Explorer Tier List Update – June 16, 2022
A breakdown of the changes to this week's Explorer Bo3 and Bo1 tier lists
CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST-OF-THREE TIER LIST
CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST-OF-ONE TIER LIST
BEST-OF-THREE
S TIER
Rakdos Midrange (Stable) – Rakdos Midrange continues to shine in Explorer Best-of-Three, frequently teching to adapt to whatever the meta throws at it – similar to its Pioneer counterpart. Rakdos is the deck keeping Mono-Red and Spirits somewhat at bay, and has a fair matchup against nearly everything else in the format.
A TIER
Mono-Red (Stable) – Another deck rapidly shifting and adapting as the meta does, Mono-Red has largely hung onto its Anax/Torbran/Embercleave shell, but recently we have been seeing the Wizard’s burn package and even a few Runaway Steam-Kin versions. In any version, the deck still struggles with the lack of multiple strong choices for the one and two-drop slots.
Rakdos Anvil (Stable) – On the Pioneer side, Rakdos has moved away from Oni-Cult Anvil a bit, due to Karn, the Great Creator’s dominance of the format. On the Explorer side, we are less worried about Karn shutting off the strategy entirely and have stayed on course with the Anvil. The deck’s playrate and winrate have both kept on a stable growth track since the launch of Explorer.
Mono-U Spirits (Up) – Mono-Blue saw an increase in playrate this week, while maintaining a very strong winrate on the best-of-three side. It still has a tough time against Rakdos Midrange, Mono-Red and some versions of Jund Food, however.
Jund Food (Up) – Jund Food has been a bit of a sleeper in the format since its launch, consistently putting up a high playrate and winrate. This week, though, the deck saw enough play to move into A Tier, which might have to do with more people getting Bo3 reps in for tomorrow’s Arena Championship pre-qualifier.
B TIER
Mardu Greasefang (Stable) – The Mardu rat decks remain the fourth most-played decks in the format, but its winrate is slowly decreasing. If the trend continues, this will be its last week in B Tier.
GBx Rigging (Up) – Fight Rigging decks continue to seek a solidified color identity. Jund is currently the most-played version, but Golgari and Sultai are gaining steam. The archetype, in general, has the second-highest winrate on the entire tier list.
GWx Humans (Stable) – Humans was very close to making A Tier this week. If it can keep up its winrate (currently higher than any deck above it) while seeing just a bit more play, it will move into A Tier next week.
C TIER
GWx Angels (Up) – The lifegain deck everyone hates playing against (am I projecting here?) saw a strong increase in playrate while maintaining its 61% winrate this week.
UW Control (Stable) – Control has been seeing more play over the last couple of weeks, but its winrate has been sagging. It currently holds the lowest winrate out of every deck on the tier list.
Mono-Green Stompy (Up) – Green Stompy is another deck that would be higher on the list if its playrate data was enough to justify its winrate. At 63% winrate, though, the deck is clearly strong – at least in the right hands – and deserves to move up to C Tier this week.
Jeskai Agent (Stable) – The Transmogrify/Indomitable Creativity decks have maintained a stable growth pattern both in play and in winrate, but neither of those data justified moving it up to B Tier this week. Certainly not a budget deck, it’s possible that we see the deck climb when more people have access to its optimal build.
4C Elementals (Up) – Continuing to go over the top of Rakdos Midrange and having a slightly favored matchup against Mono-Red and the two sacrifice decks, Omnath decks continue to put up strong numbers, boasting a 63% winrate.
D TIER
Vampires (Up) – While having little representation, Vampires boasts the highest winrate on the entire tier list at 65%. This could either mean the deck is a bomb of a sleeper deck, or that one or two experienced pilots are putting up good results. Because we can’t be sure at the moment, we’re comfortable with it in D Tier.
Esper Greasefang (Up) – Contrary to its Mardu counterpart, Esper Greasefang has been gaining in winrate, while maintaining about the same playrate numbers.
BEST-OF-ONE
Best of one saw no major shifts this week, with the only notable change being that Mono-Red dropped a full percentage point of winrate over the last week, largely due to Angels’ playrate. Looking forward, it is to be seen whether this will represent a more significant change in the overall meta
