We’ve all had the pleasure of losing to a good old combo or control deck in MTG Arena. Whatever you play seems to get countered or removed as soon as it hits the board. Simply put, it sucks.

Even after the banning of “Oko, Thief of Crowns”, the standard meta is still led by enchantment and planeswalker based decks such as Jeskai Fires, that use “Fires of Invention” to make you concede turn 5.  

But creature decks are making a comeback, and here are the top 10 creature decks in MTG Arena.

10. Lucky Knights

A knight always cleans his sword.

Lucky Knights is an interesting and cheap deck (it takes only a few wildcards to construct) that utilizes Knight creatures with adventure abilities in combination with the “Lucky Clover”. It might not be strictly a “Creature Deck” in the conventional meaning, but it still requires a strong board presence of cheap knights to win games.

What is great about this deck:

• You get to play a lot of creatures with this deck, and when I say a lot, I mean “A LOT”.
• Playing this deck feels a bit like assembling a puzzle made of low-cost creatures with adventures.
• Even though it’s a creature deck, you get to draw many cards and kill heaps of opponent’s creatures and/or planeswalkers.

How this deck is played:

• Turn one, ideally you want to play Knight of the Ebon Legion or Incubation druid in order to get down your early knights or to dig for knights to play later in the game.
• Turn two, you want to play your lucky clover. This is important since it doubles all your adventure effects which add up quickly in this deck.
• Turn three, you want to play the Edgewall Innkeeper (or multiple Innkeepers) in addition with a one mana or two mana knight with adventure to draw you some cards.
• From turn 4 onward you want to be drawing as many cards as possible, developing your board, removing creatures and disrupting your opponent’s plays. This is where building the puzzle starts. Innkeeper, Lucky Clover and Foulmire Knight are most important here for board control and card draw. You want to play as many Lucky Clovers as possible and as many knights as you possibly can.
• After hopefully drawing three quarters of your deck and playing all the low-cost knights you want to play your Smitten Swordmaster. If everything went well, a single Curry Favor (the adventure side of Smitten Swordmaster) in combination with a few Lucky Clover activations will take your opponent’s health down to zero.

Deck

• 4 Lucky Clover (ELD) 226
• 4 Edgewall Innkeeper (ELD) 151
• 1 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241
• 4 Foulmire Knight (ELD) 90
• 9 Swamp (ELD) 261
• 4 Blacklance Paragon (ELD) 79
• 4 Order of Midnight (ELD) 99
• 4 Smitten Swordmaster (ELD) 105
• 4 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77
• 4 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
• 2 Knight of the Ebon Legion (M20) 105
• 2 Incubation // Incongruity (RNA) 226
• 5 Forest (ELD) 269
• 1 Find // Finality (GRN) 225
• 2 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
• 4 Overgrown Tomb (GRN) 253
• 2 Temple of Malady (M20) 254

Sideboard

• 4 Duress (M19) 94
• 3 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
• 2 Reave Soul (ELD) 103
• 3 Massacre Girl (WAR) 99
• 2 Reaper of Night (ELD) 102
• 1 Cavalier of Night (M20) 94

9. Mono Green Stompy

Deep breath, and then... release.

Mono Green Stompy is a classic creature deck. It relies on big creatures that hit hard and often, backed up by powerful artifacts and planeswalkers to ensure victory if the board gets clogged or difficult. This deck is sure to satisfy anyone looking to play with powerful green creatures. It’s as “creatury” as creature decks get.

What is great about this deck:

• Big creatures that get even bigger as the game progresses are this deck’s bread and butter.
• The addition of The Great Henge sets you up for the late game and stops most aggressive decks in their tracks.
• It’s very satisfying to play Shifting Ceratops versus any blue deck, you can just imagine the spark drain out of your opponent’s eyes when this big old dino hits the battlefield.

How this deck is played:

• More often than not, you will start your first turn with a one-drop in the form of Pelt Collector or Wildwood Tracker, which will then allow you to attack your opponent for two points on turn two.
• Continue by playing Paradise Druid to help you ramp into your big four-drops or just play any of your other creatures. This deck loves to go wide in the first few turns, but try not to overextend into a sweeper, and be mindful of counterspells before you draw your Shifting Ceratops. 
• By turn three or four you will want to play your Yorvo and just watch him grow. He can get big very quickly and with a bit of help from Vivien he can hit very hard very quickly when she gives him trample and several +1 +1 counters.
• If you run out of steam, The Great Henge and a single creature can get you right back in the game and flood the battlefield with powered up creatures while drawing you cards with the powerful draw effect of The Great Henge.
• As with any other classic creature deck, your aim is hitting your opponent in the face with big creatures until their life counter reaches zero. It’s really that straightforward, and so fun.

Deck

• 3 Castle Garenbrig (ELD) 240
• 4 Pelt Collector (GRN) 141
• 21 Forest (ELD) 269
• 4 Wildwood Tracker (ELD) 183
• 3 Rosethorn Halberd (ELD) 175
• 4 Barkhide Troll (M20) 165
• 3 Paradise Druid (WAR) 171
• 2 Wildborn Preserver (ELD) 182
• 2 Lovestruck Beast (ELD) 165
• 3 Yorvo, Lord of Garenbrig (ELD) 185
• 3 Questing Beast (ELD) 171
• 2 Vivien, Arkbow Ranger (M20) 199
• 2 Shifting Ceratops (M20) 194
• 2 Feasting Troll King (ELD) 152
• 2 The Great Henge (ELD) 161

Sideboard

• 2 Kraul Harpooner (GRN) 136
• 1 Pulse of Murasa (M20) 189
• 3 Thrashing Brontodon (RIX) 148
• 1 Questing Beast (ELD) 171
• 1 Shifting Ceratops (M20) 194
• 1 Feasting Troll King (ELD) 152
• 2 Growth-Chamber Guardian (RNA) 128
• 4 Vivien, Champion of the Wilds (WAR) 180

8. White Weenies

Azorius' finest.

White weenies is a go wide, go face aggressive creature deck. It relies on small creatures in great numbers and +1 effects to dish out big damage very quickly. It’s a simple deck to play and not very expensive to construct.

What is great about this deck:

• You get to play a lot of creatures and attack every turn.
• Powerful effects such as Unbreakable Formation and Venerated Loxodon make sure you stay a threat even in the late game.
• It is easy to play.

How this deck is played:

• Turn one, play one of your one mana creatures, you have many different options as this deck has a very low mana curve. Don’t play the Loyal Pegasus as it needs a buddy to attack with and you will not have the option of attacking turn two if you play it.
• Turn two, play more creatures, or hold a raise the alarm to play at the end of your opponent’s turn, or you can surprise them with two instant speed blockers.
• Raise the alarm is also great for putting creatures on the board quickly after a sweeper.
• On turn three, you usually have enough creatures and mana to play a Venerated Loxodon, which really boosts your overall power on the board and pressures the opponent into making a desperate move. But be careful not to overcommit into a board sweeper!
• At this point you should have a pretty solid board presence with some +1 effects at the ready. It is possible to finish the game at this point, if everything went according to plan.
• Unbreakable formation is a very powerful effect in this deck, you can play it in your main phase to boost your power and make a devastating attack on your opponent’s life points, or you can protect your creatures from a sweeper spell, by playing it in response. The choice is yours. Sometimes the high risk of playing it during the main phase pays off.
• Don’t be afraid to attack even if you risk losing a creature since your ability to produce more is great.
• Use your removal on creatures with life gain or permanents that impede your ability to attack often. Don’t waste it on creatures that you can easily trade with, chances are you can produce more new creatures than your opponent.

Deck

• 4 Faerie Guidemother (ELD) 11
• 18 Plains (ANA) 56
• 4 Giant Killer (ELD) 14
• 4 Loyal Pegasus (M20) 28
• 3 Venerable Knight (ELD) 35
• 4 Tithe Taker (RNA) 27
• 2 Tomik, Distinguished Advokist (WAR) 34
• 4 Venerated Loxodon (GRN) 30
• 4 Raise the Alarm (M20) 34
• 2 Glass Casket (ELD) 15
• 3 Heraldic Banner (ELD) 222
• 2 Conclave Tribunal (GRN) 6
• 4 Castle Ardenvale (ELD) 238
• 2 Unbreakable Formation (RNA) 29

Sideboard

• 1 Bounty Agent (GRN) 2
• 1 Devout Decree (M20) 13
• 1 Disenchant (M20) 14
• 1 Glass Casket (ELD) 15
• 3 Hushbringer (ELD) 18
• 3 Gideon Blackblade (WAR) 13
• 1 Conclave Tribunal (GRN) 6
• 1 Divine Visitation (GRN) 10
• 3 Prison Realm (WAR) 26

7. Mono Black Aristocrats

Eagle's nest.

One of the most annoying combos involving two creatures and an artifact makes this deck grind your opponent down until they crumble down in tears. It is of course the combination of Cauldron Familiar, Witch’s Oven and Ayara, First of Lochtwain. Having these three cards on the battlefield can stall even the most aggressive of decks and slowly deplete their life total while simultaneously keeping you alive and well.

What is great about this deck:

• You can bore your opponent to death with the gruellingly slow animation and interaction of Cauldron Familiar and Witch’s Oven. It just takes so long to activate, and you get to do it every turn, fun! Sometimes, they concede as soon as you play your Cat and Oven.
• Slowly draining your opponent every turn, reminding them that their end is near with each activation of Witch’s Oven is diabolical and enjoyable.
• Sometimes you get to bring yourself back from 1hp and crush your opponent with a few timely sacrifices and snatch victory from right under their noses.

How this deck is played:

• Start your game off by playing the Witch’s Oven, Cauldron Familiar or Gutterbones. If you don’t have Witch’s Oven or Cauldron Familiar in your opening hand, consider taking a mulligan as these two cards are absolutely vital for your strategy to work.
• Turn two, you want to start sacrificing your Cats and playing out hand hate cards such as Fenlurker and Drill Bit. Again, don’t forget to sacrifice your recurring creatures at the end of your opponent’s turn.
• Sacrifice only at the end of your opponent’s turn or when replying to a spell or activation of abilities. Note that if your opponent is on 1 life and has life-gain available in the form of food or such, you should sacrifice and drain in response to their action!
• Hopefully, by turn three you will already have a card draw engine in your hand in the form of Ayara or Midnight Reaper. These cards prevent you from running out of fuel and help you keep pressure on your opponent.
• Your removal comes in three forms. You have the straightforward removal in Murderous Rider and Cavalier of Night, but the sacrifice effect of Priest of Forgotten Gods should also not be taken too lightly.
• If you are threatened by a big creature or a creature with lifelink, block it with an expendable creature then sacrifice it to take no damage and prevent your opponent from gaining life.
• Try to combine Ayara, Oven and Priest of Forgotten Gods to produce some powerful effects and bring down your opponent’s life points in a flashy, complicated manner. But if all else fails, your cats are always your best friends. Just don’t forget to feed them.

Deck

• 4 Cauldron Familiar (ELD) 81
• 21 Swamp (ELD) 261
• 4 Yarok's Fenlurker (M20) 123
• 4 Priest of Forgotten Gods (RNA) 83
• 3 Ayara, First of Locthwain (ELD) 75
• 4 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77
• 4 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
• 3 Drill Bit (RNA) 73
• 4 Witch's Oven (ELD) 237
• 1 Cavalier of Night (M20) 94
• 2 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241
• 2 Orzhov Enforcer (RNA) 79
• 4 Gutterbones (RNA) 76

Sideboard

• 3 Duress (M19) 94
• 3 Legion's End (M20) 106
• 4 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
• 3 Revenge of Ravens (ELD) 104
• 2 Massacre Girl (WAR) 99

6. Azorius Flyers

The final day is near.

This deck is one of those niche decks that work surprisingly well in the current meta. It’s fast, goes wide and is extremely hard to deal with. If white weenies still had a lord like Benalish Marshal and were unblockable most of the time, this deck would be it. And there’s a big old angel that spices things up.

What is great about this deck:

• Your creatures are plenty and hard to block
• There’s a big and powerful angel that makes all your creatures indestructible. How cool is that?
• You rarely run out of cards, because this deck has so many cheap card-draw effects.

How this deck is played:

• As with other aggressive go-wide decks, you start your game by playing a one mana creature. Your best bet is a Faerie Miscreant or a Healer’s hawk, but anything will do.
• Turn two, continue playing out creatures and start attacking your opponent. It is very likely that they have no suitable creatures to block your flyers.
• Bonus: Play Hushbringer to protect your creatures from Kraul Harpooners and the like.
• If you are playing against a controlling deck, try to keep up Negate as often as possible to disrupt your opponent’s plays.
• Turn three you can play Sephara, if you were lucky enough to have four flying creatures on the battlefield. In most cases this means game over for your opponent.
• Rally of Wings is a powerful effect that can produce great amounts of damage. But keep in mind that it can also be used as a combat trick in a pinch. Surprise your opponent by untapping all your creatures and deploy an unbreakable defensive line.
• You have plenty of ways to deal with your opponent’s plays, so play carefully and don’t overcommit. Even though this is an aggressive creature deck, you have many great spells at your disposal to disrupt and defeat your opponent.

Deck

• 4 Faerie Guidemother (ELD) 11
• 9 Island (ANA) 57
• 4 Faerie Miscreant (M20) 58
• 9 Plains (ANA) 56
• 2 Hushbringer (ELD) 18
• 2 Spectral Sailor (M20) 76
• 4 Healer's Hawk (GRN) 14
• 4 Loyal Pegasus (M20) 28
• 3 Negate (RIX) 44
• 3 Rally of Wings (WAR) 27
• 3 Winged Words (M20) 80
• 4 Empyrean Eagle (M20) 208
• 2 Brazen Borrower (ELD) 39
• 3 Sephara, Sky's Blade (M20) 36
• 4 Hallowed Fountain (RNA) 251

Sideboard

• 4 Hypnotic Sprite (ELD) 49
• 2 Teferi, Time Raveler (WAR) 221
• 2 Sky Tether (RNA) 21
• 2 Absorb (RNA) 151
• 2 Gideon Blackblade (WAR) 13
• 2 Prison Realm (WAR) 26
• 1 Dream Eater (GRN) 38

5. Simic Flash

Cornered.

For me, this is one of the most frustrating decks to play against in the current meta. Every creature and spell can be played at instant speed, with mostly damning consequences for your opponent, with the exception of Nissa. But the sheer power of the planeswalker is enough to make it a very valuable asset.

What is great about this deck:

• You can respond to most of your opponent’s plays with instants and flashy creatures which makes it hard for your opponent to predict your next move.
• This is a creature deck that feels very controlling and is a great deck for anyone that loves control but wishes to play with creatures as well.
• Countering your opponent’s spells always feels a bit naughty.

How this deck is played:

• With the banning of Once Upon a Time, there are not many turn one plays you can do, so just deploy your land and pass the turn. You can use Opt to dig for threats.
• Turn two is when the fun begins, you have various threats to deploy. My favourite is Brineborn Cutthroat, but make sure to play it when the opponent is tapped out to play around any removal spells.
• Turn three opens up your chances for growing the Brineborn Cutthroat and disrupting your opponent’s plays with counterspells.
• Turn four is when this deck really starts to shine in all its glory. Your two most powerful spells are four mana creatures: Frilled Mystic and Nightpack Ambusher. The Ambusher can completely take over the game once it hits the board, so deploy it as quickly as possible.
• Remember to play all your spells in response to your opponent’s plays or at the end of their turn. If your opponent taps out for a spell not worth countering, then it’s time to play your instant speed creatures to put more pressure on the board.
• Play Nissa only when your opponent has no way of instantly answering her or when you can back her up with your own counterspell.
• This deck really thrives in bo1 Arena since a lot of players have trouble playing against decks that rely heavily on counterspells and instant speed threats.

Deck

• 2 Spectral Sailor (M20) 76
• 7 Island (ANA) 57
• 2 Opt (XLN) 65
• 3 Nissa, Who Shakes the World (WAR) 169
• 4 Brineborn Cutthroat (M20) 50
• 3 Quench (RNA) 48
• 1 Unsummon (M20) 78
• 3 Sinister Sabotage (GRN) 54
• 4 Nightpack Ambusher (M20) 185
• 8 Forest (ELD) 269
• 4 Breeding Pool (RNA) 246
• 2 Temple of Mystery (M20) 255
• 2 Thornwood Falls (M20) 258
• 2 Wildborn Preserver (ELD) 182
• 4 Frilled Mystic (RNA) 174
• 4 Brazen Borrower (ELD) 39
• 3 Growth Spiral (RNA) 178
• 1 Castle Vantress (ELD) 242
• 1 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244

Sideboard

• 2 Aether Gust (M20) 42
• 2 Disdainful Stroke (GRN) 37
• 2 Hydroid Krasis (RNA) 183
• 2 Negate (RIX) 44
• 3 Mystical Dispute (ELD) 58
• 2 Questing Beast (ELD) 171
• 2 Shifting Ceratops (M20) 194

4. Golgari Adventures

Stay and listen for a while.

Powerful creatures, removal, planeswalkers, card draw. This deck has it all. It’s a very powerful midrange deck with some of the most recognisable cards in the current meta. Edgewall Innkeeper invites you to join him on an adventure, and what an adventure it is.

What is great about this deck:

• My favourite colour combination joins forces with some of my favourite cards in the current standard meta game such as the Murderous Rider.
• Two powerful planeswalkers stand by your side to aid your creatures in battle and let you get rid of your opponent’s threats. 
• This deck can easily stabilise the game in your favour.

How this deck is played:

• Turn one you want to play the Edgewall Innkeeper or the adventure side of Lovestruck Beast in order to set up your next few turns. Innkeeper will help you keep your hand stocked full of cards.
• If you have a Foulmire Knight in your hand along with the Innkeeper, it is usually a better Idea to wait until turn two to deploy both of them in order to avoid losing the Innkeeper to your opponent’s removal.
• On turn two, play out your cheap adventure creatures and set up for turn three.
• On turn three the fun begins.  Play out your Lovestruck Beast or keep mana up to use your Murderous Rider to remove any pesky creatures or planeswalkers that spring up on the battlefield.
• Then, on turn four, play Vraska, get rid of a dangerous permanent and protect her. She is a powerful card draw engine that gets very dangerous as she gathers more loyalty counters.
• From here on, you should be set up well for the remainder of the game. Keep your removal in hand for powerful threats, don’t be afraid to throw your 1/1 tokens or cheap creatures under your opponent’s attacking ones, and play Lilliana as soon as you can.
• If things go south, and your opponent’s creatures are threatening to overwhelm you, then you can surprise them with a powerful board-wipe in the form of Massacre Girl.
• The deck is very straightforward: remove threats, hit face.

Deck

• 4 Edgewall Innkeeper (ELD) 151
• 8 Forest (ELD) 269
• 4 Foulmire Knight (ELD) 90
• 8 Swamp (ELD) 261
• 3 Order of Midnight (ELD) 99
• 4 Paradise Druid (WAR) 171
• 4 Lovestruck Beast (ELD) 165
• 4 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
• 2 Rankle, Master of Pranks (ELD) 101
• 3 Massacre Girl (WAR) 99
• 2 Vraska, Golgari Queen (GRN) 213
• 2 Liliana, Dreadhorde General (WAR) 97
• 3 Legion's End (M20) 106
• 2 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241
• 1 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
• 4 Overgrown Tomb (GRN) 253
• 2 Temple of Malady (M20) 254

Sideboard

• 4 Duress (M19) 94
• 4 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
• 1 Sorcerous Spyglass (ELD) 233
• 3 Thrashing Brontodon (RIX) 148
• 1 Cavalier of Night (M20) 94

3. Rakdos Knights

Some knights are only in it for the show.

Knights areone of the most synergistic archetypes in the current meta game. They are fast, powerful, and complement each other well when deployed in numbers. With the addition of a big, cheap dinosaur and a very powerful artifact, this deck rolls over your opponents in mere turns.

What is great about this deck:

• A low curve and powerful creature abilities that complement eachother.
• A powerful dinosaur that crushes the opposition very early in the game.
• Embercleave. Your opponents expect it, but always hope it’s not their time yet. It’s devastating when it hits the battlefield.

How this deck is played:

• Turn one, you want to play your one mana hasty knight to start dealing damage right off the bat. Or in some cases, it is better to keep one red mana up and wait for the opponent to make a move and Shock their first creature.
• Turn two is best used to deploy the Stormfist Crusader. It has an insanely powerful effect that usually draws you more than a few cards. If not dealt with quickly, it takes over the game and you get to dictate the tempo.
• Turn three allows your deadly dino - Rotting Regisaur to take over the game. As a 7/6 creature, its stats are through the roof for such a low-cost creature. Although it requires you to discard a card in your upkeep, it works well with Stormfist Crusader. The two effects combined allow you to loot on your turn.
• Oathsworn knight is also a good turn three play since it can gain you a lot of life the next turn when it attacks if combined with Blacklance Paragon.
• On turn four, you have a chance to win it all if you’ve already drawn your Embercleave. Make your attack, wait for the opponent to arrange his blockers then send them to oblivion with the surprise turn four Embercleave. Bonus point’s if you combine it with Blacklance Paragon to gain a bunch of life in the rare case that the attack doesn’t instantly end the opponent.
• Some games might take longer than four turns, but just keep attacking your opponent’s life points and wait for your Embercleave to arrive. Shipping can take a while sometimes.
• The biggest enemy of this deck are board sweepers. After turn four, start stockpiling some creatures in your hand when playing vs controlling decks to make sure you don’t run out of steam after a sweeper.

Deck

• 4 Knight of the Ebon Legion (M20) 105
• 6 Mountain (ELD) 265
• 4 Fervent Champion (ELD) 124
• 6 Swamp (ELD) 261
• 4 Gutterbones (RNA) 76
• 4 Blacklance Paragon (ELD) 79
• 3 Rimrock Knight (ELD) 137
• 4 Stormfist Crusader (ELD) 203
• 2 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
• 3 Oathsworn Knight (ELD) 98
• 4 Rotting Regisaur (M20) 111
• 4 Shock (M20) 160
• 2 Embercleave (ELD) 120
• 4 Blood Crypt (RNA) 245
• 1 Castle Embereth (ELD) 239
• 1 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241
• 4 Tournament Grounds (ELD) 248

Sideboard

• 2 Duress (M19) 94
• 2 Legion's End (M20) 106
• 2 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
• 1 Drill Bit (RNA) 73
• 2 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
• 4 Leyline of the Void (M20) 107
• 2 Massacre Girl (WAR) 99

2. Jund Food

Don't pick up the crumbs sis.

The Jund Food deck is the newest top tier deck to hit the meta game after the much-needed bans of Oko, Thief of Crowns, Once Upon a Time, and Veil of Summer. It combines the various mechanics that are currently most used in the standard meta – food and sacrifice mechanics. It’s a midrange deck with lots of gameplay options to offer to the player.

What is great about this deck:

• Gilded Goose makes a return without Oko at its side, but it is still a great value generating card.
• This deck combines the playstyles of aristocrats decks and other more midrange options.
• This deck features various removal options with some powerful planeswalkers to go along with your creatures.

How this deck is played:

• Turn one, you play your Gilded Goose to make some food, which is a secret weapon that will help you later in the game.
• Turn two, you want to ramp up with paradise druid or make some more food with trail of crumbs which is a very powerful card draw engine. It keeps you ahead of your opponent by stacking your hand with permanents, be it lands, planeswalkers, creatures or artifacts.
• Now that your early game is set up, and you have ramped up to some mana, you can start to play your cats, ovens, Mayhem Devils in order to generate value and start chipping away at your opponent’s life points.
• You have so many options for removal at this point in the game. There’s Vraska, Murderous Rider, Mayhem Devil’s triggered ability, even Wicked Wolf can join in the fight to get rid of some pesky critters.
• The deck plays like a midrange deck with lots of sacrificing permanents and creating value through that mechanic. It’s mostly sacrificing cats and food, but each food sacrifice can draw you a card with the help of Trail of Crumbs.
•  Save your Assassin’s Trophy for permanents that you can’t remove with other spells, since those can really spoil your fun.
• With this deck, you will mostly win by leeching and pinging your opponent, or by concession once the opponent figures out that there is no way of bringing back the game. Be ready to stay in the game for the long run.

Deck

• 4 Cauldron Familiar (ELD) 81
• 1 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241
• 4 Gilded Goose (ELD) 160
• 2 Swamp (ELD) 261
• 4 Paradise Druid (WAR) 171
• 4 Mayhem Devil (WAR) 204
• 1 Mountain (M20) 276
• 3 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
• 1 Wicked Wolf (ELD) 181
• 3 Massacre Girl (WAR) 99
• 2 Vraska, Golgari Queen (GRN) 213
• 1 Liliana, Dreadhorde General (WAR) 97
• 2 Assassin's Trophy (GRN) 152
• 4 Witch's Oven (ELD) 237
• 4 Trail of Crumbs (ELD) 179
• 4 Blood Crypt (RNA) 245
• 3 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
• 4 Overgrown Tomb (GRN) 253
• 5 Forest (ELD) 269
• 4 Stomping Ground (RNA) 259

Sideboard

• 3 Duress (M19) 94
• 4 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
• 4 Lovestruck Beast (ELD) 165
• 2 Questing Beast (ELD) 171
• 2 Ugin, the Ineffable (WAR) 2

1. Rakdos Aristoc(r)ats

Black cats might just bring you luck if you treat them well.

This is the top creature deck of the current meta. Rakdos Aristocrats, or should I rather say AristoCATS since it relies so heavily on the Cauldron Familiar and Witch’s Oven synergy, is a very powerful deck that will sacrifice your way to victory. Playing it is very rewarding as you get to interact with the board in so many ways.

What is great about this deck:

• Every sacrifice you make generates tons of value for you.
• You get to claim your opponent’s creatures with Claim the Firstborn and throw them in the Oven after you attack with them.
• Aristocrats are finally making a lasting return with this deck.

How this deck is played:

• On turn one you play out your one mana creatures or build an Oven to get the embers burning early in the game.
• Then, you try to play a Priest of Forgotten Gods and pray it survives its summoning sickness. When it’s able to tap, your opponent stand little chance against your deck.
• Ideally, by turn three you have a few cats in play and an oven. This is the perfect time to introduce the Mayhem Devil. This will be your main source of damage outside of bigger creatures like Cavalier of Night and God-Eternal Bontu.
• As with other sacrifice decks, make sure you sacrifice your permanents at the end of your opponent’s turn or in response to their spells to fizzle them. This ensures that your opponent has very few options to disrupt your plays.
• When sacrificing creatures to Oven or Priest, sacrifice only the creatures that have some option of returning to the battlefield such as Cauldron Familiar and Gutterbones. Sacrifice other creatures only in response to removal or sweepers.
• God-Eternal Bontu is an insanely powerful card draw engine, and in combination with Mayhem Devil it can blow a large hole into your opponent’s life total or their creatures on the battlefield.
• Claim the first born is your best removal card if you combine it with sacrifice effects from Oven or Priest. Sometimes you can even use it to strike the final blow to your opponent’s health for bonus BM points.

Deck

• 4 Cauldron Familiar (ELD) 81
• 6 Mountain (ELD) 265
• 4 Gutterbones (RNA) 76
• 4 Priest of Forgotten Gods (RNA) 83
• 4 Mayhem Devil (WAR) 204
• 9 Swamp (ELD) 261
• 4 Midnight Reaper (GRN) 77
• 1 Cavalier of Night (M20) 94
• 4 Claim the Firstborn (ELD) 118
• 4 Witch's Oven (ELD) 237
• 4 Blood Crypt (RNA) 245
• 4 Fabled Passage (ELD) 244
• 2 Angrath's Rampage (WAR) 185
• 2 Murderous Rider (ELD) 97
• 2 God-Eternal Bontu (WAR) 92
• 2 Castle Locthwain (ELD) 241

Sideboard

• 4 Duress (M19) 94
• 4 Dreadhorde Butcher (WAR) 194
• 2 Redcap Melee (ELD) 135
• 2 Noxious Grasp (M20) 110
• 2 Embereth Shieldbreaker (ELD) 122
• 1 Spawn of Mayhem (RNA) 85

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