Magic the Gatherings latest set, Ravnica Allegiance has only be fresh off the press for a mere few weeks, but already the meta is evolving and adapting to the new cards added to the Standard pool.

Many of these cards have made their way into top ranking decks not only in Standard, but Modern and Legacy as well, proving that once again Wizards of the Coast has created a powerful and impactful set.

If you are like us, you enjoy playing a wide variety of decks, shifting and morphing your gameplay depending on your local meta, however, one style of gameplay has a special place in our hearts, aggro.

Top Three Aggro Decks

Currently, there are a number of powerful aggro decks in the current standard format, however, there are a few top tier contenders that must be mentioned above all others:

1. Mono Red Aggro
2. Azorius Aggro
3. Mono Blue

All three of these decks are powerful in their own right and feature some interesting and dynamic gameplay that goes above and beyond simply turning your cards sideways and attacking your opponent’s face.

You may notice that two of these decks were in strong contenders in the Guilds of Ravnica Standard format, however, as you will see, all three of these decks have gained powerful additions from the recent Ravnica Allegiance set.

Mono Red Aggro – Ravnica Allegiance

Out of the gates early, it was widely speculated that Mono Red Aggro was once again going to regain its dominance and take the field by storm, blazing its way to victory as it incinerated its foes.

The reasoning for this massive hype, was the fact that this deck gained two insanely powerful additions, “Skewer the Critics” and “Light up the Stage”.

It comes as no surprise that these two cards made their way into the standard format, however, what is even more impressive was that these two cards are now regular features in Magic the Gatherings older formats, such as Modern where the power level is immense.

The current deck list for Mono Red Aggro is as follows:

Creatures:

4 Ghitu Lavarunner

4 Goblin Chainwhirler

4 Runaway Steam-Kin

4 Viashino Pyromancer

Spells & Enchantments:

4 Light Up the Stage

4 Lightning Strike

2 Skewer the Critics

4 Shock

4 Wizard’s Lightning

4 Experimental Frenzy

Lands:

22 Mountains

Sideboard:

2 Banefire

3 Fiery Cannonade

2 Fight with Fire

4 Lava Coil

1 Mountain

3 Treasure Map

Sadly, despite the hype of this deck, it has largely failed to impress and has been overshadowed by other powerful decks that have pulled ahead in recent tournaments.

Still, I would not write this deck off yet and as can be seen from how many people are currently playing it, others aren’t either.

It is the third most played deck, making up 9.66% of the meta.

Mono Blue – Ravnica Allegiance

The next aggressive, face smashing deck that we are going to look at is Mono Blue, a color that is not typically associated with an aggressive style gameplay.

This deck made headlines in the Guilds of Ravnica standard format for being an incredibly powerful, yet budget friendly deck, that could take down an event.

Featuring some great tempo plays, that allow you to set your opponents clock back, Mono Blue in the Ravnica Allegiance standard format has gained a couple of new cards, that have made the deck even more dynamic and fun to pilot.

“Benthic Biomancer” and “Pteramander” are two great additions to the deck, however the core of the deck remains much the same, revolving strongly around “Curious Obsession” and its tremendous ability to draw cards.

Creatures:

1 Benthic Biomancer

4 Merfolk Trickster

1 Mist-Cloaked Herald

4 Pteramander

4 Siren Stormtamer

4 Tempest Djinn

1 Warkite Marauder

Spells & Enchantments:

4 Curious Obsession

4 Dive Down

2 Essence Capture

4 Opt

1 Quench

2 Spell Pierce

4 Wizard’s Retort

1 Chart a Course

Lands:

19 Islands

Sideboard:

3 Diamond Mare

2 Exclusion Mage

2 Surge Mare

2 Disdainful Stroke

1 Essence Capture

2 Negate

2 Entrancing Melody

1 Sleep

This deck currently makes up 4.98% of the meta, putting it at the 5th most played deck in the current standard format.

Due to its power level it has taken down numerous recent competitive leagues on Magic the Gathering Online and placed highly in recent pro tournaments.

Azorius Aggro – Ravnica Allegiance

Last but not least, we have the evolved version of last seasons White Weenies deck that saw Andrew Elenbogen take down Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica, making him the reigning champion of standard.

This deck took the format by storm through its fast paced gameplay, that got even faster due to the convoke ability (you can pay mana cost by tapping creature cards) that many of the decks most powerful cards featured.

This low cost creature deck was incredibly resilient to board wipes and placed your opponent on a fast paced clock, in which they needed the right answers fast or would be wiped out.

With the addition of the “Hallowed Fountain” dual land, which allows you to now efficiently splash for the blue color, this deck has gotten even more resilient due to its ability to add counter spells after sideboarding, protecting your fragile creatures from board wipe spells.

Additionally, a new powerful card, “Deputy of Detention” has found its way into many versions of the deck, which allows it to make another tempo play, setting your opponent back, while allowing your attackers to strike unhindered.

The current most played version of Azorius Aggro is as follows;

Creatures:

3 Adanto Vanguard

4 Benalish Marshal

4 Dauntless Bodyguard

2 Deputy of Detention

2 Hunted Witness

4 Skymarcher Aspirant

4 Snubhorn Sentry

1 Tithe Taker

4 Venerated Loxodon

Spells & Enchantments:

4 Conclave Tribunal

4 History of Benalia

4 Legion’s Landing

Lands:

4 Glacial Fortress

4 Hallowed Fountain

12 Plains

Sideboard:

3 Tocatli Honor Guard

3 Baffling End

2 Disdainful Stroke

2 Negate

2 Spell Pierce

2 Ajani, Adversary of Tyrants

1 Island

We cannot overstate how powerful this aggro deck is. It allows for some fast paced gameplay action, which only gets more resilient after you sideboard in your count spells.

It comes as no surprise to see this deck taking down many recent top tier tournaments, including the most recent SCG Team Open in Baltimore, which saw the deck take first place.

Currently, we believe this deck to be a bit of a sleeper and strongly think that it is going to rapidly increase in popularity.

It currently makes up 4.67% of the meta.

Conclusion:

Although we have showcased what we believe to be the top three aggro decks in the format, we know that there are many others in which people are currently enjoying and know that quite possibly this list could change, as we are still early in the days of the Ravnica Allegiance standard season.

Still, these are the decks that the top pro players are currently playing and taking to bat against their fiercest rivals.

Will an aggro deck take down the Ravnica Allegiance tour? Or do you believe that another deck, such as Sultai Midrange, or Esper Control will be the champion? Let us know what you think!