The decklists are in, the data has been crunched, and the first Pro Tour of 2025 is ready to roar onto the track! Pro Tour Aetherdrift kicks off tomorrow, running from February 21–23 at MagicCon: Chicago, where 349 of the world's best Magic: The Gathering players will battle for $500,000 in prizes, invitations to the World Championship, and the coveted Pro Tour trophy. With more than 3,500 cards legal in Standard, competitors face one of the most complex and high-powered metagames that the format has ever seen.

The field is stacked with elite talent, including top finishers from Regional Championships, online qualifiers, and past Pro Tours. Among the competitors is Javier Dominguez, the reigning Magic World Champion and 2024 Player of the Year, who's looking to add another trophy to his collection. The competition begins with Aetherdrift Booster Draft on Friday and Saturday morning, followed by five rounds of Standard on each of those days. Then, on Sunday, the Top 8 will put the pedal to the metal in a Standard showdown for the title of Pro Tour champion.

To follow all the action, tune in to the live stream at twitch.tv/magic or on the Play MTG YouTube channel. The broadcast begins at 11 a.m. CT on Friday and Saturday and at 10 p.m. CT on Sunday. Be sure to check the viewer's guide for all the details. You won't want to miss a second of the high-speed excitement!

Standard Metagame Breakdown

Standard, Magic's rotating 60-card format, currently includes expansion sets from Dominaria United onward. Over the past few months, Standard has been shaped by the dominance of Gruul Mice, Dimir Midrange, Esper Pixie, and a variety of other strategies. But with Aetherdrift shaking up the scene, the Pro Tour's metagame has shifted gears.

This weekend's competition features a broad spectrum of archetypes—aggro, midrange, control, combo—plenty of innovative builds. All Standard decklists for the tournament will be published on the Pro Tour Aetherdrift event page at the start of Round 4 on Friday, February 21, around 2 p.m. Central Time. Until then, here's a closer look at the most-played decks of the tournament.

Gruul Mice (66 players): Built for pure speed and relentless aggression, Gruul Mice—also known as Gruul Aggro— aims to overrun opponents with explosive starts and valiant triggers. The powerful abilities on Heartfire Hero and Emberheart Challenger are consistently fueled by cards like Manifold Mouse and Monstrous Rage. The green splash is light, typically limited to a few copies of Pawpatch Recruit, Questing Druid, and Innkeeper's Talent, along with key sideboard options.

Esper Pixie (58 players): Also known as Esper Bounce, this deck thrives on enchantments with enters-the-battlefield effects—Stormchaser's Talent, Hopeless Nightmare, and Nowhere to Run—paired with a suite of self-bounce enablers like Nurturing Pixie, Fear of Isolation, and This Town Ain't Big Enough. Repeated Nowhere to Run triggers keep aggressive decks at bay, while looping Hopeless Nightmare can grind control decks into the dust.

Domain Overlords (53 players): This four-color deck, sometimes called Zur Overlords or Domain Control, leans on Zur, Eternal Schemer to animate its Overlords into lifelinking threats with game-changing attack triggers. Overlord of the Hauntwoods is the centerpiece, triggering Up the Beanstalk and enabling full domain for Leyline Binding. The deck's popularity has surged in recent weeks, particularly with the introduction of Ride's End, a removal spell that synergizes perfectly with Up the Beanstalk.

Jeskai Oculus (21 players): Jeskai Oculus aims to cheat out Abhorrent Oculus by getting it into the graveyard, then reanimating it via Helping Hand or Recommission to bypass its steep additional cost. Once it lands, the Oculus takes over the game, flooding the board with manifested creatures. As an evolution of its white-blue predecessor, Jeskai Oculus has added red for discard enablers like Fear of Missing Out, removal spells like Torch the Tower, and sideboard options like the new Chandra, Spark Hunter. However, the metagame seems prepared for reanimated 5/5 blue fliers: Rest in Peace, Destroy Evil, Lithomantic Barrage, Pawpatch Formation, and Ghost Vacuum are the five most-played sideboard cards this weekend.

Together, these four decks account for 56.6% of the field. Gruul Mice and Esper Pixie were already the top contenders before Aetherdrift's release, as I covered in a recent Standard format primer, so their dominance isn't surprising. The rise of Domain Overlords and Jeskai Oculus, however, is a newer development. Meanwhile, black midrange strategies—Dimir Bounce, Golgari Midrange, and Dimir Midrange—appear to have fallen behind, showing up in smaller numbers than many expected.

The remaining 43.4% of the metagame is a whirlwind of diversity. Dozens of archetypes, most claiming between 1% and 3% of the field, showcase the incredible range of competitively viable options in Standard right now. With Aetherdrift injecting fresh energy into the format, there's no shortage of creative builds ready to turn heads. Buckle up for the Standard rounds—the sparks are about to fly!

Most-Played Cards from Aetherdrift

Standard's existing card pool set a high bar for any new includes, with Monstrous Rage, Emberheart Challenger, Heartfire Hero, and This Town Ain't Big Enough ranking as the most-played non-land main deck cards at Pro Tour Aetherdrift. Many Gruul Mice and Mono-Red Aggro lists opted for zero new cards from the newest set. Yet, Aetherdrift still made its mark, strengthening other existing archetypes and introducing powerful build-arounds for new archetypes. The table below breaks down all new-to-Standard cards across the 349 submitted decklists.

Ride's End Spell Pierce

When it comes to raw numbers, the biggest impact came from Ride's End and Spell Pierce, indicating that efficient interaction is the key to success in Standard. Ride's End has played a pivotal role in the resurgence of Domain Overlords and Azorius Control, as it cleanly answers attackers for just two mana. And since its mana value is technically five, it triggers Up the Beanstalk for extra value. Meanwhile, Spell Pierce is a key reprint that has reaffirmed its place as one of the most mana-efficient permission spells in the game.

Wastewood Verge Bleachbone Verge

The cycle of enemy-color Verges has seen widespread adoption, significantly improving the mana bases of two-color decks. Wastewood Verge in particular has become a near auto-include for green-black strategies, effectively functioning as an upgraded Forest. My personal favorite application is in the brand-new Golgari Obliterator deck, where the improved mana base facilitates the inclusion of both Phyrexian Obliterator and Bushwhack—a devastating, game-winning combo.

Grim Bauble Momentum Breaker

Esper Pixie decks have welcomed Momentum Breaker in the main deck and Grim Bauble in the sideboard. These removal effects synergize perfectly with Nurturing Pixie, which can bounce for additional value. Momentum Breaker also triggers Optimistic Scavenger to maintain board presence. Beyond Esper Pixie and Dimir Bounce strategies, these additions have also enabled an entirely new archetype: Esper Paragon, which leverages Serra Paragon to recast the permanent-based removal tools.

Brightglass Gearhulk Oildeep Gearhulk

Aetherdrift's cycle of Gearhulks are formidable threats that sidestep common answers like Go for the Throat, Nowhere to Run, and This Town Ain't Big Enough. While Oildeep Gearhulk has found some adoption in Dimir Midrange and Riptide Gearhulk offers a transformational sideboard plan for Azorius Omniscience, the real standout is Brightglass Gearhulk. In Selesnya Cage, it can tutor up Dusk Rose Reliquary and Pawpatch Recruit, providing a unique mix of removal, card advantage, and creature presence for Collector's Cage. Meanwhile, the novel Bant Gearhulk and Bant Cage decks pair it with Mockingbird, creating a nearly endless supply of 4/4 flyers.

Stock Up Molt Tender

Several support spells from Aetherdrift provide incremental upgrades to decks. For example, Stock Up is perhaps the best Divination variant ever, resulting in a valuable addition for decks like Azorius Control and Azorius Omniscience. Meanwhile, Molt Tender provides a crucial boost to Golgari Roots, helping to create an army of Plants alongside Insidious Roots, while in Golgari Graveyard shells, it fuels self-mill strategies that accelerate Huskburster Swarm or Hollow Marauder. These additions have helped fringe decks gain competitive footing.

Monument to Endurance Afterburner Expert

Finally, Aetherdrift has introduced game-changing build-arounds that have spawned entirely new archetypes. Monument to Endurance has found a home in various Jeskai and Mardu decks that can reanimate Phyrexian Dragon Engine for a devastating sequence of card draw, Treasure generation, and life drain. Meanwhile, Afterburner Expert has sparked the emergence of exhaust decks, using Dredger's Insight on turn two to set up an explosive turn-three play with Draconautics Engineer, bringing back the Expert with haste.

Conclusion

Even in a format dominated by established powerhouses, Aetherdrift has brought a full-blown tailwind of innovation. Standard feels revitalized, and it's exciting to see so many new cards making an impact. But the real test is yet to come. Who will rise to the top and etch their name into competitive Magic history? Don't miss a moment of the action when coverage of Pro Tour Aetherdrift kicks off Friday, February 21!