The MTG China Open was held last week in the Chinese capital of Beijing, with 233 players coming together to play Standard with the hope of securing invitations to the Pro Tour and the World Championship. In a field dominated by Izzet Prowess, it was the combo-based Azorius Omniscience that took down the tournament, skillfully piloted to victory by Zhang Yuxuan!
Zhang had to fight through the tournament's most popular deck in the finals: Izzet Prowess. It's no secret that this list is one of the most powerful you can bring to a Standard tournament, but Zhang evidently came prepared. The runner-up, Jiao Hongchen, went down to Zhang 2-0 in the championship match. Zhang's combo deck outmanuvered the often lethal aggression and disruption that Izzet Prowess is known for.
Zhang was one of two players in the Top 8 on Azorius Omniscience. The deck has received some recent upgrades from Tarkir: Dragonstorm, including
Across recent Regional Championship events, we've seen Izzet Prowess strongly represented, and this trend continued in Beijing. Izzet was overwhelmingly the most popular at the tournament. Jeskai Oculus, the second most popular deck, had a very quiet weekend; not a single copy managed to make it into the Top 32. As discussed, Azorius Omniscience put up the numbers, but it's hard to discern an overall pattern amongst other decks. When it comes to Izzet, plenty of people chose to join 'em, but others chose to beat 'em, and definitely did so with decks of all types, ranging from aggro to control.
As ever, Regional Championships like the MTG China Open were about a lot more than just the big tournament that sent people to the Pro Tour. There was event coverage, vendors, side events, and much more—large Magic events are always a terrific experience, and well worth trying out if you've never been to one. If you're interested in heading along to the next Regional Championship in your area, see where the next qualifier near you is taking place. You might just make it to the RC, or even the Pro Tour itself!
