Metagame Update: Week 5

Week 4 Winners and Losers

The most popular decks last week were Mono White (11 copies), Naya Runes (10 copies), and Jeskai Storm (8 copies). Other decks (decks with only 1 copy registered) were also popular, with 9 people playing them.

Of the most popular decks, Mono White was the most successful, boasting a 7-4 record. Other decks went 5-4, Naya Runes 5-5 and Jeskai Storm 4-4. However, the most successful decks were Orzhov Midrange and Mardu Aggro. Both decks went undefeated throughout the week, with Orzhov going 4-0 and Mardu 2-0. Mono White, Naya and Jeskai have been popular and successful the entire season, it’s no surprise to see them continue to do so. I believe Orzhov’s success is due to the aggro decks being so popular. Thanks to Shambling Ghast Shambling Ghast and The Meathook Massacre The Meathook Massacre , it’s able to stave off early aggression while Sorin Sorin the Mirthless or Lolth, Spider Queen Lolth, Spider Queen take over the midgame. Mardu is a newcomer to the scene, using Angelfire Ignition Angelfire Ignition and Kaya's Onslaught Kaya's Onslaught to kill out of nowhere, while Hidetsugu Consumes All Hidetsugu Consumes All Vessel of the All-Consuming
sweeps away small creatures and gives you a growing threat.

Control was the biggest loser of last week, with none of the Control decks ending up with a positive record. Jeskai Hinata went 1-3, Izzet and Azorius Control each went 1-2 and Dimir Control went 1-1. A large part of this is due to their struggle against the aggro decks. Mono White and Naya both have ways to still apply pressure in the late game, with Mono White using Legion Angel Legion Angel and The Wandering Emperor The Wandering Emperor and Runes having Showdown of the Skalds Showdown of the Skalds . This allows them to have both powerful opening starts and late game presence, which puts the control decks under a lot of stress in deckbuilding and gameplay.

Week 5 Decks

This week has a lot of changes compared to last week. Naya Runes and Jeskai Storm decreased in popularity, losing 3 and 4 decks respectively. Other and Orzhov both gained 2 decks, but the most interesting change is the 3 Grixis Control decks. Grixis was not submitted at all last week, but suddenly has 3 decks this week. This is likely due to how well Grixis matches up against Mono White. Sedgemoor Witch Sedgemoor Witch and Ray of Enfeeblement Ray of Enfeeblement can keep Grixis from taking too much damage early, allowing Lier Lier, Disciple of the Drowned and Expressive Iteration Expressive Iteration time to pull ahead and take over the game later.

Despite Control decks not performing well last week, more people submitted them this week. Jeskai Hinata only lost 1 deck, but Izzet Control gained 1 deck, as well as the 3 new Grixis decks added to Control’s metagame share. It’ll be interesting to see if they perform better than last week.