Aetherdrift: Limited Archetypes Guide!

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Explore Aetherdrift's limited archetypes in our guide. Discover strategies, color pairings, and card synergies for Magic: The Gathering's latest set.

With the tabletop prerelease already underway and the digital set coming to MTG Arena on February 11, it's time for our usual guide to Aetherdrift's limited archetypes!

I've already written a couple of articles on Aetherdrift about the introduction of the 10 racing teams and the limited mechanics, which can be considered as a supplement to this, and I'll leave them here in case you want to delve deeper.

Aetherdrift limited can be divided into four macro themes, each of which includes two color pairs, while the remaining two have their own theme. I'll summarize them here, but don't worry because we'll go into them one by one!

  • Max Speed (Rakdos, Orzhov)
  • Vehicles & Mounts (Boros, Selesnya)
  • Exhaust (Gruul, Simic)
  • Artifacts (Azorius, Dimir)
  • Cycling (Izzet)
  • Graveyard (Golgari)

In addition to a reference theme, each archetype has been designated with its own strategy and game speed (after all, it’s a racing competition, right?), which we can divide into three groups:

  • Fast aggro (Rakdos, Boros, Izzet)
  • Midrange (Orzhov, Gruul, Selesnya, Golgari)
  • Slow control (Azorius, Dimir, Simic)

All of this is shown and explained by signposts, multicolored cards belonging to each guild, whose mechanics and abilities represent the strategy and guidelines to follow to best build those specific colors.

As seems to have become the new standard since Duskmourn, each color pair has 2 signposts uncommon, in addition to 1 rare. Here in Aetherdrift, one of the two uncommons is always a Vehicle (or Mount), while the rare is always one of the team's captains.

But let's dive into the color pairs!

Rakdos: Max Speed Aggro

Team: The Endriders

Cards:

Bloodfell Caves, Amonkhet Raceway, Engine Rat, Dynamite Diver, Grim Bauble, Hellish Sideswipe, Intimidation Tactics, Endrider Catalyzer, Walking Sarcophagus, Burner Rocket, Momentum Breaker, Kickoff Celebrations, Mutant Surveyor, Gastal Raider, Grim Javelineer, Gastal Blockbuster, Goblin Surveyor, Endrider Spikespitter, Wickerfolk Indomitable, Pactdoll Terror, Risen Necroregent, Streaking Oilgorger.

Description:

Black-red is an aggressive beatdown deck that focuses on Start Your Engines! and Speed, aiming to reach Max Speed ​​​​as soon as possible.

Gastal Thrillseeker is a good example, immediately bringing your speed up to 2 when it enters, thanks to its ping trigger combined with Start Your Engines!, while Apocalypse Runner takes care of making it grow even further, pushing creatures past blockers. Once Max Speed is online, Endrider Spikespitter and Risen Necroregent are your best uncommon payoffs.

Combo:

Boros: Vehicles and Mounts Aggro

Team: Cloudspire Racing Team

Cards:

Wind-Scarred Crag, Dynamite Diver, Brightfield Glider, Road Rage, Canyon Vaulter, Gloryheath Lynx, Gilded Ghoda, Interface Ace, Leonin Surveyor, Spotcycle Scouter, Burner Rocket, Cloudspire Captain, Daring Mechanic, Air Response Unit, Roadside Assistance, Rover Blades, Brightfield Mustang, Reckless Velocitaur, Clamorous Ironclad, Detention Chariot, Dracosaur Auxiliary.

Description:

Red-white is an aggro deck that relies heavily on synergies with Vehicles mainly, but also with Mounts, characterized by Pilots who can handle both of them.

The risk of having so many Vehicles is not having enough creatures to crew them and Cloudspire Coordinator comes to the rescue, making sure that each means of transport has its own Pilot! Cloudspire Skycycle and Cloudspire Captain take care of strengthening the team, while expert pilots such as Canyon Vaulter and Reckless Velocitaur stand out, offering particular abilities to the means they drive!

Combo:

Izzet: Discard Aggro

Team: The Keelhaulers

Cards:

Swiftwater Cliffs, Avishkar Raceway, Marauding Mako, Greasewrench Goblin, Scrounging Skyray, Slick Imitator, Stall Out, Skycrash, Kickoff Celebrations, Magmakin Artillerist, Keen Buccaneer, Glitch Ghost Surveyor, Goblin Surveyor, Fuel the Flames, Howler's Heavy, Wreck Remover, Clamorous Ironclad, Trip Up, Thunderhead Gunner, Skybox Ferry, Trade the Helm, Push the Limit.

Description:

Blue-red is an aggressive deck that cares about discarding cards and relies on the Cycling mechanic so as to get card selection, different types of boosts, and value from the graveyard.

Boosted Sloop is the uncommon version of Smuggler's Copter, sadly with menace and no flying but still useful for the purpose of making as many attacks as possible. This is because for each card discarded, its two best payoffs Marauding Mako and Scrounging Skyray benefit, becoming huge in no time, as does Magmakin Artillerist, dealing direct damage to the opponent.

Combo:

  • Goblin Surveyor / Glitch Ghost Surveyor + Kickoff Celebrations / Keen Buccaneer / Thunderhead Gunner = There is a cycle of commons called “Surveyor” that, with Max Speed, ​​can be exiled from the graveyard to draw a card. They are particularly useful for gaining value with any loot effect.
  • Aether Syphon + Boosted Sloop / any Cycling card = Aether Syphon mills your opponent every time you draw a card and can become a real win condition if combined with the continuous draw-discard by Boosted Sloop and/or many Cycling cards.
  • Trip Up + Aether Syphon = Speaking of Aether Syphon, Trip Up allows you to put a dangerous threat, most of the time, on top of your opponent's deck. By casting it in your upkeep, the permanent is milled away in draw step with Aether Siphon's trigger, getting the effect of a real removal spell.
  • Trade the Helm + Gilded Ghoda = The blue sorcery lets you trade a piece with your opponent, but you often don't have enough bad stuff to give them. The Treasure you created earlier with Gilded Ghoda might be a good present, as it's not particularly valuable at that stage of the game.

Gruul: Exhaust Midrange

Team: The Goblin Rocketeers

Cards:

Rugged Highlands, Dynamite Diver, Greasewrench Goblin, Stampeding Scurryfoot, Greenbelt Guardian, Prowcatcher Specialist, Beastrider Vanguard, Burner Rocket, Pit Automaton, Elvish Refueler, Adrenaline Jockey, Pacesetter Paragon, Goblin Surveyor, Loxodon Surveyor, Camera Launcher, Fang Guardian, Hazard of the Dunes, Spire Mechcycle, Terrian, World Tyrant, Migrating Ketradon.

Description:

Red-green is a midrange deck that relies on the Exhaust mechanic, mainly to make creatures huge and Vehicles permanently animated.

Boom Scholar is the ideal payoff for this strategy since it makes every Exhaust ability, including its own, extremely cheap. As well as additional mana for activations, Rocketeer Boostbuggy provides, perhaps using those Treasure tokens for its own ability and therefore attacking autonomously without needing anyone to crew it. Elvish Refueler and Adrenaline Jockey are the other two best payoffs of the deck: making us ractivate one Exhaust ability on each of our turns, and powering up for each activation, respectively.

Combo:

Selesnya: Vehicles and Mounts Midrange

Team: The Alacrian Quickbeasts

Cards:

Blossoming Sands, Brightfield Glider, Defend the Rider, Gloryheath Lynx, Canyon Vaulter, Interface Ace, Alacrian Armory, Venomsac Lagac, Beastrider Vanguard, Run Over, Cloudspire Captain, Daring Mechanic, Lotusguard Disciple, Veloheart Bike, Air Response Unit, Roadside Assistance, Brightfield Mustang, Fang Guardian, Rise from the Wreck, Alacrian Jaguar, Unswerving Sloth, Autarch Mammoth.

Description:

Green-white is a midrange deck that focuses mainly on Saddle and Mounts, but also Vehicles, in the opposite way to what happens in red-white.

Lagorin, Soul of Alacria is at its best when saddled, usually powering up with another Mount or Vehicle. As well as the team, it is also powered up by Veteran Beastrider, but that mainly calls defense to all creatures that attacked, saddled, or crewed on your turn. Creatures here grow huge and gain abilities when saddled, so untap effects like this one from Veteran Beastrider or Unswerving Sloth come in handy and make you want to saddle.

Combo:

Orzhov: Max Speed Attrition

Team: The Champions of Amonkhet

Cards:

Scoured Barrens, Nesting Bot, Engine Rat, Lightwheel Enhancements, Canyon Vaulter, Leonin Surveyor, Deathless Pilot, Walking SarcophagusMomentum Breaker, Lotusguard Disciple, Grim Javelineer, Gastal Raider, Mutant Surveyor, Hour of Victory, Pride of the Road, Swiftwing Assailant, Pactdoll Terror, Risen Necroregent, Streaking Oilgorger, Back on Track, Detention Chariot, Shefet Archfiend.

Description:

White-Black is an aggressive deck that has the tools to grind into the late game, focusing on Start Your Engines! and Max Speed ​​and building up an army of Zombies!

It all sums up Embalmed Ascendant, which is a great early drop because it puts two bodies for 3 mana but is equally good in the late game, with Max Speed online, draining your opponent's life for each of your creatures that die. As for Dune Drifter, it will be used most of the time to reanimate a piece from the graveyard and make value, but it can also be cast for 2 mana as a 3/3 Vehicle if desired. Its other two best payoffs for Max Speed ​​are Pride of the Road and Risen Necroregent.

Combo:

Golgari: Graveyard

Team: The Speedbrood

Cards:

Jungle Hollow, Avishkar Raceway, Molt Tender, Locust Spray, Intimidation Tactics, Deathless Pilot, Wretched Doll, Wreckage Wickerfolk, Dredger's Insight, Pothole Mole, Loxodon Surveyor, Grim Javelineer, Mutant Surveyor, Carrion Cruiser, Rise from the Wreck, Ooze Patrol, Wickerfolk Indomitable, Earthrumbler, Back on Track, Chitin Gravestalker, Migrating Ketradon, Shefet Archfiend.

Description:

Black-green is a midrange recursion-centric deck that aims to fill the graveyard, using it as a resource to make value, reanimate a large threat, and drive synergies.

Broodheart Engine is able to fill it even by itself with a surveil per turn, then comboing off with its first ability perhaps reanimating something milled by itself. The target can also be a Vehicle like Thundering Broodwagon that however can end up in the graveyard autonomously thanks to Cycling. The other best payoffs of the deck are Earthrumbler, Carrion Cruiser, and Back on Track.

Combo:

Azorius: Artifact Value

Team: The Guidelight Voyagers

Cards:

Tranquil Cove, Nesting Bot, Diversion Unit, Guidelight Optimizer, Interface Ace, Sundial, Dawn TyrantMidnight Mangler, Spotcycle Scouter, Ticket Tortoise, Transit Mage, Air Response Unit, Voyager Quickwelder, Camera Launcher, Guidelight Synergist, Nimble Thopterist, Tune Up, Broadcast Rambler, Spikeshell Harrier, Memory Guardian, Hulldrifter, Gearseeker Serpent.

Description:

White-blue is a slow, artifact control deck that aims to hold out in the early turns while simultaneously building up a board of artifact creatures, whose synergy between artifacts and Vehicles will then give you the upper hand in the late game.

Guidelight Pathmaker is a large Vehicle that fuels the artifact army by tutoring one and maybe putting a small one into play so that it can also crew it to block. To add synergy to the artifacts, here is also the little return of the Affinity mechanic, first seen in Mirrodin, which we find mainly in Voyage Home, reminiscent of Thoughtcast, and Memory Guardian, reminiscent of Somber Hoverguard.

Combo:

Dimir: Artifact Bleeder

Team: The Speed Demons

Cards:

Dismal Backwater, Grim Bauble, Hellish Sideswipe, Guidelight Optimizer, Diversion Unit, Midnight Mangler, Slick Imitator, Wreckage Wickerfolk, Wretched Doll, Glitch Ghost Surveyor, Transit Mage, Aether Syphon, Risky Shortcut, Wickerfolk Indomitable, Pactdoll Terror, Ripclaw Wrangler, Sabotage Strategist, Spikeshell Harrier, Memory Guardian, Hulldrifter, Gearseeker Serpent.

Description:

Blue-black is a slow stall control that focuses on filling the board with lots of artifacts to create a stalemate and then slowly plink away at your opponent's life total.

Haunt the Network shows this strategy by adding two Thopters to the board and draining some life from the opponent, which is prodded from different directions. Just like Haunted Hellride, which turns the stalemate situation to its advantage by constantly turning even the smallest attacker into an annoying threat that is hard to block and will slowly drag the opponent into the grave.

Combo:

Simic: Exhaust Ramp

Team: The Aether Rangers

Cards:

Thornwood Falls, Stampeding Scurryfoot, Point the Way, Greenbelt Guardian, Beastrider Vanguard, Skystreak Engineer, Rangers' Refueler, Pit Automaton, Keen Buccaneer, Elvish Refueler, Pothole Mole, Veloheart Bike, Marshals' Pathcruiser, Fang-Druid Summoner, Sabotage Strategist, Nimble Thopterist, Hazard of the Dunes, Hulldrifter, Terrian, World Tyrant, Migrating Ketradon.

Description:

Green-blue is a ramp deck that relies on constantly advancing mana to cast the biggest creatures and Vehicles, but most importantly to pay the most expensive Exhaust costs.

Skyserpent Seeker sums up the strategy, ramping two basic lands with its Exhaust ability, while Rangers' Aetherhive and Rangers' Refueler are the two best payoffs for this ability. Both are artifact Vehicles and Rangers' Aetherhive also allows you to build a few Thopters, thus also favoring the synergy between the artifacts strongly present in the blue color.

Combo:


That’s all for today! There's a lot going on in this limited, between the new Speed ​​system, one-time abilities, and dozens of vehicles around! Put your helmet on, players. It's time to race!

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I'm Luciano, Italian MTG player since 2003. I play every available format on MTG Arena on a competitive level. Semi-finalist at the Arena Championship 3.

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