Metagame: Duskmourn's Second Week in the Competitive Formats

The second week after Duskmourn's release is stirring up competitive tournaments. Whether it's in Magic Online Challenges or the US Regional Championship, players are incorporating new potential staples into their decks, exploring new strategies, and adapting to the Metagame.

From the introduction of Enduring Curiosity in Standard to a new Living End variant with Overlord of the Balemurk in Modern, the new expansion is starting to show results beyond the obvious introductions, ostensibly experimented with in the first week. In this article, we present the main highlights of the Challenges for competitive formats!

Standard continues to develop its Metagame, but apparently, Duskmourn didn't bring enough changes to alter the strategies that make up Tiers 1 and 1.5 of the format. Prowess decks continue to be popular, but now with a separation between the variants that run Leyline of Resonance and those that prefer a more straightforward plan with traditional lists.

Mono White Tokens added Enduring Innocence this week as a way to gain more consistency in terms of card advantage, since it turns into an enchantment if destroyed and has similar interactions as Caretaker’s Talent for the archetype.

Another archetype that adopted a card from the Enduring cycle was Dimir Midrange, with three copies of Enduring Curiosity, a threat that is difficult to respond to and that also generates a lot of card advantage if it remains on the board. Its body is also relevant in combat, and the possibility of playing it at instant-speed punishes the opponent's lack of blockers.

Finally, the Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz combo that has been growing in the Pioneer Metagame has started to take its first steps in Standard with an Orzhov version. It is possible that next week will bring new variants of this strategy with other splashes.

The Overlords cycle gave Enigmatic Incarnation enough reason to separate itself from Fires of Invention and become its own archetype. Now, the inclusion of Overlord of the Balemurk increases the amount of powerful interactions with its key card, in addition to this being one of the best High Noon decks - a hate play that has become a staple due to the rise of Prowess lists - present in the current Metagame.

Enduring Innocence also found a home in Pioneer and is now one of the main drivers for the return of Selesnya Company as an archetype for competitive events. Its interaction with almost every creature on the list provides the card advantage needed to keep the threat flowing even without Collected Company, and it also allows for a hate bear plan without creating too many concessions.

This is another strategy that benefits from the rise of Prowess and the Izzet Phoenix slot in the format, with the inclusion of Archon of Emeria in the maindeck.

A new Rakdos Midrange variant also appeared in this weekend's Challenges, Rakdos Demons, aiming to take advantage of Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber as an improved Phyrexian Arena. For a more consistent plan, it relies on Archfiend of the Dross and Blade of the Oni to trigger the enchantment ability early.

In addition to this, Rakdos Cauldron continues to present itself as a viable proposal in the Pioneer Metagame and possible next best combo of the format - along with its growth in Challenges, it also won the US Regional Championship this weekend!

Another combo that emerged this weekend, but without significant results, was Doomsday Excruciator with Thassa’s Oracle, aiming to replicate the play it had with Inverter of Truth before its ban. The deck is slower than its predecessor and requires more steps and mana to work, in addition to having a notoriously heavier cost requirement, so I don't have high expectations for its results in the coming weeks.

It is worth mentioning that the US Regional Championship showed a very varied Metagame in Pioneer, both in total numbers and in its Top 8, where eight different archetypes competed for the trophy: Rakdos Prowess, Rakdos Transmogrify, Rakdos Cauldron, Enigmatic Incarnation, Selesnya Company, Azorius Lotus Field and Izzet Phoenix.

The results of the event are likely to influence the format in the coming weeks. We will see an increase in Rakdos Cauldron and Selesnya Company as a result, but I don't imagine the rest of the Metagame changing much.

Overlord of the Balemurk has started to make a difference in Modern as well, more specifically in Living End decks, now with the combination of Leyline of the Guildpact and Scion of Draco for an alternative game plan previously used in Crashing Footfalls lists.

To take advantage of the new creature, it also runs Flickerwisp to reuse its ETB with Blink and use its ability to search for any creature in the graveyard, improving its attrition plan.

The new creature also appeared in the Cauldron Familiar combo with Ygra, Eater of All, where its interaction with Vampire Hexmage allows extracting value from it as early as the third turn. Perhaps, this new iteration - even without Hexmage and Shifting Woodland - will also be possible in Pioneer with the right cards.

And speaking of graveyard-based strategies, Abhorrent Oculus has become a staple of Dimir Murktide and shares slots with the Delve creature without major problems in the format. One of the motivators for this combination is Psychic Frog, which can discard the less relevant piece to feed the other, in addition to enabling the “combo” between Unearth and Oculus to bypass its mana cost.

Exorcise has become a staple in the Boros Energy's Sideboard due to its flexibility in dealing with artifacts, enchantments or powerful creatures with a single slot. This effect should be reflected in other formats if the diversity of permanents grows in their respective Metagames.

Finally, despite only running Unable to Scream in the Sideboard, Mono Blue Belcher has grown in Modern and has had more expressive results lately, becoming an excellent option for the format's combo players and with a consistent mana base for both their maindeck plan and for the answers in the Sideboard.

Legacy didn't have any major changes. Reanimator remains the best deck in the format and benefited the most from Duskmourn with Metamorphosis Fanatic, which became a staple of the archetype due to its interactions with Brainstorm and Ponder.

The rise of Reanimator also puts Ghost Vacuum in a privileged position in the Legacy Metagame, being the set's most played card in the format.

Roaring Furnace // Steaming Sauna also made a one-off appearance in this weekend's Challenges in a Legacy version of Izzet Wizards. The enchantment is an efficient removal that, in longer games, also works as a source of card advantage with an extra draw every turn.

Like Legacy, Pauper also didn't have any new features this week. Clockwork Percussionist and Grab the Prize were the set's biggest additions to the commons format and have become staples of Kuldotha Red and Rakdos Madness, increasing their respective positions in the current Metagame.

Unable to Scream has also started to show up in the Mono Blue sideboard, specifically in Faeries, where it operates as a one-mana spot removal.

Another card that appeared this weekend in Pauper's Challenges was Glassworks // Shattered Yard in Gruul Ponza. Its inclusion seems to be a test rather than a demand from the Metagame, adding another efficient removal while also ensuring inevitability in grindy games.

That's all for today!

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

Thanks for reading!