Top Standard Decks - December 2023

You guys already know the drill. Approximately three weeks after the release of The Lost Caverns of Ixalan (and at the tail end of the year 2023), how is the MTG meta in Standard holding up? Very nice, actually, as we have more than at least two decks that prominently used the latest set's cards to great effect. The usual hard hitters are still here, as expected. But it is safe to say that some of the newer entries of the last two months are here to stay for quite a while longer into the coming new year.

Standard MTG Arena: Best of Three - Top 8 Decks

Golgari, Mono Red, and Esper mostly keep their spots, with the latter two only shifting places for a bit. Dimir, however, completely fell off the list, and none of the four-color/five-color ones survived, with the exception of Domain Control. Then, the rest of the returning decks are also significantly modified for the latest set, particularly Rakdos and Azorius Control, with cards like Spyglass Siren and even Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might // Temple of Power being mainstays of the deck. More interestingly, Simic is on the list!

Oh, and Dinosaurs almost made it in, falling one spot short of taking the spot from Rakdos.

Notable Cards Used from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan:

^{(Arranged alphabetically, excludes lands)}

• Deep-Cavern Bat
• Get Lost
• Kitesail Larcenist
• Malcolm, Alluring Scoundrel
• Mephitic Draught
• Nicanzil, Current Conductor
• Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might // Temple of Power
• Sentinel of the Nameless City
• Spyglass Siren
• Subterranean Schooner
• Tishana's Tidebinder
• Warden of the Inner Sky
• Zoetic Glyph

Standard MTG Arena: Best of One - Top 8 Decks

Mono White Soldiers once again climb up back to 2nd place after being pushed away for several months. We thankfully have only one Mono Red entry, which is of course, at the very top. Selesnya Enchantments and Mono Black Midrange dropped a bit down the list, with Golgari climbing up and now squeezed between them. Our newest entries are Gruul Dinosaurs at 3rd place (4.33%) and Orzhov Life Gain at 8th (1.88%). Apart from the ones added to the new decks, not many cards were used here from the latest set.

Notable Cards Used from The Lost Caverns of Ixalan:

^{(Arranged alphabetically, excludes lands)}

• Amalia Benavides Aguirre
• Bonehoard Dracosaur
• Gishath, Sun's Avatar
• Hulking Raptor
• Huatli, Poet of Unity // Roar of the Fifth People
• Intrepid Paleontologist
• Ixalli's Lorekeeper
• Pugnacious Hammerskull
• Resplendent Angel
• The Skullspore Nexus
• Trumpeting Carnosaur