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The Brother's War Standard Meta Guide

Alessandro Carvallo
25/11/2022 · 7 min read
meta

Intro

Hello!

Here Alessandro Carvallo, this time we'll focus on Standard Bo3, a fairly fresh and unexplored format since the release of The Brother War, the latest Magic the Gathering expansion.

About the new Standard

In the past few weeks, Standard has been a midrange format, where the two best decks were Grixis Midrange and Esper Midrange. These decks were far superior to the rest of the field, and they both had ways to deal with the other's threats.

Both were dominanting the competitive scene on both Magic Online and Magic Arena, characterized by having very solid plans and playing out their game either aggressively or by dominating the midgame.

Now that The Brother's War has been released, many things could happen. Esper and Grixis could become even more powerful, or decks that haven't seen any play could become competitive with some of the new BRO cards, or a new strategy could emerge and dominate the format.

MY FAVORITE CARDS FROM THE NEW SET

Here are some of my favorite cards from the new expansion, especially from a competitive perspective focused on Standard.

Standard Pre Brothers War characterized itself by focusing on building solid decks and having a pretty well-defined plan.

Probably the most dominant cards in the format were Fable of the mirror Breakers, Sheroldred, and Raffine - everything revolved around these 3 cards, and decks were designed with cards that could deal with these threats as quickly as possible. No doubt these staples will continue to be dominant in the new Standard.

Standard top tier decks

Azorius Soldiers

Reference Deck

SANDYDOG 4th place Standard Challenge Sunday:

https://mtgdecks.net/Standard/azorius-soldiers-decklist-by-sandydogmtg-1504984

About the deck

Soldiers is a very fresh deck that just debuted last week with 2 Top 8s in the Standard Challenge on MTGO. It's a conventional aggro deck, but what makes it special?

Soldiers have managed to put together a very strong core of creatures, with a very solid curve and enough speed to put any rival in a tough spot.

Soldiers advantages

One of the most interesting things about this deck is that it has the ability to draw cards and keep the pressure, which gives it an extra edge vs other aggressive decks that try to win in Standard.

It's hard to find the best card in the deck, this time it's not just one card- it's like 4 or 5 cards that really give the opponent a headache, and this is what makes this deck so solid. In general, aggro decks in Standard never really became king because they had great drops, but were also filled with other cards that unfortunately weren't at the required power level for Standard.

Soldiers weaknesses

Now that we know the pros, let's see what are the cons of playing soldier.

This deck is quite fragile against board sweepers and struggles to deal with Sheoldred. Our only answer to it is Brutal Cathar, but he will often die, leaving us in a tough spot: having to deal again with it.

Board sweepers will be our nightmare

This deck is much weaker when we are on the draw, and even more when our opponents are playing Fable on turn 3, making it very difficult to win from this position. Fable of the Mirror Breaker is a staple in Standard, so we will have a major weakness here.

FINAL SCORE: TIER 1.5

Mono Black

Reference Deck

Tutenji 4th Place Standard Challenge Saturday:

https://mtgdecks.net/Standard/mono-black-decklist-by-tutenji-1502387

Mono Black Midrange is an old acquaintance from the past Standard, characterized by being one of the best decks before banning the Meathook Massacre. After that, it became an unplayable deck that had many limitations due to the fact that it only had access to one color, sacrificing other game tools for seeking solidity, which caused the fall of this deck.

With the release of the new expansion this deck was greatly favored, adding these new cards to its plan.

Monoblack advantages

La principal ventaja de este deck es que no tiene problemas de mana , diseñar su base de mana es sencillo y también ahora tienen la opción de jugar la nueva Manland Mishras Foundry. Además tiene acceso a removal de calidad de main deck y un buen plan de descartes post sideboard.

Each creature in this deck is a threat, which puts a lot of pressure on the opponent.This fact is quite beneficial for us, as we can move forward in the game without losing many resources, and in some cases gaining card advantage.

Invoke Despair is an incredibly powerful card in this strategy, as it can act as a finisher after we’ve exhausted our opponent’s creatures or can be used to solve difficult board positions.

Monoblack weaknesses

This deck has only access to black cards, which gives us a disadvantage against other decks in the format after sideboarding.

Our strategy is quite simple: play conservatively and hope nothing unbalances the board. This leaves us at a disadvantage, as we can't create really good interactions and synergies like other decks with more than one color can.

I feel that Mono Black is a deck that will see decreased performance over time, as happened a few months ago - personally, I have more affinity for other strategies and will be betting more on that path.

FINAL SCORE: TIER 2

Grixis Artifacts

Reference Deck

Cabezadebolo 1st Place Standard Challenge Saturday:

https://mtgdecks.net/Standard/grixis-sacrifice-decklist-by-cabezadebolo-1502362

Grixis Anvil has been on everyone's lips this weekend, as the new toys from the new expansion - Mishra Research Desk, Third Path iconocast, and Saheli Filigree - have breathed new life into the deck and seen it surge in popularity.

Grixis artifacts advantages

Quality removals with the ability to deal with any creature and also deal with planeswalkers.

We have a decent Early Game, while our Mid Game and Late game are probably the best in the current format.

The card advantage we generate is quite good compared to other decks in Standard.

Every turn is always a challenge as we can develop our game in the way we want or how each matchup demands, having this flexibility makes Grixis Artifacts a great deck without a doubt.

We have a very complete sideboard, capable of handling any post-sideboard matchup very well.

Grixis artifacts weaknesses

The mana base is quite difficult to design and usually it's very painful because we lose many life playing Pain Lands.

There are two cards in particular that can have a significant impact on the game and can be really difficult to play against:

  • Brotherhoods end
  • Farewell

FINAL SCORE: TIER 1

Grixis Midrange and Esper Midrange

Grixis Midrange and Esper Midrange are decks that have been doing well in the past Standard, with a very solid plan, good curve, and with different angles of victory.

Reference Decks

Esper Midrange by Ailien02 (MTGO Sunday Challenge Winner):


https://mtgdecks.net/Standard/esper-midrange-decklist-by-ailien02-1504988


Grixis Midrange by Mysteryman21 (MTGO Sunday Challenge top 8):


https://mtgdecks.net/Standard/grixis-midrange-decklist-by-mysteryman21-1505003

I don't have much to say about these decks, which have changed little and nothing since the new expansion came out. I'll directly classify them as a Tier 1.5, with the next two weeks being very important in determining if they can still compete in Standard or have become obsolete.

CALIFICACION TIER 1.5

Final Words

We analyzed the top 4 archetypes of The Brother's War Standard to help you decide what to play in the upcoming weeks. There are a lot of different versions of each archetype, so be sure to check our metagame section to see which one is the best for you.

I hope you enjoyed the article!

If you liked this article maybe you will also find interesting on of the following ones 5 New Decks to Beat the Phyrexia: All Will be ONE Standard, What is New in Standard with March of the Machine?, 3 Best Dominaria Standard Decks You Should Know

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Alessandro Carvallo
MTGO Grinder
Alessandro Carvallo, better known as Cabezadebolo on MTGO, is a very well-known grinder and deckbuilder on MTGO. Carvallo has been playing Magic: The Gathering for many years and has been involved in the competitive scene since a long time.

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Published: 2022-11-25 00:00:00
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