What's Going On In Type 2?  
Part 1
By 'Captain Simian'

Introduction
First of all, some of you may know me as Captain Simian from the Pojo message boards, and as Morphling from the now sadly defunct Pokegym message boards. For the time being, I'm going to conform to that identity. As of now,  I've been playing Magic for 18 months (after a 6 moth or so period during 4th/Ice Age), attending many local and Atlanta tourneys during this time. I'm probably stronger at Limited Magic in all honesty, though I do stay well updated on the goings on of Standard. I've also studied many decks from the past, and I have a good idea on what's solid and what isn't. I'm not Jon Finkel, but then again, how many of us are?

Over the course of what I hope to be 3 articles, I'm going to at least attempt to make you a better Type 2 Magic player. I wont go real deep into any particular deck, but I will share some helpful insights on each match up you might see. Ill explore modifications you can make that wont be included in the average net decker's deck. I might not have all the answers, or
even the best answers, but if your new to Magic, or struggling to succeed in this environment, I believe I can help.

The Current Environment
Well, its been a couple months since Pro Tour Chicago, and the Standard environment has seen some changes since. Most notably, the rise in popularity of Blue Skies and its close cousin, Ankh Tide. Counter rebel, while maybe not a tier 1 deck, has also seen its stock rise, after a Top 8 finish. Blue/White control decks have also risen in popularity, as they tend to beat the 2 other main decks,  Fires and Rebels (Mono White and the Green/White version which splashes 4 Wax/Wane and 4 Brushland),  which have continued to do well. However, the Armageddon decks that were
thought to do well seemed to have slipped out of favor. Brian Kibler made a top 8 at Chicago with a G/r/w geddon deck, but that has been the only major finish.

There are some other notable decks in the environment. Void, or Machine Head, which was originally set to become a dominant deck, seems to have all but disappeared, finishing a lowly 37th place at Chicago. The primary reason is its utter lack of enchantment removal- a CoP:Red or Story Circle generally wrecks the decks chances of winning. Some writers have proposed the addition of splashing either green for Tranquility, or Blue for Recoil. My personally remedy was White, with Disenchant, and I was fairly successful (running 3 Plains main, 1 Disenchant main, and 3 Side Board). U/B Control, note: not Nether/Eye-Go, which has not done as well as of late, is a solid Tier 2 deck, and Planeshift's Phyrexian Scuta and Doomsday Specter will definitely help it. Fish, an aggressive 2/3 color deck with control elements, has experienced mild success.

Beyond this lay Tier 2.5/3 decks, and complete rouge. Ponza does exist, but the last time I saw it being played was States, loosing to U/W control at the last table. Rising Waters was tried for a while, but I do not believe a single one made day 2 at Chicago (or, if they did, in very small numbers). With several more board control decks (most notably, U/W) and faster decks (as well as the addition of Birds and Elves) has given this deck problems. If Wrath of God and Rout were not legal, it might be better as a solid control deck, but the "end all" power U/W has makes it the
better deck. Mono U Draw-Go only had one semi-decent show in the Windy City, and is not played much for the same reason Waters isn't- U/W control is simply the better control deck. As well, if the decks look to add more of an aggressive edge to the deck, they would be better suited with Skies, what I consider a Tier 1/1.5 deck. Cowardice was briefly discussed during States, but for a deck that usually doesn't get started until turn 6 or 7, it doesn't provide enough power to be
successful lock deck. And as a control deck, I have to state again that U/W is just better.

So, with this being stated, heres a rough sketch of what I believe to be the top, and bottom, Standard decks:

Tier 1:
Rebels (Mono White and Green/White)
Fires
Blue/White control (Millstone and Angel versions)
Blue Skies

Tier 1.5:
Ankh Tide

Tier 2:
The Red Zone
G/W Geddon
U/B Control
U/W Fish
U/B Fish
Nether-Go
Eye-Go
Rebel Bears

Tier 2.5:
Void
Rising Waters

Tier 3:
Cowardice
Ponza
Draw-go
*Most* other Rouge Decks

I say most other Rouge decks simply because no new'breakthroughs' seem to have arisen, though some very good ones may exist I simply haven't seen may exist.

Well, what does this mean for you the reader? This is the first of what I hope to be 3 articles on the Standard Metagame, to help you know what to expect when you enter the next local tournament. Weather your playing some new random jank or a well established machine, I'm going to try and help you how to build a deck with tricks to out do the field, both in the main deck and sideboard. Ill help you explore match-up win percentages so you'll know what to test strenuously
and modify your deck to beat. Basically, I ll try and help you become more prevalent at Type 2, no matter what you play.

If you have any questions, like what some of the decks I have listed are/do, If you want to worship me, have any kind of online-discussion or wish to contribute any advice or deck ideas, feel free to drop me a line at captainsimian99@yahoo.com or contact me on the Pojo message boards, where my nick is, of course, Captain Simian. I usually check the boards around 5:00 P.M. and 8:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time.