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. It's now eight days and counting until the start of Magic World Championship 30—the culmination of the 2023–24 season. Celebrating 30 years of global Magic competition, over 100 of the best players in the world will battle it out in Duskmourn: House of Horror Draft and Standard Constructed.

To give an idea of what we can expect to see, this article will analyze the results from major Standard events held after the release of Duskmourn: House of Horror. I don't know what innovations the World Championship competitors might bring, but based on the metagame we've seen in tournaments thus far, we can look forward to awesome rounds of Standard next week.

Standard with Duskmourn

Standard is a rotating 60-card format that currently includes expansion sets from Dominaria United onward. To get a picture of the format's state following the release of Duskmourn: House of Horror, I analyzed 320 decklists from the latest Magic Online Challenges and 244 decklists from the Japan Standard Cup. The latter took place alongside the Japan/Korea Pioneer Regional Championship, where Tomoaki Ogasawara claimed victory with Mono-Black Demons. I'll cover this and other Regional Championships in my column in early November, following Magic World Championship 30.

For each Standard deck, I assigned points based on its rectified net wins—calculated as the number of match wins minus losses, with negative values treated as zero. By summing these values across archetypes, we can determine each archetype's share of total rectified net wins, offering a combined measure of both popularity and performance. This provides a clear snapshot of the winner's metagame.

In this table, each archetype name hyperlinks to a well-performing, representative decklist. The "Other" category encompasses a diverse array of strategies, including Four-Color Legends, Boros Prowess, Boros Mice, Sultai Reanimator, Azorius Control, Dimir Reanimator, Dimir Doomsday, Dimir Demons, Rakdos Midrange, Bant Toxic, Azorius Soldiers, Abzan Control, Izzet Hellraiser, and many others. This broad mix of archetypes reflects the depth and diversity of the current Standard environment, where even less-common strategies can find competitive success.

Compared to metagame snapshots from early August and late August, Domain Ramp has declined due to its vulnerability against aggressive strategies. In Duskmourn Standard, aggro decks are slightly more prevalent than midrange, control, or combo decks. We've seen the rise of Gruul Prowess, Mono-White Tokens, Azorius Oculus, and Azorius Enchantments, all as indicated by the arrows in the tables.

The last two sets have enriched Standard, bringing a suite of powerful new cards. Bloomburrow introduced a Mice-based valiant strategy for prowess decks, featuring cards like Heartfire Hero, Emberheart Challenger, Might of the Meek, and Manifold Mouse. The set also facilitated token strategies built around Caretaker's Talent, enhanced by cards like Beza, the Bounding Spring; Carrot Cake; and Fountainport. Duskmourn followed suit, contributing a diverse array of impactful cards that will be explored in greater detail throughout this article.

To take a closer look at the top ten most prominent decks, I applied an aggregation algorithm that factors in the popularity, performance, and synergy of individual card choices. This method provides a nuanced view of how each archetype functions within the broader metagame.

1. Gruul Prowess

8 Mountain 4 Monstrous Rage 4 Copperline Gorge 4 Karplusan Forest 4 Emberheart Challenger 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Heartfire Hero 4 Thornspire Verge 4 Might of the Meek 4 Turn Inside Out 4 Cacophony Scamp 4 Slickshot Show-Off 4 Leyline of Resonance 2 Snakeskin Veil 1 Manifold Mouse 1 Shock 4 Urabrask's Forge 4 Torch the Tower 3 Obliterating Bolt 2 Pawpatch Formation 2 Scorching Shot

Gruul Prowess, which holds 15.4% of the winner's metagame, has quickly become the defining deck in the early weeks of Duskmourn Standard. The deck leverages a suite of pump spells to trigger valiant or prowess abilities, enabling lightning-fast kills. With Leyline of Resonance in play, the possibility of a turn-two kill becomes very real. The sequence requires a Cacophony Scamp on turn one, followed by two pump spells—either Monstrous Rage or Turn Inside Out—on the next turn. Leyline of Resonance copies each spell, allowing Cacophony Scamp to deal over 10 damage in combat, then sacrifice itself to deal lethal damage to the opponent.

Although the probability of having all the required pieces in your opening hand is only around one percent, mulligans and draws can increase your chances of assembling the combo. Depending on how aggressively you mulligan, you might expect to pull off a turn-two kill once every 30 games. The deck can more consistently deliver turn-three kills, a feat that still commands respect. As a result, the current Standard metagame has shifted toward cheap removal spells like Torch the Tower, Cut Down, and Elspeth's Smite to keep these blistering starts in check. These adaptations are easier in Best-of-Three than in Best-of-One and are prompting Gruul Prowess players to give up Leyline of Resonance in favor of more resilient builds. Nevertheless, it wouldn't be surprising to witness a turn-two victory on camera at the World Championship.

The deck's green splash is minimal, primarily for a few copies of Snakeskin Veil, which grants hexproof to protect key creatures from removal. Some versions of the deck also run Innkeeper's Talent, Picnic Ruiner, or Questing Druid. With the introduction of Thornspire Verge in Duskmourn, adding green cards has become even easier. Still, the true game-changers from Duskmourn have been Leyline of Resonance and Turn Inside Out, which have supercharged the deck's already blistering speed, turning it into one of the fastest and most feared archetypes in the format.

2. Mono-White Tokens

15 Plains 4 Caretaker's Talent 4 Carrot Cake 4 Fountainport 4 Lay Down Arms 4 Sunfall 4 Beza, the Bounding Spring 4 Get Lost 4 Elegant Parlor 3 Sanguine Evangelist 3 Soul Partition 2 Archangel Elspeth 2 Enduring Innocence 2 Sunken Citadel 1 Loran of the Third Path 3 Rest in Peace 3 Elspeth's Smite 2 Temporary Lockdown 2 Loran of the Third Path 2 Boon-Bringer Valkyrie 2 Imodane's Recruiter 1 Serra Paragon

Mono-White Tokens, also known as Mono-White Caretaker or Mono-White Control, is the second most prominent archetype in the metagame, claiming a 13.3% share of the winner's metagame. This deck thrives on board control, utilizing cheap removal and powerful sweepers to dismantle creature-based strategies, all while stalling long enough to generate value from tokens with Fountainport and Caretaker's Talent.

Caretaker's Talent is the linchpin of the deck, transforming each Carrot Cake trigger into an additional card. Its second ability can copy a token, and its final stage turns tiny Rabbits and Fish into formidable creatures. Caretaker's Talent even allows you to draw cards off your Sunfall, overwhelming your opponent with card advantage. In essence, it acts as a card-advantage engine, token enabler, and win condition, all wrapped into a single card. Post-Duskmourn lists have included multiple copies of Enduring Innocence, which synergizes with Carrot Cake to maintain a steady flow of cards.

While the deck's foundation is mono-white to support Lay Down Arms, minor splashes for additional colors are possible. Some players have added blue for Negate, while others opted for red to include Lightning Helix. Decks featuring these cards in their main deck were classified as Azorius or Boros in my analysis. The aggregate list also has the potential to sideboard in Imodane's Recruiter to close out games against opposing control decks, yet it remains labeled as mono-white since there are no red cards in the main deck.

3. Azorius Oculus

4 Abhorrent Oculus 4 Adarkar Wastes 4 Helping Hand 4 Into the Flood Maw 4 Island 4 Meticulous Archive 4 Picklock Prankster 4 Seachrome Coast 4 Sleight of Hand 4 Haughty Djinn 4 Moment of Truth 3 Chart a Course 3 Floodfarm Verge 3 Phantom Interference 2 Recommission 2 Three Steps Ahead 2 Soul Partition 1 Plains 4 Negate 3 Temporary Lockdown 3 Elspeth's Smite 2 Kutzil's Flanker 2 Monastery Mentor 1 Soul Partition

Azorius Oculus surged to an impressive 11.2% of the winner's metagame following the introduction of Abhorrent Oculus in Duskmourn. While casting Abhorrent Oculus naturally is possible, exiling six cards can prove quite costly. The primary strategy for this deck revolves around getting Abhorrent Oculus into the graveyard through spells like Chart a Course, Picklock Prankster, or Moment of Truth, then returning it to the battlefield and circumventing the additional cost with Helping Hand or Recommission. This Dragon-sized flyer can dominate the battlefield and generate an army of manifested creatures, overwhelming opponents with sheer numbers.

Before Duskmourn, this archetype relied on Monastery Mentor, but Abhorrent Oculus offers a less fragile and more powerful option. Monastery Mentor can still be included in the sideboard, which can prove valuable when facing Ghost Vacuum, Rest in Peace, or other forms of graveyard hate.

Azorius Oculus incorporates a wealth of card-draw spells, allowing for a low land count and running Haughty Djinn as a secondary win condition. The deck can also play a strong tempo game, leveraging cheap permission spells, Soul Partition, and Into the Flood Maw. That last one is especially effective in response to a pump spell, bouncing a creature with prowess or valiant to set back the opponent. Azorius Oculus has put up impressive competitive results so far, and it may play a big role at next week's World Championship.

4. Golgari Midrange

6 Swamp 4 Blooming Marsh 4 Restless Cottage 4 Llanowar Wastes 4 Mosswood Dreadknight 4 Go for the Throat 4 Cut Down 3 Forest 3 Deep-Cavern Bat 2 Glissa Sunslayer 2 Liliana of the Veil 2 Duress 2 Fountainport 2 Sentinel of the Nameless City 2 Underground Mortuary 2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 2 Archfiend of the Dross 2 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber 2 Caustic Bronco 1 Demolition Field 1 Tear Asunder 1 Tranquil Frillback 1 Virtue of Persistence 2 Duress 2 Tear Asunder 2 Choking Miasma 2 Anoint with Affliction 1 Tranquil Frillback 1 Liliana of the Veil 1 Nissa, Ascended Animist 1 Ghost Vacuum 1 Gix's Command 1 Caustic Bronco 1 Disfigure

Black midrange decks always play a significant role in Standard. The most prominent one so far has been Golgari Midrange, accounting for 9.4% of the winner's metagame. This deck is a curated collection of the most-powerful individual cards in black and green. The interactive spells in black remain the most-efficient options in the format, while Mosswood Dreadknight and Glissa Sunslayer offer a fast, resilient clock. Additionally, with Restless Cottage, the mana-base benefits have some substantial utility.

While some lists utilize the game-winning combo of Innkeeper's Talent and Vraska, Betrayal's Sting or the value-generating synergies between Freestrider Lookout and Iridescent Vinelasher, the aggregate list does not rely on these engines. Instead, an emerging trend is to incorporate a few copies of Duskmourn's Unholy Annex, supported by Archfiend of the Dross as an additional Demon. However, there is no definitive consensus on the optimal construction of Golgari Midrange, with each list employing various win conditions.

Regardless of the specific build, Golgari Midrange has a plan for everything. For example, the aggregate main deck has Tear Asunder and Tranquil Frillback to remove Caretaker's Talent. In the sideboard, Anoint with Affliction is perfectly suited for today's Standard. It serves as an effective answer to frequently played creatures like Heartfire Hero, Abhorrent Oculus, and Mosswood Dreadknight by exiling them, preventing death triggers or graveyard recursion. Similarly, Disfigure can prove superior to Cut Down, as it is less likely to fizzle when the opponent responds with Turn Inside Out. Given these advantages, both Anoint with Affliction and Disfigure may even deserve main-deck consideration.

5. Dimir Midrange

4 Underground River 4 Restless Reef 4 Darkslick Shores 4 Swamp 4 Faerie Mastermind 4 Deep-Cavern Bat 4 Spyglass Siren 4 Gloomlake Verge 3 Go for the Throat 3 Island 3 Cut Down 3 Phantom Interference 3 Enduring Curiosity 3 Preacher of the Schism 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 2 Ertai Resurrected 2 Fountainport 1 Anoint with Affliction 1 Disfigure 1 Three Steps Ahead 1 Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor 2 Disdainful Stroke 2 Duress 2 Gix's Command 2 Negate 2 Liliana of the Veil 1 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal 1 Tishana's Tidebinder 1 Harvester of Misery 1 Disfigure 1 Anoint with Affliction

While Dimir Midrange has not achieved the same level of success as Golgari Midrange, it remains a popular and competitive strategy. The deck's game plan revolves around disrupting opponents with a combination of removal and countermagic while curving out with cheap evasive creatures that lead into Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor. With the release of Duskmourn, however, Gix has largely been supplanted by Enduring Curiosity. The new card is more resilient against removal spells and can catch opponents off guard with the ability to flash it in, all while providing valuable card advantage.

Another notable upgrade from Duskmourn is Gloomlake Verge, which enhances this deck's consistency. It enables you to cast Spyglass Siren on turn one and provides black mana for other spells later in the game. Overall, the new Verge lands are being adopted across a wide range of decks, proving effective for ally-color pairs that require specific mana on turn one.

6. Mono-Red Prowess

18 Mountain 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Monstrous Rage 4 Emberheart Challenger 4 Heartfire Hero 4 Shock 4 Lightning Strike 4 Hired Claw 3 Squee, Dubious Monarch 3 Rockface Village 2 Witchstalker Frenzy 2 Obliterating Bolt 2 Manifold Mouse 1 Goddric, Cloaked Reveler 1 Screaming Nemesis 4 Urabrask's Forge 3 Torch the Tower 3 Lithomantic Barrage 2 Obliterating Bolt 2 Pyroclasm 1 Case of the Crimson Pulse

Mono-Red Prowess shares many similarities with Gruul Prowess, with some lists fully committing to Leyline of Resonance. By remaining mono-red, you unlock Rockface Village and can trigger the valiant Mice while also gaining access to Mishra's Foundry if desired. However, the absence of Snakeskin Veil for added resilience means that the most-common builds do not prioritize quick kills. Instead, the aggregate mono-red variant favors burn spells to pave the way for its low-cost creatures. When targeting opposing blockers with Shock or Lightning Strike, you can still trigger prowess on Monastery Swiftspear or Emberheart Challenger while increasing your ability to disrupt opponents. Naturally, these burn spells can also be directed at your opponent to secure victory.

There are numerous ways to construct a mono-red deck in Duskmourn Standard. Some lists focus on fast kills with Leyline of Resonance, while others emphasize the prowess theme with Slickshot Show-Off. Meanwhile, decks labeled as Mono-Red Aggro may entirely forgo two-mana prowess creatures. With the introduction of Duskmourn, many players are experimenting with Screaming Nemesis to counteract the life gain from Carrot Cake or Beza, the Bounding Spring. Additionally, having Pyroclasm in the sideboard can serve as a one-sided sweeper, providing an edge against other aggro decks. Regardless of the exact build, the firepower will always be there.

7. Domain Ramp

4 Lush Portico 4 Overlord of the Hauntwoods 4 Up the Beanstalk 4 Leyline Binding 4 Hushwood Verge 4 Herd Migration 3 Forest 3 Plains 3 Cavern of Souls 3 Sunfall 3 Atraxa, Grand Unifier 3 Get Lost 3 Temporary Lockdown 2 Hedge Maze 2 Meticulous Archive 2 Archangel of Wrath 2 Overlord of the Mistmoors 2 Fabled Passage 1 Island 1 Swamp 1 Jace, the Perfected Mind 1 Shadowy Backstreet 1 Beza, the Bounding Spring 3 Negate 2 Tranquil Frillback 2 Jace, the Perfected Mind 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 1 Elspeth's Smite 1 Beza, the Bounding Spring 1 Sunfall 1 Temporary Lockdown 1 Archangel of Wrath 1 Get Lost

The leading deck from late August, Domain Ramp, has slipped several spots in the rankings, primarily due to its vulnerability to Gruul Prowess. Its dependence on surveil lands that enter tapped often makes it too slow to compete against hyper-aggressive strategies. Nevertheless, these surveil lands still facilitate domain for Leyline Binding and Herd Migration, enabling Atraxa, Grand Unifier as one of the most formidable finishers in the format. Consequently, Domain Ramp tends to outpace midrange decks.

With the cycle of Overlords introduced in Duskmourn, I wouldn't be surprised to see this deck regain prominence, potentially with tighter builds featuring more early-game interaction and fewer tapped lands. The standout addition is undoubtedly Overlord of the Hauntwoods, which has supplanted Heaped Harvest or Archangel of Wrath. This card can make an impending entrance on turn three, ramping ahead and activating full domain right away. It also triggers Up the Beanstalk and eventually turns into a colossal creature.

I'm eager to see if World Championship competitors will showcase the true potential of the various Overlords, perhaps combining them with cards like Zur, Eternal Schemer; Doppelgang; or Scrollshift in innovative builds that maximize their effectiveness.

8. Jeskai Convoke

4 Novice Inspector 4 Spyglass Siren 4 Gleeful Demolition 4 Imodane's Recruiter 4 Knight-Errant of Eos 4 Case of the Gateway Express 4 Seachrome Coast 4 Inspiring Vantage 4 Adarkar Wastes 4 Spirebluff Canal 4 Battlefield Forge 4 Warden of the Inner Sky 4 Resolute Reinforcements 3 Warleader's Call 2 Sanguine Evangelist 1 Plains 1 Yotian Frontliner 1 Shivan Reef 4 Protect the Negotiators 3 Torch the Tower 2 Destroy Evil 2 Get Lost 2 Lightning Helix 1 Witchstalker Frenzy 1 Urabrask's Forge

Jeskai Convoke can curve Novice Inspector into Gleeful Demolition, allowing you to convoke out Knight-Errant of Eos as soon as turn two. This provides card advantage while establishing a board presence. Following this up with Imodane's Recruiter unleashes a surge of damage, while additional pay-offs like Case of the Gateway Express, Warden of the Inner Sky, and Warleader's Call reward you for flooding the board with tokens. If the metagame, in an attempt to better handle Gruul Prowess, moves away from sweepers and toward more cheap spot removal, then Jeskai Convoke may be poised for a comeback.

This deck splashes blue for Spyglass Siren, which provides additional fodder for Gleeful Demolition. The blue splash also allows for Protect the Negotiators from the sideboard, which answers sweepers and adds to the deck's versatility. Overall, Jeskai Convoke excels at overwhelming opponents with explosive speed, though its additions from Duskmourn have been somewhat limited. While some builds experimented with cards like Clockwork Percussionist, Painter's Studio // Defaced Gallery, The Wandering Rescuer, or Sheltered by Ghosts, most players opted to stick with established, proven builds.

9. Azorius Enchantments

5 Plains 4 Adarkar Wastes 4 Enduring Innocence 4 Entity Tracker 4 Ethereal Armor 4 Floodfarm Verge 4 Inquisitive Glimmer 4 Island 4 Optimistic Scavenger 4 Seachrome Coast 4 Sheltered by Ghosts 4 Shardmage's Rescue 3 Gremlin Tamer 3 Silent Hallcreeper 2 Fae Flight 2 Restless Anchorage 1 Proft's Eidetic Memory 3 Negate 3 Elspeth's Smite 2 Ossification 2 Kitnap 2 Rest in Peace 1 Gremlin Tamer 1 Loran of the Third Path 1 Destroy Evil

Azorius Enchantments is an exciting new aggro deck brought to life by Duskmourn, with over half of its main deck being from the set. This archetype utilizes the eerie mechanic to distribute counters, generate card advantage, and create tokens. Optimistic Scavenger can hit the board as early as turn one, allowing you to dish out +1/+1 counters throughout the entire game. Entity Tracker is a robust card-draw engine, allowing players to draw cards whenever any enchantment enters. Meanwhile, Gremlin Tamer generates a 1/1 token with each enchantment, triggering Enduring Innocence for additional card draw.

Several Auras in the deck also function as interaction spells: Sheltered by Ghosts slows down opponents, while Shardmage's Rescue protects key creatures. Ethereal Armor acts as the knock-out punch, providing an enormous buff to help close out games. Although the deck struggles against Temporary Lockdown, it has already demonstrated promise in competitive tournaments, and its novelty makes it a compelling brew to watch as the metagame continues to evolve.

10. Orzhov Demons

4 Archfiend of the Dross 4 Bloodletter of Aclazotz 4 Unstoppable Slasher 4 Go for the Throat 4 Caves of Koilos 4 Concealed Courtyard 4 Restless Fortress 4 Shadowy Backstreet 4 Swamp 4 Liliana of the Veil 4 Duress 4 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber 3 Cut Down 3 Demolition Field 2 Virtue of Persistence 2 Fountainport 2 Legions to Ashes 4 Temporary Lockdown 3 Cruelclaw's Heist 3 Ghost Vacuum 2 Legions to Ashes 2 Kaya, Intangible Slayer 1 Beza, the Bounding Spring

Over the first two weeks of Duskmourn Standard, the tenth deck in the winner's metagame was technically Orzhov Midrange—a value-driven deck that showcases the synergy between Deep-Cavern Bat and Zoraline, Cosmos Caller. However, I've chosen to highlight a different Orzhov deck that leverages Demons like Bloodletter of Aclazotz and Archfiend of the Dross, transforming Duskmourn's Unholy Annex into a formidable life-draining powerhouse. This strategy is rapidly gaining prominence.

Known as Orzhov Demons or Orzhov Slasher, this midrange deck employs a powerful combo finish. It uses Duress and Go for the Throat in the early game to disrupt opponents before delivering a lethal one-two punch with Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz. When Unstoppable Slasher deals combat damage to an opponent, it forces the opponent to lose half their life. Bloodletter of Aclazotz doubles that life loss, potentially reducing their life total to zero in a single attack. While a single blocker can thwart this combo, the deck has the capability to secure wins as early as turn four, with both cards serving as persistent threats on their own.

This past weekend, the finals of Japan's Pioneer Regional Championship featured a mirror match between two Mono-Black Demons decks, showcasing many of the same pieces that are legal in Standard. While Mono-Black Demons is also making a mark on Standard, it lacks Pioneer's rewards like Castle Locthwain or Mutavault. Consequently, a white splash for cards like Legions to Ashes and various sideboard options appears to be worthwhile in Standard. Other color splashes are equally viable, and it will be intriguing to see if the Demon package will have a similar impact in Standard at Magic World Championship 30 as it has shown in Pioneer.

The Most-Played Cards from Duskmourn

As we've observed, Duskmourn has introduced a plethora of exciting new cards to the Standard format, revitalizing both old and new archetypes. Below is a summary table showcasing the 25 most-played new-to-Standard cards based on the decklists I analyzed.

While cards from Duskmourn are gaining traction, they have yet to achieve the status of established format staples from previous sets. The most-played nonland main-deck cards overall include Go for the Throat, Monstrous Rage, Heartfire Hero, Monastery Swiftspear, Emberheart Challenger, Cut Down, and Sunfall. In sideboards, the leading choices were Urabrask's Forge, Negate, Torch the Tower, Elspeth's Smite, Temporary Lockdown, and Duress. This indicates that Standard is currently characterized by an arms race between cheap, aggressive creatures and efficient removal spells.

The Road to Magic World Championship 30

At Magic World Championship 30, competitors will be vying for their share of a $1,000,000 prize pool and the chance to be immortalized on a future Magic card. The stakes are high, and players will need to navigate the evolving Standard metagame to find success. With fast red decks setting the pace and powerful value engines like Caretaker's Talent, Abhorrent Oculus, and Urabrask's Forge demanding answers, competitors must develop strategies that can handle both ends of this spectrum. This is no easy task, but with the format ripe for innovation, there's immense potential for creative breakthroughs.

Over 100 top players from across the globe are competing, many of whom earned their invitations through stellar performances at Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor, Pro Tour Thunder Junction, and Pro Tour Modern Horizons 3. The field also includes Regional Champions and top performers from Arena Championships, Magic Online Champions Showcases, and last year's World Championship. This impressive array of talent guarantees high-level gameplay and innovative deck building across both Duskmourn Draft and Standard Constructed.

Players like Matt Sperling and Samuel Pardee are of particular interest as they have demonstrated mastery in deck selection, consistently selecting archetypes with win rates exceeding 54% across all three Pro Tours this season. Their past deck choices—Rakdos Vampires in Pioneer, Golgari Midrange in Standard, and either Esper Goryo's or Bant Nadu in Modern—have been standouts, and it will be fascinating to see what innovations they bring to Standard at this year's World Championship.

For more details, check out the official Viewer's Guide, and don't miss next Thursday's Standard metagame breakdown!