Arena Championship 10 is this weekend, December 20–21! In this premier event, 110 of MTG Arena's strongest competitors will battle for their share of a $250,000 prize pool, sixteen coveted Pro Tour qualifications, and two prestigious invitations to Magic World Championship 32. The tournament will be streamed live on twitch.tv/magic starting at 9 a.m. PT each day, with Timeless as the format of choice. For more information, be sure to check the viewer's guide.

Who Is Competing?

The Arena Championship represents the pinnacle of competitive play on MTG Arena. Securing an invitation is no small feat. This weekend's elite field consists of players who earned their spot by achieving enough wins in a Qualifier Weekend Day Two earlier this year.

This weekend's roster is packed with seasoned Magic veterans, setting the stage for a showcase of high-level gameplay. Here are just a few of the standout competitors:

• Matt Nass, champion of Pro Tour Aetherdrift
• Michael Plummer, champion of Pro Tour Edge of Eternities
• Arne Huschenbeth, Top 8 competitor at Magic World Championship 31
• Derrick Davis, Top 8 competitor at Magic World Championship 31
• Shaun Henry, Top 8 competitor at Magic World Championship 31
• Zevin Faust, Pro Tour Aetherdrift Top 8 competitor
• Yuchen Liu, Pro Tour Aetherdrift Top 8 competitor
• Daniel Toledo, reigning Regional Champion for Europe, Middle East, and Africa
• Ondrej Strasky, Mythic Championship VI champion whose career spans seven Top Finishes
• Nathan Steuer, champion of Magic World Championship XXVIII and Pro Tour Phyrexia

With most of this year's Pro Tour champions and a large portion of the most recent World Championship Top 8 in attendance, the message is clear: elite Magic skill translates seamlessly from tabletop to digital play. While these accomplished players naturally stand out as early favorites, every player in this stacked field will bring a wealth of skill and talent to the battlefield. Timeless is about to be thoroughly tested.

What Are They Playing?

Timeless is MTG Arena's largest 60-card Constructed format, including some of the most powerful cards in Magic history. Every card that is collectible on MTG Arena is legal, with a short list of restrictions: Channel, Demonic Tutor, and Tibalt's Trickery are limited to a single copy per deck. The format uses the rebalanced versions of all digital-only cards, while all non-digital cards match their original tabletop printings. Timeless launched in December 2023, and this is the first Arena Championship featuring the format.

Day One of Arena Championship 10 will consist of eight Swiss rounds of Best-of-Three Timeless. Day Two features a single-elimination Top 16, using the same Best-of-Three Timeless decks. The metagame breaks down as follows.

Mardu Energy emerged as the most popular deck choice. Its fast clock and efficient interactive suite will look familiar to Modern and Historic players. That popularity also made it one of the most anticipated archetypes heading into the weekend, and it sits alongside a surprisingly diverse lineup of other powerhouse strategies.

Strip Mine
Orcish Bowmasters
Thoughtseize
Chrome Mox
Swords to Plowshares
Grief

The most played card across all submitted main decks and sideboards is Strip Mine, a land that disrupts opposing mana development at minimal cost. Strip Mine is banned in Legacy and Historic and restricted in Vintage, making Timeless one of the few formats where players can legally run four copies of the land. Some decks even pair it with Wary Zone Guard or Wrenn and Six to recur it repeatedly. In Timeless, it's exceptionally dangerous to keep a land-light opening hand.

Orcish Bowmasters, the second most played card, punishes popular card-draw engines like The One Ring and Necrodominance. It also cleanly answers common one-drops like Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer before they can generate value. Swords to Plowshares stands out alongside it as perhaps the most efficient removal spell ever printed. Every Mardu Energy deck runs four copies of Strip Mine, and most also include full playsets of Orcish Bowmasters and Swords to Plowshares.

Thoughtseize, Grief, and Chrome Mox appear more often outside of Mardu Energy. Thoughtseize and Grief represent the most efficient tools for dismantling opposing plans and combo decks, and the latter is frequently supported by a playset of Reanimate. Chrome Mox is one of the strongest mana-acceleration options in Timeless, standing alongside effects like Dark Ritual and Ancient Tomb. In this high-powered environment, game-ending threats can hit the battlefield as early as turn one.

Timeless Deck Summaries

All decklists will become available on Melee once the tournament begins. Until then, here are brief summaries of each archetype in the Arena Championship 10 field.

Mardu Energy (34 players): Powered by Guide of Souls and Amped Raptor, Mardu Energy leverages the energy mechanic to dominate the battlefield. The deck applies relentless pressure through the feline firepower of Ocelot Pride and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah while splashing black for Orcish Bowmasters. Every Mardu Energy deck uses Lurrus of the Dream-Den as its companion.

Mono-Black Necro (13 players): Dark Ritual enables blisteringly fast starts, powering out Necropotence or Necrodominance as early as turn one to rapidly refill your hand. To offset the life loss, these decks rely on Saint Elenda, a massive lifelinker whose spellbook consists entirely of cards that gain 4 life. Saint Elenda is rarely cast for her mana cost, instead entering the battlefield via the Entomb and Reanimate package or Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord. Additional life gain from March of Wretched Sorrow and/or Tendrils of Agony ensures the deck rarely runs out of fuel.

Mono-Red Prison (13 players): Mono-Red Prison tries to prevent opponents from playing a fair game of Magic at all. Magus of the Moon, which can be played as early as turn one with the help of Chrome Mox and Ancient Tomb, can shut down opposing mana bases, while Chalice of the Void can also shut down entire strategies. The One Ring provides long-term card advantage, and when its burden becomes too heavy it can be sacrificed to Broadside Bombardiers.

Dimir Reanimator (6 players): Dimir Reanimator looks to put Atraxa, Grand Unifier into the graveyard with Entomb or Psychic Frog before bringing her back with Reanimate. Grief and Troll of Khazad-dûm serve as additional reanimation targets. Blue grants access to Brainstorm, Force of Negation, and other premium interactive spells. Most lists also include Hydroponics Architect, which can potentially turn Strip Mine into a source of card advantage that can be fetched by Polluted Delta.

Orzhov Necro (5 players): Orzhov Necro shares many cards with Mono-Black Necro, including Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord, which can power out Saint Elenda ahead of schedule. Although Orzhov Necro doesn't include Necrodominance, the deck can consistently assemble the powerful Vampire combo with Overlord of the Balemurk, and it can retrigger Saint Elenda's enters ability with Dedicated Dollmaker. That two-drop can also create a copy of Overlord of the Balemurk without time counters, generating a steady stream of value.

Esper Midrange (4 players): Esper Midrange combines efficient removal like Swords to Plowshares with countermagic staples such as Force of Negation. The deck also employs flexible threats like Orcish Bowmasters and Psychic Frog. The result is a formidable selection of the best individual cards across three colors. All Esper Midrange decks use Lurrus of the Dream-Den as their companion.

Mono-Black Midrange (4 players): Mono-Black Midrange features some of the format's most powerful "fair" turn-one plays, including Grief and Reanimate, Dark Ritual into Barrowgoyf, or a simple Strip Mine to stunt an opponent's development. Unlike other black strategies, this archetype does not emphasize a reanimation strategy with Entomb nor does it leverage Necropotence.

Golgari Midrange (4 players): Golgari Midrange expands the black midrange shell with Deathrite Shaman and Wary Zone Guard. The green splash enables Deathrite Shaman to exile creature cards for life gain, while Wary Zone Guard allows Strip Mine to be recycled again and again.

Mono-Black Reanimator (4 players): Mono-Black Reanimator utilizes Dimir Reanimator's core package of Entomb and Reanimate but trades blue interaction for explosive mana from Dark Ritual. That acceleration helps ramp out powerful spells like Barrowgoyf; The One Ring; and Sheoldred, the Apocalypse. While Culling Ritual often appears in sideboards and sometimes even in main decks, the overwhelming concentration of black cards still earns this archetype the "Mono-Black" label.

Oops, All Spells (3 players): Oops, All Spells plays zero actual land cards, instead relying on modal double-faced cards and Rituals to cast Balustrade Spy. When it resolves, you put your entire library into the graveyard, trigger every copy of Creeping Chill, flood the board with copies of Silversmote Ghoul, and shuffle Progenitus into your library to set up for a lethal attack on the following turn. Although four mana is a steep price, Entomb and Reanimate help put Balustrade Spy onto the battlefield quickly.

Necro Flash (3 players): This archetype uses Necrodominance and Necropotence to win during the end step. After drawing an amount of cards nearly equal to your life total but before discarding to your maximum hand size, Borne Upon a Wind or Leyline of Anticipation let you cast spells at instant speed. A flurry of spells, often involving Grief and Sacrifice to net extra mana, will culminate in a massive, game-ending Tendrils of Agony.

Omni-Tell (2 players): Omni-Tell uses Show and Tell to put Omniscience onto the battlefield. From there, free card-draw spells quickly find Emrakul, the Aeons Torn, which can be cast without paying its mana cost to decisively end the game.

Four-Color Midrange (2 players): This archetype resembles Golgari Midrange but branches into additional colors and uses Jegantha, the Wellspring as its companion. Swords to Plowshares is the format's best removal, Jarsyl, Dark Age Scion can recur interaction, and Wrenn and Six can return Strip Mine from the graveyard. Both red cards are supported by Malevolent Rumble.

Mono-Blue Affinity (2 players): Mono-Blue Affinity exploits artifact synergies across the board. The decks artifacts enable metalcraft for Mox Opal, create Drone tokens via Pinnacle Emissary, help cast Kappa Cannoneer and Metallic Rebuke, trigger Landlore Navigator, and reduce the cost of Emry, Lurker of the Loch.

Golgari Reanimator (1 player): This is Mono-Black Reanimator with a light green splash, namely to add Wary Zone Guard for additional utility.

Jund Midrange (1 player): This archetype is similar to Four-Color Midrange but with a heavier emphasis on black and red interaction in lieu of Swords to Plowshares.

Gruul Eldrazi (1 player): Ugin's Labyrinth and Eldrazi Temple allow this deck to deploy massive Eldrazi threats well ahead of schedule. Eldrazi Linebreaker adds an aggressive edge, excelling when the deck is on the attack.

Sneak and Show (1 player): Sneak and Show uses Sneak Attack or Show and Tell to cheat Atraxa, Grand Unifier or Emrakul, the Aeons Torn into play, either of which is usually enough to win on the spot.

Boros Energy (1 player): Boros Energy has the same core as Mardu Energy but drops black interaction and Lurrus of the Dream-Den in favor of a smoother mana base. Arena of Glory can grant haste to an escaped Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury, enabling sudden bursts of damage.

Izzet Midrange (1 player): Izzet Midrange relies on efficient interaction like Lightning Bolt and Force of Negation to keep opponents off-balance, while Dragon's Rage Channeler and Treasure Cruise reward a stocked graveyard.

Rakdos Midrange (1 player): Rakdos Midrange combines elements of Mono-Black Midrange and Mono-Red Prison. It can return Grief or Fury via Reanimate, sacrifice The One Ring to Broadside Bombardiers, and trigger Pyrogoyf with Barrowgoyf.

Jeskai Blink (1 player): Jeskai Blink, much like its Modern counterpart, uses Ephemerate to blink creatures like a warped Quantum Riddler or an evoked Solitude. Stifle can also counter the triggers that would remove them, keeping these threats or a non-escaped Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury on the battlefield. Mana Drain and other control tools round out the list.

Izzet Prowess (1 player): Izzet Prowess is a synergistic aggro deck. With Monastery Swiftspear leading the charge, the deck uses Expressive Iteration and other cheap cantrips to draw cards, enable metalcraft, and buff creatures. Cori-Steel Cutter, when combined with Mox Opal or Chrome Mox, can generate a flood of Monk tokens, and Galvanic Blast reliably deals 4 damage thanks to the deck's artifact lands.

Golgari Depths (1 player): With Exploration, Crop Rotation, Elvish Reclaimer, and Wary Zone Guard, Golgari Depths can find, play, and recur lands faster than nearly any other deck. The finishing blow comes when Thespian's Stage copies Dark Depths, which is then sacrificed to unleash a 20/20 Marit Lage token.

Golgari Yawgmoth (1 player): Yawgmoth, Thran Physician, when paired with two copies of Young Wolf, creates a powerful loop. Sacrificing a fresh Young Wolf removes the +1/+1 counter from one that returned via undying, drawing vast numbers of cards before Sephiroth, Fabled SOLDIER converts the engine into game-winning life drain.

The Championship Outlook

Arena Championship 10 marks the first Arena Championship where Timeless takes center stage as the event's Constructed format, and all signs point to a memorable showdown. Will Mardu Energy convert its popularity into a title? Can powerhouse cards like Necropotence, Magus of the Moon, and Reanimate carry their pilots to victory? Or will a dark horse surprise the field to claim the $15,000 1st-place prize?

Timeless often appears to reward the fastest and most broken plays imaginable, but across multiple days of top-tier play, anything is possible. Don't miss a moment of the action. Tune in starting at 9 a.m. PT on December 20 and 21 at twitch.tv/magic!