How to play vs Midrange

Midrange ecompasses a wide variety of archetypes, including combo, ramp, tempo and others. Essentially anything that's not aggro or control is clasified as midrange. It does share some common traits that can be used against it though.

If you're playing aggro

Midrange in general has a good matchup versus you. This means that you must try to win or get close to winning in the early game. Usually if the game delays until mid-game or late game you lose the match. You need to be faster than Sonic the Hedgehog and play smart - remove key midrange creatures, e.g. Wildgrowth Walkers before they become a larger problem. Don't blindly attack, wait until you accumulate enough power on the board if they have a good blocker.

If you're playing rdw or red burn your most important task vs midrange is to get them to 2-3 health in the first 5-6 turns. This allows you to hopefully finish the game with burn spells, such as Skewer the Critics. With White Weenie decks you want to build a board presence, use Conclave Tribunal on their beefy threat and swing in.

If you're plaing mono-blue tempo midrange might be a good matchup if your creatures don't get removed. Counterspells like Wizard's Retort can pave the way to victory for you. You play more like control, not allowing them to cast their most potent threats.

Midrange mirror match

According to the meta RPS control is the way to beat midrange. Generally, in a midrange vs midrange situation whoever has better tools to disrupt the opponent's plan while enacting theirs to the end wins. One of the reasons why Esper Midrange and Sultai Midrange decks are popular in the current meta are the sheer amount of answers they have.

Sultai midrange has removal (Cast Down, Vraska's Contempt) mass removal (Find//Finality), card draw engines (Vivien Reid) and anti-control package (Carnage Tyrant). By the same token Esper midrange has targeted discard (Thought Erasure) and removal tools (Mortify) as well as evasive finishers (Lyra and Seraph of Scales). Without sideboards in bo1 midrange lists need to anticipate the metagame and use the tools usually reserved for the sideboard to improve their matchup.

Learning the decks to beat in the format you're playing will be the key to midrange vs midrange situation.

If you're playing Control

As a Control player you shuld usually be well-positioned in this match-up. Midrange is not as fast as aggro and their win-conditions are best in mid-late game. As a control player you will likely have lots of targeted and mass removal. You can get crazy value by playing sweepers such as Kaya's Wrath that destroys all creatures including problematic Hexproof critters. As for the individual creatures and spells you have access to targeted discard and counterspells.

Counterspells are usually effective against midrange and combo decks. If you pay less mana to remove the threat, you're getting advantage. 3 mana to counter a Thousand-Year Storm or Vivien Reid and set an opponent back a turn? Sign me up.

Midrange decks can be kept at bay with this package and your finishers will cement your victory in the late game. Teferi, Karn provide you with tremendous filtering and card draw abilities and can also serve as win-conditions

Chromium, Niv-Mizzet and Nicol-Bolas are also some of the popular control finishers. If you survive long enough against midrange decks you are set to win in the late game as control.

Additional information

Midrange decks are a diverse lot and will require practice to understand how to battle them more effectively. If you're struggling to win against midrange you should really understand what the key pieces are that lead this deck to victory. Is it some combo piece? A few key creatures? Planeswalkers that give them card draw?

Answering those questions may help you better construct your deck. You can find how to play against Control here and how to play vs Aggro here.

Alternatively, you might want to try out limited modes. Then, we've got a chapter for you!