During Pro Tour Final Fantasy, Red flourished. The top 8 of the marquee tournament consisted of 4 Mono Red decks and 4 Izzet Prowess. Monstrous Rage appeared in every single deck in the top 8. It was clear that something needed to go. Not only that, but Izzet Prowess was 40% of the meta with Mono-Red taking up an additional 10%.
On June 30th, a week after the Pro Tour, Wizards of the Coast took an aggressive stance against the format. In the announcement, they banned not a single problematic card or the 2 or 3 most problematic cards, but 7 cards from the Standard format. In an effort to reduce the power level and speed of the format, they took aim at the most problematic cards and some of the most powerful 1-mana spells. This swath of bans hit not just the top decks but also the decks that would greatly benefit from a simple removal of mono-red and Izzet from the meta-game.
In this article, we will go over what cards got banned, what decks have been left unscathed, and what the new metagame is looking like.
As previously stated, 7 cards were banned.
Cori-Steel Cutter was previously discussed and was simply an absurd threat and value engine. Creating an army of prowess tokens that was also resistant to removal due to being an artifact.
Heartfire Hero is 4 of the 12 cards in the mice package that prior to Cori-Steel Cutter, defined every aggro deck in the meta. Even during the dominance of Izzet Prowess, Heartfire Hero was still a key component of the Mono-Red aggro deck that won the Pro-Tour.
Monstrous Rage being in the format banned blocking. Ironically, Izzet decks started cutting copies of Rage due to it being bad in the mirror, and simply the threat of a rage was enough to disincentivize blocking in almost all cases.
Abuelo’s Awakening allowed Omniscience to be cheated into play on turn 4. In a similar manner to taking out Heartfire Hero from the other red aggro decks, taking out Abuelo’s Awakening slows the format down.
Up the Beanstalk was an incredible card advantage engine for control and ramp decks. Removing it from the format was a preventative measure to ensure that when the Aggro decks are taken down a peg, Domain Control doesn’t entirely dominate the metagame.
Hopeless Nightmare was banned for a similar reason to Heartfire Hero. It is a very powerful 1 mana spell that was part of the core of Esper Bounce. Hopeless Nightmare stripping your hand was also not a fun experience.
Lastly, another piece from the bounce package banned was This Town Ain’t Big Enough. Like the Abuelo’s Awakening banning taking out TABE and Hopeless Nightmare at the same was articulated to be a clear and intentional lowering of the Standard power level.
Overall, the bannings took the whole format down a notch.
Post-Ban Metagame:
Two Decks immediately succeeded post-ban. Dimir Midrange was untouched by the bans and quickly began to dominate MTGO challenges. Izzet Cauldron was also left unscathed and began to see an even greater degree of success. Izzet Prowess, despite losing both Cori-Steel Cutter and Rage, has still seen some success. All it took for Golgari Midrange to be somewhat playable was banning 7 cards. It has reappeared with a vast array of builds, some featuring Unholy Annex or Dark Confidant. Aggro decks have returned to Gruul with Innkeeper’s Talent and Pawpatch Recruit as great reasons to be playing green. Lastly, Azorius control is back as well with some sick new cards such as Ultima. With rotation on the horizon, though, this metagame is certain to be shaken up!
Rotation
While we can’t ever truly predict how the meta will change due to rotation, countless role-players in the metagame will be rotating.
Cut Down has largely defined standard as the most efficient 1 mana removal spell. 3-Mana spells that die to cut down have been effectively unplayable because of how bad it was for them to trade for a Cut Down.
Zur, Eternal Schemer animating a Leyline Binding was a common occurrence, but no longer. Zur would decide games, often animating multiple enchantments before dying to a removal spell. Yuna, Hope of Spira serves a similar role but is more expensive and can be killed before it returns an enchantment from the graveyard to the battlefield.
An uncontested Sheoldred, the Apocalypse has ended many games. There are no similar cards in the environment to Sheoldred.
Izzet Cauldron will lose Voldaren Thrillseeker, a key combo piece to generate massive amounts of damage.
Dimir Midrange will lose Faerie Mastermind, a key aspect of it’s core gameplan.
They cannot all be listed out but each of these cards has defined the metagame in their own way. Zur ended games on the spot, two mana being held up from Dimir midrange representing a high-quality threat or interaction was incredibly important.
