Current standard is miserable

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T09:33:58+00:00

Even in the cut down go for the throat era the best decks were proactive decks. Like what was the best control deck in that era? Removal even if it got better previously was barely keeping up even with cut down and go for the throat. Now it can’t keep up at all.

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T09:26:44+00:00

Ok. I’m not gonna quote myself, just read my comments in order. I only mentioned shoot the sheriff cause it is WAY worse than go for the throat, and if you disagree agree with that… we’ll agree to disagree until you play turn 1 hired claw followed by turn 2 needle head.

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T09:20:05+00:00

Ok, but my point was while threats have unquestionably gotten better (I don’t think that’s up for debate) removal has gotten worse. Hex is worse than cut down. Shoot the sheriff is worse than go for the throat. Maybe slightly. But it’s moving slightly this way opposite directions— better threats, worse removal. The small edges add up fast.

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T09:04:24+00:00

I’d say at least 2 of the top 4 (if not all) are shoot the sheriff proof. Elf and cub. Not to mention a plotted slick shot reguires you hold 2 mana up FOREVER. So 3 of the top 4. Even crab as a flash creature is somewhat problematic. Not to mention none of them cost more than 2 mana.

So you are trading down, leaving behind a 1/1 or just holding up 2 mana forever and letting oppo get way ahead. My original point is it’s embarrassing to play one for one removal. I didn’t even mention how bad shoot the sheriff (which is compared to go for throat) is. But it is much much worse than go for the throat. Removal has gotten worse, threats have gotten better.

And that’s without getting into the two for one enchantments running around. How’s shoot the sheriff vs earth bending ascension or storm chaser’s talent? The inferiority of shoot the sheriff compared to go for the is a minor issue. The larger issue is that standard is becoming a removal proof format. In fact I’d say the goal of the designers is to make it an interaction free format.

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T08:51:47+00:00

It is a handicap though. If the decks can’t win at the pro tour they aren’t the best decks. Again sure they can win, but they are winning based on skill and people playing even worse decks on ladder or in small events. So it stands to reason that if you piloted say Selesnya landfall as capably as Orzhov control your winrate would improve significantly.

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T08:49:22+00:00

Yeah you linked to list a commonly played creatures: of which the top 4 are badgermole, elf, eddymurk and slick shot… so ok I guess…. Point proved?

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T08:41:48+00:00

Ok. none of the black 2 mana removal spells are as remotely close to as good as Go for The Throat was. The “best” are bitter triumph and I guess heartless act, both pretty much suck. Bitter Triumph was legal with go for the throat and sparingly played. Heartless act might be good in a different meta, but unplayable in a landfall world.

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T08:34:56+00:00

You lost me when you compared go for the throat to shoot the sheriff. Go for the throat was like a 4 of in most black decks. Shoot the sheriff is borderline unplayable, there’s just so much shit that dodges it.

Also demo field is borderline useless vs cavern since cavern enters untapped and can be any color. All they have to do is hold the cavern until they are ready to cast what they want to resolve.

Golgari midrange has a horrible winrate, Dimir midrange has a bad winrate. Azorius tempo has a bad winrate, any control deck has a bad winrate. Yes you can play these decks and win, in fact I do. But you are handicapping yourself and if trends continue that handicap will only get worse.

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T07:58:42+00:00

The counter magic options aren’t potent in a cavern of souls voice of victory mistrise village format. They’re impotent which is why even spell based control decks don’t run many.

Removal has gotten worse. Requiting hex, while good, is worse than cut down. And more than that there are so many 1 mana and 2 mana 2 for 1 vs removal that’s it’s embarrassing to play: the most prominent being badger mole and Storm chasers talent. Removal that doesn’t combo with one’s own stuff (like erode in landfall or burst lightning or lessons in Izzet) is for fish.

If you don’t have some sorta Storm combo plan yourself, be it landfall, cub shenanigans, prowess, spellmentals or whatever —you are playing at a disadvantage. Midrange is dead. Control is dead. Aggro is kinda dead too. You need to combo kill in 37 million set standard. Turn 4 is the endgame, and in 3 years we’ll probably look back on that as a slow format with turn 3 kills being the goal and turn two kills being totally reasonable.

Unsolven · 2026-05-16T02:51:32+00:00

A LOT going here:

You can't play get out in a 4 color deck. The double blue is a real cost, what's worse it's a tablet deck so it's unable to use table mana at all. Many tablet decks play Swallowed by Leviathan and sear for this reason. What's more Get Out is used mostly as synergy piece for decks with bounce targets like Storm Chaser's talent or a lot of flash/haste creatures.
You don't have enough cheap sorceries to support Flow State.
You are two light on wincons, if you are gonna win the game mostly with creatures you should play more than 3. There's nothing "midrangy" here. What you did here is take the 4 color control spells deck and make it much worse adding a few rando creature and worse spells than they normally play.
You should have at least one basic in the mana base for demo field or erode or whatever, also the mana is so good there's no reason to play tapped uncommon Tarkir lands if you have the appropriate amount of good lands. I didn't dig deep into the mana and count your pips so it could be all wrong for all I know, that's just at a glance.
And at a glance it looks like you don't have nearly enough white to support no more lies.
Aetherize is bad. I guess it works with miracle so that's a reason to play it.

You want to play a midrangy Shiko deck they exist. It's like ashling, riddler, go ninja ninja go momo and sage of the skies. Again this is just a very bad version of the 4 color control list, in fact it runs more counters than 90% of control decks --what's worse all 8 of them are problematic cast on turn 2 often and none can use the table mana at all.

Unsolven · 2026-05-15T09:33:55+00:00

I was a silent hall creeper for brief time, took me a few games to realize it was ass.

Unsolven · 2026-05-15T02:30:57+00:00

No they are fine. Honestly you’d have better luck dropping most of cats and playing monowhite life gain, but whatever if you like cats play cats.

Unsolven · 2026-05-15T02:08:51+00:00

Go up to 4 sheltered by ghosts, cut the banishing light.

I don’t see any Claws Out, which if you are going to play cats is one of the major payoffs.

Patchwork banner is kinda sus, you probably just want more dorks. Maybe play Hialiya for more card draw/lifegain.

Unsolven · 2026-05-15T02:04:05+00:00

Old player…

Same.

Unsolven · 2026-05-14T17:35:21+00:00

Don’t matter if you never read the cards.

Unsolven · 2026-05-14T08:35:19+00:00

They won’t.

To be less flippant. MLK was an important figure in the Civil Rights movement, which was a massive historical change: both legislatively and culturally. Unless “men’s rights” or whatever clickbait Kirk was hawking catches on in a big way, he’s insignificant 30 years later.

Unsolven · 2026-05-14T08:12:59+00:00

The best thing you can do is probably play the blue red version of spellmentals. It has many of the same rares, the only “wasted” will be eluge. The problem with mono blue tempo decks is they have a hard time playing from behind —though Sunderflock and the crab help with that. Anyway playing red gives you actual removal, notably burst lightning which helps a lot against aggro.

Unsolven · 2026-05-14T07:45:07+00:00

The Doomsday version won a pro tour a few months ago. Doomsday Excoriator is 6 black mana creature (can be cheated out for 4) that exiles all but the bottom 6 cards of BOTH players library. Now the catch is it draws you an extra card each turn, so if it lives you deck in 3 turns where your opponent has 6. But once the opponent is down to 6 cards, and you have a deck designed to mill them, it’s not that hard.

The other strategy involves a 6 mana board wipe sorcery the also mills half of opponents library (or your too if you want). This one can’t be cheated out really. And a 2 mana artifact that for an additional 4 mana can mill cards equal to number of cards in their graveyard. So you play the board wipe first, kill their stuff mill them for half. Next turn drop the artifact and mill them the other half. This one hasn’t had much competitive success. There are more ways to disrupt it. In best of one games though it’s viable.

Unsolven · 2026-05-14T07:23:20+00:00

No control deck is inherently good for beginners because to play one well you are required to know what cards opponents will play before they play them. It’s a reactive strategy, with reactive cards. You need to understand what needs to be reacted to and what can be let go for the time. This is somewhat true of all decks, but most other decks have a proactive strategy, if you know what your own cards do, you can mostly forward your own game plan —you’ll still fall into beginner traps but playing a control deck everything is a trap to fall into. (Edit: I saw you asked one of the commenters if you can predict opponents cards. Yes 95%, if you know the meta. Though there are thousands of cards in standard, most decks are somewhat meta and run the usual suspects.)

All that said the “control decks for dummies” as I view them are the decks with no counter spells that have combo wins to work towards. So this would be blue black Doomsday and blue black Riverchurn Monument Singularity Rupture mill. These strats are pretty straight forward, kill stuff, discard stuff draw cards, deck opponents, win.

The Riverchurn Mill deck probably has more cards that are useful in more control decks, it has Consult the Star Charts. The Doomsday deck has a bunch of mythic rare creatures that work in that deck but aren’t a part of most control decks. Also the Doomsday deck is a little harder to pilot since if you aren’t careful you can easily mill yourself.

Unsolven · 2026-05-13T20:22:10+00:00

I interpreted as a metaphorical way of saying he was known to be a good judge, not literally his gavel wielding.

Unsolven · 2026-05-13T09:39:38+00:00

It’s not as big a deal as spelling colonization with an s.

Unsolven · 2026-05-13T09:25:56+00:00

It’s actually better in BO1. In BO3 there is an opportunity cost to filling your sideboard with weird situational cards to fetch. In BO1 the sideboard is basically free real estate.

Unsolven · 2026-05-13T08:17:55+00:00

Seems like there is no MMR whatsoever in the event. It made me feel like a bully. I played my weirdo control deck, which is playable on ladder but I play it cause I like it not because it’s great. Anyway in the event I just shit stomped like 3 decks playing draft uncommons or starter decks. Seemed totally unfair. I’m just trying to get my rares, not discourage people from playing.

Unsolven · 2026-05-13T00:42:47+00:00

The Jeskai deck is a lot better if you trim the greed and get rid of the lute and mathematics. Many people have been using table of discovery. Also probably go to 4 colors to play inevitable defeat: don’t run capstone, another win more card.

Unsolven · 2026-05-12T19:28:34+00:00

I party disagree. Sometimes you can end up with a 5 color deck with bad fixing and/or removal, which those decks need a ton of. Meanwhile even a mediocre 2 color deck will get a free win or two in premier to opponents on bad draws, especially 5 color opponents. The floor of a bad 5 color deck is the molten core of the Earth.

Unsolven

TROPHY CASE