The following is the metagame breakdown for $10K Los Angeles:

Curve: 29
Teen Titans: 24
TNB Blitz: 11
Spider-Friends: 5
Medium Brotherhood: 4
B&B: 4           
CE: 4
F4/GK: 4
F4 Beats: 4
GK: 3  
My Beloved: 3
X-Stall: 3
Revenge Squad: 2
Evil Medical School: 2
X-Beats: 2
Big Brotherhood: 2
Phantom Phone Booth: 2
X-Men/F4: 2
Doom Control: 2
One each of: Cosmic Cops, Arkham, MK, GK/X-Men, Underworld, TT/F4, MK Teamup, X-Statix Loner, MK/Crime Lords, TNB, Doom/F4, Gamma Doom, GK/Spidey, League/Spidey, League, Syndicate Rush, MK/GK, Crimelords, Crimelords/Underworld, Intergang Deck, GK/Supes.

The popularity of Teen Titans and Curve Sentinel is no surprise, but there are some trends reflected in these raw numbers that were highly interesting. The big story is the high number of TNB Blitz decks being played, notable not just for the amount of play it saw—especially from veteran and respected players—but also due to its matchup against standard New Brotherhood decks.

With only a single TNB deck in the metagame that wasn’t a Blitz build, it’s clear that players are really starting to see TNB Blitz as the only form of TNB meriting play. If this trend continues, expect to see TNB Blitz speeding up local metagames to some degree.

With so many Blitz decks present at the event, the environment will be hard on Curve Sentinel and Titans players who are used to dictating a game’s tempo. While Blitz is often portrayed as an unreliable deck that auto-wins when it goes off, the fact that it’s one of the most powerful tempo-manipulating archetypes in Golden Age is often forgotten. With Titans and Curve players doing the majority of their play testing for mirror match and Titans/Curve matchups, Blitz really opened up the field for some headgames.

Also notable for their presences today are Evil Medical School and Spider-Friends. While “Tag, You’re It!” didn’t perform as well as some thought it might at $10K Orlando, Spider-Friends is continuing its creep into many Golden Age metagames and continued appearances at premier events will likely spur on more use. Evil Medical School also has its devotees, and seems extremely under-played at the moment given its raw potential.

With a splash of late-game decks and a variety of original team combinations rounding out the day’s mix, $10K Los Angeles will be a difficult metagame to call. With players like Ryan Jones backing it, TNB Blitz seems like a safe bet for an impressive showing, and while a handful of Top 8 slots are likely reserved for Curve Sentinels and Titans, there will probably be a few wild cards battling their way into the spotlight.