Draft Deck Meta

March of the Machine Draft Deck Metagame

Draft deck metagame only consists of decks with the maximum number of wins (3 wins in Traditional and 7 wins in Quick and Premier drafts).
Select an archetype to see the popular cards used in winning decks of that group.

Mardu card breakdown - 51 decks, 1.33% of meta

Creatures

3.5 You can sort of look at this as paying 3 mana, sacrificing something, and getting a 3/3 – that wouldn’t be a bad deal, and this is better because you can pay for the Incubator on a separate turn. This doesn’t have the worst stats for a card with this strong of an ability, either. Cards like this really make it feel like the sacrifice deck in this format is going to have some legs 3.5 1x in 22%

4.0 I would already play a two mana 2/2 with Prowess and nothing else and be pretty happy with it. That card is probably a 3.0. So, adding Trample and the ability to transform into an even more imposing creature to the mix makes this absolutely incredible. It can even transform the turn after you play it, which is great. The double prowess on the transformed size is going to be a real beating, and the fact that Ward makes it harder to kill is great too. 3.9 1x in 24%

3.0 A three mana ⅔ Haste isn’t terrible, and this can transform into a ¾ flyer for a relatively cheap cost. Obviously, in terms of efficiency it isn’t amazing, but it is a nice mana sink to have around. 3 1x in 24%

3.0 A two mana 2/1 is below rate these days, but this can transform into a 3/2 that virtually always forces a 2-for-1, and it can transform pretty quickly. 2.1 1x in 25%

2.5 This has passable base stats, and sometimes it will let you transform an incubator for free. 2.2 1x in 27%

4.0 So, this is either a 5-mana 4/3 with Double Strike, or a 5-mana 3/2 that puts a counter on something else and gives it double strike for a turn. Both modes can be pretty nice, though I think I would be more inclined to put the counter somewhere else, since even at three toughness this dies quite easily, and if you put all of your eggs in one basket the tempo might hurt! This is going to create a major threat the turn it comes down, and it is a pretty nice threat on its own. 2.8 1x in 27%

3.5 This has decent base stats, and it will net you cards sometimes. It even loads your graveyard if you’re interested in that. 2.7 1x in 27%

4.0 This looks really good. It is sort of a 4-mana 1/1 that gives you a 3/3, and still has the additional upside of helping anything that transforms into a Phyrexian. Note this works not only with the Incubator tokens but also all the cards that transform using Phyrexian mana, so there are a wide swath of cards this makes better, and it already has a great baseline. 4.5 1x in 27%

3.5 This is a large version of Banisher Priest, and while it isn’t the most efficient thing ever, that’s still a strong effect. What makes it especially nice, though, is that it has Plainscycling. This means if you draw this early when you are really far from casting it, you can get rid of it and search up a land. This really offsets the downside of this being a 6-mana card. Basically, this gets a land when you need it, and if you have the mana to cast it, it is going to have a big impact on the board. I think this is one of White’s best Commons. 3.1 1x in 27%

3.0 This does a great job of fixing your mana, and makes for an expendable body to sacrifice in Black-Red. 3.4 1x in 29%

2.5 This one drop brings a lot of value. A one mana 1/1 with Lifelink isn’t amazing, but in a format with +1/+1 counters around, among other ways to augment your creatures, it will probably play a little better than it looks. Additionally, if you mill this thing in your Blue-Black deck, or it ends up in your graveyard in any other way, it does deliver some real value in the format of the incubate token. One drops lately have pretty much all overperformed, and I think this is another one that will. It is really cheap and does stuff that all the decks in the format can take advantage of. 2.8 1x in 29%

3.0 A 6-mana 5/5 Haster is definitely medium, but it is definitely relevant on most board states, and if you draw it early and would rather have a land drop, it has you covered. 1.8 1x in 31%

3.0 A two mana 1/1 with deathtouch is a little bit below rate, but it does trade for anything, and the creature this can become late is a big problem for your opponent. 3.4 1x in 37%

3.0 When you actually cast this thing, it has a big impact on the board – either coming down as a monstrous 7/7 with Menace, or coming down as a 5/5 that gives something else two counters as well as Menace until end of turn. This gives it the ability to immediately impact the board when it comes down, while still sporting a sizable and problematic body. The downside here is that you just don’t always get 7 mana in Limited, but this makes sure that isn’t too much of a problem for you, since you can just pitch it to search up a Swamp if that’s what you need to do 2.6 1x in 41%
Instant, Sorcery

2.5 Two mana for a counter and protection gives your creature the ability to both dodge removal spells and succeed in combat more often. 3 1x in 12%

5.0 A removal spell that makes sure you’re ahead when the dust clears is always good, and that’s certainly what we have here, as you’re likely to end up with a fairly large creature. It even exiles the creatures, so pesky death triggers and recursion aren’t things you need to worry about. One thing you do need to worry about: Whether or not your opponent has some incubator tokens lying around, since this won’t hit those if they haven’t transformed. Still, this seems like a bomb. 4.9 1x in 14%

3.0 This looks pretty nice. 6 mana for 6 damage at Instant speed is usually a 2.0, and with Convoke you’re going to be able to cast this in many more situations than you would normally be able to. Sometimes you can blow up a problem Artifact with this too. 2.1 1x in 14%

3.0 Black usually gets a nice common that returns creatures from your graveyard to your hand, and this looks like a really good version of that to me. Milling three for both players gets your pretty close to meeting the “reverse threshold” type requirements that several cards have, and it also increases your chance of being able to get back two creatures. It is also an Instant which isn’t something we often see. This means you can use this on the end of your opponent’s turn, and then cast something you get back on your turn which is nice. You don’t usually want more than one of these, because they are so bad in the early game – but honestly, the first copy of this card looks like a must-have for most Black decks, and especially Black-Blue. 2.6 1x in 18%

1.5 So at worst, this is a two mana 2/2, and sometimes you’ll have another Incubator around who is bigger, and you’ll choose to turn that one into a creature. That’s probably usually what this will do, because there aren’t a boatload of targets for this in the format. When you do get to kill an artifact or Enchantment with this it will feel like a pretty sweet 2-for-1, and I think the baseline is solid. Having Artifact and Enchantment hate in your main deck is nice too. 2.1 1x in 18%

3.5 This offers a pretty amazing rate, and even shuts down death triggers and other graveyard shenanigans. It is situational of course, but I think the efficiency makes up for that enough for this to sneak into “premium removal” range. 3.3 1x in 18%

4.0 This is a great deal whichever way you cast it. Without Convoke this would be good. With it, its great. 4.4 1x in 18%

4.0 Even without Convoke, this would be great. But sometimes you will be able to cast this without any mana up, or at least for a lot less than 4 mana, and that upside is crazy, especially because it can hit any target. This is premium removal and then some. 3.9 1x in 20%

3.0 This can sometimes trade up, but more often than not you break even on mana or worse when you cast this – for me, that keeps it from being a premium-level removal spell – instead it is merely solid. 3.5 1x in 22%

3.0 6 mana is a lot, even for removal – mostly because you end up paying more than your opponent did for their creature a lot of the time, and that tempo hit can be rough. However, this is an Instant, and it gives you something that will eventually be a creature. If you have 8 mana lying around, this will feel like an 8-mana 3/3 that exiles something on ETB, and the fact you can spread it out in two installments is nice. 4.1 1x in 22%

3.0 This is a nice removal spell. The base card is probably a C, but the kicker upside here is massive. As we’ve seen, Black has good sacrifice outlets and lots of other good reasons to sacrifice creatures, so this card will be right at home in that type of deck. That said, this will probably only be capable of -2/-2 a little too often to be an amazing removal spell. 3.9 1x in 22%

3.0 This is decent removal, especially because it can show up out of nowhere when you’re tapped out. It is restrictive enough that I do think it falls a bit short of premium 2.9 1x in 25%

4.0 This is a great removal spell. Two mana for 3 damage is premium even at Sorcery speed, and this is an Instant that also gives you a bit of card selection. The ability to hit more than just creatures is great upside too. 3.9 1x in 31%

3.5 We’ve seen this card at Sorcery speed before, and it was pretty good. As an Instant, it gets significantly better! This is easily premium removal, and pretty much a lock to be one of Black’s best Commons, if not the best. 4.4 1x in 37%
Enchantment, Artifact

1.0 This costs a lot of mana, but Convoke helps soften the blow. Problem is, for this to really be at its best, you kind of need to be able to take advantage of it immediately. Normally, tripling your damage would be something that makes your board far better at attacking and blocking and that would be enough, but because you’re going to need to tap several creatures for this most of the time, you’re also decreasing your chances of being able to effectively take advantage of this right away. And in that case, it ends up being a pretty clunky Enchantment that probably takes a turn to deliver on its return. Of course, if you are able to untap with this in play, your opponent is going to be in a world of hurt – assuming you have a developed board. Basically, this is going to be truly awful sometimes. 3.1 1x in 2%

1.5 The fact this Equips for free the first time is nice, and definitely has the ability to make just about anything into a much better attacker. With Flash, you may even find a way to trade a smaller creature for something larger. The fact it costs three to Equip thereafter is rough. 0.5 1x in 4%

1.0 This is one of those really cool cards that has applications in other formats, but really wasn’t designed for Limited. Sure, you can use the ability to mill your opponent and ramp, but I think its too slow and clunky at doing it. As usual, you should probably be adding to the board in a more meaningful way, and paying 5 total mana to cast this and then mill probably isn’t where you want to be. Obviously, the second activated ability is all but useless in Limited! 4.1 1x in 4%

3.5 This is a stats boost that makes basically any creature into a threat, and the fact you can Convoke this helps soften the blow that this costs so much mana. The Equip cost itself is super reasonable for the boost after you get it into play, too! 2 1x in 6%

2.0 +1/+0 and indestructible isn’t a terrible trick-like effect, because it saves a creature in combat while helping them punch up, and it saves the creature from most removal too. Any time a card can do both of those they end up seeing play. The Equipment itself definitely isn’t exciting after the turn you cast it, and that does make it awkward in some situations, but the threat this presents as a trick is nice, and its flexible too. 1.6 1x in 6%

2.0 This isn’t a terrible rate - against most creatures it will be a 5-mana spell that kills the creature and then you Surveil 2. It also isn’t premium, though, as a 5-mana sorcery speed removal spell should probably be able to kill more stuff! 1.7 1x in 6%

1.5 So in the end, you pay 5 mana for a 2/2 and a 4/1 Vehicle with Haste and Crew 2. That’s not….the worst thing ever, but it doesn’t seem like you’re doing a great job either. The Vehicle can simply be blocked by a token or something, and Crew 2 is kind of high for a 1 toughness vehicle. It can definitely come down and do some surprise damage, but the fact that you have to tap something significant to crew it makes that a lot less appealing. 2.2 1x in 8%

1.0 This is horrible at fixing your mana and is a wildly inefficient removal spell. You might run it if you’re desperate for removal, but if that’s where you’re at things really didn’t go well in the draft. 1.4 1x in 8%

2.0 +1/+0 and Menace isn’t a terrible boost for the casting and equip cost here, and the fact it gives you treasure will also mean it will be a little easier to move around than it might look at first. Seems like a solid inclusion for Red aggro decks. 1.7 1x in 10%

2.5 This is a reasonably efficient vehicle, and the fact it fixes and ramps is nice too, even if you do have to Crew it. 1.9 1x in 12%

3.0 You can sort of look at this as a 4-mana 3/3 with this Surveil effect. Obviously, it is better than that, because you can pay in installments and the Surveil effect sticks around even if the creature goes down 3.6 1x in 22%

3.0 On its own, you get a 5-mana 4/4 with Vigilance, and you can pay for it in installments. That’s not a bad deal, especially when this can also give some of your other creatures Vigilance. Vigilance seems pretty well positioned in the format too, because creatures with it can attack battles and defend them at the same time. 3.4 1x in 22%

3.5 White’s usual premium Common removal spell Is here! It shuts down most creatures entirely, though as usual cards with static ability, sacrifice effects, and bounce effects hurt when you play this card – and those things are in this set, of course. 3.7 1x in 24%

4.0 Wow this is a good Oblivion Ring variant. It is harder to cast than Oblivion Ring, but the Ward 3 upside is very, very nice. It always stinks when your opponent manages to have the removal to hit your Enchantment, but this makes it a lot less likely they’ll be able to do that in the early game, and even in the late game that 3 mana tax can really soften the blow. 4.1 1x in 27%
Planeswalkers

5.0 I’ve seen people be pretty down on this card for constructed, but don’t let that cloud your mind for Limited – this is a bomb. The +1 creates a great body to protect Elspeth, and the -2 offers a huge boost to one of your creatures, and is capable of making any creature into a threat. Elspeth, use that -2 and then she dies, you’re going to come out ahead. If she sticks around and can pump out a token army until she gets to her ultimate, you’ll also be really happy. 4.9 1x in 2%

5.0 If you can manage to play Chandra, use her +2 and cast a cheap spell with that mana, you’re already going to be really far ahead. If you can’t do that, her -X will often do enough to really weaken your opponent’s board, and if you just get to the next turn and manage to use her +1, there’s a very good chance you’ll blow the game open with whatever spell you hit. She’s definitely a bomb. 4.6 1x in 6%
Lands

2.5 These always enter tapped, but producing two different colors and gaining a life is always nice value. If you’re in their two colors or trying to splash something, you’re going to be happy playing these. 2.4 1x in 29%

2.5 These always enter tapped, but producing two different colors and gaining a life is always nice value. If you’re in their two colors or trying to splash something, you’re going to be happy playing these. 2.4 1x in 33%

2.5 These always enter tapped, but producing two different colors and gaining a life is always nice value. If you’re in their two colors or trying to splash something, you’re going to be happy playing these. 2.2 1x in 37%
Top Rated Cards

4.5 This is going to be great in this format. Black/Red looks like a strong sacrifice deck, so adding a ping every time one of your things dies is great. She does stay nontoken, so she doesn’t let you go crazy with Incubators, but she still has a massive amount of upside – and the fact she buffs all your stuff right away is great too. Going to combat when Judith is in play is going to give your opponent nightmares. She even counts herself, so it is hard for your opponent to ever escape without something getting pinged. 3.6 1x in 6%

4.5 Thanks to having both Flying and Haste, this is likely to be able to attack successfully the turn it comes down, and then give you an extra combat phase immediately, and even if that just means you attack with her again, you’re going to feel pretty good. Most of the time, it will mean you can attack with other things an additional time too! 4 1x in 10%

4.5 This will often feel like a 5-mana ⅗ with Vigilance that puts a 3/2 into play, and that’s amazing! There may be times where he doesn’t have something to exile, but most of the time by the time you play him getting that first 3/2 should be doable, though you do need to have a decent number of spells in your deck to make it happen. You can even get those things back if you decide to sacrifice Spirits, and sometimes that might even let you cheat something into play. 4.3 1x in 18%

4.5 A 6-mana 6/6 with these three keywords is already great, and this has the ability to reanimate stuff. Now, it does come with an effect that actually makes it a little tricky to reanimate sometimes, because it exiles five cards. This means you have to leave a creature behind after exiling 5 cards, and unless you have a loaded graveyard, that can be really tricky in Limited. You also aren’t really going to manage to reanimate something every time it attacks for the same reason. Still, even without the reanimate effect this is good, and I think by the time you play it you’ll probably find yourself able to reanimate something often enough for this to be a bomb. 4.6 1x in 20%

5.0 I’ve seen people be pretty down on this card for constructed, but don’t let that cloud your mind for Limited – this is a bomb. The +1 creates a great body to protect Elspeth, and the -2 offers a huge boost to one of your creatures, and is capable of making any creature into a threat. Elspeth, use that -2 and then she dies, you’re going to come out ahead. If she sticks around and can pump out a token army until she gets to her ultimate, you’ll also be really happy. 4.9 1x in 2%

5.0 Trying to meet the companion requirement here is definitely worth I, buteven if you end up not meeting the Companion requirement, Gyruda is still a bomb, because it is a 6-mana 6/6 that virtually always reanimate something on ETB. 4.6 1x in 2%

5.0 Sheoldred’s great. You play her and pass the turn, and your opponent immediately loses something, and then if you get to your upkeep you reanimate something. If you get to take advantage of that turn cycle even once, it is going to be hard for you to lose, and most of the time your opponent won’t be able to deal with it before they at least lose a creature. 5 1x in 2%

5.0 This looks great. A 5-mana 4/4 with Flying and Haste is already amazing, and this comes with great upside that was offered by the other Ojutai. You get great card selection and you get to draw a card, and the fact it has Hexproof means it is likely to give you that value most of the time when you cast it, and Flying and Haste do a great job of making sure that happens. 4.5 1x in 4%

5.0 This has great base stats, and while her ETB isn’t great in the later stages of the game, it certainly subtracts from your opponent’s board in some way or another. Like with the rest of these, transforming this isn’t exactly easy, but by the late game it is pretty likely you’ll be able to turn her into a Saga, and you may get it done even earlier if you’re playing Blue-Black -- and once this is a Saga, it is going to be pretty hard for you to lose. 4.9 1x in 4%

5.0 If you can manage to play Chandra, use her +2 and cast a cheap spell with that mana, you’re already going to be really far ahead. If you can’t do that, her -X will often do enough to really weaken your opponent’s board, and if you just get to the next turn and manage to use her +1, there’s a very good chance you’ll blow the game open with whatever spell you hit. She’s definitely a bomb. 4.6 1x in 6%

5.0 A 4-mana ⅗ with Vigilance would usually make the cut, and Elesh Norn of course brings a lot more than that to the table. Taxing your opponent for doing damage to you or your stuff is great upside, and if you manage to transform her it is going to be very hard for your opponent to win. Chapter I effectively gives you 5 2/2 tokens, and that means that chapter II and III are going to be even more insane. Her front side isn’t quite a bomb on its own, but her transformation is quite doable 5 1x in 6%

5.0 This costs a whopping 7 mana, but it definitely delivers. Even if it never transforms, this is a 7-mana 7/7 trampler that lets you cast two spells for free. That sets you up for an amazing 3-for-1, and means that evne if Etali doesn’t manage to survive to smash in for 7 on the next turn, you’re going to have gotten two cards out of it. Obviously, if it transforms it gets scarier as an attacker, since it can end the game in a single swing. 4.8 1x in 12%

5.0 A removal spell that makes sure you’re ahead when the dust clears is always good, and that’s certainly what we have here, as you’re likely to end up with a fairly large creature. It even exiles the creatures, so pesky death triggers and recursion aren’t things you need to worry about. One thing you do need to worry about: Whether or not your opponent has some incubator tokens lying around, since this won’t hit those if they haven’t transformed. Still, this seems like a bomb. 4.9 1x in 14%

5.0 A 5-mana 4/4 with these keywords is already pretty close to a bomb, so the fact that you get to put a counter on something and give it those same keywords until end of turn really means this is a bomb. It gives you some serious value up front, so even if it goes down, you’re going to be coming out ahead most of the time, and if it doesn’t go down – you’re just going to win. 4.8 1x in 14%

Dimir	3607 matches	443 decks
11.51% of Metagame
Orzhov	3641 matches	439 decks
11.41% of Metagame
Azorius	3510 matches	427 decks
11.09% of Metagame
Selesnya	3364 matches	401 decks
10.42% of Metagame
Golgari	2964 matches	355 decks
9.22% of Metagame
Boros	2502 matches	303 decks
7.87% of Metagame
Rakdos	2318 matches	278 decks
7.22% of Metagame
Gruul	1858 matches	223 decks
5.79% of Metagame
Sultai	1198 matches	146 decks
3.79% of Metagame
Izzet	1138 matches	138 decks
3.59% of Metagame
Abzan	1101 matches	128 decks
3.33% of Metagame
Simic	876 matches	108 decks
2.81% of Metagame
Esper	650 matches	75 decks
1.95% of Metagame
Jund	485 matches	58 decks
1.51% of Metagame
Mardu	432 matches	51 decks
1.33% of Metagame
Jeskai	346 matches	42 decks
1.09% of Metagame
Naya	347 matches	42 decks
1.09% of Metagame
Grixis	320 matches	40 decks
1.04% of Metagame
Temur	304 matches	37 decks
0.96% of Metagame
Bant	262 matches	32 decks
0.83% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-red)	185 matches	22 decks
0.57% of Metagame
Mono White	103 matches	12 decks
0.31% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-white)	79 matches	10 decks
0.26% of Metagame
Mono Black	69 matches	8 decks
0.21% of Metagame
Five Color	59 matches	7 decks
0.18% of Metagame
Mono Green	59 matches	7 decks
0.18% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-blue)	44 matches	5 decks
0.13% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-black)	45 matches	5 decks
0.13% of Metagame
Mono Blue	35 matches	4 decks
0.10% of Metagame
Mono Red	18 matches	2 decks
0.05% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-green)	9 matches	1 decks
0.03% of Metagame

Decks by color

Enter The Battlefield Prepared

With the MTGA Assistant deck tracker

March of the Machine Draft Deck Metagame

Mardu card breakdown - 51 decks, 1.33% of meta

Creatures

Instant, Sorcery

Enchantment, Artifact

Planeswalkers

Lands

Top Rated Cards

Enter The Battlefield Prepared