It’s September and Zendikar Rising isn’t out yet, meaning the metagame has had just the right amount of time to settle. We even haven’t had a ban in more than a week, which is unusual in this day and age. Anyway, let’s check out what people are currently playing in the meta and rank it in a nice list. Less talk and more decks!
Tier F: Temur Adventure
Now, F might be a really harsh grade, so don’t let it fool you. This is, by all means, a decent deck and a lot of people like it. It helps that the vast majority of cards come from Throne of Eldraine so you will probably have most of them collected by now. If not, the deck is definitely on the more expensive side as many of those Rares aren’t all that usable in other decks, so if you’re on a budget, this is not the best option in the meta. Here’s how it looks:
Mainboard4 Fae of Wishes4 Brazen Borrower4 Bonecrusher Giant4 Edgewall Innkeeper4 Lovestruck Beast4 Beanstalk Giant4 Lucky Clover2 Aether Gust3 Escape to the Wilds
2 Mountain3 Steam Vents4 Ketria Triome4 Island4 Stomping Ground4 Breeding Pool6 Forest
Sideboard1 Nissa, Who Shakes the World1 Pulse of Murasa1 Aether Gust1 Disdainful Stroke1 Negate1 Fling1 Mass Manipulation1 Redcap Melee1 Storm's Wrath1 Grafdigger's Cage1 Expansion/Explosion1 Reckless Air Strike1 Fabled Passage1 Lava Coil1 Escape to the Wilds
Tier D: Mono Green
Coming in next is a classic monocolored deck. This is green at its finest - a very simple land base, huge creatures that get even beefier with counters, and a Scavenging Ooze to annoy your opponent. Here’s what you’ll need to play this meta deck:
Mainboard2 Gemrazer3 Garruk's Harbinger3 Questing Beast4 Barkhide Troll4 Lovestruck Beast4 Pelt Collector4 Scavenging Ooze4 Stonecoil Serpent4 Primal Might3 Vivien, Arkbow Ranger
2 Castle Garenbrig2 Bonders' Enclave21 Forest
Sideboard1 Voracious Hydra1 Garruk's Harbinger1 Elder Gargaroth1 Shifting Ceratops2 Ranger's Guile2 Oakhame Adversary2 Gemrazer2 Ugin, the Ineffable3 Ram Through
Tier C: Jeskai Cycling
While Jeskai in theory, this is a true Boros deck in practice, as all the blue cards are here for the sole purpose of being cycled away on the cheap. This is also a fairly good budget deck in the meta. It’s all about the fox and the rescuer, who bring tons of value once you start cycling. Finish off with a big Zenith Flare. The list goes as follows:
Mainboard4 Drannith Healer4 Flourishing Fox4 Valiant Rescuer4 Drannith Stinger4 Zenith Flare4 Frostveil Ambush4 Startling Development1 Boon of the Wish-Giver4 Memory Leak4 Go for Blood 4 Footfall Crater
1 Savai Triome4 Sacred Foundry5 Mountain9 Plains
Sideboard1 Drannith Magistrate1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den2 Grafdigger's Cage2 Glass Casket3 Soul-Guide Lantern3 Fight as One3 Redcap Melee
Tier B: Sultai Ramp
You will need expensive lands, planeswalkers, and Mythics for this one, but when it goes off, it’s a sight to behold!
Mainboard2 Elder Gargaroth 3 Hydroid Krasis4 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath2 Heartless Act3 Eliminate3 Aether Gust2 Casualties of War3 Extinction Event4 Thought Erasure1 Tamiyo, Collector of Tales2 Narset, Parter of Veils3 Nissa, Who Shakes the World1 Castle Vantress2 Forest2 Swamp3 Island4 Overgrown Tomb4 Fabled Passage4 Watery Grave4 Breeding Pool4 Zagoth Triome
Sideboard1 Narset, Parter of Veils1 Heartless Act1 Extinction Event1 Elder Gargaroth1 Wilt1 Agonizing Remorse2 Shark Typhoon2 Negate2 Cry of the Carnarium3 Mystical Dispute
- Read More: MTGA: Standard's 'New Best' Deck?
A tier: Red Deck Wins
We won’t be getting into any detail here, as we wrote a dedicated article on the subject! If you want to win, especially on a tight budget, look no further. This deck is pure awesomeness.
Mainboard2 Rimrock Knight2 Phoenix of Ash3 Tin Street Dodger4 Robber of the Rich4 Scorch Spitter4 Bonecrusher Giant4 Anax, Hardened in the Forge4 Fervent Champion4 Runaway Steam-Kin4 Embercleave1 Shock3 Light Up the Stage
4 Castle Embereth17 Mountain
Sideboard2 Lava Coil2 Unchained Berserker2 Scorching Dragonfire3 Tibalt, Rakish Instigator3 Embereth Shieldbreaker3 Redcap Melee
