Yesterday’s Standard bans were truly unprecedented. The problematic game patterns Standard experienced demanded a ton of bans to get under control, and Wizards of the Coast delivered. 7 bans were given to fans, perhaps not as much as some asked for, but more than anyone was expecting.
Unfortunately, it appears that more bans may have been needed. As ridiculous as this sounds, early results from post-ban Standard point at a few cards that are, basically, able to play the role of recently banned menaces. These are undeniably a bit worse, but in a metagame where everything got weakened, that might be all existing titans need to stay relevant.
Tinybones Joins Up
Hopeless Nightmare was banned as a way to remove a core piece of the unfun self-bounce Pixie engines. The card wasn’t just hand disruption, but it doubled as a win condition thanks to forcing life loss, and fixed the top of the Pixie player’s deck in a pinch. This, combined with the banning of This Town Ain’t Big Enough, was hopefully enough to trim down on the power of self-bounce strategies.
Unfortunately, players who thought Pixie was gone for good are in for a rude awakening. Ozhov Pixie top 4d yesterday’s 77-player Magic Online Challenge using Tinybones Joins Up as a replacement to Hopeless Nightmare. This is undeniably a weaker card between the two options, but Tinybones Joins Up does keep the core component of Hopeless Nightmare intact: constant discard.
That allows Orzhov Pixie to basically pick up right where it left off before the bans. Throw in four copies of Cecil, Dark Knight and Dark Confidant into the main deck, and you’ve got an aggressive-leaning midrange deck poised to get under all the other midrange players trying to dust off their old cards. Cecil, Dark Knight, even adds insult to injury, turning on the life-draining capabilities of Tinybones Joins Up.
Tinybones Joins Up won’t even rotate out of the format come Edge of Eternities. In fact, the only rotating out of this top 4 decklist are Cut Down, Go For the Throat, and Temporary Lockdown, which will impact multiple archetypes equally. The entire Pixie package is otherwise undisturbed.
Many players wanted the unfun element of Hopeless Nightmare to leave the format, but that ban may end up being a resounding failure. It’s too early to know for sure if Orzhov Pixie will remain as a top contender, but this early finish isn’t very reassuring. On the bright side, Orzhov Pixie players have an easy way to repurpose that deck for upcoming Store Championship tournaments.
Repair and Recharge
Upon seeing Abuelo’s Awakening leave Standard, a lot of Omniscience players were surprised that the namesake card itself didn’t get a ban. Cards like Repair and Recharge are the reason why. This does exactly what Abuelo’s Awakening did for just one more mana. This is arguably even better since Omniscience can’t be targeted by creature removal, but that’s not worth being a turn slower most of the time. Either way, Omniscience Combo decks can essentially function as they’ve always had.
Unlike Tinybones Joins Up, however, there are a lot of things that make this a lot less impactful. First, Repair and Recharge rotates out of Standard when Edge of Eternities becomes legal. Other obvious options for reanimating Omniscience, like Campus Renovation, also leave upon rotation. Relive the Past remains an option, but seven mana is a lot to ask for an effect like this. Yuna, Hope of Spira doesn’t quite work with Omniscience since it resurrects enchantments on the end step. You won’t have a major opportunity to cast your spells until next turn. This might mean that Perennation is the best alternative for Omniscience players post-rotation.
Secondly, Omniscience Combo is really bad in the current metagame. Dimir Midrange is the obvious top dog coming out of bans, and that matchup is notoriously bad for Omniscience Combo. Dedicated players can recalibrate their strategies heavily to compensate, but with the archetype seemingly rotating out soon, it might not be an endeavor that many attempt.
Ruled by Dimir, With Ghosts of Standard’s Past
Pixie jumpscare aside, early results for Standard’s events suggest a future that many were afraid of: Dimir Midrange has completely taken over. This deck had a positive matchup against everything in the pre-ban meta except for Mono-Red Aggro and Izzet Prowess, the decks that got hit the worst by these bans. Now that Dimir’s biggest roadblocks are out of the way, it’s time to run rampant.
Players looking to grab City of Brass promos in their upcoming Store Championship events will be watching early post-ban Standard like hawks. It’s clear now that Dimir Midrange is the deck to beat, Pixie should be something to plan for, and Omniscience could rear its ugly head at any time.