Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™ was defined by the blistering speed of Mono-Red Aggro and the relentless efficiency of Izzet Prowess, but there's nothing quite like watching the world's best players put Magic through its paces. This Pro Tour delivered a masterclass in high-level Standard gameplay, culminating in a landmark victory for longtime Magic competitor Ken Yukuhiro. In his eighth Top Finish of his Magic journey, Yukuhiro (whose impressive résumé already includes two Grand Prix titles and numerous Pro Tour Top 8s) finally captured the Pro Tour trophy that had eluded him for years.

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

The Standard Win Rates at the Pro Tour

According to the Pro Tour metagame breakdown, three archetypes dominated the field: Izzet Prowess, Azorius Omniscience, and Mono-Red Aggro. Together, they made up more than 70% of the field. Azorius Omniscience had a solid win rate but fell just short of clinching a Top 8 spot. Meanwhile, both Izzet Prowess and Mono-Red Aggro secured four spots each.

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

With Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY releasing just one week before the Pro Tour, competitors had to work quickly to break the format and refine their strategies. With that compressed timeline, Mono-Red Aggro emerged as a clear front-runner. It posted an impressive 60.4% win rate (in non-mirror, non-draw, non-bye matches). The corresponding 95% Clopper-Pearson confidence interval ranged from 54.4% to 66.3%, reinforcing its status as the standout performer among the most-played decks. After clinching the trophy, Mono-Red Aggro now stands as the new Deck to Beat in Standard.

The Standard Decks and Players With Over Eight Wins

As a reference, here are all decks that secured at least eight non-bye Standard wins at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY, along with their combined non-bye Swiss and Top 8 record, in descending order of their win rate:

• Ken Yukuhiro, 10-1, Mono-Red Aggro (Champion)
• Javier Dominguez, 9-1, Azorius Omniscience
• Shaun Henry, 9-1, Azorius Omniscience
• Percy Fang, 8-1, Mono-Red Aggro
• Alexander Rohan, 8-1, Izzet Prowess
• Yuchen Liu, 9-2, Mono-Red Aggro (Semifinalist)
• William Araujo, 8-2, Mono-Red Aggro
• David Frischer, 8-2, Azorius Omniscience
• Mitchell Tamblyn, 8-2, Azorius Control
• Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa, 8-2, Izzet Cauldron
• Keyan Jafari, 8-2, Izzet Prowess
• Toru Inoue, 8-2, Mono-Red Aggro
• Adam Edelson, 8-2, Izzet Prowess
• Christian Baker, 8-3, Izzet Prowess
• Derrick Davis, 8-2, Azorius Omniscience
• Anthony Lee, 8-2, Azorius Omniscience
• Eli Kassis, 8-2, Golgari Omniscience
• Ian Robb, 8-3, Izzet Prowess (Finalist)
• Toni Portolan, 8-4, Izzet Prowess (Semifinalist)

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

Izzet Prowess Dominated the Metagame

1 Thundering Falls 6 Island 4 Opt 4 Stormchaser's Talent 3 Monstrous Rage 4 Torch the Tower 4 Vivi Ornitier 2 Mountain 2 Wild Ride 2 Into the Flood Maw 1 Spell Pierce 4 Cori-Steel Cutter 4 Stock Up 3 Drake Hatcher 4 Riverpyre Verge 4 Spirebluff Canal 4 Shivan Reef 4 Sleight of Hand 1 Disdainful Stroke 2 Abrade 1 Get Out 2 Spell Pierce 3 Unable to Scream 2 Ral, Crackling Wit 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 Lithomantic Barrage

Izzet Prowess, the most played deck in the field with a commanding 42.3% share of the metagame, ultimately delivered a slightly underwhelming performance. It posted a modest 48.9% win rate in non-mirror, non-draw, non-bye matches—hardly the dominance one might expect from such a heavily represented archetype. Still, four pilots advanced to the Top 8, and the highest finisher among them was Ian Robb.

Robb's list stood out with a few unconventional choices. He ran four copies of Vivi Ornitier alongside two copies of Wild Ride, a package that provided a burst of power, damage, and mana. It's a spicy configuration: only 17 of the 140 Izzet Prowess lists at the Pro Tour featured Wild Ride, and just 6 of the 140 included the full four Vivi Ornitier. Robb's commitment to this synergy was clearly deliberate. It was likely impactful in the Azorius Omniscience matchup, where added speed can be the deciding factor.

To explore whether specific card choices correlated with stronger performance, I ran some analysis, but the sample sizes limited clear conclusions. Decks without Wild Ride went 284-306 (a 48% match win rate) while those with the pump spell performed slightly better at 62-54 (53%). Variations in Monastery Swiftspear and Monstrous Rage counts yielded similarly marginal differences. Most lists ran two to three copies of Monstrous Rage, associated with a 49% win rate, while those maxing out at four copies posted a 50% win rate. From a statistical perspective, none of these differences are significant.

As for Vivi Ornitier—the newest tech in the archetype—the results were also inconclusive:

• None: 68-68 (50%)
• One copy: 36-24 (60%)
• Two copies: 99-121 (45%)
• Three copies: 224-231 (49%)
• Four copies: 25-22 (53%)

Ultimately, the Pro Tour did not reveal a single, clearly optimal configuration for Izzet Prowess. The archetype's power remains evident, but its flex slots appear open to interpretation. For now, individual preference may be the best guide.

Mono-Red Aggro Burned Bright

3 Magebane Lizard 4 Manifold Mouse 4 Emberheart Challenger 16 Mountain 4 Burst Lightning 4 Monstrous Rage 4 Rockface Village 4 Heartfire Hero 4 Hired Claw 2 Soulstone Sanctuary 4 Twinmaw Stormbrood // Charring Bite 1 Tersa Lightshatter 4 Screaming Nemesis 1 Self-Destruct 1 Lightning Strike 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 Suplex 3 Torch the Tower 2 Lithomantic Barrage 1 Magebane Lizard 2 Case of the Crimson Pulse 3 Sunspine Lynx

The third most played deck at the Pro Tour, Mono-Red Aggro, delivered a fiery performance, posting a 60.4% win rate. Its matchup against Izzet Prowess was particularly impressive, with Mono-Red claiming victory in 62% of those encounters, and that's exactly the matchup Ken Yukuhiro overcame in the finals to clinch the trophy. Main-deck Magebane Lizard played a key rule, punishing a strategy that relies heavily on chaining cantrips. And while Izzet players were busy drawing cards, Mono-Red Aggro was ending the game, often with the help of a hasty Screaming Nemesis racing across the battlefield.

Though Mono-Red Aggro can struggle against Dimir Midrange, it was exceptionally well-positioned in this specific metagame.

Across the archetype, there was not much variation in the card choices, but Yukuhiro's list stood out for its use of four copies of Twinmaw Stormbrood over the more common Witchstalker Frenzy. Only a quarter of Mono-Red Aggro lists opted for the sorcery-speed burn spell, which has a more reliable mana cost on turn two. Though it lacks instant speed, it cleanly answers threats like Drake Hatcher or Vivi Ornitier before they can spiral out of control. Some variants, labeled as Boros Aggro, packed white-producing lands to cast the Dragon, but Yukuhiro's list made no such concession; for him, Twinmaw Stormbrood was strictly a removal spell.

A final spicy inclusion was Self-Destruct, which has deadly synergy with Heartfire Hero and especially Screaming Nemesis. After Screaming Nemesis reaches 6 power with help from Monstrous Rage, Self-Destruct can hurl 12 total damage at the opponent to close out the game. When facing Mono-Red Aggro, it's no longer safe the math ends on the board—you now have to consider that explosive burst finish from hand.

Orzhov Demons Boasted the Best Win Rate

4 Concealed Courtyard 2 Elenda, Saint of Dusk 4 Bleachbone Verge 4 Soulstone Sanctuary 4 Bloodletter of Aclazotz 2 Pest Control 4 Go for the Throat 3 Preacher of the Schism 9 Swamp 4 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber 4 Duress 4 Cut Down 4 Unstoppable Slasher 4 Caves of Koilos 4 Cruelclaw's Heist 2 Gix's Command 2 Loran of the Third Path 2 Legions to Ashes 1 The End 1 Anoint with Affliction 2 Intimidation Tactics 2 Pest Control 1 Blot Out 2 Ghost Vacuum

Across all archetypes at the Pro Tour, the highest win rate overall belonged to an unexpected choice: Orzhov Demons. Registered by only one player, Luis Gobern, the deck posted a stellar 7-3 record, good for a 70% win rate. The list turns back the clock by relying on the Unstoppable Slasher plus Bloodletter of Aclazotz combo, which can one-shot opponents if they don't have a blocker. Complementing this lethal synergy is Unholy Annex as a life-draining powerhouse, while Duress and Cruelcraw's Heist can snatch Cori-Steel Cutter from the opponent's hand before it can flood the board with Monks.

Given the deck's reliance on double- and triple-black costs, white is limited to a light splash. Still, it proves impactful: Pest Control maintains control of the board; Elenda, Saint of Dusk is a difficult-to-answer threat to win a damage race; and various sideboard tools round out the package.

Other promising brews also posted commendable results. Both Selesnya Gearhulk and Boros Monument notched 6-4 records, demonstrating that spicy off-meta strategies can still find success, even in a Standard field dominated by Cori-Steel Cutter, Monstrous Rage, and Heartfire Hero.

Golgari Omniscience Blossomed in Standard

1 Swamp 1 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 4 Molt Tender 2 Llanowar Elves 2 Town Greeter 6 Forest 1 Coati Scavenger 4 Llanowar Wastes 2 Scavenging Ooze 4 Wastewood Verge 4 Blooming Marsh 4 Insidious Roots 2 Osteomancer Adept 4 Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler 2 Dragon Sniper 2 Rubblebelt Maverick 2 Disruptive Stormbrood // Petty Revenge 1 Great Arashin City 2 Cache Grab 4 Haywire Mite 4 Overlord of the Balemurk 2 Dredger's Insight 3 Dark Confidant 1 Skyfisher Spider 2 Go for the Throat 1 Coati Scavenger 1 Ghost Vacuum 1 Cankerbloom 2 Souls of the Lost 1 Voldaren Thrillseeker 2 Dragon Sniper 1 Gastal Raider

The second highest win rate of any archetype, just behind Orzhov Demons, was posted by Golgari Omniscience. Five members of team Handshake Moxfield—Simon Nielsen, Matti Kuisma, Eli Kassis, Julien Henry, and Alex Friedrichsen—unleashed a deck built around the explosive potential of Insidious Roots. Together, they racked up a combined 27-17 record in Standard, good for an impressive 61.4% win rate.

"It was hard to determine in testing whether this deck was great or just ok," Simon Nielsen told me before the event, "and I was very curious to see how this would do into an unsuspecting field." As it turned out, the deck rose to the occasion. It not only held its own across the field in general but also excelled against Izzet Prowess in particular. Eli Kassis led the charge, finishing in 19th-place overall with an 8-2 record in Standard.

When everything clicks, the deck feels like the most powerful strategy in Standard. With Insidious Roots and Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler on the battlefield, every activation of Scavenging Ooze creates a Plant, which in turn taps to fuel another activation. This creates a cascading engine that can easily create 20 power in a single turn, as Eli Kassis demonstrated multiple times throughout the tournament. Meanwhile, Dragon Sniper shores up the early game, and Overlord of the Balemurk provides long-term staying power.

A different take on the archetype came from Team Flexslot Diamond, who splashed red for Terra, Magical Adept. However, this variant didn't fare nearly as well, managing only a 37.3% win rate.

Azorius Control Answers Izzet Prowess

2 Negate 1 Cathar Commando 2 Three Steps Ahead 3 Idyllic Beachfront 3 Dreams of Laguna 1 Demolition Field 3 Fountainport 4 Floodfarm Verge 1 Kutzil's Flanker 4 Get Lost 4 Island 3 Beza, the Bounding Spring 3 No More Lies 3 Lay Down Arms 3 Temporary Lockdown 4 Meticulous Archive 8 Plains 3 Stock Up 3 Marang River Regent // Coil and Catch 2 Ultima 1 Change the Equation 1 Ultima 2 Devout Decree 1 Cathar Commando 3 Stoic Sphinx 3 Tishana's Tidebinder 1 Elspeth's Smite 1 Negate 2 The Filigree Sylex

When it comes to strategies that successfully dismantled Izzet Prowess at the Pro Tour, Control decks rose to the challenge. Azorius Control posted a dominant 14-3 record against Izzet Prowess, while Jeskai Control went 7-2 in the same matchup. The combination of Temporary Lockdown and expert sequencing proved highly effective. Many Azorius builds even adopted Ultima in the main deck; it's an efficient sweeper that cleanly answers both Cori-Steel Cutter and its Monk tokens, directly answering one of the format's key threats.

Mitchell Tamblyn, the top-finishing Azorius Control pilot, embraced this approach with two copies of Ultima in his main deck. His list also included several unique touches. Tamblyn was the only Azorius Control player to run three copies of Dreams of Laguna: a new card-draw spell that helps smooth out early turns while offering card advantage later. He also featured Stoic Sphinx in the sideboard, giving the deck a surprising ability to present a fast clock when the matchup demands it.

In short, if you're looking for a reliable way to beat Izzet Prowess, look no further than Azorius Control. At the Pro Tour, it absolutely dominated the matchup.

Izzet Cauldron Cooks Up a Spicy Deck

3 Thundering Falls 4 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 2 Abrade 4 Vivi Ornitier 4 Winternight Stories 3 Into the Flood Maw 3 Mountain 2 Island 3 Voldaren Thrillseeker 1 Spell Pierce 4 Marauding Mako 4 Fear of Missing Out 3 Tersa Lightshatter 2 Soulstone Sanctuary 4 Riverpyre Verge 2 Glacial Dragonhunt 4 Spirebluff Canal 4 Shivan Reef 4 Proft's Eidetic Memory 2 Negate 1 Scorching Shot 2 Draconautics Engineer 2 Enduring Curiosity 3 Unable to Scream 1 Abrade 3 Lithomantic Barrage 1 Spell Pierce

While nearly every Izzet player at the Pro Tour relied on Cori-Steel Cutter, three brave innovators submitted a radically different build. They ditched the Cutter entirely in favor of Agatha's Soul Cauldron. Among them was none other than Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa—the legendary Hall of Famer and one of the greatest players the game has ever seen—who piloted his list to an impressive 8-2 finish in the Standard rounds.

A key objective of this deck is to discard Vivi Ornitier (using cards like Glacial Dragonhunt, Fear of Missing Out, Tersa Lightshatter, or Winternight Stories) and exile the Wizard with Agatha's Soul Cauldron. This grants Vivi Ornitier's activated mana ability to any creature with a +1/+1 counter, which, thanks to Marauding Mako and Proft's Eidetic Memory, ends up being most of them. "Vivi Ornitier with Agatha's Soul Cauldron is a very explosive combination," Damo da Rosa explained. "It can add a lot of mana on a turn and sometimes kill you from nowhere. We liked that the deck had access to this combo element as well as a very reasonable fair plan (similar to Oculus)."

Right after the deck was unveiled at the Pro Tour, it also struck online. At the Magic Online Challenge on June 20, Izzet Cauldron claimed both 1st and 2nd place, cementing its status as a formidable new contender.

What's Next for Standard?

After Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY, it's clear that Mono-Red Aggro has seized the top spot in Standard. At the same time, skilled pilots with finely tuned Izzet Prowess lists can still find success. And the more unconventional decks (such as Orzhov Demons, Golgari Omniscience, Azorius Control, and Izzet Cauldron) hold great promise as well.

Looking ahead, several key milestones will shape the future of Standard:

• Magic Spotlight: FINAL FANTASY – Standard takes center stage again this coming weekend, June 28–29, at Magic Spotlight: FINAL FANTASY in Chiba, Japan.
• Banned and restricted announcement – The next announcement is scheduled for Monday June 30. This is Standard's annual review, where the Play Design team will be scrutinizing the format and changes to the Standard banned list are possible. I look forward to hearing Play Design's thoughts, and I trust them to shape the format into a vibrant, balanced, and enjoyable competitive environment.
• Standard rotation – Standard will undergo a major shake-up with the Prerelease of Edge of Eternities on July 25. Several sets (Dominaria United, The Brothers' War, Phyrexia: All Will Be One, March of the Machine, and March of the Machine: The Aftermath) will rotate out of Standard at that time. Barring reprints, this means that cards like Shivan Reef, Temporary Lockdown, Seachrome Coast, and Cut Down will exit the format.
• Next RCQ cycle – The second round of the 2025–26 Regional Championship Qualifiers will begin on August 2, 2025, and will run through November 9, 2025. Standard will be the Constructed format for in-store qualifiers.