The Standard decklists for all sixteen competitors in Magic World Championship XXVII were accidentally made public today, four days before they were meant to be unveiled on the first day of the tournament.
The decklists were scheduled to be revealed on Friday, but appeared on MTG Melee this morning. Participants now have all the information and days to test the matchups and sideboard plans down to each exact card. The excitement of finding out what the best players in the world would bring to the event was spoiled, revealing a metagame where more than half the players registered decks featuring Alrund’s Epiphany.
Four players ended up on Grixis Epiphany, an evolution of the Izzet Epiphany deck four players also registered, that leverages discard and removal spells from black in addition to taking multiple extra turns with Alrund’s Epiphany in conjunction with Galvanic Iteration. Both Izzet and Grixis play as a control deck with a combo finish. The Grixis players (Gabriel Nassif, Matt Sperling, Eli Kassis, and Jan-Moritz Merkel) opted for three copies of Lier, Disciple of the Drowned and one Smoldering Egg as their creatures while three Izzet players (Stanislav Cifka, Ondrej Strasky, and Arne Huschenbeth) went creatureless for the maindeck, though Keisuke Sato included a playset of Smoldering Egg in the maindeck.
Creatures (4)
Lands (20)
Spells (36)
- 2 Duress
- 2 Mountain
- 1 Island
- 1 Bloodchief's Thirst
- 2 Spikefield Hazard
- 1 Cinderclasm
- 2 Jwari Disruption
- 4 Alrund's Epiphany
- 1 Demon Bolt
- 1 Prismari Command
- 4 Expressive Iteration
- 1 Power Word Kill
- 2 Galvanic Iteration
- 3 The Celestus
- 1 Burn Down the House
- 3 Memory Deluge
- 1 Cathartic Pyre
- 4 Fading Hope
Sideboard
Lands (11)
Spells (49)
Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Seth Manfield, and Sam Pardee decided on Mono-Green Aggro❄, the linear deck that posted the highest win rates over last weekend’s SCG Tour Online events. The reigning world champ, Damo da Rosa went with a list that ignored Unnatural Growth completely, while sprinkling in single copies of cards like Snakeskin Veil and Primal Adversary to go with three copies of Inscription of Abundance.
Creatures (19)
- 2 Tangled Florahedron
- 4 Kazandu Mammoth
- 4 Old-Growth Troll
- 4 Sculptor of Winter
- 4 Werewolf Pack Leader
- 1 Primal Adversary
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (23)
Spells (16)
Mono-White Aggro❄ shows up twice in the hands of Yoshihiko Ikawa and Rei Sato. The less popular aggressive deck in the format appears to prey on Mono-Green Aggro❄ while still being able to pressure the Epiphany decks. Both Japanese players registered the same 75 with seven one-drops and three copies of Reidane, God of the Worthy to slow down Grixis and Izzet Epiphany.
Creatures (29)
- 4 Luminarch Aspirant
- 4 Usher of the Fallen
- 3 Reidane, God of the Worthy
- 4 Elite Spellbinder
- 3 Stonebinder's Familiar
- 4 Intrepid Adversary
- 4 Sungold Sentinel
- 3 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
Lands (24)
Spells (7)
The rest of the metagame splits into three one-of strategies. Yuta Takahashi locked in a traditional Izzet Dragons build that plays a more midrange game with access to Alrund’s Epiphany. Jean-Emmanuel Depraz went with a Temur Midrange deck combining elements of the Dragons deck with powerful cards mostly seen in Gruul decks like Magda, Brazen Outlaw, Reckless Stormseeker, and Jaspera Sentinel. Lastly, Noriyuki Mori went a bit a rogue with Azorius Aggro. The deck plays out similarly to Mono-White Aggro❄, but has access to blue disruption in the form of Concerted Defense, Fading Hope, Jwari Disruption, and Spectral Adversary.
Creatures (8)
Lands (9)
Spells (43)
Creatures (21)
- 4 Magda, Brazen Outlaw
- 4 Goldspan Dragon
- 4 Jaspera Sentinel
- 4 Prosperous Innkeeper
- 3 Moonveil Regent
- 2 Reckless Stormseeker
Lands (16)
Spells (23)
Creatures (25)
- 2 Legion Angel
- 4 Luminarch Aspirant
- 3 Reidane, God of the Worthy
- 4 Elite Spellbinder
- 1 Loyal Warhound
- 1 Brutal Cathar
- 4 Spectral Adversary
- 4 Intrepid Adversary
- 2 Malevolent Hermit
Lands (10)
Spells (25)
The metagame breakdown can be seen below.
| Archetype | Copies |
|---|---|
| Grixis Epiphany | 4 |
| Izzet Epiphany | 4 |
| Mono-Green Aggro❄ | 3 |
| Mono-White Aggro❄ | 2 |
| Izzet Dragons | 1 |
| Temur Midrange | 1 |
| Azorius Aggro | 1 |
View the 16 Standard decklists for Magic World Championship XXVII. The tournament kicks off at noon ET/9 AM PT Friday.