[Top 5] MTG Arena Best Discard Decks

Updated:

27 Nov 2020

Control archetypes have a reputation for ruining friendships. From hard control decks that won’t let you play anything, to mill control decks that just annoys the hell out of anyone, control really is a bummer to play against without the right tools. Take all the annoying elements of each control deck and combine it to get, discard. Personally, discard decks are the most annoying things to play against, but they are the most fun to play with. Competitive MTGA however, is not the suitable place to whip out your nasty discard deck but knowing which decks are the best can help you get those salty concessions and spam emotes from your opponents.

5. Dimir Surveil-Discard

A classic deck to bring out the nostalgia of smashing your keyboard to pieces every time you discard your whole hand.

What’s good about this deck?

Old archetype, similar results
- There was a point where surveil was a very strong mechanic in the meta. With cards such as Disinformation Campaign, which you get to replay multiple times, this is still a viable option for a decent discard deck.
Budget-friendly
- You can add many different cards to this deck but running with the old version of surveil-discard can still get you a decent amount of wins.
- This deck also functions well with just a few rares and mythics. You can switch the rare lands to tapped dual lands and you will still get good results.

How to play this deck effectively

Bring out early aggression with your creatures
- The key to winning in this deck is to first bring pressure to your opponent while you are still setting up your discard engine.
If you can, cast Disinformation Campaign first before using your surveil enablers.
- Of course, use surveil to dig for your other pieces but if you are up against a deck that does not pressure you early on, you can get away with reserving your surveils for more value later on.

Decklist

4 Nightveil Sprite
4 Dimir Spybug
4 Thoughtbound Phantasm
3 Doom Whisperer
2 Notion Rain
4 Discovery // Dispersal
4 Disinformation Campaign
4 Thought Erasure
2 Sinister Sabotage
2 Unexplained Disappearance
2 Drown in the Loch
2 Drag to the Underworld
4 Dimir Guildgate
4 Dismal Backwater
8 Island
7 Swamp

4. Mono-red Hazoret

Back from the undead, Hazoret once again terrorizes the field while saying, 'Look ma, no hands'

What’s good about this deck?

This deck is a completely different take on the discard archetype that we all know
- Instead of targeting your opponent to discard their hand, you will target yourself since Hazoret gets activated when you have at most one card in hand.
Very aggressive and heavy-hitting
- With the discard enablers, you can start swinging for huge amounts of damage as early as turn three

How to play this deck effectively

Just like a normal mono-red aggro, swing for the fences early to pressure your opponent into making a move.
- With this deck, however, you will only be able to attack by turn three so the most crucial part is ensuring that you drop your pieces on curve.
There are at least two different play styles you can get from this deck. One is an aggressive, heavy-hitting strategy, while the other is a more controlled pace that seeks to finish the game by chaining together spells.
- If you are going for the latter, you would want to get Torbran on the field early to maximize your damage output while waiting for an Arclight Phoenix.

Decklist

3 Hazoret the Fervent
3 Catharthic Reunion
3 Cavalier of Flame
2 Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion
3 Ox of Agonas
4 Arclight Phoenix
3 Bonecrusher Giant
2 Torbran, Thane of Red-Fell
3 Risk Factor
2 The Flame of Keld
3 Thrill of Possibility
3 Tormenting Voice
4 Shock
2 Lightning Strike
2 Spikefield Hazard
4 Ramunap Ruins
2 Castle Embereth
12 Mountain

3. Grixis Bolas Superfriends

When you see these superfriends, it's no longer 'can I win this game?' but rather, 'how long before I win this game?'

What’s good about this deck?

A more balanced type of discard deck that can attack the opponent’s hand or their health depending on your strategy.
- With more cards to play with, you get a broader playstyle with Grixis colors since it can double up as a hard control deck in addition to it being a discard deck.
You have the ability to play Bolas multiple times
- This color combination opens the possibility for you to play all Bolas cards. Bolas planeswalkers are very great pieces that can accelerate your strategy, helping you edge out other archetypes.

How to play this deck effectively

The early game is dedicated solely to smoothing out your drops while heavily disrupting the opponent’s hand.
- With high-costing cards making up the majority of the deck, the early game should be more focused on eliminating early threats before they can even cast it.
- You can set-up early Waste Not engines to maximize the opponent’s discard. This will help you generate blockers or get you a card draw, both of which are very important in keeping you alive in the early game.
Once you have already set-up your Superfriends strategy, you are already in the driver’s seat of the game. Making the correct sequences will help you keep your lead and eventually lead you to victory.
- The abilities of your planeswalkers should be activated in such a way that you can still maximize your turn. For example, using the discard abilities of your planeswalkers at the first main phase may be better since you can get a card draw or mana advantage before entering the combat phase.

Decklist

3 Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
3 Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God
2 Ashiok, Nightmare Muse
3 Ashiok, Dream Render
2 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Angrath, the Flame-Chained
4 Kroxa, Titan of Death’s Hunger
4 Waste Not
3 Thought Erasure
4 Thoughtseize
2 Agonizing Remorse
3 Extinction Event
4 Temple of Deceit
2 Temple of Epiphany
2 Temple of Malice
1 Castle Locthwain
1 Castle Vantress
4 Blood Crypt
3 Fabled Passage
3 Interplanar Beacon
1 Mountain
2 Island
2 Swamp

2. Mono-black

A doubtful mind is an easily corrupted mind.

What’s good about this deck?

Since you are playing with a mono-colored deck, you can cut the cost by a lot
- Multi-colored decks can sometimes hurt the pocket because of the rare dual lands and triomes. Since you are playing with mono-black, the only rare lands you’ll need are Castle Locthwain and Phyrexian Tower.
This is a more traditional discard deck.
- Reminiscent of discard decks from MTG’s rich history, the mono-black discard deck is a traditional take on discard that really focuses on disrupting the opponent’s strategy by allowing them to play with very little cards in hand.

How to play this deck effectively

This deck completely focuses on discard as the main tool to win. In the early game, make sure that you take away the most important pieces in your opponent’s hand.
- Setting up an early Waste Not plus a bunch of discard spells can help you generate more cards as well as ramp you towards casting your big threats early.
Once you have already established your board presence, preserving it is the next thing to focus on.
- With Extinction Event in your deck, you can repeatedly clear out the field. Eldest Reborn can then capitalize on the huge creatures or planeswalkers in both graveyards.

Decklist

4 Lilliana, Waker of the Dead
2 Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage
4 Nyxathid
2 Rankle, Master of Pranks
2 Sangromancer
2 Tinybones, Trinket Thief
4 Eldest Reborn
4 Waste Not
4 Thoughtsieze
3 Agonizing Remorse
3 Extinction Event
2 Raider’s Wake
2 Torment of Hailfire
2 Castle Locthwain
1 Bojuka Bog
19 Swamp

1. Kroxa

Nothing is more satisfying than playing Kroxa multiple times in a turn without casting it for its escape cost.

What’s good about this deck?

You get to control the board as well as your opponent’s hand the whole game.
- With cheap spells, you can easily remove threats from your opponent’s side of the board, as well as attack their hand for the discard strategy.
Recurring threats are very scary in this deck.
- With spells such as Malakir Rebirth, you can play Kroxa multiple times, as well as get your other creatures back from the graveyard, allowing you to get huge creatures on board from out of nowhere.

How to play this deck effectively

This may be highly discouraged, even when playing hyper-aggressive decks, but the key to winning is to just go all out.
- You have plenty of cards to cast in the early games, as well as a huge number of cards to get back your threats from the graveyard.
- Against decks with no graveyard hate cards, you can easily coast to a win if you unleash your deck as early as possible

Decklist