Magic: The Gathering is one of the oldest trading card games in the world, having started production in 1993. While many of its players still enjoy collecting and playing with the physical cards, a digital version called Magic: The Gathering Arena allows people to enjoy the game without having to break the bank collecting cards.
Magic: The Gathering Arena gives new players a bit of a jump start by giving them a variety of starter decks to choose from. This allows players to jump right into the game without having to worry about the stress of deck building. However, it can be hard to tell right away which decks are strong and which are not. Here is a short list of strong starter decks that will give new players the edge in battle.
Updated on February 9, 2023, by Danny Guan: The new year is sure to bring new cards, strategies, and deck themes to Magic: The Gathering Arena, and with the starter decks having recently been changed out, it's a good idea to look at the new starter decks to see how they stack up. The meta has also changed considerably, so what mechanics stand out and which are underwhelming are certainly very different.
10 Large And In Charge (Mono Green)
While all of the dual-color starter decks have been replaced with new decks featuring new mechanics and new strategies, the mono-color decks have remained the same. This makes many of them rather outdated due to not having access to all of the new mechanics that have been introduced, such as Saga cards.
Large and in Charge, however, is still somewhat viable due to its simple strategy of summoning powerful monsters such as the 10/10 monster "Gigantosaurus" or the 7/7 "Rampaging Brontodon," with a variety of support to get these monsters onto the field easier. It's a simple deck for beginners to use, though its strength has certainly waned.
9 Angelic Accountants (White/Blue)
Angelic Accountants is a white/blue deck focused on summoning creatures, then powering them up with +1/+1 counters. The core card in this deck is the Planeswalker "Elspeth Resplendent," which can not only add a +1/+1 counter to a single creature per turn but another counter granting it a special ability like Flight or First Strike.
This deck can quickly build up powerful creatures with effects like "Sigarda's Summons," which can bolster creatures with these counters even further, giving them bases of 4/4 while also granting them flight and angel type. However, it can take time to build up a board strong enough to take on some of the stronger decks, making it a rather slow deck.
8 On The Hunt (Red/Green)
On the Hunt is a werewolf deck based on the new day/night mechanic, with many creatures having the daybound or nightbound effect. Such creatures transform when day turns into night, granting them new abilities.
"Tovolar, Dire Overlord" allows the player to draw a card whenever a Wolf or Werewolf attacks, while the Planeswalker "Arlinn, the Pack's Hope" makes it easier to summon more creatures onto the board. This makes On the Hunt a very aggressive deck, though it is certainly reliant on the day/night mechanic.
7 Storm Of Blades (White/Red)
Storm of Blades is an aggressive Samurai/Warrior deck focused on relentlessly attacking the opponent. Cards like "Asari Captain" and "Eiganjo Exemplar" can grant benefits to Samurai or Warrior creatures who attack alone. "Eater of Virtue" grants its equipper the abilities of any exiled creature that had previously equipped it.
The Planeswalker "The Wandering Emperor" is a powerful card that can be played and used in an instant the turn she is summoned. With the abilities to exile tapped creatures and grant first strike, this makes her a real danger, though the deck itself is somewhat underwhelming.
6 Ignite The Forge (Black/Red)
Ignite the Forge is a Black/Red deck based around artifacts and blood tokens. Blood tokens allow a player to draw a card after paying one mana and discarding one card. While it's fairly costly, it can be a big game changer during late game.
"Ceremonial Knife" allows an equipped creature to create a blood token whenever they attack, while "Oni-Cult Anvil" can create an artifact every time an artifact leaves the field during its owner's turn. With the ability to sacrifice an artifact to deal 1 damage to each opponent, it's possible to start a combo that can be hard to stop.
5 Spellweaver (Red/Blue)
Spellweaver is a Red/Blue burn deck focused on dealing damage using instants and sorceries instead of creatures. The deck is stacked with not only damage-dealing instants but also instants that search the deck and destroy artifacts.
"Lier, Disciple of the Drowned" is a powerful support creature, preventing spells from being countered and granting spells in the graveyard flashback, allowing them to be cast again. "Geistflame Reservoir" gains charge every time an instant or sorcery is cast, and can deal damage based on how much charge it gains.
4 Blossoming Growth (Blue/Green)
Blossoming Growth is a Blue/Green deck based on card draw and control, with cards like "Case the Joint" and "Triskaidekaphile" giving players the opportunity to draw extra cards. This deck also has a variety of Saga enchantments, the majority of which help to pull cards from the deck.
The "Boseiju Reaches Skyward" Saga transforms into "Branch of Boseiju," a creature that gets +1/+1 for every land its owner controls. With Blossoming Growth's potential for card draw, this card can become very strong very quickly.
3 Grave Matters (Black/Green)
Grave Matters is a Black/Green deck focused on sending cards to the graveyard. While this strategy might seem self-destructive, there are a variety of benefits that can be gained from sending lots of cards to the graveyard.
"Old Stickfingers" can send a number of creature cards to the graveyard, then gain power and toughness based on how many creatures are in the graveyard. "Consuming Blob" has a similar effect while also creating tokens with the same stats. Grave Matters can be a risky deck, but the payoff is incredible.
2 Strength In Numbers (White/Green)
Strength in Numbers is a Citizen deck that focuses on swarming the board with monsters as quickly as possible. It also makes use of the Alliance mechanic, which allows effects to activate whenever a monster enters the battlefield.
"Adeline, Resplendent Cathar" gains power for each creature under its owner's control, while "Darling of the Masses" creates a Citizen token whenever it attacks. Strength in Numbers might not seem powerful from the jump, but it can quickly build a powerful army in no time.
1 Stealthy Subterfuge (Black/Blue)
Stealthy Subterfuge is a Black/Blue Ninja control deck with a strong emphasis on the Ninjutsu mechanic. Ninjutsu allows a player to replace an unblocked attacker with a different creature, opening up a variety of mind games that can give an opponent pause.
The Planeswalker "Kaito Shizuki" can summon unblockable Ninja tokens, giving its owner ample chances to take advantage of Ninjutsu. "Satoru Umezawa" also grants Ninjutsu to any creature card while also allowing its owner to search the top three cards of their deck the first time Ninjutsu is used each turn. Stealthy Subterfuge has a variety of options that make it the best current starter deck in Magic: The Gathering Arena.