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The first stop in the Asia region since the Pro Tour, we can expect the collective FaB player base to iterate on the format even further.
The CC Metagame has shown what its top contenders are coming out of Rotterdam, but there are still room for the true specialists on a given deck to prove that pilot skill is everything in this late Compendium season.
Calling Jakarta
The day one metagame for the Classic Constructed saw the same top 3-5 decks we've come to expect. Victor Goldmane, High and Mighty has solidified as the best deck in the format thanks to his win in Rotterdam. The skill gap needed to pilot Oscilio, Constella Intelligence, plus the imminent bans all align with the last Rosetta deck's steady decline. Arakni, Marionette is up on the rise, despite some noting that it's play rate may be affected as people are getting wise about best blocking the deck.
Other decks with a strong showing going into Jakarta include aggro decks such as Cindra, Dracai of Retribution and Dash I/O. These decks look to pressure decks such as Mario and Oscilio, but they're naturally unfavoured into the Guardian at the top of the field.
Big shout out to the two players following Jack Pauley on the Hype Train by playing Maxx "The Hype" Nitro, and to Robby Ramasputra for being the first player to put Tuffnut, Bumbling Hulkster into a Calling Day 2.
The conversion rate paints quite the picture for decks going into Day 2. We see the remarkable performance of other Guardians, despite their likely tricky Victor matchup, as well as the dark horse picks of the one offs making it happen on their run into Day 2.
The presumed scourge of the metagame, Oscilio, has been converting weaker and weaker, as the overall average skill of players has been declining. With Omens on the way, more and more competitors who were interested in the raw power of the Lightning Wizard are aware of the imminent bannings, and pivoting to the Guardian or the Assassin in the tail end of this season.
Commentators on this metagame can look at the top 8 bracket and say with moderate confidence that this metagame has been locked up. World Tour Jakarta has solidified the rank that Mario and Victor hold on the metagame. Locking up the 1st seed is Jason Rolfe, a local of mine here in London, who I can confidently consider a master of Guardian gameplay. Being in a metagame with the best Guardian in the game being one of the strongest decks puts this local player in the running quite soundly.
The underdogs in the field, Lyath Goldmane, VIle Savant took the 7th seed Marionette to task in a 90 minute game coming all the way down to Fatigue. Jake McCormack's Kassai of the Golden Sand operated under the flexibility of her overall kit to pressure the other decks in the meta in different ways.
Nova Chan took second place in Calling Jakarta with Arakni, Marionette. The specific card choices each Mario pilot brings is always the point of interest in analysing a Mario deck. The reduced number of Inertia Trap is what's noted in Nova's list, as it may have fewer targets in the current metagame. The inclusion of Just a Nick pairs quite well with Art of Desire: Mind in the Victor matchup (to banish Visit the Goldmane Estate) and Bonds of Attraction to banish zombie allies from Gravy Bones, Shipwrecked Looter's graveyard.
The winner of Calling Jakarta was the aforementioned underdog, Jake McCormack on Kassai. Through well navigated games on stream, defending against the proactive combo attacks of Katsu, the Wanderer in the first game of the livestream, the boardstate aggression into Jason Rolfe's Victor Goldmane, and the absurdly high aggression to defeat Nova Chan, Kassai has the versatility to convert large or small hands, and present an numerous number of gameplans through both allies and multiple swings of Blood On Her Hands.
The copies of Gravekeeping are hilarious but justified tech for the Victor Goldmane matchup. The deck wins by using Remembrance to put "Dad's House" back into their deck for even more Might generation. Banishing them from grave is essential, whilst also gaining incidental value against most of the field, be it banishing Sigils from Oscilio before they can get them back with Etchings of Arcana, Codex of Frailty targets, and other zombies.
The deck relies mostly on 12 Blues. We saw Jake play a number of Red heavy hands, however they still converted very well in the late game given the free Go Again from Hot Streak.
Showdown Jakarta
The Silver Age Showdown in Jakarta took place alongside Calling Day 2 and numerous side events. We got to see a Top 8 comprised of: 4 Ira, Crimson Haze, Kayo, Briar, Fai, Arakni, Web of Deceit. It's no surprise to see how well Ira did, especially given the results Skirmish Season 14 week 1 and week 2.
The winner overall was Kazuya Murakami with Ira. With the uptick of certain defensive decks, and the strong Runeblade Defence Reactions like Sigil of Suffering from Briar, the inclusion of Imperial Seal of Command may be there to force through damage. Other defensive tech includes the copies Reinforce the Line for tall attacks with Dominate from Azalea or Valda, Brightaxe.
Wrap Up
The waning weeks of the Compendium season is giving us a look at the top contenders in the coming season. Outlier decks can do very well into the meta contenders in CC, and the metagame in Sage is primed for a shake up.
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