It's only been two weeks since Prerelease and already Standard has seen some pretty major changes. While some of the top dogs from the previous format are still hanging around, like Mono-Red/Gruul, Esper Pixie, and Dimir Midrange, there are a number of new strategies like Izzet Prowess and Jeskai Control making their way into the new format. While Tarkir: Dragonstorm did have a number of powerful new cards for Standard, the tri-colored set's best card for the format is none other than a new Mono-Red card (yay...).

Cori-Steel Cutter is undoubtedly the most powerful Constructed card from Tarkir: Dragonstorm, with it making waves not only in Standard, but in Pioneer and Modern as well. With the printing of this card we now have a variety of Steel-Cutter decks in Standard, either Mono-Red or Izzet-based. However, there are a handful of other decks to look at today, so without further ado let's see what strategies are performing well in this edition of... This Week in Standard!

Izzet Prowess | TDM Standard | -Nausea-, Standard Challenge 32 4/17/2025/1st

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

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I wanted to start off first with a Cori-Steel Cutter deck, and what better to choose than a Standard Challenge-winning list? This list is actually kind of different from the stock lists I've seen, but it has a few key inclusions that I really like. I appreciate the use of Enter the Enigma here - it's a cool way to break through board stalls or just jam through in the mirror with a huge Slickshot Show-Off or Monastery Swiftspear. I think this card actually scares me as a Beza, the Bounding Spring enjoyer, so it makes sense why it's included here.

I'm also a big fan of This Town Ain't Big Enough - for a number of reasons. Besides the obvious reason that you should include this card in your Stormchaser's Talent decks, when you can, I also like that this can save your Cori-Steel Cutter or creature from a removal spell while also bouncing your Stormchaser's Talent. And it can bounce away permanent-based removal, like Temporary Lockdown. Having this card in the maindeck gives you some leverage in longer games, but it also can be a nice trick or a way to remove an opponent's blocker in a pinch. Other than that this list is pretty stock, save for some sideboard cards, and I really like how it's adapted for the current meta.

Jeskai Oculus | TDM Standard | Phoenix_Flame, Standard Challenge 32 4/17/2025/3rd

• Creatures (19)
• 1 Inti, Seneschal of the Sun
• 1 Kitsa, Otterball Elite
• 2 Tersa Lightshatter
• 3 Steamcore Scholar
• 4 Abhorrent Oculus
• 4 Fear of Missing Out
• 4 Marauding Mako

• Instants (6)
• 2 Spell Pierce
• 4 Torch the Tower

• Sorceries (10)
• 2 Glacial Dragonhunt
• 2 Recommission
• 2 Winternight Stories
• 4 Helping Hand

• Enchantments (3)
• 3 Proft's Eidetic Memory

• Lands (22)
• 1 Island
• 1 Mountain
• 1 Restless Anchorage
• 2 Adarkar Wastes
• 2 Battlefield Forge
• 3 Shivan Reef
• 4 Inspiring Vantage
• 4 Seachrome Coast
• 4 Spirebluff Canal

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Chandra, Spark Hunter
• 2 Destroy Evil
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Ghost Vacuum
• 1 Kaito, Cunning Infiltrator
• 1 Loran of the Third Path
• 2 Negate
• 2 Pyroclasm
• 2 Sheltered by Ghosts
• 1 Soul-Guide Lantern

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From the same Challenge I wanted to look at the third place decklist, an updated Jeskai Oculus. I worry that this archetype is too slow in a world of Izzet Prowess among other Cori-Steel Cutter decks, but this archetype did benefit from Tarkir: Dragonstorm. In the maindeck there are three pivotal new cards added to this list: Tersa Lightshatter, Glacial Dragonhunt, and Winternight Stories. All of these cards act in similar fashion, giving you a discard outlet for your Abhorrent Oculuses so you can sculpt a solid draw to bring them back. I like that there's a split here between Tersa Lightshatter and a card that plays a similar role, Steamcore Scholar - Tersa Lightshatter I think is the better of the two with bigger stats and Haste (minus Flying), but you wouldn't want four copies due to it being legendary. You can also pull off some pretty fast draws with Winternight Stories and Proft's Eidetic Memory, which might snag you a game with a turn one Marauding Mako.

Azorius Omniscience| TDM Standard | Dazai, Standard Challenge 64 4/14/2025/2nd

• Creatures (4)
• 4 Marang River Regent

• Instants (11)
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 3 Confounding Riddle
• 3 Ephara's Dispersal
• 4 Moment of Truth

• Sorceries (8)
• 4 Abuelo's Awakening
• 4 Stock Up

• Enchantments (12)
• 4 Omniscience
• 4 Roiling Dragonstorm
• 4 Temporary Lockdown

• Battles (2)
• 2 Invasion of Arcavios // Invocation of the Founders

• Lands (24)
• 3 Plains
• 4 Island
• 2 Blast Zone
• 3 Adarkar Wastes
• 4 Floodfarm Verge
• 4 Meticulous Archive
• 4 Seachrome Coast

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring
• 1 Change the Equation
• 3 Devout Decree
• 2 Disenchant
• 1 Get Lost
• 1 Jeskai Revelation
• 2 Negate
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 2 Voice of Victory

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Another archetype that benefits from the card selection spells in Tarkir: Dragonstorm is Azorius Omniscience. It's really cool to see how this deck has adapted since Tarkir's release, with this list no longer running Picklock Prankster or Chart a Course, but instead opting for Roiling Dragonstorm and Marang River Regent. I like that this deck has access to Marang River Regent not only as a way to Sift, but as an additional threat you can pop into play. This gives you some more agency when combo-ing because it buys back your Roiling Dragonstorms, giving you more looks for Invasion of Arcavios // Invocation of the Founders.

It's also funny to note that Jeskai Revelation now lives in the sideboard of this deck, and lets you combo kill much faster by using Invasion of Arcavios to grab it initially, cast it off Omniscience, and continually deal your opponent four damage while bouncing back your Invasion - the loop is much shorter now!

To wrap up this article, I wanted to share the Azorius Control deck that I've been testing with the Minneapolis Regional Championship on the horizon. I took this list to a 2-0 split at a side event at SCG Con Denver, and 3-0'd my local Standard event this past week (besting two Izzet Prowess lists). While that's definitely not decisive enough evidence to call this deck good in the format, I do think there's some merit to the list I have put together and how it stacks up against current decks in the format.

Azorius Control | TDM Standard | Roman Fusco

• Creatures (7)
• 1 Horned Loch-Whale
• 1 Marang River Regent
• 2 Overlord of the Mistmoors
• 3 Beza, the Bounding Spring

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 1 Elspeth, Storm Slayer
• 2 Jace, the Perfected Mind

• Instants (15)
• 1 Change the Equation
• 1 Elspeth's Smite
• 2 Deduce
• 2 No More Lies
• 3 Get Lost
• 3 Ride's End
• 3 Three Steps Ahead

• Sorceries (7)
• 1 Sunfall
• 3 Day of Judgment
• 3 Stock Up

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Temporary Lockdown

• Lands (26)
• 3 Island
• 5 Plains
• 1 Blast Zone
• 1 Demolition Field
• 2 Adarkar Wastes
• 2 Fountainport
• 2 Meticulous Archive
• 3 Seachrome Coast
• 3 Restless Anchorage
• 4 Floodfarm Verge

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Boon-Bringer Valkyrie
• 2 Rest in Peace
• 1 Beza, the Bounding Spring
• 1 Negate
• 2 Obstinate Baloth
• 1 Wilt-Leaf Liege
• 1 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 1 Loran of the Third Path
• 1 Devout Decree
• 1 Elspeth's Smite
• 1 Destroy Evil
• 2 Authority of the Consuls

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I'm still tinkering with the numbers, especially with the new cards from Tarkir that I added. Elspeth, Storm Slayer has felt like a powerhouse, but at times it's felt too slow to cast. Elspeth may end up replacing my copies of Jace, the Perfected Mind in the main, although I don't want to give up my Game 1 against Domain (this deck has been showing up less and less as of late). Marang River Regent has played fine, but it honestly feels too cute. I do like that you can shuffle your deck after putting cards on the bottom of your library with Stock Up, and that it's another way to win the game. I could see cutting it though in lieu of another Temporary Lockdown for the Cori-Steel Cutter matchups.

With only two weeks to go until the Minneapolis Regional Championship, it'll be interesting to see how Standard changes with Tarkir: Dragonstorm. While we have a mix of new and returning decks in the format, I'll be interested to see if any new spicy lists breach the current Standard meta. For now I'll be putting my faith in trusty ol' Azorius Control, but who knows? I may end up registering something entirely different for the RC...

Until then, thanks for reading!

-Roman Fusco