Manfield Wins Second MTG World Championship

Seth Manfield won Magic World Championship 31 in Bellevue, Washington on Sunday with Izzet Lessons to become only the third player in MTG history to claim the title twice.

Izzet Lessons

Seth Manfield

1st Place at Magic World Championship 31 on 12-07-2025

Standard

Creatures (4)

• 4 Gran-Gran

Lands (22)

• 2 Mountain
• 7 Island
• 4 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Riverpyre Verge
• 4 Multiversal Passage
• 1 Agna Qel'a

Spells (34)

• 4 Artist's Talent
• 4 Stormchaser's Talent
• 4 Monument to Endurance
• 1 It'll Quench Ya!
• 3 Abandon Attachments
• 3 Boomerang Basics
• 3 Iroh's Demonstration
• 4 Combustion Technique
• 4 Accumulate Wisdom
• 4 Firebending Lesson

Sideboard

• 1 Pyroclasm
• 1 Annul
• 2 Negate
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 1 Abrade
• 2 Soul-Guide Lantern
• 1 Torch the Tower
• 1 Broadside Barrage
• 2 Quantum Riddler
• 1 It'll Quench Ya!
• 1 Abandon Attachments
• 1 Iroh's Demonstration

Fresh off the release of Magic: The Gathering | Avatar: The Last Airbender, Team TCG Player brought an Izzet Lessons deck powered up with Monument to Endurance and Artist’s Talent that absolutely crushed the tournament. Sam Pardee and Manfield made Top 8 with the list, while the architect of the deck, Matt Nass, took 10th place.

Despite starting Friday out 0-2 in Draft, Manfield kept his head up and finished Day 1 at 5-2. His winning ways continued, going 5-0 on Saturday to lock up a Top 8 berth as the No. 3 seed. On Top 8 Sunday, Manfield put on a clinic, going 9-0 in games with wins over Ken Yukuhiro, who secured the Player of the Year award with his Top 8, Derrick Davis, and Akira Shibata.

Manfield and Team TCG Player weren’t the only ones to find the Izzet Lessons deck. Many players landed on the combination of Gran-Gran and Accumulated Wisdom with looting effects to unlock a one-mana draw three spell that made some Standard games look closer to Vintage. Shibata even wound up on a build of the deck with Monument to Endurance and Artist’s Talent, similar to Manfield’s list.

Izzet Lessons

Akira Shibata

2nd Place at Magic World Championship 31 on 12-07-2025

Standard

Creatures (3)

• 3 Gran-Gran

Lands (21)

• 2 Mountain
• 6 Island
• 4 Spirebluff Canal
• 4 Riverpyre Verge
• 4 Multiversal Passage
• 1 Agna Qel'a

Spells (36)

• 2 Opt
• 1 Torch the Tower
• 4 Artist's Talent
• 4 Stormchaser's Talent
• 1 Roaring Furnace
• 4 Monument to Endurance
• 2 It'll Quench Ya!
• 2 Abandon Attachments
• 4 Boomerang Basics
• 1 Iroh's Demonstration
• 4 Combustion Technique
• 4 Accumulate Wisdom
• 3 Firebending Lesson

Sideboard

• 2 Annul
• 2 Essence Scatter
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 2 Torpor Orb
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Soul-Guide Lantern
• 1 Ral, Crackling Wit
• 2 Ghost Vacuum
• 2 Fire Magic
• 1 The Legend of Kuruk

Manfield took home $100,000 and the new-look Black Lotus trophy while Shibata earned $50,000. All players in the Top 8 notched invites to every Pro Tour in 2026 and Magic World Championship 32 in addition to the Top 8 prize money.

Manfield’s second World Championship trophy joins his first from 2015 and his two Pro Tour titles. Manfield joins Javier Dominguez and Shahar Shenhar as the only players in Magic history with multiple World Championship wins. Manfield also happened to fall in the semifinals of last year’s World Championship, where Dominguez earned his second title. Notably, Manfield will also finally get his likeness on a future Magic card, as his previous Worlds win happened when it wasn’t an additional perk to winning the event.

View the Top 8 decklists and see full standings from the event on the Melee page for the tournament.