Standard Counterplay Going Into Week 2!

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Thursday, January 26th

The greatest part of new formats and Magic content is a direct look at how differently the game's great minds approach the game itself! What about you? Do you look at the utility and nuance of subtle interactions to create a tournament advantage for yourself? Do you look for mechanical combos no one seems to have discovered? Or are you already examining the big-picture metagame that we're still a week away from? No matter what kind of player or deckbuilder you are, we've got a writer just like you! See you at #SCGRICH, everyone!

— Danny West, Content Coordinator

Brennan DeCandio wins Standard Open

Danny Spencer wins Modern Classic

Daniel Guajardo wins Standard Classic

The Future Of U/R Decks
By Todd Anderson  

While Disallow does virtually the same thing as Void Shatter, the one key difference is that there are some situations where you have to tap out. When you tap out, that can leave you vulnerable to all sorts of random activated or triggered abilities. I'm thinking Aetherworks Marvel. I'm thinking Aetherflux Reservoir. I'm even thinking Evolving Wilds.

Man, that's really going to make someone angry.

At times, Disallow will do just what you want it to do: counter some annoying spell. But then, in the heat of battle, it will save you from something you probably weren't even thinking about. I'm talking Westvale Abbey, Key to the City, Haunted Dead. There are so many small spots in Standard where one "Stifle" will ruin your opponent's best-laid plans. And you probably didn't even see it coming.

At least, that's the way I always felt when I was playing Stifle.

This isn't Legacy. Disallow isn't going to blow your opponent out too often. But the times it does will far outweigh the exile effect of Void Shatter, or even the awaken effect of Scatter to the Winds. You know how good Summary Dismissal was at stopping Planeswalker ultimates? Well, now you have that on a card that is more efficient and easier to play in the maindeck.

February 4

February 18-19

February 25-26

Standard Brew Blitz
By Chris Lansdell  

I love the interlocking pieces in this deck. Padeem, Consul of Innovation protects our artifacts and might even draw us cards. Taking extra turns with Part the Waterveil is easier when you can power it with Inspiring Statuary and Clue tokens, and also gets you extra upkeeps in which to win. Oh, and yes, you can use improvise to pay the awaken cost on Part the Waterveil. Glad you asked. Tamiyo's Journal not only gives us Clues, it can find us the piece we need to win. Oh the synergies!

I wish we could play black in here too, because Syndicate Trafficker and Yahenni, Undying Partisan really like excessive amounts of Clues. Is U/B better than U/G? Given that no cards in black can investigate, I am unsure. That's something I plan to try at some point, though, perhaps with Tezzeret.

How Walking Ballista Will Define Pro Tour Aether Revolt
By Michael Majors  

Barring the absurdity of Evolutionary Leap or some other dramatic outside influence, Hangarback Walker was largely a very powerful roadblock with a great rate that insulated its controller from sweepers. It was a dream threat in a midrange deck due to how difficult it was to properly remove while also sporting double duty as a blocker against aggressive decks.

At the time, other than the aforementioned enchantment and Dromoka's Command, there wasn't a ton of outside synergy with the Thopter maker; it basically just existed in a vacuum as a powerful card.

Walking Ballista on the other hand is a far more proactive threat. It can always make an immediate impact on the battlefield the second it arrives, versus having to get in some kind of tussle or combining with another card as Hangarback Walker did. Further, every counter that is placed on the Ballista essentially reads as an extra two damage over the life of the card while it also progressively makes it more difficult for anyone to get in combat against you and make it out alive.