5 Magic: The Gathering decks to try in Streets of New Capenna

Streets of New Capenna is the latest expansion to Magic: The Gathering, and with it comes a ton of new deckbuilding possibilities. While it’s still too soon to see what decks are going to be at the absolute top of the pile, there are several decks players should consider when it comes to the current Standard meta.

A wealth of decks to try in Magic: The Gathering as Streets of New Capenna launches

These decks should work grandly in MTG Arena or in Magic: The Gathering tabletop at the local card shop, that’s for sure. Streets of New Capenna is the final Standard release for 2022 before the next rotation happens. Some of these decks will be three colors, which makes sense as the Streets of New Capenna has a three-color theme for its factions.

There are plenty of genuinely interesting strategies to try out in this Magic: The Gathering expansion since Angels are back, and then there’s the staggering power of Ob Nixilis, the Adversary. Some decks are stronger than others, but here are some that players might want to give a try.

Decks to try in MTG’s current Standard:

Jund Midrange (Black/Red/Green)
Esper Control (White/Blue/Black)
Mono-Green Stompy (Green)
Rakdos Midrange (Black/Red)
Orzhov Angels (White/Black)

5) Jund Midrange (Black/Red/Green)

Oh, Jund. What a fun time it is in Magic: The Gathering! Black/Red/Green is an excellent combo. There are a few different ways to play Jund right now, whether it’s treasures, werewolves, or this deck, built on Riveteers Ascendancy. This card is an enchantment, and whenever the player sacrifices a creature, they can bring a lesser Mana Value creature from the graveyard into play tapped. This allows for some frustrating plays.

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For example, players can drop Fell Stringer, use Exploit (sacrifice a creature), and draw two cards at the cost of 2 life. This deck does a lot of creature sacrifice for both players, and with Riveteers Ascendancy, the player gets something back at each turn. The kill condition for the deck is Immersturm Predator, which uses it to constantly grow and smash people. Constantly bringing back Tenacious Underdog will also be frustrating.

Decklist

4 Eyetwitch
4 Voldaren Epicure
4 Tenacious Underdog
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
1 Demon's Disciple
4 Fell Stinger
4 Immersturm Predator
2 Henrika Domnathi
4 Deadly Dispute
2 Infernal Grasp
2 Hagra Mauling
4 Riveteers Ascendancy
4 Blightstep Pathway
4 Cragcrown Pathway
4 Darkbore Pathway
1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
1 Den of the Bugbear
1 Rockfall Vale
4 Haunted Ridge
1 Deathcap Glade
Ziatora's Proving Ground

Sideboard

1 Containment Breach
1 Pest Summoning
1 Necrotic Fumes
1 Mascot Exhibition

This is not an especially quick deck. The idea is that between Immersturm Predator and Henrika, Infernal Seer, players can chunk away at other players for bigger and bigger numbers, while also getting their own sacrifice victims back again and again.

4) Esper Control (White/Blue/Black)

Esper Control was already a pretty decent deck, but it needed something else. Thanks to Obscura Interceptor and Void Rend, the deck should have what it takes to be a serious threat. Some of the strongest cards in Standard are here in one place, such as those and The Wandering Emperor.

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The Wandering Emperor grants a creature of the owner’s +1/+1 and a temporary First Strike, for example. Combine this with a Reckoner Bankbuster, it will get bigger still, and it can create its own Crew members. Obscura Interceptor can be used to bounce a spell back to an opponent’s hand, which is essentially a counterspell.

Void Rend, on the other hand, is an uncounterable spell that destroys a target nonland permanent. Between those two cards, they can remove virtually any major threat on the board. This is paired with the Meathook Massacre to slow players down and do tons of damage at the same time.

Decklist

4 The Wandering Emperor
4 Obscura Interceptor
1 Kotose, the Silent Spider
4 March of Otherworldly Light
1 Vanishing Verse
1 Flunk
1 Infernal Grasp
3 Siphon Insight
4 Void Rend
4 Doomskar
3 Emeria's Call
4 Reckoner Bankbuster
1 The Meathook Massacre
1 Plains
3 Brightclimb Pathway
2 Hengegate Pathway
2 Clearwater Pathway
2 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
3 Deserted Beach
3 Shattered Sanctum
3 Shipwreck Marsh
4 Raffine's Tower
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

The writer loves this Magic: The Gathering deck in particular. When it comes to playstyles, control takes patience and knowledge of the current meta. Once the Esper player knows what to counter and what to remove, the other player is never going to get a leg up in a match.

3) Mono-Green Stompy (Green)

Esika’s Chariot’s one of the best cards in Magic: The Gathering right now, and it shines especially well in the Mono-Green stompy decks. It creates a copy of tokens the player controls anytime it attacks. This deck can create a few decently powerful tokens, such as Workshop Warchief’s 4/4 green Rhinos. Old-Growth Troll can also create a 4/4 green Troll Warrior token, while the Reckoner Bankbuster can make a few Pilot Creature tokens.

Pilot token crews as though it was 2 greater in Magic: The Gathering, so it can crew the Bankbuster all on its own. Then, Ranger Class at Level 2 gives an attacking creature +1/+1, so this deck just spirals wildly out of control pretty quickly. It can use cards like Blizzard Brawl to fight cards to ensure threats get demolished easily.

Decklist

4 Kazandu Mammoth
4 Werewolf Pack Leader
4 Old-Growth Troll
2 Reckoner Bankbuster
4 Blizzard Brawl
4 Sculptor of Winter
4 Workshop Warchief
4 Esika's Chariot
2 Ulvenwald Oddity
2 Ranger Class
1 Tamiyo's Safekeeping
1 Snakeskin Veil
1 Inscription of Abundance
2 Lair of the Hydra
19 Snow-Covered Forest
2 Boseiju, Who Endures

This is an incredibly powerful Magic: The Gathering deck, where the player can constantly pump out big number tokens and overwhelm opponents. Thanks to the Ranger Class enchantment, those tokens get bigger and bigger, and Esika’s Chariot makes more copies of them. Just overrun someone with pure force.

2) Ob Nixilis Rakdos (Black/Red)

There had to be an Ob Nixilis deck on this Magic: The Gathering list. It was almost four or five different Ob Nixilis decks; he’s just that powerful. The ability to make a copy of himself and use it as a winning condition is incredible. His -7 makes a player draw 7 cards and lose 7 life. This deck is also a very artifact-heavy deck, but it’s a part of the strategy.

Oni-Cult Anvil, for example, grants the player a 1/1 colorless Construct artifact creature token whenever one or more artifacts the player controls leaves play. It can also be tapped and sacrifice an artifact to deal 1 damage to each opponent and grant the player 1 life. That can only trigger once a turn, though, in Magic: The Gathering.

Decklist

4 Ob Nixilis, the Adversary
2 Goldhound
4 Voldaren Epicure
2 Sokenzan Smelter
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
4 Voltage Surge
4 Deadly Dispute
4 Experimental Synthesizer
4 Oni-Cult Anvil
2 Getaway Car
4 The Meathook Massacre
6 Mountain
5 Swamp
4 Blightstep Pathway
1 Den of the Bugbear
1 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
4 Haunted Ridge
1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

Sideboard

1 Chandra, Dressed to Kill
1 Sorin the Mirthless
3 Abrade
4 Duress
1 Bloodchief's Thirst
2 Grisly Sigil
2 Strangle
1 Curse of Shaken Faith

It can also use the Sokenzan Smelter to pay 1 colorless mana and sacrifice an artifact to create another 3/1 red Construct artifact creature token with Haste. Suddenly, more damage! This deck also generates constant damage by using the Getaway Car and crew it with Voldaren Epicure in Magic: The Gathering.

Getaway Car has a Crew cost of 1, and it returns a creature that crewed it back to its owner’s hand. Voldaren Epicure deals 1 damage to each opponent when it comes into play, and creates a Blood Token. This can be done at every single turn, thanks to this loop.

1) Orzhov Angels (White/Black)

Mono-White was a very powerful force in Magic: The Gathering, and White/Black Angels should likely enjoy similar success. This is thanks to cards like Giada, Font of Hope and Elspeth Resplendent.

Giada is a 2/2 Flying/Vigilance Angel for 2 mana. Whenever an angel comes into play, all the other Angels that a player controls gain a +1/+1 counter for each Angel already in play. She can also be tapped for 1 white mana for Angel spells.

That’s already pretty horrifically strong. There are a large number of reasonably priced Angels (3 mana). Then there’s Elspeth Resplendent, the new planeswalker. Her -7 creatures 5 3/3 white Angel creature tokens with flying, and as anyone can see, with Giada in play, that’s probably game over right there. She can also grant a creature +1/+1 and either flying, first strike, lifelink or vigilance.

Decklist

4 Giada, Font of Hope
4 Youthful Valkyrie
4 Inspiring Overseer
4 Righteous Valkyrie
1 Legion Angel
2 Renegade Reaper
4 Firja's Retribution
1 Liesa, Forgotten Archangel
1 Rampage of the Valkyries
2 Vanishing Verse
2 Infernal Grasp
7 Plains
2 Tenacious Underdog
3 Swamp
2 Hive of the Eye Tyrant
1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
2 Hagra Mauling
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Brightclimb Pathway
4 Shattered Sanctum
2 Shineshadow Snarl
1 Starnheim Unleashed
1 Eradicator Valkyrie
1 Elspeth Resplendent

Sideboard

3 Legion Angel
2 Archon of Emeria
2 Reckoner Bankbuster
2 Duress
2 Go Blank
2 Ray of Enfeeblement
2 Vanishing Verse

That’s pretty strong, but with enough mana in the late game, there’s another way to deal damage. Starnheim Unleashed needs to be Foretold. Normally, it creates a 4/4 white Angel Warrior token with flying and vigilance.

If it is Foretold (XX and 1 white), it creates X 4/4 Angel tokens instead. Those new Angels won’t be able to attack, but the others already in play are going to devastate another player, that’s for sure. It’s a deck with lots of removal and protection, on top of plenty of damage in Magic: The Gathering.

There are several other Magic: The Gathering decks that have possibilities in Magic: the Gathering as the months go on. Many of the mono-colored, dual-colored, and three-colored decks are viable, but this selection should have something for quite a few players who are looking to deck build in Streets of New Capenna.