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, 1,616 players gathered at Regional Championships spanning Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Brazil, and Canada, all vying for one of the 54 coveted Pro Tour invitations in total. Following a seismic banned and restricted announcement, the Modern format has been reinvigorated, and the metagame is brimming with exciting new possibilities. In this article, I'll break down the metagame and highlight the standout Modern decks that rose to the top.

Alex Rohan Triumphs in Europe with Temur Breach

Congratulations to Alex Rohan, who emerged victorious at the Ultimate Guard European Magic Series – Regional Championship in Prague (the Regional Championship for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa). Piloting his Temur Breach deck, Rohan beat out nearly 1,000 competitors and clinched the title with a dramatic victory in the finals over Fernando Palmero García, who was running Eldrazi Ramp. Both finalists secured coveted invitations to Magic World Championship 31, slated for December 2025. Additionally, the top 36 unqualified players earned spots at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™ at MagicCon: Las Vegas this coming June.

1 Steam Vents 1 Hedge Maze 1 Breeding Pool 1 Stomping Ground 1 Island 4 Urza's Saga 4 Misty Rainforest 3 Scalding Tarn 2 Shifting Woodland 1 Sink into Stupor 3 Mox Amber 4 Mox Opal 4 Mishra's Bauble 1 Haywire Mite 1 Aether Spellbomb 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 3 Grinding Station 4 Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student 4 Emry, Lurker of the Loch 1 Thassa's Oracle 4 Malevolent Rumble 4 Underworld Breach 2 Preordain 1 Unholy Heat 1 Spell Snare 1 Flame of Anor 1 Otawara, Soaring City 1 Swan Song 4 Consign to Memory 2 Nature's Claim 2 Flame of Anor 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Unholy Heat 1 Mystical Dispute 1 Spell Pierce 1 Pyroclasm 1 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries 1 Pithing Needle

Alex Rohan, a 20-year-old Londoner, has been steadily building his competitive Magic résumé. His Pro Tour finishes include 62nd at Pro Tour March of the Machine and 66th at Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings. His recent online performances, such as multiple strong showings in Arena Opens and Magic Online Champions Showcase events, have built up his name in the competitive scene. This weekend, he solidified his reputation as one of the game's rising stars.

"For a while now, I've been grinding away online," Rohan shared after securing his Top 8 spot. "The last year and a half, I've been wanting to get back to the Pro Tour." Supported by his team, Worldly Counsel, Rohan entered the Top 8 playoffs with a clear goal in mind. "I really want to get a trophy at this point; I want to win," he declared—and win he did.

Rohan's choice, Temur Breach, proved one of the weekend's most successful archetypes, capitalizing on the recently unbanned Mox Opal. The iconic artifact enables explosive starts and powers the deck's signature combo: Grinding Station loops with Underworld Breach, eventually playing Thassa's Oracle for a game-ending win. "Clearly broken deck," Rohan remarked.

While the potential for lightning-fast kills—some as early as turn two—is a major draw, Temur Breach also shines in longer fair games. It can pivot to overwhelming opponents with Urza's Saga tokens or a transformed Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student. Rohan credited his sideboard plan for the deck's strategic complexity. "Flame of Anor is the best sideboard card," he said. Flame of Anor enables the deck to shift into a control role while removing common hate pieces like Nihil Spellbomb, Soulless Jailer, and Damping Sphere.

Throughout the Top 8, Rohan showcased an extraordinary level of skill in navigating Temur Breach's intricate lines of play. His opponents threw everything they had at him: Kozilek's Command emptied his graveyard, Thraben Charm destroyed his Underworld Breach, and Surgical Extraction removed his Grinding Stations. Still, Rohan adapted with surgical precision and careful sequencing, finding creative ways to win the game. His gameplay highlighted not just the power of Temur Breach, which is clearly more than a glass cannon, but also the depth of skill required to wield it effectively.

4 Sowing Mycospawn 4 Devourer of Destiny 2 Writhing Chrysalis 3 World Breaker 3 Emrakul, the Promised End 3 Karn, the Great Creator 4 Malevolent Rumble 3 Kozilek's Return 4 Kozilek's Command 4 Talisman of Impulse 4 Utopia Sprawl 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Commercial District 4 Eldrazi Temple 3 Forest 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Sanctum of Ugin 2 Stomping Ground 4 Ugin's Labyrinth 2 Wooded Foothills 3 Windswept Heath 2 Dismember 1 Kozilek's Return 3 Stone Rain 1 Haywire Mite 1 Soulless Jailer 1 Tormod's Crypt 1 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Liquimetal Coating 3 The Stone Brain

Finalist Fernando Palmero García, a 24-year-old from Tenerife, Spain, also found Regional Championship success following an impressive string of Magic Online results. After a stellar 2nd-place showing at the recent Magic Online Vintage Cube LIVE event that was powered by Ultimate Guard, Palmero García qualified for both the Pro Tour and the Regional Championship via the Magic Online Champions Showcase. With his 2nd-place finish in Prague, he now punched his ticket to Magic World Championship 31 as well.

Palmero García piloted Eldrazi Ramp, a deck designed to ramp with Utopia Sprawl and Malevent Rumble before deploying massive threats like Emrakul, the Promised End. "You have to mulligan aggressively and have four mana by turn two, ideally," he explained. "Devourer of Destiny is insane in the deck. It digs for four cards deep and can be exiled for Ugin's Labyrinth."

Recent tweaks to this archetype include the adoption of Karn, the Great Creator in place of Ancient Stirrings. This shift gives the deck access to a versatile sideboard while disrupting opposing artifacts, such as Mox Opal and Grinding Station.

Palmero García's list also featured unique innovations, including two copies of Writhing Chrysalis in the main deck and three copies of Stone Rain in the sideboard. Writhing Chrysalis has already been praised for its strength in Limited and is proving equally potent in Modern. "It's a good enabler and threat," Palmero García explained, adding that reach is important in the current Modern field, especially against Dimir Oculus. The surprise factor also helped. "It's new tech, so people weren't expecting it. It overperformed basically every time I drew it."

Palmero García credited his friends for the ideas. His group of six all played essentially the same list and were the only ones to bring Writhing Chrysalis to the Regional Championships, and they showcased the strength of their deck. Four of these Writhing Chrysalis players—Fernando Palmero García, Mateo Ferreira, Mattia Rizzi, and Daniel García-Loygorri—made Day Two, and Fernando Palmero García's deep run will likely shape the archetype going forward.

Simon Piché Triumphs in Canada with Boros Energy

Congratulations to Simon Piché, who claimed victory at the F2F Tour Championship in Ottawa (the Regional Championship for Canada) with his Boros Energy deck. Piché bested Max Dore, piloting Orzhov Blink, in an intense finals. Both finalists secured Magic World Championship 31 invitations, and the Top 12 players who had not yet qualified for Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY earned their spots for that event.

4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah 3 Arena of Glory 4 Arid Mesa 2 Elegant Parlor 2 Flooded Strand 4 Galvanic Discharge 3 Goblin Bombardment 4 Guide of Souls 4 Marsh Flats 1 Mountain 4 Ocelot Pride 4 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 2 Plains 3 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 2 Ranger-Captain of Eos 3 Sacred Foundry 4 Seasoned Pyromancer 3 Static Prison 2 Thraben Charm 2 Windswept Heath 2 Ghost Vacuum 1 Lithomantic Barrage 4 Obsidian Charmaw 2 Orim's Chant 1 Showdown of the Skalds 2 Stony Silence 1 Wear // Tear 2 Wrath of the Skies

Boros Energy dominated the weekend as the most played deck across all three Regional Championships. Despite recent bans removing The One Ring, Amped Raptor, and Jegantha, the Wellspring from its arsenal, the deck remains a potent force in the format. The raw efficiency of Guide of Souls and Galvanic Discharge has solidified Boros Energy as a formidable strategy.

Piché's ran a fairly stock list, but his choices in the three-drop slot stood out. It's been a point of experimentation for many players since the banning of The One Ring left a gap. While the aggregate list from the Regional Championships featured a mix of 3 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker and 2 Seasoned Pyromancer, Piché opted for 4 Seasoned Pyromancer and 2 Ranger-Captain of Eos. The Ranger-Captain offered both value and versatility, capable of fetching Guide of Souls to capitalize on excess energy, Ocelot Pride to create a wide board of Cat tokens, or Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer to dash in for quick, tide-turning attacks. This unconventional inclusion proved instrumental in his success.

4 Aether Vial 4 Arid Mesa 1 Boggart Trawler 3 Emperor of Bones 4 Ephemerate 2 Flagstones of Trokair 3 Flickerwisp 2 Godless Shrine 4 Marsh Flats 4 Overlord of the Balemurk 4 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 3 Plains 3 Recruiter of the Guard 2 Shadowy Backstreet 2 Skyclave Apparition 4 Solitude 1 Swamp 2 White Orchid Phantom 3 Witch Enchanter 4 Fatal Push 1 Aven Interrupter 1 Deafening Silence 1 Grafdigger's Cage 2 March of Otherworldly Light 2 Surgical Extraction 2 Thoughtseize 2 White Orchid Phantom 3 Wrath of the Skies 2 Aven Interrupter

Max Dore's archetype of choice, Orzhov Blink, delivered an exceptional win rate throughout the weekend, showcasing its ability to exploit Modern's evolving metagame. The deck, also known as Orzhov Sewers, largely thrives on the synergy between Overlord of the Balemurk and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd. When blinked by Phelia, Overlord of the Balemurk returns without its time counters and is a value-generating creature. This potent interaction also made waves in other archetypes, such as Mardu Energy, as exemplified by Michael Zhao's 10th-place list from Ottawa.

While Orzhov Blink is able to grind out long games, its success mainly stems from its well-rounded game plan. With powerful interactions like Solitude and Fatal Push against creature-based strategies, backed by versatile sideboard cards to handle combo strategies, it has all the right tools for the current Modern metagame. Orzhov Blink was particularly effective against Dimir Oculus, boasting a remarkable 39-16 record (71%) in that matchup over the weekend.

Most recent Orzhov Blink lists, including Max Dore's, replaced Orcish Bowmasters with Emperor of Bones. In a Modern metagame where graveyard-centric cards like Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury, Underworld Breach, Unearth, and Emrakul, the Promised End are on the rise, having proactive main-deck graveyard hate has proven invaluable.

Pedro Perrini Triumphs in Brazil with Eldrazi Ramp

Congratulations to Pedro Perrini, who secured a commanding victory at the City Class Games Showdown in Sao Paulo (the Regional Championship for Brazil) with his Eldrazi Ramp deck. This win earned him an invitation to Magic World Championship 31, while the Top 6 eligible players also qualified for Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY.

2 Talisman of Impulse 4 Utopia Sprawl 4 Malevolent Rumble 2 Talisman of Curiosity 1 Sanctum of Ugin 4 Sowing Mycospawn 3 Devourer of Destiny 4 Forest 1 Hedge Maze 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Cavern of Souls 4 Kozilek's Command 4 Eldrazi Temple 4 Ugin's Labyrinth 3 Nulldrifter 1 Breeding Pool 3 Emrakul, the Promised End 1 Stomping Ground 1 Bojuka Bog 3 Kozilek's Return 2 World Breaker 4 Karn, the Great Creator 1 Soulless Jailer 1 The Stone Brain 1 Cityscape Leveler 1 Kozilek's Return 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Tormod's Crypt 1 Liquimetal Coating 2 Dismember 1 Haywire Mite 3 Consign to Memory 1 Cursed Totem

This triumph marks another milestone in Perrini's impressive career. A seasoned Pro Tour competitor, he previously emerged victorious at the June 2024 Regional Championship for South America after winning a last-chance qualifier the day before the event. This past weekend, Perrini added to his legacy by claiming the trophy in his home region of Brazil.

Perrini's choice of Eldrazi Ramp—a deck he described as "easy to learn quickly"—was well positioned. His build adhered closely to the archetype's stock configuration, leveraging its ability to overpower slower midrange strategies like Orzhov Blink while maintaining a near-even matchup against Temur Breach. The deck uses cards like Karn, the Great Creator to disable artifact and Kozilek's Command to exile graveyards. Emrakul, the Promised End provides an additional edge, as its Mindslaver effect can turn combo strategies against their pilots. By defeating multiple Temur Breach decks on the path to victory, Perrini reinforced the strength and potential of Eldrazi Ramp in the current Modern metagame.

Looking ahead, one of the most effective tools for combating Eldrazi Ramp is Consign to Memory, which can counter both an Eldrazi and its cast trigger in one go. It's already the most played sideboard card in Modern and certainly won't be consigned to Modern players' memories.

The Metagame and Win Rates

A total of 1,616 decklists were submitted across the three Regional Championships. After standardizing archetype names and resolving discrepancies, I calculated each archetype's combined metagame share and match win rates (excluding mirror matches, byes, and draws) for the Swiss rounds. In the table below, each archetype name links to a top-performing decklist that closely represents the archetype's aggregate build.

The "Other" category reflects the incredible diversity of Modern, encompassing a broad range of archetypes such as Jeskai Control, Four-Color Omnath, Azorius Control, Hardened Scales, Domain Rhinos, Mono-Black Necro, Jeskai Energy, Dimir Murktide, Jund Creativity, Living End, Dimir Mill, Hammer Time, Eldrazi Breach, Golgari Grist, Jeskai Wizards, Grixis Reanimator, Grixis Oculus, Selesnya Ritual, Boros Burn, Esper Blink, Samwise Gamgee Combo, Sultai Oculus, Selesnya Heliod, Izzet Twin, Jeskai Dress Down, Jund Sagavan, Grixis Breach, and more. This wide range of viable strategies continues to highlight Modern's adaptability and depth as a format.

The overall Regional Championship metagame closely mirrored the winner's metagame from the first weeks of January. While small shifts occurred—typically by a percentage point or two—there were no major surprises, and the distribution of decks aligned with the expectations of most Regional Championship competitors. For players looking to familiarize themselves with Modern's top archetypes, I recommend my format primer from earlier this month.

Four archetypes accounted for over 50% of the field. Boros Energy was the most popular archetype by a considerable margin. Dimir Oculus is beginning to decline, but it still held its position as the second most played archetype this past weekend. In third and fourth place, the Breach decks (combining Temur Breach and Four-Color Breach) and Eldrazi decks (combining both Eldrazi Ramp and Eldrazi Tron) were around 11% of the field each. Together, Boros Energy, Dimir Oculus, Breach, and Eldrazi comprised over half of the metagame. Beyond this group, no other individual archetype represented more than 4% of the metagame, underscoring the sharp drop-off in popularity after the leading decks.

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When it comes to performance, Temur Breach and Orzhov Blink stood out as the top-performing strategies across the Regional Championships. Both archetypes delivered significantly above-average win rates, even accounting for sample sizes, and seem poised to grow in popularity in the weeks to come.

Meanwhile, Boros Energy, the most played deck, performed at a respectable clip with a win rate close to 50% against the field. This indicates that, while the archetype is strong, it's far from unbeatable. It seems the banning of Amped Raptor is effectively curbing its dominance without removing it from contention.

On the other hand, Dimir Oculus and Ruby Storm lagged, posting significantly below-average results despite their favorable matchup against Eldrazi Ramp. Both archetypes struggled against Boros Energy and Temur Breach, which are among the format's most popular decks. Even with the addition of main deck Nihil Spellbomb and Thoughtseize to shore up against Temur Breach, Dimir Oculus couldn't overcome the boost that Mox Opal had given to Temur Breach.

If players start moving away from Dimir Oculus and Ruby Storm, it could bode well for Eldrazi Ramp. The archetype traditionally struggles against those decks but performs favorably or evenly against most of the remaining metagame.

489948 571483 Faithless Looting Splinter Twin

Among the four recently unbanned cards, Mox Opal had the most significant impact on Modern. A total of 226 Regional Championship competitors (14% of the combined field) registered at least one copy of Mox Opal, with Temur Breach being the archetype most associated with the card. Together, Mox Opal players achieved a stellar 53.4% win rate, underscoring its potency in the current format.

Green Sun's Zenith came in second, appearing in the decks of 127 players (7.9% of the field). The card was most frequently used in Amulet Titan or Golgari Yawgmoth strategies. However, Green Sun's Zenith players posted a less impressive 48.5% win rate, indicating that its impact, while notable, falls short of Mox Opal's dominance.

Faithless Looting didn't live up to its pre-unban hype. Only 75 players (4.6% of the field) registered the card, predominantly in Hollow One builds or in a dwindling number of Jund Creativity decks. Some Ruby Storm players also ran one or two copies. Unfortunately, Faithless Looting strategies struggled against graveyard hate like Surgical Extraction, Nihil Spellbomb, and Ghost Vacuum, finishing with a disappointing 43.2% win rate.

Finally, despite its legendary status in Modern's early days, Splinter Twin has yet to find its footing in the 2025 metagame. Only three players (0.2% of the field) brought Splinter Twin decks to the Regional Championships, and they combined for a dismal 3-16 record. One of those wins was a bye, leaving their non-bye win rate at a mere 11.1%. While creating infinite Deceiver Exarch copies remains a nostalgic thrill, it's evident that Splinter Twin is no longer a competitive force in Modern.

Domain Zoo Overperformed

4 Wooded Foothills 1 Thundering Falls 1 Steam Vents 4 Leyline Binding 2 Stubborn Denial 1 Blood Crypt 1 Temple Garden 2 Flooded Strand 4 Psychic Frog 4 Lightning Bolt 1 Hallowed Fountain 4 Tribal Flames 4 Territorial Kavu 4 Leyline of the Guildpact 3 Orcish Bowmasters 2 Marsh Flats 1 Plains 3 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 1 Mountain 4 Arid Mesa 1 Indatha Triome 4 Scion of Draco 1 Spara's Headquarters 1 Fatal Push 2 Spell Snare 3 Pyroclasm 3 Wear // Tear 3 Consign to Memory 3 Rest in Peace 2 Damping Sphere 1 Stubborn Denial

Domain Zoo, at just 1.7% of the field, posted an impressive 53.0% win rate across all Regional Championships. The archetype, powered by an array of dual and tri-lands to fuel Territorial Kavu and Tribal Flames, was piloted to great success by Léo Chapelle. Chapelle narrowly missed the Top 8 in Europe, finishing in a tie for 9th place.

There are three factors behind Domain Zoo's strong showing.

• First, The One Ring was recently banned, removing a significant former obstacle for the archetype.
• Second, Domain Zoo has a particularly favorable matchup against Boros Energy, the most common deck. Zoo posts a dominant 23-14 record (62%) in the matchup. This success is largely thanks to Leyline of the Guildpact and Scion of Draco. A turn-two Scion of Draco brings a 4/4 body with vigilance, hexproof, lifelink, first strike, and trample. For Boros Energy, this combination is nearly impossible to answer and exceedingly difficult to race.
• Third, Pick Your Poison—previously a popular sideboard answer to the Leyline and Scion combo—has fallen out of favor: across 1,616 Regional Championship decklists, there were just thirteen sideboard copies of the card, leaving Domain Zoo relatively unchallenged.

Given these factors, Domain Zoo seems like an excellent choice in the current metagame, especially for newer or returning Modern players, although there are various ways to construct it. Léo Chapelle's version of the deck stood out for its unique card choices. While many Domain Zoo lists include one-mana creatures like Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer or Wild Nacatl, Chapelle opted for a different approach, featuring Psychic Frog and Spell Snare. This design leaves the deck with reduced aggro potential but bolsters a midrange game where you double-spell on turn three, combining a two-drop creature with a one-mana interactive spell. This innovative approach proved effective for Chapelle, who earned a slot at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY.

Tarmogoyf and Dark Confidant Remain Viable

3 Wrenn and Six 4 Thoughtseize 4 Fatal Push 2 Blood Crypt 3 Bloodstained Mire 1 Forest 1 Mountain 2 Overgrown Tomb 1 Stomping Ground 1 Swamp 4 Verdant Catacombs 1 Wooded Foothills 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Shadowspear 1 Nihil Spellbomb 4 Urza's Saga 1 Haywire Mite 3 Orcish Bowmasters 1 Raucous Theater 1 Molten Collapse 3 Tarmogoyf 3 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 1 Shoot the Sheriff 3 Nethergoyf 2 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Dark Confidant 1 Unholy Heat 1 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger 1 Arena of Glory 2 Fear of Missing Out 1 Tarfire 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Haywire Mite 2 Pyroclasm 2 Obsidian Charmaw 1 Terminate 1 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Meltdown 1 Pithing Needle 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Ghost Vacuum 1 Graveyard Trespasser 1 Tourach, Dread Cantor 1 Soul-Guide Lantern

Out of nearly 1,000 Modern players at the Regional Championship in Europe, just one brought a duo of Modern icons: Tarmogoyf and Dark Confidant. Pär Jones defied the odds with these retro picks, finishing 10-3-1 and earning a Pro Tour invite with a 19th-place finish. Seeing these cards in a Pro Tour-qualifying deck in 2025 is unheard of. It's almost as if the clock has turned back a decade.

Dark Confidant, providing cards at the cost of life, was once the cornerstone of many midrange decks. Tarmogoyf, the green behemoth that scales with the graveyard, was regarded as one of the best creatures in Modern due to its ability to dominate early board states. These two cards were essential staples of the format, often appearing together in the same Jund Midrange deck. Pilots would blaze through games with relentless card advantage and sizable creatures. However, their influence has waned as other, flashier cards surpassed them in power.

But Jones's performance is a reminder that the old guard still has teeth. His success in the Regional Championship didn't rely on flashy combos or lightning-fast wins; it was built on clean, fair, interactive midrange Magic—something that still has a place in today's hyper-aggressive and combo-heavy environment. In a time when players often reach for the most powerful tools available, Jones demonstrated that there's value in the tried-and-true power of Tarmogoyf and Dark Confidant. Modern, it seems, has room for both the new and the old.

Spicy Creature Combos Find Success

4 Birthing Ritual 2 Blooming Marsh 2 Boseiju, Who Endures 4 Cauldron Familiar 4 Chord of Calling 2 Delighted Halfling 1 Dewdrop Cure 1 Dryad Arbor 1 Forest 4 Gilded Goose 1 Godless Shrine 2 Green Sun's Zenith 1 Grist, the Hunger Tide 1 Lush Portico 2 Orcish Bowmasters 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Razorverge Thicket 4 Samwise Gamgee 1 Swamp 1 Sylvan Safekeeper 1 Temple Garden 1 Underground Mortuary 4 Verdant Catacombs 4 Viscera Seer 2 Wildgrowth Walker 4 Windswept Heath 4 Amalia Benavides Aguirre 1 Collector Ouphe 2 Fatal Push 2 Force of Vigor 1 Insidious Fungus 3 Leyline of the Void 1 Scavenging Ooze 1 Soulless Jailer 2 Thoughtseize 1 Veil of Summer 1 Suncleanser

Another unexpected performance from the Regional Championship this past weekend came from Thomas Munk, whose creature combo deck turned heads with its creative power. Munk's refreshing deck could assemble two distinct game-winning combos, both of which caught opponents off guard and demonstrated the innovative spirit still thriving in Modern.

The first combo, centered around Samwise Gamgee, Viscera Seer, and Cauldron Familiar, created an infinite drain loop. This combo is part of several creature-based decks in the format. But Munk's deck didn't stop there. It also featured Amalia Benavides Aguirre and Wildgrowth Walker, a combo that was recently banned in Pioneer. If you gain life with Cauldron Familiar, Amalia explores, which triggers Wildgrowth Walker, which triggers Amalia and repeats until Amalia reaches 20 power. She then destroys all other creatures, ends the loop, and can swing for lethal.

Munk's success wasn't just a flash in the pan. Months ago, he secured a victory at the Nordic Masters, earning himself a spot in the Regional Championship. This past weekend, he proved his deck's mettle once again, finishing 10-3-1 and locking up a Pro Tour invite with a 27th-place finish. This is a testament not only to the raw power of the deck but also highlights the enduring importance of experience and innovation with your chosen deck.

What's Next for Modern?

With three Regional Championships now behind us, nine remain. The Modern metagame is becoming more defined, with Temur Breach emerging as the clear deck to beat. In response, I would expect players to gear up with sideboard cards like Stony Silence, Drannith Magistrate, Surgical Extraction, Force of Vigor, Leyline of the Void, Damping Sphere, and others. As we look ahead, it will be fascinating to see how different regions adapt and innovate in response to this prevailing threat.

The next phase of the Regional Championship cycle brings a break this weekend, followed by a busy stretch in February and March. Here's what's on the horizon:

• February 8–9: United States and Japan/Korea
• February 15–16: Chinese Taipei
• February 22–23: No Regional Championship (due to Pro Tour Aetherdrift)
• March 1–2: China
• March 8–9: Australia/New Zealand and United States
• March 15–16: South America, Southeast Asia, and Mexico/Central America/Caribbean (coinciding with Magic Spotlight: Modern in Utrecht)

Notably, February 8–9 is the Prerelease weekend for Aetherdrift, but cards from that set will not be legal for play in Regional Championships on that weekend. While cards typically become legal on Prerelease weekend, this exception is made to ensure players can properly prepare and secure cards for the event.

Even though the Aetherdrift cards won't be in play, the excitement around these Regional Championships remains high as the metagame rapidly evolves with new strategies and adaptations on the horizon. Live streaming coverage of the United States Regional Championship will be available, courtesy of Star City Games, bringing all the action directly to your screens as players fight for their place at the Pro Tour.