On July 31st, the greatest Magic players in the world will gather in Vancouver, Canada for Pro Tour Magic Origins. For them, it’s one of the most important tournaments of the year, but for us, it’s an insight into the decks that are likely to shape our local metagames for months to come.

The Pro Tour influences the average Magic player in far more ways than they might imagine. It’s where arguments over card quality are finally settled. It’s where strategies become truly broken, forcing the rest of the magic playing community to adapt the way they approach their favourite formats. And, it causes dramatic fluctuations in card prices.

Whether you’re a casual FNM player or a travelling PTQ grinder, it’s certainly an event to keep your eye on. Nobody can truly predict what’s going to happen at a Pro Tour, but I thought it might be fun to share some of the things that I think we’ll see next weekend.

1) Lots of Languishing

Languish is by no means a sleeper card. People have been advocating it as a very strong board sweeper since it was first spoiled, but after playing with it myself I think it’s even better than most originally gave it credit for.

Wiping your opponent’s board and having your Siege Rhino survive sounds pretty situational, but it’s something that I’ve seen happen in nearly 50% of my games. It’s a powerhouse, and if creature strategies have been testing well, I’d expect a lot of top players to be packing Languish in heavy numbers.

2) Jace and Nissa will come out neck and neck

One of the big questions on people’s minds is which of Magic Origins’ 5 new flip Planeswalkers will perform best and come out on top at the Pro Tour. Personally, my vote is for Jace. I think there are a lot of decks out there that he does a lot of work in, and those decks also rarely have anything good to do on turn 2.

But, I think green is a more appealing colour than blue currently, so because of that, I’d expect to see Nissa played a similar amount when the total Pro Tour metagame is broken down.

3) Red could place highly without Goblin Piledriver

Goblin Piledriver caused a lot of excitement when it was first spoiled for Magic Origins, and rightly so! It’s a hugely powerful card, and an extremely welcome addition to the arsenal of goblins currently available in both Standard and Modern.

But, while it gives goblin-focused decks an extra shot in the arm, a goblin-heavy build may still not be the best way to go with mono-red agro decks. After seeing how some friends’ decks are shaping up, I would expect the top finishing red decks to remain similar to Martin Dang’s PT winning Atarka Red deck—with or without the addition of Piledriver.

4) Someone will make use of Abbot of Keral Keep

Abbot of Keral Keep is one of Magic Origins’ most hotly debated cards. I’ve heard it called everything from bad (local players) to hands-down the best card in the set (Patrick Chapin). Personally, I really believe in the card, and I imagine a lot of brewers out there can see the potential in it too.

But, while I think it’s one of the more powerful cards in Magic Origins, I’m not certain there’s a clear shell for it yet. This is the sort of card I’d expect to make some noise on the first day of the Pro Tour, but then not quite make it to the final tables. Still, it’s definitely one to watch for the future.

5) The rise of Sultai

The more I think about which control build I like the most in Standard, the more I sway towards Sultai. It’s a bit of a happy medium between Abzan and U/B, offering much more late-game card advantage than the former, with far more proactive early plays than the latter. At the moment, my gut says Sultai will be the control deck of the pro tour.

Expect to see Den Protector and Languish alongside Ashiok and Dig Through Time. Add in Thoughtseize, a suite of premium spot removal, and some counter spells, and you’ve got a formula for an extremely strong control build.

These are just my best guesses, what do you think we’ll see? Let me know in the comments below!