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aggro decks- Aggro (short for "aggressive") decks attempt to reduce their opponents from 20 life to 0 life as quickly as possible, rather than emphasize a long-term game plan. They prefer to engage in a tempo-based race rather than a card advantage-based attrition war. Aggro generally rely on creatures as a cumulative source of damage. While strategically simple, aggro decks can quickly overwhelm unprepared opponents and remain resilient in the late game as well. Aggro decks also generally have access to disruptive elements, which can inhibit the opponent's attempts to respond.

some examples:

Goblins, White Weenie, Affinity decks, Red/Green Beatz, Sligh deck, and Suicide Black

Control

Control decks avoid racing and attempt to slow the game down by executing an attrition plan. The primary strength of control decks is their ability to devalue the opponent’s cards by having card advantage. whether Erasing threats at a reduced cost, or no playing cards to be answered, to disrupting synergies to just plain old dragging the game, control players win by by taking advantage of slow, powerful cards

examples:

Tezzeret Control, which controls the game using counterspells such as Mana Drain, builds card advantage with cards such as Dark Confidant, and ends the game using Tezzeret the Seeker to find Time Vault and activate it for infinite turns

Mono Blue Control, which uses a heavy suite of counterspells alongside card-drawing such as Thirst for Knowledge, removal such as Echoing Truth, and a win condition such as Tezzeret the Seeker. This class of deck is nicknamed "Draw-Go," because most of its players' spells are instants designed to be played during his or her opponents' turns.

the famous Blue-White Control, which is similar to Mono-Blue Control, but features more board-control cards such as Wrath of God, and Pacifism.

Psychatog decks, astral slide decks, mono black control, blue-black control and of course the original card-advantage deck , "The Deck" .

Combo

Combo decks utilize the interaction of two or more cards (a "combination") to create a powerful effect that either wins the game immediately or creates a situation that will lead to a win in subsequent turns. The term "combo" can also describe a deck built around resolving a single powerful spell such as Tooth and Nail to create the same kind of insurmountable advantage. Combo decks value power, consistency, and speed: the combo should be strong enough to win, the deck should be reliable enough to produce the combo on a regular basis, and the deck should be able to play the combo fast enough to win before the opponent can win the game himself.

Many decks have smaller, combo-like interactions between their cards, which is better described as synergy.

Examples:

Prosper/bloom deck - i believe this is the first combo deck that won a pro tournament back in the mirage block. the combo is that you exchange cards to mana, mana for cards (using cadaverous bloom, prosperity, squandered resources etc.) then kill the opponent with a single drain life.

The Perfect Storm, which utilizes Dark Ritual and artifact mana to draw cards and fuel a lethal Tendrils of Agony, all the while disrupting the opponent with Duress and Force of Will

Painter Combo, which uses Painter's Servant and chooses Blue to permit Red Elemental Blast to destroy any permanent or counter any spell, while also allowing Grindstone to put the opponent's entire library into their graveyard.

Worldgorger Dragon Combo, which revolves around the infinite loop triggered when Worldgorger Dragon is animated from the graveyard using an enchantment such as Animate Dead. The loop generates mana and card drawing which is then used to end the game.

Belcher Combo, which uses free and efficient mana acceleration to play and activate Goblin Charbelcher, preferably on the first turn. Because the deck has no lands, one activation of Goblin Charbelcher will almost always kill the opponent.

Flash, which is dedicated to casting Flash and putting a Protean Hulk into play and then into the graveyard, allowing the player to find a combination of creatures which will kill the opponent instantly. Summoner's Pact and Merchant Scroll are used to find the combo pieces, while Force of Will and Pact of Negation protect the combo.

Steel City Vault, which uses "Draw 7" spells such as Timetwister to rapidly assemble the Time Vault-Voltaic Key combo for infinite turns. The deck also uses several cards such as Force of Will and Ancient Grudge to efficiently deal with Null Rod, the most effective answer to the Vault-Key combo.

Hexmage Depths, which uses Vampire Hexmage to inexpensively remove the counters from Dark Depths and put a flying, indestructible 20/20 creature token into play as early as the first turn.

Mythic Conscription, which uses the library-searching ability of Sovereigns of Lost Alara to find Eldrazi Conscription and place it onto an attacking creature for free.

other decks are hybrids but these three are the major types of decks. the most notable hybrid deck in magic history in my opinion is the necro deck, w/c i believe is an aggro-control-combo deck.

[QUOTE=jiggs]Hexmage Depths, which uses Vampire Hexmage to inexpensively remove the counters from Dark Depths and put a flying, indestructible 20/20 creature token into play as early as the first turn.[/QUOTE]

How do you get this working on turn 1? (well, outside of using Black Lotus)

you need 2 mana for the Hexmage and one non-mana-producing land drop on the Depths, earliest i've seen this played is turn 3.

[QUOTE=Seras]How do you get this working on turn 1? (well, outside of using Black Lotus)

you need 2 mana for the Hexmage and one non-mana-producing land drop on the Depths, earliest i've seen this played is turn 3.[/QUOTE]

Lotus Petal into Dark Ritual into Hexmage, drop Dark Depths, make 20/20. Not really the most realistic openings hand but perfectly legacy legal.