The State of Standard #2
Standard forum
Posted on Dec. 9, 2013, 4:49 p.m. by Wabbbit
Welcome back to The State of Standard! This time I will be discussing the latest pro tour, standard deck rankings, and much more! We will also be finishing up last times challenge of creating an anti-mono-blue deck. But first, discussion:
Pro Tour Stuff
Yup! That's where I'm starting off this days discussion, with the latest pro tour. Pro Tour Dallas-Fort Worth was incredibly interesting, with a completely new deck surfacing on the pro magic scene: Orzhov Control. The deck utilizes powerful creatures with a mix of discard and kill spells, which turned out to be a perfect mix for this week. Let's go into this build a little.
Now, I haven't seen this deck play as of yet, so I'm going off of the decklist alone. Element one is the creatures, where we see the basically the best creatures black and white can offer, and the new standard powerhouse of Pack Rat . This little guy is now a format staple, and any deck that has black in it that is looking for beats will be playing him. Desecration Demon and Blood Baron of Vizkopa give the game ending finishers that the deck needs. Element two is the kill spells, and this deck runs a bunch of that. Hero's Downfall , Last Breath (oh my, what a big splash this card has made), Devour Flesh and others in the sideboard. This deck will have an answer for anything the opponent plays, and as element three will show, even BEFORE the opponent plays it. Element three is discard. Thoughtseize and Duress eliminate the threats before they have the chance to BECOME a threat. Lifebane Zombie in the sideboard is even more discard power. The deck also runs a playset of Underworld Connections for card draw. This deck is very strong, and I believe it could make more then a single GP splash.
So basically, this deck ticks on:
Powerful, must be answered threats
Lots and lots of kill spells to help those threats get through
Eliminating the opponents answers through discard
Card Advantage
For those of you who want the decklist, here ya go:
Marlon Gutierrez's Orzhov Control
Now, the winner is not the only thing we have to talk about as far as the Pro Tour. I want to discuss the resurgence (Voice of Resurgence ?) of control. For a little bit, control looked dead. Sorry, it's true. Control simply wasn't placing well in the pro events. That has all changed with Azorius Control. The surprising thing is that it's not Esper. Or Grixis, or America. It's a two color deck. Azorius has made a huge splash in pro tours lately, especially Dallas-Fort Worth, placing THREE decks in the top 8. Three! That's like mono-blue like numbers. Azorius Control is a deck to be reckoned with. The reason for the sudden rise of control? I find it interesting that as soon as Last Breath is introduced to the build, the very next large event Azorius places three decks in the top 8. Last Breath is simply amazing, as it deals with a lot of the premier threats in standard. I honestly think this is one of the biggest reasons control has suddenly become one of the top decks in standard right now. There are some other reasons of course, but Last Breath makes the build much better.
I think this should be a good way to lead into
Movers & Shakers
WINNERS
Azorius Control. Azorius is obviously the big winner of the pro tour, getting second and and placing three decks in the top 8. The only deck to do something like that has been mono-blue. Welcome back control.
Mono-Black Devotion. Mono-Black is back in business, placing a number of decks in the top 16 decks. Well, anything is better then last pro tour where it didn't get a single deck in the top 16. Overall, mono-black is a winner for now.
White Weenie/Orzhov. Obvious winners, as white weenie, white weenie black splash and straight up orzhov made BIG showings this sunday. Orzhov decks or white decks with black splashes are here to stay.
LOSERS
Mono-Blue Devotion. Yup, the deck I proclaimed best deck in standard doesn't place a single deck in the top 8. Although mono-blue did place three in the top 16, that's still a major fall from its other accomplishments.
The One On Devotion
My question to T/O:
Which is better?
Mono-Black Devotion vs. Mono-Blue Devotion
There are lots of devotion decks out there. Mono-Red, Gruul, Mono-Blue, Mono-Black, Mono-White, there's everything! You can argue all you want, but the thing that everyone should be in agreement on is that mono-blue and mono-black are a the top of the heap. But which is better? Discuss!
Last Weeks Challenge Results
Finally we will see who wins those feature tokens! For those of you who don't know, in my first installment of The State of Standard, I challenged the users of tappedout to come up with the best possible Anti-Mono-Blue deck they could. It was extremely difficult to choose, so I'm going to go through the front runners that I was deciding between. To those who are not a front runner, thanks for participating!
The majority of the submitted decks were golgari. I had to choose one of them to be one of the top three before I narrowed it down to one, but even choosing ONE of the golgari decks was hard. I finally was able to choose:
Golgari's Anti-Blue Armada
Thank you CrazyLittleGuy for the submission, you have made it to the top three! It was nearly impossible for me choose between this build and APPLE01DOJ's, but the use of Thoughtseize and Fade into Antiquity made the difference. I also like that he included a sideboard. What I like about Apple's build was Ratchet Bomb and Witchstalker , but only one could win the golgari bracket.
Our next contestant for the token and the possibility of a second token isssss:
The New Meta
Thank you BeatAll for the submission, I really enjoyed your use of Gainsay (it has already been proven that it works, Esper Control is putting the card to good use) and Ratchet Bomb is amazing against mono-blue. Well done making it this far!
Last of certainly not least, I give you Dalektable's
A Good Man Goes To War
As posted in his comment, Dalek uses lifegain to get out of reach of mono-blues aggressive starts and sideboards in Banisher Priest to deal with the larger threats, like Thassa. Thank you for the submission!
And now, the moment you have all been waiting for, the winner of the first The State of Standard Challenge and the one to receive the token and the right to play against mono-blue in a feature match is
!!
I think this deck does the best job of doing what I asked for in this challenge: building a deck from scratch that basically only uses cards that directly counter mono-blue. Good job to CrazyLittleGuy and to all who participated! This little guy has earned himself one feature token! However, the challenge is not complete. Next up, the feature game:
The Feature Game
vs.
Marcin Staciwa's Mono-Blue Devotion
A is Anti-Mono-Blue and U is Mono-Blue Devotion.
U wins the role and keeps an opener of Cloudfin Raptor , Jace, Architect of Thought , Judge's Familiar , Frostburn Weird , Nightveil Specter , 2x Island .
A keeps a hand of Lotleth Troll , Dreg Mangler , Putrefy , Abrupt Decay , Mistcutter Hydra , 2x Overgrown Tomb .
U1 plays Island and casts a Cloudfin Raptor . Passes.
A1 draws Golgari Guildgate , plays it and passes.
U2 draws Tidebinder Mage , plays Island , and casts Frostburn Weird , evolving the Cloudfin. U then swings and hits (U20, A19).
A2 draws Golgari Guildgate , plays Overgrown Tomb untapped (U20, A17) and passes.
U3 draws Master of Waves and casts a Judge's Familiar . U then swings, pumping the Weird by one. In response A casts an Abrupt Decay on the Weird and takes one (U20, A16). U passes.
A3 draws Putrefy , casts Golgari Guildgate tapped and casts a Lotleth Troll . A discards nothing from the Troll and passes.
U4 draws Island , plays it, then casts Tidebinder Mage (evolving cloudfin) targeting the Troll and and then swings with everything (U20, A13). Passes.
A4 draws Mistcutter Hydra , casts Overgrown Tomb untapped (U20, A11) and then casts a Putrefy on the Mage. Passes.
U5 draws Tidebinder Mage and plays it targeting the troll again. U then swings all out (U20, A8). Passes.
A5 draws Swamp and plays it, then taps out for a 4/4 Mistcutter Hydra . Passes.
U6 draws Cloudfin Raptor and casts Nightveil Specter . U then attacks with its flyers (U20, A5).
A6 draws Reaper of the Wilds and passes.
U7 draws Island and plays it, then taps out for Master of Waves (uh oh). In response A kills the Specter. Master then resolves, creating 5 tokens. U then swings with the flyers and hits (U20, A2). Passes.
A7 draws Mutavault and concedes.
Ouuuuucccchhhhhhhhhhhhh. The was some tough stuff, Anti was simply too slow in that game to overcome the flood of creatures pumped out by mono-blue. A quicker hand would probably see Anti in better shape. Almost the whole game I found myself wishing the deck ran Ratchet Bomb , ah well. The bonus token for winning is not won, but CrazyLittleGuy still nets himself a token! Thanks to everyone who participated!
Every week now I'm going to do something called Deck Rankings. It's like the top 25 in college sports if you know what I mean. This list will fluctuate as decks do better or worse in pro magic. Without further ado, I give you the top standard decks, ranked from 1 to
*1 Mono-Blue Devotion
*2 Mono-Black Devotion
*3 Orzhov Control
*4 Azorius Control
*5 Esper Control
*6 Mono-Red Devotion with White Splash
*7 White Weenie/White Weenie with Black Splash
*8 Gruul Devotion
This Days Challenge
Challenge number two:
With the resurgence of control, I would like to see some innovative control decks that adds a playset of one card that hasn't been played at pro level. Hear that? I'll repeat: I want control decks that utilize a card unseen as far as control, a card that you really think could make control better. Make a short theory as to why this so far unseen card should be taken more notice of and post the decklist in the comments below. The winner will receive a feature token of any deck of their choosing and a feature game against an uknown deck. I'll probably just go to cockatrice and play a game! Lets have some fun with this!
KrazyCaley says... #3
I'll add in this deck.
The Whisperer in Darkness
The 4x card is Codex Shredder , whose use for control decks is as a slower Nephalia Drownyard replacement (just sits there, wins standoffs slowly) that ALSO provides recursion. I'm a big fan of control spell recursion for control decks, and being able to do it at instant speed is fantastic. In this deck, which is a mill deck, Shredder also contributes toward the overall milling goal.
December 9, 2013 4:56 p.m.
KrazyCaley says... #4
Also buffy, if you'd like this series to be an article rather than a forum post, let me know on my wall.
December 9, 2013 4:57 p.m.
Yeah, I'll definitely think about it. I may just want to, I'll let you know.
I actually really like that idea, recursion can be simply amazing for control decks.
December 9, 2013 5 p.m.
I'll make a Pack Rat Esper when I have the time. Until then, nobody else can have it.
December 9, 2013 5:18 p.m.
@Matsi883 - That's already been done, but w/e....
I'm guessing we have to make a new deck apart from the first challenge to enter this second challenge...
If not, I would just link my same deck and argue the usefulness of Haunted Plate Mail in my deck...
December 9, 2013 5:39 p.m.
Haha, BeatAll. I suppose you can enter the same deck.
December 9, 2013 5:41 p.m.
@BeatAll: To me, unseen implies on the tournament scene.
December 9, 2013 6:06 p.m.
This is my deck that utilizes unseen tools to deal with the major threats in standard.
The key cards to take note of in this deck are--- Prognostic Sphinx , Haunted Plate Mail , and Ratchet Bomb .
Prognostic Sphinx - Can stop 4/4 creatures like blood baron, Loxodon Smiter, or even a monstrous Fleecemane Lion. If you have board control, sphinx virtually guarantees that you will draw a great card EVERY turn for the rest of the game. Furthermore, the only REAL way to answer sphinx is to boardwipe. Yes, you could devour flesh, but if I have any mutavaults in play, I could just activate one and sacrifice it. Therefore, this card forces control to keep boardwipes in and plate mail is there to dodge them.
Haunted Plate Mail - I consider haunted plate mail a mini-Obzedat, Ghost Council that can block while STILL being immune to sorcery removal. In the current meta, here's some cards that this just ignores - Brave the Elements , Domri Rade pit fight, Blood Baron of Vizkopa , (yes they trade, but that is well-worth the trade) Supreme Verdict , Banisher Priest , Dreadbore , Mizzium Mortars , Chained to the Rocks . The most important thing it dodges is the Supreme Verdict. Against control (esper specifically), this card is an absolute powerhouse. It stops one of their main win-cons and the only real removal they have in their deck for it is detention sphere or maybe hero's downfall. (and d-sphere is easily answered with my last secret, Ratchet Bomb )
Ratchet Bomb --- The final key to my deck - This device is absolutely amazing against every single tier 1 deck in standard.
Against MUD, if they overcommit a few 1-drops early on, you can turn 3 boardwipe with mana open. Late-game, it can blow up master of waves' tokens, or you can just use it to kill 2-3 drop devotion hogs like tidebinder mage or nightveil specter if they have a slower start.
Against MBD, this card effectively answers mono-black's key to win the mirror match; Pack Rat. Not only that, but ratchet bomb also removes underworld connections as well.
Against Esper and Azorius, you just sit this baby at 3 and dare them to try and detention sphere something.If you have 2 out at once, let them try to d-sphere the bombs... when they target with the sphere, sacrifice the bomb that was targetted in response.
Against MRD, just blow the bomb at 2 to boardwipe all ash zealots and BTE to just WRECK their devotion.
Against GR ramp, blow it at 2 to wipe their sylvan caryatids, their voyagin satyr and their BTE.
December 9, 2013 6:09 p.m.
@Matsi883 --- An esper deck just won a grand prix with 3x Pack Rat in the sideboard, it was on one of the other articles in this site... (i think it was the prequel to this article)
December 9, 2013 6:11 p.m.
Here is my deck, The Second Coming of Caw-Blade. It focuses on Diabolic Tutor , a vastly underrated card.
December 9, 2013 6:40 p.m.
CrazyLittleGuy says... #16
@APPLE01DOJ I think the biggest issue in this match was the lack of a Skylasher . In games that he has resolved turn 2 I generally have no issue at all, and I think I would have saved one kill spell for the expected Master of Waves . Oh well, it was a 1 game round and bad luck is inevitable sometimes.
Thanks for selecting my deck buffy! Sorry, I guess the deck didn't perform how I expected, but I still stand by its potential in stopping MUD. There were a couple plays I'm not entirely sure coincide with how I would have piloted it, but I think the biggest factor was bad draws. Lack of Skylasher makes me sad. :(
I really liked the challenge and article, looking forward to the coming ones! Thanks for the feature token!
December 9, 2013 6:48 p.m.
@CrazyLittleGuy: I gifted it to you, tell me if you got it.
December 9, 2013 8:02 p.m.
@BeatAll: got second, didn't win :P. Stupid mono-blue beat it. That was just one of the games in the match that I posted.
December 9, 2013 8:04 p.m.
GoldGhost012 says... #19
I made creatureless Grixis control to see if it could become a thing again, just like KrazyCaley's
Bolas for a Better Tomorrow
.
deck-large: Creatureless Grixis Control Is a Thing, Right?
The card I chose for the unplayed playset is Agoraphobia . Straight from the deck's description: This deck features an important part, one that really helps with the creatureless (have I said creatureless too many times yet?) aspect: a reusable attack deterrent that no one ever plays- Agoraphobia . No one ever expects this little enchantment to do anything, but let me tell you- it has the power to shut down entire decks. Cast it, return it to your hand in time to cast a removal spell, then cast it again. There's a word for that: Winning.
It playtests really well so far.
December 9, 2013 9:21 p.m.
Might as well try the challenge. I loved the article.
Life Battle of Meletis
Focuses on Daxos of Meletis , which I hope can get super broken when it is the card built around
December 9, 2013 11:06 p.m.
It is in standard. Dunno why it says "Unknown". Oops.
December 9, 2013 11:07 p.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #23
deck-large:lilianas-devotional-to-lord-bolas
Contaminated Ground is the card that hasn't seen play. It can shut down Mutavault and Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx for 2 mana. Attack 2 color decks mana base and turn their dual lands to Swamp . Against devotion decks it can deprive the opponent of a needed mana source to play Boros Reckoner or Nightveil Specter . The 2 damage for tapping the land helps bleed the opponent and can make tenative opponents play a turn behind. My deck has some of the elements of black devotion but it is more of a control deck that focuses on hand disruption, creature removal, and mana deprivation.
2 mana land removal that provides devotion and bleeds the opponent sounds good to me. I know it is at a busy mana cost slot but this card is being overlooked.
December 10, 2013 11:32 a.m.
....I don't think Contaminated Ground will deprive your opponent of the mana needed for Nightveil Specter .... just say'n.
Still, a good option for the reasons you stated.
December 10, 2013 11:48 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #25
Against MUD it will. Against MBD it is a card you definitely want to side out. If you are on the play it is even better. You can deny a T2 Ash Zealot , Frostburn Weird , Tidebinder Mage , or Burning-Tree Emissary .
December 10, 2013 11:55 a.m.
Rasta_Viking29 says... #26
Err what am I saying lol Nightveil Specter is still cast-able. Brain Fart...
December 10, 2013 11:57 a.m.
@Rasta_Viking29: It WILL NOT, under any circumstances, shut off Nightveil Specter . Nightveil Specter 's cost is u/b, u/b, u/b. Contaminated Ground makes B. But it will make them take two for it.
December 10, 2013 11:58 a.m.
I don't have a deck with it at the moment, but I think that Catch / Release is a great card for improving American Control.
Seems too expensive, but it hits everything they may be throwing at you. - Personally, I love the idea of 3 mana to steal a PW that's about to Ultimate. - That alone makes it useable in B/R, or even Grixis.
I'd probably consider pairing it with Quicken to steal things during their attack... especially when Quicken would work well with Supreme Verdict , Mizzium Mortars , Anger of the Gods , etc.
....hmmm.... maybe Quicken should be the card I suggest.
Wabbbit says... #2
Gah! Hey Epochalyptik, could you move this to the standard forum? For some reason I didn't notice I was posting in general! Thanks!
December 9, 2013 4:55 p.m.