The 5 Best Magic: The Gathering Budget Standard Decks

The release of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty created several new Magic: The Gathering Arena budget decks within archetypes like Aggro and Control. 

Wildcards in MTG Arena are expensive and take time to acquire, preventing new and casual players from creating top-tier meta decks within the Standard format. Most budget decks are Mono-colored, removing the difficulty of crafting Rare lands for optimal mana value. The release of Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty (NEO), however, has presented players with options outside of Mono-color builds.

Decks that contain no Mythic Rare or Rare cards are called Artisan decks within MTG. Depending on the build, players can compete with Artisan decks via Ranked or Normal queues. Earning daily wins helps players progress further towards acquiring necessary wildcards, which is why we’ve put together a list of budget MTG Arena decks playable within either the Ranked or Normal Standard queues. 

Three of the five budget MTG Arena decks are Artisan: Mono-Red Aggro, GW Enchantment Aggro, and UG Deathtouch tribal. The Artifact Aggro build contains three Rares and the Izzet Control deck contains no Mythic Rare/Rare cards in the main deck or sideboard, but does have them in the land slots. 

Here are five playable budget MTG Arena decks for the Standard format:

Mono-Red Aggro

Created by The MTG Artisan, a content creator who specializes in crafting playable Artisan decks, the Mono-Red Aggro build contains a number of NEO cards that synergize well with each other. Aggro decks tend to run out of gas quickly, which is why the budget deck contains four copies of Reinforced Ronin, Experimental Synthesizer, and Reckless Impulse. 

Kumano Faces Kakkazan synergizes with Reinforced Ronin, while High-Speed Hoverbike is a solid vehicle with Flash and Flying that only costs one to Crew. Rabbit Battery is one of the best Mono-Red one-drops in Standard, and Patchwork Automation scales in power and toughness with each Artifact cast. 

The Mono-Red Aggro budget MTG Arena deck only contains 20 basic lands with an average mana value of one. Win conditions within the build are spells like Roil Eruption and Play with Fire, in conjunction with beating down your opponent as quickly as possible during the early stages of a match.  

White and Green Enchantment Aggro

Created by Hello Good Game, the WG Enchantment budget MTG Arena deck capitalizes on Enchantments and Enchantment enablers from NEO without Rare and Mythic Rare cards. The deck is an Artisan version of the Naya Runes deck using Jukai Naturalist and Generous Visitor. Spirited Companion provides card draw, in conjunction with Rune of Might, and is a good early game chump blocker.

Michiko’s Reign of Truth is a NEO saga that pumps your creatures each turn, adding Portrait of Michiko to the battlefield with chapter three. Similar to Naya Runes, players need to be mindful of an opponent’s board wipes when building a board state. The budget MTG Arena deck contains cards that provide protection, such as Tamiyo’s Safekeeping, Touch the Spirit Realm, and Sejiri Shelter. Removal cards within the Magic budget deck are Borrowed Time and Circle of Confinement. 

Blue and Green Deathtouch tribal

Deathtouch tribal has been around since the release of Fynn, the Fangbearer via Kaldehim. Created by TOTALmtg, a content creator who focuses on beginner and budget Magic decks, this MTG Arena budget version of Deathtouch tribal uses the colors Blue and Green. The gameplay revolves around Fynn, the Fangbearer as the main win condition and incorporates NEO cards like Kappa Tech-Wrecker and Fang of Shigeki. 

Needlethorn Drake is a solid two-drop creature with Flying and Deathtouch, along with Tajuru Blightblade from Zendikar Rising. The color Blue adds versatility to the MTG Arena budget deck via cards like Fading Hope, Curate, Jwari Disruption, and Spell Pierce. Four copies of Taiyo’s Safekeeping protect Fynn, the Fangbearer. Master’s Rebuke removes threats and potential blockers, while Acess Tunnel prevents a creature from getting blocked for that final lethal strike. 

Blue and Red Izzet Control

Artisan versions of Control decks are hard to compete with due to needing mana on curve to cast spells. The Izzet Control version created by Sonio contains no Rare or Mythic Rare cards within the main deck or sideboard but uses a total of 10 Rare lands. Players who don’t have wildcards to unlock these dual-colored and creature lands can substitute in ones that tap upon entering the battlefield and should focus on unlocking Hall of Storm Giants first. 

Like most Izzet Control builds, spells are the focus of this MTG Arena budget deck, which boasts a total of 15 Sorcery spells and 25 Instant spells. The deck takes advantage of the Magic mechanic Learn and Lesson from Stixhaven, providing additional mana solutions, removal, and card draw advantage. 

The win conditions within Sonio’s Blue and Red budget Control deck are Seize the Storm and Hall of Storm Giants. Capitalizing off the number of Instant and Sorcery spells you have cast, Seize the Storm creates a token with Trample that has its power and toughness equal to the number of Sorcery and Instant spells in the graveyard, along with cards in exile that have Flashback.

Artifact Aggro 

Created by Symphoneers, the MTG Arena budget deck Artifact Aggro contains a total of three Rare cards and is an alternative version to the Mono-Red Aggro Artisan build by TheMTGArtisan. This version uses Sokenzan Smelter in conjunction with a number of Artifacts that can get sacrificed to create a 3/1 Artifact token with Haste. The goblin artificer maintains pressure on the battlefield, able to sacrifice Artifacts like Dueling Rapier that are sitting dead on the board or Iron Apprentice, which allows its counters to get moved to another creature upon dying. 

The three Rare cards are one copy of Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance and two copies of Eater of Virtue. These cards aren’t necessary and are included to provide additional value.