Each year, Wizards release new Standard Challenger Decks. These are out of the box competitive Standard decks that could win a tournament at your local game store. On February 8th, the decklists of Challenger Decks 2022 were previewed.
Today we’ll talk about all four decks, and explore their decklists. This way you’ll easily decide which Challenger Deck 2022 is the best deck to buy, when they release on April 1st, 2022. (That’s not an April Fool’s joke.)
Mono White Aggro
This is your classic mono white aggressive deck. You’ll play a lot of small white creatures, and try to overwhelm your opponent with them.
| Creatures (30) 2 Reidane, God of the Worthy 4 Monk of the Open Hand 4 Usher of the Fallen 4 Codespell Cleric 4 Clarion Spirit 4 Luminarch Aspirant 1 Intrepid Adversary 2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben 2 Skyclave Apparition 3 Elite Spellbinder Instants (4) 2 Kabira Takedown 2 Fateful Absence Enchantments (3) 3 Paladin Class | Lands (23) 3 Faceless Haven 20 Snow-Covered Plains Sideboard (15) 2 Loyal Warhound 3 Cathar Commando 2 Portable Hole 2 Maul of the Skyclaves 2 Selfless Samurai 2 Sungold Sentinel 2 Imperial Recovery Unit |
If some card images aren’t showing, that’s because they are from the new Kamigawa set, and they weren’t added to the database yet. You can find them in the Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty spoiler gallery.
The deck contains some quite powerful cards. Skyclave Apparition, for example is a multi format staple, in sees many white decks. Thalia, Guardian of Thraben is similar in that regard.
Dimir Control
This deck is on the opposite side of the spectrum. With this one, you’ll try to prolong the game. Remove or counter your opponent’s threats and win the game with a powerful rare.
| Creatures (6) 3 Graveyard Trespasser 2 Iymrith, Desert Doom 1 Hullbreaker Horror Sorceries (6) 3 Crippling Fear 3 Blood on the Snow Instants (22) 2 Jwari Disruption 3 Power Word Kill 2 Baleful Mastery 3 Saw It Coming 2 Thirst for Discovery 2 Parasitic Grasp 2 Hero’s Downfall 4 Memory Deluge 1 Infernal Grasp 1 March of Wretched Sorrow | Lands (26) 2 Field of Ruin 4 Ice Tunnel 2 Hall of Storm Giants 2 Evolving Wilds 4 Shipwreck Marsh 7 Snow-Covered Swamp 5 Snow-Covered Island Sideboard (15) 1 Saw It Coming 2 Mischievous Catgeist 2 Duress 2 Siphon Insight 2 Negate 2 Ray of Enfeeblement 2 Bloodvial Purveyor 2 Bloodchief’s Thirst |
As you can see, there are a bunch of various removal spells and counterspells. While there aren’t many win conditions, you don’t need plenty of them, as both Iymrith, Desert Doom and Hullbreaker Horror can get the job done easily.
Rakdos Vampires
If you’re a fan of tribal synergies, this is the best Challenger deck 2022 for you. As the name suggests, it’s all about the Vampires. The face card, Florian, Voldaren Scion is a perfect card for a Vampire tribal deck.
| Creatures (25) 4 Voldaren Bloodcaster 1 Henrika Domnathi 4 Voldaren Epicure 4 Bloodtithe Harvester 2 Vampire Socialite 2 Florian, Voldaren Scion 2 Dominating Vampire 4 Immersturm Predator 2 Sokenzan Smelter Instants (7) 2 Infernal Grasp 1 Village Rites 4 Voltage Surge Artifacts (4) 2 Oni-Cult Anvil 2 Mukotai Soulripper | Lands (24) 2 Blightstep Pathway 3 Voldaren Estate 2 Den of the Bugbear 4 Bloodfell Caves 7 Swamp 6 Mountain Sideboard (15) 1 Infernal Grasp 3 Duress 3 Falkenrath Forebear 4 Abrade 2 Callous Bloodmage 2 Anje, Maid of Dishonor |
In this deck, there are a lot of cards that make Blood tokens. You can use them to smooth out your draws or for cards like Voldaren Bloodcaster. For your Vampire synergies, you have Dominating Vampire and Vampire Socialite.
As you can see from Immersturm Predator, there are also good Vampire cards that stand on their own.
Gruul Stompy
Finally, here are big red and green creatures. This is always a fun strategy, and this time around it’s also very efficient.
| Creatures (22) 3 Ulvenwald Oddity 2 Tovolar’s Huntmaster 2 Halana and Alena, Partners 1 Goldspan Dragon 4 Jaspera Sentinel 4 Magda, Brazen Outlaw 4 Briarbridge Tracker 2 Twinshot Sniper Sorceries (2) 1 Light Up the Night 1 Thundering Rebuke Instants (8) 4 Abrade 4 Snakeskin Veil Enchantments (4) 4 Ranger Class | Lands (24) 4 Rockfall Vale 10 Forest 2 Lair of the Hydra 8 Mountain Sideboard (15) 2 Twinshot Sniper 3 Thundering Rebuke 2 Tovolar, Dire Overlord 3 Burning Hands 2 Kappa Tech-Wrecker 2 Lantern of the Lost 1 Froghemoth |
Gruul Stompy has many cards that will delight midrange players. A full playset of Ranger Class is just one such example. There are also plenty of other two-for-ones, like Briarbridge Tracker and Tovolar’s Huntmaster.
Jaspera Sentinel and Magda, Brazen Outlaw will help you get your powerful cards out earlier than expected. That’s really satisfying, especially once you smash your opponent with Ulvenwald Oddity.
Challenger Decks 2022 – Conclusion
That’s all about the Standard Challenger Decks 2022 so far. Which one is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
If you’re unsure which one to get, you can also order all four of them. This way, you’ll be able to use them as a self-contained Magic game, which is always fun, especially, if you want the players to have decks of a similar power level.
If you want further reading about new products, you can check the following articles:
Until next time, have fun with your new Challenger decks 2022.