The Zendikar Rising Standard decklists are in for the first 2020-2021 League Weekend and the majority of the players in the MPL and Rivals are putting their hopes on a Yorion, Sky Nomad-based archetype or Dimir Rogues.
Standard has been free of Omnath, Locus of Creation, Lucky Clover, and Escape to the Wilds for almost two weeks and the format appears to be healthy and relatively diverse. The format has been refined, however, and the 71 members of the MPL and Rivals have carved out a pretty clear metagame with the major divide coming from players siding with a Yorion deck or a Dimir Rogues deck with or without Lurrus of the Dream-Den as a companion.
| Archetype | Total Copies |
|---|---|
| Azorius Blink (Yorion) | 16 |
| Dimir Rogues (Lurrus) | 15 |
| Dimir Rogues | 9 |
| Gruul Adventures | 7 |
| Temur Ramp | 4 |
| Rakdos Midrange | 3 |
| Dimir Control | 2 |
| Selesnya Blink | 2 |
| Abzan Doom Foretold (Yorion) | 2 |
| Jeskai Control (Yorion) | 1 |
| Jeskai Control | 1 |
| Four-Color Cycling (Lurrus) | 1 |
| Mono-Green Aggro | 1 |
| Selesnya Adventures | 1 |
| Rakdos Control | 1 |
| Esper Doom Foretold (Yorion) | 1 |
| Mardu Doom Foretold (Yorion) | 1 |
| Jeskai Blink (Yorion) | 1 |
| Esper Blink (Yorion) | 1 |
| Bant Blink (Yorion) | 1 |
Another way to break down the decklists is by companion or the lack of one. Of the 71 decks, 40 play a companion and 31 go without. Of those 40 decks with companions, 24 use Yorion and 16 use Lurrus. Notably, the two copies of Selesnya Blink play four copies of Yorion in the maindeck, ignoring the companion clause for a 60-card deck.
Azorius Blink (Yorion) headlines the field as the most played deck with sixteen pilots opting for the endless pile of permanents with enters-the-battlefield triggers to combo with its companion and three additional copies in the maindeck. The Birth of Meletis, Elspeth Conquers Death, Omen of the Sea, Omen of the Sun, Solemn Simulacrum, Glass Casket, and Skyclave Apparition all make an impact on the battlefield and generate value when Yorion gets involved. The value train never stops once Charming Prince works its way into the loop with Yorion, allowing the pilot to create a massive advantage that is tough to stop.
Creatures (19)
- 4 Solemn Simulacrum
- 4 Charming Prince
- 2 Dream Trawler
- 3 Yorion, Sky Nomad
- 4 Skyclave Apparition
- 2 Glasspool Mimic
Lands (30)
Spells (31)
The Azorius Blink deck can slant itself more toward a controlling shell as well, with extra counterspells and mass removal in Shatter the Sky. Some lists can get more value-based with cards like Thassa, Deep-Dwelling or go for more traditional control finishers with Dream Trawler.
Creatures (10)
Lands (30)
Spells (40)
Creatures (22)
- 4 Solemn Simulacrum
- 4 Charming Prince
- 2 Alirios, Enraptured
- 1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
- 3 Yorion, Sky Nomad
- 2 Barrin, Tolarian Archmage
- 4 Skyclave Apparition
- 2 Glasspool Mimic
Lands (30)
Spells (28)
Dimir Rogues takes the next two top spots in the metagame breakdown with fifteen players opting for a traditional build with Lurrus as a companion and nine going for a more controlling, flash style with maindeck copies of Shark Typhoon. Seth Manfield is playing the Typhoon build, but still has a Lurrus in the sideboard as a potential value card or as an option to make it the companion by siding out the six-mana enchantments.
Creatures (15)
Lands (16)
Spells (29)
Creatures (9)
Lands (18)
Spells (33)
Some non-companion decks fill out the next tier of most-played decks with seven copies of Gruul Adventures, four copies of Temur Ramp, and three copies of Rakdos Midrange. Gruul Adventures is the marquee aggressive deck for the weekend, taking advantage of the Edgewall Innkeeper engine alongside Bonecrusher Giant and Lovestruck Beast while aiming to equip Embercleave to take out an opponent as quickly as possible.
Creatures (32)
- 2 Scavenging Ooze
- 4 Lovestruck Beast
- 2 Questing Beast
- 4 Edgewall Innkeeper
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 4 Stonecoil Serpent
- 4 Gemrazer
- 4 Brushfire Elemental
- 4 Kazandu Mammoth
Lands (20)
Spells (8)
Temur Ramp is the most typical looking ramp deck Standard has seen in some time following the rotation or bannings of cards like Growth Spiral, Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath, and Omnath, Locus of Creation. This deck is ramping through traditional means like Lotus Cobra, Cultivate, Fertile Footsteps, and Llanowar Visionary to play Genesis Ultimatum or Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. The deck comes with a combo kill when Terror of the Peaks and a Beanstalk Giant or two enter the battlefield from an Ultimatum.
Creatures (25)
- 4 Lotus Cobra
- 4 Beanstalk Giant
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 4 Llanowar Visionary
- 4 Terror of the Peaks
- 2 Glasspool Mimic
- 3 Kazandu Mammoth
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (22)
Spells (11)
Rakdos Midrange is a deck designed to punish Dimir Rogues for its aggressive milling, allowing the pilot to fuel escape creatures like Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger and Ox of Agonas. The midrange deck is full of removal and other ways to fill its own graveyard if the opponent isn’t doing it for them with cards like Mire Triton and Tymaret Calls the Dead.
Creatures (22)
- 2 Rankle, Master of Pranks
- 2 Murderous Rider
- 4 Robber of the Rich
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 2 Ox of Agonas
- 4 Mire Triton
- 4 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (19)
Spells (17)
The rest of the field is littered with one-ofs and two-ofs, though a majority of them are different takes on Yorion decks. Doom Foretold strategies show up in Abzan, Esper, and Mardu builds while Blink decks stray from the strict Azorius version into Bant, Selesnya, Esper, and Jeskai. Two players ended up on a classic Dimir Control archetype and two went with Jeskai Control (one Yorion, one not) that looks to use Transmogrify to get a guaranteed Dream Trawler.
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (19)
Spells (36)
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (35)
Spells (40)
Other unique decks include: Rakdos Control by Shintaro Ishimura, Four-Color Cycling (Lurrus) by Simon Gortzen, Selesnya Adventures by Kenji Egashira, and Mono-Green Aggro by Matthieu Avignon.
Creatures (10)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (14)
Spells (32)
Creatures (16)
Lands (14)
Spells (30)
Creatures (31)
- 2 Scavenging Ooze
- 4 Lovestruck Beast
- 3 Faerie Guidemother
- 2 Questing Beast
- 4 Giant Killer
- 4 Edgewall Innkeeper
- 4 Shepherd of the Flock
- 4 Skyclave Apparition
- 4 Kazandu Mammoth
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (7)
Spells (20)
Creatures (28)
- 3 Scavenging Ooze
- 4 Lovestruck Beast
- 4 Questing Beast
- 4 Stonecoil Serpent
- 1 Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig
- 4 Gemrazer
- 4 Swarm Shambler
- 4 Kazandu Mammoth
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (3)
Spells (26)
The first League Weekend kicks off at 11 am ET/8 am PT tomorrow. MPL and Rivals players will be playing matches on Saturday and Sunday with an official stream on twitch.tv/Magic while individual members of the leagues will also be streaming their perspectives.
View all 71 decklists for the October Zendikar Rising League Weekend.