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Odds and Ends
Magic 2014
Magic 2014 Standard
M14 Standard
Adrian Posoiu
Adrian Posoiu
About Adrian Posoiu
I've started playing Magic when I was 18 years old, around the time when Mirrodin reared its head in Standard. The jump to semi-competitive play came shortly thereafter, as I started grinding local events on a regular basis. I attended my first Grand Prix in Athens 2006 and made my Pro Tour debut in Nagoya 2011. Recently, I won the Romanian Nationals and am currently set on participating at the World Championship. For those interested in what goes on outside my realm of Magic influence: I'm currently studying for a Master’s degree in Astrophysics, as I find it one of the most interesting and rewarding branches of science at the moment.
A Meta Ripe for Aggro?
The first weekend of M14 Standard
has come and gone and with it we now have the first concrete tournament results
to investigate. At this stage, the sample size of successful decks is
exceedingly small and the few conclusions that can be drawn have limited
applicability on the future of the metagame. Currently, there are two strong
trends visible within the more competitive section of the community, trends
that are visible each time a new set hits the shelves. On the one hand, some
players are eager to experiment with the new cards, which leads to either
entire strategies developed around the latter, or to decklists that abound in
fresh entries. This approach is a legitimate means of determining what effects
are cut out for tournament play – if you are interested in testing the
viability of a card, start out by adding a full set to the list. This would
allow you to encounter a higher density of play situations involving it,
therefore contributing to a well-chiseled opinion.
Conversely, others are more inclined to ‘play
it safe’ and choose stable contenders from formats past, with very few
innovations that stray from the norm. In an environment where most players walk
the line, with many ideas often insufficiently tested, an already proven
archetype can wreak havoc and ultimately emerge victorious. Both of these approaches
were evident throughout the past weekend, at the SCG Open in Richmond. Jund was
popular, as it represents a paramount of consistency, with several appearances
in the top 16. Surprisingly, it was a new entry to the metagame roster that
took down the event, with Xathrid Necromancer and
Mutavault fueling a somewhat aggressive-looking BW Humans list. In
terms of the overall impact that M14 had on the archetypes, I highly recommend
you to check out Adam’s article from earlier this week, in which he breaks down
the numbers and reveals the most popular Core Set picks from the weekend.
Analyzing the First M14 Standard Results
Article by Adam Koska on Mon, 07/22/2013 - 14:59
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Last time, we've talked about new possible Standard decks including cards from M14 and today, we're going to have a look at how theory stacks up to real life, analyzing the results of the first major Standard tournament played in the post-M14 Standard format!
Read more about Analyzing the First M14 Standard Results
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Given that we can somewhat
predict the evolution of the metagame over the next few weeks, I want to set
out and investigate the possible solutions to the equation and find those decks
that can take advantage of the current state of the Standard environment. By
virtue of its color identity, Jund has access to an extended removal suite and
can generally adapt those to the range of threats it needs to handle.
Currently, the top offenders are of Garruk, Primal Hunter and
Olivia Voldaren variety, both of which are slain by
Dreadbore. Dreabore is bound to become the
predominant solution, given its prevalence in the mirror, eating up spots from
Abrupt Decay, Putrefy and Doom Blade.
The shift towards sorcery speed removal theoretically favors a resurgence of
flash creatures and of threats that can attack the same turn they come into
play. For many, Gruul Beatdown comes to mind, but I suggest we look further
back in history at an old Gatecrash favorite.
Naya Humans M14
Deck by Adrian Posoiu on Thu, 07/25/2013 - 11:04
Main Deck
(60 cards)
Sideboard
(15 cards)
4
Champion of the Parish
3
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4
Experiment One
2
War Priest of Thune
4
Boros Elite
2
Scavenging Ooze
4
Burning-Tree Emissary
3
Boros Charm
3
Lightning Mauler
2
Mark of Mutiny
2
Firefist Striker
1
Pillar of Flame
3
Imposing Sovereign
2
Bonds of Faith
4
Flinthoof Boar
4
Mayor of Avabruck
4
Ghor-Clan Rampager
4
Frontline Medic
4
Stomping Ground
4
Sacred Foundry
4
Temple Garden
2
Clifftop Retreat
1
Rootbound Crag
1
Sunpetal Grove
4
Cavern of Souls
Colors
Gold
4
Green
12
Hybrid
4
Land
20
Red
5
White
15
Converted Mana Cost
1
12
2
20
3
4
4
4
Type
Creature
40
Land
20
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Although it hasn't seen much innovation lately, Naya Blitz seems to be
well-positioned to give Jund a hard time. As I mentioned before, the spell
composition of the midrange deck is not built to target a low curve, high
threat density list such as this one. Putrefy trades unfavorably
in terms of tempo, since most of our creatures cost less than three mana, and
neither Bonfire of the Damned nor Dreadbore can
prevent Ghor-Clan Rampager blowouts. With singleton copies of
Doom Blade and Decay, the risk of losing one of our creatures
unpredictably is quite small.
Versions:
Magic 2014 Core Set (Foil)
The hallmark addition from M14 is
Imposing Sovereign, which is coincidentally my favorite card of
the entire set. I have always kept an eye on Loxodon Gatekeeper
effects, as they are deceptively powerful if integrated in the right
strategies. Blind Obedience had a short run at fame within the BW
Zombies shell, but so far no approach has proven sufficiently worthy to contend
in Standard. With this in mind, I am interested to see if the Sovereign
provides an upgrade to the existing gameplan and also how well it can fit into
the deck as a whole. I will look at the option in various gamestates, both in a vacuum and compared to other cards that would overlap with it in terms of utility.
Being able to gain an extra
attack against certain very effective blockers, such as Boros
Reckoner and Thragtusk, is key in dealing the full amount
of damage before the board becomes stable. There are two basic traits exhibited by Naya Blitz as a whole, which work hand in hand with Imposing Sovereign's ability - which I will now refer to as exhaust (League of Legends fans rejoice). First of all, the deck is adverse to two-for-one trades that occur early in the game. Having to spend more than one card to solve creatures like Voice of Resurgence or Reckoner can cause the deck to fall behind even sooner than it was intended to. It is indisputable that no Blitz player expects to preserve a competitive board state past the 6th turn, but when factoring in the two blockers above, this drop-off is likely to occur even sooner.
Secondly, this is the one deck that most benefits from the idea of an extra attack, at least in the first few turns of the game. The low curve, hasty threats and abundance of battalion triggers create a formidable combat force as early as the third land drop. By dropping the Sovereign, all of the opponent's creatures are postponed from any form of red zone interaction, which in this matchup usually equates to damage prevention. Specifically in the case of Boros Reckoner, having it enter the battlefield tapped gives the Naya Blitz player a wider window of opportunity to deploy a battle-ready Frontline Medic or Firefist Striker, both of whom can ensure repeated attacks through the minotaur wizard wall.
In terms of its competition, Imposing Sovereign fights against a couple of other two-drops that have already proven their grit within the shell of the deck: Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and the above-mentioned Firefist Striker. In terms of evading blockers, I must admit that the latter displays a number of incentives not common to the M14 card. Due to them being exclusively case-specific, I will review both of their interactions with regard to certain role-players in the current metagame.
Copies of Boros Reckoner are usually found in two separate archetypes: Gruul Beatdown and Naya Midrange. In both instances, its role is to halt very aggressive starts and to provide a modicum of offense once the board has been stabilized. However, Naya Blitz should approach these two cases differently, taking into account the specificities of the opposing lists. On the one hand, the midrange build is centered more around creatures and rarely features additional removal past a playset of Bonfire of the Damned / Mizzium Mortars. It compensates for that via a multitude of cost-efficient threats that are difficult to punch through with an army of weenies and bears. Aside from the Boros minotaur, Naya Midrange also fields the dreaded Loxodon Smiter, along with the popular mythic roadblock, Voice of Resurgence. By taking this into account, I believe that having access to a repeated means of evading key blockers weighs slightly more than the advantage of an on-board exhaust effect. It is unlikely that we will be able to deal the full amount of damage before the board becomes clogged and once Smiter & co. untap, each subsequent combat phase will drain our resources significantly. Moreover, the low density of removal means that it will be slightly easier to form a battalion and to trigger the Striker's ability.
Versions:
Dark Ascension (Foil)
Duel Decks: Sorin Vs. Tibalt
Nonetheless, when facing Gruul the issue turns a whole different color. The presence of eight cheap spot removal spells, Searing Spear and Pillar of Flame, means that keeping any particular threat alive is a daunting task. Those who have tested this matchup before know how rare it is for a turn one Champion of the Parish to live past its infancy. From this trend, we can extrapolate that the presence of battalion is hardly guaranteed in the early turns - and that's exactly when this confrontation is usually decided. However, Imposing Sovereign is actually worth quite a lot against Gruul, given their high count of hasty threats, combined with the presence of Reckoner. For a mere two mana investment, we gain an advanced notice on Hellrider invasions and also get all the benefits outlined above in the Naya Midrange matchup analysis. In addition, it also makes those lists that are always boarding into Thundermaw Hellkite slightly rethink their approach.
One can't discuss the viability of an aggressive deck without mentioning what it plans to do when facing a Thragtusk. 'Always carry two spears' was a fine piece of advice back when Naya Blitz was running a set of Searing Spears maindeck, but now that the archetype has turned to a 40 creatures / 20 lands mix, new solutions are required. Having the beast come into play tapped remains a good deal, despite the comes-into-play lifegain ability. By the time a deck like Jund can deploy a Thragtusk on the board, Naya Blitz should be able to attack for more than 5 points of damage, netting an advantage. Although the Sovereign will rarely affect the 3/3 token directly, having the 'Tusk unable to enter combat for one turn means that its possible offspring is also delayed by an entire cycle. Speaking of tokens, with the addition of BW Humans to the metagame, there are a sleuth of chump blockers that our deck needs to concern itself with. Between Doomed Traveler, Lingering Souls and the zombies from Xathrid Necromancer, the Orzhov deck can stall for extended periods of time, which in turn causes us to lose steam. In this situation, Firefist Striker is less effective, as nullifying a single 1/1 per turn still leaves several others ready to defend. With Imposing Sovereign on the board, the opponent's mana investments in the first few turns do not impact combat in any way, thereby allowing Naya Blitz to press its already colossal tempo advantage. I imagine there are few things less pleasant than casting a Lingering Souls on turn three, only to see upwards of seven damage coming in through the red zone crashing your way.
One matchup segment that I haven't touched upon so far is one that has fallen off the radar for the most part. There are few dedicated control decks populating the environment, with the only successful lists being of the UWR Flash variety. For the most part, this is the reason why I have chosen to relegate Thalia to the sideboard. She remains an excellent tool against decks with an abundance of non-creature spells, either making Thought Scour and Think Twice effects miserable or delaying sweepers by a crucial turn. Effectively, Thalia fulfills the same role the Sovereign does, except against an entirely different metagame component. Legendary issues aside, the sole reason I opted for one over the other is the increasing popularity of creatures over spells in the current Standard.
Lastly, there is the issue of how well Imposing Sovereign can be meshed into the overall Naya Blitz shell. At a glance, both the mana cost and creature type make it resemble the Dark Ascension legend to great extent. Nonetheless, Thalia was never a perfect fit for the deck and was usually included only due to her phenomenal ability to end certain games on turn 2. On the plus side, Sovereign triggers Champion of the Parish and can be cast using the colored mana from Cavern of Souls. Unfortunately, it remains the only two-drop in the list that cannot be chained off the mana produced by Burning-Tree Emissary. This implies that casting an early Sovereign would represent one of the slowest starts the deck can muster and, unlike in Thalia's case, having it on the board rarely amounts to securing victory.
The next few weeks will either solidify the current distribution of decks in the metagame, or see an entirely new environment come to life. Fortunately, M14 will soon hit the digital world as well and we will have access to more information derived from the constant flow of online results. My next article will see the return of video content to "Odds and Ends". The exact topic is yet to be decided, according to what formats prove to be more relevant at the time and which of those manage to pique my interest. If you would like to see me get involved in any specific online activity, I encourage you to sound off in the comments section below, together with any feedback you might have on the content of this article.
Until next time, have fun exploring the novelties of M14.
Adrian
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