The highly anticipated Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY recently concluded, showcasing the state of the Standard format after the integration of the new Universes Beyond set. Held in Las Vegas in June 2025, the tournament brought together over 300 top players to battle for prestigious titles and significant prize money. A key outcome of any Pro Tour is the emergence of the dominant strategies and innovative decklists that players brought to compete at the highest level. Now, the complete Standard decklists from the event are available, offering invaluable insights into the metagame shaped by the fusion of Magic’s core sets and the iconic world of Final Fantasy.
Looking through the decklists reveals a Standard environment defined by both powerful existing strategies and clever adaptations incorporating cards from the new FINAL FANTASY set.
The Pro Tour Standard Metagame Landscape
Analysis of the competitive field highlighted a metagame heavily concentrated at the top. The overwhelming force was Izzet Prowess, comprising a staggering 42.3% of the tournament field – the highest representation for a single deck at a Pro Tour since the format’s return in 2023. This aggressive strategy leverages cheap spells to power up creatures like Cori-Steel Cutter and Drake Hatcher for explosive damage.
While Izzet Prowess led the charge, other archetypes also held significant shares of the field:
Azorius Omniscience: A combo deck focused on assembling Omniscience to draw the library and win.
Mono-Red Aggro: A classic aggressive strategy relying on fast, hard-hitting creatures.
Domain Overlords: A multi-color deck using Zur, Eternal Schemer to animate powerful Overlord creatures.
Combined, these top four archetypes accounted for over 77% of the Pro Tour metagame, showcasing a relatively consolidated competitive landscape. Format staples like Cori-Steel Cutter, Monstrous Rage, and Stock Up appeared in a large percentage of decks across various archetypes, underscoring their continued power.
Impact of the FINAL FANTASY Set
Despite the short time players had to adapt, the Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY set undeniably left its mark on the Standard format, strengthening existing decks and enabling new strategies. Several new cards proved impactful:
Vivi Ornitier: Perhaps the most significant addition, finding a home in the dominant Izzet Prowess deck. Vivi provides crucial mana after attacking and, notably, is immune to Temporary Lockdown, a popular counter-measure against Izzet Prowess’s smaller creatures and tokens.
Dark Confidant: A powerful card advantage engine appearing in lower-curve midrange decks like Jund and Orzhov variants.
Cecil, Dark Knight: Often paired with Dark Confidant, this early threat provides flexibility and synergizes with strategies that manage life totals.
Starting Town: A new land that helped smooth mana bases for multi-color aggressive decks.
Ultima: A costly but effective board wipe, particularly useful against wide boards created by decks like Izzet Prowess.
Opera Love Song: A versatile combat trick and card draw spell seen in various aggro decks.
These new cards, especially Vivi Ornitier, provided players with new tools to refine their strategies and gain edges in specific matchups.
Beyond the Top Tier: Innovative “Spicy” Decks
While the majority of the field gravitated towards the proven top contenders, the Pro Tour also featured a collection of innovative and unique decks showcasing player creativity within the new format. These “spicy” brews highlight unexpected synergies and novel approaches:
Naya Yuna: A unique build combining reanimation, burn, and control, centered around bringing back Overlord of the Boilerbilges using Yuna, Hope of Spira.
Izzet Cauldron: Diverging from standard Izzet, this list leverages Agatha’s Soul Cauldron with Vivi Ornitier for explosive mana and damage potential.
Orzhov Sacrifice: Revitalized by Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER, who acts as a potent drain and card advantage engine in decks utilizing sacrifice outlets and tokens.
Golgari and Jund Roots: Variants of the Insidious Roots archetype, using graveyard synergies and cards like Tyvar, Jubilant Brawler, and Terra, Magical Adept (in Jund) to create powerful Plant token strategies.
Selesnya Gearhulk: An artifact-focused deck built around Brightglass Gearhulk and artifact token generation, notably using Phoenix Down to reanimate the Gearhulk cheaply.
These decks, while representing smaller percentages of the field, demonstrate how top players are continuously pushing the boundaries of the Standard format with new card combinations.
Tournament Highlights
Day one of the Pro Tour saw Christian Baker emerge as the sole undefeated player, piloting Izzet Prowess to an 8-0 record and proving the power of the format’s most represented deck. His success, and that of other Izzet players like Mark Stanton (who ran four copies of Vivi Ornitier), underscored the effectiveness of the archetype when piloted skillfully and adapted with new tech.
For players and collectors alike, the FINAL FANTASY set has been a major event, with certain cards featuring iconic characters and powerful effects commanding high market values. Cards like Vivi Ornitier, Sephiroth, Lightning, and even sought-after variants of the Traveling Chocobo have become significant chase cards in the secondary market, reflecting both competitive interest and collector demand fueled by stunning artwork by artists like Yoshitaka Amano and Tetsuya Nomura.
Exploring the Decklists
The full decklists from Pro Tour Magic: The Gathering—FINAL FANTASY provide a comprehensive snapshot of the competitive Standard environment. They allow players to delve into the specific card choices, sideboard strategies, and subtle variations that define the top-performing decks and the most creative brews. Whether you’re looking to play the dominant strategies or build something innovative, these lists are an essential resource for understanding Standard in the era of Magic meets FINAL FANTASY.
