By Dunebrood
Tournament Breakdown
On May 22nd two FNM tournaments were conducted in a row. I ran the Eurozone tournament while Prince Phantom hosted the NAzone tournament. Thanks go to all the attendees and the other Tournament Organizers, nashty and Horatius. The following Champions emerged victorious from the Tournament battlegrounds.
Eurozone
- BraveJRL on Bant Control
- Archermaster24 on Bant Nexus
- Linija on White Weenies
- Swankishdank on Temur Ramp
- Wesley147208 on Jeskai Control
- cdgentry 1 on Sultai Reclamation
- Bjaaarn on Sultai Lands
- gozmit97 on Gruul Stompy
NAzone
- Sup on Bant Ramp
- ItThatBetrayed on Jund Midrange
- Grexar on Esper Control
- SirTractor on Gruul Stompy
- Denthrass on Gruul Stompy
- bushking on Grixis Control
- GiantTwinky on Abzan Lands
- TheCheeseStandsAlone on Izzet spellslinger
Besides the 8 champions other Gladiators also brought spicy tactics to the table.A special shout out goes to SeismicLawns who successfully piloted Tour de France to a 9th place in the Eurozone tournament.
Archetype and Color distribution
There will be 3 sets of numbers this week. Eurozone|Nazone|Combined.
| Color Pair | Amount | Aggro | Midrange | Control | Tempo | Ramp | Combo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bant | 4|4|8 | 0|1|1 | 1|0|1 | 1|0|1 | 0 | 0|1|1 | 2|2|4 |
| Mono White | 1|0|1 | 1|0|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Temur | 1|1|2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1|1|2 | 0 |
| Jeskai | 1|1|2 | 0 | 0 | 1|1|2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sultai | 6|1|7 | 0 | 5|1|6 | 1|0|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gruul | 4|3|7 | 4|3|7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5c | 4|4|8 | 0 | 2|0|2 | 1|2|3 | 0 | 0 | 1|2|3 |
| Mono Red | 1|1|2 | 1|0|1 | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rakdos | 2|0|2 | 0 | 2|0|2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Abzan | 5|3|8 | 0 | 5|3|8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mono Green | 1|1|2 | 1|0|1 | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Izzet | 5|2|7 | 0 | 1|2|3 | 2|0|2 | 2|0|2 | 0 | 0 |
| Azorious | 3|2|5 | 0|1|1 | 0|1|1 | 3|0|3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mardu | 1|0|1 | 0 | 1|0|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Simic | 1|1|2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1|1|2 | 0 |
| Jund | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Esper | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0 | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grixis | 0|2|2 | 0 | 0 | 0|2|2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Selesnya | 0|1|1 | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mono Black | 0|3|3 | 0|3|3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Golgari | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0 | 0|1|1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total: | 40|34|74 | 7|9|16 | 17|10|27 | 9|7|16 | 2|0|2 | 2|3|5 | 3|4|7 |
| Time | White | Blue | Black | Red | Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This Week | 35 | 44 | 34 | 35 | 48 |
| Last Week | 31 | 34 | 33 | 25 | 29 |
The meta was of a similar composition as last week’s tournament. Midrange decks are still the most popular archetype represented. There was a slight shift between the Eurozone and the NAzone tourney where the amount of Midrange decks dropped significantly. Unlike last week there were few tempo decks present in the meta, however there was a slight uptick in combo decks. The top 8 also reflected this meta quite well with all archetypes beside tempo being represented even having a mono white deck in it. Omni decks were still largely absent while new combos around Chulane, Teller of Tales, and Primespeaker Vannifar popped up.
There was a big difference to last weeks color distribution. We can see a rise in decks playing green, while black and white suffered the most in their color share This can be attributed to a down tick of Jeskai and Esper decks in from last week’s tournament, while Bant decks, which were absent last week, started showing up more. Furthermore we can see that Abzan midrange decks and Sultai Midrange decks are what midrange decks are consolidating towards. The data also shows a lack of 4 color decks and a slight uptick in 5cc decks this could just be due to the Honden just being released. However there is also an argument to be made that the difference in strain on the mana base between 4c and 5c decks is minimal, while giving access to a variety of good cards.
Card of the Day is Navigator’s Compass. This small artifact does multiple things for you. It gives you a bit of an early cushion against aggro decks, while also fixing your mana. This of course is not a card that should just be played in every deck, however I believe it should be a staple in 4+ color decks, which often struggle against more aggressive decks and also often have harder Mana requirements, while often also being able to out-value your opponent. It also works great in synergy with Evolving Wilds which just turns into a 5c land instead of making you stumble on your mana. I have been playing this card in my 4 color combo deck, and it has worked wonders against more aggressive decks.
I hope you enjoyed this little write up and gave you some useful insights into Gladiator. If you have any comments, questions or criticism, feel free to contact me on Discord @Dune Brood#0924 or @Ephara#65980.
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