Standard is the format de jour, and like many this week, I am going cover it in depth. This format is fun, thought provoking, and more importantly, deep. There are eleven viable decks, in my opinion. But to understand the format, you need to break it down into four areas:
Combo decks
Control decks
Aggro decks
Control decks
Each of these sub-headings has many decks underneath its umbrella, and if you are looking to win a PTQ – or even Grand Prix: Washington D.C. – you will need to understand what each of these deck lists looks like, and what they are trying to accomplish. Consider this article an overview of what I feel are the viable archetypes, and the best builds of said archetypes.
Let’s start with the combo decks! Our first deck is Time Sieve:
Spells (40)
- 4 Time Warp
- 4 Howling Mine
- 4 Angelsong
- 4 Kaleidostone
- 4 Mistvein Borderpost
- 3 Time Sieve
- 3 Thopter Foundry
- 4 Fieldmist Borderpost
- 3 Open the Vaults
- 3 Silence
- 4 Prophetic Prism
Sideboard
Brett Piazza played this decklist to a Top 4 finish in Lincoln, Nebraska a few weeks back, and this is the best version of Time Sieve I have seen of them all. The omission of Glassdust Hulk is the biggest difference in his list to most stock offerings, but I think that is a change that opens a lot of room in deckbuilding. Instead of wasting putting Glassdust Hulk or Architects of Will in the graveyard, Brett opted to finish people off with Tezzeret and maindeck Silence; a card that I have always wanted to play in Time Sieve, but one for which I’ve never had enough space. Silence is, for all intents and purposes, a one mana Time Walk in Time Sieve that truly shines against Jund and Naya. With the increase in Naya decks, I could see making room for the fourth Silence somewhere.
The reason to play Time Sieve is due to how positive the matchup is against Blue-based control decks. UW Control and UWr Super Friends are as close to a bye as you’re going to get. Your matchup against Jund is neither bad nor good, but oddly enough it’s not in your control. If a Jund player has Putrid Leech or Plated Geopede, a Time Sieve pilot is in a lot of trouble, but if they are without it (or opt not to mulligan for one), the Time Sieve player wins a high percentage of the time.
Time Sieve is an interesting choice for the next few weeks, because as Naya begins to become popular, control decks will pop up to keep it in check. As those control decks pop up, Time Sieve can prey on them and hope to dodge poor matchups like Naya and Mono Red. It’s risky, but Time Sieve is a deck that can win a PTQ based on what the metagame is on the day.
The next deck is Open the Vaults:
The only person that seems to be able to win with this deck is Gerry Thompson, so I would probably stay away from this unless you have as much practice with this deck as he does. It is pretty difficult to play correctly, and it approaches the game from such an odd angle that I have opted to stay as far away from this as possible. That is not to say that it is a poor deck. It is actually a very good deck that Gerry has had a lot of success with, up to and including an 18th place finish at the StarCityGames.com Atlanta Standard Open. My advice is to play this deck only if you have a lot of practice with it. The reason I am pointing it out is to make sure that everyone is aware that it still exists.
The last combo deck is a Craig Wescoe favorite:
Creatures (2)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (23)
Spells (30)
- 4 Rampant Growth
- 4 Polymorph
- 4 Ponder
- 3 Negate
- 3 Into the Roil
- 2 Explore
- 4 Awakening Zone
- 4 Deprive
- 2 See Beyond
Sideboard
Craig made Top 4 at another PTQ this weekend in Indianapolis with Emrakul and friends, and while I don’t find the deck to be very good, he swears by it. I fully admit that I am not the expert on Polymorph, but I believe that the deck works too hard to win, and with Cunning Sparkmage combo being back at the forefront of the format, this deck is going to have to work even harder to obtain its wins. Sadly, Craig’s newest Top 4 list isn’t up yet, but all questions should be directed his way. My advice is to stay away from this deck now that Naya is a major player.
Combo decks are on the borderline of playability. If you opt to play one, I would play Time Sieve first, then Polymorph, and lastly Open the Vaults.
Now let’s get onto the control decks! First up is a personal favorite of mine:
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (26)
Spells (22)
- 2 Oblivion Ring
- 3 Mind Spring
- 2 Negate
- 2 Martial Coup
- 3 Path to Exile
- 3 Day of Judgment
- 4 Spreading Seas
- 3 Everflowing Chalice
Sideboard
I’ve gone back to playing Martial Coup, and you should too, as it is incredibly difficult for a Naya deck to beat one. I’ve finally moved a Gideon Jura into the main and sideboard, because of how great the card is against Mythic and Naya. I expect both of those decks to be big this weekend, and I would like a leg up in that area. Everyone else should be pretty stock. I think UW Control is in a great position this weekend, as it has a positive matchup against Naya in addition to just being one of the best strategies in the format. My version of UW is more geared toward beating the mirror, Super Friends, Naya, and Jund, while making concessions to Time Sieve and Mono Red. If you want to beat those decks, you have to tools to adapt with Kor Firewalker, Baneslayer Angel, and Kor Sanctifiers. It is just a matter of what decks you want to defeat on the weekend.
Next up is Super Friends!
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (12)
Lands (26)
Spells (18)
- 3 Oblivion Ring
- 1 Mind Spring
- 2 Martial Coup
- 4 Path to Exile
- 2 Divination
- 2 Day of Judgment
- 4 Spreading Seas
Sideboard
I’ve never been a big fan of Super Friends, but it is quickly growing on me. The deck as a strategy is interesting because it doesn’t really begin to do anything relevant until turn 4, but once the ball gets rolling, it is almost impossible to stop. All of the planeswalkers work insanely well together, and you have the same tools as UW Control to fight off whatever questions your opponent is asking. I think Super Friends has a worse matchup against Naya and Allies than UW Control does, but is better in the control mirrors. I expect a lot of the top players to be playing UW Control this weekend at GP: DC, so Super Friends may be the best way to trump them.
I think UW Control is the best control deck for an open format like GP: DC, but if you are expecting a ton of people to play UW Control, Super Friends is the natural trump to what they are trying to accomplish while still being adequate against other strategies. Given the option, I would play UW Control, but I could not fault someone for choosing Super Friends either.
And now the aggro decks! First up is the deck everyone hates to lose to, and everyone loves to beat:
Creatures (17)
Lands (24)
Spells (19)
Sideboard
Personally, I would never play Mono Red. I have never liked Red decks as a strategy, and don’t understand how to play them correctly. However, some people love Red decks and are masters at piloting them. Mono Red is interesting in this format, because it is a deck that is very easy to beat if you want to beat it (much like Affinity in Extended). A lot of players expect the other players in the tournament to take care of Mono Red pilots instead of taking care of it themselves. I would not be surprised to see this happen again in the coming weeks. Power-wise, Mono Red isn’t that powerful a deck. It has some very efficient cards in Goblin Guide, Searing Blaze, and Staggershock, but overall I am not all that impressed by what they are doing on a game-to-game basis. Maybe you share my feelings. And maybe that is why I lose to Red decks a lot more on Magic Online than I should. As a UW Control player, you can easily shore up the matchup by siding Kor Firewalker and maindecking Baneslayer Angel, but that leaves you weaker against Jund and control mirrors. Is that a risk you’re willing to take? Mono Red players are hoping you aren’t!
Next up is a deck with a giant bullseye on its head:
Creatures (28)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 4 Sovereigns of Lost Alara
- 4 Dauntless Escort
- 4 Baneslayer Angel
- 4 Lotus Cobra
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (25)
Spells (2)
Sideboard
Matt Sperling qualified with this exact decklist in the first PTQ of the season, and many have copy and pasted this strategy to extremely successful results. Mythic is a lot like Mono Red, in that It isn’t a very difficult strategy to hate out, but dedicating a lot of slots to that matchup leaves you weaker somewhere else. The thing about Mythic that makes it so powerful is that it has some very unbeatable draws that simply ignore the opponent and kill them instead. A turn 3 Sovereigns of Lost Alara isn’t that hard to accomplish, and can win the game on its own. The same can be said about Baneslayer Angel and Rafiq of the Many. Mythic is far from unbeatable, but this is a strategy that can get out of hand very , especially if the player is running hot on the day.
Next up is a deck that is very close to my heart:
Creatures (32)
- 4 Bloodbraid Elf
- 4 Kabira Evangel
- 4 Kazandu Blademaster
- 4 Oran-Rief Survivalist
- 4 Akoum Battlesinger
- 4 Hada Freeblade
- 4 Harabaz Druid
- 4 Talus Paladin
Lands (24)
Spells (2)
Sideboard
I said last week that this deck was poorly positioned, and I am prepared to rescind that comment now. Allies is a deck that is only good in a certain metagame, and that metagame may be here again. Allies has very positive matchups against combo decks, Naya with how it is currently built (no Baneslayer Angel), and Super Friends. Jund has always been a very close matchup, and while UW Control is a bad matchup and makes up a relevant portion of the metagame, the matchup is far from unwinnable. I feel like this is a very good choice for Grand Prix: DC, and if I were attending, I would be playing a spicy list of this or UW Control
Lastly is GerryT’s latest brew!
Creatures (32)
- 1 Birds of Paradise
- 3 Ranger of Eos
- 3 Wild Nacatl
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 4 Bloodbraid Elf
- 2 Lotus Cobra
- 1 Scute Mob
- 4 Cunning Sparkmage
- 2 Stoneforge Mystic
- 4 Vengevine
Lands (17)
Spells (11)
Sideboard
Last week I also said that Naya was poorly positioned, and I’m also ready to rescind that statement. Gerry had sent me a Facebook message a few days after I wrote my article with this decklist, and I was skeptical at first. I had seen everything Naya could do thanks to Tom Ross, and while good, I was not impressed. Furthermore, I am not a very big fan of Vengevine, and said as much when I reviewed the card. But I am man enough to admit when I am wrong about anything, and I was wrong about both Naya being playable and Vengevine being good. I always felt Vengevine needed a home to shine, and Gerry has found one! I picked this deck up Friday evening, and after going 29-4 over 36 hours, I knew this was the deck to beat for the weekend. I even got out of bed to play a PTQ on Sunday in Indianapolis, and while I went a miserable 2-2, I still felt like the deck was out of this world. Gerry T has truly done it again. This is certainly one of the decks to beat this weekend.
Of the aggro decks, I would play Allies first, followed by Naya, then Mythic, and then Mono Red. Allies is a very big gamble, but I feel it is positioned well right now. Naya is an excellent deck, but I feel it will be gunned for this weekend. Mythic is also excellent, and there really isn’t a reason not to play it. Lastly, there is Mono Red, which is a deck I simply cannot get myself to play in a large tournament because I do not play it well enough. The aggro decks are all very good decks, so saying Naya is better than Mythic and vice versa is very hard to do. They all have their advantages and disadvantages.
And finally comes the mid-range decks! And the by decks, I mean deck.
That’s right.
Jund…
I think everyone knows how I feel about Jund, so I am not going to dignify that deck with any more attention than it needs.
All kidding aside, we have all seen Jund a million times. Every decklist is different, but they are all good, so me recommending one isn’t going to do you any good. I couldn’t tell you if Nest Invader is better than Explore, Rampant Growth, or Plated Geopede. That is KyleB’s area. I am more than willing to admit when I am uninformed on a deck, and Jund is a huge weak spot for me. What I do know is that the deck is very good, and at least one will make Top 8, I’m sure.
Way to step out on a ledge, I know!
That does it for this week. As you can see, there are at least ten viable decks in Standard, and that doesn’t even include fringe decks like Runeflare Trap or various types of Grixis. As frustrating as Standard is sometimes, I can admit when we have a good format, and this is one of them. I won’t be at Grand Prix: DC due to other engagements, but to those attending, good luck, and I hope you have a bunch of fun. To those attending San Juan, see you there!
Until next week!