Here are the Top 16 decks from StarCityGames Open: Columbus.
Place | Deck | Colors |
---|---|---|
1 | Jund Midrange | {invisible}{invisible} |
2 | GR Aggro | {invisible}{invisible}{invisible} |
3 | Bant Auras | {invisible}{invisible} |
4 | Reanimator | {invisible}{invisible} |
5 | Bant Midrange | {invisible}{invisible} |
6 | Naya Blitz | {invisible}{invisible} |
7 | Reanimator | {invisible}{invisible} |
8 | BG Zombies | {invisible}{invisible}{invisible} |
9 | GB Midrange | {invisible}{invisible}{invisible} |
10 | GW Midrange | {invisible}{invisible}{invisible} |
11 | Naya Midrange | {invisible}{invisible} |
12 | Jund Midrange | {invisible}{invisible} |
13 | 4-Color Reanimator | {invisible} |
14 | Bant Auras | {invisible}{invisible} |
15 | Junk Varolz | {invisible}{invisible} |
16 | Jund Midrange | {invisible}{invisible} |
Decks worth Noting:
- The Bant Auras deck in third place includes a pair of Ajani, Caller of the Pride in the main deck.
- The Reanimator deck in fourth place played two Blood Baron of Vizkopa in the main deck.
- The GW Midrange deck in tenth place included only four noncreature spells, a set of Faith's Shield, as well as a copy of Rogue's Passage.
- The Four-Color Reanimator deck in thirteenth place added red for Faithless Looting, Sire of Insanity, and the Boros Reckoner combo to the usual Junk shell. This has been a recent trend on Magic Online as mentioned in the Leading Indicators section of last week’s article.
Here’s a look at the most-played cards in the Top 16 decks of SCG: Columbus.
Thragtusk and Voice of Resurgence were both in half of the Top 16 decks and five and six different archetypes respectively. Check out the archetype breakdown of the top creatures below:
Card | Archetype | Average | Avg Main | Avg Side |
---|---|---|---|---|
Voice of Resurgence | Bant Auras | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Bant Control | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | GW Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Junk Varolz | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Naya Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Reanimator | 4.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 |
Thragtusk | 4-Color Reanimator | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | Bant Control | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | GW Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Jund Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Reanimator | 3.5 | 3.0 | 0.5 |
Avacyn's Pilgrim | Bant Auras | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0.0 | Bant Control | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | GW Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Naya Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Reanimator | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Boros Reckoner | 4-Color Reanimator | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | GR Aggro | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | GW Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Naya Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Restoration Angel | Bant Control | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | GW Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Naya Midrange | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | Reanimator | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0.0 |
Deathrite Shaman | BG Zombies | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | GB Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Junk Varolz | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | Reanimator | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Huntmaster of the Fells | 4-Color Reanimator | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | Jund Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Angel of Serenity | 4-Color Reanimator | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Bant Control | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | Reanimator | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
Ghor-Clan Rampager | GR Aggro | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Naya Blitz | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | Naya Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Loxodon Smiter | Bant Auras | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Bant Control | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | Naya Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Olivia Voldaren | 4-Color Reanimator | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | Jund Midrange | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 |
Strangleroot Geist | Bant Auras | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | GB Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Abrupt Decay appeared in nine of the Top 16 decks and six different archetypes. Check out the archetype breakdown of the top removal cards below:
Card | Archetype | Average | Avg Main | Avg Side |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abrupt Decay | 4-Color Reanimator | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | BG Zombies | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | GB Midrange | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | Jund Midrange | 2.0 | 1.3 | 0.7 | Junk Varolz | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | Reanimator | 3.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
Pillar of Flame | 4-Color Reanimator | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | GR Aggro | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Jund Midrange | 3.7 | 0.7 | 3.0 | Naya Midrange | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
Garruk Relentless | Bant Auras | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | Bant Control | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | GB Midrange | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | GW Midrange | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | Junk Varolz | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | Naya Midrange | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | Reanimator | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Tragic Slip | BG Zombies | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | GB Midrange | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | Jund Midrange | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | Junk Varolz | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Selesnya Charm | Bant Auras | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | Bant Control | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | GW Midrange | 4.0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | Naya Midrange | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Bonfire of the Damned | Jund Midrange | 2.7 | 2.7 | 0.0 | Naya Midrange | 4.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 |
Mizzium Mortars | GR Aggro | 3.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | Jund Midrange | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | Naya Midrange | 2.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Liliana of the Veil | GB Midrange | 3.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | Jund Midrange | 2.3 | 1.7 | 0.7 |
Putrefy | GB Midrange | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | Jund Midrange | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 |
New Arrivals
In this section, I shine the light on cards that were included in a Top 16 deck last weekend but have seen little to no play in Standard Top 16 decks prior to then.
Card | Total Copies | Main | Side | Archetype | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Illness in the Ranks | 3 | 0 | 3 | BG Zombies | 8 |
Rogue's Passage | 2 | 2 | 0 | GB Midrange | 9 |
Rogue's Passage | 2 | 2 | 0 | GW Midrange | 10 |
Illness in the Ranks is a nice sideboard card against Lingering Souls decks, and Rogue's Passage made its debut in a couple different decks to help push attackers through.
Magic Online
Magic Online also serves as a proving ground for new cards and strategies. Here are some ideas that have found digital success and are worth consideration.
Ramp decks have been finding success online of late. This version features eight mana dorks, Somberwald Sage and Elvish Archdruid. The deck ramps into a full set of Craterhoof Behemoth, Wolfir Silverheart, and Soul of the Harvest. Many, like this deck, also include a copy of Elderscale Wurm.
Junk Tokens has been fairly popular as well. The deck features Voice of Resurgence and noncreature, token-making cards such as Call of the Conclave, Lingering Souls, Midnight Haunting, Advent of the Wurm, and Increasing Devotion. The army of Spirits, Centaurs, Humans, and Wurms is backed by Sorin, Lord of Innistrad, Intangible Virtue, and Collective Blessing. Here is an example of the deck that finished fifth in a Standard Premier Event.
If you want a different tokens brew, try one of the following:
- This Selesnya Tokens deck by Lew Laskin drops black and plays Scion of Vitu-Ghazi and Parallel Lives.
- This Esper Tokens deck plays Lingering Souls, Midnight Haunting, and Talrand's Invocation with Intangible Virtue and Favorable Winds to power up its squadron of flyers.
Naya decks are everywhere online and make use of a number of potent creatures, many with excellent enters-the-battlefield abilities. That’s where Conjurer's Closet comes in for a couple recent 3–1 Daily Event decks. Naturally, they make use of Thragtusk, Restoration Angel, and Huntmaster of the Fells, but this one also has four copies of Elvish Visionary and Borderland Ranger. This version ups the number of Closets to four and adds Gatecreeper Vine, Sin Collector, and Acidic Slime.
That’s it for this week’s article on SCG Open: Columbus. Join me next week as I continue tracking the metagame and highlighting the cards and decks played in Standard. Thanks for reading!
Nick Vigabool