Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Standard”
After Temur Energy’s outstanding performance at the World Championships, many would-be National Champions sleeved up strategies to stand in the way of the new Best Deck. From Heart of Kiran and Toolcraft Exemplar to God-Pharaoh’s Gift and The Scarab God, main decks and sideboards were diverse in their game plans to stop thopters and Glorybringer alike, but with three of …
My goodness, this preview season has been a doozy! And with the first rotation in what feels like years pushing the Battle for Zendikar and Shadows over Innistrad blocks out of Standard, it looks like there’s a wide open metagame just waiting for dinosaurs and pirates to invade. Between new cards and reprints, there’s definitely more than a few cards …
To call Hour of Devastation Standard a success for the Red Deck would be quite the understatement. Over the past three months, loyal red mages got to see their deck vault into the top tier, culminating in Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa’s convincing win (amidst a Top 8 with six other red aggressive decks). The additions of Earthshaker Khenra, Abrade, …
Last weekend marked my first time playing in a Regional Pro Tour Qualifier (RPTQ) in person. While I had played previous RPTQ’s online, and with minimal outside support from my testing group, this would be my first time testing with a group of fellow Magic players who shared my goals, as well as making the voyage to a game store …
Ramunap Red is the hottest deck in Standard right now, but it may not stay dominant for long. While Pro Tour Hour of Devastation unfolded in Kyoto, stateside Standard players had a few extra hours to tweak their decks before heading to their local Friday Night Magic or PPTQ, and we’re already seeing the emergence of more viable midrange and …
Pro Tour Hour of Devastation has come and gone – and what a whirlwind it was! When we left off before the Pro Tour, there were over ten potentially viable decks putting up numbers. While the limited data from Magic Online showed strong results for aggressive Mono-Red decks, I don’t think anyone could foresee that most of the pro teams …
It’s been a few weeks since Hour of Devastation was released, and the new format is in full swing. Teams have begun their testing gauntlets, and Standard leagues continue to be some of the most popular tournaments on Magic Online. With the Pro Tour looming on the horizon, I wanted to dive into what we might expect to see in …
With each new set come new cards, ready to make a splash in Constructed formats. Part of the joy of preview season and new set releases is beginning to figure out what cards can slot into existing strategies, what cards can bolster fringe decks, and what cards can facilitate the creation of completely new archetypes! Hour of Devastation has been …
Reports of the Red Deck’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. While much of this past Standard season was defined by the Aetherworks Marvel in the room, my red-deck-minded associates and I were enraptured by an entirely different strategy. I am of course talking about the SaffronOlive special, Two Tix Red. Despite some initial skepticism on my part, I’ve seen lists built …
With Aetherworks Marvel out of the picture and Hour of Devastation on its way, it’s open season once again in Standard. Players at our most recent Friday Night Magic at Mox Boarding House Seattle were happy to dust off their favorite decks from months’ past – they cast Metalwork Colossus, Emerged some Eldrazi, and ramped into Ulamog the old-fashioned way. …
