Standard: Aggro dominates despite recent bans

Standard's in a state of flux, folks, and our Final Health Index of 63.8 this week tells the tale. It's a mixed bag, but the format's definitely got room to improve. Let's dive into the numbers and see what's really going on.

The Metagame Diversity score is sitting at 49.1, which indicates that we aren't seeing a ton of diversity. Archetype Distribution, however, is much better at 77.8. The game's growth is also weak, with an Event Growth Score of 57.3 and a Player Growth Score of 41.8. The B&R Health Score is a solid 80.0, indicating that the recent bans have had a good impact.

Looking at the Top 10 decks, Aggro is king. UR Aggro takes the crown at 39%, followed by Dimir Aggro at 20%. Red Deck Wins is still kicking at 10%. After that, decks like Boros Aggro (4%), Simic Aggro (2%), Orzhov Aggro (2%), and a bunch of other Aggro brews are scraping for the remaining spots. When we look at the super-archetype breakdown, it's clear what is going on here: AGGRO makes up 87.1% of the meta, with CONTROL at 12.4% and COMBO barely registering at 0.5%.

According to Reddit, the community is still buzzing about the Regional Championship Qualifiers and online tournaments. The format has shifted following the extensive bans of Cori-Steel Cutter, Abuelo's Awakening, Monstrous Rage, Heartfire Hero, Up the Beanstalk, Hopeless Nightmare, and This Town Ain't Big Enough. This banlist hit a variety of archetypes in order to increase diversity and reduce early game pressure. Based on the B&R health score, this shakeup seems to be a positive one.