The fourth tournament weekend after Duskmourn's release is now history. While we processed the results, we compiled all the data for the third weekend, showing a dozen archetypes ready to compete toe to toe for the top stop.
Tiers
- Tier 1: The most dominant decks of the moment. This implies the percentage of victories, presence in the meta, and favorable games.
- Tier 2: These will be solid decks with a relevant presence in the meta. A good pilot will probably be able to play one of these archetypes and have a good result in a competitive event. They usually have at least one difficult match against the rest of the archetypes.
- Tier 3: In this tier, we find decks with little presence, but enough to be considered when preparing for a tournament. In addition to their low popularity, they are decks that present two or more complicated matchups against the meta. This prevents them until the release of additional support or a meta shift from standing out. However, players who dedicate themselves to mastering these archetypes usually have the opportunity to obtain good results.
- Silent Performer: Lastly, at the end of the spectrum we find some decks that are little to almost non-present in the current metagame state. However, these archetypes may have won or reached the Top 4 in a relevant tournament or a top 8 in a 100+ players tournament. The sample size may be too small to represent their actual strength.
This meta-report covers the top 16 of the last five tournaments from 11/10 to 13/10 2024.
Meta Overview
There's one tendency that has the biggest momentum of all. UW Oculus started to rise almost two weeks ago. Since then, no other deck has gained the same amount of adepts or shown signs of becoming that relevant besides Golgari Aggro who is finally getting back to the field.
Well, there are other relevant tendencies out there. Gruul Aggro is still strong, however, with other archetypes like Mono White Control being so dominant and also slowly showing signs of being the best Control archetype, staying on the full aggressive boat seems like something less compelling.
Two weeks ago we discussed how Unstoppable Slashe became a card you should not overlook. Finally, the Zombie Assasin has found a new home besides Dimir Aggro. Orzhov Control is now a real deck; one that you should consider when preparing for a tournament or don't feel bad when you lose half your life in a single hit.
Let's look closer at last weekend's numbers:
Top 16 Archetypes
- Mono White Control: 9
- UW Oculus: 9 🔼
- Golgari Aggro: 7 🔼
- Gruul Aggro: 6 🔼
- Convoke: 5 🔼
- RDWx: 4 🔽
- UW Control: 4 🆕
- Dimir Aggro: 3 🔽
- Orzhov Control: 3 🆕
- UW Enchantments: 3 🔼
- Boros Control: 2 🔼
- Domain: 2 🔽
🔼 - The deck has a higher top 16 appearance % from our last meta report.
🔽 - The deck has fewer top 16 appearance % from our last meta report.
🆕 - First top 16 appearance in the current Standard metagame.
Tier List
| Tier | Archetype |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | - Mono White Control 🔼 - UW Oculus 🔼 - Golgari Aggro 🔼 - Gruul Aggro - Convoke 🆕 - RDWx Aggro 🔽 - Dimir Aggro 🔽 - Domain 🔽 |
| Tier 2 | - UW Control 🆕 - Orzhov Control 🆕 - UW Enchantments 🔼 - Boros Control 🔼 - Sultai Emergence 🔼 - Orzhov Aggro 🔽 - Azorius Artifacts 🔽 - Rakdos Lizards 🔽 - Golgari Midrange 🔽 |
| Tier 3 | - Simic Terror 🔽 - Mardu Aggro - Boros Mice - 4/5C Legends - Rakdos Sacrifice - Gruul Terror - Naya Domain - Rakdos Aggro |
| Silent Performer |
Tier 1
Mono White Control 🔼
Mono White advances like a tank, slowly but steadily and unstoppable. If you revise our past meta-tier lists and reports, you will realize this is no surprise.
Historically, Control strategies have this type of development. When a new set arrives, Aggro is everywhere, trying to stop any new brew or inconsistent deck. Nevertheless, Control is a dish that is cooked over low heat.
Control magic is not just throwing every board sweeper and counterspell you can get into a 60-card deck. You must fully understand what you are facing and what is needed to stop them from executing their plan.
Even with No More Lies and Lightning Helix in the mix, Mono White proves there's no need to complicate the equation.
UW Oculus 🔼
Week after week I mentioned on this website how strong UW Mentor is. Even with many amazing cards for disrupting graveyard-centric strategies like Rest in Peace, Leyline of the Void, and Ghost Vacuum, archetypes like Mentor, Sultai Emergence, Simic Terror, and some other strategies stayed afloat like solid choices.
Now, with Abhorrent Oculus "UW Mentorless" is not only a force to be reckoned with but an archetype that is strong enough to be crowned as the kind of the hill any weekend that it surpasses Mono White Control.
I also said this Eye monster is strong enough to be compared to Murktide Regent, and this is now a palpable reality, with this mythic rare flying everywhere around the Modern metagame.
Golgari Aggro 🔼
Behind UW Oculus momentum, Golgari is the second-best deck on the rise this week. Two weekends ago, a few players started pivoting back to this strategy, showing that this archetype is far from dead.
Now more are following the lead, and seven players made a top-16 finish, with Chiaki Kobayashi taking the finalist place in the biggest tournament since the Duskmourn release.
I repeated in my other articles how adaptation to metagame movements and new cards is key. Chiaki's list is another proof of that. Dimir starts gaining momentum when Unstoppable Slasher becomes part of it. The same happens now with Orzhov Control and Golgari Aggro.
While Mosswood Dreadknight is Standard legal, Golgari is something you always need to consider when preparing for a tournament.
Gruul Aggro
Gruul may lose momentum; however, Yuma Osanai got fourth place in the biggest tournament since Duskmourn's release.
The line between Gruul Aggro and other Red-Centric aggressive strategies is quite thin. You may see Questing Druid but it is not mandatory. Picnic Ruiner. Most of the time, Green is there only for Snakeskin Veil and Pawpatch Formation.
I don't think Gruul will stop being relevant soon. Nevertheless, the competition is getting stronger and Gruul needs to make some adaptations to fight against Mono White Control and UW Oculus directly.
Convoke 🆕
This archetype isn't new. What is new is Convoke has had relevant results for the first time since Duskmourn's release.
It doesn't present any major changes besides pushing Protect the Negotiators to four in its sideboard; which seems right in the current state of the metagame.
Convoke has fallen from being the boogieman before Standard rotation to just a solid deck. With the opposition playing Temporal Lockdown as a mainboard option, it was just something logical.
However, with the falling of Convoke from the top stop, Temporal Lockdown is now a sideboard card, which means it might be time for Convoke to rise again.
RDWx Aggro 🔽
It's curious how Gruul is using Leyline of Resoncance + Turn Inside Out combo, but RDW also tries, and in the end, the more successful RDW lists are the ones that don't.
Last week some Goddric, Cloaked Reveler were here and there, and Squee, Dubious Monarch are now claiming back 2 or 3 slots in RDW lists.
Leyline of Resonance gives Red-Centric decks busted openings. However, that high-risk high-reward situation may not be the only way to face the current metagame for Red-centric decks.
Dimir Aggro 🔽
Finishing in seventh place in the Japan Cup is no small feat. Keisuke Sato's list crushed the field and showed some interesting adjustments.
It is clear how Enduring Curiosity and Unstoppable Slashe are now consolidated in Dimir, and also in some other Blue and Black decks in the current Standard metagame.
Nevertheless, seeing Three Steps Ahead and Phantom Interference in Dimir Aggro with 17+ creatures is not the common denominator.
Even if these cards are solid and many slower Blue-centric archetypes play them, their flexibility is so valuable that playing a few copies in aggressive decks could bring amazing results.
Domain 🔽
If there's a price for an archetype refusing to die 4/5C Domain will take the trophy. If losing the Streets of New Capenna tri-lands doesn't kill this deck, probably nothing will do it until Leyline Binding rotation or maybe that isn't enough...
With the incorporation of Overlord of the Hauntwoods Domain stop missing Topiary Stomper, and Overlord of the Mistmoors let us put presence in the table instead of just ramping for Atraxa, Grand Unified
Talking how good Beza, the Bunding Spring may not be needed. If there's a card that pushed Mono White control to the top, it's this Elemental Elk. Adding more colors to the equation may not needed, but having access to Up the Beanstalk can give you enough gas to raise the bar for our big spells and have more powerful plays than Mono White Control.
Tier 2
UW Control 🆕
Adaptation is the name of the game. It took a few weeks but finally, UW Control is playing a new card. Overlord of the Floodpits is amazing for fixing your hand and finding the answer you need when you need it.
This kind of archetype needs these small but meaningful changes to stay relevant. If you don't push Blue cards to the table, Control pilots don't have enough reasons to play anything but Mono White. No More Lies or Lightning Helix isn't enough.
wcl was the player that made Mardu Aggro a thing on MTGO. Seeing more people playing the Blue Overlord after this result doesn't surprise me.
Orzhov Control 🆕
Finally, Bloodletter of Aclazotz + Unstoppable Slasher combo is on the tables getting good results.
For those who don't know, hitting with Unstoppable Slasher while Bloodletter of Aclazotz is on your side of the field wins the game on the spot. This means two creatures on the field without your opponent interfering. However, with many ways of disrupting your opponent's plans like Duress, discarding your opponent's removal could seal the deal as soon as four turns.
Unholy Annex is another proof that innovating and adapting could give you great rewards if you decide to break the mold. With four Archfiend of Dross and four Bloodletter of Aclazotz, draining two lives each turn + drawing a card is easier than it looks.
Naming archetypes is hard nowadays. Splashing cards is easy thanks to Standard's mana base. This might seem like Mono Black Control. However, with many Orzhov dual lands, and 7 White cards, I decided to call this Orzhov Control instead of Mono Black Control as other people might have.
UW Enchantments 🔼
With many powerful enchantments like Sheltered by Ghost as part of Standard, playing Inquisitive Glimmer decks seems tempting.
UW enchantments started as a promising archetype. It lost popularity as other archetypes rose to the top contenders. However, many pilots are pivoting back to this deck proving that playing Sheltered by Ghosts for W, or any other enchantment for 1 less mana is strong enough for the current state of the meta.
Just imagine how Enduring Curiosity is now fundamental on Dimir Aggro. Now think about how strong it could be playing it for 1UU in this deck. Doing this is so important that Keita Yoshida adds a single copy of Stenn, Paranoid Partisan, that virtually works as the fifth Inquisitive Glimmer copy.
Boros Control 🔼
This archetype has tried to compete since Lightning Helix became Standard legal again.
It is hard to think why you should play anything besides Mono White when you prefer Control strategies. This week UW Control led the way with Overlord of the Floodpits, showing that there's more than just No More Lies.
Boros means Lightning Helix, but this time, Hideyuki Ichiwaka finished sixth in the Japan Cup playing Boros Control without Helix. Instead, four copies of Abrade in the main deck give good options for spot removal, and at the same time, a solution against opposite Urabrask's Forge, one of the main answers of Red-centric aggressive decks against control.
With a full playset of our own Urabrask's Forge, Boros Control may have the upper hand in the Control vs Control matchup.
Orzhov Aggro 🔽
I'm unsure why Orzhov, an archetype with access to many of the strongest cards in the format is underperforming. The only Orzhov Aggro deck with a relevant finish was not your conventional Caustic Bronco Orzhov, but a Bats deck.
Tsuka0811 got a top 64 finish with this decklist in the Japan Cup. It is a respectable position for a tournament of 240+ players.
With many other aggressive strategies like UW Enchantments, Convoke, and Golgari Aggro gaining momentum, and Orzhov Control showing what might be the best approach for the color pair, This deck needs devoted pilots who play the archetype week after week, which leads to refined lists capable of competing for the top one more time.
Sultai Emergence 🔼
What I said during our last meta-report was true. If we have Japanese tournaments in the data, Sultai Emergence has more chances to be present.
West players are not playing this kind of deck, but three pilots put Sultai Emergence on the map during the Japan Cup, with the three players finishing in the top 64.
Even if they don't get a top 8, the deck performs well. The main problem could be how the best list is still not clear. One of the three players used Altanak, the Thrice-Called, and the other one Valgavoth, Terror Eater, but Yasuhiro Tanaka don't use either.
If this deck finds its best iteration, I'm sure when I say it can compete with tier 1.
Azorius Artifacts 🔽
Something similar happens with Azorius Artifacts. It also appears in the Japanese Cup, and with a 35th-place finish, the archetype shows signs that it can have what it takes to compete when devoted players choose it as their preferred deck and master it.
However, the problem may be the same. Since last week, some players have used two copies of Unidentified Hovership, a vehicle that I find amazing for this deck; but others don't.
The problem with these decks is they don't have the same number of players tweaking and perfecting the archetype. However, this doesn't mean unpopular archetypes are bad per se.
...It means we might never see their perfected form.
Rakdos Lizards 🔽
The last two decks don't have a top-16 finish in this report. However, I think Rakdos Lizards and Golgari Midrange are still strong enough to get a top 8 in any tournament without any problem.
Rakdos Lizards started strong with Bloomborrow's release, having many fun and strong cards to play with. Nowadays, just like Orzhov Aggro, Rakdos Lizards is competing against UW Enchantments, Convoke, and Golgari Aggro, three archetypes that have similar plans and good momentum for different reasons.
I see Rakdos Lizards rising again if any of those three decks lose its track.
Golgari Midrange 🔽
During our last meta report, we discussed the thin line between calling a Golgari deck Aggro or Midrange/Control in this format. In many other sites or communities, 17+ creatures are equal to Golgari Aggro, and 14-16 or less means Midrange/Control.
Last week, Golgari Aggro proved which iteration of Golgari is the best one in the current state of the meta. And just like we said, until Mosswood Dreadknight is Standard Legal, Golgari will be here in its many flavors to be The Rock, that deck that doesn't have a bad match against anyone.
Tier 3
Simic Terror 🔽
Mardu Aggro
Boros Mice
4/5C Legends
Rakdos Sacrifice
Gruul Terror
Naya Domain
Rakdos Aggro
End Step
This is the second week in a row for Mono White Control in the top and UW Oculus rising. Golgari, Gruul, and Convoke are recovering, while RDWx, Dimir, and Domain are losing momentum.
I can finish this work with the two focal points discussed during deck descriptions:
- Decks that innovate playing new cards, tweaking and solidifying their lists to the current state of the meta are getting strong. This happens only if after that the majority of that archetype pilots adopt one list as the main deck list Mono White and UW Oculus case.
- Decks with lists without changes since Bloomborrow, or playing new cards without consolidating the main deck list, are underperforming Rakdos Lizards, and Sultai Emergence case.
However, there are other interesting cases and exceptions of decks rising like Convoke which plays the same post-rotation list without Duskmourn cards but is getting strong because players are now using Temporal Lockdown as a sideboard option instead of the main deck against the boogieman.
There are many ways of explaining what is happening in Standard, do you have any opinion about it? if you have any comments about this or any other topic, let us know in the comment section of this article, or on my Twitter.
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