Top 8 from Pro Tour Amonkhet

Standard Deck Help forum

Posted on May 14, 2017, 6:42 a.m. by clayperce

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Gerry Thompson's Mono-B Zombies (#1 PT AKH)

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SCORE: 1 | 2 COMMENTS | 61 VIEWS

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cklise says... #2

..what variety

May 14, 2017 1:55 p.m.

Homura_Akemi says... #3

Thanks for putting these online!

May 14, 2017 4:01 p.m.

MWorl91 says... #4

No Mardu

May 14, 2017 7:15 p.m.

Hardhitta7 says... #5

MarWho?

May 14, 2017 8:30 p.m.

MWorl91 says... #6

You know, the deck that most people thought would be the top of the meta after the banning of Copycat. Don't get me wrong I'm happy to see it fall out of the limelight so that other decks can shine but, it appears we've traded the 2 deck meta of Mardu vs Copycat for a 2 deck meta of Marvel vs Zombies. Granted the next few weeks could change that perception but for now it looks like we're back to square one just with a new 2 decks that everyone has to side for.

May 15, 2017 1:40 a.m.

clayperce says... #7

Finally catching up on comments ...

Homura_Akemi,
You bet!

cklise and MWorl91,
I'm not so sure. Pro Tour is always kind of weird ... partly because not all the best decks make Top 8 (since Top 8 is based on the Pros' performance in both Draft and Standard) and partly because the meta has now totally shifted (everyone was gunning to beat Mardu, but now everyone will be gunning to beat the new Temur Marvel lists).

No matter what, I think Mardu will continue to be a thing. It wasn't in the Top 8 of course, but it's all over the Top Deck lists. Plus a 50% overall PT win rate -- especially when everyone is gunning against you -- is still pretty great. Plus lots of people already have the deck. And of course Snek Deck (Top 8 + sprinkled around the Top Deck lists) is obviously still a player.

Going forward, I'm also excited about UR Control and Temur Energy (which went 8-2 in Standard), Jund Gods (7-2-1 in Standard), BW Control (7-3, incl a 100% win rate vs Temur Marvel), and BR Midrange (7-3).

So what will the Top 8s look like at GP Montreal, GP Santiago, SCG Louisville, or my LGS Game Day this weekend? I've no idea. But I can't imagine they're going to be just Zombies and Marvel. So for now anyways, I'm still excited for Standard this season.

May 15, 2017 6:31 a.m. Edited.

clayperce says... #8

FYI, here are the decklists I mention above:

May 15, 2017 7:14 a.m.

Homura_Akemi says... #9

clayperce How do you think the BR Midrange deck will do in the Standard FNM meta? It looks fun to me, and kind of flavorful with Chandra and Liliana running the show like when they arrived on Kaladesh in the Magic Story "Torch of Defiance".

May 16, 2017 9:20 a.m.

clayperce says... #10

Homura_Akemi,
I have no idea frankly. There are a couple things worth mentioning though:

(1) The deck made SaffronOlive's list of "Sweetest Under-the-Radar Decks" (at the bottom of this article). Here's his write-up:

Last but not least, we have RB Control, which is almost like a Standard version of Jund. Instead of relying on combos or synergies, RB Control is just looking to play the best removal and most powerful threats at every point on the curve, trusting that raw power can overcome whatever synergies the opponent's deck might be relying on. If you like having an answer for everyone, slamming powerful planeswalkers, and stealing your opponent's cards with Gonti, Lord of Luxury, this might be the Pro Tour Amonkhet deck for you!

(2) While this deck did really well, the archetype struggled. Here are some stats from Frank Karsten:

Black-Red Midrange

  • Vs. Marvel: 20% (1-4)
  • Vs. Mardu: 14.3% (1-6)
  • Vs. Zombies: 50% (4-4)
  • Overall: 34.5% (10-19)

We've no idea though if the other BR decks had the same list (implying Alexandre just got lucky) or were a totally different (and much worse) list, so it's hard to draw solid conclusions from this small amount of data. Though the fact that it was a small amount of data does suggest there were only a few Pros who thought highly of the deck ...

Not sure this answers your question, but hope it helps!

May 16, 2017 9:56 a.m.

Homura_Akemi says... #11

Thank you, it does help! Especially interesting to see that the general archetype did not do so well.

May 16, 2017 12:33 p.m.

Homura_Akemi says... #12

Anyway, clayperce, sorry to double post, but which of those five exciting decks do you think you're going to play or looking forward to using the most?

May 17, 2017 9:20 a.m.

clayperce says... #13

Homura_Akemi,
None of them, frankly. If I participate in Game Day this weekend, it'll be with a RG Energy deck. I had an absolute blast with Electrostatic Pummeler in KLD Standard, and I've been very pleased with how it's testing, especially with Fling.

May 17, 2017 10:17 a.m.

Homura_Akemi says... #14

That sounds like fun! Good luck!

May 17, 2017 10:25 a.m.

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