 | Date Posted: 7/17/2009
Posted By: Ben Warren
Member Since: 3/18/2008
Number of Replies: 2
Last Post: 7/17/2009 |
| | The Impact of Magic 2010 on Standard | I reserve the right to change my opinion on the impact of 2010 on Standard after a month or so. I have not played any constructed with 2010, but have looked at many results and speculation decks that could break the format.
The popular decks that I see sticking around until Zendikar are the following:
Esper Faeries- They need to splash Path to Exile or they WILL lose to Great Sable Stag. They could also splash for Hallowed Burial. Do you remember the days when Faeries had Damnation? Eeek! Mike Dale once proposed this idea about 3-4 months ago when Shard Block was first coming out. Gerry Thompson also raised speculation about an Esper Fae deck recently on channelfireball.com. Be prepared!
WW Kithkin- Honor of the Pure is strictly better than Glorious Anthem, no doubt. With the absence of a Wrath strategy in Black and a downgrade in White's Wrath plan, the Little White Nuisance just got a whole lot better. Mono-Red has Earthquake, but what Kithkin deck doesn't have 4 Burrenton Forge-Tender somewhere in their 75? Volcanic Fallout, Pyroclasm, Firespout, Infest. Those are all keys to fighting the Little White Nuisance.
4-5 Color Cascade- Free spells on your 4th, 5th, and 6th turn with Bloodbraid Elf, Bituminous Blast, and Enlisted Wurm. Use Maelstrom Pulse, Primal Command, etc. and get in there with a Baneslayer Angel! Oh, did I mention Kitchen Finks or Great Sable Stag? Great Sable Stag = Esper Faeries, or Fae are dead. This deck can also side out the Stag when playing a WW or BW strategy for Stillmoon Cavaliers. Ridic.
5 Color Control- Yes, this deck will rear it's ugly head for the remainder of Lorwyn Block's time in Standard, much like the Fae, while not being as completely dominant over the field. Cards like Baneslayer Angel are a welcome addition. Remember to try and play your Anathemancers. You're going to need them. With the ability to play any spell in Standard, this deck will always be good. It can always be fashioned to combat the field and will remain a competitor.
Tokens- Whether you're running the BW or GW strategy, you are still extremely susceptible to Hallowed Burial/Cryptic Command decks. These decks just aren't as good as the WW Kithkin decks are and really need some retooling to be more consistent contenders.
Cascade Grinding- With the 20 or so cards in this deck with 5 Blue in their casting cost, and the fact that all of the cascade spells are guaranteed to hit Sanity Grinding, this deck can go off by turn 4 and win. Wheel of Sun and Moon comes to mind, or even Guttural Response. Be prepared, or you will lose to this deck.
Polymorph Deck- This deck's whole goal is to create little crappy creatures and Polymorph for the only creature in the deck, Progenitus. It has plenty of counters and control type cards so it can survive long enough to Polymorph. Guttural Response, Runed Halo, etc. give this deck fits.
Turbo Fog- With all of the strategies in the format pretty much going with aggro as their win condition, this deck looks like a pretty sick contender for Tier 1 in the format. Be prepared aggro strategies! You don't want to do nothing all day! Sideboard Wheel of Sun and Moon.
Jund Deck Wins- Basically a fast aggro deck with spot removal that in my opinion is subpar to any other aggro strategy if it wasn't for cards like Maelstrom Pulse and Putrid Leech. It should see plenty of play in the format, but the loss of Treetop Village makes most decks like this a lot worse.
In my opinion, the deck to beat is still Faeries, and Kithkinz are getting better and better. Be prepared to be able to beat these two matchups and you should do decently in your next event. Those decks are so popular that you can't ignore them. Also keep in mind what decks your 75 has weaknesses against and build your sideboard accordingly.
Let me know if you think I missed anything, or what I should be thinking about for the new Standard format.
Pwn'd. |
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