Standard (BO1) Metagame Tier List

Introduction

Discover the best Magic: The Gathering Arena Standard decks and archetypes that the players are using to climb the ranked ladder and win tournaments. Explore the MTG Arena (BO1) Standard metagame as we regularly rank the top decks in a tier list, as well as our comprehensive analysis and review.

• Click here to view the separate analysis and tier list for Traditional (BO3) Standard.
• Click on the deck archetype name to find a brief description, links to the full deck guide with a more detailed overview and to find the latest decklists representing it.
• Each deck will be ranked in numerical order as well as tier order. The higher something is within the tier, the better it is than other decks.
• Below the tier list you will also find a curated decklist for each archetype as well as a full explanation and reasonings behind these rankings and tiers.

Methodology

When constructing the tier list, we take into account a variety of factors and sources:

• Field representation, win rate and matchups: How prolific a deck is on the Mythic ladder and how it stacks up against the other popular decks in the metagame.
• Third-party applications: that track matches and publishes the data directly from ladder play. Currently, we have access to Untapped.gg, MTGA Assistant, MTG Arena Pro and MTG Arena Tool.
• Tournaments: Important results shaped professional players. MTGmeta.io and MTG Data aggregates these results to analyze their performance.
• Game Mode: As a general rule, best-of-one (BO1) prefers linear strategies and the metagame is different from Traditional best-of-three (BO3). Read more about the differences here. Generally speaking, the tournaments results are in BO3 only, have a much smaller sample size and its environment is very different from an open MTG Arena ladder experience.
• Opinion: Our own ladder experience and in consultation with players.
• Others: If a deck doesn’t appear below, either the play rate of it is too low for it to make a tangible impact or it falls below the tier 3 threshold which we sometimes will highlight as Honorable Mentions below. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad deck either, as this will just be focused on the most popular decks in the current metagame.

Legend

• Tier 1: The best of the best. The most consistent decks that sport the highest win rates and generally, the highest play rates.
• Tier 2: Very solid decks that are slightly lacking in some capacity, whether it’s consistency or power compared to the Tier One archetypes. These can still be strong choices for ladder or for tournaments if you are highly skilled with the archetype or play them during the right metas.
• Tier 3: Either these decks are poorly positioned or have a lot of power/consistency issues. These are decks that see play, but are generally worse choices than your other options.

Tier List

• October 30, 2020: The guide has now been been fully updated to the current metagame.

TIER ONE

1. MONO RED AGGRO

BO1 Mono Red Aggro – Untapped.gg 56.6% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Mono Red Aggro’s presence in BO1 is evergreen due to its consistency, ease of build and speed. After the bans of Uro and Omnath, Embercleave has proven to be one of the most powerful cards left in Standard and in conjunction with cards like Torbran, Anax and Bonecrusher Giant, this deck is a force to be reckoned with in BO1 play.

If you are looking for a different build to experiment and test for the upcoming Arena Open, try this version by Delmo designed specifically for this event which makes use of Furor of the Bitten and Fireblade Charger.

2. GRUUL ADVENTURES

BO1 Gruul Adventures – Untapped.gg 56% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Gruul Adventures is currently the deck to beat in BO3 Standard and this is also the same case in BO1 as the deck is ideal for this game mode. It is aggressive, linear, its big Green creatures line up well against other aggro decks, as well as having the ability to go for longer games due to Edgewall Innkeeper. Only weakness to note is the mana base, which has been true for Standard aggro decks over the past year as the Pathway has merely replaced Stomping Grounds. It may leave you in some troubling spots from time to time, so the slight edge is given to Mono Red Aggro in this regard.

3. MONO WHITE AGGRO

This early version of Mono White Aggro was most recently popularized by streamer Crokeyz during his ongoing test for the BO1 portion of the upcoming Arena Open. While deck does not line up especially well in BO3, in BO1 it is much better as it lines up well against the abundance of BO1 aggro decks and cards like Heliod are just difficult to deal with without a sideboard. The has some lifegain synergies built around Speaker of the Heavens and Heliod, Sun-Crowned as it forgoes creature buffs we have left in Standard such as Glorious Anthem and Heraldic Banner. Having said that, the deck can go in multiple directions such as this version that is built around +1/+1 counters and can be refined further to your taste.

TIER TWO

4. DIMIR ROGUES

BO1 Dimir Rogues – Untapped.gg 56.5% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

BO1 Dimir Mill – Untapped.gg 55% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

There are two versions of Dimir Rogues being showcased here, one that is more heavy on the creatures and the other is more of a control/mill plan. This deck may find itself in a more rough spot in BO1 as its creatures are easily outclassed by Mono Red or Gruul and overrun by Embercleave, and as more midrange decks come are played such as Golgari Adventures and Rakdos Midrange, it may be hard to outvalue your opponent. Rogues are still definitely strong, but you may want to tailor your build to suit the metagame better. For example, the range of removal, counterspells and inclusion of cards such as Ruin Crab or Shark Typhoon.

5. MONO BLACK AURAS

BO1 Mono Black Auras – Untapped.gg 56% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

This is an interesting deck that lines up really well in an aggro-heavy metagame and it is very cheap to build. It’s hard to argue with the results despite no high level tournament showings, at over 1500 matches played over the past two weeks which just goes to show that having a linear game plan works wonders for BO1.

6. BOROS KNIGHTS

BO1 Boros Knights – Untapped.gg 55.6% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Another linear, straightforward aggressive deck featuring Embercleave. The creatures are less threatening and has less card advantage power than Gruul, but being able to use Tournament Grounds is a huge boon for consistency. The deck’s strength in BO1 also comes from being able to safely go wider, if you anticipate less board wipes such as Extinction Event and Shatter the Sky.

7. MONO GREEN STOMPY

BO1 Mono Green Stompy – Untapped.gg 55% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

As with Mono Red, Mono Green’s power in BO1 comes from its big creatures that matches up well against the smaller decks and its mana base consistency. It does not quite have the impact of Embercleave or the longevity without Edgewall Innkeeper, but still can get the job done.

8. GOLGARI ADVENTURES

BO1 Golgari Adventures – Untapped.gg 50.8% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Golgari is more grindy with removal spells leveraging the big creatures that Green also offers at the cost of being less explosive than the Gruul version. Its weakest matchup, the Yorion and Ramp decks, are definitely less played and a bit weaker in BO1 (as we will explain in more detail below), which gives this deck a little bit of a boost in the current metagame. Red-based aggro decks might still be tough given Murderous Rider loses you life, but if you are worried you can up the count of The Great Henge and add more removal spells like Heartless Act and Eliminate if desired.

9. RAKDOS MIDRANGE

BO1 Rakdos Midrange – Untapped.gg 53.8% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Rakdos Midrange is looking to make a strong comeback in the current Standard metagame as Yorion decks are becoming less prevalent. It fairs decently well against Gruul due to its removal suite and incidental lifegain, and Rogues because they help your gameplan by filling up your graveyard! The deck is quite versatile and can offer at least a 50/50 matchup against other midrange decks.

10. CYCLING

BO1 Boros Cycling – Untapped.gg 55.9% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Cycling is another great option for BO1 because of its linearity, simplicity and is very budget friendly for new players. When players cannot prepare for your gameplan in BO1 with a sideboard, it’s hard to do anything about a huge Zenith Flare or a turn 1 Flourishing Fox. As DoggertQBones said in his BO3 analysis, you can certainly do worse than Cycling but you can certainly do a lot better as well.

TIER THREE

11. ESPER DOOM

BO1 Esper Doom – Untapped.gg 54% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Esper does a decent job at controlling the aggro infested BO1 metagame with all the removal and disruption spells, and especially Doom Foretold is a decent enough card to build around. Any Blue White control deck variation should be just fine and should be tailored to your needs depending on the anticipated current metagame.

On a side note, Yorion as a Companion in BO1 is a bit more of a riskier business because 80 card decks are naturally a bit more inconsistent and finding the right answers for your opponents would be difficult. This is true especially without a sideboard to redeem for it, and your result would be heavily impacted by the initial coinflip.

12. JESKAI CONTROL

BO1 Jeskai Control – Untapped.gg 53.7% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Jeskai decks have taken an interesting turn in BO3 Standard, with some using a Yorion-based control-blink strategy while some opt for the Lukka or Transmogrify to bring out Dream Trawler. This BO1 version curated by Untapped.gg is just a classic control deck, primarily White and Red with Blue splashed in for Shark Typhoon and Narset of the Ancient Way. As discussed above, for best results control decks should be tailored to your needs.

13. MONO GREEN FOOD

BO1 Mono Green Food – Untapped.gg 51.3% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Similar to Mono Green Stompy, this deck fares better with less control/Yorion decks in the metagame and has a consistent mana base. Big creatures and lifegain from Food tokens makes it a great against opposing creature-based aggro decks. MVP goes to Wicked Wolf, as it is very difficult to deal with especially in BO1. Should the game go longer, cards like Feasting Troll King can be very strong. With decks like this, there is always the possibility that you draw the wrong side of your deck since it relies on particular synergies, hence the ranking here.

14. TEMUR RAMP

BO1 Temur Ramp – Untapped.gg 48.2% Win Rate – Oct 23 – Oct 30

Temur Ramp’s major strength is that it can go over the top of Yorion decks, but in BO1 it proves to be too slow to get going and you’ll find yourself more reliant on going first and hoping you don’t die before you cast your first board impacting spell.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

CLERICS

BO1 Orzhov Clerics – Untapped.gg 51.2% Win Rate – Oct 24 – Oct 30

SELESNYA COUNTERS

BO1 Selesnya Counters – Untapped.gg 52.2% Win Rate – Oct 24 – Oct 30