DTBF Philosophy & Deck Selection

[Zilla]

What is the purpose of the DTBF forum?

The DTBF exists for a few reasons. Primarily, its purpose is to give new and veteran Legacy players an idea of the current state of the metagame. It is not only for highlighting tier one decks, but is also reflective of current trends in a constantly changing metagame. Ideally, the DTBF should provide a reasonably accurate model for creation of a testing gauntlet when preparing for an unknown metagame at a large, competitive tournament.


How is the DTBF structured to meet these goals?

The DTBF is broken down into two sections. This thread with the information it contains and the decks inside the forum.

A DTB is typically (but not always) considered to be Tier 1. These decks are the most popular, prevalent decks in the format, and in many ways they help to define the rest of the metagame. These decks should absolutely be taken into consideration when preparing a gauntlet for a tournament.

A Former DTB is a deck which has proven itself recently but lacked the numbers to hold its place in the forum for the current cycle.


So how are decks selected for the DTBF?

Rather than relying on arbitrary selection or decision-making based on conjecture which can be tainted by personal bias, decks are selected for the DTBF based on their performance at recent, large, competitive Legacy tournaments. Decks which make up a very large portion of the metagame are considered DTB's.

The data used for selection is based upon information gathered and compiled by The Council. On the 15th of each month (Give or take a few days) the results of the last month's events are tallied. Then of the total, the top 4.6% of decks enter the DTBF for the following month. The decks from the month before that are pushed out are also listed to give a more complete picture of the meta.


What makes a DTB?

A Deck to Beat is a deck which is in the top 4.6% of the previous months total deck tally as found at The Council.


Final Notes:

We recognize that this system is neither perfect nor infallible. By analyzing incomplete data, we do not necessarily create an accurate or full representation of the decks that make up the metagame. However, we feel this system will produce reasonably accurate results using a relatively simple, bias-free method.

The DTB Spreadsheet with all data I use can be found here. The sheet will be updated less often than this thread.


Updated 10/4 for the new qualifications
-PR

Updated 10/29 for new standards.
-PR

Updated 12/25 for current standards.
-NC

Update 23/01/16 to reflect changes made to the section.
-Dice