In total, 113 Standard decklists were submitted for Magic World Championship 30, but some stand out more than others. The spiciest ones use innovative combinations of cards, represent a novel archetype, or do something that no one saw coming. In this article, we'll dive into eight of the most intriguing Standard decks that caught my eye. Each one makes use of cards from Duskmourn: House of Horror and has the potential to win the year's most prestigious tournament.

Temur Prowess

4 Valley Floodcaller 1 Questing Druid 4 Enduring Vitality 4 Stormchaser's Talent 4 This Town Ain't Big Enough 4 Thundertrap Trainer 2 Island 2 Up the Beanstalk 2 Roaring Furnace 2 Forest 1 Tarnation Vista 1 Mountain 4 Copperline Gorge 4 Torch the Tower 3 Analyze the Pollen 2 Song of Totentanz 4 Botanical Sanctum 2 Bitter Reunion 3 Fabled Passage 1 Hedge Maze 1 Yavimaya Coast 3 Bushwhack 1 Karplusan Forest 1 Pawpatch Formation 1 Abrade 2 Negate 1 Into the Flood Maw 2 Pawpatch Formation 2 Ghost Vacuum 1 Volcanic Spite 2 Dissection Tools 1 Pyroclasm 1 Up the Beanstalk 1 Blue Sun's Twilight 1 Screaming Nemesis

Team Sanctum of All—represented at Magic World Championship 30 by Claire Rianhard, Etienne Eggenschwiler, Jason Ye, Minh Nguyen, Nathanael Perigo, Nicole Tipple, Rei Zhang, and Ryan Condon—has done it again. Known for pushing the boundaries with innovative combo strategies, they've truly outdone themselves this time with a synergistic suite of Otters. Interestingly, Rei Hirayama also submitted a very similar list independently.

Stormchaser's Talent 668993 673581

This deck has the potential for explosive, game-breaking turns, centered around the powerful interaction between Valley Floodcaller and Enduring Vitality. With both creatures in play, you can tap Valley Floodcaller for mana, cast a noncreature spell, untap the Otter, and tap it again for more mana. Additional Otters or Rats—such as those produced by Stormchaser's Talent, Thundertrap Trainer, or Song of Totentanz—amplifies this mana potential with a strategy that evokes old Jeskai Ascendancy decks.

With a plethora of noncreature spells, this deck can create a cavalcade of prowess triggers in a single turn, even setting up the possibility of going infinite. If you manage to get at least three Otters or Rats tapping for mana, along with an enchantment like Up the Beanstalk, the deck enables a loop: you bounce Stormchaser's Talent and Up the Beanstalk using This Town Ain't Big Enough, replay both enchantments, tick Stormchaser's Talent up to level 2, then return This Town Ain't Big Enough to your hand and repeat the process. This loop, costing nine mana and untapping your creatures three times, can then be repeated indefinitely. With Valley Floodcaller, your creatures grow infinitely large, allowing for a devastating, game-ending swing. I can't wait to witness this jaw-dropping combo play out on camera!

Dimir Demons

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 1 Cut Down 4 Duress 2 Fountainport 3 Anoint with Affliction 2 Doomsday Excruciator 2 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 2 Liliana of the Veil 1 Gix's Command

At the core of Dimir Demons is a robust package of interaction, offering a careful balance of discard, spot removal, and countermagic. After dismantling the opponent's strategy, Unholy Annex can provide a significant resource advantage. While it initially costs a lot of life, a Demon like Archfiend of the Dross quickly turns it into a potent life-draining engine, providing a fast clock to turn the corner.

Nine players registered an archetype under the banner of Dimir Demons, but while Ha Pham and Ulysse Gagnon Paradis opted for versions featuring Unstoppable Slasher and Bloodletter of Aclazotz, Team Handshake Ultimate Guard took a bolder approach. Adrián Iñigo Tastet, Anthony Lee, Christoffer Larsen, Javier Dominguez, Jesse Hampton, Simon Nielsen, and Toni Ramis Pascual all registered a list designed to spell doom for their opponents.

Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber Doomsday Excruciator Jace, the Perfected Mind

The unique element in Team Handshake Ultimate Guard's list is Doomsday Excruciator, which acts as an additional Demon. It not only enables Unholy Annex but also sets up a quick kill with Jace, the Perfected Mind, milling the opponent out after their library is reduced to six cards. Restless Reef offers another way to deck your opponent. This combination of cards helps the deck defeat control decks like Mono-White Caretaker that could otherwise overpower the Demons in a longer game.

Golgari Ramp

4 Up the Beanstalk 4 Restless Cottage 2 Virtue of Persistence 1 Outrageous Robbery 2 Tear Asunder 2 Cut Down 2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse 4 Overlord of the Hauntwoods 3 Duress 3 Anoint with Affliction 3 Go for the Throat 3 Glissa Sunslayer 1 Underground Mortuary 3 Deadly Cover-Up 1 Harvester of Misery 1 Sunken Citadel 4 Blooming Marsh 1 Demolition Field 5 Swamp 4 Forest 2 Fountainport 4 Llanowar Wastes 1 Pillage the Bog 1 Nissa, Ascended Animist 2 Cut Down 2 Ghost Vacuum 1 Duress 2 Cruelclaw's Heist 1 Outrageous Robbery 1 Blot Out 2 Tear Asunder 2 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal 1 Malicious Eclipse

The majority of Team ChannelFireball Ultimate Guard—Brent Vos, Jim Davis, Matt Sperling, Samuel Pardee, and Seth Manfield—opted for an unconventional deck that blends the best of Domain Ramp and Golgari Midrange.

Up the Beanstalk 673599 646641

Like traditional Golgari Midrange builds, this deck seeks to disrupt the opponent's early plays with spells like Duress, Cut Down, and Go for the Throat, before dominating the mid-game board with Glissa Sunslayer. All these cards are well-suited against Gruul Prowess, as Duress strips away key spells, Cut Down and Go for the Throat remove their creatures, and Glissa's combination of first strike and deathtouch trumps any number of pump spells. However, unlike Golgari Midrange, Team ChannelFireball Ultimate Guard's Golgari Ramp build doesn't run early-game creatures like Mosswood Dreadknight or Caustic Bronco.

Instead, the deck aims to lead with Up the Beanstalk on turn two, then cast Overlord of the Hauntwoods for its impending cost on turn three. Since the Overlord's mana value is still five, you get to draw a card right away while using all your available mana. Afterwards, Deadly Cover-Up controls the board in the same way as Domain Ramp's Sunfall. Overall, this spicy take on black-green attacks the format from an unexpected angle.

Gruul Delirium

4 Fear of Missing Out 6 Forest 4 Wrenn and Realmbreaker 4 Restless Ridgeline 4 Wildfire Wickerfolk 4 Patchwork Beastie 4 Seed of Hope 4 Violent Urge 4 Cenote Scout 4 Keen-Eyed Curator 4 Copperline Gorge 4 Karplusan Forest 3 Thornspire Verge 4 Break Out 2 Obliterating Bolt 1 Cankerbloom 2 Haywire Mite 1 Ghost Vacuum 4 Torch the Tower 3 Urabrask's Forge 2 Obliterating Bolt 3 Pawpatch Formation

Marcus Wosner, the runner-up from Arena Championship 6, brought an aggressive Gruul deck that capitalizes on one of Duskmourn: House of Horror's signature mechanics: delirium.

673541 Wildfire Wickerfolk Patchwork Beastie

This Gruul Delirium deck is incredibly synergistic, aiming to fill the graveyard through cards like Patchwork Beastie and Fear of Missing Out before delivering a lethal blow with Wildfire Wickerfolk and Violent Urge. Each of these creatures has multiple card types, which is critical for enabling delirium through self-milling with Seed of Hope or Wrenn and Realmbreaker. While Seed of Hope has a small chance (roughly five percent) of missing a permanent, it's often worth the risk, as it accelerates the deck toward delirium.

The deck holds explosive potential for a turn-three victory. Consider this ideal sequence: On turn one, you cast Seed of Hope, putting Wildfire Wickerfolk into your hand while milling Patchwork Beastie. On turn two, you cast Break Out, putting a hasty Fear of Missing Out onto the battlefield. Since your graveyard now contains the types creature, artifact, instant, and sorcery, you have delirium. Now, you can swing in for four damage. On turn three, you cast Wildfire Wickerfolk, give it double strike with Violent Urge, and attack with both creatures. Thanks to Fear of Missing Out, the double-striking Wickerfolk will attack twice, setting up a lethal blow!

Sultai Reanimator

4 Atraxa, Grand Unifier 2 Bitter Triumph 4 Blooming Marsh 4 Botanical Sanctum 3 Cache Grab 2 Cut Down 4 Fabled Passage 2 Forest 4 Founding the Third Path 1 Gloomlake Verge 2 Go for the Throat 1 Hedge Maze 2 Island 1 Jace, the Perfected Mind 2 Llanowar Wastes 1 Lumra, Bellow of the Woods 4 Overlord of the Hauntwoods 4 Picklock Prankster 4 Squirming Emergence 2 Swamp 1 Undercity Sewers 1 Underground Mortuary 1 Virtue of Persistence 3 Wail of the Forgotten 1 Darkslick Shores 3 Abhorrent Oculus 2 Binding Negotiation 2 Cut Down 3 Duress 1 Ghost Vacuum 1 Nissa, Ascended Animist 3 Tear Asunder

Lucas Lim, who claimed victory at the South East Asia Regional Championship earlier this year, brought an awesome Sultai Reanimator deck to Magic World Championship 30—one capable of deploying Atraxa, Grand Unifier as early as turn three!

Founding the Third Path 636962 602726

The deck's ideal opening sequence with wants to cast Founding the Third Path on turn two, allowing you to cast Cache Grab from your hand for free. If you're lucky, Cache Grab will put three permanent cards into your graveyard. On the next turn, Founding the Third Path mills you for four more cards. If Atraxa, Grand Unifier ends up in the graveyard along with enough other permanents, you can cast Squirming Emergence to reanimate this devastating Phyrexian Angel for just three mana!

While strategies like this were available before Duskmourn: House of Horror, the addition of Overlord of the Hauntwoods offers a strong backup plan. If Atraxa is stuck in your hand alongside a slew of interactive spells, the deck can pivot to a ramp-based strategy. Even though the deck doesn't include white sources in its mana base, Overlord of the Hauntwoods conveniently fixes your mana, allowing you to cast Atraxa without a hitch.

While Lim's deck is uniquely positioned to exploit Founding the Third Path, it may not even be the most effective shell for the powerful Saga. Three players—Eli Kassis, Alex Friedrichsen, and Shota Yasooka—have incorporated it into their Azorius Oculus decks, where it fuels their graveyard for Helping Hand, Haughty Djinn, and Abhorrent Oculus. This use of Founding the Third Path could be the edge Azorius Oculus needs, especially since Rest in Peace is seeing limited sideboard play in the current metagame.

Boros Enchantments

4 Slickshot Show-Off 1 Demonic Ruckus 4 Emberheart Challenger 4 Ethereal Armor 1 Skrelv, Defector Mite 4 Heartfire Hero 4 Manifold Mouse 4 Monstrous Rage 4 Optimistic Scavenger 4 Shardmage's Rescue 4 Sheltered by Ghosts 2 Thran Portal 4 Plains 3 Mountain 4 Inspiring Vantage 2 Restless Bivouac 4 Battlefield Forge 1 Rockface Village 2 Monastery Swiftspear 1 Obliterating Bolt 3 Urabrask's Forge 3 Torch the Tower 2 Enduring Innocence 3 Destroy Evil 1 Rest in Peace 2 Lithomantic Barrage

Sewer Rats teammates Jose Gabriel Hilario and Alan Andrzejewski were the only players to bring a deck featuring Optimistic Scavenger, Ethereal Armor, and Shardmage's Rescue to Magic World Championship 30, but both of these cards from Duskmourn: House of Horror provide a significant power boost to their decks.

Optimistic Scavenger 669047 Ethereal Armor

Their deck, Boros Enchantments, is a synergy-driven aggro list that shares some of its creatures with Gruul Prowess. However, while Gruul Prowess relies on either Turn Inside Out or Innkeeper's Talent to enable prowess and valiant synergies, Boros Enchantments focuses on a suite of white enchantments. Sheltered by Ghosts controls the board and wins damage races, while Ethereal Armor delivers heavy-hitting power. For protection, Shardmage's Rescue functions similarly to Snakeskin Veil while enhancing Ethereal Armor and triggering Optimistic Scavenger.

Optimistic Scavenger is a powerful one-drop that can snowball out of control if left unchecked, continuously fueling valiant triggers. For instance, casting Sheltered by Ghosts on Slickshot Show-Off allows Optimistic Scavenger to place a +1/+1 counter on Emberheart Challenger, activating valiant while avoiding overcommitting to one creature. Despite the strength of the white cards, the deck faces mana-base challenges given the lack of a white-red equivalent to Thornspire Verge. As a result, the deck leans on the painful Thran Portal. Nonetheless, Boros Enchantments boasts lightning-fast win potential, making for a sweet alternative to Gruul Prowess.

Azorius Caretaker

2 Adarkar Wastes 2 Archangel Elspeth 3 Beza, the Bounding Spring 3 Builder's Talent 4 Caretaker's Talent 2 Carrot Cake 3 Collector's Vault 4 Fountainport 4 Get Lost 2 Island 1 Jace, the Perfected Mind 2 Meticulous Archive 4 Parting Gust 6 Plains 4 Restless Anchorage 4 Seachrome Coast 4 Sunfall 3 The Enigma Jewel 1 The Eternal Wanderer 2 Floodfarm Verge 1 Beza, the Bounding Spring 2 Elspeth's Smite 2 Exorcise 2 Jace, the Perfected Mind 4 Rest in Peace 4 Temporary Lockdown

At Magic World Championship 30, Caretaker's Talent decks were not as popular as anticipated. Yet Dagoberto Silva, the winner of the Regional Championship in Mexico City earlier this year, brought a fresh take on the archetype that stood out.

636752 Collector's Vault Caretaker's Talent

Silva's Azorius Caretaker deck diverges from the traditional Mono-White Caretaker build by exploiting the synergies between The Enigma Jewel and Collector's Vault. By curving The Enigma Jewel into Collector's Vault, the deck can create a Treasure token every turn, repeatedly triggering Caretaker's Talent on subsequent turns. This token generation and card-draw engine creates a steady flow of value, allowing the deck to overwhelm opponents over time.

The mana from The Enigma Jewel also serves various other purposes: it can level up Caretaker's Talent or Builder's Talent, activate Fountainport, or transform the Incubator tokens produced by Sunfall. With this flexibility, The Enigma Jewel acts almost like a Sol Ring, giving the deck a powerful mana boost. However, the number of blue sources required to consistently cast The Enigma Jewel on turn one prevents the inclusion of Lay Down Arms, leaving the deck more vulnerable to creatures than its mono-white counterpart. Despite that trade-off, Azorius Caretaker's sheer potential and intricate synergies should not be underestimated.

Domain Ramp

1 Island 4 Hushwood Verge 3 Floodfarm Verge 4 Overlord of the Hauntwoods 2 Overlord of the Floodpits 2 Overlord of the Mistmoors 4 Leyline Binding 2 Shadowy Backstreet 2 Meticulous Archive 4 Lush Portico 2 Hedge Maze 3 Cavern of Souls 4 Get Lost 2 Forest 2 Plains 1 Swamp 3 Herd Migration 4 Zur, Eternal Schemer 2 Temporary Lockdown 1 Scrollshift 3 Sunfall 4 Up the Beanstalk 1 Spelunking 2 Negate 2 Elspeth's Smite 2 Not on My Watch 1 Doppelgang 4 Pawpatch Formation 4 Ghost Vacuum

Domain Ramp may not seem like the spiciest deck at first glance, given that the synergy between Leyline Binding and Overlord of the Hauntwoods was one of the most anticipated strategies going into the tournament. Yet the archetype continues to evolve as three out of thirteen Domain Ramp players have made a bold move by cutting Atraxa, Grand Unifier from their lists, opting for alternative-win conditions.

These players—Patrick Wu, Brennan Crawford, and Zer Shiuan Peng—each brought unique twists to the deck. Patrick Wu, for instance, can win by copying the last ability of Jace, the Perfected Mind with Vantress Visions, milling the opponent's entire library in one explosive turn. Meanwhile, Brennan Crawford can set up lethal damage by using Doppelgang to create multiple copies of Overlord of the Boilerbilges, roasting the opponent without needing to attack. However, the spiciest innovation came from Zer Shiuan Peng, who won the South East Asia Regional Championship earlier this season and registered four copies of Zur, Eternal Schemer.

673599 574708 574504

Zur, Eternal Schemer pairs nicely with Overlord of the Hauntwoods. After ramping to five mana on turn four, you can play Zur and immediately target Overlord of the Hauntwoods, transforming it into a 5/5 creature with lifelink, even if it still has time counters. The Overlord's attack trigger still functions, creating another Everywhere token for additional value. Zur, Eternal Schemer has similar synergy with Overlord of the Floodpits and Overlord of the Mistmoors. It can even turn Leyline Binding into a 6/6 life linker!

Watch the Spice in Action at World Championship 30!

If you're in search of an exciting new Standard deck to try out, consider giving one of these eight innovative builds a shot! They may just claim victory at Magic World Championship 30. You'll see some of these decks and more during this weekend's livestream. Follow along with our viewer's guide as the players battle it out for the title of World Champion.

Magic World Championship 30 will be streamed all three days of the event, October 25–27, at twitch.tv/magic. Follow the players, their fans, and all the coverage at @PlayMTG or with the hashtag #MTGWorlds.