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« Reply #1 on: April 13, 2005, 05:35:32 am » |
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Looking at this compilation of card choices from last month and comparing to what I've already seen for April, I can say that this is a perfect example of 20-20 Hindsight.
The metagame shift from heavy Mishra's Workshop to Aggro-Control (in the form of Hulk Smash! mainly), leads me to believe that certain sideboarding strategies in the weeks to come will really turn these numbers around.
Look for Energy Flux, Rebuild, Oxidize, and Artifact Mutation use to fall off.
Look for Ground Seal, Tormod's Crypt, and Planar Void to jump onto the scene as the shear number of Animate effects in the metagame demand some planning for. Planar Void is one of the most underrated cards in the meta right now, completely hosing Ghoulnought, Hulk Smash!, Reanimator, Bird Sh*t! (threshold), and hampering Oath (sans Gaea's Blessing). I predict Black to start putting pressure on decks like these that abuse the graveyard.
As Null Rod use drops off a bit, Combo will arise for a few weeks until it comes back. Decks with access to Red should start pulling in the Pyrostatic Pillars and Blue should keep thinking about Arcane Laboratory, although over the last month its appearance has been all for nothing as the metagame was very Combo-UNfriendly.
Engineered Plague may see increased use as it slows Oath down severely, and most of the Aggro decks out there are packing a fair amount of small creatures (Plagues naming Goblins, Spirits, Elves, Lizards, or even Atogs would do quite well in today's metagame).
As the shift goes away from heavy artifact, Lava Dart finds itself on the cutting block. Some may keep them around as there are still decks that abuse Goblin Welder (Control Slaver and Control Titan especially), but not in the same vast numbers as last month's report indicates.
Disenchanting effects will be at an all time high, but players will still need the versatility to choose between Enchantment break or Artifact break. Disenchant, Naturalize, and Hull Breach may see increased play.
Maze of Ith is super hot right now as the majority of the decks you're going to see around here are creature-based (save for the combos out there). Keep an eye for these to see more play as more and more players adopt the Aggro and Aggro-Control builds prior to the Combo Spring that's just around the corner.
Combo around the Guild won't be all that heavy, but there are between 6-10 players that can field some pretty sick decks out there and are capable players. Aggro and Aggro Control will be most of the field though, in my opinion.
Hope these numbers help. Sorry in advance for the weird format, but there isn't a "Tab" option for making columns, or at least I haven't figured it out yet.
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