What Are The Best MTG Arena Packs?
Learn what booster packs to buy and what cards to get for the best MTG Arena Decks!
When choosing packs to open at MTG Arena, there are five expansions to choose from. These are Ixalan, Rivals of Ixalan, Dominaria, Guilds of Ravnica, and the 2019 Core Set. All packs can be purchased at the MTG Arena store for 1000 gold or 600 gems for 3 packs (you can buy 750 gems for $4.99). Each pack contains 5 Common cards, 2 Uncommon cards, and 1 Rare or a Mythic Rare. But what are the best packs to buy for beginners and intermediate players? There are many factors to consider, one of which is your color wheel and your play style. Let’s take a look at the most common decks and styles in the current Meta.
Deck Types and their Best Booster Packs
Deck Types: UR Aggro/UR Drakes/UR Phoenix
Play Style: Aggro
Best Pack: Guilds of Ravnica
Guilds of Ravnica Booster
UR Deck Cards found in Guilds of Ravnica Packs
- Crackling Drake
- Arclight Phoenix
- Lava Coil
- Discovery//Dispersal
- Radical Idea
- Goblin Electromancer
When building the UR deck, the best packs to purchase are the Ravnica boosters. The expansion features two of the staple creatures of UR builds, the drakes. But it also features most of the essential set spells to set up the spell- based creatures. But the dual shock lands for UR (Steam Vents) are a must in any UR deck, and they can only be found in Ravnica. If you’re going in the direction of the UR tempo, you will still need to get a set of Goblin Electromancer, which is –you guessed it, also from Ravnica.
The drakes are a staple in any UR deck build
Deck Types: Golgari Aggro/Golgari Midrange
Game Style: Aggro and Midrange
Best Pack: Ixalan
Ixalan Booster Pack
Golgari Deck Cards Found in Ixalan Packs
- Merfolk Branchwalker
- Wildgrowth Walker
- Carnage Tyrant
- Vraska’s Contempt
- Radi Vraska, Relic Seeker
The most popular deck in the current meta has been the Golgari build, either going Golgari aggro or Golgari midrange. These decks are popular for a reason. They can hammer you with early Ixalan creatures that grow through explore, or ramp up to large creatures to trample over defenses in the midgame. In the late game, you have access to both Vraska planewalkers to fully take control of the match. They also provide great interaction and board control with removals and board wipes. All these essential pieces can be found with the Ixalan expansion.
Not all treasures are silver and gold
Deck Types: Merfolk Tempo
Game Style: Tempo
Best Pack: Rivals of Ixalan
Rivals of Ixalan Booster Pack
Merfolk Deck Cards found in Rivals of Ixalan Packs
- Deeproot Elite
- Mist-Cloaked Herald
- Seafloor Oracle
- Silvergill Adept
- Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
- Merfolk Mistbinder
Although the Merfolk deck is only a tier 2 deck in the current meta, it can still stand toe -to -toe with tier 1’s if you have the complete build. Most of the best merfolk creatures are from the Rivals of Ixalan expansion. Merfolk decks are among the most effective tribal decks. The built-in sleep and tap abilities of merfolk creatures make it an ideal build for tempo decks. The uncommon lord, Merfolk Mistbinder, also makes it an easy build for beginners.
“We got no troubles, life is bubbles, under the sea!”
Deck Types: Jeskai Control
Game Style: Control
Best Pack: Dominaria
Dominaria Booster Pack
Jeskai Deck Cards found in Dominaria Packs
- Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
- Seal Away
- Syncopate
- Karn, Scion of Urza
When facing control players, the one card that you don’t want to see played is Teferi, Hero of Dominaria. When he enters the battlefield, all attacks and spells seem to grind to a halt. There’s a reason he’s called that “bald-headed bastard” by opponents. His first ability is tailor-made for control decks, which makes him invaluable for control builds, including Jeskai Control. If you plan on making a control deck, keep cracking those Dominaria boosters until you have a play set of Teferi. Dominaria also provides essential control pieces such as Seal Away, Syncopate, and Karn, Scion of Urza, another powerful walker that is sometimes included in control builds.
“You best take a seat, you won’t be doing anything for a while.”
Best Packs for Starting Players: Guilds of Ravnica
If you are not sure what deck you want to play with, or even what kinds of play style you will be using, your best bet would be to purchase Guilds of Ravnica Boosters. The expansion features the shock dual lands (lands that enter the battlefield untapped if you pay 2 life) such as Steam Vents for UR, Overgrown Tomb for Golgari, Sacredand Sacred Foundry for Jeskai. These dual lands (lands that provide two colors) are necessary in building the foundation of any deck, including all the decks aforementioned above. Beginners can start there and build their way towards the deck and play style that they prefer.
Legal Shock lands in MTG Arena
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