It's good to be green.

In one of the busiest weekends of Magic in quite some time, that's the takeaway from Magic Spotlight: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. More than 650 competitors traveled to Richmond to compete in the Spotlight Series event while a handful of Regional Championships took place around the world. It was a good weekend to be playing Magic, and a very good weekend to be playing Mono-Green Landfall, especially if you were John Puglisi Clark.

With the Spotlight Series in Virginia coinciding with the release weekend of Magic: The Gathering® | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the stage was set for those innovating in Standard to take to the center. We saw new inclusions like Cool but Rude; Tokka & Rahzar, Terrible Twos; and Leatherhead, Swamp Stalker, but the Landfall list that Puglisi Clark won with eschewed anything from the new set, although it did contain plenty of new tech.

That was key to a Standard format that has stubbornly refused to be solved. There were not-insignificant differences between the most popular decks across various Regional Championships and the Spotlight Series, but with nothing occupying more than 10% of the Day One field—and the Day Two field bringing in a number of "other" deck archetypes as well. For competitors, success at the Spotlight Series was less about making a great metagame prediction and more about bringing a deck they were comfortable with and learning the ins and outs of various Standard matchups.

There were a number of rewards for those who were best prepared. Not only did Super Shredder promo cards and other prizes go out to competitors who advanced to Day Two, but there were Pro Tour invites on the line for the Top 8 competitors—and a truly stunning trophy for the winner.

Two days of incredible competition all came down to a final match Sunday afternoon for that trophy between John Puglisi Clark and Jacob Durish. And after a finals match befitting the Standard showcase we were treated to in Richmond, it was John Puglisi Clark and Mono-Green Landfall that emerged victorious—a victory cheered on by his brother, Magic standout, and captain of Team Scrapheap, Joseph Puglisi.

LETS GOOOOOO https://t.co/hdAjWFPt5J

— Joseph Puglisi (@joedpuglisi) March 8, 2026

We have a winner at #SpotlightTMNT! After two days of competition & a Standard metagame full of twists and turns, John Puglisi Clark emerged victorious at #SCGRichmond and earned a one-of-a-kind trophy!

Congrats to the champion of Spotlight Series: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! pic.twitter.com/Dq2jufxF3h

— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) March 8, 2026

Spotted at the Spotlight

One of the biggest draws of the Magic Spotlight Series is that, unlike the Pro Tour or Regional Championships, you don't need to qualify to compete. Just show up to the tournament in a city near you, bring or build a deck for the event, and by the end of the weekend you could be $10,000 richer and leave with a Pro Tour invitation in your pocket.

That's the draw for this type of event, and based on the crowd in Richmond that pull is still quite strong.

How about this for an early Day 2 feature area at #SpotlightTMNT? Shaheen Soorani takes on Adam Snook, while Ross Merriam faces Michael Paluta!

Tune in at https://t.co/v8lcrfBC7b! pic.twitter.com/1KDOKnDLsT

— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) March 8, 2026

Shaheen Soorani, Adam Snook, and Ross Merriam were all in the Day Two feature matches. As one coverage member put it, that could have been a Grand Prix Top 8 from 2016. Instead. it was a chance for the old guard to test themselves against some of today's best. While playing competitive Magic is nothing like riding a bike, it is something that Pro Tour veterans can ease back into, especially when they have a deck that feels like home.

Soorani, a longtime content creator and control player who is now managing a young son instead of a sideboard, couldn't resist the opportunity to take another shot at the Pro Tour in his relative backyard. That, of course, meant he came to play with a controlling list.

"The cards still kill things the same, counter spells the same, and draw cards the same," deadpanned Soorani. "I'll be okay."

He wasn't wrong. Soorani got off to a hot start and never looked back, ultimately finishing in 37th place. Not quite good enough for a Pro Tour invite, but a tantalizingly close bite for the Esper mage who's hinted that his retirement may be coming to an end. And he may not be alone; three-time Top Finisher Pat Cox was spotted slinging spells as well, and he's now qualified for an upcoming Regional Championship.

Fellow old-school Star City Games creator Ross Merriam did even better. He brought the resurgent Izzet Prowess deck to Richmond and was rewarded for his faith in the beloved archetype with a Top 8 appearance and a ticket back to the Pro Tour.

I’ve reached the “longtime” stage of my career, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. https://t.co/H0CEchvcqI

— Ross Merriam (@RossHunneds) March 8, 2026

That was the motivation for Jesse Piland as well. The Top 8 veteran of the Spotlight Series in Orlando last year, Piland was blunt about why he was there: to qualify for the Pro Tour. Another expert pilot of the Mono-Green Landfall deck that performed better than any other, Piland accomplished that goal and added another Top 8 to his quickly expanding résumé.

But the Spotlight Series offers more than just another path to the Pro Tour. Happening alongside the release of Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it was also an opportunity for some to celebrate their interests coming together in a full-circle moment.

Ian Akers rocked cards from the new set, with Cool but Rude helping to power the Rakdos discard list that made waves. Those waves will surely become larger after Brian Zeng's run to the Top 8 with Rakdos Rummaging sporting a set of Cool but Rude alongside two copies of Casey Jones, Vigilante.

All in all, the Spotlight Series brought together hundreds of Magic players for a promising weekend of competitive Magic, and the Magic did not disappoint.

The Standard Metagame and Going About Green

Standard has come a long way. Just a few months ago at Magic World Championship 31, the breakout deck Izzet Lessons and its engine of Gran-Gran and Accumulate Wisdom looked like the best thing to do. Not long after that came the revenge of Badgermole Cub, followed by the Cub letdown at Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed, which was won by Dimir Excruciator of all things.

Since then, things have only gotten stranger. There are now three distinct Izzet decks in the metagame, Monument to Endurance decks are cutting Monument, and every few rounds you'll play against someone who plays a Plains and casts Momo, Friendly Flier.

It's into that world that John Puglisi Clark and the rest of Team Scrapheap went to work. They identified that the core of the Mono-Green Landfall deck with mana-producing creatures, Icetill Explorer, and fetch lands was the most powerful thing to do and went to work tuning their list. That resulted in a deck that looked substantively different than even the other landfall decks that made the Top 8, but it was a build that Clark was confident in. John, his brother Joseph, and the rest of Team Scrapheap have been one of the most prolific RC teams of the past year, and the Spotlight Series was another notch on the belt of their growing list of metagames conquered.

4 Badgermole Cub 4 Icetill Explorer 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Mightform Harmonizer 4 Sazh's Chocobo 2 Surrak, Elusive Hunter 4 Esper Origins 2 Royal Treatment 4 Earthbender Ascension 2 Meltstrider's Resolve 14 Forest 4 Ba Sing Se 4 Fabled Passage 3 Escape Tunnel 1 Promising Vein 4 Mossborn Hydra 3 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 Eumidian Terrabotanist 2 Meltstrider's Resolve 2 Pawpatch Formation 1 Scrapshooter 1 Surrak, Elusive Hunter

The deck is as straightforward as it is inevitable: make a lot of land drops and use those land drops to power up your creatures. Generate a bunch of mana and do it all over again with Icetill Explorer.

But Puglisi Clark's innovations came not at the macro level but in the margins. Rather than the usual Sapling Nursery, Clark's team included zero copies of the enchantment and instead ran a full playset of Esper Origins. Puglisi Clark credited the spell for being good in the grindy matchups and against aggressive decks where life gain matters. Eumidian Terrabotanist was similarly a new inclusion in the sideboard for the same reasons.

Landfall and Izzet Prowess were the two most popular decks at the start of the event, with each comprising about 10% of the room. Beyond those decks, a full third of the field ended up on a deck with ten or fewer players. That included breakouts like the aforementioned Cool but Rude builds (with and without Monument to Endurance), but also the breakout Mono-White Momo lists that have popped up just over the last two weeks.

The breakout Standard deck of the last few weeks - and doing well so far at #SpotlightTMNT is - Momo-White?

Believe it! Momo, Friendly Flier leads the way in several mono-White decks including Angels and Springleaf Drum Aggro that have taken Standard by surprise at #SCGRichmond! pic.twitter.com/tLYH1nnLba

— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) March 7, 2026

When the dust settled on the first nine rounds, Landfall was the biggest winner from Day One to Day Two. But even with the condensed competition, around 20% of the Day Two decks belonged to the "other" category, which is always a great sign for a day of Magic as the tournament wound down to its final eight competitors.

The Top 8 Qualified for the Pro Tour

When the dust settled on a tumultuous fifteen rounds of Swiss play that saw Mono-Green Landfall perform well among a set of diverse top tables, eight players remained who had navigated their way through the myriad of matchups Standard has to offer.

Let's meet the Top 8 players of #SpotlightTMNT!

First up, top seed Anthony Pepe! The Georgia native was the tournament's final undefeated player at 12-0, crushing with Mono-Green Landfall.

"I only play Green!" he said of his choice to run the Landfall list. pic.twitter.com/XjAyP6r0o0

— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) March 8, 2026

The final undefeated player in the tournament was Anthony Pepe, who was very familiar with the Landfall list he tore through the field with.

"I only play green!" he said with a smile upon locking his spot in the Top 8 and earning an invitation to the Pro Tour. "I came to this event to hang out with friends and have a good time."

Pepe was one of four Landfall players in the Top 8 (Clark and Piland played Esper Origins, while Pepe and Paluta did not). Four Mono-Green decks placing in the Top 8 decklists is not what anyone would have predicted just a few tournaments ago, but the Standard format moves fast—and so does Prowess. That's the classic Izzet spells deck that Merriam and Durish took to the Top 8. It was also the most popular deck at Europe's Regional Championship in Turin. It performed well from Day One to Day Two, and while it came up short against green in the Top 8, the pair proved that the Prowess deck is back.

Prowess may be back, but Rakdos Rummage is new. That's the deck that Brian Zeng brought to the Top 8, and the new addition of Cool but Rude from Magic: The Gathering | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a major part of the deck's success. It's enough that, in a world of Wistfulness, many Monument to Endurance players are leaving their Monuments at home.

Durish and Merriam were the Izzet Prowess players in the Top 8. Despite a series of shakeups over the last year, the tricky archetype keeps finding ways to make waves in Standard, and the field last weekend proved very susceptible to the spell-centric list across events in both Europe and North America.

For Durish, who came to Richmond because he really wanted to go to Amsterdam—the site of the Pro Tour this summer—the Prowess list performed well, especially the Eddymurk Crabs that he credited with winning multiple games that could not have been won by anything else. Merriam also credited the Crab as a standout in Prowess, the list he felt was the safest call for an unpredictable metagame. This proved to be the correct call as highlighted by Merriam's high-profile run of victories through the feature match area all weekend.

Rounding out the Top 8, Simon Byrne punched his ticket to the Pro Tour with Izzet Spellementals, by far his best finish after previous Day Two appearances at Grand Prix events. But he couldn't resist the opportunity to make the short trip from Washington, DC, to hang out with friends—and when he couldn't decide what to play, one of those friends suggested Byrne was best suited for Spellementals. "Thanks to Liz Lynn for suggesting I play this!" he quipped after notching the best finish of his Magic journey so far. "I got to celebrate by calling my girlfriend and letting her know she'll need a passport!"

The final two members of the Top 8 in Richmond played the same deck (Landfall) but came to the city for different reasons. For Jesse Piland, the Raleigh native who is coming off multiple Top 8 and Top 16 appearances at Spotlight Series events and Regional Championships over the last two years, the event was a chance to bypass any intermediate stops and qualify directly for the Pro Tour. Like Puglisi Clark, Piland's Mono-Green Landfall deck sported several copies of Esper Origins.

"Esper Origins was my best card of the weekend," Piland elaborated. "It gains life in aggressive matchups, it's an Elemental against Sunderflock, and can outgrind most anything."

The final member of the Top 8 was Michael Paluta, who made the trip from Minnesota for the simplest reason of them all: "the love of the game." He played Landfall because "it seemed good," and his metagame call proved to be perfect, earning Paluta his first major Top 8.

The Finals

At the end of Sunday, all that remained was the match to crown a champion. After the smoke on the Top 8 cleared, we were down to two different decks on opposite ends of the spectrum: Puglisi Clark's Mono-Green Landfall and Durish's Izzet Prowess.

Both players operated at peak efficiency in the first game. While Durish developed his board with a mix of removal and card draw, he then added a pair of Slickshot Show-Offs and Eddymurk Crabs to knock Puglisi Clark all the way down to 9 life. But with the life buffer provided by Esper Origins, Puglisi Clark's life total remained safe, and his mana engine kept flowing. That opened up to a huge turn with multiple land drops and landfall triggers. In fact, it was more than enough for Durish to concede the first game.

2 Surrak, Elusive Hunter 1 Promising Vein 4 Earthbender Ascension 4 Mightform Harmonizer 4 Esper Origins 2 Meltstrider's Resolve 3 Escape Tunnel 2 Royal Treatment 4 Sazh's Chocobo 4 Ba Sing Se 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Icetill Explorer 4 Badgermole Cub 4 Fabled Passage 14 Forest 1 Scrapshooter 2 Meltstrider's Resolve 1 Surrak, Elusive Hunter 2 Pawpatch Formation 3 Soul-Guide Lantern 4 Mossborn Hydra 2 Eumidian Terrabotanist

The second game featured one of Puglisi Clark's new sideboard cards for the tournament: Eumidian Terrabotanist. While it didn't live long, it ate a piece of removal and demonstrated that Puglisi Clark was more than ready for this matchup. But on the play, Durish was able to corral the tempo advantage into board advantage, and an unchecked Slick Show-Off would end the game and send the finals into a deciding third tilt.

6 Island 3 Eddymurk Crab 1 Willowrush Verge 4 Opt 3 Elusive Otter 4 Stormchaser's Talent 4 Burst Lightning 4 Boomerang Basics 1 Roaring Furnace // Steaming Sauna 1 Wild Ride 2 Multiversal Passage 1 Sear 2 Into the Flood Maw 4 Stock Up 4 Riverpyre Verge 4 Steam Vents 4 Spirebluff Canal 4 Sleight of Hand 4 Slickshot Show-Off 1 Annul 1 Torch the Tower 2 Get Out 1 Sear 1 Roaring Furnace // Steaming Sauna 2 Spell Pierce 2 Ral, Crackling Wit 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 1 Broadside Barrage 2 Fire Magic

The Terrabotanist again appeared for Puglisi Clark, a key early play. And when he went to enchant it for a fight with Durish's Otters, the Prowess player had double removal to swing things his way. But it was only a momentary advantage, because soon Puglisi Clark revealed his true win condition: Mightform Harmonizer backed up by Royal Treatment. That was enough to seal the game, the match, and the title of Magic Spotlight: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Onward to the Next Spotlight Series!

It's hard to imagine a better showcase of the Standard format, and it's hard to imagine a better showing for the Magic community than what we witnessed in Richmond. As Magic rolls through its third decade, some things remain as true in 2026 as they were in 1996: people still love to gather to play high-stakes Magic, and the Pro Tour will still be there at the end of the journey—even if, like Mason Furnish, you're traveling for one of the last large Magic events you can before taking some time away for the birth of a child.

The Spotlight Series is back next in May, with Magic Spotlight: Secrets in London, England, on May 9–10 and Chiba, Japan, on May 30–31. Then we head back to the United States for Magic Spotlight: Marvel Super Heroes in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 27–28 and Brussels, Belgium, on July 24–26. You can find the full Spotlight Series schedule for 2026 here!