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Main » Articles » The Five Pillars of Standard

The Five Pillars of Standard

Kyle Boggemes
Posted on November 29, 2012
 Reddit

Hey, everybody!

Standard has been turned upside-down in about a week. That didn’t take long, now did it?

Thragtusk
I think Standard can be summed up with five key cards:

Each of these cards represents a core strategy that you must be prepared for at any given tournament. This week, I want to go over their latest evolutions.

Reanimator

Craterhoof Behemoth
Last time, I discussed the power of Craterhoof Behemoth and how it took tournaments by storm, but it was barely anywhere to be found at Grand Prix: San Antonio; why is this?

  • The reanimator hate was prevalent, as Martin Juza won a decently sized Grand Prix the weekend before. Rest in Peace was incorporated into W/U Flash sideboard despite the fact it’s actually pretty good against them, too.

  • Since the idea of the deck was to win with small creatures, the number of copies of Pillar of Flame and Bonfire of the Damned went up. Why play a deck that wants Somberwald Sage to survive against this field? I have even seen cards as wild as Izzet Staticaster being played!

  • The surprise factor is often overlooked, but it’s a very real factor in large tournaments. Once people know they have to kill Spirit tokens to avoid being hoofed, the jig is up.

  • This is still a powerful deck that will be back at the most unexpected times. The most important lesson from this deck disappearing in a week is that it can strike back in the same amount of time. Remember how Wolf Run Ramp would emerge at the exact time and then go back into hiding? Reanimator is playing the same role in the current Standard format. When the removal becomes more versatile and less agile, we will see this deck return.

  • I would call Unburial Rites the sixth pillar of Standard because of the cyclical nature. This is still a deck I would practice against because it doesn’t fight a normal battle and wants to do unfair things.

Zombies

It’s official: B/R Zombies is the new all-out aggressive deck to beat. Make no mistake, mono-red is still a force because of the budget constraint from Falkenrath Aristocrat, Thundermaw Hellkite, Bonfire of the Damned, and Cavern of Souls. The budget concern is less important at Grands Prix and Pro Tour Qualifiers, which explains the poor mono-red showing at GP: San Antonio, but at Friday Night Magic and on Magic Online, this can be a key factor.

Here’s the winning list from GP: San Antonio (congrats!) piloted by Tyler Lytle:

"Tyler Lytle’s B/R Zombies"

This B/R aggro deck is going to change the way we play Standard:

Thundermaw Hellkite

G/W Aggro

G/W aggro is the other beatdown deck of choice, but it operates on a much different level. This is another deck you must constantly be afraid of because the sheer power can take out even the most prepared of opponents. Silverblade Paladin is another one of the most defining cards in Standard.

Here’s Ben Rasmussen's list from the GP: San Antonio Top 8. (Note that the decklist contains fifty-eight cards.)

"Ben Rasmussen’s G/W Aggro"

The Selesnya Charms are great for the influx of Thundermaw Hellkites. The only reason I like it in this deck is that G/W can take effectively take advantage of all three modes. I’m not a fan of defensive decks using the Charm because the token and pump effects are quite weak.

Once again, we see a beatdown deck that can actually compete with a resolved Thragtusk. Don’t get me wrong; the card is still a Beast in Standard, but beatdown aficionados are relentless and always find a way to compete.

The question that must be answered about G/W is whether the Human subtheme is more powerful than Wolfir Silverheart and Sublime Archangel.

Four-Color Shenanigans

Conley Woods was able to show the world his latest four-color brew at GP: San Antonio:

"Conley Woods’s Four-Color Shenanigans"

This deck will probably undergo radical changes in the coming weeks, but it’s still a very important step forward. Here, we see Unburial Rites in a midrange deck to keep the Thragtusks coming. The best ideas are the ones that seem so simple, and this is one of them. Who needs big threats to reanimate when you can have value? What about Makeshift Mannequins that flash back?

Loxodon Smiter
Here are some things to keep in mind about this deck:

  • Conley lost in the Top 4 to B/R aggro, and he said it wasn’t a great matchup. With that deck taking down tournaments left and right, there need to be modifications.

  • This deck seems to be a great step forward for midrange, as it takes the best from both worlds of Jund and Junk.

  • Bonfire of the Damned is a great sweeper for the base-green midrange decks since you need creatures to win. Supreme Verdict is good in Bant because it’s essentially an Azorius deck.

  • When building your own version of the deck, realize the lack of synergy between Unburial Rites and planeswalkers. It’s crucial to have enough threats that you want to reanimate.

  • As the number of Dissipates and Syncopates increase, the value of Unburial Rites decreases.

  • Avacyn's Pilgrim can be a nice fixer, but it leaves you vulnerable to the increased presence of Pillar of Flame. The same can be said for Huntmaster of the Fells.

  • Loxodon Smiter is replacing Centaur Healer despite the synergy with Restoration Angel. This represents a roadblock for B/R Zombies, which is why it’s still reasonable to play Victim of Night.

  • I love that this deck is able to play Slaughter Games in the sideboard since Bant control is turning into a one-trick pony. It can be difficult for Bant to recover from a Slaughter Games on Sphinx's Revelation.

W/U Flash

It seems that this deck should just die a horrible death in the current metagame, but it still finds ways to Top 8 Grands Prix.

Here’s Gerry T’s list from the Top 16:

"Gerry Thompson’s W/U Flash"

Here are some things to note about this deck:

Supreme Verdict

Bant Control

Bant control appears to be the poster child of the next pillar in Standard: Sphinx's Revelation.

Reid Duke made Top 8 in two Grands Prix in two weeks playing this monster:

"Reid Duke’s Bant Control"

Quick notes:

Amass the Components

  • Alchemist's Refuge may actually have some merit because it operates similarly to Cavern of Souls. You will certainly be at an advantage if a majority of spells are resolved at the opponent’s end step. It plays a key role against Craterhoof Behemoth since your Supreme Verdict operates at instant speed.

  • Reid is still unsure if Jace is actually better than Amass the Components. Perhaps Jace doesn’t deserve such a high price tag if this is a real question. The synergy with Augur of Bolas is very important (missing on Augur is like opening coal for Christmas).

  • Tamiyo can be a decent way to answer Falkenrath Aristocrat assuming you have enough life-gain to take the initial hit.

  • Sigarda, Host of Herons is a pet card of mine, and it becomes better since it blocks Falkenrath Aristocrat. Be careful not to become too caught up in blocking Aristocrat, though, because Thundermaw Hellkite will come down the next turn and shut down that plan.

  • I’m not a fan of the play set of Dissipates, as Cavern of Souls is making a huge comeback.

  • It might be time to reconsider the idea that Supreme Verdict is better than Terminus. This deck needs answers to early Zombies as well as indestructible monsters.

Denouement

Cavern of Souls
B/R Zombies came out as the aggro deck to beat, with G/W following closely behind. W/U Flash still has a place in the metagame even though the Cavern of Souls decks appear to be on the rise. Bant control is the king of going over the top with consistency. Reanimator is hiding, but it will pop out at the right moment.

The most crucial thing to keep in mind after the weekend’s results is to not jam a bunch of removal in your deck to keep Zombies at bay. It’s one deck that you may face a few times in a tournament. Remember that Standard is still a wide-open format with plenty of Thragtusks that don’t care about removal.

It can also be tempting to copy a decklist from this tournament for this weekend, but remember these builders didn’t account for such a gigantic presence of B/R Zombies.

Thanks for reading,

Kyle

kmboggemesATgmailDOTcom

Note: Please let me know in the comments if you’re a fan of the quick points for each deck or if you prefer the paragraph approach. Also, don’t hesitate to e-mail me about questions or comments, too!

TAGS articles, standard, results, constructed, review, analysis, deck lists, kyle boggemes

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