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.

Rakdos card breakdown - 275 decks, 7.21% of meta

Creatures

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 26%

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 3.4 1x in 28%

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 28%

3.0 A 5-mana 5/4 Reach is probably a 2.0 at best, but this activated ability means business. Using it to hurt javelins at your opponent’s dome can be a very real threat, and the fact thise can allow you to defeat battles without having to attack – and it can defeat them at instant speed – is great. 1.4 1x in 28%

2.5 Trading this off and draining 2 life from your opponent is going to feel like a good deal all the time, and it isn’t terrible sacrifice fodder either. 2.2 1x in 28%

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 29%

3.0 This is either a one mana ½ with this ability, or a one mana 0/1 that puts a counter somewhere and gives the ability to something else for a turn. Neither of those seems…amazing. Generally you don’t want to sacrifice a creature you just put a counter on, so that part of the ability is a bit awkward. I think the idea is to put that counter on something and then sacrifice the Berserker though – in which case this is sort of a two mana sorcery that puts a counter on something and draws you a card, and that’s a playable card! It has far more flexibility than that too. 3.2 1x in 29%

4.0 A 4-mana 3/3 Menace isn’t amazing, but this can also give you a bit of graveyard value. Getting cards in the opponent’s graveyard has some upside to it in Black in this format too. This can also transform the turn after you play it into a very exciting creature that can take advantage of the graveyard quite effectively. 3.2 1x in 31%

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 34%

4.0 This is a powerful sacrifice outlet, even limited to Sorcery speed only! You get a card back, so it is hard not to get nice value out of this, especially if you’re sacrificing something really expendable. There’s also a cheap Threaten effect in the format that is going to combo absurdly with this, but in general, there’s plenty to sacrifice to this, making it another great signpost 2.2 1x in 35%

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 35%

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. 2.2 1x in 37%

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 39%

3.5 Again, sacrifice decks in this format look legit, so this is an incredibly nice payoff for that deck. Even if it never grows, the fail case is a two mana 1/1 that pings something when it dies. That isn’t great, but that’s the fail case, and this becomes more and more of a problem as the game goes on. 2.8 1x in 44%
Instant, Sorcery

4.0 Three mana to do 5 to a creature, planeswalker or battle is already easily premium removal, and the extra upside here is amazing. Sometimes its a bummer to use a 5 damage spell on something with lower toughness, but this makes sure you get back some big value. Even if you only reveal one card, its going to feel pretty good! Now, unlike a lot of these effects we’ve seen lately this one does require you to play that card before the end of your current turn – so you have a fairly narrow window, so sometimes you may reveal something that you can’t cast with the mana you have left. However, you can play lands off of it, which is nice – and if you do more than one excess damage you get card selection that can allow you to reveal something you can play. 4.6 1x in 10%

2.5 This is Reckless Impulse with a different name, and that was a quality draw spell in Innistrad: Crimson Vow. You’re almost always going to be able to play both cards that you hit with this before the end of your next turn, and this ends up being a two mana draw two most of the time. 1.2 1x in 13%

2.5 Going wide and Convoke are two of Red’s big themes in the set, so this seems to do exactly what you want to be doing in Red. 2.4 1x in 18%

2.0 If you have expendable creatures, this is pretty good – and it always has the mode of allowing you to use it after you block or your creature is targeted with removal. If you’re only using it in those situations it definitely gets worse and more narrow, though – ideally, you consistently have bodies around you can always sacrifice and feel good about it, which gives this more room to shine. 1.4 1x in 21%

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 24%

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 25%

1.5 // 4.0 A Threaten effect seems particularly interesting in this set, because getting a blocker out of the way and sending it at your opponent for a single turn is going to be more meaningful in a world where you can attack Battles. I think this does make this type of effect better, but the best place for this card will still be a deck that can also sacrifice the creature you can steal. The format does have a ton of cheap sacrifice outlets, especially in Black – and in the Black-Red deck this will be amazing. It has the upside these all have – that it can produce lethal out of nowhere – but in a Black-Red sacrifice deck you can use it earlier in the game and sacrifice the thing you steal, meaning you can use this a lot more often and a lot more effectively. 1.9 1x in 27%

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 27%

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. 4.1 1x in 29%

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. 2.7 1x in 31%

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. 4 1x in 34%

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 34%

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 37%

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 43%
Enchantment, Artifact

2.0 If you play this on an untapped land, you can immediately transform the Incubator, and that’s nice – it means you can actually add something to the board when you play this, and the problem with most cards like this is they don’t do that. This also does a pretty good job of fixing and ramping your mana. 3.1 1x in 0%

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 1%

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. 2.7 1x in 1%

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 1%

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 2%

4.5 This offers a great boost right away, and protection from two colors is impactful on lots of boards. Surveiling is great card selection, and you may even find yourself able to surveil a spell into your graveyard for the other half of the ability. You may also just happen to have a spell in your graveyard anyway too! Getting in with this once is likely to deliver a big advantage, and it can just keep moving to other creatures until it makes your opponent dead. 5 1x in 3%

2.0 This offers a reasonable boost for how much it takes to Equip. Adding Flying to creatures is a nice upgrade. 1.2 1x in 3%

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. 1.8 1x in 3%

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 8%

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 9%

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 10%

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 3.7 1x in 11%

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 13%

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 19%
Planeswalkers

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 8%
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. 2.3 1x in 3%

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. 3.2 1x in 3%

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 4%

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. 2.5 1x in 5%

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. 2.5 1x in 29%
Top Rated Cards

4.5 A 4-mana 4/4 with Trample and Haste is a pretty easy 4.0, so the fact this can buff its power and threaten to go after battles even when it does damage to your opponent is awesome. One of the awkward things about battles is that sometimes you’d rather damage your opponent than transform a battle, and the Raptor makes it so you don’t have to choose. And yes, it can go after planeswalkers too, but that won’t come up nearly as often. 4.7 1x in 9%

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 12%

4.5 The only thing that holds this card back at all is how mana intensive it is. Double mana in two different colors can be difficult with the bad mana bases we have in Limited, but that’s okay because no matter when you play this it will have a nice impact. Its first two options are entirely symmetrical, but its the third option that seems the most interesting. It won’t increase the damage Rankle and Torbran do, but because this has First Strike, it will hit your opponent first – so if you have anything else getting through for damage, it will do significantly more. That option just won’t really be symmetrical – though it is perhaps the most situational of the three. I think the Edict effect will be nice on a lot of boards too, and treasure might be what you choose the least often. 3.6 1x in 13%

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 0%

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 1%

5.0 A 5-mana 5/4 Flyer is a huge problem for your opponent – but this also basically casts Brainstorm up front, giving you serious value. And the death trigger can sometimes be quite potent too, especially if you set up your deck using the ETB trigger. 4.6 1x in 1%

5.0 Like past Glissas, this one looks amazing. Her trigger happens at combat, so you are going to get some value out of her right away, and all three options are sweet. If you’ve already got a nice board, giving all of your Phyrexians First Strike and Deathtouch will make it impossible for your opponent to block effectively – if you’ve already got some incubator tokens that you need to transform, she can do that – and if you need to build out your board, she can give you incubator tokens. Because she gives you real value right away and snowballs from there 4.8 1x in 2%

5.0 A 6-mana 4/4 that spits out a 2/1 with Haste every turn is a strong card, and this offers some additional token upside. If you play it in your first main phase, you get that 2/1 the turn you play it, so even if Brudiclad goes down, you have some value left over – and if its left in play it becomes a major problem. This works really well with Incubators too, because they have base power 0/0, so if you have them all become 2/1s they will become significantly larger. 4.2 1x in 3%

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 3%

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 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 7%

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 8%

5.0 This looks really good. Getting it down to six isn’t a big ask, and once you’re doing that you’re getting a super efficient flying threat that also searches up your best card and lets you cast that card with Convoke. If the Broodlord dies, you still have access to the card too! 4.7 1x in 8%

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. 4.9 1x in 11%

Dimir	3574 matches	439 decks
11.52% of Metagame
Orzhov	3629 matches	437 decks
11.46% of Metagame
Azorius	3465 matches	420 decks
11.02% of Metagame
Selesnya	3358 matches	399 decks
10.47% of Metagame
Golgari	2948 matches	353 decks
9.26% of Metagame
Boros	2493 matches	302 decks
7.92% of Metagame
Rakdos	2292 matches	275 decks
7.21% of Metagame
Gruul	1849 matches	222 decks
5.82% of Metagame
Sultai	1181 matches	144 decks
3.78% of Metagame
Izzet	1122 matches	136 decks
3.57% of Metagame
Abzan	1094 matches	127 decks
3.33% of Metagame
Simic	860 matches	106 decks
2.78% of Metagame
Esper	633 matches	73 decks
1.92% of Metagame
Jund	476 matches	57 decks
1.50% of Metagame
Mardu	432 matches	51 decks
1.34% of Metagame
Jeskai	337 matches	41 decks
1.08% of Metagame
Naya	339 matches	41 decks
1.08% of Metagame
Grixis	311 matches	39 decks
1.02% of Metagame
Temur	295 matches	36 decks
0.94% of Metagame
Bant	262 matches	32 decks
0.84% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-red)	185 matches	22 decks
0.58% 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	26 matches	3 decks
0.08% 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

Rakdos card breakdown - 275 decks, 7.21% of meta

Creatures

Instant, Sorcery

Enchantment, Artifact

Planeswalkers

Lands

Top Rated Cards

Enter The Battlefield Prepared