Premodern Metagame & Tier List (2026)

Every archetype you will actually meet in Magic: The Gathering Premodern, all 20 of them, ranked in one list. The order is our own assessment of how each deck is performing, not a computed win rate, last reviewed in August 2026. Every entry opens a full deck guide: game plan, most-played cards, mulligans, matchup ratings and sideboard. Premodern is played with cards printed from Fourth Edition through Scourge (1995-2003).

Top of the format

Stiflenought – Combo-Control. A 12/12 for one mana, protected by free counterspells.
Goblins – Tribal Aggro. Goblin Lackey into a free Piledriver: the fastest, most resilient creature deck in the format.
Sligh – Burn Aggro. Cheap creatures, cheaper burn: curve out and point every single card at their face.

The contenders

Enchantress – Prison-Combo. Every enchantment draws a card, until the game is locked shut.
Landstill – Control. Sit behind Standstill, attack for free with manlands, and grind every game to the long turns.
Replenish – Enchantment Combo. Bin your enchantments, Replenish them all back at once, and lock the game out of nowhere.
Elves – Aggro-Combo. One-mana Elves become twenty mana, a toolbox, and an Overrun out of nowhere.
Mono Black – Midrange-Disruption. Strip their hand, deploy a Specter, win the topdeck war with Phyrexian Arena.
Oath of Druids – Prison-Control. Strangle their mana, then let the enchantment drop a giant into play for free.

The rest of the field

Psychatog – Control. Counter everything, then eat your own hand and graveyard for lethal.
UG Madness – Aggro-Tempo. Every discard is a discount, and the graveyard plays like a second hand.
The Rock – Midrange. Strip their hand, sweep their board with Pernicious Deed, and out-grind the whole format.
Deadguy Ale – Midrange. Take their best card, kill what they play, then win the topdeck war with Arena and Angel.
Reanimator – Graveyard Combo. Bin a monster, pay its price in life, and swing before the game begins.
Tron – Control. Assemble the Urza lands, then bury the table under uncounterable soldiers.
Clerics – Tribal Midrange-Combo. Sacrifice three priests, and an 8-mana Avatar walks in for free.
The Solution – Aggro-Control. Name their best card, attack with a hasty angel, and burn out the rest.
Dromar Control – Control. Name it, kill it, and let an unblockable spy draw the extra cards.
Aluren – Combo. Resolve one enchantment, then cast creatures for free at instant speed until the loop wins.
Zombies – Aggro. Two-power one-drops, lords that recur, and a Shepherd that drains for every Zombie on the table.

Fresh from the tables

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How it plays

Premodern is an eternal, non-rotating format. Games reward tight play, deckbuilding skill and knowledge of the metagame rather than raw speed. Combo, control, aggro and midrange all have a home, from Goblins and Stiflenought to Landstill, Replenish and The Rock.

AggroControlComboMidrange

Deck construction 60 card main deck (min.) 15 card sideboard (max.) 4 copies per card (basics excepted)

Legal Sets

29 expansions · 1995–2003

A card is legal as long as its name appears in one of these sets. (Reprints in newer sets are legal too, but on Premodern Chronicles we always show the period-correct old-frame printing.)

1995–96