Welcome Magic lovers! With the recent Standard rotation, which coincides with the release of the latest set, Edge of Eternities, and coming hot off the heels of the biggest Standard ban in twenty years, it's safe to say that the format is currently a deck-brewer's paradise. While the Regional Championship Qualifier season has officially started, we haven't started seeing results from the highly-competitive RCQ tournaments that will be happening very soon. This means that the format is mostly directionless, with the only real competitive data coming in the form of Magic Online Standard Challenge results. That, in turn, means that the Magic Arena ranked ladder, as well as the leagues on Magic Online, are full of players trying out new ideas, going back to tried-and-true strategies to see if they have any life left, and determining if there are any hidden gems to unearth in Standard with which to gain an advantage come tournament time.

Welcome Magic lovers!   As we stand on the cusp of Standard rotation, which coincides with the imminent release of the new Edge of Eternities set, it's time to start reviewing and updating some of the established archetypes to see if they still have what it takes to remain in tier 1 after losing several of their powerful tools.

Welcome, Magic lovers! With the sudden, unexpected banning last week of not one, not two, or even three, but seven cards from Standard, the community is witnessing the largest number of cards artificially removed from the format since Disciple of the Vault and friends were forcibly ejected exactly twenty years ago. Normally, this would throw a format into total flux; however, that's not the case this time around. This is mostly due to the fact that there was no 'tier 0' deck plaguing the format. None of the tier 1 decks' overall win rates during the Regional Championship Qualifier season, which just culminated in Pro Tour Final Fantasy last month, surpassed 55%, the typical high-water mark for a dangerously oppressive deck. This has created a bizarre and untamed landscape where many players are happily testing wild, new decks, while others have returned to the finely-tuned, established archetypes that already possess a long and storied Standard format resume. Yuna, Hope of Spira reanimator lists clash with the tried-and-true Dimir Midrange decks that haven't added a single new card in months. Considering rotation is coming in a few short weeks, and with the majority of the competitive crowd currently engaged in the Modern format, testing and tuning those decks for the various RCQ's and eventual Regional Championships that they'll have to play, not much attention is being paid to Standard, and for good reason. However, there are some interesting developments occurring on Magic Online, where the weekly MTGO Challenges have been producing some spicy lists. One such deck is a sleek, twenty-one-land Izzet spells deck that recently took down a sixty-player event:

Welcome Magic lovers!   As we close in on the upcoming Magic Pro Tour at Magiccon Las Vegas this week, many players are trying to determine which, if any, of the new Final Fantasy cards will have an impact on the format.

Welcome Magic lovers!   I never wanted to write this article. 

Welcome Magic lovers! The Standard format has seen some incredible shifts recently, with the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm and the birth of a new archetype, Izzet Aggro, throwing the established tier 1 decks into flux. However, with all the attention on new, breakout superstar Cori-Steel Cutter, it's easy to miss the other powerful additions to Standard that have elevated several of the other top decks to new heights. We spoke last time about the updates to the Omniscience Combo deck, which has since earned its spot in tier 1 by clinching a number of top finishes in recent Regional Championships, but today let's focus on what may be the strongest, and most difficult to pilot, deck in the format: Jeskai Oculus.

Welcome Magic lovers!  As we enter the last round of major Standard-format tournaments, the Regional Championships, its clear that the meta game is anything but stable. With the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, the final piece of the Standard format puzzle leading up to the culmination of the most recent Regional Championship Qualifier season, there have been a bevy of new takes on existing decks, as well as a couple of newly-minted archetypes having success on Magic Online and Arena.

Welcome Magic lovers!  With the release of Tarkir: Dragonstorm, the dragons have landed in Standard, and several of them have begun tentatively seeing play, sprinkled among the top decks and top contenders. One such dragon that's gotten plenty of buzz is Shiko, Paragon of the Way, with its high flexibility and power to match. It plays perfectly alongside cards like Split Up and Stock Up, which make it a perfect fit at the top of the curve in a control deck. One such list placed in the top 4 of the first bout of Magic Online Challenges that occurred this past weekend, so let's start there as we dive into Jeskai Control in Standard.