2021 ends very soon and the new Flesh and Blood Set releases in one month, so it's the best time to do a recap of the Top Decks and the Meta of 2021.
These are the current Top Decks:
Briar - The Best Deck right now?
Briar seems to be the most powerful deck right now. Even though people might have figured out how to play against the Lightning version, the Channel Mountain Briar, introduced by a group of Magic Pros, is still very difficult to beat consistently. Outside of Nationals and Callings Briar still seems to dominate most of the tournaments. The next big tournament is the New Zealand Nationals, so let's see if the NZ players have shifted the Meta already or if we have to wait for Everfest to come out.
Chane - The old Boogeyman
With the banning of Seeds of Agony, Chane seemed pretty bad at the beginning of Tales of Aria, especially when Ice Decks are a thing. But after a while, people have figured out how to play Chane and also beat strong fatigue decks like Oldhim. Chane is a very aggressive deck with a lot of one turn damage potential, but it's not consistent enough right now.
Bravo - The Showstopper
Bravo was the Deck to beat before Lightning Briar was a thing. It had no bad matchup and got new tools in Tales of Aria. After Lightning Briar became popular, it was very difficult for Bravo players to stand a chance, but after a while, most of them have figured out the matchup and are now able to beat Briar consistently. It's on a good way to become the number one Deck again.
Lexi - Built to beat Briar?
Ice Lexi had some success in this years Nationals Season. It got better the more aggressive the Meta became. Decks like Lightning Briar don't like pitching, because they mostly consist of Red Pitch Cards. Lexi can create a minimum of one Frostbite almost each turn, which disrupts the Briar player immensely. Unfortunately, the varians in this Deck is very high and you sometimes won't draw any arrows, which makes it hard to put pressure on.
Oldhim - Play fast or draw
Oldhim seems like a very solid deck right now, if the player who pilots it is fast and if the opponent plays fast as well. All the Ice Cards disrupt the opponent very heavily, which builds up more value for Oldhim over time. Combining this with pitch stacking, Oldhim seems to be unstoppable. But like I said, you have to play fast!
Viserai - The hidden Top Deck
Our Data at FABMETA doesn't support this claim yet, but Viserai is probably the best deck to play right now. It is good against all the other top decks, it just isn't as popular right now. My prediction is a lot of Viserai players will show up at the next Nationals in New Zealand.
Matt Rogers also talks a little bit about Viserai in a new Channel Fireball Video
In conclusion, it is a very diverse Meta right now, even though you see Briar most of the time. Give the other top Heroes a try, even when they are more complex and more difficult to play.
