Hi, I will playing an RPTQ next weekend with 2 friends and although we have pretty much clear what we are going to play, we are wondering that although Red decks with Goblin Chainwhirler are defining the format, only 1 player is allowed to play them in this tournament so maybe some decks that get wrecked by it might be not so bad here. Do you know any deck like this that could be dangerous? WB knights and BG Saprolings come to mind but I am probably missing some more strategies, maybe Combat Celebrant + God-Pharaoh's Gift combo decks might be strong here.
We are probably going to stick with our choices but it would be good to know what decks we should expect besides current 1v1 metagame
Hi, I will playing an RPTQ next weekend with 2 friends and although we have pretty much clear what we are going to play, we are wondering that although Red decks with Goblin Chainwhirler are defining the format, only 1 player is allowed to play them in this tournament so maybe some decks that get wrecked by it might be not so bad here. Do you know any deck like this that could be dangerous? WB knights and BG Saprolings come to mind but I am probably missing some more strategies, maybe Combat Celebrant + God-Pharaoh's Gift combo decks might be strong here.
We are probably going to stick with our choices but it would be good to know what decks we should expect besides current 1v1 metagame
What about this ?I already have the mimics, wanderers , and bontu. So cost effective to make. Want to get back into standard, haven't played in a while.
The combo of unblockables, Curious Obsession, and Negate/Blossoming Defense gets to be pretty aggressive and gives you controlling options. And, it's pretty cheap.
To beat Gift, you mostly just run them down. They don't have much removal so you can build up a dangerous force. Unsummon is a fine answer to any reanimated creature, and you can run Negate and Naturalize.
To beat control, you bring in all the countermagic, maybe Sorcerous Spyglass, and Lifecrafters / Shaper's Sanctuary. Attack hard.
"To keep things 100, anything I state is an opinion and not intended to be a fact. Any and all suggestions I give are a 100% opinion. If you need further clarification take the conversation to a PM. I am not in the business of assuming things. I'm only interested in 1 business and that business serves 2 things, Cold L's and Hot Dub's."
Hey guys! Still new to all of this. I bought the core sets of M19 Black, Blue, and Green. I would like to build a decent deck where I have a chance against others. I am lost and have no clue what all and how many I should put in. Can anyone help?
Hey guys! Still new to all of this. I bought the core sets of M19 Black, Blue, and Green. I would like to build a decent deck where I have a chance against others. I am lost and have no clue what all and how many I should put in. Can anyone help?
Welcome!
I am assuming that you bought three planeswalker decks. They are fine for learning the game and playing comparable decks. Not so likely to win an FNM. Until you learn the game, you are probably not winning anyway. Don't get me wrong. I think the game is great, but there is a real learning curve. The other factor is that a lot of the best cards are rotating in about a month.
So just go play with anything. I bring extra decks to lend. Taking a planeswalker deck or borrowing a deck would be fine. If you go to a Standard Showdown, you could end up with a special prize pack even. After you have played a bit, you will have much better judgement about what you want. If you are friendly, people might help you upgrade your deck.
People have looked into upgrading the planeswalker decks using cards that will soon rotate at the link that follows. It may not be the cheapest approach, but it could be more fun and more competitive. This link is for the Blue deck, but it links to others. http://www.masterofmagics.co.uk/articles/upgrading-tezzeret/
I started to play MTG Arena 3 days ago and I am a bit overwhelmed with all the available packs you can buy. I played Legacy and Modern but never Standard so I don't have much nowledge how the meta is. I played a few games and my opponents mostly played red aggro decks.
I am interested in a green Ramp deck (to cast strong creatures with etb effects like Pelakka Wurm) or a Green/Black Saproling deck with focus on Slimefoot.
Would these decks stand a chance or would I loose most of the time?
First off,the Standard meta is completely changing over the next two weeks. At the end of next week (October 5, but Sept 27 for Arena!) a pile of sets are rotating out and a new set is coming in with strong new mechanics.
For historical reasons everybody on Arena was given most of the cards they needed for those red aggro/midrange decks that dominated a Standard that I think many will not mourn. But, as of 9/27, not an Arena problem, because our accounts will be wiped and a lot of those cards won't be in Standard anyway.
How to proceed after that depends on your desires and resources.
Buying packs in pursuit of a given mythic or even rare is efficient in terms of time, but not money. So there is a continuum of building with substandard cards vs spending resources. In addition, Arena has no singles market. So some of us look to draft and treat Arena as free to play. To make a constructed deck, we can pick packs that may have our desired cards and fill out with wildcards. We never spend a wildcard to get the fourth instance of a rare, so we can still open it.
The other factor is that we have no real knowledge of the coming meta. So if you want to be competitive immediately, you need to gamble on a deck and be right. Or you could wait a few weeks while the meta forms before setting up a deck. Or you could accumulate rares and wildcards using starter resources until you have enough to get close to a semi-budget version of a competitive deck. Essentially, trading off time vs money vs win rate.
A ramp or fungus tribal deck could be tier 1, but I wouldn't bet on it. It could probably be fairly competitive and you are matched with people of similar competitiveness, so you should be able to win 40+% of the time. Is that good enough for you?
For ramp, dinosaurs are interesting. You would have Thunderherd Migration in addition to dorks and enchantment ramp. We are getting a version of Explosive Vegetation (Circuitous Route) with the new set. Zacama, Regisaur Alpha, Ghalta and Ripjaw Raptor are all interesting cards. Dinosaurs are base Naya, so the rare lands you would want are in Ixalan (Rootbound Crag, Sunpetal Grove), Dominaria (Clifftop Retreat) and Guilds of Ravnica (Sacred Foundry, Temple Garden). Without a full decklist, I would say that the packs you would want most would be Ixalan and (somewhat less) Guilds. The cards you need from Dominaria and Rivals of Ixalan could maybe be filled in with wildcards.
For saproling tribal, rares you would want are Tendershoot Dryad (Rivals), Overgrown Tomb (Guilds), Woodland Cemetery (Dominaria). Depending on the remaining rares for your deck, that would point you toward the best packs for your deck. Slimefoot is in Dominaria, but as an uncommon, you can easily get it with wildcards. On the other hand, Dominaria has a lot of saproling cards, IIRC.
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask again if I missed the gist of your concerns.
My deck doesn't have to be tier 1, I play Arena for fun and not to be competitive. I like big mana strategies because they aren't really playable in Modern and Legacy.
I am happy if I win about 50% of the time.
mono white aggro vs RW aggro
is there a huge difference in power?
is it like "holy crap dude why the frick are you not playing red" or not that bad?
The only information I have on the meta is MTGO 5-0 decks (listed here). These are chosen to provide variety, so the numbers for an archetype are not necessarily indicative of relative quality, but ... There is a mono-W list there, FWIW.
I am aware it's massively early to be taking about established Ravnica, but I am more interested in what people are presently exploring and how I might get involved in the brewing process. I've been out of standard for just over a year (perhaps a little longer) and am looking for a deck or archetype that isn't just the standard turn sideways, buff, and await kill spells. It would be nice to perhaps explore something combo related, or maybe a deck with a focus on lands? Something that's a bit cheeky I can turn up to FNM with and cause confusion.
I've so far come across Izzet Wizards as a potential combo deck. But simply need advice on what exists, as I am very out of touch with standard! What happened to Saprolings? Did they make it?
Hi! I'm a modern player but want to get into standard. I have most of the shocklands and checklands without green. What would be a good deck if I like to play control or midrange?
I am aware it's massively early to be taking about established Ravnica, but I am more interested in what people are presently exploring and how I might get involved in the brewing process. I've been out of standard for just over a year (perhaps a little longer) and am looking for a deck or archetype that isn't just the standard turn sideways, buff, and await kill spells. It would be nice to perhaps explore something combo related, or maybe a deck with a focus on lands? Something that's a bit cheeky I can turn up to FNM with and cause confusion.
I've so far come across Izzet Wizards as a potential combo deck. But simply need advice on what exists, as I am very out of touch with standard! What happened to Saprolings? Did they make it?
Thanks in advance.
This isn't very timely, sorry. MTGGoldfish publishes many articles on what they call against-the-odds decks that might be up your alley.
Hi! I'm a modern player but want to get into standard. I have most of the shocklands and checklands without green. What would be a good deck if I like to play control or midrange?
Here is a review of current Standard decks. Golgari is the current "best" midrange deck. Some are arguing that Jeskai Control is the best control deck, but Dimir and Esper both top8ed the last major tournament. Enjoy!
I am aware it's massively early to be taking about established Ravnica, but I am more interested in what people are presently exploring and how I might get involved in the brewing process. I've been out of standard for just over a year (perhaps a little longer) and am looking for a deck or archetype that isn't just the standard turn sideways, buff, and await kill spells. It would be nice to perhaps explore something combo related, or maybe a deck with a focus on lands? Something that's a bit cheeky I can turn up to FNM with and cause confusion.
I've so far come across Izzet Wizards as a potential combo deck. But simply need advice on what exists, as I am very out of touch with standard! What happened to Saprolings? Did they make it?
So, with the upcoming Guilds set, I couldn't help but notice the new Smothering Tithe, especially since it works quite well with Revel in Riches. However, there isn't a lot of ways to make the opponent draw cards in Standard. Any recommendations? Here's what I have so far:
WIN CON: Revel In Riches + Smothering Tithes (Make your opponent draw cards until you've got enough Treasures to win.)
Potential Cards:
- Induced Amnesia (Especially potent when it makes them exile 5+ cards, then give you the same amount provided they don't )
- Spell Swindle (While not as good early-game, it can generate 6+ Treasure late-game.)
- Treasure Map (When you're trying to get the best cards you can, having a way to scry is nice. Also makes Treasures later on.)
- Gleaming Barrier (Makes for a good Defender early on, with it providing Treasure once it dies.)
maybe it’s too early to tell but with Ravnica Allegiance is midrange just bad now? I’m asking b/c I was looking for a new standard deck to build (haven’t played standard in years) and was drawn to an abzan midrange deck I saw on mtggoldfish, but I’m concerned that Allegiance standard aggro and control will just dominate midrange. Is it safe to go for this deck? Or should I just go for an aggrieved deck (the control decks seem a little outside my budget at the moment)
maybe it’s too early to tell but with Ravnica Allegiance is midrange just bad now? I’m asking b/c I was looking for a new standard deck to build (haven’t played standard in years) and was drawn to an abzan midrange deck I saw on mtggoldfish, but I’m concerned that Allegiance standard aggro and control will just dominate midrange. Is it safe to go for this deck? Or should I just go for an aggrieved deck (the control decks seem a little outside my budget at the moment)
we get our first significant competitive results from Allegiance later today at SCG Open Indianapolis, so yes, it's too soon. But what are you expecting? That seems like a solid deck that would definitely get you some wins at FNM level. If you need to win a PTQ, then I would hold off at least until tonight.
We are probably going to stick with our choices but it would be good to know what decks we should expect besides current 1v1 metagame
Thanks,
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
4 Dread Wanderer
4 saproling migration
4 sporecrown thallid
4 metallic mimic
3 slimefoot, the stowaway
4 spore swarm
3 bontu the glorified
4 fungal infection
3 cast down
2 costly plunder
4 vicious offering
You could try Merfolk:
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/standard-type-2/deck-creation-standard/783553-primer-u-g-merfolk?page=16
The combo of unblockables, Curious Obsession, and Negate/Blossoming Defense gets to be pretty aggressive and gives you controlling options. And, it's pretty cheap.
To beat Gift, you mostly just run them down. They don't have much removal so you can build up a dangerous force. Unsummon is a fine answer to any reanimated creature, and you can run Negate and Naturalize.
To beat control, you bring in all the countermagic, maybe Sorcerous Spyglass, and Lifecrafters / Shaper's Sanctuary. Attack hard.
Is there any use for this card currently since Blossoming Defense is rotating.
-Stay Frosty
Welcome!
I am assuming that you bought three planeswalker decks. They are fine for learning the game and playing comparable decks. Not so likely to win an FNM. Until you learn the game, you are probably not winning anyway. Don't get me wrong. I think the game is great, but there is a real learning curve. The other factor is that a lot of the best cards are rotating in about a month.
So just go play with anything. I bring extra decks to lend. Taking a planeswalker deck or borrowing a deck would be fine. If you go to a Standard Showdown, you could end up with a special prize pack even. After you have played a bit, you will have much better judgement about what you want. If you are friendly, people might help you upgrade your deck.
There is a good discussion here if you are further interested:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/magicTCG/comments/93ryrp/viable_standard_deck_using_only_m19_core_set/#ampf=undefined
People have looked into upgrading the planeswalker decks using cards that will soon rotate at the link that follows. It may not be the cheapest approach, but it could be more fun and more competitive. This link is for the Blue deck, but it links to others.
http://www.masterofmagics.co.uk/articles/upgrading-tezzeret/
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
I am interested in a green Ramp deck (to cast strong creatures with etb effects like Pelakka Wurm) or a Green/Black Saproling deck with focus on Slimefoot.
Would these decks stand a chance or would I loose most of the time?
First off,the Standard meta is completely changing over the next two weeks. At the end of next week (October 5, but Sept 27 for Arena!) a pile of sets are rotating out and a new set is coming in with strong new mechanics.
For historical reasons everybody on Arena was given most of the cards they needed for those red aggro/midrange decks that dominated a Standard that I think many will not mourn. But, as of 9/27, not an Arena problem, because our accounts will be wiped and a lot of those cards won't be in Standard anyway.
How to proceed after that depends on your desires and resources.
Buying packs in pursuit of a given mythic or even rare is efficient in terms of time, but not money. So there is a continuum of building with substandard cards vs spending resources. In addition, Arena has no singles market. So some of us look to draft and treat Arena as free to play. To make a constructed deck, we can pick packs that may have our desired cards and fill out with wildcards. We never spend a wildcard to get the fourth instance of a rare, so we can still open it.
The other factor is that we have no real knowledge of the coming meta. So if you want to be competitive immediately, you need to gamble on a deck and be right. Or you could wait a few weeks while the meta forms before setting up a deck. Or you could accumulate rares and wildcards using starter resources until you have enough to get close to a semi-budget version of a competitive deck. Essentially, trading off time vs money vs win rate.
A ramp or fungus tribal deck could be tier 1, but I wouldn't bet on it. It could probably be fairly competitive and you are matched with people of similar competitiveness, so you should be able to win 40+% of the time. Is that good enough for you?
For ramp, dinosaurs are interesting. You would have Thunderherd Migration in addition to dorks and enchantment ramp. We are getting a version of Explosive Vegetation (Circuitous Route) with the new set. Zacama, Regisaur Alpha, Ghalta and Ripjaw Raptor are all interesting cards. Dinosaurs are base Naya, so the rare lands you would want are in Ixalan (Rootbound Crag, Sunpetal Grove), Dominaria (Clifftop Retreat) and Guilds of Ravnica (Sacred Foundry, Temple Garden). Without a full decklist, I would say that the packs you would want most would be Ixalan and (somewhat less) Guilds. The cards you need from Dominaria and Rivals of Ixalan could maybe be filled in with wildcards.
For saproling tribal, rares you would want are Tendershoot Dryad (Rivals), Overgrown Tomb (Guilds), Woodland Cemetery (Dominaria). Depending on the remaining rares for your deck, that would point you toward the best packs for your deck. Slimefoot is in Dominaria, but as an uncommon, you can easily get it with wildcards. On the other hand, Dominaria has a lot of saproling cards, IIRC.
I hope this helps. Feel free to ask again if I missed the gist of your concerns.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
My deck doesn't have to be tier 1, I play Arena for fun and not to be competitive. I like big mana strategies because they aren't really playable in Modern and Legacy.
I am happy if I win about 50% of the time.
Which sort of Ramp card would you play?
Creature Ramp like Llanowar Elves
Artifact Ramp like Chromatic Lantern
or Sorcery Ramp like Grow from the Ashes?
is there a huge difference in power?
is it like "holy crap dude why the frick are you not playing red" or not that bad?
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
I've so far come across Izzet Wizards as a potential combo deck. But simply need advice on what exists, as I am very out of touch with standard! What happened to Saprolings? Did they make it?
Thanks in advance.
Here is a review of current Standard decks. Golgari is the current "best" midrange deck. Some are arguing that Jeskai Control is the best control deck, but Dimir and Esper both top8ed the last major tournament. Enjoy!
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
WIN CON: Revel In Riches + Smothering Tithes (Make your opponent draw cards until you've got enough Treasures to win.)
Potential Cards:
- Induced Amnesia (Especially potent when it makes them exile 5+ cards, then give you the same amount provided they don't )
- Spell Swindle (While not as good early-game, it can generate 6+ Treasure late-game.)
- Treasure Map (When you're trying to get the best cards you can, having a way to scry is nice. Also makes Treasures later on.)
- Gleaming Barrier (Makes for a good Defender early on, with it providing Treasure once it dies.)
Spirits
I̟̥͍̠ͅn̩͉̣͍̬͚ͅ ̬̬͖t̯̹̞̺͖͓̯̤h̘͍̬e͙̯͈̖̼̮ ̭̬f̺̲̲̪i͙͉̟̩̰r̪̝͚͈̝̥͍̝̲s̼̻͇̘̳͔ͅt̲̺̳̗̜̪̙ ̳̺̥̻͚̗ͅm̜̜̟̰͈͓͎͇o̝̖̮̝͇m̯̻̞̼̫̗͓̤e̩̯̬̮̩n͎̱̪̲̹͖t͇̖s̰̮ͅ,̤̲͙̻̭̻̯̹̰ ̖t̫̙̺̯͖͚̯ͅh͙̯̦̳̗̰̟e͖̪͉̼̯ ̪͕g̞̣͔a̗̦t̬̬͓͙̫̖̭̻e̩̻̯ ̜̖̦̖̤̭͙̬t̞̹̥̪͎͉ͅo͕͚͍͇̲͇͓̺ ̭̬͙͈̣̻t͈͍͙͓̫̖͙̩h̪̬̖̙e̗͈ ̗̬̟̞̺̤͉̯ͅa̦̯͚̙̜̮f͉͙̲̣̞̼t̪̤̞̣͚e̲͉̳̥r͇̪̙͚͓l̥̞̞͎̹̯̹ͅi͓̬f̮̥̬̞͈ͅe͎ ̟̩̤̳̠̯̩̯o̮̘̲p̟͚̣̞͉͓e͍̩̣n͔̼͕͚̜e̬̱d̼̘͎̖̹͍̮̠,͖̺̭̱̮ ̣̲͖̬̪̭̥a̪͚n̟̲̝̤̤̞̗d̘̱̗͇̮͕̳͕͔ ͖̞͉͎t̹̙͎h̰̱͉̗e̪̞̱̝̹̩ͅ ̠̱̩̭̦p̯̙e͓o̳͚̰̯̺̱̰͔̘p̬͎̱̣̼̩͇l̗̟̖͚̠e̱͉͔̱̦̬̟̙ ̖͚̪͔̼̦w̺̖̤̱e͖̗̻̦͓̖̘̜r̭̥e͔̹̫̱͕̦̰͕ ̗͔̠p̠̗͍͍̱̳̠r̰͔͎̰o͉̥͓̰͚̥s̟͚̹̱͔̣t͉̙̳̖͖̪̮r̥̘̥͙̹a͉̟̫̟̳̠̟̭t͈̜̰͈͎e̞̣̭̲̬ ͚̗̯̟͙i͍͖̰̘̦͖͉ṇ̮̻̯̦̲̩͍ ̦̮͚̫̤t͉͖̫͕ͅͅh͙̮̻̘̣̮̼e͕̺ ͙l͕̠͎̰̥i̲͓͉̲g̫̳̟͈͇̖h̠̦̖t͓̯͎̗ ̳̪̘̟̙̩̦o̫̲f̙͔̰̙̠ ̹̪̗͇̯t͖̼̼͉͖̬h̹͇̩e͚̖̺̤͉̹͕̪ ͚͓̭̝̺G͎̗̯̩o̫̯̮̟̮̳̘d̜̲͙̠-̩̳̯̲̗̜P̹̘̥͉̝h͍͈̗̖̝ͅa͍̗̮̼̗r̜̖͇̙̺a̭̺͔̞̳͈o̪̣͓̯̬͙̯̰̗h̖̦͈̥̯͔.͇̣̙̝
Spirits
Growth Spiral, Wilderness Reclamation, Search for Azcanta, Nexus of Fate, Hydroid Krasis that isnt Temur?
Its fun once it gets rolling.
Spirits
Edit: Incase it matters here is the decklist https://www.mtggoldfish.com/archetype/standard-abzan-midrange-65604#paper
https://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/standard-type-2/deck-creation-standard/797033-u-x-x-nexus-tempo
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.
RNA Standard: Grixis Midrange, Jund Deathwhirler, Sultai Vannifar
GRN Standard: Red Midrange, Mono-Blue Tempo, Wr Aggro, Gruul Experimental Dinosaurs, Sultai Midrange, Jeskai Midrange
Modern: Bant Spirits
Forcing a single archetype in all formats: too many colors, bad mana.