Best of one Standard on MTG Arena is a strange beast.

We went over the format in full last Friday as I spilled the beans on everything I know about best of one, and today we hit the practical portion. The long and short of it is that if you try to play normal Standard decks in best of one you're going to be at a distinct disadvantage. Best of one has its own rules and metagame and must be specifically tailored too.

With a heavy focus on beating mono-colored Aggro decks while also being able to handle a smattering of creatureless control decks, my Orzhov deck was born.

Time Stamps:

Match 1 - 00:07:20

Match 2 - 00:12:27

Match 3 - 00:23:34

Match 4 - 00:27:14

Match 5 - 00:33:34

Match 6 - 00:38:24

Match 7 - 00:49:15

Match 8 - 00:54:06

Match 9 - 01:01:15

Match 10 - 01:06:07

Match 11 - 01:13:34

Match 12 - 01:17:06

Match 13 - 01:39:07

Best Of One Orzhov | Best Of One Standard | Jim Davis

• Creatures (18)
• 2 Venerated Loxodon
• 4 Basilica Bell-Haunt
• 4 Dauntless Bodyguard
• 4 Knight of Malice
• 4 Tithe Taker

• Planeswalkers (4)
• 2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants
• 2 Kaya, Orzhov Usurper

• Instants (9)
• 3 Cast Down
• 3 Fungal Infection
• 3 Mortify

• Enchantments (7)
• 3 Legion's Landing
• 4 History of Benalia

• Lands (22)
• 5 Swamp
• 7 Plains
• 2 Forsaken Sanctuary
• 4 Godless Shrine
• 4 Isolated Chapel

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Amusingly enough the deck started with a fairly different theme.

Lyra Dawnbringer and some angel friends were the initial top end, as she seemed to be an excellent top end answer to the Mono-colored Aggro decks, in similar vein to the old Boros Angels decks. The problem was twofold. The Mono-Red decks now have so much burn that double spelling to kill Lyra happened more often than I'd like to admit, and the popularity of Mono-Blue Aggro meant that cards like Kruul Harpooner and Collision // Colossus we're seeing more frequent play.

Instead we turned to two planeswalkers that are good against control decks while being good elsewhere too.

Kaya, Orzhov Usurper, also known as "the best planeswalker in Ravnica Allegiance," is quite the all star is best of one. She excels at dealing with the many 1-drops and tokens of the format, while also being a solid threat against the control decks and gaining life against the red decks. Ajani, Adversary Of Tyrants is your premier top end against slower decks, while also being a huge help in the midgame against creature decks so you can side up appropriately.

The end result is a deck with a number of haymakers against the aggressive decks while also maintaining a fast enough clock to have a chance against the control decks. It's a challenge to do everything in best of one, but this feels like a very nice mix. With such a dearth of information about it best of one feels beatable and metagame decks like this feel like the answer.

And don't forget, best of one counts! If you want to rank up to Mythic or beyond, make sure your utilizing every available path. Good luck!