The best Historic decks on MTG Arena can be a great way to invest your hard-earned gold and gems. As a non-rotating format with a fairly strict banlist, Historic has remained a constant on Arena since the format debuted. Supporting a wide range of archetypes, Historic is great for new players and established MTG Arena veterans.
Following the release of Timeless, there was some concern that Historic would lose its identity and much of its following. Thankfully, neither of these has happened. Instead, the Historic format has recently been flourishing on MTG Arena, especially as powerful sets provide exciting new support.
Right now, Historic is in one of the best places that it has ever been. Whether you’re looking to get into the format or just stay on top of the metagame, we’ve got you covered. Here are the best decks in the Historic format on MTG Arena right now.
Honorable Mention | Mono Green Elves
Mono Green Elves is a fantastic and surprisingly powerful MTG deck that can steamroll a lot of games. Thanks to the amazing synergy of Elves, you can quickly amass power and buffs to annihilate opponents. Unfortunately, while it is fast, fun, and strong, it suffers when up against interaction and can easily be disrupted.
Revolving around mana dorks like Elvish Archdruid and Circle of Dreams Druid, this deck can easily be scuppered by removal. Should you not have a replacement in hand, losing this ramp engine completely stalls your game plan. Unfortunately, Mono Green Elves decks typically run very little protection to stop this from happening.
Should you manage to get lucky and not encounter removal, Mono Green Elves can quickly run away with things. When multiple copies of Elvish Warmaster are in play, you’ll quickly have a surplus of tokens and mana as a result. This can then be spent on Leaf-Crowned Visionary for draw and Allosaurus Shepherd for buffs.
Should a horde of massively buffed Elves not be enough, honorary Elf Craterhoof Behemoth seals the deal. Tutored by Fierce Empath, this card basically guarantees a win if left unanswered. This can happen in a surprisingly large amount of games, but rarely ever in best-of-three matches.
Sadly for players who like the sound of this deck, Mono Green Elves is only really viable in best-of-one Historic. Here, opponents are often unprepared to deal with the sheer volume of Elves being thrown their way. In best-of-three, all an opponent needs to do is sideboard in a board wipe, and your plans are scuppered.
For this reason, we can’t give Mono Green Elves anything more than an honorable mention in this list. As fun as it is, outside of best-of-one, it’s just not competitive.
7 | Scurry Oak Combo
Much like Mono Green Elves, Scurry Oak is still a somewhat risky combo deck. Typically found in best-of-one, there’s a very slim chance this deck survives in best-of-three. That being said, there is nonetheless a chance thanks to protection effects and additional options.
Unlike Mono Green Elves, Scurry Oak has multiple different win conditions. While each of these revolves around lifegain, you won’t be destroyed by a single piece of removal. Even if your Scurry Oak gets removed, Trelasarra, Moon Dancer can pick up the slack in a pinch.
Given it’s the namesake of the deck, obviously you’ll want to pop off with Scurry Oak. Thankfully, doing this is rather easy, as you just need Soul Warden and Heliod, Sun-Crowned. With both these cards in play, you can create an infinite loop to create infinite Squirrel tokens.
This combo itself is very simple, as giving Scurry Oak a +1/+1 counter creates a Squirrel token. When this happens, Soul Warden will trigger, which triggers Heloid in turn, giving you another +1/+1 counter. Should all go according to play, you can activate this combo from as early as turn four.
Unfortunately, even after creating more than enough Squirrel tokens, you’ll need to wait a turn to attack with them. Much like Mono-Green Elves, this leaves the door open to interaction that can sink you. In theory, Selfless Savior or Ranger-Captain of Eos can save you, but having these out often delays your otherwise speedy combo.
All in all, Scurry Oak Combo is rarely competitive in best-of-three Historic. Like Mono Green Elves, however, this deck thrives in best-of-one matches. If you want to try your luck, Scurry Oak Combo can occasionally keep up, but other decks on this list are more reliable.
6 | Jeskai Control
Given it’s one of the best decks in Modern, it’s little surprise that Jeskai Control is also making waves in Historic. Built around a few core cards from Modern Horizons 3, this deck is great at keeping opponents in check. Not to mention shutting down the pesky but undeniably fun combo decks.
Without many of the free spells available in Modern, Jeskai Control decks in Historic aren’t nearly as competitive. That being said, the new Energy cards from Modern Horizons 3 makes this deck a nonetheless scary threat. In particular, Galvanic Discharge and Wrath of the Skies make removing threats a breeze.
Currently, as the Historic Meta continues to stabilize itself, there’s a lot of flux between each Jeskai Control list. One thing that every deck has in common, however, is Phlage, Titan of Fire’s Fury. Offering either removal or damage, this repeated threat can keep coming back and burning your opponent.
As if a repeated Lightning Helix wasn’t good enough, it’s even possible to keep Phlage around. Using Consign to Memory or Tishana’s Tidebinder, removal options can turn an already annoying card into a major threat.
Right now, Jeskai Control lists are a little bit all over the place, with no single deck taking the meta by storm. This doesn’t mean, however, that the archetype isn’t more than capable of doing exactly that. Once the best list is agreed upon, Jeskai Control is going to be a mainstay in the format for a long time to come.
5 | Yawgmoth Combo
Golgari Yawgmoth, Thran Physician combo is a defining deck of the Modern format, and thanks to Yawgmoth’s appearance in Jumpstart: Historic Horizons, the deck continues to make its presence felt in the Historic format.
The goal of the deck is to utilize Yawgmoth as a way to generate lots of value by sacrificing expendable Creatures to draw cards and shrink opposing Creatures. The reason the deck is so strong is that not only does Yawgmoth act as an excellent source of card advantage, but it can also be used as a combo piece alongside multiple copies of Young Wolf and Blood Artist. The combo works as follows:
- First, sacrifice a Young Wolf with Yawgmoth’s activated ability. Do not target any of your creatures with the -1/-1 counter. The Young Wolf will come back with a +1/+1 counter thanks to Undying.
- Secondly, sacrifice your Young Wolf that does not have a counter, targeting the Young Wolf that does have a counter. The +1/+1 counters and -1/-1 counters will cancel out. Your other Young Wolf will come back with a +1/+1 counter thanks to Undying.
- You can repeat step two over and over, to trigger Blood Artist an infinite number of times.
This deck also plays Chord of Calling as a way to find Yawgmoth, much like the Modern version of the deck. While the Historic version does miss out on Grist, the Hunger Tide which is not on Arena, most of the best cards are still available, making this deck a great choice.
4 | Izzet Wizards
Izzet Wizards is a strong archetype with a decent game plan against a lot of different types of strategies. This deck plays cheap Creatures like Soul-Scar Mage and Dreadhorde Arcanist that work well with cheap spells. From there, the deck plays a ton of the best efficient removal spells and card draw spells available. Expressive Iteration, despite being banned in Pioneer and even Legacy, the card remains legal in Historic and is a big reason to play this deck.
By sticking to a Wizards theme, you get to maximize both Wizard’s Lightning and Flame of Anor, which are both solid payoffs. On top of a fair few counterspells, Izzet Wizards is more than capable of holding its own against other top-performing Historic decks. Whether they’re running an aggressive, controlling, or combo game plan, Izzet Wizards is equipped with plenty of answers.
While Izzet Wizards is more than capable in best-of-three, it’s even better in best-of-one. Thanks to countering the rampant combo decks, Izzet Wizards can often farm wins against opponents. That is the case, at least, outside of the mirror match, which is surprisingly common and requires a good deal of thought.
All in all, Izzet Wizards is a fantastic deck that’s well-equipped to deal with the Historic metagame. If you’re looking for a deck that offers a little bit of everything Izzet Wizards might just be the list for you.
3 | Rakdos Vampire Bombardment
Thanks to recent bans, Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord is no longer running rampant in Pioneer and Explorer. That doesn’t mean they’re completely done and dusted, however, as they’re performing incredibly well in Historic. Not only is Vein Ripper continuing to be a major threat, but Goblin Bombardment makes it that much more punishing.
At its core, this deck uses Goblin Bombardment to quickly whittle through an opponent’s life total with cheap fodder and recursive creatures. From the get-go, Voldaren Epicure and Unlucky Witness can be used to start relentlessly pinging your opponent. Bloodghast offers the same utility turn after turn, provided you can keep playing lands.
On its own, this gameplan is fairly aggressive and resilient to removal, however, Vein Ripper makes it really sing. Thanks to their draining ability, each use of Goblin Bombardment hits an opponent for 3. As if this wasn’t bad enough, they’re also a substantial threat in their own right that can crash in for huge damage.
As was true in Pioneer, getting Vein Ripper into play is surprisingly easy thanks to Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord. So long as they’re in your hand, you can use Sorin’s -3 ability to immediately cheat in Vein Ripper. Should you manage this on turn three, your opponent is going to be in a world of hurt.
While Rakdos Vampire Bombardment is proving to be a potent force in the Historic metagame, not every matchup is favorable. Thankfully, a few removal spells and options in the sideboard make Best-of-Three more manageable. You just have to watch out for your own combo pieces getting Pithing Needle-ed post board too.
2 | Mono Green Devotion
While Mono Green Elves is shamelessly synergistic, Mono Green Devotion is much more versatile. Offering a comprehensive sideboard and more resilient creatures, this deck is a fan-favorite for good reason. Despite not playing the biggest creatures in MTG, Mono Green Devotion is more than capable of packing a punch.
Given the theme of Devotion is in the name. Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx is obviously an incredibly important component to this deck. Synergizing heavily with Old-Growth Troll and Polukranos Reborn, this single land can provide an insane amount of mana. Should that not be enough, Elvish Mystic and Llanowar Elves provide plenty of early game ramp too.
Through these cards combined, you can quickly get to casting Cavalier of Thorns and Storm the Festival. Not only can these cards quickly establish your board, but they can also draw you a fair few cards. Provided you have Outcaster Trailblazer or Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner in play, each massive creature offers free card draw too.
To tie this deck together, Karn, the Great Creator provides access to this deck’s robust and versatile sideboard. Whether you need to buff your board, shut down opponents, or summon another threat, Karn has you covered. All in all, Karn helps this otherwise self-contained deck not just survive, but flourish as one of the best Historic decks on MTG Arena.
1 | Boros Energy
Boros Energy recently suffered a fairly substantial, and much-needed, nerf. Three of the deck’s core cards, Galvanic Discharge, Guide of Souls, and Ocelot Pride have been individually nerfed. Reducing the potency of their Energy abilities, and increasing Ocelot’s cost, this change definitely affects the deck’s potency.
That being said, Boros Energy was leagues ahead of the competition before this nerf, and it still appears to be a front-running. While it is less consistent now, the deck picks up speed quickly and can steamroll unprepared opponents. This is largely thanks to Energy being such an effective extra resource that can be tapped into when needed.
Built up through Galvanic Discharge and Guide of Souls, even post-nerf, Energy counters can provide removal, buffs, and extra value. The latter of these is provided by Amped Raptor, which should always provide two cards for the price of one. This helps to keep up tempo alongside Ajani, Nacatl Pariah who effortlessly churns out tokens.
While Boros Energy is still one of, if not the, best decks in Historic, there is a lot of variety between lists. Some decks lean into life-gain strategies to outpace the mirror, while others throw in Impetuous Lootmonger to steal extra value. Many decks are even running Esper Sentinel to capitalize against Control and burn matchups.
Regardless of what you’re running to stay ahead of the competition, Suncleanser is a must-have. Since so many of the best Historic decks use Energy right now, Suncleanser is almost always incredibly disruptive. Thankfully, while Boros Energy does have a few auto includes, there’s still plenty of room for creativity.
Read More: 5 Things We Want To See In MTG Foundations
