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. This weekend marks the start of a brand-new round of Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs), with Standard taking center stage as the Constructed format for in-store events.
In this upcoming RCQ cycle, running from August 2 to November 9, participants will receive a Shoot the Sheriff promo card while supplies last. Top-performing players will also earn a striking Laughing Jasper Flint promo card. More importantly, these RCQs offer a clear path for ambitious competitors to qualify for their Standard Regional Championships, slated for early 2026.
With the arrival of Edge of Eternities, the Standard landscape has shifted dramatically. Five sets—Dominaria United, The Brothers’ War, Phyrexia: All Will Be One, March of the Machine, and March of the Machine: The Aftermath—have rotated out, reshaping the format. Last week, I examined the biggest winners and losers of this rotation, spotlighting the most impactful departures and the resilient decks that weathered the change. This week, to help you stay ahead of the curve, I’ve assembled ten early decklists for Edge of Eternities Standard.
The weeks following rotation are always a golden era for brewers, and I’m excited to join the creative frenzy. The first six decks (Dimir Midrange, Izzet Prowess, Mono-Green Landfall, Jeskai Control, Naya Yuna, and Boros Aggro) are adaptations of top-tier strategies from the previous format. These archetypes are likely to remain both popular and powerful in the months ahead. The final four are more adventurous, pushing new cards and mechanics from Edge of Eternities to their limits. With a little refinement, they could also carry you to victory at your local RCQ.
The following six decks represent safe and reliable choices. Each is rooted in a well-established archetype from before rotation. I’ve replaced the cards that rotated out with functional stand-ins, fine-tuned their mana bases, and incorporated a handful of powerful new additions from Edge of Eternities. If you’re searching for a proven contender to bring to your first RCQ, then any of these lists should serve as a strong and competitive starting point.
4 Watery Grave
4 Gloomlake Verge
4 Island
5 Swamp
3 Soulstone Sanctuary
3 Starting Town
2 Restless Reef
4 Spyglass Siren
2 Cecil, Dark Knight
4 Floodpits Drowner
4 Deep-Cavern Bat
2 Preacher of the Schism
2 Tishana’s Tidebinder
3 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
4 Enduring Curiosity
2 Tragic Trajectory
2 Stab
1 Nowhere to Run
3 Shoot the Sheriff
2 Phantom Interference
2 Duress
2 Ghost Vacuum
2 Negate
2 Sunset Saboteur
1 Desculpting Blast
1 Aclazotz, Deepest Betrayal
1 Strategic Betrayal
1 Tishana’s Tidebinder
1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
1 Faebloom Trick
1 Preacher of the Schism
Dimir Midrange blends efficient disruption with evasive threats. It stood tall as one of the most prominent Standard archetypes before rotation, and its core strategy remains largely intact. Anchored by a fleet of evasive threats, the deck still leans on Enduring Curiosity and Kaito, Bane of Nightmares as efficient and reliable engines for card advantage.
To adapt for the new Standard format, I swapped out Faerie Mastermind for Deep-Cavern Bat and replaced Cut Down and Go for the Throat with a mix of Stab, Shoot the Sheriff, and Tragic Trajectory. With the loss of Underground River and Darkslick Shores, I’ve updated the mana base with the newly reprinted Watery Grave alongside Starting Town. These card choices are similar to the ones from Pepeteam, who finished fourth in the first post-rotation Magic Online Challenge. Despite the large number of necessary post-rotation substitutions, Dimir Midrange remains poised to compete at a high level.
6 Island
2 Mountain
4 Riverpyre Verge
4 Spirebluff Canal
3 Starting Town
2 Thundering Falls
4 Vivi Ornitier
4 Opt
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Stormchaser’s Talent
4 Stock Up
4 Torch the Tower
4 Astrologian’s Planisphere
2 Into the Flood Maw
1 Get Out
1 Thundertrap Trainer
1 Ral, Crackling Wit
1 Agatha’s Soul Cauldron
1 Wild Ride
1 Spell Pierce
1 Obliterating Bolt
1 Abrade
1 Roaring Furnace
2 Fire Magic
2 Disdainful Stroke
2 Enduring Curiosity
2 Abrade
1 Spell Pierce
1 Negate
1 Into the Flood Maw
1 Agatha’s Soul Cauldron
1 Ral, Crackling Wit
1 Ghost Vacuum
1 Roaring Furnace
Izzet Prowess leans into cheap spells like Opt and Sleight of Hand to boost the tokens created by Stormchaser’s Talent and Astrologian’s Planisphere. Vivi Ornitier has become trickier to answer now that Cut Down is no longer in the format, and Agatha’s Soul Cauldron adds extra value by turning a fallen Vivi Ornitier into ongoing utility.
Izzet versions with four copies of Agatha’s Soul Cauldron and a discard package have already posted strong results, as Univerce won the first post-rotation Magic Online Challenge with such a list, replacing the rotating Voldaren Thrillseeker with Draconautics Engineer. While those decks remain undeniably strong, the Izzet Prowess variant was more popular in that tournament, with Capitano_CL taking 6th place, and its entire main deck spell suite remained untouched by rotation. To keep the deck’s mana consistent, I’ve replaced Shivan Reef with a mix of Starting Town and Thundering Falls. Overall, both Izzet Cauldron and Izzet Prowess look set to remain as fast, powerful, and streamlined choices in the new Standard.
12 Forest
4 Hushwood Verge
4 Fabled Passage
3 Escape Tunnel
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Sazh’s Chocobo
3 Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
4 Mossborn Hydra
4 Tifa Lockhart
4 Traveling Chocobo
3 Snakeskin Veil
3 Bushwhack
2 Springbloom Druid
3 Icetill Explorer
1 Frenzied Baloth
1 Larval Scoutlander
1 Mightform Harmonizer
2 Pawpatch Recruit
2 Seedship Impact
2 Soul-Guide Lantern
2 Scavenging Ooze
1 Frenzied Baloth
3 Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam
1 Vivien Reid
1 Sazh Katzroy
1 Plains
Mono-Green Landfall was arguably the most important breakthrough in Standard just before rotation. The key to its power lies in the cards that provide two landfall triggers like Fabled Passage or Escape Tunnel. Springbloom Druid provides a similar effect, enabling explosive turns where creatures like Sazh’s Chocobo and Bristly Bill, Spine Sower grow rapidly. Not to mention that alongside those cards, the power of Tifa Lockhart and Mossborn Hydra skyrockets. These synergies scale alongside Traveling Chocobo, which doubles your landfall triggers.
None of the key cards rotated out, but the deck benefits from several enticing additions from Edge of Eternities. I’ve incorporated Icetill Explorer, Mightform Harmonizer, Larval Scoutlander, and Frenzied Baloth into my main deck. Each has potential, though determining the optimal mix will require further testing. In the sideboard, I replaced the rotating Nissa, Ascended Animist with Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam, a flexible source of card advantage for the slower, grindier games that arise when opponents board in more removal spells. Dyadrine also has great synergy with counter-laden creatures like Sazh’s Chocobo.
All in all, as one of Standard’s newest archetypes, Mono-Green Landfall offers many avenues to explore. Beyond the exciting additions from Edge of Eternities, there’s ample room for experimentation with color splashes. My own suggestion of adding white for Dyadrine, Synthesis Amalgam is just one of many viable directions. For instance, splashing blue opens the door to Genemorph Imago in the main deck for an extra layer of aggression. Red is another compelling option: Wcl finished 2nd in the first post-rotation Magic Online Challenge with a version featuring Worldsoul’s Rage main deck and Dragonback Assault sideboard. The opportunities for innovation are nearly endless.
3 Hushwood Verge
4 Thornspire Verge
2 Sunbillow Verge
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Stomping Ground
2 Starting Town
2 Lush Portico
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Forest
1 Plains
1 Mountain
4 Fear of Missing Out
4 Overlord of the Boilerbilges
4 Yuna, Hope of Spira
4 Dredger’s Insight
3 Torch the Tower
4 Esper Origins
2 Joshua, Phoenix’s Dominant
2 Summon: Fenrir
2 Terra, Magical Adept
2 Get Lost
1 Summon: Knights of Round
1 Lightning Helix
1 Abrade
1 Overlord of the Mistmoors
2 Seam Rip
1 Torch the Tower
2 Fire Magic
2 Ghost Vacuum
2 Clarion Conqueror
2 Exorcise
1 Lightning Helix
2 Day of Judgment
1 Chandra, Spark Hunter
Naya Yuna revolves around the powerful synergy between Yuna, Hope of Spira and Overlord of the Boilerbilges. By discarding or milling the Overlord, Yuna, Hope of Spira can reanimate it as early as turn five. This delivers a massive board presence and a lifelinker’s ping that can turn the tide.
The deck survived rotation basically unscathed. In fact, its mana base improved thanks to the reprinting of Sacred Foundry and Stomping Ground in Edge of Eternities. As shock lands enable Verge lands, the color consistency of this three-color deck is smooth. With 12 lands of the right basic land types to support a deck full of Verge lands, you’re roughly 90% to have a matching basic-type land by turn three, assuming a reasonable mulligan strategy. In this deck, Hushwood Verge is almost as reliable as Savannah from the midgame onward.
3 Mountain
2 Plains
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Inspiring Vantage
4 Sunbillow Verge
2 Starting Town
2 Rockface Village
2 Soulstone Sanctuary
4 Hired Claw
3 Flowerfoot Swordmaster
3 Cheeky House-Mouse
4 Emberheart Challenger
4 Manifold Mouse
2 Mabel, Heir to Cragflame
4 Screaming Nemesis
4 Burst Lightning
4 Lightning Helix
2 Sheltered by Ghosts
1 Boros Charm
2 Opera Love Song
3 Plasma Bolt
3 Slickshot Show-Off
2 Twinmaw Stormbrood
2 Nova Hellkite
2 Boros Charm
1 Sunspine Lynx
1 Case of the Crimson Pulse
1 Rest in Peace
Boros Aggro proves that the classic formula of cheap, hasty threats backed by burn spells never goes out of style. Aggro decks built around red’s brute force are alive and well post-rotation. Even though Gruul might be the early frontrunner—Fireshoes took Gruul to a 5th–place finish at the first post-rotation Magic Online Challenge—I prefer Boros, and that’s largely because Inspiring Vantage remains legal while Copperline Gorge has rotated out. In a shell headlined by Mabel, Heir to Cragflame, I also like how Flowerfoot Swordmaster and Cheeky House-Mouse are viable one-drop replacements for Monastery Swiftspear, which has rotated out.
I selected the 75 cards in this Boros Aggro list with strategic flexibility in mind. It can pivot into a burn-centric plan when you have an extra card on the draw or against opponents with strong blockers for your non-evasive Mice. In such matchups, you can side out cards like Flowerfoot Swordmaster; Manifold Mouse; and Mabel, Heir to Cragflame, bringing in fliers and burn spells instead. Plasma Bolt is more versatile than Boltwave, especially when supercharged by Nova Hellkite. Nova Hellkite, by the way, also looked awesome in Bertram’s Mono-Red Sarkhan deck, which finished 11th in the first post-rotation Magic Online Challenge. In any case, my Boros sideboard plan is still experimental, but the ability to shift strategies based on matchup and play/draw dynamics is a valuable asset.
4 Floodfarm Verge
3 Riverpyre Verge
3 Sunbillow Verge
4 Meticulous Archive
2 Thundering Falls
1 Elegant Parlor
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Plains
1 Island
1 Cori Mountain Monastery
4 Shiko, Paragon of the Way
3 Beza, the Bounding Spring
2 Marang River Regent
1 Joshua, Phoenix’s Dominant
1 Twinmaw Stormbrood
1 Abrade
1 Day of Judgment
2 Dispelling Exhale
1 Fire Magic
3 Get Lost
4 Lightning Helix
4 Stock Up
1 Rediscover the Way
2 Three Steps Ahead
1 Split Up
1 Ultima
1 No More Lies
2 Consult the Star Charts
2 Tishana’s Tidebinder
2 Clarion Conqueror
2 Ghost Vacuum
2 Negate
2 Seam Rip
2 Pinnacle Starcage
1 Kutzil’s Flanker
1 Magmatic Hellkite
1 Exorcise
Jeskai Control aims to dictate the pace of the game with a balanced mix of countermagic, pinpoint removal, card draw, and sweepers. Its centerpiece is Shiko, Paragon of the Way: a five-mana powerhouse that is a massive Dragon and casts a spell like Stock Up or Lightning Helix for free, often swinging the game in your favor.
The archetype survived rotation with all of its core tools intact. Moreover, Edge of Eternities introduced Consult the Star Charts and Sacred Foundry as meaningful upgrades. While Consult the Star Charts is typically weaker than Impulse at two mana and less powerful than Memory Deluge at four, its flexibility allows it to play multiple roles. In the sideboard, Pinnacle Starcage offers an effect similar to Temporary Lockdown, but with the added advantages of being copyable with Three Steps Ahead and leaving the new Seam Rip untouched.
The following four decks are fresh decks built around new cards and mechanics introduced in Edge of Eternities. They represent my first experiments with the new Standard format, tested during the Streamer Event on MTG Arena. I’ve listed them from worst to best record in that Best-of-One event. With time to test, tune, and refine, any of these could evolve into powerful contenders.
Izzet Artifacts
7 Island
4 Mountain
2 Starting Town
4 Riverpyre Verge
4 Spirebluff Canal
3 Scene of the Crime
3 Nutrient Block
2 Rust Harvester
2 Synthesizer Labship
2 Kavaron Harrier
3 Legion Extruder
4 Emissary Escort
4 Pinnacle Emissary
4 Simulacrum Synthesizer
2 Leyline Axe
4 Memory Guardian
4 Zoetic Glyph
2 Valkyrie Aerial Unit
3 Ghost Vacuum
3 Chainsaw
2 Warmaker Gunship
2 Spell Pierce
1 Krenko’s Buzzcrusher
2 Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
1 Stock Up
1 Case of the Filched Falcon
This post-rotation Standard deck takes Affinity to the stars! Nutrient Block can be transformed into a 5-power indestructible threat via Zoetic Glyph. Meanwhile, Pinnacle Emissary and Simulacrum Synthesizer allow you to flood the board with tokens: each Pinnacle Emissary, warped or not, helps spawn Construct tokens. And Emissary Escort can swing in as a 7/4 when you control Valkyrie Aerial Unit.
The deck showcased some fun and creative ideas, but it struggled against Pinnacle Starcage and District Mascot, and it lacked a clear, cohesive game plan. The aggressive one-drops and Zoetic Glyph felt at odds with Simulacrum Synthesizer and the deck’s slower token-centric plan or evasive late game. Even though Leyline Axe had dreamy synergies with Emissary Escort, it proved too inconsistent in practice. Ultimately, transitioning toward a Repurposing Bay variant—perhaps by integrating Pinnacle Emissary into Rémi Roudier’s Izzet Artifacts deck from Pro Tour Aetherdrift—may offer a more focused and effective direction.
4 Watery Grave
4 Floodfarm Verge
3 Exalted Sunborn
4 Cosmogrand Zenith
1 Toby, Beastie Befriender
4 Tragic Trajectory
2 Spyglass Siren
4 Dust Animus
4 Quantum Riddler
3 Gloomlake Verge
4 Godless Shrine
2 Island
3 Concealed Courtyard
3 Starting Town
1 Plains
2 Splash Portal
3 Dour Port-Mage
3 Nurturing Pixie
3 Elegy Acolyte
3 Nowhere to Run
3 Ghost Vacuum
2 Duress
2 No More Lies
2 Deep-Cavern Bat
2 Grim Bauble
2 Split Up
1 Ketramose, the New Dawn
1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
This deck harnesses the warp mechanic to achieve light-speed synergy. You can warp in Exalted Sunborn, blink it with Splash Portal, draw extra cards with Dour Port-Mage, go wide with Cosmogrand Zenith and Elegy Acolyte, and chart a Tragic Trajectory to victory. The list is packed with synergistic interactions, and a shock land–powered mana base that keeps everything humming.
My original build leaned harder on warp with cards like Fortune, Loyal Steed; Anticausal Vestige; and All-Fates Stalker, but that top-end proved too heavy. To lower the curve, I added early-game fliers like Nurturing Pixie and Dust Animus to enable double-spell triggers for Cosmogrand Zenith and card draw with Elegy Acolyte. Spyglass Siren and Nowhere to Run supply low-cost permanents for the Pixie to pick up. This revised version felt stable, and my 3-2 record reflects its promise.
There’s certainly room for refinement, though. For example, I could imagine adding a 25th land or reintroducing All-Fates Stalker, echoing suggestions in a video by Magic World Championship 31 competitor Arne Huschenbeth. Meanwhile, DB_Dykman went 4-2 in the first post-rotation Magic Online Challenge with an Azorius deck featuring Quantum Riddler and Splash Portal, while Cosmogrand Zenith and Tragic Trajectory proved themselves in the DB_claudioh’s 3rd-place Esper Pixie list. Combining these early ideas and results, I believe that with enough tuning, Esper Warp has enough potential.
4 Infestation Sage
2 Nezumi Linkbreaker
4 Snarling Gorehound
2 Bartolomé del Presidio
4 Voice of Victory
4 Vengeful Bloodwitch
4 Umbral Collar Zealot
1 Resolute Reinforcements
1 Timeline Culler
1 Syr Vondam, Sunstar Exemplar
4 Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER
4 Raise the Past
4 Concealed Courtyard
4 Godless Shrine
4 Bleachbone Verge
3 Dalkovan Encampment
1 Starting Town
2 Shadowy Backstreet
2 Forsaken Miner
5 Swamp
2 Duress
3 Ghost Vacuum
1 Timeline Culler
1 Cecil, Dark Knight
3 Dark Confidant
3 Tragic Trajectory
2 Sothera, the Supervoid
Thanks to Edge of Eternities, Standard now has a new free sacrifice outlet, and this deck makes the most of it. Umbral Collar Zealot lets you sacrifice creatures, fill your graveyard with surveil, and set up devastating Raise the Past turns that bring back Vengeful Bloodwitch to drain your opponent out of the game. Timeline Culler is a perfect creature to sacrifice repeatedly, and with Snarling Gorehound on board, every black mana and 2 life that you pay translates to digging two cards closer to a game-winning Raise the Past. I went 4-1 with this list in the Best-of-One Streamer Event on MTG Arena, and the deck ran like a well-oiled machine.
Graveyard-centric strategies tend to shine in Game 1 but falter post-board after opponents bring in graveyard hate. A strong way to counteract this is to transform: board out Raise the Past and Snarling Gorehound in favor of standalone cards like Dark Confidant and Tragic Trajectory. This way, an opposing Rest in Peace or Ghost Vacuum won’t hurt as much. Syr Vondam, Sunstar Exemplar also stood out in the games I played and may help beat anti-graveyard cards. I wouldn’t mind a second copy in the main deck, perhaps replacing Resolute Reinforcements. One or two copies of Susur Secundi, Void Altar might help as well. Striking the right balance will take testing, but Orzhov Sacrifice looks like a strong contender.
4 Stomping Ground
2 Starting Town
8 Forest
2 Mountain
2 Evendo, Waking Haven
4 Thornspire Verge
2 Restless Ridgeline
4 Llanowar Elves
2 Ixalli’s Lorekeeper
2 Itzquinth, Firstborn of Gishath
4 Belligerent Yearling
1 Regal Imperiosaur
4 Pugnacious Hammerskull
2 Sledge-Class Seedship
3 Screaming Nemesis
2 Kona, Rescue Beastie
2 Agonasaur Rex
2 Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought
3 Trumpeting Carnosaur
3 Vaultborn Tyrant
2 Ghalta, Primal Hunger
3 Triumphant Chomp
3 Ghost Vacuum
2 Scrapshooter
2 Thrashing Brontodon
1 Screaming Nemesis
1 Trumpeting Carnosaur
1 Itzquinth, Firstborn of Gishath
1 Valgavoth, Terror Eater
1 Summon: Bahamut
This post-rotation Standard deck uses enormous Dinosaurs to launch Spacecraft into orbit! Curve Llanowar Elves into Sledge-Class Seedship. Then, station the Seedship on turn three with the Elf and a Pugnacious Hammerskull, enabling a turn-three Vaultborn Tyrant. Alternatively, you can tap Kona, Rescue Beastie with a station card like Evendo, Waking Haven for a similar effect. The massive Dinosaurs also fuel Dawnsire, Sunstar Dreadnought, as you’ll typically only need to tap one or two creatures to reach ten charge counters. Once you get there, you can attack, deal 100 damage to your own Screaming Nemesis, and hurl that same 100 damage at your opponent.
These new cards were precisely what Dinosaurs needed to thrive in Standard. In my games, the curve felt smooth, the synergies clicked, and the deck performed brilliantly. I went 5-0 in the Best-of-One Streamer Event and had an absolute blast. While it will need further testing against top-tier decks in Best-of-Three before it can reliably win an RCQ, the raw power and potential are clearly there.
Best of luck to those of you gearing up for a Standard RCQ. So far, post-rotation Standard is looking like a breath of fresh air, and now is the perfect time to dazzle with bold brews and wild innovations.
To find an RCQ near you, check with your local game store or visit your regional organizer’s website. If you’re aiming even higher, Magic Spotlight: Planetary Rotation will take place at SCG CON Orlando on August 30–31. This marquee event features the Standard format and offers a $50,000 prize pool along with eight coveted Pro Tour invites.
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