Crimhead, that scenario's exactly what I was asking. I also think, though, that a lot of the decks that were performing well against Miracles are still performing well, so I think it's worth comparing.

What I'm trying to figure out is how much of the decks' new dominance is just a result of the disappearance of another top-flight contender. It's only been a few weeks, after all, and the consensus for at least some of those decks seems to be that big changes aren't really necessary.

This might all be a fool's errand: excellent Miracles players might have just picked up other decks with which they were familiar and kept rocking tournaments, a lot of people running other decks with Top might have run for higher ground, etc. I just think that at this stage there are more factors than "a predator is gone" for the reason decks that were competing for the top slots before the ban (and haven't changed much since) are getting a larger share of top-8 results.

Fox, you're right that sideboards and manabases are changing. I just wonder how much those changes are really making a difference.