I was able to receive the results via Messenger of the MTG Iloilo community Saturday Standard tournament held last February 1, 2020, at Pro Rei Place. Twenty players were in attendance and it is a good number to gather the data.

The newly updated format with Theros Beyond Death went back to the basics of deck archetypes. I was able to observe the games during rounds two to four and checked on those who were at the top of the rankings. There were a few Blue-White Control while aggro decks were also present. I see that this version of the control deck was very successful in the metagame and seemed to continue its dominance in the format. Here below is the decklist:

Mainboard
2 Castle Ardenvale
2 Castle Vantress
4 Hallowed Fountain
8 Island
6 Plains
4 Temple of Enlightenment

3 Dream Trawler

4 Absorb
2 Dovin’s Veto
4 Shatter the Sky
1 Thassa’s Intervention
4 Thirst for Meaning
4 Banishing Light
4 Omen of the Sea
4 Teferi, Time Raveler
4 The Birth of Meletis

Sideboard
3 Aether Gust
1 Dovin’s Veto
1 Elspeth Conquers Death
1 Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis
1 Glass Casket
1 Heliod’s Intervention
1 Mystical Dispute
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
2 Whirlwind Denial

The setting of the decks is far different from what I brewed last time during the Theros Beyond Death spoiler season. It is mainly because of the playset copies of The Birth of Meletis which makes sure you hit your lands on turns 3 and 4. This card also provides a blocker and lets you gain life. Banishing Light is the default spot removal that is set to the 3-mana curve line of the deck alongside Teferi. The deck’s sole win condition is Dream Trawler, which is very powerful in the late game. Castle Ardenvale can also provide an army of 1/1s once the battlefield is stabilized.

The second deck in feature is the Mono-Red aggro or Red Deck Wins as most players call it. Here below is a decklist.

Mainboard

3 Castle Embereth
17 Mountain

4 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
1 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Fervent Champion
2 Phoenix of Ash
4 Rimrock Knight
2 Robber of the Rich
4 Runaway Steam-Kin
4 Scorch Spitter
4 Tin Street Dodger

4 Light Up the Stage
4 Shock
3 Embercleave

Sideboard
3 Claim the Firstborn
2 Embereth Shieldbreaker
2 Experimental Frenzy
3 Lava Coil
1 The Akroan War
4 Unchained Berserker

The aggressive start is still there and the new inclusions from Theros Beyond Death set are Anax and Phoenix of Ash. Anax looks to be devastating with Embercleave and the Phoenix can be a late-game damage source with its Escape ability.

The Top 4 finishers in last Saturday’s Standard tournament at Pro Reis place are as follows:
1st, Ace – Blue-White Control
2nd, Earl – Rakdos Sacrifice
3rd, Franco – Mono-Red Aggro
4th, Ericson – Simic Ramp
20 players, 5 rounds of gameplay.

The expected metagame might still be the same in the coming weeks unless a major tournament overseas provides a breakout deck but I doubt it will be only some deck upgrades or card tech in an existing archetype.

That is about for this local metagame report. Until the next post and thanks for reading.