Earlier today, a long-anticipated ban announcement brought changes to a few different formats. The format impacted the most by far was Standard. While many players expected powerhouses like Monstrous Rage and Cori-Steel Cutter to get the axe due to the massive metagame share of the red decks, Wizards went much deeper and banned a whopping seven cards!
In theory, with so many strategies affected by the bans, one would think there should be plenty of room for innovation moving forward. Unfortunately, though, many players have voiced their concerns about where they think the format is headed. Don’t be surprised if the Standard environment in the coming weeks isn’t as diverse as you were hoping.
Midrange Slugfests
Right off the bat, one of the most glaring aspects of the ban announcement that has a lot of players worried is the fact that midrange decks didn’t take a hit in any capacity. It wasn’t long ago that Dimir midrange was the best deck in Standard by a wide margin. So much so that some players were calling for a ban to Enduring Curiosity prior to the ban announcement back in March.
So, what changed? Well, the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm introduced Cori-Steel Cutter into the game. Izzet Prowess would become the de facto best deck in the format for the foreseeable future.
Dimir Midrange’s inability to get Cutter off the table made the deck’s stock drop dramatically. Mono-red was far from a dream matchup, either. Without Cutter, Monstrous Rage, and Heartfire Hero in the picture, Dimir is prepared to shine once more.
Additionally, the best tools out of Esper Pixie and Domain ramp in the midrange matchups (Hopeless Nightmare and Up the Beanstalk, respectively) are gone. It’s hard to imagine players not immediately flocking to Dimir midrange in the coming days.
With this in mind, there were complaints that Enduring Curiosity should’ve bit the dust if Wizards was willing to go this hard on the other top strategies. Assuming Dimir midrange becomes significantly more popular right out of the gates, you’d better pack answers to Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, too (such as Sheoldred’s Edict or Blot Out).
With aggro decks severely weakened, it only becomes easier to protect Kaito and ride the Planeswalker to victory. It’s worth mentioning that other midrange shells, such as Demons with Unholy Annex/Ritual Chamber and Golgari with Mosswood Dreadknight, could make an impact as well. However, Kaito is incredible in midrange mirrors, hence why Dimir looks poised for a Standard takeover and why players are concerned.
A Chance for Adaptation
All that being said, there are some lower tier strategies that may finally get their time in the spotlight following this massive announcement. First up, we have Insidious Roots. Insidious Roots is an incredibly powerful card. Alongside elite support elements such as Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler, it doesn’t take much before you’re spewing tons of tokens onto the board.
One major thing holding this archetype back in the past is that because you need such a high density of creatures and synergistic pieces, you couldn’t afford to run a ton of removal. Not only did aggro decks take a big hit, but your slew of chump blockers can buy you a lot more time now that you aren’t at risk of getting Trampled over by Monstrous Rage. Your gameplan lines up very well in thew face of midrange decks, especially considering Dimir’s lack of answers to enchantments.
Another archetype that could easily be on the rise is Azorius Control. Your board wipes and win conditions are still intact, and Stock Up remains an elite piece of card advantage that can help in attrition battles. You don’t have to worry about getting grinded out by Up the Beanstalk, and Get Lost at least gives you a reasonable answer to Kaito.
Other archetypes that used to be strong that could make a resurgence if the metagame evolves the right way include Jeskai Oculus and Jeskai Convoke. There are also some neat build-arounds, such as Yuna, Hope of Spira and Traveling Chocobo, that have some more potential. These decks failed to match the blazing speed of mono-red aggro, but have gnarly synergies if given time.
A Broken Outlier?
One final archetype that’s worth nothing is Vivi combo. While Izzet Prowess garnered the most attention at Pro Tour Final Fantasy, an Izzet combo shell abusing the power of Vivi Ornitier and Agatha’s Soul Cauldron boasted an incredible Constructed record in the hands of pro player Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa.
This deck is still fairly new and completely dodged a ban. Dimir midrange seems to be the obvious prediction for next “best deck” in Standard, but Vivi combo definitely has the highest upside and potential to be Standard’s next “broken” deck.
It was clearly too early to consider taking any action on Vivi. Now, some players are worried the card will “dominate Standard” for quite some time.
Both Dimir midrange and Vivi combo happen to be mostly rotation-proof, which only makes them more likely to have a long-term chokehold on the format. Losing Cut Down and some lands obviously does matter, but nearly every threat and key piece from the two decks is here to stay.
Hopefully, players will be able to adjust and the Standard metagame will ebb and flow once more. It’s nice to see a shakeup at the very least. Just don’t be shocked if things look bleak to start.
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