One of the most surprising cards to show up in force during the first weekend of Dominaria Standard may have been Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage. In restrospect, maybe this shouldn't have been surprising. Restoration Angel was a card that absolutely defined a Standard format, and Raff Capashen isn't that far off. Sure, the extra point of toughness and flicker effect are a big deal, but so is the ability to cast historic spells at instant speed. CSMIDY shows us just how big of a gamechanger this can be:

Bant Flash - Dominaria Standard | CSMIDY, 5-0 Standard League

• Creatures (13)
• 3 Lyra Dawnbringer
• 3 Raff Capashen, Ship's Mage
• 3 Servant of the Conduit
• 4 Llanowar Elves

• Planeswalkers (12)
• 1 Dovin Baan
• 2 Ajani Unyielding
• 3 Gideon of the Trials
• 3 Nissa, Steward of Elements
• 3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

• Spells (11)
• 3 Settle the Wreckage
• 2 Cast Out
• 2 Oath of Teferi
• 4 Seal Away

• Lands (24)
• 2 Forest
• 2 Island
• 2 Plains
• 1 Hinterland Harbor
• 1 Sunpetal Grove
• 4 Botanical Sanctum
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 4 Irrigated Farmland
• 4 Scattered Groves

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Blink of an Eye
• 2 Cast Out
• 1 Commit // Memory
• 2 Forsake the Worldly
• 2 Fumigate
• 1 Kefnet the Mindful
• 4 Negate
• 1 Nezahal, Primal Tide

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Suddenly, you can leave all your mana up and still cast a Planeswalker at the end of your opponent's turn. Then you can untap and cast another Planeswalker, or even an Oath of Teferi to start threatening to ultimate Planeswalkers on the following turn. Sure, maybe your opponent has counterspells, but it's much easier to beat counterspells with Planeswalkers when you can cast all your spells on your opponent's end step. Let's not even get started on how devastating a Lyra Dawnbringer can be in the middle of combat. You even have Teferi, Hero of Dominaria to help you cast multiple spells per turn cycle while pulling ahead on cards.

Decks like this are exciting because we've never seen this kind of play pattern in competitive Constructed events before, and it really shows off just how deep the playable cards run in Dominaria. If flash Planeswalkers are what this format has to offer on week one, I can't wait to find out what else it has in store.