Bo1 Standard Metagame Tier List and Rankings

Introduction

Discover the best Magic: The Gathering Arena Standard decks and archetypes the players use to climb the ranked ladder and win tournaments. Our MTG Arena Best of One (Bo1) Standard Meta Tier List regularly reviews and ranks the top decks in the format, carefully curated by Bohe, an old wizard who undoubtedly has a lot to share. We also follow up our choices based on various factors and sources, comprehensively analyzing the available data.

Standard Best of One (Bo1) Meta Tier List

Tier	Deck Name
Tier 1	Mono-White Humans
Tier 1	Boros Humans 🆕
Tier 1	Mono-Red Prowess
Tier 1	Boros Convoke 🔼
Tier 1	Mono-Red Aggro 🔽
Tier 1	Mardu Humans 🆕
Tier 1	Azorius Control 🔼
Tier 2	Rakdos Aggro 🔽
Tier 2	Jund Aggro 🆕
Tier 2	4-Color Reanimator 🔽
Tier 2	Gruul Prowess 🔼
Tier 2	Orzhov Control 🆕
Tier 2	Boros Heroic 🔽
Tier 2	Bant Toxic 🔼
Tier 2	Selesnya Enchantments 🔽
Tier 2	Orzhov Amalia 🔼
Tier 3	Mono-Blue Tempo 🔽
Tier 3	Naya Legends 🆕
Tier 3	Temur Ramp 🔽
Tier 3	Temur Prowess 🔽
Tier 3	Mono-Black Aggro 🔼

Tier List Disclaimer

• Tier 1: The most dominant decks of the format since the release of Outlaws at Thunder Junction. This implies the percentage of victories, presence in the meta, and favorable games.
• Tier 2: These will be solid decks with relevant presence in the OTJ Bo1 meta. A good pilot will probably be able to play one of these archetypes and have good results. They usually have at least one difficult match against the Tier 1 meta archetypes.
• Tier 3: In last place, we find decks with little presence or lower win rates, but enough to be considered. In addition to their low popularity, they are decks that present two or more complicated matchups against the meta. This prevents them from standing out until the release of new cards or a meta shift happens. However, players who dedicate themselves to mastering these archetypes usually have the opportunity to obtain good results.

🔼 – The deck has improved its position on the chart. This includes movements within the same tier.
🔽 – The deck has lost positions on the table. This includes movements within the same tier.
🆕 – First appearance in the tier list.

Tier 1

Mono-White Humans

A few weeks ago, Mono-White took first place on this Tier List. Even if this archetype doesn’t play any card from Outlaws of Thunder Junction, the solidity of the tribe in Standard can face any new threat on the horizon and emerge victorious.

The interesting part is how players realize this and start pivoting back to a proven strategy without new cards instead of trying a new flashy deck with Cowboys and Cactusfolks.

This popularity rise has generated new iterations of the archetype with Black and Red splashes. Are they necessary? Did they justify a second or even third color in our mana base? Let’s review that decklist together.

Boros Humans

Imodane's Recruiter is the card that justifies the Red splash. This iteration is not popular enough yet, but its win rate puts this version of Humans close to the top.

Cutting some one-drops for this Red creature seems worthy enough. In this queue going as aggressively as possible is common. However, Imodane's Recruiter gives Humans two big benefits. First, pumping all our creatures’ can close the game 1 turn earlier; which is good when we are a go-wide style of deck. Second, the adventure Train Troops can give us a midrange approach when required. Occasionally games enter a late-game state when two 2/2 knight tokens can be the difference between winning or losing.

Thanks to Battlefield Forge Inspiring Vantage, Cavern of Souls, or Secluded Courtyard, splashing one Red card is not a problem.

Mono-Red Prowess

As I said during the last update of this tier list, “If things keep the same rhythm during the next two weeks, this iteration of Mono-Red will be the main and best Mono-Red deck”. And it was like that, things kept the same rhythm and Prowess is now the best Mono-Red deck in the queue.

Don’t get me wrong, the classic Mono-Red Aggro is also a Tier 1 deck. Nevertheless, Slickshot Show-Off and Demonic Ruckus are so good that playing other flavors of Red is questionable.

Goddric, Cloaked Reveler transforms into a dragon more easily in this iteration thanks to Demonic Ruckus, and Fugitive Codebreaker gives us gas when the aforementioned late-game state happens. These upsides are enough for putting Prowess over the conventional Mono-Red build.

Boros Convoke

Convoke is now some spots above from our last tier list update. This is something we have to look closely at.

Even if this archetype moves some spots in any direction their popularity and win ratios are the same. This speaks of consistency, letting us know that the movements are consequences of other archetypes’ performances.

If you want to play an aggro archetype that will perform despite small meta changes, your best choice is Boros Convoke.

Mono-Red Aggro

There’s one main reason to choose Mono-Red Aggro over Mono-Red Prowess. It’s hard to think that midrange decks will dominate this ranked queue; however, if this became the case, the classic iteration have more tools to fight in that environment.

Chandra, Dressed to Kill is amazing for long games and exerting pressure on slower opponents. Bloodthirsty Adversary and Squee, Dubious Monarch give us graveyard recursion which lets us navigate attrition games more easily.

Despite the flavor of Mono-Red you choose, Red-centric archetypes are strong in the current state of the metagame, period.

Mardu Humans

This iteration of Humans is the embodiment of go-wide.

With Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon, our chances of playing a creature on turn 3 that maximizes our creature numbers are higher. Playing Anim Pakal or Adeline, Resplendent Catharfollowed by Isshin, Two Heavens as One, or Roaming Throne could make you end the game on turn four many times.

Adding Inti, Seneschal of the Sun to the equation gives us a tool for fueling our deck in the long run. Inti is good enough to splash this creature on the Boros version it’s not a bad idea.

Mardu is the more ambitious flavor of Humans, but the one that could have the biggest and widest board of all three.

Azorius Control

Time gives us the reason; Three Steps Aheadis a powerhouse in more than one format, and playing less than 4 if you are playing a Blue-Control strategy in Standard seems like a mistake.

Phantom Interference is following its big sister steps. Even if you usually don’t want to play 4, having 1 to 2 copies can make a big difference thanks to this card’s flexibility.

After weeks of small changes, UW Control became a deck without creatures in this queue. Even if we have various options for our mainboard like Hullbreaker Horror, Kutzil's Flanker, Tishana’s Tidebender, etc, it’s clear that focusing all our efforts on stopping the hyper-aggressive starts of Bo1 is the best option. Winning with tokens from The Wandering Emperor Phantom Interference, Mirrex, or Restless Anchorage is more than enough when our opponents are already under our control.

Tier 2

Rakdos Aggro

This now not-so-new flavor of Mono-Red / Gruul Aggro has taken its place in the Bo1 metagame and it’s proving that splashing Callous Sell-Sword is strong enough to consider this deck over other aggressive strategies.

Many well-known Gruul Prowess creatures like Cacophony Scamp and Picnic Ruiner are here. The Spice is the playset of Blazing Crescendo and the single Antagonize that accompanies Callous Sell-Sword.

Burn Together, the adventure part of Callous Sell-Sword is an amazing finisher gaining momentum in the Bo1 queue as it’s an amazing finisher for Red-centric strategy. Also, this Soldier can be a 4/4 for 1B most of the time.

This version of Mono-Red / Gruul Aggro is something that doesn’t disappoint. If you enjoy any of these decks, try Rakdos, it will give you something fresh to try.

Jund Aggro

Another flavor of Mono-Red / Gruul Aggro. This time, Aloe Alchemist joins Callous Sell-Sword to the Red Core.

Aloe Alchemist is a card I already talked about in our Budget Standard Decks for Beginners article. Interestingly, this card has made a leap from Limited Play or Budget decks to the competitive constructed environment.

Its plot ability gives +3/+2 and trample to a creature which serves as a pump spell, something this deck already uses. Having the chance to play this for free on a later turn is strong in combination with our prowess creatures like Monastery Swiftspear, Fugitive Codebreaker, and Slickshot Show-Off.

Pumping Picnic Ruiner or Cacophony Scamp, attacking, and then sacrificing them with Burn Together, the adventure part of Callous Sell-Sword is a burst of damage that can hit hard.

With this in mind, playing Demonic Ruckus seems like a good idea.

Budget Standard Decks for Beginners

4-Color Reanimator

Abuelo's Awakeningcombo was slightly above in our last tier list update. However, the archetype is still performing well in the Bo1 queue.

Graveyard-focused strategies are now harder to play in Bo3. People are finally respecting this kind of deck-playing graveyard hate like Unliscended Harse, and the recently reprinted Rest in Peace

The History is different in Bo1. Without graveyard hate in front of us, we can cast Abuelo's Awakeningtargeting Rakdos Joins Up. This will make the legendary enchantment a 1/1 creature that reanimates Hulking Metamorph. This creature becomes a 7/7 legendary enchantment creature that dies to state-based effects. Then, it is reanimated by its trigger.

This will kill our opponent thanks to the damage dealt by the second effect of Rakdos Joins Up.

Gruul Prowess

Playing Mono-Red, Izzet, Temur, or any other iteration of Prowess feels like a variation of Gruul. The release of Questing Druid was the first big step for this archetype in the current Standard.

The most winning iteration of Gruul is now playing two new cards, Great Train Heist and Trash the Town.

I suggested both in our New Outlaws of Thunder Junction Standard Decks for Day 1. Finally, both are start gaining terrain as staples of this archetype.

There are a multitude of scenarios these cards can generate. However, drawing cards with Trash the Town and having an extra combat phase with Great Train Heist is the best these cards can offer us.

New Outlaws of Thunder Junction Standard Decks for Day 1

Orzhov Control

This color combination has been more relevant since Pro Tour: Outlaws of Thunder Junction. Yes, is not the same style of Orzhov we saw during the PT, however, even without Caustic Bronco, many iterations of Orzhov are now here and there.

Many weeks had passed since the last time a Planeswalker Superfriends style was on the metagame; now, Orzhov has taken the idea to a new level. Thanks to High Noon this deck can stop any aggressive strategy making them play slowly, giving our planeswalkers enough time to start taking the game under control.

Having 2 planeswalkers in the field + High Noon is enough to grind almost any scenario. We have to control the first two turns of the game and, if our opponent doesn’t have a wide army of creatures, on turn 3, everything is set.

Boros Heroic

Players in Bo1 are now having fun finding new iterations of Humans instead of playing Slickshot Show-Off decks. However, Boros Heroic is still a relevant option while Illumiator Virtuoso is still legal.

Sadly, this White human is going to rotate soon. Meanwhile, playing it in the company of Slickshot Show-Off and Demonic Ruckus can finish games as soon as our third attack phase.

Bant Toxic

Even if the current state of the Bo1 metagame is not the best environment for Bant Toxic, this archetype has gained some places in this tier list update.

Toxic is still an amazing deck, however, it was designed to destroy midrange strategies predominant in Bo3 like 5-Color Domain, archetypes not very popular in Bo1 nowadays.

If you play against other aggressive decks, you are paddling against the current. Nevertheless, against midrange or control, you have a better chance to win than other aggressive strategies.

Selesnya Enchantments

Selesnya Enchantments is a deck destined for oblivion in Standard. It’s a full Kamigawa deck that will rotate soon.

This doesn’t mean this deck is not competent enough to help you reach Mythic. It’s extremely consistent and straightforward. It’s easy to play and their card interactions make these deck creatures big enough to pass through almost any defenses.

The decrease in popularity is logical. If you don’t have this deck in your collection, crafting cards that will rotate is not the best idea, which leads players to invest their resources elsewhere.

Orzhov Amalia

Certainly, Amalia Benavides Aguirre cannot go infinite like in Explorer with Wildgrowth Walker. However, the archetype is fairly consistent in Standard.

As usual, combo decks are more present in Bo1. Amalia Combo has a great advantage thanks to the large amount of life it gains, other aggressive decks usually suffer a lot of problems trying to kill you. And when Amalia Benavides Aguirre is already big enough, it is quite difficult for the Red-centric deck to take her out of the game.

Other iterations of the archetype often play Roaming Throne, which boosts the life-gain ability. Additionally, Case of the Uneaten Feast goes quite well with the main plan of the deck, giving us late-game tools that are quite useful against decks that are gaining popularity and tend to lengthen the game.

Tier 3

Mono-Blue Tempo

Mono-Blue has evolved to a new form a few weeks ago. There’s no more Tolarian Terroror Haughty Djinn.

Instead, this deck would exert pressure early with many one-drops with evasion. From there, we will convert treasures or maps to 4/4 or 5/4 artifact creatures, allowing us to continue the pressure during the mid-game.

It’s an affordable and budget-friendly deck and is not hard to play. This is your best choice if you are looking for a budget deck for Standard.

Naya Legends

Not everything is set in the Wild West. We have another new archetype in this tier list update with many Outlaws of Thunder Junction creatures in the list.

Naya Legends revolves around Annie Joins Up. With this enchantment, legendary creatures triggered abilities trigger an additional time. This gives us an immense army thanks to Adeline, Resplandet Cathar, and Anim Pakal, Thousandth Moon; let us keep the gas up thanks to Kellan, Daring Traveler, Djeru and Hazoret, and Inti, Seneschal of the Sun; and will make our creature bigger thanks to Bristly Bill, Spine Sower, and Halana and Alena, Partners.

There are synergistic decks in this tier list that play around card combinations instead of high stand-alone valuable cards. Of all of them, Naya Legends is the one that makes the snowball bigger.

Temur Ramp

Temur list has made some adjustments from our last tier list update. There’s no more Fallaji Archaeologist or Kellan, Inquisitive Prodigy. The deck also drops Vampires' Vengeance.

The single copy of Shigeki, Jukai Visionary is back. But most importantly, playing triple Fires of Victory gives us the fastest answer to one and two-mana creatures faster than our board sweepers.

This gives us enough room to breathe until we can clean the board with Ill-Timed Explosion before ending the game with Worldsoul's Rage.

Temur Prowess

As a fan of Elusive Otter, I can’t state clearly enough how much I like this iteration of Prowess.

As I said before, Slickshot Show-Off reminds me of a Modern season where many iterations of Prowess were everywhere. Now, with this bird in Standard, the same story happens again.

The mana base is very good with the three fastlands available for Temur. Also, playing Blue gives us access to Consider which lets us dig faster through our library, and Green gives us Giant Growth and Grove’s Bounty, the adventure part of Elusive Otter.

Having the option of playing Snakeskin Veil makes this version of Temur better where you want to play around spot-removal.

Mono-Black Aggro

This is another classic deck in the format that will continue appearing in the Bo1 ranked queue until the rotation says otherwise.

The release of Deep-Cavern Bat and Preacher of the Schism put a new spin on the archetype. Thanks to card advantage and disruption to the opponent’s hand, staying ahead and punishing the opponent is easy. This archetype is not playing any OTJ cards, however, Forsaken Miner could be a consideration.

End Step

A new great update to the tier list. We have new iterations of Humans, different flavors of Red / Gruul Aggro, and new archetypes such as Naya Legends and Orzhov Superfriends. The Outlaws of Thunder Junction format is far from being resolved. Following its steps is a lot of fun!

I hope this tier list update was useful for you and brings light to the Bo1 queue. Let’s see what the next few weeks have in for us. In the meantime, see you soon in a new article.

Let us know your thoughts on this and any other MTG-related topics in the MTG Arena Zone Community Discord, on my Twitter, and in the comment section of this article.

Don’t forget that I have started providing personal coaching services for Magic the Gathering and Marvel Snap. If you want to contact me, look for me:

• On Discord as bohettv
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Thank you so much for reaching this last paragraph and remember; don’t forget to smile every day; it surely makes a difference.