New Frontiers?

Hello readers once again. I am over my jetlag, and "you suck" lag, and preparing for tomorrows event hosted by POPaLOT. It's a major event, and one that they need your attendance at, because if they don't hit a certain amount they lose a premier event status.

Do you want more Magic in Australia? Play in these. It's all you can do. FREE PLUGS ASIDE, I'd like to quickly gloss over my thoughts on Standard, and how they've changed before and since GP Auckland.

For starters, Slaughter Games is a very real threat, but not an active one. You can't go turn 4 Slaughter Games without the opponent going turn 4 Unburial Rites for Angel of Serenity anyway, gee gee there fella? That doesn't mean my deck idea was bad, and I still like the idea of toying with the idea, maybe brewing it for Modern.

Also, it was clear that Standard had formed quite a few archetypes before hand, and that's not solidified with all the recent GPs. So that means its still wide open, but only so far as aggro/control goes. They're both viable with the cards available, such as "red haste deck" being great aggro, and 24+ Wraths control deck being very control. In the middle is Planeswalkers and "mid-range" but on the whole, Vraska, Nicol Bolas, O Ring and Detention Sphere help keeping any particular permanent from dealing massive damages.

So a few notes, taken today, looking back at how people imagined Standard would look.

+Zombies is no longer viable, but everyone thought it'd be the nuts rock solid. There were so many 1 drop 2 power guys!
True, but no longer relevant, seeing everyone is playing answers to normal creatures that naturally exile them upon death, such as the Pillar of Flame/Annihilating Fire or my always-favourite Terminus. Nothing turns off junk faster than that third turn Terminus for three.
+Rest in Peace would keep the graveyard decks in check, and it was waaay too strong already and Tormyd's Crypt why roflmao? Rest in Peace hasn't seen great amounts of play in many places, mostly because anyone playing white IS the reanimator deck! No one's going to play an automatic "turn myself off" in a deck if they can stop it, and it's relatively easy to. Not to say it's not in people's sideboards, but it wasn't that crash hot. Also? Abrupt Decay.
+Jace is hot and omg can't wait to play him! Well, he's great fun to -2, and he's cheap enough at four, but last time you were paying four for Jace in Standard... he got banned. This time Jace feels more like the "Ponder" of the format, which is odd seeing he's a four-drop, and a Planeswalker. Nobody has forgiven Wizards yet for Index. There's still a twinkle of hope that the new Dragon's Maze will bring the goods. That's besides my point, Jace went from $120 a playset (when I bought) to $160 (when I should've sold) down to $120 again (after the GPs and people realised he wasn't all that crash hot. Even resolving his ulty wont gaurenteed finish a game).
+Oros Zombies can live! More on that later. See also: Boros / Ozrhov.

So in playing the deck I'll take to Popalot tomorrow, I'll keep in mind my original thoughts, as can be applied to reanimator.
+Terminus in the sideboard. Game 1, I don't think I'll need to clear the board. If I do, I want the full four.
+Rest in Peace. There will be reanimator everywhere, and I want to get it. Sure, it kills my grave too, but that's why...
+Abrupt Decay and Grisly Salvage are Instants. This style of play allows me to control the board, until I'm ready to go off, of after the opponent has thought "Fiddlesticks, I'll play it honest," and paid a proper 7.

Here's the list of todays thoughts I wrote at work, pondering the imaginery make up of the meta tomorrow.

50-60% reanimator
10-20 aggro Rakdos
20% "rogue"
10% Epic Experiment

I think Travis Woo has done a lot for Magic lately, over at ChannelFireball. Apart from being highly inspirational (I've build 2 of his last 3 decks) he sports decks that ppl enjoy and play, namely dirty cheap dirt red, and Epic Experiment. It means that they'll show up as "awesome tech" that someone thinks will be really good, but really they'll die to aggro and never have to face me.

I haven't tested against a great field yet, though yesterday came second at FNM at Mega Games. After my horrid streak at GP Auckland, felt good to be playing for first.

So short of giving you an actual list, there's my thoughts and good night! Also props to Ainsley for the lift.

Fox.

ps I am the only member of You Don't Say who'll be there.