This weekend is players' last chance to play a major Standard event before the release of Fate Reforged. Coming into this weekend, Standard seemed to have oscillated to a place where decks that took full advantage of Sidisi, Brood Tyrant and Whip of Erebos were becoming a dominant force. This weekend marks the return of Abzan as the deck to beat. Of the archetypes in Day 2, three different Abzan variants account for three of the four most well-represented decks. Let's take a look at the metagame breakdown for the second day of competition here in Denver.
| Archetype | Notes | % of Field |
| Abzan Aggro | 29 | 18.50% |
| Ascendancy Tokens | 18 | 11.50% |
| Abzan Midrange | 17 | 10.80% |
| Abzan Whip | 14 | 8.90% |
| Mardu Midrange | 11 | 7.00% |
| White-Red Midrange | 11 | 7.00% |
| Sidisi Whip | 6 | 3.80% |
| Temur | 6 | 3.80% |
| White-Blue Heroic | 6 | 3.80% |
| White-Red Tokens/Aggro/Heroic | 6 | 3.80% |
| Red-Green Monsters/Beats & Nest Combo | 6 | 3.80% |
| Boss Sligh | 4 | 2.50% |
| Green Devotion & Blue-Green Devotion | 5 | 3.20% |
| Esper Control | 2 | 1.30% |
| Jeskai | 2 | 1.30% |
| Naya Tokens | 2 | 1.30% |
| Jeskai Control | 1 | 0.60% |
| Astronomer Ascendancy | 1 | 0.60% |
| Black-Green Constellation | 1 | 0.60% |
| Blue-Black Control | 1 | 0.60% |
| Chromanticontrol | 1 | 0.60% |
| Four-Color Cruise | 1 | 0.60% |
| Four-Color Midrange | 1 | 0.60% |
| Four-Color Sidisi | 1 | 0.60% |
| Four-Color Whip | 1 | 0.60% |
| Jeskai Midrange | 1 | 0.60% |
| Mardu Aggro | 1 | 0.60% |
| White-Blue Control | 1 | 0.60% |
Abzan is clearly a force to be reckoned with in the current Standard metagame, but there are quite a few surprises here too. Jeskai Ascendancy token strategies are making big waves this weekend. As we see fewer and fewer copies of Doomwake Giant at the top tables we can expect the Ascendancy Token strategies to perform very well.
The diversity of the field is impressive. There are well over twenty unique archetypes represented in the field today.
Will the Abzan decks continue to dominate here in Denver, or will one of the more unusual strategies rise up and prove itself to be the new top dog? Stay tuned to continuing coverage of Grand Prix Denver to find out!