VML Season 12 Week 6 Metagame Update
It’s week 6, and players are doing the math on if they can make playoffs! Best of luck in the penultimate week of VML Season 12, players!
Last Week’s Results
As a note, we’re still waiting on a few results, though it will not significantly change the data overall. I’ll update the Week 5 Charts tab on the spreadsheet with updated results once they’re available.
In a reversal from its relatively low overall performance this season, Golgari Midrange takes the crown this week, with a 77.8% win rate across 11 players last week. Boros Convoke follows close behind, with 13 players achieving a 76.9% win rate. Bant Toxic rounds out our top performers, with its 6 players earning a 66.7% win rate.
It was a tough week for other popular decks, as no other deck with 4+ players had over a 50% win rate.
Top Decks vs Top 3
Each week, I list the deck archetypes that have been the most successful against last week’s popular decks in VML. The suggested counterpicks are based only on data from VML season 12. As the season goes on and we get more data, this segment will get more accurate. Each counterpick has at least 3 wins in addition to a positive win rate against the “top 3” deck.
Temur Analyst
Counterpicks: Bant Toxic (70.83% win rate vs Temur Analyst), 4-Color Slogurk (66.7% win rate), Gruul Aggro (53.3% win rate)
Current Overall Win Rate: 55.7%
Esper Midrange
Counterpicks: Dimir Control (77.8% win rate vs Esper Midrange), 4-Color Slogurk (75% win rate), Domain Ramp (66.7% win rate), Temur Analyst (66.7% win rate)
Current Overall Win Rate: 52.38%
Boros Convoke
Counterpicks: Temur Analyst (66.7% win rate vs Boros convoke), Azorius Control 61.9% win rate), Mono-Red Aggro (55.6% win rate)
Current Overall Win Rate: 56%
Week 6
This week’s most popular decks remain the same as last week: Temur Analyst takes the top spot with 15 players and a 12.3% metashare, followed by Esper Midrange at 13 players and a 10.7% metashare and Boros Convoke with 12 players and a 9.8% metashare.
This week’s real most popular pick? The 21 archetypes with 2 or fewer players, accounting for 20.5% of the meta. Players are experimenting with new builds and twists on old favorites now that it’s the end of the season.
Spice Corner
This week’s most unique decks include Reavh’s Jeskai Control, Worldwaker2’s Simic Artifacts, and eslinz’s Orzhov Tokens.
Reavh’s “Once more unto the breach, dear hellkites, once more” is a dragon-based control deck, using Manaform Hellkite
Manaform Hellkite
as the deck’s namesake wincon and token generation, with the added benefit of card advantage when Zurgo and Ojutai
Zurgo and Ojutai
is out. Aside from the dragon package, this is a classic control deck, with fun inclusions like 8 counterspells (full playsets each of Three Steps Ahead
Three Steps Ahead
and No More Lies
No More Lies
), 3 different board wipes, and a playset of Lightning Helix
Lightning Helix
.
Worldwaker2’s “Run, run as fast as can be! You can’t catch me. I’m the Gingerbrute Enby!” certainly wins the award for “best deck name” this week, and it’s a fun archetype too. This deck wants to build up a wide board of artifacts, including creatures like the namesake Gingerbrute
Gingerbrute
, semi-animated ones like Subterranean Schooner
Subterranean Schooner
, and utility artifacts like Lost Jitte
Lost Jitte
. Teething Wurmlet
Teething Wurmlet
takes advantage of all these artifacts entering the board to grow big and keep Worldwaker2’s health topped up, and both Tough Cookie
Tough Cookie
and Zoetic Glyph
Zoetic Glyph
animate the noncreature artifacts for extra power.
eslinz’s “toke 420 blaze it” is a go-wide tokens decks aiming to double the token generation with Baron Bertram Graywater
Baron Bertram Graywater
, and sometimes triple it with Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation // Temple of Civilization
Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation
Temple of Civilization
. Tocasia's Welcome
Tocasia's Welcome
and Wedding Announcement // Wedding Festivity
Wedding Announcement
Wedding Festivity
both take advantage of these tokens for card advantage, and The Wandering Emperor
The Wandering Emperor
for some instant-speed tokens as needed.