Breaking the Format
Standard forum
Posted on Feb. 24, 2014, 5:42 p.m. by sonicizslow
I saw at the Pro Tour that there were the same few top decks, like always. The guys from the booth talked about "breaking" formats. I hopefully will be able to go to this weeks FNM, and Id like to try something new, whether it be a crazy combo, or just a good, not heard of deck, let me know. If you have card combos that are useful add those too. Thanks everyone!
"The wise always keep an ear open to the whispers of power."
As far as decks that are underplayed, I think there's a lot of potential in Golgari/Junk. You could probably build a pretty decent deck that would have answers for a lot of the meta. Golgari doesn't really care about creatures dying, so that would negate a lot of MBD's killspells, and green has all kinds of answers for blue. If you work hard enough, I'm sure you can also beat G/R monsters and the other main decks in the meta too.
February 24, 2014 6:11 p.m.
ChrisHansonBiomancin says... #4
There's no simple answer for that, since if a deck could "break the format," a Pro whose job is to make decks probably would have found it by now. And as SharuumNyan pointed out, their staying power depends on how well they can survive sideboard options once the deck is no longer unknown. Choosing a deck that can beat the current format's top 3 decks (MUD, MBD, and UW) is a pretty challenging proposition since they are all vastly different.
One of the best ways to try to "break the format" is to use cards that might normally be reserved for sideboard duty, but mainboard them in anticipation for certain top decks. "Pre-board" your deck so to speak; it's high-risk high reward. For example, cards with protection from a certain color can steal game 1 for you by themselves with the risk of playing a less-than-optimal card if you guess wrong. Mistcutter Hydra is outstanding against UW and MUD, two of the format's top decks, and it's a pretty solid card overall. Assemble the Legion would be a riskier play since it can be too slow against a lot of aggro decks, but MBD literally has no answer for it outside of Thoughtseize , and all UW has is Detention Sphere and counterspells. If GR Monsters decks are all the rage at your LGS, Lifebane Zombie on the mainboard will catch a lot of people off guard. So obviously it depends on your particular meta and the decks you expect to see.
February 24, 2014 6:11 p.m.
nighthawk101 says... #5
Hmmm... Drfrozenfire made a deck that I like: 9+ Infinite Combos in ONE Deck? IN STANDARD?!. It focuses on infinite untaps with various combinations of Kiora's Follower , Elite Arcanist + Triton Tactics , and Illusionist's Bracers .
Another good combo is Elite Arcanist + Triton Tactics + Zhur-Taa Druid . Elite Taactics by Lord007 is a great deck.
Other combos include Bant Chimera (Archangel of Thune + Fathom Mage + Horizon Chimera ) for "infinite" life/cards/counter, and Aurelia, the Warleader combos (Aurelia, the Warleader + Stolen Identity and others...?) for infinite combat phases.
February 24, 2014 6:14 p.m.
I think the one deck poised to break the format in the next few weeks is u/b or u/b/w control mill. With only really Whip of Erebos and Elixir of Immortality seeing play right now And only a few forms of recursion in mono-b, I can see it main boarding Rest in Peace to shut down that. Early mill with Consuming Aberration as the finisher could be devastating and move to a tier 1 deck in standard.
February 24, 2014 6:19 p.m.
@gufymike I'm sorry but I very much disagree about Consuming Aberration that card is garbage. It will never be in any Top 8, 75 card deck list, Ever.
February 24, 2014 7:31 p.m.
'Mill' is a win condition where you actually deplete your opponents deck to zero cards. Consuming Aberration kills the opponent via combat damage. If you think 'Mill' is poised to be a sleeper top tier brew, check out this deck, it regularly gets the 'Mill' win via Jace, Memory Adept while safely milling behind a wall of Elspeth, Sun's Champion soldier tokens, as well as getting a life boost from Trading Post ;
Transforming Trading Post Playtest
Standard
SCORE: 30 | 6 COMMENTS | 3586 VIEWSFebruary 24, 2014 7:36 p.m.
I haven't read everything, but in case you were planning on breaking the format:
Don't break the format by making a deck that has no consideration for the format, like a pile of cards you like that are "underplayed". That's just sidestepping the format. As the first poster put, breaking it involves countering the mechanics of played decks.
Just because I'm sick of shitty League players trying to "break the meta" when they're just not paying attention to very real mechanics.
February 24, 2014 7:37 p.m.
That deck I just posted, and designed, is already getting 'Mill' wins and I consider it a Tier 2 deck, as it's almost identical to Tier 1 U/W control list with the addition of Trading Post in the main as well as game one wins via Jace, Memory Adept .
Consuming Aberration has been out for a while now and if he were going to see competetive play he would have by now, Just sayin..
February 24, 2014 7:40 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #11
Consuming Aberration is amazing in EDH though!! It's one of those cards that was probably designed with multi-player formats in mind.
Tier 2 decks can be successful at FNM, especially if your meta is mainly the same old decks being played over and over. They create those "nobody expects the Spanish Inquisiton!" situations. Mill, Boros Humans, Tokens, and Esper Midrange are all tier 2 decks that can get wins in the right situation.
February 24, 2014 7:45 p.m.
I do think your being to literal with it Behgz. You need to only use mill to put your opponent on tilt and win anyway you can.
February 24, 2014 8:01 p.m.
The problem with Consuming Aberration (and other similar cards) is that they force you to divide your resources towards different goals. If you want to win with mill, then your whole deck should be focused towards that goal. If you want to inflict damage, your whole deck should be built to deal damage. But by milling in order to get a bigger aberration, you're wasting the resources you could be devoting to dealing damage and instead using them to try to mill, when milling isn't your ultimate goal. Not to mention that the aberration has absolutely no evasion or protection from removal. Its a bad play, purely from a resource management viewpoint.
February 24, 2014 8:05 p.m.
@kmcree That's exactly the point I was trying to make, Dividing resources to get to two different win-cons simultaneously is terribly inefficient. No matter how 'tilt' inducing the combination might appear.
February 24, 2014 8:37 p.m.
I am obliged to dislike anyone who says anything at all insulting about the types of decks at the Modern Pro Tour. There were 7 unique decks in the top 8, which is a completely ridiculous number. There was also a deck that appeared for the first time at this tournament- Blue Moon.
February 24, 2014 8:42 p.m.
@OpenFire I believe the OP is referring to the event in StLOU over this past weekend, and I believe he is referring to standard, as he posted this thread in the standard forum hub, in other words, I don't think he was talking about modern at all, and as a result there is no one here for you to dislike as no one has insulted the most recent modern pro tour top 8 decks.
February 24, 2014 8:52 p.m.
SharuumNyan says... #17
OpenFire I also found the diversity of decks very refreshing! I'm totally sick of the same 4-5 decks being played in Standard over and over, which is why I'm shifting more to Modern where they are more tier 1 decks available. Theros block so far has offered such a narrow set of playable Standard cards.
February 24, 2014 9:05 p.m.
Here's your new format breaker:
Houston, we're going initiate a controlled burn Playtest
Standard*
SCORE: 5 | 4 COMMENTS | 544 VIEWSBask in its glory (note: this is a shameless plug)
February 24, 2014 9:08 p.m.
I think if anyone can iron out the turn 3 kill with Xenagod, they'll have the format in hand, if not broken. I can only make it work in magical christmas land, however. G.R Monsters is still loads of fun, though.
February 24, 2014 9:14 p.m.
nighthawk101 says... #20
There is actually a turn 2 Xenagod kill.
T1: Forest, Elvish Mystic
T2: Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx , 3x Burning-Tree Emissary . Use the 2 floating mana to activate Nyxthos for 7. Garruk, Caller of Beasts , -3 for Xenagos, God of Revels . Aspect of Hydra for 10 on a Burning-Tree or Mystic, then target it with Xenagod for haste and +X/+X. Swing for 22-24 turn 2!
February 24, 2014 9:33 p.m.
nighthawk101 says... #21
it is 9 cards, so you need to go second...and basically have a god hand.
It would be hysterical if you pull it off though.
February 24, 2014 9:34 p.m.
I guess I need to keep an eye out for Garruk, Caller of Beasts !!!
February 24, 2014 9:39 p.m.
I don't see why people hate on mill. Personally, I like when people give me free wins. :P
February 24, 2014 10:30 p.m.
sonicizslow says... #24
Wow, lots of awesome stuff! OpenFire don't be so hasty now, I have nothing against modern/the decks/ or the players. williamgp99 I love this idea to no end. ChrisHansonBiomancin while I completely agree with pros making decks and testing, it could be one of those "the one that got away" decks. Anywho, thank you all for these ideas, I most likely will be trying to trade some friends tomorrow
February 25, 2014 4:29 p.m.
sonicizslow says... #25
February 25, 2014 4:32 p.m.
nighthawk101 says... #26
I finally found the deck I got the combo from: Turn two standard win? Yes.
February 25, 2014 6:07 p.m.
Ok. So the problem with mill in standard is that all of the good cards are at the five drop spot (Consuming Aberration (which, by the way is amazing when paired with ciphers like Paranoid Delusions ) Traumatize , Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker , Phenax, God of Deception (who works very nicely with Consuming Aberration ) Jace, Memory Adept ) essentially you have to run a RAMP-INTO-MILL or choose 1-2 of these five drops to work with. I'm working on a standard mill right now actually, just need some time to work out the kinks but I'm not sure it's a viable strategy right now.
February 25, 2014 6:28 p.m.
DodgeNDive says... #28
I've been working on breaking the format for months now, and I've completed it in Junk colours:
What if There's a Deck With No Bad Match Up?
Instead of focusing on how much of an easy time i will have against my opponent, I decided to focus on how much of a hard time my opponent will have against me. The result is something that has more than a 50:50 chance against any match up.
My thinking was this; the current standard meta are easy to predict. Top tier decks MUD, MBD, and G/x monsters are colour reliant. Esper and Azorius control runs a lot of blue spells and single target black spells. White Weenie and R/x aggro runs a low mana curve. In all of these, there are weaknesses.
Mono-colour are prone to color hate. Esper and Azorius have lots of instants and Sorceries, not as much creatures. G/x have lots of creatures, not enough instants/sorceries. WW and R/x aggro tends to run out of steam past turn 6 and have plenty of bodies at 2 toughness or 3 CMC and below.
(Disclaimer: you may agree or disagree with this)
SharuumNyan says... #2
A lot of the decks that "break the format" at the Pro Tour do so because people don't sideboard an answer for them. It doesn't take long for everyone else to catch on and put some answers in the sideboard within a week or two.
White weenie decks still aren't played much in Standard, but can be pretty strong. I like playing GW Aggro, which isn't that obscure, but is definitely under-played.
February 24, 2014 5:55 p.m.