TheWolf's picture
By: TheWolf, Shane Garvey
Nov 01 2016 12:00pm
0
Login to post comments
1840 views


MAGIC ONLINE METAGAME ANALYSIS: WEEK ENDING OCTOBER 30, 2016

If you are interested in following the metagame of various formats and tracking which decks are doing well, and which decks you will likely face on Magic Online, you have come to the right place. This article series brings you all the stats from Magic Online so you can prepare for the meta, no matter the format you like to play.

All of the stats presented here are solely from Magic Online – it ignores Grand Prix, SCG Opens and Pro Tours. The reason is that the Magic Online metagame is often different to what you will find in paper tournaments. In fact, the Magic Online metagame is slightly ahead of the paper meta, so you can get an edge on your opponents by checking here!

The numbers are drawn from deck lists Wizards of the Coast publish for the Competitive Leagues on Magic Online or, in the case of the Vintage format, Daily events.

We are now a month into Kaladesh season and thinks are starting to consolidate in the formats, especially Standard. Let’s dive in and take a look

STANDARD

This week was simply a Tale of Two Decks. Azorius Flash continues to be one of the top decks, putting up very impressive numbers in the Leagues. However, it has a target on it now and players have adapted by playing Golgari Delirium, which is very good versus the Flash deck.

Deck

Last Week Meta %

Previous Week Meta %

Season Meta %

Golgari Delirium

26.67%

8.45%

13.84%

Azorius Flash

25%

18.31%

14.73%

Azorius Control

10%

0%

3.57%

Gruul Energy

8.33%

2.82%

2.68%

Boros Vehicles

6.67%

7.04%

5.8%

Wizards of the Coast published 60 decks in total for Standard this week, and there were only 16 distinct archetypes, numbers we were seeing in Collected Company Standard. However, there is a fair chance the numbers won’t stay like this.

You see, unlike the previous Standard season, we don’t just have midrange decks (with one aggro deck) dominating the format. Instead, if you look at the above table, you’ll see we have midrange (delirium and energy), control, aggro (vehicles) and tempo Flash all represented. And that’s not counting the presence of the Aetherworks Marvel combo decks which, at present, have all but disappeared.

What this gives us is a merry little dance of the decks all trying to outdo each other. If the Delirium deck pushes the Flash deck out, we may see the return of Aetherworks decks to the scene, or (more likely) a resurgence of control decks. If they become dominant, the aggro decks will have a field day and push control out, which will then give midrange and tempo another look in.

Let’s hope I’m not wrong about this and Standard doesn’t devolve into one or two decks again.


Sweet Brew

Here’s a deck for all you mono red aggro players out there. This is not a fancy deck, but it did take “Gainsay” to a 5-0 record on October 25. The plan is simple: play cheap, aggressive creatures such as Falkenrath Gorger and Inventor’s Apprentice, clear the way with burn spells such as Lightning Axe or Fiery Temper, and beat your opponent to death.


MODERN
 

Modern was a lot more even this week, with Dredge’s share of the metagame dropping away (but still leaving it as one of the top decks). 61 decks were published this week, with 28 distinct archetypes.

Deck

Last Week Meta %

Previous Week Meta %

Season Meta %

Dredge

8.2%

17.65%

15.28%

Naya Burn

8.2%

1.47%

5.68%

Suicide Zoo

8.2%

1.47%

3.06%

Izzet Blitz

6.56%

2.94%

5.24%

Affinity

4.92%

8.82%

6.55%

Sun and Moon

4.92%

4.41%

3.5%

Infect

4.92%

5.88%

5.68%

Jeskai Control

4.92%

1.47%

3.06%

Valakut Breach

4.92%

0%

1.31%

As you can see, this last week had quite a variety of decks with 5-0 records. Dredge is still at the top, but for this week at least it came back to the rest of the field. Whether this is because people are starting to include cards to combat it, or whether it is an anomaly of the way Wizards publish deck lists is unclear at this stage. 

We’ve also seen the return of Suicide Zoo to the top this week, a deck that was huge last season but has been almost completely absent this one.


Sweet Brew

Remember the days of Theros? When Devotion decks were all the rage? “mouthbreather1” certainly does and managed to pilot this mono-green deck to a 5-0 record on October 24. Leveraging the absurd amount of mana Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx can produce, the deck looks to play out early creatures then use Genesis Wave or Primal Command to find a Craterhoof Behemoth to win in one combat step.


PAUPER

Same old story for Pauper: Izzet Drake, Izzet Drake, Izzet Drake. There were 49 lists published last week, and 16 of them were Drake. 

Deck

Last Week Meta %

Previous Week Meta %

Season Meta %

Izzet Drake

32.65%

24.07%

29.76%

Affinity

14.29%

12.96%

11.31%

Stompy

12.24%

7.41%

11.31%

Izzet Blitz

10.2%

1.85%

4.76%

Temur Tron

6.12%

0%

1.79%

Only 12 unique archetypes were published amongst the 49 decks, a worrying trend for this format. Delver, which was last week’s number 2 deck, dropped to 4.08% metagame share this week. It’s good to see Tron decks making a slight resurgence; the Tron decks that were published this week are the only ones for the entire season, so far, so let’s hope that continues.

I like that the Affinity decks are playing one of the best commons to come out of Kaladesh: Gearseeker Serpent. I personally feel this is the best Pauper card since Gurmag Angler was printed.

 

LEGACY

There was a bit of a shakeup in Legacy this week, with Miracles losing its weekly number 1 spot for the first time this season – though it does remain the most played deck since Kaladesh came out. Out of 31 published lists, this is what did well:

Deck

Last Week Meta %

Previous Week Meta %

Season Meta %

Eldrazi Stompy

22.58%

14.29%

13.64%

Grixis Delver

16.13%

11.43%

10%

Miracles

12.9%

17.14%

17.27%

Reanimator

9.68%

0%

5.45%

Punishing Jund

6.45%

0%

1.82%

The Eldrazi deck has been slowly gaining metagame share each week, to the point where it was number 1 last week. But despite the first three decks defining the format at the moment, Legacy remains quite diverse: there were 15 unique archetypes amongst the 31 lists published. So while you should be playing one of the first three decks, or planning to beat them, keep an eye out for a variety of other decks as well.

I gave you an Eldrazi Stompy deck last week, so this time, here is a list for Grixis Delver:


VINTAGE

We have now had exactly 50 decks published for Vintage since Kaladesh season began, so we have enough data to work with to look at what is performing well. Not surprisingly, Mishra’s Workshop decks have dominated the format, though there are three individual archetypes. Take a look:

Deck

Season Meta %

Jeskai Control

14%

Ravager Shops

12%

Non-Ravager Shops

12%

Car Shops

10%

Eldrazi & Taxes

8%

Workshop decks account for 34% of the metagame so far, though Jeskai Control is the top deck on an individual basis. The Car Shops decks are similar to Ravager Shops except they use Fleetwheel Cruiser and Skysovereign, Consul Flagship.

I had a look at the Car Shops deck last week, so this week take a look at Jeskai Control:


UNTIL NEXT WEEK...
 

Will another deck come along to challenge Delirium or Flash in Standard? Will Dredge continue to fall in Modern, or will it rise back to the top? And can anything take down Izzet Drake in Pauper? Join me again next week to find out.

Until then, good luck and have fun!

Twitter: @The_Wolf_MTG
MTGO: The_Wolf