The power of khans
Standard forum
Posted on Sept. 5, 2014, 11:48 p.m. by Forte1320
What decks do you feel will hit the top 20?
vampirelazarus says... #3
Deck 20: A deck.
Deck 19: A deck.
Deck 18: A deck.
Deck 17: A deck.
Deck 16: A deck.
Deck 15: A deck.
Deck 14: A deck.
Deck 13: A deck.
Deck 12: A deck.
Deck 11: A deck.
Deck 10: A deck.
Deck 9: A deck.
Deck 8: A deck.
Deck 7: A deck.
Deck 6: A deck.
Deck 5: A deck.
Deck 4: A deck.
Deck 3: A deck.
Deck 2: A deck.
Deck 1: The Deck
September 6, 2014 12:21 a.m.
There are only 30 different color combinations, right? 31 if you include colorless. There's no way standard could ever hold that many archetypes -- at least not 20 of them that are worth mentioning.
I think people will start by building off of what we have. "G/R Monsters" is probably one of the archetypes that will change the least. Maybe they will add the blue to get the Temur goodies or maybe they'll just continue going jund for Thoughtseize and Hero's Downfall .
It seems probable to me that we will see at least the 5 wedge archetypes trying to utilize their mechanics. A lot of these decks will probably be clunky at first and people will evolve the decks to be more focused around "good stuff" with maybe one or two aspects of the chosen mechanic.
We will likely see certain wedges utilizing mechanics and cards from other wedges. For example, Wingmate Roc in an Abzan Midrange shell. It's totally doable and totally probable. Mardu also seems to be ready to hit the control scene with burn, removal, and nice finishers like Stormbreath Dragon and Elspeth, Sun's Champion .
Aggro will still exist. Goblin Rabblemaster is still here and will be powering RDW for a while. People may splash black for removal or white for removal or even both for things like Crackling Doom .
Courser of Kruphix
and Sylvan Caryatid
are going to become the new "ugh" cards most likely due to how often we will see them (and can you blame people?). But that's fine because there really are a lot of decent answers for aggro to deal with them.
These are all just some of the things I predict we will see in the future. It's all speculation of course, but looking to the block constructed pro tour may help.
OH. And shuffling. Lots of shuffling.
September 6, 2014 12:42 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #5
Bro, color combinations dont mean archetypes. Boros aggro is a thing. Boros prison is also a thing.... And it sucks to play against, because you have no idea what the fuck is going on....
September 6, 2014 12:43 a.m.
Mardu control, calling it now. Thoughtseize , Hero's Downfall , Banishing Light , burn, Brain Maggot , with Indulgent Tormentor and Stormbreath Dragon as finishers. Backed up by Crackling Doom , Crater's Claws , Utter End , etc.
September 6, 2014 1:10 a.m.
vampirelazarus Oh yeah I know that. I guess I wasn't clear in what I meant. Usually in standard there aren't enough cards to have more than one tier one deck of a given color combo. When there is, it's usually a fringe case or one of the two decks is glaringly worse than another.
I think we can all agree that there won't be a Top 20 though, right? lol
September 6, 2014 1:13 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #8
I get it, I was just playing devils advocate. :P
Keanu Reeves is one of my hero's, after all.
September 6, 2014 1:17 a.m.
Shameless selfplug: Wanna see me DRINK THIS GUY?!. Yea, Mardu control is definitely viable. Though I am gonna miss me some Abrupt Decay .
September 6, 2014 1:21 a.m.
Lol fair enough. Sultai has a lot of ways to self-mill now. All they need are some standard-powerful Delve cards to push the archetype forward, I feel. They have access to thoughtseize, downfall, caryatid, and courser -- that's a good place to start. They could be the best control colors if Khans doesn't change too much from what we saw in block constructed. Perhaps a resurgence of Prognostic Sphinx if Elspeth is still as much a powerhouse as she has been?
September 6, 2014 1:27 a.m.
Nigeltastic says... #12
I'm going to be (most likely) building a Sultai control shell with Sidisi and Empty the Pits as Zombie factory win machines. I anticipate it being sexy.
September 6, 2014 1:28 a.m.
I could see empty the pits being a win con if the deck can afford to be slow enough. But man are there a lot of easy sideboarding options against that sort of deck... Bile Blight , Tormod's Crypt , etc. etc. I guess at least since you have blue you have access to counterspells.
September 6, 2014 1:30 a.m.
Nigeltastic says... #14
Yeah the idea vs. Bile Blight is countermagic, and Tormod's Crypt doesn't scare me much as it's a) able to be hit by Phyrexian Revoker , b) simply a setback rather than a solution, like Rest in Peace or something is and c) gains them no other value than that one time blast clearing out the 'yard. There will likely be more grave hate coming, but barring terrible things I think the deck has a few ways of being sweet. I'll have to brew.
September 6, 2014 1:34 a.m.
I'm just glad poop's revelation is gone. 5/5 ornithopters are the new stupid. '-'
September 6, 2014 1:35 a.m.
vampirelazarus says... #16
Last standard it was Thragtusk and Restoration Angel , this standard its Sphinx's Revelation , now its Ensoul Artifact and Ornithopter .
Standard will always have dick moves.
So will modern, legacy, vintage, and even commander.
Once a game is capable of a competitive nature, these things will always happen.
September 6, 2014 1:37 a.m.
Nigeltastic says... #17
Ensoul Artifact and Ornithopter seems way less painful and more janky than the other ones though lol (very okay with that).
September 6, 2014 1:40 a.m.
True. Dying to a giant mechanical bat can quite graceful. Lol.
September 6, 2014 1:42 a.m.
Well at least Ensoul Artifact + Ornithopter has a million ways to side against and almost all involve 2 for 1s.
Nigeltastic be sure to post the brew on a Showdown once it's tailored! :D
September 6, 2014 2:09 a.m.
Nigeltastic says... #20
:D for sure! I'm gonna be brewing up several different Sultai lists I think once the full spoiler is done, poking at different angles of it. I think mill stuff and make big dudes is going to be one route, and I'm going to be also trying a big grindy control deck that wins with a million zombies and a lot of tears.
September 6, 2014 2:27 a.m.
I plan on attempting a Morph-based UG tempo deck. Doubt it'll be super competitive... Unless there's an instant speed Void Snare !
... I know... It wouldn't be that big of a deal.
September 6, 2014 2:32 a.m.
I'm (probably) going to do something with Jeskai, revolving around Keranos, God of Storms , Goblin Rabblemaster , and Narset, Enlightened Master . Narset will likely mean burn has a heavier presence than countermagic. It'll probably evolve from there as I start piecing it together.
It's too bad Young Pyromancer will be leaving us.
xlaleclx says... #2
Top 20? It's standard. There's not even going to be 20 reasonably good decks
September 6, 2014 12:06 a.m.