Apparently, I am a genius.


I listed three options for the metagame in my Anti-Haunt article, and in the last three major tournaments, two of the archetypes won (a RDW variation and a B/G Ramp deck), and one of them got second place (Red Control splashing Black with MD Chandra's Phoenix). From this realization, I would like to take the opportunity to offer my services as a professional deck-builder, because I am on fire baby!




Yes, I Am Joking. But still...

On a more serious note, it's good to see such a wide variety of decks doing well, although this might be the RDW (or previously RUG) conundrum from the Caw-Blade Standard format; when every round of a big tournament yields an 80% likelihood of playing against the same deck, attacking that deck ferociously will boost you into pretty high win percentages. If your deck performs against an extra archetype or two, you can take it all the way to the Finals.

This weekend's Open sure revealed some interesting things about the current format. The fact that there isn't a clear-cut list for any of the U/W decks is chief among them: U/w Delver lists are split on Runechanter's Pike and Invisible Stalker, whether or not to play any. From W/u Humans (still seeing play) has evolved U/W Delver/Humans: a mix of two strategies, playing the most efficient creatures from each deck. Even Grand Architect is getting some love: his ability to pump most the creatures in the Delver deck, and power out some equipment makes him a serious consideration.



The deck I find the most interesting however, has to be the R/b Metalcraft deck that got second:



This deck has a lot of parts to it; Mortarpod lets you deal with small creatures early, and gives your Chandra's Phoenix and Inkmoth Nexus some added play later. Turning on Brimstone Volley whenever needed is a huge bonus, even letting you kill a Titan if needed. I imagine with Galvanic Blast almost always being Metalcraft that you could easily burn an opponent out from 13 or so life, even without a Shrine.



Etched Champion has been doing work in Tempered Steel and Puresteel Paladin decks for awhile now, and he isn't slacking here. Blocking a Geist, Crusader or Grave Titan, or any of the RDW dudes while being almost unkillable is just so strong. With Phoenix and this guy, your threats are very resilient and still come down early enough to make a difference.

I could go on and on about cards like Chandra, Ghost Quarter and Stensia Bloodhall each playing an integral blah blah, something insightful, but the deck just seems cool. One notable exclusion is Olivia Voldaren, which I agree with. For a creature to cost four or more in this format, it really has to get over the Vapor Snag/Mana Leak hump. While Olivia can do stuff the turn you play her, six mana has to do more than kill a single token, and shouldn't outright lose to Sword of War and Peace.


A Darkness Is Ascending On Standard...

With Dark Ascension around the corner, it seems right to take a look at what kind of decks we should be building or beating come February.

The current Public Enemy #1, Moorland Haunt and its associated decks.




We have B/W tokens decks, which have been given a huge windfall with Evolving Wilds seeing reprint.




Next we have Werewolves of all shapes and sizes, whether an archetype, or simply the best few of them next to other good cards.



What do all these decks have in common? They get seriously abused by Ratchet Bomb; Tokens and fliped cards all have a converted mana cost of 0, which means your Bomb is active and waiting the turn you play it. The fact that it has the option to be ticked up in order to hit Equipment, Geist of Saint Traft, Shrine of Burning Rage or whatever else your heart desires is pure bonus.


This leads me to believe we have a few choices moving forward:

Wolf Run Black. It's already playing a couple Ratchet Bombs, and a Glissa the Traitor to help facilitate them, so one or two more sure can't hurt. Costing only colorless mana helps as well, for those awkward mana draws. This deck is already pretty strong in the meta, and stands to get slightly better.

Tezzeret decks. Between Bomb and Grafdigger's Cage, its a very good time to have a strong way to search for artifacts. Using them also as a win condition is sugar on top. Only problem Tezz has right now is potential Ancient Grudge blowouts, but every strategy has a weakness.

U/W(/b) Control. Between Sun Titan and a few copies of Buried Ruin, you should have enough recursion to simply shut down the offending decks. And when Delver and Spirit tokens are already dealt with, you can more easily save Day of Judgment for the annoying Hexproof guys. Add to the fact that Phantasmal Image is a good answer to a lot of metagame cards, and this deck could have some serious play.

I think out of the gate, Wolf Run Black has the biggest edge, being already established for the current metagame. Not only is it inherently strong, but it has the tools necessary to beat control and aggro decks alike. Having a repeatable two mana sweeper against tokens, on top of everything else this deck does should be a win.

That's all for this week, keep working on that savage brew!
Viv

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