Magic: The Gathering Worlds is on the run! While we enjoy watching the best players in the world face each other in Duskmourn Limited and Standard, let's review the results from the last seven days.
Tiers
- Tier 1: The most dominant decks of the moment. This implies the percentage of victories, presence in the meta, and favorable games.
- Tier 2: These will be solid decks with a relevant presence in the meta. A good pilot will probably be able to play one of these archetypes and have a good result in a competitive event. They usually have at least one difficult match against the rest of the archetypes.
- Tier 3: In this tier, we find decks with little presence, but enough to be considered when preparing for a tournament. In addition to their low popularity, they are decks that present two or more complicated matchups against the meta. This prevents them until the release of additional support or a meta shift from standing out. However, players who dedicate themselves to mastering these archetypes usually have the opportunity to obtain good results.
- Silent Performer: Lastly, at the end of the spectrum we find some decks that are little to almost non-present in the current metagame state. However, these archetypes may have won or reached the Top 8 in a relevant tournament or the Top 16 in any event with more than 100 players. The sample size may be too small to represent their actual strength.
This meta-report covers the top 16 from the last eight tournaments from 17/10 to 24/10 2024.
Meta Overview
After two weeks of battling against Mono White Control and UW Oculus, Gruul Aggro finally pushed the competition back and it's again the king of the hill. And the margin is not quite close.
Following Gruul's example, Golgari is finally back in contention for the runner-up spot. Even if the archetype name is finally homogenized this isn't a factor. Last weeks weren't the best for Golgari no matter if we sum Golgari Aggro and Golgari Control results. Now, with 18 pilots in the top spots, Golgari is standing strong in the current state of the meta.
Mono White and UW Oculus may lose some terrain, while Domain is recovering thanks to a Naya iteration and Convoke is still on the rise thanks to the lack of Temporary Lockdown.
Dimir Aggro is also recovering thanks to the standardization of Enduring Curiosity, Three Steps Ahead, and Phantom Interference in its decklists. And finally, Mono Black Control, aka Mono Black Demons is gaining more adepts. I think this tendency may grow stronger in the next weeks.
Let's crunch those numbers!
Top 16 Archetypes
- Gruul Aggro: 29 🔼
- Golgari Midrange: 18 🔼
- Mono White Control: 12 🔽
- Domain: 10 🔼
- Convoke: 9 🔼
- UW Oculus: 7 🔽
- Dimir Aggro: 5 🔼
- Mono Black Demons: 5 🔼
- RDWx: 2 🔽
- UW Tokens: 2 🆕
- Dimir Control: 2 🆕
- Azorius Artifacts: 2 🔼
- Boros Auras: 1 🆕
- Boros Mice: 1 🔼
- Rakdos Cruelclaw: 1 🆕
- Rakdos Midrange: 1 🆕
- Selesnya Tokens: 1 🆕
- Temur Luck: 1 🆕
- UW Control: 1 🔽
- UW Auras: 1 🔽
🔼 - The deck has a higher top 16 appearance % from our last meta report.
🔽 - The deck has fewer top 16 appearance % from our last meta report.
🆕 - First top 16 appearance in the current Standard metagame.
Tier List
| Tier | Archetype |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | - Gruul Aggro 🔼 - Golgari Midrange 🔼 - Mono White Control 🔽 - Domain 🔼 - Convoke 🔼 - UW Oculus 🔽 - Dimir Aggro 🔼 - Mono Black Demons 🔼 |
| Tier 2 | - RDWx Aggro 🔽 - UW Tokens 🆕 - Azorius Artifacts 🔼 - Dimir Control 🆕 - UW Auras 🔽 - Sultai Emergence 🔽 - Orzhov Aggro 🔽 |
| Tier 3 | - UW Control 🔽 - Boros Control 🔽 - Rakdos Lizards 🔽 - Boros Mice 🔼 - Boros Auras 🆕 - Orzhov Control 🔽 - Rakdos Midrange 🆕 - Selesnya Tokens 🆕 - Rakdos Cruelclaw 🆕 - Temur Luck 🆕 - Simic Terror - Mardu Aggro - 4/5C Legends - Rakdos Sacrifice - Gruul Terror - Rakdos Aggro |
🔼 – 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 since Duskmourn's release.
Tier 1
Gruul Aggro 🔼
Gruul has to fight hard to be the king of the hill again, but finally, after a couple of weeks, Gruul takes the throne that Mono White Control held for two weeks.
If there's something remarkable, it is how this archetype won the biggest tournament of the week. The MTGO Challenge Showcase was a 240-player tournament, the second-biggest event since Duskmourn's release.
This win came by the hand of Question Druid and Inkeeper's Talent, showing us how classic iterations of Gruul are still capable of being at the top tables.
Golgari Midrange 🔼
One more week and Golgari is still rising surpassing UW Oculus's momentum being the top front-runner.
This archetype had rough weeks before, but now, with a wide metagame with 31 different archetypes that made the top 16 since Duskmourn's release, playing a deck without a bad pairing looks promising for any competitive event.
Golgari iterations playing Analyze the Pollen got better results than other iterations. Having the chance to find Harvester of Misery and other toolbox cards when needed gives this deck the upper hand against complicated matchups such as Convoke.
Mono White Control 🔽
Even if Mono White loses momentum, it's still showing strong performances. Caretaker's Talent is strong enough that this week we even have Selesnya Tokens and UW Tokens playing similar plans to Mono White Control.
How this archetype was absent during the Standard portion of Worlds surprised me. At the moment I'm writing this, World's second day is on the run, and there's no Mono White deck in sight, even at lower tables.
We know these kinds of events are different beasts, however, this was the biggest absence this weekend.
Domain 🔼
I put two decklists here because we will standardize these two iterations into the same archetype. During the past weeks, I labeled Naya's list as a different archetype, while Zur, Eternal, Schemer iteration and Archangel of Wrath + Atraxa, Grand Unifier one under "Domain".
I think the three iterations are different approaches to the same idea, playing Overlord of the Hauntwoods + Up the Beanstalk backed up with good removal. You decide what are your backup ramp, and your win condition.
The foundation of the archetype is so solid that even if you decide to play Zur, Atraxa, or just the Overlords, the deck will perform great against the top contenders.
Convoke 🔼
Following last week's momentum, Convoke climbs a few spots in the Tier List again.
We discussed how the lack of Temporary Lockdown is the reason for Convoke appearing again; just as how the high popularity of Ghost Vacuum is keeping UW Oculus, Sultai Emergence, and graveyard-centric strategies from taking all over the place.
The metagame is highly diverse, and you can't be prepared against every archetype out there. While the top dogs fight each other using their sideboard slots and main flex slots against each other, Convoke has the highway free for climbing to the top 3.
I have to highlight how Guiyote's deck list is using Spyglass Siren and Painter's Studio this week.
UW Oculus 🔽
This archetype is here to stay, even with Ghost Vacuum being so popular in the current state of the meta.
Rest in Peace and Leyline of the Void are not there, and Vacuum doesn't hard stop Abhorrent Oculus. There are ways to play around with the artifact; seeing Shota Yasooka piloting this archetype in MTG Worlds 30 gives me hope as a true UW Mentor / Oculus believer for this archetype to remain relevant for a long time.
Dimir Aggro 🔼
With Dimir Control and Dimir Demons being now a thing, classic Dimir Aggro proves there's no better way of playing this color pair.
A solid curve, good cards against almost any pairing, and new cards like Enduring Curiosity keeping the archetype fresh make me think that Dimir and Golgari are successful for the same reasons.
Some World's lists have Kaito, Bane of Nightmares. Let's see if this planeswalker is ready for competitive play.
Mono Black Demons 🔼
I relabeled Mono Black Control to Mono Black Demons for being in the same tune as MTG Worlds. I said this because some Mono Black Control are splashing Blue and they are now named Dimir Demons.
And this feels logical; with four Archfiend of the Dross, three Bloodletter of Aclazotz, and four Unholy Annex, this deck is a Demon tribal archetype.
With an instant kill combo with Unstoppable Slasher, great hand disruption, and removal options, one of the newest contenders shows strong signs of being capable of facing the top spots of Tier 1.
Tier 2
RDWx Aggro 🔽
The line dividing Red-centric archetypes is thin. Gruul plays three to four green cards plus RG lands, making it clear but, when an iteration known as Rakdos Aggro plays only Callous Sell-Sword and no other Black card, even in the sideboard, it is hard to name those lists as a complete different archetype.
wcl's list is a great example, Rakdos lands for playing the Sell-Sword, and Copperline Gorge for having the Green mana Picnic Ruiner adventure part needs.
At the moment I'm writing this article we don't know who will win Worlds, however, Quinn Tonole is piloting a Mono-Red that is now in contention for the win.
UW Tokens
This archetype made me realize that even if it could be labeled as UW Control, Differences are enough to have a proper name.
It is similar to Mono White Control but The Enigma Jewel gives this archetype a different twist. Thanks to the two <> <> the Jewel provides, paying the cost of Caretaker's Talent Level 3 is easier than ever.
The same is true for Builder's Talent, Carrot Cake, and Collector's Vault, making this deck go all in on the token generation idea.
White midrange/control cards are so strong, that there's even a Selesnya version in this Tier List below.
Azorius Artifacts 🔼
First place in a tournament of 47 players is not a small feat. This archetype keeps proving week after week that is a valid option.
Unidentified Hovership is now a consolidated staple for the deck. In the company of Sheltered by Ghost, you have enough answers against almost any threat.
With Ghost Vacuum being great in the current state of the meta, playing a Zoetic Glyph deck is a way of getting more value attacking with the artifact while being prepared for decks like UW Oculus at the same time.
Dimir Control 🆕
Two Doomsday Excruciator decks have god finished during the last few days. This demon ability is powerful and puts the game in a position where your opponent may be in a trap without escape.
Thanks to Jace, the Perfected Mind winning on the spot after casting the Demon happens more often than you may think.
Next week we will see if this archetype keeps its strategy as a singular idea or if World's Dimir Demons also with Doomsday Excruciator and Jace appears as the definitive iteration on paper and MTGO tournaments.
UW Auras 🔽
There was just one UW Auras -UW Enchatmenes in this week's data, however, I'm hesitant about dropping it to Tier 3.
The deck is solid enough to compete against anything and has powerful turns that can finish the game from nowhere. It also has the capability of playing tall or wide as needed thanks to Ethereal Armor and Gremlin Tamer.
With Boros Auras on the map, some UW Auras pilots may pivot to the mice iteration. In any case, White auras are strong enough to be relevant in the Standard metagame for a long time.
Sultai Emergence 🔽
Our bottom two Tier 2 Archetypes don't have any representatives in this week's tournament top finishes. Nevertheless, even with Ghost Vacuum as one of Duskmourn's more impactful cards, graveyard-centric strategies can still play around the artifact and win games against it.
Until Rest in Peace and Leyline of the Void were part of everyone's sideboard, Sultai Emergence, Simic Terror, UW Oculus, and many other archetypes still have a chance.
Orzhov Aggro 🔽
Orzhov Aggro is falling to the bottom of Tier 2. Don't get me wrong, White and Black have amazing cards in the current Standard state for this strategy. The problem is that you may have better options if you want to be fully aggressive in Gruul and better options for midrange in Golgari and Dimir.
Orzhov also has the option for playing full bats, but this is a different deck than the old Orzhov Caustic Bronco deck, however, with 31 decks with at least one top 16 since Duskmourn's release, it seems Orzhov hasn't found the best options in Duskmourn's cards for adapting to the new environment.
Tier 3
UW Control 🔽
Boros Control 🔽
Rakdos Lizards 🔽
Boros Mice 🔼
Boros Auras 🆕
Orzhov Control 🔽
Rakdos Midrange 🆕
Selesnya Tokens 🆕
Rakdos Cruelclaw 🆕
Temur Luck 🆕
Simic Terror
Mardu Aggro
4/5C Legends
Rakdos Sacrifice
Gruul Terror
Rakdos Aggro
End Step
It's amazing how many different archetypes have appeared since Duskmourn's release. We are in a Standard state where you can play almost anything.
We know the World Championship meta is a different beast, however, it will strongly affect the metagame. Watching the best of the best playing Standard makes everyone emulate what the top players in the world are doing.
Gruul took back the throne on the hill, Golgari proved how good it can be when players trust in the archetype, while Mono White, even losing ground, still stands strong as the top contender against creature decks.
Keep an eye on this site and come back soon. I will have the Worlds 30 Meta Tier List and report ready in a few days, plus our first meta report of another format!
if you have any comments about this or any other topic, let us know in the comment section of this article, or on my Twitter.
If you don't know my previous work for other DotGG sites or my content on Twitch or Youtube, I would like to tell you that I'm offering coaching services for MTG, and Marvel Snap. You can contact me at:
- My Discord
- My Twitter
- Via email: [email protected]
- Twitch or YouTube
Thank you so much for reaching this last paragraph. We are happy to continue our efforts of making playingmtg an amazing source for MTG players all around the world.
