As with paper Magic: the Gathering, on MTG Arena, there are a lot of formats for players to enjoy. Each of these formats can, of course, be played casually with friends and niche pet decks. For those looking for something a little bit more competitive, however, MTG Arena also has a ranked ladder.
Through this ranked ladder, MTG Arena players can compete to become the best of the best. Beyond doing this for bragging rights, achieving a high enough rank will also qualify players to compete in events! With cash prizes eventually on the line, it’s no wonder that MTG Arena players want to have the best decks!
If you’re looking to join that upper echelon of competitive play yourself, we’ve got you covered! Throughout this list, we’ll be giving a quick rundown on some of the best decks in each format on MTG Arena. Using these, hopefully, you can start or accelerate your competitive journey up the ranks!
As an important note before we get into the list properly, today, we’ll only be looking at the best-of-one variant of each format. While best-of-three (also known as Traditional), is available for most formats, best-of-one is played significantly more on MTG Arena. Subsequently, for this list, best-of-one feels like the appropriate choice.
Now, with that quite aside out of the way, let’s get into all the best decks on MTG Arena right now!
Standard
Since the game’s release, Standard has been the go-to format on MTG Arena. Even after the format faded in popularity on paper, Arena has kept Standard alive. Despite this constant digital presence, recently Wizards of the Coast set about trying to save Standard. To do this, major changes have been made to rotation, and the format’s ban list.
As a result of these changes, with the release of Wilds of Eldraine, Standard did not rotate. Instead, the format has moved to a three-year rotation which keeps old cards around for longer. On paper, this is designed to entice more players to the format. Unfortunately, however, digital players get the short end of the stick as things simply aren’t changing.
Thankfully, while things did remain somewhat stagnant after Wilds of Eldraine’s release, recently, Standard has seen a major shake-up. Following the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, multiple new cards and archetypes are running rampant. Due to these new and evolving decks, Standard is feeling fresher than it has done in a long time.
If you want to read about the current state of Standard on a broader scale, we’ve got you covered. Here are the top ten decks in the Standard format right now. If this is a bit much to digest, worry not, as we’ve got the best two decks below for your convenience.
Five Color Cascade
Thanks to the prevalence of multicolored lands in Standard right now, five-color good stuff is a very viable strategy. That being said, however, while Domain Ramp decks may have access to every color, typically, they don’t use them all. Usually dropping red for a more consistent four-color assortment, Domain Ramp decks are currently incredibly deadly. So much so, in fact, they’re easily one of the best Standard decks around right now.
At its core, Domain Ramp is a typical midrange strategy, with a mix of punishing removal and devastating threats. The former of these categories is typified by the use of Leyline Binding. Often playable for a single white mana, this removal spell is utterly ruthlessly efficient. On the other side of the coin, threats like Atraxa, Grand Unifier practically ensure victory as soon as they hit the board.
As you might expect given the deck’s name, Domain Ramp also uses a good deal of ramp cards. Within Standard, this appears as copies of both Topiary Stomper and Invasion of Zendikar. Through these, Domain Ramp can still fight back against aggressive strategies and best the rest of the midrange soup.
While Domain Ramp has existed for quite some time, thanks to Wilds of Eldraine, it’s gotten even better. Receiving new additions of Up the Beanstalk and Virtue of Persistence, the deck has even more utility. Thanks to this, it’s no wonder Domain Ramp is such a front-runner in Standard right now.
Esper Midrange
In a glorious return to form, Esper Midrange is once again the top deck in Standard right now. Featuring two new cards from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, this deck is certainly relishing its new upgrades. Between the two cards, the most dominant new arrival is undoubtedly Deep-Cavern Bat. Providing information and removal, this unassuming new card lets the control archetype excel.
Beyond the new cards providing some added spice, the core of Esper Midrange remains the same as always. With Raffine, Scheming Seer leading the charge, this deck delivers buffs and beatdowns, while maintaining the board through a control core. Having existed in Standard for literal years now, this deck is an undisputed classic in Standard.
Alongside having an impressive legacy, Esper Midrange is still topping tournaments today. Recently, for instance, the above list won the recent Standard Open event, proving itself to be the best once again.
Historic
While it doesn’t have 30 years of sets to pull from, Historic is MTG Arena’s answer to an eternal format. Allowing the use of most cards on the platform, including digital ones, Historic has an incredibly diverse card pool. This makes it one of the most interesting MTG formats for players to brew and build their own decks in.
For those who aren’t looking to express their creativity so much, Historic also has a highly competitive metagame. If you’re looking to come out on top in this MTG Arena meta, we’ve got you covered! Here’s our handy list of the best decks in Historic right now for both best-of-one and best-of-three.
If you’re looking for a quicker rundown, we’ve got you sorted there as well Below are two of the best-performing decks in best-of-one Historic.
Mono Green Elves
Much to my delight since it’s my own favorite deck, right now Mono Green Elves is, by volume, the most popular deck in best-of-one Historic. This fact is rather fitting when you consider the strategy of this deck is all about building up a massive board! Through Lords and the occasional Craterhoof Behemoth, this board can quickly be turned into a devastating game-ending treat.
Interestingly, while it is the most popular Historic deck for best-of-one, in Traditional Historic, Mono Green Elves is absolutely nowhere. In this variant of the format, you’d be much better off playing a more traditional and versatile mono-green deck. While this is worth keeping in mind if you want to jump to best-of-three, Mono Green Elves is still a tremendous amount of fun.
Izzet Jegantha
While Rakdos was previously the king of the Historic meta, thanks to recent nerfs, that has all changed. Affecting The One Ring and Orcish Bowmasters, the metagame has shifted considerably as these cards have fallen out of favor. In their place, Mono-Green and Izzet decks have filled the metagame’s power vacuum.
Since we’ve already covered one mono-green Historic deck, here, we’ll be highlighting the Izzet Jegantha deck that’s especially prevalent right now. Hard countering the ramp and elf-based antics of Historic’s Mono-Green decks, this assortment of Wizards and burn is especially punishing. After all, your opponent can’t ramp into a win if all their Llanowar Elves are dead.
As for the deck itself, Izzet Jegantha is predominantly built around creatures like A-Symmetry Sage. Providing extra value from each spell cast, this powerful creature lets your spells focus on being, while still providing damage. If needs be, in Best-of-Thee, the sideboard can even shift this deck into a more controlling matchup to deny combos and more.
For good measure, Izzet Jegantha decks also use Jegantha, the Wellspring as their Companion. While this five-mana creature hardly makes the deck sing, it can provide some extra value at no meaningful downside.
Alchemy
Alchemy is like the Marmite of Magic: the Gathering formats. Some players, such as myself, absolutely love it thanks to its diverse and shake-up-prone metagame. Other players, however, loathe this format for introducing digital-exclusive cards and economic troubles. Whatever your stance on Alchemy, one thing’s for certain sure: It can be a lot of fun.
As much as there are mixed opinions, recently, the format got a whole lot more interesting. This is thanks to it being the only format that actually rotated with Wilds of Eldraine’s release. Following rotation, the Alchemy format has unsurprisingly been in a state of massive flux as players race to determine the best deck.
In the weeks following Rotation, Alchemy hasn’t exactly calmed down much. One deck may have been reigning supreme for the longest time, but players were constantly trying to combat it with new strategies. While this did provide some interesting brews, recently, Wizards shook up the format once again with some major rebalances.
Nerfing The One Ring and Orcish Bowmasters, Alchemy’s best deck has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. This has mercifully allowed a lot of new decks and archetypes to appear in the format, reinvigorating it dramatically. Further pushing this recent resurgence, Alchemy: Wilds of Eldraine recently launched, giving the format new toys to play with.
While the format has definitely experienced some troubles in the past, there’s still a lot to enjoy about Alchemy. So, whether you’re looking to climb up the Alchemy ladder or just have some fun, Alchemy may well be the format for you.
Mardu Pigrange
Released in Alchemy: Wilds of Eldraine, Porcine Portent gives this deck its unique name. Able to summon one of three new pig cards, this Adventure offers bodies, buffs, and removal, all in one. As fun as this name is, however, it’s hardly the only good card this deck has to offer.
Featuring a smorgasbord of powerful Alchemy cards, Mardu Pigrage feels like a showcase deck for the format. Crucias, Titan of the Waves, makes an appearance, of course, alongside classics such as Juggernaut Peddler. As if that wasn’t enough Alchemy, the new Jewel Mine Overseer has plenty of conjure antics to boot.
While each of these cards is already rather powerful, the new Dedicated Dollmaker makes this deck shine. Able to create tokens of Porcine Portent, or any other permanent for that matter, this card provides incredible value. It’ll even let you get two Crucias’ or Sheldreds into play!
Dollmaker Combo
While it featured as a new powerful piece of Mardu Pigrange, Dedicated Dollmaker is part of its very own combo! Harnessing the card’s token-creating ability, Dollmaker Combo creates an infinite mousemaking loop! The only other card you need to make this happen is Three Blind Mice from Wilds of Eldraine.
By creating a token copy of Three Blind Mice, this saga is able to copy itself during its second and third chapters. Through this, you’re able to steadily build your board with a never-ending stream of 1/1 Mouse tokens. Thankfully, these can easily get buffed by the saga’s final chapter, which will also be activating every single turn.
As you can imagine, this combo, facilitated by Dedicated Dollmaker, is quite a powerful one. Should it not be enough to do the trick on its own, however, there’s also Rusko, Clockmaker and Porcine Portent to copy.
Explorer
Created for MTG Arena in April of 2022, Explorer is one of the newest formats in MTG. Curiously, this format will also be one of the most short-lived, as Explorer isn’t sticking around forever. Instead, thanks to it being MTG Arena’s answer to Pioneer, this format will eventually cease to exist. This will gradually happen over time as Wizards releases more Remastered sets and Anthologies.
For the time being, Explorer isn’t quite one-to-one with Pioneer on paper. This means that Explorer still has its own metagame with plenty of unique interactions. If you want to master this unique metagame, here are a few of the best decks to do just that!
Selesnya Angels
While this archetype is technically Selesnya, for the most part, it’s basically just mono-white. The only thing stopping this from being its official designation is a playset of Collected Company. Considering this card heavily synergizes with all the low-cost angels, it’s definitely worth splashing for.
Topping out at four mana, this deck is definitely on the aggressive side, however, that’s not its only strength. Thanks to cards like Bishop of Wings and Righteous Valkyrie, this deck excels at gaining life before devastating your opponent. As a themed and deeply synergistic deck, Selesnya Angels is very fun to play so it’s no wonder it’s so popular on MTG Arena.
Abzan Greasefang
While definitely a powerful deck in Pioneer, in Explorer, Abzan Greasefang is even more extraordinarily powerful in the meta. In case you’re unfamiliar with this deck, it all revolves around getting Parhelion II into the graveyard and then cheating it into play. To do this, we have the namesake of the deck, Greasefang, Okiba Boss.
Thanks to Greasefang, Okiba Boss’ minimal mana cost, this combo can happen incredibly quickly. In fact, when everything goes to plan, you can be attacking with thirteen Flying power on just turn three! While this swing won’t win you the game on its own, further synergy with Esika’s Chariot makes this deck utterly devastating.
Brawl
Available both on paper and MTG Arena, Brawl is effectively a diet version of Commander. Both formats, for instance, have Commanders heling helming the singleton deck, however, there are many points of difference. Decks in Brawl, for instance, only use 60 cards, rather than the 100 of Commander and Historic Brawl. Alongside this, Brawl has a rotation and only uses Standard legal cards.
Without a ranked queue to grind through, Brawl is an inherently casual format. Despite this, however, if you’re looking to bring the best deck possible, then we’re able to help! Below are a few of the best and most popular choices in the format right now!
Etali, Primal Conqueror
While this Brawl Commander is Red, the core of this deck is a bundle of big green stompy cards. Utilizing potent mana generators like Armored Scrapgorger and Gwenna, Eyes of Gaea, this deck is all about getting massive threats down early. One of the best of these, as the deck’s name gives away, is Etali, Primal Conqueror.
Able to eliminate your opponent in just two attacks, after being flipped, Etali, Primal Conqueror is obviously a major threat. The same is true for Titan of Industry and Kogla and Yidaro who are also found within the 59.
Toxrill, the Corrosive
While Etali, Primal Conqueror is a fairly new entrant into the Brawl metagame, Toxrill, the Corrosive has seen play for years. In fact, as soon as it was printed in Innistrad: Crimson Vow, it has been a mainstay in the Brawl format. Thanks to the recent changes to Standard rotation, it won’t be going anywhere soon either!
For many players, the fact Toxrill, the Corrosive is sticking around is very bad news. This is thanks to them being utterly oppressive to play against. Not only does the Commander kill your creatures over time with -1/-1 counters, but the deck is absolutely loaded with Dimir removal. With Phyrexian Obliterator, The Meathook Massacre, and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, this deck has myriad ways to shut opponent’s down.
Historic Brawl
As the name suggests, Historic Brawl is a fusion of both the Historic and Brawl formats. Allowing almost every card on MTG Arena to be used, this format is most similar to Commander. Unfortunately for Commander fans, Historic Brawl is only a 1v1 format so there are no multiplayer shenanigans. According to Hasbro, however, it does appear there are plans to change that in the future.
Similarly to Commander, one of the main draws of Historic Brawl is its creativity and freedom. If there is a Legendary creature you like, in this format, you should be able to build around them. Currently, Historic Brawl does not have a ranked queue for players to grind through. Nevertheless, if you want to play with some of the best decks, here are some great options.
Atraxa, Grand Unifier
Considering they’re seeing play in most MTG formats, it’s safe to say that Atraxa, Grand Unifier is a very good MTG card. So much so, in fact, that they’re a great choice to helm a Historic Brawl deck. Offering access to almost all colors, as well as bountiful card draw, Atraxa, Grand Unifier decks are exceptionally versatile.
Whether you want ramp, draw, counterspells, or removal, Atraxa, Grand Unifier decks do it all. Most of the time, hitting all of these points can lead to your opponent simply conceding before too long. Should you need something bigger, however, the top end of this deck features game-ending spells such as Omniscience, Alrund’s Epiphany, and Emergent Ultimatum.
Rusko, Clockmaker
To put it bluntly, Rusko, Clockmaker is an absolute menace on MTG Arena. For the longest time, this card was absolutely everywhere, thanks to the matchmaking system being rather wonky. Thankfully, this frustrating issue has since been fixed. Now Rusko, Clockmaker is part of what’s known as the ‘hell queue’. Here, Rusko, Clockmaker faces off against only the best and most competitive decks in Historic Brawl.
While it may seem harsh, hell queue is absolutely where Rusko, Clockmaker belongs. When combined with plentiful flicker abilities, Rusko, Clockmaker provides unrivaled draw thanks to, well, making clocks. Putting a Midnight Clock into turn each time they hit the battlefield, this mighty clockmaker offers Commander decks exactly what they need to be successful.
After gaining access to more cards than you’d ever know what to do with, Rusko, Clockmaker decks finish opponents off with colossal threats such as Hullbreaker Horror. Alongside this and a few other powerhouse cards, Rusko, Clockmaker decks are typically loaded with removal to keep opponents in check. Even if MTG Arena gets true multiplayer formats, this digital exclusive Commander will forever be a devastating Commander.
The Best of the Rest
To conclude, we felt it prudent to talk about how you don’t need the best deck on MTG Arena. Sure, it is always nice to win games, and especially qualify for events, however, that’s not the only way to have fun. Thanks to casual play queues, not every game of MTG Arena needn’t be so ultra-competitive. In fact, within these play queues, you don’t even need to bring a meta-breaking deck.
Outside of MTG Arena’s ranked ladder of all the best decks, casual play queues have their own matchmaking system. This allows appropriately powered decks to be paired up with one another so games are kept interesting. Thanks to this, if you’re playing an underpowered pet deck, you should face opponents who are doing the same thing. Subsequently, don’t think you need to be playing the most powerful deck in existence just to have a good time.
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