So. Let's get the obvious out of the way.

Vivi Ornitier is the best card in Standard. I don't think that's a shocking statement. It's dominant, and people are calling for an Emergency Ban (right on the heels of a historic banning). This article isn't to discuss whether I think it should be banned (it should) or if I think it will be banned (it should, but I don't doubt Agatha's Soul Cauldron will die for Vivi's sins).

This is my Standard top ten article, so I'm going to talk about the standout cards in the format. But, I'm not going to include Vivi, or Cauldorn, on the list. I think we can all agree that the cards are broken, especially together, so let's use their space to look at other cards that are showing out, or may show out once Vivi/Cauldron take a hike.

10. Cecil, Dark Knight

The best black one-drop we've seen in quite a while. Cecil provides black decks with a one-drop that retains its value into the mid-game courtesy of death touch and the threat of flipping into a 4/4 lifelinker. At the base level, it trades up with every creature in the format. Cecil is great, and I think more decks should look at running this little guy.

9. Ketramose, the New Dawn

Ketramose, not just a Modern staple anymore! The rise of cards like Strategic Betrayal (sneakily one of the best removal spells in Standard) and the Warp ability have added new dimensions to the Orzhov Ketramose deck, and it's starting to see more consistent play. Ketramose is one of those cards that's value is dictated by other cards, as the tools to hate the deck already exist (like the aforementioned Strategic Betrayal). Still, if you time the meta right, this is a card/deck that can easily take down a RCQ.

8. Screaming Nemesis

Banning Heartfire Hero and Monstrous Rage may have been enough to weaken the monored decks, but you can't keep them down forever. Screaming Nemesis has managed to fill the void created by the dearly departed mice. The ability for the card to go aggressive or stay back and prevent a large creature form attack affords red decks a versatility they often lack. Some of the blue decks are even sideboarding cards like Caelorna, Coral Tyrant to combat Screaming Nemesis.

7. Kona, Rescue Beastie

Everyone and their mother saw the Planet cards, like Evendo, Waking Haven, and immediately thought, "Oh, that's good with the Survival mechanic!" so it's no surprise when... the Planets are really good with Kona. I think there's still a lot of optimization to be done with the deck (and I really wish we had a Pro Tour to see how dedicated teams could brew with this prior to Spider-Man arrives to change things), but the power is definitely there for this to be a tier 1 deck.

6. Nova Hellkite

Warp is showing itself to be a powerful ability, with multiple cards emerging, and Nova Hellkite may be the best of the bunch. The mono-Red Dragon deck is legit, and the Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant into Nova Hellkite curve can be backbreaking for many matchups. Getting to nuke a Llanowar Elf or a Marauding Mako with the ping ability is just gravy (albeit, very good gravy). This warrants exploration in other decks.

5. Cosmogrand Zenith

My traditional, "Why in the hell wasn't this on my top ten list" card! Zenith has proven to be a house, reviving the Nurturing Pixie self-bounce decks (and makes me very glad This Town Ain't Big Enough was banned). When you have a low curve and a reliable way to generate card advantage so you're almost always able to cast 2 cards a turn, this is a little busted. It plays a lot like Elspeth, Storm Slayer in that it can go defensive for 2-3 turns until you've stabilized, and then flip to aggro and kill you in an instance.

4. Enduring Curiosity

Kaito, Bane of Nightmares was also a consideration here, but I think Enduring Curiosity is the actual all-star in the Dimi deck. This may be my most hated card in the format, as it absolutely buries you if you don't have one of the few ways to permanently get rid of it the moment it hits the board. Not a fan, and would be fine if this also ate a ban.

3. Ouroboroid

Another card I somehow left off my Edge of Eternities top ten list (as an aside, EoE seems like a very deep set, much more than I initially thought, and we might be finding great cards in it for months). This probably doesn't warrant this high of a ranking, but I'm betting on the Plant Wurm from space. I'll admit, it looks innocuous at first. A playable 1/3 for four mana seems like a relic from Magic's past. But, thankfully, Cut Down is gone, and it's harder to punish players for dropping a creature with initially diminutive stats. Untapping with this on the battlefield is usually enough to end the game. Ouroboroid's starting to show up in a variety of decks, everything from Simic Landfall to Insidious Roots, and it looks poised to break through to the top tier tables.

2. Proft's Eidetic Memory

Maybe this is cheating, maybe it's not. I may have sworn I wouldn't rank the OTHER two absolutely busted cards in the Vivi Cauldron deck, but Proft's Eidetic Memory is just one half-step bellow them in importance. In fact, there are many games where I've had the Vivi Cauldron deck run me over without every drawing either of the combo pieces. Proft's Eidetic Memory, in conjunction with Winternight Stories can get out of hand very quickly, and end a game in a turn or two. This card being so strong is one of the reasons I'm so in favor of banning Vivi/Cauldron. Izzet decks could adjust and still be tier 1, meaning all those people who have dumped money into the deck would still have a deck to play.

1. Stock Up

Izzet Cauldron, Izzet Prowess, Izzet Stormsplitter, Temur control, Temur Floodcaller, Azorius Control, Jeskai Contrl, Dimir, Esper Bounce, Simic... Stock Up is seeing play in so many different decks, and blue is so dominant in the format right now, that we might need to consider banning Island (okay, I'm joking... though, maybe...). You don't always find exactly what you want with Stock Up, but it's pretty close. This is probably the best, or at least the easiest, "engine" card left in Standard, and it should continue to dominate for years.

You can find more of my Magic musings on Twitter/X @travishall456 and on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/anakinsdad.bsky.social