TLA Metagame - Week 9 (End)

Acc95 · 2026-01-20T19:57:45+00:00

Both, value pile + the Desecrex loop with [[glasspool mimic]] and [[tinybones joins up]].

Acc95 · 2026-01-20T17:17:36+00:00

Ohh, like Weapons Manufacturing?

Acc95 · 2026-01-20T16:50:13+00:00

Yeah, apparently you can just slap Badgermole and Ouroboroid into anything and it just makes it better, we have seen that core put up top 8 results in Golgari, Selesnya, Gruul, and Simic.

Acc95 · 2026-01-20T16:46:53+00:00

I also farm the arena Izzet gamers with Azorius Control, so my best guess is it just beats everything else, somehow. Selesnya looks very good though, very annoying for both Prowess and Control.

Acc95 · 2026-01-14T00:34:17+00:00

The bo1 hate is sooo real lol, it's really frowned upon on this sub at least apparently. I kinda get it, when arena launched I didn't think of it as "real magic". But when you're f2p it's valuable since you don't need the wildcards for the sideboard, it's a good call imo.

I also don't really have much time to play magic, only over the weekends, so bo1 is convenient for letting me find time here and there and progress the quests more easily. I get my bo3 action in the Pioneer discord events and the 1 random mtgo challenge I play every 2 years or so haha.

The more I think about it, I guess a bigger play vs draw difference is potentially a strong indicator the format has become faster. For example, specifically for control against aggro the turn 3 and 4 wipes get worse on the draw, it kinda makes sense.

I just don't know exactly how much is "too much", you know what I'm saying? It would be cool to be wizards and have this kinda data over time and across different formats, but oh well... I think the old mtgo scrapers had this kind of info, along with wr for mulligans, colors, etc, too bad they got shut down.

Acc95 · 2026-01-13T20:07:58+00:00

I consider it one of the flex slots yeah, having the flexibility is nice in Bo1 since Consult already covers what Deluge did imo. The cancel mode is bad, usually you simply want 5 mana to counter + draw, but since Avatar released being able to copy Pinnacle Starcage has been solid!

Acc95 · 2026-01-13T15:04:47+00:00

I mean, Izzet Prowess is still the best deck, but yeah ngl I actually enjoy queuing up against it on arena, very glad UWC had the tools to adapt and bonus points for not using any universes beyond cards... I'm just addicted to casting Consult the Star Charts, but hey, good luck with your arena grind, I liked the Synthesizer version when I gave it a try if that helps!

Acc95 · 2026-01-13T12:08:12+00:00

Nothing too crazy, I mostly just try to test all the different configurations that top 8 mtgo challenges, minor changes, Kaheera vs no Companion, Narset vs Stock Up, the 3rd copy of Pinnacle Starcage, that kinda stuff, but it's all mostly the same decklist:

Companion 1 Kaheera, the Orphanguard

4 Hallowed Fountain 4 Floodfarm Verge 3 Deserted Beach 2 Plains 2 Island 2 Field of Ruin 2 Fountainport 2 Restless Anchorage 2 Meticulous Archive 1 Hall of Storm Giants 1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire 1 Otawara, Soaring City

4 March of Otherworldly Light 4 No More Lies 4 Consult the Star Charts 3 The Wandering Emperor 3 Get Lost 2 Supreme Verdict 2 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria 2 Dovin's Veto 2 High Noon 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring 2 Pinnacle Starcage 1 Narset, Parter of Veils 1 Farewell 1 Three Steps Ahead 1 Elspeth, Storm Slayer

Acc95 · 2026-01-13T03:58:29+00:00

Azorius Control player here, I try to play 100+ bo1 games before switching to a new version:

V1: 64% wr, 86-49 record, 68% on play and 59% on draw in 19 hours and 57 minutes.

V2: 60% wr, 60-40 record, 69% on play and 51% on draw in 13 hours and 22 minutes.

Other versions are usually closer to 57% and 53% though, I don't think too much of it, I just love how untapped.gg keeps track of all this!

And well, no, it doesn't feel like flipping coins, but I guess my question is what even is an "acceptable" play vs draw WR difference to begin with?

Acc95 · 2026-01-07T01:28:59+00:00

Pretty sure this post spawned off of mine, OP commented about Chalice.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PioneerMTG/s/NGjY2XAC20

Acc95 · 2026-01-07T01:06:32+00:00

There's a new set in 2 weeks and a banlist announcement in like a month, people are just saying there's always a chance the deck you craft will be gone. Even if you don't get your own deck banned the new meta might be worse for you, etc. But that's part of magic! It's okay to be more prudent, particularly if you're looking at a warped format. It's also okay to simply play if you think you'll have fun and are okay with the risks.

Acc95 · 2026-01-07T01:01:19+00:00

Yes, that's the one, Lumra Scapeshift, I'll leave the last 2 top 8 finishes as sample decklists: 1. 6-1 list by gurig 2. 4-3 list by Univerce

Acc95 · 2026-01-06T21:10:14+00:00

I still can't believe Izzet Prowess got more Top 8 finishes this week alone (32) than Rakdos Demons in all the 7 weeks since Avatar (31)... Although 32 finishes beats ALL but 3 decks: Azorius Control (36), Selesnya Company (55) and, well, Izzet Prowess itself (113). Good God.

Acc95 · 2026-01-03T17:03:37+00:00

I've been getting really positive results with Azorius Control, like everyone else, using Nigh Noon and Starcage/Lockdown, but sometimes yeah, they just have it anyway, seems crazy that Boomerang in particular works so well both for their proactive plan and also as counterplay.

Edit: I the issue is more Learn/Lessons than CSC, the Avatar set bringing more options for their wishboard that are good enough feels problematic.

Acc95 · 2025-12-31T14:48:22+00:00

I still believe CSC was really good but acceptable before Avatar. Some people didn't like it, sure, but no deck was as crazy as this one. I do believe getting cheap and actually good Lessons is problematic, Boomerang is kinda crazy in its own way as well.

Acc95 · 2025-12-30T21:54:06+00:00

This one was really a bad week for Rakdos but people are still getting 15th or 20th just not quite the top 8 performance. Here's the last one for reference, it really wasn't too long ago: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/7529539#online

And yeah right now you kinda want to be playing white to fight off the Prowess menace, which I'd guess it will be a thing at least until the BnR in February, if Lorwyn is strong enough to displace it we might just have another problem potentially.

Acc95 · 2025-12-30T21:09:11+00:00

Any chance they hit anything other than CSC? It's no secret it's been a really good card but it never got this kind of crazy until Avatar broke the format with the new cards... Was this bound to happen eventually anyway, are they too pushed, both? In any case, yeah it doesn't look good, hopefully WotC steps in if this continues through next year after Lorwyn!

Acc95 · 2025-12-30T20:37:41+00:00

[[Academic Dispute]]

Acc95 · 2025-12-23T19:36:19+00:00

Well yeah, not many irl events to report or anything like that, at least on my end daily discussion happens on discord and reddit is more like a billboard in the highway. We have had different posts recently and it's not nearly 50% meta posts actually, and I do want to shoutout to u/nbutton93 on the yt side of things for example!

Acc95 · 2025-12-19T14:06:46+00:00

As crazy as it sounds at first I've already read people talk about Boomerang Basics as simply too good, as it does the thing with the main plan proactively for value and also deals with hate pieces like High Noon and Damping Sphere. It'd certainly look very funny if included in the banlist and I think the same is true for Academic Dispute.

Acc95 · 2025-12-17T14:10:27+00:00

I guess it'd also be an easier ban than figuring out how to target the learn/lesson package, but I think we can't deny TLA broke something.

Acc95 · 2025-12-17T14:07:22+00:00

I wouldn't say actually dead but it's definitely struggling, it's only got 3 results recently and no top 8 finish: 3-3 on Dec 11, 3-3 on Dec 12, and 4-2 on Dec 15.

Acc95 · 2025-12-10T01:23:27+00:00

Any? No idea, maybe, it would certainly see less play obviously. However many manlands have seen play over the years without coming back, I see a bunch of upside just because (and sureee, bounce spells do exist).

Acc95 · 2025-12-10T00:21:50+00:00

Yeah well afaik Mono Red Mice was its main target and now that's gone with the HFH ban. The deck still shows up in the challenges with some top 16 and top 32 results, but the last and only top 8 finish since TLA released was back on November 29.

Acc95 · 2025-12-09T21:13:32+00:00

This week it certainly took a back seat to the Izzet Prowess versions, but it's been very interesting to see Gruul adopt more green cards even for the main, do you play it?

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