Good Morning, Standard!

The new format kicked off at Monday's MPDC 2.01 tournament with a strong old standby hinging on the offerings of Coldsnap and Time Spiral.

MAINDECK
Creatures
4 Errant Ephemeron TS
3 Martyr of Ashes CS

Spells
4 Empty the Warrens TS
4 Grapeshot TS
4 Ponder LOR
4 Remove Soul
4 Rift Bolt TS
4 Skred CS
3 Foresee TS
3 Think Twice TS

Lands
8 Snow-Covered Island CS
6 Snow-Covered Mountain CS
4 Terramorphic Expanse
3 Island
2 Mountain

SIDEBOARD
4 Faerie Trickery LOR
4 Rune Snag CS
3 Cancel
3 Fathom Seer TS
1 Martyr of Ashes CS

Not only did the first Morningtide season victor avoid using Morningtide, but he also got away with using hardly anything from Lorwyn! Neither of his choices from Lorwyn serve a purpose outside their utility -- not to be overlooked, for sure, but hardly deck-defining. This is still an archetype from the pre-Lorwyn days at core.

The first night of SPDC, the winner didn't use much from Morningtide either, just the first one-drop Illusion that is actually worth playing in an Illusion deck:

MAINDECK
4 Errant Ephemeron TS
4 Krovikan Mist TS
4 Mulldrifter LOR
3 Fathom Seer TS
3 Shaper Parasite TS
2 Dream Stalker TS
2 Mothdust Changeling [NEW!]

Spells
4 Incinerate
4 Lash Out LOR
4 Remove Soul
4 Skred CS

Lands
13 Snow-Covered Island CS
7 Snow-Covered Mountain CS
3 Terramorphic Expanse

SIDEBOARD
4 Faerie Trickery LOR
4 Martyr of Ashes CS
4 Rune Snag CS
2 Mothdust Changeling LOR
1 Dream Stalker TS

We see plenty of our old friends hanging out here: Marty, 'drifter, the Blue Beats crew, and Skred. In fact, despite the slight sprinkling of Lorwyn cards, this too is a deck that hinges on its Coldsnap and Time Spiral components. We already know the impact cards like Skred, Martyr of Ashes, and Mulldrifter have on the metagame, both by boosting the power of the decks they're in and preventing other decks (such as Dreamspore Rock) from reaching their ultimate goal.

Here is a combo-riffic take on last season's explosively successful new archetype, Blinkdrifter, which some have criticized or dismissed as merely a pile.

MAINDECK
Creatures
4 Aven Riftwatcher TS
4 Mulldrifter LOR
4 Slipstream Serpent TS
3 Mournwhelk LOR
3 Whitemane Lion TS
2 Shaper Parasite TS
1 Floodchaser [NEW!]

Spells
4 Momentary Blink TS
4 Prismatic Lens TS
3 Grim Harvest CS
2 Mystical Teachings TS
2 Strangling Soot TS
1 Cancel

Lands
6 Island
6 Plains
6 Swamp
4 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Snow-Covered Mountain CS

SIDEBOARD
4 Festercreep [NEW!]
3 Dreamspoiler Witches LOR
3 Faerie Trickery LOR
3 Terror
2 Aven Cloudchaser

We do see the beginnings of a greater infusion of Morningtide into the metagame, but there's still not a strong influence on this archetype, and the majority of this deck's cards come from outside the Lorwyn block. The three pivotal flashback spells from Time Spiral are all featured in this deck, marking it strongly as a descendent of the Blink lineage. (I disagree with those who want to truncate this deck's name for that reason; "Slipstick" alone may be shorter, but it's less descriptive in nature -- and cruelly willing to shed its patronym in needless defiance of its progenitors.)

Storm Control came back for another night of glory in the hands of an Ubr-veteran. Let's see what tech he amassed.

MAINDECK
Creatures
4 Errant Ephemeron TS
3 Martyr of Ashes CS

Spells
4 Grapeshot TS
4 Ponder LOR
4 Remove Soul
4 Rift Bolt TS
4 Skred CS
4 Think Twice TS
3 Empty the Warrens TS
3 Foresee TS

Lands
11 Snow-Covered Island CS
8 Snow-Covered Mountain CS
4 Terramorphic Expanse CS

SIDEBOARD
4 Faerie Trickery LOR
4 Rune Snag CS
3 Cancel
3 Fathom Seer TS
1 Martyr of Ashes CS

Nothing from Morningtide; only a nod to Lorwyn, same as before. What is holding the Lorwyn block back?

One of my favorite bluffs in recent memory: a man who was downplaying the potency of Blinkdrifter in the new metagame turns around to take the cheese with it!

MAINDECK
Creatures
4 Aven Riftwatcher TS
4 Burrenton Bombardier [NEW!]
4 Errant Ephemeron TS
4 Knight of Sursi TS
4 Mulldrifter LOR
4 Pestermite LOR
3 Gossamer Phantasm TS
2 Avian Changeling LOR

Spells
4 Momentary Blink TS
3 Ponder LOR
2 Oblivion Ring LOR

Lands
9 Island
9 Plains
4 Terramorphic Expanse

SIDEBOARD
4 Pentarch Ward TS
4 Surge of Thoughtweft LOR
3 Temporal Isolation TS
2 Avian Changeling LOR
2 Oblivion Ring LOR

The most heavily-Lorwynated deck in this list, with a surprise showing from a bomb-dropping Kithkin to grab some of the Morningtide spotlight. Equally notable is the distinct lack of Coldsnap from this list, which seems to be a liability if the previous lists are any indication.

Just from a brief analysis of the decklists themselves, I see that the metagame hasn't really changed too much yet this season. The preponderence of excellent removal has kept green out of the top seat so far all season, and Marty is out in enough force to hold WW and other small creature decks back. Time Spiral and Coldsnap seem to continue their unrelenting dominance of the Standard landscape, with cards like Momentary Blink, Grim Harvest, and Mystical Teachings continuing to provide insane card advantage to the eastern half of the color pie. Lorwyn block as a whole struggles to compete with the powerhouses bequeathed to the format by Coldsnap and the Time Spiral block. It will remain to see whether any of the 'tribal' synergies, relying on multiple cards as they do, will ever be able to outperform the card advantage juggernauts of the reigning Standard nasties.

Until next time, gentle Paupers, this has been Polyjak.