Today, I want to identify some cards that are making their presence known (or should be) in Standard, and some of these should come as a surprise. If we take a step back, this Standard format is not far removed from a significant set rotation and the addition of Dominaria United, so it would make sense that it’s still in flux. Also, we recently had a banning, so we must adjust our expectations of basically every deck in the format now that The Meathook Massacre is no longer legal.
Which decks have gotten better, and more specifically what single cards now shine as a result of the recent ban? If early indications are correct, the format is going to be significantly more diverse moving forward
The first card that I want to talk about is a white creature that can be tremendously powerful in the right deck. Welcoming Vampire isn’t seeing much play at all, but in my opinion that’s a mistake, especially for decks capable of churning out lots of small creatures. This is a card you will often see alongside Wedding Announcement and The Wandering Emperor as a way to draw an additional cards on each of your turns.
Welcoming Vampire is a card that frequently requires overextending creatures onto the battlefield. In the process of deploying threats, resources are recouped in the form of extra cards, but this creates a game state where you’re very vulnerable to sweepers. The creatures in play alongside Welcoming Vampire also tend to be low power in order to get your card draw triggers. The Meathook Massacre was best against decks with lots of small creatures because of its ability to wipe the board.
Welcoming Vampire is a card I’m personally looking forward to brewing with, as it does pair well with some of the most played white cards in the format already. Before the last Standard rotation, Welcoming Vampire was heavily utilized in Selesnya Tokens, and it will be interesting to see if more decks trying to go wide with creatures start to emerge.
Dude only mentions one card but click baits us by saying top 8. Ugh!