Have you tried watching the replay of a drawn game on Magic Online?
I’m not talking about an ID. I mean a real, honest-to-goodness, played-out
drawn game.
Try it. It’s fun. You actually get to play in it.
That’s right. You get to take an active part of the replay.
Sure, you haven’t got a deck, and as soon as you try to draw a card you’re
defeated… but you can mulligan to minus-one cards!
If you’ve not guessed yet, I’ve spent the week checking out the ups and downs
in the MTGO Standard metagame. Future Sight is here, and the Regionals decks are
filtering through pretty quickly. How does this affect the meta?
I guess you’d better read on to find out!
…
At the time of writing, there have been eight 2x Standard Premier Events on
Magic Online. So, without further ado, let’s have a look at the results!
#981580 – Standard 2x – 53 players
1 – Lucindo – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
2 – AltCCSnapback – Gruul
3 – TrophyHunter_pl – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
4 – shoktroopa – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
5 – submiminal man2 – Mono-Black Mid-Range Aggro
6 – ihatepants – Gruul w/ Skarrgan Pit Skulk
7 – Rieste – U/G Scryb and Force
8 – zhang zhiyang – U/B Dredge
Lucindo removes the taste of triple Future Sight Limited from our protesting
gullets… and rams the rotten fish of U/B Control down there instead. Looking
at the Top 4, we see three spots taken up by the fun-hating Blue/Black horror
machine. Even the one honest Aggro player in the Top 4 goes by an evil Blue
nickname.
The Mono-Black Mid-Range Aggro was heavy on the early beaters, with Dark
Confidant (obv) and Stromgald Crusader, but it seemed to rely on Korlash, Heir to
Blackblade in order to get the job done. And why not? He’s the official Man of the
Minute, if you don’t count Mishra. Dredge popped up at the end, but I’m not saying
anything about it lest cromulantkeith stab me in the eye with a spork.
A fairly typical U/G beats deck made up the numbers, and the final slot went
to one of the many facets of Red/Green aggro. In fact, it seems there are a number
of ways in which to assemble a Gruul beatdown build. This one has Skarrgan
Pit-Skulk, which is seeing a lot more play these days.
Que Dragonstorm? Ou est la Hellkite? Erm… dans la fenetre?
#981581 – Standard 2x – 49 players
1 – TrophyHunter_pl – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
2 – Benju46 – Gruul
3 – wildhund – U/B/r Control (w/ Detritivore)
4 – Exile – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
5 – haoduoren – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
6 – brunilsks – G/B Dredge
7 – renappel – Mono-Black House Guard Korlash
8 – tombelek – Zoo
TrophyHunter_pl, not content with placing highly in the previous tournament,
took top honors here. Four out of the Top 5 seemed to be running the Blue/Black
control deck, although one guy threw Detritivore main in an attempt to gain ground
in the mirror. It seems a fine strategy, truth be told. Still don’t like the deck
though.
On the Aggro front, there’s the typical Gruul build, and an eighth-place spot
for Zoo. Zoo does appear in a number of Top 8s this week, and again it seems that
there are fifty ways to leave your
lover to build an aggro deck. My favorite flavor appears later… stay
tuned!
There’s a Dredge deck (hi cromulantkeith!), and the final slot is filled by
another Mono-Black deck. This time, it appears more controlling than the deck from
the previous Top 8. It has the powerful (and criminally underused) Dimir House
Guard transmute package, and the oh-so popular Korlash. We know this guy is a
contender now… thankfully, I have three foil copies in real life. I’m not so
lucky in cyberspace, mind.
Again, Dragonstorm is missing here. Are these tournament results affected by
New Card Syndrome? Do people wanna play with their shiny new toys, thus cast aside
the older decks that haven’t improved with the new set?
#981582 – Standard 2x – 63 players
1 – Tulio_Jaudy – Perilous Storm w/ Locket of Yesterdays
2 – go michigan2 – Dragonstorm
3 – stockdale – Solar Flare
4 – Rorix_RJ – Zoo
5 – deedubs – G/U Aggro (Flying Men, Unstable Mutation)
6 – pokerswizard – Mono-Black Rack
7 – sneakattackkid – Mono-Black Rack
8 – SIR_GNARLS_BARKLEY – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
At the third time of asking, we have a Top 8 that isn’t either a) bereft of
the Best Combo Deck In Standard, or b) dominated by U/B Control. Tulio_Jaudy took
home the bacon with the fringe Perilous Storm deck, which does seem to be gaining
momentum these days. His build ran Locket of Yesterdays, a card I understand to be
fading from popularity in the starting lineup. Nevertheless, it worked for Tulio.
Dragonstorm finally appeared, here in second place. And while U/B Control was less
numerous, it did pop into eighth via the impressively shouty SIR_GNARLS_BARKLEY.
Simmer down, fella… we can hear you.
Solar Flare, Cedric Phillips choice for uberdeck, also puts in its first
appearance post-Regionals. This hasn’t had the same effect on the online meta as
it has on the cardboard meta… Solar Flare seems very popular in real life,
but doesn’t exactly dominate in cyberspace. Two copies of Mono-Black discard also
make the grade for Top 8 play, which could account for the lack of U/B control
decks at the top table.
Finally, we’ve two aggro decks to discuss. The first is Zoo, of the generic
variety, so we can skip over that. The second is G/U Aggro. When deedubs started
his match with a first turn Flying Men, I knew I was in for something different.
Skarrgan Pit-Skulk, Unstable Mutation, a little countermagic… seems fair.
Good enough for the Top 8 here, but sadly it went no further.
#982999 – Standard 2x – 50 players
1 – shielsy – R/G Aggro w/ Tarmogoyf and Greater Gargadon main
2 – Hot Chip – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
3 – GamerLich – U/B Dredge
4 – War.Of.The.Magi – Gruul
5 – RocketBobB – Solar Flare
6 – TerraNorman09 – Dragonstorm
7 – johan80 – Dragonstorm
8 – Wuestenfuchs – Perilous Storm
In the top spot today, we have shielsy, with a new take on R/G Aggro that
seems destined to trump the mirror. It runs Tarmogoyf (everyone’s favorite
non-Korlash Future Sight fattie), and maindeck Greater Gargadon. Craig “The
Professor” Jones wrote an excellent Premium article on the modern face of
aggro, and it looks like someone was listening (or came to similar conclusions
themselves). Another Gruul deck made Top 4, but that seemed largely generic. Damn
those netdeckers.
Dredge posted its highest result to date, on which I cannot possible comment
either way.
Control showed its power after a couple of lax tournaments (by its own
standards) and placed second, and Solar Flare put up another Top 8 berth. Still
not enough to herald it as the Next Big Last Big Thing, but it’s there
nonetheless. Finally, the Storm decks stormed up the charts to positions six,
seven, and eight. Way to go, combo!
#983000 – Standard 2x – 56 players
1 – ian200 – G/W/B Beach House
2 – random ways – G/W Glare (yay!)
3 – machine_1 – Gruul
4 – Bugaooo – R/G Aggro w/ Tarmogoyf and Greater Gargadon main
5 – subliminal man2 – Mono-Black Mid-Range Aggro
6 – Jaya Ballard – Perilous Storm
7 – cyof – Angelfire
8 – Dark Circle – Mono-Black Rack
Now this one took me by surprise.
First, there’s my favorite deck, G/W Glare, making Top 2. No tricks, no
cheekiness… Loxodon Hierarchs, Glare of Subdual, and Saprolings. Good show.
But the real surprise took
the top spot. Beach House, or G/W Glare with Black, managed to take them all down!
Actually, when you look at the rest of the Top 8, you can see why. Three and
four both offer Aggro, and it’s easy to see why they’re three and four and not one
and two. All the other decks are mid-range too, with the exception of Jaya Ballard
playing Perilous Storm. Indeed, the lovely Jaya seems in prime position to take it
all… but after witnessing an Ignite Memories for six do a grand total of
two damage to the G/W Glare player in the quarterfinal, I guess it just
wasn’t her day.
And after four tournaments on the trot that featured U/B Control in the Top 8,
this was the first that relegated it to the bench. Again, this probably explains
why the Mid-Range decks prevailed.
No Dragonstorm, again. Are the Four Hellkites of the Apocalypse
really on the slide?
#983001 – Standard 2x – 29 players
1 – Thommo – Angelfire
2 – adchoca – Zoo
3 – TuSaisPas – U/W/B/R Control
4 – Spladle – Mono-Black Rack
5 – xela_xela – Orzhova Aggro Discard (Suicide Squad?)
6 – Infinite Monkeys – Angelfire
7 – kotarosato04 – U/B Tron Control
8 – Tulio_Jaudy – Perilous Storm
Five down, three to go…
These next two tournaments see first-place wins for two of the popular but
Tier 2 strategies. First, we have Angelfire, that most patriotic of decks, finally
cracking open the chocolate bar to reveal the Golden Ticket. It also pops up in
sixth place, which is nice. Mono-Black Rack, in fourth, is another mid-range deck
that continues to do well, albeit at the fringes of Magical society.
Gruul and Zoo appear to share the spoils in the aggro stakes these days. And
you can boil down those categories further: Gruul with Gargadon, Zoo with
Tarmogoyf, etc. Time will tell on the consensus best builds here, although it’s
fun to note I’ve yet to see a Magus of the Moon anywhere. And very few Sulfur
Elementals. On the combo front, we again see no Dragonstorm, as the storm strategy
of choice seems to include Claws of Gix these days. Snap up them Hatching Plans
before they rocket in price!
The two final deck in this tournament need a little more exposition. First, we
have TuSaisPas and his U/W/B/R Control. It seems to take a Solar Flare type deck
and throw in Detritivore, but I’m sure I’m doing it a disservice here. If that
were the case, then there’s much more Red mana in the manabase than in strictly
necessary. Second, there’s the Orzhova deck, which may or may not be of Suicide
Squad variety. It seemed Feldmanesque… but Shrieking Grotesque?
Nevertheless, it worked.
#983002 – Standard 2x – 47 players
1 – _MAJOR_ – Solar Flare
2 – Rosarch – G/R Aggro w/ Scryb Ranger and Moldervine Cloak main
3 – manzi – U/B Pickles
4 – PTPaul – Gruul
5 – larrosa – U/R Magnivore
6 – stockdale – Solar Flare
7 – ihatepants – U/B Pickles
8 – unR34L – Zoo
My my… U/B Pickles. I’ve not seen that for a while.
And… what’s that? U/R Magnivore? Powered by Ancestral Visions. Wow!
And… yes… I think that’s yet another R/G Aggro deck. Scryb Ranger
and Moldervine Cloak maindeck? Interesting…
Solar Flare placed twice in this rather peculiar Top 8. Again, I can’t fault
those who play it. In my testing, it does seem hella fun to play. I just hate
those no-gas hands that lead to Aggro Spankings. Talking of Aggro Spankings, both
Zoo and Gruul take up their customary Top 8 slots.
Again, no Dragonstorm… and again, no U/B Control. Nice!
#983004 – Standard 2x – 43 players
1 – namclab_b – U/B Control (Dralnu du Louvre)
2 – team allen oca – Zoo
3 – topdeck_cn – Perilous Storm
4 – ali3765 – Mono-Black Rack w/ Phyrexian Ironfoot
5 – Tilt1983 – U/W Pickles (?)
6 – TrophyHunter_pl – Solar Flare
7 – shielsy – R/G Aggro w/ Tarmogoyf and Greater Gargadon main
8 – 5kUnkVVurx – Mono-Black Rack
In the final Top 8 this week, we have a return to form for the Island-lovers.
U/B Control takes the biscuit again, admirably toppling Zoo in the final (probably
by drawing all four Spell Snares… man, I hate that card).
It seems that, for a final octet, this table has a little bit of everything.
There’s Combo, in the form of Perilous Storm. There’s Aggro, with Zoo and the
Timmygoyf/Big Gargs fuelled Red/Green. There’s a smattering of Mid-Range, with
Solar Flare and Mono-Black Rack. And there’s even some innovation, with what
looked to be Blue/White Pickles.
The New Standard, folks… let’s face it, we haven’t a clue.
…
First up, some cards from Future Sight that are making an online splash:
Tarmogoyf
Korlash, Heir to Blackblade
Slaughter Pact
The Lands (Graven Cairns and Horizon Canopy especially)
Other than that, there’s little of interest that I’ve seen this week. And,
being honest, there’s a big drop off past the Top 2.
Now, some exposition.
Dragonstorm is Dead…
It appears that the proverbial (and overly-labelled) Elephant in the format is
going the way of the dodo. The deck du jour for the Strom connoisseur seems to be
Perilous Storm, though I particularly like Billy Plans from his Premium Article
today. Those planning on rumbling with the Big Fat Dragons, take note.
… Long Live Dragonstorm
Even so, I’d be hard-pressed to discount this deck in the coming weeks. We
know it’s got the goods. I’m sure, when things settle, we’ll see
the Dragons come roaring back.
Mid-Range is Gaining Ground
Solar Flare, Angelfire, Mono-Black Rack, even Beach House… all posted
respectable numbers this week. For me, this is a good thing. While I’ve always
loved Aggro strategies, I’m slowing down in my old age. Who knows, maybe I’ll play
G/W Glare again at this year’s Nationals…
Aggro Has Many Faces
It seems there are many, many ways to go with an Aggro build. Straight Gruul is
still doing well, as is straight Zoo, but I for one think that Tarmogoyf and
Greater Gargadon are becoming the standard by which to smash. They trump the
mirror, and Gargs in particular can give Tendril-packing folk a dry slap to the
sack.
Dredge is a Graveyard-Based Strategy
I have no opinion on Dredge. *runs away*
Is U/B Control on the Wane?
Probably not… but look at the later numbers. Hey, let me have my dream.
If I were playing a decent-sized Standard tournament tomorrow, I’d run either
R/G Aggro with Gargs and Timmygoyf main, or I’d raise my middle finger to the sky
and send with the pachyderms. Sure, you can have your resource-sapping 9/7…
this poxy 1/1 Saproling still taps him down, amirite?
…
That’s it for another week. Next time, I’ll be looking at the Time Spiral
Block Constructed metagame. Just it time for the PTQ season.
What’s that? There’s a Block Constructed Grand Prix this coming weekend?
Oh, hush now.
Until next time, remember — you can’t stop the signal.
Craig Stevenson
Scouseboy on MTGO
Mail us at https://sales.starcitygames.com/contactus/contactform.php?emailid=2
…
Ungrateful Dead
Today, our hero Tim Tyler prepares the audition space for his Great
Band-Member Search. And, as usual, he comes under the scornful eye of the Ghost of
Jimi Hendrix. (And for those who’ve missed him, the Ghost of John Lennon has been
sighted recently…)
No idea what I’m talking about?
Right, that’s enough pimpage from me. Seeya next week!