Timeless Tier List
The Gathering’s MTG BO3 Timeless tier list is data-driven that looks at the past week’s worth of MTG event results, top finishes, and overall entries to determine which Timeless decks are currently the most popular and likely to be seen at any given event. There is a small amount of player input in regards to arrangement, but the list is primarily reflective and backward looking.
Updated Every Friday
S Tier
A Tier
A True Tempo Cardflow Control Deck: Put down growing threats in the early turns, then spend then protect them while they generate value and end the game alone. Compared to midrange decks, Dimir Tempo is more consistent but needs to play its cards in order. 16 growing creatures are complemented by a full suite of removal spells, counterspells, and specific answers to Timeless Combos.
An Hyper-Efficient 1-drop Aggro Deck: Only slightly slower than the fastest deck on MTG Arena, Boros Energy boasts better mana and a stronger late game powered by a resource that’s nearly impossible to interact with. With Energy cards from MH3 (and only MH3), re-played Amped Raptors can’t miss a second spell for more damage and more card draw.
A Energy variant: Mardu Energy is a variant of energy that hopes to use Chthonian Nightmare and Orcish Bowmasters to outvalue the Boros versions. The black also gives access to hand hate in an attempt to help the traditional poor Show and tell match up.
B Tier
A Graveyard Based Combo Deck: Jet Storm aims to present a lethal loop with Chthonian Nightmare, Jet Medallion, and Marionette Apprentice combined with two seemingly innocuous commons to drain out opponents. The deck backs this up with the fastest and most consistent turn one and two Necropotences to both find the combo and bury most opponents in cards.
A Landless Full Combo Deck: Belcher is a straightforward combo deck, with cards that are lands only on the back and tutors to cast and activate Belcher as quickly as possible. Goblin Charbelcher “Reveals cards from the top of your library until you reveal a land card” and then deals damage equal to the number of cards revealed. In a landless library, that’s 45+damage to the dome!
An Interactive Combo Value Deck: Efficient card draw, tutors, and interaction enable the casting of namesake Show and Tell to cheat a game-ending permanent into play, usually Omniscience. Omnitell then utilizes free spells large and small to sift through an entire library and lock opponents out of the game with Hullbreaker Horror.
An all-in Spell-Based Combo deck: Show and Tell has only one goal, cast Show and Tell on turn three and put in an Omniscience. The deck uses the best tutors allowed alongside the MKM Surveil lands making this plan incredibly consistent. Bourne upon the Wind, Veil of Summer and Abrupt Decay allow the deck to fight though most hate.
A Midrange Kindred Cheat Deck: Supplement the traditional Scam Elementals package of Grief/Solitude/Ephemerate/Reanimate with Sorin, Imperious Blood Lord to put 7-mana Alchemy Vampire Saint Elendra straight onto the battlefield. Dark Ritual allows this extra cheat on the first turn of the game, and the extra vampiric lifegain reduces the risk of Necropotence.
A Graveyard-Focused Midrange Deck: Esper Rescaminator uses the synergy of Psychic Frog and Diviner of Fates alongside the MH2 Elementals to outvalue and outgrow most other midrange decks in the format. Combine that with the nut draws that reanimate provides and you have the recipe for success.
C Tier
An Energy Variant: Jeskai Energy, like Mardu, felt that the base Boros Colors were lacking and gave up Blood Moon for more options. In this case, for clone effects in Mocking Bird and the main deck Show and Tell hate in the form of Meddling Mages.
A Pure Aggro Combo Deck: Jund Breach wants to mill or cycle its own spells while playing an otherwise fair game. until casting an Underworld Breach and casting them again lethally in the same turn
Jund Breach has two very fast and efficient game plans and, while both are easy to disrupt, its excellent at swapping between the two.
D Tier
A Graveyard Combo Deck: Get an Omniscience into play, then win the game when none of your spells cost any mana! Shifting Woodland provides a more consistent gameplan than other Omniscience decks and an array of card types to enable delirium, with some resilience to discard and counterspells. The cost is a fresh weakness to graveyard hate.
A Classic Midrange Cheat Deck: With all of the most unfair “fair” Magic cards crammed into a midrange interactive shell, Rakdos is the best Scam build for switching gears based on what the other deck is doing.. Make all of your spells generate value while dealing damage- evoke elementals and recur them for value, attack with value creatures, and burn them out.
A 4-Color Flexible Cardflow Deck: Get around the card cost of evoking elementals by drawing a card when they’re cast, instead of stopping them from dying. Up the Beanstalk draws entirely too many cards off of spells that don’t cost any mana, while cheap interaction clears the way for powerful planeswalkers and Omnath to play fairer win conditions than other Scam builds
A Defensive Maximum Control Deck: Lock down the game with counterspells, protection, and removal until Phlage can escape the graveyard and win alone. Wrath of the Skies is the new sweeper of choice, answering any permanents and maximizing the value of a timely Mana Drain. Compared to other Control Decks, Jeskai offers stronger lifegain, better mana, and safe One Rings.
A Draw/Go Hard Control Deck: Dimir Control locks down the game with the strongest counterspells and removal on Arena, answering every conceivable deployable threat and never passing the turn with less than two mana available. A companion Lurrus and four Orcish Bowmasters with flash serve as the deck’s only win conditions.