Mythic Championship III takes place this weekend in beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be the very first Mythic Championship played on MTG Arena and we’ll be watching action packed games of Best-of-Three Standard all weekend long!

Here is the metagame breakdown for the event from Wizards of the Coast.

It’s clear from the metagame breakdown that Esper is the favorite to take down the event as its two incarnations make up 38.24% of the field, with a jaw dropping 56.25% of Magic Pro League members playing the color combination. Even though both decks have the same core spells in Thought Erasure, Oath of Kaya, and both Teferis, the changes made to the supporting cast can swing individual matchups and, at the end of the day, these are very much two different archetypes.

So let’s take a look at how they’re different as well as what the other top Standard decks will be at Mythic Championship III Las Vegas. Make sure to use this information when drafting your favorite cards in our Mythic Championship fantasy leagues on Thousand Leagues!

Esper Control

Standard Esper Control

Creatures (2)
Basilica Bell-Haunt

Planeswalkers (12)
Narset, Parter of Veils
Teferi, Time Raveler
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

Spells (20)
Cast Down
Moment of Craving
The Elderspell
Thought Erasure
Kaya’s Wrath
Command the Dreadhorde
Search for Azcanta
Oath of Kaya
Lands (26)
Drowned Catacomb
Glacial Fortress
Godless Shrine
Hallowed Fountain
Isolated Chapel
Plains
Swamp
Watery Grave

Sideboard (15)
Duress
Despark
Moment of Craving
Cry of the Carnarium
Ixalan’s Binding
Nightveil Predator
Lyra Dawnbringer

Esper Control is a deck that looks to trade resources with the opponent as often as possible to keep the board clear so that it can take over the game with its card advantage engines. This controlling flavor of Esper is built to prey on the midrangey Planeswalker decks in the format with a slew of Planeswalkers of its own and maindeck copies of both The Elderspell and Command the Dreadhorde as key cards in any ‘walker-based grind fest.

Even with access to a game one sweeper in Kaya’s Wrath, this deck can still really struggle against an aggressive start backed up by a problematic non-creature permanent like Experimental Frenzy.

Esper Control looks to be the deck to beat based on the metagame, and we’re gonna see a lot of it at the top tables.

Esper Hero

Standard Esper Hero

Creatures (14)
Hero of Precinct One
Thief of Sanity
Elite Guardmage
Hostage Taker

Planeswalkers (8)
Teferi, Time Raveler
Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

Spells (12)
Despark
Thought Erasure
Tyrant’s Scorn
Mortify
Oath of Kaya
Lands (26)
Drowned Catacomb
Glacial Fortress
Godless Shrine
Hallowed Fountain
Island
Isolated Chapel
Swamp
Watery Grave

Sideboard (15)
Duress
Arguel’s Blood Fast
Despark
Dovin’s Veto
The Elderspell
Deputy of Detention
Narset, Parter of Veils
Enter the God-Eternals

Esper Hero is your quintessential midrange deck of the format, featuring lots of creatures, hand disruption, removal, and some card advantage to pull ahead in a longer game. This is a deck that wants to face the aggro decks Esper Control can struggle against and can play the grindy games with the other midrange decks, too, but isn’t terribly well equipped to do so with The Elderspell sitting in the sideboard and no copies of Command the Dreadhorde.

I think Esper Hero is a solid deck for this weekend and it should do well as long as they are prepped for the midrange grindfests.

Izzet Phoenix

Standard Izzet Phoenix

Creatures (12)
Augur of Bolas
Arclight Phoenix
Crackling Drake
God-Eternal Kefnet

Spells (27)
Opt
Shock
Chart a Course
Finale of Promise
Lava Coil
Lightning Strike
Tormenting Voice
Lands (21)
Island
Mountain
Steam Vents
Sulfur Falls

Sideboard (15)
Shivan Fire
Spell Pierce
Lava Coil
Negate
Beacon Bolt
Narset, Parter of Veils
Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
Mass Manipulation
Ral, Izzet Viceroy

Izzet Phoenix is a deck that I’ve always been fond of. It plays a ton of cantrips and cheap burn-based removal spells to enable its namesake, Arclight Phoenix. The archetype doesn’t truly excel against any one matchup, but the ability to put two Phoenixes in play as early as Turn 4 will beat almost anything in Standard, and the density of cantrips give you a lot of control over which direction the game is going.

What holds this deck back is the same thing that makes it so powerful: synergy. Your cards all require other cards to function to their fullest extent; if you have a Phoenix or a Drake and no spells to go with them, they just aren’t up to snuff for the format, and same goes for if you have a bunch of cantrips or removal without a threat to get the game over with.

I expect Izzet Phoenix to have a pretty poor result at this event as it can really struggle with the Esper decks after they board in their Cry of the Carnariums.

Bant Ramp

Standard Bant Ramp

Creatures (23)
Llanowar Elves
Druid of the Cowl
Hydroid Krasis
Incubation Druid
Paradise Druid
Jadelight Ranger
Shalai, Voice of Plenty
Trostani Discordant

Planeswalkers (5)
Teferi, Time Raveler
Nissa, Who Shakes the World

Spells (6)
Finale of Glory
The Immortal Sun
Prison Realm
Lands (26)
Breeding Pool
Forest
Glacial Fortress
Hallowed Fountain
Plains
Sunpetal Grove
Temple Garden

Sideboard (15)
Baffling End
Negate
Deputy of Detention
Teferi, Time Raveler
Ixalan’s Binding
Lyra Dawnbringer
The Immortal Sun

Bant Ramp is a very powerful archetype looking to use early mana accelerants like Llanowar Elves and Paradise Druid to play Nissa, Who Shakes the World ahead of schedule. It then uses Nissa’s Heartbeat of Spring static ability do borderline broken things with a lot of mana, with payoff spells like Hydroid Krasis, Mass Manipulation, or Finale of Glory.

These decks are something I’ve worked on a lot. I think Nissa is hands down the best card in Standard, but her supporting cast doesn’t quite cut it. Hydroid Krasis is the perfect payoff for this strategy, but everything after that is either too cute, doesn’t synergize well with the rest of the deck, or leans into cards you are already weak against. These decks can also suffer from not finding a Nissa and having a bunch of clunky cards that aren’t that good without her.

This archetype has the tools to succeed, but has an inherent weakness to Esper Control and their Kaya’s Wraths, so my optimism is tempered.

Mono-White and Azorius Aggro

Standard Azorius Aggro

Creatures (26)
Dauntless Bodyguard
Law-Rune Enforcer
Skymarcher Aspirant
Snubhorn Sentry
Adanto Vanguard
Benalish Marshal
Venerated Loxodon

Planeswalkers (4)
Gideon Blackblade
Teferi, Time Raveler

Enchantments (10)
Legion’s Landing
History of Benalia
Conclave Tribunal
Lands (20)
Glacial Fortress
Hallowed Fountain
12 Plains

Sideboard (15)
Island
Spell Pierce
Baffling End
Disdainful Stroke
Dovin’s Veto
Deputy of Detention
Teferi, Time Raveler

White aggressive strategies are built around one-drop White creatures to maximize the effectiveness of Legion’s Landing, Benalish Marshal, and Venerated Loxodon. The deck excels at getting ahead early and never letting your opponent catch up thanks to its early creatures and removal that lets it play to the board in Conclave Tribunal. This is another archetype that can beat almost anything off the back of a good opening hand, but the deck doesn’t mulligan very well and it doesn’t have a good plan to combat mana flood.

White aggro is an excellent choice if the Esper decks only bring their Kaya’s Wraths and leave their Cry of the Carnariums at home, but I don’t see that being the case this weekend. We have another contender likely held down by the dominance of Esper.

Mono-Red Aggro

Standard Mono-Red Aggro

Creatures (19)
Fanatical Firebrand
Ghitu Lavarunner
Runaway Steam-Kin
Viashino Pyromancer
Goblin Chainwhirler

Planeswalkers (2)
Chandra, Fire Artisan

Spells (19)
Shock
Lightning Strike
Light Up the Stage
Wizard’s Lightning
Experimental Frenzy
Lands (20)
20 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
Dire Fleet Daredevil
Lava Coil
Fight with Fire
Legion Warboss
Tibalt, Rakish Instigator
Rekindling Phoenix

This Mono-Red deck is not the same thing as the traditional red deck wins, whose strength lies in the early creatures and finishing you off with a flurry of burn spells. But this Red deck isn’t like that—the early creatures are the worst cards in the deck and only serve as a bridge to powerful card advantage engines to bury its opponents in cardboard.

This Red deck still looks to get ahead early, though, and either burn you out or cement it’s lead with a four mana card advantage engine in Experimental Frenzy or Chandra, Fire Artisan. With the shift in focus from early creatures to midgame payoffs, this Red deck is much better equipped to compete with the Esper menace of the format and will do quite well if people sleep on how good Red still is.

Esper seems to be the deck for the weekend and the popularity of the color shard at Mythic Championship III Las Vegas seem to show that. Maybe one of these other archetypes can rise to the challenge, but I’m mentally preparing myself to watch a lot of grindy Esper mirrors and I think you should too. Oh—and don’t forget to draft your favorite cards or players in one of our Mythic Championship fantasy leagues on Thousand Leagues!

Don't Miss Out!

Sign up for the Hipsters Newsletter for weekly updates.