If you’ve always had an interest in Magic: The Gathering but felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of sets and cards available on the market, Wizards of the Coast has something on the way that should help lower the barrier to entry.
Announced last week as part of the company’s weekly Good Morning Magic video series, Challenger Decks are carefully curated, pre-constructed decks intended to be competitive at a local level, giving you a chance to go head to head with even seasoned players in local events and other fixtures outside of high-level tournament settings. As for choice, four different Challenger decks will be available starting from next month, all with different flavors and promoting a specific playstyle.
See the gallery below for every option:
For folks not familiar with the terminology, control-oriented decks such as Azorius (white/blue) aim to wait out the early game mana climb with efficient removal sorceries and seek to overwhelm their opponent with incredibly powerful creatures in the late game. Aggro, on the other hand – traditionally a staple archetype of red – is the polar opposite of that and attempts to push the other player out of the game before they have a chance to react or stabilize. Ultimately, our recommendation, assuming you have the means, would be to grab two from the list of four and see what gels for you.
Veteran players wondering if any of the above are worth picking up should be aware that every card included here is a reprint already available in Standard, so if there’s something specific you’re searching for, the singles market is almost certainly still going to be preferable.
Magic: The Gathering‘s Challenger Decks will be available from March 26th.