9 Out of 10 Best Magic: The Gathering Standard Decks Are Broken By This Avatar Card

by

The Universes Beyond series, including the recent Magic: The Gathering Spider-Man set, hasn’t been universally loved by fans. However, the cards inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender seem to blend seamlessly into the game. These cards improve upon similar ones from the Strixhaven set, removing a complicated mechanic, and the ‘ally’ creature type is powerfully reintroduced with cards like Great Divide Guide, effectively turning all ally creatures into mana generators. The game is poised for significant change with two upcoming events: Wizards of the Coast will announce cards that are banned or restricted tomorrow, November 10th, and the Avatar set will be released soon after.

Let’s talk about the current state of the game. Honestly, right now, things feel a little… predictable. Certain decks are just head and shoulders above the rest, really defining what everyone’s playing. Standard is the biggest example – Izzet Cauldron and mono-Red aggro are seriously dominating. Looking at the numbers from mtgdecks.net, which tracks tournament results and player choices, here’s a breakdown of how the top 10 decks are performing…

  • Izzet Cauldron (around 22% meta share)
  • Mono-Red aggro (around 19% meta share)
  • Dimir midrange (around 11% meta share)
  • Simic aggro (around 6% meta share)
  • Sultai Reanimator (around 5% meta share)
  • Azorius control (around 3% meta share)
  • 4-Color control (around 3% meta share)
  • Jeskai control (around 3% meta share)
  • Orzhov Pixie (around 2% meta share)
  • Boros Burn (around 2% meta share)

This accounts for around 76% of the meta, and almost 4% is accounted for by rogue decks.

The game is about to shift with the release of the Avatar set, specifically a card called Zhao, the Moon Slayer. This relatively inexpensive creature (costing 2 mana – 1 of any color and 1 red) is a 2/2 with Menace, and it forces non-basic lands to enter the battlefield tapped. This significantly disrupts the strategy of any Magic: The Gathering deck that isn’t solely one color.

This Magic: The Gathering Avatar Card Makes Standard Decks Virtually Unplayable

The real issue with the Magic: The Gathering card Zhao, the Moon Slayer isn’t just its ability to gain a conqueror counter for 7 mana of any color – which turns all lands that aren’t basic into Mountains. While that effect is powerful and works well with the Avatar’s firebending mechanic, what makes Zhao so strong is that it also causes all nonbasic lands to enter the battlefield tapped, significantly slowing opponents down.

Most competitive decks in Magic: The Gathering, including the popular Izzet Cauldron deck, use dual lands – lands that produce two different colors of mana. These lands help multi-colored decks run smoothly, even those with just two colors, by making it easier to cast spells. Beyond that, players also use utility lands like Rockface Village and Soulstone Sanctuary to add more strategic options to their gameplay.

Zhao, the Moon Slayer, severely weakens most lands. They always enter the battlefield tapped, which significantly slows down decks that aren’t single-colored. And for just seven mana, Zhao can make nearly any deck that isn’t mono-Red completely unable to function.

How MTG’s Mono-Red Aggro Deck May Change After Standard Bans

Upcoming changes to Magic: The Gathering‘s Standard format might limit the power of mono-Red decks, though that’s not certain. There are a few specific cards that could be affected.

  • Screaming Nemesis could be banned in Standard because it’s a very strong, problematic creature that single-handedly kills lifegain decks and makes mono-Red’s curve much more consistent and aggressive.
  • Sunspine Lynx is normally a sideboard pick, but it’s incredibly strong at 4-CMC for a 5/4 that blocks lifegain and makes damage impossible to prevent, while also dealing damage to players based on nonbasic lands they control, further punishing opponents if used with Zhao.

If certain cards are banned, mono-Red decks might become less reliable, even with the new card Zhao, the Moon Slayer. However, the upcoming Avatar set includes strong mono-Red cards like Fire Nation Cadets and Firebending Student, which could become very powerful. These bans will definitely impact the Standard format, but Zhao has the potential to be a major player if mono-color strategies don’t become popular.

Read More

2025-11-09 22:34