page_title: Magic: The Gathering deck types
section_title: Aspect Analysis
hierarchical_section_title: Magic: The Gathering deck types / In-depth Archetype Breakdown / Aspect Analysis
caption_attribution_description: English: Description of different types of Magic The Gathering deck archetypes.
context_page_description: Gameplay of the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering is fueled by each player's deck of cards, which constitute the resources that player can call upon to battle their opponents in any given game. With more than ten thousand unique cards in the game, a considerable number of different decks can be constructed. Each card is designed to have certain strengths and therefore a significant part of the game is determined by which cards a player chooses to include in their deck. Broadly speaking, decks can be loosely classified based on their play style and mode of victory. The game's designers often explicitly create cards which are intended to fuel one or more of these given archetypes, in order to create competitive balance and diversity.
  While the deck types listed below are specific to Magic: The Gathering, these concepts also extend to other collectible card games.
context_section_description: Aspect analysis assigns very specific traits to 3 of the buckets and lists everything else as a combination of those. The 3 main buckets being aggro, control, and combo. Combinations and the inverse combinations may actually vary in the implemented strategies and aspects and therefore are generally not grouped in the same category. A great example of this is control-aggro (aka midrange) vs aggro-control (tempo). From these buckets, different strategies are drawn depending on the type of actual implementation of the deck in question. However, the vast majority of MTG decks use one or a combination of the following aspects to win.
  Linear - Executes own gameplan without necessary interaction with an opponent.
  Non-Linear - Executes strategies according to opponents play with a high amount of interaction.
  Fair - Transfers card advantage into board state, pressure and tempo. All cards have a potential of trading 1 for 1 (e.g. fair trading).
  Unfair - Does not transfer card advantage into board state, and do not cause pressure or create tempo. Mostly improvises its own gameplan using utility cards and trying to trade in their favor.
  Early Game - Provides pressure against an opponent, and sets a clock. Benefits from playing their cards fast before an opponent has a chance to stabilize and execute their gameplan.
  Late Game - Attempts to survive to the late game to play powerful cards and synergies for maximum value.
  The graphic listed in this section explains how the traditional archetypes use these different aspects of MTG.
caption: Description of different types of Magic The Gathering deck archetypes.
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