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. With the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed, we're stepping into an exciting season of Standard, and the next two weekends promise quite the spectacle:

• January 24–25: The new Standard round of Regional Championships kicks off with the US Regional Championship at SCG CON Portland. These Regional Championships feed into Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven in May.
• January 30–February 1: Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed takes the stage, featuring a $500,000 prize pool and the world's strongest competitors. Check out the viewer's guide for full coverage details.

At both events, Standard with Lorwyn Eclipsed will take center stage. To give an early indication of what to expect, today's article presents a snapshot of the Standard metagame just before the set's release, while spotlighting several intriguing new additions from Magic's newest set.

The Standard Metagame Before Lorwyn Eclipsed

Standard is a rotating 60-card format that currently allows expansion sets from Wilds of Eldraine forward. To analyze how the metagame has shifted since Magic Spotlight: The Avatar, I analyzed over 500 successful tournament decks after the power of Simic Ouroboroid became widely understood. My dataset includes every published Magic Online list from scheduled events held between January 11 and January 18, along with the decklists from the Standard Destination Qualifier in Lyon, France, and the Super Sunday RCQ in Atlanta, Georgia.

To show which decks are dominating the top tables, I assigned points to each deck 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.

The "Other" category includes such decks as Temur Ouroboroid, Izzet Prowess, Simic Omniscience, Izzet Looting, Golgari Landfall, Azorius Control, Boros Tokens, Allies, Boros Dragons, and more.

In the wake of Magic Spotlight: The Avatar, the two strongest performers from that weekend—Simic Ouroboroid and Selesnya Landfall—surged in popularity over the following week. That's hardly surprising, as the latest success stories always draw attention. But it also underlines how quickly Standard has been evolving from month to month.

At Magic World Championship 31 in December, competitors came prepared for Badgermole Cub with cheap removal and timely sweepers. The results were grim for Cub decks, which posted a 39% win rate against non-Cub opponents. By January's Magic Spotlight: The Avatar, however, the field had pivoted to target Izzet Lessons instead, opening a window that Badgermole Cub decks exploited to great effect. They won 56% of their matches against non-Cub decks. Now, as the cycle turns once more, Badgermole Cub has a very large target painted on it and may be less favorably positioned heading into Lorwyn Eclipsed Standard. Still, right before the new set's release, it stands clearly on top.

Meanwhile, Izzet Lessons and Jeskai Control have continued to post steady, respectable results. However, two of the biggest underperformers from Magic Spotlight: The Avatar, Dimir Midrange and Sultai Reanimator, saw their numbers fall noticeably.

To highlight the most relevant Standard contenders, I constructed aggregate lists using an algorithm that balances popularity and win rate of individual cards. Let's examine the six most popular archetypes, each claiming at least 5% of the Winner's Metagame, along with two fringe strategies that may benefit substantially from Lorwyn Eclipsed.

Simic Ouroboroid (23.8% of the Winner's Metagame)

6 Forest 4 Botanical Sanctum 4 Willowrush Verge 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Badgermole Cub 4 Gene Pollinator 4 Breeding Pool 4 Nature's Rhythm 4 Ouroboroid 4 Quantum Riddler 4 Spider Manifestation 4 Multiversal Passage 2 Mockingbird 2 Spider-Sense 1 Craterhoof Behemoth 1 Marang River Regent 1 Bounce Off 1 Sentinel of Lost Lore 1 Reclamation Sage 1 Keen-Eyed Curator 2 Keen-Eyed Curator 2 Surrak, Elusive Hunter 2 Meltstrider's Resolve 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 Scrapshooter 1 Spider-Sense 1 Ba Sing Se 1 Vivien Reid 1 Unable to Scream 1 Reclamation Sage

Simic Ouroboroid emerged as the breakout deck from Magic Spotlight: The Avatar. The aggregate list that has developed since then closely mirrors the version Simon Nielsen piloted to a 1st-place finish in Lyon, France.

The deck heavily relies on the mana acceleration from Llanowar Elves, Gene Pollinator, Spider Manifestation, and Badgermole Cub, quickly flooding the battlefield with cheap creatures while ramping toward a game-ending payoff. A turn-three Ouroboroid can quickly scale your board's power to astronomical heights, but the best draws are even more spectacular. With the right draw, you can generate ten mana by turn three, allowing Nature's Rhythm to fetch a game-ending Craterhoof Behemoth as early as the third turn.

There are also similar Golgari Ouroboroid decks that trade Spider-Sense and Bounce Off for black interaction like Deep-Cavern Bat and Shoot the Sheriff. Those black versions use Overlord of the Balemurk instead of Quantum Riddler, though Quantum Riddler is generally viewed as the more powerful card in this shell.

Bloom Tender [6NNKNFoAhsrDFCdOMjUjNp]
Overgrown Tomb [3forD3M07YBpKncZIXYbu4]

Looking ahead to Lorwyn Eclipsed, Bloom Tender stands out as a potential boost to the deck's already formidable mana engine. With Quantum Riddler and Spider Manifestation in play, it can tap for three mana on its own. The addition of Overgrown Tomb and Temple Garden could also unlock new splashes, facilitating ambitious multicolor builds where the vivid mechanic can truly shine.

Izzet Lessons (18.7% of the Winner's Metagame)

6 Island 4 Gran-Gran 4 Combustion Technique 4 Monument to Endurance 4 Firebending Lesson 4 Accumulate Wisdom 4 Riverpyre Verge 4 Artist's Talent 4 Spirebluff Canal 4 Multiversal Passage 4 Boomerang Basics 3 Mountain 3 Abandon Attachments 3 Stormchaser's Talent 2 Iroh's Demonstration 1 Agna Qel'a 1 It'll Quench Ya! 1 Spell Pierce 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 Flashfreeze 2 Annul 2 Negate 1 Ral, Crackling Wit 1 Quantum Riddler 1 Spell Pierce 1 Pyroclasm 1 Iroh's Demonstration 1 Broadside Barrage 1 Abandon Attachments

Izzet Lessons, a deck filled with commons and uncommons from Magic: The Gathering® | Avatar: The Last Airbender™, was the breakout deck of Magic World Championship 31. It's built around a dense suite of Lesson cards, including several efficient removal spells, which makes it easy to put three Lessons in the graveyard.

With Gran-Gran on the battlefield, Accumulate Wisdom effectively becomes Ancestral Recall, and Combustion Technique reads like Swords to Plowshares. The most successful versions also incorporate Artist's Talent and Monument to Endurance for a self-sustaining flow of value.

Steam Vents [3SbqkOUFxRBYgTEUsPO2XG]
Spell Snare

From Lorwyn Eclipsed, Steam Vents offers a clear upgrade to the mana base. Whether it replaces Multiversal Passage or supplements it, Steam Vents will improve mana consistency.

Spell Snare also represents a potentially major upgrade for blue decks, at least after sideboarding when you are on the draw. Countering Badgermole Cub or Artist's Talent for a single mana will help decks seize the initiative. In Izzet Lessons, Spell Snare can always be discarded in the late game if no suitable targets present themselves. Perhaps you can even include it in the main deck, which could be an appealing option for the increasing number of Izzet Lessons players who are cutting Stormchaser's Talent and Boomerang Basics.

Jeskai Control (10.9% of the Winner's Metagame)

4 Floodfarm Verge 4 No More Lies 4 Meticulous Archive 4 Lightning Helix 4 Stock Up 4 Get Lost 4 Consult the Star Charts 4 Sacred Foundry 3 Jeskai Revelation 3 Riverpyre Verge 2 Mistrise Village 2 Thundering Falls 2 Day of Judgment 2 Sunbillow Verge 2 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island 2 Abrade 2 Rest in Peace 1 Plains 1 Elegant Parlor 1 Island 1 Cori Mountain Monastery 1 Ultima 1 Three Steps Ahead 1 Multiversal Passage 1 Wan Shi Tong, Librarian 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring 2 Annul 2 Voice of Victory 2 Tishana's Tidebinder 1 Negate 1 Ultima 1 Fire Magic 1 Pyroclasm 1 Wan Shi Tong, Librarian 1 Exorcise 1 Day of Judgment

Jeskai Control is a classic control strategy that aims to dictate the pace of the game through countermagic, removal, sweepers, and card-draw effects. With Day of Judgment cleanly wiping away boards full of green creatures and Ultima even preventing earthbent lands from returning, Jeskai Control is widely believed to hold a favorable matchup against Simic Ouroboroid.

While individual card choices vary, the aggregate Jeskai Control version adopts main-deck Rest in Peace to blunt graveyard-reliant effects like Accumulate Wisdom. The deck typically closes games with Jeskai Revelation and The Unagi of Kyoshi Island, the latter posing a particularly stubborn threat for Izzet Lessons to answer. Jeskai Control's main weakness is against Landfall strategies, which combine resilient late-game value engines with explosive combo finishes and vehicles that dodge Day of Judgment.

Hallowed Fountain [5Zu8l3dY0KIVaNzgmLIEMC]
Spell Snare
Sear

From Lorwyn Eclipsed, Jeskai Control's mana base receives a clear upgrade through Hallowed Fountain and Steam Vents. Sear also joins the conversation as an efficient instant-speed removal spell that burns most creatures and can even answer Kaito, Bane of Nightmares.

The reprint of Spell Snare may be even more important. It's always been a multi-format all-star that can easily fit into control decks. In particular, countering Badgermole Cub on the draw can swing an entire game. It will be fascinating to see whether players begin bluffing Spell Snare by paying two life to have Hallowed Fountain or Steam Vents enter untapped on turn one. The mere existence of the card in the format may be enough to reshape how early turns are played.

Selesnya Landfall (8.2% of the Winner's Metagame)

10 Forest 4 Mightform Harmonizer 4 Escape Tunnel 4 Icetill Explorer 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Fabled Passage 4 Badgermole Cub 4 Earthbender Ascension 4 Hushwood Verge 4 Seam Rip 3 Esper Origins 3 Sazh's Chocobo 2 Ba Sing Se 2 Lumbering Worldwagon 1 Plains 1 Promising Vein 1 Bristly Bill, Spine Sower 1 Hunter's Talent 4 Clarion Conqueror 4 Sheltered by Ghosts 2 Mossborn Hydra 2 Scrapshooter 2 Felidar Retreat 1 Soul-Guide Lantern

Selesnya Landfall is based around the powerful engine of Icetill Explorer, Fabled Passage, and Escape Tunnel. Together, they rapidly pull lands out of your library while milling yourself. Along the way, flashbacked copies of Esper Origins provide more value, turning that self-mill into an overwhelming late-game engine. At the same time, Mightform Harmonizer threatens lethal attacks out of nowhere, which demands respect. Keeping a chump blocker available can be the difference between stabilizing and dying on the spot.

There are various ways to build around this landfall core. Mono-green variants remain popular, but over the past week the most common approach has been a light white splash to improve the matchup against Simic Ouroboroid. Seam Rip disrupts their mana development, while Clarion Conqueror is among the meanest sideboard answers to mana dorks. It evens turns an earthbent land into a vanilla creature. You may end up sideboarding out your own copies of Badgermole Cub when bringing in Clarion Conqueror, but the angle of attack is undeniably powerful.

Temple Garden [5L647A4Dt5JoTH8xHz9QeX]
Sapling Nursery

From Lorwyn Eclipsed, Temple Garden could improve the mana base. If it replaces Hushwood Verge, a turn-one Seam Rip becomes realistic, and it also increases the Forest count for another intriguing newcomer: Sapling Nursery. This enchantment can come down early and eventually flood the battlefield with giant Treefolk tokens. It may emerge as a valuable sideboard option against Jeskai Control, similar to Felidar Retreat, except with larger creatures and an indestructible clause that can help survive a sweeper.

Dimir Midrange (6.9% of the Winner's Metagame)

5 Swamp 4 Floodpits Drowner 4 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 4 Island 4 Enduring Curiosity 4 Spyglass Siren 4 Tishana's Tidebinder 4 Watery Grave 4 Deep-Cavern Bat 4 Gloomlake Verge 3 Multiversal Passage 2 Restless Reef 2 Soulstone Sanctuary 2 Cecil, Dark Knight 2 Bitter Triumph 2 Shoot the Sheriff 2 Stab 1 Fountainport 1 Essence Scatter 1 Phantom Interference 1 Tragic Trajectory 3 Day of Black Sun 2 Duress 2 Annul 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 1 Negate 1 Spell Pierce 1 Stab 1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island 1 Ghost Vacuum 1 Strategic Betrayal 1 Disdainful Stroke

Dimir Midrange seeks to disrupt opponents with a mix of removal, discard, and countermagic, all while applying pressure through cheap, evasive creatures. Once Enduring Curiosity hits the board, those creatures can refill your hand, and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares supplies a steady stream of additional card advantage.

Flitterwing Nuisance
Bitterbloom Bearer
Glen Elendra Guardian [5HsCzT1pVJbDpunY0S59IX]
Requiting Hex

From Lorwyn Eclipsed, Dimir Midrange may finally have enough pieces to seriously explore synergies between Faeries. We already had access to payoffs like Faerie Fencing, Spell Stutter, and Talion's Messenger, and the expanded number of options may now support them. Flitterwing can join Spyglass Siren as another 1/1 flier with an upside, while Bitterbloom Bearer calls to mind the once banned Bitterblossom. Glen Elendra Guardian, meanwhile, offers a sizable body with an ability that shines against control decks.

The Faeries that care about -1/-1 counters also open the door to further synergy with Requiting Hex, a potent new removal spell reminiscent of Fatal Push. Altogether, Lorwyn Eclipsed supplies Dimir Midrange with a wealth of new tools worth serious consideration.

Mono-Red Aggro (5.5% of the Winner's Metagame)

13 Mountain 4 Lightning Strike 4 Burst Lightning 4 Hired Claw 4 Nova Hellkite 4 Razorkin Needlehead 4 Shock 4 Riverpyre Verge 4 Scalding Viper 3 Soulstone Sanctuary 3 Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might 3 Fanatical Firebrand 2 Rockface Village 2 Tersa Lightshatter 2 Spirebluff Canal 4 Magebane Lizard 4 Iroh's Demonstration 3 Sunspine Lynx 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 The Legend of Roku

Mono-Red Aggro aims to win as fast as possible, relying on haste creatures and direct-damage spells to reduce the opponent's life total to zero. The classic formula of cheap, hasty threats backed by burn spells remains as potent as ever.

At Magic Spotlight: The Avatar, Boros Aggro posted a higher win rate, largely thanks to Boros Charm adding a powerful burn dimension that removal-heavy Izzet Lessons decks were not fully prepared to handle. Online, however, Mono-Red Aggro has been the more prevalent choice, particularly the version centered on Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might. With Ojer in play, every ping from Fanatical Firebrand, Hired Claw, Scalding Viper, or Razorkin Needlehead suddenly represents a four-damage burst, allowing the deck to close games quickly.

Vibrance [iM0hSuiLCndly0LE7gFlo]
Sear
Boulder Dash
Blood Crypt [1UEI5nXCUkXNS4QuQmxQs7]

Looking over the possible additions from Lorwyn Eclipsed, sticking close to the current build may be the correct call. Vibrance could expand the burn suite as a sorcery-speed Lightning Strike that adds a free creature in the late game. One appeal of Boros Aggro was access to Get Lost as a clean post-sideboard answer to Ouroboroid, but the newly printed Sear may fill that role without requiring a white splash. Boulder Dash also deserves attention, offering an efficient answer to Badgermole Cub that later synergizes well with Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might.

Finally, Steam Vents and Blood Crypt could unlock new splash options. I could even imagine a version that dips into black for Moonshadow, growing the creature by discarding permanent cards to Fear of Missing Out and Tersa Lightshatter. With various new tools available, red-based aggro decks should never be underestimated.

Golgari Demons (1.6% of the Winner's Metagame)

4 Swamp 4 Sentinel of the Nameless City 4 Llanowar Elves 4 Badgermole Cub 4 Blooming Marsh 4 Wastewood Verge 4 Multiversal Passage 4 Unholy Annex 3 Restless Cottage 3 Forest 3 Demon Wall 3 Ouroboroid 2 Stab 2 Bitter Triumph 2 Soulstone Sanctuary 2 Deep-Cavern Bat 2 Preacher of the Schism 1 Intimidation Tactics 1 Maelstrom Pulse 1 Shoot the Sheriff 1 Long Goodbye 1 The End 1 Analyze the Pollen 4 Duress 2 Day of Black Sun 2 Heritage Reclamation 2 Snakeskin Veil 2 Zero Point Ballad 1 Vivien Reid 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 1 The End

Golgari Demons popped up in several events on Magic Online over the past week. It doesn't go all in on mana acceleration like Golgari Ouroboroid, but it plays a more traditional midrange game built around efficient interaction. What truly sets it apart are the Demon synergies. Curving Demon Wall into Unholy Annex unlocks a life-draining, card-drawing engine, and later in the game, Soulstone Sanctuary can animate into a Demon to keep the drains coming.

Mutable Explorer

One reason to highlight this archetype is its potential to gain a meaningful upgrade from Lorwyn Eclipsed in the form of Mutable Explorer. Because it has changeling, it counts as a Demon, directly strengthening Unholy Annex. Conveniently, it is also a Dragon, which may enable cards like Caustic Exhale and Scavenger Regent to fit into the deck as well. Mutable Explorer could end up being the glue that ties several of these synergies together.

Sultai Reanimator (0.8% of the Winner's Metagame)

4 Bringer of the Last Gift 4 Awaken the Honored Dead 4 Breeding Pool 4 Superior Spider-Man 4 Bitter Triumph 4 Oblivious Bookworm 4 Overlord of the Balemurk 4 Broodspinner 4 Blooming Marsh 3 Ardyn, the Usurper 3 Watery Grave 3 Analyze the Pollen 2 Wastewood Verge 2 Willowrush Verge 2 Underground Mortuary 2 Harvester of Misery 1 Swamp 1 Hedge Maze 1 Cavern of Souls 1 Undercity Sewers 1 Island 1 Forest 1 Emet-Selch, Unsundered 3 Deep-Cavern Bat 3 Urgent Necropsy 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 2 Glarb, Calamity's Augur 2 Rakshasa's Bargain 1 Disruptive Stormbrood 1 Webstrike Elite 1 Heritage Reclamation

Sultai Reanimator is a graveyard-centric combo deck that intends to fill the graveyard while digging for Superior Spider-Man, which can enter as a copy of Bringer of the Last Gift to effectively end the game on the spot. The strategy is vulnerable to graveyard hate like Soul-Guide Lantern and Rest in Peace, and the recent uptick in these effects has contributed to its lackluster results in recent events.

Formidable Speaker [1ROabEqJav1ayycvSvItdA]
Deceit [6DJVTbHjtUcIy6iKynro6t]
Wistfulness [bf7maGG21Ilk1tdFxrK1s]
Lluwen, Imperfect Naturalist [7eNiFjOUMHOaYxW15MhQwX]

However, Lorwyn Eclipsed offers several promising upgrades. Formidable Speaker stands out as an excellent setup piece, discarding Bringer of the Last Gift while tutoring up Superior Spider-Man. This alone could substantially improve the deck's consistency. Lluwen, Imperfect Naturalist also merits consideration. It digs four cards deep for Superior Spider-Man while fueling the graveyard, though Formidable Speaker looks like a more impactful addition.

Meanwhile, Deceit and Wistfulness can improve the deck's resilience against graveyard hate while synergizing neatly with Superior Spider-Man. It is easy to imagine Formidable Speaker fetching Wistfulness to answer an opposing Rest in Peace. And if you pay {U}{U}{B}{B} to cast Superior Spider-Man and have it enter as a copy of Deceit, then you'll get both the bounce and discard effects for just four mana. Lorwyn Eclipsed opens the door to a wide range of new lines, giving Sultai Reanimator plenty of tricks to explore.

Five New Typal Decks with Lorwyn Eclipsed

With the arrival of Lorwyn Eclipsed, Standard is getting a wide range of upgrades, many of which slot neatly into existing archetypes. Yet the new set also introduces numerous other cards that could give rise to entirely new decks. In particular, five creature types now appear to have enough depth to support full typal decks. These decks may struggle against removal-heavy strategies like Izzet Lessons, but that has never stopped dedicated brewers from exploring their limits.

Brigid's Command
Trystan's Command
Sygg's Command
Ashling's Command
Grub's Command

Selesnya Kithkin: This points toward a low-curve aggressive deck. Imagine Figure of Fable or Kinsbaile Aspirant on turn one, followed by Kinscaer Sentry or Bristlebane Battler on turn two, then supported by Brigid, Clachan's Heart or Brigid's Command on turn three. While Kithkin's typal synergies and interaction seem somewhat limited, its aggressive core can pressure opponents quickly.

Golgari Elves: With Llanowar Elves already among the best cards in Standard, an Elves deck can accelerate into powerful plays with ease. Champions of the Perfect brings back memories of Glimpse of Nature (which is banned in Modern), while Trystan, Callous Cultivator supports graveyard synergies. Meanwhile, Trystan's Command serves as a ramp payoff. There are numerous directions in which Elves could be built.

Azorius Merfolk: Mindspring Merfolk made its debut in Aetherdrift, and both Sygg, Wanderwine Wisdom and Deepchannel Duelist seem excellent support pieces if the opponent stumbles early. Disruptor of Currents and Wanderbrine Trapper can help trigger Deeproot Pilgrimage, opening the door to various tap-and-untap synergies. Sygg's Command could round out the deck with additional value and flexibility.

Izzet Elementals: This deck could use Soulbright Seeker; Flamebraider; and Ashling, Rekindled to ramp into a suite of new evoke Elementals, which Ashling's Command can then copy for added value. Between Cavern of Souls, Secluded Courtyard, and Eclipsed Realms, it may even be feasible to support evoke Elementals across all five colors, perhaps even supported by Not Dead After All.

Rakdos Goblins: This would be an aggressive, grindy, creature-heavy deck designed to exploit the final mode of Grub's Command. An early curve could feature new cards like Mudbutton Cursetosser; Scuzzback Scrounger; Taster of Wares; and Grub, Storied Matriarch. With these creatures, Goblins holds the capability for card advantage and interaction while pressuring the opponent.

Prepare for Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed

Lorwyn Eclipsed opens the floodgates for creative decks and strategies. I can't wait to see what the Regional Championship and Pro Tour competitors will bring, and we won't have to wait long to find out. Coverage of the US Regional Championship will be available on Star City Games's YouTube channel this weekend, and Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed begins Friday, January 30.

Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed takes place in Richmond, Virginia, and is a closed event for invited competitors. You can follow the action live on twitch.tv/magic and the Play MTG YouTube channel. With $500,000 in prizes at stake and the world's best players competing for glory, it promises to be a showcase of high-level Magic. Ultimately, the champion will add their name to competitive Magic history.