Magic: The Gathering Metagame Report: April

Hello and welcome to another Magic: The Gathering Metagame Report. Already I have found the issue with this template: the top decks may change in order, but there are often not that many new creations this close to a set dropping. So, I’ll just cursory talk about decks I covered last month and anything climbing the meta I haven’t mentioned much before.

Esper Control

I talked at length about this deck. It’s expensive in paper, hard to play skillfully, and a nightmare to die to because of how slow the kills are. There’s always going to be a big annoying control deck to demoralize players in Magic: The Gathering, and this is the one we’ve got this rotation.

Gruul Aggro

I’m so proud of this deck. It’s come so far. Midrange style aggro decks are often a good choice for a meta that’s learned to stomp down the generic fast decks. I’m looking forward to seeing what Planeswalkers, if any, make it into the list.

Azorius Aggro

Still think this should have Deputy in the mainboard, but, otherwise, it’s a classic White Weenie strategy that has some sticky threats and good disruption. Never underestimate a Conclave Tribunal’s ability to mess you up royally.

Sultai Midrange

The list doesn’t change much because it’s kind of perfect for what it is. I feel like playing it is a great teaching tool for new players—but good luck affording a playset of Hydroid Krasis. It’s still a $20+ card.

Temur Reclamation

Possibly the strongest deck in Standard. You always have a basic answer to most issues leveled against the deck because you draw almost your entire 60 in short order. Niv-Mizzet is a win-con all his own and expect to die to him within 2 turns of it being played.

Simic Nexus

Streamlined and taking infinite turns, this deck is unfun to play against, and probably boring to pilot. But it does kill you. They run 4 main deck Fogs, and that’s really all you need to know.

Gruul Deck Wins

So, I’m making up that deck name. I don’t know what to call it. It’s the old RDW but uses Cindervines in the sideboard to utterly ruin spell heavy decks. We’re in a fairly combo-intensive meta right now—so it’s probably just enough innovation to keep the deck relevant.

Selesnya Tokens

This deck is super cute and feels like someone made a Commander deck in Standard. But, just because it’s cute, doesn’t mean it won’t run you over and kill you. The lifelink on so many creatures makes it sustainable and an end of enemy turn March of the Multitudes feels much worse than you’d think it does.

And that’s Magic: The Gathering Standard right now. Or, a broad look at it, at least. With War of The Spark, we’ll see a huge meta shift. It might be worthwhile to look at what you play now and see if it’s going to shrink or grow with the new cards and new strategies.

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