On July 30th Blumburrow was released on MTGA marking the rotation of standard and alchemy formats. Today's focus will be on standard and more specifically on five old decks that might still perform well in the meta.
Over the past few months Standard was a stale format due to the extension announced last year. Many decks have been around for more than a year and few innovations were made in the recent past. Today we are not here to judge whether the change was a positive thing or not, but rather to talk about which decks could cut a considerable slice of the metagame in the coming weeks.
Boros Convoke
Old habits die hard and this is the for the first: Boros Convoke.
The deck didn't lose many cards: Voldaren Epicure, Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance and Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire are the only three cards from the old version of the deck that rotated out. In this case the lands are a relatively sustainable loss while there is still no effective way to replace Voldaren Epicure: in this specific list Yotian Frontliner took her place as artifacts are needed for Gleeful Demolition.
Considering what we lost with the rotation I feel pretty safe saying the power level of this deck is still there and the deck is the number one candidate to become the new king of the format.
Talking about good old friends we can't forget about Golgari Midrange, another deck that didn't lose much and that can potentially aspire to contend with Boros Convoke.
Golgari Midrange
Golgari Midrange grew in popularity over the past few months but unfortunately it was never too close to becoming the strongest deck in the format. Luckily for Golgari enjoyers, at least for the moment, the deck might have good chances to dominate the meta and it will for sure be among the most played decks.
What did it lose? Boseiju, Who Endures, Takenuma, Abandoned Mire, Deathcap Glade and Graveyard Trespasser // Graveyard Glutton are the most relevant cards lost in the rotation. Contrary to Boros Convoke I feel like the lost lands might be more painful for this deck while Graveyard Trespasser // Graveyard Glutton is not a big deal considering the high quality and quantity of 3 mana creatures in Golgari colours.
5C Control
Lands, lands and more lands: that's what 5C Control players lost in the rotation. Topiary Stomper rotated out and Ancient Cornucopia took its place and this has favored the inclusion of Lightning Helix.
Unfortunately it's impossible to replace triomes and this is something that worries me: the deck might be inconsistent and this could be a huge problem in certain meta situations. Unlike the previous decks I feel like the power level of this deck is quite far from the pre-rotation version.
On the other hand if I were unsure about what to play before the meta settles and I had already played the archetype in the past I would definitely give it a try as I believe it to be still a good deck (maybe just not best one).
Azorius Glyph
Another deck that didn't lose much during the rotation is Azorius Glyph: Deserted Beach, Otawara, Soaring City, Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire and Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity are the most relevant cards lost by the archetype.
The deck can be really explosive and I think it might be great to farm events considering how fast it can end games. Unfortunately in the previous meta there was not enough space for Azorius Glyph to shine but the time may have come. Generally speaking during the first weeks after the standard rotation the decks are not tuned correctly and many people tend to be too greedy during deckbuilding. Playing a good solid aggro deck can help you achieve amazing results during this period (and maybe even after).
Dimir Midrange
For a few months last year, Dimir Midrange was considered the deck to beat. Unfortunately the archetype has largely declined in popularity during the last few months due to an unfavorable situation in the meta.
Fortunately the rotation has been very lenient towards this archetype as it didn't lose too many cards. Apart from lands there are a few relevant cards that are not legal anymore: Siphon Insight, Graveyard Trespasser // Graveyard Glutton, Kaito Shizuki, Path of Peril, Make Disappear and Sorin the Mirthless. The majority of them were part of the sideboard and that's why their loss should not be too heavy a burden.
Golgari against Dimir: which one will be the strongest Midrange deck? Place your bet: blue or green?
Conclusion
These five decks were recently played during an MTGO Challenge and they all performed pretty well. They also are a cheap option to play (and maybe farm) the format as they don't include new cards. In the next weeks the meta will stabilize and I'm pretty sure that some of these decks will be among the most played ones.
The decks were not chosen randomly: there are 2gro decks, 2 midrange decks and a control deck as I wanted to give you a view of every available strategy. Keep in mind that right now there isn't a defined metagame so every deck list can be (and will be) improved to adapt to what the meta will look like in the next weeks.
This is one of the most fun periods for standard: enjoy it and try as many different things as you can!
