We are fresh off of an absolute KNEECAPPING of the Standard Meta. The top two aggro decks, domain, graveyard combo, and bounce all took a huge hit. We are currently operating as if these decks are now unplayable, so by default, there will be questions. Can we keep playing the other decks that were decent in the meta? Will they get better? And even, can I finally brew in Standard the way that I want to? The answer for now might be yes to all of that. In a format that feels as if it is wide open, we have a chance to take a wild-west approach to the current Standard format until we have rotation and the next set. While there will be plenty of brews to come, I would like to examine the decks that will now move up into the upper echelon of the meta. There are three different archetypes that I believe will benefit from the bans. Let's start it off with one that might seem pretty obvious:
This probably doesn't come as a surprise. Many people have had success with this deck, and have used it as somewhat of an anti-meta list to deal with all different types of threats. Although the meta is a little bit more wide open, I still think this list is equipped to take down anything that is thrown at it.
Dimir Midrange
Dimir continues to do what Dimir does. It draws a ton of cards, has creatures that are hard to block/deal with, and it can even be a control deck on command. The versatility of the deck combining the best blue and black cards has proven difficult to deal with previously, and that should continue into the new meta. The new lists are starting to include cards like Cecily, Dark Knight, and that works out pretty well. The counter magic in the sideboard makes it difficult in any matchup.
You figured I had to include this one, right? Man, I hope it starts to take off again. It is always a fun meta when Mono Black is good. Seeing as this time around we were marked safe from the ban hammer, I am excited to see what we can do with the plethora of good black cards currently in Standard.
Mono Black Demons/Midrange
There are a few different versions of this archetype. Some simply just play Unholy Annex with other good midrange cards and no other demons. It allows the Room from Duskmourn to speak for itself as one of the best black cards printed in Standard in the last calendar year. Other lists include other demons and go for the synergy route. It always helps that they fly and are great blockers. I expect to see the demons lists rising in the competitions and expect a bit more innovation to come to the lists now that we don't have to worry about constantly dying on turn four. On an interesting note, people were starting to play the combo of Unstoppable Slasher with Bloodletter of Aclazotz again, in an effort to race the aggro decks. I imagine that we will still see a format chalked full of removal, so I am not sure if that will be the viable route to take the deck. The fun part about all of this though, is that we can take some time to literally try everything. The format is wide open, and the lists that we are seeing and the variety of decks already being played would suggest that Wizards hit the nail on the head here.
This is one of the pesky decks that many people hoped to not have to go against when it came time for a tournament. The deck has a very high ceiling and a lot of versatility. We do have a lot of answers to deal with the deck in Standard, and I don't hate the matchup against it now when playing black-based decks. We have some more room now to include enough hand hate and exile spells to deal with the combos that this deck can pull off. The reason that it will still be good is because of the amount of good matchups that it has against most other decks. Its biggest crutch will be the fact that any deck in the world can play Ghost Vacuum in their sideboard.
Jeskai Oculus
Oculus proves itself to be the last graveyard deck standing after Abuelo's Awakening was banned. Omniscience just had such a high ceiling that it caused a lot of people to choose that over Oculus. Now that this deck is out of the question, some may find it easy to pivot back to the Oculus list. I personally enjoy playing against the Jeskai list a little bit more, because it has interactions that are much more fun rather than a simple, resolve this spell - win the game type of play pattern that we saw with Omniscience combo. Oculus takes more of a go-wide approach that is great and can also be mitigated with the many boardwipes that we have in the format. There are some cards , however, that allow it to really take off quickly. Cards like Prophet's Eidetic Memory and Fear of Missing Out really propel it forward, and almost give it an aggro gameplan when needed.
Where do we go From Here?
Standard is anything but solved at this point, and the interesting part is that it likely won't be fully solved for a while. The next time we have a pro tour, we will have rotation. There will be a new set at that time too, and even more uncertainty will ensue. We are in a position where we can play whatever we please, and if the deck is any good, it will probably hold up in the current meta. We are fortunate to get this opportunity, and I hope these decks help you make the most of it—whether you choose the list to play for yourself, or you use this information as a means to build a deck that can out-gun the best decks out there. Either way that you choose, I believe that we are all in for a good time. Cheers!
