Just Another Meta Monday
Welcome back to Meta Monday! This last week, we experienced an OTA that tried to shake things up and hit most of the main archetypes in the meta-game. Was it enough to shake things up? Or are we still in relatively the same place as last week?
Pillar One: Arishem
Possibly, to many people's surprise, Arishem is still the central pillar of the metagame. He comprises anywhere from 10%-15% of the decks in post-infinite gameplay and is about 10% of the metagame in the 80-100 ranges pre-infinite. While he has taken a minor hit and is nowhere near his original popularity, he is still the central archetype people play across the board.
Arishem 1
Arishem 2
Both of these decks are incredibly viable and don’t differ that much. However, there is still a lot of debate about the best build of Arishem, so going with one of these versions isn’t going to steer you wrong, but there is a lot of room to experiment.
Pillar Two: Wiccan Decks
The second pillar combines decks, including the newest addition to the game, Wiccan. Although each deck is unique and has different play lines, together, they make up about 8-10% of the metagame.
Wiccan Ramp
Wiccan Pixie
Wiccan Loki
The Pixie deck is probably the most different out of the three because the other two include a handful of the same cards, such as Loki, Kitty Pryde, and Angela. Separated, the Loki Wiccan deck and the Pixie Wiccan deck make up the majority, while the Ramp Wiccan deck is a small percentage overall, but it has a slightly better cube rate.
Pillar Three: Zoo
Last week, I mentioned Zoo briefly as a solid option but not one of the main pillars of the meta game. While this was true, Zoo didn’t experience any changes overall and has become a more significant chunk of the metagame now than last week, especially pre-infinite and at lower rankings.
Zoo
There is less diversity in the possible Zoo lists. The main differences are running an extra one-cost card like Hyrdro Bob or Martyr instead of Kate Bishop or if you want to risk running Caiera or not depending on seeing a lot of Killmonger or Destroy. However, as Zoo has been in the meta-game for a while, it has lost much of its cube equity because it is getting more accessible for people to see when they are in a losing position and retreat.
Pillar Four: Bounce, Loki, Thena
The last but certainly not least pillar includes some of the strongest decks in the format, but they are not being played as much as the other decks. Then, while sustaining a nerf, has still felt strong, but her composition has changed to include Loki as a solid Midrange threat. Bounce has established itself as a powerful strategy that requires good decision-making and game knowledge.
Loki by Night
Thena Hawk
Bounce
All three of these decks can compete with the other pillars well and have outs to almost anything else the game can throw at them while producing a good amount of power. Loki has become a midrange staple card that can be slotted into virtually any deck without hesitation. Werewolf by Night takes many turn-planning forethought and can be more complex to play than your average deck. This is also true for bounce, making the learning curve steeper. This probably keeps the overall play rate slightly lower, but it doesn’t mean they are any less powerful.
Meta Outliers
These two decks do not hold that high a percentage in the metagame but seem to have some of the best win rates and cube rates, so while you might not see them that often, they are still good decks to run in the current metagame.
Surfer
Sandman
Surfer is about 1% of the metagame, and that number gets smaller the wider you make the data parameters, but it still boasts one of the best cube and win rates in the current metagame. Sandman is a deck that has been around but has lost popularity because Sandman got a slight nerf. Also, Sandman is becoming more accessible and easier to read, so there is not as much cube equity anymore. However, Sandman is around, is something to consider, and is influential in the meta game.
Meta Health
Overall, there is still a large section of the metagame devoted to Arishem, but other than that large section, there are a lot of diverse builds that are entirely viable to play. Loki is a slight problem because his usage is becoming a little overbearing in many decks that are good at playing a solid 3-cost 5-power card. However, other than that, the main archetypes of Discard and Destroying are still running around to success. Clog has evolved and shifted but is still a significant player in the meta game, and even Negative, Phoenix Force, and Namora Combo are slowly starting to make their way back into the fold. Even Blockbolt and Stature have a good deck in the game. All of this sounds pretty healthy other than Arishem taking up a big chunk, but with many different strategies viable, we are no longer in Arishem only or bust meta game. What are your current thoughts on the state of the game?