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It’s been another action packed day at the second day of Magic World Championship XXVI, and the top 4 players playing for the World Champion title tomorrow has been decided. Please check out our text coverage of the tournament as it happened match by match, for a more detailed rundown! 8 players have been eliminated from the tournament today, and the 4 remaining players are:
- Marcio Carvalho – Jeskai Fires
- Paolo Vitor Damo Da Rosa – Azorius Control
- Seth Manfield – Mono Red Aggro
- Gabriel Nassif – Jeskai Fires
Read on as we have match results, standings, VOD, and round by round highlights from day 2!
Day 2 Results
Day 2 VOD
Day 2 Highlights
Round 1: Chris Kvartek vs Piotr Glogowski
The first match of the day was between Chris Kvartek on Temur Reclamation and Piotr Glogowski’s trusty Jund Sacrifice deck. Glogowski was looking to be the aggressor in this matchup due to the opposing deck generally doing bigger and better things as they ramp up to a big finish, especially with Kvartek’s inclusion of Nissa, Who Shakes the World.
The first game went Glogowski’s way as he aggressively pinged down Kvartek, attacking for lethal with Mayhem Devils and Thrashing Brontodon. The next two games however, went as planned for Temur Reclamation as Kvartek stabilized well, made his land drops in both games thanks to the power of Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath.
Round 2: Jean-Emmanuel Depraz vs Autumn Burchett
A mirror match between the two Temur Reclamation decks was on the cards, and there was no room for any mistakes from both players as it proved to be an incredibly tight match. In the first two games, Brazen Borrower did a lot of the work on both sides, as it whittled down their life totals slowly as they went back and forth on resources. Burchett’s sideboard plan in the mirror match was as follows:
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| 3 Aether Gust 2 Negate 3 Mystical Dispute 2 Nightpack Ambusher | 1 Opt 1 Omen of the Sea 1 Scorching Dragonfire 3 Storm’s Wrath 2 Hydroid Krasis 2 Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath |
In the third deciding game, Nightpack Ambusher got Depraz down to 3 life, but he was also threatening Burchett’s life total with an early Brazen Borrower. Facing down two Wolf tokens for lethal attack next turn, he was able to get an untapped Breeding Pool out and cast an Expansion // Explosion for 6 to finish off Burchett for exact damage.
Round 3: Gabriel Nassif vs Chris Kvartek
Chris Kvartek was facing elimination this round, and a matchup between the two decks that rely on the respective four mana enchantments was likely to be a close one; this will depend on who can get their engine going on first. Jeskai Fires also has access to Teferi, Time Raveler – arguably Temur Reclamation’s biggest weakness.
In the first game, Nassif managed to slow down Kvartek severely by bouncing a Wilderness Reclamation and Nissa, Who Shakes the World as he was able to build up his battlefield with the big creatures. A Cavalier of Flame was able to get the job done with a fellow Bonecrusher Giant that he found via its discard/draw ability. His sideboard plan against Temur Reclamation was as follows:
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| 4 Robber of the Rich 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Dovin’s Veto 1 Elspeth Conquers Death | 4 Deafening Clarion 4 Bonecrusher Giant 1 Kenrith, the Returned King |
Nassif had an early Robber of the Rich chipping away at Kvartek, who was relying on Nissa, Who Shakes the World to run away with the game. He had Mystical Dispute and Aether Gust out of the sideboard, but did not draw other meaningful cards to help with his gameplan. A resolved Elspeth Conquers Death on Nassif’s side to dispatch the Nissa found Kvartek shaking his head and facing down a big Kenrith, the Returned King that Aether Gust could not help with – eliminating Kvartek from the tournament.
Round 4: Seth Manfield vs PVDDR
This was a battle between the two giants with polarizing decks, with the edge given to Azorius Control with lifegain, removal and boardwipes. Damo Da Rosa’s deck was tuned for slower decks, packing in more counterspells with a singular copy of Dream Trawler and Archon of Sun's Grace in the main deck. Manfield’s Mono Red was solely relying on creatures, cutting out all cheap burn and pump spells from the deck altogether, which are not good against control decks anyway.
In the first game, Seth kept a hand with his first play being Anax, Hardened in the Forge aiming for the longer game. PVDDR had a perfect answer for it in Banishing Light, and was able to dispatch all of Manfield’s threats periodically as he made land drops, keeping counterspells up and in the end resolving a Dream Trawler for the win. The sideboard plan for PVDDR’s Azorius Control against Mono Red was:
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| 2 Cerulean Drake 1 Glass Casket 4 Aether Gust 2 Archon of Sun's Grace | 2 Narset, Parter of Veils 2 Elspeth Conquers Death 3 Dovin’s Veto 2 Mystical Dispute |
It would prove to be a further uphill battle for Manfield after sideboarding, as the game went similarly and Manfield unable to apply enough pressure in time, while PVDDR resolved Archon of Sun's Grace which he did not have an answer for. The 2-0 victory sent PVDDR to the top 4, while Manfield was sent to the elimination bracket.
On the other side of the winner’s bracket, Marcio Carvalho’s Jeskai Fires defeated Eli Loveman’s Mono Red Aggro, deciding the two players that would secure their top 4 spots for tomorrow!
Round 5: Gabriel Nassif vs Autumn Burchett
The elimination rounds begun, and it was set to get more intense as the format changed to best-of-three matches, not best-of-three games. In the first match, Nassif defeated Burchett 2-0 as he beat down with his big creatures according to plan, as he slowed down Burchett’s game plan with Teferi and Brazen Borrower. Burchett’s sideboard plan against Nassif was as follows:
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| 3 Aether Gust 2 Fry 3 Mystical Dispute 2 Nightpack Ambusher | 1 Opt 1 Omen of the Sea 2 Brazen Borrower 4 Thassa’s Intervention 1 Wilderness Reclamation 1 Scorching Dragonfire |
The second match went Burchett’s way 2-0, as they went back and forth with resources but Burchett edging out and having better topdecks. Nassif’s sideboard plan against Burchett was slightly different to the one against Chris Kvartek, boarding in a Giant Killer for Uro and Nightpack Ambusher and Disenchant for the Wilderness Reclamation as he knew Burchett was more reliant on the enchantment.
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| 4 Robber of the Rich 3 Mystical Dispute 1 Giant Killer 1 Disenchant 1 Dovin’s Veto 1 Elspeth Conquers Death | 1 Fires of Invention 2 Kenrith, the Returned King 4 Bonecrusher Giant 4 Deafening Clarion |
In the second game of the deciding match, Nassif manages to resolve a Teferi, Time Raveler which allows him to establish a board and safely resolve a Cavalier of Flame and do a lot of damage in one combat. This put immense pressure on Burchett, forcing them to have immediate answers for Nassif’s creatures. Teferi proved too problematic in the end, and Nassif took down Burchett in the final deciding match 2-0, advancing to the top 4 tomorrow.
Round 6: Sebastian Pozzo vs Seth Manfield
The Mono Red mirror match would be all about who will be able to plan ahead, do the combat math flawlessly and draw the right amount of threats and removal. In the first match, Manfield took down Pozzo 2-0 as Torbran gets the job done in game one and he hits the removal spells for all of Pozzo’s creatures in the second game, leaving him with just Embercleave in his hand. Manfield’s sideboard strategy on the draw was as follows:
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| 3 Redcap Melee 4 Lava Coil 1 Tibalt, Rakish Instigator 1 Experimental Frenzy | 1 Castle Embereth 4 Rimrock Knight 2 Runaway Steam-Kin 1 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell 1 Embercleave |
The second match was a nail biter, as Manfield gets to one game away to qualifying for the top 4. Pozzo fought back on the second game, as he mulliganed his hand down to five cards but Manfield stumbled while finding his third land. Phoenix of Ash got the job done for Pozzo, as Manfield had used a Lava Coil on a Grim Initiate earlier on. Manfield’s sideboard strategy on the play was slightly different:
| In | Out |
|---|---|
| 3 Redcap Melee 4 Lava Coil 1 Tibalt, Rakish Instigator 1 Experimental Frenzy | 4 Rimrock Knight 3 Scorch Spitter 1 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell 1 Embercleave |
Pozzo forced Manfield to play defensively in game 3, having a bigger army of threats on the battlefield and coming back from behind to take it to the third match.
The deciding match was another very close one, with each player taking a game to bring the match to one more game to decide the top 4. Game 3 proved to be an exciting one which could have gone either way. It all came down to trading removal spells and creatures and grinding each other down. Manfield had used a Lava Coil on a creature earlier, when Pozzo dropped a Torbran down which Manfield had no straightforward answer for. However, he was on the offensive as he attacked with his remaining creatures, with Manfield giving a thumbs up as Pozzo had to make his blocks as if he did not have an Embercleave in hand – which he did, and equipped it on his Runaway Steam-Kin for lethal damage.
Earlier on, Nassif had dispatched Loveman 2-0 in matches in a Jeskai Fires and Mono Red Aggro matchup as he advances to the top 4 tomorrow along with Manfield, Carvalho and PVDDR.
Wrapping Up
Thank you everyone for joining us today! The third and final day of the coverage begins Sunday, February 16 at 10 a.m. HST / 12 a.m. PST / 8 p.m. UTC on the same live coverage page right here. We’ll see everybody then, and be sure to check out our Discord server to discuss Worlds as it happens!
