What To Play For The PizzaBox Open: Standard

Hello everyone! Hope you’ve all been doing well. With the Pizza Box Open: Standard (https://tinyurl.com/PBO-August-13th) happening this Sunday August 13^th 1pm est, I thought I’d go over the decks to play in Standard. There is still time to sign up for this Sunday’s event so if you’ve ever wanted to get into competitive events for MTGA The Pizza Box is the place for you.

https://aetherhub.com/Deck/5-color-ramp-standard

Starting off we have the most played deck, 5 Color Ramp also known as Domain. A Midrange Control deck, 5 Color Ramp controls the game with early reactive interaction spells like Leyline Binding or Make Disappear then goes over the top with card advantage powerhouse Atraxa, Grand Unifier. Helping the deck ramp to it’s late game are cards like Topiary Stomper, which can be a threat on its own, or Invasion of Zendikar getting two lands into play tapped then potentitally turning into a threat itself. Newest additions to the sideboard Tyrranax Rex help give the deck an inevitable end game. This deck is chock full of value top to bottom & is still a force to be reckoned with. Highly recommended just be sure to test your mirror matches!

https://aetherhub.com/Deck/mono-red-aggro-standard

Don’t you know Red Deck Wins? With slower decks still at the top of the meta game Aggro decks like Mono Red continue to be a good choice to finish the game quickly. With game ending burn spells like Play With Fire & Lightning Strike the deck has no problem finishing the game by going face. Premier one drops like Monastery Swiftspear & Kumano Faces Kakkazan the deck starts early & keeps the pressure up as the game progresses. Bloodthirsty Adversary is another early to late game threat that keeps the damage coming. Other version run cards like Shivan Devastator & Phoenix Chick for evasive, hasty threats. Make sure to run a card like Nahiri’s Warcrafting for Sheoldred as its a game ending card vs Mono Red when not dealt with. Recommended if you are an Aggro player but you will be wanting to avoid bad matchups as much as possible.

https://aetherhub.com/Deck/dimir-midrange-standard

Dimir Midrange has been a new popular deck in Standard thanks to Magic Jank teammate Cfavretto_Jr. The deck also had a breakout weekend post bans coming in second place in the Pizza Box: Slice of Standard tournament. Pictured above is a recent MTGO list that shows the latest innovations to the deck. Leaning towards a more traditional midrange style with removal spells, counters & value creatures that can scale with the game this deck is sure to pack enough answers & threats for any matchup. Faerie Mastermind is another card that we have seen in quite a few different lists & formats since its printing but its nice to see it finally have a home in this Dimir deck. If you are playing either in ranked or this weekend’s tournament this is sure to be a deck to keep on your radar. Highly recommended.

https://aetherhub.com/Deck/esper-control-standard

https://aetherhub.com/Deck/azorius-control-standard-945751

With so many Midrange decks in the format Control has had a huge resurgence. Esper Control is the more popular choice with Azorius not too far behind it. Both pictured above are great choices for this weekend if you are a Control Mage. Void rend is a great removal spell if you are on the Esper side vs many of the Ward protected creatures or against any nonland permanent in the format. Funny enough we do see Raffine’s Tower in both decks as the powerful cycling tri-lands from Streets of New Capenna continue to skew the format into more multicolored based strategies.

https://aetherhub.com/Deck/tournament-winning-mono-black-aggro

Still a fantastic choice for any tournament, Mono Black Aggro continues to be one of the most consistent decks in standard. There are a couple that have been making it into the latest Pizza Box tournament Top8s, but pictured above is recent Pizza Box Open: Standard winner TheDarkStream’s decklist. Moving Duress to the maindeck coupled with Phyrexian Arena gives the deck better game against the recent rise in Control decks. Highly recommended if you enjoy Aggro or even aggressive Midrange strategies as the deck has tons of late game punch with Mishra’s Foundry or Tenacious Underdog.

That wraps up my look at some of the most popular decks in Standard. What deck will come out on top? Let me know what you think below in the comments or on twitter @pizzagoyf. Don’t forget to check out the rest of MagicJank.com where you can buy or sell MTG cards & products! Stay Saucy!