This weekend’s event is Core Set Constructed, where you are only allowed to use cards from the three Core Sets in MTG Arena – 2019, 2020 and 2021. This is an opportunity to get to use more of the new Core Set 2021 cards, give those Core Set 2020 cards a last hurrah before they rotate out of Standard, and perhaps even some cards from Core Set 2019 that have been collecting dust! The main draw to this event is escaping the usual Standard and Historic metagame, and win some Individual Card Rewards (ICRs) in the process for a small entry fee. Read on to find out more about the event, its reward structure, some tips on building decks, and of course some sample decks to get you started!
Event Information
Bring a deck and play games using cards only from Core Set 2019, Core Set 2020 and Core Set 2021. You’ll receive rewards based on how many games you win.
The following cards are banned:
– Nexus of Fate
– Veil of Summer
– Field of the Dead
- Duration: July 11, 2020 at 8:00 AM PST – July 14, 2020 at 8:00 AM PST
- Format: Core Set Constructed
- Entry Fee: 100 Gems or 500 Gold
- Ends After: 4 wins or 2 losses (whichever comes first)
- Match Structure: Best-of-one matches (BO1)
Event Rewards
| # of Wins | Gold | Uncommon ICRs | Rare ICRs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 1 | 150 | 3 | |
| 2 | 300 | 3 | |
| 3 | 450 | 3 | |
| 4 | 600 | 2 | 1 |
Core Set Constructed Decklists
It’s no secret that Rares and Mythic Rares are the most powerful cards in Magic: The Gathering, and this is even more amplified in a format where you are only allowed to use cards from three sets. This is a big limitation in itself and the absolute best decks will be packing in as much as they can. Luckily for us, Core Set 2020 and Core Set 2021 are much higher in power than Core Set 2019. It is not worth crafting cards specifically for this event, but decent budget decks can still be built around the signpost multicolored uncommons (such as Conclave Mentor), which are powerful enough to push their respective archetypes.
As general advice for beginners, players should always think long term when managing their collection. Take priority in collecting cards from Core Set 2021, and noting Core Set 2020 will be rotating out of Standard in September this year. Core Set 2019 is Historic legal only and does not provide too much value outside of this event.
Taking all this into account, below are some Core Set Constructed decks that we’ve prepared for this event. Use these as a starting point or to get some ideas you can brew around for yourself! Core Sets have a decent selection of powerful of uncommons that you can use, so you can substitute cards where you can if you don’t want to craft them, and there should be some interchangeability possible in every deck.
Wrapping Up
We are getting our deck submission form up and running from today! Feel free to use it to share your Core Set Constructed deck and any other decks you want featured here at MTG Arena Zone. We also have some more Standard tournaments underway weekend, such as the Red Bull Untapped International Qualifier 2 and the SCG Tour Online Championship Qualifier #3. We will keep you posted with the latest updates throughout.
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- Leave a comment below if you have any feedback or just want to let us know how the decks went!
