Welcome to the second week of our power rankings! With Pro Tour Gatecrash right around the corner, the pros are a little busy so I’m handling the rankings on my own this week.
Power rankings are intended to reflect a snapshot of the format at this very moment, so remember, what is #1 this week might not even show up next time!
Standard
#1 – Champion of the Parish
With the increase in aggressive strategies we’ll be seeing more and more of the Champion. This is one of the only good one-drop creatures in the format, and has increasingly shown itself to be the cornerstone of white aggro. I’d be shocked if Pro Tour Gatecrash didn’t see a Champion deck as one of the prominent strategies.
#2 – Boros Reckoner
I reckon that the uptick in aggro decks is in no small part thanks to this Minotaur. The more this creature sees play, the more people are going to either want non-creature removal or creatures too big to easily be traded off. If you play small-creature mirrors, expect the reckoning to come early.
#3 – Huntmaster of the Fells
Another week, another set of results involving one of the best value creatures ever printed.
#4 – Thragtusk
Thragtusk was MIA from the first week of results, showing up in lots of Top 32 lists in midrange, but not making much of an impact at the winning tables. This past week it’s made a complete resurgence showing up in multiple Top 8 decks, proving you can’t keep a good Beast down.
#5 – Boros Charm
What hasn’t already been written and talked about with this card? The best Charm, and one of the best spells in the format.
#6 – Obzedat, Ghost Council
While the mana restrictions are going to keep his play in check, after watching even a handful of games you can see the massive impact the Council has. He’s arguably the best finisher for the mana-cost in the format, and one of the best reasons to be in Junk or Esper colors.
#7 – Blind Obedience
A card from Gatecrash with little hype that generated some buzz once people actually started trying it. It slows down fast creature decks in a format full of them, and provides late-game value as well for just 1W. Blind Obedience will soon be a staple of the Standard format in control and aggro decks alike.
#8 – Burning-Tree Emissary
I honestly didn’t expect people to move toward hyper-aggressive decks in such numbers. This card is part of the reason, helping turn good starts into unbeatable ones. Everyone needs a plan for turn one Rakdos Cackler, turn two Burning-Tree Emissary into Flinthoof Boar.
Legacy
#1 – Deathrite Shaman
What is largely considered to be the best card in Modern is among the best in Legacy as well. Jund doing well in Legacy can largely be traced to the printing of this guy. He fixes mana, accelerates, clocks, and makes Julienne Fries. Deathrite will remain a Legacy staple for a long time.
#2 – Liliana of the Veil
You could make the argument that Jace rightly deserves this slot, but from those I’ve talked to and recent results, I pick Lily in the short-term. Her two abilities are incredibly relevant, making her one of the best plays black decks have, as showcased in Jund.
#3 – Brainstorm
Best card draw of all time, or merely best card manipulation of all time? As long as blue decks are succeeding in Legacy, Brainstorm will be right there supporting Islands everywhere.
#4 – Show and Tell
Show and Tell is one of the core cards in a group of combo decks with at least three different notable variations, and one of the best plan Bs in the format. It’s hard to express how much more powerful this card has gotten since first being printed between [card emrakul, the aeons torn]Emrakul[/card], Griselbrand, and Omniscience.
#5 – Lotus Petal
One of the core cards to just about every single relevant combo deck. I never thought I’d see when Petal out-shined Dark Ritual or Lion’s Eye Diamond in combo decks, but here we are.
#6 – Jace, the Mind Sculptor
The GOAT and much like Brainstorm, there’s not a lot to say about him. Blue decks have been getting a bit thrashed on the SCG series as of late, and Jace doesn’t get as much face time because of the big influx of Jund and even more combo. Jace still requires respect, however if numbers remain low and Jund remains high, then he’s going to lose even more ground to Liliana.
#7 – Stoneforge Mystic
While Stoneblade has had less of an impact lately, every few tournaments you’ll see Stoneforge gloating from on high with Bloodbraid Elf about how they don’t need other formats. Stoneforge Mystic remains one of the most powerful tools available to the UW shell. The kicker is she can only get better as new equipment is printed.
#8 – Undercity Informer and Balustrade Spy
Both of these cards are what make the new All Spells deck tick. While time will tell how well the deck performs in tournaments, as it stands right now it is one of the absolute scariest decks in Legacy. It kills on turn one around 40-45% of the time, and on the draw that number only gets higher. This is the kind of deck the DCI hoped to avoid when they banned Hermit Druid, but this deck may be an even more deadly version of anything Druid decks were ever capable of.
