Table of Contents
Introduction
Discover the best Magic: The Gathering Arena Explorer decks and archetypes the players use to climb the ranked ladder and win tournaments. Our MTG Arena Best of Three (Bo3) Explorer Meta Tier List regularly reviews and ranks the top decks in the format, carefully curated by Bohe, an old wizard who undoubtedly has a lot to share. We also follow up our choices based on various factors and sources, comprehensively analyzing the available data.
Meta Overview and Changes
Our new Explorer + Pioneer Meta Report goes over all of the latest additions from Outlaws at Thunder Junction that have seen play in Explorer and Pioneer, the decks they’re seeing play in, and how the metagame as a whole has shifted as a result.
Explorer Best of Three (Bo3) Meta Tier List
| Tier | Deck Name |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Ensoul Artifact 🆕 |
| Tier 1 | Amalia Combo |
| Tier 1 | Red Deck Wins Wizards 🔼 |
| Tier 2 | Rakdos Midrange Vampires 🔽 |
| Tier 2 | Mono-Green Devotion 🆕 |
| Tier 2 | Rakdos Sacrifice |
| Tier 2 | Mono-White Humans 🔼 |
| Tier 2 | Izzet Phoenix 🔽 |
| Tier 2 | Azorius Control 🔽 |
| Tier 3 | Gruul Prowess 🆕 |
| Tier 3 | Boros Covoke |
Tier List Disclaimer
- Tier 1: The most dominant decks of the format since the release of Outlaws at Thunder Junction. This implies the percentage of victories, presence in the meta, and favorable games.
- Tier 2: These will be solid decks with relevant presence in the OTJ meta. A good pilot will probably be able to play one of these archetypes and have good results. They usually have at least one difficult match against the Tier 1 meta archetypes.
- Tier 3: In last place, we find decks with little presence, but enough to be considered. In addition to their low popularity, they are decks that present two or more complicated matchups against the meta. This prevents them from standing out until the release of new cards or a meta shift happens. However, players who dedicate themselves to mastering these archetypes usually have the opportunity to obtain good results.
🔼 – The deck has improved its position on the chart. This includes movements within the same tier.
🔽 – The deck has lost positions on the table. This includes movements within the same tier.
🆕 – First appearance in the tier list.
Tier 1
Ensoul Artifact
Izzet Ensoul Artifact – Amy James RCQ @ MeH Games 5th Place
by Bohe
Pioneer
best of 3
2 mythic
24 rare
24 uncommon
10 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (2)
Creatures (14)
Artifacts (8)
Lands (18)
60 Cards
$215.66
Sideboard
15 Cards
$32.35
This deck has had serious upgrades during the last months. These upgrades made the deck strong enough to compete in big Pioneer tournaments and be in contention for the top, reflected in the MTG Explorer Bo3 queue.
With Spyglass Siren the archetype now has 8 one-mana creatures that make an artifact token during turn 1, and Gleaming Geardrake works perfectly for turn two if you don’t have Inti, Seneschal of the Sun. This legendary knight helps us push more damage with our 5/5 artifacts putting +1/+1 counters on them while giving us virtual card draws.
Case of the Filched Falcon is another recent card that helps this archetype. The most important part is how it animates our artifact tokens giving them flying. This gives us consistency when we don’t find Ensoul Artifact or need a flyer.
This archetype was viable, however, during this year it became a real contender thanks to Lost Caverns of Ixalan and Murders at Karlov Manor.
Amalia Combo
Amalia Combo – Andrew Sullano RCQ @ San Francisco 1st Place
by Bohe
Pioneer
best of 3
5 mythic
38 rare
13 uncommon
4 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (28)
Sorceries (2)
Artifacts (1)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$531.38
Sideboard
15 Cards
$60.35
Without Hidding Strings on Arena, Lotus Field Combo is non-existent on Explorer. This leaves Amalia as the strongest combo deck in the format.
The combo is easy to assemble. With Amalia Benavides Aguirre + Wildgrowth Walker, you only need to gain 1 life. This would make Amalia grow to 20+ while blowing all the board at the same time.
Being at a high life total shuts down almost any other aggressive strategy even if you don’t combo off. Also, having that many creatures let you play a fair game of attacking and dealing 20 damage in case your opponent stops the combo something that will happen from time to time in the Bo3 queue.
This is the strength of this deck. Even if you shut down the combo Amalia and its friends can still exert pressure and play a fair game of Magic.
Red Deck Wins Wizards
Red Deck Wins Wizards – OTJ Explorer Bo3
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
0 mythic
12 rare
32 uncommon
16 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (16)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (19)
60 Cards
$163.42
Sideboard
15 Cards
$57.45
This deck can become the new standard of aggressive decks if more players try this new iteration of RDW, Mono-Red Wizards.
Another one of the amazing qualities of Slickshot Show-Off is being a wizard. This let us play 4 Wizard's Lightning with the chance of casting it for R most of the time. Being the deck with Lightning Bolt of the format makes you feel good.
Monastery Swiftspear is the only non-wizard creature in this deck, however, almost everyone knows how good this creature is. Playing it is as good as always. If you haven’t played Slickshot Show-Off, give it a try, here, or in Gruul Prowess, Boros Heroic, etc. You won’t regret it. And how you can get this rare just using wild cards is what makes this deck more popular here than in Pioneer, a place where the bird starts getting expensive.
Tier 2
Rakdos Midrange Vampires
Rakdos Midrange – OTJ Explorer Bo3
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
16 mythic
33 rare
5 uncommon
6 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (4)
Creatures (14)
Artifacts (2)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (25)
60 Cards
$810
Sideboard
15 Cards
$74.77
Rakdos is one of the best decks in Explorer and also in Pioneer. It can play the beatdown role when needed and fight in attrition games ferociously.
It’s on Tier 2 in this list because it doesn’t have the same results in this queue during the last few days. I don’t think this will last long and Rakdos will be on Tier 1 again soon.
We should remember that Bo1, Bo3, and tournament environments are different beasts. If I was going to play an Explorer tournament, having Rakdos in consideration is mandatory. However, in the Arena Bo3 queue, most people prefer to play comfort, fast strategies, and new cards over the same “old-good” deck.
When the Explorer season starts and the players start testing seriously, this deck will surely bump to Tier 1 again.
Mono-Green Devotion
Mono-Green Devotion – OTJ Explorer Bo3
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
5 mythic
31 rare
8 uncommon
16 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (4)
Creatures (22)
Instants (4)
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$355.22
Sideboard
15 Cards
$85.85
Before this tier list update, I thought Mono Green disappeared from the map. I was wrong. It may not be the best deck out there as it was a few months before Karn, the Great Creator ban. However, two players managed to finish in the top 16 of relevant tournaments in recent Pioneer events, and in the Explorer Bo3 queue, there are still people playing this deck.
There are other iterations of this deck playing Leyline of the Guildpact and Nissa, Who Shakes the World. However, being more focused on creatures instead of ramping helps us have better chances against other aggressive strategies like Mono-Red, Mono-White, and Ensoul Artifact which are everywhere.
This iteration prefers Polukranos Reborn over Ulvenwald Oddity, and Outcaster Trailblazer helps us giving us more gas.
The single copy of Cityscape Leveler can be searched with Archdruid Charm, and Sunken Citadel can help us to activate Nykthos, Shrine of Nyx without tapping more than one land.
It’s not what Mono-Green Devotion was before, but the more I see this archetype fighting, the more I think it is ready for a big comeback.
Rakdos Sacrifice
Rakdos Sacrifices – OTJ Explorer Bo3
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
5 mythic
28 rare
20 uncommon
7 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (15)
Artifacts (4)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$348.12
Sideboard
15 Cards
$37.75
Rakdos Sacrifice is almost non-existent in Pioneer, but in Explorer, it keeps fighting hard for its place on the meta.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a fantastic archetype for both formats when the meta revolves around creature-centric decks. Claim the Firstborn and Fatal Push are fantastic spot removals, and gaining life turn after turn makes aggressive decks suffer trying to defeat this deck.
It’s a high-risk high-reward situation. If the aggressive decks haven’t killed you after turning 4, they probably won’t get the chance to do it in the long run. It’s not easy for this deck to fight against some of the high-tier archetypes, but if creature-base archetypes keep overperforming, Rakdos Sacrifice can shine again.
Mono-White Humans
Mono-White Humans – OTJ Explorer Bo3
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
2 mythic
27 rare
16 uncommon
12 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (34)
Instants (4)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$249.8
Sideboard
15 Cards
$70.95
This archetype doesn’t get any new additions with OTJ. However, it remains strong and popular in the Explorer queues.
Playing 3 Containment Priest even if it looks like a sideboard card, works amazingly well. It can stop Collective Company, Chord of Calling and Kayla's Reconstruction, key cards for Amalia Combo and Selesnya Angels.
Sadly, Kytheon, Hero of Akros, a signature card of this archetype on Pioneer is still not in MTG Arena. Nevertheless, 1 extra copy of Dauntless Bodyguard and Recruitment Officer doesn’t hurt anyone.
Izzet Phoenix
Izzet Phoenix – OTJ Explorer Bo3
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
4 mythic
21 rare
10 uncommon
25 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (1)
Instants (20)
Lands (19)
60 Cards
$271.04
Sideboard
15 Cards
$31.25
A well-known deck on Pioneer and Explorer. You might think that is weak to graveyard hate, but it’s not completely true. Unlike other decks focused on playing with the graveyard, Izzet Phoenix has Crackling Drake which hits like a truck, even if you exile this archetype graveyard. On the other side, Young Pyromancer can attack you with an army of elementals, making this deck feel like a Legacy one sometimes.
One of the reasons this deck doesn’t explode on Explorer is the lack of Temporal Trespass. This card is not on Arena and can be an instant win on Pioneer, which gives you wins from “nowhere”, something not so easy to achieve with other archetypes. However, the archetype is strong enough to be relevant and a deck you always have to respect on your sideboard in this queue.
Azorius Control
UW Control – OTJ Explorer Bo3
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
5 mythic
41 rare
8 uncommon
6 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Planeswalkers (7)
Instants (17)
Lands (27)
60 Cards
$374.76
Sideboard
15 Cards
$61.95
Control as an archetype attacks the format from a very different angle and requires different answers from many other decks which means you naturally have a good game 1 against almost any other archetype.
Having access to board sweepers also means that you naturally have good matchups against go-wide creature decks like Boros Convoke and Amalia, having cheap efficient counterspells like No More Lies means you have good tools to fight against combo and Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord.
Also, UW has a great card advantage which helps you pull ahead against decks that can play the longer game like Izzet Phoenix and Rakdos Sacrifice.
I’m sure new cards like Three Steps Ahead and High Noon will start seeing enough play to find and solidify their deserved spot in this archetype.
Tier 3
Gruul Prowess
Gruul Prowess – DookieTrouserMD MTGO Challenge 1st Place
by Bohe
Pioneer
best of 3
0 mythic
32 rare
27 uncommon
1 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (16)
Instants (17)
Lands (20)
60 Cards
$319.54
Sideboard
15 Cards
$30.27
I couldn’t be more happy! As a wizard with a Gruul heart, seeing a new flavor of Gruul fight for a place in the tier list brings me joy.
We already stated that Slickshot Show-Off is the best rare of OTJ. This bird is seeing play in almost every format, and with good reason. It is the push this type of deck needed and now it’s not only competitive, but it’s also a deck that could be called tier 1 and take a win against any other archetype of the format.
I take the chance to talk about Magebane Lizard. This new uncommon from OTJ can put many decks against the ropes. If you’re playing Red, 2 copies in your sideboard will help you against some archetypes in the format.
Curiously, this archetype is still unpopular in Bo1, however, it started performing in Bo3. Let’s see where the new bird brings Gruul during the next weeks.
Boros Covoke
Boros Convoke – OTJ Explorer Bo3
by Bohe
Explorer
best of 3
8 mythic
28 rare
11 uncommon
13 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (30)
Artifacts (4)
Enchantments (1)
Lands (17)
60 Cards
$289.48
Sideboard
15 Cards
$48.47
This archetype arrived at the format in a big way. It was all over the Bo1 and Bo3 queues and also in Pioneer.
Time passed and it lost some popularity, but not because it started losing a lot. Many new cards have pushed other aggressive decks to the top, and this archetype hasn’t had any new tools. Or that’s what we believed.
PintuMtg finished 5th place in an MTGO Challenge with 4 copies of Collector's Cage. This new artifact gives us a different approach than Warleader's Call, letting us cast Imodane's Recruiter at instant speed, just mentioning an example.
A play like this could mess with our opponent’s math and give a new twist to the combat phase while giving us a new tool for making our creatures bigger in attrition matches where repopulating the field and attacking with 2 or 3 creatures could be the difference between winning and losing.
I invite you to innovate on Explorer just like Pintu did on Pioneer. This kind of decision can be rewarding.
End Step
Revising the Explorer metagame with you has been a pleasure, dear readers.
We had a new Explorer / Pioneer meta report with a ton of new decks that can be a good inspiration for your next ranked session:
With our meta report and now the Tier List updated, it’s easy for anyone to understand the state of the competitive Explorer metagame.
Let us know your thoughts on this and any other MTG-related topics in the MTG Arena Community Discord, on my Twitter, and in the comment section of this article.
Don’t forget that I have started providing personal coaching services for Magic the Gathering and Marvel Snap. If you want to contact me, look for me:
- On Discord as bohettv
- On my Twitter
- Via email at [email protected]
- On Twitch
Thank you so much for reaching this last paragraph and remember; don’t forget to smile every day; it surely makes a difference.
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Bohe
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