Drafting is definitely the game mode I have the most fun with on MTG Arena. The fact that MTG Arena drafting is more like a draft simulation doesn’t bother me all that much.
The fun part of drafting – in my opinion – remains the same: picking cards and trying to build the best deck possible. And then use that deck to hopefully crush your opponents and win the draft!
And with that in mind, here is my Ixalan Tier List.
It’s not always easy to value a card correctly. Some cards will definitely be stronger in combination with others (i.e. tribal cards). While drafting Ixalan, you should always adjust your picks according to the signals, your curve and the synergy between cards.
If you feel a card belongs in a different tier, please leave a comment below. I’m always curious and willing to learn.
Pro tip: use CTRL + F or command + F to quickly find any card you’re looking for.
Tier 1: The Absolute Best
These are the absolute best cards in the set, in no particular order. All of them are real game changers and will often put you in a winning position.
Burning Sun’s Avatar 
Entrancing Melody 
Hostage Taker 
Regisaur Alpha 
Ripjaw Raptor 
Vona, Butcher of Magan 
Vraska, Relic Seeker 
Waker of the Wilds
Tier 2: Great Cards
These cards are also top-tier, but slightly less powerful or easier to beat.
Air Elemental 
Captivating Crew 
Carnage Tyrant 
Deadeye Tracker 
Dire Fleet Ravager 
Dreamcaller Siren 
Fathom Fleet Captain 
Firecannon Blast 
Gishath, Sun’s Avatar 
Glorifier of Dusk 
Huatli, Warrior Poet 
Ixalan’s Binding 
Jace, Cunning Castaway 
Lightning Strike 
Mavren Fein, Dusk Apostle 
Repeating Barrage 
Ruin Raider 
Sanctum Seeker 
Savage Stomp 
Shapers of Nature 
Vance’s Blasting Cannons 
Vanquisher’s Banner 
Verdant Sun’s Avatar 
Vineshaper Mystic 
Vraska’s Contempt 
Walk the Plank
Tier 3: Above Average Cards
Strong, decent cards that will almost always make the cut.
Adanto Vanguard 
Atzocan Archer 
Bellowing Aegisaur 
Bloodcrazed Paladin 
Bonded Horncrest 
Boneyard Parley 
Call to the Feast 
Captain Lannery Storm 
Charging Monstrosaur 
Chart a Course 
Contract Killing 
Daring Saboteur 
Dark Nourishment 
Deadeye Plunderers 
Deathgorge Scavenger 
Deathless Ancient 
Dowsing Dagger 
Drover of the Mighty 
Emissary of Sunrise 
Emperor’s Vanguard 
Grazing Whiptail 
Headstrong Brute 
Imperial Aerosaur 
Kinjalli’s Sunwing 
Kitesail Freebooter 
Legion’s Judgment 
Legion’s Landing 
Lightning-Rig Crew 
Marauding Looter 
Merfolk Banchwalker 
Opt 
Paladin of the Bloodstained 
Pious Interdiction 
Pirate’s Cutlass 
Pounce 
Priest of the Wakening Sun 
Raging Swordtooth 
Rampaging Ferocidon 
Ranging Raptors 
Raptor Hatchling 
River’s Rebuke 
Rowdy Crew 
Run Aground 
Search for Azcanta 
Seeker’s Squire 
Siren Lookout 
Siren Stormtamer 
Skulduggery 
Sky Terror 
Skymarch Bloodletter 
Steadfast Armasaur 
Storm Fleet Aerialist 
Storm Fleet Arsonist 
Storm Fleet Spy 
Tempest Caller 
Territorial Hammerskull 
Thundering Spineback 
Tishana’s Wayfinder 
Treasure Map 
Vanquish the Weak 
Wakening Sun’s Avatar 
Wanted Scoundrels 
Watertrap Weaver
Tier 4: Average Cards
Solid mid-tier cards. Not bad, but nothing too powerful either.
Angrath’s Marauders 
Anointed Deacon 
Bishop of the Bloodstained 
Bishop’s Soldier 
Blossom Dryad 
Bright Reprisal 
Colossal Dreadmaw 
Commune with Dinosaurs 
Conquerors Galleon 
Deadeye Tormentor 
Deeproot Champion 
Deeproot Warrior 
Depths of Desire 
Dire Fleet Hoarder 
Dire Fleet Interloper 
Dragonskull Summit 
Drowned Catacomb 
Dusk Legion Dreadnought 
Duskborne Skymarcher 
Fathom Fleet Cutthroat 
Fathom Fleet Firebrand 
Fell Flagship 
Fiery Cannonade 
Glacial Fortress 
Goring Ceratops 
Grim Captain’s Call 
Growing Rites of Itlimoc 
Heartless Pillage 
Inspiring Cleric 
Ixalli’s Diviner 
Ixalli’s Keeper 
Jade Guardian 
Legion Conquistador 
Lookout’s Dispersal 
Lurking Chupacabra 
March of the Drowned 
Mark of the Vampire 
Otepec Huntmaster 
Perilous Voyage 
Pirate’s Prize 
Pterodon Knight 
Queen’s Agent 
Queen’s Commission 
Rallying Roar 
Raptor Companion 
Rigging Runner 
River Sneak 
Rootbound Crag 
Ruthless Knave 
Sailor of Means 
Settle the Wreckage 
Shaper Apprentice 
Sheltering Light 
Shining Aerosaur 
Sleek Schooner 
Star of Extinction 
Stone Quarry 
Storm Fleet Pyromancer 
Storm Sculptor 
Sunbird’s Invocation 
Sun-Crowned Hunters 
Sunpetal Grove 
Sunrise Seeker 
Thaumatic Compass 
Thrash of Raptors 
Tishan, Voice of Thunder 
Unfriendly Fire 
Verdant Rebirth 
Wildgrowth Walker 
Wind Strider 
Woodland Stream
Tier 5: Below Average Cards
Most of these will be cut. You might want some of these cards depending on your curve and synergies.
Admiral Beckett Brass 
Ancient Brontodon 
Arguel’s Blood Fast 
Axis of Mortality 
Belligerent Brontodon 
Blight Keeper 
Cancel 
Costly Plunder 
Crash the Ramparts 
Deadeye Quartermaster 
Deeproot Waters 
Dinosaur Stampede 
Dire Fleet Captain 
Dive Down 
Encampment Keeper 
Favorable Winds 
Fire Shrine Keeper 
Fleet Swallower 
Frenzied Raptor 
Gilded Sentinel 
Headwater Sentries 
Herald of Secret Streams 
Imperial Lancer 
Kinjalli’s Caller 
Kopala, Warden of Waves 
Kumena’s Speaker 
Looming Altisaur 
Nest Robber 
New Horizons 
One With the Wind 
Overflowing Insight 
Prying Blade 
Queen’s Bay Soldier 
Raiders’ Wake 
Ravenous Daggertooth 
Rile 
Ritual of Rejuvenation 
River Herald’s Boon 
Rummaging Goblin 
Sanguine Sacrament 
Shadowed Caravel 
Shipwreck Looter 
Shore Keeper 
Siren’s Ruse 
Skittering Heartstopper 
Skyblade of the Legion 
Slash of Talons 
Spell Swindle 
Spike-Tailed Ceratops 
Sure Strike 
Tilonalli’s Knight 
Tilonalli’s Skinshifter 
Tocatli Honor Guard 
Trove of Temptation 
Unclaimed Territory 
Unknown Shores 
Vampire’s Zeal 
Vicious Conquistador 
Wily Goblin 
Sword-Point Diplomacy 
Swashbuckling 
Shapers’ Sanctuary 
Jungle Delver 
Hijack 
Emergent Growth 
Duress 
Dual Shot
Tier 6: (Basically) Unplayable Cards + Sideboard Material
These will almost always be cut.
Arcane Adaptation 
Ashes of the Abhorrent 
Blinding Fog 
Cobbled Wings 
Crushing Canopy 
Demolish 
Demystify 
Elaborate Firecannon 
Field of Ruin 
Hierophant’s Chalice 
Makeshift Munitions 
Navigator’s Ruin 
Old-Growth Dryads 
Pillar of Origins 
Primal Amulet 
Revel in Riches 
Sentinel Totem 
Slice in Twain 
Sorcerous Spyglass 
Spell Pierce 
Spreading Rot
SamWise ClockWise 