Hello Reader - and welcome to Tarkir Dragonstorm Standard! The Streamer Event on MTGArena has come and gone, and we've had some time to stew on some sweet brews while developing new ones! And while my initial start to developing my first Tarkir Dragonstorm was to talk about Sultai (U/B/G) Dragons and the fun I've had casting Ugin, Eye of the Storms, I've had the opportunity to play a few competitive events and experience Cori-Steel Cutter first hand. I'm not just talking about the strength of the card in Standard - Cori-Steel Cutter is a multi-format allstar!

Izzet (U/R) Prowess | Modern | CFavretto_Jr

• Creatures (10)
• 2 Bedlam Reveler
• 4 Dragon's Rage Channeler
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Stormchaser's Talent

• Instants (14)
• 2 Unholy Heat
• 4 Lava Dart
• 4 Lightning Bolt
• 4 Manamorphose

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Expressive Iteration
• 4 Preordain

• Artifacts (8)
• 4 Cori-Steel Cutter
• 4 Mishra's Bauble

• Lands (18)
• 3 Mountain
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Thundering Falls
• 3 Bloodstained Mire
• 3 Spirebluff Canal
• 3 Steam Vents
• 4 Wooded Foothills

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Mystical Dispute
• 1 Surgical Extraction
• 2 Meltdown
• 2 Pyroclasm
• 2 Spell Pierce
• 3 Dismember
• 4 Consign to Memory

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The main reason I wanted to start testing with Cori-Steel Cutter is because I had a Modern RCQ coming up, and a prowess variant was one of the modern archetypes that were up for my consideration. Being completely transparent here - I don't get to play modern often. As a primarily Standard content creator, that's my main focus, but given that Cori-Steel Cutter has been putting up results in that format, and it being Modern RCQ season coming off a fresh ban-cycle, I figure I give it a shot there too!

Every single game that I resolved a Cori-Steel Cutter I won. And every time I cast it, opponents' responses were "oh here we go," as if they knew what to expect. Cori-Steel Cutter, combined with cards like Dragon's Rage Channeler, and spells that cycle into each other such as Manamorphose, flashback-able Lava Dart, and zero-cost Mishra's Bauble is the perfect recipe for success and shenanigans. My losses in the 5 round event were against Gruul (R/G) Eldrazi and Kappa Cannoneer "Affinity" also featuring Cori-Steel Cutter - which is becoming quite a strong contender in the format given the unbanning of Mox Opal. Wins during the event were against Dimir (U/B) Ninjas, Izzet Prowess mirror match, and Orzhov (W/B) Vial.

As I mentioned earlier, the reason I wanted to give this Modern deck a shot was because the power level of Cori-Steel Cutter in Standard is unreal. Through the last week, I've been playing Izzet "Spellslingers" variants to progress from Platinum to Diamond on MTGArena. Out of all the variants that I've played and tested, the one I've had the most success with is one utilizing Stormchaser's Talent & This Town Ain't Big Enough, with a few copies of Stock Up.

Izzet (U/R) Spellslingers | TDM Standard | CFavretto_Jr

• Creatures (8)
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Slickshot Show-Off

• Instants (16)
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 3 This Town Ain't Big Enough
• 4 Monstrous Rage
• 4 Opt
• 4 Torch The Tower

• Sorceries (8)
• 2 Stock Up
• 3 Enter the Enigma
• 3 Sleight of Hand

• Enchantments (4)
• 4 Stormchaser's Talent

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Cori-Steel Cutter

• Lands (20)
• 3 Island
• 3 Mountain
• 1 Restless Spire
• 1 Thundering Falls
• 4 Riverpyre Verge
• 4 Shivan Reef
• 4 Spirebluff Canal

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Shore Up
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 1 Stock Up
• 2 Ephara's Dispersal
• 2 Ghost Vacuum
• 2 Lithomantic Barrage
• 2 Negate
• 2 Untimely Malfunction
• 2 Witchstalker Frenzy

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While not being able to play flashy burn spells like Lightning Bolt - this deck is still able to pack quite the punch in the Standard format by utilizing powerhouse spell Monstrous Rage alongside card draw spells like Opt and Enter the Enigma. Now, Enter the Enigma is a spell that's grown on me quite a bit. Against some creature based decks, a concern is that you may not always be able to crack through with your Monastery Swiftspear in the late game because they may have a blocker available and you don't happen to have Monstrous rage to trample over. Enter the Enigma enables you Monastery Swiftspear to be unblockable for the turn AND draws you a card - hopefully a second spell to trigger a Cori-Steel Cutter ability and create more prowess creatures.

I also recognize, and even had my own predispositions, that playing a deck like this might mean there's not much late-game play against decks that play to the late game - like Domain and Up the Beanstalk-based decks. Previous variants of this deck focused more on 1 and 2 drop spells, trying for the quick early-game based wins. I found that it was more difficult to win with those variants past turn four, and after playing many games with this variant, find it more effective. Spells like Stock Up and the Stormchaser's Talent/ This Town Ain't Big Enough loop enable this version to have good late-game contention.

So, after I got home from my RCQ adventures with Cori-Steel Cutter in Modern, and feeling good about my experience with the card - even though I got 9th on breakers - my Magic brain was still running and it was time to load up stream. And of course, I was ready to jam with more Cori-Steel Cutter because of how busted it is. What better way than to pair it with mice?

Rakdos (B/R) Cori-Steel Mice | TDM Standard | CFavretto_Jr

• Creatures (23)
• 4 Callous Sell-Sword // Burn Together
• 4 Emberheart Challenger
• 4 Heartfire Hero
• 3 Manifold Mouse
• 4 Monastery Swiftspear
• 4 Slickshot Show-Off

• Instants (12)
• 4 Burst Lightning
• 4 Monstrous Rage
• 4 Turn Inside Out

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Wild Ride

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Cori-Steel Cutter

• Lands (20)
• 12 Mountain
• 4 Blackcleave Cliffs
• 4 Sulfurous Springs

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Torch the Tower
• 2 Feed the Swarm
• 2 Furnace Reins
• 2 Ghost Vacuum
• 2 Lithomantic Barrage
• 3 Duress
• 3 Urabrask's Forge

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This deck's power level seemed insane in all the games I played, and had a much quicker early game win rate than the Izzet variant. On stream, I was able to go from Diamond 4 to Mythic in about 2 and a half hours worth of matches, playing against a wide-variety of decks. Callous Sell-Sword // Burn Together was a card I originally wasn't a fan of, but it enabled so many combinations of wins that I've become a believer. Ironically, it also became a card I seemed to sideboard out often depending on the matchup - out against decks like Omniscience combo and Domain, but stayed in against other aggressive decks like the mirror and more. I really look forward to playing around with this variant a bit more, and making changes as the metagame continues to evolve. You can watch my Twitch Vod here from that stream, where I also discuss my Modern RCQ experience.

My Magic travels are continuing over these next few months! The next event I'll be at is SCG Hartford featuring a Standard Regional Championship. I'll be playing in LCQ's to try and grind into the event, but if not successful, you can catch me playing in the Standard 10k Saturday and Standard 5k Sunday. Oh, and Magic Con Las Vegas is approaching in mid-June!

Until next time, Reader!