It was another pretty slow week with Delver winning (over mono-green infect) the only major Standard tournament of the weekend. The Magic Online metagame has followed a similar trend with a strong shift toward Delver, infect, and Zombies performing extremely well.

Standard

The Kansas City Open ended up providing an interesting Top 8, but the lack of name players in the top of the standings means the results this week should be granted much less credence than those from last week in DC.

The average Delver list has stayed essentially the same from last week, and the main variations are in the creature base. I think the version with Hero of Bladehold is currently the best-positioned, but it’s ultimately a personal preference. The choice between Cavern of Souls and Moorland Haunt is also one of taste: You either value the mana consistency that Cavern provides or the late-game power of Moorland Haunt. The deck is slowly moving away from Talrand as the number of answers to deal with it and the creatures it produces are becoming more numerous.

"Mono-Green Infect"

• Creatures (8)
• 4 Glistener Elf
• 4 Ichorclaw Myr

• Spells (32)
• 2 Ranger's Guile
• 3 Gut Shot
• 3 Mental Misstep
• 4 Apostle's Blessing
• 4 Mutagenic Growth
• 4 Titanic Growth
• 2 Gitaxian Probe
• 2 Green Sun's Zenith
• 4 Rancor
• 4 Wild Defiance

• Lands (20)
• 12 Forest
• 4 Cathedral of War
• 4 Inkmoth Nexus

Buy This Deck

Since existing on Magic Online for forever (mostly because the cost of the deck is so low), mono-green infect has finally made its first somewhat significant live result. The new additions of Cathedral of War and Rancor help the deck immensely, and the deck is capable of some very fast wins. At the same time, it is weak against many of the premium removal spells of the format (Gut Shot and Vapor Snag), as it is prone to being two-for-oned at times, but the deck also plays ample protection against those spells. This deck will never be top tier, but it is a strong choice for those on a budget.

"R/G Aggro"

• Creatures (26)
• 1 Thragtusk
• 1 Thundermaw Hellkite
• 2 Hellrider
• 2 Wolfir Silverheart
• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 4 Borderland Ranger
• 4 Huntmaster of the Fells
• 4 Llanowar Elves
• 4 Strangleroot Geist

• Spells (11)
• 3 Green Sun's Zenith
• 4 Bonfire of the Damned
• 2 Sword of Feast and Famine
• 2 Sword of War and Peace

• Lands (23)
• 2 Mountain
• 9 Forest
• 4 Copperline Gorge
• 4 Kessig Wolf Run
• 4 Rootbound Crag

Buy This Deck

R/G aggro managed to sneak its way into a Top 8 slot, helped at least in part by a metagame with far fewer Blade Splicers and Restoration Angels. The deck is fast, but it lacks any real trumps beside Bonfire of the Damned, which can be somewhat unimpressive when it’s not a miracle. If you’re looking into playing an aggro deck, the Zombie Pod deck is a much better and more versatile option.

"Zombie Pod"

• Creatures (28)
• 1 Massacre Wurm
• 1 Skinrender
• 1 Thragtusk
• 2 Disciple of Bolas
• 2 Fume Spitter
• 4 Blood Artist
• 4 Diregraf Ghoul
• 4 Geralf's Messenger
• 4 Gravecrawler
• 4 Phantasmal Image
• 1 Phyrexian Metamorph

• Spells (8)
• 4 Tragic Slip
• 4 Birthing Pod

• Lands (24)
• 9 Swamp
• 3 Drowned Catacomb
• 4 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Darkslick Shores
• 4 Woodland Cemetery

Buy This Deck

The last deck of note is another we’ve seen before but that has started to grow in popularity on Magic Online: Zombie Pod. The deck operates similarly to normal Zombies, but it trades off a bit of aggression for a better late game. The deck’s chain-ender is Massacre Wurm, which I assume is to help shore up the Delver match, which is not particularly good.

Legacy

Legacy continues to essentially stagnate, with Stoneblade and R/U/G Delver making up two-thirds of the Top 8, and those lists are pretty standard (however, one of the R/U/G lists did play Grove of the Burnwillows and Punishing Fire).

"Legacy Dredge"

• Creatures (23)
• 3 Ichorid
• 4 Golgari Grave-Troll
• 4 Golgari Thug
• 4 Narcomoeba
• 4 Putrid Imp
• 4 Stinkweed Imp

• Spells (23)
• 1 Dread Return
• 2 Breakthrough
• 4 Cabal Therapy
• 4 Careful Study
• 4 Faithless Looting
• 4 Bridge from Below
• 4 Lion's Eye Diamond

• Lands (14)
• 2 Undiscovered Paradise
• 4 Cephalid Coliseum
• 4 City of Brass
• 4 Gemstone Mine

Buy This Deck

Dredge makes a return appearance in this week’s Top 8, but with a fairly interesting list. With only one Dread Return and no obvious reanimation target, this deck marks a pretty significant departure from the more traditional, almost combo-like Dredge builds. This build instead aims to play a more grinding game that is a bit less vulnerable to graveyard hate (but not significantly so) by using Ichorids and Bridge from Below tokens.

"Legacy Lands"

• Spells (25)
• 3 Enlightened Tutor
• 3 Intuition
• 4 Life from the Loam
• 2 Manabond
• 4 Exploration
• 1 Crucible Of Worlds
• 1 Cursed Totem
• 1 Engineered Explosives
• 1 Ensnaring Bridge
• 1 Zuran Orb
• 4 Mox Diamond

• Lands (35)
• 1 Forest
• 1 Bayou
• 1 Creeping Tar Pit
• 1 Ghost Quarter
• 1 Glacial Chasm
• 1 Mishra's Factory
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Savannah
• 2 Tranquil Thicket
• 2 Verdant Catacombs
• 2 Wooded Foothills
• 3 Tolaria West
• 3 Tropical Island
• 4 Maze of Ith
• 4 Rishadan Port
• 4 Wasteland
• 1 Academy Ruins
• 1 Karakas
• 1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

Buy This Deck

This Lands list seems really far from optimal, mostly because it only runs two Manabonds and is a bit too cute with its Enlightened Tutor suite. I wouldn’t recommend that anyone play this deck, as it goes to time frequently, has trouble beating combo, and is just not in the least bit fun.

Without something to shake up the format, I assume we won’t see much growth or change in Legacy anytime soon.

Chris Mascioli

@dieplstks on Twitter