Rivals of Ixalan Standard

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Happy Monday MTG peeps,

This weekend's Dallas Open Weekend hosted by StarCityGames.com marked the first major Magaic: the Gathering standard constructed event with the new Rivals of Ixalan cards.  With each new standard shake-up, whether it may be an addition of a new set or a rotation out of others, many players step back into the comfort zone with reliable decklists, should the essential key cards still be available.  With the recent domination of Energy and Ramunap Red, this may not have been a serious consideration given the new banned cards list.  Given this environment, many were now considering the safe bet to be Green / Black Constrictor or Mono-Red Aggro.  Aggressive decklists are typically the easiest default or 'go-to' strategies in a new standard.  The cycle continues as the metagame evolves to include a rise in mid-range decks and finally control themes given the particular environment.

The Dallas Open Weekend Standard Classic results demonstrated a very diverse range of lists, which is indicative of a healthy standard game.  There is a somewhat predictable lag time after a set's release to 'solve' standard as players determine the most successful cards, after which point sideboard evaluations mature and respond to the growing popularity.  The weekend of a set's release is however a glorious time with innovation and improvisation being one's most valued resource.  Here is what players brought to the StarCityGames.com Team Constructed Open, Dallas this past weekend -

1st Mono-Red Aggro Tristen Loob
2nd Mono-Red Aggro Salvador Barboza
3rd W/U Auras Jim Davis
4th Mardu Vehicles Keelan Snider
5th G/R Monsters Logan Berryman
6th Mardu Vehicles Richard Fernandez
7th Temur DInosaurs Sean Joyce
8th Mardu Vehicles Zan Syed
9th Esper Gift Joshua Phillips
10th U/R Winds Trevor Hunt
11th Grixis Energy Skyler Aschenbeck
12th G/B Constrictor David Hinojosa
13th Mardu Vehicles Max Shiffman
14th Grixis Energy Tomas Morales
15th G/R Monsters James Crow
16th B/W Tokens Garrett Lewis

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