Introduction: The Group of Death
I had the notice of being in the group of death (reference soccer World Cup), full of great players!
Emerald Division Info
— Magic Esports (@MagicEsports) August 1, 2019
Round Robin: Aug 12-14th
Top 4: Aug 17 streamed at https://t.co/glt0VbITBL at noon PT/3 p.m. ET/7 p.m. UTC
Competitors:@PVDDR @jesstephan @efropoker @InsayneHayne @MartinJuza @SethManfield @LuisSalvatto @yaya3_ pic.twitter.com/fycVqXJlb1
My schedule was:
| Schedule | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Monday 10am | Martin Juza |
| Monday 12pm | Seth Manfield |
| Monday 1pm | Eric Froehlich |
| Monday 2pm | Alexander Hayne |
| Tuesday 3pm | Shota Yasooka |
| Tuesday 4pm | Jessica Estephan |
| Wednesday 10am | Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa |
The previous split was full of Orzhov Vampires (6 players), one Bant Scapeshift and one Dimir Control. Vampires and Scapeshift used to be the best Standard decks at that moment, and the metagame for my split will take that into account. After thinking it deeply, I decided to submit a deck that was forgotten, Jeskai Planeswalkers. You can see all decklists here (Core Split Emerald All Decklists).
- Luis Salvatto
- – Jeskai Planeswakers
- MPL Core Emerald Round-Robin
- (The Group of Death)
1 《Island》
1 《Plains》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Sacred Foundry》
4 《Steam Vents》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
2 《Clifftop Retreat》
1 《Sulfur Falls》
4 《Interplanar Beacon》
-Land (25)- -Creature (0)-
1 《Plains》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Sacred Foundry》
4 《Steam Vents》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
2 《Clifftop Retreat》
1 《Sulfur Falls》
4 《Interplanar Beacon》
-Land (25)- -Creature (0)-
4 《Opt》
4 《Shock》
4 《Deafening Clarion》
3 《Baffling End》
4 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
3 《Saheeli, Sublime Artificer》
2 《Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor》
2 《Karn, Scion of Urza》
3 《Sarkhan the Masterless》
2 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (35)-
4 《Shock》
4 《Deafening Clarion》
3 《Baffling End》
4 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
3 《Saheeli, Sublime Artificer》
2 《Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor》
2 《Karn, Scion of Urza》
3 《Sarkhan the Masterless》
2 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (35)-
3 《Cerulean Drake》
3 《Fry》
2 《Devout Decree》
2 《Ixalan’s Binding》
2 《Fall of the Thran》
1 《Dire Fleet Daredevil》
1 《Cleansing Nova》
1 《Baffling End》
-Sideboard (15)-
3 《Fry》
2 《Devout Decree》
2 《Ixalan’s Binding》
2 《Fall of the Thran》
1 《Dire Fleet Daredevil》
1 《Cleansing Nova》
1 《Baffling End》
-Sideboard (15)-
Why I Decided to Play Jeskai Planeswalkers?
Because Jeskai Planeswalkers has an incredible good matchup against the deck with twenty 《Mountain》s and I thought Mono-Red could be the most popular deck on that week since it is a natural predator of Vampires.
I also imagined my opponent deck choices and I expected some Scapeshifts, some Vampires and some Mono-Reds but the most important conclusion was that no one will decide to play control, and even if they decide to play control, they will not submit too many 《The Elderspell》s.
To beat such a Planeswalkers deck without 《The Elderspell》 is very tough since every Planeswalker does their job and 《the big daddy Sarkhan》 wins the game by itself.
I was happy with my metagame, but my predictions were not too accurate, however, I had 2 really good matchups, 3 OK/good matchups in the form of Esper Hero, and 2 bad matchups in Esper Control.
I decided to fold against control since I wanted to play 4 《Interplanar Beacon》s so my manabase couldn’t afford to play 《Dovin’s Veto》 and I preferred to have reactive cards against my expected decks. No 《Legion Warboss》 was a mistake and I should play 4 in my sideboard though.
A lot of people asked me why I rediscover this deck and my answer is that if you don’t face too many 《The Elderspell》s, the deck is just busted. As it used to be when all this Planeswalkers join forces in the first time. This article is not only about the deck but about how to approach a metagame.
I receive this question a lot of times: “What’s the best deck in format X?” and my reply is pretty much the same. In Modern, I always advise them to play a deck you know well and feel comfortable with. In Standard is all about the metagame and sometimes a week, a few days can be enough to shift a new metagame. In addition, this Standard is still unsolved since we have a lot of strategies to pick up and they have decent or good results. It is not necessary to start naming all decks, but for those who don’t play this Standard since the beginning, here is the list:
| Coloring or Archetype | Existing Decks |
|---|---|
| Mono-Color Decks | Mono-Red Mono-White Mono-Blue Mono-Green |
| Simic Color | Nexus Ramp Elementals |
| Midrange | Esper Hero Boros/Naya/Mardu 《Feather》 Bant Ramp Scapeshift Jund Dinosaurs |
| Control | Esper Jeskai Azorius Grixis |
| (Kind of) Combo | Explore package + 《Command the Dreadhorde》 (Yes! It is still legal and competitive!!!) Izzet Phoenix |
And of course the new star in the format from the master Stanislav Cifka, the brand-new Multi-Color Legend deck!
- Stanislav Cifka
- – Czech Legends
- MCQ on MTG Arena
- (Top 16)
4 《Breeding Pool》
4 《Watery Grave》
3 《Hallowed Fountain》
2 《Temple Garden》
1 《Godless Shrine》
3 《Glacial Fortress》
1 《Drowned Catacomb》
3 《Temple of Malady》
3 《Temple of Silence》
1 《Temple of Mystery》
-Land (25)- 4 《Diligent Excavator》
4 《Fblthp, the Lost》
4 《Lazav, the Multifarious》
4 《Kethis, the Hidden Hand》
-Creature (16)-
4 《Watery Grave》
3 《Hallowed Fountain》
2 《Temple Garden》
1 《Godless Shrine》
3 《Glacial Fortress》
1 《Drowned Catacomb》
3 《Temple of Malady》
3 《Temple of Silence》
1 《Temple of Mystery》
-Land (25)- 4 《Diligent Excavator》
4 《Fblthp, the Lost》
4 《Lazav, the Multifarious》
4 《Kethis, the Hidden Hand》
-Creature (16)-
2 《Urza’s Ruinous Blast》
4 《Oath of Kaya》
4 《Mox Amber》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
2 《Ashiok, Dream Render》
3 《Tamiyo, Collector of Tales》
-Spell (19)-
4 《Oath of Kaya》
4 《Mox Amber》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
2 《Ashiok, Dream Render》
3 《Tamiyo, Collector of Tales》
-Spell (19)-
How to Approach a New Metagame?
Expert says always the same. If you don’t know what to expect, just attack and be oppresive with your deck choice since it is easy to attack, and hard to react in an unknown metagame.
But what about a shifting metagame like this one? Well, you need to know which decks are the Tier 1, and then pick one of them or try to find a build in your deck to have at least a fair matchup against those Tier 1 decks. It is really important to see if there is a fashion deck that the people is excited to play and counter that deck with yours.
Nowadays, aiming to beat particular deck is really easy since Core Set 2020 gave us ton of insane tools. In my opinion, the best card in the set is the new 《Cryptic Command》 that cost only one green mana.
MPL Core Emerald Round-Robin Tournament Report
My Monday started really well, I expect that most of the people reading this already know about my finish in the split, but I’ll share a few comments about my matches.
Round 1: Martin Juza on Mono-Red
- Martin Juza
- – Mono-Red
- Core Emerald Round-Robin
20 《Mountain》
-Land (20)- 4 《Fanatical Firebrand》
4 《Ghitu Lavarunner》
4 《Runaway Steam-Kin》
4 《Viashino Pyromancer》
4 《Goblin Chainwhirler》
-Creature (20)-
-Land (20)- 4 《Fanatical Firebrand》
4 《Ghitu Lavarunner》
4 《Runaway Steam-Kin》
4 《Viashino Pyromancer》
4 《Goblin Chainwhirler》
-Creature (20)-
4 《Shock》
4 《Lightning Strike》
4 《Light Up the Stage》
3 《Wizard’s Lightning》
4 《Experimental Frenzy》
1 《Chandra, Fire Artisan》
-Spell (20)-
4 《Lightning Strike》
4 《Light Up the Stage》
3 《Wizard’s Lightning》
4 《Experimental Frenzy》
1 《Chandra, Fire Artisan》
-Spell (20)-
4 《Dire Fleet Daredevil》
4 《Lava Coil》
3 《Blood Sun》
3 《Tibalt, Rakish Instigator》
1 《Chandra, Fire Artisan》
-Sideboard (15)-
4 《Lava Coil》
3 《Blood Sun》
3 《Tibalt, Rakish Instigator》
1 《Chandra, Fire Artisan》
-Sideboard (15)-
The first match against Martin was one of the good matchups for me. Though, there is a way to lose which was acutually happened in our match and it was 《Experimental Frenzy》. 《Experimental Frenzy》 is the only card that can beat Jeskai and if you want to see a good game, I recommend this game 2 since I couldn’t stop the Frenzy but I died when Martin has only 9 cards in his deck. Therefore, just imagine how hard is for Mono-Red to deal with that quantity of Planeswalkers, and life gain.
Round 2: Seth Manfield on Esper Control
- Seth Manfield
- – Esper Control
- MPL Core Emerald Round-Robin
1 《Plains》
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
4 《Isolated Chapel》
-Land (26)- 1 《God-Eternal Kefnet》
-Creature (1)-
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
4 《Isolated Chapel》
-Land (26)- 1 《God-Eternal Kefnet》
-Creature (1)-
4 《Legion’s End》
4 《Thought Erasure》
1 《Cast Down》
1 《Despark》
2 《Absorb》
2 《Cry of the Carnarium》
1 《Mortify》
2 《Kaya’s Wrath》
2 《Vraska’s Contempt》
2 《Search for Azcanta》
2 《Oath of Kaya》
3 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
2 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
3 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
2 《Liliana, Dreadhorde General》
-Spell (33)-
4 《Thought Erasure》
1 《Cast Down》
1 《Despark》
2 《Absorb》
2 《Cry of the Carnarium》
1 《Mortify》
2 《Kaya’s Wrath》
2 《Vraska’s Contempt》
2 《Search for Azcanta》
2 《Oath of Kaya》
3 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
2 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
3 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
2 《Liliana, Dreadhorde General》
-Spell (33)-
2 《Hero of Precinct One》
2 《Disfigure》
2 《Duress》
2 《Devout Decree》
2 《Noxious Grasp》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Enter the God-Eternals》
1 《Command the Dreadhorde》
1 《Ixalan’s Binding》
1 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
-Sideboard (15)-
2 《Disfigure》
2 《Duress》
2 《Devout Decree》
2 《Noxious Grasp》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Enter the God-Eternals》
1 《Command the Dreadhorde》
1 《Ixalan’s Binding》
1 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
-Sideboard (15)-
The second match was against Seth. I knew that it was hard for me since I didn’t have discards or counterspells but this is MTG and I try my best. The luck was on his side though, and of course, with a good matchup, being an incredible good player, and good draws, he destroyed me.
Round 3: Eric Froehlich on Esper Hero
- Eric Froehlich
- – Esper Hero
- MPL Core Emerald Round-Robin
1 《Island》
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
4 《Isolated Chapel》
-Land (26)- 4 《Hero of Precinct One》
2 《Deputy of Detention》
4 《Elite Guardmage》
2 《Lyra Dawnbringer》
-Creature (12)-
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
4 《Isolated Chapel》
-Land (26)- 4 《Hero of Precinct One》
2 《Deputy of Detention》
4 《Elite Guardmage》
2 《Lyra Dawnbringer》
-Creature (12)-
4 《Thought Erasure》
3 《Tyrant’s Scorn》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Mortify》
1 《Vraska’s Contempt》
3 《Oath of Kaya》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (22)-
3 《Tyrant’s Scorn》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Mortify》
1 《Vraska’s Contempt》
3 《Oath of Kaya》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (22)-
3 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
2 《Duress》
2 《Noxious Grasp》
2 《Enter the God-Eternals》
1 《Devout Decree》
1 《Golden Demise》
1 《Unmoored Ego》
1 《Kaya’s Wrath》
1 《Ethereal Absolution》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
-Sideboard (15)-
2 《Duress》
2 《Noxious Grasp》
2 《Enter the God-Eternals》
1 《Devout Decree》
1 《Golden Demise》
1 《Unmoored Ego》
1 《Kaya’s Wrath》
1 《Ethereal Absolution》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
-Sideboard (15)-
The third match was against Eric. It was easy, the only problematic card in his list was just 1 《Bolas’s Citadel》 but he didn’t draw it in game one, and either in game two.
Round 4: Alexander Hayne on Esper Hero
- Alexander Hayne
- – Esper Hero
- MPL Core Emerald Round-Robin
1 《Plains》
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
4 《Isolated Chapel》
-Land (26)- 4 《Hero of Precinct One》
2 《Deputy of Detention》
4 《Elite Guardmage》
-Creature (10)-
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
4 《Isolated Chapel》
-Land (26)- 4 《Hero of Precinct One》
2 《Deputy of Detention》
4 《Elite Guardmage》
-Creature (10)-
4 《Thought Erasure》
3 《Tyrant’s Scorn》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Legion’s End》
1 《Noxious Grasp》
1 《Kaya’s Wrath》
3 《Oath of Kaya》
2 《Bolas’s Citadel》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (24)-
3 《Tyrant’s Scorn》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Legion’s End》
1 《Noxious Grasp》
1 《Kaya’s Wrath》
3 《Oath of Kaya》
2 《Bolas’s Citadel》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (24)-
2 《Disfigure》
2 《Duress》
2 《Devout Decree》
1 《Despark》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Noxious Grasp》
1 《The Elderspell》
1 《Golden Demise》
1 《Unmoored Ego》
1 《Kaya’s Wrath》
1 《Enter the God-Eternals》
1 《Ethereal Absolution》
-Sideboard (15)-
2 《Duress》
2 《Devout Decree》
1 《Despark》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Noxious Grasp》
1 《The Elderspell》
1 《Golden Demise》
1 《Unmoored Ego》
1 《Kaya’s Wrath》
1 《Enter the God-Eternals》
1 《Ethereal Absolution》
-Sideboard (15)-
The fourth match was against Alex. He has two copies of 《Bolas’s Citadel》 and one 《The Elderspell》, but the matchup is very good for me so I didn’t have troubles to close the match.
Round 5: Shota Yasooka on Esper Control
- Shota Yasooka
- – Esper Control
- MPL Core Emerald Round-Robin
1 《Plains》
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
2 《Isolated Chapel》
2 《Temple of Silence》
-Land (26)- 3 《Basilica Bell-Haunt》
-Creature (3)-
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
2 《Isolated Chapel》
2 《Temple of Silence》
-Land (26)- 3 《Basilica Bell-Haunt》
-Creature (3)-
3 《Disfigure》
1 《Duress》
4 《Thought Erasure》
2 《Cast Down》
1 《Despark》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《The Elderspell》
2 《Cry of the Carnarium》
1 《Unmoored Ego》
1 《Command the Dreadhorde》
3 《Oath of Kaya》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
3 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
3 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (31)-
1 《Duress》
4 《Thought Erasure》
2 《Cast Down》
1 《Despark》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《The Elderspell》
2 《Cry of the Carnarium》
1 《Unmoored Ego》
1 《Command the Dreadhorde》
3 《Oath of Kaya》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
3 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
3 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (31)-
3 《Noxious Grasp》
2 《Duress》
2 《Aether Gust》
2 《Ashiok, Dream Render》
1 《Basilica Bell-Haunt》
1 《Despark》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《The Elderspell》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
1 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
-Sideboard (15)-
2 《Duress》
2 《Aether Gust》
2 《Ashiok, Dream Render》
1 《Basilica Bell-Haunt》
1 《Despark》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《The Elderspell》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
1 《Narset, Parter of Veils》
-Sideboard (15)-
The fifth match was against the control master Shota who drew his only one copy of 《The Elderspell》 in game one and destroyed me game two. Sadly, this 0-2 result plus the game that Martin won against me give me worst tiebreakers and I miss the cut to top 4 in a super sad but in the end fair way.
Round 6: Jessica Estephan on Esper Hero
- Jessica Estephan
- – Esper Hero
- MPL Core Emerald Round-Robin
1 《Island》
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
4 《Isolated Chapel》
-Land (26)- 4 《Hero of Precinct One》
2 《Deputy of Detention》
4 《Elite Guardmage》
-Creature (10)-
1 《Swamp》
4 《Godless Shrine》
4 《Hallowed Fountain》
4 《Watery Grave》
4 《Drowned Catacomb》
4 《Glacial Fortress》
4 《Isolated Chapel》
-Land (26)- 4 《Hero of Precinct One》
2 《Deputy of Detention》
4 《Elite Guardmage》
-Creature (10)-
4 《Thought Erasure》
3 《Tyrant’s Scorn》
2 《Noxious Grasp》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Legion’s End》
3 《Oath of Kaya》
1 《Ethereal Absolution》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (24)-
3 《Tyrant’s Scorn》
2 《Noxious Grasp》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《Legion’s End》
3 《Oath of Kaya》
1 《Ethereal Absolution》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
4 《Teferi, Time Raveler》
4 《Teferi, Hero of Dominaria》
-Spell (24)-
2 《Duress》
2 《Devout Decree》
2 《Kaya’s Wrath》
1 《Disfigure》
1 《Despark》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《The Elderspell》
1 《Golden Demise》
1 《Enter the God-Eternals》
1 《Ethereal Absolution》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
1 《Liliana, Dreadhorde General》
-Sideboard (15)-
2 《Devout Decree》
2 《Kaya’s Wrath》
1 《Disfigure》
1 《Despark》
1 《Dovin’s Veto》
1 《The Elderspell》
1 《Golden Demise》
1 《Enter the God-Eternals》
1 《Ethereal Absolution》
1 《Bolas’s Citadel》
1 《Liliana, Dreadhorde General》
-Sideboard (15)-
The sixth match was the one that hurts me more since it was against Jessica’s Esper Hero without 《Narset, Parter of Veils》. Though, maybe MTG Arena misunderstood that both we didn’t play Narset and I almost lost game 2 because of the lack of Narset and actually lost game 3 without drawing any single copy of Narset in my first 20 cards in the deck. I was super sad after this loss, because I felt the matchup being good for my side, but I had a last chance against the best matchup.
Round 7: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa on Mono-Red
- Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
- – Mono-Red
- MPL Core Emerald Round-Robin
20 《Mountain》
-Land (20)- 4 《Fanatical Firebrand》
4 《Ghitu Lavarunner》
4 《Runaway Steam-Kin》
4 《Viashino Pyromancer》
4 《Goblin Chainwhirler》
-Creature (20)-
-Land (20)- 4 《Fanatical Firebrand》
4 《Ghitu Lavarunner》
4 《Runaway Steam-Kin》
4 《Viashino Pyromancer》
4 《Goblin Chainwhirler》
-Creature (20)-
4 《Shock》
4 《Lightning Strike》
4 《Light Up the Stage》
3 《Wizard’s Lightning》
4 《Experimental Frenzy》
1 《Chandra, Fire Artisan》
-Spell (20)-
4 《Lightning Strike》
4 《Light Up the Stage》
3 《Wizard’s Lightning》
4 《Experimental Frenzy》
1 《Chandra, Fire Artisan》
-Spell (20)-
4 《Dire Fleet Daredevil》
4 《Lava Coil》
3 《Blood Sun》
2 《Tibalt, Rakish Instigator》
1 《Fry》
1 《Chandra, Fire Artisan》
-Sideboard (15)-
4 《Lava Coil》
3 《Blood Sun》
2 《Tibalt, Rakish Instigator》
1 《Fry》
1 《Chandra, Fire Artisan》
-Sideboard (15)-
The last match was against Paulo on Mono-Red and the matchup is very good for me. I lost game 2 because I just didn’t draw White mana, but in the end I won the match.
Total Score
Final result; 4-3. It was sad to miss the top 4 on breakers, but I was happy with my deck choice and performance.
💔💔💔 pic.twitter.com/YQoIuHbYRl
— Luis Salvatto (@LuisSalvatto) August 14, 2019
Conclusion
Thanks for reading and please remember, the best way to learn in this game, and in life, of course, is trying new things and making mistakes. I only recommend follow decklists and sideboard guides if you don’t have enough time to make yours, because that is the way to learn and understand why certain card is good or bad in a matchup.
If you netdeck, you will always be in the wrong metagame with it because your deck “was” a perfect deck one week before, so it is not great anymore as it used to be.
