Eternal Approaching

Posted on May 20, 2016

With Standard ramping down this month, results are stagnating as the metagame, while diverse, has not had any major shake-ups. This is due, in part, to Eternal Masters combined with a month barren of Standard Grand Prix. Over this month, I will still be covering Standard, but until the Eternal madness dies down I will be devoting part of my article to preparing you for Eternal Masters. I'll talk about what you can do now, and what you can do after the set is fully previewed to maximize your returns.

While G/W Tokens still appears to be the most consistent deck in the format it is hardly dominating every Top Eight. It has already shown weakness against other strategies, one of which has finally put up a Top Eight performance of its own — U/R Control. I have seen similar lists running around on MTGO, but this has taken Jeskai and tuned it to fix some of the mana issues keeping it from being top tier.

U/R Control ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Michael Fantini Top 8 SCG Classic

While we’ve seen a number of Esper Dragons lists running around with plentiful countermagic, it has not really spread into other archetypes. With two late game threats in Drowner of Hope and Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger, this list certainly offers the inevitability decks like U/R Pyromancer's Goggles lacked early in the season. The card draw in this deck relies heavily on Jace, Unraveler of Secrets, but does a great job protecting him if you get to untap with a copy of everyone’s favorite walker in play. If I were to move forward with this list, I would want some extra card draw, even a Confirm Suspicions or two so you don’t need to drop the number of counters you play; but, as is, this deck looks like it would get demolished by hand attack backed up by a few small threats.

This type of deck relies on a particular metagame, and, while I can see this demolishing G/W Tokens with just a few precise counters, the decks it struggles against are still present. I wouldn't look to take this blind into a tournament, but I would play the deck locally if you know most people are on mid-range or control. That seems to be the theme with the decks premiering these past few weeks, as G/W continues to keep Humans almost completely off the radar.

The deck I have been brewing follows that same trend: looking to lighten the early game removal in favor of a more powerful late game to combat the surge of mid-range and control. I have not settled on some cards and quantities, but the shell is solid against the MTGO metagame and, considering you are in Green and Black, you have the tools to shore up any bad matchups you may have.

B/G Control ? Shadows over Innistrad Standard | Ryan Bushard

Planeswalkers (2)
2 Ob Nixilis Reignited

A few weeks ago I began digging deep on The Great Aurora and managed to find a cheap and resilient list. This week, I have expanded on that concept, utilizing Demonic Pact to bring additional removal and card advantage while Dark Petition finds ways to remove the Pact.

The MTGO metagame has shifted away from tokens, but if you are still seeing a great deal of it locally I would move the Tamiyo's Journal to the board and put one Virulent Plague in the main. When I first started playing this list, Sam Black had come out with a similar concept, taking the B/G Seasons Past deck and playing The Great Aurora as a reset when needed. This list goes a little deeper and forces a third color, though the mana is so good I have not had any issues finding the Plains when needed for Angelic Purge.

With what testing I’ve managed, I’ve played against the Seasons Past deck a number of times; the match-up seems very favorable for you pre-board and post-board if you can set up instant speed draw through Tireless Tracker, Tamiyo's Journal, or Hedron Archive. That draw combats the discard spells the Seasons Past deck packs.

As with almost everything I have been building, the Mono White matchup could certainly be better, though, I haven’t seen enough of that deck for it to be much of an issue. Typically, all it takes is a few early removal spells to keep you alive until you find time to cast a Nissa's Renewal or Demonic Pact and stabilize. Mid-range has been relatively easy as they don’t apply enough pressure to force you away from your own game-plan. Considering your late game, it’s hard to find a deck capable of keeping up once you have hit ten or more mana.

So what about Eternal Masters? Even if you strictly play Standard, you are likely getting amped to at least draft the set a few times next month. If you are interested in more than just moving the cards you open and want to use this set to make the jump into Eternal formats, this release synchronizes perfectly with the drop in Dragons and Origins prices to move your extra Standard staples. Not only will this be the last chance to maximize value from Standard, it is also a slow period for GP’s. Knowing this, it is unlikely we will see many price increases, even on non-rotating sets. Combine that with the decrease in staple prices with Eternal Masters’ release, and you won’t have a better chance to break in for many more years.

So outside of the obvious dual lands, what is the best way to prepare for the format? Personally I would want to be in on Shocks and Fetches, the Khans ones primarily, as they are unlikely to see a reprint and any amount of additional Modern or Legacy play will boost their already increasing prices.

The next best way to prepare is to identify the floor for any card likely to be reprinted. Much like with Tarmogoyf from both Modern Masters releases, the price drop will be temporary. If you caught that window you may have had a chance to pick up Goyfs for as low as $80. If you can time these purchases, you will likely see a fairly quick return on anything with high demand, and, considering how many people fire sale their cards in that period, stores already have an idea of what their bottom line will be.

A good example is Force of Will. We’ve known about Force of Will for over a month. You would think the price would plummet and everyone would wait to pick them up once the set released, but quite the opposite has happened. Sure the price did drop some, though it was by less than 50%, and sales of Force of Will have increased since. Making cards cheaper and more accessible clearly drives more people into a format, and with that swell in players comes the rebound of prices, typically higher than anyone anticipated. The reality is we are not going to see $20 Forces. In fact, if you see Force below $50 it is probably a great buy. The demand for this card is not going down, and anyone currently sitting on their playset may not be willing to move them for any lower than they are now. I expect this to be the trend for most of the highly sought after cards.

It is likely too late to purge your collection of anything being reprinted and the likelihood of buying back in to any of these staples at a better rate is low. Don't panic. Some card prices will go down, and others not confirmed to be in the set will rise. If you want to play Eternal formats, whether you already own the staples or not, look at this as a time to rejoice. More players will soon be joining you in some of the most enjoyable Magic formats.

Next week, I will continue to look at any Standard results I can find. If everything is as stale as I expect it to be, I will begin to look at Modern and Legacy cards difficult to shoehorn into a limited-focused set. Those cards would be good targets to acquire before the masses realize they need copies. Prepare yourself for the oncoming storm, and I will be here over the coming month to help you along the way!

Ryan Bushard

@CryppleCommand