Aggro

2 min read · Last updated March 28, 2026

A deck strategy focused on winning quickly through early, efficient creatures and direct damage spells. Aggro decks aim to close the game before opponents can execute their own game plan.

How Aggro Works

Aggro decks follow a simple principle: deploy threats faster than your opponent can answer them. The ideal aggro curve starts with a one-drop creature on turn one and applies relentless pressure each subsequent turn. Every card in the deck should either deal damage or enable damage.

Key Characteristics

  • Low mana curve — most cards cost 1-3 mana, rarely more than 4
  • Creature-heavy — 20-30 creatures that attack efficiently
  • Reach — burn spells or direct damage to finish games when creatures are blocked
  • Speed over resilience — trades long-game power for early-game dominance

Aggro in Different Formats

In Standard, aggro adapts to the current card pool — Mono-Red Aggro is consistently competitive. In Modern, Burn pushes the aggro concept to its extreme with direct damage. In Commander, pure aggro struggles against 40 life totals, but Voltron and Infect strategies adapt the aggro philosophy.

Building an Aggro Deck

  1. Start with 20+ efficient creatures sorted by mana cost
  2. Add 4-8 removal or burn spells for reach
  3. Keep lands to 20-22 (60-card) or 32-34 (Commander)
  4. Cut anything that costs more than 4 mana unless it wins the game
  • Tempo — a cousin of aggro that uses disruption alongside threats
  • Burn — the spell-based version of aggro
  • Midrange — aggro’s natural predator with larger creatures
$35 Mite-y GreenStandard16 GoyfsHistoric2Fast2FuriousStandardAbzan Felothar AggroStandardActual BurnStandardAffinityModernAffinityStandardAffinity StompyLegacyaggroStandardAn Honest Green DeckStandard
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See Also

  • Burn — A strategy built around dealing direct damage to the opponent with spells like Lightning Bolt and Lava Spike. Burn decks are a classic aggro archetype in red, converting every card in hand into damage aimed at reducing the opponent from 20 to 0 as fast as possible. Related Decks$35 Mite-y GreenStandard16 GoyfsHistoric2Fast2FuriousStandardAbzan Felothar AggroStandardActual BurnStandardAffinityModernAffinityStandardAffinity […]
  • Haste — A keyword ability that lets a creature attack and use tap abilities the turn it enters the battlefield. Normally, creatures have “summoning sickness” and can’t act on their first turn. Haste bypasses this restriction, making it especially valuable for aggro decks. Related Decks$35 Mite-y GreenStandard16 GoyfsHistoric2Fast2FuriousStandardAbzan Felothar AggroStandardActual BurnStandardAffinityModernAffinityStandardAffinity StompyLegacyaggroStandardAn Honest Green DeckStandardBrowse All Decks […]
  • Tempo — A deck strategy that gains an early advantage — usually a cheap, efficient threat — then protects that advantage with disruption while the opponent scrambles to catch up. Tempo decks win the race by being one step ahead. How Tempo Works Tempo is about efficiency, not raw power. Deploy a cheap threat (turn 1-2), then […]