Draft Deck Meta

Murders at Karlov Manor Draft Deck Metagame

Draft deck metagame only consists of decks with the maximum number of wins (3 wins in Traditional and 7 wins in Quick and Premier drafts).
Select an archetype to see the popular cards used in winning decks of that group.

Jeskai card breakdown - 49 decks, 2.2% of meta

Creatures

2 If you need to play a two drop well…it is one. A pretty bad one, but one nonetheless. Then if you need something on three you can disguise it, and then in the late game it can become a big monster. Now, this card isn’t ever going to make you feel like you’re doing something busted, as it’s kind of medium at all three points in the game, but the fact it can do all those things is enough for it to be fine. 2.3 1x in 18%

3 This feels like a very important common for aggressive White decks. That type of deck will have tons of cards that trigger this. It doesn't seem like it will be rare for this to crack in as a flyer on turns 3 and 4. 3.7 1x in 20%

2.5 When one mana filtering is attached to a creature, it has performed pretty well, and this even comes with the addition of graveyard hate, something that certainly matters in the format. 2.8 1x in 20%

1.5 This has mediocre stats and a mediocre ETB. 2.6 1x in 20%

3.5 4-mana for a 2/2 and a 2/2 Menace that can’t block is a pretty amazing rate. Not much more to say there, but this is a really good Common. 3.3 1x in 22%

1.5 This can do some serious work if you play it on turn two, and if you get it later in the game you can give it up to get a card. It’s an artifact and a clue, so it’s got some synergy in the format too, especially in Blue-Red. Still…the card’s fail case doesn’t exactly excite me. Paying 4 to draw a card, even in installments isn’t exactly awesome. 3.2 1x in 22%

3.5 Three mana for a 2/2 and a 1/1 is always a pretty good rate in Limited, so when you tack on this card’s ability to buff your detectives – albeit inefficiently – I think we’re talking about a very nice Common. 4.2 1x in 24%

2.5 A three mana 2/2 flyer isn’t too bad, and one that stuns something on ETB is probably a 3.0, it’s just a great tempo play to add to the board while getting a creature out of the way. This won’t always stun stuff, and isn’t that likely to do it on turn three, but I think it will do it often enough. 2.8 1x in 27%

3.5 Playing this face up gives you a pretty nice rate, and the Disguise option is pretty nice too. This looks like a really good common. 3 1x in 29%

2.5 A 4-mana 3/2 with Flying and Vigilance is sort of passable, so the Disguise upside here is a nice thing to have around. Tapping or untapping things isn’t always gonna be useful, but when it is, it can be pretty awesome. 3.3 1x in 31%

4 I’m on-board with a two mana 1/1 Flyer that makes a Clue, and this thing will become a pretty real threat if it’s left unchecked, as this format is replete with Clue tokens, not to mention other ways to sacrifice stuff. In short, this card has a nice fail case, and an amazing ceiling. 3.1 1x in 33%

3.5 This is a functional reprint of Thraben Inspector, which was amazing. Two pieces of material for one mana is awesome. 4.3 1x in 33%

2.5 A three mana 3/2 that loots on ETB is decent, and looting with this more than once isn’t impossible. 3.2 1x in 35%

3.5 Obviously, you get the most value out of just casting it face down and turning it face up – at which point you paid 5 mana for a 3/1 Vigilance and two 1/1s, and paying it in installments will make it feel more efficient than that. But, the fact you can just slam it on turn two if you’re more interested in curving out is pretty nice. 3.8 1x in 39%
Instant, Sorcery

2.5 If this was always 5 mana, it’d probably be a 1.5. That’s a really clunky Sorcery that usually can’t trade up. But, this will cost two fairly often in Red decks. Sacrificing a Clue is all you need to be able to do, and as we’ve seen there are otherwise to sacrifice artifacts too. It can also go after Disguised creatures since it can’t be countered. 1.8 1x in 14%

2.5 We’ve seen two mana spells that reanimate small creatures and give them a little buff work out reasonably well of late, and I think this is another one of those. It does take set up, and a deck made up of the right composition, but I don’t think it will be hard to feel like you’re getting a good deal when you can cast this. 2.2 1x in 14%

2 A harder to cast mana leak, even with exile upside, isn't that good in Limited. It can hit some stuff early, but being able to leave up this mana is far from a guarantee. Then, the longer the game goes on, the less useful it is, because your opponent is more likely to be able to pay the tax. 1.8 1x in 14%

4 The Push half is where you’re going to get about 90% of the value here, as it’s a solid removal spell. But…having the Pull half is definitely upside, because in the right situation it can just end the game. 4 1x in 16%

3.5 So, this sweeper lets you loot a couple of times, and then it gives you some control over just how much damage you do. That seems quite strong to me, as you can choose a mana value that will hurt your opponent more than it hurts you most of the time, while still having the ability to just sweep the whole board, should you have a card with a high enough mana value. 4.2 1x in 16%

2 We see this type of removal that only hits big creatures all the time, and it’s usually pretty mediocre, simply because its too narrow. They usually don’t even make the cut in your main deck. But, stapling Disenchant to it is a pretty big upgrade, especially in a set that has a fair number of both, probably makes this into a solid playable, and I think it even has a shot at being better than that. 2.2 1x in 18%

4 It’s always going to feel like very efficient removal, and it scales all game long and it’s likely to let you investigate in most situations, so you even get a 2-for-1! 4.5 1x in 18%

2 This can hit any type of spell, but your opponent can also ignore it with spare mana. As usual, that type of card is never amazing, although it can feel pretty nice in the early game. 2 1x in 22%

3.5 The Fuss mode can be pretty darn strong if you’re going wide and you’re the beat down. Meanwhile, Bother is less efficient, but also less situational. 6-mana for three 1/1 flyers and surveil 2 isn’t amazing, but you’re also fairly unlikely to die after you cast it thanks to those three bodies, and surveil 2 makes it likely you’re going to draw something meaningful. 3.5 1x in 24%

2 I’m not always a huge fan of cards that just Stun things, as it often doesn’t feel like they do enough to be worth a card. Sure, you can get two creatures out of the way for two attacks and two blocks, but if you don’t have the game in-hand by the time they untap, you’re going to be in trouble. But because this gives you a Clue, it gives you that card back. I still don’t really think you want more than one, but this looks like a pretty good version of this effect. It can even hit Disguised creatures without you having to worry about Ward. 2.5 1x in 27%

2.5 This is a nice little card draw spell, because it ultimately gives you a 2-for-1, and there’s lots of additional upside for making Clue tokens in the format. You probably don’t want too many of these because they don’t really add to the board. 2.6 1x in 27%

3.5 Shock is a 3.5 as it usual is. It’s definitely premium because you can spend only a single mana to kill significantly more expensive creatures – and you can do it at instant speed! Plus, it can even finish off your opponent. 4 1x in 29%

4 Two mana instant deal threes are always great, and this one will do 5 a chunk of the time. 4 1x in 31%

4 This is a pretty sweet reprint, and an incredibly powerful removal spell. Don’t underestimate just how good it is to simultaneously remove a creature and gain life. That can alter a game in your favor in a big way, and it can even go after the opponent. It’s certainly premium removal. 4.1 1x in 31%
Enchantment, Artifact

4 This gives you a more expensive Tormenting Voice up front, and once you solve it, it becomes a pretty insane card advantage engine. If you’re a low-to-the-ground Red deck, it isn’t going to be that hard to solve this quickly, and the card’s baseline is already fairly acceptable – and once it’s fully unlocked it is very likely to win you the game. The card’s biggest downside is that it doesn’t impact the board, but the upside is so much that I think that's fine. 3.9 1x in 8%

2.5 Auras that cost one blue and give a creature +1/+1 and the ability to draw you a card when they hit your opponent have a pretty good track record in Limited. This is because it can allow you to ensure that you’re going to at least break even on cards even by hitting your opponent once, and the card advantage can quickly bury your opponent. Getting a clue is a bit worse than drawing a card straight up, even in a format with clue payoffs, but this still looks like a nice card, especially in decks that have cheap evasive creatures. 2.1 1x in 8%

3 This Aura looks quite good. Obviously, the ideal situation is to cast it in response to removal, in which case you’re left with a buffed evasive creature, and you’ve already taken a card of value away from your opponent. But this also has the upside all Flying auras do, w hich is that you can just…slap it on some big monster and quickly win the game. 2 1x in 10%

1.5 I don't think this is very good. You have to play it ahead of your detectives to get the counters, and there’s where most of the value is, because getting an extra clue here and there isn’t the most impressive payoff. 2.1 1x in 10%

5 This is an unblockable three mana 3/2 with all kinds of upside. Upside because it might actually grab you a creature you want to turn face up, and upside because it can bounce back to your hand and make a new body for itself even when you don’t have any other creatures around. 4.9 1x in 10%

2 If this were always 1 to Equip, it would probably be a 2.5, just because that’s a fairly efficient boost – one that’s easy to move around. Detectives are plentiful enough in this format that this still looks solid. 1.6 1x in 10%

3.5 Anthems are good when you have lots of creatures and the incidental damage this can chip in can really turn up the heat on your opponent. But still, it’s not the kind of card that does much unless you've already got at least a decent board. 4.7 1x in 10%

1.5 +3/+0 can make just about any creature into a better attacker, but the lack of a toughness boost limits just how useful it can be, unless you’re equipping an evasive creature. Adding Disguise to the mix is important, because the worst thing in the world is drawing Equipment when you have nothing worth equipping it too, so this gives you a decent fail case, and can even work as a combat trick later in the game. 3.3 1x in 12%

4 The ETB will be a reasonable removal spell most of the time, and sometimes a really good one – and this case is easier to solve than most. The reward isn’t exactly game-breaking, but it’s certainly relevant, especially because it’s effectively stapled to a solid removal spell. 4.6 1x in 12%

3 It’s nice you get a clue up front, and if your deck has enough artifacts in it, you can definitely end up animating that clue or something else into a 4/4 flyer. Blue is adept enough at making clues that I don’t think this needs a build around grade. 3 1x in 12%

4 Even if it didn’t have anything after it’s ETB, it would be a very good card, so everything else is just gravy – and it’s pretty good gravy, too, since it ends up being a 2-for-1 if you manage to solve it – and solving this is easier than most of the Cases. Three sources of damage can just mean you attack with three creatures after all, and the turn you play this the Case will count as a source too. So, killing something and attacking with two creatures is enough to get you there. 3.7 1x in 16%

2.5 Three mana Blue Auras that tap a creature down usually aren’t anything special. The problem is that they don’t entirely remove the creature in all situations, so abilities are still relevant, and if your opponent has a way to sacrifice or otherwise utilize the tapped down creature you end up feeling like you’re really far behind. The Accusation’s activated ability adds an interesting wrinkle to this, since now you can get rid of the creature if it has problematic abilities and everything. The downside is your opponent might draw it again later. 2.2 1x in 18%

3 This gives you three artifacts which is great for the Blue-Red sacrifice deck, and then it gives you an amazing payoff for sacrificing those artifacts, since you’ll get a nice token out of the deal. I do’nt love that it doesn’t add meaningfully to the board the turn you play it, but the engine potential here is very real. 3.6 1x in 22%

4 This is an excellent Common. Even if it didn’t gain you 2 life, it’d be premium removal, and once you tack on that life gain we’re talking about arguably the best White Common in the set. Removing something and gaining life a the same time is one of the best ways to get back ahead from behind. 4.4 1x in 35%
Planeswalkers
Lands

3.9 1x in 8%

3 This looks like a pretty solid source of fixing. You’re not always gonna want to tap your creatures to make mana, as that can be a very real cost, but at least this can also produce colorless mana normally, it has useful typing as both an artifact and a clue, and you can of course throw it away for a card. This means all your eggs aren’t in that mana-fixing basket, so it will almost never feel terrible, while still having the upside of shoring up your mana. 2.8 1x in 10%

4.2 1x in 10%

3 This is Evolving Wilds with upside, and that upside can allow you send in an unblockable Disguise creature. 3.7 1x in 24%

2.5 This is another nice source of fixing, even if it does require you to jump through a few hoops. Being able to only tap a Clue or something once when you play it is nice. 2.5 1x in 27%
Top Rated Cards

4.0 I think this is the best of the Guildmages in this set. Both of its abilities are pretty nice, and easily usable. You end up just having a random mana around a lot in Limited! You can gain life if you really need to stabilize, or you can dig deeper in your deck if you need to find removal or press your advantage. 0 1x in 2%

4.0 The Expansion half of this isn’t great, Fork effects rarely are in Limited. But there are situations where it can do something good! Generally, though – you’re counting on Explosion, which by the late game may as well read “You win the game” since you typically kill an opposing creature and draw a bunch of cards. Having both modes really makes the card better, since it isn’t an entirely dead card in the early game. 5 1x in 4%

4.5 Tajic comes down and adds a ton of damage to the board, especially if your opponent’s shields are down. He of course brings his own stats, but he will also typically have something to Mentor. Meanwhile, he can keep attacking later in games thanks to his ability to gain first strike, and he even makes it so your opponent can’t do non-combat damage to your other creatures. Now, that last part isn’t that exciting, because Tajic can still die to non-combat damage, and he’s probably what they want to kill anyway – but either way, Tajic is a bomb. 4.8 1x in 2%

4.5 This is an awesome two drop. The ⅔ stat-line is a nice one, and if you have the mana you can also make it a 4/4 Vigilance right away – or even a 7-mana 5/5 that makes your creatures indestructible. Obviously enough, you’re usually going to pay in installments, but the fact that you can draw this early and have it be an amazing threat or draw it late and have it be an amazing threat makes it an excellent card. 4.8 1x in 6%

4.5 A three mana 3/3 Flyer is great, and this one can refuse to die when you have some action in the graveyard, and bringing this back the first time doesn’t seem like a huge stretch in many situations. I think this sneaks into the lower bomb range – it’s hard not to love a creature this efficient that isn’t that hard to keep around. 4.6 1x in 8%

4.5 A three mana 2/4 with Flying and Vigilance is easily a 3.5, and this can crank out Clues a decent chunk of the time. 4.8 1x in 10%

5 This will usually either be a 5-mana 2/2 with Flash that draws 3, or a 5-mana 3/3 with Flash that draws 2, and in both cases it also stocks the graveyard. That's nuts. 4.8 1x in 2%

5 5 mana for a 3/2 lifelink and a 5/5 trampler is an incredible rate. Tolsimir's ability to make stuff block the wolf can be pretty nasty too, but this card gets most of its value from giving you two very real bodies for a very low cost. 4.6 1x in 2%

5 A 4-mana 4/2 with flying, lifelink and ward 2 can do a ton of work, and if your opponent can’t find a way to deal with it quickly – something that is difficult thanks to Ward, it’s going to end up causing all kinds of problems for your opponent. The race will get completely out of control! You’re frequently just going to play this face up because of that. But it also has some really insane late game upside, where you play it face down and then turn it face up. The exile effect is reminiscent of Angel of Serenity, in that the stuff it exiles can go back to player’s hands. This means that you can do double duty with that type of effect. You can use it to remove stuff of your opponents – but for insurance, you can also exile some of your own graveyard stuff, so that if your opponent does find a way to kill the Vindicator, you’re going to get some cards back too. I think the whole package here is a bomb. 5 1x in 4%

5 If this hits your opponent, it's game over for them. That's definitely a bomb. 4.9 1x in 4%

5 A 4-mana 2/4 with Vigilance and Double Strike is a quality card already, so adding Suspect to the mix is pretty nice. You can use it to remove an opposing suspect if there is one, and if there’s not you can choose to give something suspect – which can be beneficial when you want to turn off a creature’s ability to block or if giving your guy menace is a big deal. Both of those are really great if you’re on the offensive, although going after your opponents creature is probably best since Agrus can exile it later. Argus can also target himself, so don’t forget that. The efficiency here is amazing, and his ability to remove creatures and/or weaken or augment them makes him a bomb. -0 1x in 4%

5 This is an unblockable three mana 3/2 with all kinds of upside. Upside because it might actually grab you a creature you want to turn face up, and upside because it can bounce back to your hand and make a new body for itself even when you don’t have any other creatures around. 4.9 1x in 10%

5 Ezrim offers really great stats, and his ability to gain powerful keywords is amazing, especially because he gives you the clues to sacrifice to protect him with hexproof. Most of the time, you’re gonna wanna wait to play Ezrim until you can leave that mana up, because at that point your opponent is probably entirely unable to deal with Ezrim, and that’s a problem because he ends the game in just a few swings. The card’s biggest downside is the mana cost. Double-white double-blue isn’t always that easy to assemble in Limited, and the longer you have to wait to cast Ezrim, the less impressive it is. 4.6 1x in 14%

5 A 5-mana 4/4 with these three keywords is probably already a 4.0 or 4.5, so Aurelia’s Battallion and super duper battalion abilities are pretty great. Because she’s got haste and flying, there’s a pretty significant chance you’ll draw that card the turn you play here. Keep in mind she also triggers when your opponent attacks with 3 or 5 or more creatures. 4.8 1x in 14%

Boros	2548 matches	309 decks
13.86% of Metagame
Selesnya	1852 matches	225 decks
10.09% of Metagame
Orzhov	1813 matches	225 decks
10.09% of Metagame
Azorius	1542 matches	185 decks
8.30% of Metagame
Golgari	1268 matches	153 decks
6.86% of Metagame
Izzet	1217 matches	153 decks
6.86% of Metagame
Rakdos	1252 matches	151 decks
6.77% of Metagame
Simic	1000 matches	123 decks
5.52% of Metagame
Dimir	823 matches	102 decks
4.57% of Metagame
Gruul	771 matches	94 decks
4.22% of Metagame
Naya	643 matches	79 decks
3.54% of Metagame
Bant	598 matches	73 decks
3.27% of Metagame
Jeskai	395 matches	49 decks
2.20% of Metagame
Sultai	386 matches	47 decks
2.11% of Metagame
Mardu	393 matches	46 decks
2.06% of Metagame
Abzan	347 matches	45 decks
2.02% of Metagame
Esper	293 matches	36 decks
1.61% of Metagame
Temur	232 matches	29 decks
1.30% of Metagame
Jund	223 matches	26 decks
1.17% of Metagame
Grixis	209 matches	25 decks
1.12% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-black)	75 matches	10 decks
0.45% of Metagame
Mono Green	80 matches	9 decks
0.40% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-blue)	49 matches	7 decks
0.31% of Metagame
Five Color	61 matches	7 decks
0.31% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-red)	52 matches	6 decks
0.27% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-white)	34 matches	4 decks
0.18% of Metagame
Four Color (Non-green)	25 matches	3 decks
0.13% of Metagame
Mono Red	27 matches	3 decks
0.13% of Metagame
Mono Black	24 matches	3 decks
0.13% of Metagame
Mono White	16 matches	2 decks
0.09% of Metagame
Mono Blue	9 matches	1 decks
0.04% of Metagame

Decks by color

Enter The Battlefield Prepared

With the MTGA Assistant deck tracker

Murders at Karlov Manor Draft Deck Metagame

Jeskai card breakdown - 49 decks, 2.2% of meta

Creatures

Instant, Sorcery

Enchantment, Artifact

Planeswalkers

Lands

Top Rated Cards

Enter The Battlefield Prepared