Meta-Man: Magic The Gathering – Standard (January 2021)

Magic: The Gathering Strategies, Standard

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Tyson Fraleigh - January 28, 2021

What kind of cards should you be holding onto to make up your next favourite Magic deck? What decks have been dominating Magic tournaments? Well, Meta-Man has arrived with all you need to know about the Magic meta in January! Let’s dive right into with –

Dimir Rogues (Black/Blue)

If you want to piss off every Magic player in the world, then this is the route to go. Rogue archetypes in any TCG are a great way to out perform your opponent in unexpected ways. In the case of Magic, control your opponents ability to play creature and non-creature cards while also milling them out of their deck.

The key creatures of this deck are Ruin Crab, Merfolk Wind Robber, Thieves Guild Enforcer, and Soaring Thought Thief. Each one of these you want to max out, allowing you to mill through your opponent’s deck very quickly. Boost Ruin Crab’s Landfall ability by maxing out Fabled Passage to double the mill capability. Add Lurrus of the Dream-Den to give yourself Lifelink and have access to spells from your graveyard.

Non-creature spells are what make this deck really a headache to go up against. Max out Lofty Denial, Heartless Act, Bloodchief’s Thirst, and Drown in the Loch to control every aspect of your opponent’s casting capability. If you really want to focus on the control aspect of the deck, throw in a few Negate‘s or Essence Scatter‘s. However, if you really want to get a rhythm going, switch out the Negate and Essence Scatter to max out Into The Story to draw into more counterspells or into more mill creatures.

You may be tempted to drop an Ashiok into the deck to offer you access to a planeswalker, but that may slow down your end goal. Instead, consider Cling to Dust, Extinction Event, or Lullmage’s Domination to help boost your control game.

Gruul Adventure (Red/Green)

There is no better feeling than swarming your opponent and boosting your front line with unbeatable creatures. If you are itching for a battering ram of a deck, then Gruul is the way to go.

As with any red deck, there are the classics – Bonecrusher Giant, Rimrock Knight, Fire Prophecy, and Shock. All of these will help clear your opponents board before you begin to really lay down the heat. You can also consider Embereth Shieldbreaker for an artifact negate and Edgewall Inkeeper to be able to get a bigger draw pool.

Make sure to max out Brushfire Elemental, Kazandu Mammoth, and Scavenging Ooze, to get more creatures on the board. Brushfire and Kazandu will quickly become your most power creatures with their Landfall capability, while Scavenging Ooze is a solid low tier creature to throw out if you need blockers, especially if your graveyard is getting filled with creatures faster than expected. Make sure to max out Fabled Passage into your lands to boost Brushfire Elemental and Kazandu Mammoth’s damage potential.

The cards that truly make this deck are Embercleave, Crawling Barrens, Shatterskull Smashing. Once you are able to equip Embercleave to a creature, you will be tanking most of the creatures your opponent can throw at you. Shatterskull Smashing will give you a huge damage boost if you need to tank something big, and Crawling Barrens can become a 2/2 creature if you want an unexpected defender.

As a last note: one of the most powerful card you can add is Klothys, God of Destiny. Being able to bump your mana pool or your life and deal damage even before you jump into your damage step is INSANE. I’ve seen a lot of decks that throw this in the sideboard, which seems nuts to me. If you can, make sure Klothys is one of cards that makes the cut.

Esper Doom (Blue/White/Black)

Esper Doom is a fascinating deck, but can be confusing if you don’t know what you’re looking at. The key is being able to put trigger some powerful Saga and Enchantment cards to reduce your opponent’s casting capability.

The four cards that are key to this deck are Yorion, Sky Nomad, Elspeth Conquers Death, Elspeth’s Nightmare, and Doom Foretold. Set-up both Elspeth Saga’s before playing Yorion to be able to be able to trigger the effects twice by blinking them with Yorion’s special ability. Doom Foretold is a great way to either reduce your opponent’s hand size, or to deal damage and get a blocker on the field to defend yourself without having to sacrifice Yorion. Max out Skyclave Appartion and you have a powerful control creature to exile your opponent’s creatures.

Maxing Golden Egg and Omen of the Sea will help keep control of your side of the board. Drop your Golden Egg whenever you are hurting for life or mana, while Omen of the Sea will help offer a little control over your card draw. Throw in some Negate‘s, Eliminate‘s, and Heartless Act‘s to be able to infuriate your opponent with total control of their casting potential.