The StarCityGames.com Invitational is just days away, the last major event of the year. Monday’s article discussed the state of the Standard Metagame going into the event, including analyzing the results from the SCG Open in St. Louis. Today, are sights are on Legacy, as the Invitational is a two-format event.
First, let’s take a look at the top 16 from the St Louis Open:
SCG St Louis Top 16
Reanimator 2
U/W Blade 2
Delver RUG 2
U/R Snapcaster
BUG
Merfolk
G/W Maverick
Bant Blade
Aggro-Loam
Belcher
Stax
Bant NO Show
U/R Sneak/Show
Once again, Legacy reveals an almost uncanny diversity. This format is so rich and deep and full of so many possibilities! Not only do we see 13 different archetypes in the top 16, we see a very good cross section of the format’s top tier, as well as a number of exciting challengers. Part of Legacy’s success, as an Eternal format, is the ability for existing archetypes to rotate in and out as the metagame continues to evolve. Mental Misstep was banned, and Snapcaster Mage was printed, which has caused changes that cause changes that cause changes. Belcher? Stax? Sneak Attack? These aren’t brand new concepts, but when you have a format that actually has 40 or more viable strategies (that we know about!), you can’t possibly have all of them getting played all the time.
Legacy proves that it can be done, that an Eternal format can reach a balance where very few new cards need to be banned; cards can occasionally be unbanned; and despite five digits worth of legal cards, we have a dynamic and fun format that always has more room to explore. Banning cards hurts, as we both know, but this is why Modern is going through what it is. Legacy has 60 banned cards. Sixty. The format didn’t always have 60 banned cards; it has evolved. If Oath of Druids or Gush were legal, plenty of people would enjoy those archetypes, but they really would take a huge amount of diversity out of the format (and probably fun). Would they be broken? Maybe, maybe not. However, we wouldn’t see the dynamic format we see today if Legacy’s banned list had not been fine-tuned. Legacy’s banned list didn’t make itself, and sometimes cards that get banned later get unbanned, like Entomb, Grim Monolith, and Time Spiral.
As you can no doubt surmise, my point is that Modern has the potential to be an absolutely beautiful format. Right now, Modern has 27 banned cards. As a percentage of the format, that is a smaller amount than Legacy, a format that has had much more time to fine tune its numbers and pull off cards like Dream Halls. One might be tempted to “not count” ante cards. Really? Then why not count “artifact lands” as one? If we are just going to count and not count things to suit our argument, what are we really even counting?
The real debate isn’t over whether cards being banned can lead to a much more dynamic and interesting format, which is no debate at all. The more hotly disputed issue is whether banning Wild Nacatl actually would. Punishing Fire? Splinter Twin? Seething Song? From the sound of it, almost everyone seems to agree that the format would be better without Punishing Fire, or at the very least they wouldn’t care because they don’t think it is good enough (against their strategy of choice). Splinter Twin and Seething Song are in an interesting space where people wouldn’t miss them at all if they were gone, but many people don’t think they are even good (though banning other cards might call this into question).
Wild Nacatl, on the other hand, has a powerful and vocal lobby to say the least. In his favor, he is just a beatdown creature, requiring Mountains and Plains in your green deck, of all things. Zoo has historically been among the most honorable of “bad guys” in a format.
Some argue that banning Wild Nacatl makes things too easy for everyone else. Really? Why isn’t Wild Nacatl being legal making it too easy for Wild Nacatls? That isn’t the issue, nor is the overall quantity of play of the card. Tarmogoyf, Lightning Bolt, and Path to Exile all see more play in Modern than Nacatl does, but the difference is that they promote diversity, whereas Wild Nacatl is really a glorified Goblin Lackey. Wild Nacatl’s power level in the format may or may not be above Goyf, but Goyf goes in lots of decks and promotes diversity, while Wild Nacatl greatly stifles it. Â
In the six Pro Tours, dozens of Grand Prix, and three PTQ seasons that Wild Nacatl and Stomping Ground have both been legal, Zoo has perpetually floated around 22-32% of the field. Pro Tour Philly, with Cloudpost and Glimmerpost legal, was its low point, though still it occupied over 15% of the metagame. If the stated goals in Modern are for decks to not consistently kill before turn 4 and to not consistently occupy more than 12.5-15% of the metagame, then Zoo is clearly in deep violation, and Nacatl is obviously the card to ban. That said, there is a definite argument about whether diversity is important to Eternal formats. After all, maybe people want Modern to be more like Vintage than Legacy, where Combo, Control, Mishra’s Workshop, Bazaar of Baghdad, and Null Rod form the five archetypes of the format. Would Legacy be healthy if one deck was consistently 25% of the field? Yes, I realize how much Brainstorm gets played, but that isn’t just one deck. Besides, Brainstorm has been getting a special pass because of how much it adds to the format. Does Wild Nacatl add as much to Modern as Brainstorm does to Legacy?
Would Zoo survive if Nacatl (and Punishing Fires, plus maybe Twin and Seething Song) were banned? Absolutely. Would we see more White Weenie, Doran, Merfolk, Boros, Bant, R/G Aggro, Soul Sisters, Aggro-Loam, Kithkin, Elves, U/G Faeries, Goblins, B/W Aggro, and so on? Absolutely. We can’t have it both ways. Either we want to follow the formula that has made Legacy what it is today, or we don’t. You know what format always revolved Wild Nacatl? Seven-year Extended. If we force this format down the same path, we are going to get the same results. Why was seven-year Extended perpetually stale? The best strategies continued to occupy such a large chunk of the metagame that there was not much growth; the format was not dynamic. This problem is only going to be worse in Modern, where cards never rotate.
Maybe we are okay with Zoo being over 80% of the non-Affinity aggro decks, today. Are we going to be next year? The year after that? Five years from now? If you can’t see why that will get boring (and for many, it already has), then I suggest contemplating that, as that is the key issue. If your argument is that people just need time to adjust and that they didn’t test for Worlds, then I ask how many more years are needed? We are working on year four of Wild Nacatl plus Stomping Ground, and there doesn’t appear to be any end in sight for fields of over 25% Zoo. I suspect that if Wild Nacatl is not banned eventually, the stagnation will eventually kill this format too.
How can I argue for Wild Nacatl being banned if I didn’t play it at the last event? Well, I certainly didn’t play the Wild Nacatl + Splinter Twin + Seething Song + Punishing Fire deck. I also think Punishing Fire should be banned, a card that I have played in 100% of Pro Tours and World Championships that both it and Grove of the Burnwillows have been legal together. Just as a reminder on the position I am stating the case for, it is not that the best decks are always getting banned; it is that if you take away enough of the top layers of the pyramid, you get to a much wider and more diverse layer to make the top. In Legacy, it took 60 cards. Modern might be almost there with half.
Jumping back to Legacy…
A common criticism of Legacy is that it is dominated by blue decks revolving around Brainstorm. A month ago, there was an SCG Open with 15/16 of the top decks blue. Was Snapcaster Mage going to pick up where Mental Misstep left off? Fortunately, it appears that the format has rebounded. Looking at the top 16s of the past three events, since then we see:
St. Louis 12/16 blue decks
Las Vegas 11/16 blue decks
Kansas City 12/16 blue decks
That is certainly quite a few but nowhere near the 15/16 mark. Besides, this isn’t the same type of thing as asking how many people play a certain deck. After all, there are only five colors, and mana-fixing is so good in Legacy, playing whatever colors you want is easy. For reference, that is 35 blue decks among those events’ top 16s, compared to 28 green decks, for instance. Is blue the most popular color? Without question. The free pass to Brainstorm and Force of Will is obviously behind that, both of which do incredibly important things for the format. However, we do see a very wide range of strategies that continue to evolve week after week. This is a healthy format.
Let’s take a look at how SCG St. Louis impacts our expected metagame going into the Invitational:
Tier 1
|
Archetypes |
Pre-St. Louis Meta |
St. Louis Top 16 |
Suggested Meta |
|
Delver RUG |
19.0% |
12.5% |
16.8% |
|
U/W Blade |
12.0% |
12.5% |
12.2% |
|
BUG |
12.0% |
6.3% |
10.1% |
|
Reanimator |
7.1% |
12.5% |
8.9% |
|
Merfolk |
6.5% |
6.3% |
6.4% |
|
Bant Blade |
5.9% |
6.3% |
6.0% |
Tier 1.5
|
RUG Control     |
6.5% |
0.0% |
4.3% |
|
Burn |
3.3% |
6.3% |
4.3% |
|
NO Bant |
3.3% |
6.3% |
4.3% |
|
G/W Maverick    |
2.2% |
6.3% |
3.6% |
|
Aggro Loam     |
1.6% |
6.3% |
3.2% |
Tier 2
|
Belcher        |
1.1% |
6.3% |
2.8% |
|
Dredge |
3.8% |
0.0% |
2.6% |
|
Elves |
3.8% |
0.0% |
2.6% |
|
Stax |
0.0% |
6.3% |
2.1% |
|
Zoo |
2.2% |
0.0% |
1.5% |
|
U/B Control |
2.2% |
0.0% |
1.5% |
|
Affinity |
1.1% |
0.0% |
0.7% |
|
1.1% |
0.0% |
0.7% |
|
|
Misc. Aggro-Control |
6.5% |
0.0% |
4.2% |
Suggested meta estimated by using 67% existing meta, 33% this week’s event
As you can see, Delver RUG still has the top spot and is the deck to beat. Is 16.8% a lot? Sure, it is the deck to beat. If it were 16.8% of the format for three or four years straight? That would be obnoxious. U/W Blade and BUG flesh out the top half of the Tier 1 decks and should be three of the five decks in any Legacy test gauntlet, though you could definitely substitute Bant Blade for U/W Blade if you wanted. Merfolk could fill in for BUG if you prefer. It is important to note: 5/6 of the tier 1 decks are aggro-control decks. We have discussed on multiple occasions that when decks like Caw-Blade or Faeries are good, they can be very resilient and tough to hate out. Legacy is a format with five different Caw-Blade/Faeries decks! Whatever you play, it is absolutely crucial to be comfortable combating them, as they combine to form over half the format.
Reanimator is the odd man out, among the top tier and the best of the combo decks. It is definitely the most important combo deck to have in your gauntlet. Finally, it is tempting to give the fifth spot to another aggro-control deck, since so many of the most popular decks are of this school; however, your testing is better served by getting more varied experience. I’d look to put an aggro deck in that fifth spot, maybe G/W Maverick, Aggro Loam, or the new U/R Snapcaster Mage deck that won St. Louis.
Speak of the devil…
Creatures (14)
Lands (18)
Spells (28)
- 4 Brainstorm
- 4 Lightning Bolt
- 3 Force of Will
- 2 Fireblast
- 4 Chain Lightning
- 3 Price of Progress
- 2 Daze
- 3 Spell Snare
- 3 Ponder
Sideboard
Andrew Shrout has completed the unholy union that Patrick Sullivan prophesied, the merging of Mono-Red Burn with Brainstorm, Snapcaster Mage, and Force of Will. Shrout’s list definitely rides the line between the format’s top dog, Delver RUG and the stereotypical Mono-Red Burn, using most of the best cards from each. That said, the burn is the more important element from a metagame perspective, so I have counted this as a burn archetype. Delver of Secrets is the most aggressive creature in Legacy, generally just being a 3/2 flier for one, which is really aggressive for a deck with Bolts, Chain Lightnings, Fireblasts, and Price of Progress.
Goblin Guide is surely no surprise, but Grim Lavamancer complements the blue half of the deck more than the red, allowing it to play a better aggro-control game, at times. The combo of Fireblast/Daze plus Price of Progress just warms my heart. As for the permission, three Force of Will, three Spell Snare, and two Daze is not a ton, especially since Snapcaster is not at his best with the alternate cost cards. That said, it does provide a token later of interaction that is more slanted against other aggro-control decks. When he faces a dedicated combo deck, he does have the fourth Force of Will in the board, along with Pyroblasts, Pyrostatic Pillars, and Surgical Extractions.
One of the things I like best about this list is that it sets aside the mana denial element of Delver RUG and focuses on aggression. Wasteland and Stifles are awesome cards to be sure, but Snapcastering a Price of Progress is just brutal!
Tarmogoyf can be a real problem for decks like this, but Shrout is prepared with Submerges out of the board. That said, I am not sold that Tarmogoyfs of our own are actually out of the question. That is a little more pain from our Price of Progresses, but Tarmogoyf seems like he would be really good in here. I imagine that this style and Delver RUG will begin to form hybrids.
Creatures (12)
Lands (18)
Spells (30)
The latest iterations of Delver RUG set aside the much maligned Temporal Spring, moving towards Fire / Ice for additional removal (helping the mirror), without getting stuck with dead cards against combo and control.
Once again, we see Surgical Extraction out of the sideboard as the anti-reanimator card of choice. The ability to Snapcaster it back makes it the clear choice over Faerie Macabre. Also, we continue to see Pyroblast and Red Elemental Blast as premier sideboard cards in this 73% blue format. While this archetype has not seen that much variation from week to week, I have a feeling that Shrout’s winning U/R list will have an impact on future design. I particularly like the look of Grim Lavamancer, which could be a fantastic weapon for ripping apart the other aggro-control decks. Can it be Plowed? Sure, but Plow is already gold, since it hits our Delver and our Goyf.
What is Delver RUG’s secret? In addition to Brainstorm and Force of Will, it makes excellent use of Delver of Secrets (the best aggressive creature in the format) and Snapcaster Mage (the best aggro-control creature). This strategy is lean and efficient, as well as high on power. It will doubtless be one of the most played and most successful archetypes at the Invitational, as players have not yet devised the winning formulas against it. I am going to be at a wedding this weekend, so unable to attend the Invitational; however, if I could go, this is one of the three strategies on my radar. If I did play it, I would be looking to Shrout’s list for ideas on how to evolve the list, though I’d want to keep Tarmogoyf if possible. That said, maybe Grim Lavamancer really is good enough to replace him…
Defeating this deck? A properly tuned Counterbalance deck would be the perfect solution. My first instinct would be to try a Next Level Blue build with Tarmogoyf and Plow, though moving towards something U/W/x Blade-esque is also an option, as is BUG. With enough time to test and tune, a more controlling build might be possible, but building around a good two-drop seems the safer move. Counterbalance combined with countless cheap interaction promises perfect positioning to pounce on this particular metagame.
Let’s take a look at the highest finishing U/W Blade deck, piloted by Chris VanMeter:
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (24)
Spells (20)
I am definitely a fan of this archetype, as it combines cheap interaction, powerful creatures, and a few ways to go a little bigger than the other aggro-control decks. Using Jace is way, way more fun than not. Karakas plus Vendilion Clique is sweet, not to mention bouncing other people’s Jin Gitaxias or Iona, Shield of Emeria. Riptide Lab also combos with Clique, as well as Spellstutter, Snapcaster, and Mutavault, and it would be awesome if we could use more, but there are only so many non-blue lands you can play, and VanMeter also wanted to be sure to support Krosan Grips out of the sideboard, a sign that he also expects Counterbalance to make a comeback.
The use of four Path to Exiles and two Wrath of Gods out of the board plus four Plows and four Snapcasters main provide a strong anti-creature plan, especially when supported by Jaces and Elspeths. I agree with VanMeter’s use of Purify the Grave over Surgical Extraction in this style, as you really want to use Snapcaster elsewhere, and keeping up the mana is really not a big deal at all when you are already playing Stoneforges, Counterspells, and the like.
Finally, rounding out our big three, we have the BUG deck (which is not to be confused with the land destruction variant, Team America).
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (23)
Spells (22)
Unearth showing up again is worth noting. Unearth seems so good with Tarmogoyf and Snapcaster, it could easily gain even more in the months to come. The move towards Ghastly Demises has been a response to the success of Delver RUG, as it is so important to not fall behind early. Dark Confidant instead of Delver of Secrets and discard instead of Stifles make this list often play the more controlling role, especially after sideboarding, when cards like Pernicious Deed make BUG act downright controlling. It is also important to remember that one of the classic problems with putting Counterbalance in BUG is that Deed is one of the best BUG cards but doesn’t play nicely with Counterbalance.
Surgical Extraction over Coffin Purge is not a definite, but the use of Hymns instead of Counterspells, Thoughtseize instead of Vendilion Clique, and so on make BUG much more of a tap-out deck. That BUG already has more card advantage than U/W pushes us even more towards going with the speed of Surgical Extraction rather than the power of Coffin Purge.
Rounding out our top 4 of St Louis, we have Reanimator:
Creatures (8)
- 1 Angel of Despair
- 1 Empyrial Archangel
- 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
- 1 Platinum Emperion
- 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
- 3 Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur
Lands (18)
Spells (34)
This list doesn’t stray far from the norm, but it does give us an idea of a few things as they currently stand with Reanimator. First of all, the creatures in Reanimator are always fluctuating. Jin Gitaxias and Iona are in every build, but Platinum Emperion, Empyrial Archangel, Angel of Despair, and Elesh Norn are all definitely only in some of the time. Blazing Archon in the sideboard is very interesting, as that is one of the targets usually considered a sacred cow and uncuttable from the main. Platinum Emperion does have similar functionality. Inkwell Leviathan not making the maindeck is less of a surprise, especially since the Archangel also helps with shroud. Terastodon is a popular option that is not employed by Figueroa, who instead has the Angel of Despair for destroying problematic permanents. Sphinx of Steel Wind is also used a fair bit, but has always been in that strange spot of being a jack-of-all-trades, master of none, which isn’t exactly what you want out of your Entomb target.
Transforming into Show and Tell is industry standard at this point, but I wonder about the one Surgical Extraction. Wouldn’t one Coffin Purge have way higher impact? It turns all of your Entombs into graveyard hate in the mirror, which is presumably where you want the Extraction. Figueroa has more discard than usual after boarding, which is worth noting. Personal Tutor out of the board seems a little odd, but I suppose it is for just being faster/better against non-blue decks.
Something particularly interesting about this archetype is that a card from Dark Ascension has already been revealed as the promo for an upcoming book.
That’s right! Faithless Looting is a super charged Careful Study! It does have the drawback of being red, which is pretty significant, but having a cheap flashback ability attached is absolutely huge and will shake a number of formats to the core. Careful Study was already ridiculous, so this card is already on the radar as one of the most abusable cards in the new set (which is still a couple months out). When it does hit, one possibility to consider is Goblin Welder, which could complement Faithless Looting in some sort of reanimator deck with Platinum Emperion, Sundering Titan, Sphinx of Steel Wind, and Inkwell Leviathan (possibly even Myr Battlesphere).
In the meantime, Reanimator is here and in a big way. Make sure it is in your gauntlet!
Creatures (24)
- 2 Kira, Great Glass-Spinner
- 4 Lord of Atlantis
- 4 Merrow Reejerey
- 4 Silvergill Adept
- 4 Cursecatcher
- 4 Coralhelm Commander
- 2 Phantasmal Image
Lands (21)
Spells (15)
Phantasmal Image continues to find news homes in new formats. The ability to copy a Silvergill Adept or Merfolk Reejerey is way more exciting than playing a couple Merfolk Sovereigns. Kira, Great Glass-Spinner continues to move in and out of the maindeck, but the recent surge in Lightning Bolts has Kira looking like a winner. Kupruwicz has declined Standstills or Stifles, two moves I am totally on board with. Spell Pierce, Kira, Image, and Dismember all sound way better.
While a Merfolk deck can easily splash a color or two, Kupruwicz takes advantage of his monochrome discipline with Back to Basics (one of the scariest cards that almost no one can play, since it screws almost anyone that can actually cast it). Chill is also an interesting blast from the past. Does Kupruwicz see a surge in red aggro? Of course, I would just love to Chill Belcher out…
Tower of the Magistrate has become the gold standard in anti-Stoneforge Mystic technology. Permanently keeping Batterskulls free of germs and Stoneforges unburdened by Swords or Jittes, the Tower is just an excellent card in the format that could show up even more places, particularly in one- and two-color decks.
I don’t recommend Merfolk, but it is a solid deck. It is not a must for the gauntlet but is also not a bad addition if you already have experience against the more popular aggro-control decks.
Rounding out the tier 1, we have Bant Blade, which is really just U/W Blade with Noble Hierarchs and Knight of the Reliquaries.
Creatures (16)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (23)
Spells (17)
It is definitely not necessary to have both Bant Blade and U/W Blade in your gauntlet, so I’d err towards U/W, with Bant filling in if you already have a lot of experience with your deck against U/W. Lohman did not use it, but it is worth keeping Green Sun’s Zenith in mind for this style, as well. Finding a Dryad Arbor is not that far from a Noble Hierarch, and it lets you find your one Pridemage, Knights if you need them, or a miser’s Tarmogoyf (that you could play).
Karakas is obviously sweet for all the same reasons as above, but being able to find it with Knight is always great. In addition, I can’t help but wonder if Manriki-Gusari might be better as a Tower of the Magistrate (which seems more powerful and more reliable). Bojuka Bog is still a great weapon for Knight of the Reliquary decks fighting graveyard hate, though here we see another vote for Purify the Grave over Surgical Extraction.
As far as the fifth gauntlet deck, we want something aggressive. The winner’s deck is fine, but if it feels too close to Delver RUG, other good options include G/W Maverick and Aggro Loam. Fortunately for us, an example of each top 16’ed St. Louis:
Creatures (25)
- 4 Mother of Runes
- 1 Terravore
- 1 Eternal Witness
- 1 Scryb Ranger
- 1 Gaddock Teeg
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 3 Qasali Pridemage
- 3 Stoneforge Mystic
- 1 Thrun, the Last Troll
- 2 Scavenging Ooze
Lands (22)
Spells (13)
Creatures (11)
- 1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
- 4 Dark Confidant
- 1 Tarmogoyf
- 3 Knight of the Reliquary
- 1 Qasali Pridemage
- 1 Scavenging Ooze
Lands (27)
Spells (22)
Notice Scavenging Ooze finding a spot in each of these list’s maindecks, giving Green Sun’s Zenith a powerful additional dimension. Another similarity is the high amount of library manipulation for non-blue decks. Why do they need so much? To try to keep up with a format full of Brainstorms! Stoneforge Mystic, Knight of the Reliquary, Green Sun’s Zenith, Sylvan Library, Burning Wish, Life from the Loam, these guys are not playing!
A key card in G/W is Mother Runes, which quickly takes over boards when she is allowed to untap. Out of Aggro-Loam, we should pay special attention to Chalice of the Void, most commonly set at one. Can your Legacy deck beat turn one Chalice for one (with Mox Diamond)? Do you have a plan?
Finally, a couple of sweet brews threatening to shake up the established meta:
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (27)
Spells (26)
Yet another turn one Chalice for one deck, this time with Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors to help make it possible! Notice, zero Swords to Plowshares, as the primary plan is to Chalice for one. Strait’s use of Stoneforge Mystic is an interesting twist that leads to a more aggressive game than Stax usually features, but with a lot of Batterskulls to block with. Additionally, Hero of Bladehold is very exciting with so many ways to play it on turn 2 or 3, not to mention how many people in the format are playing Lightning Bolt instead of Plow! Crucible + Wasteland, combined with Chalice of the Void and Armageddon provide the mana denial aspect that can lock people out, but it is the creatures that really excite me about Strait’s build.
This isn’t going to be a big part of the metagame, but could be on the rise a little, as this is a truly excellent time for Chalice of the Void.
Our final brew is Michael Pozsgay’s Sneak Attack/Show and Tell deck:
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (20)
Spells (30)
This list is not completely out of nowhere, but multiple Show and Tell decks in the top 16 does raise a flag (Natural Order/Show and Tell being the other). The use of Jace is awesome here, since it helps set up your game, makes extra fatties useful, and is the best backup plan. Besides, with Lotus Petal, City of Traitors, and Ancient Tomb, it is very possible to play a very early Jace, which can be absolutely devastating.
The use of Sneak Attack instead of Hive Mind as a plan B seems great, since you don’t have to play so many “bad” cards. Hitting with Emrakul is usually going to be game, and it isn’t hard to get a Progenitus hit in at some point to seal the deal. Additionally, if you have Jace, you can just bounce your Emrakul after attacking, ensuring you finishing the job, next turn.
Blood Moon out of the board reveals that Pozsgay is a hater who doesn’t want anyone to have any fun. Leyline of Sanctity does too, for that matter! Show and Tell out of Reanimator’s sideboard, plus the maindeck of NO Bant, Sneak Attack, and Hive Mind make it an important part of preparation to know what you will do against someone cheating out a ginormous monstrosity.
Finally, a deck that hasn’t shown up at all that is worth reminding ourselves of the existence of is High Tide. Granted, a format with so much aggro-control isn’t the friendliest place for a High Tide deck, but it features some very powerful cards, and the current shortage of Counterbalance decks is a point in its favor (though when they make their inevitable comeback, that will hurt Tide’s case even more). How much of this is because of the price of Candelabras? We can’t be sure, but one thing we can be sure of is that Time Spiral is a very, very powerful card that isn’t currently being exploited.
What do I imagine the Invitational’s metagame to look like? Well, I imagine it to be a little less diverse at the top than usual. The exact decks that do well will vary, but because the tournament starts with Standard, it is possible that many Standard experts will stick to tried and true Legacy decks without a ton of testing. This means it is more important than ever to prepare for the top tier of decks. Legacy is wide open, and one of the most important keys is to know your own deck. This really is a format where you can pick a deck and stay with it if you like. In a tournament like the Invitational, having experience with your list can be a big advantage over the half of the field that are not normally Legacy players and that are just net-decking the top decks.
As mentioned, with no time to test, I’d pick up U/W/r Blade or Delver RUG (maybe mixed with U/R Tempo). With time to test, I’d love to tune a Counterbalance deck, which seems like the best place to be, at the moment (if you find the right mix).
As for Standard, I would definitely play Grixis, though as mentioned Monday, Precursor Golem’s latest time in the spotlight is over. He was selected to punish Oblivion Ring decks. The format has become heavily about Vapor Snags, Volt Charges, and Slagstorms. I love the idea of including two Sorin’s Vengeance. It is not just the combo with Chandra (which I could see cutting an Olivia to make room for one), but the ability to use it to gain enough life to live two more turns to set up Snapcaster Mage. Adding two seven-drops means cutting some expensive spells. It is possible that this could be just the Precursor Golems. Liliana of the Veil is also a card that has to justify its inclusion. While it dipped this past week, I think the increase in Geist of Saint Traft may actually be an argument in its favor again.
Overall, I would compare West’s and my list from Worlds with Jansen’s list discussed Monday  and find a happy middle ground between those two. This is an excellent time for Grixis, which preys on Illusions and other small toughness creature decks. Sorin’s Vengeance offers a powerful game plan against one of our two biggest weaknesses, Mono Red. It is also an excellent way to sidestep Wolf Run’s recent adoption of a ba-zillion Autumn’s Veils to force through Titans. This push makes us weaker than ever against pure control, but that is the risk you take with playing Grixis right now. I am sure somewhere, Tom Martell is cackling with the delight of punishing Grixis players everywhere with his U/W list…
A final topic for today, I am proud to announce Next Level Magicis back with the 2nd edition e-book! The original e-book was 268 pages, while a year later the paperback was released with a greatly expanded text (over 400 pages including 60% more content than the original). The greatly expanded text has never been available in e-book form until today. The expanded Next Level Magic paperback sells for $10 more than the 1st edition e-book; but as my holiday thank you present to readers who already purchased the e-book, this month you can upgrade to the 2nd edition featuring the full 400 pages of content found in the paperback for just $5! Many readers having been writing asking for the full version in e-book form, either because of living internationally (so shipping is tough) or just preferring e-books for convenience. Additionally, anyone who already purchased the Next Level Magicpaperback can pick up the full version in e-book form for just $5 all month long!
Why is Next Level Magicsuch a great investment in one’s game? It works. Thousands and thousands of very satisfied readers have already taken advantage of the strategy and tools laid out in Next Level Magic. If you win just one more FNM, it has paid for itself, to say nothing of the countless readers that have written in thanking for the help winning PTQs, making National Teams, and more. Besides, it contains years of stories from my seventeen-year career as a professional Magic player that are an absolute blast!
A giant thank you to everyone that has already picked up Next Level Magic. The support and positive energy has been incredible! Anyone that has not yet picked it up, I urge you to check out the info HERE. Regardless, thank you for joining me this week. What do you expect to do well at the Invitational in each format? See you next week!
Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”