Traditional Explorer (BO3) Metagame Tier List and Rankings: Week of May 26, 2022

Introduction

Explorer is a brand new constructed non-rotating format for Magic: The Gathering Arena to be introduced on April 28, 2022 with the release of Streets of New Capenna. It is a “true-to-tabletop” format using all the Pioneer-legal cards (Standard sets from Return to Ravnica onwards, initially using the same banlist) available on MTG Arena. Learn more about the format in our beginner’s guide!

Discover the best Magic: The Gathering Arena Explorer decks and archetypes that the players are using to win tournaments. View and explore our Traditional Explorer (best-of-three, BO3) metagame tier list as we rank the top decks, as well as our comprehensive analysis and review. Updated for Streets of New Capenna (SNC).

• Click here to view the separate analysis and tier list for Arena Explorer (BO1).
• On the tier list, click on the deck archetype name to go to MTG Meta and find detailed statistics on the deck, and the latest decklists representing it from tournaments.
• The metagame matrix measures matches between each popular deck and how they fare against each other.
• The tier list is updated on a real time basis and every week we will be providing you with a metagame snapshot article.

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Metagame Snapshot

Our weekly metagame snapshot provide analysis on the standout decks, whether they stand out for their strength, weaknesses, or they have a large change in positioning.

Explorer Metagame Snapshot: Top Decks for the Week of May 19, 2022

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Explorer Tier List and Rankings

• 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 4: Off-meta or decks that are not in the rankings, but we have coverage on.

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Tier 1 Decks

Rakdos Midrange

A great blend of proactivity and interaction, Rakdos has the tools to beat any deck in the format with it’s efficient threats and varied ways to attack the opponent.

Mardu Greasefang

Abusing the power of Greasefang, Okiba Boss, this deck looks to turbo out wins by getting a huge, hasty vehicle on board as early as turn 3.

Jeskai Agent

A pile of interaction and a combo finish, Jeskai Agent plays a mostly fair game plan until it starts stealing all the opponent’s best permanents with Agent of Treachery.

Izzet Phoenix

Looking to bring back as many Arclight Phoenix as they can, Phoenix is a powerful tempo deck that can easily accrue free threats and generate a lot of card advantage.

Mono Blue Spirits

Combining the synergy of the Spirit cards and the cheap interaction of going just blue, Mono Blue Spirits applies pressure quickly and can interact enough to constantly keep the opponent off balance.

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Tier 2 Decks

Azorius Control

Looking to stymie every relevant play the opponent could have, Azorius is a great counter to the proactive decks of the meta.

Selesnya Angels

Powered by a lot of Flying and synergistic creatures, Angels is excellent against fair creature decks as it can easily outscale the opposition!

Gruul Aggro

Looking to clobber the opponent with efficient and powerful threats as fast as possible, Gruul can go under the slow decks and over the fast decks.

Rakdos Anvil

Using the power of Cat/Oven and Oni-Cult Anvil, Rakdos can be very interactive as it whittles away at the opponent’s life total.

Mono Red Aggro

With blistering speed and extremely efficient threats, Mono Red looks to close out the game before the opponent can enact their game plan.

Jund Sacrifice

Jund Sacrifice is a pile of synergy with many interweaving combos predominately centered around Cauldron Familiar and Trail of Crumbs.

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Tier 3 Decks

Four-Color Adventures

With the power of Lucky Clover doubling all Adventure casts and Omnath, Locus of Mana as a powerhouse, 4 Color Clover is one of the grindiest decks in the format.

Mono Black Aggro

Utilizing a suite of cheap threats and great interaction, Mono Black Aggro attacks the opponent’s life total and resources to come out on top.

Mono Green Devotion

Looking to go bigger than any other deck in the format, Mono Green Devotion ramps quickly and gets ahead on board with powerful plays each turn.

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Tier 4 Decks

Coming Soon!