Premodern: Internal metagame balance looks fantastic.

Premodern remains in a robust state this week, registering a Final Health Index of 67.2. While the format’s internal balance looks exceptional, the primary concern remains participation. The data shows Paper participation is declining at an average of -7.9% per month, and Event Growth is also trending down at -5.2% monthly. We need to watch the Player Growth Score of 27.4 and Event Growth Score of 40.3 closely, though events hit a high of 107 in March before settling back to 71 in August.

Looking at the internal metrics, the format’s metagame is fantastic. We registered an outstanding Metagame Diversity Score of 82.0 and a nearly perfect Archetype Distribution Score of 93.8. This reflects a healthy balance among the super-archetypes: Aggro holds 37.6% of the field, Control sits at 28.9%, and Combo is currently strong at 33.5%. This is a notable shift from the historical distribution where Combo only accounted for 23.5%, confirming a significant rise in non-Aggro pressure since past years.

Goblins is definitively the format boss, claiming 12.8% of the Top 10 metagame share. Red Deck Wins (Sligh) follows at 6%, with both Elves and White Weenie tied at 3%. The top tier is heavily weighted toward speed, as reflected by the community discussions focusing on the efficiency of these aggressive strategies. Even lower on the list, decks like Machine Head, Madness, and Terrageddon still represent 2% each, showing solid penetration across the field.

The community discussions confirm the data, centering on the efficiency of Goblins and Sligh. Key cards are driving conversation: Goblin Lackey is praised as the engine but cited for potential power concerns, while Engineered Plague is seeing increased adoption specifically targeting Goblins and Elves. Pilots are also debating the restrictive nature of Wasteland on Control decks. While there is no recent B&R announcement analysis available for this format, confirming stability, the community is already adapting, with Black-Green Midrange ("The Rock") being tuned to exploit the current prevalence of creature-based aggro using cards like Pernicious Deed and efficient threats such as Spiritmonger.