Ondrej Stráský and Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa beat out a field of over 500 of the best Magic: The Gathering players in the world to make the grand finals at Mythic Championship VI.
The biggest takeaway at Mythic Championship VI was a metagame dominated by Food decks. And in the grand final match of MCVI, it would be a mirror showdown between two Simic Food decks.
Of all the various Food archetypes at Mythic Championship VI, Simic Food had the best win rate. It’s the OG of Food decks, but the addition of Gadwick, the Wizened helped it succeed at MCVI. In conjunction with Mass Manipulation, these key cards helped Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa and Ondrej Stráský make it to the finals.
Ondrej Stráský vs. Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
In a mirror match between two nearly identical Simic Food decks, the player who could get to six mana the quickest would have an advantage. And with both players being veteran Magic players who typically don’t make mistakes, luck played a factor too.
The finals at MCVI were best-of-five, with players not accessing their sideboard until game three through a possible five.
Both players got Oko out on the battlefield in game one, but it was da Rosa who had the advantage. And Stráský was the first to lose his thief of crowns planeswalker. He did draw a Brazen Borrower to buy himself some time. But it wasn’t enough.
Game two started much differently, with Stráský dropping Nissa, Who Shakes the World on turn three. And then he went on to Aether Gust da Rosa’s Oko. At a severe disadvantage, Paulo quickly scooped.
Stráský and Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa were 1-1 heading into game three. Able to access their sideboard, both players only had one copy of Gadwick, the Wizened.
Da Rosa cast Oko first in game three. He then stole Stráský’s Paradise Druid and took out his Hydroid Krasis with Wicked Wolf.
Adding insult to injury, da Rosa also played Gadwick, the Wizened. Stráský couldn’t make up the ground and da Rosa earned his second win.
Da Rosa kept the momentum going in game four, putting the pressure on Stráský with Nissa, Who Shakes the World and a superior board state. With limited options in the Simic Food deck, Stráský struggled to say alive.
Stráský did cast a Gadwick, finding an Aether Gust that he used to return Nissa to the top of da Rosa’s library. Paulo would try to use Mass Manipulation to steal Nissa from Stráský but it was rebuked with a Veil of Summer. Then it was Stráský’s turn to apply pressure.Â
With a Mass Manipulation played by Stráský, the grand finals match at MCVI was heading to game five.
Game five started for da Rossa with a mulligan down to five, giving Stráský the advantage right away. Taking full advantage of the situation, Stráský played Oko. But Paulo had answers.
Out of gas, da Rosa was at the mercy of his draws off the library. The Questing Beast, however, dropped Stráský’s life to five. But life points in Magic don’t mean anything when Mass Manipulation can change the tide of a game.
Da Rosa needed to find his own Mass Manipulation to save the day. But he didn’t, and Ondrej Stráský became the Mythic Championship VI champion.
