A lot of Sultai Midrange, Monoblue, Nexus variants and Monowhite, but let’s take a little deeper look, shall we?

Starting with Merfolk. Yes, Merfolk. Actually, Raphael Levy seems to have been the only player with the deck, but he did an excellent 8-2 in his 100th Pr… Mythic Championship.

I’ve tried Emma Handy’s grindier build before, but this felt much better in the current meta.

[deck]
[lands]
4 Breeding Pool
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Unclaimed Territory
5 Island
5 Forest
[/lands]
[creatures]
4 Benthic Biomancer
4 Silvergill Adept
2 Merfolk Trickster
4 Deeproot Elite
4 Merfolk Mistbinder
4 Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
4 Jade Bearer
4 Kumena’s Speaker
[/creatures]
[spells]
4 Deeproot Waters
4 Incubation // Incongruity
[/spells]
[sideboard]
1 Merfolk Trickster
4 Negate
2 Disdainful Stroke
1 Crushing Canopy
2 Tempest Caller
4 Kraul Harpooner
1 Spell Pierce
[/sideboard]
[/deck]

Dimir is my favorite guild and I saw it in two different forms. Both very much in the midrange, but still very different.

[deck]
[lands]
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Watery Grave
2 Dimir Guildgate
6 Island
8 Swamp
1 Field of Ruin
[/lands]
[creatures]
2 Lazav, the Multifarious
4 Thief of Sanity
1 Mesmerizing Benthid
1 Nightveil Predator
4 Kitesail Freebooter
2 Ravenous Chupacabra
4 Hostage Taker
[/creatures]
[spells]
4 Thought Erasure
1 Duress
1 Dead Weight
1 Dive Down
2 Sinister Sabotage
1 Discovery // Dispersal
4 Cast Down
1 Spell Pierce
2 Vraska’s Contempt
[/spells]
[sideboard]
2 Duress
1 Murder
2 Plague Mare
1 Unmoored Ego
2 Moment of Craving
3 Disdainful Stroke
3 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
[/sideboard]
[/deck]

Some very interesting choices there, such as [scryfall]Mesmerising Benthid[/scryfall]. Seth Manfield had a very different take:

[deck]
[lands]
4 Drowned Catacomb
4 Watery Grave
7 Island
10 Swamp
[/lands]
[creatures]
4 Thief of Sanity
3 Doom Whisperer
4 Hostage Taker
[/creatures]
[spells]
3 Disinformation Campaign
4 Thought Erasure
3 Duress
1 Cry of the Carnarium
1 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 The Eldest Reborn
2 Fungal Infection
3 Discovery // Dispersal
1 Vraska’s Contempt
1 Moment of Craving
4 Cast Down
[/spells]
[/deck]

How about Vampires? In Mardu form. This one has some cards I didn’t exactly expect to see in Standard, but here we are. Joe Soh has had very interesting decks in the past as well. You should keep an eye on him if different competitive brews are your thing.

[deck]
[creatures]
4 Duskborne Skymarcher
4 Legion’s Landing
4 Vicious Conquistador
4 Dusk Legion Zealot
2 Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle
4 Legion Lieutenant
4 Venerated Loxodon
4 Judith, the Scourge Diva
4 Skymarcher Aspirant
[/creatures]
[spells]
1 Cast Down
1 Unbreakable Formation
3 Conclave Tribunal
[/spells]
[lands]
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
4 Sacred Foundry
2 Blood Crypt
2 Plains
1 Swamp
[/lands]
[/deck]

Here’s another interesting concoction. [scryfall]Gutterbones[/scryfall] and [scryfall]Pelt Collector[/scryfall] already seem somewhat… ambitious, but then there’s also [scryfall]Goblin Chainwhirler[/scryfall] in the same deck. What’s the key? They are all Warriors, so you can play them with [scryfall]Unclaimed Territory[/scryfall]. This all feels risky, but this is a Frank Karsten creation and if there’s someone who’s done the math, it’s him.

[deck]
[creatures]
4 Pelt Collector
3 Gutterbones
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
3 Rix Maadi Reveler
2 Kraul Harpooner
4 Goblin Chainwhirler
4 Gruul Spellbreaker
4 Rekindling Phoenix
[/creatures]
[spells]
1 Find // Finality
3 Status // Statue
1 Collision // Colossus
2 Lightning Strike
[/spells]
[lands]
2 Mountain
4 Stomping Ground
4 Blood Crypt
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Dragonskull Summit
3 Overgrown Tomb
4 Rootbound Crag
[/lands]
[/deck]

This take on Rakdos also seems quite interesting:

[deck]
[creatures]
3 Judith, the Scourge Diva
4 Fanatical Firebrand
4 Gutterbones
2 Footlight Fiend
4 Rix Maadi Reveler
4 Fireblade Artist
4 Midnight Reaper
4 Legion Warboss
4 Priest of Forgotten Gods
[/creatures]
[spells]
4 Cast Down
[/spells]
[lands]
8 Swamp
7 Mountain
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Blood Crypt
[/lands]
[/deck]

Gruul smash.

[deck]
[creatures]
3 Dire Fleet Daredevil
4 Kraul Harpooner
4 Goblin Chainwhirler
4 Growth-Chamber Guardian
4 Gruul Spellbreaker
4 Rekindling Phoenix
3 Skarrgan Hellkite
[/creatures]
[spells]
2 Collision // Colossus
2 Shock
2 Lava Coil
4 Lightning Strike
[/spells]
[lands]
4 Unclaimed Territory
4 Rootbound Crag
4 Stomping Ground
2 Gruul Guildgate
9 Mountain
1 Forest
[/lands]
[/deck]

Actually, there’s a surprising amount of play here with all the combat tricks, [scryfall]Growth-Chamber Guardian[/scryfall] and [scryfall]Dire Fleet Daredevil[/scryfall]. It isn’t quite straight-forward, but it does also smash quite well.