Top 4 Things to Know About Standard This Week - Episode 14
In the week of May 4-10, our favorite rotating format was bolstered by more than one significant event. This week, we have plenty to chew on, as I wanted to coolly analyze the best strategies seen at the SOS Pro Tour in Las Vegas (May 1-3), comparing them with what happened at the London Spotlight (May 9-10) and the RC Championship Cup Final in Japan and South Korea. In particular, I followed much of the London Spotlight on the Twitch channel “Pentolebicchieri_,” where Alessandro Colli Franzone puts a lot of effort and energy into providing the audience with coverage of the most important events, commented in Italian. It's an excellent product that promotes competitive play, explaining it and allowing for live commentary that stimulates analysis of what's happening. Highly recommended.
1| London Spotlight
As we can see in the statistics at the bottom of the page for the TOP 16 Magic Spotlight: Secrets, the field distribution was as follows:
Prowess 20.7%
Landfall 9.0%- Lessons 8.6%
- Spellementals 6.1%
- Flash 5.8%
Excruciator 4.6%- Ouroboroid 4%
- Rhythm 3.8%
- 4c Control 3.8%
- Control 3.6%
- MonoG Landfall 2.7%
- Others 27.2%
The following decks made it to the Top 8 in the indicated numbers:
- 2 Prowess
- 1 Omniscience
- 1 MonoG Landfall
- 1 Opus
- 1 Discard
- 1 Rhythm
- 1 MOMO
Koen de Vos triumphs with MOMO.
WINNER - Azorius Momo
- 4 × Momo, Friendly Flier
- 4 × Quantum Riddler
- 4 × Sage of the Skies
- 4 × Starfield Shepherd
- 2 × Aang, Swift Savior
- 2 × Cosmogrand Zenith
- 2 × Haliya, Guided by Light
- 2 × Nurturing Pixie
- 1 × Gran-Gran
- 2 × Erode
- 4 × Daydream
- 2 × Practiced Offense
- 2 × Seam Rip
- 4 × Springleaf Drum
- 7 × Plains
- 4 × Floodfarm Verge
- 4 × Hallowed Fountain
- 4 × Multiversal Passage
- 2 × Abandoned Air Temple
- 3 × Clarion Conqueror
- 2 × Hide on the Ceiling
- 2 × No More Lies
- 2 × Pyrrhic Strike
- 2 × Rest in Peace
- 2 × Seam Rip
- 1 × Disdainful Stroke
- 1 × Spell Pierce
Starting from the beginning, the Metagame Breakdown and the Top 8 framework seem to give us the idea of a much more varied tournament compared to last week's Pro Tour. This is not entirely true. We must consider that 325 qualified players participated in the Pro Tour, while there were 605 in this London Spotlight. Furthermore, it was not an invitation-only event like the Pro Tour. The broader participation and the different level of the event are already sufficient to explain why the "Others" category is more substantial in the London tournament.
In relation to the quality of the field, this seemed like a much more conservative tournament compared to the Pro Tour. This is usually normal. The choices of the London players shifted towards a more traditional horizon, with decks like Excruciator and Tempo being more present than at the PT. Major consolidations can be seen in Landfall, which rises significantly, taking the place of MonoG Landfall, and Ouroboroid, which is significantly represented.
The first tells us that players considered a certain malleability in the main deck and a superior sideboard opening better than the intrinsically more solid MonoG version; the second is a clear addition based on the confidence that Ouroboroid could replicate the good result of the previous PT. Then, base Rhythm and 4c Control decks take the spots that in the PT were occupied by the more experimental Maestro and Midrange: an indication of a cautious approach to the tournament. Finally, many confirmations, such as Prowess at the top of popularity, and insubstantial micro-adjustments, such as the inversion of participation between Lessons and Spellementals.
2| Analysis of the London Spotlight
Few discoveries, as mentioned, but many reassurances. A trivial fact is that white pairs profitably with green and gives it a flexibility capable of overcompensating for the loss of solidity of monocolor. Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam is a splendid card for correcting the card disadvantage of MonoG and also fuels the board state under certain conditions.
Erode lends itself very well to landfall mechanics due to the possibility of targeting one's own board. Furthermore, it responds excellently to creatures that become huge in one turn and want to attack us. In the sideboard, relying on Rest in Peace and Voice of Victory helps a lot to take one's time to set up for victory, while the opponent has to react to the targeted hate.
Stating these obvious things only serves to convey one concept: while, until recently, if one could choose between multiple versions of a deck, the most solid one was chosen, this is no longer the case. In current Standard, the ever-increasing strategic diversity leads to giving new value to flexibility. Thus, between MonoG Landfall and Landfall, players tend to lean towards the latter. The same goes for everything, e.g., MOMO White becoming MOMO, or Omniscience becoming Omniscience, etc.
I will not write more such things for other archetypes, because once the underlying concept is identified, it would be stating the obvious. Let us all remember the principle: since strategic concentration leads to solidity in deckbuilding and, conversely, strategic dilution leads to flexibility, we are now on a path that increasingly steers us towards the latter.
However, for those of us who like outsiders and the poetry of the unexpected, something fresh happened in London. First, we have a nice Allies deck in ninth place, piloted excellently by Yann-Guillaume. Remember: players win, not decks. The deck has a strong base, supported by .
Among all colors, red is the least relevant. It can be used just for an activated ability of Earthen Ally. I think it's a move no one would ever want to make, unless they have nothing else to propose. Black, on the other hand, is relevant on specific pieces like Mai, Scornful Striker, included to respond to precise archetypes.
The heart of the deck remains a tribal deck with some toolbox elements consisting of Celestial Reunion and a possible recursion line offered by Boiling Rock Rioter. The latter can be increased post-side. The main path, however, is to deploy many allies that interact with each other and then Aang, at the Crossroads, who decides the Fundamental Turn, if his other friends haven't already succeeded.
It's very interesting to see it in ninth place because this is not a recent deck; rather, it's the second single-expansion deck born with Avatar. The other is Lessons. The fact that it has always been seen little and has not produced either splendid or terrible results before could be another indicator of the current hyper-liquid state of the format, which makes it possible to play with this type of extremely complex deck. For deckbuilding enthusiasts, check out 5c Allies: it's a really nice construction.
Even within the Top 8, there were novel interpretations. Opus could be the thousandth face of in the format, in addition to all the others. It finds room for the beloved Molten-Core Maestro and the unthinkable Snar, Unfinished Genius. It must be noted that Colorstorm Stallion is a card that works. I don't say this lightly, because it's one of those cards that, every time I read it, I think: "yes, it's strong, but...". However, facts are harder than opinions, and in practice, this little horse passed the test.
It must be said that the card performs very well in this new list designed to optimize it, but it did not shine when included in classic Prowess lists. It didn't perform poorly, mind you. It simply didn't show a significant advantage compared to brews that didn't include it in the same archetype, based on the data.
Finally, Omniscience and Discard. There's little to say about the first: it's a Kona-things deck. For me, every time it works, it's definitely a mark to note. However, the mechanism is always the same one we've come to know. How wonderful it is to find a functional way to trigger our furry friend for help? It always brings so much joy to this harsh competitive world.
Regarding the second deck mentioned, Discard, thanks are given to the new Practiced Offense and, especially, Hardened Academic. SOS allowed this latest iteration of a deck that, at the beginning of its journey, was just an alternative version of Lessons where black replaced blue.
3| Analysis from RC Japan and South Korea
The Eastern interpretation of the game always surprises. In this case, the RC Standard | チャンピオンズカップファイナル Champions Cup Final held concurrently with the London Spotlight, at the Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba Office Tower, reports a dominance of the control archetype.
The tournament was won by Keiichiro Matsumoto, whom we greet with respect, and the top deck is 4c Control. In the Top 8, we find 5 control archetypes: 1 4c Control, 2 Control, 2 Spellementals. The other three remaining were Tempo, Momo, and Ouroboroid.
WINNER - W U B R Control
- 4 × Jeskai Revelation
- 3 × Inevitable Defeat
- 2 × Consult the Star Charts
- 2 × Flashback
- 2 × Lightning Helix
- 2 × No More Lies
- 2 × Sear
- 2 × Swallowed by Leviathan
- 1 × Erode
- 1 × Fire Magic
- 1 × Traumatic Critique
- 4 × Stock Up
- 1 × Day of Judgment
- 1 × Ill-Timed Explosion
- 1 × Pyroclasm
- 4 × Tablet of Discovery
- 4 × Great Hall of the Biblioplex
- 4 × Steam Vents
- 3 × Hallowed Fountain
- 2 × Gloomlake Verge
- 2 × Mistrise Village
- 2 × Sacred Foundry
- 2 × Shattered Sanctum
- 1 × Cori Mountain Monastery
- 1 × Godless Shrine
- 1 × Meticulous Archive
- 1 × Multiversal Passage
- 1 × Plains
- 1 × Stormcarved Coast
- 1 × Sunbillow Verge
- 1 × Sundown Pass
- 2 × Emeritus of Ideation
- 2 × Flashfreeze
- 2 × High Noon
- 2 × Pyroclasm
- 2 × Rest in Peace
- 1 × Annul
- 1 × Disdainful Stroke
- 1 × Erode
- 1 × Ultima
- 1 × Wan Shi Tong, Librarian
Keiichiro Matsumoto's deckbuilding is very refined, reinterpreting the archetype by streamlining the deck. The sorcery suite includes the customary 4 Stock Up, but only three wraths: Day of Judgement, Ill-Timed Explosion, and Pyroclasm. So two 4-cost and one 2-cost. Nothing massive and tight on timing. Excellent Ill-Timed Explosion, included as a slimming cure for the suite. It also increases the deck's looting. This latter mechanic also gains a Traumatic Critique directly in the main deck. A very versatile card that a control deck can use in various dimensions, including as a win condition.
For win conditions, Keiichiro only includes 4 copies of Jeskai Revelation. So the win conditions become 4+1, with little variance. The player does not rely on multiple diversified conditions distributed across the curve; he only chooses the best one. It must be said that this 4x Jeskai Revelation has always been avoided in American and European tournament lists due to its very high Mana Value.
And here's Keiichiro's solution: playing four new Tablet of Discovery which, in addition to reinforcing card advantage, offer significant ramp. They also help accelerate the entire deck with regard to generic mana costs. To complete the picture of innovations, two copies of Flashback, which have a completely different value in such a lean deck. Finally, the instant Swallowed by Leviathan instead of Three Steps Ahead. In the reality of the deck, it's a hard counter capable of managing the top of the deck, while fattening the graveyard. Everything else, between main and side, is rather canonical.
Other good things to mention, outside of the control archetype, did occur. Some ideas we discussed in previous issues of this column came into play. Among them, Yusuke Takaoka placed 21st with an excellent Aggro that is essentially a MonoR modified to integrate Colorstorm Stallion, Scalding Viper, and our dear Vibrant Outburst into the main deck. Excellent deck. Very economical and very effective, as well as being a fake Izzet because, in reality, it's MonoR with blue splashes.
It must be said, however, that these results are also based on a seemingly different Metagame Breakdown. In the Asian tournament, the most played deck was Landfall. Prowess followed closely, although Prowess would have a higher percentage if we combined the lists with the lists based on the same mechanic. Lessons was only played by 2.6% of players. It seems that classic control, in this RC, substantially attacked the position of Lessons and, in part, that of Spellementals.
From this alternative point of view, the distribution of the Asian field compared to the Western one does not differ too much. Also in this perspective, the true divergence that appears would be that in the land of the Rising Sun, more classic playstyles are preferred (e.g., control draw-go instead of Lessons) at the expense of decks focused on alternative mechanics (e.g., Landfall, if we wanted an aggro base with a combo on the board state, instead of Discard which, in the end, is an aggro with a micro-combo on the board state).
4| Reanalyzing the SOS Pro Tour in light of the two new tournaments
The first thing we can learn, as partly mentioned in point 1, is that white's new resources integrate greatly with green bases, and this leads to a Landfall deck that responds better to decks. The two poles of confrontation, vs. G cub decks, continue to clash.
The former unfolds into multiple different strategies, each with its own complexities. The latter incorporates white, losing solidity and gaining interactions. In this war, is winning the battle. Partly due to new answers like Erode, which are tailored to the deck, and partly because there are so many decks that they are forced to set up to win mirrors among themselves. For example, when decks remove Elusive Otter from Prowess-based builds to improve the mirror match, they worsen their win rate against Landfall decks.
The second thing we learn is that, sometimes, to achieve excellent performance, you just need to change the order of the terms. This is what happened at the PT for Ouroboroid, which is essentially a Rhythm deck with the sideboard swapped to the main deck, following an evident meta-reading that considered as the most recurring threat.
The third relevant thing is that, despite the large poles of representation, in such an open and balanced format almost everything works, and even this remainder, if refined, can lead to better performances than the kings of the ball. Excruciator and Tempo (or Prison, if you prefer), along with 4c Control, surprised with better-than-expected results. Even the new lines of Discard claim their place at the table.
The last thing we have to contend with is an almost philosophical lesson about Standard. The format currently lives with an internal contradiction. One part of competitive players sees its future in the continuous optimization of "traditional" play styles; another part tries to break it by focusing on new experimental play styles.
Neither of the two factions, conservatives and progressives, dominates the other. This aporia, however, is positive, because it is an indirect indicator of a game balance that transfers from the cards to the players' skills. Those who are excellent at deckbuilding and less brilliant in active play (but we are still talking about very high levels) can always have their say, and vice versa.
This extremely complicates the reading of the format for tournament preparation, we agree, but it enormously raises its technical value. Furthermore, having always clear and unambiguous Metashare predictions is not a right, it is a privilege. Not to mention that, usually, the clearer they are, the more there is some strategic imbalance that makes it possible to see into the future. Because only with equal conditions is fate completely obscure.
This leads us to another reflection on competitive play. Another contradiction in terms is quickly revealed. We always want a format that tends towards balance between colors and archetypes, so as to avoid obvious problems of meta polarization (in Standard, the most recent examples were first the hard asset of MonoR and then the Vivi decks). However, at the same time, we want a metagame predictable enough not to feel completely at the mercy of fate in main and side choices. What is never considered is that the more we achieve the first goal, the further we move away from the second.
Which translates into the desire for a format that is “balanced enough not to seem clearly flawed and closed enough not to be unpredictable.” In short, a format with limited competition, and this is a logical dead end, because it means that the competitive modus of the game with which we are most comfortable is one that includes an “acceptable format flaw” capable of stabilizing it.
The problem is that none of us can define what an "acceptable flaw" is for everyone, and when there is an imbalance, it tends to collapse or resolve itself. No man can remain forever balanced on one leg. The most important thing current Standard is teaching us is that we must rethink not competitive play itself, but how to interpret competitive play.
“See You Space Cowboy”
Francesco
