Amonkhet Remastered is the triumphant return to the world of Amonkhet for MTG Arena. While fans and competitors were able to first experience MTG Arena with cards from both Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation, it was part of the closed beta experience that changed when Guilds of Ravnica joined in the transition to open beta.

But we didn't leave Amonkhet behind forever.

Beginning August 13th on MTG Arena we return to the desert oasis of Gods and their trials, featuring 338 cards from across Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation. It's a celebration of the unique themes and powerful cards that defined decks across Standard and beyond—winning moments we've seen before.

Amonkhet is Historic

Amonkhet Remastered joins the Historic format in MTG Arena, bringing a pile of powerful and competitive cards to the format. While which will go on to shape the decks of the 2020 Mythic Invitational is a question players will answer soon, we have a good idea where to start: The cards that have propelled players to win in past tournaments.

Amonkhet Remastered includes the dominant and deck-defining cards it brough to Magic, adding even more new opportunities for players to build decks around. Moving forward in Historic starts with looking back at Standard, when Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation had their biggest impact—and it began with an aggressive red deck called Ramunap Red.

The power of aggressive red strategies stretch back to Magic's earliest competitive days, and with the tools both Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation provided it wasn't long before a mono-red build emerged. Ramunap Ruins wasn't a flashy creature or the most efficient way to burn an opponent out, but it was a great mana sink once everything else was spent from your hand. Stapling damage potential onto a land that entered the battlefield untapped gave Ramunap Red consistency and an unstoppable way to end the game.

Magic Rivals player John Rolf burst into the Top 8 of Pro Tour Ixalan and battled all the way to the semifinals with the archetypical Ramunap Red list.

While Hazoret the Fervent, Ahn-Crop Crasher, and Earthshaker Khenra ensured opponents would have a tough time blocking, it was then straightforward to close out games from thanks to Shock, Lightning Strike, and the titular Ramunap Ruins.

This blistering fast strategy was what MPL player Javier Dominguez used to make it to the finals of the 2017 Magic World Championship.

Dominguez would have to wait for another chance at his World Championship title—losing to Magic Hall of Famer William "Huey" Jensen in that match—but the success of Ramunap Red was everywhere. Kaladesh's energy decks were followed closely by the mono-red strategy, which led to Ramunap Ruins being banned.

As Standard moved forward into Dominaria, red decks continued to perform well. Wyatt Darby took down Pro Tour Dominaria with an updated version of mono-red, but that event was defined by the rise of Red-Black Aggro, adding a streak of black to power up the deck against new threats. MPL player and future Magic World Championship XXVI finalist Márcio Carvalho made the Top 8 using this new, and improved, version.

Red-Black Aggro benefitted from what both Dominaria and Ixalan added to the format, but without the removal-meets-finishing power of Cut to Ribbons, explosive potential of Glorybringer, and anti-control deck utility of Doomfall the deck wouldn't have been as potent.

Running back the aggressive choice for this success in 2017, Javier Dominguez chose Red-Black Aggro for his journey to win the 2018 Magic World Championship.

The powerful red and black cards of Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation may be the most memorable about its time in Standard, they aren't its only legacy. Let's rewind back to John Rolf and Ramunap Red in the semifinals of Pro Tour Ixalan. His loss was to another deck built on cards in those sets: White-Blue God-Pharaoh's Gift, played by Pascal Maynard.

White-Blue God-Pharaoh's Gift is similar to "reanimation" strategies, which work by dumping powerful (and often expensive) creatures into the graveyard then bringing them onto the battlefield at a great discount.

God-Pharaoh's Gift works differently in that it always creates a 4/4 black Zombie creature token, with haste, instead. While a "free" Angel was always welcome, the utility of getting a 4/4 version of Sacred Cat (where lifelink was invaluable against the aggressive red decks) or Champion of Wits (which was better the more power it had when entering the battlefield) and immediately attacking helped it succeed in a fast Standard.

This deck was strong enough to not only survive throughout its time in Standard, it helped MPL player Shahar Shenhar to his third World Championship Top 4 across five years in 2018.

Another strategy only possible with what Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation provided was a control deck built around just one card: Approach of the Second Sun.

Alex Lloyd won Grand Prix Atlanta in 2017 using Approach of the Second Sun in a control deck built to lock the game down.

Force Spike-meets-cycling in Censor is the kind of early and late game card control decks love, and the utility to cycle was invaluable when aiming to draw and cast a second Approach to win. The sideboard was tailors to transform the deck into a more traditional control deck, forcing opponents into a tough bluff to call because of the power of the cards that came in: The Scarab God was always a force to reckon with over a long game, and Regal Caracal put a lot of creatures, power, and lifelink onto the battlefield—perfect for facing off against fast red decks or closing a game out quickly.

Lloyd's win came over Magic Rivals Player and Hall of Famer Ben Stark who played a Desert-focused third flavor of the mono-red aggro deck already covered.

Stark's take on red leaned into the synergy that playing Desert lands offered, as Ramunap Ruins lets you sacrifice any Desert for the 2 damage—turning every additional Desert into more and more inevitability to win.

Sand Strangler was among the most curious of cards to see in Standard at the time, but with so many Deserts around for support it became a removal spell-meets-creature for Stark in his deck. It, too, worked well with Soul-Scar Mage and added another way to keep the coast clear to attack.

Another successful strategy that was supported by Amonket and Hour of Devastation was tribal Zombies. Gerry Thompson won Pro Tour Amonkhet with Mono-Black Zombies, and Christian Calcano cut through to his first Top Finish with it there as well, but Chris Fennell's White-Black Zombies showed off more of Amonkhet's wrinkle to the theme.

When every creature you can make is a Zombie, cards that care about them add up quick. Lord of the Accursed and Liliana's Mastery can make Zombies far larger than your opponents expect, while Wayward Servant and Binding Mummy can spell doom for them whether they can block or not. Dread Wanderer was an unrelenting threat that you could always bring back thanks to the deep pool of ways to make Zombies nearly every turn.

Goblins, a red tribal strategy, already has success in Historic. Amonkhet Remastered adds intriguing tools if turning creatures sideways is your Historic plan.

If we stopped at just the most successful Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation decks we'd already have plenty to try out—but there's one more deck that's worth a Historic look: White-Blue Cycling.

Cycling should be familiar to everyone playing Standard today, thanks to the power of Jeskai and Boros Cycling decks built on Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths. Far from our first foray with cycling, the mechanic gains even more to work with thans to Amonkhet Remastered.

Drake Haven is a clear payoff, impersonating (and adding to) the utility of Shark Typhoon but playing nice with all cycling cards, getting better the less expensive the cycling cost is. Cast Out can remove almost any permanent you need to or cycles for a very convenient mana cost. And with Abandoned Sarcophagus around to drive the maximum value out of cycling every cycling card, combining the best of both is an exciting prospect.

Amonkhet is Modern

While older Standard decks are a fine place to start when it comes to using Amonkhet Remastered to try new Historic decks, there's even more to work with beneath the surface. Take a card that was overlooked when it first arrived: Hollow One.

With enough discard effects to set it up in Modern, it was possible to put multiple copies of Hollow One onto the battlefield early enough to overwhelm an opponent. That's exactly how MPL player Ken Yukuhiro make it to the semifinals of Pro Tour Rivals of Ixalan.

While Yukuhiro lost to Rivals player Luis Salvatto in that match, the power of Hollow One decks was enough to contribute toward Faithless Looting being banned in Modern—and Goblin Lore being replaced in Jumpstart for its MTG Arena release.

What Historic treasures will you encounter in Amonkhet Remastered? Which classic deck are you excited to revisit? The return to Amonkhet kicks off Thursday, August 13 exclusively on MTG Arena.