This Magic: The Gathering Format is Literally a Game of Cat and Mouse

Magic: The Gathering is one of those games that keep evolving over time, and while there are some more “static” TCGs where the meta is not impacted a lot by each new release, this is often not the case for Wizards of the Coast’s card game. Magic: The Gathering‘s 2026 release schedule will again include a total of six main sets, and this is further proof that the game can’t really stay the same if new cards are continuously poured into the meta – especially with WotC also taking action with bans and unbans. Now, after months of dominance from one deck, MTG‘s Standard format is literally a game of cat and mouse.

This is particularly true for the current state of Standard, as it has one standout deck, a deck designed to beat it and do well versus other meta staples, and a more flexible deck that can do decently against both and yet also beat other less represented decks in the meta without having specific counters for them. Not only that, but two out of these three Magic: The Gathering decks use creature cards with the cat, mouse, or rat types, making the idiom as literal as it can be. These decks are:

Izzet Cauldron
Mono Red Aggro
Dimir Midrange

The cat cards are Enduring Curiosity for Dimir Midrange and Sunspine Lynx for Mono Red Aggro, whereas the mouse is Emberheart Challenger, and the rat is Azure Beastbinder.

How MTG’s $700 Deck is Dominating The Scene

Since the MTG Standard bans in June 2025, which addressed the problematic Cori-Steel Cutter and some other meta offenders, the common forecast was that Izzet Prowess would rise to prominence. However, Izzet Cauldron was born out of the game-breakingly strong combo of Vivi Ornitier and Agatha’s Soul Cauldron, which creates a loop of powerful creatures that generate a lot of mana each turn and allow the deck to draw many cards, too.

MTG‘s Izzet Cauldron deck is so strong and overrepresented that Wizards of the Coast decided to move up the date of its November 2025 Banned and Restricted post, and openly admitted to Vivi being OP, and possibly about to be banned. Wizards didn’t confirm this is happening, but it’s a reaction to Izzet Cauldron being 54% of the Arena Championship meta share, as well as paper events like Pro Tours. For these reasons, a new Mono Red Aggro deck was born, and Dimir Midrange keeps on shining.

How MTG’s Mono Red Aggro Counters Izzet Cauldron

Cards like Magic: The Gathering‘s Razorkin Needlehead are great for Mono Red Aggro as potential attackers with the effect of punishing excessive card draw, which Izzet Cauldron likes to do with Proft’s Eidetic Memory and other cards. Likewise, the 1-mana creatures in the deck and Emberheart Challenger can really put a dent into the life total of any deck when played back to back, and Izzet Cauldron doesn’t have a lot in the way of that early on, but Draconautics Engineer or Fear of Missing Out to block or Torch the Tower or Abrade as a removal. Izzet Cauldron going first can also be a huge momentum loss for Mono Red Aggro, and in BO3 it can adapt with its sideboard.

Why Dimir Midrange is a Great Meta Pick in MTG’s Standard

Dimir Midrange also adapted to Izzet Cauldron by adding one of Magic: The Gathering‘s Bloomburrow cards, called Azure Beastbinder, which can completely shut down the Cauldron combo. Likewise, it can do well against Mono Red Aggro with its various removals, like Tragic Trajectory and Shoot the Sheriff, as well as its cheap counterspells. At the same time, Izzet Cauldron can easily outdraw Dimir Midrange, and Razorkin Needlehead can be a pain to deal with because Shoot the Sheriff doesn’t affect it, and in turn, it can burn through Enduring Curiosity.

Interestingly, in a Dimir Midrange mirror match, Azure Beastbinder doesn’t prevent Duskmourn’s Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, from turning into a creature despite removing its abilities, as this is applied in MTG’s Layers, with Kaito’s type-change occurring before the ability removal happens.

What follows is that the meta is a cycle of Izzet Cauldron dominating until it runs into Mono Red Aggro, but it can still adapt and win, and then Dimir Midrange being good against both decks, but with no particular edge over them. Mono Red Aggro’s rise to popularity means it’s getting a higher percentage of the meta share, and mirror matches can be a bit of a pain, hence why Dimir Midrange keeps a stable presence in the meta, and Izzet Cauldron swings from highs to lows. New decks like MTG‘s Mono Green are showing up at tournaments to beat this trio and break their strange dynamic, but it takes a while to set that in stone.

MTG‘s Vivi Ornitier can still do some damage in Izzet Prowess, and 4c Control recently placed very well, too. Azorius Control has a 5% meta share at the moment, which is the fourth highest after Izzet Cauldron’s current 29%, Mono Red Aggro’s 19%, and Dimir Midrange’s 13%, but these three decks still make for over 60% of the total share, meaning they are the big ones to playtest against.

With MTG‘s November ban window changed and WotC being upfront about potentially banning Vivi, Cauldron, or both, the current meta is bound to change a lot in just two months. The Spider-Man set may not move the needle as much in Standard, but it’s early to say where the Avatar set stands, and that launches just 11 days after Wizards’ next Banned and Restricted post.