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The following graph displays the most successful deck archetypes of the last month. The data is based on Top 16 appearances in major tournaments such as StarCityGames Opens and Grands Prix.
Jund Midrange is firmly entrenched as the top deck in the post-M14 landscape. It now holds a full third of the Top 16 finishes over the last thirty days—more than the next three archetypes combined. Let’s check out the trends from last week.
Jund is definitely increasing its stranglehold on Standard, up another 7% over last week. Can anything threaten it over the remainder of this Standard season? The GR Domri deck pulled in four of the Top 16 spots at SCG Open Minneapolis. We will see if it can rise in the rankings. Reanimator continues its fall and will probably be relegated to “Other” status by next week, and Bant Auras has taken a bit of a tumble, though it is still the number-two deck of the metagame over the last month.
A small segment of the Standard-legal card pool sees competitive play at any given time. Knowledge of what cards are prominent today should help guide your deck-building and play strategies. The following graphs provide the following info based on the Top 16 decks from major tournaments over the last month.
- The cards played in the highest percentage of decks
- The average number of copies played in the main decks and sideboards
- Of the decks playing the card, the percentage of time it appears in the main deck and sideboard
These graphs tell you not only what cards you will face, but when you might face them during your match. You should expect to see highly-played main-decked cards in Game 1, for example, and sideboarded cards in subsequent games, depending on your matchup.
Scavenging Ooze has tied Thragtusk at the top of the creature list, despite being legal in one fewer major tournament in the last month. It is an auto-included card in Jund Midrange, but it sees play in Junk Varolz, RG Aggro, Domri Naya, and GR Domri as well.
The other new M14 face is Lifebane Zombie. This card has become a favorite in Jund decks as well, such as in this first-place deck from Minneapolis. Just take a look at the top creature cards above to figure out why. Eight of the twelve most-played creatures are green, white, or both. This Zombie also made the cut in this BG Midrange deck at the SCG Invitational alongside Scavenging Ooze.
There are quite a few sideboard cards for dealing with Bant Auras on this list. Barter in Blood is among the most popular and appears in over 60% of Jund Midrange sideboards. Domri Rade is up about 6% from last week, thanks largely to a pivotal role in the GR Domri decks that play four copies along with a whole slew of threatening creatures.
Burning Earth is growing in popularity. Here, it plays a lead role in the Mono-Red main deck. It has also claimed a full four copies in the sideboard of RG Aggro and GR Domri decks.
The following table shows cards that have not seen Top 16 play until SCG Minneapolis.
| Card | Total Copies | Main | Side | Archetype | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chandra, Pyromaster | 1 | 0 | 1 | GR Domri | 9 |
| Chandra, Pyromaster | 2 | 0 | 2 | GR Domri | 16 |
| Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch | 4 | 4 | 0 | Kalonian Jund | 10 |
Minneapolis gives us our first glance of the new Chandra in a Top 16 deck—two decks actually. Both are GR Domri, and both include the Pyromaster in the sideboard.
Exava, Rakdos Blood Witch makes her first appearance in a Jund deck as a haste enabler for Kalonian Hydra. The deck also includes six 1-drop mana dorks, Gyre Sage, and Ruric Thar, the Unbowed.
Your Standard forecast calls for Jund, Jund, and more Jund. Stay tuned to this website for additional updates and insight into the metagame. Thanks for reading!
Nick Vigabool
