This weekend, Timeless is getting its first Metagame Challenge, and it’s time to grind out as much value as possible. For those who haven’t played one before,  the event costs 2000 Gold or 400 Gems, and its payouts are as such:

With all the explanation out of the way, the next question is… What should I play?

Show and Tell

A legacy mainstay reimagined using the Timeless card pool. Show and Tell aka “SNT” has been near the top of the pack ever since Show and tell was added in the MKM Special Guest and is the most straightforward of the lists I’ll cover today. The deck’s goal is to find both an Omniscience and a Show in Tell by turn three. Once Show and Tell resolves, the deck uses the numerous tutors and card draw spells to grab an Approach of the Second Sun and cast it twice. It uses Atraxa as a way to dig for cards and a backup plan when they can’t find Omniscence.   

The deck preys on any list that isn’t ready for it. It has no real auto-loss match-up, with the only annoying one being Dimir Tempo, but even that can struggle against Veil of Sumner. If you are looking for more info on the more detailed ins and outs of the deck, I would recommend checking out Novos’s Sideboard Guide.  

Mardu Energy

Modern and Historic players will recognize this addition to the meta from Modern Horizons III. For the most part, Mardu Energy has replaced the old Boros Versions of Energy, with the only notable loss in this change being Blood Moon, but the addition of hand hate for SNT and the grinding ability of Chthonian Nightmare more than makes up for the loss. 

Mardu being the most aggressive deck in current timeless means that it overruns any deck that stumbles or is on the slower game plan. The main negative is a semi-poor SNT match-up forces a lot of Sideboard to be dedicated to fixing that match-up as much as possible. For more information, I would recommend Korae’s Video Sideboard Guide for more information on the ins and outs of each match-up.  

Dimir Tempo

Now, Dimir Tempo is the first one where I both think it is more than reasonable versus the best decks in the format, but I would also hazard anyone without experience to at least take the time to practice. 

The biggest strengths of this deck are it is the best option at showing player skill as you win by inches, not miles, and just how customizable the gameplan is. In a major way, it’s both a deck-building question and a gameplay question when piloting this archetype. The other main reason to play Dimir is it has the best match-up vs. SNT in the format. Chesthair wrote a Sideboard Guide on this match-up and many more that goes more in-depth for those who both have the time and willingness to learn.  

Jet Storm

Jet Storm is the new kid at the block that has been putting up some impressive numbers over the last few weeks, but don’t let the youth or the look of this seemingly random pile of cards fool you. This is the hardest deck to pilot correctly in the format and you will lose games if you solve the puzzle each game gives you wrong. 

Overall, the goal of the deck is to assemble 2 Treasure makers (Greedy Freebooter and Shambling Ghast), a Jet Medallion, Marionette Apprentice/Meathook Massacre, and finally, a Chthonian Nightmare to loop the two treasure makers draining your opponent each interaction.  While this sounds like a lot, the combo of 5 Tutors, multiple card selection/advantage options, and the fast mana from both Dark Ritual and Phrexian Tower allows for a number of turn-three wins, even in the face of opposition. 

The deck is too new for the whole match-up spread to be mapped out, but if you are willing to put in the practice, it seems to have game versus all of the top decks of the format currently. Greaseball, the co-creator of the deck alongside Adam, recently has been working on a Video Guide.  

I do have to provide a warning that currently there is a bug that seemingly randomly causes Jet Medallion to not be tutorable with Diabolic Intent. Support should be able to provide help if this causes issues with your games. 

Overall, this isn’t to encourage you to drop whatever option you are currently most comfortable with, but if you are looking to play a different option, you must be ready for these decks. I personally will be jamming Esper Reanimator all weekend long, against my own advice, due to my experience with the deck and the fact that it is the option I have the most fun with while grinding.

The last thing I want to touch on is the current Sideboard bug. Its not yet known if it will be fixed before the event, but at the moment, its not uncommon for Arena to lock up while sideboarding forcing you to both wait out the timer and be unable to sideboard at all.