Hello, and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest Constructed developments from Magic's most prestigious events. Magic World Championship 30 delivered an electrifying Top 8, showcasing breakout decks, some of the game's most legendary players, and intense matches. This event demonstrated Standard's remarkable depth, setting the tone for an engaging season ahead as we look toward the launch of Magic: The Gathering Foundations and the upcoming Standard round of Regional Championship Qualifiers.
While the World Championship measured skill across both Limited and Standard, today's article will focus exclusively on the Standard rounds, examining win rates and standout decks from the tournament. By setting aside the draft portion and looking beyond just the Top 8, we can capture a broader perspective on the key takeaways about Standard from the event as a whole.
Congratulations to Javier Domínguez!
Before diving into the decks, let me extend a massive congratulations to Javier Domínguez, who clinched the title of Player of the Year along with his second World Championship trophy, solidifying his position as one of the game's all-time greats.
In hindsight, his victory feels almost inevitable. Since his triumph at the 2018 Magic World Championship, which was immortalized on Fervent Champion, Domínguez has maintained an extraordinary run. He captured another trophy at Mythic Championship V in 2019 and has delivered a consistent string of high placements since the Pro Tour's revival in 2023:
It's no small feat to finish 11-5 or better at a Pro Tour, let alone achieve it six times in a row. Domínguez entered the World Championship as a clear favorite and met every expectation. Now, he's set to become the first player immortalized on two World Championship cards, a milestone that further cements his legendary status. Congratulations once again, Javier!
The Standard Win Rates at Magic World Championship 30
The metagame breakdown highlighted the popularity of Gruul Prowess, Dimir Midrange, Azorius Oculus, and Domain Ramp. Below, you'll find a table with each archetype's non-mirror, non-draw, non-bye match record and win rate from the Standard Swiss rounds. Each archetype name links to a representative sample decklist for those interested in exploring specific builds.
Standard's diversity was on full display, with a range of archetypes achieving meaningful levels of competitive success. Almost every major testing team landed on a different archetype, and several teams were split across different deck choices. This reinforced that there's a viable deck for every type of Standard player, with lots of variety to play whatever you want.
Given the relatively small sample sizes for win rates, strong conclusions are challenging, yet many match-ups appear close, suggesting a well-balanced metagame overall. While some of the spicier decklists didn't perform as well as their pilots hoped, Boros Enchantments put up promising results.
Orzhov Demons also had a decent showing at Magic World Championship 30, posting a solid record. Even though the two players on this archetype did not include any red cards, they included Blazemire Verge over a basic Swamp, recognizing the potential to steal a Hired Claw with Cruelclaw's Heist. That is precisely the kind of next-level deck building we've come to expect at the World Championship, where even the smallest decisions can make the difference between victory and defeat.
The Standard Decks and Players with Over Six Wins
For reference, here's a list of all decks with at least six Standard non-bye wins at Magic World Championship 30, sorted by their combined Swiss and Top 8 non-bye record in descending order of win rate:
- Max Rappaport, 8-1, Dimir Midrange
- Quinn Tonole, 7-1, Mono-Red Aggro (Semifinalist)
- Seth Manfield, 6-1, Golgari Ramp (Semifinalist)
- Brian Boss, 6-1-1, Gruul Prowess
- Javier Domínguez, 8-2, Dimir Demons (Champion)
- Lucas Duchow, 6-2, Gruul Prowess
- Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, 6-2, Gruul Prowess
- Yoshihiko Ikawa, 6-2, Gruul Prowess
- Ryan Condon, 6-2, Temur Prowess
- Willy Edel, 6-2, Jeskai Convoke
- Kenta Harane, 6-2, Dimir Midrange
- Mauro Sasso, 6-2, Azorius Oculus
- Márcio Carvalho, 7-3, Golgari Midrange (Finalist)
Next, let's take a closer look at top-performing decks and the lessons we can glean from the tournament results.
Mono-Red Aggro Ignites with Screaming Nemesis
17 Mountain
4 Shock
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Screaming Nemesis
3 Witchstalker Frenzy
4 Manifold Mouse
4 Monstrous Rage
4 Rockface Village
4 Lightning Strike
4 Emberheart Challenger
4 Heartfire Hero
4 Hired Claw
4 Torch the Tower
1 Obliterating Bolt
1 Witchstalker Frenzy
3 Lithomantic Barrage
4 Urabrask's Forge
2 Twisted Fealty
Quinn Tonole tore through the Swiss rounds with an undefeated 6-0 run in Standard, blazing into the Top 8 with a classic: Mono-Red Aggro. Tonole's list stood out with a suite of powerful yet underrated cards. No other player at the tournament included more than two main deck copies of Screaming Nemesis, Lightning Strike, Witchstalker Frenzy, or Rockface Village. But in Tonole's hands, these choices were essential. Though he ultimately fell in the semifinals, he reminded everyone of the perennial strength of hasty creatures backed by a burn-heavy strategy.
Screaming Nemesis
Witchstalker Frenzy
Rockface Village
Tonole's deck includes a minor prowess sub-theme, running Monastery Swiftspear and Emberheart Challenger, but leans on creatures more than Gruul Prowess. Running only one pump spell, Monstrous Rage, and just fifteen noncreature spells, his approach is fundamentally creature centric. World Championship competitors were ready to respond to Gruul Prowess's pump spells with a plethora of instant-speed removal, but Tonole's build presents unique challenges: Rockface Village enables resilient valiant triggers, backed up by a wealth of burn spells that pressure the opponent's life total. Tonole's burn-centric strategy preys on a metagame light on life gain, making it a great metagame call for the event.
Even when Unholy Annex; Sheoldred, the Apocalypse; or Tranquil Frillback appear, Screaming Nemesis can keep opponents from gaining life at critical moments. This new 3/3 with haste from Duskmourn: House of Horror is extremely painful to block with Archfiend of the Dross, and it also works seamlessly with Witchstalker Frenzy. If the battlefield gets clogged with blockers, Tonole can target his own Screaming Nemesis, dealing 5 damage to his opponent, effectively transforming Witchstalker Frenzy into a Lava Axe. I expect this build of the deck to become much more popular moving forward.
Gruul Prowess Shines with Leyline of Resonance
8 Mountain
4 Karplusan Forest
4 Copperline Gorge
4 Thornspire Verge
4 Questing Druid
4 Heartfire Hero
4 Cacophony Scamp
4 Slickshot Show-Off
4 Emberheart Challenger
2 Overprotect
4 Monstrous Rage
4 Might of the Meek
4 Turn Inside Out
1 Snakeskin Veil
4 Leyline of Resonance
1 Callous Sell-Sword
4 Torch the Tower
3 Urabrask's Forge
4 Pawpatch Formation
2 Manifold Mouse
1 Snakeskin Veil
1 Obliterating Bolt
Gruul Prowess posted a solid 55% win rate, yet there was a marked performance gap depending on the use of Leyline of Resonance. Three of the twenty Gruul Prowess players—Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, Thierry Ramboa, and Brian Boss—leveraged Leyline of Resonance, Cacophony Scamp, and Turn Inside Out for explosive turn-two kill potential, achieving a formidable 14-5-1 (74%) record. Their success underscores that, for this tournament, raw explosive power often outperformed stability. The remaining seventeen players, who opted for Manifold Mouse and Innkeeper's Talent over the Leyline package, saw notably lower win rates.
Leyline of Resonance
Cacophony Scamp
Turn Inside Out
Depraz's and Ramboa's builds stand out for their combo-centric approach. Forgoing Monastery Swiftspear, they relied on Heartfire Hero and Cacophony Scamp as one-drops, fully committing to the turn-two kill potential. Adding to their deck's synergy, they included a single Callous Sell-Sword, while Overprotect served as a versatile pump spell, offering both explosive potential and resilience against removal. Questing Druid allowed them to dig for pump spells as needed, rounding out this aggressive combo package.
The Leyline of Resonance build, however, can struggle against spot removal, a vulnerability that becomes more pronounced after sideboarding as opponents reinforce their removal options. Depraz and Ramboa navigated this challenge with grace. As the only two players with Manifold Mouse in their sideboards, they often substituted Leyline of Resonance for more resilient threats, allowing them to pivot toward a steadier aggro game in their post-sideboard matches. This flexible strategy afforded them explosive potential in Game 1 and a more stable, attrition-focused approach for Games 2 and 3—a clever adaptation that brought Depraz tantalizingly close to another Top 8 finish.
Azorius Oculus Overperformed with Founding the Third Path
4 Adarkar Wastes
5 Island
2 Ephara's Dispersal
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Abhorrent Oculus
4 Haughty Djinn
4 Picklock Prankster
4 Chart a Course
4 Helping Hand
2 Recommission
2 Phantom Interference
3 Floodfarm Verge
4 Soul Partition
4 Founding the Third Path
4 Meticulous Archive
2 Into the Flood Maw
4 Moment of Truth
3 Negate
1 Exorcise
1 Ghost Vacuum
4 Elspeth's Smite
3 Monastery Mentor
3 Temporary Lockdown
Among Standard archetypes with at least two pilots, Azorius Oculus achieved the highest overall win rate. While none of its players reached the Top 8 due to middling draft performances, the deck proved to be a serious contender. Interestingly, only three Azorius Oculus players—Eli Kassis, Alex Friedrichsen, and Shota Yasooka—included Founding the Third Path in their lists. These were the highest-ranked Azorius Oculus pilots in the final standings.
Founding the Third Path
Abhorrent Oculus
Helping Hand
In this deck, Founding the Third Path serves as a critical consistency piece, fueling the graveyard for Helping Hand, Haughty Djinn, and Abhorrent Oculus. Shota Yasooka demonstrated the card's potential on camera. He also showcased his mastery of the game by discarding Tempest Djinn to hand size on the draw—a move that set up Helping Hand as early as turn two. Yasooka's build was unique, omitting Sleight of Hand in favor of Soul Partition to maximize interaction and Tempest Djinn's impact. His list was also the only one in the tournament to feature Ephara's Dispersal. While the addition of a 21st land may be an improvement, especially without Sleight of Hand to find lands, his card choices seem finely tuned for a field dominated by Gruul Prowess.
Another distinguishing factor in three most successful Azorius Oculus lists was the inclusion of three or four copies of Monastery Mentor in the sideboard. All other Azorius Oculus players had fewer. Monastery Mentor offers critical flexibility, particularly against sideboard cards like Rest in Peace and Ghost Vacuum that can severely disrupt Azorius Oculus's graveyard engine. This addition, along with Founding the Third Path, may well have contributed to the standout Standard results of Kassis, Friedrichsen, and Yasooka. Overall, given the limited presence of Rest in Peace in the tournament, the World Championship metagame may not have been fully prepared for Azorius Oculus's emergence.
In case the deck becomes more prominent in the coming weeks, then it may become important to prepare for the mirror match. Mauro Sasso went 6-2 in Standard with an Azorius Oculus list featuring No More Lies in the main deck and Silent Hallcreeper in the sideboard. These card choices can grant an edge against other Azorius Oculus decks, so it's worth keeping this in mind as the metagame adapts.
Unholy Annex Is a Confirmed Powerhouse
4 Unholy Annex
8 Swamp
3 Darkslick Shores
4 Underground River
4 Gloomlake Verge
4 Restless Reef
2 Shoot the Sheriff
4 Faerie Mastermind
1 Undercity Sewers
4 Archfiend of the Dross
2 Jace, the Perfected Mind
2 Caustic Bronco
2 Spell Stutter
4 Go for the Throat
4 Duress
2 Fountainport
2 Doomsday Excruciator
3 Anoint with Affliction
1 Cut Down
2 Negate
2 Dreams of Steel and Oil
1 Jace, the Perfected Mind
1 Anoint with Affliction
1 Withering Torment
1 Ghost Vacuum
1 Deadly Cover-Up
1 Outrageous Robbery
1 Gix's Command
2 Cut Down
2 Liliana of the Veil
If there's a single card deserving of the "card of the tournament" award, it's undoubtedly Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber. This new Room has quickly become the best Phyrexian Arena variant ever, with Archfiend of the Dross turning Unholy Annex into a life-draining force as early as turn four. On turn five, Ritual Chamber contributes an enormous board presence, ensuring that Unholy Annex's life loss is turned into life drain.
Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber had already demonstrated its power in Pioneer—Japan's Regional Championship finals featured a mirror match between Mono-Black Demons decks built around it—and it made an equally striking impact in Standard at Magic World Championship 30.
Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber
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Doomsday Excruciator
The finals between Javier Domínguez and Márcio Carvalho highlighted Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber's importance in black midrange strategies. Both finalists relied on a similar core of cards, with their decks diverged in their splash color: Carvalho used Mosswood Dreadknight, Glissa Sunslayer, and Tranquil Frillback, while Domínguez opted for Faerie Mastermind, Spell Stutter, and the game-winning duo of Doomsday Excruciator and Jace, the Perfected Mind. Despite these differences, Unholy Annex served as an essential engine for both players, generating resources and life advantage when it proved crucial.
Unholy Annex consistently impressed, though it's not yet entirely clear whether it's actually the best card-draw engine in Standard. Dimir Midrange lists with Enduring Curiosity put up better win rates in the Swiss rounds than decks with Unholy Annex, yet all these results come from small sample sizes. Further complicating the analysis, the top-performing Dimir Midrange pilot, Max Rappaport, ran only a single copy of Enduring Curiosity, opting instead for additional copies of Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor. These diverging results leave plenty of room for discovery in upcoming Standard tournaments, although I anticipate that Unholy Annex is well-positioned to shape the metagame.
Temur Otters Showed Up with Average Results
4 This Town Ain't Big Enough
2 Island
4 Enduring Vitality
1 Mountain
3 Analyze the Pollen
4 Stormchaser's Talent
4 Torch the Tower
3 Fabled Passage
2 Song of Totentanz
2 Roaring Furnace
2 Bitter Reunion
4 Thundertrap Trainer
1 Questing Druid
4 Copperline Gorge
1 Hedge Maze
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Forest
4 Valley Floodcaller
2 Up the Beanstalk
1 Yavimaya Coast
1 Tarnation Vista
3 Bushwhack
1 Karplusan Forest
1 Pawpatch Formation
2 Pawpatch Formation
2 Ghost Vacuum
2 Negate
1 Into the Flood Maw
1 Pyroclasm
1 Blue Sun's Twilight
2 Dissection Tools
1 Screaming Nemesis
1 Up the Beanstalk
1 Abrade
1 Volcanic Spite
One of the metagame's most intriguing surprises was the deck fielded by Team Sanctum of All. Known for their boundary-pushing combo strategies, the team brought an inventive build centered on the potent synergy between Valley Floodcaller and Enduring Vitality. Originally dubbed Temur Prowess, this archetype is now named Temur Otters, as per the team's preference.
Stormchaser's Talent
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The deck's combo is complex but powerful. With at least three Otters generating mana through Enduring Vitality, alongside an enchantment like Up the Beanstalk, an infinite loop becomes possible. By bouncing Stormchaser's Talent and Up the Beanstalk with This Town Ain't Big Enough, replaying both enchantments, advancing Stormchaser's Talent to level 2, and returning This Town Ain't Big Enough to hand, a player can repeat the process. This loop costs nine mana and allows Valley Floodcaller to untap your creatures three times. With just three Otters, it can be repeated indefinitely, swelling your creatures to infinite power.
Despite the promising concept, none of its pilots were at the top tables during the weekend, leading to relatively limited airtime on the World Championship coverage stream. As the dust settled, the archetype finished with a 22-23 (49%) record, proving it as a viable—but not a format-defining—Standard strategy. Ultimately, Temur Otters adds flavor and complexity to the format, making it an excellent choice for combo enthusiasts looking to explore new synergies.
Looking Ahead: Competitive Play in the Coming Weeks
With MagicCon: Las Vegas and Magic World Championship 30 now behind us, it's time to set our sights on the future. Regional Championships (RCs) continue to serve as the primary pathway to the Pro Tours and the World Championship in 2025, with Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs) acting as the gateway. The upcoming weeks promise an abundance of competitive Magic opportunities, and you'll have the chance to catch much of the action live from home.
- November 2–3: Final Modern RCQ weekend. This weekend marks the last opportunity to secure an RCQ-based invitation to the Modern Regional Championships, set for January through March 2024. The weekend features the $20,000 Apex Gaming Invitational, complete with live coverage on Twitch, alongside an NRG Series $10,000 Showdown, also streamed live. These high-stakes tournaments provide an exciting closure to the Modern RCQ round.
- November 2–3: Pioneer RCs in China and South America. Pioneer takes center stage with Regional Championships in both China and South America, awarding coveted invitations to the Pro Tour at MagicCon: Chicago in February 2025.
- November 9–10: Pioneer RCs in Europe and Australia. Although these events coincide with the Magic: The Gathering Foundations's Prerelease weekend, the new set will not be legal for play at the Regional Championships for Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Australia/New Zealand. Nevertheless, viewers can enjoy high-quality streaming coverage from Lille, France, featuring a Hall of Fame line-up of casters on the Fanfinity Twitch channel, starting both days at 9 a.m. CET (3 a.m. ET).
- November 16–17: Pioneer RC in Canada. Canada's Regional Championship will be the first major Pioneer event to include the new Foundations set. This tournament will showcase the set's impact before tournament Pioneer is effectively unlocked on MTG Arena with the release of Pioneer Masters on December 10.
- November 16–17: First Standard RCQ weekend. With Foundations now legal, the Standard RCQ round kicks off globally, including a $10,000 Standard event at SCG CON Columbus.
As we move forward, these events promise to provide a thrilling showcase of competitive Magic play, and I look forward to analyzing the metagame evolutions.
