Going Rogue this Weekend

The Arena Mythic Qualifier and Red Bull Untapped International Qualifier will be taking place this weekend, and a decision must be made: are you going to go with one of the established decks at the top of the format, or will you attack the metagame from an unexpected angle? This week, we’ll take a look at some of the decks that aren’t necessarily on players’ minds as they prepare for these large events.

The three most-played archetypes of the MagicFest Online Season 2 Finals were Jeskai Lukka Fires, Temur Reclamation, and Boros Cycling, and together they made up half of the Top 8 (2 Cycling). Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa made Top 8 with Bant Ramp, which was the sixth-most played deck, but has seen its numbers decline with the rise of Lukka Fires. Two decks took the remaining three spots in the Top 8, each with just five pilots in the event - two copies of Obosh Red and the eventual winner, Temur Adventures.

I expect Obosh Red to be a popular choice this weekend, as people try to avoid the drawn out games of Yorion mirror-matches. The Arena Mythic Qualifiers always seem to have more aggro decks that you would expect, perhaps due to the number of players that qualified through Limited that need an easy-to-craft deck. The deck has plenty of buzz after getting the two Top 8 finishes, as well as two players in Top 5 Mythic on the Arena ladder.

Despite Jason Fleurant’s victory with Temur Adventures, as well as No Ah Ma’s Top 8 in Weekly Championship #2, players still don’t seem to be picking up the deck, whether it’s the complicated decisions or just a difference in play style. That leaves it as an excellent choice to attack the top decks this weekend.

There are several more options to take the field by surprise though. Here are some quick hits for those that are looking for something a little spicy, but still with a tournament pedigree!

Mardu Knights by jakers1016 (Top 32 Season 2 Finals / 128 players)

Gruul Aggro by Luan Sakita (1st place LatAm Magic Series Latin America Norte Open / 139 players)

Mono-Black Sacrifice by Cody Murray (Top 8 NRG Series Arena Open #1 / 42 players)

Mono-White Aggro by Andrew Wolthuis (Top 8 NRG Series Arena Open #1 / 42 players)

Author: Robert Taylor