Standard: 5 Off-Meta Decks from Secrets of Strixhaven Season

The Secrets of Strixhaven season didn't bring surprises in the numbers or results from the Pro Tour. The "Izzet vs. Landfall" status quo seems to have stayed the same since Lorwyn Eclipsed, even leading to debates about whether Standard's Metagame is being suppressed by a "rock-paper-scissors" combination among those archetypes (and Spellementals, Prowess, and Lessons each play distinct roles in the equation), while other decks have to make heavy concessions—maindeck High Noon—just to keep up.

But other results tell a different story. From Mardu Looting putting up decent results in Standard's Pro Tour rounds to decks like a budget Mono Black Aggro reaching Top 8 in Challenges, there seems to be room for innovation in the format, even when the top of the competitive ladder appears, in a specific event, less diverse than it should be.

Below, we present five "off-meta" archetypes in Standard with results worth trying on the ranked ladder, in online tournaments, or even at local game stores.

Mardu Looting

Chris Kral finished with a 7-3 record in Standard's rounds at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven running a new Looting variant, using specific additions from the new set that synergize with the archetype's overall strategy.

Hardened Academic is another free discard outlet and benefits from Bloodghast triggers to grow its threats, while Practiced Offense is good graveyard fuel that reinforces board pressure at a low cost. Since this is a go-wide strategy with explosive individual threat potential, the new spell's Double Strike can close out games suddenly.

Golgari Reanimator

Zombify for Valgavoth, Terror Eater disappeared from Standard with rotation, and graveyard-based strategies face the challenge of all the graveyard hate in the format today designed to handle Izzet decks, but ellectrode made Top 8 of a Challenge recently by blending that plan with a fair Midrange shell, running Vein Ripper as the main payoff.

Between removal, smaller threats, and card advantage from Professor Dellian Fel and Overlord of the Balemurk, this list can easily reach six mana, where Ripper stops being just a target for Zombify and becomes a legitimate late-game win condition, making this Reanimator variant less vulnerable in post-sideboard games where Rest in Peace comes in.

Jeskai Tablet Control

Resonating Lute caught the attention of Control players by doubling mana for instants and sorceries, but the most recent Jeskai variant from player Kritik dropped that artifact for another from the same set.

Tablet of Discovery doesn't double mana, but it "replaces itself" in its owner's hand while speeding up the cast of heavier cards and/or helping to pay Kicker costs, fixing the well-known "four mana, do nothing" problem that Lute has in the current Metagame.

Mono Black Aggro

Matsukasa10 made Top 8 of a Challenge last weekend with an extremely budget Mono Black Aggro version.

The list tries to mix evasive creatures like Deep-Cavern Bat and Faerie Dreamthief with equipment that significantly increases their power while attaching for free, and complements it with a robust package of board and hand interaction using creatures like Gatekeeper of Malakir and Thought-Stalker Warlock, plus spells like Shoot the Sheriff for individual threats and Strategic Betrayal against graveyards.

Mono Green Aggro

The first week of Secrets of Strixhaven led m9565 to try out a Mono Green Aggro / Stompy version with 34 creatures and several cards built around +1/+1 counters to synergize with Michelangelo, Weirdness to 11. Some numbers could be reconsidered, and other cards could be included, but the green Aggro shell exists in the format and can snag some wins when flying under the radar.

That's all for today!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Thanks for reading!