This weekend, sixteen of the best Magic: The Gathering players meet in Honolulu, Hawaii for World Championship XXVI, and unlike most Magic tournaments, the field is very small and the stakes are much, much higher.
World Championship XXVI will feature two formats – Theros Beyond Death Booster Draft and Theros Beyond Death Standard. Below is the metagame breakdown, and Standard decklists for each competitor.
Metagame Breakdown
Temur Reclamation
Temur Reclamation utilizes early game mana acceleration and Wilderness Reclamation to generate large amounts of mana on the controllers end-step, culminating in casting large, often game-ending spells like Explosion and Hydroid Krasis.
This deck was chosen by four competitors – Autumn Burchett, Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, Chris Kvartek, and Matias Leveratto – and represents 25% of the World Championship metagame.
Creatures (9)
Lands (27)
Spells (24)
- 2 Opt
- 4 Expansion
- 4 Growth Spiral
- 4 Wilderness Reclamation
- 1 Scorching Dragonfire
- 2 Omen of the Sea
- 3 Storm's Wrath
- 4 Thassa's Intervention
Sideboard
Creatures (7)
Lands (27)
Spells (26)
Creatures (9)
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (27)
Spells (20)
Sideboard
Creatures (9)
Lands (27)
Spells (24)
- 2 Opt
- 4 Expansion
- 4 Growth Spiral
- 4 Wilderness Reclamation
- 3 Omen of the Sea
- 4 Storm's Wrath
- 3 Thassa's Intervention
Sideboard
Mono-Red Aggro
Mono-Red Aggro has long been one of Magic’s most popular and dominant decks – often defining the early weeks of new metagames and adapting with each set release.
In the current metagame, it utilizes cards like Fervent Champion and Runaway Steam-Kin to pressure opponents in the early game, and Torbran, Thane of Red Fell to close out matches with big chunks of damage.
This deck was also chosen by four competitors – Eli Loveman, Seth Manfield, Andrea Mengucci, and Sebastian Pozzo – and represents 25% of the World Championship metagame.
Creatures (28)
- 4 Runaway Steam-Kin
- 1 Tin Street Dodger
- 4 Scorch Spitter
- 4 Robber of the Rich
- 4 Fervent Champion
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 3 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
- 4 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
Lands (21)
Spells (11)
Creatures (31)
- 4 Runaway Steam-Kin
- 4 Scorch Spitter
- 4 Robber of the Rich
- 4 Fervent Champion
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 3 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
- 4 Rimrock Knight
- 4 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
Lands (22)
Spells (7)
Creatures (31)
- 4 Runaway Steam-Kin
- 4 Scorch Spitter
- 4 Robber of the Rich
- 4 Fervent Champion
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 3 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
- 4 Rimrock Knight
- 4 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
Lands (22)
Spells (7)
Creatures (28)
- 4 Runaway Steam-Kin
- 2 Grim Initiate
- 4 Scorch Spitter
- 4 Robber of the Rich
- 4 Fervent Champion
- 2 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell
- 4 Rimrock Knight
- 4 Anax, Hardened in the Forge
Lands (22)
Spells (10)
Jeskai Fires
Jeskai Fires is a relatively new deck – originating with the release of Throne of Eldraine. The deck is powered by Fires of Invention, which allows its controller to cast two spells per turn without paying their mana cost, at the price of not being able to cast spells on the opponent’s turn.
Four players selected Jeskai Fires as their deck of choice: Marcio Carvalho, Javier Dominguez, Raphael Levy, and Gabriel Nassif, and represents 25% of the World Championship metagame.
Creatures (19)
- 4 Sphinx of Foresight
- 4 Cavalier of Flame
- 2 Cavalier of Gales
- 3 Kenrith, the Returned King
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 2 Dream Trawler
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (27)
Spells (10)
Creatures (19)
- 4 Sphinx of Foresight
- 4 Cavalier of Flame
- 2 Cavalier of Gales
- 3 Kenrith, the Returned King
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 2 Dream Trawler
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (27)
Spells (10)
Creatures (18)
- 4 Sphinx of Foresight
- 4 Cavalier of Flame
- 3 Kenrith, the Returned King
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 3 Brazen Borrower
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (28)
Spells (10)
Creatures (18)
- 4 Sphinx of Foresight
- 4 Cavalier of Flame
- 3 Kenrith, the Returned King
- 4 Bonecrusher Giant
- 3 Brazen Borrower
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (28)
Spells (10)
Azorius Control
Azorius Control is another strategy that has maintained some metagame dominance over the years and is considered to be the deck to beat coming into the tournament.
Recently, Azorius Control has been dominant in Standard, with Corey Baumeister piloting it to a win in his team’s Standard seat at SCG Richmond, and Zach Allen winning the Classic in Richmond, and then again at the Team Constructed Open in Philadelphia.
Being a control deck, it utilizes sweeper spells to control the tempo of the game, counterspells to shutdown opposing threats, and 1-2 powerful, late-game-closers.
This deck was selected by three competitors – Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa, Ondrej Strasky, and Thoralf Severin – and represents 19% of the World Championship metagame.
Creatures (2)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (25)
Spells (27)
Creatures (2)
Planeswalkers (6)
Lands (25)
Spells (27)
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (8)
Lands (25)
Spells (23)
Jund Sacrifice
The Jund Sacrifice deck runs off the synergy engine of Cauldron Familiar and Witch’s Oven to gain life while simultaneously siphoning away the opponents life. Cards like Mayhem Devil and Korvold, Fae-Cursed King help to accelerate the clock and close out games.
Despite representing only 6% of metagame, this grindy, midrange deck dominated Throne of Eldraine Standard and shouldn’t be underestimated – especially in the hands of Piotr Glogowski, who piloted it to a decisive victory at Mythic Championship VII.
Creatures (22)
- 3 Thrashing Brontodon
- 4 Mayhem Devil
- 2 Massacre Girl
- 1 God-Eternal Bontu
- 4 Gilded Goose
- 3 Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
- 1 Murderous Rider
- 4 Cauldron Familiar
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (25)
Spells (12)
Magic: The Gathering World Championship XXVI takes place February 14-16. Watch all the action live on twitch.tv/magic beginning at 9AM HST / 11AM PST / 7PM UTC.
Read the original article for Wizards of the Coast.