A new Magic: The Gathering Standard metagame was on display today on the Twitch Rivals MTG Arena playoffs, which features a prize pool of $75,000.
The MTG Arena event was the largest Twitch Rivals tournament in Magic, featuring 250 top streamers from around the world. Only 32, however, made it to the playoffs. Playing a variety of archetypes, each player was competing for a chance to win the $10,000 grand prize.
The metagame was diverse, with the most-played archetypes being Fires, Sacrifice, and Midrange/Aggro. Here were the top 32 players who competed in the playoffs and the decks they played.
- Matheus Yanagiura (Sandoiche): Jund Sacrifice
- Aaron Barich (RuneClawBarich): Mono-Red Aggro
- Zvi Mowshowitz: Cavalier Fires
- Fernando Saldate (Fernanditouh): BR Aggro
- Will Hall: Mono-Black Sacrifice
- Christian Calcano (Ritsu): Simic Flash
- Matthew Nass: BG Adventure
- Javier Dominguez: Cavalier Fires
- Jason Williamson (Searzist): Esper Dance
- Lee Shi Tian (Leearson): Mono-White Aggro
- Theau Mery (Inove): Izzet Phoenix
- David Doberne (Sunyveil): Cavalier Fires
- Rob Gonzales (RobAJG): UW Control
- Tobias Stoll (Jitko): Mono-Blue Flash
- Seth Manfield (egdirb): Temur Reclamation
- Gal Schlesinger (Yamakiller): Jund Sacrifice
- Guillaume Matignon (Matignon): Mono-Red Aggro
- Daniel Fournier (tirentu): RB Aggro
- Lucas Vaz (SevenZara): Cavalier Fires
- Yuuki Ichikawa (triosk): Golgari Adventure
- Austin Bursavich (PercsAlert): UR Flash
- Maciej J. (duofanel): Gruul Adventure
- Ronald Müller (PrediMTG): Rakdos Sacrifice
- Arthur Lolos (Travic): Simic (Steal Your Stuff)
- F2K Bloody: Cavalier Fires
- Bryan Gottlieb (BryanGMTG): Jund Sacrifice
- Thiago Saporito (Bolov0): RB Sacrifice
- Nicolás Alcubilla (Makorito): Jeskai Fires
- Alexander Ho (Lonegofyer): RB Aggro
- Sam Rolph: Cavalier Fires
- Mike Sigrist (Siggy): BG Midrange
- Benjamin Wheeler: Golgari Midrange
Each match in the Twitch Rivals playoffs was played in a single-elimination best-of-three Standard format.
Lee ShiTian and his Mono-White deck kicked off the playoff rounds against Müller’s Rakdos Sacrifice. But the dominant day-one Aggro deck was no match for Sacrifice.
Playing RB Sacrifice, Thiago Saporito was paired up against Christian Calcano and their Simic Flash deck. Unable to outplay the Sacrifice engine, the only Simic Flash deck being played in the Twitch Rivals playoffs was eliminated.
But it wasn’t the last Flash deck left as Austin Bursavich and his UR Flash deck dominated during the first round of matches. Here were the top 16 players left after the first round of single-elimination matches.
The top 16 bracket feature match was between two veteran Magic players, Seth Manfield (Temur Reclamation) and Mike Sigrist (BG Midrange). Temur Reclamation was the second most popular deck played during day one, but only Manfield made it to the playoffs with it.
Siggy put the pressure on Manfield early, taking him down to five life. But it wasn’t enough when your opponent has an abundance of cards and an Expansion//Explosion in conjunction with Wilderness Reclamation.
After two rounds the field was whittled down to the top eight players.
- Matheus Yanagiura (Sandoiche): Jund Sacrifice
- Arthur Lolos (Travic): Simic (Steal Your Stuff)
- Yuuki Ichikawa (triosk): Golgari Adventure
- Will Hall: Mono-Black Sacrifice
- Mike Sigrist (Siggy): BG Midrange
- Ronald Müller (PrediMTG): Rakdos Sacrifice
- Sam Rolph: Cavalier Fires
- Theau Mery (Inove/Cardstruck): Izzet Phoenix
Sigrist and his BG Midrange deck were paired against Predi’s Rakdos Sacrifice in the quarterfinals. Siggy’s Midrange build quickly overpowered the Sacrifice engine. And with a draw of Rankle, Master of Pranks, it was an easy game one win.
Game two began differently with Predi having the advantage despite being short on mana early on. But it wasn’t meant to be for the Rakdos Sacrifice deck as BG Midrange outpowered Predi once again.
Izzet Phoenix didn’t fare well either against Cavalier Fires, as Rolph moved onto the semifinals. Yuuki Ichikawa with his Golgari Adventure, along with Yanagiura on Jund Sacrifice, also made it into the semifinals.
Yanagiura was paired against Ichikawa, and Rolph battled Sigrist in the semifinals. After going the distance, Jund Sacrifice and BG Midrange would face off against each other in the finals.
With Jund Sacrifice running Trail of Crumbs for card draw, Ziggy didn’t stand a chance against Massacre Girl and Mayhem Devil in game one of the finals.
Game two favored Siggy, thanks to a questionable line chosen by Yanagiura early on in the match. And it would all come down to game three.
Siggy started with the advantage but Yanagiura had three Trail of Crumbs on the battlefield for card draw. Missing Massacre Girl, Siggy top-decked Rankle, Master of Pranks. And in his following turn, Sigrist drew a Questing Beast off the top to secure a win at the Twitch Rivals MTG Arena tournament.
