Magic World Championship 31 Metagame

Just days before the start of the Magic World Championship 31, scheduled for December 5-7 in Bellevue, Washington, the Standard format landscape shows a restructuring marked by the rise of new strategies and the mass migration of players to decks shaped by the recent Avatar: The Last Airbender set.

With a total of 126 players eligible to compete for the title, the event highlights three decks that dominated the competitors' choices: Izzet Lesson, Temur Otters, and Bant Airbending, which together account for more than 46% of the Metagame.

Izzet Lessons stands out: 23 players—equivalent to 18.3% of the competitors—opted for a deck almost entirely built with cards from the Avatar collection. The strategy revolves around the "Lessons" mechanic, which allows the deck to efficiently generate card advantage and burst damage, thanks to cards like Combustion Technique and Accumulate Wisdom.

Next comes Temur Otters, with 20 lists registered (15.9% of the total). The deck relies on a combination of ramp, creatures, and "bounce" interactions, including cards like Badgermole Cub and Boomerang Basics, to reach mana boosts and seek decisive plays.

Rounding out the top three, Bant Airbending was entered by 16 players (12.7%). The strategy explores the new airbending mechanic, using creatures and the keyword to generate value and stability, while consisting of a "combo-kill" with Aang, Swift Savior and Appa, Steadfast Guardian along with Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius.

The tournament coverage highlights that the massive introduction of cards from the Avatar expansion entirely changes the Standard landscape. The three most used cards in the registered decks — Boomerang Basics, Stormchaser’s Talent and Torch the Tower — illustrate well the format's new priority on mana efficiency and versatility, which may justify the high presence of various Izzet archetypes.

Source: Magic.gg