This Week in Magic: Monday, July 7

Posted on July 7, 2025

A Major Banned And Restricted Announcement

This past Monday saw a massive banned and restricted announcement. While some digital-only formats saw some minor shifts and adjustments, the real talk of the town was the updates to Standard. Seven cards were banned ahead of the upcoming rotation with Edge of Eternities, including each of the following:

Cori-Steel Cutter

Abuelo's Awakening

Monstrous Rage

Heartfire Hero

Up the Beanstalk

Hopeless Nightmare

This Town Ain't Big Enough

Many players expected a small number of cards to be shown the door, though many hoped they'd go all the way. Wizards obliged, leading to one of the biggest banned and restricted updates of all time.

If you'd like to read more, I provided a complete write-up right here on CoolStuffInc about it. Additionally, you can read the official article from Wizards with complete write-ups discussing each format and each change (where relevant).

Edge of Eternities Previews Start Tuesday, July 8

The horizon is only the beginning! Join us next week at the #MTGEternities Debut to see what Magic awaits you in the vastness of space.

? twitch.tv/magic ?

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— Magic: The Gathering (@magic.wizards.com) July 3, 2025 at 1:35 PM

If you've been paying attention to social media at all over the past week or so, chances are you've seen several stories releasing for Edge of Eternities. These have been extremely lauded and are a fantastic lead-up to the debut stream this Tuesday! The debut stream will kick off the Edge of Eternities preview season proper with numerous cards expected to be shown off as per usual.

Here's my Edge of Eternities teaser:

www.tumblr.com/markrosewate...

#MTGEternities #WotCStaff

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— maro254.bsky.social (@maro254.bsky.social) July 1, 2025 at 11:20 AM

To help with this fun lead-up, Mark Rosewater released his usual set teaser revealing small tidbits about the cards in the set. Many captured players' attention and have made many eager to see what's coming down the line in the coming weeks.

Be sure to check out the debut stream Tuesday, as well as the Where To Find Edge of Eternities Previews article to see where all the cards will be revealed.

Spotlight Series: Final Fantasy Wraps in Chiba, Japan

?Congratulations to Kazuya Hirabayashi, winner of Magic Spotlight: FINAL FANTASY!?

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— Play Magic (@playmagic.com) June 29, 2025 at 6:22 AM

Normally I'd save a major event like this for the decklist of the week section. However, Spotlight Series: Final Fantasy featured the Standard format mere days before the massive ban list update was revealed. As such, the event winner - Izzet Prowess piloted by Kazuya Hirabayashi - has since been banned and I feel it's better to show off something that represents the newer, fresher meta instead.

That having been said, this weekend's event showed a massive showing as players came for their shot at several sweet Final Fantasy event items. With the bans coming hot on the heels of this tournament, it also provided an excellent final showcase for several powerful decks.

A big congratulations to Kazuya for the victory!

Decklist of the Week

Dimir Midrange | Post-Ban FIN Standard | bless_von, 1st Place MTGO Standard Challenge

Creatures (23)
1 Saiba Cryptomancer
2 Cecil, Dark Knight // Cecil, Redeemed Paladin
2 Gix, Yawgmoth Praetor
3 Deep-Cavern Bat
3 Enduring Curiosity
4 Faerie Mastermind
4 Floodpits Drowner
4 Spyglass Siren

Planeswalkers (4)
4 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares

Buy This Deck Export text Export Arena

With the big bans this week came with it a massive shift in the meta. For better or worse, what's old is new again as decks such as Dimir Midrange, Golgari Midrange, and Mono-White Control have begun making a major showing again. Dimir has clearly been the main standout, with players eager to ninjutsu out copies of Kaito, Bane of Nightmares once more. The deck is expected to get a serious downgrade after rotation with numerous cards - particularly the removal suite - exiting the format. Will there be new innovation in the coming weeks, or will we just have to wait until rotation for things to freshen anew?

Paige Smith

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