Las Vegas had its breakout moment last weekend. Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven wrapped up on May 3 with the most green-pilled finals we’ve seen in years — a Selesnya Landfall mirror, with Nathan Steuer outlasting reigning champion Christoffer Larsen in a five-game thriller to claim his second Pro Tour trophy. The trophy went to Steuer, but the real story is the deck. Selesnya Landfall didn’t just win the event; it broke the metagame open mid-tournament and put four copies into the Top 8.
If you’ve been waiting for a reason to dust off your Plains and Forests, this is it. Let’s break down why Steuer’s build won, what makes it tick, and how to pilot it at your next FNM.
Why Selesnya Landfall Just Won the Pro Tour
The Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven metagame was dominated on paper by Izzet Prowess and Mono-Green Landfall — together those two archetypes made up nearly half the field. Steuer’s team correctly read that the Mono-Green builds were leaving free percentage points on the table by ignoring white. Splashing into Selesnya unlocks two things mono-green can’t touch: high-quality removal-flavored interaction in Sheltered by Ghosts, and a creature toolbox headlined by Badgermole Cub and Voice of Victory. The result is a deck with the same explosive ramp turns as Mono-Green Landfall, but with answers in the games where you’re behind on board.
The Engine: Earthbender Ascension + Mightform Harmonizer
Earthbender Ascension is the heart of the deck. Every land you drop after the first triggers it, and the deck is built to drop two and three lands per turn from very early in the game. By turn four you’ve usually got the Ascension active, an army of pumped-up creatures, and another payoff already in play. Four copies in the main — non-negotiable.
Mightform Harmonizer is the second engine, and it’s why the deck plays so many fetch-style lands. Every Fabled Passage, Escape Tunnel, and Hushwood Verge activation is two landfall triggers in one card. That’s how Steuer was able to power out lethal turn-five swings against control opponents who thought they had stabilised.
The Haymaker: Mossborn Hydra
Steuer plays just one Mossborn Hydra in the main with two more in the board, and it’s perfectly tuned. With the Ascension active and seven-plus lands in play, Mossborn Hydra hits the table as a one-card army with reach. In the mirror match, this is the card you topdeck to win — and it’s exactly what closed Game 5 of the finals.
The Support Cast
Sazh’s Chocobo and Llanowar Elves form the one-mana ramp package — eight one-drops that put you ahead on lands and let you cast Harmonizer on turn two. Badgermole Cub grows enormous off your land drops and trades up against every aggressive creature in the format. The two-of Icetill Explorer is the best graveyard-hate creature in Standard right now, and the singletons of Surrak, Elusive Hunter and Voice of Victory add reach against control.
The four Erode are what makes the splash worth it. A flexible counterspell that doubles as a tempo play means you don’t fold to Doomsday or to a resolved planeswalker the way mono-green does.
Nathan Steuer’s Selesnya Landfall — Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven (1st Place)
Creatures (24)
4 Sazh’s Chocobo
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Badgermole Cub
4 Mightform Harmonizer
2 Icetill Explorer
2 Dyadrine Synthesis Amalgam
1 Keen-Eyed Curator
1 Surrak, Elusive Hunter
1 Mossborn Hydra
1 Voice of Victory
Spells & Enchantments (12)
4 Earthbender Ascension
4 Erode
2 Lumbering Worldwagon
2 Bushwhack
Lands (24)
4 Hushwood Verge
4 Fabled Passage
3 Escape Tunnel
3 Ba Sing Se
2 Temple Garden
6 Forest
2 Plains
Sideboard (15)
3 Rest in Peace
3 Sheltered by Ghosts
2 Mossborn Hydra
2 Surrak, Elusive Hunter
2 Snakeskin Veil
1 Kutzil, Malamet Exemplar
1 Restoration Magic
1 Soul-Guide Lantern
How to Pilot It
The first rule: play your one-drops on turn one, every time. Sazh’s Chocobo or Llanowar Elves into a turn-two Mightform Harmonizer is the sequence the deck wants more than any other. Against aggro, prioritise stabilising with Badgermole Cub and saving Erode for their best creature. Against control, lead with Earthbender Ascension and force them to spend a counter early; you have so many threats that the second one will resolve.
In the mirror, the two best cards are Sheltered by Ghosts from the board (yes, on their Mightform Harmonizer) and Soul-Guide Lantern for the new Avatar reanimator builds. Don’t hesitate to cut a few Bushwhack on the draw.
Pick It Up at Mana Riot Games
If you want to sleeve this list up for your next Standard event, we’ve got the singles and the sealed product at Mana Riot Games. Check out our latest stock — or stop by and tell us how you’d tune the sideboard for your local meta. Whether you’re grinding RCQs or just brewing for the kitchen table, we’re here to help you build it.
Decklist source: published Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven coverage on Magic.gg, Moxfield, and MTGGoldfish.