Post-Rotation Deck Building Guide - Standard MTG

Genoslugcs July 27, 2024 4 min
Post-Rotation Deck Building Guide - Standard MTG

Standard rotation is finally upon us, my friends. Come to the release of Bloomburrow (August 2nd tabletop and July 30th MTGA); we'll be losing the four oldest sets and a plethora of Standard staples from various meta decks. Today, I'll review which decks are losing cards, what you may consider replacing them with, and what the Standard meta may look like post-rotation. So, without further ado, let's get into the post-rotation MTG deck building/meta-analysis.

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Post Rotation Meta-Analysis And Deck Building

First things first, let's take a look at which sets will be leaving Standard and what will remain afterward. The following sets  will rotate out when Bloomburrow:

  • Innistrad: Midnight Hunt (MID)
  • Innistrad: Crimson Vow (VOW)
  • Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO)
  • Streets of New Capenna (SNC)

That will leave us with the following sets:

  • Dominaria United (DMU)
  • The Brothers' War (BRO)
  • Phyrexia: All Will Be One (ONE)
  • March of the Machine (MOM)
  • March of the Machine: The Aftermath (MAT)
  • Wilds of Eldraine (WOE)
  • The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (LCI)
  • Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM)
  • Outlaws of Thunder Junction (OTJ)
  • Bloomburrow (BLB)

Atraxa Isn't Going Anywhere

Atraxa, Grand Unifier

The Atraxa deck loses a couple of key cards (like Topiary Stomperimage and the Tri-lands), but Atraxa is still the best thing to ramp into. You'll still have the means to ramp into or reanimate Atraxa early, blink it, and have one copy find another. However things shake out, any deck that can put out an early Atraxa will be a force to reckon with, and I don't think anything from Bloomburrow changes that.

Things like Aftermath Analystimage and Freestrider Lookoutimage could probably replace Topiary Stomperimage in the build, and we have Llanowar Elvesimage coming in the Foundations Set soon. Plus, Overlord of the Hauntwoodsimage from Duskmourn might bring domain back even without the Tri-lands. Until then, you have things like Glimpse the Coreimage, Ancient Cornucopiaimage, Collector’s Vault, and Invasion of Zendikar // Awakened Skyclaveimage.

image dsk-194-overlord-of-the-hauntwoods

A reanimation strategy is possible, too, despite the deck losing Otherworldly Gazeimage. The deck could always go back to Cruelty of Gix or even use Invasion of Tolvanda. That said, the discard outlets aren’t great at the moment, but Chart a Courseimage, Bitter Triumphimage, and Liliana of the Veilimage are all sticking around. So, when you finish building your otter tribal deck, don't forget that turn four Atraxa is still a thing you'll need to deal with.

Boros Convoke Loses A Playline

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Standard loses Voldaren Epicureimage with rotation, and Bloomburrow isn't bringing a replacement. For those who don't know, the line I'm referring to is turn one Epicure, which makes a token. Turn two, you play a white-producing land plus a white creature. Then cast Gleeful Demolitionimage, sacing the blood token, make three goblins, and convoke Knight-Errant of Eos. Without Epicure, this play line goes away.

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And with all of the Bloomburrow spoilers out, we know we aren't getting a one mana value red drop that makes an artifact. That said, the deck is decent even without this line, but Epicure leaving is something to be aware of.

Midrange Options

Midrange should be alive and well moving forward. A Dimir or Golgari build could work (Dimir is probably best), and Sultia is an option, but we're losing the tri-lands from New Capenna. So, that's something to note. Regardless of which secondary color you choose, you'll probably play some number of Cut Downimage, Go for the Throatimage, Sheoldred, the Apocalypseimage, and maybe even things like Deep-Cavern Batimage.

 image image

If you dip into blue, you get counterspells and things like Faerie Mastermindimage and Subterranean Schoonerimage to support the cards mentioned above. I could even see making a case for something like Ertai Resurrectedimage and dipping into a slight tempo strategy.

In green, there are valuable creatures like Mosswood Dreadknightimage and Sentinel of the Nameless Cityimage as well as some premium removal like Assassin's Trophyimage and perhaps Tear Asunderimage. As I said, I think Dimir is probably the way to go, but you've got some options.

Control Loses A Lot But Lives

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Control decks are getting hit pretty badly with rotation. However, despite losing The Wandering Emperorimage, March of Otherworldly Lightimage, Memory Delugeimage, and Depopulateimage, control will still be viable. Cards like No Witnessesimage, Farsight Ritualimage, and Quick Studyimage give Azorius decent replacement options.

Plus, things like Three Steps Aheadimage, No More Liesimage, and Sunfallimage are sticking around. There is the question of how to replace Hullbreaker Horrorimage as a finisher, though. First up is, of course, Mirreximage, which does a lot of work. Stoic Sphinximage is an option to consider, as is going back to Jace, the Perfected Mindimage, with a Mill plan.

 Prowess Isn't Going Anywhere

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Contrary to popular belief, Monastery Swiftspearimage is not leaving Standard. And where there is Monastery Swiftspear, there will be prowess. Slickshot Show-Offimage and Fugitive Codebreakerimage play very well with Swiftspear, too, and there are plenty of good spells to trigger them.

We lose Kumano Faces Kakkazan // Etching of Kumanoimage but keep Shockimage, Dreadmaw's Ireimage, and Monstrous Rage], and gain [[Might of the Meek. You could even splash blue for something like Slick Sequenceimage and probably be in pretty good shape.

Conclusion

There you have it, my friends. The meta will be reasonably healthy, with a mix of viable aggro, midrange, and control. Not to mention, when Bloomburrow drops, I imagine many people will play Otter Tribal and Squirrels, and that's fantastic. But let's not forget that things like Atraxa exist. What are you most excited to play from Bloomburrow?

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