The Metagame Challenge is probably the event constructed players love the most. Over the years I've seen many people preparing weeks in advance to these events. Some people approach to formats they usually don't play just to try to win some packs. If you are not really familiar with Historic but you want to try to farm some packs then you should definitely keep reading the article as I am about to give you my take on the best decks to play in the event.
Since the Metagame Challenge lasts only a weekend, when approaching it you should always ponder the power level of the decks you would like to play and the time needed to play them. Generally speaking I would always prefer to play aggro decks in a situation where the metagame of the format is balanced due to the limited time available.
Let's take a look at the decks i would recommend you in detail.
My Favorite Option: Izzet Wizards
The number one deck I would recommend is (of course) Izzet Wizards. Izzet Wizards is, in my humble opinion, still the stongest deck of the format. What are the advantages of playing this deck over the others apart from the power level itself? The deck is efficient, strong, fast and possibly easier to play than the other options. By saying this I'm not implying the deck is easy to play overall: the plan of this deck is just a little more linear than those of the other options. The deck obviously also has some critical issues: according to untapped's data Izzet Wizards represents the 33.3% of the meta when it comes to Historic Ranked queue (Data are established over the last 11 days of ranked queue). The deck has been pushed over the years by many content creators as a cheap option to start playing and farming on arena. Hence it's likely to assume that during the event many mirror games will be played. Why is it an issue? Generally speaking we should always prefer to avoid playing many mirror games in these events with limited time entry as our edge over the opponents will inevitably be lower. Since everyone should expect Izzet Wizards to be the most present deck in the event, we get to the second issue of the deck: people might adjust their decks and sideboards to target specifically this deck.
Good Matchups: Monogreen Devotion, Kethis Combo, Abzan Yawgmoth
Bad Matchups: Rakdos (both Midrange and Bombardment Vampires), Azorius Control
The Hardest Option: Abzan Yawgmoth
Abzan Yawgmoth is a combo deck that doesn't necessarily rely only on the combo itself to win the game. Needless to say, the most important card of the deck is obviously Yawgmoth, Thran Physician which can draw the whole deck when combined with either Prosperous Innkeeper or A-Blood Artist and either two Young Wolf or one Young Wolf and one Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons. In particular Prosperous Innkeeper will grant us infinite card draw and infinite life while A-Blood Artist will grant us infinite card draw and infinite damage due to the drain effect. As said earlier the combo is not the only way to win for the deck: the card advantage generated by Yawgmoth, Thran Physician can very consistently win you the game. Another angle of attack is represented by the convoke packet: Rope Line Attendant, Emmara, Voice of the Conclave and Knight-Errant of Eos enable the option to win games by going wide while also giving Yawgmoth, Thran Physician more bodies to sacrifice. The deck has so many ways to win games that the best advice I could give you is to play it as much as you can before queuing into the Metagame Challenge. The deck is not easy at all and one of the hardest thing to do with this deck is to think and act fast: MTG Arena's timer is the enemy number one of this deck. There are spots where you are almost forced to rely on your combo and you need to activate Yawgmoth, Thran Physician an incredible amount of times. Think fast, act faster!
Good Matchups: Monogreen Devotion
Bad Matchups: Izzet Wizards
The Naruto fans option: Dimir Ninja
Differently from the previous decks, this is a tempo deck that relies on powerful Ninjutsu cards. Ninjutsu mechanics has not been (unfortunately) very successful outside of Historic. A-Moon-Circuit Hacker, A-Silver-Fur Master and A-Thousand-Faced Shadow are all buffed version of the paper cards and the difference is so huge to have made possible the creation of a deck around the ninjutsu mechanics. Unblockable and flying creatures such as Changeling Outcast, Faerie Seer and Ornithopter makes it easy for Ninjas to enter the battlefield for a cheap amount of mana and withouth being blocked. Outlaws of Thunder Junction brought an incredibly good addition to the deck: Satoru, the Infiltrator. Satoru, the Infiltrator and A-Moon-Circuit Hacker are the draw engines of the deck. While A-Moon-Circuit Hacker relies mostly on entering the battlefield through Ninjutsu effect, Satoru, the Infiltrator also triggers with Ornithopter. We all like to draw and to deal damages but what about grindy matchups? Retrofitter Foundry is the answer. Thanks to Retrofitter Foundry, cards such as Ornithopter or Changeling Outcast become incredibly strong: having a 4/4 by turn one is not a dream anymore. On top of that your unblockable 1/1 is basically untargettable (unless your opponent wants to waste a removal spell) as long as Retrofitter Foundry is untapped. Having access to cheap removal and counterspells is just the icing on the cake for a tempo deck like Dimir Ninja. I know what you are thinking: it's time to throw some shuriken!
These are my choices but I am aware that there are many other equally valid options so feel free to play what you enjoy the most and remember that even good decks might not get to the seven wins very easily. In the end we all want to win some packs!
