Strongest Color in MTGPQ Standard Pre-Ikoria

jtwood

Since the fuzz said we had to follow the rules, here's a poll for you inspired by @FindingHeart8 :

As we head into Ikoria, which single color is the most powerful in Standard?

You have to pick one color. No answers like "Well, RW is where it's at," or "The combos in UGB are the best so I can't pick."

Pick one. Vote for it.

Nyarlathotep

It's blue, of cause it is. Has to be blue, anyone telling you something else, probably is not 100 % honest. 
Same for legacy. 
Is blue, has been blue, probably wil always be blue.

FindingHeart8

jtwood said:

Since the fuzz said we had to follow the rules, here's a poll for you inspired by @FindingHeart8 :

As we head into Ikoria, which single color is the most powerful in Standard?

You have to pick one color. No answers like "Well, RW is where it's at," or "The combos in UGB are the best so I can't pick."

Pick one. Vote for it.

Not gonna lie, I took a quick peek at the current votes before voting and almost tricked myself by voting by graph colors instead of the colors you wrote down (haven't had coffee yet this morning), almost was like "duude, you realize Wizards cancelled making the color Purple right?"

Thank goodness I double checked or it probably wouldn't have hit me until after I voted and posted. 

bk1234

[MOD MIC ON]Thank you.[the fuzz]

bk1234

I voted red- I have 1.5x as many red cards mastered in Standard as all the other colors and I master cards naturally — and err on the side of data. 

Ampersand

Blue is strongest in Legacy, no question, and it's still strong in Standard, but I think either Green or Red is currently the strongest Standard color.

jtwood

I wanted to say Black, because I think it's the most versatile right now, but went with Green for most powerful. GR is still a beast. Rhonas is so broken. Trostani, Primeval, Cavalier, Deathsprout, Yarok, KI, Tamiyo Vanguard, Chord, Green Finale, Tolsimir... Casualties of War is a staple in all of my decks. Just enough gem conversion to still make it explosive, and access to so many of the top PWs.

Horadrim

Green has access to most of the broken cards in Standard right now.... Killer Instinct Trostani Discordant March of the Multitudes Rhonas Deadbridge Chant Xenagos combos

Mburn7

I meant to say Green, but picked Red instead.  Sorry about that!

As long as Green has Gaia and ways to get her out fast it will be my fave.
(disclaimer, I have not played in a couple sets and don't know the current meta)

jtwood

It's nice to see that we seem to agree White is definitely not in contention

Bubbles_CS

Horadrim said:

Green has access to most of the broken cards in Standard right now.... Killer Instinct Trostani Discordant March of the Multitudes Rhonas Deadbridge Chant Xenagos combos

I have to agree. Rhonas, Trostani, March, Killer Instinct and Gaia do a lot of work.

FindingHeart8

Love this thread!  Was tired earlier (finally drinking coffee), here's my input:

True, with other colors I can do combo backflips for days (particularly Blue and Green), and toy with my opponents for hours over a single match.  But we're busy people, with busy lives, and this game can take up a lot of time to remain competitive.  Because of this, the quickest route to victory can be even more appealing than a lengthy detour, and the quickest, cleanest routes to defeat a player (both in legacy and standard) has always belonged to red.

1. If you want to win with Oath of the Gatewatch combo (the fastest winning combo in the game), you need Hazoret's Undying Fury to pull that off.
2. Killer Instinct (mentioned above) is also a red card, so is Xenagos.
3. Underworld Cerberus matches Gaea's Revenge in damage, with half of it being first strike damage to survive any blockers.
4. While red may not match green in ramp, it can keep a close second with gem destruction, which is playable in both legacy and standard thanks to origins.
   
5. Koth + Domri for a consistent 12+ mana every turn.
   
6. Ball Lightning, Samut, Olivia, Tyrant of Valakut, Lightning Runner
   
7. Red has the Sneak Attack ability (play from your hand), Ilharg and Purphoros
8. Razia still owns standard as one of the harder cards to deal with.
9. Reverb when it activates usually kills the opponent in a single turn, even more likely with the Koth/Domri combo
10. Theros's most powerful God cards are almost all red.
11. Apex of Power + Stitch in Time (some luck required but probability increased with Electrodominance)
    
12. Red partners with black for the best board control abilities currently in standard with Rakdos.
    
13. Haktos (Rakdos's rhyming cousin) is a challenging card to deal with from Theros.
    
14. One day, they will bring Lightning Bolt to this game, and I bet it will be the most broken card red has ever seen.
    
    

tl, dr: red defeats players quicker and easier, thus is the best color.

bk1234

Horadrim said:

Green has access to most of the broken cards in Standard right now.... Killer Instinct Trostani Discordant March of the Multitudes Rhonas Deadbridge Chant Xenagos combos

I primarily use KI and Deadbridge in Bolas together and Ki with W/R PW or Sarkhan, I use Trostani and MotM with W/R or mono white PW, so while those cards are strong, I don't really use them with green PW or in green centered events. 

Nyarlathotep

I know about all of that. KI, deadbrigde, GR and all of that has been in standard for way too long, if you ask me. 
But i think blue is still on top of everything. 
They gave us Bluenale, with stitch and urza aswell as thassa, deep dwelling you have the tools to deal with everything?

Greg casts a GR? 
Does not matter, it will only ever attack once. 

Also we still have untargeted bounce for 6 mana. 
I just wait for a GR or Cerberus to show up...

We now even have a half blue PW with an exiling mechanic. And it is probably is even better than the white /black ones or even Karn. 
I play blue, if blue is available.

Also the most powerful card in paper is, was and always will be the Island,right? 

🤔

Of cause other ppl have other opinions, that is exactly what makes this world so interesting. 

I dont try to change your minds, i just stay with my choice even after reading info about all the card names you gathered in here. 
(by the way half of the most broken cards in standard have blue in them
The mythic vAshiok, the vTammy, Yarok.) 
Thats not all just green and white and Black? 
It's all blue aswell.

bk1234

Nyarlathotep said:

I know about all of that. KI, deadbrigde, GR and all of that has been in standard for way too long, if you ask me. 
But i think blue is still on top of everything. 
They gave us Bluenale, with stitch and urza aswell as thassa, deep dwelling you have the tools to deal with everything?

Greg casts a GR? 
Does not matter, it will only ever attack once. 

Also we still have untargeted bounce for 6 mana. 
I just wait for a GR or Cerberus to show up...

We now even have a half blue PW with an exiling mechanic. And it is probably is even better than the white /black ones or even Karn. 
I play blue, if blue is available.

Also the most powerful card in paper is, was and always will be the Island,right? 

🤔

Of cause other ppl have other opinions, that is exactly what makes this world so interesting. 

I dont try to change your minds, i just stay with my choice even after reading info about all the card names you gathered in here. 
(by the way half of the most broken cards in standard have blue in them
The mythic vAshiok, the vTammy, Yarok.) 
Thats not all just green and white and Black? 
It's all blue aswell.

My Urza isn’t even mastered. 

Nyarlathotep

  
I see it, but i can not believe what i am seeing. Sure that you did not get it yesterday, or something? 

bk1234

Nyarlathotep said:

  
I see it, but i can not believe what i am seeing. Sure that you did not get it yesterday, or something? 

I’ve had him for quite awhile. I simply forget he’s there. I have better cards that go in my red PW. 

bk1234

Nyarlathotep said:

  
I see it, but i can not believe what i am seeing. Sure that you did not get it yesterday, or something? 

At your suggestion, I put Urza in my bottom node deck for Titanomachy. I lost my first match. 

Nyarlathotep

 🙀
Oh no! Yeah, i am better going to shut up now.

Barnabes

I'm not sure how to even classify "strongest color" when most of the viable PW have access to multiple colors (or, you know, all of them), and so many powerful cards are multicolored and accessible to any PW who shares just one of those colors. I have seen mentions of Trostani, March and Chord simultaneously with claims that white is "the weakest color" which is odd. Elspeth Sun's Champion is still a ridiculous powerhouse that can finish off games in no-time flat in my experience.

I picked Red because I feel that Red is exceptionally blessed right now, with powerhouses Razia and Rakdos being tutored at a discount by Kaalia (yes, she can also fetch a dragon, but... no need) along with colorless lifelink and repeatable Nicol-Bolas card draw and loyalty generation... but I end up playing it to save time and effort in a day that consists of 4-6 events, most of which I have repeated ad-nauseam. I could probably make a very similar argument about any other color if I was willing to spare a few more minutes per match.