The decks are in, the data is ready, and Magic World Championship 30 begins tomorrow! From October 25–27 at MagicCon: Las Vegas, 113 of the world's best Magic: The Gathering players will compete for their share of a $1,000,000 prize pool, the chance to be immortalized on a future Magic card, and the most prestigious title of the year.

Magic World Championship 30 is the pinnacle of this Magic premier play season. Most of the competitors earned their spots through standout performances at Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor, Pro Tour Thunder Junction, and/or Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3. The field also boasts Regional Championship winners and top contenders from Arena Championships, Magic Online Champions Showcases, and last year's World Championship. With such an impressive line-up—featuring reigning World Champion Jean-Emmanuel Depraz and reigning Player of the Year Simon Nielsen—we can look forward to high-level gameplay and incredibly tuned decks.

The formats are Duskmourn: House of Horror Booster Draft in the morning on Friday and Saturday, followed by four rounds of Standard Constructed each afternoon. The Top 8 showdown on Sunday will also be Standard Constructed. To catch all the action, tune in to the stream at the Magic Twitch channel or the Play MTG YouTube channel. The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. ET on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. ET on Sunday. Be sure to check the viewer's guide for more details.

Standard Metagame Breakdown

Standard is a 60-card rotating format that currently includes expansion sets from Dominaria United onwards. Recently, hundreds of new cards from Duskmourn: House of Horror reshaped the metagame. With this influx of new cards, the Standard decks of the World Championship competitors break down like this:

All of the Standard decklists for the tournament will be published on the Magic World Championship 30 event page on Friday, October 25, at the beginning of Round 4 gameplay at approximately 5 p.m. ET.

The metagame showcases a wide array of archetypes, with plenty of unique and unexpected choices. This diversity promises exciting gameplay at Magic World Championship 30. It also sets the stage for an engaging Standard format as we approach the release of Magic: The Gathering Foundations and the upcoming Standard round of Regional Championship Qualifiers.

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Across all main decks and sideboards at Magic World Championship 30, the most-played nonland cards are Cut Down, Negate, Go for the Throat, Duress, and Torch the Tower. These staples suggest that cheap, efficient interaction is crucial for success in Standard. The removal spells, in particular, are vital to shutting down the lightning-fast starts of Gruul Prowess.

As predicted in last week's format primer, Gruul Prowess is the most popular Standard deck choice. However, only a small minority of players went in on the explosive potential for a turn-two kill using Leyline of Resonance, Cacophony Scamp, and Turn Inside Out. The majority opted for a more stable build, replacing Leyline of Resonance with the consistent staying power of Manifold Mouse and Innkeeper's Talent.

Another notable shift from early post-Duskmourn: House of Horror tournaments is the reduced presence of Caretaker's Talent strategies. A likely explanation is their poor match-up against Domain Ramp and other strategies that can overpower them in the late game.

Instead of leaning on Caretaker's Talent, a significantly larger group of World Championship competitors are focused on drawing cards with Up the Beanstalk, Enduring Innocence, and/or Unholy Annex. This approach has led to a rise in Domain Ramp, Dimir Midrange, and Dimir Demons decks, all of which are more prevalent than initially expected.

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The biggest surprise in the metagame is Temur Prowess, which is being brought by nine World Championship competitors. This inventive brew is capable of explosive turns, with its linchpin being the synergy between Bloomburrow's Valley Floodcaller and Duskmourn: House of Horror's Enduring Vitality. When both creatures are on the battlefield, you can tap Valley Floodcaller for mana, cast a noncreature spell, untap, and tap again for more mana. Additional Otters, such as those created by Stormchaser's Talent, amplify this strategy even further. With its wealth of interaction and card-draw effects, the deck can generate an avalanche of prowess triggers in a single turn. That's a spectacle I'm eager to see in action!

As the key cards in this deck demonstrate, the last two sets have added tremendous depth to Standard. Since there haven't been any premier tournaments since the Standard rotation, I've included an overview of the most-played cards from Bloomburrow and Duskmourn: House of Horror at the end of this article. But first, let's take a closer look at the archetypes one by one.

Standard Archetype Summaries

As mentioned, all Standard decklists for the tournament will be published on the Magic World Championship 30 event page on Friday, October 25, at the beginning of Round 4 gameplay, approximately at 5 p.m. ET. Until then, here are brief summaries of the most-played archetypes.

Gruul Prowess (20 players): Gruul Prowess is an aggressive deck that uses a suite of pump spells to trigger valiant and prowess abilities, setting up blisteringly fast kills. While three players have included the potential turn-two kill combo with Leyline of Resonance, Cacophony Scamp, and Turn Inside Out, the other seventeen opted for less-volatile builds with more reliable staying power. Instead of the Leyline package, they favored cards like Manifold Mouse, Innkeeper's Talent, and Shock.

Dimir Midrange (16 players): Dimir Midrange seeks to disrupt opponents with a balanced mix of removal, discard, and countermagic while applying pressure with cheap, evasive creatures. Once Enduring Curiosity hits the board, these creatures can replenish your hand with fresh cards. Thanks to its versatile interaction, Dimir Midrange has a solid plan against virtually every deck in the field.

Azorius Oculus (13 players): The primary strategy for this deck is putting Abhorrent Oculus into the graveyard through spells like Chart a Course, Picklock Prankster, or Moment of Truth, then returning it to the battlefield while bypassing its additional cost with Helping Hand or Recommission. On the draw, you can even skip playing a land on turn one, discard Abhorrent Oculus to hand size, and return it with Helping Hand on turn two. With Into the Flood Maw providing interaction, the deck also plays a strong tempo game.

Domain Ramp (13 players): Domain Ramp leverages Overlord of the Hauntwoods to ramp ahead while achieving full domain for Leyline Binding. Even when cast for its impending cost, Overlord of the Hauntwoods triggers Up the Beanstalk and eventually transforms into a massive creature. While Domain Ramp lists vary in their win conditions and removal packages, they all rely on Sunfall to establish a controlling role.

Temur Prowess (9 players): Temur Prowess operates like a combo deck, capable of storming off with explosive turns. You can tap Valley Floodcaller for mana with the help of Enduring Vitality, cast a noncreature spell, untap the Otter, tap it for mana again, and continue the cycle. With a wealth of interaction and card-draw spells, the deck can generate an impressive number of prowess triggers in a single turn. With enough Otters on the battlefield that tap for mana, you can even loop Stormchaser's Talent and This Town Ain't Big Enough infinitely often!

Dimir Demons (9 players): Dimir Demons shares many of the disruptive pieces of Dimir Midrange but forgoes Enduring Curiosity and the suite of cheap evasive creatures. Instead, the deck relies on Archfiend of the Dross, which transforms Unholy Annex into a potent life-draining powerhouse. Some Dimir Demons lists can deliver a lethal one-two punch with Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz, while others can deliver a spicy combo kill using Doomsday Excruciator—another Demon—and Jace, the Perfected Mind.

Golgari Midrange (9 players): Golgari Midrange relies on the most-powerful interactive spells in black and green, while Mosswood Dreadknight and Glissa Sunslayer provide a fast, resilient clock. Nearly all Golgari Midrange lists also include Unholy Annex and Archfiend of the Dross, though they stop short of committing to a full Demons package.

Jeskai Convoke (6 players): Jeskai Convoke aims to curve Novice Inspector or Spyglass Siren into Gleeful Demolition, allowing Knight-Errant of Eos to be convoked out as early as turn two. Following up with Imodane's Recruiter can unleash a barrage of damage, while additional payoffs like Case of the Gateway Express and Warden of the Inner Sky reward you further for flooding the board with tokens.

Golgari Ramp (5 players): Golgari Ramp takes a bigger approach than Golgari Midrange, utilizing Overlord of the Hauntwoods to ramp ahead. Up the Beanstalk and Deadly Cover-Up take on a more control-focused role in most match-ups. This innovative take on black-green attacks the format from an unexpected angle.

Mono-White Caretaker (3 players): Also known as Mono-White Tokens, this deck excels at controlling the board by using Lay Down Arms and Sunfall to dismantle creature-based strategies while stalling long enough to get value from Carrot Cake with Caretaker's Talent. Though all Mono-White Caretaker lists splash blue for Jace, the Perfected Mind post-sideboard, it's still labeled as mono-white due to its reliance on Lay Down Arms and the presence of only one or zero blue cards in the main deck.

Orzhov Demons (2 players): Orzhov Demons is a predominantly mono-black midrange deck with a devastating combo finish. When Unstoppable Slasher deals combat damage to an opponent, it makes them lose half their life. Bloodletter of Aclazotz doubles that life loss, potentially reducing an opponent's life total to zero in one swift attack.

Boros Enchantments (2 players): Boros Enchantments is a synergy-driven aggro deck packed with spice, harnessing the power of Optimistic Scavenger and Ethereal Armor. A handful of Auras from Duskmourn: House of Horror supercharges these cards while triggering prowess and valiant on Emberheart Challenger, enabling lightning-fast wins.

Gruul Delirium (1 player): Gruul Delirium is a synergy-focused aggro deck that fills the graveyard with Patchwork Beastie and Fear of Missing Out. The deck then plans to strike for lethal with Wildfire Wickerfolk and Violent Urge.

Golgari Demons (1 player): Golgari Demons is very similar to Orzhov Demons, but it splashes green to include Mosswood Dreadknight instead of white for Legions to Ashes.

Sultai Reanimator (1 player): Sultai Reanimator aims to mill itself using Founding the Third Path and Picklock Prankster, ideally getting Atraxa, Grand Unifier into the graveyard. The game-ending creature can then be reanimated with Squirming Emergence for just three mana.

Mono-Red Aggro (1 player): Mono-Red Aggro aims to win as fast as possible, using haste creatures and direct-damage spells to reduce the opponent's life total to zero.

Mono-Red Prowess (1 player): Mono-Red Prowess functions similarly to Mono-Red Aggro but leans heavily into noncreature spells. The deck amplifies the prowess theme with creatures like Fugitive Codebreaker and Slickshot Show-Off.

Azorius Caretaker (1 player): Azorius Caretaker diverges from Mono-White Caretaker by leveraging The Enigma Jewel into Collector's Vault alongside other cards with powerful activated abilities. The mana base requirements for The Enigma Jewel prevent the inclusion of Lay Down Arms, so its a very unique build.

The Most-Played Cards from Bloomburrow

With the release of Bloomburrow nearly three months ago, Standard saw a major shift as the oldest four sets rotated out, making room for a fresh wave of animalfolk that breathed new life into the format. The table below outlines the most-played Bloomburrow cards at Magic World Championship 30.

One of the set's key contributions is the introduction of a Mice-based valiant strategy, which has proven to be a potent option for prowess decks. Cards like Heartfire Hero and Emberheart Challenger lead the charge, while Might of the Meek, Manifold Mouse, Rockface Village, and Innkeeper's Talent provide ways to repeatedly trigger valiant abilities.

Bloomburrow also reinforced token strategies built around Caretaker's Talent. These decks are bolstered by support cards like Beza, the Bounding Spring; Carrot Cake; and Fountainport. Meanwhile, the Otter trio of Thundertrap Trainer, Stormchaser's Talent, and Valley Floodcaller have finally found a home in Temur Prowess, showcasing impressive synergy.

Interestingly, the most played card from Bloomburrow isn't an archetype enabler at all. Pawpatch Formation tops the list due to its sideboard appearances. Its versatility makes it a powerful answer to everything from Temporary Lockdown and Leyline Binding to Archfiend of the Dross or Abhorrent Oculus. There's no shortage of valid targets in Standard right now.

The Most-Played Cards from Duskmourn: House of Horror

Duskmourn: House of Horror followed suit, introducing a diverse array of impactful cards to the evolving Standard format. The table below breaks down all new-to-Standard cards featured at Magic World Championship 30. Remarkably, every one of the 113 decklists included at least one card from Duskmourn: House of Horror.

The most played card from Duskmourn: House of Horror is Ghost Vacuum, though it's also primarily in sideboards as a potent answer to graveyard-centric decks like Azorius Oculus. In main decks, the newly introduced Verge lands have become a popular choice across various archetypes. These dual lands excel in ally-color decks with a density of basic lands. Domain Ramp players also enable Hushwood Verge with Overlord of the Hauntwoods or Hedge Maze.

Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber is proving to be a phenomenal upgrade for black-based midrange decks running Archfiend of the Dross. Regardless of whether these decks incorporate the Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz combo, Unholy Annex ensures a steady flow of cards. Meanwhile, the impact of Overlord of the Hauntwoods on Standard is similarly profound, fueling explosive decks like Domain Ramp, Golgari Ramp, and Sultai Reanimator.

Other cards are making a considerable impact as well. In decks utilizing Helping Hand, Abhorrent Oculus has emerged as a standout replacement for the more fragile Monastery Mentor. In decks with inexpensive flying creatures, Enduring Curiosity offers greater resilience than Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor. Further, the emergence of the Temur Prowess deck, fueled by Enduring Vitality, adds an entirely new dynamic to the metagame.

With Overlord of the Mistmoors additionally bolstering Domain Ramp; Kaito, Bane of Nightmares fitting seamlessly into most Dimir Midrange lists; and a variety of other cards carving out essential roles in diverse archetypes, it's clear that Duskmourn: House of Horror has infused Standard with a wealth of new possibilities.

Watch the Magic Unfold Tomorrow!

If you're eager to discover which cards and strategies will emerge victorious and who will etch their name into the annals of competitive Magic history, be sure to catch all the live action. Magic World Championship 30 coverage begins Friday, October 25, on the Magic Twitch channel and the Play MTG YouTube channel! We hope to see you there.