Last week, Wizards of the Coast responded to the staggering frequency with which Field of the Dead was being played in Magic: The Gathering’s Standard format by banning the powerful, zombie-producing land. The banning of Field of the Dead in Standard MTG has forced many players to gravitate towards new decks, and after this weekend, a picture of what cards fans are interested in playing in this new metagame is starting to come increasingly into focus.

To note, the most frequently played cards in Magic: The Gathering’s Standard format will always be in a relative state of flux, as players will continue to adjust their decks and respond to the present metagame. However, this list of the most played Standard cards takes into account two fairly sizable tournaments, the StarCityGames Standard Classic that took place in Atlanta, GA on October 27 and the Magic: The Gathering Arena Mythic Championship 7 Qualifier that occurred over the weekend, making it a reasonable snapshot of the current state of deck building.

With that established, here are the 10 most played cards in Standard Magic: The Gathering since Field of the Dead was banned:

  • Once Upon a Time Paradise Druid Gilded Goose Nissa, Who Shakes the World Oko, Thief of Crowns Wicked Wolf Hydroid Krasis Veil of Summer Questing Beast Lovestruck Beast

In general, these cards have seen play in 45-55% of the decks that have been tracked for this exercise, with Veil of Summer being a bit of an outlier at 72% due to the fact that it is primarily a sideboard card. However, an average of only 2.4 copies of this powerful, one-mana instant appear in the decks in discussion, while full playsets of cards like Once Upon a Time, Gilded Goose, and Magic: The Gathering’s Oko, Thief of Crowns are the average for the decks that play them.

What might stand out to some players is that every card on this list has at least one green pip. Indeed, green has asserted itself as the most powerful color for Standard play ever since Magic: The Gathering’s Throne of Eldraine set was released, and that does not seem to have changed with the banning of Field of the Dead. Eventually, cards that combat the most-prevalent, green-based strategies, like Noxious Grasp and Murderous Riders, may make it into the top 10 most played cards in Standard, but they still have a little more work to do.

The Magic: The Gathering Throne of Eldraine expansion set is available now.

Source: MTGGoldfish