[Top 10] MTG Arena Best Black Decks (Latest Patch)

Updated:

05 Jul 2023

Mono Black Midrange, and its different variations, dominate most of the rankings in the current Standard metagame of MTG Arena. This list is a countdown to the best type of midrange deck with a little razzle dazzle of surprise archetypes in the middle.

10. Abzan Enchantments

Compared to the other decks in this list, Abzan Enchantments does not have a lot of removal spells or discard spells. Instead, it focuses on building up its own board and using the effects of the enchantments to create damaging effects on the opponent.

What this deck excels in:

A good break from the repetitive midrange game. This deck gives you a more unique gameplay where you get to focus on building your board state rather than disrupting your opponent’s
Hallowed Haunting is a great card especially in this deck where the other enchantments are cheap which means you can get many tokens to attack your opponent with

Deck list:

1 Circle of Confinement
2 Swamp
3 Rite of Harmony
4 Weaver of Harmony
4 Overgrown Farmland
3 The Cruelty of Gix
4 Teachings of the Kirin
4 Azusa's Many Journeys
4 Wedding Announcement
1 The Meathook Massacre
2 Forest
4 Jukai Naturalist
2 Plains
4 Hallowed Haunting
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Shattered Sanctum
4 Caves of Koilos
4 Deathcap Glade
2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
1 Katilda, Dawnhart Martyr

9. Golgari Midrange

The current meta is basically building around Invoke Despair. This means that most of the top tier decks will be any Black + X variant where X is any color that can help you cast Invoke Despair at a faster rate. This Golgari Midrange does just that. This deck is basically just a black deck with a splash of green for added power at the later stage of the game.

What this deck excels in:

Nemata, Primeval Warden is a good combination with The Meathook Massacre as you will be able to extract a lot of value from Nemata especially against decks that have smaller creatures that can be wiped off by The Meathook Massacre
Liliana of the Veil targets the opponent’s hand, preventing them from casting their combos easily
Great removal spells as they can target both creatures and enchantments also

Deck list:

13 Swamp
3 Forest
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Graveyard Trespasser
2 Infernal Grasp
2 The Meathook Massacre
2 Sorin the Mirthless
4 Deathcap Glade
4 Invoke Despair
1 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Tenacious Underdog
2 Workshop Warchief
4 Ziatora's Proving Ground
4 Evolved Sleeper
2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
3 Tear Asunder
2 Nemata, Primeval Warden

8. Mono Black Aggro

This runs 23 creatures that are all cheap in terms of mana cost which means you get to exert a lot of pressure on the opponent in the early stages of the game. If ever you are not able to end the game early, you still have some cards that can transition into late-game threats

What this deck excels in:

Great deck against a slower metagame. This deck utilizes the current speed of the meta and uses this to build an army that can pressure the opponent in the early game
Despite having almost half the deck as creatures, this deck still fares well against most threats since it has 4 copies of Cut Down, 2 copies of Infernal Grasp and 4 copies of Liliana of the Veil, allowing you to deal with a variety of threats on the board and on the opponent’s hand

Deck list:

4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Evolved Sleeper
4 Cult Conscript
4 Tenacious Underdog
3 Tainted Adversary
4 Graveyard Trespasser
4 Defiler of Flesh
4 Cut Down
2 Infernal Grasp
4 Okiba Reckoner Raid
22 Swamp
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

7. Jund Midrange

One of the few midrange decks that does not center around Invoke Despair, Jund midrange uses the creatures on the battlefield to win the games. With some components of Rakdos midrange still in play in this deck, you still get access to cards like Liliana of the Veil and Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

What this deck excels in:

This deck combines the utility of Rakdos Midrange with the monstrous attacks of Jund.
It has the perfect balance between controlling the board and pressuring the opponent with big creatures during attacks

Deck list:

3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
4 Graveyard Trespasser
1 Nemata, Primeval Warden
3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
3 Tenacious Underdog
1 Soul Transfer
4 Cut Down
2 Infernal Grasp
2 Unleash the Inferno
2 Reckoner Bankbuster
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
2 The Meathook Massacre
4 Deathcap Glade
4 Haunted Ridge
2 Karplusan Forest
2 Mountain
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
4 Sulfurous Springs
3 Swamp
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Ziatora's Proving Ground

6. Jund Windgrace

Pretty much the same deck as Jund Midrange, this version uses Windgrace as one of its key components. With Soul of Windgrace, you get a variety of effects that you can use to increase your advantage against the opponent. Aside from that, you can also easily bring back the land cards you discarded, allowing you to still hit your land drops

What this deck excels in:

A faster version of Jund Midrange. This deck uses its snowball effect to win games using Titan of Industry and Soul of Windgrace
Compared to the other midrange decks, it is more focused on pressuring the opponent through attacks especially since it runs two copies of the Cruelty of Gix which allows you to use an opponent’s creature against them

Deck list:

4 Bloodtithe Harvester
4 Graveyard Trespasser
2 Soul of Windgrace
3 Titan of Industry
2 Workshop Warchief
2 Cut Down
1 Infernal Grasp
2 Unleash the Inferno
3 Voltage Surge
2 Reckoner Bankbuster
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
2 The Cruelty of Gix
3 The Meathook Massacre
4 Deathcap Glade
2 Forest
4 Karplusan Forest
2 Mountain
4 Riveteers Overlook
3 Sulfurous Springs
2 Swamp
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Ziatora's Proving Ground

5. Esper Midrange

This deck is a great deck to counter the usual Rakdos/Mono Black aggro and midrange decks. With its ability to out-counter and out-remove most decks, it becomes more powerful in the early game. The white and blue mana in this deck allows it to generate as much card and board advantage it can to secure the game

What this deck excels in:

Unique midrange deck list features cards like Ao, Kaito Shizuki, and the Wandering Emperor which all provide different types of advantages in your favor
The addition of blue mana in this deck allows you to place more counterspells on your sideboard which will be highly beneficial in Bo3 matches

Deck list:

3 Cut Down
1 Spell Pierce
2 Make Disappear
1 Negate
2 Tenacious Underdog
2 Infernal Grasp
2 Reckoner Bankbuster
1 The Meathook Massacre
2 Resolute Reinforcements
4 Raffine, Scheming Seer
4 Raffine's Tower
4 Wedding Announcement
1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
4 The Wandering Emperor
3 Ao, the Dawn Sky
1 Kaito Shizuki
3 Adarkar Wastes
4 Shipwreck Marsh
3 Shattered Sanctum
3 Caves of Koilos
2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
2 Otawara, Soaring City
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
3 Deserted Beach
1 Phyrexian Missionary
1 Rona's Vorte

4. Grixis Midrange

Another iteration of the popular and powerful Black Midrange, Grixis opens up a more controlled type of gameplay due to the presence of blue mana in this deck build. With blue mana, you get to play cards like Ertai Resurrected which is a great way to deal with the opponent’s threats.

What this deck excels in:

Having the ability to counter an opponent’s spell is very useful especially since majority of the matchups will also be against midrange decks
Being able to delay the opponent’s strategy through Rona’s Vortex is a great way to break a stalemate against other decks that are geared towards the later stages of the game

Deck list:

3 Tenacious Underdog
3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
3 Ertai Resurrected
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
4 Corpse Appraiser
2 Reckoner Bankbuster
2 Rona's Vortex
2 Fires of Victory
3 Voltage Surge
2 Soul Transfer
2 The Meathook Massacre
1 Mountain
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
1 Otawara, Soaring City
2 Swamp
2 Stormcarved Coast
3 Shivan Reef
3 Sulfurous Springs
4 Shipwreck Marsh
4 Xander's Lounge
4 Haunted Ridge

3. Rakdos Midrange

Rakdos Midrange can be argued as the best deck in standard right now along with its mono black counterpart. The advantage of having red in its mana pool is the ability to cast Fable of the Mirror Breaker which is one of the more powerful cards in the current standard rotation.

What this deck excels in:

The same midrange archetype has already been proven to be the strongest archetype in the current Standard rotation
Having red mana allows you to cast probably one of the strongest enchantment cards in Fable of the Mirror Breaker which furthers the decks strength in the early stages of the game
A two-drop 3/2 creature in Bloodtithe Harvester is also opened up due to the presence of red mana in this deck

Deck list:

4 Liliana of the Veil
1 Sorin the Mirthless
4 Tenacious Underdog
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
3 Graveyard Trespasser
2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
4 Cut Down
1 Infernal Grasp
4 Invoke Despair
3 The Meathook Massacre
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
11 Swamp
4 Sulfurous Springs
4 Haunted Ridge
4 Xander's Lounge
2 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

2. Mono Black Control

It may be pretty rare to see a mono black deck that only runs two copies of Invoke Despair but this deck makes that concept work. With its plethora of removal spells, this anti-creature deck is a powerful tool to have in the current meta.

What this deck excels in:

This deck runs a lot of removal spells that are targeted against creature decks and meta midrange decks. This means that this deck can easily answer whatever threat the opponent puts out
With these removal spells come cards like THe Long Reach of Night which utilizes the amount of creature cards in the opponent’s graveyard, giving you more power with every creature that dies under your opponent’s control

Deck list:

1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
3 Field of Ruin
2 Sorin the Mirthless
1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
4 Tenacious Underdog
2 Hero's Downfall
2 Reckoner Bankbuster
2 Invoke Despair
2 Blood on the Snow
2 Graveyard Trespasser
3 The Meathook Massacre
3 Infernal Grasp
4 Shambling Ghast
4 Deadly Dispute
19 Snow-Covered Swamp
2 Skullport Merchant
2 The Long Reach of Night
2 Lolth, Spider Queen

1. Mono Black Midrange

The OG midrange deck in the current format. Mono Black Midrange is the basis of most BX midrange decks in play in standard right now. This no nonsense deck uses all the core cards that deal with discard, removal, and beatdown.

What this deck excels in:

Mono black makes it easier to cast all your spells since some of the problems that other color combinations encounter is the lack of mana to cast a certain spell
You only get to play the core cards which means you have more copies of them and thus more chances of drawing them whenever you need to

Deck list: