Hello and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest Constructed developments on the path to the Pro Tour. In just five weeks, Modern will be featured at Pro Tour Edge of Eternities, which will be followed by a Modern Regional Championship cycle in October and November. With the release of Edge of Eternities, this cornerstone format has received an exciting infusion of powerful new cards.

In today's article, I'll begin with a snapshot of the Modern metagame in the immediate wake of the set's release, then spotlight the standout newcomers from Edge of Eternities. Along the way, I'll chart how these cards are making an impact, from subtle upgrades to entirely new constellations of strategy. It's time to explore the latest frontier of Modern.

The Modern Metagame with Edge of Eternities

Modern is a nonrotating 60-card format based on expansion sets, core sets, and straight-to-Modern sets from Eight Edition forward, save for cards on the banned list. With over 20 years of card history behind it, Modern offers intricate card interactions and a vast array of viable strategies. If you're new to the format or returning after a hiatus, I recommend checking out my latest format primer for an introduction to Modern's top-tier decks.

To learn which Modern decks have found success right after the online release of Edge of Eternities, I analyzed over 1,100 published Magic Online decklists from scheduled events held from August 1–19. I assigned each deck points based on its rectified number of net wins, calculated as the number of match wins minus losses, with negative values adjusted to zero. By combining these points across all events, each archetype's share of the total rectified net wins blends popularity and performance into a single, comprehensive metric: the winner's metagame share.

In this table, each archetype name hyperlinks to a top-performing decklist that closely reflects its aggregate build. The "Other" category collects decks with less than one percent metagame share, including Izzet Metalcraft, Dimir Mill, Bant Ritual, Mardu Energy, Mono-Green Tron, Mardu Blink, Azorius Blink, Azorius Affinity, Mono-White Control, Dimir Midrange, Mono-Black Eldrazi, Jeskai Dress Down, Naya Scapeshift, and more.

The current Modern metagame looks healthy and diverse. While decks based around Guide of Souls and Galvanic Discharge remain at the top of the format, Boros Energy has lost some of its prominence compared to my metagame snapshot following the release of Magic: The Gathering®—FINAL FANTASY™. Notably, Mardu Energy with Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER has basically vanished. New contenders such as Esper Blink and Grixis Reanimator have risen to challenge the status quo. These trends are captured by the arrows in the table.

One of the most remarkable developments has been the sudden rise of Grixis Reanimator. Practically out of nowhere, it claimed victory in back-to-back Magic Online Challenges when piloted by Ale_MTG. The deck employs Faithless Looting and Psychic Frog to put Archon of Cruelty into the graveyard, then reanimates it with Persist or Emperor of Bones. Unearthing Abhorrent Oculus provides a sturdy alternative win condition. The deck's success is a reminder that Modern still has room for surprises and that nearly every play style can find a home in the format.

The Most-Played Cards from Edge of Eternities

Edge of Eternities unleashed several potent options into Modern, invigorating both established and emerging archetypes. Below is an overview of the twelve new-to-Modern cards that have seen the most play across the decklists I reviewed.

While Extinguisher Battleship and The Endstone are primarily silver bullets for Karn, the Great Creator, the other new cards have had considerable impact in the main deck. To better understand the impact of these Edge of Eternities additions, let's explore the archetypes that have incorporated them most successfully.

Quantum Riddler in Esper Blink

Quantum Riddler

2 Aven Interrupter 1 Boggart Trawler 3 Emperor of Bones 4 Ephemerate 3 Fatal Push 4 Flickerwisp 4 Flooded Strand 2 Godless Shrine 1 Hallowed Fountain 4 Marsh Flats 1 Meticulous Archive 4 Overlord of the Balemurk 4 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 2 Plains 2 Polluted Delta 4 Quantum Riddler 1 Shadowy Backstreet 4 Solitude 1 Swamp 4 Thoughtseize 1 Watery Grave 4 Witch Enchanter 2 Ashiok, Dream Render 2 Clarion Conqueror 4 Consign to Memory 1 Fatal Push 3 High Noon 3 Wrath of the Skies

Quantum Riddler pairs beautifully with Ephemerate and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd. If you blink a warped Quantum Riddler on turn three, you'll draw two cards and keep the creature on the battlefield when it returns. Alternatively, if you use Consign to Memory to counter the exile trigger from warp at end of turn, then Quantum Riddler will also stick around. This all results in an undercosted 4/6 flying blocker that doubles as a card-draw engine. In today's Modern metagame, there's little removal that can cleanly deal with Quantum Riddler. Fatal Push and Lightning Bolt, for example, fall short.

In Esper Blink, Quantum Riddler has neatly replaced Ketramose, the New Dawn and Psychic Frog as a more powerful source of card advantage. When pitch spells like Solitude rapidly deplete your hand, Quantum Riddler can restock your hand from nothing. The effect snowballs even further with multiple copies. If you control two copies of the Sphinx and would draw a card with one or less cards in your hand, you'll actually draw three, as both replacement effects would be applied.

RespectTheCat piloted the Esper Blink list above to a 2nd-place finish in an early Magic Online Challenge, and the archetype has surged in popularity ever since. In addition, Quantum Riddler has been adopted by a range of decks including Azorius Control, Simic Ritual, Esper Goryo's, and Azorius Blink. In Simic Ritual, you can sacrifice it to Birthing Ritual before warp would send it into exile.

Across all the Modern decklists that I reviewed, 15.5% of the decks included at least one copy of Quantum Riddler, ranking it as the thirty-second most-played card in the format overall. It saw even more play than longstanding staples like Lightning Bolt and Mishra's Bauble. Quantum Riddler's prominence has even led to the resurgence of Doorkeeper Thrull as an answer, and it clearly stands out as the single most impactful Modern card from Edge of Eternities.

Pinnacle Emissary in Izzet Affinity

Pinnacle Emissary

3 Cranial Plating 4 Darksteel Citadel 1 Island 4 Kappa Cannoneer 1 Lavaspur Boots 4 Memnite 4 Metallic Rebuke 4 Mishra's Bauble 4 Mox Opal 4 Ornithopter 4 Pinnacle Emissary 1 Shadowspear 4 Shivan Reef 4 Springleaf Drum 1 Steam Vents 4 Thought Monitor 4 Thoughtcast 1 Tormod's Crypt 4 Urza's Saga 4 Blood Moon 2 Force of Negation 3 Galvanic Blast 1 Grafdigger's Cage 1 Pithing Needle 1 Soul-Guide Lantern 1 Welding Jar 2 Whipflare

When combined with a suite of zero-cost artifacts, Pinnacle Emissary excels at flooding the board with tokens. In this Izzet Affinity list, which Souze6 piloted to a 3rd-place finish at a Magic Online Challenge, the tokens not only help cast Thoughtcast and Thought Monitor but can also enable a blisteringly fast Kappa Cannoneer as early as turn one. Pulling this off requires warping Pinnacle Emissary and then playing three zero-cost artifacts. But between Memnite, Ornithopter, Mox Opal, and Mishra's Bauble, this sequence is surprisingly achievable.

While Izzet Affinity is the card's main home, Pinnacle Emissary has also found its way into a wider range of artifact-based decks, including Izzet Metalcraft, Azorius Affinity, and Mono-Blue Affinity. Altogether, it appeared in 5.8% of the decks I examined, marking it as a formidable new tool in Modern.

Consult the Star Charts in Azorius Control

Consult the Star Charts

1 Arid Mesa 3 Consult the Star Charts 3 Counterspell 1 Elegant Parlor 3 Ephemerate 4 Flooded Strand 2 Force of Negation 2 Hallowed Fountain 3 Island 2 Meticulous Archive 2 Mystic Gate 1 Otawara, Soaring City 2 Plains 4 Prismatic Ending 4 Quantum Riddler 4 Scalding Tarn 4 Solitude 1 Spell Snare 1 Steam Vents 3 Subtlety 3 Teferi, Time Raveler 3 Tune the Narrative 4 Wrath of the Skies 2 Celestial Purge 3 Consign to Memory 2 Force of Negation 1 High Noon 2 Mystical Dispute 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 1 Subtlety 1 Supreme Verdict 1 Wear/Tear

Edge of Eternities introduced Consult the Star Charts as a flexible new card-draw spell. It lets control players pass the turn with mana open, ready either to counter a key threat with Counterspell or to replenish their hand at the end of the opponent's turn. While it may be less efficient than Impulse at two mana and less powerful than Memory Deluge at four, its flexibility allows it to fill multiple roles at once.

Its utility is best exemplified in Azorius Control. Boytriton, for example, used the list above to win a recent Magic Online Challenge. Beyond that, Consult the Star Charts also improved Jeskai Wizards decks along with a few Dimir Midrange decks incorporating the card. All in all, 5.9% of the field included at least one copy, underscoring its influence.

Tezzeret, Cruel Captain in Mono-Green Tron

Tezzeret, Cruel Captain

1 Abstergo Entertainment 4 Ancient Stirrings 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Chalice of the Void 4 Chromatic Sphere 4 Chromatic Star 4 Devourer of Destiny 1 Engineered Explosives 4 Expedition Map 1 Forest 1 Gemstone Caverns 1 Haywire Mite 2 Karn Liberated 4 Karn, the Great Creator 4 Sylvan Scrying 4 Tezzeret, Cruel Captain 1 Tormod's Crypt 3 Ugin, Eye of the Storms 4 Urza's Mine 4 Urza's Power Plant 1 Urza's Saga 4 Urza's Tower 1 Vexing Bauble 1 Walking Ballista 1 Dismember 1 Disruptor Flute 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Ensnaring Bridge 2 Gemstone Caverns 3 Haywire Mite 1 Liquimetal Coating 1 The Stone Brain 1 Tormod's Crypt 1 Trinisphere 1 Vexing Bauble 1 Walking Ballista

In Mono-Green Tron, Tezzeret, Cruel Captain can come down on turn three to grab Expedition Map or a variety of silver bullets. Tormod's Crypt tackles graveyard strategies, Haywire Mite answers Blood Moon, and Engineered Explosives is essential for stabilizing against Boros Energy. Afterward, Walking Ballista provides the perfect way to pull ahead while gaining +1/+1 counters from Tezzeret's first loyalty ability. Against slower decks, Tezzeret's ultimate is within reach, and it can turn the tide in grindy games.

Although only 2.3% of the field used Tezzeret, Cruel Captain, it has already become a staple in Mono-Green Tron. Aardos showcased its potential by winning a Magic Online Challenge with the list above. Even a few Eldrazi Tron and Gruul Broodscale decks have begun to experiment with the card.

Warp Creatures in Azorius Blink

Starfield Shepherd

4 Arid Mesa 4 Ephemerate 4 Flooded Strand 4 Guide of Souls 3 Haliya, Guided by Light 4 Hallowed Fountain 1 Island 1 Marsh Flats 2 Meticulous Archive 4 Mockingbird 4 Ocelot Pride 4 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd 3 Plains 3 Quantum Riddler 4 Solitude 4 Starfield Shepherd 3 Static Prison 1 Thraben Charm 3 Witch Enchanter 2 Ashiok, Dream Render 2 Clarion Conqueror 4 Consign to Memory 2 Deafening Silence 1 Ghost Vacuum 1 Rest in Peace 3 Wrath of the Skies

While Quantum Riddler is the most popular option, several other warp creatures have also leveraged their synergy with Ephemerate and Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd. In the Azorius Blink list that Ghost11157 took to a 5th-place finish in a Magic Online Challenge, both Haliya, Guided by Light and Starfield Shepherd proved their worth. Starfield Shepherd provides solid card advantage, finding either a basic Plains or a one-drop creature like Guide of Souls, Ocelot Pride, or Mockingbird.

Haliya, Guided by Light synergizes with Ocelot Pride. Imagine playing both creatures on the same turn and gaining 2 life in total. At end of turn, Haliya's ability will go on the stack (it does not have an intervening "if" clause). Then, you resolve Ocelot Pride's trigger, create a token, and gain an additional life. Then Haliya's trigger resolves. Haliya sees that you gained 3 life in total and will draw you another card. A handful of Boros Energy decks also incorporated Haliya, Guided by Light specifically to take advantage of this excellent synergy.

Icetill Explorer in Naya Scapeshift

Icetill Explorer

1 Bojuka Bog 1 Commercial District 1 Dryad Arbor 4 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove 1 Elegant Parlor 4 Elvish Reclaimer 4 Flagstones of Trokair 1 Forest 4 Green Sun's Zenith 4 Icetill Explorer 1 Jetmir's Garden 4 Khalni Heart Expedition 5 Mountain 4 Reprieve 1 Sacred Foundry 3 Scapeshift 3 Stomping Ground 1 Temple Garden 4 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle 2 Windswept Heath 3 Wish 4 Wooded Foothills 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 1 Chalice of the Void 2 Endurance 1 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Insidious Fungus 1 Keen-Eyed Curator 2 Path to Exile 1 Pick Your Poison 1 Pyroclasm 1 Scapeshift 1 Vexing Bauble 2 Wrath of the Skies

In decks that revolve around landfall triggers and assembling the board of lands needed for a lethal Scapeshift, Icetill Explorer is a natural fit. By replaying fetch lands from the graveyard, it effectively ramps you twice in a single turn, functioning as a smaller, low-cost version of Primal Titan.

Meltiin piloted the Naya Scapeshift list above to a 6th-place finish in a Modern Challenge. A few Amulet Titan players have also found success with the card. This shows that Icetill Explorer is carving out a niche in these land-focused strategies.

Anticausal Vestige in Eldrazi Aggro

Anticausal Vestige

1 All Is Dust 3 Anticausal Vestige 1 Bojuka Bog 4 Cavern of Souls 3 Chalice of the Void 3 Devourer of Destiny 4 Eldrazi Linebreaker 4 Eldrazi Temple 1 Forest 1 Gemstone Caverns 1 Ghost Quarter 3 Glaring Fleshraker 3 It That Heralds the End 4 Kozilek's Command 1 Mountain 2 Secluded Courtyard 3 Sire of Seven Deaths 4 Sowing Mycospawn 4 Thought-Knot Seer 4 Ugin's Labyrinth 2 Unclaimed Territory 1 Wastes 2 Wastescape Battlemage 1 World Breaker 2 Damping Sphere 3 Dismember 2 Disruptor Flute 2 Null Elemental Blast 2 Relic of Progenitus 2 Torpor Orb 2 Warping Wail

There may be no blink synergies here for Anticausal Vestige, but it does carry the right creature type to slot seamlessly into an Eldrazi shell. It can hit the battlefield early through Eldrazi Temple, dodge countermagic with the help of Cavern of Souls, and deploy a permanent for free when it leaves. While it may not be the flashiest option, it supplies valuable card advantage and late-game resilience. Anticausal Vestige has shown up in Eldrazi Aggro, including the Top 8 list shown above from a recent Modern Challenge, as well as in Eldrazi Tron variants.

Emergency Eject in Mono-White Control

Emergency Eject

1 Blast Zone 1 Castle Ardenvale 1 Crucible of Worlds 4 Demolition Field 2 Emergency Eject 4 Field of Ruin 4 Ghost Quarter 2 Karn, the Great Creator 1 Lay Down Arms 4 March of Otherworldly Light 4 Path to Exile 8 Plains 1 Relic of Progenitus 4 Reprieve 2 Skyclave Apparition 4 Solitude 3 Sunken Citadel 4 White Orchid Phantom 2 Witch Enchanter 4 Wrath of the Skies 2 Celestial Purge 1 Crucible of Worlds 1 Damping Sphere 1 Disruptor Flute 2 High Noon 1 Lay Down Arms 1 Liquimetal Coating 3 Orim's Chant 1 Portable Hole 1 Relic of Progenitus 1 Split Up

If you can strip the opponent's library of basic lands with effects like Demolition Field, Field of Ruin, and Ghost Quarter, then Lander tokens from Emergency Eject become completely useless. This effectively turns Emergency Eject into a versatile spot-removal spell that can hit any nonland permanent without a drawback. Auzzie51 demonstrated this interaction to great effect, piloting Mono-White Control with Emergency Eject to a 3rd-place finish in a Modern Challenge.

What's Next for Modern?

With Pro Tour Edge of Eternities just five weeks away, followed closely by a Modern Regional Championship cycle in October and November, it's an exciting time for fans of the Modern format. The latest set has already sparked fresh innovations, with Quantum Riddler leading the charge as one of the most impactful new additions. Overall, Modern looks healthy and diverse, with dozens of archetypes capable of claiming victory at the upcoming premier tournaments.

For now, be sure to mark Pro Tour Edge of Eternities on your calendar. Held at MagicCon: Atlanta from September 26–28, 2025, this prestigious event will see the world's best players compete for $500,000 in prizes and a coveted winner's trophy. The formats are Edge of Eternities Draft and Modern. With live coverage on all three days, it promises to be a showcase of high-level play and historical Modern moments.