of the sharks came wielding dark
magic seeing no need to dip into other colors. Well almost. Nick Newman decided
that Watery Grave and Temple of Deceit were fine "Swamps" and used
them to touch in a full four copies of Far and Away. This adds some more
credence to the Aggro-Control nature of the MBD deck. Sure, Nick opted to pay
one colorless more for his edict effect, but he also picks up the option to
blow his opponent out with a well-timed fuse spell. Additionally, when
discussing his decision to run the card, he expressed the importance of having
a non-black way to handle Blood Baron of Vizkopa, a potentially troubling card
for the deck. Meanwhile, Danny Abeyta opted to give his version of MBD a
slightly more controlling angle of attack including singleton copies of Liliana
Vess and the Magic 2015 stand out,
Perilous Vault. I overheard him comment that some of his opponents weren't sure
how to play around the ominous artifact. Tyler Underwood chose to stick with a
well-worn path, playing probably the most "stock" version of the
deck. With still another take on the deck, Jason Temple chose to pilot a MBD
deck which eschewed the mainstream Pack Rat and Nightveil Specter in favor of
Herald of Torment and Lifebane Zombie. He tried to offset the glut of
three-drops with leaner removal spells, boldly choosing to run Doom Blade in
the main deck. Unfortunately, for Mr. Temple, black creatures were
well-represented in this event.
Even with 25% of the field, the
mono-black archetype didn't stand tallest. With 37.5 % of the field,
green-based Mid-Range decks looked to squash the tournament with a smattering
of ramp, removal, under-costed threats, and Planeswalkers. Of the six Mid-Range
decks, five of the card crafters chose to leverage the might of the plentiful
dual land options currently available in Standard and opted into three-color
decks. Three players chose the infamous combination of Black, Red, and Green
known to most as simply "Jund". Jund decks stormed the Pro Tour Magic 2015, placing two decks into the
Top 8. The builds were quite different, but both relied heavily on small green
creatures like Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid, and Courser of Kruphix to
provide a steady stream of mana with which to deploy threats and besiege their
opponents. Johnny Page plunged deep into the card pool, stocking his library
with a host of "spicy" one-offs like Rakdos's Return, Primeval
Bounty, and the often overlooked Clan Defiance. Johnny told me between rounds
that, even as a singleton, the Clan Defiance had already muscled its way into
getting multiple three-for-ones on the evening. Trevyn Albrecht also snuggled
up next to Johnny on the Jund train jamming a different mix of creatures, planeswalkers,
and potent singletons. After the tournament, Trevyn joked that of all the
planeswalkers he ran, his favorite was...Primeval Bounty...the enchantment that
won't stop giving.
Two other Mid-Range pilots elected
the Green-centric Naya shard with which to do battle, looking to capitalize on
a wealth of planeswalkers defended by some of the boogie-monsters of Standard,
like Polukranos, World Eater and Stormbreath Dragon. One of the Naya players (and
owner of the awesome 1-UP Games), Dustin Thornton, told me that the intent of
the Naya decks that he and Matt Campbell were playing was to put a spin on the
Jund lists that had performed so well at the afore-mentioned Pro Tour. The lists certainly looked powerful!
The inclusion of White grants them access to all manner of Standard staples
including Banishing Light and Selesnya Charm, as well as three copies of one of
the most powerful cards in Standard, Elspeth, Sun's Champion.
The sole two-color Mid-Range
deck was a sweet-looking stack played by Dean Burger. Dean's list also looks to
generate high-volumes of mana (and consistent land drops) with a full battery
of four of each of Elvish Mystic, Sylvan Caryatid, and Courser of Kruphix. Dean
was looking to land large threats early in the form of Polukranos, Prime
Speaker Zenaga, and Prognostic Sphinx. He also went big with a top-end showcasing
Garruk, Caller of Beats and one of my favorite cards from Magic 2015, the mighty Hornet Queen. I didn't get a chance to see
much of Dean's deck in action, but he shared with me afterwards that he really
likes his deck against other creature decks, but that he struggles to put up
wins against the omni-present Thoughtseize and the often-present Lifebane
Zombie, both eviscerating his hand of high-end haymakers.
The remaining six decks were
split evenly between Aggro and Control. On the Aggro front, there was a
refreshing tide of diversity among
the decks that were looking to end the game quickly. I didn't get to look at
their exact lists, but both Brandon Weaver and Freeland Hollowell chose to play
aggressive decks that have seen success at a number of tournaments. Brandon was
on a very proven Mono-Blue list that has ebbed and flowed from the top tables
of major tournaments. Likewise, Freeland looked to be piloting a deck made
famous by Tom Ross on the Star City Games Circuit, dubbed Boss Sligh. Freeland reengineered
the deck a bit to take advantage of a powerful Aura from Magic 2015: Inferno Fist. The final Aggro deck was one put together
by resident Brew Master, Garrett Darley. Aside from his luxurious beard,
Garrett is known locally for being very good at uncovering and exploring rogue
strategies. He's got a knack for finding powerful, underplayed cards and
trawling the format for other cards that can be used to maximize the card's
potential. At this event, Garrett looked to unleash the battalion-powered strength
of Firemane Angel. With a solid stable of White-weenie creatures, Garrett
attacked the field with a barrage of small efficient beaters backed up by the
obscene Brimaz, King of Oreskos and the game-swinging Brave the Elements.
Garrett said he won most games in which he was able to trigger the Angel. In a
post-tournament breakdown, Garrett said that he was impressed by the work that
Truefire Paladin did, but that Imposing Sovereign ultimately proved
underwhelming.
Lastly, those damned Control
decks! Ever since the printing of Supreme Verdict and Sphinx's Revelation,
there has been no denying the power of the Blue-White decks bent on grinding
the game to halt in its unending quest for card advantage. All three of the
control players were utilizing the UW
core, bringing a full complement of both the Verdict and the Revelation. Even
with their similarities, these decks did prove to have some variety. Andrew
Tharpe chose to battle with the deck that had just won the Pro Tour. It's
perhaps the most controlling of the lists, leaning on both Supreme Verdict and
Planar Cleansing to keep the board clear. The deck reuses is sweepers by
drawing a massive amount of cards and recycling its cards by way of Elixir of
Immortality. Brentney Washington chose the more traditional version of the
deck, which manages threats of all types with the powerful duo of enchantments:
Detention Sphere and Banishing Light. He was the only control player looking to
end the game with the slippery shapeshifter, Aetherling. Tyler Lindsey alone
splashed Black, going into full Esper-mode to gain access to Thoughtseize,
Devour Flesh and one of my favorite planeswalkers, Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver.
 |
| Thoughtseize has a near-stranglehold on the format. Among the top 4 decks there were TWELVE copies! - Eric Peel |
So, let's talk about the results.
After the spells were slung and the dust settled, a cut to Top 4 left remaining
one Mono-Black Devotion, two Jund Mid-Range, and one Esper Control deck. Let's
take a moment to assess what all these decks have in common. You have probably
noticed it peppered through this article. Thoughtseize has a near-stranglehold
on the format. Among the Top 4 decks there were twelve (!) copies in main decks
with three more in sideboards. This is nearly the maximum allowed number of
copies in the Top 4. I think that speaks volumes to the power of Thoughtseize.
I could go on about why Thoughtseize is so powerful, but I think it's clear
that it simply contributes to winning decks and it's even more potent in the
hands of capable players who consistently make good decision when casting it.
Anyway, back to the results. One semi-final pitted both the Jund decks against
one another, with Ryan Grace edging Johnny Page to advance. On the other side,
Tyler Lindsey's Esper got past Danny Abeyta's MBD.
The finals opened up with
fast-paced play on both sides. Both Ryan and Tyler knew their decks well and
played confidently. After some jockeying, Jace and Ashiok eventually took over
the first game which concluded as Jace, Architect of Thought dug deep into his
arsenal and used his ultimate to fetch up a Stormbreath Dragon from Ryan's
library to close things out. In game two, Ryan snuck in a Xenagos, the Reveler,
applying constant pressure with Saytr tokens and eventually using the extra
mana from Xenagos to land a giant Rakdos's Return for 5. Tyler was pushed onto his
heels by a monstrous Stormbreath Dragon. Just as he began to stabilize by
sweeping the dragon away, another dragon shows up to hastily close the game. Tyler
enters game 3 on the play, and ultimately closes it out earning his share of a
booster box and the real prize: a super sweet 'Game Day Champion' playmat.
.jpg)
It was a great deal of fun
watching the area's best players battle at Game Day. I'm going to wrap up the
event coverage here, but there's more to come! In between rounds, I got to quiz
some of the players about which cards were over performing or underperforming.
I asked them about changes they would make. They also shared some of their
thoughts about the upcoming Standard rotation. They gave some interesting
insight into some of the cards they're looking forward to have leave as well as
some cards they speculate will see additional play after Return to Ravnica
leaves Standard. So, keep checking back with this blog to see some of the
thoughtful responses of the local players.Top 4 Deck Lists
Tyler
Lindsey
|
Ryan
Grace
|
|||
4
|
Thoughtseize
|
4
|
Hero's Downfall
|
|
4
|
Azorius Charm
|
1
|
Garruk, Apex Predator
|
|
4
|
Devour Flesh
|
4
|
Sylvan Caryatid
|
|
4
|
Detention Sphere
|
4
|
Thoughtseize
|
|
2
|
Dissolve
|
4
|
Stormbreath Dragon
|
|
2
|
Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
|
4
|
Courser of Kruphix
|
|
4
|
Jace, Architect of Thought
|
1
|
Xenagos, the Reveler
|
|
4
|
Supreme Verdict
|
2
|
Rakdos's Return
|
|
4
|
Sphinx's Revelation
|
2
|
Abrupt Decay
|
|
2
|
Elspeth, Sun's Champion
|
2
|
Polukranos, World Eater
|
|
4
|
Island
|
2
|
Underworld Connections
|
|
2
|
Plains
|
3
|
Reaper of the Wilds
|
|
1
|
Godless Shrine
|
3
|
Desecration Demon
|
|
4
|
Hallowed Fountain
|
1
|
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
|
|
2
|
Mutavault
|
1
|
Forest
|
|
4
|
Temple of Deceit
|
4
|
Stomping Ground
|
|
3
|
Temple of Enlightenment
|
4
|
Llanowar Wastes
|
|
4
|
Temple of Silence
|
4
|
Overgrown Tomb
|
|
2
|
Watery Grave
|
4
|
Blood Crypt
|
|
SB
|
2
|
Temple of Malady
|
||
4
|
Nyx-Fleece Ram
|
2
|
Temple of Malice
|
|
2
|
Gainsay
|
2
|
Temple of Abandon
|
|
2
|
Negate
|
SB
|
||
2
|
Sin Collector
|
2
|
Abrupt Decay
|
|
1
|
Jace, Memory Adept
|
2
|
Mizzium Mortars
|
|
1
|
Liliana Vess
|
2
|
Scavenging Ooze
|
|
1
|
Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
|
2
|
Gogari Charm
|
|
1
|
Deicide
|
2
|
Mistcutter Hydra
|
|
3
|
Lifebane Zombie
|
|||
1
|
Arbor Colossus
|
|||
1
|
Rakdos's Return
|
|||
Danny Abeyta
|
Johnny Page
|
|||
1
|
Liliana Vess
|
4
|
Blood Crypt
|
|
1
|
Perilous Vault
|
3
|
Forest
|
|
1
|
Sign in Blood
|
2
|
Llanowar Wastes
|
|
4
|
Nightveil Specter
|
4
|
Overgrown Tomb
|
|
4
|
Gray Merchant of Asphodel
|
4
|
Stomping Ground
|
|
4
|
Pack Rat
|
2
|
Temple of Abandon
|
|
4
|
Underworld Connections
|
3
|
Temple of Malady
|
|
2
|
Devour Flesh
|
2
|
Temple of Malice
|
|
4
|
Hero's Downfall
|
1
|
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
|
|
2
|
Bile Blight
|
4
|
Courser of Kruphix
|
|
4
|
Thoughtseize
|
2
|
Elvish Mystic
|
|
4
|
Desecration Demon
|
4
|
Stormbreath Dragon
|
|
1
|
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
|
4
|
Sylvan Caryatid
|
|
17
|
Swamp
|
2
|
Abrupt Decay
|
|
3
|
Temple of Deceit
|
2
|
Chandra, Pyromaster
|
|
4
|
Mutavault
|
1
|
Clan Defiance
|
|
SB
|
2
|
Dreadbore
|
||
3
|
Lifebane Zombie
|
1
|
Garruk, Apex Predator
|
|
2
|
Dark Betrayal
|
1
|
Golgari Charm
|
|
1
|
Devour Flesh
|
1
|
Hero's Downfall
|
|
2
|
Staff of the Death Magus
|
2
|
Mizzium Mortars
|
|
1
|
Soul of Innistrad
|
1
|
Primeval Bounty
|
|
1
|
Ultimate Price
|
1
|
Rakdos's Return
|
|
4
|
Duress
|
2
|
Sign in Blood
|
|
1
|
Erebos,God of the Dead
|
1
|
Ultimate Price
|
|
1
|
Vraska the Unseen
|
|||
3
|
Xenagos, the Reveler
|
|||
SB
|
||||
2
|
Doom Blade
|
|||
1
|
Drown in Sorrow
|
|||
1
|
Golgari Charm
|
|||
3
|
Lifebane Zombie
|
|||
2
|
Rakdos's Return
|
|||
1
|
Scavenging Ooze
|
|||
1
|
Sire of Insanity
|
|||
1
|
Slaughter Games
|
|||
3
|
Thoughtseize
|
Hope you enjoyed the article! We hope to bring much more coverage and articles with a local mindset in the coming months!
Phil has been playing Magic since 1996. In 2010 he decided to help organize play in Dothan, AL and opened the shop: Fanatix. This article is a continued effort to spotlight and report on the local players that keep Fanatix alive!
For some reason his favorite card is Kird Ape.
Eric Peel has been playing Magic: The Gathering since he discovered the game in college, around the time of Invasion block. Most of the time Eric's simply a devoted family guy, but occasionally he finds time to sling spells or become temporarily devoted to a Therosian deity. He enjoys multiple formats, finding fun and competition in Limited, Constructed, and Multiplayer Magic.
His current favorite card is Bloodghast.
