All 5 Brawl Precon Decks on MTG Arena: Rankings and Decklists

Last updated on May 19, 2025

MTG Arena Store

In 2024, WotC started selling whole decks on MTG Arena to ease players into getting strong, competitive decks. These preconstructed deck offerings vary between formats, so sometimes we get Pro Tour Standard decks, or maybe strong metagame Historic decks, and even Brawl decks. These decks can be bought with gems, and you can get a hefty discount based on the cards you already have in your collection, so it can be an interesting way of getting the cards you need instead of randomly opening packs. But are the benefits worth the price of admission?

Today we’re focusing on the Brawl precon decks that sometimes appear in MTG Arena's store, ranging from the worst to the best ones.

What Are Brawl Decks on MTG Arena?

Professional Face-Breaker | Illustration by Dan Scott

Brawl precons on MTG Arena are complete Brawl decks you can buy via gems in the Arena Store, and they can only be played in the Brawl format; but of course, you can use the acquired cards in whichever Arena format they’re valid. When you buy these decks, all the cards will be added to your collection, so it’s a novel way to buy specific cards. Also, the deck price will vary based on how many cards you already have, so Arena won’t charge you for duplicates. Since Brawl decks are singleton, you’re only getting one copy of each card.

Brawl decks will be offered in a rotation, and the latest batch features five decks that were made available on 04/29/25.

How to Buy Brawl Decks

Getting Brawl decks on Arena is pretty simple, when they're available. I’ll walk you through the process:

First, let’s open MTG Arena and click on Store on the main screen.

Now we’re in the Arena store. We can see more options underneath, and here we’ll click on Decks.

After that, you’re on your way to purchase a Brawl deck. Note that these decks have dynamic pricing determined by how many rares/mythics they have and the cards you already own. You can get a huge discount if you have a fairly extensive collection, and you can craft cards in the deck ahead of time to lower the gem price you'd pay for the rest. Also, you can only buy these decks with gems, so your Arena gold is no good here.

Latest Brawl Decks as of May, 2025:

• Kotis, Sibsig Champion
• Elsha, Threefold Master
• Eshki, Temur's Roar
• Betor, Ancestor's Voice
• Neriv, Crackling Vanguard

How Much Do the Arena Brawl Decks Cost?

Here’s the base cost of the latest Brawl decks in the Arena Store, from lowest to highest.

Latest Brawl Decks:

• Eshki, Temur's Roar – 20,790
• Neriv, Crackling Vanguard – 20,800
• Betor, Ancestor's Voice – 20,810
• Kotis, Sibsig Champion – 21,780
• Elsha, Threefold Master – 22,290

Arena Brawl deck costs aren’t fixed because their price varies based on the type and rarity of the cards they contain. The first wave of Brawl precons were actually cheaper, including decks in the 3k-15k range. With the latest offerings, decks cost anywhere between 20-30k gems.

Consider that each dollar gets you 170 gems on Arena and you’re looking at a base rate $100+ per Brawl deck, which is insane. Now consider discounted prices based on what you may already have in your collection, and prices go down considerably.

How to Calculate the Value of Brawl Decks

The total and adjusted deck values are based off wildcards needed to craft the deck. Some models we ran for previous offerings showed us that the price per common/uncommon wildcard was slightly more than the price per rare/mythic wildcard, though it's unclear how much weight is being added to wildcards of each rarity. It's also not explicitly stated that cards of the same rarity are being assigned the same gem cost.

The price you pay for a deck scales down based on the cards you already have in your collection, so it might be worth your time to actually craft the commons and uncommons from a Brawl deck you plan to buy before you actually purchase it, saving yourself some gems in the process.

The quick answer for price calculations is to just go to the Arena store yourself and check out how much you'd have to spend to complete the deck.

Best Brawl Precon Decks

Before taking a peek at the latest decks, note that Brawl includes Alchemy cards, both digital-only cards and rebalanced cards. Any cards in these decklists denoted with an “A-” at the front of their name are Alchemy rebalanced versions of those cards (these will add the normal version of that card to your collection).

Also, keep in mind that these decks are pretty basic, and it really shows in their mana bases. When I played them, I often struggled to fix my colors because they rely heavily on basic lands instead of better options like fetch lands, surveil lands, or shock lands. That might sound like a big ask, but if you play other formats or draft regularly, you probably already have them, or you have enough resources to craft at least one of these upgraded mana bases for Brawl. And trust me—those three land types make a huge difference in 3-color decks like the Brawl decks that came out around Tarkir: Dragonstorm. I highly recommend spending your wildcards on fixing the mana.

#5. Kotis, Sibsig Champion

Kotis, Sibsig Champion | Illustration by Chris Rallis

Deck Theme and Strategy

Kotis, Sibsig Champion turns your graveyard into a second hand, letting you cast one creature each turn straight from the bin by exiling three other cards. On top of that, every time you bring something back from the graveyard, Kotis bulks up with two +1/+1 counters, quickly becoming a serious problem for your opponents.

The build leans heavily into recursion and self-mill, with support from zombie synergies, token generators, and even a few spicy dragons like Dragonlord Silumgar. Cards like Sidisi, Brood Tyrant, Skull Prophet, and Stitcher's Supplier keep your graveyard loaded, while Woe Strider, Victimize, and Gravebreaker Lamia help your biggest threats make a comeback.

Strengths and Weaknesses

One of the coolest things about this Kotis build is how well it grinds. You fill up the graveyard quickly and then just keep looping value—bringing stuff back turn after turn. Cards like Teval, the Balanced Scale, Insidious Roots, and Kheru Goldkeeper make sure every graveyard interaction gives you a little something extra, whether it’s tokens, mana, or both.

Kotis itself gets huge over time, growing stronger with each reanimated creature. The deck’s also super flexible, packing in removal like Putrefy and Casualties of War, card draw with Deep Analysis and Mulldrifter, and all kinds of utility through Nyx Weaver and Broodheart Engine.

The big catch? Graveyard hate really hurts. A Rest in Peace or surprise Bojuka Bog can completely shut things down. And since a lot of your value adds up slowly over time, it can be tough to keep up with super-fast combo or aggro decks if you fall behind early.

#4. Elsha, Threefold Master

Elsha, Threefold Master | Illustration by Irina Nordsol

Deck Theme and Strategy

This Elsha, Threefold Master deck is all about casting a bunch of spells, drawing cards, and turning that momentum into a flood of tokens or big, flashy plays. Elsha needs to connect in combat for at least one big hit, after which an army of prowess monk tokens can convert your spell-based strategy into a win.

You’ve got a ton of cheap spells like Opt, Consider, and Faithless Looting to keep things moving, while cards like Young Pyromancer, Monastery Mentor, and Third Path Iconoclast reward you with tokens for every instant or sorcery.

Add in value engines like Jeskai Ascendancy and Storm-Kiln Artist, and the deck can explode out of nowhere with massive turns packed with spells, triggers, and damage.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The biggest strength here is how fast things can snowball. Once Elsha is on board, you start to draw tons of cards with Whirlwind of Thought, sling spells for value, and build up a board with growing threats like Sprite Dragon and burn from Guttersnipe.

You’ve got removal covered too, with tools like Abrade, Swords to Plowshares, and Get Lost, and even a reset button in Vanquish the Horde.

The downside? It needs a little setup time. If a key piece like Storm-Kiln Artist or Jeskai Ascendancy gets answered, you might lose your momentum. Plus, graveyard hate or timely counters can throw your entire rhythm off.

#3. Eshki, Temur's Roar

Eshki, Temur's Roar | Illustration by Billy Christian

Deck Theme and Strategy

Eshki, Temur's Roar rewards you handsomely every time you play a creature, growing in size, drawing cards, and even flinging damage at all opponents when you cast big creatures. The main theme is that power matters, with a strong sub-theme focused on dragons. Many of the creatures—like Dragonlord Atarka, Glorybringer, Lathliss, Dragon Queen, and Miirym, Sentinel Wyrm—are dragons that not only trigger Eshki’s abilities but also bring their own powerful effects.

Enablers like Temur Ascendancy, Garruk's Uprising, and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner help draw cards whenever big creatures enter the battlefield, and ramp spells like Cultivate and Growth Spiral make sure you have the mana to cast your heavy hitters.

Strengths and Weaknesses

This deck’s strength lies in its ability to turn every creature spell into a value engine. Eshki grows fast and becomes a serious threat on its own, and the deck quickly builds overwhelming board presence through efficient ramp, creature cost reduction (like Goreclaw, Terror of Qal Sisma), and dragon-specific synergy cards such as Dragon's Fire, Fearsome Whelp, and Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest.

You’re never short on damage, and cards like Wrathful Red Dragon or Scourge of Valkas can close games in a hurry. However, the deck is heavily creature-reliant, so board wipes, bounce effects, or exile-based removal can really set you back. If Eshki is removed early and often, it’s much harder to keep up momentum without another engine online. Plus, being top-heavy can make your early game a bit slow if you don't draw ramp.

#2. Betor, Ancestor's Voice

Betor, Ancestor's Voice | Illustration by Lius Lasahido

Deck Theme and Strategy

Betor, Ancestor's Voice brings together a smooth blend of lifegain and graveyard recursion in a Historic Brawl shell that’s all about long-term value. You’ve got passive lifegain from cards like Nyx-Fleece Ram, Rhox Faithmender, and Indulging Patrician, which helps Betor hand out +1/+1 counters and bring creatures back from the grave.

The deck slowly builds momentum with lifelink creatures, defenders, and lifegain payoffs like Dina, Soul Steeper and Trelasarra, Moon Dancer, making every life tick count. And with cards like Silversmote Ghoul and Moldervine Reclamation, you draw cards and grow your board at the same time.

Strengths and Weaknesses

This deck shines in grindy matchups thanks to a suite of recursion and lifegain payoffs that make it hard to kill you in the long game. Removal like Mortality Spear, Anguished Unmaking, and Infernal Grasp keep threats in check, while protection pieces like Shalai, Voice of Plenty and Swiftfoot Boots safeguard your key creatures. The abundance of life gain also enables cards like Golden Sidekick, Cleric Class, and Vampire Scrivener to grow quickly.

However, the deck can be vulnerable to early aggression or graveyard hate, especially exile-based removal that sidesteps Betor's recursion. It also requires time to stabilize, meaning explosive combo or tempo decks might close out the game before your engine is fully online.

#1. Neriv, Crackling Vanguard

Neriv, Crackling Vanguard | Illustration by Lucas Graciano

Deck Theme and Strategy

At its core, the Neriv, Crackling Vanguard deck is all about building a wild mix of tokens and turning that into free spells every time Neriv attacks. The more types of tokens you control—goblins, spirits, warriors, angels, you name it—the more cards you get to exile and play that turn.

Naturally, the deck leans hard into token production with cards like Siege-Gang Commander, Lingering Souls, Heroic Reinforcements, and Anointed Procession to keep the board diverse and full.

On top of that, there’s a nice aristocrats twist going on with Mayhem Devil, Pitiless Plunderer, and Bastion of Remembrance, so you can turn every sacrifice into extra value. It’s got a great mix of go-wide token aggro and combo-like payoff from all the synergies packed in.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The real power of the deck shows when you flood the board with tokens and suddenly turn that army into a fresh set of cards, all thanks to Neriv, Crackling Vanguard’s attack trigger. It can feel like you’re playing from the top of your deck without ever running out of gas.

Spells like Deadly Dispute, Plumb the Forbidden, and Big Score help you keep the momentum going while they fill your hand and your battlefield. The strategy is super flexible—sometimes you’re swarming the board, but other times you’re sacking everything for value or draining opponents out with Mayhem Devil and Nadier's Nightblade.

The main catch is that if your tokens are wiped out before you can swing, especially with board wipes or anti-artifact hate, your whole game plan can fall apart. Also take into account that most often, you’ll rely on Treasure tokens to fix your mana, and that means spending them.

Wrap Up

Duel for Dominance | Illustration by Ryan Pancoast

I think it’s great that WotC is trying to offer more value to MTG Arena regulars, but it’s hard to recommend getting Brawl decks at the current price. You’d rather use your resources on Arena doing daily quests or drafting. Also, Brawl is a format that you can experiment a lot with, so you don’t need a very competitive deck from the get-go.

Premier Draft gives you the best value on Arena. The next best thing is to buy packs in increments of 10, getting access to the golden pack, which comes with six rares or mythics. I’d only recommend getting Brawl precons if you need some cards they contain, or if you have enough cards to get them by spending, say, 3k-5k gems. Participating in two Premier Drafts with this amount of gems will allow you to build a much better collection, or just getting the most recent packs will net you a lot of cards and wildcards.

What about you guys? Am I wrong and Brawl precons are great value? Have you had good experiences getting those? Let me know in the comments section below, or let’s discuss it over Draftsim Discord.

Thanks for reading, and avoid some Arena traps, will you?