Let´s try to decipher ARENA´s meta.
What do you think are the best archetypes ATM, and what´s the answer to them.

I don't yet know the best archtypes but, funny enough, I know the answer to them.


Spending money.

well, that is true for every MTG product.

Well, from my perspective, as a total outsider:
RDW <--- Midrange w/ Sweepers/Big butts (Can't rely too heavily on blockers though)/Possibly life gain, I think WX is definitely the way to go.
UB Control <--- RDW
Combo Decks <--- RDW

I'm very interested in the opinions of people who are insiders - this was just pure speculation.

Right now there is definitely two decks that rise above the rest imo - U/W control and RDW.

U/W control is just absurdly powerful, they have access to a great suite of counters that it's just a guessing game to play around (Syncopate, essence scatter negate ect and there's also another guessing game with do you attack all out and get blown out by Settle the wreckage or slow down and only attack with a few creatures and give them extra time? It kinda took over U/B as the control deck of choice due to the fact U/B is like 20% to win vs it, as well as having access to the most busted PW in the game - Teferi, hero of dominaria and RDW's bane, Lyra, dawnbringer (also doesn't auto lose to a carnage tyrant which is nice)

RDW is pretty obvious, there's a reason 2 cards in the deck were banned in standard, you can't block its creatures, and even if you do somehow manage to survive the onslaught of the first 3 turns they then just slam a hazoret the fervent or rekindling phoenix and then you need very specific answers or you lose. Bonus points if you stabilise on 10 life and then they just start throwing Ramunap ruins at you until you die to topdecked burn.

I'd honestly say at least 50% of the meta is these two decks at the top of the ladder/events (and yes it is as toxic as it sounds haha)

Is UW better than 50% against RDW? If so, the meta is going to be rough for a while.

UW is going big this week, but both decks lose against the mighty Scarab God. This pile is going super strong for me Right Now.

2 x Cast Down
2 x Essence Scatter
2 x Dusk Legion Zealot
2 x Moment of Craving

2 x Champion of Wits
2 x Supreme Will
4 x Wizard's Retort
2 x Doomfall
3 x Golden Demise

4 x Ravenous Chupacabra
3 x Vraska's Contempt
1 x Commit /// Memory
2 x Vizier of Many Faces

3 x The Scarab God
2 x Liliana, Death's Majesty

Lands worth mention
2 x Field of Ruin
2 x Memorial to Genius

I'd say RDW is the favourite against U/W, assuming they both get there good draws, although it's not too lopsided imo

RDW tends to be able to go under U/W, (i.e 3 one drops by turn 2 draws) and then U/W is really banking on seal away to save the day, or it's trump card Lyra.

Also have to strongly disagree cucho haha, i'm on U/B scarab god and find the matchup just miserable, they have so much exile that scarab god is just another clunky dude, and teferi can just solo a game unless you can resolve a vraska's contempt - for me it's pretty much been Nezahal, primal tide or bust

Well if RDW is favored then everything is fine. Just need a deck that preys on RDW.

I have been defending my self pretty good against it, I packed a lot of counters, but the games take ages... Field of Ruin has been an all star on the matchup, same as the Vizier of Many Faces, maybe it would be wise to swap Doomfall for Duress
RDW still has the biggest chunk onf the meta IMO probably coz its an older deck.
Cats, Merfolks, Vampires and Knights are also like a third of the meta.

How do you embalm Vizier if it can't copy anything? I don't get it.

I used to play Duress in 2014 a ton.

I don't really get Field of Ruin. That's a lot of mana to have a very small effect. Are some of the non-basic's THAT good? Even if you get rid of a key dual land, opponent will just fetch the missing mana.

I don't attack with more than one creature and If they drop Lyra then its on... sometimes a lonely Dusk Legion Zealot can be enough, also the land can kill Search for azcanta and the other one that lets you draw when you get the city's blessing.

Anybody tried Esper Control yet? Is it good?

Yes, they are. RDW will finish you with deserts. Control will out draw you with a couple of lands they have. Merfolk will fly over your head for a beatdown. Those are just the most common ones, but there are plenty others that can impact the game.

One deck I think will be near top tier is the mono white knights.

oh man, i LOVE mono colour decks. The best ones to keep 2-landers (a personal fetish of mine). Sounds fun!

No one is answering my Vizier rules question

The only time I encounter this was when someone embalmed it, and in reaction to the embalming, before it entered the battlefield, I killed the only creature. It came in and died as a 0/0. (If my memory serves correctly, and I believe it does) I don't know if you can embalm w/o a target, but I would think so.

Sure you can embalm him without targets, but he will die in a horrible an embarrassing way

Nice!
I did basically the same once in Unsummoning the only creature on board.

Ok you where right on this one, my sample was to small and I got lucky on the first matches, UW is overwhelming, only Wizards with one explosive start with Insult FTW or Ramunap RDW can race them for a T4-T5 kill or put a big enough advantage to end the game later on.
But you know who just pisses all over seal away, settle the wreakage and cast out, ma boy Squee, el Inmortal, I tried a GR monsters pile coz I got 2 copies of this guy on the Dom Draft and I love him. UW got nothing on him.

The top two decks are RDW (the aggressve Hazoret variant, not random red cards shoved into a deck) and The Scarab God based control decks.

Other decks that see a lot of play are the two (or sometimes just one) color tribal decks, control, and control. Most of these are "budget" decks based off of the 10 pre-con skeletons they gave us; with a good or control deck being the exceptions because those decks don't work without 4-ofs of a lot of the key cards. And the pre-cons basically give you a bunch of one-of rares with a single mythic per pre-con.

The only combo deck that really exists is Fling, and that one is .... meh. At least against control. It's too vulnerable to either combo piece getting denied by removal or a counterspell; which is basically the definition of control in the game. Play Champion of Wits; play a bunch of counter-spells; splash red, white, or black for a win-con and good removal; and just prevent your opponent from doing anything. It's very hard to land a 5 mana (combined) two-card combo against that.

Edit: Other decks exist. I just don't see them often enough. Like I know mono is a thing but i almost never see it.

Edit: I think control is the 3rd best deck, losing to Scarab by a small margin.