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 Core Set 2020 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 the M20 Core Set, 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.
Want to improve even more? Check out my MTG Arena Core Set 2020 Draft Guide!
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.

Cavalier of Gales 
Cavalier of Night 
Cavalier of Thorns 
Chandra, Awakened Inferno 
Dread Presence 
Gargos, Vicious Watcher 
Mu Yanling, Sky Dancer 
Vivien, Arkbow Ranger 
Voracious Hydra
Tier 2: Great Cards
These cards are also top-tier, but slightly less powerful or easier to beat.

Agent of Treachery 
Ajani, Strength of the Pride 
Aremsis, All-Seeing 
Cavalier of Dawn 
Cavalier of Flame 
Dungeon Geists 
Knight of the Ebon Legion 
Murder 
Nightpack Ambusher 
Omnath, Locus of the Roil 
Shifting Ceratops
Tier 3: Above Average Cards
Strong, decent cards that will almost always make the cut.

Agonizing Syphon 
Air Elemental 
Ancestral Blade 
Angel of Vitality 
Apostle of Purifying Light 
Audacious Thief 
Bag of Holding 
Barkhide Troll 
Battalion Foot Soldier 
Bloodthirsty Aerialist 
Boneclad Necromancer 
Boreal Elemental 
Brineborn Cutthroat 
Centaur Courser 
Cerulean Drake 
Chandra, Novice Pyromancer 
Chandra’s Outrage 
Chandra’s Spitfire 
Cloudkin Seer 
Corpse Knight 
Creeping Trailblazer 
Cryptic Caves 
Dawning Angel 
Disfigure 
Drakuseth, Maw of Flames 
Drawn from Dreams 
Elvish Reclaimer 
Ember Hauler 
Embodiment of Agonies 
Empyrean Eagle 
Evolving Wilds 
Flame Sweep 
Frost Lynx 
Glint-Horn Buccaneer 
Goblin Smuggler 
Gods Willing 
Golos, Tireless Pilgrim 
Gorging Vulture 
Gravedigger 
Gruesome Scourger 
Hanged Executioner 
Herald of the Sun 
Howling Giant 
Ironroot Warlord 
Kykar, Wind’s Fury 
Lavakin Brawler 
Leafkin Druid 
Lightning Stormkin 
Loxodon Lifechanter 
Loyal Pegasus 
Mammoth Spider 
Mask of Immolation 
Master Splicer 
Meteor Golem 
Netcaster Spider 
Octoprophet 
Ogre Siegebreaker 
Overgrowth Elemental 
Pacifism 
Pattern Matcher 
Rabid Bite 
Raise the Alarm 
Rapacious Dragon 
Risen Reef 
Rotting Regisaur 
Scampering Scorcher 
Scholar of the Ages 
Scuttlemutt 
Sedge Scorpion 
Sephara, Sky’s Blade 
Shock 
Silverback 
Skyknight Vanguard 
Spectral Sailor 
Steel Overseer 
Temple of Epiphany 
Temple of Malady 
Temple of Mystery 
Temple of Silence 
Temple of Triumph 
Thrashing Brontodon 
Tomebound Lich 
Unchained Berserker 
Unsummon 
Vampire of the Dire Moon 
Warden of Evos Isle 
Winged Words 
Wolfrider’s Saddle 
Yarok’s Fenlurker 
Yarok, the Desecrated
Tier 4: Average Cards
Solid mid-tier cards. Not bad, but nothing too powerful either.

Aerial Assault 
Befuddle 
Blightbeetle 
Blood Burglar 
Blood for Bones 
Bloodsoaked Altar 
Bone Splinters 
Bone to Ash 
Brightwood Tracker 
Chandra, Acolyte of Flame 
Daggersail Aeronaut 
Destructive Digger 
Devout Decree 
Eternal Isolation 
Fathom Fleet Cutthroat 
Fencing Ace 
Feral Invocation 
Ferocious Pup 
Gift of Paradise 
Griffin Protector 
Griffin Sentinel 
Icon of Ancestry 
Infuriate 
Keldon Raider 
Legion’s End 
Lotus Field 
Marauding Raptor 
Moat Piranhas 
Noxious Grasp 
Overcome 
Pulse of Murasa 
Reduce to Ash 
Shared Summons 
Sleep Paralysis 
Soul Salvage 
Squad Captain 
Steadfast Sentry 
Thicket Crasher 
Uncaged Fury 
Veil of Summer 
Vengeful Warchief 
Wakeroot Elemental 
Woodland Champion 
Yarok’s Wavecrasher
Tier 5: Below Average Cards
Most of these will be cut. You might want some of these cards depending on your mana curve and deck synergies.

Act of Treason 
Angelic Gift 
Anticipate 
Anvilwrought Raptor 
Barony Vampire 
Bishop of Wings 
Bladebrand 
Brought Back 
Captivating Gyre 
Chandra’s Embercat 
Colossus Hammer 
Convolute 
Daybreak Chaplain 
Diamond Knight 
Disenchant 
Dragon Mage 
Duress 
Epicure of Blood 
Faerie Miscreant 
Feral Abomination 
Fire Elemental 
Flood of Tears 
Fortress Crab 
Frilled Sea Serpent 
Fry 
Gauntlets of Light 
Glaring Aegis 
Goblin Bird-Grabber 
Goblin Ringleader 
Greenwood Sentinel 
Growth Cycle 
Hard Cover 
Heart-Piercer Bow 
Inspired Charge 
Inspiring Captain 
Kaalia, Zenith Seeker 
Kethis, the Hidden Hand 
Loaming Shaman 
Maniacal Rage 
Marauder’s Axe 
Masterful Replication 
Metropolis Sprite 
Might of the Masses 
Mind Rot 
Moldervine Reclamation 
Moment of Heroism 
Moorland Inquisitor 
Pack Mastiff 
Planar Cleansing 
Portal of Sanctuary 
Prismite 
Renowned Weaponsmith 
Repeated Reverberation 
Retributive Wand 
Ripscale Predator 
Sage’s Row Denizen 
Salvager of Ruin 
Sanitarium Skeleton 
Scorch Spitter 
Season of Growth 
Sorcerer of the Fang 
Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord 
Soulmender 
Starfield Mystic 
Stone Golem 
Tectonic Rift 
Thunderkin Awakener 
Undead Servant 
Vial of Dragonfire 
Vilis, Broker of Blood 
Vorstclaw 
Wolfkin Bond 
Yoked Ox 
Zephyr Charge
Tier 6: (Basically) Unplayable Cards
These will almost always be cut.

Aether Gust 
Chandra’s Regulator 
Diviner’s Lockbox 
Field of the Dead 
Grafdigger’s Cage 
Healer of the Glade 
Leyline of Abundance 
Leyline of Anticipation 
Leyline of Combustion 
Leyline of Sanctity 
Leyline of the Void 
Manifold Key 
Mystic Forge 
Natural End 
Negate 
Plummet 
Reckless Air Strike 
Rule of Law 
Scheming Symmetry 
Tale’s End 
Thought Distortion 
Unholy Indenture
