The Standard metagame has crystallized around three Tier 1 decks: Dragonstorm, Gruul, and Dralnu du Louvre. Of late, it appears that the decks with Red have eclipsed the Control deck… but lately, the counterspells have been fighting back! Benjamin takes the Blue/Black masterpiece and updates it for a Brave New Metagame, just in time for Regionals!
With the Block and Legacy Grand Prix over, the next major event coming up for you, John Q Draftsalot, is Regionals. This means slogging back into the Standard metagame. I’ve been doing a running test log in an attempt to build around the basic structure of the format. These are the basic tenets of the format I’ve followed thus far when creating or tuning my decks.
Before I get into the weirdness, I figure I’d toss out some red meat for Spike to feast upon. Last week I got a message from Thomas Leveille, the guy playing in the Virginia Beach City Champs program that was kicking ass on points about halfway through. So, how did it pan out? Thomas pinged me on AIM with this message last week…
Armed with a freshly-cut Hatching Plans Storm Combo deck, Mark takes to the eight-man queues… and comes up short. He can’t buy a win with this deck. Yet similar builds have been rocking up premier Event Top 8s without batting a metaphorical eyelid. Where’s Mark going wrong. Is it in his play, or the deck, or the simple strategies needed to succeed? Read on to find out!
Chris dives deep into his Well of Budget Decks, and surfaces holding a deck with a twist. With Time Spiral packing our binders with old-fashioned cards, it’s time to send out some deck lovin’ to the Old Guys who’ve never thrown away a Magic card. As an Old Guy who never throws away my Magic cards, I approve of this message.
Jamie returns to his roots with some good old-fashioned fattie-lovin’… as he says himself, there’s nothing sweeter than casting a huge guy, watching your opponent struggle to deal, and once they have… casting another one. He also brings us up to speed on his European adventures, and shares a few Future Sight Green cards that have been tweaked with a touch of the Wakefield magic…
This week, I’m forgoing the usual metagame breakdowns — the format is about to radically shift, after all — and I’m bringing you an interesting little Black/White Control deck for the current Online Standard. It has a brilliant matchup against Dragonstorm and a good game versus Gruul. Intrigued? Then read on…
He’s been away for a while, but Mr Rizzo is back with a bang! Today’s dose of Rizzo Genius takes us through his long hard haul towards this year’s Regionals, with update after update to his popular Nearly Mono-Black in Standard deck. Expect no maindeck Black cards by the end of the article. He also recounts something rather frightening… I’ll let the great man tell that tale in his own irreverent fashion.
With Regionals just around the corner, Mike ups the ante… with not one, not two, but three Standard decks packed with Future Sight cards! Each deck has a controlling feel, and there’s copious input from Patrick “The Innovator” Chapin, who “fixes” one of Mike’s deck (much to the Resident Genius’s delight). Mike’s creations constantly warp the Constructed metagame, and these decks are no exception. If you’re looking for an edge in the coming Standard environment, look no further!
Dragonstorm is the best deck in Standard. Coming in a (not-so) close second is R/G Aggro, a.k.a. Gruul. Since this game began, folk have enjoyed beating down with little Green and Red men, and finishing the job with red burn to the face. Future Sight has brought some interesting Red and Green cards to the table… just how do they fit into the grand scheme of reducing your opponent from twenty to zero? BPM reveals all!
Don’t take this article’s title the wrong way: I’m not advocating actual cheating at Regionals. What I mean is, this year’s Regionals format allows you to play an unusually high number of decks and cards so powerful that they are like cheating. Part of this is due to the Storm mechanic, which is inherently strong. However, another part comes simply from the ways in which the Wizards of the Coast are toying with costs, drawbacks, and power levels: is it okay to have a Black Lotus if you have to wait three turns for it?
When Chris attempted to break Standard with Necrotic Sliver, his ideas fell on stony ground. Two weeks of testing and tweaking, and nothing to show for his time. So he threw the doors open to the forum folk, and begged for ideas. They replied in their droves… and today’s article bears the fruit of their labors. Three deck, each with differing degrees of success… and one deck that may well be the Next Big Thing. Intrigued? Then read on!
Dragonstorm in the strongest deck in Standard. As such, everyone is gunning for it. However, life can be difficult for the self-proclaimed Combo Killers when the tools at your disposal are nullified by a timely Gigadrowse. So what can we do? Richard takes a proactive approach, and looks for answers to the puzzle by examining the available disruption. He brings us four exciting decklists today, at least one of which can produce fantastic results against the 800-pound gorilla in the format.
Jamie Wakefield, the archetypical Green Mage, takes a long look at his Magic-playing tendencies of late. He’s tinkered with Black/Green, Blue/Green, even Red/Blue… is a more multicolored path his ticket to success, or should he return to his Mono-Green roots? He also warns of the dangers involved in teaching Magic to three people in two languages while drunk, and offers some handy tips for the sartorially-challenged amongst us.
Today’s Online Outlook charts the past week’s Metagame Shift on Magic Online. I present twelve Top 8 breakdowns for your pleasure and perusal, and we can see just what’s winning — and what’s losing — in the ever-changing world of Magic Online. Does Dragonstorm still destroy? Is Gruul Cruel? Does Gruul actually rhyme with Cruel? Inquiring minds want to know!
