Hello, my fellow Planeswalkers and true believers! I am The MTG Hero, and today we’re diving into the early meta shifts and tech I’ve seen on the ranked ladder and in Standard events on Arena since the release of Universes Beyond: Spider-Man /Through the Omenpaths! This set has already made an impact with a lot of cards finding homes in established decks and inspiring some exciting new brews. What I’ll be sharing is based on my own experiences on Arena. If your matches have looked a little different, that’s totally fine! In fact, I would love to hear about your observations as well. That way I can create the best content for others to enjoy!
For reference, due to digital licensing restrictions with Marvel, Wizards released Through the Omenpaths on Arena and MTGO. It contains all the same cards, just with different names and artwork. Since MTGAzone is an Arena-focused site, I’ll be referring to the set as Through the Omenpaths and using the Arena card names throughout this article. With that cleared up, let’s dive into my metagame analysis!
Universal Improvements
One of the most common changes I’ve noticed is the inclusion of lands from Omenpath, especially Multiversal Passage. Despite being considered a “bad shock land,” it has become one of the most frequently played cards so far. Because it fixes the manabase for decks missing some of the dual lands, such as the fast lands from All Will Be One or the pain lands from Dominaria United.
Exclusive Nightclub has also seen a lot of competitive play, mostly in Izzet Cauldron decks, where it generates a ton of value as it is basically a free land drop after being discarded. Since it taps for Grixis colors, it makes flipping Gene-Splice Savant much easier with minimal investment into adding black.
hasn’t made much of an impact yet, but I believe it has potential and could find a home as more sets are released as dual lands are at a premium in the current meta and it is hard to write off any land that can come in untapped and produce more than one color or have a unique utility effect.
Some Things Never Change
Izzet Cauldron remains the top deck and only becomes more prevalent as you climb the ranked ladder. I know many players were hoping that the new set would introduce something to shut it down, but unfortunately, it’s rare for a new release to completely invalidate a dominant deck. If you’re aiming for any real success, you absolutely need to be prepared for it. Maybe we’ll see it hit with the ban hammer in November.
The biggest change I’ve seen in Izzet Cauldron is the addition of Gene-Splice Savant”]. This shift has effectively split the cauldron players into two camps: one that splashes black and one that stays Izzet. Each version of the deck has its pros and cons which we’ll break down shortly. I think the choice of which version is best comes down to the meta. If you see a lot of aggro then Izzet is probably better. In a more midrange or control metas, Grixis will probably serve you better.
Incorporating a light splash into black gives you the flexibility to flip Goben when necessary. As previously mentioned, this can be done by adding Exclusive Nightclub. You can also go full Grixis to gain access to cards like and better removal. Doing so improves the mirror match, enables you to deal with bigger creatures, and adapt the deck’s focus decks specific to your meta.
Sticking to pure Izzet builds gives you a more consistent manabase. Even unflipped, Goben is very powerful as a discard outlet thanks to his connive ability. You could argue that his unblockable side is even more threatening than his flipped side, especially when paired with , offering the deck an alternate win condition. Additionally, the deck runs very few cards with a mana value higher than 1 so his mana reduction ability is useless.
Either way this card has been impressive. The only question is if Goben is too frail and vulnerable to removal to stay a staple, which I definitely can understand. But currently he is a real threat if left unanswered for more than a turn or two.
Shadow of the Goblin has also popped up in a few shells of Izzet as a Phyrexian Arena effect. I have seen it in the main deck of a few builds but I am unsure about it because it doesn’t do anything immediately to impact the board. It does draw more cards and gives a way to discard Vivi to the grave for Cauldron, but I like it a lot more in the sideboard. Bringing it in versus the mirror or control decks seems like where Shadow wants to be.
Midrange Comeback!
Black has been enjoying a great new card in Villainous Wrath. Black midrange decks desperately needed a good sweeper to combat aggro decks after the loss of Gix's Command to rotation. This can possibly push the red and white aggro decks down a peg or two. The burn ability is also a nice quality of life effect. It’s not out right won me a game yet, but I have had midrange players really pressure the life point race when I was playing aggro against them.
Surprising nobody, The Terminus of Return has become an immediate staple. While at home in a black midrange deck, it is also an additional Zombiefy effect in reanimation shells. Those decks also greatly benefit from mana acceleration to cast their big spells faster and having a reanimation effect attached is just glorious. The only thing really holding these decks back is the mana base being a bit more inconsistent compared to other decks.
Probably the deck I hate the most in standard is the artifact midrange deck. So it is unfortunate for me that players quickly added Hide on the Ceiling to the already stacked list. Not only does it protect their cards, but end the game if it resolves creating a huge board of tokens and repeating all the annoying ETB effects. Honestly, I think with this new addition, it is easily one of the best decks in the meta and possibly the best if Izzet gets the ban hammer.
When in Doubt, Smash Em’
Mono-Green running King of the Coldblooded Curse was something I fully anticipated. It’s actually the main reason I focused on Mono-Green in my last article. I didn’t highlight the card then because I wanted to test it myself before giving it any praise. A 5/5 trampler for four mana is already a strong rate, but the real power comes from turning an early mana dork or creature into a 4/4 attacker. That kind of tempo swing is wild. You are essentially producing 9 power as early as turn 3 if you played a Llanowar Elf on turn 1 or 2. Plus, you can use it to change a problematic creature, which while not the most efficient form of removal, it’s the best green has. Oko did something similar and was banned, so it is definitely not terrible.
One point I did make in my Mono-Green article is that Hard-Hitting Question is the best removal spell green has access to. While that is still true, Rhino's Rampage has quickly become a must-play in the current meta and Mono-Green pilots are catching on fast. Being able to remove a creature and blow up your opponent’s Cauldron for just one mana is incredible value. It not only expands the deck’s interaction options but also gives green a another tool to fight the current king of Standard.
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Speaking of green decks, Gruul received a huge upgrade in the Spider Rider”]. A 5/4 with trample on turn 2 by bouncing a But going:
Turn 1: Lllanowar Elf
Turn 2: Anything
Turn 3: Warp Nova Hellkite, attack, enweb Borys, bounce Hellkite
This is ending the turn with a 9/8 trample in play and a Hellkite in hand. That is GG for a ton of decks. Gruul could see a comeback having the best turn 2 and turn 3 plays in the format.
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Mono-Red has been a dominant deck for some time now, and even the last round of bans wasn’t enough to slow it down. It remains a top-tier deck and has gained a few quality-of-life improvements. The most notable, in my opinion, is the Spider-Crowned”]. Which is a powerful new one-drop that not only scales throughout the game but also provides card advantage. This slot was previously held by Greasewrench Goblin or card name=”Burnout Bashtronaut”], but I think most red players agree that Rizna is simply a clear upgrade. While the legendary status can be a bit awkward and clunky at times, I expect most lists to run three copies going forward.
Coolest Deck I’ve Seen
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The coolest brew I’ve seen so far was a Simic aggro deck built around Genius Geneticist”]. The core idea was to play Jackal and then curve into cards like Hemosymbic Mite, Llanowar Elf or Spyglass Siren, followed by Pawpatch Recruit. Things got even more explosive if they could use Pawpatch’s offspring kicker. But the craziest play was when they started copying Floodits Drowner and completely locking me out of the game. I’m not sure how consistent the deck is or what the full list looked like, but it was an absolute blast to play against. I never knew what was coming next, and that kind of unpredictability is what makes brewing so exciting.
Wrap-Up
Through the Omenpaths is an incredible set. Even if you’re not a fan of Universes Beyond, there’s no denying how cool this one is. For the first time, it really feels like they nailed the power level in a UB release. Final Fantasy came close, but it seemed like the design team held back a bit. Maybe hesitant to push too hard with an IP-based set. With Omenpaths, they clearly took more risks, and it paid off. Honestly, this could have been released as a regular MTG set and players would still love it. The Universes Beyond label in paper just adds an extra layer of uniqueness.
If you enjoyed the article be sure to check out my YouTube for more content! I love to hear back from readers and the MTG community. Also, I will have new decklists for Omenpaths coming soon so definitely check back to get the very best in MTG competitive content!
Until next time, Planeswalkers! Hero out!
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