October 20th Format Playoff Breakdown

So there was a Pauper Playoff on October 20th and the story of the Top 16 was a familiar tale. Jeskai Midrange decks dominated the Top 16 but didn't punch through for the win. Stompy put up a strong showing but was held in check by the correct metagame choice of the weekend - Boros Monarch. 

But all of this is a moot point. The format has fundamentally changed after the Arcum's Astrolabe ban. While I don't expect the metagame to change too much from a macro point of view (outside of Jeskai tanking) there are going to be some shifts.

First and foremost, Jeskai, as we have come to know it, is dead in a ditch. The cards are all still powerful and a shell using similar cards could easily exist. The problem with the builds moving forward is the mana. Astrolabe represented a way to get every color for a single mana. While Prophetic Prism still exists it is twice as expensive in a deck that ran 19 or 20 lands. That is a huge ask, especially considering how often the deck relied on a combination of Astrolabe and Preordain to set up its early turns. That is a lot harder to do when your Astrolabe costs two. Mulldrifter and Ephemerate is still a powerful combo, as is the Archaeomancer loop, but my guess is it becomes significantly harder to splash a third color, forcing Azorius Blink decks to slow down a bit and look for other ways to control the board. 

Out side of that, the format remains largely unchanged. Yes, the absence of Arcum's Astrolabe means that three color good stuff will take a hit, but look at the rest of the Top 16. You can reasonable expect those decks to remain part of the the competitive sphere. 

I've said Tron is likely to lose a step but still remain a highly played deck. I stand by this statement. Tron isn't going anywhere but the loss of Astrolabe is going to hurt its early game consistency. At the same point it may end up being a benefit as the deck can return to relying on lands to fix its mana rather than an artifact. 

What cards from Modern Horizons, Core 2020, and Throne of Eldraine now have a chance to take off in the wake of Astrolabe's axe? Sound off below.

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