This weekend all the attention was focused on the most important event you can have on MTG Arena: the Arena Championship 6 which saw Wouter Noordzij's triumph with Boros Energy. However, this was not the only event on the platform because at the same time the Qualifier Weekend was played too, valid for the qualification to the seventh edition of the Arena Championship.
Both events were in the Historic format and today we'll see together which are the lists and the players who made it: achieving the dreamed 6 victories without receiving more than 1 defeat!
I already did the same last month with the Explorer Qualifier Weekend and, also this time, the same preamble applies: since official data is not released, all the lists you will see have been manually retrieved via social media and it's likely that not ALL the winners are there, but anyway it's a great overview of how it went! So let's dive into it!
Boros Energy (Phlage) by Nosferatu + trollasceticftw
It's a double! Nosferatu and trollasceticftw are teammates and both qualified with this list (with some minor variations from each other), but what's even more impressive is that, of the 5 members that made up the team, there were three 7-0 on day 1 (overall winrate 87%) and two 4-2 on day 2 in addition to their respective 6-0 and 6-1. Absolutely incredible stuff!
While everyone is wondering which one to choose between Lurrus of the Dream-Den and Jegantha, the Wellspring, the team solves the fight by not playing any companions and the reason is Seasoned Pyromancer instead of Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki.
Impetuous Lootmonger, in fact, allows you to discard Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury, but more generally to empty your hand quickly and this is all to the advantage of Seasoned Pyromancer which draws free cards. Moreover, its Elemental tokens are extra bullets for Goblin Bombardment and this is especially useful for the thousand mirror matches you have to face.
Note the total absence of Amped Raptor and personally I had come to the same conclusion. While in the version with Lurrus of the Dream-Den it's still good because it's more explosive and every spell found is castable, here instead it will often happen to miss because of the 9 spells with mana value 3 or higher. But the main reason is it's turned off by Suncleanser which is everywhere and defines the metagame of the moment, so much so that we now see 4 copies maindeck even in a lot of Boros Energy.
In the sideboard, the absence of Amped Raptor unlocks Prismatic Ending, a great removal but terrible if “cascaded”, but the spiciest card over there is Karlach, Raging Tiefling. You have no real interest in casting it, but just the fact it ends up in the graveyard gives you value, allowing you to reanimate it later in the game, maybe helped by some Impetuous Lootmonger's treasures.
Boros Energy (Lurrus) by Jared Brock
Boros Energy again but this time we have the version with Lurrus of the Dream-Den.
As previously anticipated, here's an example of something playing 4 Suncleanser maindeck, ready to turn off mainly: Galvanic Discharge, Guide of Souls, and Amped Raptor in the mirror, as much as the feared Wrath of the Skies against Control.
Only 3 copies instead of Goblin Bombardment, trying to minimize the risk of seeing more than one copy at the time and making room for Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd.
Even if playing a Dog in a Cat deck wins in terms of flavor, I'm not a particular fan of this card and it's not a very common choice, but, precisely because it's unexpected, it for sure gains some points and it will probably have been able to ambush Ocelot Pride or a Guide of Souls too discharged to fly.
Speaking of Energy, we often see a split between Static Prison and Portable Hole, preventing too much Energy from being spent to keep multiple enchantments or having many of them destroyed by Suncleanser.
The spicy card of the sideboard here is Return to the Ranks, mainly allowing you to restart after Wrath of the Skies, even if sadly it can do nothing against the other wraths: Divine Purge, Temporary Lockdown, Sunfall, and Farewell.
Jeskai Control by Tobia Nappi
I just mentioned Wrath of the Skies and here comes the deck that masters it best: Jeskai Energy.
Its pilot, Tobia Nappi, was undefeated the entire weekend ending 7-0 on day 1 and 6-0 on day 2. So you can appreciate here another stunning result!
With everyone focused on the new MH3 releases, we almost forgot how strong A-The One Ring was, that still retains all its power level despite being the nerfed version (sorry A-Orcish Bowmasters, the same didn't happen to you!).
Protecting yourself from all damage for one turn can be really annoying for an aggro like Boros Energy, also negating the abilities of Impetuous Lootmonger, Suncleanser or Ajani, Nacatl Avenger, but it's when it starts to draw tons of cards every turn that makes the match unrecoverable.
In addition to the usual counters and removals, with Snapcaster Mage ready to replay them when needed, we find an unusual choice with Brainsurge, the bigger Brainstorm, which makes you draw 4 cards and then "throw away" 2, reshuffling the deck with islandcycling by Lórien Revealed or eliminating the top card with the surveil-lands: Meticulous Archive and Thundering Falls.
Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury is the deck's finisher, but it could get hit by Surgical Extraction or other post-sideboard hate-grave, which is where Calim, Djinn Emperor and Tajic, Legion's Valor come in, as additional ways to win the game.
Jeskai Control (Yorion) by Matthew Wright
Another Jeskai Energy Control but in the maxi size for Matthew Wright, choosing to play Yorion, Sky Nomad and therefore 80 cards.
Besides Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki and Snapcaster Mage there is not much to blink with the Bird Serpent, but even just having an extra 4/5 flying can be problematic for the opponent, in addition to the fact the deck has so many good cards available that even adding 20 more does not lower its quality.
Although there is no A-The One Ring in this list (it would have been blinkable), there is certainly no lack of card advantage between: Memory Deluge, Flame of Anor, Lórien Revealed, and Expressive Iteration. As mentioned, we find instead Fable of the Mirror-Breaker // Reflection of Kiki-Jiki which in addition to the intrinsic value, allows you to discard Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury and fill the graveyard.
The Elder Giant is also the main finisher here and, similarly to the previous list, you can use Arena of Glory to haste and attack the same turn it escapes for 12 damage in total.
Tajic, Legion's Valor, Dream Trawler, and even Emrakul, the Promised End are the alternative wincons post-board in this case.
Jeskai Lotus Field by ulza8102
Jeskai again (or maybe it would be more accurate to say Azorius splashing Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury), but this time we are faced with a completely different strategy!
With Suncleanser everywhere denying the possibility of board control with Galvanic Discharge, Aether Spike and Wrath of the Skies, what was initially the strongest plan of the deck, taking advantage of the powerful Energy cards of MH3, has become a little less efficient. So why not remove them altogether, go back to how we played before and let Suncleanser become a dead card for our opponent?
This deck in particular plays Lotus Field that combos with Strict Proctor, Stifle or Consign to Memory, neutralizing its trigger and getting a tapped land that adds 3 mana of any color. However, it's not the only piece of this combo, as the same goes for Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury or Nulldrifter obtaining huge threats for only the cost of 3 mana. By the way, note that while the 3 damage of the Elder Giant on entry are also countered by Strict Proctor, the same does not apply to the 2 cards of the Eldrazi Elemental, since this is a casting trigger. And the triggered ability of Temporary Lockdown is also an “enters”, as it is the protection of A-The One Ring, so you must be careful not to have it countered by the Spirit Cleric.
Woodland Combo by Matthieu Avignon
In a format where Boros Energy is by far the best aggro and the best deck and Jeskai Control is what tries to keep it in check, it seems like there is no room for anything else, right? Well Matthieu Avignon surprises all of us, bringing a combo deck on the winning bandwagon too!
Shifting Woodland is the core of the deck and, once it unlocks Delirium, it can transform into a permanent in our graveyard at the cost, we could almost say, of 3 mana, since it's not a tap ability and it can tap for green mana itself.
Its favorite target is Omniscience, thus being able to cast any huge spell for free and from there overwhelm the opponent, but God-Pharaoh's Gift that creates the token of Atraxa, Grand Unifier or Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite could be equally incisive to close the game. Not to mention that Shifting Woodland can transform directly into any of the many large creatures in the deck, although in this case it would be better to spend the entire 4 mana so you can also attack with it.
Ok, but how to make Delirium quickly? Faithless Looting, Malevolent Rumble and Smuggler's Surprise allow you to throw things to the graveyard and at the same time dig for Shifting Woodland, which in the worst-case scenario can be tutored with Traverse the Ulvenwald if Delirium is online.
Prismatic Vista and Haywire Mite are equally important for the Delirium purpose, with the artifact Insect that also works as an anti-hate-grave by removing Unlicensed Hearse, Stone of Erech or Rest in Peace, as well as key cards of the other matchups like Goblin Bombardment and A-The One Ring.
That's all for today! Let me know if you like this column so I can maybe bring it to future Qualifier Weekends, if they are in constructed format, and congratulations to all the winners!
