Returning to the plane of Zendikar the third time (in my case) has somewhat got me excited about the old and new mechanics that the set will introduce. Being one of the successful Magic: the Gathering sets, it probably will highly attract the new players to the game and that may also increase the users of the Magic Arena platform.

The Standard gameplay is still my favorite format to focus at the moment even though the return of tabletop gaming is unlikely until the end of the year. I’d be happy to test some of the new Standard deck brews on kitchen table settings with close friends and as soon as the set is legal to play in Arena. Also, I am not sure if the scheduled Zendikar Rising Prerelease will push through at our local game store.

Anyhow, back to some decks to brew for Standard, we have a few things that are expected.

First of all, Landfall-based decks will be prevalent and the new build to work around. Of course with the rotation happening and we bid goodbye to Ravnica, War of the Spark, and the previous Magic Core Set, deck builds that are revolving around set mechanics will be the ones left.

Throne of Eldraine is already looking to be standalone with its Adventures deck strategy while Ikoria reinforces decks with its Companions. They are already stable enough for competition but people are excited to try the new Magic: the Gathering set.

Next is that the current Standard deck builds will be reinforced with Zendikar Rising. I already see an improved Ramp deck either Simic or Temur, thanks to the reprinting of Lotus Cobra. I’d prefer Temur personally. Also, Mono-Black Aggro will have its replacement creatures even if it is severely affected by the rotation.

The first competitive Standard tournament on Magic Arena is already on the schedule and I can’t wait to see what these new and improved deck builds will fare in the actual gameplay.

For now, I’ll just enjoy reading through the whole of the spoiler and also the Zendikar Rising release notes.