Standard: Through the Ages
- For the Final Fantasy bonus sheet, see Through the Ages. For the history of the Standard format, see Standard/Timeline.
| Standard: Through the Ages | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||
| Magic: The Gathering Online | |||||
| Event Details | |||||
| Event date | October 6, 2021 to October 13, 2021 | ||||
| Format | Standard | ||||
| Themes and mechanics | Historical decks from previous Standard environments | ||||
| Number of decks | 16 decks | ||||
| Deck size |
75 cards 259 cards (Battle of Wits) | ||||
| Magic Online Gauntlets | |||||
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| Digital preconstructed decks | |||||
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Standard: Through the Ages was a preconstructed event held from October 6, 2021 to October 13, 2021 on Magic Online[1]. There were 16 phantom Standard decks ranging from Mirage/Tempest era Sligh, through to Mardu Vehicles from Kaladesh/Amonkhet. Although 16 decks were announced only 14 decklists were given on the magicthegathering.com article, a 15th (Omnath Ramp) was included in a guide written by Reid Duke[2].
Players could adjust their deck and Sideboard before games.
Affinity
A 
deck consisting of cards from Eighth Edition and Mirrodin block. This decklist represents the period following the banning of Skullclamp on June 20, 2004 through to March 20, 2005, when the six Artifact lands, Arcbound Ravager, and Disciple of the Vault were banned. The release of Champions of Kamigawa caused Onslaught block to rotate out of Standard on October 20, 2004. However, conventional Affinity decks seldom played cards from either block, so it remained consistent for the 9 months between bannings.
| “ | Affinity is fun and powerful, and is a big winner from the London Mulligan rule. A potential weakness is that the sideboard is shallow and weak. However, that's mostly okay because Affinity is a linear deck that rarely benefits from sideboarding much anyway. I recommend the pre-sideboarding of -1 Atog, -1 Glimmervoid, and +2 Myr Retriever. | ” |
This deck, under the name Plating Affinity, originally appeared in the Mirrodin Standard Throwback Standard Gauntlet League event in 2017.
Battle of Wits
A 259 card 
deck built around the alternate win-condition card Battle of Wits. It represented the Standard environment of mid-2002, containing cards from Invasion and Odyssey blocks as well as the Seventh Edition Core Set.
| “ | Yes, seriously. William Jensen made Top 8 of that same GP Milwaukee with a 244-card deck and swears to this day that it was a good deck choice and not a gimmick. He even convinced his teammate Brock Parker to run it in a Masters Series event. It's even better on Magic Online, of course, where you don't have to worry about actually shuffling it. | ” |
Battle of Wits originally featured in the 2017 Early 2000s Throwback Standard Gauntlet League[3].
Caw-Blade
A deck representing the Standard environment in mid-2011. It consisted of cards from Zendikar and Scars of Mirrodin blocks, and the Magic 2011 Core Set. The decklist used in this event was one Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa used to win a Grand Prix event following the release of New Phyrexia[4].
The success of the Caw-blade deck in Standard led to the banning of both Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Stoneforge Mystic.
| “ | I think the other best deck is Caw-Blade. It has a very deep sideboard, which can set it up well for virtually every matchup. I recommend the pre-sideboarding of -1 Jace Beleren, -1 Disenchant, -1 Sword of War and Peace, +2 Oust, and +1 Batterskull. | ” |
This Caw-Blade decklist originally featured in the 2017 Worldwake Standard Throwback Standard Gauntlet League[4].
Delver
A Tempo deck featuring the namesake Delver of Secrets. It represents the Standard environment of mid-2011, consisting of cards from Scars of Mirrodin and Innistrad blocks, as well as the Magic 2011 and Magic 2012 Core Sets.
Faeries
A typal Faerie deck representing the Standard of mid-2008. It consists of cards from the Time Spiral and Lorwyn/Shadowmoor Blocks.
| “ | The truly dominant tribe of this era of Magic, of course, was Faeries. While Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (PVDDR) was the only player to make Top 8 of PT Hollywood with them, that was partially because it had a target on its head. It had won the Standard GP in Shizuoka less than two months earlier. It then helped Paul Cheon claim a US National team slot. By December, PVDR and four other Faerie pilots made the top 8 of Worlds. One of them, Antti Malin, even took home the trophy. | ” |
Faeries originally featured in the 2017 Tribal Lorwyn Standard Throwback Standard Gauntlet League[5].
Five-Color Control
A 
deck representing the Standard environment of mid-2009. It consists of cards from the Lorwyn and Shadowmoor mini-blocks as well as Shards of Alara block.
| “ | This tournament was probably the peak of Gabriel Nassif's amazing career. Not only did he beat LSV in the finals, not only did he help design the most powerful and famous control deck of his era (too much power to fit into 60 cards!), but he also gave us one of the most iconic moments in Pro Tour Sunday history by calling his shot in the quarterfinals. Faced with one crucial draw step before succumbing to Matteo Orsini-Jones, Gabe drew his card face down, slow-rolling all of us (himself included), and arranged his lands into the form of the card he wanted to draw: Cruel Ultimatum. There may never have been a better named card or a better named deck.[5] | ” |
Five-Color Control, under the name of Cruel Control, originally featured in the 2017 Tribal Lorwyn Standard Throwback Standard Gauntlet League[5].
Goblin Bidding
A Goblin typal deck representing the Standard environment of mid-2003[6][7]. It included cards from Odyssey and Onslaught blocks, as well as the Seventh Edition Core Set.
| “ | Goblin decks received a huge boost thanks to the Onslaught block. Goblin Piledriver and Goblin Warchief have become staples in many different formats, and the block includes plenty of other good utility goblins as well. This version of the goblin deck splashes black for Patriarch's Bidding, which gives the deck the ability to recover from enemy sweepers—usually the bane of an aggressive weenie swarm—or even to combo off with things like Goblin Sharpshooter and/or Siege-Gang Commander. | ” |
Goblin Bidding originally featured in the 2017 events Early 2000s Throwback Standard Gauntlet League[3] and Best of Throwback Standard Gauntlet[8].
Jund
A deck representing the Standard environment of mid-2009. It consists of cards from the Lorwyn and Shadowmoor mini-blocks as well as the Shards of Alara block.
| “ | I wish it was the slightly-later version with a higher land count and the Worldwake creaturelands, but I'm certainly happy to have access to this deck. There's no pre-sideboarding necessary, and don't underestimate Bituminous Blast! | ” |
There was a Jund deck in the Worldwake Standard Throwback Standard Gauntlet League which did take advantage of Reid Duke's Worldwake Manlands.
Madness
A deck which represents the Standard environment of mid-2002. It contained cards from Invasion and Odyssey blocks as well as the Seventh Edition Core Set. This version was designed by the English player Ben Ronaldson.
| “ | When it was time to pick a decklist for Madness, I did the same thing everyone did back in the day: I asked Jeff Cunningham. While "ffeJ" had his biggest successes with the deck in Extended, he was quite influential on Standard as well, and his articles pretty much determined what people would be playing the next weekend. The version I'm using here comes from Invasion–Odyssey Standard because Yavimaya Coast was a better addition to the deck than anything in the Onslaught block. The list Jeff recommended is actually from another great deckbuilder: Ben Ronaldson. His "Hampton Court Palace" team crushed English Nationals in 2002 with a version they called Deep Dog, and all the versions that followed in the next year leaned heavily on their shell. | ” |
Madness originally featured in the 2017 Early 2000s Throwback Standard Gauntlet League[3]. A similar deck was played by Dave Humpherys to the semi-finals of the 2003 World Championships.
Mono-Black Control
A monoblack control deck representing the Standard of mid-2003. It included cards from Odyssey and Onslaught blocks, as well as the Seventh Edition Core Set.
| “ | Good old Swamps; nothing beats Swamps. While it was most successful in Odyssey-block Constructed (thanks primarily to the black-focused Torment set), mono-black control did also cross over into Standard. Justin Gary used this version to make the US National team in 2003, and a similar version made the Top 8 of the European Championship that same summer. This deck has all the "Swamp matters" cards you would expect, along with the ability to sideboard in Nantuko Shades when it's time to beat down. | ” |
Omnath Ramp
A deck representing the Standard format which lasted for three days between the release of Zendikar Rising and the banning of Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath[9].
| “ | Personally, my favorite deck is Omnath Ramp. I suggest the pre-sideboarding of -4 Confounding Conundrum, +3 Bonecrusher Giant and +1 Mystical Dispute. Confounding Conundrum is only good in the mirror match, while Bonecrusher Giant is awesome in pretty much every matchup. It's hard to lose to the non-blue decks based on the raw power level of the strategy when undisrupted, and you can often grind out the blue decks with the help of Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath. | ” |
Sligh
A monored aggro deck representing the Standard environment of mid 1998. It consisted of cards from the Mirage, and Tempest blocks, along with the Fifth Edition Core Set. An exception is the card Goblin Assailant, a vanilla 2/2 Goblin for 
, which was first printed in War of the Spark. Sligh decks of the time typically used creatures like Ironclaw Orcs or Mogg Flunkies instead. Ben Rubin placed second at the 1998 World Championships with a similar deck.
Sorceries (3)
Artifacts (4)
Sideboard (15)
Splinter Twin
A combo deck built around the card Splinter Twin. It represents the Standard environment of mid-2011, consisting of cards from Scars of Mirrodin and Innistrad blocks, as well as the Magic 2011 and Magic 2012 Core Sets.
| “ | Lots of versions of this archetype were floating around. This is the one Matt Nass used to Top 8 GP Pittsburgh, and it pretty closely resembles the basic strategy that became dominant in Modern. | ” |
The same decklist was originally featured in the 2017 Worldwake Standard Throwback Standard Gauntlet League[4].
Valakut Ramp
A deck representing the Standard environment in mid-2011. It consisted of cards from Zendikar and Scars of Mirrodin blocks, and the Magic 2011 Core Set.
Instants (4)
Enchantments (4)
Sideboard (15)
Vehicles
A deck
Zoo
A aggro deck representing the Standard of mid-2006. It consisted of cards from Kamigawa and Ravnica blocks as well as Ninth Edition.
References
- ↑ David McDarby (October 5, 2021). "Standard: Through the Ages (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved on May 13, 2025.
- ↑ a b c d e Reid Duke (Febuary 13, 2025). "A Look at Standard: Through the Ages on MTGO (website)". TCG Player. Retrieved on May 15, 2025.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Randy Buehler (May 24, 2017). "Throwback Standard Gauntlet 3: Early 2000s (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on May 29, 2017. Retrieved on May 20, 2025.
- ↑ a b c d Randy Buehler (August 23, 2017). "Throwback Standard Gauntlet 7: Worldwake (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved on May 21, 2025.
- ↑ a b c d Randy Buehler (August 16, 2017). "Gauntlet 6 – Release the Tribes! (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017. Retrieved on May 21, 2025.
- ↑ agentwizz (January 13, 2024). "Goblin Bidding - STTA (website)". Moxfeild. Retrieved on May 15, 2025.
- ↑ Standard through the Ages #8, UR Twin Best of the Gauntlet? Magic Online Gameplay (Video). CalebDMTG. YouTube (October 10, 2021).
- ↑ Randy Buehler (November 29, 2017). "Best of Throwback Standard Gauntlet (website)". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved on May 20, 2025.
- ↑ Josh Nelson (February 7, 2023). "Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath Banned in Standard (website)". TCG Player. Retrieved on May 15, 2025.