Magic: The Gathering deck types

The game Magic: The Gathering requires each player to have their own deck in order to play. There are over ten thousand unique cards which can be used for this purpose; thus a considerable number of different decks can be constructed. However, decks can usually be loosely classified based on their play style and mode of victory.^[1]

Basic Deck types

Most classifications of decks begin from one of three major types: aggro, control, and combo.

Aggro

Aggro (short for "aggressive") decks attempt to reduce their opponents from 20 life to 0 life as quickly as possible, rather than emphasize a long-term game plan. Aggro decks focus on converting their cards into damage; they prefer to engage in a tempo-based race rather than a card advantage-based attrition war. Aggro generally rely on creatures as a cumulative source of damage. While strategically simple, aggro decks can quickly overwhelm unprepared opponents and remain resilient in the late game as well. Aggro decks also generally have access to disruptive elements, which can inhibit the opponent's attempts to respond.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

• Example cards: Savannah Lions, Bitterblossom, Lightning Bolt, Rogue Elephant,^[6] Incinerate^[1]
• Example decks:
  • Goblins, which uses cards like Goblin Piledriver, Goblin Ringleader and Siege-Gang Commander^[7]. It heavily employs the goblin creature type, a class of creatures that are typically cheap, fragile, and deal high damage.
  • White Weenie, which uses small, efficient creatures such as Savannah Lions, Icatian Javelineers, and Mother of Runes^[8]
  • Affinity, which uses the affinity mechanic and large numbers of artifacts to quickly play spells such as Thoughtcast and Frogmite, while efficiently dealing damage using Disciple of the Vault and Arcbound Ravager.^[9]
  • Red/Green Beats, uses low-cost, high power creatures such as Tarmogoyf and Kird Ape to kill the opponent quickly. It also utilizes mana denial such as Magus of the Moon and Wasteland.^[10]
  • Sligh (also known as "Red Deck Wins"), which utilizes its mana as efficiently as possible to kill the opponent quickly, using low-cost cards such as Goblin Guide and Lightning Bolt.^[11]
  • Suicide Black, which uses efficient but dangerous cards that cost life such as Thoughtseize, Dark Confidant, Grim Tutor, and Bitterblossom. Suicide Black epitomizes Black's philosophy—win at all costs—and treats even its life total as an expendable resource.^[12]

Control

Control decks avoid racing and attempt to slow the game down by executing an attrition plan. As the game progresses, control decks are able to take advantage of their slower, more powerful, cards.^[13] The primary strength of control decks is their ability to devalue the opponent’s cards. They do this in four ways:^[14]

1. Erasing threats at a reduced cost. Control decks given the opportunity can gain card advantage by answering multiple threats with one spell, stopping expensive threats with cheaper spells, and drawing multiple cards or forcing the opponent to discard multiple cards with one spell.
2. Not playing threats to be answered. By playing few proactive spells of their own, control decks gain virtual card advantage by reducing the usefulness of opposing removal cards.
3. Disrupting synergies. Even if control decks do not deal with every threat directly, they can leave out whichever ones stand poorly on their own; e.g., a creature enchantment which will never need attention if all enemy creatures are quickly removed.
4. Dragging the game out past opposing preparations. An opponent's faster, efficient cards will become less effective over time.

• Example cards: Force of Will, Duress, Wrath of God, Pernicious Deed, Void
• Example decks:
  • Mono Blue Control, which uses a heavy suite of counterspells alongside card-drawing such as Thirst for Knowledge, removal such as Echoing Truth, and a win condition such as Tezzeret the Seeker.^[15] This class of deck is nicknamed "Draw-Go," because most of its players' spells are instants designed to be played during his or her opponents' turns.
  • Blue-White Control, which is similar to Mono-Blue Control, but features more board-control cards such as Wrath of God, and Pacifism.^[16]
  • Psychatog, supplemented by card-drawing like Fact or Fiction and a number of disruptive spells.^[17]
  • Astral Slide, which uses large numbers of cards with cycling, including those with added benefits such as Eternal Dragon and Slice and Dice, to power Astral Slide and Lightning Rift.^[18]
  • Mono-Black Control, which uses removal spells such as Innocent Blood and Barter in Blood to control the board, and Cabal Coffers to kill the opponent with spells such as Consume Spirit.^[19]

Combo

Combo decks utilize the interaction of two or more cards (a "combination") to create a powerful effect that either wins the game immediately or creates a situation that subsequently leads to a win. The term "combo" can also describe a deck built around resolving a single powerful spell such as Tooth and Nail to create the same kind of insurmountable advantage. Combo decks value power, consistency, and speed: the combo should be strong enough to win, the deck should be reliable enough to produce the combo on a regular basis, and the deck should be able to use the combo fast enough to win before the opponent.

Many decks have smaller, combo-like interactions between their cards, which is better described as synergy.

• Example cards: Flash, Tendrils of Agony, Empty the Warrens, Aluren, Painter's Servant.
• Example decks:
  • Painter Combo, which uses Painter's Servant and chooses Blue to permit Red Elemental Blast to destroy any permanent or counter any spell, while also allowing Grindstone to put the opponent's entire library into their graveyard.^[20]
  • Worldgorger Dragon Combo, which revolves around the infinite loop triggered when Worldgorger Dragon is animated from the graveyard using an enchantment such as Animate Dead. The loop generates mana and card drawing which is then used to end the game.^[21]
  • Belcher Combo, which uses free and efficient mana acceleration to play and activate Goblin Charbelcher, preferably on the first turn. Because the deck runs 2 or fewer lands, one activation of Goblin Charbelcher will almost always kill the opponent.^[22]
  • Flash, which is dedicated to casting Flash and putting a Protean Hulk into play and then into the graveyard, allowing the player to find a combination of creatures which will kill the opponent instantly. Summoner's Pact and Merchant Scroll are used to find the combo pieces, while Force of Will and Pact of Negation protect the combo. ^[23]
  • Hexmage Depths, which uses Vampire Hexmage to inexpensively remove the counters from Dark Depths and put a flying, indestructible 20/20 creature token into play as early as the first turn. ^[24]

Hybrid strategies

Aggro-Control

Aggro-control is a hybrid archetype that contains both aggressive creatures and control elements. These decks attempt to deploy quick threats while protecting them with light permission and disruption long enough to win. These are frequently referred to as "tempo" strategies, as their control elements are often more temporary; for instance, they may return opposing creatures to their owners' hands rather than remove them entirely.

• Example cards: Dark Confidant, Meddling Mage, Standstill
• Example decks:
  • Blue-Green Madness, which uses cards like Wild Mongrel, Careful Study and Circular Logic.
  • PT Junk, which uses cards such as Spectral Lynx, River Boa and Swords to Plowshares.^{[citation needed]}
  • Naya Lightsaber, which uses powerful creatures like Ranger of Eos and removal like Ajani Vengeant, many of which also provide card advantage.^[25]
  • Fish, which uses mana denial such as Wasteland, Null Rod, and Stifle, alongside countermagic such as Daze, Spellstutter Sprite, Force of Will, and Thoughtseize, to keep the opponent off-balance long enough that creatures such as Tarmogoyf and Dark Confidant win the game.^[26]
  • Bant, a GWU deck which uses efficient creatures like Tarmogoyf, Rhox War Monk, and Knight of the Reliquary in tandem with exalted creatures like Noble Hierarch, disruptive creatures like Sower of Temptation and Vendillion Clique along with some counterspells (typically Force of Will as well as removal like Swords to Plowshares. Bant tries to drop exalted creatures to then cast Green Sun's Zenith to fetch one of its efficient killers, then control the rest of the game with removal and counterspells while its own creatures grow and deal damage.

Midrange

Midrange strategies seek to control the game's first few turns and then win in the middle turns with large, yet highly efficient, threats. The black-green "Rock" deck is one of the most common decks to execute this strategy: it uses cheap creature removal and discard in the early turns to disrupt aggro and combo decks, and then starts playing large creatures in the middle turns that are, if not removed, capable of ending the game quickly after hitting play.

• Example Cards: Pernicious Deed, Spiritmonger, Hymn to Tourach, Troll Ascetic, Ravenous Baloth
• Example Decks
  • The Rock, which uses cards such as Genesis, Eternal Witness, Living Wish and Pernicious Deed.^{[citation needed]}
  • Ghost Dad, which utilizes Ghost Council of Orzhova, Dark Confidant, and Pillory of the Sleepless, for efficient creatures, card draw, and lifegain.^{[citation needed]}

Control-Combo

Control-Combo is a control deck with a combo finisher that it can spring quickly if need be. A notable subtype of Control-Combo is "prison," which institutes control through resource denial (usually via a combo).

• Example cards: Orim's Chant, Mana Drain, Goblin Welder, Oath of Druids, Smokestack
• Example decks:
  • Stax, a prison deck which uses Smokestack to destroy opposing permanents, Crucible of Worlds to replay permanents to feed the Smokestack, and Sphere of Resistance and Tangle Wire to tie up an opponent's mana and prevent them from ever playing spells. ^[27]
  • Stasis, which uses Stasis and cards such as Forsaken City or Boomerang.^[28]
  • Scepter-Chant, which uses Isochron Scepter and Orim's Chant.^{[citation needed]}
  • Trix, which gains life using Illusions of Grandeur and then uses Donate to leave the opponent with the often deadly drawback.^{[citation needed]}
  • Oath, uses Oath of Druids and Forbidden Orchard to quickly put a large creature such as Tidespout Tyrant or Hellkite Overlord into play.^{[citation needed]}

Aggro-Combo

Aggro-combo decks employ aggressive creature strategies along with some combination of cards that can win in "combo" fashion with one big turn. For instance, Ravager Affinity decks that include Disciple of the Vault can win by attacking with creatures and also with a combo finish of sacrificing multiple artifacts to Arcbound Ravager and killing the opponent with Disciple triggers.

• Example cards: Berserk, Food Chain, Hatred
• Example decks:
  • Fling Affinity, which uses Arcbound Ravager or Atog and Fling along with Disciple of the Vault.
  • Food Chain Goblins, which uses Food Chain, and Goblin Recruiter and Goblin Ringleader.^[29]
  • Fires, which uses Fires of Yavimaya with Saproling Burst and Blastoderm.^[30]
  • Manaless Ichorid, which uses cards with the dredge mechanic such as Golgari Grave-Troll to fill the player's own graveyard, enabling free creatures such as Ichorid and Narcomoeba, which, in conjunction with Bridge from Below, can generate a large number of zombie tokens.^[31]

Aggro-Control-Combo

Aggro-control-combo decks combine efficient, creature-based damage, heavy disruption elements, and an ability to unleash an extremely powerful synergy that can end the game in "combo" fashion.^[1]

• Example cards: Tinker, Survival of the Fittest, Cunning Wish, Necropotence
• Example decks:
  • Gro-A-Tog, which generally wins by playing Quirion Dryad and protecting it with disruption such as Force of Will and Duress as it "grows," but can also win by playing Fastbond and chaining together Gush and Merchant Scroll to draw many cards and instantly make Quirion Dryad lethal.^[32]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Aggro, Combo, and Control by Jeff Cunningham
2. ^ Playing Against Aggro by Jeff Cunningham
3. ^ Arcane Teachings - Project Hollywood by Tom Lapille
4. ^ Deconstructing Constructed: Processing the Process by Josh Silvestri
5. ^ http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/academy/30 Your First Aggro Deck by Billy Moreno
6. ^ We've Got the Beatdown by Mark Rosewater
7. ^ Gob-volution by Brian David-Marshall
8. ^ Playing White Weenie In Vintage by Pedro Godinho
9. ^ The Daffinitive Affinity Guide by Mark Young
10. ^ Team ICBM GR BEATZ!!! NEW TECH FOR EMERGING META
11. ^ Famous Red Decks in Magic History by Alex Shvartsman
12. ^ Vintage on a Budget: Suicide Black 2K9 by Stephen Menendian
13. ^ Playing Against Control by Jeff Cunningham
14. ^ Your First Control Deck by Ben Rubin
15. ^ Standardizing Standard: Mono Blue Control by HKKID
16. ^ Chicago-Style U/W Control by Zvi Mowshowitz
17. ^ Giant-Sized Regionals Primer: Psychatog by Mike Flores
18. ^ Astral Slide in the New Standard by Gabe Walls
19. ^ The Power of the Dark Side by The Ferrett
20. ^ Painters, Grindstones, and Blasts, Oh My! by JACO
21. ^ The 2010 Guide to Vintage by Stephen Menendian
22. ^ The 2010 Guide to Vintage by Stephen Menendian
23. ^ The Ultimate Vintage Primer by Stephen Menendian
24. ^ Busting Cthulhu Out of Dark Depths by Doug Linn
25. ^ Naya Lightsaber
26. ^ The 2010 Guide to Vintage by Stephen Menendian
27. ^ The 2010 Guide to Vintage by Stephen Menendian
28. ^ Deconstructing Stasis by Brian David-Marshall
29. ^ Chaining Goblins by Paul Sottosanti
30. ^ Deconstructing Fires by Brian David-Marshall
31. ^ Crushing Vintage Without Power Nine: The Manaless Ichorid Primer by Stephen Menendian
32. ^ Gardening In Vintage: How To Gro-A-Tog And Clip A Lotus by Stephen Menendian and Paul Mastriano

See also

• Magic: The Gathering preconstructed theme decks