Block Constructed is the favorite format of many Magic players. The smaller card pool providing the illusion of viable ideas brings many creative and otherwise casual players to actual qualifiers. I myself spend the first two weeks trying to crack open the metagame, searching for the tech that no one else could possibly find. After those ideas are exhausted, I finally focus on the actual metagame, and practice with each expected deck. I've listed the gauntlet that my playtesting team is currently using below. It's by no means definitive, and only a few of the deck lists are probably tournament worthy, but it is a starting point for most people. I hope to provide building blocks for those of you who haven't started any of your testing yet, or give someone who hasn't any idea of what to test against a good place to begin.

Big Red
4 Pulse of the Forge
4 Shrapnel Blast
3 Pyrite Spellbomb
2 Shatter
4 Detonate
4 Arc-Slogger
4 Furnace Dragon
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Seething Song
4 Wayfarer's Bauble

4 Darksteel Citadel
4 Blinkmoth Nexus
4 Great Furnace
11 Mountain

Sideboard
4 Molten Rain
4 Electrostatic Bolt
4 Vulshok Warboar
3 Shunt

This list is basically Osyp's list from the Invitational, with a few updates. I'm currently testing Wayfarer's Bauble over Talismans to avoid all of the maindeck hate found in the Mirror, Green Attack, and Tooth and Nail. There should be a fair amount of mirror matches for Big Red this season.

Big Red is a solid choice because it's versatile. It's a control deck capable of applying a very quick clock. Against aggressive decks like Affinity or Ironworks, you simply Detonate and Shatter their development until Furnace Dragon hits the table. Against control decks such as Tooth, MBC, or U/W, you lay the beats until you can burn them out. In the mirror you bring in Vulshok Warboar, Shunt, and Molten Rain. Against Tooth and Nail, just bring in Warboars and Rains. Against Affinity and Green Attack you have Bolts. For MBC board in Shunts and Rains, and depending on the win condition, Shunt can be particularly nasty against Ironworks (though I would board in Molten Rain every time).

Tooth and Nail
1 Darksteel Colossus
2 Sundering Titan
2 Duplicant
3 Triskelion
4 Viridian Shaman
4 Tel-Jilad Justice
4 Oxidize
4 Tooth and Nail
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Reap and Sow
4 Solemn Simulacrum

4 Cloudpost
1 Blinkmoth Nexus
1 Stalking Stones
18 Forest

Sideboard
4 Creeping Mold
4 Avarice Totem
3 Mindslaver
1 Tornado Elemental
1 Platinum Angel
1 Leonin Abunas
1 Sundering Titan

This Tooth and Nail list has been adjusted to be able to handle MBC, Big Red, and U/W Control. Sundering Titan is a beating, and for game 2 Creeping Molds and the third Titan come in, and you attack their mana base with eleven LD spells. Avarice Totem is the only card that I thought could speed past countermagic and be able to answer a tapped Pristine Angel, however there has to be a better solution out there. U/W Control and Big Red really are tough matches for Tooth, with countermagic and Furnace Dragons being obvious problems. Hence, the shift towards creatures that give you an immediate return when they show up (Titan, Duplicant, Triskelion instead of the maindeck Platinum Angel).

Green Attack
4 Viridian Zealot
4 Tel-Jilad Chosen
4 Troll-Ascetic
4 Viridian Shaman
4 Molder Slug
3 Fangren Firstborn
3 Pulse of the Tangle
4 Predator Strike
4 Creeping Mold

22 Forest
4 Blinkmoth Nexus

Sideboard
4 Oxidize
4 Tel-Jilad Justice
4 Karstoderm
3 Sword of Fire and Ice

Green Attack is mid-range deck that has the tools to beat U/W Control, Ironworks (after board), and Affinity. Big Red has Pulse of the Forge and a turn 3 Arc-Slogger. Tooth and Nail entwines for Abunas/Angel (game 1 maybe, game 2 always), and MBC has Terror, Echoing Decay, Barter in Blood, and a large flying demon token. If Affinity completely drops off the radar, I don't think I would play this deck. Big Red has better matchups against Affinity anyway.

Ironworks v1.0
4 Krark-Clan Ironworks
4 Myr Incubator
3 Fabricate
4 Thoughtcast
4 Serum Visions
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Chromatic Sphere
3 Welding Jar
4 Talisman of Dominance
4 Pentad Prism

3 Chrome Mox
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
4 Great Furnace
3 Darksteel Citadel
2 Tree of Tales
2 Ancient Den

Sideboard
4 Condescend
4 Annul
4 Shattered Dreams
3 Echoing Truth

Welcome to the combo of the block. Krark-Clan Ironworks plus Myr Incubator plus an attack step. Fireball and Roar of Reclamation are win conditions that will not work reliably in tournament play (especially against U/W). Disciple of the Vault is in the deck as a second route to victory that doesn't slow the deck down. The Ironworks player with a Disciple can beat an opponent's Disciple, provided the tokens are sacrificed during the opponent's turn (I suggest upkeep).

This Ironworks build is designed to race Furnace Dragon and aggressive Affinity hands. Third turn wins occur quite often, but turn 4 is the usual turn to combo out. It's important to note that unless a Furnace Dragon or Ravager/Disciple is in the immediate future, the Ironworks player does not have to try to combo out. The countermagic and Echoing Truth are in the sideboard to stop Damping Matrix and March of the Machines, while Shattered Dreams is there to provide the advantage in the mirror.

Blue-White Control (John Fiorillo's List)
4 Pristine Angel
4 Annul
4 Condescend
4 Darksteel Ingot
4 Echoing Truth
1 Last Word
3 March of the Machines
2 Pulse of the Fields
4 Pulse of the Grid
4 Serum Visions
2 Solar Tide

3 Blinkmoth Nexus
12 Island
1 Mirrodin's Core
8 Plains

Sideboard (my own board)
4 Purge
4 Acquire
3 Last Word
1 March of the Machines
3 Turn the Tables

This is John Fiorillo's list from Brainburst. My playtesting team had a similar list with Oblivion Stones main, and Thirst for Knowledge over Pulse of the Grid, however we found that four Pristine Angels is not enough of a win condition. John has incorporated March of the Machines which, while being a nice hate card in block, provides another win condition in combination with Darksteel Ingot. Good and bad matchups aside, the mirror match for this deck seems horrendous. Both players should board in three Last Words and counter all of the Pristine Angels. Green Attack seems like a difficult matchup if you don't draw Pulse of the Fields. Turn the Tables is in there for that matchup, but Turn the Tables is a card that looks awful on paper and might not even be needed.

MBC in MBC
4 Oblivion Stone
4 Barter in Blood
4 Devour in Shadow
4 Consume Spirit
4 Echoing Decay
4 Night's Whisper
4 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Wayfarer's Bauble
3 Promise of Power

2 Stalking Stones
23 Swamp

Sideboard
4 Shattered Dreams
4 Terror
4 Pulse of the Dross
3 Death Cloud

Good old Mono-Black Control. Unfortunately, there's a little too much life loss inherent to the necessary cards for MBC in MBC. Big Red, Affinity, and Ironworks will eat you alive while you sit back and cast Devour in Shadow or Night's Whisper. Big Red PTQ'ers will be running Fireball in addition to Pulse of the Forge and Shrapnel Blast. Pulse of the Dross or an early Death Cloud is really the only way to strip the direct damage from their hand, and neither of those plans seem too good. You will, however, destroy Green Attack (provided they don't get Sword of Fire and Ice online game 2) and any Random Creature.dec. There's probably a better build for mono-Black decks in block, but I think it'll be a struggle for that archetype to survive.

Affinity
Unfortunately, I don't have an Affinity list available yet. It's basically the most recent Clamp lists with Cranial Plating in place of Clamp. It still loses to the decks that old Affinity loses to (re: Furnace Dragon), but now it can't recover in the face of all the hate. It's amazing to attack for eleven on turn 3, but your opponent simply Dragons out the following turn or has a Shaman and an Oxidize (let alone the random Granulate). I've seen the lists that run Blue for Qumulox and Somber Hoverguard, however I'm not so sure that Affinity can cut it without Skullclamp. Again, I'm only a PTQ level barn, so I could be completely wrong.

Thanks for reading.

Ryan Lockard
Magic the Gathering Barn
Professional VS. Player