Table of Contents
Hey everyone! With the Explorer tier list having just been updated including the addition of Murders at Karlov Manor (MKM) to the format (which you can check out here), I’m going to be breaking down all of the new cards that have made an impact in the format and the decks they slot into, how the format as a whole has changed recently, as well as highlighting my picks for the current 5 best decks ahead of the Explorer Metagame Challenge this weekend. Let’s get into it!
Prominent New Additions From MKM
Vein Ripper
Rakdos Vampires
by Altheriax
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
$814.3
Sideboard
15 Cards
$73.57
The biggest new twist on an archetype that we saw emerge recently is Rakdos Vampires, a new take on the Rakdos Midrange shell that won the latest Pioneer Pro Tour in the hands of Seth Manfield, and this list is a very slightly modified version of his, replacing the sideboard hate for Lotus Field decks that aren’t a factor in Explorer with other interaction.
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord has always been an incredibly strong card but it’s always been missing a consistently strong expensive vampire payoff to cheat into play (with previous options like Ghalta and Mavren usually being uncastable making it very clunky to draw without Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord, and cheaper options like Champion of Dusk being too low impact) but Vein Ripper hits the sweet spot of being a very powerful payoff that’s hard to kill, takes over the game, and is also hardcastable in longer games.
Ward – sacrifice a creature provides great protection since there are a number of decks that don’t run a high density of creatures, and even if they do have one in play you can often fizzle the opponent’s removal spell at instant speed by killing the opponent’s creature with the ward trigger on the stack since you’re a midrange deck with a good amount of interaction, which is a complete blowout.
The passive ability to drain 2 whenever a creature dies is also a very big deal against aggressive creature decks since it helps you stabilize when creatures die in combat or you kill them with your removal, as well as giving you extra reach against the more interactive decks at the other end of the spectrum, and it’s a nightmare for any deck which sacrifices creatures as part of its gameplan such as Rakdos Sacrifice.
As a creature a 6/5 flying body is great at both stabilizing and closing the game out, and if you cheat it into play off Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and get to untap with it, you can use the +1 ability to turn it into a 7/6 lifelink which will usually stabilize you on the spot against any fair aggressive deck if you can connect with it.
Overall this is exactly the sort of generically powerful vampire that Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord has been looking for, and it synergizes very well with the midrange tools that this deck is running such as discard spells to clear the way for the Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord to resolve or to get rid of a removal spell they might have to kill the Vein Ripper, as well as removal spells to trigger its passive ability and potentially fizzle opposing removal spells via its ward ability.
No More Lies, The Surveil Lands, & Deduce
Azorius Control by Shota Yasooka
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
5 mythic
38 rare
11 uncommon
6 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Instants (22)
Sorceries (3)
Enchantments (3)
Lands (27)
60 Cards
$384.6
Sideboard
15 Cards
$57.65
Control is probably the next archetype that gained the most meaningful new tools from MKM, the biggest one being No More Lies which is a massive deal since control decks have been really lacking good quality 2 mana counterspells since the format started, and No More Lies is significantly better than previous options like Jwari Disruption and Make Disappear.
Having counterspells available on turn 2 is really big in Explorer to be able to stop key 3 drops when you’re on the draw, and the difference between having to pay 2 mana on Make Disappear and 3 mana on No More Lies is a really big difference since it makes it a live counterspell for longer as the game goes on (usually much longer than a single turn too since a lot of decks will miss land drops once they hit turn 5/6 onwards) which is the main issue with these sorts of conditional counterspells.
It also has the upside of exiling the spell you counter which will ocassionally be relevant so this is a really meaningful upgrade for UWx control decks since it’s the first premier generic 2 mana counterspell the deck has gotten in my opinion.
The surveil lands like Meticulous Archive and Undercity Sewers are also seeing play in some slower decks like control in the same spot that cards like Irrigated Farmland would occupy in the past except with these you get some card filtering immediately which is generally much more useful as the format speeds up.
Additionally you can send the card to the graveyard which works nicely with cards like Memory Deluge, and it counts as both basic land types meaning it also causes check lands like Glacial Fortress to enter untapped. Overall these haven’t had as much impact as they have in older formats where fetch lands are legal, but they’ve still shown up in a number of slower decks and I expect them to be a nice option for control and graveyard strategies going forwards.
Another new tool that control decks have been utilizing from MKM is Deduce which is a really nice cantrip for 2 mana that also provides you with a clue, essentially providing you an instant speed 2 for 1 at the cost of 2 mana down the line. This is a really nice tool in general for control since they typically tended to rely on more expensive card advantage such as Memory Deluge, and so having a 2 mana alternative means that you can more efficiently use your mana early on if the opponent doesn’t cast anything that you want to use your early counterspells or removal on.
It’s also been a really great addition to Indomitable Creativity lists which are predominantly combo-control lists where Deduce fills a similar role but the clue token also works as another target for Indomitable Creativity making it an even better fit in those decks. I think my favorite build of Izzet Creativity right now is the Torrential Gearhulk build as highlighted below.
Izzet Gearhulk Creativity by levunga21
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
12 mythic
27 rare
1 uncommon
20 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (4)
Instants (26)
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (2)
Lands (24)
60 Cards
$280.06
Sideboard
15 Cards
$20.01
One final tool that Jeskai control decks got access to from MKM is Lightning Helix which is a really nice tool that works as early creature removal and provides some incidental lifegain which is very relevant against a number of decks, plus it can also be used to pick off planeswalkers with low loyalty, and can go face if you need the extra reach.
I don’t think there are many other good reason to splash red if you’re playing conventional Azorius control so it’s probably better to stick to straight blue white there, but you do get some nice tools splashing into white if you’re running Indomitable Creativity, and so I think the best home for Lightning Helix in Explorer currently is Jeskai Creativity. The build below is Cain Rianhard’s which did well at the recent Pioneer Pro Tour but with Chained to the Rocks replaced with some alternative removal since it’s not Explorer legal yet.
Jeskai Creativity by Cain Rianhard
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
14 mythic
53 rare
6 uncommon
7 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Companion
Creatures (3)
Instants (19)
Lands (36)
80 Cards
$842.86
Sideboard
15 Cards
$49.05
Fugitive Codebreaker
Boros Heroic by Brian Boss
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
0 mythic
18 rare
26 uncommon
16 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Companion
Creatures (18)
Instants (18)
Lands (18)
60 Cards
$154.74
Sideboard
15 Cards
$30.91
Another archetype that had a good showing at the recent Pioneer Pro Tour was Boros Heroic which also got a new tool from MKM in Fugitive Codebreaker.
This has prowess and haste making it a solid fit for the deck where you want to get benefits from buffing your creatures, but it also has the ability to disguise and then flip to refuel your hand once you have a bunch of instants and sorceries in your graveyard which is fairly easy to get online since the deck runs a lot of cheap spells. Simon Nielson’s second place list wasn’t running this so it’s definitely not a stock card in the archetype, but Brian Boss’s version which got top 32 ran 2 copies as shown above, so it’s a nice tool to consider when you’re building Heroic.
Novice Inspector & Case of the Gateway Express
Boros Convoke by Kotarou Chiku
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
0 mythic
33 rare
14 uncommon
13 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Companion
Creatures (34)
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (1)
Lands (21)
60 Cards
$210.22
Sideboard
15 Cards
$77.85
The last two cards that made a meaninful impact on the Explorer metagame are Novice Inspector and Case of the Gateway Express which are both new tools for the Boros Convoke deck.
With Gleeful Demolition and Warden of the Inner Sky being key pieces in the convoke deck, you really value having a high density of 1 mana creatures that produce an artifact token, and now with the addition of Novice Inspector you can run 12 of these effects in Boros colors which really adds a layer of extra consistency to the deck. It’s also seen play in some Azorius Ensoul/ Artifact Aggro lists as well but these are more fringe than the lists I’m highlighting here.
The other card that’s seen play in convoke is Case of the Gateway Express which doubles up as a removal spell and an anthem effect which works very well with the general convoke gameplan. This is definitely more of a fringe card usually only seeing play as a 1/2 of or often times not even featuring in the 75 at all so it’s not as impactful to the archetype as Novice Inspector, but it’s still another nice option to consider when building convoke.
Honorable Mentions
Here I’m just going to briefly highlight some other cards from MKM which have seen their way into more fringe decks and archetypes.
- Deadly Cover-Up has been seen play as an unconditional sweeper with upside in Dimir Control decks.
- Gleaming Geardrake and Case of the Filched Falcon have seen play in Izzet Ensoul/ Artifact Aggro decks.
- Cryptic Coat has seen play in the sideboard of a number of blue decks like Phoenix, Ensoul, and Dimir Control as an alternate threat against grindy decks.
- Unauthorized Exit has seen play in the sideboard of control combo decks like Creativity and Transmogrify.
- Case of the Crimson Pulse has seen play in the sideboard of a number of red decks such as Boros Heroic and Izzet Ensoul as a tool to grind into long games against slower decks.
- Intrude on the Mind has seen fringe play in control decks as an expensive card advantage tool.
- Case of the Uneaten Feast has seen fringe play in lifegain strategies such as Amalia Combo and Angels.
Recent Metagame Changes
Even with the addition of the Rakdos Vampires deck and all of the new cards mentioned above, the metagame as a whole hasn’t shifted a huge amount with the previous top decks such as Azorius Control, Izzet Phoenix, and Amalia Combo still remaining tier 1 in my opinion.
I definitely feel that Amalia Combo as an archetype has become worse positioned over the past few weeks and months as people have accounted for it more, and Azorius Control has become more powerful and popular (which is a tricky matchup for Amalia), however it has one of the better matchups against the new Rakdos Vampires deck which I expect to be quite popular so for that reason (as well as it still being a generically strong deck), I still think it’s able to consistently compete with the other top decks.
Speaking of Rakdos Vampires I definitely think this is one of, if not the best decks in the format since it has a lot of the same strengths that the Rakdos Midrange decks of old has, but has a much more powerful proactive gameplan, and is a bit lower to the ground meaning it can close games out faster which is very relevant in a lot of matchups. On top of that Vein Ripper itself allows the deck to defend better against matchups that can otherwise be tricky such as Phoenix, and the combination of discard spells and Cavern of Souls gives you good tools to fight the control matchup too.
So overall I feel like the Rakdos Vampires deck is the best positioned deck right now – it can struggle against a deck like Amalia Combo but I still feel like that deck is somewhat on a downswing due to the popularity of the Azorius Control deck, as well as most decks still running a good amount of hate for it.
On that note I definitely think Azorius Control is another big contender in the format right now with great tools to fight against the expected field, and is one of the most customizable decks so you can tweak it to gain an advantage if you have a good read on the metagame. I think the emergence of the Rakdos Vampires deck could pose a problem for control however I still think it’s one of the best decks in the format currently.
To round out my current tier 1 picks we have Izzet Phoenix which I still think is a great deck, albeit one that’s quite difficult to pilot. Rakdos Vampires with Vein Ripper is generally a harder matchup for Phoenix than the more conventional Rakdos Midrange deck but a lot of the Explorer Phoenix builds were already on 4 copies of Lightning Axe in the maindeck as a consideration to other threats like Sheoldred, the Apocalypse (and I think running the full playset will be a must going forwards as a cheap answer to Vein Ripper) so the deck is already equipped to fight there.
Overall I think the top decks currently are Rakdos Vampires, Azorius Control, Izzet Phoenix, and Amalia Combo – the only other deck I was considering adding to tier 1 was Boros Heroic which had become much better positioned as Rakdos Midrange gradually got pushed out the format by Phoenix and Amalia, but with the emergence of Rakdos Vampires which is a very difficult matchup for Heroic, I’ve put that at the top of tier 2 instead.
As is always the case in Explorer though there are a huge variety of tier 2 and 3 decks that are viable and capable of beating the top tier decks, and historically in Explorer I think knowledge and experience with your deck usually makes more of a difference than just picking whatever happens to be the top deck at any given time so if none of the tier 1 decks fit your playstyle, I definitely recommend checking out some of the other decks on the tier list.
Best Decks for the Explorer Metagame Challenge
As mentioned above my picks for the top decks currently are Rakdos Vampires, Azorius Control, Izzet Phoenix, Abzan Amalia Combo, and Boros Heroic so if you’re playing in this weekend’s Metagame Challenge those are the decks I think give you the best chance of achieving the 7-0 so I’ve provided decklists for all of those archetypes below.
If you want more details on these decks or any of the others then I recommend checking out the Bo3 tier list where each archetype has a write up with how the deck works, its weaknesses, and what metagames they’re likely to excel in. Good luck if you’re playing in the Metagame Challenge and thanks a lot for reading!
Rakdos Vampires
by Altheriax
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
$815.3
Sideboard
15 Cards
$59.93
Azorius Control by Shota Yasooka
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
5 mythic
39 rare
10 uncommon
6 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Instants (22)
Sorceries (3)
Enchantments (3)
Lands (27)
60 Cards
$386.24
Sideboard
15 Cards
$57.65
Izzet Phoenix by tabananga
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
5 mythic
19 rare
12 uncommon
24 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (13)
Instants (21)
Lands (17)
60 Cards
$263.76
Sideboard
15 Cards
$68.97
Abzan Amalia Combo
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
5 mythic
38 rare
12 uncommon
5 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Creatures (26)
Sorceries (3)
Artifacts (1)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$519.08
Sideboard
15 Cards
$49.35
Boros Heroic by Simon Nielsen
by Altheriax
Explorer
best of 3
1 mythic
16 rare
25 uncommon
18 common
0
1
2
3
4
5
6+
Companion
Creatures (16)
Instants (18)
Lands (18)
60 Cards
$199.92
Sideboard
15 Cards
$31.73
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Altheriax
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