Hello, and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest Constructed developments on the path to the Pro Tour. This past weekend, over 1,100 players clashed at the Regional Championships for the United States and Chinese Taipei, with 35 coveted Pro Tour invites and 3 precious World Championship slots on the line.

Modern's health and diversity were on full display, with a wide range of archetypes breaking through to the elimination rounds. In this article, I'll break down the Modern metagame, spotlight the breakout decks that rose to the top, and highlight the strategies that came out ahead. But first, it's time to give some well-deserved congratulations to the two newly crowned Regional Champions.

Vinnie Fino Victorious at US Regional Championship with Jeskai Blink

Congratulations to Vinnie Fino, who triumphed in Houston to claim victory at this season's first Regional Championship in the US! Piloting a finely tuned Jeskai Blink list, he outlasted more than 1,000 competitors and clinched the title, trophy, and $10,000 1st-place prize with a finals victory over teammate John Puglisi Clark, who was running Boros Energy. In the decisive third game, Quantum Riddler dominated the battlefield and took him to victory.

Both finalists from Team Scrapheap earned invitations to Magic World Championship 32, scheduled for November 2026. In addition, the Top 32 players who had not yet qualified for Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed secured their seats.

For the new champion, however, his friends' success meant even more than his own. As soon as his semifinal match was done, Vinnie Fino hugged finalist John Puglisi Clark, sharing a heartfelt, joyful moment. "I was crying ... I love when friends win!" he laughed. Another teammate and good friend of his, Ivan Espinosa, who finished in 32nd place, also earned a Pro Tour invitation: "That was more important to me than making Worlds," Vinnie Fino said in his winner's interview. It was a reminder that competition doesn't have to be solitary. Sometimes, the real win is winning together.

1 Thundering Falls 1 Elegant Parlor 3 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 4 Flooded Strand 4 Arid Mesa 2 Ephemerate 3 Scalding Tarn 1 Lightning Bolt 1 Hallowed Fountain 2 Arena of Glory 1 Mountain 3 Teferi, Time Raveler 1 Island 4 Consign to Memory 1 March of Otherworldly Light 4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 2 Sacred Foundry 1 Meticulous Archive 1 Wrath of the Skies 4 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 3 Prismatic Ending 4 Solitude 2 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker 2 Plains 1 Steam Vents 4 Quantum Riddler 1 Surgical Extraction 2 Subtlety 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Force of Negation 1 Ghost Vacuum 4 Obsidian Charmaw 2 Wrath of the Skies 1 Celestial Purge

At Pro Tour Edge of Eternities, Matt Costa was the only player to register four copies each of Ephemerate; Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd; and Consign to Memory. He went 7-3 in the Modern rounds, ultimately finishing in 20th place. This past weekend, Jeskai Blink had evolved: Teferi, Time Raveler joined the main deck for extra interaction, and White Orchid Phantom gave way to Obsidian Charmaw in the sideboard. With an incredible 58.9% win rate, converting 2.9% of the starting field into 25% of the Top 8, Jeskai Blink was the undisputed breakout deck of the tournament. Vinnie Fino defeated Jesse Hampton in a mirror match in the quarterfinals and never looked back.

Jeskai Blink demonstrates just how versatile Consign to Memory can be. On the surface, it's a clean answer to cards like Goblin Charbelcher or Devourer of Destiny. But it also lets you keep a warped Quantum Riddler, an evoked Solitude, or a non-escaped Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury by countering the triggers that would remove them. Furthermore, Consign to Memory can counter the delayed "return to the battlefield" trigger from Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, effectively turning it into a one-mana removal spell. Jeskai Blink pushes these synergies to their maximum potential.

"I locked in probably about two weeks ago," Vinnie Fino said of his deck choice. "It was the most vibes-based deck to play. I like Ravagan. I like Teferi. I like Phlage. I love Riddler. That was really it. It just so happened that a lot of our matchup spread ended up being a lot nicer than I initially anticipated it to be."

2 Elegant Parlor 4 Seasoned Pyromancer 3 Flooded Strand 3 Arid Mesa 3 Windswept Heath 3 Arena of Glory 2 Blood Moon 2 Thraben Charm 1 Static Prison 4 Guide of Souls 4 Galvanic Discharge 4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 3 Goblin Bombardment 3 Sacred Foundry 4 Ocelot Pride 4 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 2 Plains 4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah 2 Voice of Victory 3 Marsh Flats 1 High Noon 1 Stony Silence 2 Surgical Extraction 2 Vexing Bauble 1 Blood Moon 2 Wear // Tear 3 Obsidian Charmaw 1 Wrath of the Skies 1 Meltdown 1 Celestial Purge

John Puglisi Clark had a solid 10-5 run at the previous Regional Championship in Minneapolis, performing well enough to requalify for Houston. This time, he made the most of it, earning a Magic World Championship 32 invite with a 2nd-place finish on Boros Energy. "I've been playing it for the last year," he said, "and I had Zevin Faust advising me to play it."

His version stayed close to the stock list, with Blood Moon emerging as his best card of the weekend. "Energy can't win when your opponent casts spells," he joked. But that underscores the importance of fetching basic lands. With Amulet Titan on the rise, many successful Boros Energy lists have moved Blood Moon into the main deck, and its effect can easily decide a game, especially when Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer helps deploy it as early as turn two.

Khó͘ Se̍k-un Triumphs in Taipei City with Izzet Affinity

Congratulations to Khó͘ Se̍k-un, who captured 1st place at the MIT Championship with Izzet Affinity! His 1st-place finish not only netted him the trophy but also an invitation to Magic World Championship 32. Additionally, the Top 3 unqualified players earned spots at Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed.

4 Thoughtcast 3 Fiery Islet 1 Otawara, Soaring City 1 Lavaspur Boots 1 Cranial Plating 1 Island 1 Pithing Needle 4 Kappa Cannoneer 3 Engineered Explosives 3 Memnite 4 Mox Opal 1 Shadowspear 1 Aether Spellbomb 3 Springleaf Drum 4 Mishra's Bauble 4 Pinnacle Emissary 3 Ornithopter 3 Sink into Stupor 3 Tormod's Crypt 4 Spirebluff Canal 1 Steam Vents 2 Weapons Manufacturing 1 Claws of Gix 4 Urza's Saga 1 Vandalblast 1 Ashiok, Dream Render 1 Mystical Dispute 2 Blood Moon 3 Consign to Memory 2 Galvanic Blast 1 Whipflare 2 Emry, Lurker of the Loch 2 Metallic Rebuke

Khó͘ Se̍k-un made full use of Mox Opal, leveraging its mana acceleration for explosive starts. Deviating from conventional lists, he omitted Metallic Rebuke from the main deck, instead adding Ornithopter to carry Cranial Plating and strengthen Pinnacle Emissary, Weapons Manufacturing, and Kappa Cannoneer. The new champion cited Kappa Cannoneer as his best card of the weekend, and with the potential to power it out as early as turn one, it's easy to see why.

Across both Regional Championships, Izzet Affinity posted a strong 54.7% win rate, adding to its upward trend and recent success in Modern. Still, sideboard cards like Wrath of the Skies, Stony Silence, Vandalblast, and Meltdown remain highly effective tools to keep it in check, and Modern players would do well to include some of these in their sideboards right now.

The Modern Metagame and Win Rates

A total of 1,147 Modern decklists from these two Regional Championships were available for analysis. After setting archetype names based on the contents of each deck, I compiled the overall metagame share and match win rates for each deck archetype (excluding mirror matches, byes, and draws). These metrics are provided in the table below, where each archetype name is linked to a top-performing decklist that best represents its aggregate build. Checkmarks next to win rates indicate that the 95% Clopper-Pearson confidence interval lay entirely above 50%, indicating statistically significant, above-average performance.

The "Other" category encompassed a wide range of archetypes such as Simic Neoform, Dimir Midrange, Grixis Reanimator, Mono-Green Broodscale, Living End, Eldrazi Aggro, Golgari Broodscale, Dimir Mill, Simic Ritual, Hollow One, Esper Murktide, Mardu Energy, Azorius Miracles, Boros Burn, Merfolk, Orzhov Blink, Golgari Yawgmoth, Jeskai Wizards, Jeskai Chant, and more.

The current Modern metagame feels both healthy and diverse, with only minor shifts compared to the winner's metagame from earlier in October. The most notable changes were small declines for Izzet Affinity and Boros Energy, which opened the door for Amulet Titan to claim the top spot.

1 Echoing Deeps 2 Gruul Turf 1 Otawara, Soaring City 4 Arboreal Grazer 3 Forest 3 Scapeshift 1 Tolaria West 1 Urza's Cave 4 Amulet of Vigor 4 Simic Growth Chamber 2 Green Sun's Zenith 2 Lotus Field 4 Explore 4 Crumbling Vestige 1 Shifting Woodland 1 Aftermath Analyst 4 Primeval Titan 4 Spelunking 1 Vexing Bauble 1 Hanweir Battlements 1 Cultivator Colossus 1 Mirrorpool 2 Summoner's Pact 4 Urza's Saga 3 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Vesuva 1 Firespout 1 Vexing Bauble 3 Dismember 1 Pithing Needle 2 Collector Ouphe 1 Six 1 Green Sun's Zenith 2 Stock Up 2 Force of Vigor 1 Soul-Guide Lantern

Amulet Titan has enjoyed an exceptional run in recent weeks. It posted a 57.5% non-mirror win rate during the Modern rounds of Pro Tour Edge of Eternities, followed by a victory from Vinicio Sánchez at the Regional Championship in Mexico. Now, it has emerged as the most-played deck across the Regional Championships in Houston and Taipei. With a 55.9% non-mirror win rate against the rest of the field this past weekend, Amulet Titan reaffirmed its power. Although it's notoriously difficult to play, it rewards precision and mastery like few others.

Collins Mullen led the charge this past weekend, finishing in the Top 4 at the US Regional Championship. He drew from years of experience navigating the deck's labyrinth of decision trees: "I've been playing Amulet for four years now, and it is very fun to play!" he explained.

His list included several distinctive choices, underscoring that there's no unified consensus among Amulet Titan players on the deck's optimal configuration. Most notably, Mullen preferred four copies of Explore over the more popular Malevolent Rumble, favoring extra land drops over card selection. In addition, rather than the more typical one-of Icetill Explorer, he opted for a single Cultivator Colossus: "It won me spots no other card could."

With Amulet Titan's strong win rate and representation of 11.3% of the field this past weekend, it has primed Modern players to face it. Whether that means boarding in Blood Moon; Magus of the Moon; Harbinger of the Seas; or Ashiok, Dream Render, there are plenty of tools to disrupt the deck's plan of fetching and exploiting an intricate engine of nonbasic lands.

While Amulet Titan, Izzet Affinity, and Jeskai Blink stood out this past weekend as the three best-performing decks, a few creative brews turned heads for their uniqueness and innovation. Let's take a closer look at the two spiciest decks that earned a Pro Tour invitation.

Azorius Miracles Takes Valerie Jade to the Pro Tour

1 Thundering Falls 3 Counterspell 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Otawara, Soaring City 4 Flooded Strand 1 Windswept Heath 1 Monumental Henge 4 Brainsurge 1 Day's Undoing 1 Misty Rainforest 3 Hallowed Fountain 2 Scalding Tarn 4 Orim's Chant 3 Island 3 Teferi, Time Raveler 1 Isochron Scepter 1 March of Otherworldly Light 2 Spell Snare 1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria 4 Terminus 1 Celestial Colonnade 1 Mystic Gate 3 Narset, Parter of Veils 2 Meticulous Archive 1 Subtlety 2 Prismatic Ending 1 Wrath of the Skies 3 Solitude 1 Lórien Revealed 2 Plains 1 Geier Reach Sanitarium 1 High Noon 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Force of Negation 4 Consign to Memory 1 Isochron Scepter 1 March of Otherworldly Light 1 Wrath of the Skies 2 Rest in Peace 1 Kaheera, the Orphanguard

It's a miracle! Valerie Jade finished in 9th place with an impressive 11-3-1 record, piloting a white-blue control strategy built around spells with miracle. With Brainsurge, she could put Terminus on top of her library and be ready to sweep the battlefield for a single white mana. Even without Terminus, Brainsurge offers strong card selection, as you can stack two weak cards on top before shuffling them away with a fetch land.

The rest of the list resembles the Azorius Control deck that Francisco Sánchez took to 2nd place at Pro Tour Edge of Eternities. As always, the goal is to dictate the pace of the game through removal and countermagic, before locking up the game through the combo of Narset, Parter of Veils and Day's Undoing, or Isochron Scepter and Orim's Chant. Yet, instead of the Consult the Star Charts, Force of Negation, and Supreme Verdict seen in Sánchez's build, Jade's version incorporates Brainsurge and Terminus, introducing additional synergies into the traditional control shell.

Simic Ritual Takes Camari Bolger to the Pro Tour

1 Flooded Strand 4 Flare of Denial 1 Otawara, Soaring City 2 Snow-Covered Forest 3 Windswept Heath 2 Fblthp, the Lost 4 Coiling Oracle 2 Dismember 4 Misty Rainforest 2 Hedge Maze 4 Abhorrent Oculus 2 Breeding Pool 4 Birthing Ritual 2 Snow-Covered Island 2 Force of Negation 4 Shardless Agent 3 Subtlety 4 Ice-Fang Coatl 4 Sink into Stupor 2 Boseiju, Who Endures 2 Harbinger of the Seas 2 Endurance 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Collector Ouphe 1 Force of Negation 4 Consign to Memory 3 Stern Scolding 2 Force of Vigor 1 Harbinger of the Seas

Camari Bolger piloted an inventive Simic Ritual deck to an 11-4 finish, landing in 30th place and earning a Pro Tour invitation. The archetype had an exceptional weekend. Among the five players who registered it, the collective record against the rest of the field was 38-23-1, translating to a stellar 62.3% win rate—the highest of any archetype with at least two pilots.

Simic Ritual revolves around Birthing Ritual, which transforms creatures with enters or cast triggers (such as Coiling Oracle, Ice-Fang Coatl, and Shardless Agent) into more imposing threats like Abhorrent Oculus. Alternatively, putting Fblthp, the Lost onto the battlefield with Birthing Ritual draws you two cards, ensuring the deck never runs out of gas. The collection of 1/1 cantrip creatures also fuels interaction, as they can be sacrificed to Flare of Denial or pitched to Subtlety or Force of Negation. This all results in a synergistic deck that combines value generation with free interaction and powerful threats.

What's Next for Modern?

Modern remains as vibrant and varied as ever, with dozens of archetypes capable of claiming victory at the upcoming premier events. The Regional Championships thus far have firmly cemented Amulet Titan as a top-tier contender, while Jeskai Blink and Izzet Affinity are also trending upward. Yet in the end, Modern remains a format that rewards you for mastering your favorite deck and knowing every key interaction and matchup by heart.

With the Modern Regional Championship cycle unfolding across October and November, we can look forward to more high-stakes competition among the finest players in each region. The remaining schedule, with links to available Melee pages, is as follows:

• October 25–26: Australia/New Zealand
• November 1–2: South America and Southeast Asia
• November 8–9: China
• November 15–16: No Regional Championship
• November 22–23: United States (Las Vegas), Canada, Japan/South Korea, and Europe/Middle East/Africa

To follow all the action from the Regional Championship for Australia and New Zealand this weekend, tune in to the live coverage of the ANZ Super Series on YouTube, streaming live on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. AEDT, and Sunday, starting at roughly 11:30 a.m. AEDT!