Every Magic player has a favorite card. For some, it's the creature that carried them to their first trophy. For others, it's a card with a unique mechanic or gorgeous artwork. Or perhaps their favorite just brings that special feeling of excitement whenever it hits the battlefield.

That's what makes the favorites of World Championship competitors so interesting. In the lead-up to Magic World Championship 32, competitors were asked two simple questions: "What is your favorite card in Standard? Why?" The answers mostly skipped past the heavily played interactive staples, such as Requiting Hex, Bitter Triumph, Duress, and Strategic Betrayal, even though they are pillars of the format. Instead, the players' answers provide an overview of the cards that make the best players in the world smile with excitement.

Several patterns stand out. Above all, competitors love versatile cards that give them decisions. That makes sense! The more choices a card offers, the better a skilled player can leverage it. Other players love cards for their brilliant designs or because they single-handedly enable an entire deck.

In this article, I'll take a closer look at 20 of the most commonly mentioned favorites, along with the decks they power and the competitors who picked them. Together, they offer a glimpse into the minds of the world's best players and a guide to the established powerhouses and emerging innovations that will shape Standard at World Championship 32.

Burst Lightning: Four Spells in One Card

Burst Lightning

Burst Lightning offers a surprising number of decisions for a one-mana spell. Do you cast it right away to remove an early creature, or do you wait until you can kick it to take down a bigger threat? And do you even point it at a creature, or do you target your opponent's face? In a way, it's four cards rolled into one, rewarding the player who picks the right mode at the right time. "It's simple, clean, efficient, effective, and it can go face!" said January Adams. "Feels fair on both sides of the field."

Izzet Spellementals uses it as cheap removal that also reduces the cost of Eddymurk Crab, while Izzet Prowess and Boros Dragons use it as removal and direct damage. As a Magic: The Gathering Foundations reprint, it will stay legal in Standard at least until 2029.

Deceit: Two Triggers, Many Choices

Deceit

Deceit gives you a lot to think about. Depending on whether you spend two blue and/or two black mana, it bounces a nonland permanent and/or takes the best card from your opponent's hand. You can evoke it for two mana and pick the mode that fits the moment or hard-cast it for six mana with both colors to get both triggers and a 5/5 body.

"I think it gives you a lot of decisions while not being too good," said 2024 World Champion Javier Dominguez. Francisco Avila and Christoffer Larsen named Deceit as their favorite as well. With a combination of flexibility and a substantial body, the Lorwyn Eclipsed Incarnation has been a key player in Standard decks like Dimir Uldaros, Grixis Reanimator, and Dimir Excruciator.

Demolition Field: Cooked Up in the Kitchen

Demolition Field

Some deck-building breakthroughs happen at a desk covered in Magic cards. This one happened in the kitchen. During a cooking night at their testing house before Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven, Marco Del Pivo proposed the colorless land as a way to beat the Mono-Green Landfall mirror, where it can destroy an opposing Ba Sing Se. "I came up with that idea while cooking (real cooking, not deck building) to beat the mirror!" he said. His teammate, Marc Peral, picked it as his favorite as well. "After that weekend, all Mono-Green Landfall lists had that as a one-of."

The idea works on multiple levels. Demolition Field destroys your opponent's best nonbasic land, while the basic land you search up triggers landfall on your side. With Icetill Explorer on the battlefield, you can replay it from your graveyard repeatedly. The Foundations card remains a fixture in Mono-Green Landfall, while various Azorius Control decks have also adopted it to answer opposing utility lands.

Doomsday Excruciator: A Demon with a Story

Doomsday Excruciator

Doomsday Excruciator is a brilliant design. Drawing inspiration from the iconic 1997 card Doomsday, the 6/6 flier exiles all but the bottom six cards of each library, which completely turns the game around in high-risk fashion. Anthony Lee helped develop the Dimir Demons deck that Javier Dominguez piloted to victory at Magic World Championship 30 in October 2024, and the card remains his favorite. "I have some sentimental attachment because of our Worlds-winning deck, but I also think it's such a brilliant design for a Demon and think the alternate art is hilarious," Lee said.

That history hasn't been Doomsday Excruciator's only legacy. Two years later, after Christoffer Larsen's victory at Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed, the Demon remains an essential piece of Dimir Excruciator. Enjoy it while you can: Doomsday Excruciator will rotate out of Standard with the release of Nauctis: The Sunken Realm in early 2027.

Earthbender Ascension: Grinding Value from Every Land

Earthbender Ascension

Earthbender Ascension rewards you for every land drop, and it asks you to make an interesting choice right away. When it enters, do you earthbend a Fabled Passage, crack it, watch it return, and rack up extra landfall triggers? Or do you animate a basic Forest for a hasty attacker and pressure the opponent? "I think it's very fun to slowly grind value off lands," Andrew Elenbogen said, "and I enjoy the choice of whether to target a fetch land or basic Forest." Mateo Ferreira and Ondřej Stráský named the enchantment as their favorite as well.

The enchantment is a key part of Mono-Green Landfall, where it quickly turns land drops into a steady stream of +1/+1 counters. Following Nathan Steuer's triumph at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven, the archetype has remained a major force in Standard, even after Badgermole Cub was banned in August.

Eddymurk Crab: The Seven-Drop That Rarely Costs Seven

Eddymurk Crab

Eddymurk Crab has a printed mana cost of seven, but in a deck full of instants and sorceries, it rarely costs more than two or three mana. On top of that, it offers meaningful timing decisions. Flash it in on your opponent's turn to tap down two potential attackers, or cast it on your own turn to tap two blockers and clear the way for a lethal attack. "Such a beautifully balanced and well-designed card," said Alex Rohan.

Nicholas Odenheimer was an early adopter. "Ever since it came out, my girlfriend and I have been trying to find good builds for it and were playing it in Prowess before it was cool." Today, it more commonly appears as a cornerstone of Izzet Spellementals, where its Elemental type can reduce the cost of Sunderflock. As a Bloomburrow card, the Crab rotates out of Standard with the release of Nauctis: The Sunken Realm in early 2027.

Elusive Otter: Cute and Deadly

Elusive Otter

"Have you seen how cute it is?" asked Robert Wagner-Krankel. "[It's] also very deadly." Elusive Otter is a one-mana 1/1 with prowess and built-in evasion, so every pump spell makes it both bigger and harder to block. Its Adventure half adds even more options in decks with access to green mana. Wagner-Krankel feared the Otter had lost its edge after Stormchaser's Talent was banned in August, but it has kept swimming in decks like Izzet Prowess and Izzet Fling.

Aidan Mirabelli loves the card as well. "I've played Elusive Otter to success at many competitive events. It is such a fun design. I love using the green side for a prowess trigger or casting Wild Ride for a sneaky Otter lethal." The Otter has around three months left in Standard before rotation.

Greed's Gambit: The Gift That Keeps on Taking

Greed's Gambit

Greed's Gambit offers a big upfront payoff: three cards, 6 life, and three 2/1 flying Bats. The catch is that at the beginning of each of your end steps, you effectively have to give up a third of that benefit, and you can't sacrifice or bounce the enchantment without losing everything. Most players see a risky deal. Nicholas Talbot sees a present. "I like giving people gifts," he said.

The trick is to make someone else accept the gift. To that end, deck builders have paired Greed's Gambit with cards like Harmless Offering; Coveted Falcon; or Iroh, Tea Master, forcing your opponent to gain control of the permanent. That way, you keep the cards, life, and Bats while your opponent inherits the drawbacks. Though Greed's Gambit is rarely seen at the top tables, with only a single player at Arena Championship 13 opting for the deck, that only makes it all the spicier when it does show up. The card is from The Big Score, which rotates alongside Outlaws of Thunder Junction in early 2027.

High Noon: One Spell per Turn

High Noon

High Noon is a two-mana enchantment with a simple but powerful restriction: one spell per turn for each player. In a format full of cheap cantrips, double-spell turns, and prowess triggers, that can shut down entire game plans. While the effect is symmetrical, the deck playing High Noon is built to operate under it, and the card even doubles as a 5-damage burn spell when you no longer need the restriction. Zevin Faust is a true believer. "I've played four copies of it in my decks at all three Pro Tours this year," he said.

Its appeal is particularly clear in Azorius Prison, where it slows down opponents trying to recast spells exiled with Aang, Swift Savior and Aven Interrupter. High Noon also shows up in the sideboards of decks like Boros Dragons as a weapon against the Izzet decks. The enchantment rotates out of Standard when Nauctis: The Sunken Realm arrives in early 2027.

Hired Claw: The One-Drop That Carries Red Aggro Decks

Hired Claw

Hired Claw is everything a red aggro player could want from a one-drop creature. It deals direct damage, can grow past blockers, and presents an immediate clock. As a result, it's a formidable threat on turn one and a mana sink that still demands an answer on turn ten. It even supports Lizard synergies!

Quinn Tonole is a big fan. "Mr. Claw has carried my red aggro decks through thick and thin (and at times even extremely thin) for its entire Standard tenure, and I will be sad to see him go come rotation."

Icetill Explorer: The Ultimate Landfall Engine

Icetill Explorer

Icetill Explorer takes landfall to the next level. Its abilities combine into a self-sustaining engine. Crack a fetch land, replay it from your graveyard, crack it again, and use the milled cards as extra fuel. "Icetill Explorer is so sweet, and it is a four-mana threat that's great for Standard!" said Ryan Condon. Luis Salvatto put it simply: "I love to play extra lands!"

Icetill Explorer almost single-handedly captures the game plan of Mono-Green Landfall, and it's one of the most important and most powerful cards in the deck. Indeed, John Puglisi-Clark chose Icetill Explorer as his favorite "because it just wins."

Jeskai Revelation: The Spell That Does Everything

Jeskai Revelation

Most spells do one thing, but Jeskai Revelation does five: removal, tempo, board presence, card advantage, and life gain, all at instant speed. A single resolution can turn a losing position into a winning one. "It does everything a control player needs," said Marco Belacca. Keiichiro Matsumoto focused on the feeling instead. "It's really satisfying to cast," he said.

Seven mana remains a tall order in competitive Standard, but control players have found ways to get there. In Four-Color Control, Jeskai Revelation is the top-end finisher, and once the deck reaches seven mana, it can snowball by chaining one Revelation into another or into Flashback for a second helping.

Kaito, Bane of Nightmares: The Ninja That Holds Up Dimir

Kaito, Bane of Nightmares

Kaito, Bane of Nightmares received more votes than any other card in this article. Indeed, World Championship competitors Samuele Estratti, Petr Sochůrek, Mattia Oneto, Shi Yang, Jordan Selesnick, Charis Kikidis, Marcelo Cavalcante, and Francisco Sánchez all named it as their favorite. That many votes for a single card suggest a shared appreciation for excellent design and raw power.

"It's broken," Sochůrek said. Kaito can enter efficiently via ninjutsu, pressure opponents, and offer a choice each turn between drawing extra cards or locking down an opposing creature. It can keep the pressure on while supplying the interaction that stops an opponent from taking control of the game. Jordan Selesnick highlighted that balance when describing how Kaito enables his favorite kind of Magic: "The card is perfectly symbolic of the harmony among proactive and interactive Magic."

Oneto emphasized the card's power, saying that Kaito "punishes every opponent trying to get fancy in any way," while Yang highlighted its importance: "This card single-handedly held up an entire deck." That deck is Dimir Midrange, which has relied on Kaito ever since he was printed in Duskmourn: House of Horror. Fans should savor this planeswalker in Standard while they can, as Kaito rotates out of Standard with the release of Nauctis: The Sunken Realm in early 2027.

Momo, Friendly Flier: The One-Drop That Launches an Air Force

Momo, Friendly Flier

Momo, Friendly Flier may look like a modest one-mana 1/1 flier, but it supports an entire team. A turn-one Momo acts like a Llanowar Elves for fliers, allowing you to cast a three-mana flier on turn two, and Momo gets a boost whenever another flier joins it. "Momo, Friendly Flier is my favorite card in Standard because I really enjoy playing aggro decks with fliers," said Matthew Wright. Yuya Tase and Joao Quege named Momo as their favorite as well.

Momo is the namesake of Azorius Momo, and it has found a second home in Boros Dragons, where the Lemur helps cast Dragons a turn early. As a Magic: The Gathering® | Avatar: The Last Airbender™ card, Momo will keep flying after rotation.

Quantum Riddler: Card Advantage in Multiple Modes

Quantum Riddler

Quantum Riddler offers multiple ways to play it. It can be a five-mana 4/6 flier, or it can be warped in just to draw a card. On top of that, it gives you an extra card whenever you draw with one or fewer cards in hand, which makes it especially strong after a mulligan or in topdecking wars. "It's always there to save me when I mulligan," said Etai Kurtzman. Winston Chamora went further. "It's been with me ever since it was printed. Definitely one of the best creatures ever printed in the history of Magic."

Nick Deriu, Andrea Fortunati, and Neilson Zhang also picked the Sphinx, with Zhang summing it up in two words: "Card advantage." Whether it arrives early to replace itself or later as a substantial flier, Quantum Riddler helps its controller keep the cards flowing. It's a key card in Azorius Momo, and various other blue decks include it as well. As an Edge of Eternities card, it stays in Standard after rotation.

Seasoned Cryomancer: More Than a Glorified Champion of Wits

Seasoned Cryomancer

When Seasoned Cryomancer was previewed, Mikey Bishara, better known to stream viewers as YungDingo, was immediately a fan. "I was very high on the card and loved the design of it, saying that it gave me the same warm fuzzies that a card like Huntmaster of the Fells does," he recalled. "My friends made fun of me, calling it a glorified Champion of Wits, so I made it my goal to prove them wrong." So far, the results are in his favor.

As a blue take on Seasoned Pyromancer, Seasoned Cryomancer gives reanimator decks a way to set up their graveyard while stunning opposing creatures. The Reality Fracture newcomer shines in Dimir Uldaros, where it slows down the opponent while discarding Uldaros Theorix or Deceit, setting up Superior Spider-Man to copy the discarded creature.

Superior Spider-Man: An Especially Efficient Clone

Superior Spider-Man

Superior Spider-Man is a four-mana 4/4 that can enter as a copy of any creature card in any graveyard, asking the question, "Who do you want to be today?" You can bring back your own discarded threat, borrow the best creature your opponent has lost, or become whatever the situation demands. Superior Spider-Man gets even more powerful alongside creatures with triggers that check if they were cast, which is why the card pairs so well with Doomsday Excruciator, Uldaros Theorix, and Deceit. "It lets you play as midrange and combo," said Daniel Toledo, while João Jorge Sales Junior praised "its versatility and potential to close out games."

It has delivered results, too. "It helped me go 11-5 at the Pro Tour and also win a Regional Championship," said Samuel Chang. Vinnie Fino was more succinct: "Superior Spider-Man is my GOAT." Today, it's a core piece of Dimir Uldaros, Grixis Reanimator, and Dimir Excruciator, and as a card from Magic: The Gathering® | Marvel's Spider-Man, it survives rotation.

Tablet of Discovery: The Engine That Rebuilt Control

Tablet of Discovery

Control players have long faced a simple problem. Their most powerful spells cost six or seven mana, but surviving until you can cast them can be challenging. Tablet of Discovery solves that problem. The three-mana artifact not only offers potential card advantage but also ramps you into Jeskai Revelation on turn five. "It was a strong boost to the archetype that it needed to be able to compete in this format," said Derrick Davis. Arne Huschenbeth spoke to its power. "[The card] is above rate."

Michael Plummer loves how Tablet of Discovery changes the way control plays. "I think giving control decks nut draws and incentivizing them to play big flashy spells like Jeskai Revelation is really fun, and it makes the deck play differently than control decks in the past." Accordingly, the Secrets of Strixhaven card is a clear centerpiece of Four-Color Control, and it will stay in Standard after rotation.

The Sackville-Bagginses: Sacrifice Value with a Combo Finish

The Sackville-Bagginses

The Sackville-Bagginses never leave you empty-handed. The two-mana 2/2 turns a spare creature or artifact into a card and a Treasure, and every token you sacrifice afterward chips away at your opponent's life total. "Sacrificing things is fun, and it feels like this card does everything you want it to," said Brady Munroe.

What's more, it's part of one of the most powerful combos in Standard. In Jund Sacrifice, The Sackville-Bagginses teams up with Biotech Specialist so that every artifact token you sacrifice costs your opponent 3 life. With a sacrifice outlet like Umbral Collar Zealot, a board full of Clues can suddenly represent lethal. Since the card is from Magic: The Gathering® | The Hobbit™, it will stick around after rotation.

The Theorist, Jace Beleren: The Return of a Classic

The Theorist, Jace Beleren

For many longtime players, Jace Beleren is the face of blue in Magic, and The Theorist marks a welcome return. The four-mana planeswalker is a card-advantage engine, a defensive tool, and a finisher all at once. "It's been a long time since we had a good Jace printed," said Tom White, and Shaun Henry named it as a favorite as well.

Azorius Control has embraced it as a primary win condition, building around its synergies with other Reality Fracture cards such as Countersculpt, Theorist's Sanctum, and Jace's Machinations. And its appeal extends beyond control. Various Dimir Uldaros and Grixis Reanimator decks have adopted The Theorist, Jace Beleren as a flexible threat as well. As a brand-new card, The Theorist, Jace Beleren has years of Standard ahead of it.

Conclusion

Favorite cards are personal. They can remind us of big wins, clever brews, or designs that make us smile. Likewise, the world's best players aren't drawn only to the most efficient cards. They also love cards that create meaningful decisions, reward creative deck building, and let them express a particular style of play. Each of their favorites offers something worth celebrating. With a bit of luck, many of them will get their moment in the spotlight on camera.

Magic World Championship 32 takes place November 13–15, 2026, at MagicCon: Atlanta. On Friday and Saturday, competitors play three rounds of Magic: The Gathering® | Star Trek™ Booster Draft followed by four rounds of Standard. On Sunday, the Top 8 battle it out in Standard for the title and a share of the $1,000,000 prize pool. Live coverage will stream on Twitch and YouTube, and you can find more details and content ahead of the event on the event page.