Sphere of Influence: October 17, 2025

Surrak, Elusive Hunter | Illustrated by Dan Murayama Scott

Welcome to Sphere of Influence, a pre-FNM look at some potential movers and shakers that are worth picking up before their prices increase.

Standard is due for a shake-up. Vivi Ornitier and Agatha's Soul Cauldron decks continue to dominate the meta, leaving Wizards with no choice but to push its upcoming Banned and Restricted announcement up by two weeks, arriving November 10. It's likely that deck is going to suffer a casualty with this announcement, meaning now is a great time to capture cards for other decks. Here are some cheap pick-ups that can fill out your Standard collection:

Shiko, Paragon of the Way - $2

Jeskai Control has been putting up results thanks to helpful assists from Consult the Star Charts and Stock Up, and key to these efforts is Shiko, Paragon of the Way. The card allows you to reuse these excellent blue card advantage spells and places a beefy 4/5 flying vigilante in your opponent's way. Pick up at least three, though you can't go wrong with the full playset.

Bringer of the Last Gift - $0.50

Standard is currently home to some fabulous reanimation targets, like Craterhoof Behemoth, Overlord of the Balemurk, and the new Superior Spider-Man. The format is light on super-strong reanimation spells, though, which is why I predict Bringer is going to rise in favor over the next year or so. This trend is sure to be exacerbated as Commander players wise up to Bringer's gift for dominating games.

Surrak, Elusive Hunter - $0.75

Green cards and Counterspell effects have been at war since the early days, just as Richard Garfield intended, and this new cheap beater easily refills the green player's hand when the stack gets too hostile. Surrak is new and, thus, cheap, and can allow you to outpace even the grindiest of Standard control decks. I wish its toughness was at least four, but we can't expect the card to beat out blue and red, now can we?

Day of Judgment - $1

I hate that it has come to this, but Day of Judgment is one of the more efficient board wipes in the format... for now, at least. The card is quite weak in other contexts, losing out in Commander to pretty much every single board wipe, even Wrath of God. Still, it's not odd that an objectively terrible-ish card becomes more expensive when incubating in a less-strong format. Now's a great time to dig through your LGS's bulk bin for a few.

Burnout Bashtronaut - $1

It's called Red Deck Wins for a reason: across multiple metas in various formats, red has an uncanny knack for pulling out victories. Cards like Emberheart Challenger, Hired Claw, and Nova Hellkite fetch prices of at least a few dollars, but Burnout Bashtronaut is the cheapest of the bunch for now. Considering its ceiling is fairly high, it's high time to grab a playset for your inevitable turn with burn.

Standard Fair

What are your thoughts on the upcoming banned and restricted announcement? Which card do you hope gets the axe? Let me know!