The race towards the top eight at Mythic Championship VI was full of Food decks and top Magic: The Gathering pros from around the world seeking a chance at the $500,000 prize pool.
Following the final day of ELD Limited Draft at MCVI, only one player had a 10-1 record. Eli Kassis and Brad Nelson were undefeated after day one and still finished in the top five after the Limited rounds on day two. With the Draft rounds out of the way, the fight towards ranking in the top eight came down to who could dominate the Standard Construction rounds at Mythic Championship VI.
MCVI day one metagame breakdown
Simic Food had the best win rate in Standard Construction during the day one matches. Sultail Food was close behind and so was Sultai Sacrifice. Sacrifice was the breakout deck and could possibly be classified as the best deck playing Oko, Thief of Crowns.
Another deck that made the radar was Temur Planeswalkers. Only two players brought the deck to MCVI and went 4-1 yesterday in Standard Construction. But not every good deck from day one played Oko. The top archetype from day one was Golgari Adventure, followed closely by Jeskai Fires and Temur Reclamation.
The standout non-Oko deck during day one, however, was Gruul Adventure. Of the three players using the deck, they had a combined record of 12-3 yesterday. One of those players playing Gruul Adventure just happened to be Mythic Championship V’s champion and current World Champion Javier Dominguez.
MCVI Standard Constructed day two
Once Upon the Time was easily the card of the day, finding creatures and necessary mana for the various archetypes represented at Mythic Championship VI. And based on the decks that made it to day two, it would continue to stand out.
Kassis and his Golgari Adventure deck were challenged right away with a match against Grzegorz Kowalski and his Jeskai Fires deck. Both players were ranked 9-2 at the time and needed a win to stay in the top rankings at MCVI. Neither player dominated the match and control of the battlefield swung back and forth.
The match came down to the wire but it wasn’t Once Upon the Time that would save the day. Kowalski would take the win, moving up in the ranks at MCVI to 10-2.
Jeskai Fires wasn’t the only non-Food deck making waves at MCVI day two. Andrew Cuneo was paving a path towards the top eight with his Selesnya Adventure deck. In a match against Smith and his Simic Flash deck, Cuneo demolished his opponent and moved up in the rankings to 11-3.
After two rounds of Standard Constructed, with three more rounds left in the day, here were the Mythic Championship VI standings.
Cuneo was in good shape to grab a top-eight spot but he suffered two losses to Food decks, finding himself in the hot seat. Nelson was also not faring well, sitting at 9-5 with no chance of making the top eight.
But the other undefeated player from day one, Eli Kassis, was still in the race at 11-3. The story of the afternoon, however, was Javier Dominguez, rising in the ranks to the number 10 spot with just one round left in Standard Constructed. Also, ranking 11-3 was Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa. After round three wrapped for the day, there were 14 Magic players in the race for the top eight.
The second to last round of day two at any Magic tabletop tournament features some of the most intense matches of the weekend. Round 15 at Mythic Championship VI showcased every player with an 11-3 record. One loss and a player’s chances of making the top eight are essentially out the window.
Sebastian Pozzo (Simic Food) and Bora Muñoz (Jund Sacrifice) were on the main table. Despite drawing a Korvold, Fae-Cursed King and Trail of Crumbs early on, Muñoz quickly fell behind in game one to Pozzo’s Hydroid Krasis and two Brazen Borrower’s.
In game two, Muñoz fought hard against the Food deck. But in the end, it wasn’t enough to earn a match win.
Also advancing to 12-3 was Andrew Cuneo, winning with a stacked battlefield full of tokens. On the side table was da Rosa (Simic Food) against Kowalski (Jeskai Fires), with each player taking a win in games one and two. It would all come down to game three.
Between Questing Beast and Brazzen Borrower, da Rosa dominated the entire game and won the match.
With one round left, Austin Bursavich was a lock in the top eight, but he still chose to play against da Rosa in hopes of knocking the MPL player out of the top rankings. Here were the standings with one round left to play at Mythic Championship VI Standard Constructed.
Competing for a slot in the top eight was OndÅ™ej Stráský battling it out against Maxwell Mick. Both players brought Simic Food to the table and a win would guarantee Stráský getting into the top eight. A win from Mick put him right on the edge.Â
The mirror match was a brutal one full of planeswalkers like Oko, Nissa, and the dreaded Food devourer Wicked Wolf. Experience would win out and Stráský earned himself a seat in the top eight.
Once the dust settled after round 16 there was a clean-cut of players that had made it into the top eight at Mythic Championship VI.
- Austin Bursavich (41 match points): Sultai Food
- Louis Deltour (38 match points): Sultai Food
- Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (37 match points): Simic Food
- Sebastian Pozzo (37 match points): Simic Food
- Eli Kassis (37 match points): Golgari Adventure
- Oscar Christensen (37 match points): Sultai Food
- Ondrej Stráský (37 match points): Simic Food
- Andrew Cuneo (37 match points): Selesnya Adventure
Day three playoffs at Mythic Championship VI begin Sunday at 8am CT, with the eight best Magic pros battling it out for a piece of the $500,000 prize pool.
