Welcome to Gathering Magic's weekly quintet of Magic Online you should be aware of this weekend, whether you're playing a major online event, going to a Grand Prix, or hitting Friday Night Magic. In an era of big data, Magic Online provides some of the biggest data, so even a quick-and-dirty snapshot of recent activity gets you ahead of the competition. This week, I'll cover Standard with a touch of Pauper.

As Dragons of Tarkir prereleases this weekend, it's still a couple weeks away from Magic Online release. Judging by these results, it will be nice to have a new set. Here's what 4-0'd on Sunday and Monday (Bold = won the Daily):

Four Times:

Green-White Devotion

Three Times:

Abzan Aggro

Abzan Control

Twice:

Jeskai

Mono-Red Aggro

Blue-Black Control

That's about as defined as it gets. The Abzan control lists are moving away from sweepers some, but there's still a lot of overlap. And where does it start?

Abzan Aggro ? Standard | Noll3n

• Creatures (24)
• 3 Anafenza, the Foremost
• 4 Fleecemane Lion
• 4 Herald of Torment
• 3 Rakshasa Deathdealer
• 4 Siege Rhino
• 4 Warden of the First Tree
• 2 Wingmate Roc

• Spells (11)
• 2 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
• 2 Abzan Charm
• 3 Bile Blight
• 2 Hero's Downfall
• 1 Murderous Cut
• 1 Valorous Stance

• Lands (25)
• 1 Caves of Koilos
• 3 Forest
• 4 Llanowar Wastes
• 2 Mana Confluence
• 1 Plains
• 4 Sandsteppe Citadel
• 4 Temple of Silence
• 2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 4 Windswept Heath

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Hero's Downfall
• 2 Abzan Advantage
• 2 Drown in Sorrow
• 2 Feed the Clan
• 2 Glare of Heresy
• 2 Nissa, Worldwaker
• 4 Thoughtseize

Buy This Deck

Fleecemane Lion and Rakshasa Deathdealer are surprisingly similar - they're efficient two-drop Cats that can waste removal and get large. Warden of the First Tree isn't quite so resilient, but its activated abilities can make combat difficult for opponents. I like Noll3n's inclusion of Herald of Torment - the other 4-0s didn't run it - as Hordeling Outburst and opposing Fleecemane Lions mean it's right to anticipate a clogged ground. Wingmate Roc as another flyer (or two) helps that plan out, and there's plenty of life gain in this deck to mitigate Herald of Torment's drawback. Feed the Clan was first played in Modern Abzan sideboards, and it's porting to Standard here; as a way to buy time before the other life gain shows up, it seems reasonable.

But it's not the only Fleecemane Lion deck...

Green-White Devotion ? Standard | PrinceAbubu

• Creatures (31)
• 4 Courser of Kruphix
• 4 Elvish Mystic
• 4 Fleecemane Lion
• 4 Genesis Hydra
• 1 Nylea, God of the Hunt
• 1 Nylea's Disciple
• 3 Polukranos, World Eater
• 4 Sylvan Caryatid
• 2 Voyaging Satyr
• 4 Whisperwood Elemental

• Spells (5)
• 1 Banishing Light
• 4 Mastery of the Unseen

• Lands (24)
• 1 Blossoming Sands
• 8 Forest
• 1 Mana Confluence
• 3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
• 3 Plains
• 4 Temple of Plenty
• 4 Windswept Heath

• Sideboard (15)
• 3 Boon Satyr
• 1 Dragon Throne of Tarkir
• 2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 3 Hornet Nest
• 1 Nissa, Worldwaker
• 2 Reclamation Sage
• 3 Valorous Stance

Buy This Deck

There's no Temur Sabertooth in the 75; other versions are still deciding whether it's a maindeck or sideboard one-of. Instead, the main card for the mirror match is Dragon Throne of Tarkir, which is surprisingly terrifying. A stalled Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx deck can cast, equip, and activate it in a single turn (well, the creature activates it, but you get the idea); as a complement to Nylea, God of the Hunt in the maindeck, there's a lot of trample and large creaturing available.

The reason those plans might be better than Temur Sabertooth is because the Sabertooth has the same weakness as Fleecemane Lion...

Abzan Control ? Standard | Xar_on

• Creatures (9)
• 4 Courser of Kruphix
• 4 Siege Rhino
• 1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

• Spells (25)
• 3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1 Liliana Vess
• 1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
• 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
• 1 End Hostilities
• 1 Read the Bones
• 4 Thoughtseize
• 4 Abzan Charm
• 3 Bile Blight
• 4 Hero's Downfall
• 1 Murderous Cut
• 1 Utter End

• Lands (26)
• 2 Caves of Koilos
• 2 Forest
• 3 Llanowar Wastes
• 2 Plains
• 4 Sandsteppe Citadel
• 4 Temple of Malady
• 4 Temple of Silence
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 4 Windswept Heath

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
• 1 End Hostilities
• 2 Read the Bones
• 3 Drown in Sorrow
• 2 Erase
• 4 Fleecemane Lion
• 2 Glare of Heresy

Buy This Deck

If Bile Blight wasn't already ubiquitous, a metagame full of x/3s that can be indestructible makes it a must-have (and End Hostilities less so). Utter End complements Bile Blight against Fleecemane Lion and is a maindeck answer to Mastery of the Unseen, while the sideboard Drown in Sorrow answers to the mess Mastery of the Unseen can cause. These aren't changes in this list, but the metagame since Grand Prix Miami makes those cards even more vital than they already were.

I keep having to search longer every week to find Standard tech. I'm ready for some Dragons of Tarkir to show up...continuing last week's theme of user names made of cards and numerals, I present a 3-1 deck from Saturday's Daily that combines several archetypes, cards without homes, and leaves the creatures in the sideboard:

Jeskai Control ? Standard | FireServant98

• Spells (33)
• 2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
• 4 Anger of the Gods
• 2 End Hostilities
• 4 Dig Through Time
• 2 Disdainful Stroke
• 4 Dissolve
• 1 Fated Retribution
• 2 Lightning Strike
• 2 Negate
• 2 Nullify
• 3 Steam Augury
• 2 Perilous Vault
• 1 Mastery of the Unseen
• 1 Aetherspouts

• Lands (27)
• 2 Battlefield Forge
• 3 Flooded Strand
• 2 Island
• 3 Mountain
• 4 Mystic Monastery
• 1 Plains
• 4 Shivan Reef
• 1 Temple of Enlightenment
• 4 Temple of Epiphany
• 3 Temple of Triumph

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 End Hostilities
• 1 Lightning Strike
• 1 Mastery of the Unseen
• 2 Negate
• 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
• 2 Erase
• 3 Glare of Heresy
• 3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
• 1 Resolute Archangel

Buy This Deck

There's the Elspeth, Sun's Champion and End Hostilities from Abzan control. There's the Perilous Vault, Dig Through Time, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, and counterspell suite from blue-black control. There's Mastery of the Unseen from green-white devotion and from various anti-control sideboards. There's Anger of the Gods to be the extra, cheaper End Hostilities. And there's Steam Augury to curve into End Hostilities rather than compete for the slot, like Jace's Ingenuity. Steam Augury's natural friends with Dig Through Time, and although the color requirements are tight, it's feasible to cast Dig Through Time right after Steam Augury sent a bunch of cards to the graveyard - a card advantage engine that seems incredibly tough to beat.

I like End Hostilities a little more than Crux of Fate once Dragons of Tarkir enters Standard, as I expect many decks to feature Dragons and non-Dragons. End Hostilities doesn't mess around; it kills all the things that aren't Fleecemane Lion. And as inevitable as the planeswalker endgame is in this deck, reliable sweepers means everything.

Also...this deck would give everything to make Celestial Colonnade Standard-legal.

The biggest addition to Pauper from Fate Reforged is Temur Battle Rage, which has strengthened the Kiln Fiend/Nivix Cyclops archetype (just by targeting either of them with the Rage, it's ferocious). But Sunday's Pauper Daily was won by the only deck of its type to even 3-1:

Blue-Red Tron Control ? Pauper | SDgza

• Creatures (9)
• 1 Izzet Chronarch
• 4 Mulldrifter
• 4 Sea Gate Oracle

• Spells (27)
• 2 Compulsive Research
• 4 Flame Slash
• 4 Kaervek's Torch
• 2 Rolling Thunder
• 2 Burst Lightning
• 3 Condescend
• 3 Prohibit
• 3 Remove Soul
• 4 Prophetic Prism

• Lands (24)
• 4 Izzet Boilerworks
• 4 Izzet Guildgate
• 4 Swiftwater Cliffs
• 4 Urza's Mine
• 4 Urza's Power Plant
• 4 Urza's Tower

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Electrickery
• 4 Gorilla Shaman
• 4 Hydroblast
• 3 Negate

Buy This Deck

Unlike some of the more fiddly Modern Tron decks, this deck's plan is incredibly simple: ramp to huge burn spells (Kaervek's Torch/Rolling Thunder), backed by burn and counterspells. The surfeit of colorless mana allows Condescend and the sideboard Gorilla Shaman to shine ("1: Destroy target artifact land is extremely relevant in the format"). I also like Prohibit here; it stops the early game and works as a Dispel late without taxing the mana base as Counterspell would. Plus, I'm a sucker for Compulsive Research. All told, this deck looks easy to learn and fun to play, which isn't always true for me and control decks.

Not too long ago, Standard was considered wide open. And it certainly has several decks capable of winning, but some cards are showing up frequently enough that the archetypes don't all feel distinct. Whatever the case, the timing is just about right for a new set, and its providing loads of allied-color cards should open things up. I'm certainly excited to see what the Dragons bring with them.