Archived Analysis

Legacy’s Final Health Index sits at a comfortable but cautious 68.4 this week. While the format feels stable on the surface, the numbers reveal a dramatic shift toward the COMBO super-archetype, which currently commands 52.5% of the overall metagame. This represents a significant divergence from the historical five-year breakdown, where AGGRO previously held the largest slice at 41.6%. The metagame is clearly leaning fast and linear right now.

Metrics show that while the dominant strategies are linear, we aren't suffering from singularity. The Archetype Distribution Score is remarkably high at 90.6, paired with a solid Metagame Diversity Score of 71.8. The major concern is participation: the Player Growth Score crashed to 33.8. Both Paper participation (-4.4% average decline) and MTGO participation (declining at an average of -9.5% per month) signal that the community is shrinking despite having high internal deck variety.

Looking at the Top 10 Decks, UR Aggro leads the pack at 7%, followed by Dimir Tempo at 5%. Dragon Stompy and Eldrazi Aggro both claim 4% of the meta, cementing the position of non-blue prison strategies alongside the established blue tempo players. Death & Taxes holds 2%, showing that established classic archetypes are still registering, but the field below the top four is extremely compressed, with decks like Maverick and Goblins claiming less than 1% each.

The latest B&R analysis summary suggested maintaining the status quo, even while acknowledging community concerns about specific archetypes like Oops! All Spells. Despite recent product injections, community discussions remain dominated by Delver variants, specifically RUG and 4-Color builds, and the pressure those place on the format’s foundational cards like Brainstorm, Ponder, and Force of Will. New technology is causing deep optimization efforts around Nadu, Winged Wisdom, and Eldrazi Stompy is gaining traction using Wasteland Raider and Ugin’s Labyrinth as a potent non-blue alternative. Orcish Bowmasters is still universally debated, viewed either as a stifler of diversity or a necessary check on pure combo strategies.