Becoming a great MTG Arena player involves a lot of hard work and dedication in learning about the different playstyles and decks that you may face in matchmaking. You get more experience the more you play. This is what players typically call ‘grinding’. The grind is what makes the difference between a Ranked player and a casual player.

Generally, when grinding in the Arena, you would want a fast deck that will also guarantee you some dubs. Fast decks don’t necessarily mean aggressive decks since there are a lot of mid-range and control decks that can dish out plenty of wins in succession. Consistency is the key when grinding towards the Mythic ranks and these decks are proven to be fast, powerful, and very consistent.

Mono-red Aggro (Historic)

Burning the opponent never goes out of style

What makes this deck good?

• If you want really fast games, mono-red is always the go-to deck in any type of matchup.
• You can out aggro your opponent with Goblin Chainwhirler dishing out damage to their small creatures.
• You can easily string multiple spells with Steam-Kin and Experimental Frenzy. This means that you will not have much trouble with losing gas too easily.

How to play this deck effectively

• This is a deck where you don’t need to hold back. The point of playing this deck is to win and win fast. 
  • With a lot of cheap creatures and cheap spells, this deck is the very definition of aggro.
• Make sure that you have either an Experimental Frenzy or a Light Up the Stage in the midgame to help you refuel your hand.
  • When playing mono-red aggro, you will often find yourself with no cards in hand. Luckily, Experimental Frenzy can help you string spells especially with Steamkin on board. 

Decklist

• 4 Soul-Scar Mage
• 4 Shock
• 4 Lightning Strike
• 4 Runaway Steam-Kin
• 4 Viashino Pyromancer
• 3 Bonecrusher Giant
• 4 Light Up the Stage
• 3 Goblin Chainwhirler
• 4 Skewer the Critics
• 4 Wizard’s Lightning
• 2 Experimental Frenzy
• 2 Castle Embereth
• 18 Mountain

Mono-white Lurrus (Standard)

Don't bother killing my things, I will just resurrect them each time

What makes this deck good?

• A very aggressive deck that can run wide against control matchups. Most matchups against control will be over quickly but if it extends to the late game, it still has a lot of firepower.
• The graveyard recursion of Lurrus greatly amplifies this deck’s power as it can get not only your creatures but your enchantments as well.
  • Board wipes and spot removals will be negated with this ability, allowing you to generate blockers or to rebuild your board.

How to play this deck effectively

• Do not deploy a lot of creatures on the battlefield. One creature, most of the time, is already enough.
• There are still a lot of decks that have access to board wipes in the current meta so allowing your opponent to use a board wipe on a single creature is already a huge advantage in your favor.
• Make sure that you have ways to protect your single creature. At least have an Alseid or a God’s Willing ready to defend against removal.
• You can play more loosely with this deck against other aggressive matchups since you can always recur your threats with Lurrus.

Decklist

• Lurrus of the Dream-Den (companion)
• 4 Alseid of Life’s Bounty
• 4 Healer’s Hawk
• 3 Stonecoil Serpent
• 4 Selfless Savior
• 2 God’s Willing
• 4 Gingerbrute
• 4 All That Glitters
• 4 Sentinel’s Eyes
• 4 Solid Footing
• 4 Glaring Aegis
• 2 Karametra’s Blessing
• 2 Castle Ardenvale
• 18 Plains

Goblins (Historic)

Goblins like gold... but they love Diamond and Mythic more

What’s good about this deck?

• If you are looking for a highly synergistic deck that plays well in both aggro and midrange matchups, Goblins is your best bet. 
• It has a good mixture of small creatures that you can use either to bring early pressure or to sacrifice for ramp, and huge creatures that bring lots of value and firepower to close out the game.
• A lot of cards deal excessive amounts of damage either alone, or with a bunch of goblins. 
  • This deck runs Krenko, Mob Boss and Gempalm Incinerator which all benefit from a board full of Goblins.

How to play this deck effectively

• Just like in every aggro-midrange deck, the pacing is very crucial. Knowing when to deploy your creatures and when to hold back will help your chances in Ranked Standard.
  • The standard metagame runs board wipes in many decks so unless you are facing an aggro deck, you may want to hold back on deploying all your threats.
  • If you are against aggro decks that are heavily reliant on creatures, a Goblin Chainwhirler can come in handy.
• Against aggro decks, getting an early Skirk Prospector on the board can make a huge difference. This will help you get ahead by giving you access to more mana to deploy your bigger Goblins earlier.   

Decklist

• 4 Skirk Prospector
• 4 Conspicuous Snoop
• 3 Muxus, Goblin Grandee
• 3 Krenko, Mob Boss
• 2 Gempalm Incinerator
• 4 Goblin Instigator
• 3 Goblin Matron
• 4 Goblin Warchief
• 4 Wily Goblin
• 4 Goblin Chieftain
• 3 Goblin Chainwhirler
• 2 Castle Embereth
• 20 Mountains

UB Fliers (Historic)

Lions are no longer just kings of the jungle, they are now also kings of the skies

What makes this deck good?

• This deck has a lot of cheap creatures that can fill your board very easily.
• Sephara is a very nice addition that can run away with the game in the early stages. A huge army of flying, indestructible creatures is a very scary sight.
• You have a lot of ways to protect your creatures. This deck runs well even against decks that run spot removals and board wipes.
  • The current meta is not good against flying creatures. Most aggro decks are all land-based creatures so battling against traditional aggressive decks will give you a huge advantage.

How to play this deck effectively

• Make sure that you have plays on your first three to four turns. This deck relies on early game stabilization to succeed. 
  • Having cheap creatures early can open up the possibility of an early Sephara.
• Unless you are against a black or a control deck, you don’t have to worry about board wipes. Focus on getting your key pieces on board and keep pressuring your opponent.
• You will have a small window to run your pump spells, especially against control matchups. Using these pump spells on offense will help you achieve lethal.
  • However, if you are against a midrange or an aggro deck, keeping your Rally of the Wings for defense can help surprise your opponent.
  • The cost-reduction of Empyrean Eagle is great in the early game, but if you are in the mid- to late stages of the match, you can use it as some sort of a pump spell so deploy it only if there are no blockers. Otherwise, just save it in case your whole board gets blown up.

Decklist

• 4 Healer’s Hawk
• 4 Empyrean Eagle
• 4 Spectral Sailor
• 4 Skycat Sovereign
• 3 Sephara, Sky’s Blade
• 4 Faerie Miscreant
• 4 Lofty Denial
• 4 Staggering Insight
• 4 Watcher of the Spheres
• 4 Rally of Wings
• 2 Temple of Enlightenment
• 4 Hallowed Fountain
• 5 Plains
• 5 Island
• 4 Fabled Passage
• 1 Castle Ardenvale
• 1 Castle Vantress

Cycling (Standard)

The MTG Players lived in harmony until the Drannith Stingers started pinging everyone in their sight

What’s good about this deck?

• This deck can dish out damage out of nowhere. The cycling damage from a Stinger cannot be prevented, so unless your opponent is a life gain deck, that can be a very easy matchup for you.
• Lurrus can help you play your threats multiple times. This is very crucial since it can add more to your cycling effects.
• You can keep just about any starting hand since you can just draw your land drops.
  • Most decks are very sensitive when it comes to opening hands. This deck, however, can easily keep a one-land starting hand without having to worry about missing land drops.

How to play this deck effectively

• To utilize the full potential of this deck, you should know which creatures to play in what matchup.
  • You will often use Stinger or Rescuer in any matchup as they can easily pressure your opponent.
  • A Flourishing Fox can be played if you are battling against an aggro deck as it can be a great blocker against the small creatures.
  • Unless you are racing against a Burn deck, your Healer is usually not played since it does not give that much value compared to the other cards.
• As the name suggests, the key to winning using this deck is to just cycle and cycle. There is not much of a strategy in this deck which is why it is a really good deck to use when grinding.

Decklist

• Lurrus of the Dream-Den (companion)
• 4 Flourishing Fox
• 4 Valiant Rescuer
• 4 Drannith Stinger
• 4 Drannith Healer
• 4 Footfall Crater
• 4 Boon of the Wish-Giver
• 4 Frostveil Ambush
• 4 Memory Leak
• 4 Zenith Flare
• 3 Savai Triome
• 3 Wind-Scarred Crag
• 3 Sacred Foundry
• 7 Plains
• 7 Mountain

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