Izzet Affinity with Salvage Titan
At the Regional Championship for Japan and South Korea, two players took Izzet Affinity featuring Salvage Titan to the Top 8: Atsuki Kihara and Shinnosuke Hando. Their lists diverged in a few places, but both builds stood out for their eye-catching inclusion of two copies of Salvage Titan.
The deck has essentially no way to produce two black mana outside of an improbable draw, but Salvage Titan is mainly meant to be cast by sacrificing three artifacts. This is a cost that Izzet Affinity can pay with ease, converting excess mana rocks or Drone tokens into a massive 6/4 creature. More importantly, Salvage Titan doubles as a sacrifice outlet for Weapons Manufacturing.
Weapons Manufacturing in Izzet Affinity was itself a Japanese innovation, first showcased by Shuhei Nakamura, Shintaro Ishimura, and Yoshihiko Ikawa at Pro Tour Edge of Eternities. Salvage Titan feels like the next logical step in that evolution.
Golgari Yawgmoth with Badgermole Cub
Golgari Yawgmoth received a subtle but meaningful upgrade from Magic: The Gathering | Avatar: The Last Airbender in the form of Badgermole Cub. This two-drop supercharges the mana output of Delighted Halfling or Gilded Goose while conveniently supplying two sacrifice-ready bodies for Yawgmoth, Thran Physician.
Yuya Hosokawa and Alexey Paulot both converted that edge into Pro Tour-qualifying finishes. Paulot's run is especially noteworthy, as he had won Magic Spotlight: Spider-Man in Liverpool with Izzet Cauldron just weeks earlier.
Dimir Reanimator with Harbinger of the Seas
Markus Valori's Dimir Reanimator deck finished in 37th-place at the Regional Championship in Antwerp, a result that translated into a Pro Tour invitation from Alexey Paulot's pass-down. Sticking to two colors improves the deck's mana consistency and unlocks the use of Harbinger of the Seas in the main deck.
To compensate for the absence of Faithless Looting, the deck turns to Otherworldly Gaze. While Valori was the only player across the four Regional Championships to register a Dimir Reanimator deck, his 10-3-1 record speaks clearly to its power and untapped potential.
Grixis Midrange with Kaito, Bane of Nightmares
Álvaro de Alvarenga piloted the Grixis Midrange archetype to a Top 8 finish at Canada's Regional Championship, showcasing a list packed with the most efficient interaction and flexible threats across all three colors. A standout inclusion is Kaito, Bane of Nightmares, which Álvaro de Alvarenga included three copies of in the main deck.
Kaito, Bane of Nightmares has already proven its worth in Standard, and it translates seamlessly to Modern. Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student pulls double duty as a card-advantage engine, and thanks to flying she is one of the format's best ninjutsu enablers.
Simic Ritual with Essence Flux
Sebastian Thaler's Simic Ritual list featured the potent pairing of Quantum Riddler and Essence Flux. For just three mana, Essence Flux allows you to keep a warped Riddler on the battlefield while drawing extra cards, which is a nice bit of synergy.
Essence Flux remains useful well beyond its primary role. It can blink Coiling Oracle or Ice-Fang Coatl for incremental value, reset an evoked Subtlety into a free 3/3 flier, or protect Abhorrent Oculus from removal.
What's Next for 2026?
As 2025 comes to a close, the new year promises a fresh wave of set releases, each undoubtedly bringing new tools and synergies to Magic's diverse Constructed formats. In 2025, every major set introduced several multi-format staples that shaped Modern, Standard, and beyond. If I were to give a highest-impact award to one card from each 2025 set, my picks would be:
Stock Up
Cori-Steel Cutter
Vivi Ornitier [28WE0HISLlXd19BnHk7Q0w]
Quantum Riddler [DcVXPTardYTwehtVUeYxw]
Superior Spider-Man [2uF5mKxhGv8Zq0WV4UEI9k]
Badgermole Cub [LerH8gGFQprXZ5n6Qbelh]
With an exciting release calendar on the horizon for 2026, I can't wait to see what kind of awesome Magic cards the new year will have in store.
