It was another relatively quiet weekend on the live event front with Grand Prix: “Boston” showcasing Magic 2013 Limited, which limits the only major live event to the StarCityGames Open in Denver this past weekend.

Standard

"G/W Aggro"

• Creatures (24)
• 1 Wolfir Silverheart
• 2 Hero of Bladehold
• 2 Thragtusk
• 3 Avacyn's Pilgrim
• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 4 Blade Splicer
• 4 Restoration Angel
• 4 Strangleroot Geist

• Spells (13)
• 3 Dismember
• 2 Green Sun's Zenith
• 2 Oblivion Ring
• 4 Rancor
• 2 Sword of War and Peace

• Lands (23)
• 4 Plains
• 9 Forest
• 2 Gavony Township
• 4 Razorverge Thicket
• 4 Sunpetal Grove

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Sword of Feast and Famine
• 2 Acidic Slime
• 1 Thragtusk
• 2 Oblivion Ring
• 2 Crushing Vines
• 1 Dismember
• 2 Melira, Sylvok Outcast
• 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

Buy This Deck

G/W aggro won the event and came out of relative obscurity to do so. However, given the transformation of the Delver creature base to eschew creatures such as Restoration Angel, which is traditionally a strong card against green aggressive strategies, Delver has become less favorable than it has been in the past. In addition, the popularity of Birthing Pod decks has decreased, removing one of the worst matches for G/W aggro as Pod decks were capable of going over the top before they could end the game.

"W/U Delver"

• Creatures (16)
• 1 Phantasmal Image
• 2 Augur of Bolas
• 2 Restoration Angel
• 4 Delver of Secrets
• 4 Snapcaster Mage
• 3 Geist of Saint Traft

• Spells (25)
• 3 Mana Leak
• 4 Gut Shot
• 4 Thought Scour
• 4 Vapor Snag
• 4 Gitaxian Probe
• 4 Ponder
• 2 Runechanter's Pike

• Lands (19)
• 1 Plains
• 5 Island
• 1 Cavern of Souls
• 2 Ghost Quarter
• 2 Moorland Haunt
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 4 Seachrome Coast

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Sword of War and Peace
• 2 Phantasmal Image
• 3 Celestial Purge
• 1 Dissipate
• 2 Divine Offering
• 2 Mental Misstep
• 1 Negate
• 2 Talrand, Sky Summoner

Buy This Deck

Delver made up half the Top 8 and continues to be among the best performing (if not the best performing) deck in Standard at the moment. Runechanter's Pike has continued to keep its place as a two-of, a trend that picked up about three weeks ago with Gindy’s Top 8 finish in SCG Open: D.C. Augur of Bolas also makes its return, but the card never seems to perform as well in practice as it looks like it would on paper. As decks such as Esper midrange become less and less popular, Delver decks can more safely play Moorland Haunt over Cavern of Souls.

"Mono-Green Aggro"

• Creatures (9)
• 1 Blight Mamba
• 4 Glistener Elf
• 4 Ichorclaw Myr

• Spells (30)
• 4 Apostle's Blessing
• 4 Gut Shot
• 4 Mental Misstep
• 4 Mutagenic Growth
• 4 Titanic Growth
• 2 Green Sun's Zenith
• 4 Rancor
• 4 Wild Defiance

• Lands (21)
• 13 Forest
• 4 Cathedral of War
• 4 Inkmoth Nexus

Buy This Deck

Mono-green infect made Top 8 again, but the list remains almost completely unchanged (there’s really not much to do with it) compared to other weeks.

"Mono-Black Post"

• Creatures (6)
• 1 Grave Titan
• 1 Wurmcoil Engine
• 4 Solemn Simulacrum

• Planeswalkers (5)
• 2 Karn Liberated
• 3 Liliana of the Veil

• Spells (27)
• 1 Dismember
• 2 Doom Blade
• 2 Barter In Blood
• 2 Black Sun's Zenith
• 4 Mutilate
• 1 Batterskull
• 1 Mimic Vat
• 2 Mycosynth Wellspring
• 3 Ichor Wellspring
• 3 Nihil Spellbomb
• 3 Pristine Talisman
• 3 Trading Post

• Lands (22)
• 14 Swamp
• 2 Buried Ruin
• 2 Ghost Quarter
• 4 Phyrexia's Core

Buy This Deck

For some reason I will never understand, people proclaim at the release of every set that mono-black control is back. Mono-black control will probably never, ever be a top-tier deck again (unless Wizards of the Coast decides to reprint Cabal Coffers), so it’s time to get over it. People also seem to have a huge thing for Trading Post, another obsession I don’t really understand. Therefore, this deck is basically the fulfillment of various fetishes hidden away in the Magic community and should probably be kept in private.

Legacy

For the first time since I started this column, a Top 8 has eight different archetypes in it. The metagame of Legacy is apparently still somewhat diverse even though it appeared to be stagnating due to the presence of R/U/G keeping new and interesting decks out of the metagame. Also surprising is the fact that no Merfolk make Top 8, especially given its solid performance in earlier Legacy Opens since the release of Magic 2013.

"Belcher"

• Creatures (12)
• 4 Elvish Spirit Guide
• 4 Simian Spirit Guide
• 4 Tinder Wall

• Spells (47)
• 4 Desperate Ritual
• 4 Pyretic Ritual
• 4 Seething Song
• 3 Empty the Warrens
• 4 Burning Wish
• 4 Gitaxian Probe
• 4 Land Grant
• 4 Rite of Flame
• 4 Chrome Mox
• 4 Goblin Charbelcher
• 4 Lion's Eye Diamond
• 4 Lotus Petal

• Lands (1)
• 1 Taiga

Buy This Deck

Belcher hasn’t been seen performing well in ages, and every time it does perform, it’s just proof that if you flip enough coins, you’ll eventually make it to a patch where you see seven or eight heads in a row.

"Omni Tell"

• Creatures (9)
• 3 Academy Rector
• 3 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
• 3 Griselbrand

• Spells (31)
• 3 Force of Will
• 4 Brainstorm
• 3 Gitaxian Probe
• 4 Cabal Therapy
• 4 Living Wish
• 4 Ponder
• 4 Show and Tell
• 2 Omniscience
• 3 Lotus Petal

• Lands (20)
• 1 Swamp
• 3 Island
• 1 Tropical Island
• 1 Tundra
• 1 Verdant Catacombs
• 2 Underground Sea
• 3 Cavern of Souls
• 4 Misty Rainforest
• 4 Polluted Delta

Buy This Deck

Omni Tell has, at least for the time being, replaced Sneak and Show as the Show and Tell deck of choice. The deck avoids a number of common hate cards (such as Gilded Drake and Bone Shredder) that are normally good against Show decks, as it can just put Omniscience onto the battlefield instead. The deck is slightly modified from Simon Goertzen’s list from the last Legacy Grand Prix, but it’s nothing particularly new.

"U/R Delver"

• Creatures (13)
• 3 Grim Lavamancer
• 4 Delver of Secrets
• 4 Snapcaster Mage
• 2 Vendilion Clique

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

• Spells (27)
• 1 Daze
• 1 Fire // Ice
• 2 Spell Snare
• 3 Force of Will
• 3 Spell Pierce
• 4 Brainstorm
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 2 Ponder
• 3 Chain Lightning
• 3 Gitaxian Probe
• 1 Sulfuric Vortex

• Lands (19)
• 2 Mountain
• 3 Island
• 1 Wooded Foothills
• 2 Misty Rainforest
• 3 Volcanic Island
• 4 Scalding Tarn
• 4 Wasteland

Buy This Deck

The last deck is a bit of a mystery to me, as I don’t see any benefit of being straight U/R compared to R/U/G. Grim Lavamancer is all right at killing other creatures in the virtual mirror, but R/U/G generally excels at dealing with or outclassing such small creatures. The deck seems to have given up Tarmogoyf for Chain Lightning, and that just doesn’t seem to be the most well-thought-out change.

Chris Mascioli

@dieplstks on Twitter