Hello, and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest Constructed developments on the path to the Pro Tour. With the release of Bloomburrow, Standard players are preparing for tiny tales and big adventures. The oldest four sets (Innistrad: Midnight Hunt, Innistrad: Crimson Vow, Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, and Streets of New Capenna) have rotated out, resulting in a fresh format that is looking wide-open and diverse.

In today's article, I'll cover the results from the first Standard tournaments after the rotation, highlighting the new decks to beat, the new contenders, and the most important cards from Bloomburrow. Week 1 has only scratched the surface, but the charming animalfolk are already enabling a wealth of new possibilities in Standard.

The Post-Rotation Standard Metagame

Standard is a rotating 60-card format that currently allows expansion sets from Dominaria United forward. To grasp the post-rotation metagame, I analyzed the first four Standard Challenges on Magic Online and a 111-player event on Melee. The sample size of 239 decklists is small, but it provides a useful first indication.

To each deck, I awarded a number of points equal to its number of match wins minus match losses, if positive. This combines popularity and performance into a single metric. Each archetype's point share is then interpreted as its share of the winner's metagame.

In this table, each archetype name hyperlinks to a well-performing, representative decklist. The "Other" category included Izzet Artifacts, Bant Artifacts, Jund Valiant, Golgari Proliferate, Mono-Red Prowess, Boros Mice, Mono-Black Midrange, Dimir Reanimator, Sultai Midrange, Azorius Soldiers, Grixis Control, Five-Color Niv, Jeskai Control, and more.

In a previous article, entitled "Winners and Losers from Standard Rotation," I provided a metagame snapshot right before rotation and highlighted the most important cards that were rotating out of Standard. As expected, the loss of Raffine, Scheming Seer ended the reign of Esper Midrange. The rotation of the legendary channel lands greatly weakened Four-Color Legends. And the departure of the New Capenna fetch lands demolished Temur Analyst. These decks have now largely disappeared from competitive Standard.

Meanwhile, decks that did not lose much from rotation have flourished, and Bloomburrow enabled new decks as well. In post-rotation Standard, black is the dominant color, particularly for midrange strategies. Indeed, the most-played nonland cards across all main decks and sideboards were Go for the Throat; Cut Down; Duress; Deep-Cavern Bat; and Liliana of the Veil. To zoom in closer, let's take a look at the four most prominent archetypes in the new Standard, followed by three spicy standouts.

The Deck to Defeat: Golgari Midrange

6 Swamp 4 Blooming Marsh 4 Go for the Throat 4 Llanowar Wastes 4 Restless Cottage 4 Mosswood Dreadknight 4 Cut Down 4 Preacher of the Schism 3 Forest 3 Glissa Sunslayer 3 Caustic Bronco 3 Deep-Cavern Bat 2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 2 Liliana of the Veil 2 Underground Mortuary 2 Gix's Command 2 Hostile Investigator 2 Fountainport 1 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal 1 Fabled Passage 3 Duress 2 Tranquil Frillback 2 Glistening Deluge 1 Tear Asunder 1 Liliana of the Veil 1 Nissa, Ascended Animist 1 Harvester of Misery 1 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal 1 The End 1 Gix's Command 1 Choking Miasma

In post-rotation Standard, Golgari Midrange is the early deck to beat. It's basically a collection of the best individual cards in black and green, and it did not lose any key cards in the rotation. The black interactive spells remain the most efficient in the format, while Mosswood Dreadknight and Glissa Sunslayer provide a fast, resilient clock. Moreover, with Restless Cottage and Bloomburrow's Fountainport, the mana base features a lot of utility. The above list is an aggregate of the 39 Golgari Midrange decks in my data set, using an algorithm that takes into account the popularity, performance, and synergy of individual card choices.

Golgari Midrange proved rotation-proof, as its few losses were easily replaced. For example, Graveyard Trespasser turned into Preacher of the Schism, Deathcap Glade changed to Fabled Passage, and Path of Peril became Glistening Deluge. Additionally, some versions added Innkeeper's Talent and Vraska, Betrayal's Sting. Meanwhile, the most successful Golgari Midrange players moved Duress to the sideboard and Gix's Command to the main deck. This makes sense because powerful noncreature spells, such as Wedding Announcement, rotated, while Bloomburrow mainly boosted creature strategies. But regardless of the exact card choices, Golgari Midrange is currently holding the number one spot.

Echoes of Innovation: Orzhov Bats

4 Concealed Courtyard 4 Caves of Koilos 4 Shadowy Backstreet 4 Go for the Throat 4 Deep-Cavern Bat 4 Preacher of the Schism 4 Fabled Passage 4 Caustic Bronco 3 Virtue of Loyalty 3 Swamp 3 Cut Down 3 Zoraline, Cosmos Caller 2 Plains 2 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal 2 Restless Fortress 2 Fountainport 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring 2 Season of the Burrow 2 Liliana of the Veil 1 Legions to Ashes 1 Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor 4 Temporary Lockdown 3 Duress 2 Liliana of the Veil 2 Hostile Investigator 1 Legions to Ashes 1 Harvester of Misery 1 Cut Down 1 Gix's Command

The rotation of Wedding Announcement and The Wandering Emperor may have weakened Orzhov Midrange, but the archetype still found solid replacements in Bloomburrow and posted excellent results. In particular, Zoraline, Cosmos Caller is almost single-handedly carrying the archetype. The new legendary Bat provides additional life when you attack with Deep-Cavern Bat, and its recursion ability provides formidable late-game staying power. Most notably, it can return Preacher of the Schism to add an additional threat to the battlefield or return Liliana of the Veil to answer opposing creatures.

Other Bloomburrow additions include Beza, the Bounding Spring and Season of the Burrow, both of which combine battlefield presence and card advantage. Four- or five-mana spells need to provide enough value to see play in Standard, but these two cards fit the bill. In addition, Fabled Passage softens the loss of Shattered Sanctum, and Fountainport can turn the tokens created by Beza, the Bounding Spring and Season of the Burrow into fresh cards. Orzhov Midrange won two out of four Magic Online Challenges thus far, and it looks to be one of the stronger decks in post-rotation Standard.

A Surprising Survivor: Domain Ramp

4 Leyline Binding 4 Plains 4 Herd Migration 4 Lush Portico 4 Fabled Passage 4 Sunfall 4 Up the Beanstalk 4 Archangel of Wrath 4 Ancient Cornucopia 3 Forest 3 Atraxa, Grand Unifier 3 Temporary Lockdown 2 Cavern of Souls 2 Get Lost 2 Commercial District 2 Heaped Harvest 1 Swamp 1 Island 1 Mountain 1 Hedge Maze 1 Underground Mortuary 1 Meticulous Archive 1 Jace, the Perfected Mind 3 Negate 3 Obstinate Baloth 3 Tranquil Frillback 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 1 Temporary Lockdown 1 Nissa, Ascended Animist 1 Lightning Helix 1 Cavern of Souls

With the rotation of triomes like Spara's Headquarters and Jetmir's Garden, it seemed like it would get much harder to enable domain for a cheap Leyline Binding or a full-value Herd Migration. Surprisingly, Domain Ramp was able to rebuild itself successfully. Surveil lands like Lush Portico have two land types, and Bloomburrow's Fabled Passage and Heaped Harvest will consistently find the right basic land types. Reaching full domain is still easily doable.

Ramping into Archangel of Wrath and Atraxa, Grand Unifier remains powerful as always. This strategy used to go over the top of midrange decks before, so Domain Ramp might prove to be a well-positioned archetype if Golgari Midrange and Orzhov Midrange are dominating the top tables. In Week 1, Domain Ramp was 13.9% of the winner's metagame, and it'll be interesting to see how things will develop.

Mice to Meet You: Gruul Prowess

7 Mountain 4 Monstrous Rage 4 Copperline Gorge 4 Karplusan Forest 4 Heartfire Hero 4 Emberheart Challenger 4 Thran Portal 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Questing Druid 4 Shock 4 Slickshot Show-Off 4 Might of the Meek 4 Royal Treatment 2 Audacity 2 Fugitive Codebreaker 1 Forest 3 Witchstalker Frenzy 3 Urabrask's Forge 3 Pick Your Poison 3 Tectonic Hazard 2 Obliterating Bolt 1 Koth, Fire of Resistance

The fourth-most prominent deck in Week 1 of Bloomburrow Standard, Gruul Prowess, claimed a 7.5% of the winner's metagame. The deck lost Kumano Faces Kakkazan—one of the best red one-drops of all time—but the Mice from Bloomburrow offered an awesome new angle. Heartfire Hero starts out small, but thanks to pump spells like Might of the Meek, Royal Treatment, or Monstrous Rage, it will quickly grow in size. These pump spells can also provide a steady stream of cards and prowess triggers when targeting Emberheart Challenger.

Across the first four post-rotation Magic Online Challenges, Gruul Prowess clinched a first place and a second place, confirming the power of the new Bloomburrow cards. The valiant Mice also showed up in archetypes like Rakdos Prowess, Izzet Prowess, Jund Valiant, and Mono-Red Prowess. Although Gruul Prowess is the most prominent option, there are many ways to build a red aggro deck in post-rotation Standard, and it's not yet clear which versions might ultimately emerge as the strongest.

A New Reptilian Contender: Rakdos Lizards

3 Bitter Triumph 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 4 Cavern of Souls 4 Fireglass Mentor 4 Flamecache Gecko 4 Gev, Scaled Scorch 3 Go for the Throat 4 Hired Claw 4 Iridescent Vinelasher 2 Laughing Jasper Flint 5 Mountain 2 Mudflat Village 1 Ravine Raider 4 Rockface Village 4 Sulfurous Springs 4 Thought-Stalker Warlock 4 Valley Flamecaller 3 Cut Down 1 Dreadmaw's Ire 4 Duress 2 Glistening Deluge 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 3 Urabrask's Forge

The Mice showed that even the smallest creatures can have a big impact, but the Lizards also shouldn't be underestimated. Maximusdee, who finished 12th in a recent Magic Online Challenge, was one of the many players who found success with Rakdos Lizards. It's an aggressive strategy with one-drops like Hired Claw and Iridescent Vinelasher that can effectively deal two damage per turn. Moreover, Flamecache Gecko enables blazingly fast starts, especially in multiples.

The Lizard theme is dealing damage to the opponent, which is relatively easy to accomplish. Once you do, Fireglass Mentor provides card advantage and Thought-Stalker Warlock is upgraded as well. The main payoffs for focusing on a singular creature type are Gev, Scaled Scorch and Valley Flamecaller. With both creatures on the battlefield, each Lizard spell will deal 2 damage to the opponent. This adds up quickly. The deck could take the opponent from 20 to 0 life without ever dealing combat damage!

Hidden treasures: Mono-Red Aggro

18 Mountain 2 Fountainport 4 Shock 4 Hired Claw 4 Urabrask's Forge 4 Mishra's Foundry 3 Obliterating Bolt 4 Lightning Strike 4 Charming Scoundrel 3 Sunspine Lynx 2 Grabby Giant 4 Monastery Swiftspear 1 Scorching Shot 3 Koth, Fire of Resistance 3 Brotherhood's End 4 Emberheart Challenger 2 Jaya, Fiery Negotiator 1 Scorching Shot 1 Koth, Fire of Resistance 1 Obliterating Bolt 2 Witchstalker Frenzy 1 Sunspine Lynx

Mono-Red Aggro may have lost Kumano Faces Kakkazan, Bloodthirsty Adversary, and Play with Fire in the rotation, but it still won the 111-player Izzet Explosive Experiment event. Ryuumei's version swapped Play with Fire for Shock, and replaced Kumano Faces Kakkazan with Hired Claw. Hired Claw is a good stand-alone threat that doesn't require a dedicated Lizard deck, so it's a great inclusion. Moreover, Ryuumei added Sunspine Lynx, which is a tremendous four-drop. It attacks for five, prevents life gain from Deep-Cavern Bat and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, and will regularly deal three or four damage upon entering.

Even more interestingly, Bloodthirsty Adversary was replaced by Charming Scoundrel. With its ability to create a Treasure, also available in Grabby Giant, the deck can reliably ramp into a turn-three Sunspine Lynx. Or perhaps even better, a turn-three Koth, Fire of Resistance. With this planeswalker and a large suite of removal spells, the deck can dynamically shift towards a control role if need be. As a result, this particular list lands somewhere between aggro and midrange. In any case, mono-red is still very much alive in post-rotation Standard, combining both speed and staying power.

Rectangle Theory in Action: Orzhov Sacrifice

4 Bandit's Talent 4 Braids, Arisen Nightmare 4 Caves of Koilos 4 Concealed Courtyard 2 Hostile Investigator 1 Legions to Ashes 1 Malicious Eclipse 2 Mirrex 4 Novice Inspector 4 Nurturing Pixie 2 Plains 2 Restless Fortress 4 Rottenmouth Viper 4 Shadowy Backstreet 4 Spiteful Hexmage 6 Swamp 4 The Witch's Vanity 4 Tithing Blade 4 Hopeless Nightmare 2 Hostile Investigator 1 Legions to Ashes 2 Loran of the Third Path 2 Rest in Peace 3 Shrouded Shepherd 1 Sunfall

The final deck I wanted to highlight was taken to a 6th place finish at a Standard Challenge by Tunaktunak. It makes great use of the new Bloomburrow cards Bandit's Talent and Rottenmouth Viper, which together exemplify the game plan: Put spare permanents onto the battlefield, then sacrifice them for value. With the right draw, Rottenmouth Viper can come down as early as turn three, at which point it will put a lot of pressure on the opponent's life total and resources.

In this deck, Novice Inspector, Spiteful Hexmage, Tithing Blade, Bandit's Talent, and The Witch's Vanity all either put two game pieces ("rectangles") into play, or they add one while depriving the opponent of a resource. Next, you either sacrifice these cards to Braids, Arisen Nightmare for additional value, reuse their abilities by bouncing with Nurturing Pixie, or sacrifice them to ramp into Rottenmouth Viper. Overflowing with synergies, this list looks awesome.

The Most-Played cards from Bloomburrow

The departure of four old sets may have a larger impact on competitive Standard than the introduction of one new set. Nevertheless, Bloomburrow has added a plethora of sweet new cards. For reference, the following table provides an overview of the 25 most-played new-to-Standard cards among the decklists I analyzed.

We already saw most of these cards in the decklists thus far, but the huge numbers for Fabled Passage stand out. It's an impressive mana-fixer, and it enables multicolor decks to reliably find their colors. Every midrange, ramp, or control deck should be able to make good use of it.

The Road to Magic World Championship 30

With all the possibilities for innovation in Standard, it's going to be an exciting time as we get closer to Magic World Championship 30 in late October. There, Duskmourn Standard take center stage at the yearly crown jewel of organized play. As we count down the weeks leading up to Magic World Championship 30 at MagicCon: Las Vegas, each week I'm taking a look at a great deck from a past Magic World Championship.

The 2013 World Championship was the second 16-player tournament after the structural change towards a smaller-scale version of the event. Before 2012, World Championships were Pro Tour-sized, but the field then shrunk to just the best players in the world. Indeed, over half of the competitors at the 2013 World Championship are currently enshrined into the Hall of Fame.

The formats were Draft, Standard, and Modern. After several days of grueling competition, the 19-year-old Shahar Shenhar from Israel defeated Reid Duke to become the Magic World Champion. Shenhar's Jeskai Flash deck appeared to be a major underdog against Duke's Bogles deck, yet Shenhar found a way to win in a thrilling five-game final.

3 Arid Mesa 4 Celestial Colonnade 1 Glacial Fortress 2 Hallowed Fountain 2 Island 1 Mountain 1 Plains 1 Sacred Foundry 4 Scalding Tarn 2 Steam Vents 2 Sulfur Falls 3 Tectonic Edge 2 Restoration Angel 4 Snapcaster Mage 2 Vendilion Clique 3 Cryptic Command 3 Electrolyze 4 Lightning Bolt 2 Lightning Helix 3 Mana Leak 3 Path to Exile 2 Shadow of Doubt 2 Spell Snare 2 Sphinx's Revelation 1 Think Twice 1 Ajani Vengeant 1 Celestial Purge 2 Counterflux 1 Dispel 1 Engineered Explosives 3 Molten Rain 2 Pyroclasm 2 Supreme Verdict 2 Thundermaw Hellkite 1 Vendilion Clique

Shahar Shenhar's Jeskai Flash deck aimed to play on the opponent's turn, reacting to their plays with removal spells like Lightning Helix and countermagic like Mana Leak. It was a nightmare to play against, as you always had to commit your own spells first, allowing the Jeskai Flash player to choose the best response. It was a control strategy at heart, where every card was meant to answer an opposing threat and winning was an afterthought.

646773 Mana Leak Snapcaster Mage

Once you established control, you would typically win the game by flashing back burn spells with Snapcaster Mage, adding Restoration Angel, and animating Celestial Colonnade. With these win conditions, the game could turn around quickly. Jeskai Flash excelled with its interactive package, which gave the deck a favorable matchup against the popular Birthing Pod decks with Melira, Sylvok Outcast combos. These Melira Pod decks had won multiple Grand Prix tournaments in the months prior, but Jeskai Flash preyed on them.

The finals brought together Shahar Shenhar and Reid Duke, both of whom were tempered by Magic Online, hours of preparation, and a desire to always get better. Although the untouchable hexproof creatures in Duke's Bogles deck seemed to be a major problem, Shenhar managed to always find the right mode for Cryptic Command. He either tapped Duke's creatures, allowing him to race, or he cleverly bounced Spider Umbra, allowing Supreme Verdict to clear the board. Ultimately, Shenhar took the trophy, and it wouldn't be the first time.

Shahar Shenhar would go on to win the 2014 World Championship as well, becoming the first and only player to claim the title twice. At the upcoming 30th edition of the Magic World Championship, there are five players on the invitation list who could become a repeat champion: Kai Budde, Seth Manfield, Javier Dominguez, Yuta Takahashi, and Jean-Emmanuel Depraz. With another victory, reigning champion Jean-Emmanuel Depraz could even go back-to-back, just like Shahar Shenhar. In a few months, on October 25, we'll get the record books ready!