The first Standard event following the recent bans and the addition of Aether Revolt is in the books, and the metagame has taken shape. Of the Top 64 decklists at #SCGCOL, 40 percent of the top decks included the Saheeli Rai/Felidar Guardian combo. Whether it was in the Jeskai control shell or a four-color midrange build, the two-card combo lived up to the hype. While the Saheeli combo decks put three copies into the Top 8, all three failed to make it past the quarterfinals.
The Top 4 consisted of green-based aggressive decks, showcasing the power of Verdurous+Gearhulk and Rishkar%2C+Peema+Renegade. All three G/B decks revolved around Winding+Constrictor and Walking+Ballista. Though the representation of G/B Aggro, G/W Tokens, and B/G Delirium were smaller than the Saheeli decks, the conversion rate was much higher. Ultimately, Brennan DeCandio won the whole tournament with his aggressive B/G Delirium build, using all of the above mentioned cards alongside Grim+Flayer and Mindwrack+Demon.
G/W Tokens was the third most popular archetype as the combination of Gideon%2C+Ally+of+Zendikar and Nissa%2C+Voice+of+Zendikar moved back into power without the presence of Emrakul%2C+the+Promised+End in the format. G/B Aggro and Mardu Vehicles tied for fourth, with six copies each in the Top 64. The G/B decks moved away from delirium suites and opted for energy themes, including cards like Glint-Sleeve+Siphoner, Servant of the Conduit, Bristling+Hydra, Longtusk+Cub, and Greenbelt+Rampager.
Mardu Vehicles was the Week 1 low-to-the-ground aggressive deck of choice. While no longer having Smuggler’s Copter, Mardu Vehicles used Heart+of+Kiran as the replacement two-drop Vehicles. The deck also gained Shock and Fatal+Push to keep it lean and cheap on the mana curve. Aethersphere+Harvester showed up in varying numbers to supplement Cultivator’s Caravan.
The most surprising deck with multiple copies in the Top 64 was Grixis Emerge with three pilots taking advantage of Elder+Deep-Fiend, Prized+Amalgam, Advanced+Stitchwing, and Stitchwing+Skaab. The deck used zero cards from Aether Revolt in the main deck, but notably didn’t put any copies in the Top 32.
Decks filling out the metagame with multiple copies were B/G Delirium, Esper Aggro, and U/B Control. The two builds of B/G Delirium looked very different with DeCandio’s winning build being much more aggressive, while Scott Simmon’s 26th-place list looked like older builds utilizing Ishkanah%2C+Grafwidow and more graveyard enablers. Esper Aggro lives on despite losing Reflector+Mage and Smuggler’s Copter, while U/B Control showed up relying on the power of Torrential+Gearhulk and counterspells and removal, including Disallow and Fatal+Push.
The full Top 64 metagame looked like this:
Jeskai Saheeli – 14
Four-Color Saheeli – 12
G/W Tokens – 8
G/B Aggro – 6
Mardu Vehicles – 6
Grixis Emerge – 3
B/G Delirium – 2
Esper Aggro – 2
U/B Control – 2
B/W Aggro – 1
U/R Control – 1
B/R Zombies – 1
W/U Spirits – 1
Bant Eldrazi – 1
Jund Energy – 1
G/R Energy – 1
Temur Aetherworks – 1
W/R Humans – 1
For reference, the Standard Classic Top 16 metagame looked like this:
Jeskai Saheeli – 6
G/B Aggro – 3
W/U Spirits – 2
Mardu Vehicles – 1
B/W Eldrazi – 1
G/W Tokens – 1
U/B Zombies – 1
G/R Energy – 1
