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, 1,458 players competed across the Regional Championships for Australia/New Zealand and United States, all vying for one of 42 highly coveted Pro Tour invitations. In this article, I'll break down the evolving Modern metagame, highlight the standout decks that rose to the top, and explore several strategies for taking down Temur Breach.

Jesse Robkin Triumphs in Charlotte with Temur Breach

Congratulations to Jesse Robkin for capturing the title at the United States Regional Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina! Piloting the Temur Breach deck that she pioneered years ago, now supercharged by the return of Mox Opal, Robkin achieved a fitting and well-earned victory.

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

When Theros Beyond Death's Underworld Breach was first revealed in late 2019, Robkin immediately recognized its potential alongside Grinding Station. She envisioned it as a powerful Mox Opal deck—only for Mox Opal to be banned mere days before Underworld Breach became legal, cutting that dream short. Undeterred, she went on to build a formidable version after Modern Horizons 2 released, leveraging Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer to fuel Mox Amber.

Her efforts paid off. A string of high finishes on the SCG and NRG circuits in 2022 cemented both the deck's viability and her mastery of it, and she helped popularize the archetype through her content. In a 2022 primer, she described the Breach deck as "an absolute blast to play for anyone who likes intricate and synergistic gameplay, drawing lots of cards, graveyard recursion ... and, most importantly, a Splinter Twin-style combo finish."

That same year, Corbin Hosler chronicled her journey in The Week That Was, ending with a prophetic quote from Robkin: "As for what's next? I guess the answer is pretty simple: I want to qualify for the Pro Tour."

Now, she has. Not to mention the fact she is now qualified for Magic World Championship 31.

Robkin, like all Top 32 unqualified players from the United States Regional Championship, secured an invitation to Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™, set to take place during MagicCon: Las Vegas in June 2025. Her long-awaited Pro Tour berth was especially meaningful given Temur Breach's recent evolution. In 2024, Modern Horizons 3 introduced Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and Malevolent Rumble, and Mox Opal was unbanned. Seeing her beloved deck get even stronger, Robkin knew this was her moment: "It is my favorite deck of all time. And, also, it's broken."

With that in mind, she made a last-minute trip to Charlotte, entered a Last Chance Qualifier on Friday, and won, securing her spot in the main event. From there, she put on a dominant performance at the Regional Championship, navigating through a stacked field and ultimately claiming the trophy.

In the finals, Robkin squared off against veteran player Corey Burkhart. A ten-time Grand Prix Top 8 competitor and the champion of the 2020 Players Tour, Burkhart had earned his spot in the Regional Championship via an RCQ at Inconceivable Toys & Games. He, too, was running Temur Breach—further proof of the deck's recent stranglehold on the format. Both finalists secured invitations to Magic World Championship 31, a standalone event in Bellevue, Washington, slated for December 5–7, 2025. Yet in the final showdown, it was Robkin who emerged victorious.

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

While both finalists ran Temur Breach, their builds had a few notable differences. Robkin opted for Jace, Wielder of Mysteries over Thassa's Oracle and leaned more heavily on Urza's Saga, using Pithing Needle and Aether Spellbomb as main-deck utility options that enabled metalcraft for Mox Opal. Burkhart, in contrast, favored a more spell-based approach, packing extra copies of Flame of Anor and Unholy Heat. Their sideboards also diverged: Robkin included two unexpected singletons—Strix Serenade and Brainsurge—while Burkhart stuck to more conventional choices.

Still, these distinctions were minor. The core of the deck remains rock-solid, and this weekend's results firmly entrench Temur Breach as the deck to beat in Modern.

Thomas Bot Triumphs in Sydney with Eldrazi Metalcraft

Congratulations to Thomas Bot, who claimed victory at the ANZ Super Series (the Regional Championship for Australia and New Zealand) with a spicy Eldrazi Metalcraft deck! His 1st-place finish secured a coveted spot at Magic World Championship 31, and the Top 10 finishers who weren't already qualified earned invitations to Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY.

4 Chalice of the Void 4 Darksteel Citadel 4 Devourer of Destiny 4 Eldrazi Temple 2 Emrakul, the Promised End 1 Everflowing Chalice 1 Fountainport 1 Gemstone Caverns 4 Glaring Fleshraker 2 Island 4 Karn, the Great Creator 4 Kozilek's Command 4 Mind Stone 4 Mishra's Bauble 4 Mox Opal 1 Mystic Forge 2 Nulldrifter 1 Shadowspear 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 4 Ugin's Labyrinth 4 Urza's Saga 1 Cityscape Leveler 2 Dismember 1 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Liquimetal Coating 1 Mystic Forge 1 Phyrexian Metamorph 1 Pithing Needle 3 Thought-Knot Seer 1 Tormod's Crypt 1 Torpor Orb 1 Treasure Vault

While most Eldrazi players leaned on a red-green build with Sowing Mycospawn, Utopia Sprawl, and Malevolent Rumble to accelerate into Emrakul, the Promised End, Bot and fellow competitor Colin Harris took a radically different approach. Their version contained all colorless spells, running just two Islands to pay for Nulldrifter's evoke cost. They exploited cheap artifacts to fuel metalcraft for Mox Opal. The innovation paid off—both players made the Top 8, and Bot walked away with the trophy.

Bot, who qualified on Magic Online, built his deck with a clear goal in mind. "I wanted to beat up Breach decks and abuse fast mana in the form of Eldrazi Temple, Ugin's Labyrinth, and Mox Opal." Pairing those cards with Mind Stone and the underrated Glaring Fleshraker, whose trigger works with both Eldrazi and cheap artifacts, the deck ramps explosively. It consistently generates massive amounts of mana early before overwhelming opponents with heavy-hitting Eldrazi spells.

One of the deck's defining features is its four copies of Chalice of the Void. A turn-one Chalice for X=1, enabled by Mox Opal, Mishra's Bauble, and Darksteel Citadel, can single-handedly shut down entire strategies. But against Temur Breach, the real backbreaker is Chalice for X=0, which cuts off their critical zero-mana artifacts and disrupts both their combo and mana engine. Later in the game, Chalice for X=2 slams the door shut by countering Underworld Breach itself.

Beyond Chalice, Eldrazi Metalcraft boasts even more tools against the format's top deck. Kozilek's Command and Thought-Knot Seer provide additional layers of disruption, while Karn, the Great Creator can lock Breach players entirely out of artifact activations before tutoring up a hate piece from the sideboard. Interestingly, while most Eldrazi lists rely on The Stone Brain and Soulless Jailer for that role, Bot's approach was different: His sideboard contains Grafdigger's Cage, which not only shuts down Underworld Breach but also prevents Breach players from putting Haywire Mite—their primary answer to artifact-based hate—onto the battlefield via Urza's Saga.

At the Regional Championship, Bot and Harris went a combined 6-0 against Temur Breach, proving that Eldrazi Metalcraft might be the perfect answer to the current Modern metagame.

The Modern Metagame and Win Rates

Modern is a nonrotating 60-card format that encompasses cards from expansion sets, core sets, and straight-to-Modern sets from Eighth Edition onward, except for those on the banned list. The next banned and restricted announcement is scheduled for March 31, 2025.

A total of 1,458 decklists were submitted across both Regional Championships. After standardizing archetype names and resolving discrepancies, I compiled the overall metagame share and match win rates for each deck archetype (excluding mirror matches, byes, and draws) based on Swiss rounds. These metrics are provided in the table below, with each archetype name linking to a top-performing decklist that best represents its aggregate build.

The "Other" category encompassed a wide range of archetypes such as Four-Color Breach, Merfolk, Eldrazi Tron, Azorius Affinity, Samwise Gamgee Combo, Esper Murktide, Golgari Yawgmoth, Esper Blink, Jeskai Dress Down, Esper Goryo's, Hammer Time, Mono-Black Necro, Jeskai Chant, Eldrazi Breach, Eldrazi Aggro, Dimir Oculus, Humans, Rakdos Shadow, Rakdos Burn, Jeskai Breach, Eldrazi Metalcraft, Izzet Breach, Four-Color Omnath, and more.

Compared to the metagame from the previous Aetherdrift-fueled Regional Championships, last weekend's events saw Temur Breach surge even further ahead, while the popularity of Boros Energy dwindled.

In performance, Temur Breach posted a 55.7% non-mirror win rate—down slightly from previous Regional Championships but still significantly above 50%. Despite the field preparing for it, the deck remains a dominant force.

For all other archetypes, given their sample sizes and results, no statistically significant conclusions about win rates could be drawn. However, despite its small sample size, Hollow One's 56.5% win rate stands out. Multiple players earned Pro Tour qualifications with the deck, suggesting that Marauding Mako from Aetherdrift has significantly strengthened the strategy.

While Temur Breach continues to dominate, there are several ways to defeat it or to improve your matchup. In the remainder of this article, let's explore the various approaches for doing so.

Strategy 1: Play a Deck That Beats Temur Breach

Finding a deck that consistently beats Temur Breach is no easy task, but it's not impossible. As mentioned earlier, Thomas Bot's innovative Eldrazi Metalcraft deck stole the spotlight at the Regional Championship for Australia and New Zealand, with its two pilots going a combined 6-0 against Temur Breach. Chalice of the Void provided crucial interaction, helping secure a well-earned trophy. I'd expect this new list to soar in popularity in the coming weeks.

Other archetypes also posted strong results against Temur Breach, making them viable choices in a Breach-heavy metagame.

2 Bleachbone Verge 4 Dauthi Voidwalker 4 Boggart Trawler 4 Ketramose, the New Dawn 4 Thoughtseize 4 Fell the Profane 2 Polluted Delta 2 Marsh Flats 4 Necrodominance 4 Relic of Progenitus 2 Bloodstained Mire 2 Shadowy Backstreet 3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 2 Sickening Shoal 4 Soul Spike 3 Swamp 4 Fatal Push 2 Godless Shrine 2 Orcish Bowmasters 2 Inquisition of Kozilek 4 Break the Ice 2 Vindicate 2 Pest Control 2 Surgical Extraction 3 Orim's Chant 1 The Meathook Massacre 1 Celestial Purge

Orzhov Necro is a relatively new addition to Modern, capitalizing on Aetherdrift's Ketramose, the New Dawn. Necrodominance offers an easy way to quickly exile seven cards, enabling massive life swings with Ketramose. Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Soul Spike tie it all together, offsetting the deck's inherent life loss.

Robert Hayes piloted the list above—trimming Emperor of Bones for Inquisition of Kozilek and Orcish Bowmasters—to a 10-4-1 finish at the United States Regional Championship, taking down multiple Temur Breach opponents along the way. Across both Regional Championships, Orzhov Necro posted a 26-13 record against Temur Breach (67% win rate), indicative of a strongly favorable matchup.

Its success stems from the fact that many of the deck's synergy pieces double as hate cards against Temur Breach. Since Ketramose triggers when an opponent's cards are exiled, Dauthi Voidwalker and Relic of Progenitus fit seamlessly into the strategy—while also shutting down Underworld Breach. Opponents will typically find themselves without any cards in their graveyard, unable to set up their combos. Coupled with efficient discard spells, Orzhov Necro has cracked the code for beating Temur Breach.

4 Hedron Crab 4 Ruin Crab 4 Archive Trap 4 Fractured Sanity 4 Tasha's Hideous Laughter 4 Fatal Push 4 Surgical Extraction 2 Preordain 2 Drown in the Loch 1 Jace, the Perfected Mind 4 Glimpse the Unthinkable 1 Shelldock Isle 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds 4 Polluted Delta 3 Scalding Tarn 1 Misty Rainforest 2 Watery Grave 2 Undercity Sewers 4 Island 1 Swamp 3 Field of Ruin 1 Otawara, Soaring City 2 Extirpate 4 Consign to Memory 1 Baleful Mastery 1 Murderous Cut 3 Crypt Incursion 2 Nihil Spellbomb 2 Ensnaring Bridge

Across both Regional Championships, Dimir Mill went 23-19 against Temur Breach (55% win rate). That's not as impressive as Eldrazi Metalcraft or Orzhov Necro but still promising. Pro Tour The Lord of the Rings's champion, Jake Beardsley, for example, finished 11-3-1 for 26th place.

The deck's goal is simple: deplete the opponent's library as quickly as possible. Against Temur Breach, Tasha's Hideous Laughter exiles a massive chunk of their library in one shot, and combined with other mill effects, it can leave them without an empty library in short order.

However, it can be risky to fire off mill spells against a deck whose namesake card uses the graveyard as a resource. Unless you can win immediately, targeting yourself with Hedron Crab may be the safer play against Temur Breach. But one card changes the equation: Surgical Extraction. If you can strip away Underworld Breach or another key piece, you can fearlessly go after the opponent's library. With the right mulligan strategy and card selection—Beardsley, for example, used Preordain rather than Visions of Beyond—you can find Surgical Extraction consistently, giving you a strong game plan against Temur Breach.

1 Arena of Glory 3 Blood Crypt 4 Bloodstained Mire 2 Boggart Trawler 4 Death's Shadow 3 Detective's Phoenix 3 Dismember 4 Dragon's Rage Channeler 3 Inti, Seneschal of the Sun 1 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger 3 Lightning Bolt 1 Marsh Flats 4 Mishra's Bauble 4 Nethergoyf 4 Polluted Delta 1 Raucous Theater 4 Street Wraith 1 Surgical Extraction 2 Swamp 1 Tarfire 3 The Last Ride 4 Thoughtseize 1 Blood Moon 2 Magebane Lizard 1 Meltdown 2 Nihil Spellbomb 2 Obsidian Charmaw 3 Rough // Tumble 2 Surgical Extraction 2 Torpor Orb

Only three players brought Rakdos Shadow to their Regional Championship, with Alex Wendling's 7-5 result as the best finish, but they collectively went 7-0 against Temur Breach. While the sample size is small, it's a result worth noting.

The classic way to beat combo decks is to pair disruption with a fast clock, and Rakdos Shadow does exactly that. Thoughtseize, Dismember, and main-deck Surgical Extraction disrupt the opponent's game plan, while Death's Shadow and The Last Ride—a new addition from Aetherdrift—provide a rapid damage clock. Fetch lands, shock lands, Street Wraith, and the aforementioned disruptive spells help reduce your life total, turning these key threats into devastating attackers before Temur Breach can recover from your early-game interaction. The jury is still out on Rakdos Shadow, but it surely has potential.

Strategy 2: Have Temur Breach Answers in Your Main Deck

646576 Thraben Charm Ranger-Captain of Eos 676138 Orim's Chant

Many of the decks I've discussed so far boast favorable matchups against Temur Breach thanks to their ability to incorporate disruption pieces that complement their core game plans. For example, Orzhov Necro takes advantage of Dauthi Voidwalker and Relic of Progenitus. Both Dimir Mill and Rakdos Shadow utilize Surgical Extraction effectively. And Eldrazi Metalcraft leverages both Karn, the Great Creator and Chalice of the Void.

This principle holds true for other archetypes as well. For instance, Domain Zoo decks now regularly feature Doorkeeper Thrull, which disrupts not only Flickerwisp but also Grinding Station. Similarly, decks with land-search effects, such as those utilizing Sowing Mycospawn or Primeval Titan, can include Bojuka Bog in the main deck to hamper Underworld Breach's effectiveness. Likewise, Boros Energy decks have also incorporated cards like Thraben Charm and Ranger-Captain of Eos in their main deck. These cards provide versatile combo hate and are never dead draws, even in non-combo matchups.

With just a few tweaks like these, nearly any deck can enhance its matchup against Temur Breach and become more competitive in the current Modern metagame.

Strategy 3: Bring The Right Sideboard Plan

425850 Drannith Magistrate 464107 666813 662201 Wear // Tear

As Temur Breach continues to dominate the metagame, dedicating a significant portion of your sideboard to combating it is essential, no matter what deck you're piloting. Fortunately, there are numerous tools at your disposal. Stony Silence and Collector Ouphe can shut down their Moxen or Grinding Stations. Drannith Magistrate and Rest in Peace prevent them from casting spells via Underworld Breach or Emry, Lurker of the Loch. Wrath of the Skies and Wear // Tear can devastate their board in one fell swoop. The options are plentiful.

However, these answers are not foolproof, and more dedicated anti-combo cards can be unreliable. Temur Breach not only boards in answers versus your hate pieces but also is capable of pivoting into a grindy, midrange strategy when necessary. With access to Urza's Saga tokens and a transformed Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, the deck can still be dangerous even when its primary combo is neutralized. If your opponent starts with Urza's Saga; Mox Amber; Mox Opal; Mishra's Bauble; Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student; and Emry, Lurker of the Loch on turn one, you'll be in trouble if your opening hand is packed with cards like Orim's Chant and Nihil Spellbomb.

So, Temur Breach is not just a one-dimensional, all-in combo deck, especially post-sideboard. To beat it, you need more than a few hate cards—you need a plan that can win on fair terms. This must be reflected in your sideboard plans. You should sideboard with their post-board configuration in mind, not just their pre-board combo-heavy deck. For instance, while Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury might seem slow and underwhelming in Game 1, its value increases significantly in longer games. So, if I were playing Boros Energy, I would retain multiple copies of Phlage in my deck for Games 2 and 3.

Strategy 4: Leverage the Power of Surprise

Breach may be the deck to beat, but the Modern format is far from one-dimensional. With over 20 years of some of Magic's most powerful cards on the table, Modern is rich with possibilities, and there's always room to surprise your opponents. If you bring a spicy deck they've never seen before, they may struggle to figure out how to approach it, giving you a crucial edge. Even if your deck doesn't have a proven track record against Temur Breach in dedicated testing, in a tournament setting, your opponent will have to adjust to your strategy on the fly—and that can be a significant advantage.

For example, Allison Coleman took the unexpected route at the United States Regional Championship, combining the power of Temur Rhinos and the iconic Splinter Twin combo.

4 Bounding Krasis 4 Shardless Agent 3 Endurance 2 Subtlety 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 1 Deceiver Exarch 4 Fire // Ice 4 Force of Negation 4 Splinter Twin 3 Crashing Footfalls 2 Sink into Stupor 2 Stock Up 1 Dismember 4 Misty Rainforest 3 Scalding Tarn 2 Island 2 Wooded Foothills 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Breeding Pool 1 Commercial District 1 Forest 1 Gemstone Caverns 1 Hedge Maze 1 Otawara, Soaring City 1 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 1 Thundering Falls 3 Dead // Gone 3 Firespout 3 Force of Vigor 2 Blood Moon 2 Inevitable Betrayal 2 Mystical Dispute 2 Subtlety 1 Endurance

Only two players brought Splinter Twin for Regional Championships this past weekend, but Coleman's innovative build netted an impressive 10-5 record. The Twin combo blends seamlessly into a Rhinos shell because Shardless Agent requires a deck filled with higher–mana value spells. This enables the integration of Bounding Krasis, Deceiver Exarch, and Splinter Twin without any issues. And while opponents might initially focus on answering the infinite Splinter Twin combo, they might quickly be overwhelmed by a horde of Rhinos.

This marks the best performance of a Splinter Twin deck at the Regional Championships to date. For those nostalgic for the card, it's a thrilling sight to see.

What's Next for Modern?

The coming weekend promises a whirlwind of Modern action, with the final three Regional Championships of the cycle taking place for South America, Southeast Asia, and Mexico/Central America/Caribbean. In addition, the Magic Spotlight: Modern event in Utrecht set to take center stage.

This weekend's Magic Spotlight: Modern takes place in Utrecht, one of my favorite cities in the Netherlands.

If you’re in town, don’t miss the Oudegracht—a scenic canal lined with unique wharf cellars, a variety of restaurants, and great game stores! #SpotlightModern pic.twitter.com/sKZNditeow

— Frank Karsten (@karsten_frank) March 10, 2025

Magic Spotlight events are three-day celebrations that offer a direct route to the Pro Tour. Beside a variety of side events, artist offerings, and plenty of excitement, each installment features a flagship two-day open tournament, which awards Pro Tour invitations to the Top 8 players. With a $50,000 prize pool and exclusive promos, it brings the high-stakes energy reminiscent of the old Grand Prix events while incorporating a unique thematic flair.

Fitting with the theme at Magic Spotlight: Modern, the champion will walk away with two Draft Booster display cases of Modern Horizons 2 and two Play Booster display cases of Modern Horizons 3, adding up to 24 display boxes in total. For any Modern enthusiast, that's an awesome prize worth competing for, in addition to the $10,000 prize for 1st place.

Can't make it to Utrecht? No worries—high-quality live coverage will bring all the action right to your screen! On Day One, expect the feature matches to steer clear of Temur Breach mirror matches, instead showcasing the diverse and unique stuff going on in the Modern format.

Meet your Spotlight Series Utrecht coverage team!

🎙️@Huschenmtg
🎙️ @MrChecklistcard
🎙️ @MartinJuza
🎙️ @filipamtg
🔢 @karstenfrank
🎤 @lizekorpershoek

Join the Spotlight Series live stream all weekend long:
📺 https://t.co/SbgoXYr5g1
📺 https://t.co/LuwQCwS8lv… pic.twitter.com/51En8nahzf

— Magic tournaments by Fanfinity (@fanfinity_mtg) March 10, 2025