Tabletop Magic: The Gathering is on its way to returning to full capacity with the new Premier Play structure starting this new competitive season. Soon, tournament organizers will be holding events for real life play, and what better way to kick it all off with the annual Japan Championship?
Will their innovation of spicy brews take down the tournament without the confinement of the digital client, or the usual Esper Midrange, Runes, or Mono White Aggro that we’ve grown accustomed to over the past few months? In this article, we are reporting the metagame breakdown, as well as the top 16 decklists. You can find the complete coverage on the MTG Japan website.
Metagame Breakdown
The tournament had 237 qualified players from all over Japan, with 7 Swiss rounds on Day 1, with the top 64 players advancing to Day 2. A further 6 rounds are played before a single elimination top 8 bracket.
| Deck Name | # of Players | % of Field |
|---|---|---|
| Esper Midrange | 66 | 27.9% |
| Grixis Vampires | 26 | 11.0% |
| Jund Midrange | 23 | 9.7% |
| Temur Control | 22 | 9.3% |
| Naya Runes | 12 | 5.1% |
| Jeskai Hinata | 11 | 4.6% |
| Jeskai Storm | 8 | 3.4% |
| Izzet Dragons | 7 | 3.0% |
| Mono-White Aggro | 6 | 2.5% |
| Naya Midrange | 6 | 2.5% |
| Mono-Green Aggro | 5 | 2.1% |
| Boros Aggro | 5 | 2.1% |
| Orzhov Midrange | 4 | 1.7% |
| Others | 36 | 15.2% |
Fireshoes provided a helpful breakdown on the day 2 metagame breakdown with conversion rates:
Top 16 Decklists
The tournament was won by Sho Kamezaki, with Orzhov Midrange featuring Silverquill Silencer and Elspeth Resplendent!
Planeswalkers (7)
Creatures (13)
Sorceries (1)
Enchantments (9)
Lands (24)
60 Cards
$476.34
Sideboard
15 Cards
$18.67
Instants (17)
Sorceries (6)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (23)
60 Cards
$369.44
Sideboard
15 Cards
$17.65
Planeswalkers (5)
Creatures (12)
Instants (12)
Sorceries (1)
Lands (25)
60 Cards
$517.32
Sideboard
15 Cards
$21.93
Planeswalkers (2)
Creatures (14)
Instants (7)
Sorceries (1)
Artifacts (4)
Lands (26)
60 Cards
$557.82
Sideboard
15 Cards
$68.71
Creatures (9)
Instants (18)
Artifacts (3)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (21)
60 Cards
$438.86
Sideboard
15 Cards
$17.43
Instants (19)
Artifacts (3)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (20)
60 Cards
$403.9
Sideboard
15 Cards
$32.49
Planeswalkers (2)
Creatures (15)
Instants (9)
Lands (26)
60 Cards
$473.62
Sideboard
15 Cards
$8.97
Planeswalkers (4)
Creatures (16)
Instants (10)
Sorceries (1)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (25)
60 Cards
$421.82
Sideboard
15 Cards
$59.15
Creatures (21)
Instants (2)
Sorceries (4)
Lands (21)
60 Cards
$330.84
Sideboard
15 Cards
$57.55
Creatures (14)
Instants (9)
Sorceries (2)
Artifacts (4)
Lands (25)
60 Cards
$476.38
Sideboard
15 Cards
$45.59
Creatures (11)
Instants (13)
Artifacts (2)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (25)
60 Cards
$387.7
Sideboard
15 Cards
$50.23
Creatures (15)
Instants (12)
Enchantments (2)
Lands (24)
60 Cards
$530.1
Sideboard
15 Cards
$56.79
Instants (21)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$465.56
Sideboard
15 Cards
$34.47
Instants (25)
Sorceries (4)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (20)
60 Cards
$396.48
Sideboard
15 Cards
$14.49
Instants (21)
Enchantments (4)
Lands (22)
60 Cards
$465.42
Sideboard
15 Cards
$12.67
