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Main » Articles » Seasons Past Present Standard

Seasons Past Present Standard

Ryan Bushard
Posted on April 29, 2016
 Reddit

This past weekend was a perfect example of why I encourage everyone at all levels of the game to watch the Pro Tour. Not only did we have one of the most star-studded Top 8s in recent memory, the decks themselves came out of nowhere and left everyone brewing and testing the new Standard. Going into the event, we anticipated a great deal of Bant Company and W/x Humans, and while those decks were present, even making an appearance in the finals, it was hardly the talk of the tournament.

Of course, we can always expect some new innovations going into a relatively untested format, and with the new rotation schedule, I anticipate we will be seeing more and more of that moving forward. Up until this point, I was not sold the new rotation was something I was a fan of, but this weekend changed my mind in a big way. I don't want to dwell too long on that, as we have a lot of decks to cover, but I will say, for innovation’s sake, I wish we could drop a set for every Pro Tour, as the decks that come out are far more thought out and interesting than when it is just a new set being released.

Normally, I would just have to cover a few minor tweaks to already known archetypes and dig through the results to find a few new lists with some promise, but this week, I won’t even have to venture out of the Top 8, as it had eight individual decks all with different game plans. I will, over the next few weeks, as the dust settles, go back and look at some of the other decks and how we may see them impact the format moving forward. But given all of the new brews we have right in front of us, it is best to be prepared for these lists going into next weekend.

G/W Tokens ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Steve Rubin, 1st, Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad

While I have seen lists like this floating around online, I had not seen anything geared this hard toward the token plan. Clearly, it worked out, as Steve Rubin managed to hoist the trophy at the end of the day, and I suspect this deck has a great deal of staying power moving forward. But what does that mean for us financially?

The three cards to note out of this are probably Nissa, Voice of Zendikar, Hangarback Walker, and Dromoka's Command. All of these cards have suffered in weeks leading up to this event struggling to find a home, and while Dromoka's Command had seen some promise, the other two reaffirmed themselves this weekend, showing up as full sets. I suspect this is not the last deck we will see with Hangarback Walker moving forward. With all of these other lists, we also see a variation in removal, meaning Silkwrap and Declaration in Stone, while still heavily played, will not be something you see every round.

I like the direction this deck is taking the metagame; there are ways to attack this strategy, and though I feel it is a great benchmark, it is by no means immune to hate. Virulent Plague comes to mind, and I anticipate we will see a few more of those in ’boards at least for the next couple of weeks. Though there is no way to completely shut this build down, I am confident we have enough ways to attack it that we will not see it dominate the metagame.

Esper Control ? Shadows over Innistard Standard | Seth Manfield, 3?4th, Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad

If you are a fan of Narset Transcendent, boy does Seth Manfield have a deck for you. Of all of the results I was watching this weekend, this was the deck I was keeping an eye on the closest. I love the spin on creatureless control in a format so riddled with removal for the aggressive decks that had been dominating up to this point, and it payed off for Seth with a Top 4 finish.

While not much outside of Narset shows much promise financially, this is the first glimpse at Jace, Unraveler of Secrets in a tier-one deck, and that means we will probably see a much higher floor for the card than it may have been a week ago. We do see a multitude of one-ofs that have not been played in a while—if at all—but it is unlikely they will have much financial relevance moving forward unless their play picks up. And while it was cool to be proven wrong and see Sphinx of the Final Word in a list, it is unlikely there will be sustained growth from that.

As this archetype pushes forward, watch for the metagame shifts and exactly what cards are used to counter those results. As with any control deck, it is excessively important to understand what you will be playing against and then countering that with your seventy-five the best you can; this deck has the tools for the Pro Tour, but you may want to make a few changes based on your local meta.

Seasons Past ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Jon Finkel, Top 8, Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad

Finkel seemed to bring the big breakout deck this past weekend, and suddenly, Seasons Past went from a bulk mythic everyone—including me—dismissed to one of the hottest cards in the set. I believe this deck does have staying power moving forward, but the spike in prices is certainly overdone a bit given how new the deck was. I have been focused a great deal on Magic Online lately, and this card peaked at nearly eighteen tickets, which is unreal for a card played as a two-of in one deck.

I am excited to see this build evolve over the coming months, as I feel this is just the beginning for both Seasons Past and Dark Petition, both of which had an outstanding weekend. Given the recent spikes on the premier cards in this deck, there is not much to get in on at this point, but I do feel confident Dark Petition is here to stay and will probably show up in more archetypes as the format progresses.

B/G Aristocrats ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | LSV, Top 8, Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad

I had been playing around with a deck like this as recently as last week, and though I was unable to crack the code on this particular build, I was able to see the power this deck provides firsthand. Cryptolith Rite has a long ways to go in Standard, and I am happy to see the card putting up results already; I do not expect that to let up. Though it was dismissed as a casual rare at first in a format in which Catacomb Sifter is legal, I am always looking for new ways to abuse this enchantment, as I am sure many of you are.

Liliana, Heretical Healer is finally seeing some spotlight as well, which is truly not surprising given the power level of her transformed side. This card can grind so much value in the midgame after draining your opponent of resources early, and this deck thrives off both. It may be a little late to get in on much from this deck, but I do expect most prices to hold going forward given how positive the matchups are against almost every aggro deck.

R/G Goggles Ramp ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Brad Nelson, Top 8, Pro Tour Shadows over Innistrad

The last deck I want to cover this week is the new form of Ramp that Brad Nelson brought to the table. Not only does this deck ramp into World Breaker, it has the draw engine that Pyromancer's Goggles provides. With the ability to attrition almost every control deck in the format, I see this being a great choice moving forward if the format slows down at all. Goggles with Kozilek's Return certainly provides a powerful Wrath of God effect that can deal with almost every creature the aggressive decks can throw at you.

World Breaker
Though World Breaker has already spiked, it is worth noting that Kozilek's Return is still fairly cheap considering the recent amount of play it has picked up. With the Draft format rotating, it is unlikely much more Oath of the Gatewatch will be opened, so now may be the time to move in on your copies. Chandra, Flamecaller is also still holding strong, showing no signs of slowing down, and she only continues to show the power level a 6-mana ’Walker can provide.

That is all we have for this week. While I will be spending more time on some of these decks in the future, this Top 8 does a great job of displaying exactly how diverse this format can be. I have gone back to U/R Goggles with Fevered Visions in the main, but there is a deck for almost every play style available, and the best part is nothing seems to be so overpowered that the format needs to warp to control that deck. Watch in the coming weeks for more innovation, and check back in next week as I tackle some of the decks that did not quite break the Top 8 from the Pro Tour.

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand

Order Shadows over Innistrad at CoolStuffInc.com today!

TAGS articles, pro tour, standard, constructed, deck lists, decks, finance, ryan bushard, shadows over innistrad, #mtgsoi, #ptsoi

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