Aggro Crushes Competition, Powerful New Decks Shoot to the Top

Last updated on April 28, 2025

Beza, the Bounding Spring illus. Martin Wittfooth

Two months ago, Matt Nass brought down the Pro Tour Aetherdrift in Domain Overlords mirror, making it the deck to beat in Magic's Standard format.

The claim was further cemented in Wizards of the Coast's Banned & Restricted Annoucement by the end of March, where WotC noted that MTG's Standard format was flourishing and that no bans were needed.

“The big three of Standard have been clearly identified,” the B&R announcement noted, “with Gruul Mice, Esper Pixie, and Domain Overlords being the most popular strategies.”

But Tarkir: Dragonstorm, released two weeks after the B&R, shook things big time. As seen in the Standard Regional Championship in Europe last week, the final was again a mirror…

Source: @PlayMTG on X

… but a mirror by a brand-new deck. And now Domain Overlords has not only lost its “Deck to Beat” claim – it may not even be the best control deck in Standard anymore!

Monstrous Cutter

Monastery Swiftspear – Illus. Steve Argyle

Cori-Steel Cutter cutter is doubtlessly TDM's most impactful Magic card, making waves in Standard, Pioneer, and even Modern.

And, specifically for Standard, it has helped push a brand-new deck to the forefront: Izzet Prowess. Cori-Steel Cutter was by far the most popular TDM card in Bologna, and Izzet Prowess had the largest meta share on Day 1.

Source: @PlayMTG on X 

The deck lived up to its hype: “After an impressive Day 1 performance—a 55% non-mirror win rate—Izzet Prowess stays on top as the most played Standard deck in Day 2,” noted a tweet from the tournament organizer.

Source: X

Three Izzet Prowess decks ended up in the Top 8, and as we saw above two of them fought in the finals.

MTG Hall of Famer and WotC data analyst Frank Karsten later published the non-mirror win rates, which further clarify why Izzet Prowess is so strong:

Source: Frank Karsten on X

Other strong decks, like Jeskai Oculus, Jeskai Control,  or Esper Pixies, all have at least one very bad matchup (Domain Overlords, for example, just folds when facing Red Aggro). But Izzet Prowess has a surprisingly strong range: Even when it's the underdog, like when against Jeskai Oculus, it's only for a few percentage points.

All Eyes on Jeskai

Izzet Prowess and Cori-Steel Cutter are not the only trick up Tarkir: Dragonstorm‘s sleeve.

Azorius Oculus has evolved into Jeskai Oculus. While it didn't made it into Bologna's Top 8, the deck secured one spot at the Top 16 and, as per Karsten's numbers, it pushed the second-highest winrate, just behind Izzet Prowess, and is considered as one of the decks to beat among Magic spikes.

And Bologna's most TDM-esque deck is probably Jeskai Control. Shiko, Paragon of the Way, alongside Rediscover the Way and Jeskai Revelation have become Standard's most popular control deck. In Bologna they surpassed Domain control both in play rate and win rate, and when the whole Standard Meta is considered they are now the control deck you're most likely to face in the format.

Source: MTGTop8, last two weeks

Two Caveats: Novelty, and the MTGO Super Qualifier

Marang River Regent – Illus. John Tedrick

A deck can't take down a Magic tournament by novelty alone, but it does give the new deck a slight edge. Anybody in Standard knows how Red Deck Wins works, but may not have too many reps against Izzet Prowess or Jeskai Control. And control decks in particular usually need a bit more time to develop and refine their suite of answers.

So it's still too early to tell which are indeed the Standard decks to beat. And the top decks from the latest MTGO Super Qualifier, which was held just one day after Bologna, clearly shows we still don't know who's the top dog:

Source: MTGTop8

Izzet Aggro didn't even made Top 8 in this case, while Jeskai Control, Omniscience Combo and even Domain Overlords all placed very near the top.

And even Dimir (which reached the Top 8 in Bologna) seems to be back!

It seems clear that Monstrous Rage is still one of the Standard-defining cards: A deck with 4x Rages won both Bologna and the Super Qualifier. But it's also clear that Tarkir: Dragonstorm has pushed several news decks to the forefront, and two big, back-to-back tournaments have just shown us it's hard to predict which deck will land on top.

It will be an interesting few weeks in Standard, until Final Fantasy shakes things up again!