Welcome to Gathering Magic's weekly quintet of Magic Online decks you should be aware of this weekend, whether you're playing a major online event, going to a Grand Prix, or hitting Friday Night Magic. In an era of big data, Magic Online provides some of the biggest data, so even a quick-and-dirty snapshot of recent activity gets you ahead of the competition. This week, with Grand Prix San Diego following Pro Tour Magic Origins—and Game Day in many other places—it's a deeper look at the new Standard, with a look at Origins's impact on a Legacy sideboard.

Brandon Grits His Teeth and Enters Sand Yego

As the link notes, "Sand Yego consists of some kind of fortress made out of earth and rocks." I therefore would expect many Rock decks this weekend, unless puns in the Commander Keen franchise aren't causal to Grand Prix metagames . . . and I'm being told by the producers here in the studio that they aren't. In that case, here's what 4–0'd at least twice this week (Bold = won a Daily):

• Abzan Control: 7 (won 4)
• Blue-Red Ensoul Artifact: 4
• Esper Dragons: 2
• Red Aggro: 2
• Black-Green Constellation: 2
• Abzan Aggro won a Daily in its only 4-0 appearance.

So Abzan Control is the elephant/Rhino in the room, winning three straight Dailies. Here's Friday's winner:

Abzan Control ? Standard | amat_0

• Creatures (13)
• 3 Den Protector
• 4 Courser of Kruphix
• 4 Siege Rhino
• 2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
• 3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

• Spells (17)
• 2 Ultimate Price
• 4 Abzan Charm
• 4 Hero's Downfall
• 3 Languish
• 4 Thoughtseize

• Lands (26)
• 1 Plains
• 3 Forest
• 2 Caves of Koilos
• 3 Llanowar Wastes
• 4 Sandsteppe Citadel
• 4 Temple of Malady
• 4 Temple of Silence
• 4 Windswept Heath
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Ultimate Price
• 3 Anafenza, the Foremost
• 1 Bile Blight
• 2 Dromoka's Command
• 2 Duress
• 2 Hallowed Moonlight
• 1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor
• 2 Tragic Arrogance

Buy This Deck

Nissa, Vastwood Seer increases the deck's consistency, while Languish improves aggro matches; other than that, it's the same deck shell as always. Hallowed Moonlight and Tragic Arrogance are in the sideboard; while I don't know the matchups in which Tragic Arrogance is better than End Hostilities, it's a little easier to manipulate for a deck with an enchantment creature (e.g. pick Courser of Kruphix for the enchantment and Siege Rhino for the creature) and a creature that can become a Planeswalker. Both have uses against the U/R Ensoul Artifact deck that made the Pro Tour finals, as End Hostilities will kill any attached permanents while Tragic Arrogance excels at breaking synergies apart (e.g. pick an artifact without anything on it and an Ensoul Artifact on something else, and you gain extra value). Given the centrality of Ensoul Artifact to that strategy, Dromoka's Command returning to the main deck might be possible as well. Abzan Control is versatile in its answer suite, so it should continue to morph (and megamorph!) as the season progresses.

Speaking of Ensoul Artifact, the day after the Pro Tour a deck 73/75ths identical won the Daily:

U/R Ensoul Artifact ? Standard | rakagar

• Creatures (20)
• 4 Whirler Rogue
• 4 Chief of the Foundry
• 4 Hangarback Walker
• 4 Ornithopter
• 4 Phyrexian Revoker

• Spells (19)
• 4 Shrapnel Blast
• 4 Stubborn Denial
• 4 Ensoul Artifact
• 3 Springleaf Drum
• 4 Ghostfire Blade

• Lands (21)
• 1 Mountain
• 6 Island
• 1 Foundry of the Consuls
• 1 Mana Confluence
• 4 Shivan Reef
• 4 Temple of Epiphany
• 4 Darksteel Citadel

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Foundry of the Consuls
• 3 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Rending Volley
• 4 Roast
• 3 Seismic Rupture
• 3 Thopter Spy Network

Buy This Deck

The difference between this deck and its Pro Tour forebear is the swap of Collateral Damage for the fourth Stubborn Denial and the sideboard Negate for Foundry of the Consuls. Neither fundamentally changes what's going on: Play the fastest 5/5 you can, backed by Shrapnel Blast and a pile of synergy. The Pro Tour coverage will fill you in on this deck better than I could, but at the very least, be warned: If your deck can't interact on even a basic level with this deck, you can die incredibly quickly. Although not everyone going to Game Day has the playset of Hangarback Walkers necessary for this deck to hum, the rest is pretty cheap, and even an 80% effective version of this might be the fastest deck in the room.

Demonic Pact definitely is not the fastest deck in the room, and not just because it's a card instead of a deck . . . Abzan Pact and Sultai Pact both 4–0'd this week:

Sultai Pact ? Standard | loystke

• Creatures (18)
• 4 Courser of Kruphix
• 4 Deathmist Raptor
• 4 Den Protector
• 4 Satyr Wayfinder
• 2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

• Spells (17)
• 1 Murderous Cut
• 3 Silumgar's Command
• 4 Sultai Charm
• 2 Treasure Cruise
• 4 Thoughtseize
• 3 Demonic Pact

• Lands (24)
• 1 Island
• 2 Forest
• 2 Swamp
• 1 Yavimaya Coast
• 3 Llanowar Wastes
• 3 Polluted Delta
• 3 Temple of Mystery
• 4 Jungle Hollow
• 4 Opulent Palace
• 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
• 2 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Drown in Sorrow
• 2 Duress
• 2 Languish
• 2 Stratus Dancer
• 2 Ultimate Price
• 1 Virulent Plague

Buy This Deck

The Pro Tour deck tech on this budding archetype showcased a more control version, while the list above is more midrange. Demonic Pact's modes are all midrange-style value, so that switch doesn't feel jarring. With the green midrange package, it seems that the mana works out better in this version than in the Pro Tour version, though that's just an impression. Sultai Charm, like Dromoka's Command, is a nice answer both to Demonic Pact and to the Ensoul Artifact deck; that flexibility might up this—or at least some other Sultai—deck's presence in the metagame.

One Spicy Metaball

This was one of those decks sort of rumored to exist, but I hadn't seen a list outside random articles until now. Going 3–1 on Wednesday:

White Devotion ? Standard | mavignon

• Creatures (23)
• 1 Wingmate Roc
• 2 Hidden Dragonslayer
• 3 Soldier of the Pantheon
• 4 Archangel of Tithes
• 4 Knight of the White Orchid
• 1 Heliod, God of the Sun
• 2 Kytheon, Hero of Akros
• 3 Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit
• 3 Brimaz, King of Oreskos

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 2 Elspeth, Sun's Champion

• Spells (10)
• 4 Valorous Stance
• 1 Tragic Arrogance
• 2 Citadel Siege
• 2 Mastery of the Unseen
• 1 Spear of Heliod

• Lands (25)
• 21 Plains
• 1 Foundry of the Consuls
• 3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Arashin Cleric
• 1 Banishing Light
• 2 Celestial Flare
• 1 Dictate of Heliod
• 1 Erase
• 2 Glare of Heresy
• 1 Hallowed Moonlight
• 1 Kytheon's Irregulars
• 2 Secure the Wastes
• 2 Surge of Righteousness

Buy This Deck

Besides Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx making piles of mana, the main incentive to go all white is Archangel of Tithes, which should be good as long as Dragon Fodder and Hordeling Outburst are relevant. Kytheon, Hero of Akros is certainly at home in a mono-white shell, while Knight of the White Orchid is both an excellent 2-drop—something the archetype definitely needed more of—and a valuable source of consistency. It's a straightforward plan, but several cards, like Archangel of Tithes, Hidden Dragonslayer, Citadel Siege, and Valorous Stance, can play different roles depending on the matchup. I like the mix of blocks in here, and the deck could catch some people off guard this weekend, whether at the Grand Prix or at your local Game Day.

Abbot Nauseam

This 3–1 deck from Wednesday lives up to its pilot's name:

Ad Nauseam Tendrils ? Legacy | TheStoneColdNuts

• Spells (45)
• 1 Ad Nauseam
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Cabal Ritual
• 4 Dark Ritual
• 1 Grim Tutor
• 1 Past in Flames
• 1 Tendrils of Agony
• 2 Preordain
• 3 Duress
• 4 Cabal Therapy
• 4 Gitaxian Probe
• 4 Infernal Tutor
• 4 Ponder
• 4 Lion's Eye Diamond
• 4 Lotus Petal

• Lands (15)
• 1 Island
• 1 Swamp
• 1 Badlands
• 1 Bloodstained Mire
• 1 Tropical Island
• 1 Volcanic Island
• 2 Underground Sea
• 3 Flooded Strand
• 4 Polluted Delta

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Abbot of Keral Keep
• 3 Abrupt Decay
• 2 Chain of Vapor
• 2 Defense Grid
• 1 Empty the Warrens
• 1 Massacre
• 2 Pyroclasm

Buy This Deck

The main deck is stock for the archetype: Do some cheap things, make some mana, find the deck's namesakes, and combo off. But the sideboard quartet of Abbot of Keral Keep is completely new and changes what the deck can do. Of course, many decks have done the no-creature main deck with a plan to bring in creatures, and many decks in Legacy have used Monastery Swiftspear for loads of damage because prowess is so easy to trigger. Here, Abbot of Keral Keep provides both prowessy beef and a type of cantrip that might ramp and even profit mana, depending on what it hits. It also enables flashback on Cabal Therapy, a synergy the main deck lacks. While assembling the combo, it can hit for major chunks of damage, which, unlike some combo decks, matters a great deal because the combo win condition is damage. So every hit of Abbot of Keral Keep reduces the lethal storm count by at least one. Standard players are experimenting with the card's best home, but Legacy's already found a sweet one.

Conclusion

Last week, I hoped for a major shakeup with the Pro Tour, and it didn't let me down. Grand Prix San Diego might be as major since Ensoul Artifact and other decks are known quantities. What direction the metagame goes, consolidating or reacting, should be great to watch.