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Main » Articles » Pinnacle Starcage is an Artifact

Pinnacle Starcage is an Artifact

Michael Flores
Posted on August 1, 2025
 Reddit

Hi!

Meet Pinnacle Starcage:

Pinnacle Starcage

You might not know it yet (and it looks like the metagame as a whole doesn't know it yet), but Pinnacle Starcage is probably the most important Constructed card for Standard from Edge of Eternities.

Superficially Pinnacle Starcage is the Temporary Lockdown replacement.

More importantly (and it looks like the metagame as a whole doesn't know it yet), but the more important thing might be that Pinnacle Starcage is an artifact.

Case in point:

Izzet Simulacrum | EOE Standard | Deathnote1999,5-0 MTGO Standard League 7/31/2025

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Cool deck, right?

A new take on the Repurposing Bay / Simulacrum Synthesizer plan.

It's got Pinnacle Emissary for the artifact payoff. The Red supplement to the important Blue artifacts gives DEATHNOTE1999 Boommobile, Chainsaw, Legion Extruder, and newcomer Warmaker Gunship for creature removal.

All those cards kill something (or at least can kill something) when they enter the battlefield. All of those cards do something more down the line; mostly providing power and toughness. Of course, more power and more toughness will be obtained "naturally" in concert with Simulacrum Synthesizer and Pinnacle Emissary. Izzet mages should have plenty of fuel for getting Warmaker Gunship into The Red Zone down the line.

But I can't help but wonder how good of an artifact theme deck we might have if instead of the Red, this kind of deck were the more traditional Blue-White. How cool will it be to put Pinnacle Starcage onto the battlefield with Unified Front? You're drawing cards and Tinkering up a mana advantage while sweeping the opponent's board? How could would that be? And how absolutely card advantageous would it be to sacrifice a Cryogen Relic to Repurposing Bay to get Pinnacle Starcage onto the battlefield?

You heard it here first: Blue-White artifacts!

Here's a Blue-White deck that at least plays Pinnacle Starcage:

Azorius Artifacts | EOE Standard | RezerDeDog, 5-0 MTGO Standard League 7/31/2025

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Okay, okay... REZERDEDOG didn't play a whole heck of a lot of Starcages. But in the deck's defense, this is kind of a bad Starcage deck. Main-deck Overlord of the Mistmoors; Beza, the Bounding Spring; and to a lesser extent Elspeth, Storm Slayer are all kind of a non-bo with the Starcage (and they're collectively mostly how the deck plans to win).

How about...

Jeskai Control | EOE Standard | Curtisaxel, 5-0 MTGO Standard League 7/31/2025

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Here's an update to Jeskai Shiko, rather than "just" Blue-White. The lever here, OF COURSE, is that Shiko, Paragon of the Way has some synergy with Pinnacle Starcage. Not the least of which is that the Starcage doesn't exile the Shiko.

Speaking of not-sweeping, neither the performing Blue-White nor the performing Jeskai deck we've looked at plays Ultima. Split Up I can kind of buy... But it's somehow in the Blue-White deck instead of the Jeskai that can re-buy it for free. I can kind of buy that card, but no Ultima at all?

No Ultimas? Looks like the coast is really, really clear for Pinnacle Starcage!

In terms of new Edge of Eternities cards, it's important to note that CURTISAXEL, with this Jeskai, kind of undid some long-term assumptions. Like, there is no Rediscover the Way as the secondary Stand Up. A three-color deck (with a unique in-color card drawing spell) chooses to forego the Sagas in exchange for the faster and lighter Consult the Star Charts.

Why am I so gaga over Pinnacle Starcage?

It looks like it would make mincemeat out of many of the other performing strategies to come out of Edge of Eternities. Like...

Izzet Cauldron | EOE Standard | Jacopogiacomoni, 5-0 MTGO Standard League 7/31/2025

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There was a looming question about if Izzet Cauldron would survive rotation, and the loss of Voldaren Thrillseeker. PVDDR himself said that Draconautics Engineer might serve as the best option, and here we see the first (of presumably several takes) living up to PV's take, at least initially.

On the one hand, the Izzet deck - a contender from Standard past that might just as good (or even better) - just lost its finisher. Consequently, a 3-drop was removed for a 1-drop; the deck doesn't even play four copies of Tersa Lightshatter or Steamcore Scholar! Vivi Ornitier, sure; but neither of the other 3-drops.

But you know what does bite it to Pinnacle Starcage? The star of the show itself, Agatha's Soul Cauldron! Boom.

Or...

Orzhov Aristocrats | EOE Standard | Velidar93, 5-0 MTGO Standard League 7/31/2025

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I think this is going to be, if not the most important new archetype of Edge of Eternities Standard, in very close proximity to that title.

There have been a number of attempts (already) at a Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER creature / combo deck. I've seen Mono-Black leaning more into a Vengeful Bloodwitch machine gun with Umbral Collar Zealot; and other Black-White builds that dig toward Raise the Past.

But in any case, it's going to be hasty Timeline Cullers sometimes sticking around (and sometimes not); lots of sacrifice outlets (particularly in Black-White builds) and multiple routes to both card advantage and angles at the opponent's life total.

What they have in common - with the notable exception of the best card in the deck, Sephiroth himself - is an extreme vulnerability to Pinnacle Starcage. Just look at this deck! Almost half the main deck can be exiled by the artifact 3-drop, with no way to interact directly with it in the main deck. More importantly for all versions, whether they're buying back zombies, Scouting for Survivors, or Raising the Past; is that exile-based removal (instead of mere destruction) is particularly hostile to how they've built their synergies.

Timeline Culler is the kind of card that is supposed to shrug of sweepers... Not so fast, allegedly hasty one.

Here's the last deck I want to talk about this week. Like many we've looked at already, it's an offensive deck that is highly vulnerable to Pinnacle Starcage in Game 1:

Gruul Landfall | EOE Standard | oskiyaa, 5-0 MTGO Standard League 7/31/2025

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For me, personally, this has quickly become my favorite deck to play so far.

You might recognize it from the last format, where it took down one big event or so, but largely had a weak reputation for being single-minded and less reliable.

To be fair, unlike decks that are A + B; this one is A + B + C.

It's a creature deck has does most of its damage in The Red Zone. While it's not overly reliant on pump spells in this iteration, it has very specific angles and vulnerabilities. Like, you really do put a lot of effort into pumping up one creature, sometimes for only one turn. That can make point creature removal highly effective at defending against it.

It's weird.

Some of the creatures - like Sazh's Chocobo - look like they might be fantastic on rate... But don't do very much if you don't have a steady stream of lands. Speaking of lands, this is a 1-drop laden deck (thirteen 1- and 2-drops make it pretty susceptible to Pinnacle Starcage)... But with twenty-six lands! It has the land count of a Control deck with a ton of 5- or 6-drops! Worse, many of the lands come into play tapped, at least for the first four or so turns. Really and truly weird.

But when it all comes together - especially considering its new angle - the deck has gone from being a sub-also-ran to one of the more popular options online. Like I said, I've been playing it a ton myself.

What's different?

Mountain

One Mountain.

That's it.

The fact that there is only one makes some games awkward. Like if you're burying your opponent in Icetill Explorer card advantage you sometimes Mill the one Mountain. Which isn't the end of the world because the Icetill Explorer has got you covered. Only sometimes they kill the Explorer and now you don't have your Mountain any more.

Which would in some other cases be okay. Worldsoul's Rage recovers lands from the graveyard! Only you have only the one Mountain so how are you casting Worldsoul's Rage to recover the Mountain?

Also, the occasional turn comes up where you want to cast two Worldsoul's Rages in a single turn. Can't do that.

Most of the rest of the time you're just accumulating +1/+1 triggers (sometimes two, sometimes four at a time) and crushing the opponent in combat. Worldsoul's Rage - an inefficient Fireball effect - has given the deck some welcome ability to interact with opposing must-kill creatures; but also lets you burst massive damage via Tifa Lockhart and Mossborn Hydra. In this deck Worldsoul's Rage might just put two extra lands onto the battlefield. But maybe Tifa already triggered twice from a Fabled Passage (one of the lands you're returning, naturally)... This might be immediately lethal, thanks to the extra burst of lands in a single turn.

The deck is surprisingly cerebral, and more powerful than a deck of mostly tiny-to-start creatures has any right to be.

I have to say I love the sideboard. It plays Dragonback Assault (adding one Island!) and potentially some Lander tokens. Therefore it curves up to what a deck with, let's see, twenty-sixseven lands is supposed to look like. Bet you can catch an unaware opponent unawares with the sideboard! Somehow still, but less (and kind of more) meat to Pinnacle Starcage.

... Which again, importantly and in the coming weeks I'm sure, importantly, is an artifact.

LOVE

MIKE

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TAGS articles, standard, metagame, constructed, analysis, decklist, mike flores, michael flores, 08012025, pinnacle starcage

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