Hi! My name is Vertyx and I will go over the top finishes of the Magic Online Standard Challenge that took place on the weekend: June 11, 2023. We are at the second weekend post bans and pilots are still trying to innovate with their list to find the best deck in the format. Lets go take a look at the decks they registered!
standard challenge 32 #12556897
11 June, 2023 - standard - 32 players
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Top 8 Decks
The top 8s have been looking similar post bans and this one is not an exception. As all of the previous ones we got a few copies of Esper Legends (3 copies) and 1 Copy of Mono-Red Aggro. Both of these decks have the 1st and 2nd largest meta share percentage in the format right now and should be expected at all tournaments. The rest of the top 8 includes 2 copies of Azorius Soldiers, 1 copy of Selesnya Enchantments and 1 copy of Orzhov Midrange.
Now lets go take a look at the decklists!
Esper Legends by Gul_Dukat
by Vertyx
Standard
best of 3
10 mythic
41 rare
5 uncommon
4 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (22)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (26)
60 Cards
$651.26
Sideboard
15 Cards
$20.79
Another Challenge taken down with Esper Legends piloted by Gul_Dukat!
An interesting list that’s somewhere between the 2 variants that have been floating around. The pilot registered 4 Skrelv, Defector Mite but without Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. The creature package is straight forward with almost all 4-ofs also including 4 Wedding Announcement as a strong enchantment that supports the creature gameplan.
Selesnya Enchantments by IslandGoSAMe
by Vertyx
Standard
best of 3
4 mythic
25 rare
12 uncommon
19 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (18)
Instants (2)
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (16)
Lands (20)
60 Cards
$187.28
Sideboard
15 Cards
$75.65
The other deck that made it to the finals was Selesnya Enchantments by IslandGoSAMe!
This deck wants to take advantage of cards that benefit from casting enchantments! The cards that enable this gameplan by having synergies with your enchantment spells are Generous Visitor which puts counters on your creatures for every enchantment cast, Jukai Naturalist which makes all of your enchantments cheaper and Rite of Harmony which lets you draw cards for every enchantment cast so you don’t run out of gas! When you got all the mana and cards you need to win you can do so either with tokens generated by Hallowed Haunting or with a huge Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr!
The rest of the deck supports this gameplan either by digging you more into your deck (Spirited Companion, Commune with Spirits), removing opponents creatures (Ossification) or providing additional value by itself (Teachings of the Kirin, The Restoration of Eiganjo).
Esper Legends by Arianne
by Vertyx
Standard
best of 3
10 mythic
40 rare
6 uncommon
4 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (1)
Creatures (20)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (26)
60 Cards
$652.96
Sideboard
15 Cards
$39.21
Esper Legends by unagieel
by Vertyx
Standard
best of 3
9 mythic
43 rare
3 uncommon
5 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (22)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (27)
60 Cards
$654.16
Sideboard
15 Cards
$24.65
The 2 other Esper Legends lists piloted by Arianne (3rd place) and unagieel (7th place)!
Both of the lists have only minor differences (mostly a bit different instant and creature count). One of those being 2 copies of Ertai Resurrected in the list by unagieel as a good catch all interaction spell that is also a creature! And 2 copies of Steel Seraph in the list by Arianne as a good way to combat all sorts of board states. The other interesting card choice is one copy of Kaito Shizuki in the list by Arianne as a 3 mana planeswalker that draws you cards if you attack with your creatures!
Azorius Soldiers by J0SE
by Vertyx
Standard
best of 3
0 mythic
32 rare
18 uncommon
10 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (27)
Instants (7)
Lands (23)
60 Cards
$116
Sideboard
15 Cards
$27.47
Azorius Soldiers by Antonio_MTG
by Vertyx
Standard
best of 3
0 mythic
32 rare
18 uncommon
10 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (27)
Instants (7)
Lands (23)
60 Cards
$116.4
Sideboard
15 Cards
$43.25
The 4th and 8th place decks were Azorius Soldiers by J0SE (4th place) and Antonio_MTG (8th place)!
Both of these lists are completely the same (the pilots probably know each other and worked on the individual card choices together). There are a few different ways this deck can be built and these pilots chose a version that wants to be more interactive. They play more interaction and disruption spells (for example Make Disappear and Invasion of Gobakhan) and in the combination with flash creatures (Resolute Reinforcements and Zephyr Sentinel) they are able to be a bit more interactive and hold up counterspells to either counter a threat or flash in a creature at the endstep. The other strong part about this deck is that most of its creatures fly so the deck is able to overcome some difficult boardstates!
Mono-Red Aggro by CBJr
by Vertyx
Standard
best of 3
8 mythic
11 rare
20 uncommon
21 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (19)
Sorceries (2)
60 Cards
$91.9
Sideboard
15 Cards
$31.85
The 5th place deck was Mono-Red Aggro piloted by CBJr!
I would not be scared to call this list “stock” right now since most of the Mono-Red Aggro decks look very similar to this one. Overall a powerful gameplan that will always be able to catch people off guard when they are not prepared
Orzhov Midrange by qbeczkowo
by Vertyx
Standard
best of 3
8 mythic
20 rare
13 uncommon
19 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (11)
Instants (1)
Artifacts (1)
Enchantments (9)
Lands (24)
60 Cards
$312.66
Sideboard
15 Cards
$57.51
The last deck in the top 8 was Orzhov Midrange piloted by qbeczkowo (6th place)!
This deck made it into 3 top 8s in the last 4 events so it proves its spot in the metagame. As explained in the previous challenge articles its core gameplan is controlling the board with all of the strong white removal spells and planeswalkers which is then topped with Breach the Multiverse.
The first 2 weeks were dominated by Esper Legends and Mono-Red Aggro. Lets wait and see if people adapt to it and come out with a way to beat both of these decks! Thanks for reading this article and I hope you liked!
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Vertyx
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