Having another week with no significant Constructed events other than the SCG Open featuring the Invitational in Atlanta means we’ll once again be examining the decks from this tournament.

Standard

W/U Delver has once again become the best performing Standard deck, making up half the Top 8 at the Open and more than half the top-performing Standard decks in the Invitational. Presented below is the average Delver deck from the Top 8 of the Open.

Delver remains fairly constant from week to week, and the evolution of the deck, along with most other decks in the format, is essentially over besides minor tweaks week to week to deal with new metagame issues. One of the big changes for this week was the universal adoption of Moorland Haunt as the nonbasic land of choice over the formerly popular Cavern of Souls—in addition to the complete elimination of Talrand, Sky Summoner from the main decks.

"B/R Zombies"

• Creatures (29)
• 2 Bloodthrone Vampire
• 2 Fume Spitter
• 3 Falkenrath Aristocrat
• 4 Blood Artist
• 4 Butcher Ghoul
• 4 Diregraf Ghoul
• 4 Geralf's Messenger
• 4 Gravecrawler
• 2 Phyrexian Metamorph

• Spells (11)
• 1 Act of Aggression
• 1 Go for the Throat
• 3 Tragic Slip
• 4 Brimstone Volley
• 2 Mortarpod

• Lands (20)
• 9 Swamp
• 3 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 4 Dragonskull Summit

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B/R Zombies is another deck that has essentially ended its cycle of evolution and will probably see few changes before Return to Ravnica becomes legal. The deck is fast and consistent, and it has a very powerful nut draw that's hard, if not impossible, to beat. On top of its speed, the deck is also resilient and has a lot of late-game inevitability. Its Delver match is not as good as it once was, but it can still pull out wins against it.

"Four-Color Pod"

• Creatures (31)
• 1 Acidic Slime
• 1 Blade Splicer
• 1 Deceiver Exarch
• 1 Huntmaster of the Fells
• 1 Inferno Titan
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Thragtusk
• 1 Zealous Conscripts
• 2 Phantasmal Image
• 3 Borderland Ranger
• 3 Restoration Angel
• 4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 4 Elvish Visionary
• 1 Phyrexian Metamorph
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

• Spells (6)
• 2 Bonfire of the Damned
• 4 Birthing Pod

• Lands (23)
• 1 Island
• 1 Mountain
• 2 Plains
• 5 Forest
• 1 Kessig Wolf Run
• 2 Gavony Township
• 3 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Copperline Gorge
• 4 Razorverge Thicket

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Four-color Pod was a breakout deck from around six weeks ago on Magic Online, but its live results never met the expectations. The deck's mana base is obviously its primary weakness, which is especially dangerous in a field full of Gut Shots.

"Solar Flare"

• Creatures (9)
• 3 Sun Titan
• 4 Phantasmal Image
• 2 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Liliana of the Veil

• Spells (23)
• 2 Go for the Throat
• 4 Forbidden Alchemy
• 4 Thought Scour
• 1 Unburial Rites
• 3 Day of Judgment
• 4 Lingering Souls
• 2 Oblivion Ring
• 3 Ratchet Bomb

• Lands (26)
• 2 Island
• 2 Swamp
• 4 Plains
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 2 Vault of the Archangel
• 3 Evolving Wilds
• 4 Darkslick Shores
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 4 Isolated Chapel

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Solar Flare, which did not do particularly well in the Open, performed well in the Invitational due to the metagame changes that had other decks ignoring interactions with graveyards. The creature suite is still around the same as it has always been, but it has some modifications.

Legacy

"Goblins"

• Creatures (33)
• 1 Goblin Sharpshooter
• 1 Skirk Prospector
• 1 Stingscourger
• 1 Tin Street Hooligan
• 2 Siege-Gang Commander
• 3 Mogg War Marshal
• 4 Gempalm Incinerator
• 4 Goblin Lackey
• 4 Goblin Matron
• 4 Goblin Piledriver
• 4 Goblin Ringleader
• 4 Goblin Warchief

• Spells (4)
• 4 Aether Vial

• Lands (23)
• 4 Mountain
• 1 Taiga
• 3 Arid Mesa
• 3 Wooded Foothills
• 4 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Rishadan Port
• 4 Wasteland

Buy This Deck

Max TIetze’s Goblins list is a tad different than the list that made Top 8 last week with the inclusion of a Skirk Prospector to power out more explosive starts and the cutting of the one-of Krenko, Mob Boss from last week. The rest of the decks in the Top 8 basically don’t change from week to week, but I’ll include a sample of each deck for completeness.

"Know and Tell"

• Creatures (4)
• 2 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
• 2 Griselbrand

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

• Spells (36)
• 1 Intuition
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Daze
• 4 Force of Will
• 2 Overmaster
• 3 Show and Tell
• 4 Burning Wish
• 4 Ponder
• 4 Preordain
• 4 Omniscience
• 2 Lotus Petal

• Lands (18)
• 3 Island
• 1 City of Traitors
• 2 Polluted Delta
• 2 Scalding Tarn
• 3 Ancient Tomb
• 3 Misty Rainforest
• 4 Volcanic Island

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"W/U Control"

• Creatures (3)
• 1 Snapcaster Mage
• 2 Vendilion Clique

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

• Spells (32)
• 1 Enlightened Tutor
• 3 Spell Pierce
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Force of Will
• 4 Swords to Plowshares
• 2 Entreat the Angels
• 4 Terminus
• 1 Oblivion Ring
• 4 Counterbalance
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 4 Sensei's Divining Top

• Lands (22)
• 2 Plains
• 6 Island
• 1 Volcanic Island
• 2 Arid Mesa
• 2 Tundra
• 4 Flooded Strand
• 4 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Karakas

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"R/U/G Delver"

• Creatures (12)
• 4 Delver of Secrets
• 4 Nimble Mongoose
• 4 Tarmogoyf

• Spells (29)
• 2 Thought Scour
• 3 Spell Pierce
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Daze
• 4 Force of Will
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Punishing Fire
• 4 Ponder

• Lands (19)
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Polluted Delta
• 2 Misty Rainforest
• 2 Scalding Tarn
• 3 Grove of the Burnwillows
• 3 Volcanic Island
• 3 Wasteland
• 4 Tropical Island

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"Miracles"

• Creatures (10)
• 4 Snapcaster Mage
• 4 Stoneforge Mystic
• 2 Geist of Saint Traft

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

• Spells (24)
• 1 Counterspell
• 2 Spell Pierce
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Force of Will
• 4 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Ponder
• 1 Terminus
• 2 Inquisition of Kozilek
• 2 Thoughtseize
• 1 Batterskull
• 1 Sensei's Divining Top
• 1 Umezawa's Jitte

• Lands (23)
• 1 Plains
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Island
• 1 Scrubland
• 2 Marsh Flats
• 2 Underground Sea
• 3 Polluted Delta
• 3 Tundra
• 3 Wasteland
• 4 Flooded Strand
• 1 Karakas

Buy This Deck