Hiya! Joe here with a look at the deck I’ve currently been playing on the Traditional Ranked Ladder: Sultai Midrange. (For those who prefer video, I have a video embedded at the bottom.)

This is a pretty popular deck (I find myself facing the mirror about half the time, or even a bit more), which is based on the pre-RNA powerhouse Golgari Midrange deck. The additional color fixing available in Ravnica Allegiance allows the deck to splash Blue, mostly for Hydroid Krasis, and some sideboard counter-magic (though I’ve seen some versions of this splashing some other Blue cards, as I’ll discuss below).

Here are the main cards that you will see in this build, broken down by category:

The Explore Combo

This deck (like Golgari Midrange before it) is built around a core Explore Combo made up from the cards below.



Wildgrowth Walker gets a +1/+1 counter and gains you 3 life every time a creature you control explores. The life gain from this (as well as the large body) is great against aggro decks, and as a 1/3, it’s always decent as an early blocker. Usually an opponent will deal with it eventually using removal, but the fact that it must be dealt with is a point in its favor. 4 of these is a must in the Sultai Midrange main deck.







Exploring twice when entering the battlefield makes Jadelight Ranger Wildgrowth Walker‘s best friend. The fact that it will often be a 3/2 for 3 that draws you a land or a 4/3 for 3 that helps dig you to the cards you need means it’s still good even without Wildgrowth Walker on the battlefield. This card is also a must-have main deck 4-of.







Merfolk Branchwalker is Jadelight Ranger‘s little cousin. For one fewer mana, you get one less Explore. The synergy this has, as well as its facility for card draw/selection means 4 of them will show up in the main deck of virtually any Sultai Midrange build.







As a base 1/2, Seekers’ Squire is not as attractive as Merfolk Branchwalker in Sultai Midrange, and most builds don’t play it. I play a single copy in the main deck, leaning into the Explore synergies for Game 1, but virtually always take it out for Games 2 and 3 once I know what I want from the sideboard for a given match.





Ramp



Llanowar Elves is the OG mana dork, and as far as creature-based ramp goes is as efficient as they come. Most Sultai Midrange builds play 4 of these in the main deck, either on their own, or in combination with Incubation Druid for additional ramp. I have only been playing the Elves, myself.







Costing one mana more, but with the advantage of being more relevant in the late game, Incubation Druid is another creature-based Ramp option for Sultai Midrange. About half of the builds I see include a single copy of this in the main deck, in combination with Llanowar Elves. As mentioned above, I have not included these in my build, but there’s a nonzero chance that will change at some point in the future..





Finishers



Carnage Tyrant is one of the finishers of choice for this deck, and around two thirds of the the builds I see (including mine) play a couple of them in the main deck. It’s good against control (Teferi, Hero of Dominaria) and can help break board stalemates in the mirror.







One of the new cards we get in RNA, and one of the main reasons to branch out into a third color in this deck, Hydroid Krasis does it all. It draws you cards and gains you life (even when it’s countered), and is a real threat in the air…it is a good finisher in its own right, and in a pinch can be played as a 2/2 flyer for 4 that cantrips. Most builds play a playset of these in the main deck. I play 3 main deck in my build, leaving one out to make room for Carnage Tyrant.





Utility Creatures/Removal



Midnight Reaper is one of the cards I play in the main deck, which matches up with about half of the Sultai Midrange builds I’ve seen. The extra card draw from it can spell the difference between a win or a loss, but it can actually be a liability in some match-ups (especially a mirror in which the board gets gummed up and the game is determined by milling out).







Taking out an enemy creature while simultaneously creating a body for attacking or blocking makes Ravenous Chupacabra a great addition to this deck. The fact that it can be brought back from the graveyard via Find // Finality or Memorial to Folly is a bonus. You see a couple of these in the main deck in about three quarters of the builds, including the version that I’ve been playing.







Hostage Taker is another card that some versions of the deck use the Blue splash for. It works as (sometimes repeatable) removal, similarly to Ravenous Chupacabra, with the added bonus that you can cast the creature you took hostage. It also has the added risk that if your opponent deals with it quickly enough, they can get their creature back. In the risk/benefit analysis I lean toward Ravenous Chupacabra, and don’t play Hostage Taker in my deck, but have seen people swear by it, especially as a foil to Hydroid Krasis (if your opponent gets it back, it comes back as a 0/0 and immediately dies), and it’s probably played main deck around 2/3rds of the time.







Cheap, instant-speed removal that hits most problem creatures is great, and most Sultai Midrange builds (including mine) include a couple copies of Cast Down in the main deck to fill this role. You need to be willing to side this out against opponents playing creature-light (and Teferi-heavy) control decks, as well as those that only play Legendary creatures like Niv-Mizzet as finishers.







Vraska’s Contempt is the unconditional instant-speed removal that is a must for this deck. Most versions of the deck include a couple of these in the main deck, and my build is no exception. It is especially important against control decks playing Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, since you can hit him with it before the untap trigger gives them access to a counterspell. It’s also good for taking care of creatures that can otherwise prove difficult (or impossible) to permanently deal with, such as Rekindling Phoenix and Gate Colossus.







Around half the builds I’ve seen include a few copies of Find // Finality in the main deck (as does mine). Being able to get key creatures back from the graveyard on the cheap is key to this deck functioning at times, and the Finality side is great against weenie strategies, and can set the opponent way back in mirror matches, when you’re lucky enough to get the sequencing just right.







Assassin’s Trophy shows up in maybe a little fewer than half the builds I’ve seen of this deck. Usually a single copy in the main. It’s great that it’s cheap, instant speed, and unconditional, but I’ve found that ramping the opponent is often too high a price to pay and haven’t included it in my build.





Planeswalker, etc.



Vivien Reid is a must-have Planswalker in this deck. Virtually every version of Sultai Midrange I’ve seen has three of her in the main deck, as does mine. She draws you the creatures or lands you need, kills pesky fliers and enchantments, and if you’re lucky enough to get her ultimate, it makes your army very hard to deal with.







Karn, Scion of Urza sees occasional play in Sultai Midrange. It usually shows up as a single copy in the main deck (around a third of the time), less often as two copies. Karn, Scion of Urza is great for additional card draw, and for pumping out tokens that can win a board stall or otherwise overrun the opponent. At the very least, he can help take the heat off you, drawing your opponent’s attacks/burn away from your life total.





Lands



In addition to a few each of the on-color basic lands (Forest, Island, and Swamp) and rare dual lands (Breeding Pool, Drowned Catacomb, Overgrown Tomb, Watery Grave, Woodland Cemetery, and Hinterland Harbor; balanced based on the colors you need), I have two copies of Memorial to Folly in the main deck. From the builds I’ve seen, it seems like around two thirds of Sultai Midrange decks include this card. IMO, the ability to get your Ravenous Chupacabras, Hydroid Krasiss, and Carnage Tyrants back from the graveyard makes this a card worth including.





Sideboard

The sideboard is where you tend to see the most variance from build to build. Here’s a list of cards in the version of the deck I’ve been playing, as well as different options I’ve seen in other versions.



Duress is the one card that you see as a playset of in the sideboard of virtually every version of Sultai Midrange. It is indispensable as an option to bring in against Combo and Control decks to allow you to disrupt their game plans.







Most versions of this deck have a couple copies of Disdainful Stroke in the sideboard that can be brought in against decks with high-cost threats (ex. it hits Teferi, Hero of Dominaria as well as Lyra Dawnbringer). I’ve only found space for a single copy due to some cards I’ve included that you don’t see in most builds.







Negate is the other counterspell that the Blue splash enables in the sideboard. Most versions of Sultai Midrange play two of these, as well (as do I). It doesn’t hit creatures, but it does hit potentially problematic spells of every other type (and it’s cheap).







A small sweeper is useful against aggro/weenie strategies, and Cry of the Carnarium is a good option in Black. This card has fallen out of favor, so most version of the deck do not include it (I include three, but you usually only find a single copy, in about half of the versions of the deck).







Vraska’s Contempt deals with recursive and/or indestructible threats, as well as Planeswalkers. If you find yourself playing against a deck that only has a few bomb finishers (especially ones that Cast Down doesn’t hit), you could do a lot worse than bringing in another copy of this card from the sideboard. Around half of the versions of Sultai Midrange have a copy of this in the sideboard, and so do I.







The first card I’m going to mention that I’ve been running (a single copy of) in the sideboard, but doesn’t seem very popular is Tendershoot Dryad. Tendershoot Dryad allows you to attack from a slightly different axis, building up an army of 3/3 Saprolings over a few turns. It’s decent for breaking board stalls, but bad against sweepers and things playing a lot of Shocks (unless you’re very lucky).







The Eldest Reborn is not currently a popular sideboard card for this deck, but I have been running two of them (around a third or so of builds currently do so, as well). I like bringing them in (often along with counterspells to help protect them) against decks that often have a single bomb finisher, or to deal with hexproof threats like Carnage Tyrant, after clearing away the smaller creatures using Finality or another small sweeper.







I often find myself playing against a deck that has problem flyers or enchantments that need to be dealt with in a timely fashion. For that, I run a single copy of Crushing Canopy, which can allow me to take one out before I’ve built up the mana for Vivien Reid. I like it here, though you probably only see it in around one out of five versions of the deck.







Thrashing Brontodon is the first (and most popular) sideboard option for Sultai Midrange that I haven’t been using, but other versions do. More than half the lists I’ve seen include a couple of these in the sideboard to bring in against problem enchantments and weenies.







Plaguecrafter shows up as a couple of copies in the sideboard in a little less than half of the Sultai Midrange builds you’ll see. It’s good in similar matchups to ones where The Eldest Reborn is good (as long as you’re not likely to want to hit a Planeswalker), and sometimes can upgrade a creature.







Due to the fact that Midnight Reaper is a liability in some matchups (often including the mirror) where milling out is a real possibility, some versions of the deck only include it in the sideboard, to be brought in when it’s good. It shows up as a single copy in around a quarter of the versions of the deck.







Moment of Craving kills small things for cheap, and at instant speed, netting you a small life gain. It’s good against weenie style decks to pick off small attackers and prolong the game, and as a way to kill very bad dudes like Runaway Steam-Kin in response to triggers. It also takes out indestructible threats like Adanto Vanguard (hopefully also in response to a trigger). It fills a similar role as Vraska’s Contempt, but is more efficient for smaller targets. Around a quarter of the builds you’ll see include a couple of copies of this in the sideboard.







If you don’t run it in the main deck, or just sometimes need access to another copy, Cast Down is a card that sometimes shows up as a sideboard option here. Usually as a single copy, in around half the versions I’ve seen.







Assassin’s Trophy shows up as a single copy in around a third of Sultai Midrange sideboards. It has all the same arguments for and against it that I mentioned above.







Another card that you may want to have a copy of in the sideboard if you don’t run it in the main deck, or just want to be able to bring in another copy of, is Hostage Taker. Something like one in five Sultai Midrange builds have this in the sideboard as a single copy.







Some versions of the deck keep a copy of Wildgrowth Walker in the sideboard, preferring not to lean quite as heavily on the Explore package in Game 1, and then bringing it in when it’s good. This shows up as a single copy in the sideboard of around one quarter of the builds you’ll see.







Carnage Tyrant sometimes shows up in the sideboard of versions of the deck that don’t run it in the main (as a single copy in around 1 in 5 versions of the deck), to be brought in against the control matchups where it particularly shines.







Thief of Sanity has been gaining popularity as a sideboard card, and showing up more often, even in the main deck. I don’t have good stats for it, since it’s kind of newer tech, but have included below a version of the deck that includes three copies in the sideboard, and seems legit.





Here is the version of the deck that I’ve been playing:

Sultai Midrange

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And an alternate version, which took first place in the Star City Games Standard Classic Baltimore

Sultai Midrange Version 2

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Here’s a video of me discussing the cards and playing some games with the deck, enjoy!





Do you play Sultai Midrange? Do you include any cards that I haven’t mentioned here? Let me know!

If you have any comments, questions, or criticisms, please feel free to contact me here in the comments, on Reddit, on Twitter via @DailyArena, or on Facebook on the @DailyArenaMTG page.

Peace.

Joseph Eddy is a Father, Husband, Son, Brother, Software Developer, and Gamer. Magic is his favorite hobby, and he’s looking forward to seeing you all on Arena. He streams Magic Arena on a weekly basis (or more), but currently is unable to keep to a set schedule.