Metagame Minute: 2024 National Championships, Week 3

Welcome to Metagame Minute, where we tuck into the latest tournament results and discuss tasty trends, saucy highlights, and spicy decklists - all wrapped up in a bite-sized read!

Welcome back, and congratulations to our final round of National Champions! You worked hard for this achievement and should feel proud at earning the chance to represent your country at World Championship: Osaka. See you there!

Nuu and Zen have been squabbling over the hot seat of National Championship season, with the Tamer of Purpose squeezing out a lead at the last second. While the metagame has been largely orchestrated by these two, a decent spread of heroes have managed to sneak through and claim their own victories. Zen has been reigned in with the recent Scheduled Banned and Suspended Announcement, but the question remains - is he still the top dog or will he pass the crown at Pro Tour: Amsterdam?

Nuu is widely regarded as the force to be reckoned with moving forward, but her slippery matchups into Kano, Enigma, and Prism provides a strong counterweight. Will we watch a sea of Illusionists rise to take her down, and as a result, an outbreak of Brute vengeance? Dash has also been gunning it this season, locked and loaded to achieve Living Legend status any day now. Players are already deep in the tank getting reps, figuring out what’s hot, and pulling together a gameplan for the upcoming Pro Tour.

One thing is certain, all three heroes from Part the Mistveil are in a strong position to win it all, so let’s take a look at how these decks might shape up for Pro Tour: Amsterdam…

Down But Not Out

Zen may have reduced numbers of Bonds of Ancestry, but where some may see weakness, dedicated Zen players only see opportunity. The ceiling of the deck has definitely gone down from double and triple Bonds turns, but the deck space opens up the chance to increase the floor and add some much needed consistency and grindgame strength against the likes of Nuu. Zen will likely still run back the full Art of War / Stride of Reprisal / Traverse the Universe power plays, but now he can also pivot to a more value-oriented gameplan with cards like Bittering Thorns, Growl, and even Roar of the Tiger.

Recurring Nightmares

Nuu has eaten well this season, filling up on the helpless Zens looking to score a quick win and running into a brick wall (with spikes). Now she has to set her sights on two hefty challenges - the volatile mirror match, and the dreaded Illusionists. It will be interesting to see how Nuu players adapt to the mirror, where things can go wrong on either end very quickly, and you’re forced to side out your best blue cards. The real question is whether players can find a way to cover this base while also preparing for the Illusionist matchup, which demands some very significant sideboard hate, such as Pick to Pieces, Malign, and even a few 7-power poppers such as Blanch.

To the Moon

Enigma has been tightly clutching her tiny slice of the pie, but now the aggro grip has loosened she may find the purchase to lever a bigger chunk. Most metagames with defined strengths and weaknesses experience Tall Poppy Syndrome sooner or later, and if Zen moves aside to let Nuu into the crosshairs, Enigma will be there waiting with her finger on the trigger. It’s one thing to have to deal with a Manifestation of Miragai, but it’s the constant blanking of daggers and breakpoints through cards like Dense Blue Mist, This Round’s on Me, and Restless Coalescence that will get the job done.

Three weeks remain until Pro Tour: Amsterdam. Three weeks to solve the Classic Constructed puzzle. Three weeks to get those last few draft reps in. Three weeks before players come together for the fifth Pro Tour and try their hand at winning the trophy, title, and lion’s share of $200,000. It’s all to play for.