MTG Arena Standard Meta Deck Tier List: May 2022

We’re deep into the 2022 Ranked Season and it’s time to update our MTG Arena Deck Tier List. While Streets of New Capenna is sure to have an impact on the meta, it’s a little too soon to judge any of the decks just yet. Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, however, brought us a new archetype that has shot straight to the top of the list!

Is your current deck included and do we grade it fairly? Well, we’re going to be using a few different tools to determine which decks are most popular as well as some personal opinions, so don’t be too discouraged if your deck isn’t ranked highly. If it works for you and you enjoy playing with it, great!

We’re not aiming to rank every deck combination and archetype possible, just those that are most active within MTG Arena so far this season.

MTG Arena Deck Tier List – Mythic

We’re starting with the elite decks in play right now. You dread coming up against them because when they’re built and played right, there’s almost nothing you can do to stop them.

Mono-White Aggro – Creatures and tokens, when will it end! Mono-White will hit you early and hard. Games can end as soon as turn three if your opponent knows what they’re doing. Blink and you’ll miss deadly combos that leave you feeling helpless within seconds of a game starting.
Orzhov Clerics – Clerics is an annoying deck to play against, there’s no nice way of putting it. Perhaps it was much stronger earlier in the season but now that the meta has evolved slightly with the Innistrad sets, it’s fallen off the pace ever so slightly. With Izzet taking a hit, it may be the best deck on MTG Arena right now.
Selesnya Enchantments – This is a new archetype introduced with Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and it’s proving to be incredibly powerful. It can win in most situations thanks to its ability to ramp very quickly and protect itself with enchantments and artifacts. Weaver of Harmony is also proving to be a world-beater and could be facing a possible ban depending on how it works out over the coming months.
Mono-Green Stompy – Part aggro, part ramp, Mono-Green is well worth fearing with the sheer versatility it has despite being a mono deck built around big creatures.

Read More: MTG 2022 Release Calendar

MTG Arena Deck Tier List – Diamond

Next up are the decks that still perform brilliantly, but either has a few decent counters or a general downside like mana curve issues or limitations due to card availability.

Mono-Black Control – This deck has been knocking on the door of top tier play for a little while now but seems to be missing some key components to take it to the elite level. Perhaps when Kamigawa arrives, it may receive the extra support it needs.
Boros Aggro – A recent surge in Boros decks has seen the overall archetype refined for the 2022 season. You’ll remember that cycling decks took off in the 2021 season but Boros has been MIA ever since Winota rotated out. This new deck composition takes the best of aggro from res and white to create a very dangerous and fun to play concoction.
Rakdos Vampires – Rakdos is very slowly building up steam and this was the archetype that Innistrad was destined to create. It still needs a little more refinement and Kamigawa hasn’t hindered its success.
Izzet Dragons – Izzet Dragons looks to play on the strength and popularity of the now-defunct turns deck and is much stronger following the bans that neutered it. Major ramp/treasure token creation is needed early on to help it reach its potential but when it works, it’s a beast.

MTG Arena Deck Tier List – Gold

Gold decks are on the precipice of being elite but also have their downsides. Small changes can be the difference between running the gauntlet in competitive matches or just outright falling flat. These decks are sometimes the most fun to just experiment with to try and crack the code behind their missing elements.

Dimir Control – Dimir is a really fun deck to construct right now and is a breath of fresh air after Rogues dominated the archetype last year (more on that later). Some great ‘pop-off’ combos are available and there’s the opportunity to go aggressive or play at instant speed to counter your opponent’s threats. Divide by Zero’s banning has dropped this deck out of the Diamond tier for now.
Gruul Werewolves – Gruul – like Rakdos – is making a bit of a comeback after a rough start to the 2022 season. It’s not quite a top tier deck just yet, but we have faith that some work can be done to take this deck way up the list. It also earned style points for how fun it is to play.
Jeskai Turns – Turns decks are becoming popular – again, thanks to Izzet – but Jeskai almost adds a little too much to the deck and overcomplicates it a little. It’s still very satisfying when the combos play out but it takes more work to make the magic happen compared to Izzet.
Dimir Zombies – Zombies are trying their hardest but just can’t seem to get a foot in the door. Dimir is the best hope for the deck right now but Innistrad really feels like it was the only chance for the deck to really shine.
Mono Black Discard – Discarding cards isn’t fun unless you’re making your opponent do it! These mono-black discard decks are a ton of fun to play but can often get off to a really slow start. Building the deck around Tergrid is also a lot of fun but Gods are not as effective as they were in 2021 (for now).

MTG Arena Deck Tier List – Silver

Silver decks are low-key fun to pay but won’t make much of an impact in higher ranked competitive play. Some tinkering may see you strike gold but more often than not these decks can be countered easily and end up relying a little too much on sheer luck.

Mono-Black Zombies – As we’ve just mentioned with Dimir, Zombies are on the decline. They can be fun to play but you have to get off to a super-fast start and hope your opponent makes some mistakes to really make it stick and get the win.
Simic Ramp – We have a love/hate relationship with ramp decks and Simic is about the only one worth bringing to this tier list. Some Simic spells decks are proving very difficult to make work but the ramp combinations are having some success. Ultimately trying to utilize the best of big red and green creatures, artifacts and planeswalkers takes quite a lot of skill and a perfect deck.
Teemur Treasure – Treasure decks really popped off towards the end of the 2021 season but seemed to fly under the radar since the rotation. Teemur is struggling to make an impact right now but still maintains a decent winrate in competitive games.
Rakdos Treasure – Rakdos, unlike Teemur, appears to be trending upwards. There is scope for this deck to improve as we move further into the season and it could easily be a Diamond deck by the time all is said and done.
Orzhov Angels – Clerics is by far the best Orzhov archetype right now but Angels can still be fun to play if you manage it right. The biggest problem it has is that all of the creatures have such synergy, that you end up playing them but are scared to attack for fear of removal. If this issue can be resolved, the deck will fly up the rankings and its win rate will improve.
Izzet Turns – After the Divide by Zero/Alrund’s Epiphany bans, Izzet Turns is a shell of its former self. Threats like Hullbreaker Horror and Lier, Disciple of the Drowned can cause problems still but they’re not enough to save this deck compared to what it used to be.

MTG Arena Deck Tier List – Bronze

These are the decks that will more often than not struggle to even get into games but still perhaps pick up the occasional win. Again, there’s always hope that the next set brings some joy to these builds but for now, they may be worth avoiding.

Mono-Red Goblins – Oh mono-red, what happened to you? Well, we know exactly what happened… rotation. This composition is probably as good as it gets for mono-red right now and really struggles with the fact it starts almost any game massively outmatched.
Dimir Rogues – Another deck that was just way stronger pre-rotation, Rogues still exists but we think it’s probably not worth your time trying to build this deck to be competitive in standard play.
Mardu Vampires – In complete contrast to the two previous decks, Mardu Vampires is only in its infancy and could become a bigger deal throughout the rest of 2022. Right now, it’s probably not being played or tinkered with enough to justify being anything other than a Bronze level archetype.
Gruul Spellslinger – We covered a free to play Gruul Spellslinger deck a while back and it was super fun and surprisingly competitive. Unfortunately, even when you add in some more powerful cards, it still doesn’t quite pack the punch it needs to make a statement. Like Mardu Vampires, this is more likely to trend up than down though.