Premodern has grown considerably lately. Not only did the format fully arrive on Magic Online, but community‑organized tournaments around the world have been increasing in numbers with each edition, with tickets sometimes selling out in record time.Many players, however, do not know exactly where to start in Premodern, or they consider it an inaccessible format by their standards. While it is true that the format has archetypes that exceed four‑figure dollar values, there are also more affordable competitive options. And just as there are extremely complex archetypes to pilot, there are decks ideal for those who are starting in the format and want to get to know the Metagame with an intuitive strategy.Below, we present five such examples, which we consider the best decks to start with in Premodern, taking into account Metagame position, cost, and gameplay.The Five Best Decks to Start With in PremodernMono Black MidrangeMono Black Midrange is one of the most popular decks in Premodern and one of the most straightforward to understand how it works, with some challenge when it comes to piloting it well.It follows the classic line of its category: cheap early disruption with Duress, Cabal Therapy, and Ravenous Rats, followed by mid‑game threats like Hypnotic Specter and Nantuko Shade, accompanied by cheap removal. Once stabilized, Graveborn Muse or Phyrexian Arena come in to generate card advantage and keep us ahead in the match.The biggest advantage of the mono‑color version over two‑color ones like The Rock is the inclusion of Dark Ritual as an accelerator that enables both explosive disruption, such as Ravenous Rats and Cabal Therapy on turn one, and casting bombs earlier, like a Hypnotic Specter or Phyrexian Arena. In the late game, Ritual also has the advantage of fueling Nantuko Shade.Mono Red BurnNo strategy is as classic and timeless as Burn, and a recent version of the archetype has been competing with the traditional Sligh while costing considerably less due to the absence of Cursed Scroll.Vise Burn leans on a mix of permanents that deal recurring damage, such as Black Vise or Pyrostatic Pillar, to pressure the opponent's life each turn even when we have no more cards in hand, covering one of the archetype's biggest weaknesses: running out of steam too early.The play line remains essentially the same. Put some permanents into play and start pressuring the opponent's life with Lightning Bolt, Incinerate, and Grim Lavamancer until they reach a low enough point for a Fireblast to finish the job.Its challenge is understanding when you are truly the aggressor in some matches, and when you need to play around Counterspells and other spells, but Vise Burn is considerably more linear than Sligh.GoblinsGoblins, at first glance, might seem very linear. Hope for a Goblin Lackey and a Siege‑Gang Commander in your opening hand, and you will probably dominate the match, but in their absence, the mix of various powerful creatures with synergistic interactions and Goblin Piledriver will carry you to victory. Its goal, after all, is to flood the board and pressure the opponent's life each turn. In practice, things are a bit more complicated.Goblins' mana base includes Rishadan Port, and we cannot always afford to maximize all our mana on aggression, or spend two mana to hold off the opponent for a turn. The targets for Goblin Matron can be easy‑to‑identify spot answers, or a pick among the list's 4‑ofs that, if you choose wrong, can mean your defeat. Just going for the race can win some games, but it is not the only way to pilot a deck like Goblins.UW LandstillIf you prefer the reactive late‑game spectrum with many decision trees, Landstill is the deck for you. This is one of the most classic Control archetypes from Legacy, but it lost space in the format since Stoneforge Mystic and Jace, the Mind Sculptor, and returns in Premodern with its traditional core: the combination of Mishra's Factory and Standstill to force the opponent to break the enchantment and give us a "Draw 3."Most lists follow the composition of an Azorius Control deck: cheap removal, Counterspell, Wrath of God, card advantage sources like Fact or Fiction, and, in this case, Decree of Justice as a win condition. Like any Control deck, interaction decisions matter more, and games tend to be defined by how well you can handle things without falling behind while accumulating value each turn cycle, whether through more cards in hand or dealing two damage to the opponent with a Faerie Conclave while holding off their game.UB PsychatogPsychatog falls into the "Combo‑Control" axis. Its goal is to mix cheap interaction and cantrips to fuel its graveyard while holding off the game. In the late game, cast Psychatog, protect it with Counterspell and Foil, and exile the cards you have played to increase its power, securing victory in one or two turns.Lists can vary in interaction categories and even objectives, with some closer to the Control spectrum, while others lean more into combo lines with less board interaction and more focus on hand and stack disruption to hold off other combos or protect Psychatog. This means this is possibly the most flexible deck among the five and, consequently, the hardest to prepare for the Metagame and pilot properly across multiple rounds of a tournament.Wrapping UpThat's all for today!If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!Thanks for reading!
Reactions
0
0 Comments
Be the first to comment