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M13 in Standard Redux - Prepping for Providence
Kyle Boggemes
7/24/2012 10:31:00 AM Hey guys! Last week marked the debut of M13 in Standard and we got to see how the format adapted. Although it's very interesting to see the first week of Standard with a new set, the second is my favorite. I say this because we see how the Hive Mind takes apart the less serious decks and builds on the ideas that have some merit. Why do you care about the evolution of Standard? Let me tell you:  1) The TCGplayer Open 5k in Providence this weekend! 2) FNM 3) PTQs That's plenty of events to get excited for and what better format to dive into than a diverse Standard? Before we get into the results, here's the update of my favorite deck: UW Augur Update Maybe I'm delusional. Maybe I have a hammer so everything looks like a nail. After reviewing the top performing decks of SCG Open: Las Vegas, it appears that UW Augur is still well-positioned. My current list:
As you can see, the maindeck has changed very little since last week (-2 Gitaxian Probe, +2 Think Twice). I played this deck at a local event (Get your Game On) and won every game. The random Think Twice out of the sideboard over-performed because the games go long and it's a great card to reveal with Augur of Bolas. It also works well with Rewind since you can cast it with flashback on turn 5. Thought Scour can also mill it and flash it back. Think Twice is also very important versus Cavern of Souls game one. One of the most annoying things for this deck is to leave up a Rewind or Mana Leak only to have the opponent drop a cavern and make their spell uncounterable. Think Twice gives you something to do during those frustrating turns. The sideboard has undergone a lot of changes because Augur makes me Rethink the way I build my 75. I need enough instants and sorceries to bring in when I don't want Gut Shot, Vapor Snag, Mana Leak, and/or Rewind. I tried the Ghost Quarter + Phantasmal Image + Sun Titan plan versus Ramp, but not enough of them exist to warrant the inclusion. Ghost Quarter was nice, but I was rarely land screwed because there are so many cantrips and didn't want the 21st mana source as a result. Sun Titan was difficult to resolve because once you mill it with Thought Scour, it can't come back. The same thing also happened to me when I was high on Consecrated Sphinx. Sword of War and Peace found a home in the sideboard because Lingering Souls is annoying for this deck. My original plan was to play Ratchet Bomb, but I don't want that against Solar Flare or BRW Reanimator (just tokens). Swords are awesome against control so I don't mind keeping one Sword of Feast and Famine in those particular matchups and going up to a total of three equipment. I also wanted to switch swords in the mirror because the protection from green and black does very little. Sword of Feast and Famine is a more powerful effect for this deck overall because you aren't racing them. In the first game, you will have tons of countermagic and want to keep up mana whenever possible. The ability to swing through Birds of Paradise is also important. Feast and Famine got even better as I added Think Twice. I tried Revoke Existence, but Mental Misstep is the way to go with regards to countering Rancor. Versus decks like RG Aggro and Get er' Dungrove, I want Misstep because they don't play Cavern of Souls. This deck has plenty of ways to stop Rancor so I'm not too worried about the card (Vapor Snag / Gut Shot). On the other hand, I do want more ways to kill Sword of War and Peace. It's difficult for this deck to block a sword equipped to a flying creature like Birds of Paradise so I want to answer it at instant speed.
Blade Splicer was in my sideboard for the tournament last weekend, but I only wanted to board in one (I had two for the event). If the aggro deck doesn't play Cavern of Souls, there isn't a point to boarding out all of the countermagic. I also had Timely Reinforcements in the sideboard which did a very similar job. You can only play so many three mana sorcery-speed effects against aggro. Against control, I wanted more Counterspells so Dissipate made the cut. It was an answer to Lingering Souls and I was also very happy to reveal it to Augur of Bolas. Your game plan is to sit back and counter their spells while beating down with a Snapcaster Mage or Augur of Bolas and Dissipate helps you out. The fourth Phantasmal Image is very important versus Naya Aggro and UW Delver (and Monoblue Wizards). Versus UW Delver, the name of the game is to slow them down; it's easy to win when you stop their Delver and Geist of Saint Traft. It's also easy to win the long game because your spells are more impactful and blinking Auger of Bolas provides huge card advantage. Mono Blue Wizards has Talrand, Sky Summoner instead of Geist so the theory is similar. Give this deck a try as it is right now before making changes because it has been doing very well for me. This is the type of deck that gets much better as you become more familiar with the interactions; you will be rewarded for your time. If you practice ahead of time and go over sideboarding, I absolutely recommend this deck for the TCGplayer Open 5k in Providence. SCG Open Las Vegas If I was a betting man, I would say the format is less diverse as it was in the initial week. Here's the breakdown: 2 BR Zombies 2 UB Zombies 3 RG Aggro 1 Naya Pod 1 4C Birthing Pod 1 Monoblue Wizards 1 American Midrange 1 Venser Control 1 Frites 2 UW Delver 1 Naya Aggro Let's compare this to last week's breakdown from TCG Open: Orlando and SCG St. Louis: 2 Naya Pod 1 Naya Aggro 1 Naya Humans 2 Monogreen Aggro 1 Monoblue Wizards 1 GW Aggro 1 Bant Pod 1 Solar Flare 3 RG Aggro 2 UW Delver 1 Solar Flare 1 Boros Humans 1 BW Control 2 Esper Control 1 Faithless Rites 1 UB Zombies 1 Wolf Run Ramp 1 Esper Midrange We're already seeing a drastic change in the metagame despite M13 being around for just two weeks! RG Aggro is unsurprisingly successful considering it got some strong tools from M13 (Rancor, Thundermaw Hellkite, and Thragtusk) and was already powerful.
Again, the pilots of RG Aggro couldn't make up their mind because they had so many shiny toys to choose from. I still prefer the diversification strategy; just make sure to be packing four Bonfires (they're kinda good). Esper Control was extremely popular in week 1, but has completely fallen off the map. That could possibly be explained by the fact Esper got very few goodies from M13. Recall that many of the Esper decks relied on cards from the old Standard so you could play it without testing new cards. Not everybody has the time to test each card or analyze the metagame (that's my job) so they stick with tried and true cards. Rather than the old Esper Control deck making the top 16, we get Star Spangled Control:
Bonfire of the Damned is an interesting splash in the Delverless Delver archetype. I would suggest trying to pick up a playset of this card before the rotation because it will only become more powerful as the size of Standard gets cut in half. Monoblue Wizards has only represented a small percentage of the field despite it being much more powerful than other options. I felt that Adam Prosak's list from SCG St. Louis was a great starting point for a new archetype, but needed some work. It's also a very tricky deck to play because the cantrips require much more skill to play that meets the eye. For example: Ponder should usually not be cast if you know any of the top cards of your deck and want to keep them. I say this because you might as well wait to draw them and see a fresh new three. If you don't want a card on top that you know, it's better to look and shuffle if the other cards are bad. This also gives you outs to find Thought Scour and mill the garbage. Thought Scour is also a misunderstood spell. In the mid game, you want to wait for a Ponder if you can help it. This allows you to take the best card from a Ponder and mill the rest. If you play Delver of Secrets, you can also wait to reveal a land, but mill before drawing it. Just because it's in your hand doesn't mean you should immediately cast it. Gitaxian Probe is perhaps the most misplayed cantrip of all (in standard). I see players cast a turn one Delver only to pay two life and look at the opponent's hand. Why look at their hand for free if you can wait until next turn and see an extra card? The only point of casting it for free on turn one is to find another spell to cast (Delver and Ponder). The odds of finding one of these spells by drawing an extra card off of Gitaxian Probe isn't great in the first place; people risk plenty of life without really thinking about it. Shaheen Soorani is a name I trust when it comes to Islands so it was only natural that he made a sweet innovation to Wizards:
Runechanter's Pike is great for aggressive Delver decks that play the full amount of cantrips. Cavern of Souls was another card I wanted to add to Prosak's list because most of the creatures are wizards. I like that Shaheen cut the cute phyrexian mana spells like Mutagenic Growth and Mental Misstep. They may be synergistic with Talrand, but the streamlined list will yield better results in the long run. Gut Shot is an exception because it's already very powerful in traditional Delver lists (killing mana dorks is important) and you need something that works well with Talrand. I could see going down to 19 lands because my UW Augur deck has more than enough mana with 20. This wizard deck requires much less lands to operate which makes me think 19 is a good number. Inkmoth Nexus is awesome in the monoblue version because you need something to replace Moorland Haunt. I would cut the 20th land for a second Augur of Bolas (shocking right?). UW Delver has stayed at about the same level of popularity despite it being the best deck before M13. The introduction of Augur of Bolas and Talrand gave blue mages new toys which will take time to find the best list. If I know my blue comrades, they will find a list that is highly tuned and it will become the new UW Delver. For now, we have lists centered around Augur, Talrand, Geist of Saint Traft, and Blade Splicer.
Runechanter's Pike is the name of the game with regards to equipment. I think this is a great time for Nihil Spellbomb to shine considering its strength against the current Delver lists. Watch out for Talrand in the sideboard - it's dangerous. It's a sideboard card because of the weakness to Bonfire of the Damned. Even though it can be a more powerful spell at times, Restoration Angel is the more consistent and grown-up option. Zombies were very unpopular in the first week, but made a surprising comeback (I don't know how many puns regarding Zombies I can make, but they won't stay dead!). To top it off, we got the BR archetype that has been unearthed (and won the tournament).
The mana in Zombies is too good not to splash a second color and Falkenrath Aristocrat is a great four drop. Blood Artist paired with Brimstone Volley provides some great reach for this aggro deck. We also have UB Zombies ripping apart the metagame:
Birthing Pod is still an option with a little green splash off of Woodland Cemetery. Skinrender is an oldie-but-goodie that many overlook (a fatal mistake). Again we have the Killing Wave version unsure on the last four slots. Your options are Vapor Snag, Sign in Blood, or Ponder. Diegraf Captain seems like an obvious inclusion yet it isn't stock. The fact that it's another drain effect for Killing Wave is a great inclusion for the burn plan. Naya decks aren't going anywhere considering they feature some of the most powerful (and expensive) rares in the format.
There will usually be a fight between Naya Aggro and Naya Pod because it all comes down to the “comfort factor.” Birthing Pod is a difficult card to build around/play and is not a “one-size-fits-all” type of spell. Naya Aggro is a little more robust since it bashes with powerful spells and requires less practice to pilot effectively. When you play against Naya Aggro, you need to be aggressive because the mid-game is so powerful. Blade Splicer plus Restoration Angel provide an insane defense while they set up for Bonfire of the Damned or Gavony Township. A few “off the radar” decks also found their way into the top 16 last weekend:
I played this deck after Ken Bearl put the combo on the map. The deck performed well, but I would not consider it without Ponder.
Frites got an M13 goodie in Wild Guess. I expected Faithless Rites to have a better weekend this time around after someone incorporated Wild Guess into the list (and went away from white as a result). Given that Zombies is back on the map, I would hold on to Frites for now because the mana dorks have never been more vulnerable. Faithless Rites (BRW Reanimator) has a more resilient mana base which makes it a better short run call. Some Cool Lists from Outside the Top 16
At my local shop, UR Delver was very popular for a while since it goes against the grain. Delver is very powerful, but not everybody wants to play the “cookie-cutter” deck.
Devastation Tide plus Abundant Growth is a pretty cute way to fix your mana and draw cards. Thragtusk plus mass removal is an unappreciated route (Worldfire anyone?) to victory that I can see becoming more explored in the future. This is one of those decks that looks neat at first, but then looks even cooler when you think about the interactions.
I was watching Brad Nelson play with Trading Post and was impressed by what it was doing. This card will likely become weaker as we return to Ravnica because all the artifacts from scars will rotate - get your fill now! Speaking of getting your fill on Trading Post...
This is a crazy-looking Pod deck from a Magic-League Trial piloted by tommy82:
We went over a ton of information; what does it all mean? - Naya Pod has survived week 2, but others have not had as much success (Bant Pod). - Delver is here to stay, but the shiny new toys distracted us and we need to find out the best ones (Augur of Bolas and Talrand). The format looks more diverse than it is because traditional Delver is fighting with Talrand blue. - RG Aggro had a successful weekend, but the increase in Zombies will keep the mana dorks at bay for a short period of time. I like to play Borderland Ranger when Zombies attack to make my mana more resilient. We still don't have a consensus on the numbers of each five drop or Rancor. - If reanimating is your thing, play BRW (Grites) instead of Frites because Birds of Paradise are vulnerable. - The most popular equipment in Delver is Runechanter's Pike, Nihil Spellbomb is looking pretty good right now (perhaps in Trading Post?). - Ramp had a bad week, but don't count it out just yet since it returns at the most unexpected times. - TCG Open: Providence is this weekend; don't miss it! - Please try my UW Augur deck! It's very good and I would feel bad if you missed out. I rarely play a tournament without dropping a game. - Thanks for reading -Kyle -P.S. In case you have a game where you drink every time I say Augur of Bolas... Augur of Bolas! |
  
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