State of the Best of Three Meta M20
MTGM20 has already made a huge splash on the meta. M20 has given tribal a boost and spawned a new tribal deck. It also has brought a few decks back to life right before rotation. What are some cards and decks that have already taken over the best of three meta? Here are a few lists I would say are solid crafts if rotation isn't a concern. Oh yeah, and if you want to see more top Standard decks you can find them all on the Standard metagame page,
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and Knight of the Ebon Legion are the two cards to bring our favorite night crawling tribe back. Knight has been an absolute powerhouse as it scales into the late game with its activated ability. It can activate more than once and also gains deathtouch. The fact that you can also combine Adanto Vanguard's ability with knight to pump your own knight is big. Sorin is the other card from M20 to make waves as every mode is absolutely what this deck wants and needs to be removed immediately before it runs wild. This is assuming they don't just play Sorin, use the -3 and drop something like a Champion of Dusk to reload.
What about a new tribe? Elementals! This deck can play the long game quite well and go very big.
This has been the break out tribe from M20 thanks to Risen Reef. If you're worried about rotation hitting in the fall, this is the deck that keeps a ton of its core intact. I've seen some decks drop the red and add black for Yarok, the Desecrated, better removal, and Command the Dreadhorde. Some just play all four colors! Whatever flavor of elementals you want to build, as long as it has Risen Reef at its core, it'll be fine.
If you're looking for something with Risen Reef but isn't as creature heavy upfront and is kind of combo like?
I'm really happy Scapeshift sees some play before it rotates. This deck ramps absurdly fast and with the way the meta is right now, not many things interact with Field of the Dead! All you really want to do is stall long enough to get to the point where you can make a ton of zombies. I think this deck is one of the few decks that doesn't hate the idea of flooding out as that produces a board full of threats. Some lists go a little bit heavier with elementals or a more "Yoink" aka steal your stuff strategy. Whichever version you choose, it should be fun and have numerous ways to make use of your mana.
What about a different combo deck? They say there's a finite amount of fun to be had and this deck is looking to have it all!
This deck is very solid right now because every deck is just a midrange deck and Simic Nexus actually preys on this format. It got a huge boost in sideboard cards like Veil of Summer and occasionally, Shifting Ceratops so we can now board into a creature filled deck. Rotation will dunk on this deck but maybe it just adds red and switches over to the old Temur Reclamation style of deck winning on the back of Niv-Mizzet, Parun and Expansion // Explosion and will lean a tad bit heavier on Temple of Epiphany for a better mana base
The tried and true deck of the format since it got Hallowed Fountain is Esper!
M20 actually didn't do much for this deck as it didn't need much. The only new additions so far are just Temple of Silence. I'm not entirely sure rotation does anything to this deck post-rotation outside of losing the people's champ Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. It needs some other big finishers as its answers are so efficient. I've seen some lists already toying with Cavalier of Gales out of the sideboard and that could be the direction we move in if there are enough cards to warrant us to be heavier on blue mana.
Who would I be if I left out our favorite angel Feather, the Redeemed ?
Gods Willing was the final piece to make this deck work. We now have a Voltron style of deck that can be assembled with Feather, Sheltering Light, and Gods Willing. This deck can definitely beat on the elementals. Some people are adding green for Season of Growth as that is a silly amount of value for this deck but the trade-off is the inconsistent mana base which can really clip your wings.
The last deck I'd recommend to build is Red Deck!
M20 has brought Ember Hauler which has been huge and gives red mages hope for rotation after the wizard package leaves. Another card that caught me off guard is Chandra's Spitfire. This card goes from 0 to 60 absurdly fast. One turn you're at 15+ health and then all of a sudden you died. The deck has also adapted a favorite of mine in Chandra, Acolyte of Flame. Chandra buying us all of our used burn spells back is amazing value and a way to give ourselves constant threats with our two 1/1 haste elementals.
What Else Has M20 Done?
All the hate cards are the truth while others may just need to wait to have their time in the spotlight as I see these cards being huge answers for standard from now until M20 rotates. These hate cards aren't as narrow as you've probably already seen in Shifting Ceratops. This core set is easily one of the most powerful core sets in a long time and could age even better as more new sets arrive. Until then, these are the decks I feel are safe crafts for your wildcards. The numbers will change in the lists as the meta shifts but the core of most of these decks should be solid until rotation.
Thanks for reading and good luck with all your matches!
-Your Friendly Neighborhood AsianAvenger
Twitter: @TheAsianAvenger || Twitch: twitch.tv/TheAsianAvenger || Email: theasianavenger@mtggoldfish.com
