Meta Makers: Spring 2025 SCT

 Hey Tiny Leaders! It's been awhile, so if you're new allow me to reintroduce myself and this series.

My name is Mecha, and I have been playing competitive Tiny Leaders Reborn for just over two years now. I have won multiple tournaments and competed in many more, and have piloted many decks over that time, primarily as an Aggro mage. As a writer, the goal of this series is to provide not only an objective overview of the raw numbers associated with the metagame, but also my own personal thoughts on the health of the format, the meta, and what makes the relevant decks relevant. We will go over color splits, deck lists, and even a couple of specific matches themselves. Now, Lets begin!

What's The Meta With You?

The TLR online meta has evolved over the last two years in various ways, often due to busted cards being printed into the format (thanks MH3.) Additionally, there have been many innovations in decklists over that time, and some decks that have come out of left field and made a permanent mark on the meta such as Nadu or Oops All Bugs. It is worthwhile to note, because of the major bannings that have taken place, the meta of the format at large has not had a real chance to settle. However, I feel comfortable providing my assessment of our meta on the server itself due to experience. As of writing, my assessment of the meta is that we are still in a very midrange meta, with black and boros being the primary drivers for strength in decks. Now, let's break into the lists themselves so that I can demonstrate my points.

The Decks

Abbie, Goblin Girlie's Arabella, The Abandoned Doll

Card List: 

1 Ainok Strike Leader

1 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah

1 Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon

1 Arena of Glory

1 Arid Mesa

1 Basri, Tomorrow's Champion

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Broadside Bombardiers

1 Chain Lightning

1 Command Tower

1 Cori-Steel Cutter

1 Dalkovan Encampment

1 Den of the Bugbear

1 Elegant Parlor

1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

1 Flawless Maneuver

1 Galvanic Discharge

1 Ghostfire Slice

1 Giver of Runes

1 Guide of Souls

1 Lightning Bolt

1 Lightning Helix

1 Loyal Apprentice

1 March of Otherworldly Light

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mother of Runes

1 Ocelot Pride

1 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd

1 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury

1 Plateau

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Reconnaissance

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Skyclave Apparition

1 Snow-Covered Mountain

2 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Song of Totentanz

1 Static Prison

1 Sunbaked Canyon

1 Sunbillow Verge

1 Sunstrike Legionnaire

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Tempt with Vengeance

1 Thraben Charm

1 Voice of Victory

1 Wildfire Awakener

1 Windswept Heath

1 Wooded Foothills

SIDEBOARD:

1 Blood Moon

1 Celestial Purge

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Drannith Magistrate

1 Ghost Vacuum

1 Magus of the Moon

1 Parting Gust

1 Pyroblast

1 Rending Volley

1 Surge of Salvation

1 Arabella, Abandoned Doll

Borgardan, Spirit Dragon's Gut, True Soul Zealot

Card List:

1 Aether Hub

1 Amped Raptor

1 Ancient Tomb

1 Arena of Glory

1 Blood Moon

1 Bomat Courier

1 Broadside Bombardiers

1 Chain Lightning

1 City of Traitors

1 Claim the Firstborn

1 Cori-Steel Cutter

1 Crystal Vein

1 Darksteel Citadel

1 Delayed Blast Fireball

1 Den of the Bugbear

1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

1 Fear of Missing Out

1 Galvanic Discharge

1 Ghostfire Slice

1 Goblin Guide

1 Goblin Rabblemaster

1 Great Furnace

1 Laelia, the Blade Reforged

1 Legion Extruder

1 Legion Loyalist

1 Legion Warboss

1 Lightning Bolt

1 Lotus Petal

1 Loyal Apprentice

1 Magus of the Moon

1 Monstrous Rage

4 Mountain

1 Pithing Needle

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Sandstone Needle

1 Screaming Nemesis

1 Shadowspear

1 Shatterskull Smashing

1 Simian Spirit Guide

1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

1 Sundering Eruption

1 Tersa Lightshatter

1 Underworld Breach

1 Unstable Amulet

1 Urza's Saga

1 Wasteland

SIDEBOARD:

1 Abrade

1 Chaos Warp

1 Cursed Scroll

1 Eidolon of the Great Revel

1 Pyroblast

1 Pyrostatic Pillar

1 Red Elemental Blast

1 Roiling Vortex

1 Soul-Guide Lantern

1 Tibalt's Trickery

1 Gut, True Soul Zealot

Carbon-Based Saproling's Slimefoot and Squee

Card List:

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Arena of Glory

1 Badlands

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Bayou

1 Blood Crypt

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Boseiju, Who Endures

1 Broadside Bombardiers

1 Chthonian Nightmare

1 Command Tower

1 Deathrite Shaman

1 Dragon's Rage Channeler

1 Emperor of Bones

1 Endurance

1 Fatal Push

1 Galvanic Discharge

1 Ghostfire Slice

1 Glissa Sunslayer

1 Grist, the Hunger Tide

1 Hymn to Tourach

1 Ignoble Hierarch

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Inti, Seneschal of the Sun

1 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger

1 Lightning Bolt

1 Long Goodbye

1 Lotus Petal

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mawloc

1 Nethergoyf

1 Once Upon a Time

1 Overgrown Tomb

1 Polluted Delta

1 Questing Druid

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Sheoldred's Edict

1 Smuggler's Copter

1 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Swamp

1 Taiga

1 Thoughtseize

1 Underground Mortuary

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Wasteland

1 Witherbloom Command

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Wrenn and Six

SIDEBOARD:

1 Brotherhood's End

1 Klothys, God of Destiny

1 Lithomantic Barrage

1 Orcish Bowmasters

1 Pernicious Deed

1 Pick Your Poison

1 Pyroblast

1 Tear Asunder

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Unlicensed Hearse

1 Slimefoot and Squee

Esper, Archmage of Control's Mathas, Fiend Seeker

Card List:

1 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah

1 Arena of Glory

1 Arid Mesa

1 Badlands

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Boggart Trawler

1 Bonecrusher Giant

1 Broadside Bombardiers

1 Command Tower

1 Dismember

1 Dragon's Rage Channeler

1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

1 Fatal Push

1 Flame Slash

1 Ghostfire Slice

1 Godless Shrine

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger

1 Lightning Bolt

1 Lightning Helix

1 Long Goodbye

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mishra's Bauble

1 Molten Collapse

1 Nethergoyf

1 Ocelot Pride

1 Orcish Bowmasters

1 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury

1 Plains

1 Plateau

1 Polluted Delta

1 Prismatic Ending

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Raucous Theater

1 Ripples of Undeath

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Scrubland

1 Seasoned Pyromancer

1 Sheoldred's Edict

1 Sudden Edict

1 Swamp

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 The Meathook Massacre

1 Thraben Charm

1 Urza's Bauble

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Wooded Foothills

SIDEBOARD:

1 Auriok Champion

1 Celestial Purge

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Ghost Vacuum

1 Kor Firewalker

1 Pyroblast

1 Ray of Enfeeblement

1 Rending Volley

1 Silent Gravestone

1 Unlicensed Hearse

1 Mathas, Fiend Seeker

Feather the Risen's Najeela, the Blade-Blossom

Card List:

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Arid Mesa

1 Badlands

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Bayou

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Boseiju, Who Endures

1 Brainstorm

1 City of Brass

1 Command Tower

1 Deathrite Shaman

1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

1 Emperor of Bones

1 Fatal Push

1 Flawless Maneuver

1 Ghostfire Slice

1 Gitaxian Probe

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Legolas's Quick Reflexes

1 Lightning Bolt

1 Mana Confluence

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mawloc

1 Mental Misstep

1 Nadu, Winged Wisdom

1 Nethergoyf

1 Once Upon a Time

1 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury

1 Plateau

1 Ponder

1 Prismatic Ending

1 Psychic Frog

1 Questing Druid

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Savannah

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Scrubland

1 Spell Pierce

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

1 Thoughtseize

1 Tropical Island

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Volcanic Island

1 Wild Nacatl

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Wrenn and Six

SIDEBOARD:

1 Blue Elemental Blast

1 Brazen Borrower

1 Dress Down

1 Klothys, God of Destiny

1 Lutri, the Spellchaser

1 Rending Volley

1 Stern Scolding

1 The Meathook Massacre

1 Unlicensed Hearse

1 Veil of Summer

1 Najeela, the Blade-Blossom

Flapjacks' Leovold, Emissary of Trest

Card List:

1 Abhorrent Oculus

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Bayou

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Boseiju, Who Endures

1 Brainstorm

1 Chain of Smog

1 Cunning Wish

1 Daze

1 Fatal Push

1 Forest

1 Gitaxian Probe

1 Green Sun's Zenith

1 Hymn to Tourach

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Island

1 Legolas's Quick Reflexes

1 Lightning Greaves

1 Long Goodbye

1 Lotus Petal

1 Mental Misstep

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Nadu, Winged Wisdom

1 Nethergoyf

1 Once Upon a Time

1 Orcish Bowmasters

1 Overgrown Tomb

1 Polluted Delta

1 Ponder

1 Psychic Frog

1 Snapcaster Mage

1 Swamp

1 Tainted Pact

1 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

1 Thoughtseize

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Tropical Island

1 Undercity Sewers

1 Underground Mortuary

1 Underground Sea

1 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Watery Grave

1 Windfall

1 Windswept Heath

1 Witherbloom Apprentice

1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth

SIDEBOARD:

1 Dismember

1 Hydroblast

1 Liliana of the Veil

1 Natural State

1 Noxious Revival

1 Pact of Negation

1 Sheoldred's Edict

1 The Meathook Massacre

1 Veil of Summer

1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest

Girlhusband, Gristology PHD's Curie, Emergent Intelligence

Card List:

1 Ancient Tomb

1 Behind the Mask

1 Case of the Filched Falcon

1 City of Traitors

1 Command Beacon

1 Consign to Memory

1 Darksteel Citadel

1 Darksteel Relic

1 Daze

1 Disrupting Shoal

1 Ensoul Artifact

1 Force of Negation

1 Gemstone Caverns

1 Gingerbrute

1 Gitaxian Probe

1 Hydroelectric Specimen

3 Island

1 K-9, Mark I

1 Lavaspur Boots

1 Lotus Petal

1 March of Swirling Mist

1 Mental Misstep

1 Mishra's Bauble

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Ornithopter

1 Otawara, Soaring City

1 Phyrexian Dreadnought

1 Polluted Delta

1 Ponder

1 Preordain

1 Saprazzan Skerry

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Seat of the Synod

1 Shadowspear

1 Silver Raven

1 Silver Shroud Costume

1 Sink into Stupor

1 Skilled Animator

1 Slip Out the Back

1 Stifle

1 Stubborn Denial

1 The Blackstaff of Waterdeep

1 Unctus's Retrofitter

1 Urza's Saga

1 Wash Away

1 Welding Jar

1 Zoetic Glyph

SIDEBOARD:

1 Blue Elemental Blast

1 Cyber Conversion

1 Harbinger of the Seas

1 Hydroblast

1 Pithing Needle

1 Spell Pierce

1 Stern Scolding

1 Tormod's Crypt

1 Unable to Scream

1 Wasteland

1 Curie, Emergent Intelligence

HelixSuzumiya's Aminatou, the Fateshifter

Card List:

1 Arcum's Astrolabe

1 Arid Mesa

1 Boggart Trawler

1 Brainstorm

1 Cling to Dust

1 Command Tower

1 Counterspell

1 Cut Down

1 Damn

1 Drown in the Loch

1 Entreat the Angels

1 Fatal Push

1 Flooded Strand

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Ketramose, the New Dawn

1 Long Goodbye

1 Mana Drain

1 March of Otherworldly Light

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mental Misstep

1 Meticulous Archive

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Momentum Breaker

1 Mystic Sanctuary

1 Nowhere to Run

1 Oath of Kaya

1 Out of Time

1 Polluted Delta

1 Ponder

1 Prismatic Ending

1 Restless Anchorage

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Scrubland

1 Sevinne's Reclamation

1 Sheoldred's Edict

1 Snapcaster Mage

1 Snow-Covered Island

1 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Stern Scolding

1 Stock Up

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Temporary Lockdown

1 Thundertrap Trainer

1 Tundra

1 Underground Sea

1 Wash Away

1 Watery Grave

1 Wrath of the Skies

SIDEBOARD:

1 Blue Elemental Blast

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Dress Down

1 Force of Negation

1 Hydroblast

1 Pithing Needle

1 Sanctifier en-Vec

1 Unlicensed Hearse

1 Warmth

1 White Orchid Phantom

1 Aminatou, the Fateshifter

Lyon, Spikiest Spike Apparent's Najeela, the Blade-Blossom

Card List:

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Arid Mesa

1 Badlands

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Bayou

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Boseiju, Who Endures

1 Brainstorm

1 City of Brass

1 Command Tower

1 Deathrite Shaman

1 Derevi, Empyrial Tactician

1 Emperor of Bones

1 Fatal Push

1 Flawless Maneuver

1 Ghostfire Slice

1 Gitaxian Probe

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Legolas's Quick Reflexes

1 Lightning Bolt

1 Mana Confluence

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mawloc

1 Mental Misstep

1 Nadu, Winged Wisdom

1 Nethergoyf

1 Once Upon a Time

1 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury

1 Plateau

1 Ponder

1 Prismatic Ending

1 Psychic Frog

1 Questing Druid

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Savannah

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Scrubland

1 Spell Pierce

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

1 Thoughtseize

1 Tropical Island

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Volcanic Island

1 Wild Nacatl

1 Wooded Foothills

1 Wrenn and Six

SIDEBOARD:

1 Blue Elemental Blast

1 Brazen Borrower

1 Dress Down

1 Klothys, God of Destiny

1 Lutri, the Spellchaser

1 Rending Volley

1 Stern Scolding

1 The Meathook Massacre

1 Unlicensed Hearse

1 Veil of Summer

1 Najeela, the Blade-Blossom

Mecha, Moose Adept's Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate

Card List:

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Arena of Glory

1 Arid Mesa

1 Badlands

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Blackcleave Cliffs

1 Blood Crypt

1 Blood Moon

1 Boggart Trawler

1 Chain Lightning

1 Command Tower

1 Cori-Steel Cutter

1 Cut Down

1 Dauthi Voidwalker

1 Dragon's Rage Channeler

1 Emperor of Bones

1 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

1 Fatal Push

1 Fear of Missing Out

1 Flame Slash

1 Galvanic Discharge

1 Ghostfire Slice

1 Graveyard Trespasser

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Inti, Seneschal of the Sun

1 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger

1 Lightning Bolt

1 Long Goodbye

1 Lotus Petal

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mishra's Bauble

1 Molten Collapse

1 Nethergoyf

1 Ob Nixilis, the Adversary

1 Orcish Bowmasters

1 Polluted Delta

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Raucous Theater

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Shadowspear

1 Sheoldred's Edict

1 Snow-Covered Mountain

1 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Sulfurous Springs

1 Swamp

1 Thoughtseize

1 Urza's Bauble

1 Urza's Saga

1 Verdant Catacombs

SIDEBOARD:

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Ghost Vacuum

1 Lightning Greaves

1 Lithomantic Barrage

1 Magus of the Moon

1 Oubliette

1 Pithing Needle

1 Ray of Enfeeblement

1 Red Elemental Blast

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Alesha, Who Laughs at Fate

Minicrab's Kaya, Orzhov Usurper

Card List:

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Boggart Trawler

1 Castle Locthwain

1 Chthonian Nightmare

1 Cling to Dust

1 Command Tower

1 Damn

1 Emperor of Bones

1 Enlightened Tutor

1 Fatal Push

1 Field of the Dead

1 Fountainport

1 Godless Shrine

1 Guide of Souls

1 Isochron Scepter

1 Ketramose, the New Dawn

1 Long Goodbye

1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den

1 March of Otherworldly Light

1 Marsh Flats

1 Oath of Kaya

1 Ocelot Pride

1 Orcish Bowmasters

1 Orim's Chant

1 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd

1 Plains

1 Polluted Delta

1 Prismatic Ending

1 Prismatic Vista

1 Retrofitter Foundry

1 Samwise the Stouthearted

1 Scrubland

1 Shadowspear

1 Shadowy Backstreet

1 Skyclave Apparition

1 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Sorin of House Markov

1 Staff of the Storyteller

1 Swamp

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 The Meathook Massacre

1 Tomik, Wielder of Law

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Urza's Saga

1 Wasteland

1 Windswept Heath

SIDEBOARD:

1 Absolute Law

1 Auriok Champion

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Hymn to Tourach

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Pithing Needle

1 Seal of Cleansing

1 Thoughtseize

1 Vanishing Verse

1 Warmth

1 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper

Postcanongirl's Slimefoot and Squee

Card List: 

1 Aether Vial

1 Arid Mesa

1 Badlands

1 Bayou

1 Birthing Ritual

1 Blood Crypt

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Boggart Harbinger

1 Boggart Trawler

1 Broadside Bombardiers

1 Cavern of Souls

1 Command Tower

1 Conspicuous Snoop

1 General Kreat, the Boltbringer

1 Goblin Blast-Runner

1 Goblin Chainwhirler

1 Goblin Chirurgeon

1 Goblin Lackey

1 Goblin Matron

1 Goblin Motivator

1 Goblin Rabblemaster

1 Goblin Recruiter

1 Goblin Sledder

1 Grumgully, the Generous

1 Ignoble Hierarch

1 Lotus Petal

1 Marsh Flats

1 Metallic Mimic

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Mogg Mob

1 Mogg Raider

1 Mogg War Marshal

1 Moria Marauder

1 Mountain

1 Munitions Expert

1 Putrid Goblin

1 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

1 Rundvelt Hordemaster

1 Searslicer Goblin

1 Secluded Courtyard

1 Skirk Prospector

1 Sparksmith

1 Stalactite Stalker

1 Stomping Ground

1 Taiga

1 Unclaimed Territory

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Windswept Heath

1 Wooded Foothills

SIDEBOARD:

1 Agatha's Soul Cauldron

1 Damping Sphere

1 Dragon's Claw

1 Goblin Piledriver

1 Masked Vandal

1 Stingscourger

1 Tarfire

1 Thorn of Amethyst

1 Tin Street Hooligan

1 Warren Weirding

1 Slimefoot and Squee

The Cosmerian, Ensorceller's Jirina, Dauntless General

Card List:

1 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Arid Mesa

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Cavern of Souls

1 Champion of the Parish

1 Chthonian Nightmare

1 Coppercoat Vanguard

1 Dalkovan Encampment

1 Damn

1 Drannith Magistrate

1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire

1 Esper Sentinel

1 Extraction Specialist

1 Fatal Push

1 Flowering of the White Tree

1 Godless Shrine

1 Graveyard Trespasser

1 Guide of Souls

1 Jerren, Corrupted Bishop

1 Jolted Awake

1 Kaya's Guile

1 Ketramose, the New Dawn

1 Long Goodbye

1 March of Otherworldly Light

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mother of Runes

1 Path of Ancestry

1 Plains

1 Ranger-Captain of Eos

1 Scrubland

1 Shadowy Backstreet

1 Silent Clearing

1 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Split Up

1 Spymaster's Vault

1 Static Prison

1 Sunstrike Legionnaire

1 Swamp

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

1 Thalia's Lieutenant

1 Tomik, Wielder of Law

1 Unearth

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Voice of Victory

1 Wasteland

1 Wrath of the Skies

SIDEBOARD:

1 Auriok Champion

1 Cathar Commando

1 Celestial Purge

1 Dismember

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Exorcise

1 Kambal, Profiteering Mayor

1 Sheoldred's Edict

1 Tourach, Dread Cantor

1 Warmth

1 Jirina, Dauntless General

Tiny Mishra's Leovold, Emissary of Trest

Card List:

1 Abrupt Decay

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Assassin's Trophy

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Bayou

1 Boggart Trawler

1 Boseiju, Who Endures

1 Breeding Pool

1 Command Tower

1 Cut Down

1 Deathrite Shaman

1 Drown in the Loch

1 Emperor of Bones

1 Fatal Push

1 Flooded Strand

1 Grist, the Hunger Tide

1 Liliana, the Last Hope

1 Long Goodbye

1 Mana Drain

1 Marsh Flats

1 Mental Misstep

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Nadu, Winged Wisdom

1 Nowhere to Run

1 Orcish Bowmasters

1 Overgrown Tomb

1 Polluted Delta

1 Ponder

1 Profane Command

1 Psychic Frog

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Sheoldred's Edict

1 Six

1 Snapcaster Mage

1 Snow-Covered Forest

1 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Stern Scolding

1 Tainted Pact

1 Tale's End

1 Tarmogoyf Nest

1 The Meathook Massacre

1 Tropical Island

1 Undercity Sewers

1 Underground Sea

1 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Wash Away

1 Watery Grave

1 Witherbloom Command

SIDEBOARD:

1 Blue Elemental Blast

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Field of the Dead

1 Hydroblast

1 Pernicious Deed

1 Pick Your Poison

1 Plague Engineer

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Unlicensed Hearse

1 Veil of Summer

1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest

Tiny Urza's Ketramose, the New Dawn

Card List:

1 Anoint with Affliction

1 Arid Mesa

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Boggart Trawler

1 Cling to Dust

1 Command Tower

1 Cut Down

1 Damn

1 Dark Ritual

1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire

1 Emperor of Bones

1 Ephemerate

1 Fatal Push

1 Flooded Strand

1 Ghost Vacuum

1 Godless Shrine

1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Lay Down Arms

1 Long Goodbye

1 Lotus Petal

1 March of Otherworldly Light

1 Marsh Flats

1 Nethergoyf

1 Orcish Bowmasters

1 Plains

1 Polluted Delta

1 Portable Hole

1 Prismatic Ending

1 Relic of Progenitus

1 Scrubland

1 Senu, Keen-Eyed Protector

1 Shadowy Backstreet

1 Sheoldred's Edict

1 Skyclave Apparition

1 Snow-Covered Plains

1 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Sorin of House Markov

1 Swamp

1 Swords to Plowshares

1 The Meathook Massacre

1 Touch the Spirit Realm

1 Unlicensed Hearse

1 Urza's Saga

1 Verdant Catacombs

1 Wasteland Strangler

1 Windswept Heath

1 Wrath of the Skies

SIDEBOARD:

1 Absolute Law

1 Council's Judgment

1 Dismember

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Duress

1 Exorcise

1 Force of Despair

1 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper

1 Porphyry Nodes

1 Surge of Salvation

1 Ketramose, the New Dawn

Mahra's Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

Card List:

1 Abhorrent Oculus

1 Barrowgoyf

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Boggart Trawler

1 Brainstorm

1 Brazen Borrower

1 Changeling Outcast

1 Chthonian Nightmare

1 Command Tower

1 Cut Down

1 Darkslick Shores

1 Daze

1 Dismember

1 Eyetwitch

1 Faerie Dreamthief

1 Faerie Seer

1 Fatal Push

1 Flare of Denial

1 Flooded Strand

1 Force of Despair

1 Force of Negation

1 Force Spike

1 Gitaxian Probe

1 Gloomlake Verge

1 Ingenious Prodigy

1 Inquisition of Kozilek

1 Island

1 Long Goodbye

1 Mausoleum Wanderer

1 Mental Misstep

1 Misty Rainforest

1 Moon-Circuit Hacker

1 Orcish Bowmasters

1 Ornithopter

1 Otawara, Soaring City

1 Polluted Delta

1 Psychic Frog

1 Satoru, the Infiltrator

1 Sink into Stupor

1 Snap

1 Spectral Sailor

1 Spyglass Siren

1 Swamp

1 Thoughtseize

1 Thousand-Faced Shadow

1 Undercity Sewers

1 Underground Sea

1 Wash Away

1 Watery Grave

SIDEBOARD:

1 Blue Elemental Blast

1 Chill

1 Disruptor Flute

1 Gemstone Caverns

1 Hydroblast

1 Mystical Dispute

1 Ray of Enfeeblement

1 Teachings of the Archaics

1 Tourach, Dread Cantor

1 Toxic Deluge

1 Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow

Black is Really Strong

So, of 16 decks we have the following splits: 2 WUBRG, 2 BRG, 2 UBG, 1 WUB,1 WBR, 3 WB, 1 UB, 1 WR, 1 BR, 1 R and 1 U. Out of 16 entrants, there are only 3 non-black decks. Let's attempt to examine why that is, shall we?

High Strength Removal

Fatal Push saw a 75% play rate, Long Goodbye a 62.5% play rate, Anoint with Affliction a 56.2% play rate, and Inquisition of  Kozilek a 50% play rate. From this, we can infer that black has the best removal in the format by its playrate. Ubiquity of play may not make a card too strong by itself, but considering that 1st, 2nd, and 4th were all playing black+ decks, it certainly puts a spotlight on the high strength removal that black has available to it in this format.

Extremely Good Creatures

Barrowgoyf saw a 62.5% play rate, Boggart Trawler saw a 50% play rate, and Nethergoyf saw a 43.7% play rate, just for Mono-black creatures. The strength of Barrowgoyf makes it the second most ubiquitous card in the format, only behind Fatal Push, although it is tied with Long Goodbye.

All these statistics point to one thing: Black is extremely powerful. Add the backup colors of your choice, and you've got yourself a competitively viable Tiny deck. So, you might ask, is it time for an adjustment to Black's power level? Personally, I'd lean on the side of not yet. While these card certainly are highly played, and very powerful, they are not so much so yet in my opinion that it warps the meta to an unfun or unfair level. There will always be a best thing to be doing, and these creatures and removal spells are just fine to be that thing if you ask me.

Ketramose, the New Dawn

Oh boy, here's the big point of contention this SCT. There were 4/16 decks present at the tournament who played Ketramose in the main board, one of which had it as the commander. Now, the community opinion surrounding Ketra differs, and as you may be aware, I personally have been outspoken in my disdain for the card. That said, I will attempt to be as unbiased as possible when writing this section. Ketramose currently resides on the Rules Committee's Watchlist, which means that it is up for a potential banning either as commander or entirely. Going into the SCT, Ketra took a 3rd in our April tournament, but its strength has really been showing in the California scene, where it has taken multiple top 8 places in every tournament they had played up until the SCT. The strength of Ketra has no doubt made the format shift, with cards like Anoint becoming popular entirely due to being able to deal with Ketra easily. 

What makes a winning formula?

Let's examine the first place deck, to see how the card choices make it a contender for the best deck in the format.

Mathas himself is a 3/3 with Menace, who at the end of each of your turns places a bounty counter on a creature your opponent controls. When you then kill, not exile, that creature, you are rewarded with 2 life and a card. Mardu colors provide access to the best removal in the format; fatal push, long goodbye, sheoldreds edict, ghostfire slice and lightning bolt are all mainstays. You are also uniquely positioned as a midrange control hybrid that can play defensively as well as having a great beatdown gameplan. Cards like Ajani, Barrowgoyf, Broadside, and Phlage hit face for a large amount of damage while key card Ripples of Undeath fuels your graveyard and can function as an extra draw every turn. There's synergy with Arena of Glory and both titans, Phlage and Kroxa, being able to be escaped with haste, and with Mathas turning removal spells into cantrips. Ultimately, Mardu itself is extremely well positioned in the current meta, having not only the best removal but also the best threats.

Notable Cards

Outside of the black cards we have discussed already, there are a number of cards crucial to the meta that I would be remiss not to mention: Ajani, Nacatl Pariah, Guide of Souls, Ragavan Nimble Pilferer, Psychic Frog, Emperor of Bones, Lutri, the Spellchaser, Abrupt Decay, Ghostfire Slice, Wrenn and Six, Lightning Bolt, Swords to Plowshares, and Mental Misstep. All of these cards I would consider to be format staples which shape the meta each in their own ways. Most, not all, decks which can play any of these cards do so, and they tend to decide games in meaningful ways. If you are a new player building a deck, include these cards. Get used to the way they interact not only with the format but with each other, and you will do well.

Meta Assessment

As we have discussed, my personal belief is that the basis for the strongest decks in the format lies in the Mardu(WRB) color wedge. However, it is my current belief that Najeela, the Blade Blossom is most likely the strongest deck overall in the format, if nothing else due to its access to all five colors, providing it with the highest possible card quality. Ketramose, the New Dawn is certainly a notable outlier as a two color deck being assuredly S tier, but overall the current meta on the server is higher color decks, in a more midrange style of play. I personally believe the even despite the Ketramose outlier, the competitive meta of Tiny Leaders Reborn is in the best place it has ever been in.

Notably, Ral, Monsoon Mage was completely absent from this SCT despite being a force to be reckoned with in the meta itself. Most decks are now boarding in answers for it and you will almost assuredly see it in competitive events going forward.

Mecha's Spotlight

I want to highlight a deck that I personally find extremely interesting. Postcannongirl's Slimefoot and Squee abandons the Boomer Jund archetype in favor of jamming lots and lots of Goblins. 30 creatures, 28 of which are Goblins is an absolutely enormous amount for this format. Although the deck did unfortunately fall in the second round of losers bracket, it piqued my interest as a great take on two different powerful archetypes in Goblins and Jund. Good Job, and Goblin on.

Closing Thoughts

I hope this has been insightful, and allows for newer players to get a read on how the meta is on the server. As always, thank you so much for reading, be gay, do crime, and most importantly, Stay Tiny!