Some pretty big news was dropped on the Standard community recently, a new approach to ban announcements with the impending upcoming ban of Vivi Ornitier and potentially Agatha's Soul Cauldron in Standard:

The important info:

• The next Ban and Restricted announcement moves up from November 24th to November 10th
• WotC will be more aggressive with ban announcements and windows next year
• Vivi Ornitier is almost certainly getting banned, with Agatha's Soul Cauldron also in some "hot water"

This is a pretty direct statement from Wizards, as Standard has grown increasingly stale over the last few months with the dominance of the Vivi Cauldron deck. It's somewhat saddening to think that only a few months ago we also saw the banning of seven cards in Standard, one of the largest bannings of all time, and yet we're back in the same position again.

Standard is a rough place right now, and it's for a number of reasons. Overall, I'm happy that Standard is back in the limelight, but with the expansion of Standard becoming a three-year rotating format instead of two, in addition to Universes Beyond being legal in the format (not to mention just the added two sets per year), it's been a tough format to handle.

Ultimately, I hope that a new approach to bans will help better shape Standard in the future as we navigate all these new changes to the format, but I probably won't be playing RCQs until Vivi gets banned, and that's kind of depressing to admit - I'd rather they just ban it now as a one-time emergency ban and just rip the bandaid off.

In the meantime, however, I'd like to turn my attention to what Standard looks like in a Vivi-less world. It's worth noting that the next RCQ season is also Standard, and while we do have to wait for new cards from Marvel's Spider-Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender, I think we can paint a picture of what Standard might look like post-Vivi ban in early November. Take these predictions with a grain of salt, but if you're a competitive player waiting for the Vivi ban, these are some decks and cards that might be good investments for the future.

Control Decks Probably Get Worse (Unless Aggro Dominates the Format)

One interesting aspect about the Cori-Steel Cutter ban earlier this year was that it kind of killed Azorius and Jeskai Control for a short time until Vivi decks started popping up. At the Regional Championship I went 7-1-1 against Izzet Cutter decks playing Jeskai Control, and I remember seeing a ton of Jeskai at the top tables. With Lightning Helix, Temporary Lockdown, and Abrade, this was a pretty decent matchup to get a leg up on. However, Standard shifted pretty significantly with the banning of Cori-Steel Cutter.

Dimir Midrange ended up seeing a big resurgence, and while it isn't an un-winnable matchup for Control decks, the prevalence of Kaito, Bane of Nightmares definitely pushed the Control archetype out of the format a bit.

The other noticeable change post-Cutter ban was the loss of Mono-Red in the format. Pre-Edge of Eternities, the Red decks losing Monstrous Rage and Heartfire Hero basically made the deck unplayable, losing another decent matchup for the Lightning Helix and Beza, the Bounding Spring Control players. With the loss of the broken Izzet deck we saw a decline in Control and Aggro, and an uptick in Midrange and random decks.

Four-Color Control | SPM Standard | Xsper, Standard Challenge 32 09/08/2025/4th

• Creatures (2)
• 2 Marang River Regent

• Instants (28)
• 1 Final Showdown
• 2 Mystical Teachings
• 2 Three Steps Ahead
• 3 Jeskai Revelation
• 4 Consult the Star Charts
• 4 Get Lost
• 4 Inevitable Defeat
• 4 Lightning Helix
• 4 No More LIes

• Sorceries (3)
• 1 Stock Up
• 2 Ultima

• Lands (27)
• 1 Plains
• 1 Cori Mountain Monastery
• 1 Godless Shrine
• 1 Mistrise Village
• 1 Shadowy Backstreet
• 1 Sunbillow Verge
• 3 Floodfarm Verge
• 3 Sacred Foundry
• 3 Starting Town
• 4 Meticulous Archive
• 4 Riverpyre Verge
• 4 Watery Grave

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Fire Magic
• 1 Seam Rip
• 1 Flashfreeze
• 2 High Noon
• 1 Negate
• 2 Rest in Peace
• 2 Voice of Victory
• 1 Kutzil's Flanker
• 2 Beza, the Bounding Spring
• 1 Sphinx of Forgotten Lore

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I'd be interested to see how decks like Four-Color Control survive post-Vivi ban. I like the Four-Color version a bit more in a post-ban world, since it has more ways to effectively deal with a variety of permanents in Inevitable Defeat. I'd be a bit wary of starting on Azorius or Sultai Control week one of a new format.

On the contrary, I think this deck can get beat hard by just regular Azorius, especially if they're packing Demolition Fields. I think the flexibility of Four-Color is where I'd start and invest in, but there will be times when Azorius will be the better Control deck to play on a weekend.

Dimir and Mono-Red Become the Face of the Format

Unless Wizards somehow ends up banning Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, I would bet on Dimir Midrange being the de facto "best deck" going forward post-ban. I think this just has to do with Dimir's consistency, and its effectiveness of winning games off a turn three Kaito. I think post-Vivi ban people will gravitate to the two most-played decks lying in Vivi's wake, Dimir and Mono-Red. This would probably mean a step away from the current decks playing Azure Beastbinder with more of an emphasis on Cecil, Dark Knight, Floodpits Drowner, and Preacher of the Schism.

Dimir Midrange | Standard | O_danielakos, Standard Challenge 32 09/15/2025/5th

• Creatures (22)
• 2 Cecil, Dark Knight // Cecil, Redeemed Paladin
• 2 Preacher of the Schism
• 2 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 4 Deep-Cavern Bat
• 4 Enduring Curiosity
• 4 Floodpits Drowner
• 4 Spyglass Siren

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares

• Instants (9)
• 1 Faebloom Trick
• 1 Long Goodbye
• 1 Stab
• 2 Bitter Triumph
• 2 Phantom Interference
• 2 Shoot the Sheriff

• Sorceries (1)
• 1 Tragic Trajectory

• Lands (21)
• 5 Island
• 4 Swamp
• 1 Fountainport
• 2 Restless Reef
• 2 Soulstone Sanctuary
• 3 Starting Town
• 4 Watery Grave

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Annul
• 2 Duress
• 1 Stab
• 1 Tragic Trajectory
• 2 Strategic Betrayal
• 1 Negate
• 2 Faebloom Trick
• 1 Lord Skitter, Sewer King
• 2 Qarsi Revenant
• 1 Tishana's Tidebinder
• 1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares

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In turn, Mono-Red still remains a dominant force in the format, punishing slower decks that went away with Vivi's resurgence. I think this deck could probably move away from Razorkin Needlehead and move to a more Boros-themed strategy with cards like Lightning Helix and Boros Charm maindeck. This also gives you access to cards like Rest in Peace and Sheltered by Ghosts - Sheltered by Ghosts specifically a card that I really like as a mirror-breaker.

Whether or not rogue decks are good in a field of Dimir and Mono-Red, I do think the absence of Vivi will make way for more fringe decks to Top 8 and spike tournaments. Decks like Golgari Ouroboroid, Esper Pixie with Cosmogrand Zenith, and Simulacrum Synthesizer decks all seem like ways people will come back with a vengeance.

Will Izzet Secretly Still be the Best Deck?

While there's much to theorize on with a Vivi-ban looming on the horizon, the fact of the matter is that the Izzet deck is still pretty busted. I think this will be dependent on if Agatha's Soul Cauldron bites the dust, but you can still lose games to a turn one Marauding Mako into a Fear of Missing Out/Proft's Eidetic Memory. Winternight Stories is still an insanely pushed Magic card, so while the deck loses its inevitability in Vivi Ornitier and perhaps Agatha's Soul Cauldron, you still can win off the back of Proft's and good value creatures like Quantum Riddler.

I can also see a return to Jeskai builds with Abhorrent Oculus. It's funny to think how Oculus was such a pushed Magic card after its release last fall, but it's almost been completely pushed out of the format due to Vivi. While two key cards rotate from Vivi Cauldron, a pretty intact shell gets left behind. Call me crazy, but I don't think it would be unreasonable to ban Proft's Eidetic Memory in November, even if it's just to make sure Izzet stays down for the count.

Standard continues to be a format riddled by problems. As a veteran Standard player you almost get used to the constant bans and broken cards pushed on the format, but at the end of the day it's still fun Magic. I had some pretty tight matches as Azorius Control against Vivi Cauldron this format, and while they weren't my most enjoyable Standard matches of all time, there were still edges to be had (in some games, at least).

While I'll most likely be taking a break from Standard until Vivi is banned, I'm definitely going to be keeping a close eye on the format, patiently tinkering with my Control builds until November 10th. If you're playing Standard until then, good luck - you're going to need it.

-Roman Fusco