I’ve heard nothing but good things about this Standard format. Granted, it’s still early, but there’s a lot of stuff out there still yet to reach its full
potential, so it will be interesting to see how the format evolves.
Last weekend’s Grand Prix Top 8 featured:
2 Boss Sligh
2 Abzan Aggro
2 Abzan Midrange
1 Mardu Midrange
1 G/R Monsters (winner)
Contrast that to the Open Series Top 8 from Worcester:
2 Jeskai Aggro (winner)
3 Abzan Midrange
1 Temur Midrange
1 Boss Sligh
1 G/B Devotion
That’s quite the difference. Why Jeskai continues to perform well in one tournament while it fails in another is certainly an interesting topic, but it is
not one that I’m qualified to give a real answer for. The only thing I can really say for certain is that for any Top 8, don’t put too much stock into what
decks made it or what decks didn’t make it, as it’s a relatively small sample size of the metagame.
Realistically, I don’t think zero Jeskai decks in the Top 8 of the Grand Prix is going to have much of an impact. Jeskai is still very powerful, very good,
and very popular, so ignore it at your own risk.
What’s really interesting to me is that red decks, specifically Boss Sligh, have made a reappearance. After Tom Ross’s win at States a couple weeks ago, that should come as no real
surprise, but to see them performing so well is quite the statement. Clunky three color decks with shaky manabases beware!
Mono-Red Aggro
Creatures (24)
- 4 Frenzied Goblin
- 4 Foundry Street Denizen
- 2 Purphoros, God of the Forge
- 4 Firedrinker Satyr
- 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
- 2 Prophetic Flamespeaker
- 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
Lands (22)
Spells (14)
Sideboard
Creatures (26)
- 2 Frenzied Goblin
- 4 Foundry Street Denizen
- 4 Firedrinker Satyr
- 4 Eidolon of the Great Revel
- 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
- 4 Borderland Marauder
- 4 War-Name Aspirant
Lands (21)
- 21 Mountain
Spells (13)
Creatures (20)
- 3 Frenzied Goblin
- 4 Foundry Street Denizen
- 4 Akroan Crusader
- 4 Firedrinker Satyr
- 1 Arena Athlete
- 4 Monastery Swiftspear
Lands (18)
- 18 Mountain
Spells (22)
- 2 Lightning Strike
- 4 Dragon Mantle
- 4 Titan's Strength
- 1 Coordinated Assault
- 1 Hall of Triumph
- 4 Stoke the Flames
- 4 Hammerhand
- 2 Hordeling Outburst
Sideboard
In a three color format, it’s not surprising to see mono-colored aggressive decks getting underneath them with cards like Hammerhand. There are plenty of
versions out of there, and they all have their pros and cons. If I were looking to play Mono-Red, I could certainly do worse than listening to Tom Ross,
but do whatever you think is right and whatever you’re more comfortable with.
Goblin Rabblemaster clearly has a target on its head and, as Brad Nelson pointed out, using Hordeling Outburst either in addition to
Rabblemaster (or in Tom’s case, instead of Rabblemaster) is a good way to get around them always keeping open mana to kill Rabblemaster.
Manwithplane251’s list has a higher top end, but makes me wonder if we’re undervaluing Purphoros, God of the Forge at this point. Brad’s Hordeling
Outbursts had a lot of versatility whereas Purphoros tends to do only one thing, even if it does that one thing very well.
If I were playing Mono-Red, I would look at the Boss Sligh versions first. His deck is the lowest to the ground, and if you’re trying to beat up on three
color decks, that’s probably where you want to be. The slower red decks tend to get outclassed quickly by decks like Abzan, so you’re just playing into
their hands.
W/X Midrange
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (25)
Spells (18)
Sideboard
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (11)
Lands (25)
Spells (20)
These decks piqued my interest a lot. I’m not sure if they are tournament winners but again, there are a ton of options here and it seems like they have
the possibility of stacking up well against the current format.
For creatures, we have Soldier of the Pantheon, Seeker of the Way, Brimaz, King of Oreskos, and Wingmate Roc, each of which is not only a solid clock but
can play reasonably well defensively also. Initially I liked Fulk’s deck, but FakiVII’s creature base looked great. The red seems slightly better than
black, but both have their advantages.
I’m more drawn to something like Chained to the Rocks and the better planeswalkers. Chained to the Rocks is especially intriguing because most of the
removal in the format costs three. There are certainly downsides though, as things like Reclamation Sage and Back to Nature can turn that advantage against
you in a massive way if they manage to blow up two of your enchantments. At least for now, I think it’s worth trying to make good use of Chained to the
Rocks, much like Brad has, because while things like Erase exist, they aren’t exactly out in full force.
Chained to the Rocks is also weak to creatures with enters-the-battlefield abilities and creatures with haste, both of which are featured on probably two
of the most popular creatures in the format, Siege Rhino and Mantis Rider. Regardless, being able to play two spells in one turn quicker than your opponent
is going to let you turn that corner quicker, which is similar to how the Mono-Red decks win in this format.
These decks kind of look like post-board versions of some Jeskai Aggro decks and Brad’s R/W deck, which may or may not be a good thing. While you might
sideboard into a more controlling deck a lot of the time, that doesn’t mean that’s what you want to look like in every game. The fact that Brad tricked
numerous opponents into having useless cards in their decks post-board is certainly an argument for being able to pivot post-board and then potentially
pivot back.
Regardless, red and white have some of the most powerful cards in the format, so I’d be shocked if there wasn’t a great baseline midrange formula here.
Mardu Midrange
Creatures (15)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (25)
Spells (16)
As I was investigating various W/X decks, Brad’s deck popped up and it basically had everything I wanted. Brad is very much a “one and done” kinda guy, so
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him move on to something else next week.
Still, I think there’s a lot going on here. This combines both aspects from W/R and W/B into a powerful deck whose manabase actually seems solid. Being
able to play Chained to the Rocks in a three color deck is no easy feat, but Brad Nelson pulled it off.
The two things I like most about this deck are Butcher of the Horde and Sorin, Solemn Visitor, especially in conjunction with Hordeling Outburst. Brad may
have been downplaying his deck before the Grand Prix, but it performed incredibly.
Plus, have you seen this?
They are small sample sizes for sure, but Jeskai mostly got crushed and Mardu absolutely killed everyone! Brad might say it’s time to move on, but those
numbers indicate that it’s not time to do that yet, if ever.
G/R/X Midrange
Creatures (26)
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 3 Polukranos, World Eater
- 4 Boon Satyr
- 4 Rattleclaw Mystic
- 4 Heir of the Wilds
- 4 Savage Knuckleblade
- 3 Ashcloud Phoenix
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (23)
Spells (10)
Creatures (23)
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 4 Sylvan Caryatid
- 4 Stormbreath Dragon
- 1 Keranos, God of Storms
- 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
- 2 Heir of the Wilds
- 4 Savage Knuckleblade
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (24)
Spells (7)
Creatures (25)
- 1 Hornet Queen
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 3 Polukranos, World Eater
- 4 Sylvan Caryatid
- 4 Stormbreath Dragon
- 4 Courser of Kruphix
- 2 Genesis Hydra
- 2 Rattleclaw Mystic
- 1 Ashcloud Phoenix
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (23)
Spells (7)
Creatures (26)
- 4 Elvish Mystic
- 2 Polukranos, World Eater
- 4 Stormbreath Dragon
- 4 Boon Satyr
- 4 Fanatic of Xenagos
- 4 Goblin Rabblemaster
- 4 Heir of the Wilds
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (24)
Spells (8)
Brian Kibler is funny. He always seems to do well in tournaments that I don’t attend. After his 9-0 start on day one of Grand Prix Los Angeles, I thought
it was about to be another one of those. Sadly, he fell a little short on day two, finishing in 12th place, but he ran back his Pro Tour deck — Temur!
I’m sure Kibler can take some solace in the fact that a similar deck, minus blue, won the whole tournament. The G/R Monsters decks vary wildly, like most
decks in this format, but overall, I like the look of the more aggressive versions.
Scheid’s list is more of a traditional build with some Mono-Green Devotion elements to it, but M3l0q’s decklist is straight beatdown. I like what Mike
Sigrist and his team did with Abzan, cutting Sylvan Caryatid for more aggression in the form of Fleecemane Lion and Rakshasa Deathdealer, and M3l0q seems
to be taking the same approach.
It’s a little more dangerous to do that in G/R because your early creatures don’t have the same staying power that Fleecemane Lion and Rakshasa Deathdealer
do, but they are more threatening early. The problem is that Siege Rhino comes down not too long after, gives them back some of the life they lost, and G/R
can’t easily remove it. Heir of the Wilds, Chandra, Pyromaster, and Boon Satyr do a serviceable job though. If you’re Temur, you have the option of
continually crashing in with Savage Knuckleblade too.
I expect that we haven’t seen the last of these G/R/X decks, and after it took down a Grand Prix, an influx of people working on the archetype would be
most welcome.
Sultai Midrange
Creatures (26)
- 4 Hornet Queen
- 3 Elvish Mystic
- 4 Sylvan Caryatid
- 3 Courser of Kruphix
- 4 Satyr Wayfinder
- 2 Nyx Weaver
- 1 Soul of Innistrad
- 1 Necropolis Fiend
- 4 Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Lands (23)
Spells (11)
We’ve seen a little bit of this deck, but there is far from a consensus best list. As Eugene mentioned, Whip of Erebos is one of the best cards against
both Abzan and Jeskai while also overperforming against control. He played four because, despite being legendary, it is just that good right now.
Since this is basically a second draft of the deck, I think it could be improved immensely. We’ve seen numerous takes on Abzan and Jeskai in the last
couple weeks and have heard basically nothing about this deck.
How much removal should this deck play? Does Abzan warrant the full four Hornet Queens maindeck? What does the sideboard need? Should there be more
graveyard friendly cards like Nemesis of Mortals and/or Nighthowler? After all, big creatures are pretty nice with Whip of Erebos.
***
Clearly, Siege Rhino and Mantis Rider are still the cards to beat. The best shells for those cards are still being ironed out, and it doesn’t seem like
we’ll be able to figure it out before Fate Reforged drops. In the meantime, you should be looking for archetypes with potential, much like Brad Nelson has
been doing. Seriously, that Mardu win percentage is insane.
It looks like the mana curves for most decks are getting lower and lower, which makes sense. As the format gets fleshed out, it becomes easier to identify
what matters, and the excessive durdling tends to stop. That puts even more pressure on control decks to figure out the correct answers and ensure that
you’re not being too midrangey as a whole, lest you risk falling behind.
Right now, I’d be worried about beating burn spells, whether it’s Stoke the Flames or Crater’s Claws. That doesn’t necessarily mean playing counterspells
or excessive amounts of lifegain, but it could mean killing all of their creatures. Without a constant clock, it’s unlikely you’ll ever be in burn range to
begin with. It could also mean killing them before they kill you, ala Boss Sligh, but it could also mean playing things that passively gain you life, such
as Whip of Erebos and Sorin, Solemn Visitor.
Aside from that, you need a way to beat efficient, cheap creatures such as Rakshasa Deathdealer and Goblin Rabblemaster. Thankfully, that ties into the
whole “beating burn spells” thing. Some decks want to kill things, but most of the time, racing them or outclassing them is a better hedge.
However you choose to attack the format, I wish you good luck, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.