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The Standard Metagame

Here is a breakdown of the deck archetypes that have finished in the Top 16 of a major tournament over the last thirty days.

No change at the top, where Jund Midrange and Reanimator continue to battle it out for the best deck of the format. Jund has the numbers, but Reanimator had better finishes this week.

Tournament Review

Here are the Top 16 decks from StarCityGames Open: Nashville. The graphs display the colors and most-played archetypes of the Top 16.

Place Deck Colors
1 Reanimator

w {invisible} b {invisible} g

2 Reanimator

w {invisible} b {invisible} g

3 Naya Blitz

w {invisible} {invisible} r g

4 Naya Blitz

w {invisible} {invisible} r g

5 Naya Midrange

w {invisible} {invisible} r g

6 GB Midrange

{invisible} {invisible} b {invisible} g

7 Four-Color Control

w u {invisible} r g

8 Jund Aggro

{invisible} {invisible} b r g

9 Jund Aggro

{invisible} {invisible} b r g

10 The Aristocrats

w {invisible} b r {invisible}

11 RUG Peddler

{invisible} u {invisible} r g

12 Bant Auras

w u {invisible} {invisible} g

13 Jund Midrange

{invisible} {invisible} b r g

14 Jund Midrange

{invisible} {invisible} b r g

15 Jund Midrange

{invisible} {invisible} b r g

16 The Aristocrats

w {invisible} b r {invisible}

Jund Midrange had quantity in Nashville, but Reanimator went with quality, taking first and second place.

Card Catalog

The charts and graphs below provide information about what creatures and removal saw the most play in the Top 16 decks of SCG Open: Nashville so that you can build and plan accordingly.

Thragtusk has weathered set after set since rotation and still remains on top. In Nashville, the big Beast of Standard was played in ten decks and seven different archetypes—now that’s format-warping! Here is the archetype distribution of these top cards with the average numbers played for each.

Card Archetype Average Avg Main Avg Side
Thragtusk Four-Color Control 2.0 2.0 0.0
GB Midrange 4.0 4.0 0.0
Jund Aggro 0.0 2.0 2.0
Jund Midrange 4.0 4.0 0.0
Naya Midrange 3.0 1.0 2.0
Reanimator 4.0 3.5 0.5
RUG Peddler 4.0 4.0 0.0
Huntmaster of the Fells Four-Color Control 4.0 4.0 0.0
Jund Midrange 3.7 3.7 0.0
Naya Midrange 4.0 4.0 0.0
RUG Peddler 4.0 4.0 0.0
Falkenrath Aristocrat Jund Aggro 4.0 4.0 0.0
The Aristocrats 4.0 4.0 0.0
Flinthoof Boar Jund Aggro 4.0 4.0 0.0
Naya Blitz 4.0 4.0 0.0
Arbor Elf Jund Aggro 4.0 4.0 0.0
Reanimator 3.5 3.5 0.0
Avacyn's Pilgrim Bant Auras 4.0 4.0 0.0
Naya Midrange 4.0 4.0 0.0
Reanimator 3.5 3.5 0.0
Restoration Angel Four-Color Control 3.0 3.0 0.0
Naya Midrange 4.0 4.0 0.0
Reanimator 3.5 3.5 0.0
Boros Reckoner Naya Midrange 4.0 4.0 0.0
The Aristocrats 4.0 4.0 0.0
Burning-Tree Emissary Jund Aggro 4.0 4.0 0.0
Naya Blitz 4.0 4.0 0.0
Experiment One Jund Aggro 4.0 4.0 0.0
Naya Blitz 4.0 4.0 0.0
Vampire Nighthawk Jund Midrange 3.0 0.0 3.0
The Aristocrats 3.0 0.0 3.0

Other creature notes:

  • Ten copies of Voice of Resurgence were played in three decks: four in the main of Bant Auras (twelfth place) and six total between the sideboards of the first- and second-place Reanimator decks.
  • Eight copies of Desecration Demon made the Top 16: four each in the main of GB Midrange (sixth place) and Jund Midrange (fourteenth place).
  • Block Constructed all-star Aetherling saw only two copies played, split between the main and side of RUG Peddler (eleventh place)

A lot of Jund-flavored removal spells at the top in Nashville. Abrupt Decay was in half the Top 16 decks, largely in the sideboard, and it handles many of today’s aggressive threats quite efficiently. Here is the archetype breakdown for these spells.

Card Archetype Average Avg Main Avg Side
Tragic Slip GB Midrange 3.0 3.0 0.0
Jund Midrange 3.5 2.5 1.0
The Aristocrats 4.0 4.0 0.0
Abrupt Decay GB Midrange 3.0 3.0 0.0
Jund Aggro 3.0 0.0 3.0
Jund Midrange 1.3 1.3 0.0
Reanimator 2.0 0.0 2.0
Liliana of the Veil GB Midrange 3.0 3.0 0.0
Jund Aggro 2.0 0.0 2.0
Jund Midrange 3.0 2.0 1.0
Searing Spear Four-Color Control 3.0 3.0 0.0
Naya Blitz 3.5 3.5 0.0
RUG Peddler 4.0 4.0 0.0
Pillar of Flame Four-Color Control 4.0 3.0 1.0
Jund Aggro 2.5 0.0 2.5
Jund Midrange 2.0 0.0 2.0
Bonfire of the Damned Jund Aggro 3.0 3.0 0.0
Jund Midrange 2.5 2.5 0.0
Naya Midrange 3.0 3.0 0.0
RUG Peddler 1.0 1.0 0.0
Selesnya Charm Bant Auras 1.0 0.0 1.0
Four-Color Control 4.0 2.0 2.0
Naya MIdrange 3.0 2.0 1.0
Garruk Relentless Four-Color Control 1.0 0.0 1.0
GB Midrange 1.0 1.0 0.0
Jund Midrange 1.0 1.0 0.0
Reanimator 2.0 0.0 2.0
Mutilate GB Midrange 4.0 3.0 1.0
Jund Midrange 3.0 3.0 0.0
Putrefy GB Midrange 1.0 1.0 0.0
Junnd Aggro 2.0 2.0 0.0
Jund Midrange 1.3 1.3 0.0

Leading Indicators

In this section, I shine the light on cards that were included in a Top 16 deck last weekend but that have seen little to no play in Standard Top 16 decks prior to then.

Card Total Copies Total MD Total SB # Decks Decks
Gruul War Chant 4 4 1 Jund Aggro (8th)
Heartless Summoning 2 2 1 Jund Midrange (13th)
Plasm Capture 3 2 1 1 Four-Color Control (7th)
Rakdos Cluestone 1 1 1 Jund Midrange (13th)
Warleader's Helix 3 2 1 1 Four-Color Control (7th)

Eddie Walker’s thirteenth-place Jund Midrange deck included two Heartless Summoning in the main deck to power out his threats—including Sire of Insanity—that much quicker. He also played four copies of Bloodgift Demon between the main and sideboard for card-draw and to serve as an evasive beater.

The Close

That’s it for this week’s article on SCG Open: Nashville. Join me next week as I track the metagame and impact of Dragon’s Maze at SCG Open: Dallas. Thanks for reading!

Nick Vigabool

@MrVigabool

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