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Azorius Control and Rakdos Midrange Counter Meta

1 requestsStarted 10/12/2026, 7:47:20 PM
base on the last 2 RCs of last weekend, what should I play to counter play the meta?

Data: Ghent RC (1,181 players) and SCG CON LA RC (1,227 players), 10–11 Oct. This is win-rate data, not strategy advice.

Field (2,408 entries)

  • Broodscale was 17% of the field and won 53.9% of its matches.
  • Prowess was 10% and won 48.4%.
  • Azorius Control was 7% and won 56.3%.
  • Boros Energy was 5% and won 52.8%.

Win rate vs. the top 4 decks (Broodscale, Prowess, Azorius, Boros Energy), mirrors excluded

Deckvs top 4OverallNotes
Azorius Control56.9%56.9%66% vs Broodscale (n=241), 53% vs Prowess (n=133), 35% vs Boros Energy (n=69)
Rakdos Midrange55.3%57.6%50% vs Broodscale, 67% vs Prowess, 58% vs Azorius. Smaller sample: 316 matches.
Living End55.0%47.1%Strong vs Prowess (73%, n=30), weak overall
Jeskai Blink53.7%49.1%
Boros Energy52.2%53.0%65% vs Azorius, 53% vs Broodscale, 41% vs Prowess

What the numbers say

  • Azorius Control is the best-supported pick. It has the highest win rate against the top 4 decks, and it beats Broodscale by a wide margin. Its one clear weakness is Boros Energy.
  • Rakdos Midrange is the best option if you want to avoid a bad matchup against any top deck. Its worst top-4 matchup is a 50% split with Broodscale.
  • Boros Energy is a reasonable alternative. It beats Azorius and holds roughly even with Broodscale.
  • Decks that did poorly against the top 4:
    • Esper Blink: 41%
    • Devoted Combo: 42%
    • Tron: 42% (30% vs Broodscale)
    • Dimir Frog: 43%
    • Ruby Storm: 45% (15% vs Azorius)
  • Broodscale beat Prowess 57% but lost to Azorius, 34%. Prowess beat nobody in the top 4 by a margin.

Caveats: these are two large events, and some cells have fewer than 60 matches. Rank data wasn't populated, so I couldn't filter to Top 32 or Top 8. I can't give sideboard or card-choice advice. I can pull card-level data for any of these decks if you want it.

Sources
Data from 2 tournaments, both on Melee:

Data: Ghent RC (1,181 players) and SCG CON LA RC (1,227 players), 10–11 Oct. This is win-rate data, not strategy advice.

Field (2,408 entries)

  • Broodscale was 17% of the field and won 53.9% of its matches.
  • Prowess was 10% and won 48.4%.
  • Azorius Control was 7% and won 56.3%.
  • Boros Energy was 5% and won 52.8%.

Win rate vs. the top 4 decks (Broodscale, Prowess, Azorius, Boros Energy), mirrors excluded

Deckvs top 4OverallNotes
Azorius Control56.9%56.9%66% vs Broodscale (n=241), 53% vs Prowess (n=133), 35% vs Boros Energy (n=69)
Rakdos Midrange55.3%57.6%50% vs Broodscale, 67% vs Prowess, 58% vs Azorius. Smaller sample: 316 matches.
Living End55.0%47.1%Strong vs Prowess (73%, n=30), weak overall
Jeskai Blink53.7%49.1%
Boros Energy52.2%53.0%65% vs Azorius, 53% vs Broodscale, 41% vs Prowess

What the numbers say

  • Azorius Control is the best-supported pick. It has the highest win rate against the top 4 decks, and it beats Broodscale by a wide margin. Its one clear weakness is Boros Energy.
  • Rakdos Midrange is the best option if you want to avoid a bad matchup against any top deck. Its worst top-4 matchup is a 50% split with Broodscale.
  • Boros Energy is a reasonable alternative. It beats Azorius and holds roughly even with Broodscale.
  • Decks that did poorly against the top 4:
    • Esper Blink: 41%
    • Devoted Combo: 42%
    • Tron: 42% (30% vs Broodscale)
    • Dimir Frog: 43%
    • Ruby Storm: 45% (15% vs Azorius)
  • Broodscale beat Prowess 57% but lost to Azorius, 34%. Prowess beat nobody in the top 4 by a margin.

Caveats: these are two large events, and some cells have fewer than 60 matches. Rank data wasn't populated, so I couldn't filter to Top 32 or Top 8. I can't give sideboard or card-choice advice. I can pull card-level data for any of these decks if you want it.

Sources
Data from 2 tournaments, both on Melee: