This guide is aimed towards beginners to Magic the Gathering and/or Magic Arena. We will be taking a look at the starter decks and quest decks released in Magic Arena. The 5 mono-color decks are unlocked at the very beginning of the game. These decks are very simple and serve more as a learning tool to get players into the game. Most of the cards aren’t very good, so be ready to change many of them out.

The 10 quests decks represent the 10 color combinations and unlock in a series of daily quests. The order in which you gather these decks will be different from player to player, but after a week, you will unlock all 10 decks. These decks are much more synergistic than the mono-color ones and are focused on a certain theme. We will give an overview over each deck, point out some notable cards and then talk about what improvements can be made.

Mono Deck

Tactical Assault

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Tactical_Assault

Overall:

Aggressive Low to Mid game plan

Budget Removal Options

Healing

Flyers

You are playing your lower cost cards, empower them with buffs and then survive to when your Angels can finish the game. Many of the low-cost minions are aggressive, with cards like Oreskos Swiftclaw and Silverbeak Griffin. Pegasus Courser and Star-Crowned Stag to push damage in early. In the later stages of the game, Serra Angel and other flyers will close the game later one. Overall, this mono-white deck is well balanced and have a bit of everything.

Notable Cards

Pegasus Courser, Leonin Warleader: Good starting aggressive cards.

Luminous Bonds, Take Vengeance: Good budget creature removal but will be replaced later

Improvements

Mono-White decks are much more aggressive and creature focused decks. This is because of the strengths of these two cards.

Due to the rarity of these cards, it is not recommended you try to build a white mono deck as your first constructed deck.

Arcane Inventions

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Arcane_Inventions

Overall:

Weak Artifact Synergy

Flyers

You have some artifact synergy with Sai, Master Thopterist, Gearsmith Prodigy, and Gearsmith Guardian. But the synergy is few and the artifacts are rather weak. This is probably the weakest of all the starter decks.

Notable Cards

Tempest Djinn, Zahid, Djinn of the Lamp: Very solid flyers

Improvements

Mono-Blue Artifact isn’t a strong deck in the current meta. If you want to play artifact decks, you could try playing the white and blue quest deck that we will cover later on.

Graveyard Bash

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Graveyard_Bash

Overall:

Zombies

Removal Spell

This is a fun black deck, that makes it clear to you want to be doing; Play a lot of Zombies. This deck does pretty well when it curves out and have the right zombies. Black has have access to clean single target removal, just straight up Murder.

Notable Cards

Death Baron: Zombies

Murder: Good budget option.

Improvements

This deck is clear what it wants. Get more copies of Death Baron and also there are zombies in the new set Guilds of Ravnica. This opens the option to be black and green. Overall, a fun deck, but truthfully, zombies aren’t very strong in the current format.

Dragon’s Fire

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Dragon%27s_Fire

Overall:

Dragons

The deck has a very low aggressive cure and then ramps it up with Dragons. Despite trying to have dragon synergy, these are just very few dragons in the deck. The deck is split trying to go fast with very cheap minions, but also large with dragons and dinosaurs. In doing so, it doesn’t very do well in either direction.

Notable Cards

Shock: Cheap red removal

Demanding Dragon, Lathliss, Dragon Queen, Charging Monstrosaur, Burning Sun’s Avatar: Efficient red end game creatures

Improvements

To improve the deck, you can either go low and be super aggressive or you can go high and only care about playing big dragons. The go mono-red aggro route, commonly called Red Deck Wins, is a very commonly played deck and sometimes even the best deck of the format. While this means tossing aside a lot of the cards from the base deck, it is often a cheap option to make. One card, in particular, you want to spend wildcards on is:

Another way is to combine it with green to create a ramp deck, that enables you to play your dragons and dinosaurs as early as possible. We will touch on this deck later when we talk about the two color combinations.

Forest’s Might

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Forest%27s_Might

Overall:

Big Creatures

Ramp

Decent Removal

Here is the game plan: Get mana as early and as consistently as possible and then slam down some big mighty Dinosaurs. Ghalta, Primal Hunger and Gigantosaurus are primer game winners. But even the less rare cards like Vigilant Baloth and Bristling Boar are pretty decent creatures. The deck even has some decent spells like Rabid Bite, Titanic Growth and Plummet. This is the best starter deck because it has a good game plan backed up with decent removal.

Notable Cards

Llanowar Elves: The most important ramp cards

Ghalta, Primal Hunger, Gigantosaurus: Powerful green creature

Improvements

Mono-green creatures decks, also called Mono Green Stompy, is a pretty good deck to build towards. Its consistently can perform well in the best of one formats in Arena.

Dual Color Deck:

Artifacts Attack

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Artifacts_Attack

Overall:

Artifact Synergy

Great Removal

Control Finishers

Here is the upgraded version of the mono-blue starter deck. We have better artifacts payoffs in Aerial Engineer and Aethershield Artificer. But that still doesn’t make artifacts a strong strategy because you just don’t have good artifacts in this current card pool. More important, this deck gives you access to powerful removal cards and high-end control cards we get in the deck, namely Seal Away, Settle the Wreckage and Nezahal, Primal Tide.

Notable Cards

Seal Away; Settle the Wreckage: Top removal spells

Nezahal, Primal Tide: Very good blue finisher card especially against control decks

Azor, the Lawbringer: Another good control finisher

Glacial Fortress: Mana-fixing is important

Improvements

Really the artifacts strategy is the weakest part of the deck. Scrap it and just move on building a white-blue control deck. Or don’t because those are expensive. Build something else as your first deck.

Walk the Plank

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Walk_the_Plank

Overview:

Pirates

Great Removal

Control Finishers

Walk the Plank mixes pirates with removal spells and disruptions. You back up your small pirates with bounce spells or removal and chip away at your opponent repeatedly. The deck also has card draw in the form of Demonlord Belzenlok and Chart a Course. Overall it is a fine deck to use that introduce players to the disruptive magics of blue and black.

Notable Cards

Kitesail Freebooter: Pretty good hand disruption

Ravenous Chupacabra: One of the best things the color black can do

Demonlord Belzenlok: Good finisher card especially in mono-black control decks

Chart a Course; Siren Stormtamer; Exclusion Mage: Cheap cards used in mono-blue tempo

Drowned Catacomb: Mana fixing is important.

Improvements

If you want to go into pirates, feel free to buy or craft cards from the Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan booster packs. You will also find that pirates appear in red, allowing you to try a three-color pirate deck.

Another approach is to incorporate the blue and black Dimir cards from Guilds of Ravnina to create a more generic midrange or control deck. This is probably the more competitive approach out of the two.

Chaos And Mayhem

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Chaos_and_Mayhem

Overview:

Sacrifice

Great Removal

Chaos and Mayhem is a midrange deck based around a certain combo, sacrificing your own creatures to empower your cards. You have cheap creatures, such as Doomed Dissenter and Goblin Instigator, that create multiple small creatures. Then you can sacrifice them to Ravenous Harpy or Demon of Catastrophes. One of the best plays you can make in playing Act of Treason to steal your opponent’s minion and then sacrifice it for your own cards. Overall, you are using good single target removals from red and black control the battlefield and push your way through.

Notable Cards

Rekindling Phoenix, Siege-Gang Commander: Two of the top red cards in the current format

Goblin Trashmaster: Goblin lord

Rootbound Crag: Mana-fixing is important

Improvements

Learn from the pirates and more “gain control” cards. Remember to also look out for token makers.

Primal Fury

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Primal_Fury

Overview:

Big Creatures

Ramp

Removal

This deck packages the green ramp and the red removal and ferocious creatures. You have the turn 1 Llanower Elves to can ramp you into the turn 2 Dragonic Disciple, and then you can hit a 5 drop on turn 3. Pelakka Wurm and Carnage Tyrant are both nice green threats. If your opponent can’t deal with your massive creatures, they will get run over.

Notable Cards

Carnage Tyrant: Perfect in green decks, especially against blue control

Pelakka Wurm: Value

Lightning Strike: Staple red removal

Rootbound Crag: Mana-fixing is important

Improvements

I believe this is the best two color deck out of all the starting cards that available to all players. Just be combined it with the mono-green and red decks, you have enough cards to create a solid ramp strategy. First, max out on Llanower Elves (from Forest’s Might – mono-green deck) and Lightning Strike (from various red decks) You can look to add more Demanding Dragons (from Dragon’s Fire – mono-red) and Fight with Fire (from Might of Mages – red-blue).

Auras of Majesty

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Auras_of_Majesty

Overview:

Enchantments/ Aura

History of Benalia

This green-white deck is enchantment focused, including auras and payoffs cards that benefit from using these cards. Satyr Enchanter is the classic enchantress payoff that allows you to draw cards upon casting an enchantment. Also, we have Novice Knight and Druid of Horns that work specifically with auras. There is no sorcery and instants in the deck, but the enchantments pick up the slack, serving as removal in Luminous Bonds and Hieromancer’s Cage.

Notable Cards

History of Benalia: Easily one of the top five cards in the format, maybe even top three

Shalai, Voice of Plenty: Awesome legendary angel

Thorn Lieutenant: Solid green two drop

Danitha Capashen, Paragon; On Serra’s Wings: Good aggressive legendary cards

Sunpetal Grove: Look. Mana-fixing is important.

Improvements

You will realize that one of the weaknesses in an Aura-based strategy is that when you try to attach an Aura, players are reacting by playing a spell to immediately destroy the creature you are putting the Aura on. This results in you losing both your creature and your Aura spell. To prevent this, look for creatures that can protect themselves. This could be Adanto Vanguard, or other Hexproof creatures.

You would want to aim to upgrade your enchantments. The weakness of Luminous Bonds is that it wouldn’t stop creature effects. So upgrade them to Conclave Tribunal and/or Ixalan’s Binding, enchantments that exile (remove from play) creatures.

Another way to build to back is to pivot to white-red and gather cards from the Dominaria’s booster set to build a more aggressive aura deck.

Eternal Thirst

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Eternal_Thirst

Overview:

Life Gain

Vampires

Here we have life gain cards, with life gain payoffs and a vampire subtheme. The vampires work with multiple tokens with Lifelink and then can use life to pay for effects. Ajani’s Pridemate can grow over time to be one of the biggest threats in the deck.

Notable Cards

Vraska’s Contempt: Staple black removal

Legion Lieutenant: Vampire lord, a creature that gives members of its tribe +1/+1.

Isolated Chapel: Mana-fixing is important.

Improvements

If you want to go down the vampire path, you can find more cards in the Ixalan and Rival of Ixalan booster sets. This path cares less about the life gain and focuses on being aggressive and using tokens. It actually works well against other. Make sure to get more Legion Lieutenants.

Resplendent Angel (Magic 2019) and Dawn of Hope (Guilds of Ravina) are both key cards you can try to gather for a more generic life gain focused deck.

Both archetypes aren’t exactly top tier, but still synergistic to play. There is also hope that life gain can find some support in the next Ravnica expansion when the black-white guild, Orzhov Syndicate, appears.

Saproling Swarm

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Saproling_Swarm

Overview:

Token Deck

Saproling

Sacrifice

Harass the power of the fungus with this black-green deck. It goes wide fungus and 1/1 saprolings. It can then sacrifice your smaller creatures, with Vicious Offering and Rite of Belzenlok. You can combine this with some cards from the black-red, Chaos and Mayhem deck. There has some high-end creatures in Verdant Force and Tendershoot Dryad, which constantly makes more saprolings and Torgaar, Famine Incarnate, that can half your opponent’s life. It is very surprising that the deck doesn’t come with the two mana lord, Sporecrown Thallid.

Notable Cards

Slimefoot, the Stowaway, Tendershoot Dryad: Saprolings payoffs

Rite of Belzenlok: Powerful black saga

Woodland Cemetery: Mana fixing is important

Improvements

Find more fungus and saprolings in Dominiaria, such as Sporecrown Thallid, and Fungal Plots. You would also want to get Song of Freyalise.

This might not be a great deck to invest in as there are good counters in the format, and it is questionable if fungus/saprolings would be supported in future expansions. Still, saprolings decks are quite cheap to make, as most of the cards you need are common and uncommon.

Jungle Secrets

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Jungle_Secrets

Overview:

Merfolks

+1/+1 counters

Hexproof

This is another aggressive deck that wants you to go wide with a certain tribe, Merfolk. The two key characteristics of Merfolk are +1/+1 counters and Hexproof. This in combination can make your creatures big in battle and hard to remove with spells.

Notable Cards

Merfolk Mistbinder; Deeproot Elite; Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca: Merfolk payoffs

Jadelight Ranger: Solid green creature that allows plays well with Golgari’s Undergrowth mechanic

Sleep: Game finishers for Mono-blue tempo

Hinterland Harbor: Mana fixing is important

Improvements

Most of the cards you will want are in Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan. Obviously, find more Merfolk Mistbinder. Add a couple of Chart the Course for card draw and Dive Down for protection. Also pick up some Merfolk Branchwalker and Jadelight Ranger, as they are good green card creatures as well.

Wrath of Mages

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Wrath_of_Mages

Overview:

Spell Based

Removal

Card draw

Wrath of Mages taps into the spell-slinging nature of wizards with fire and lightning. Many of the creatures effects that get bonuses when spells are cast, like Aven Wind Mage and Guttersnipe. Enigma Drake can end games but it needs some help in getting spell and instants in the graveyard. You can use Sift to draw cards and fill the graveyard. And if the game gets too late, you can just hurl damage into your opponent’s face with Fight with Fire or Banefire.

Notable Cards

Enigma Drake: Works well with the new Izzet cards

Shivan Fire; Fight with Fire: Solid red removal with kicker

Sulfur Falls: Mana fixing is important

Improvements

In general, you should focus on playing a lot of cheap spells. Look for cheaper draw cheaps in Opt and Chart the Course (from Walk the Plank – blue-black). You can also find the cards you need from the Izzet guild in Guilds of Ravnica. This is a possible deck you can build towards: MTGGoldfish – Izzet Drakes in Standard

You can also go full wizard tribal in Dominaria.

Strength in Numbers

Decklist: http://magicarena.wikia.com/wiki/Decks/NPE_Strength_in_Numbers

Overview:

Aggressive Go-Wide deck

Group attack pumps

The game plan is to play several minions and then attack all in one go, backed with Trumpet Blast or Inspired Charge for the win. Overall, I don’t think this deck is very strong. A lot of the low-cost minions are very weak or don’t have any impactful abilities. It also lacks some of the other synergies you find in the other aggressive starter decks, like the Merfolk or Vampire deck.

Notable Cards

Meek of the Meek, Militia Bugler: Useful white card draw

Siege-Gang Commander; Burning Sun’s Avatar: Good large red creatures

Heroic Reinforcements: A pretty solid red-white aggressive sorcery

Lightning Strike: Got to have more red removal

Clifftop Retreat: Mana fixing is important

Improvements

We could improve on this deck, by adding more strong token makers we found in other decks, like History of Benalia (Auras of Majesty – white-green) or more Siege-Gang Commanders (Chaos and Mayhem – black-red). Also, the deck sorely wants the Pegasus Corsairs from the Tactical Assualt mono-white deck. You can also improve the deck using the red-white, Boros Legion, cards from Guilds of Ravnica.

Recap:

Best starter deck: Forest’s Might (Mono-Green)

Best dual-color deck (combined with all starting cards): Primal Fury (Red-Green Ramp)

Recommend Budget Deck (to make):

Hope this basic look at the starter and quest decks you received in Magic Arena was helpful. Without even making a single purchase, you can mix cards between the different decks to improve them. Consistency can be improved by using making sure we have four copies of each important card in your deck. If we just use the starting cards, I found that the most consistent deck is the Primal Fury, red-green ramp deck.

However, with a few purchases or wild cards, the aggressive tribals decks like Vampires (white-black), Merfolks (green-blue), and Saprolings (green-black) can be very strong in Magic Arena. This is because they are highly synergistic, cheap to build and can take do well in the best of one event of Magic Arena.

Still, if you are aiming to make a budget deck for the sake of doing well in constructed events, you would want to look to create Mono-Blue Tempo. This aggressive deck uses elusive creatures to attack while defending them with counterspells and continue to draw cards with every attack. It is a cheap way to be competitive in the current meta. Some of the cards are even given to you in the starting decks (Walk the Plank – blue-black, Arcane Inventions – mono-blue). Once mastered, it is an extremely competitive deck.

Edit: After thinking about it the Mono-Blue Tempo deck is a pretty complicated deck for a beginner to play. The deck has a high number of decisions especially because you have to know what to respond to on your opponent’s turn and you don’t usually have a lot of mana to use. Another recommended list is Mono-Green Stompy. The gameplay is pretty straightforward. You have large effective creatures at your disposal. If your opponent can’t remove your creatures, they will die quickly.

Author: Xinvl

Cards: Wizard the Gathering

Video Credit: Noxious