[Top 5] MTG Arena Best Artisan Decks

Updated:

25 Dec 2022

Show your skills with these well-crafted Artisan decks.

Artisan is an MTG Arena event where players bring decks made out of common and uncommon cards only. It offers a more level playing field to players that don't have means to brew decks with many rare and mythic cards. In this list, we take a look at the five best decks you can play on the next event or use as a budget deck in the Play queue.

5. Golgari Adventures

Like most kids, she really likes collecting stuffed toys.

Golgari Adventures is a grindy deck that’s built to get the most value out of the Adventure mechanic. Edgewall Innkeeper lets you draw cards while Lucky Clover copies your Adventure spells. Beanstalk Giant and Syr Konrad, the Grim are strong late game threats that some Artisan decks won’t have an answer for.

What's good about this deck:

Your Adventure creatures give you a lot of options on how to play your hand. You can cast them as spells at first or as straight-up creatures if you need them right away.
You can get a lot of value compared to other decks. Each copy of Innkeeper or Clover adds more to what you get from your creatures.
You have ways to attack your opponent's life total outside of combat. With Smitten Swordmaster, your opponent isn’t safe even if they manage to stop your attacks.

How to play this deck effectively:

Your best hand consists of Edgewall Innkeeper, Lucky Clover, and several adventure creatures. That said, it’s okay not to mulligan for them if you have a good mix of spells and lands.
Know your role in a particular match up and take that into account when using your cards. Consider things like casting Foulmire Knight early so you can defend against aggro.
If you draw Order of Midnight while you have a copy in the graveyard, choose that first instead of your intended target to get free value.
When you have Clover in the battlefield, note that the copy of the Adventure spell resolves first. If you cast Alter Fate with only one creature in your graveyard, the original copy will fizzle because it won't have a target when it resolves.
Unless you’re short on mana, lean on playing Bala Ged Recovery as a spell rather than playing it as land.

Cards:

Deck
4 Edgewall Innkeeper
1 Flaxen Intruder
4 Foulmire Knight
4 Order of Midnight
3 Smitten Swordmaster
2 Deathless Knight
2 Syr Konrad, the Grim
4 Beanstalk Giant
3 Bloodchief's Thirst
2 Feed the Swarm
2 Bala Ged Recovery
3 Pestilent Haze
4 Lucky Clover
4 Jungle Hollow
9 Forest
9 Swamp

4. Mono-Red Aggro

He’s holding an ax… hardened in the forge.

Mono-Red Aggro is the ideal deck for anyone who wants to win as fast as possible. Your burn and pump spells lets you push for damage or keep your creatures alive. Anax gives insurance against board wipes like Pestilent Haze and also lets you trade creatures without losing board presence.

What's good about this deck:

It’s a good choice for players even outside of Artisan. It doesn't cost many wildcards to build and you can upgrade it to a buget Standard deck by adding Torbran.
You can finish most games in only a few turns. That's great if you want a quick way to finish the Artisan event or complete daily quests.
It's almost always viable in any metagame. Players can't afford to hedge too much against Mono-Red since they have other decks to worry about.

How to play this deck effectively:

Your best hand consists of a one-drop, Heartfire Immolator, Anax, and a couple of burn spells.
Lead with Goblin Arsonist over Fireblade Charger. Though both can trade up, Charger’s death trigger scales better, so it’s better to lose Arsonist if your opponent decides to trade.
When opponent’s deck has plenty of kill spells, play Heartfire Immolator with mana left over if possible. This lets you sacrifice it to get some value if they kill it immediately.
Fire blade Charger and Heartfire Immolator’s ability deals damage based on power. Use Rimrock Knight’s adventure side or combine them with Infuriate to take down much bigger creatures.
If you already have an Anax on the battlefield, it's okay to cast your extra copy. Before one of them is dies to the legend rule, both Anax will trigger so you will get four Satyrs.

Cards:

Deck
4 Fireblade Charger
4 Goblin Arsonist
4 Goma Fada Vanguard
4 Heartfire Immolator
4 Rimrock Knight
4 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
4 Infuriate
4 Shock
4 Roil Eruption
4 Slaying Fire
20 Mountain

3. Izzet Spells

An early Sprite Dragon will spell trouble for your opponent.

Izzet Spells combines card draw spells with cards that have abilities that trigger from those. Sprite Dragon grow bigger when you cast spells while Improbable Alliance gives you a faerie on your second card draw. Your bounce and burn spells also have card draw effects attached to them.

What's good about this deck:

Your cards' synergy makes the deck more powerful than the sum of its parts. For example, Fire Prophecy kills a creature, gets rid of excess land, and triggers all your payoff cards.
It’s very consistent. A big portion of your spells can draw cards which means you can draw out of poor starting hands and get to your good cards.
Your good draws can get out of hand fast. You can potentially overrun your opponent with small creatures or beat them down with a big flier.

How to play this deck effectively:

Your best hand consists of Improbable Alliance or Sprite Dragon, and several cheap card-draw enablers like Opt.
Play Sprite Dragon early to give it the best chance to grow into a huge threat. Cast your non-creature spells pre-combat to inflict the most damage.
Keep in mind that Improbable Alliance and Faerie Vandal also trigger when you draw your second card on your opponent’s turn.
When you play a non-creature spell, don’t animate Riddleform if you’re not planning to attack with it. You might lose it for no reason if your opponent is holding instant speed removal.
The mirror match often plays out to where each player blocks the other's big creature with tokens. The key is to save and play Crash Through on a decisive turn to win by Trample.

Cards:

Deck
4 Faerie Vandal
4 Sprite Dragon
4 Crash Through
4 Opt
3 Shock
3 Fire Prophecy
2 Negate
2 Winged Words
3 Gust of Wind
4 Improbable Alliance
3 Riddleform
2 Reconnaissance Mission
4 Swiftwater Cliffs
10 Island
8 Mountain

2. Orzhov Life Gain

Let’s go out for a drink, she said. It’ll be fun, she said.

Orzhov Life Gain is a midrange deck that uses cards that give extra value when you gain life. Griffin Aerie, Silversmote Ghoul, and Indulging Patrician attack your opponent in different angles. The rest of the deck consists of spells that enable life gain triggers like Revitalize and Golden Egg.

What's good about this deck:

Your cards' synergy makes the deck more powerful than the sum of its parts. Revitalize is only card neutral life gain in most decks, but here it triggers all your payoff cards.
It has a great match up against aggressive decks. Because your strategy involves life gain, it's harder for opposing decks to win by damage.
You have ways to attack your opponent's life total outside of combat. With Indulging Patrician, your opponent isn’t safe even if they manage to stop your attacks.

How to play this deck effectively:

Your best hand consists of Griffin Aerie, Silversmote Ghoul, and some life gain enablers. The rest can be removal and lands that produce the right colors.
Keep in mind that Hallowed Priest’s ability to put a +1/+1 counter on itself triggers for each instance of life gain. This lets you use your life gain effects as a combat trick.
Play your payoff cards like Griffin Aerie early. This lets you create the most number of tokens over the course of the game.
Whenever you’re going to gain at least three life, look for ways to maximize the value Silversmote Ghoul. Let it trade with an opponent’s creature or sacrifice it to draw a card before you get to the end of turn.
Use Witch’s Oven only in response to removal, so you get the Food for free. An exception is when you have several Silversmote Ghouls to return.

Cards:

Deck
4 Hallowed Priest
4 Indulging Patrician
4 Silversmote Ghoul
2 Bloodchief's Thirst
2 Feed the Swarm
4 Revitalize
3 Pestilent Haze
2 Zof Consumption
4 Witch's Oven
3 Golden Egg
4 Griffin Aerie
2 Faith's Fetters
4 Scoured Barrens
9 Plains
9 Swamp

1. Boros Cycling

These foxes thrive on a healthy diet of Cycling cards.

Boros Cycling uses the best cards from the Cycling archetype in Ikoria Draft. You have creatures that care about cycling and the rest of the deck are cycling cards. Reptilian Reflection is an enchantment that becomes a big Dinosaur with trample and haste whenever you cycle a card.

What's good about this deck:

You can make it a Standard deck by replacing Reptilian Reflection with Zenith Flare. If you have the rare wild cards, you can add Lurrus as a companion and swap the dual lands with Needleverge Pathway.
This deck is very consistent because cycling lets you draw cards to find what you need.
Your creatures generate a lot of value as the game goes go longer. One point of damage/life or an extra token adds up into a big advantage as you find more copies.

How to play this deck effectively:

Your best hand consists of Flourishing Fox and a couple of your two-mana payoff creatures.
Mulligan away hands that have no creatures or have too many lands. Playing a creature early is vital and you only need two lands to operate during the early game.
Avoid trading off creatures when facing opposing aggro decks if possible. Your creatures’ abilities give you more value compared to trading with their creature.
Don’t forget that Reptilian Reflection has haste when it’s a creature. If you have four mana available, you can play it and use a one-mana cycler to animate it and attack at the same turn.
Go for Blood should be last in the order of cards you can cycle. In certain matchups, you may want to cast it to kill an opponent’s valuable creature.

Cards:

Deck
4 Flourishing Fox
4 Drannith Healer
4 Drannith Stinger
4 Valiant Rescuer
4 Go for Blood
3 Startling Development
3 Memory Leak
4 Frostveil Ambush
4 Boon of the Wish-Giver
4 Footfall Crater
4 Reptilian Reflection
4 Wind-Scarred Crag
5 Mountain
9 Plains

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