It's almost here: the 2020 Mythic Invitational, featuring the debut of MTG Arena's Historic format at the Magic Esports stage, begins Thursday, September 10 at 9 a.m. PDT. Across 14 Swiss rounds and a Top 8 playoff, MPL players, Rivals league members, and other competitors will battle for $250,000 in prizes, 16 invitations to the 2020 Season Grand Finals, and the chance to shape the legacy of the Historic format for years to come.
Metagame Breakdown
In total, 160 decklists were submitted for the Mythic Invitational. Every decklist will be published at the beginning of the first round event Thursday, September 10 on the 2020 Mythic Invitational event page. The metagame breaks downs as follows.
Deck Archetype | Number of Players | Percentage of Field |
Mono-Red Goblins | 32 | 20.0% |
Sultai Midrange | 27 | 16.9% |
Jund Sacrifice | 22 | 13.8% |
Rakdos Goblins | 22 | 13.8% |
Bant Control | 9 | 5.6% |
Mono-Black Gift | 6 | 3.8% |
Rakdos Arcanist | 5 | 3.1% |
Azorius Control | 4 | 2.5% |
Kethis Combo | 3 | 1.9% |
Gruul Aggro | 3 | 1.9% |
Azorius Auras | 3 | 1.9% |
Jund Citadel | 3 | 1.9% |
Mono-Red Aggro | 3 | 1.9% |
Rakdos Sacrifice | 2 | 1.3% |
Temur Flash | 2 | 1.3% |
Mono-Green Planeswalkers | 2 | 1.3% |
Temur Control | 2 | 1.3% |
Golgari Citadel | 1 | 0.6% |
Simic Ramp | 1 | 0.6% |
Abzan Gift | 1 | 0.6% |
Bant Turbo-Fog | 1 | 0.6% |
Sultai Flash | 1 | 0.6% |
Mono-Green Aggro | 1 | 0.6% |
Mono-Black Aggro | 1 | 0.6% |
Jund Aggro | 1 | 0.6% |
Temur Midrange | 1 | 0.6% |
Bant Spirits | 1 | 0.6% |
Without a doubt, the tournament-defining deck is Goblins. Combining Mono-Red and Rakdos variants, which are essentially the same except for a
The core of the deck is well-established, but there are some differences across the final slots. Some players are rounding out their deck with
Most-Played Cards
The 25 most-played cards among all main decks and sideboards break down as follows.
Card Name | Total | Main Deck | Sideboard |
Mountain | 938 | 938 | 0 |
Thoughtseize | 327 | 193 | 134 |
Swamp | 243 | 243 | 0 |
Overgrown Tomb | 223 | 223 | 0 |
Goblin Chieftain | 216 | 216 | 0 |
Conspicuous Snoop | 216 | 216 | 0 |
Wily Goblin | 216 | 216 | 0 |
Muxus, Goblin Grandee | 216 | 216 | 0 |
Skirk Prospector | 213 | 213 | 0 |
Krenko, Mob Boss | 213 | 213 | 0 |
Blood Crypt | 212 | 212 | 0 |
Forest | 210 | 210 | 0 |
Goblin Warchief | 210 | 210 | 0 |
Dragonskull Summit | 194 | 194 | 0 |
Abrade | 191 | 10 | 181 |
Breeding Pool | 186 | 186 | 0 |
Goblin Matron | 178 | 178 | 0 |
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath | 177 | 175 | 2 |
Growth Spiral | 172 | 172 | 0 |
Fabled Passage | 168 | 168 | 0 |
Phyrexian Tower | 159 | 159 | 0 |
Leyline of the Void | 153 | 0 | 153 |
Castle Embereth | 143 | 143 | 0 |
Goblin Ringleader | 141 | 31 | 110 |
Woe Strider | 134 | 134 | 0 |
Although
Of note is that
Quick Deck Overviews
All decklists will be published at the 2020 Mythic Invitational event page at the beginning of Round 1 on Thursday, September 10.
For detailed descriptions and sample lists of the top six archetypes, I refer you to Mani Davoudi's excellent article highlighting the key decks of the format. The details provided by your Desk Expert for the Mythic Invitational closely match the actual metagame, even if Jund Citadel (which relies on the synergy between
For reference, I provide a summary description of every archetype in one or two sentences below.
Mono-Red Goblins (32 players): Mono-Red Goblins, which encompasses one build that is all red main deck but that has a few blue counterspells in the sideboard, is the most-played deck in the field. Get ready to see the power of
Krenko, Mob Boss
Muxus, Goblin Grandee
Sultai Midrange (27 players): In Standard,
Nissa, Who Shakes the World
Thoughtseize
Jund Sacrifice (22 players): The synergy between
Witch's Oven
Collected Company
Rakdos Goblins (22 players): It's basically Mono-Red Goblins with
Thoughtseize
Muxus, Goblin Grandee
Bant Control (9 players):
Wrath of God
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
Mono-Black Gift (6 players): Exploiting
God-Pharaoh's Gift
Stitcher's Supplier
Rakdos Arcanist (5 players): This is arguably the best
Lurrus of the Dream-Den
Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger
Azorius Control (4 players):
Wrath of God
Mind Stone
Kethis Combo (3 players): This intricate combo deck fills the graveyard with
Kethis, the Hidden Hand
Mox Amber
Gruul Aggro (3 players): Gruul players are still smashing with
Gruul Spellbreaker
Collected Company
Azorius Auras (3 players): Suiting up
All That Glitters
Curious Obsession
Jund Citadel (3 players): Instead of a pure sacrifice angle with
Woe Strider
Blood Artist
Mono-Red Aggro (3 players): Whether it's with a Wizard build featuring
Viashino Pyromancer
Wizard's Lightning
Rakdos Sacrifice (2 players): This deck relies on the synergy of
Cauldron Familiar
Mayhem Devil
Temur Flash (2 players): This is a
Magmaquake
Nightpack Ambusher
Mono-Green Planeswalkers (2 players): A large number of ramp spells allow
Nissa, Who Shakes the World
Vivien, Arkbow Ranger
Temur Control (2 players): The plan is to control the game with
Sweltering Suns
Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Golgari Citadel (1 player): It's Jund Citadel but with
Woe Strider
Blood Artist
Simic Ramp (1 player): This deck exploits
Nissa, Who Shakes the World
Growth Spiral
Abzan Gift (1 player): This deck is similar to Mono-Black Gift, but instead of filling the final slots with the likes of
Collected Company
Fiend Artisan
Bant Turbo-Fog (1 player): It looks like Bant Control, but it can stall the game even longer with
Root Snare
Commit // Memory
Sultai Flash (1 player):
Nightpack Ambusher
Thoughtseize
Mono-Green Aggro (1 player): This deck stomps straightforwardly, potentially curving
Steel Leaf Champion
Primal Might
Mono-Black Aggro (1 player): The aim is to curve
Spawn of Mayhem
Phyrexian Obliterator
Jund Aggro (1 player): It's basically Gruul Aggro with a black splash for
Embercleave
Collected Company
Temur Midrange (1 player): This deck, featuring the best mid-sized creatures across three colors, can curve
Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
Glorybringer
Bant Spirits (1 player): The plan is to curve out with Spirits, attack in the air, and cast
Empyrean Eagle
Collected Company
Conclusion
Goblins is roughly one-third of the field, but there is a large diversity of archetypes ready to take on
Catch it live to see the Magic Esports debut of MTG Arena's Historic format as the next champion is crowned!