Metagame: Bloomburrow's First Week on Standard

Bloomburrow Standard is here!

Magic's new expansion is now available on all platforms, and this weekend, we had the first results from online events featuring the set, which included the emergence of new archetypes like Orzhov Midrange or the reappearance of strategies from last season, like Azorius Artifacts, the winner of this Sunday's event.

In this article, we analyze Bloomburrow's impact on the first week of Standard and which archetypes stood out and are beginning to consolidate the format's competitive Metagame!

For this Metagame analysis, it is important to have the numbers and results of the decks in the main competitive tournaments, and while we had a 111-player event in Japan with some surprises, such as Mono Red Midrange that won the tournament, here we consider the Top 32 of the Magic Online Challenges, where we can aggregate the results and general trends the format should follow in the coming weeks.

The Challenges Metagame

Below are all the archetypes with more than one copy in the Challenges this weekend, adding up the Top 32 of all the events.

Orzhov Midrange - 24

Atraxa Ramp - 15

Golgari Midrange - 14

Gruul Prowess - 13

Boros Convoke - 9

Mono Red Aggro - 6

Azorius Control - 5

Rakdos Lizards - 5

Jeskai Convoke - 4

Abzan Midrange - 3

Rakdos Midrange - 3

Orzhov Viper - 3

Azorius Artifacts - 2

Azorius Soldiers - 2

Bant Control - 2

Mono-Black Midrange - 2

Boros Prowess - 2

Izzet Otters - 2

Decks that only had one copy included some notable strategies, such as Izzet Prowess, Dimir Midrange, Izzet Pirates, Boros Pia, and Esper Control.

Top 8 Metagame

Using the same formula, limited to the Top 8 of the events, we have the following numbers for each archetype.

Orzhov Midrange - 6

Golgari Midrange - 6

Atraxa Ramp - 4

Gruul Prowess - 4

Boros Convoke - 3

Azorius Control - 2

Azorius Artifacts - 1

Izzet Prowess - 1

Mono Red Aggro - 1

Jeskai Convoke - 1

Rakdos Midrange - 1

Orzhov Viper - 1

Since last week, when Bloomburrow cards had not yet arrived at Magic Arena, it was clear that Black Midranges would be at the top of the format. Its creature core, with Preacher of the Schism and Caustic Bronco to generate value and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse with Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal as finishers, creates a strong and growing curve for other archetypes to hold, especially if added to Cut Down and Go for the Throat, two of the best removals in the current Metagame.

Golgari Midrange was the first to show up in this wave and seemed like the most suitable candidate for the best deck of the format, and in numbers, we can even reaffirm its position: with ten copies less than the new Orzhov variants, it managed the same amount of Top 8s this weekend.

Its impressive results can also be attributed to the fact Golgari is a deck that is already well-established in the format, while Orzhov is still in the testing and adaptation phase, since some of its main cards came with Bloomburrow.

Orzhov Midrange is very reminiscent of the old Esper Midrange, but without the third color now that it has lost Raffine, Scheming Seer - but that doesn't mean that the archetype lacks a card to build around.

Zoraline, Cosmos Caller has established itself as one of the strongest Bloomburrow cards so far, replicating, in each combat, the ability of Lurrus of the Dream-Den, but increasing its scope to permanents with a mana value three, bringing back even Planeswalkers like Liliana of the Veil.

This is an archetype that I have been testing personally over the last few days, and I have been pleasantly surprised by the results. The lists have not yet reached a consensus, but it appears that the ideal is for this deck to be more proactive than its counterpart to take more advantage of Zoraline.

Beza, the Bounding Spring and Season of the Burrow are two other important cards that Bloomburrow has brought to Orzhov, with the white elemental directly competing with Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and, at first, taking its place.

There are also Rakdos variants popping up, but with an explosive plan and a slight hint of “combo” in the middle with The Infamous Cruelclaw, which can cast cards like Trumpeting Carnosaur or Virtue of Persistence for free, or just generate a little more value each turn.

This list seems to try to do a little bit of everything and do nothing too well, but it is also an essential first step in improving the archetype, not to mention that it took third place in the August 3 Challenge.

Where there are Midranges, there will be decks trying to play on top or under it, and if Domain Ramp was one of the best last season, it remains a strong contender in the Metagame today.

Atraxa, Grand Unifier is still one of the most powerful creatures ever made in Magic, and if there is a way for it to be cast, players will do everything to find a way to access four colors: Heaped Harvest, a common from Bloomburrow, was precisely what it needed to the point of replacing even Ancient Cornucopia with its interaction with Herd Migration and Leyline Binding.

The Ramp package will be strong in Standard as long as Atraxa exists, and as long as Midranges remain within decks to beat, the archetype has a promising future and may even dominate the format in the future.

But if Atraxa dominates Standard, there is no shortage of ways to play under it and this is how the “rock-paper-scissors” of Bloomburrow's Standard begins to form - with a quick, lethal attack against unprepared opponents.

We can categorize the Aggro of the current Metagame into two variants: the “go big”, which aim to increase the power of one or more creatures to deal lethal damage early, and the “go wide”, with several creatures and the synergy between them to win the game in a few combat phases.

Among the go big, Gruul Prowess stands out and is currently the best Aggro in Standard. Its combination of efficient red creatures like Slickshot Show-Off and their interaction with spells creates a fast enough clock to deal with any opponent that takes an extra turn to make their plays.

While Mono Red variants exist and are a good budget deck option, the addition of green is the real icing on the cake: with it, you gain protection with Royal Treatment, evasion with Audacity, and a cheap answer to Atraxa, Grand Unifier and Zoraline, Cosmos Caller with Pick Your Poison.

Boros Convoke is the main and perhaps only viable “go wide” deck in Standard right now. Despite the significant loss of Voldaren Epicure, the archetype has remained viable with Yotian Frontliner and Charming Scoundrel, but has not received any major new developments with Bloomburrow.

The problem, however, is that Boros Convoke started the season very well, but has been declining since the Challenges on August 3rd to the point where there was only one copy in the Top 32 on August 4th. The reasons probably involve a format that is geared towards responding to it and the fact that its clock is slower than Gruul or other red decks, which also have good Sideboard options for this matchup.

This “target” on Convoke’s back has also affected other archetypes: Azorius Soldiers’ results certainly reflect this scenario and, perhaps, the same can be said about Rakdos Lizards.

With the three pillars formed with their respective representatives, the Standard Metagame begins to take shape and respond with more specific archetypes that aim to take advantage of the gaps.

Also imported from last season, Azorius Artifacts seems like one of those meta calls, which takes advantage of the fact Go for the Throat is the main removal in the format today to turn them into dead cards against Simulacrum Synthesizer and Thousand Moons Smithy, in addition to having a very efficient permanent-based control line.

Control is also starting to show up as the Metagame adapts, and Azorius has an excellent combination of cards in the current season, with No More Lies and Deduce as cheap answers and the new Bloomburrow with Spellgyre as counterspell and card selection and Beza, the Bounding Spring as a win condition capable of holding the game against Aggro.

Rottenmouth Viper has found a home in Orzhov, where spells like Novice Inspector and Spiteful Hexmage combine to put more than one permanent into play, and its goal involves casting the creature early while having a discard plan with Hostile Investigator and Bandit's Talent.

Rakdos Lizards is another potential Aggro contender, but it has done less well than Boros Convoke or Gruul. The interactions between its cards and also with the Outlaws mechanic create a highly synergistic archetype that is very fun to play. It's possible that it will grow in the weeks when Boros Convoke is down to the point where the format will neglect "go wide" a little more.

And speaking of Convoke, some players are now betting on a Jeskai version, with the addition of blue giving Spyglass Siren to increase the amount of one-drops that leave artifacts and Zephyr Singer to give flying to your creatures while it's a 4/3 on its own, but its biggest draw is the inclusion of counterspells like Protect the Negotiators in the Sideboard.

Another variation of the Prowess decks that emerged this weekend was Izzet, with Sleight of Hand for selection and Shore Up to protect your creatures, in addition to Stormchaser’s Talent as another one-drop with Prowess in the list. It is possible to do some things with the colors in this theme, or even use it as a future Meta Call.

The cards below were, respectively, the most played from the new expansion among the four Challenges this weekend.

Beza, the Bounding Spring has proven to be a worthy competitor to Sheoldred, the Apocalypse for Orzhov Midrange and a viable and efficient replacement in the role that belonged to The Wandering Emperor in the most varied archetypes with white, totaling the presence of 32 copies in the Challenges

Fountainport has been giving a good impression of Mirrex with some extra features, being ostensibly tested both in attrition archetypes and in some Convoke lists in the slot that belonged to its predecessor, and also had the presence of 32 copies this weekend.

If Orzhov Midrange was the most present deck this weekend and much of it is due to Zoraline, Cosmos Caller making a good Lurrus of the Dream-Den impression, it is natural that it is among the most played cards, with 24 copies.

The “Mono Red Package” left its mark on Standard, and as they usually play together, Emberheart Challenger, Heartfire Hero and Might of the Meek had 21 copies in the Top 32 of this weekend's Challenges.

Season of the Burrow started the week consolidating itself as one of the best white cards of the set for Orzhov Midrange, but it has been falling out of the lists and losing space to other options and/or the need for a Meta Call, totaling 15 copies.

Thought-Stalker Warlock, on the other hand, has consolidated itself as a staple in Rakdos Lizards and is gaining space in Golgari Midrange as well, where its ability matches the deck's proactive attrition plan, and had 10 copies in the weekend's events.

That's all for today.

As other competitive formats, such as Modern and Pioneer, are in the middle of uncertainty with the upcoming ban and restriction announcement on August 26th, my content this month will be very focused on Standard, with deck techs and a more in-depth analysis of the Metagame as it consolidates.

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

Thanks for reading!