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. Regional Championship Qualifier (RCQ) events, running through November 9, currently offer Standard players a shot at securing their spot in Regional Championships between January and March 2026. Standard will also take center stage at Magic Spotlight: Spider-Man, which will be held across two continents in just a few weeks.

Recently, the Standard format has received an exciting infusion of cards from Magic: The Gathering® | Marvel's Spider-Man. To help you stay ahead of the curve, today's article offers a metagame snapshot along with a closer look at the most influential new additions.

Standard with Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man

Standard, the rotating 60-card format currently encompassing expansion sets from Wilds of Eldraine forward, remains one of Magic's premier competitive formats. To learn which decks have been dominating top tables since the release of Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man, I analyzed over 600 successful tournament decks from the past two weeks. My dataset includes every published Magic Online list from scheduled events between August 25 and October 6, along with 20 published Top 8 decklists from tabletop RCQs during the same period.

Each deck was assigned points based on its rectified number of net wins, calculated as the number of match wins minus losses, with negative values adjusted to zero. By combining these points across all events, each archetype's share of the total rectified net wins blends popularity and performance into a single, comprehensive metric: the winner's metagame share.

In this table, each archetype name hyperlinks to a top-performing decklist that closely reflects its aggregate build. The "Other" category collects decks with less than one percent winner's metagame share, including Temur Onslaught, Izzet Proft, Orzhov Midrange, Izzet Prowess, Selesnya Gearhulk, Dimir Dragons, Azorius Midrange, Mono-White Life, Golgari Midrange, Mono-Green Aggro, Jeskai Artifacts, and more.

Izzet Cauldron remains the undisputed deck to beat in Standard, but the metagame has evolved since Magic Spotlight: Planetary Rotation. Following Brennan Roy's victory at that event with Mono-Red Aggro, the archetype has surged in prominence. Dimir Midrange has also gained modest ground. Collectively, these three decks now account for roughly two-thirds of the winner's metagame, so let's briefly review them.

1 Abrade 4 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 4 Fear of Missing Out 4 Into the Flood Maw 6 Island 4 Marauding Mako 3 Mountain 2 Multiversal Passage 4 Proft's Eidetic Memory 2 Quantum Riddler 4 Riverpyre Verge 4 Spirebluff Canal 2 Starting Town 3 Steamcore Scholar 1 Thundering Falls 3 Torch the Tower 4 Vivi Ornitier 1 Wild Ride 4 Winternight Stories 1 Abrade 2 Annul 2 Disdainful Stroke 1 Essence Scatter 1 Fire Magic 1 Marang River Regent 3 Obliterating Bolt 2 Quantum Riddler 1 Spell Pierce 1 Torch the Tower

The deck's well-established core, which aims to exploit Agatha's Soul Cauldron and Proft's Eidetic Memory, attacks from different angles. It can pressure opponents with fast, aggressive starts, curving Marauding Mako into Proft's Eidetic Memory, or transition into a drawn-out value plan, exiling Vivi Ornitier with Agatha's Soul Cauldron for an explosive burst of mana.

Most recent lists, including the version shown above, have shaved copies of Tersa Lightshatter to make room for Torch the Tower in the main deck. The additional cheap removal spells improve the Mono-Red Aggro matchup, where answering Razorkin Needlehead is essential.

4 Burnout Bashtronaut 4 Burst Lightning 2 Emberheart Challenger 4 Hired Claw 4 Lightning Strike 13 Mountain 4 Nova Hellkite 4 Razorkin Needlehead 4 Riverpyre Verge 2 Rockface Village 4 Scalding Viper 4 Screaming Nemesis 3 Soulstone Sanctuary 2 Spirebluff Canal 2 Witchstalker Frenzy 3 Abrade 4 Obliterating Bolt 2 Shock 3 Sunspine Lynx 2 Twisted Fealty 1 Witchstalker Frenzy

The classic formula of cheap, hasty threats backed by burn spells never goes out of style. Between a perfect mana base, an aggressive curve, and a lethal suite of burn spells, Mono-Red Aggro has all the right tools for the current Standard.

At Magic Spotlight: Planetary Rotation, two different Mono-Red Aggro decks reached the Top 8, and it wasn't immediately clear which would emerge as dominant. Today, there's still no definite consensus, but a small majority of successful lists now splash blue for Scalding Viper, including the Challenge-winning version shown above. In line with typical card choices, it favors Lightning Strike over Obliterating Bolt and opts for Emberheart Challenger as the ninth and tenth two-drop instead of heavier top-end options like Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might or Sunspine Lynx.

4 Azure Beastbinder 2 Bitter Triumph 2 Cecil, Dark Knight 4 Enduring Curiosity 4 Floodpits Drowner 4 Gloomlake Verge 5 Island 3 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 1 Long Goodbye 2 Multiversal Passage 2 Phantom Interference 3 Preacher of the Schism 3 Restless Reef 1 Shoot the Sheriff 2 Soulstone Sanctuary 4 Spyglass Siren 1 Stab 1 Strategic Betrayal 5 Swamp 1 Tishana's Tidebinder 2 Tragic Trajectory 4 Watery Grave 1 Essence Scatter 2 Faebloom Trick 1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 1 Lord Skitter, Sewer King 1 Preacher of the Schism 1 Qarsi Revenant 2 Spell Pierce 2 Strategic Betrayal 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 2 Zero Point Ballad

Dimir Midrange pairs efficient disruption with evasive threats in a well-rounded package. The deck still leans on Enduring Curiosity and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares for steady card advantage, while a stream of pinpoint removal and countermagic keeps opponents off balance.

The aggregate list has remained relatively stable, and the version shown above serves as a representative example. Azure Beastbinder has proven to be an outstanding two-drop: it's difficult to block, can answer an Agatha's Soul Cauldron on the battlefield, and blocks well enough the turn it comes down.

The Most-Played Cards from Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man

Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man has introduced a suite of potent tools to Standard, invigorating established strategies and enabling fresh archetypes. By combining data on Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man cards from tabletop RCQ decklists and their Through the Omenpaths counterparts across Magic Online decklists, the table below highlights the 20 new-to-Standard cards that have seen the most play across the decklists I analyzed.

The most played card by a wide margin was Multiversal Passage, appearing in an impressive 32% of decks. In two-color builds, the land may fall slightly short of a shock land like Watery Grave, but it offers a similar effect: you can fix your mana by choosing a basic land type of a missing color while simultaneously enabling Verge lands. Both the Izzet Cauldron and Dimir Midrange decklists featured earlier in this article ran two copies of this land. In decks playing three or more colors, Multiversal Passage shines even brighter, providing valuable mana consistency.

To better understand the impact of the most impactful Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man additions, let's explore the archetypes that have incorporated them most successfully.

Multiversal Passage in Four-Color Control

Multiversal Passage

4 Consult the Star Charts 1 Day of Judgment 1 Fire Magic 4 Floodfarm Verge 4 Get Lost 2 Gloomlake Verge 4 Godless Shrine 4 Inevitable Defeat 2 Jeskai Revelation 4 Lightning Helix 2 Marang River Regent 1 Meticulous Archive 3 Multiversal Passage 2 Mystical Teachings 4 No More Lies 1 Plains 2 Riverpyre Verge 4 Sacred Foundry 2 Stock Up 1 The End 2 Three Steps Ahead 4 Thundering Falls 2 Watery Grave 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring 1 Fire Magic 1 Flashfreeze 1 Mistrise Village 1 Negate 1 Outrageous Robbery 2 Rest in Peace 1 Sphinx of Forgotten Lore 1 Sphinx of the Final Word 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 2 Voice of Victory

Four-Color Control relies on Lightning Helix and Inevitable Defeat to take out early threats while padding your life total before turning to No More Lies to exile Winternight Stories or Vivi Ornitier. Mystical Teachings provides versatile tutoring, whether for a critical answer or for Jeskai Revelation to finish the game. Using this list, TSPJendrek finished 2nd at the 197-player Standard RC Super Qualifier.

The deck's four-color mana base is demanding, but Multiversal Passage excels at bridging these gaps. It functions as a hybrid between a potentially untapped Evolving Wilds and a more restrictive shock land of your choice. Each copy effectively counts as a source for every color, dramatically improving your mana consistency. The same was true for Starting Town. But unlike that land, Multiversal Passage also enables Verge lands, elegantly tying the mana base together.

Superior Spider-Man in Sultai Graveyard

Superior Spider-Man

3 Ardyn, the Usurper 4 Awaken the Honored Dead 2 Bitter Triumph 4 Blooming Marsh 4 Botanical Sanctum 4 Breeding Pool 4 Bringer of the Last Gift 2 Cavern of Souls 4 Esper Origins 1 Fateweaver 1 Harvester of Misery 4 Superior Spider-Man 2 Marang River Regent 4 Overlord of the Balemurk 1 Rakshasa's Bargain 3 Steamcore Scholar 2 Swamp 4 Town Greeter 1 Undercity Sewers 1 Underground Mortuary 1 Valgavoth, Terror Eater 4 Watery Grave 2 Annul 3 Duress 2 Harvester of Misery 3 Heritage Reclamation 1 Into the Flood Maw 1 Stab 3 Strategic Betrayal

Sultai Graveyard, a brand-new archetype comprising 1.4% of the winner's metagame in recent weeks, is built around Superior Spider-Man. When cast, it can enter as a copy of Bringer of the Last Gift, who brings along a Living End effect. In a deck that rapidly fills its graveyard with cards like Town Greeter, Overlord of the Balemurk, and Awaken the Honored Dead, that effect can basically win the game on the spot. If one of the creatures you return is Ardyn, the Usurper, you can even attack with a 6/6 lifelinker and potentially additional Demons right away!

Superior Spider-Man also opens up some clever interactions. For example, it can enter as a copy of Vivi Ornitier from your opponent's graveyard. This not only denies them the ability to exile it with Agatha's Soul Cauldron later but also grants you four mana from your 4/4 creature immediately. With such potent versatility, Frantuma piloted this list to a 7th-place finish at the Standard RC Super Qualifier.

Jackal, Genius Geneticist in Simic Ouroboroid

Jackal, Genius Geneticist

4 Azure Beastbinder 4 Botanical Sanctum 4 Breeding Pool 4 Jackal, Genius Geneticist 6 Forest 4 Gene Pollinator 4 Genemorph Imago 4 Innkeeper's Talent 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Ouroboroid 4 Pawpatch Recruit 1 Snakeskin Veil 4 Spyglass Siren 2 Starting Town 3 Surrak, Elusive Hunter 4 Willowrush Verge 3 Annul 3 Hard-Hitting Question 3 Repulsive Mutation 2 Scavenging Ooze 1 Tishana's Tidebinder 3 Unable to Scream

Simic Ouroboroid can unleash fast, aggressive starts that ramp into a turn-three Ouroboroid with Llanowar Elves and Gene Pollinator. Ouroboroid rewards you for flooding the board with cheap creatures, and its power can spiral to astronomical levels when combined with Genemorph Imago or Innkeeper's Talent. This relentless growth allows you to distribute +1/+1 counters at a breathtaking pace, and Morris rode this list to a 1st-place finish at the 197-player Standard RC Super Qualifier.

The newest addition is Jackal, Genius Geneticist. After a typical chain of Spyglass Siren into Genemorph Imago into Surrak, Elusive Hunter, Jackal will have grown into a 4/4 creature that has effectively added six mana's worth of additional threats. That's already an extraordinary return on a two-drop, and if you manage to make a copy of Ouroboroid at the end, the resulting board may require a cosmic supply of dice to keep track.

Norman Osborn in Izzet Cauldron

Norman Osborn

2 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 2 Norman Osborn 4 Into the Flood Maw 6 Island 2 Mountain 1 Opt 4 Proft's Eidetic Memory 4 Quantum Riddler 4 Riverpyre Verge 4 Spirebluff Canal 4 Splash Portal 2 Starting Town 3 Stormchaser's Talent 1 Thundering Falls 4 Thundertrap Trainer 3 Torch the Tower 3 Vivi Ornitier 3 Watery Grave 4 Winternight Stories 1 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 2 Annul 2 Chandra, Spark Hunter 1 Disdainful Stroke 2 Obliterating Bolt 3 Spell Pierce 1 Thunder Magic 1 Torch the Tower 2 Unable to Scream

A handful of Izzet Cauldron players have experimented with Norman Osborn. As a two-drop, it provides unblockable pressure, card selection, and synergy with Agatha's Soul Cauldron. But the true excitement begins when you use Watery Grave or Starting Town to transform or play it as Green Goblin. Since the deck discards cards with Winternight Stories, Green Goblin can engineer explosive mayhem turns where you cast multiple spells freely and cheaply, overwhelming your opponent.

While Norman Osborn hasn't become a staple, Mizl1zzie did win a Magic Online Challenge with this version. Interestingly, the list diverges from typical builds by trimming a few Agatha's Soul Cauldron and Vivi Ornitier in favor of the Quantum Riddler and Splash Portal combo. This underscores the flexibility of Izzet decks in Standard. There are even successful Izzet Proft builds that have cut Agatha's Soul Cauldron and Vivi Ornitier entirely, focusing on Proft's Eidetic Memory as the central engine. All in all, there are plenty of different ways in which competitive Izzet decks can be built in the current Standard.

Hydro-Man, Fluid Felon in Dimir Midrange

Hydro-Man, Fluid Felon

3 Hydro-Man, Fluid Felon 2 Bitter Triumph 1 Cecil, Dark Knight 4 Enduring Curiosity 4 Floodpits Drowner 4 Gloomlake Verge 5 Island 3 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 2 Multiversal Passage 2 Preacher of the Schism 3 Restless Reef 1 Shoot the Sheriff 2 Soulstone Sanctuary 2 Spell Pierce 4 Spyglass Siren 2 Stab 5 Swamp 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 3 Tragic Trajectory 2 Unstable Experiment 4 Watery Grave 2 Annul 1 Detect Intrusion 2 Disdainful Stroke 2 Duress 1 Faebloom Trick 1 Intimidation Tactics 1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 1 Superior Spider-Man 1 Qarsi Revenant 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 1 Vren, the Relentless

Hydro-Man, Fluid Felon has yet to secure a permanent spot in the top-tier decks, but several Dimir Midrange and Izzet Cauldron players have achieved modest success with it.

While Hydro-Man won't help to block against Mono-Red Aggro, it excels in decks that play at instant speed. This Dimir Midrange list, packed with instants and flash creatures, can use this mana to play on the opponent's turn. Afterward, assuming you have blue spells to cast on your turn, Hydro-Man typically attacks as a 3/3 or 4/4—which is excellent for a two-drop. Its main drawback is the heavy blue requirement, as you can expect to run into mana consistency issues with only eighteen blue sources. Still, Hydro-Man remains a promising, flexible option for the two-drop slots.

Aunt May in Mono-White Life

Aunt May

4 Ajani's Pridemate 1 Basri, Tomorrow's Champion 2 Battle Menu 4 Case of the Uneaten Feast 2 Elspeth, Storm Slayer 4 Enduring Innocence 4 Essence Channeler 2 Exemplar of Light 4 Fountainport 4 Haliya, Guided by Light 4 Hinterland Sanctifier 18 Plains 3 Sheltered by Ghosts 4 Aunt May 2 Authority of the Consuls 3 Aven Interrupter 2 Devout Decree 1 Elspeth's Smite 2 Ghost Vacuum 1 Glass Casket 1 Requisition Raid 2 Seam Rip 1 Voice of Victory

The final card worth spotlighting is Aunt May, which has been a key contributor to this Mono-White Life deck that reached the Top 8 of a recent Challenge. While the card is effectively a weaker Hinterland Sanctifier—it has lower stats, the legendary restriction, and zero Spider synergies—Aunt May enhances the deck's consistency. She enables more frequent turn-two triggers for Essence Channeler or Ajani's Pridemate, and she lets Haliya, Guided by Light draw extra cards more reliably.

It may still be difficult to play a life-gain deck in a field where Izzet Cauldron dominates the late game and Mono-Red Aggro packs four copies of Screaming Nemesis, but Aunt May nonetheless bolsters the archetype's core game plan.

What's Next for Standard?

Izzet Cauldron remains the clear deck to defeat in Standard, while Mono-Red Aggro and Dimir Midrange continue to claim a sizable share of the metagame as well. At the same time, Magic: The Gathering | Marvel's Spider-Man has injected fresh creativity in the format, enabling innovative new strategies like Sultai Graveyard to emerge.

As the Standard RCQ season continues, you can find an RCQ near you by checking with your local game store or visiting your regional organizer's website. If you're aiming even higher, Magic Spotlight: Spider-Man swings into Baltimore on October 25–26 and Liverpool on November 1–2.

The marquee two-day open tournament at each Magic Spotlight: Spider-Man stop features a $50,000 prize pool, promo cards, and Pro Tour invitations for the Top 8 finishers. These events capture the high-stakes competitive spirit of the classic Grand Prix circuit while adding a unique thematic flair. This time, each champion will take home an Infinity Gauntlet winner's trophy—a fitting prize for a true hero of Standard.

If you can't make it to Baltimore or Liverpool in person, then you can still follow all the action. High-quality live coverage from the Star City Games and Fanfinity channels will bring every highlight, deck tech, and dramatic finish straight to your screen!