There's nothing quite like watching the best players in the world put Magic through its paces. Pro Tour Edge of Eternities offered a true masterclass in Modern's depth and diversity. The Top 8 showcased seven different archetypes, while the Swiss rounds saw various innovative decks push the format in new directions.

In the end, Michael DeBenedetto-Plummer hoisted the Pro Tour trophy following his performance with Tameshi Belcher, having used Suppression Ray to clear the path for a Hydroelectric Specimen attack that sealed the final match. His modal double-faced cards may serve as lands in 99% of the games, but DeBenedetto-Plummer's ability to recognize and capitalize on the moments he could cast them proved decisive.

While the Pro Tour tested players in both Limited and Modern, today's article will focus solely on the Modern rounds, breaking down win rates and standout decks from the tournament. By filtering out the draft portion and looking beyond the Top 8, we'll gain a clearer picture of the biggest Modern takeaways. It's time to crunch the numbers and uncover the deeper lessons from the Pro Tour.

The Modern Win Rates at the Pro Tour

According to the Pro Tour metagame breakdown, three archetypes (Esper Goryo's, Tameshi Belcher, and Boros Energy) claimed a metagame share over 10%. As a whole, the field was brimming with diversity.

In the table below, you'll find the non-mirror, non-bye match records and win rates for every archetype in the Modern Swiss rounds. Each archetype name hyperlinks to a representative decklist for easy reference.

Given the sample sizes involved, it's difficult to draw strong conclusions. Most archetypes hovered around a 50% win rate. While I will highlight some standout decks later in this article, it's important to recognize that their impressive results may well have been the product of variance.

One takeaway is clear, however: Boros Energy underperformed. Its win rate carried a 95% Clopper-Pearson confidence interval of 37.2% to 49.5%, the weakest upper bound of any archetype. Despite being touted as the deck to beat heading into the weekend, Boros Energy struggled with poor matchups against Esper Goryo's and Tameshi Belcher—the two most-played decks in the field. Boros Energy failed to convert into a Top 8 finish at the Pro Tour, and for now, it seems poorly positioned in the current Modern metagame.

The Modern Decks and Players with Eight or More Wins

As a reference, here are all decks that secured at least eight non-bye Modern wins at Pro Tour Edge of Eternities, along with their combined non-bye Swiss and Top 8 record, in descending order of their win rate:

• Michael DeBenedetto-Plummer, 11-1, Tameshi Belcher (Champion)
• Marco Fabrizi, 9-1, Esper Blink
• Francisco Sánchez, 10-2-1, Azorius Control (Finalist)
• Mason Buonadonna, 8-2, Amulet Titan
• Josep Sanfeliu, 8-2, Eldrazi Tron
• Eli Kassis, 8-2, Jeskai Control
• Alex Friedrichsen, 8-2, Izzet Affinity
• Cyprien Tron, 8-2, Tameshi Belcher
• Huaxing Bai, 8-2, Esper Goryo's
• Andrew Elenbogen, 8-2, Amulet Titan
• Noé Offman, 8-3, Simic Neoform
• Mikko Airaksinen, 8-3, Tameshi Belcher (Semifinalist)
• Horiuchi Makoto, 8-4, Esper Blink (Semifinalist)

Next, let's take a closer look at top-performing decks and the lessons to take away from this tournament.

Control Decks Excelled

At Pro Tour Edge of Eternities, Jeskai Control posted a staggering 71% win rate, while both Azorius Control and Jeskai Chant both hovered around 54%. Taken in isolation, each result is far from statistically significant, but together, they tell a stronger story. Controlling the pace of the game through sweepers, countermagic, spot removal, planeswalkers, and card draw remains a formidable approach, especially when it's well understood what answers the metagame requires.

1 Elegant Parlor 1 Thundering Falls 1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 4 Flooded Strand 4 Arid Mesa 2 Ephemerate 3 Scalding Tarn 2 Arena of Glory 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Mountain 2 Force of Negation 4 Consign to Memory 1 Island 3 Teferi, Time Raveler 4 Galvanic Discharge 2 Spell Snare 1 Mystic Gate 1 Sacred Foundry 1 Meticulous Archive 4 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 1 Wrath of the Skies 3 Prismatic Ending 4 Solitude 2 Plains 2 Supreme Verdict 1 Steam Vents 4 Quantum Riddler 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Subtlety 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Force of Negation 2 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 3 Obsidian Charmaw 2 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 1 Meltdown

Eli Kassis went 8-2 with this excellent take on Jeskai Control. The list has the usual control staples like Supreme Verdict, but it also incorporates powerful blink synergies. Notably, the main deck features more copies of Consign to Memory than Ephemerate. Consign to Memory not only answers Goblin Charbelcher and Emrakul, the Promised End but also lets you keep a warped Quantum Riddler or evoked Solitude by countering the triggers that would remove them.

Splashing red opens the door for a similar trick with Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury, which is arguably even more powerful. In Modern, even the control decks carry a touch of combo.

1 Thundering Falls 1 Hall of Storm Giants 1 Otawara, Soaring City 4 Flooded Strand 2 Counterspell 1 Monumental Henge 2 Arid Mesa 2 Hallowed Fountain 1 Scalding Tarn 4 Orim's Chant 2 Force of Negation 2 Consult the Star Charts 2 Island 1 Isochron Scepter 4 Teferi, Time Raveler 2 Spell Snare 1 Polluted Delta 1 Mystic Gate 4 Narset, Parter of Veils 1 Stern Scolding 2 Meticulous Archive 1 Subtlety 2 Day's Undoing 3 Prismatic Ending 1 Stock Up 4 Solitude 2 Lórien Revealed 2 Plains 2 Supreme Verdict 1 Steam Vents 1 Geier Reach Sanitarium 2 Surgical Extraction 1 Disruptor Flute 3 Mystical Dispute 4 Consign to Memory 1 Temporary Lockdown 1 Celestial Purge 2 Fire Magic 1 Kaheera, the Orphanguard

Francisco Sánchez carried Azorius Control all the way to the finals with a strong build. Focused on efficient interaction, the deck runs almost no creatures, which renders opposing creature removal largely useless while simultaneously unlocking Kaheera, the Orphanguard as a companion.

To dominate the late game, the deck has access to two devastating combos. First, thanks to static ability of Narset, Parter of Veils, Day's Undoing will leave the opponent with only one card in hand, or with no cards if Day's Undoing is cast in the opponent's draw step with Teferi, Time Raveler. The second copy involves imprinting Orim's Chant onto Isochron Scepter, which can completely lock the opponent out of the game in most instances.

Izzet Prowess and Amulet Titan Stood Strong

Among major archetypes with at least a handful of pilots, Amulet Titan and Izzet Prowess stood out with the best records overall, posting 58% and 56% win rates respectively. Each archetype also put a player in the Top 8.

1 Echoing Deeps 2 Gruul Turf 1 Otawara, Soaring City 4 Arboreal Grazer 2 Snow-Covered Forest 2 Scapeshift 1 Forest 1 Tolaria West 1 Urza's Cave 4 Amulet of Vigor 3 Simic Growth Chamber 1 Icetill Explorer 3 Green Sun's Zenith 1 Ghost Quarter 2 Lotus Field 4 Crumbling Vestige 1 Shifting Woodland 1 Selesnya Sanctuary 4 Malevolent Rumble 1 Aftermath Analyst 4 Primeval Titan 4 Spelunking 1 Hanweir Battlements 1 Mirrorpool 2 Summoner's Pact 4 Urza's Saga 3 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Vesuva 2 Vexing Bauble 3 Dismember 1 Collector Ouphe 1 Gaddock Teeg 1 Tireless Tracker 1 Bojuka Bog 1 Icetill Explorer 2 Force of Vigor 1 Elvish Reclaimer 1 Pyroclasm 1 Soul-Guide Lantern

Amulet Titan is notoriously difficult to master. Between Primeval Titan chains and the ability to infinitely loop Aftermath Analyst, piloting the deck demands deep knowledge of its many lines of play. This makes it the epitome of a high-skill, high-reward archetype, and those who invested in preparation were rewarded.

The best-performing versions, including Mason Buonadonna's Top 8 list, shared a common trait: four main-deck copies of Malevolent Rumble. The card digs for the deck's namesake combo pieces, helps you ramp ahead, and fills the graveyard for Aftermath Analyst. Amulet Titan builds with Malevolent Rumble went 45-29 (61%) compared to 21-20 (51%) for versions without Malevolent Rumble.

4 Dragon's Rage Channeler 1 Thundering Falls 4 Expressive Iteration 2 Arid Mesa 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Preordain 2 Scalding Tarn 4 Mutagenic Growth 3 Mountain 2 Wooded Foothills 4 Cori-Steel Cutter 4 Mishra's Bauble 3 Steam Vents 2 Violent Urge 4 Monastery Swiftspear 2 Fiery Islet 3 Bloodstained Mire 4 Slickshot Show-Off 4 Lava Dart 1 Surgical Extraction 2 Murktide Regent 4 Consign to Memory 2 Spell Snare 4 Unholy Heat 1 Violent Urge 1 Spell Pierce

Izzet Prowess, by contrast, is built for speed. Dragon's Rage Channeler and Monastery Swiftspear lead the charge, backed by cheap cantrips to fuel massive bursts of damage. Cori-Steel Cutter has been one of the most impactful additions to Modern this year, supercharging the archetype. With a fast clock, plus countermagic and removal as disruption after sideboarding, Izzet Prowess proved an excellent choice at the Pro Tour.

Justin Schabel, who finished in 5th place, had been locked in on Izzet Prowess ever since he piloted it to a Top 8 at Magic Spotlight: Secret Lair in Indianapolis. Compared to that earlier list, his Pro Tour version dropped the white splash from his sideboard, but his only non-mana base change in the main deck was cutting one land for an additional copy of Monastery Swiftspear. Sometimes, when you know you have a winning strategy, the smartest move is to not change it too much.

The "Other" Category Crushed It

The following graphic captures exactly why Modern remains such a beloved format.

For the Pro Tour broadcast, I was asked to crunch the numbers to create this win rate overview, rolling up every deck with fewer than twelve pilots into an "Other" category. To my surprise, under this definition, "Other" emerged as the second best-performing archetype, just behind Amulet Titan!

This almost never happens. Normally, "Other" posts a below-average win rate, weighed down by failed experimental decks that were chosen by only a few players. For comparison, the equivalent "Other" win rates were 49% at Pro Tour Aetherdrift (for all Standard decks with fewer than eight pilots) and a mere 39% at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™ (for all Standard decks with fewer than three pilots).

Modern, however, offers a far greater depth of competitively viable archetypes than Standard. And with "Other" posting a 54.3% win rate, it's clear that spicy, offbeat decks can deliver remarkable results.

Most Spicy Decklists Did Well

Ahead of the Modern rounds, I wrote an article in which I spotlighted eight of the most intriguing Modern decks that featured spicy card combinations or inventive twists on existing archetypes. With the event concluded, it's worth checking back on their performance. For the most part, they delivered:

• Azorius Blink: Team TCGplayer's archetype posted a solid 27-23 (54%) result as a whole, with Gabriel Nassif leading the pack with a 7-3 Modern record on his way to a 12th-place finish.
• Jeskai Blink: Featuring four copies each of Ephemerate, Consign to Memory, and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd, Matt Costa went 7-3 in Modern with this deck, ultimately finishing in 20th place at the Pro Tour.
• Eldrazi Tron: The four Eldrazi Tron players running Portent of Calamity finished a collective 20-19 (51%) in the Modern rounds.
• Samwise Gamgee Combo: Paul Tsao took the classic creature combo deck to a 7-3 record, making good use of Arachne, Psionic Weaver and Silk, Web Weaver from Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man.
• Belcher Control: The variant of Tameshi Belcher without two-drop creatures or Flare of Denial went 15-17 (47%), nearly identical to other Tameshi Belcher builds.
• Izzet Affinity: The three players from Moriyama Japan who wielded the combo of Weapons Manufacturing and Engineered Explosives scored 18-12 (60%), with Shuhei Nakamura leading the standings after Day One.
• Jeskai Chant: The archetype posted a solid 13-11-1 (54%) record, indicating that Scepter-Chant remains a powerful lock and that red removal spells are excellent control tools.
• Golgari Broodscale: With multiple creature combos in the same deck, Benton Madsen scored an impressive 7-2-1 Modern record, securing a 31st-place finish.

While their sample sizes are low, any of these eight spicy decklists could be the perfect choice if you're on the lookout for an exciting new Modern deck to experiment with.

What's Next for Modern?

In just a few weeks, the next cycle of Regional Championships will kick off in the Modern format. Regional Championships are marquee events, featuring high-stakes competition among the finest players in each region. The schedule for this upcoming cycle spans several months:

• October 11–12: Mexico/Central America/Caribbean
• October 18–19: United States (Houston) and Chinese Taipei
• 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

On the line are substantial cash prizes, exclusive promos, and coveted invitations to Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed. Winners of each Regional Championship, along with finalists from events held in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, and South America, will also secure their spots at next year's Magic World Championship 32.

Select events will feature live video coverage, while tournament results will be posted on the official Event Coverage Page and on the PlayMTG social media channels.