Magic World Championship XXVII Field Set

With the completion of the MPL and Rivals Gauntlets this weekend, the 16-person field for Magic World Championship XXVII was finalized.

Four slots remained to be filled coming into the weekend with the MPL Gauntlet awarding three qualifications on Saturday and the Rivals Gauntlet determining the last player to make it on Sunday. Each tournament featured 24 players with MPL and Rivals league qualifications for the next year’s final season on the line, along with the four tickets to Magic World Championship XXVII.

Each Gauntlet trimmed the field over twelve rounds of Standard, leaving a Top 8, double-elimination bracket to determine who would punch their ticket for Magic’s most prestigious tournament. The story of the MPL Gauntlet was the domination of the Japanese players and their take on Jeskai Mutate. Rei Sato, Yoshihiko Ikawa, and Riku Kumagai had a shot at Worlds on Saturday with Sato and Ikawa locking up their spots by winning two matches in the upper bracket.

Jeskai Mutate

Rei Sato

1st Place at MPL Gauntlet on 09-04-2021

Standard

Creatures (12)

• 4 Vadrok, Apex of Thunder
• 4 Lore Drakkis
• 4 Goldspan Dragon

Lands (21)

• 2 Mountain
• 3 Island
• 4 Raugrin Triome
• 4 Needleverge Pathway
• 4 Riverglide Pathway
• 4 Hengegate Pathway

Spells (27)

• 1 Negate
• 1 Essence Scatter
• 1 Into the Roil
• 3 Unsubstantiate
• 1 Mystical Dispute
• 2 Fire Prophecy
• 1 Valakut Awakening
• 1 Sejiri Shelter
• 4 Spikefield Hazard
• 2 Cinderclasm
• 3 Seize the Spoils
• 3 Prismari Command
• 4 Expressive Iteration

Sideboard

• 1 Redcap Melee
• 2 Phoenix of Ash
• 3 Cubwarden
• 4 Mazemind Tome
• 1 Cinderclasm
• 2 Saw It Coming
• 1 Test of Talents
• 1 Burning Hands

Jeskai Mutate

Yoshihiko Ikawa

2nd Place at MPL Gauntlet on 09-04-2021

Standard

Creatures (12)

• 4 Vadrok, Apex of Thunder
• 4 Lore Drakkis
• 4 Goldspan Dragon

Lands (21)

• 2 Mountain
• 3 Island
• 4 Raugrin Triome
• 4 Needleverge Pathway
• 4 Riverglide Pathway
• 4 Hengegate Pathway

Spells (27)

• 1 Negate
• 1 Essence Scatter
• 1 Into the Roil
• 3 Unsubstantiate
• 1 Mystical Dispute
• 2 Fire Prophecy
• 1 Valakut Awakening
• 1 Sejiri Shelter
• 4 Spikefield Hazard
• 2 Cinderclasm
• 3 Seize the Spoils
• 3 Prismari Command
• 4 Expressive Iteration

Sideboard

• 1 Redcap Melee
• 2 Phoenix of Ash
• 3 Cubwarden
• 4 Mazemind Tome
• 1 Cinderclasm
• 2 Saw It Coming
• 1 Test of Talents
• 1 Burning Hands

Sato had to defeat Kumagai, sending him to the lower bracket where he beat Javier Dominguez to get one last shot at Worlds. However, France’s Jean-Emmanuel Depraz took down the final match 2-1 with Dimir Rogues to prevent a sweep from Japan.

Dimir Rogues (Lurrus)

Jean-Emmanuel Depraz

3rd Place at MPL Gauntlet on 09-04-2021

Standard

Creatures (16)

• 4 Thieves' Guild Enforcer
• 4 Ruin Crab
• 4 Merfolk Windrobber
• 4 Soaring Thought-Thief

Lands (25)

• 3 Swamp
• 6 Island
• 4 Temple of Deceit
• 4 Fabled Passage
• 1 Zagoth Triome
• 4 Clearwater Pathway
• 3 Hive of the Eye Tyrant

Spells (19)

• 3 Disdainful Stroke
• 4 Into the Story
• 4 Drown in the Loch
• 2 Heartless Act
• 1 Of One Mind
• 2 Agadeem's Awakening
• 3 Power Word Kill

Sideboard

• 1 Annul
• 1 Mystical Dispute
• 2 Cling to Dust
• 1 Tymaret, Chosen from Death
• 1 Extinction Event
• 1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den
• 4 Skyclave Shade
• 2 Crippling Fear
• 2 Ray of Enfeeblement

That left the Rivals Gauntlet to play out on Sunday to figure out the final player to reach Magic World Championship XXVII. Gavin Thompson of the United States reached the qualification match through the upper bracket with Gruul Adventures with a win over Jan Merkel, sending the German to the lower bracket. Merkel had to face fellow countryman Kai Budde in an Izzet Control (Yorion) mirror match to determine who would get the last shot at Thompson. Merkel edged out the German Juggernaut 2-1 to earn a rematch against Thompson.

Thompson had to win one match while Merkel would need to win two without dropping a set to move on to Worlds. The match went down to the wire as Merkel took the first set 2-0 and the second set came down to a Game 3. Thompson took a mulligan to six cards and kept a risky hand with no green mana, leading to a slow start as Merkel took control early and leveraged his card advantage into a victory.

Izzet Control (Yorion)

Jan-Moritz Merkel

1st Place at Rivals Gauntlet on 09-05-2021

Standard

Creatures (4)

• 4 Bonecrusher Giant

Lands (33)

• 7 Snow-Covered Mountain
• 7 Snow-Covered Island
• 4 Temple of Epiphany
• 4 Field of Ruin
• 4 Fabled Passage
• 4 Riverglide Pathway
• 3 Hall of Storm Giants

Spells (43)

• 2 Annul
• 1 Negate
• 2 Essence Scatter
• 4 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Scorching Dragonfire
• 4 Omen of the Sea
• 4 Kiora Bests the Sea God
• 4 Shark Typhoon
• 1 Spikefield Hazard
• 4 Cinderclasm
• 1 Shatterskull Smashing
• 2 Jwari Disruption
• 3 Frost Bite
• 2 Saw It Coming
• 2 Prismari Command
• 4 Expressive Iteration
• 2 Burning Hands

Sideboard

• 1 Negate
• 1 Mystical Dispute
• 1 Redcap Melee
• 1 Brazen Borrower
• 1 Glimpse of Freedom
• 2 Phoenix of Ash
• 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad
• 2 Mazemind Tome
• 1 Test of Talents
• 2 Mind Flayer
• 2 Burning Hands

The field for Magic World Championship XXVII is now set. The sixteen players are:

• Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
• Ondrej Strasky
• Eli Kassis
• Stanislav Cifka
• Seth Manfield
• Gabriel Nassif
• Matt Sperling
• Yuta Takahashi
• Sam Pardee
• Noriyuki Mori
• Arne Huschenbeth
• Keisuke Sato
• Jean-Emmanuel Depraz
• Rei Sato
• Yoshihiko Ikawa
• Jan Merkel

Magic World Championship XXVII is scheduled for October 8-10 with a prize pool of $250,000 on the line.

See all the MPL Gauntlet and Rivals Gauntlet decklists.