The Top 3 Standard Decks for This Week – March 30, 2022

Hello everyone! This week I wanted to try a little something different from what I normally do. Rather than just do a deck guide, I’m going to break down the top Standard decks going into this week! How do I determine that?

I went through the results of every big Standard tournament played online that I can find of course! I’m going to be looking at lists, trends, win rates, and any other pieces of information that can help me parse what decks overperformed this week and ideally give a little bit of insight on why.

If you want to keep on top of the metagame trends and see which decks are doing well at the highest level of play, this is the article for you! Let’s jump right in!

#3 JESKAI COMBO

Jeskai Combo by Nathan Steuer

by DoggertQBones

Buy on TCGplayer $235.77

Buy on Card Kingdom $256.15

Standard

Combo

best of 3

8 mythic

26 rare

19 uncommon

7 common

0

1

2

3

4

5

6+

Generate hand save deck (mtgo/arena) copy to clipboard (arena) Visual view Copy URL

Creatures (11)

3

Smoldering Egg

$2.07

4

Goldspan Dragon

$83.96

4

Lier, Disciple of the Drowned

$27.96

Instants (26)

3

Spikefield Hazard

$2.37

3

Fading Hope

$5.37

1

Disdainful Stroke

$0.35

3

Sejiri Shelter

$4.47

2

Jwari Disruption

$0.70

2

Show of Confidence

$0.70

3

Galvanic Iteration

$1.77

1

Silundi Vision

$0.49

1

Kazuul’s Fury

$0.59

3

Prismari Command

$2.97

4

Unexpected Windfall

$3.96

Sorceries (5)

4

Expressive Iteration

$2.36

1

Alchemist’s Gambit

$0.49

Lands (18)

1

Island

$0.35

1

Mountain

$0.35

4

Riverglide Pathway

$33.96

3

Hengegate Pathway

$28.47

4

Needleverge Pathway

$25.96

1

Hall of Storm Giants

$3.49

4

Stormcarved Coast

$15.96

60 Cards
$249.12

Sideboard

1

Smoldering Egg

$0.69

1

Fading Hope

$1.79

2

Valorous Stance

$0.70

3

Disdainful Stroke

$1.05

3

Cinderclasm

$1.05

1

Test of Talents

$0.35

4

Behold the Multiverse

$1.40

15 Cards
$7.03

To start off our list, we have Jeskai Combo! Jeskai Combo is easily one of the most unique Standard decks as, like the name says, it’s a combo deck! From what I know, this is the only viable combo deck in Standard to boot so it can fight on a different axis than every other deck in Standard.

If you’re unfamiliar with how the deck works, I’ll help you out! So the deck, more or less, revolves around Goldspan Dragon. You want to accrue a large amount of Treasure tokens either through targeting Goldspan Dragon, attacking with Goldspan Dragon, or accruing them naturally through Unexpected Windfall or Prismari Command. Then when you have a bunch of mana (or spells that can go mana positive/neutral with Goldspan Dragon), you want to start casting a bunch of spells, use your Show of Confidence on Goldspan Dragon! At this point, you likely have lethal with just that, a Lier, Disciple of the Drowned to flash the Show back to make it lethal, or a Kazuul’s Fury to finish the job! This strategy is particularly powerful as it can win out of nowhere and can be quite difficult to interact with if the combo player has protection in hand as well to insulate it!

I digress, this deck has gained a lot of stock recently with two main meta shifts: decks are getting slower and interaction is a bit sparse. Jeskai can struggle when they face really aggressive strategies, but thankfully for it, those decks are slowly being squeezed out of the metagame by the grindy decks (temporarily of course). Furthermore, there aren’t an abundance of decks with a lot of instant speed removal which helps make this combo significantly more consistent than it would in some other metagames.

All that said, Jeskai isn’t without it’s faults. Although aggro is less prevalent, it’s still definitely a force you have to be aware of. Second, the deck is extremely difficult to play which isn’t a big surprise for combo decks, but does make it a harder deck to just pick up. If the deck was naturally easier, I would expect it to be more popular, but considering it’s difficulty of play, it will probably see just a modest uptick of popularity.

Tournament Details

mtg arena zone championship series 1k ()

25 March, 2022 - standard - 24 players

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win
rate

vs

esper midrange

vs

orzhov midrange

vs

naya runes

vs

Mono White Aggro

vs

Jeskai Combo

vs

rakdos anvil

vs

azorius control

vs

temur aggro

vs

golgari midrange

vs

naya midrange

esper midrange

11 matches

global 63.6% [35.4%-84.8%]

-

100.0%

3 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

80.0%

5 matches

0.0%

1 matches

-

-

-

0.0%

1 matches

esper midrange

11 matches

global 63.6% [35.4%-84.8%]

orzhov midrange

21 matches

global 42.9% [24.5%-63.5%]

0.0%

3 matches

-

100.0%

1 matches

66.7%

3 matches

25.0%

4 matches

0.0%

1 matches

50.0%

2 matches

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

orzhov midrange

21 matches

global 42.9% [24.5%-63.5%]

naya runes

7 matches

global 42.9% [15.8%-75%]

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

2 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

-

100.0%

1 matches

naya runes

7 matches

global 42.9% [15.8%-75%]

Mono White Aggro

9 matches

global 77.8% [45.3%-93.7%]

100.0%

1 matches

33.3%

3 matches

100.0%

2 matches

-

-

-

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

Mono White Aggro

9 matches

global 77.8% [45.3%-93.7%]

Jeskai Combo

19 matches

global 68.4% [46%-84.6%]

20.0%

5 matches

75.0%

4 matches

-

-

-

66.7%

3 matches

100.0%

5 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

100.0%

1 matches

Jeskai Combo

19 matches

global 68.4% [46%-84.6%]

rakdos anvil

6 matches

global 66.7% [30%-90.3%]

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

33.3%

3 matches

-

-

-

-

-

rakdos anvil

6 matches

global 66.7% [30%-90.3%]

azorius control

14 matches

global 35.7% [16.3%-61.2%]

-

50.0%

2 matches

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

5 matches

-

-

0.0%

1 matches

100.0%

2 matches

100.0%

1 matches

azorius control

14 matches

global 35.7% [16.3%-61.2%]

temur aggro

5 matches

global 60.0% [23.1%-88.2%]

-

100.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

-

100.0%

1 matches

-

-

-

temur aggro

5 matches

global 60.0% [23.1%-88.2%]

golgari midrange

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

-

100.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

-

0.0%

2 matches

-

-

-

golgari midrange

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

naya midrange

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

-

-

naya midrange

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

vs

esper midrange

vs

orzhov midrange

vs

naya runes

vs

Mono White Aggro

vs

Jeskai Combo

vs

rakdos anvil

vs

azorius control

vs

temur aggro

vs

golgari midrange

vs

naya midrange

#2 Selesnya Tokens

Selesnya Tokens by Arne Huscenbeth

by DoggertQBones

Buy on TCGplayer $225.48

Buy on Card Kingdom $382.87

Standard

Midrange

best of 3

10 mythic

35 rare

6 uncommon

9 common

0

1

2

3

4

5

6+

Generate hand save deck (mtgo/arena) copy to clipboard (arena) Visual view Copy URL

Planeswalkers (6)

4

The Wandering Emperor

$119.96

2

Wrenn and Seven

$14.98

Creatures (21)

2

Tangled Florahedron

$0.70

4

Prosperous Innkeeper

$5.16

4

Luminarch Aspirant

$1.96

4

Skyclave Apparition

$9.96

4

Welcoming Vampire

$5.16

1

Legion Angel

$0.49

2

Yasharn, Implacable Earth

$1.58

Sorceries (4)

1

Starnheim Unleashed

$4.49

3

Emeria’s Call

$23.97

Artifacts (4)

4

Esika’s Chariot

$17.96

Enchantments (4)

4

Wedding Announcement

$55.96

Lands (21)

3

Forest

$1.05

6

Plains

$2.10

4

Branchloft Pathway

$11.96

1

Lair of the Hydra

$1.99

4

Overgrown Farmland

$23.96

1

Cave of the Frost Dragon

$0.49

1

Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire

$9.99

1

Boseiju, Who Endures

$49.99

60 Cards
$363.86

Sideboard

2

Elite Spellbinder

$0.98

2

Guardian of Faith

$12.98

1

Reidane, God of the Worthy

$0.69

3

Legion Angel

$1.47

1

Yasharn, Implacable Earth

$0.79

2

Valorous Stance

$0.70

4

Circle of Confinement

$1.40

15 Cards
$19.01

For our runner up for this week, we have Selesnya Tokens!

Selesnya has had an extremely interesting run throughout this Standard’s life cycle. I’ve never seen a deck bounce around so much in playability with one week it being unplayable to a different week being an excellent choice, but that’s how metagame trends go sometimes! In fairness to it, Selesnya was predominately hated out by Izzet Turns prior to Alrund's Epiphany being banned as it had no tools to deal with it, but it still took some time for it to come back to the forefront of Standard. Now that it’s back, I doubt it’ll be fading into obscurity anytime soon.

This list by Arne is a bit different from the others I’ve seen, but the overall game plan is the same. The new versions of Selesnya, rather than looking to just ramp, are much lower to the ground than their predecessors. On top of the small ramp package, this deck also packs more aggressive cards like Luminarch Aspirant, Welcoming Vampire, and Wedding Announcement to pressure the opponent. However, it still has some fantastic late game options with The Wandering Emperor, Wrenn and Seven, Esika's Chariot, and Emeria's Call so it can go late as well.

I’m a very big fan of this style of deck as it’s capable of doing something powerful at every stage of the game and it’s never just durdling around. Whether you’re ramping towards a bigger play or developing good threats early, the opponent is forced to keep interacting, keep pace, or get overwhelemed, and considering how well it can build a strong offense, option 3 is going to happen a lot.

While Selesnya is very strong, it does have one huge weakness and that’s the lack of interaction. You do have access to 4 Skyclave Apparition which is fantastic and some spot removal in the board (I’ve also seen lists with some Doomskar), but that’s more or less it. You’re completely reliant on your offense to be your defense, so if your offense simply isn’t as good as the opponent’s, you pretty much have no route to victory. Never the less, this deck’s offense is so good that you can get away with little interaction making it a great pick for this week.

Tournament Details

mtg arena zone championship series 1k ()

25 March, 2022 - standard - 24 players

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Powered by

win
rate

vs

esper midrange

vs

orzhov midrange

vs

naya runes

vs

Mono White Aggro

vs

Jeskai Combo

vs

rakdos anvil

vs

azorius control

vs

temur aggro

vs

golgari midrange

vs

naya midrange

esper midrange

11 matches

global 63.6% [35.4%-84.8%]

-

100.0%

3 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

80.0%

5 matches

0.0%

1 matches

-

-

-

0.0%

1 matches

esper midrange

11 matches

global 63.6% [35.4%-84.8%]

orzhov midrange

21 matches

global 42.9% [24.5%-63.5%]

0.0%

3 matches

-

100.0%

1 matches

66.7%

3 matches

25.0%

4 matches

0.0%

1 matches

50.0%

2 matches

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

orzhov midrange

21 matches

global 42.9% [24.5%-63.5%]

naya runes

7 matches

global 42.9% [15.8%-75%]

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

2 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

-

100.0%

1 matches

naya runes

7 matches

global 42.9% [15.8%-75%]

Mono White Aggro

9 matches

global 77.8% [45.3%-93.7%]

100.0%

1 matches

33.3%

3 matches

100.0%

2 matches

-

-

-

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

Mono White Aggro

9 matches

global 77.8% [45.3%-93.7%]

Jeskai Combo

19 matches

global 68.4% [46%-84.6%]

20.0%

5 matches

75.0%

4 matches

-

-

-

66.7%

3 matches

100.0%

5 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

100.0%

1 matches

Jeskai Combo

19 matches

global 68.4% [46%-84.6%]

rakdos anvil

6 matches

global 66.7% [30%-90.3%]

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

33.3%

3 matches

-

-

-

-

-

rakdos anvil

6 matches

global 66.7% [30%-90.3%]

azorius control

14 matches

global 35.7% [16.3%-61.2%]

-

50.0%

2 matches

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

5 matches

-

-

0.0%

1 matches

100.0%

2 matches

100.0%

1 matches

azorius control

14 matches

global 35.7% [16.3%-61.2%]

temur aggro

5 matches

global 60.0% [23.1%-88.2%]

-

100.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

-

100.0%

1 matches

-

-

-

temur aggro

5 matches

global 60.0% [23.1%-88.2%]

golgari midrange

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

-

100.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

-

0.0%

2 matches

-

-

-

golgari midrange

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

naya midrange

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

0.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

-

-

naya midrange

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

vs

esper midrange

vs

orzhov midrange

vs

naya runes

vs

Mono White Aggro

vs

Jeskai Combo

vs

rakdos anvil

vs

azorius control

vs

temur aggro

vs

golgari midrange

vs

naya midrange

#1 Esper Planeswalkers

Esper Planeswalkers by Tomas Pokorny

by DoggertQBones

Buy on TCGplayer $360.68

Buy on Card Kingdom $524.87

Standard

Control

best of 3

16 mythic

36 rare

6 uncommon

2 common

0

1

2

3

4

5

6+

Generate hand save deck (mtgo/arena) copy to clipboard (arena) Visual view Copy URL

Planeswalkers (12)

4

Kaito Shizuki

$13.96

4

The Wandering Emperor

$119.96

1

Sorin the Mirthless

$5.99

3

Lolth, Spider Queen

$20.97

Instants (9)

2

March of Otherworldly Light

$3.58

2

Infernal Grasp

$4.58

4

Vanishing Verse

$1.96

1

Soul Shatter

$2.79

Sorceries (7)

2

Check for Traps

$0.70

3

Doomskar

$2.97

2

Emeria’s Call

$15.98

Artifacts (5)

2

Portable Hole

$1.98

3

Reckoner Bankbuster

$5.97

Enchantments (2)

2

The Meathook Massacre

$79.98

Lands (25)

1

Plains

$0.35

1

Swamp

$0.35

3

Brightclimb Pathway

$13.47

3

Clearwater Pathway

$20.97

3

Deserted Beach

$19.47

3

Hengegate Pathway

$28.47

2

Hive of the Eye Tyrant

$7.98

4

Shattered Sanctum

$87.96

3

Shipwreck Marsh

$20.97

1

Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire

$9.99

1

Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

$12.99

60 Cards
$504.34

Sideboard

2

Graveyard Trespasser

$1.98

2

Henrika Domnathi

$3.98

1

March of Otherworldly Light

$1.79

2

Ray of Enfeeblement

$0.70

2

Disdainful Stroke

$0.70

4

Duress

$1.40

1

Doomskar

$0.99

1

Farewell

$8.99

15 Cards
$20.53

For the top deck of this week, it easily goes to Esper Planeswalkers!

The other two entries had some solid results this week, but they paled in comparison to Esper’s dominance this past weekend. Out of the tournaments I looked at, Esper was performing well in functionally all of them and had a lot of top spots including multiple wins. Looking at the list, it’s not too hard to see why.

This deck takes advantage of the one major change Standard has had recently: the speed of the format. I’ve found that after the Set Championship, a lot of decks started to slow down and value became the name of the game rather than aggression. If value is the name of the game, a deck filled to the brim with Planeswalkers is the perfect way to leverage that!

It’s really the simplicity of the deck’s design that I love. The deck has three types of cards: value, interaction, and lands. That’s it and that’s all it needs. To that end, it has a great variety of each to help you beat through any deck as well. You have spot removal, board wipes, and even a good amount of hand disruption to combat on that access. For planeswalkers you have token producers, removal, card draw, and pure card advantage as well. On top of the obvious advantage of having a deck chock full of value, this deck also (mostly) blanks removal which can give you a large edge game one. Lastly, beyond the planeswalker package, this deck is extremely customizable as Esper has always been the the interactive shard.

Unlike the other two decks, Esper doesn’t have a significant hole in it’s game plan, but it can struggle against strategies that can go way under it (Mono Red) or any deck that can actually match or exceed it’s value based plan (anecdotally, my Naya Midrange list). With how flexible the deck can be and how good the inherent game plan is, Esper seems like a great choice for this week and one that’s for sure going to be quite popular.

Tournament Details

dotgg season finals

26 March, 2022 - standard - 8 players

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Powered by

win
rate

vs

esper midrange

vs

orzhov midrange

vs

Mono White Aggro

vs

jund midrange

vs

selesnya midrange

vs

golgari midrange

esper midrange

5 matches

global 100.0% [56.6%-100%]

-

100.0%

1 matches

100.0%

1 matches

-

100.0%

2 matches

100.0%

1 matches

esper midrange

5 matches

global 100.0% [56.6%-100%]

orzhov midrange

3 matches

global 0.0% [-0%-56.1%]

0.0%

1 matches

-

-

-

0.0%

2 matches

-

orzhov midrange

3 matches

global 0.0% [-0%-56.1%]

Mono White Aggro

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

0.0%

1 matches

-

-

100.0%

2 matches

-

0.0%

2 matches

Mono White Aggro

5 matches

global 40.0% [11.8%-76.9%]

jund midrange

2 matches

global 0.0% [0%-65.8%]

-

-

0.0%

2 matches

-

-

-

jund midrange

2 matches

global 0.0% [0%-65.8%]

selesnya midrange

5 matches

global 60.0% [23.1%-88.2%]

0.0%

2 matches

100.0%

2 matches

-

-

-

100.0%

1 matches

selesnya midrange

5 matches

global 60.0% [23.1%-88.2%]

golgari midrange

4 matches

global 50.0% [15%-85%]

0.0%

1 matches

-

100.0%

2 matches

-

0.0%

1 matches

-

golgari midrange

4 matches

global 50.0% [15%-85%]

vs

esper midrange

vs

orzhov midrange

vs

Mono White Aggro

vs

jund midrange

vs

selesnya midrange

vs

golgari midrange

End Step

Which of these three decks are your favorite? Is your top 3 different? Let’s discuss on our Discord community!

Thank you for reading!