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Golos Field of the Dead MTG ELD Standard
Image via WotC Magic: The Gathering
Category:
MTG

Golos dominates MTG Standard meta at Star City Games Indianapolis

Golos is hot, but still beatable.
Image of Danny Forster
Danny Forster
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Published: Oct 14, 2019 08:59 am

This article is over 4 years old and may contain outdated information

The Magic: The Gathering Standard metagame was flooded with various Golos Field of the Dead decks last weekend at the Star City Games Classic in Indianapolis. 

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With Magic’s Mythic Championship V kicking off this weekend via MTG Arena, the Standard meta continues to favor a variety of Field of the Dead decks. Four Field of the Dead decks finished in the top eight of the SCG Classic Standard tournament, with Golos, Tireless Pilgrim leading the charge. 

  • Kevin Jones: Bant Golos
  • McCary Sean: Gruul Aggro
  • Derrick Davis: Golos Fires
  • Chrs Anderson: Bant Golos
  • Corey Lerch: Sultai Golos
  • Matt Culbert: Golgari Adventures
  • Chris Swafford: Jeskai Fires

Golos, Tireless Pilgrim is an ideal commander for the Field of the Dead strategy. He’s able to search a player’s library for any land card upon entering the battlefield and then applies additional pressure by exiling the top three cards of a player’s library (for a cost of seven), allowing them to cast spells without paying a mana cost. 

Golos decks take a few turns to kick into gear, but once they’re flowing with zombies (thanks to Field of the Dead), there are only a handful of options in the Standard meta to answer the onslaught. 

The best way to beat a Golos Dead deck on a consistent basis is through an aggro approach, which is exactly how Sean’s Gruul Aggro finished second and Cublert’s Golgari Adventures landed in seventh place. The top 16 at the SCG Classic also featured several other dominant archetypes in the Magic Standard meta. 

  • Mark Rodgers: Jund Adventures (10)
  • Matthew Watts: Golgari Adventures (11)
  • Aaron Higgins: Temur Midrange (12)
  • Brad Young: Temur Midrange (13)
  • Andrew Valdez: Mono-Red Aggro (14)
  • Tyler Moran: Simic Flash (15)
  • Sean Kipple: Golgari Adventures (16)

While it may seem like Mythic Championship V via MTG Arena will consist of mostly Golos and Field of the Dead decks, the top 16 from the SCG Classic shows that there’s still hope for other archetypes in the Standard metagame. 

Mythic Championship V takes place from Oct. 18 to 20 and can be watched on Magic’s Twitch channel. 

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Image of Danny Forster
Danny Forster
Danny has been writing for Dot Esports for over five years, first as a freelancer and now as a staff writer. He is the lead beat writer for Magic: The Gathering and Teamfight Tactics. Danny is also a solid Monopoly GO player, having beaten every main event without spending a dime. When Danny isn't writing or gaming, he's chilling by the water in Spacecoast Florida with his family and friends. He's always got a tan, because touching grass is important, and loves playing strategic digital and tabletop games. Past outlets Danny has written for include TheGamer and ScreenRant.
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