With the release of Ravnica Allegiance, Standard has entered a new and exciting age. The format is more popular than it has been in years, due in part to its diversity and budget-friendliness at all levels. Recent SCG events offered us a snapshot of new Standard, and the outcome looks to be positive. This week, we’ll examine various decks from SCG Indianapolis and Baltimore and offer our takes on what the future of new Standard may hold.
Where’s Mono-Red?
An interesting exercise in the infancy of a new format is to look at what is absent from the top tables. Conventional wisdom tells us that Mono-Red is a strong choice early on because players are still figuring out the new card pool. The temptation is even greater when Mono-Red receives new toys in Skewer the Critics and Light Up the Stage. However, to our surprise, Mono-Red didn’t crack the Top 8 of either of the first two weekends’ tournaments.
So, where did the wheels fall off the Mono-Red train? First, Ravnica Allegiance gave a big boost to midrange decks in the form of Sphinx’s Rev…er, Hydroid Krasis.
Gx Explore variants were able to leverage the existing power of Wildgrowth Walker in concert with Jadelight Ranger and other Explorers to generate a life total advantage. This leaves a small window for Mono-Red to pull ahead and close out the game. Aggressive decks struggle to keep up with the combination of threats, answers, and life-gain, and having to spend two cards to kill a Hydroid Krasis that drew two cards for your opponent is backbreaking card disadvantage. With such good rare lands available in Standard, Hydroid Krasis is an easy splash in these midrange strategies, so expect it to become a trend.
Sultai Midrange / Anthony Devarti / 1st Place @ SCG Baltimore
2 Carnage Tyrant
3 Hydroid Krasis
4 Jadelight Ranger
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Merfolk Branchwalker
2 Midnight Reaper
2 Ravenous Chupacabra
1 Seekers’ Squire
4 Wildgrowth Walker
3 Vivien Reid
2 Cast Down
3 Find // Finality
2 Vraska’s Contempt
4 Forest
1 Island
2 Swamp
4 Breeding Pool
1 Drowned Catacomb
2 Memorial to Folly
4 Overgrown Tomb
2 Watery Grave
4 Woodland Cemetery
Sideboard
1 Crushing Canopy
3 Cry of the Carnarium
4 Duress
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Negate
1 Tendershoot Dryad
2 The Eldest Reborn
1 Vraska’s Contempt
Not only is Hydroid Krasis an issue for Mono-Red, but we’re also seeing a rise in white-based decks which are packing a lot of life gain to counteract aggressive archetypes. We feel white is the best color in Standard currently, and the last two SCG events show why. We saw a glimpse of the power of white cards a couple of weeks ago when Wyatt Darby piloted Esper Midrange to a Top 8 finish at SCG Indianapolis.
Esper Midrange / Wyatt Darby / 5th Place @ SCG Indianapolis
4 Basilica Bell-Haunt
4 Deputy of Detention
2 Dovin, Grand Arbiter
4 Hero of Precinct One
2 Hostage Taker
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
3 Seraph of the Scales
3 Thief of Sanity
4 Discovery // Dispersal
4 Mortify
4 Thought Erasure
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Godless Shrine
3 Hallowed Fountain
4 Isolated Chapel
1 Swamp
4 Watery Grave
Sideboard
1 Cast Down
2 Consecrate // Consume
1 Disdainful Stroke
2 Duress
2 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Moment of Craving
3 Negate
1 The Eldest Reborn
2 Vraska’s Contempt
Esper Midrange feels like the swiss-army knife of the format, holding plenty of the tools to deal with the various strategies in Standard. Basilica Bell-Haunt and Deputy of Detention are built-in two-for-ones. Thief of Sanity and Hostage Taker can cherry-pick the best threat the opponent has to offer. Meanwhile, Hero of Precinct one works in tandem with all these cards to flood the board with tokens. With such a diverse array of threats, Esper Midrange is a force to be reckoned with; it’s only weakness is Hydroid Krasis, but we expect it to find an answer before long.
We’re also beginning to see Esper Midrange branch off down different routes, such as Esper Control, which was heavily featured in the Top 8 of SCG Baltimore last weekend.
Esper Control / Edgar Magalhaes / 4th Place @ SCG Baltimore
2 Precognitive Perception
4 Kaya’s Wrath
4 Thought Erasure
3 Chemister’s Insight
1 Cast Down
4 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
2 Moment of Craving
3 Vraska’s Contempt
2 Search for Azcanta
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Drowned Catacomb
2 Negate
4 Hallowed Fountain
3 Mortify
4 Godless Shrine
4 Watery Grave
1 Plains
1 Swamp
4 Absorb
Sideboard
2 Cry of the Carnarium
4 Thief of Sanity
2 Lyra Dawnbringer
2 Moment of Craving
2 Hostage Taker
1 Negate
2 Duress
We haven’t seen a successful Esper Control list since Dragons of Tarkir, when Dragonlords Ojutai and Silumgar dominated the format. Although this Esper Control list lacks a splashy dragon finisher in a similar vein (sorry, Chromium), Teferi, Hero of Dominara isn’t a bad compromise. Esper Control packs all the removal, counterspells, and card draw you could ever want, allowing you to out-grind your opponent and eventually ultimate your Teferi to win the game.
Two additional incentives to play Esper Control are Kaya’s Wrath and Thought Erasure. There hasn’t been an unconditional four-mana Wrath since Supreme Verdict back in Return to Ravnica, and clearing the board on turn four rather than turn five is often the difference between life and death. Meanwhile, Thoughtseize isn’t coming back to Standard anytime soon, but Thought Erasure is the premier hand-disruption spell in the format. With so many new threats looming, Thought Erasure allows you to address them preemptively while gaining valuable information.
Azorius Aggro / Jacob Hagen / 1st Place @ SCG Baltimore
2 Deputy of Detention
1 Tithe Taker
2 Hunted Witness
4 Venerated Loxodon
4 Conclave Tribunal
4 Benalish Marshal
4 History of Benalia
4 Dauntless Bodyguard
4 Skymarcher Aspirant
4 Snubhorn Sentry
3 Adanto Vanguard
4 Legion’s Landing
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
12 Plains
Sideboard
2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
3 Baffling End
3 Tocatli Honor Guard
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Spell Pierce
2 Negate
1 Island
We’re used to seeing Azorius play the control game, but it’s become a bit more aggressive in Ravnica Allegiance. Cards like Deputy of Detention offer an alternate, more proactive take on this color pairing than we’re used to. As a result, Mono-White Aggro has evolved into Azorius Aggro, with heavy sideboard counterspell support. Cards such as Disdainful Stroke and Spell Pierce are well-positioned in the format, as they present answers to Kaya’s Wrath and any Nexus of Fate nonsense.
Azorius Aggro is an incredibly consistent deck that can go toe-to-toe with other aggressive strategies. With incidental life-gain and versatile removal, the deck has what it takes to become the top aggro deck in the format.
One of the best things about a new Standard format seeing how decks evolve, and whether they stick around in the months to come. Our predictions for now are that White will dominate the format by offering excellent support across all archetypes in the format, but we’re excited to see how the next few months shake out. With these positives in mind, we’re confident that Standard can put the past behind it and return to its former glory.