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. Standard, one of Magic's most pivotal competitive formats, was recently shaken to its core by the June 30 banned and restricted announcement. This marked the annual "early rotation" window for Standard. There, we bid an early farewell to seven powerful cards: Cori-Steel Cutter, Abuelo's Awakening, Monstrous Rage, Heartfire Hero, Up the Beanstalk, Hopeless Nightmare, and This Town Ain't Big Enough.

In the article accompanying the announcement, Jadine Klomparens said that these seven cards had "proven their strength and made the format less fun, either by creating unhealthy play patterns or by restricting the viable deck-building options available in the environment." The removal of these cards sent shockwaves through the metagame as previously dominant strategies lost key engine pieces and once overlooked archetypes found fresh space to thrive. In today's article, we'll analyze the early results from the first Standard events after the bans.

Standard After the Bans

Standard, a rotating 60-card format, currently includes expansion sets from Dominaria United onward. To grasp the state of the format right after the June 30 bans, I analyzed 288 published decklists from the first nine Challenge events on Magic Online following the changes.

After categorizing decks by archetype based on their card composition, 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 collects decks with less than one percent metagame share, including Golgari Midrange, Gruul Delirium, Orzhov Demons, Golgari Roots, Selesnya Gearhulk, Jeskai Convoke, Bant Gearhulk, Azorius Tokens, Azorius Artifacts, Orzhov Pixie, Boros Equipment, Selesnya Yuna, Boros Monument, Abzan Yuna, and more.

In the weeks since Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™, several archetypes have declined in representation. Izzet Prowess, Azorius Omniscience, Mono-Red Aggro, and Domain Overlords were all heavily impacted by the bans, losing key components and sharply falling in popularity. These shifts are reflected by the arrows in the table. Meanwhile, decks like Dimir Midrange, Mono-White Tokens, Izzet Cauldron, Golgari Demons, and Boros Convoke were unaffected, so they surged ahead to claim a larger slice in this new Standard environment.

Among all the shifts, the collapse of Izzet Prowess is the most dramatic. At the Pro Tour, it commanded an astonishing 42.3% of the metagame. But with the banning of Cori-Steel Cutter, that dominance has evaporated. Accordingly, support cards like Stormchaser's Talent, Opt, Sleight of Hand, and Drake Hatcher have plummeted in usage across Standard decklists, and answer cards such as Magebane Lizard and High Noon have vanished almost entirely from the metagame. These changes have opened the door for more flexible and proactive strategies.

To better understand the shape of the post-bans Standard metagame, let's take a closer look at the top archetypes in more detail.

1. Dimir Midrange (32.6% of the Winner's Metagame)

2 Cecil, Dark Knight 4 Cut Down 4 Darkslick Shores 1 Deep-Cavern Bat 3 Enduring Curiosity 4 Faerie Mastermind 4 Floodpits Drowner 4 Gloomlake Verge 3 Go for the Throat 4 Island 4 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 2 Phantom Interference 2 Restless Reef 2 Saiba Cryptomancer 1 Sheoldred's Edict 3 Soulstone Sanctuary 4 Spyglass Siren 4 Swamp 1 Tishana's Tidebinder 4 Underground River 2 Anoint with Affliction 1 Disdainful Stroke 1 Duress 2 Ghost Vacuum 2 Gix's Command 2 Negate 4 Preacher of the Schism 1 Tishana's Tidebinder

In the wake of these bans, Dimir Midrange has emerged as the new frontrunner in Standard, seizing an impressive 32.6% of the winner's metagame. This rise comes as no real surprise. Dimir Midrange was, from among the decks untouched by these bans, the most prominent archetype at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY. While it struggled against Izzet Prowess, the deck performed admirably against nearly every other deck in the field. It's a versatile and resilient strategy, blending disruption with efficient, evasive threats, and it continues to boast strong matchups across the board. Magic Online's Mogged recently piloted a finely tuned list to victory in a Standard Challenge.

The central question for Standard players is now simple: how do you beat Dimir Midrange? There are two promising angles of attack. First, you can come prepared with removal that can handle Enduring Curiosity and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares. These two cards, fueled by a fleet of evasive threats, serve as the engine of the deck, so if you can shut them down with exile-based answers or planeswalker-specific removal, then Dimir Midrange can quickly run out of momentum. Second, you can go wide with a swarm of small creatures. Dimir's interaction suite relies heavily on pinpoint removal like Cut Down and Go for the Throat, which are excellent against individual threats such as Vivi Ornitier but far less effective against token generators like Gleeful Demolition.

2. Mono-White Tokens (9.5% of the Winner's Metagame)

3 Beza, the Bounding Spring 4 Caretaker's Talent 4 Carrot Cake 2 Day of Judgment 2 Demolition Field 2 Elspeth, Storm Slayer 4 Enduring Innocence 4 Fountainport 4 Get Lost 4 Lay Down Arms 3 Overlord of the Mistmoors 15 Plains 1 Sunfall 4 Sunken Citadel 4 Voice of Victory 2 Authority of the Consuls 1 Beza, the Bounding Spring 2 Destroy Evil 1 Elspeth, Storm Slayer 1 Overlord of the Mistmoors 4 Rest in Peace 2 Temporary Lockdown 2 The Stone Brain

Mono-White Tokens, also known as Mono-White Caretaker, has proven itself as a powerful foil to creature-based strategies, thanks to an efficient suite of removal spells like Lay Down Arms, Get Lost, and Day of Judgment. The deck controls the board with cheap removal and powerful sweepers, buying time until it can capitalize on the card-advantage engines of Caretaker's Talent and Enduring Innocence. These enchantments provide a steady flow of value, triggering off every Carrot Cake activation and overwhelming opponents through sheer card advantage. FerMTG showcased the deck's full potential with a well-crafted list, winning the first post-bans Standard Challenge and setting an early benchmark for the format.

Importantly, none of Mono-White Tokens's core pieces were touched by the recent bans, and it appears to have a reasonably favorable matchup against Dimir Midrange. It can exile Enduring Curiosity with Lay Down Arms; remove Kaito, Bane of Nightmares using Get Lost; clog the skies with flying blockers from Overlord of the Mistmoors or Elspeth, Storm Slayer; and ultimately pull ahead through Caretaker's Talent in the late game. Its reliance on tokens also makes it naturally resilient to Dimir's arsenal of single-target creature removal.

3. Izzet Cauldron (8.3% of the Winner's Metagame)

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

While nearly every Izzet player at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY leaned heavily on four copies of Cori-Steel Cutter and a suite of Monstrous Rage, Hall of Famer Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa took a dramatically different approach. Forgoing the now banned red staples entirely, his build instead revolved around Agatha's Soul Cauldron. By exiling Vivi Ornitier, the Cauldron grants his activated mana ability to any creature with a +1/+1 counter. Exiling Voldaren Thrillseeker can deliver a surprise knockout, as it allows any counter-laden creature to become a lethal fireball. The deck can also exploit the powerful synergy between Fear of Missing Out and Proft's Eidetic Memory, as the additional combat step grants a second opportunity to stack even more +1/+1 counters onto the board.

This clever combo engine powered Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa to an impressive 8-2 record in the Standard rounds of the Pro Tour. And because the deck remained untouched by the ban announcement, it has since risen to become the premier Izzet build in post-ban Standard. Folero piloted the exact same 75 to a 2nd-place finish in a recent Magic Online Challenge. Clearly, Vivi Ornitier is an exceptionally powerful card, and this deck might just be the best at maximizing his potential.

4. Izzet Prowess (6.7% of the Winner's Metagame)

1 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 4 Astrologian's Planisphere 2 Get Out 2 Into the Flood Maw 5 Island 1 Magic Damper 1 Marang River Regent 3 Mountain 1 Obliterating Bolt 4 Opt 1 Ral, Crackling Wit 4 Riverpyre Verge 2 Roaring Furnace // Steaming Sauna 4 Shivan Reef 4 Sleight of Hand 4 Spirebluff Canal 4 Stock Up 4 Stormchaser's Talent 1 Thundering Falls 4 Torch the Tower 4 Vivi Ornitier 1 Agatha's Soul Cauldron 2 Disdainful Stroke 2 Enduring Curiosity 2 Faerie Mastermind 2 Fire Magic 2 Lithomantic Barrage 1 Marang River Regent 1 Obliterating Bolt 2 Spell Pierce

Cori-Steel Cutter and Monstrous Rage may be gone, but Stormchaser's Talent and Astrologian's Planisphere can still thrive in a deck built around Sleight of Hand and Opt. As a result, Izzet Prowess hasn't vanished entirely. HouseOfManaMTG demonstrated the archetype's enduring strength with a Challenge win on Magic Online, showcasing its staying power.

While the list includes a single copy of Agatha's Soul Cauldron to occasionally exile Vivi Ornitier for added value, it doesn't lean into the graveyard synergies that define Izzet Cauldron. Indeed, it favors Opt and Sleight of Hand over the discard-oriented package of Marauding Mako, Fear of Missing Out, Tersa Lightshatter, and Winternight Stories. Because of this key difference in deck construction and gameplay, I've classified Izzet Prowess as a distinct archetype from Izzet Cauldron.

5. Gruul Aggro (6.5% of the Winner's Metagame)

1 Audacity 4 Burst Lightning 4 Copperline Gorge 4 Emberheart Challenger 1 Forest 4 Hired Claw 4 Innkeeper's Talent 4 Karplusan Forest 4 Manifold Mouse 5 Mountain 4 Overprotect 4 Pawpatch Recruit 2 Questing Druid 1 Restless Ridgeline 2 Rockface Village 4 Screaming Nemesis 1 Self-Destruct 1 Soulstone Sanctuary 4 Thornspire Verge 2 Twinmaw Stormbrood 2 Lithomantic Barrage 3 Pawpatch Formation 2 Pyroclasm 2 Questing Druid 1 Sentinel of the Nameless City 2 Sunspine Lynx 3 Urabrask's Forge

Even without Heartfire Hero and Monstrous Rage, aggressive red decks continue to hold a meaningful place in the format. A turn-one Hired Claw can still apply early pressure, Emberheart Challenger's valiant ability still triggers off Manifold Mouse, and the deck retains the ability to close games with direct damage from Burst Lightning or Screaming Nemesis.

That said, the archetype has lost some of its raw explosiveness, and most red-based aggro lists now splash green to compensate for the banned cards. Pawpatch Recruit serves as a one-drop replacement for Heartfire Hero, while Overprotect fills a similar role to Monstrous Rage. The kills may come a turn slower, but the core firepower remains intact. Grogore piloted the featured list to a 3rd-place finish in a recent Magic Online Challenge, showing that aggressive red decks are far from extinguished.

6. Golgari Demons (4.8% of the Winner's Metagame)

4 Blooming Marsh 3 Cut Down 3 Demon Wall 1 Disruptive Stormbrood 4 Forest 2 Go for the Throat 1 Jenova, Ancient Calamity 4 Llanowar Elves 2 Llanowar Wastes 4 Lumbering Worldwagon 2 Qarsi Revenant 1 Restless Cottage 2 Rot-Curse Rakshasa 2 Sentinel of the Nameless City 2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 1 Sheoldred's Edict 1 Shoot the Sheriff 3 Soulstone Sanctuary 2 Surrak, Elusive Hunter 4 Swamp 2 Tear Asunder 2 Underground Mortuary 4 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber 4 Wastewood Verge 1 Anoint with Affliction 1 Blot Out 2 Choking Miasma 3 Duress 1 Ghost Vacuum 2 Liliana of the Veil 1 Nissa, Ascended Animist 1 Outrageous Robbery 1 Scavenger Regent 1 Scavenging Ooze 1 Tear Asunder

While various powerhouse cards were swept up in the recent bans, Unholy Annex emerged unscathed. When you curve a turn-two Demon like Rot-Curse Rakshasa or Demon Wall into Unholy Annex, you unlock a life-draining, card-drawing engine. And later in the game, Soulstone Sanctuary can turn into a Demon to keep the drains coming.

There are multiple ways to build around Unholy Annex, but the most successful approach so far has been Golgari Demons. Digdude13 took the featured list to a 2nd-place finish in a recent Magic Online Challenge. The deck cleverly integrates cards that synergize with its two-drop Demons: Jenova, Ancient Calamity unlocks the offense capabilities of Demon Wall, while Lumbering Worldwagon offers a powerful Vehicle for Rot-Curse Rakshasa to crew. On top of that, main-deck Tear Asunder offers a clean answer to Enduring Curiosity and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares.

7. Boros Convoke (4.8% of the Winner's Metagame)

2 Arabella, Abandoned Doll 4 Battlefield Forge 4 Case of the Gateway Express 2 Dragoon's Lance 4 Gleeful Demolition 4 Imodane's Recruiter 4 Inspiring Vantage 4 Knight-Errant of Eos 1 Mirrex 3 Mountain 4 Nesting Bot 4 Novice Inspector 2 Painter's Studio // Defaced Gallery 5 Plains 4 Resolute Reinforcements 4 Sunbillow Verge 1 Torch the Tower 4 Warden of the Inner Sky 4 Aven Interrupter 3 Destroy Evil 2 Fire Magic 3 Rest in Peace 3 Torch the Tower

Boros Convoke is an aggressive red deck that didn't rely on Heartfire Hero or Monstrous Rage, allowing it to emerge from the bans unscathed. Its ideal opening hand can curve Novice Inspector into Gleeful Demolition to convoke out Knight-Errant of Eos as soon as turn two. This deck generates card advantage while rapidly developing its board, making it resilient to spot removal. It's a true go-wide strategy that Dimir Midrange struggles to contain.

The momentum continues with Imodane's Recruiter, delivering a sharp burst of damage. Additional payoffs like Case of the Gateway Express and Warden of the Inner Sky also reward you for swarming the board with tokens. A standout new addition from Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY is Dragoon's Lance, which provides two permanents for Warden of the Inner Sky, serves as a target for Gleeful Demolition, and helps send Arabella, Abandoned Doll into the air. And even without any synergies, a simple 2/1 flyer for two mana is always useful. LucasG1ggs piloted this list to a 1st-place finish at a recent Magic Online Challenge.

8. Azorius Control (3.5% of the Winner's Metagame)

1 Adarkar Wastes 3 Beza, the Bounding Spring 1 Change the Equation 4 Demolition Field 2 Dreams of Laguna 3 Elspeth, Storm Slayer 4 Floodfarm Verge 2 Fountainport 3 Get Lost 4 Island 3 Marang River Regent 4 Meticulous Archive 1 Negate 4 No More Lies 2 Overlord of the Mistmoors 4 Plains 2 Restless Anchorage 1 Ride's End 1 Split Up 4 Stock Up 1 Sunken Citadel 2 Temporary Lockdown 2 Three Steps Ahead 2 Ultima 2 Clarion Conqueror 1 Devout Decree 1 Dust Animus 2 Kutzil's Flanker 1 Loran of the Third Path 2 Overlord of the Mistmoors 1 Rest in Peace 2 Stoic Sphinx 3 Tishana's Tidebinder

Azorius Control emerged from the bans entirely intact, retaining its ability to dictate the flow of the game through a suite of efficient removal and countermagic. With a smooth two-color mana base featuring Demolition Field and Fountainport, the deck continues its classic approach: counter early threats with No More Lies, stabilize the board, and eventually win with late-game closers like Marang River Regent.

However, some fine-tuning may be required as the new Standard metagame takes shape. At the Pro Tour, Azorius Control excelled against Izzet Prowess, using tools like Temporary Lockdown and Ultima to cleanly answer Cori-Steel Cutter and its Monk tokens. But with that archetype now diminished, some fresh adaptations to the list may be in order. Still, the strategy remains fundamentally sound; Rollo1993 demonstrated as much with a Top 8 finish in a recent Magic Online Challenge using the list shown above.

9. Naya Yuna (3.0% of the Winner's Metagame)

2 Cavern of Souls 4 Dredger's Insight 4 Elegant Parlor 4 Esper Origins 4 Fear of Missing Out 1 Forest 2 Get Lost 4 Hushwood Verge 3 Joshua, Phoenix's Dominant 3 Lush Portico 1 Mountain 4 Overlord of the Boilerbilges 2 Overlord of the Mistmoors 1 Plains 3 Starting Town 1 Summon: Brynhildr 2 Sunbillow Verge 3 Terra, Magical Adept 4 Thornspire Verge 4 Torch the Tower 4 Yuna, Hope of Spira 3 Clarion Conqueror 3 Day of Judgment 2 Exorcise 2 Fire Magic 2 Get Lost 2 Ghost Vacuum 1 Summon: Knights of Round

I was thrilled to see Naya Yuna, one of my favorite new decks to come out of the Pro Tour, rise to the occasion in post-ban Standard. First unveiled by Bryan Hohns at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY, the deck revolves around the core synergy between Yuna, Hope of Spira and Overlord of the Boilerbilges. After discarding the Overlord with one of several enablers, Yuna can reanimate it on turn five. This delivers a massive board presence, with a satisfying lifelink ping to boot.

Zompatanfo took the strategy to the next level, finishing 2nd in the first Challenge after the bans with an updated version of Hohns's list. Cards like High Noon, once aimed at suppressing Cori-Steel Cutter, were trimmed, while fresh additions like Dredger's Insight and Terra, Magical Adept improved the graveyard setup. The inclusion of Overlord of the Mistmoors also increased the density of high-impact reanimation targets. Altogether, it's a powerful deck that can shine in the post-ban metagame.

10. Jeskai Control (2.8% of the Winner's Metagame)

2 Beza, the Bounding Spring 1 Cori Mountain Monastery 2 Day of Judgment 3 Dispelling Exhale 4 Elegant Parlor 4 Floodfarm Verge 4 Get Lost 2 Island 3 Lightning Helix 2 Marang River Regent 4 Meticulous Archive 1 Parting Gust 3 Plains 3 Rediscover the Way 3 Riverpyre Verge 1 Roiling Dragonstorm 1 Scorching Dragonfire 4 Shiko, Paragon of the Way 4 Stock Up 3 Sunbillow Verge 2 Temporary Lockdown 1 Three Steps Ahead 2 Thundering Falls 1 Ultima 1 Abrade 1 Clarion Conqueror 1 Destroy Evil 1 Devout Decree 1 Exorcise 2 Ghost Vacuum 2 Negate 3 Overlord of the Mistmoors 3 Tishana's Tidebinder

Jeskai Control was not affected by the bans and remains a strong choice in the format. It shares many components with Azorius Control but trades a cleaner mana base for the added flexibility of a red splash. The centerpiece is Shiko, Paragon of the Way: a five-mana powerhouse that not only delivers a massive Dragon but also casts a free spell like Stock Up or Lightning Helix, swinging the game in your favor.

Killah_SUV took this list to a 2nd-place finish in a recent Magic Online Challenge. The card choices closely resemble top-performing builds from Junea but with notable updates: the number of copies of Temporary Lockdown have been reduced in response to the banning of Cori-Steel Cutter, making room for Parting Gust and Scorching Dragonfire. These instants provide clean answers to Enduring Curiosity, which has quickly become the new must-answer threat in a Standard format now ruled by Dimir Midrange.

What's Next for Standard?

While Dimir Midrange currently sits atop the early post-ban Standard metagame, the field feels wide open. A variety of strategies should be able to topple the new frontrunner, and with innovation happening daily, it's a true deck builder's paradise. One promising contender that I did not cover yet is Golgari Roots, which boasted the highest win rate among archetypes with multiple pilots at Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY. It emerged from the bans completely intact and should not be underestimated in the post-ban Standard format.

Looking ahead, two upcoming milestones will soon reshape Standard's trajectory:

• Standard rotation (July 25): With the Prerelease of Edge of Eternities, Standard will rotate. 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. Barring reprints, this will usher out staples like Underground River, Darkslick Shores, Faerie Mastermind, Go for the Throat, and Cut Down, weakening Dimir Midrange and opening the door for new strategies.
• Start of RCQ cycle (August 2): 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. With rotation shaking up the format just a week prior, expect a fast-moving metagame full of fresh decks and rapid metagame developments.