Happy September Spikes & looming great rotation!
I wanted to take the time to provide a broad brush stroke across what the Standard 2022 landscape looks like for your consumption as we speed to a long and much awaited change in Standard!
This format I have found to be very fun the last two years despite its short time with us. It sets us up with some very nice points of view, decks, and a culmination of information as a precursor to what is next for Standard. We know its not yet a full and complete picture, however it is certainly a helpful springboard into what the future may entail for us.
One other note is Standard 2022 is a BO1 format despite many folks playing or running BO3 tournaments. Stay tuned as the mythras multiverse has some in store for September here! This list is heavily based on BO1 and very data driven as in all things BO1 to keep in mind.
You can find this month’s Tier List here:
As always the article is below, along with observations, trends, and the list! Enjoy! As always appreciate your comments below, and feel free to hop on the Discord server as well!
Tier Lists
August Historic BO1 & BO3 Article / Video
August Standard BO1 & BO3 Article / Video
Latest Friday Night Meta – Weekly Series
September Week 1 (Youtube)
I pull these lists together to help give us an alternative competitive angle, as well as trends, with a nice little timestamp as I believe being competitive there is a long term knowledge angle we need to take as well 🙂
Additionally, I like to provide a competitive MTGA Landscape, those who like a visual or just to discuss! You can find the observations along with the tier list below. Please share your thoughts as always, and feel free to comment on the new format or decks I should consider that I missed.
TLDR: The top decks remained at the top, and BO3 is a slightly different beast we have seen unfold over time. Will mana fixing pull through, and we look forward to the rotation as well as Innistrad.
What it is, current meta observations, and deck overviews! Additionally I love sharing the observations and recent changes we have faced in an ever evolving fast paced format.
Items of Interest & Considerations:
- And the Mighty Shall Remain – The decks at the top of the pile and with the best win rates mostly remained there intact throughout the competitive Standard 2022 scene. Mainly being Mono White as well as Mono Green Aggro being the key decks. Additionally, out of the gate they both had strong showings and continued to do well throughout multiple BO3 tournaments. The reign was not short lived, and provides a good purview for us in what may be to come? That will be seen soon though.
- BO3 Vantage – One thing we did notice was a bit of a shift in the key BO1 decks when it came to BO3. I think the BO1 will continue to be a nice springboard in which to build off of as we pivot past rotation, however isn’t the full comprehensive picture. During the past few months certainly the top decks that were strong in BO1 did well in BO3. Over time though we began to see the rise of other decks in the space like Dimir Control performing much better in this realm despite not necessarily having the best BO1 win rate. Undeniably the field will shift in BO3 this was clear in tournaments as things progressed.
- Rotation in Rotation – There certainly was a tide of decks that rose and receded depending on the week/month for the format. A fun rotation of decks over the last two months, bant up and down, orzhov, goblins to name a few. This experience is something certainly to be enjoyed. Mainly we saw most of these movements in what I would say in the T2 and below space. One surprise for me was never really finding an ultra competitive Adventure deck. Despite losing to an esper in my last temur landfall top deck showcase.
- TLA or Three Lands Available – Color fixing was a slight challenge potentially for this format. Overall just less lands to grab from, and the loss of fabled passage certainly having an impact as well as one that will last. Two color land or single color decks seemed to excel a bit more. One counter here though is the general ferocity in which BO1 is played as well as caters to a more aggressive deck strategy or type generally. The newer Innistrad lands also seem to be a tad slower out of the gate.
- A Sweet Good-bye – Standard 2022 will be missed.
- Innistrad we go – This base of decks in the tier list will be a good bo1 foundation, tournament collections show potential for BO3. Stay tuned as we progress, and ultimately see the full release of Innistrad: Midnight Hunt. I generally like to look at the sets in their totality, however for today’s sake I’m looking forward to seeing some potential werewolf and vampire decks popping in. I expect we will find a new robust BO3, and some new archetypes to crop up in BO1 potentially those mentioned above.
Right now Mono White and Mono Green are well positioned!
What goes into this list?
For returners or those that are new I have been asked before on how I pull these together as well. BO1 is a slightly different beast vs. BO3. Here I rely heavier on win rate stats at very competitive levels starting at Mythic then work my way backwards through the tiers if needed for additional POVs. It is also based on gameplay – and I myself favor BO1 until I usually hit Top 1500 🙂 – I take into consideration untapped.ggs companion app stats as they tend to have a great amount of data, and a good ability to slice and dice decks. One additional call out again is due to the vastness of decks or newest additions not all data is readily available so for the gaps I try to expand where I can via experience, tournaments, and other data driven sites available.
BO3 has much broader impacts when it comes to data. You can find all the sources, experiences, and information I take into consideration in the Additional info spot.
THANK YOU & Additional Info
I have produced this list from a culmination of a few things. I have reached this point by pulling together research data from multiple sources like untapped, MTGAzone, Aetherhub, twitter, personal gameplay, tournament matches, this reddit as well as others, personal stats, and consistently hitting Mythic over the last year and participation in the last Mythic Qualifier.
Again, Happy to discuss or talk about decks not included! Feel free to hop in the Multiverse Discord Server. Tier list below plus deck lists (shells – tweak to your heart’s content) if you are looking for some options most all top 1500 at some point many at the #1 Rank, and multiple top end tournament results!
One last thought I would like to share: If you have a competitive deck (different than one featured) I am always happy to do a piece on it time permitting. I have several folks that ask, and have done several player featured decks. I rather enjoy this so please don’t hesitate to reach out or ask. I always try to prioritize with the following and timing or relevance – MTGA Rank (1500s)/Top Tournaments down to Plat2Mythic Decks.
If you would like to do a collaboration feel free to reach out as well.
All Full Deck lists consolidated below:
MTGA September Standard 2022 BO1 Tier List 25+ Decks
Tier 1 (5)
Mono White Aggro (Deck Link)
Mono Green Aggro (Deck Link)
Mono Green Landfall (Deck Link)
Bant Party (Deck Link)
Orzhov Control (Deck Link)
Tier 2 (12)
Boros Aggro (Deck Link)
Boros Goblins (Deck Link)
Mardu Treasure (Deck Link)
Orzhov Angels (Deck Link)
Temur Body Fury OTK (Deck Link)
Grixis Dragons (Deck Link)
Simic Ramp (Deck Link)
Izzet Dragons (Deck Link)
Temur Landfall (Deck Link)
Jeskai Dragons (Deck Link)
Rakdos Midrange (Deck Link)
Temur Ramp (Deck Link)
Tier 3 (10)
Dimir Control 2.0 (Deck Link)
Dimir Control (Deck Link)
Dimir Kicker (Deck Link)
Golgari Control (Deck Link)
Mardu Codie Reanimator (Deck Link)
Gruul Treasure (Deck Link)
Golgari Elves (Deck Link)
Naya Aggro (Deck Link)
Izzet Mill (Deck Link)
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed this slice of competitive Magic the Gathering on Arena or if you are lucky right now in paper. Thank you for your time, and feedback is always welcome! As previously mentioned happy to discuss deck choices, decks, and lists as always!