Magic World Championship XXVI kicks off today—and the world will be watching as 16 of the game's greatest competitors battle for the trophy live from Honolulu, Hawaii on twitch.tv/magic. Pulling us into that broadcast is, of course, a world class team of casters:

• Sean "Day[9]" Plott: Host
• Maria Bartholdi: Desk Host
• Becca Scott: Reporter
• Marshall Sutcliffe: Play-By-Play
• AliasV: Play-By-Play
• Cedric Phillips: Expert
• Brian Kibler: Expert
• Paul Cheon: Expert

Armed with insight—and some inside tips about every competitor—we asked them to call their shots and break down what we'll see throughout the World Championship weekend.

What has your Theros Beyond Death Draft experience been. What do you expect to see happen during draft?

Paul: I've thoroughly enjoyed playing the format. Escape feels like one of the most powerful mechanics in the set while black is clearly the best color. I expect players to fight for the black cards due to it's great removal, depth, and has great ways to fill its graveyard to enable escape spells.

Maria: I think the format went all-in on black decks early and for good reason. The color is super deep. Now I'm seeing a big shift towards players favoring base-white aggressive decks. Which, of course, I fully endorse. Pass me all your Pious Wayfarers, please!

Marshall: I have been loving it! Black is the best color, but the colors are still relatively balanced which means you can draft almost any color pair. There are also a lot of playables in this set which allows you to change colors fairly late in the draft, rewarding those who stay open the longest.

AliasV: I've had a great time with Theros Beyond Death, particularly with blue-black and green-white drafts. The enchantments and sagas make for a draft experience similar to Dominaria and I absolutely love that! I expect to see high synergy drafts from the World Championship competitors and anyone who drafts Ashiok or Dream Trawler to dominate.

Becca: The set is ridiculously fun to draft, but some color pairs seem to be much more powerful than others. I'm personally a fan of drafting Selesnya and Golgari. I expect that we'll see lots of black and black splashing with all the powerful removal cards in this set.

Day[9]: Black and green feel incredibly strong right now. Black has a variety of excellent removal (Hooray exile effects!) and green has some very potent enchantments. Many viewers for the World Championship may have only drafted on MTG Arena, where you're drafting against bots. But, in Hawaii, with players drafting in an eight person pod I'm eager to see whether players will be fighting over the strong colors, or cleverly adjusting/drafting around in ways an MTG Arena drafter normally wouldn't have to.

Every competitor has been successful drafting to get to the World Champions, but who do you see notching a 2-0 to move to the Winner Bracket first?

Paul: There are so many fantastic players at this event, but my pick would be Márcio Carvalho. He is known to be an absolute juggernaut when it comes to Limited and is among the most successful Limited players we've ever seen.

Maria: Márcio, duh.

Marshall: Márcio Carvalho. He's long been one of the strongest Limited player in the world, and he would be my pick to get that coveted 2-0.

AliasV: That's super difficult to say given that decks aren't known yet, but then again, we've seen some of these players be successful with even the most underwhelming drafts historically. That said, the first two that came to mind for me are Márcio and Paulo. I think they'll be two of the first to notch a 2-0.

Becca: I expect to see really impressive showings from Paulo Vitor Damo de Rosa and Ondřej Stráský. Of the competitors, they did the best in the drafting rounds of Mythic Championship VI in Richmond.

Kibler: Seth Manfield. Seth has quietly been one of the best drafters and Limited players in the world for years.

Day[9]: I'll be honest: I've been so focused on the Constructed scene in the last two years that I haven't followed player drafting strategies in the last two months! That said, I'm particularly curious to see Seth Manfield Draft outcomes. At the last several Mythic Championships, I kept hearing players again and again mention how strong Manfield is at constructing top tier decks (such as Simic Flash at Mythic Championship VII) that now I'm curious about his Limited play.

Theros Beyond Death pushed Standard in new directions. What have you enjoyed seeing in Standard from the latest Magic set?

Paul: I'm a sucker for control decks so it's nice to see it being a relevant part of the metagame. The addition of Dream Trawler was huge as it has given the Azorius Control decks a legitimate way to finish games.

Maria: I mean, you can play Green-White Hexproof now, right? As I devoted Modern Bogles player, this makes me infinitely happy. I'm not saying it's a good deck, but it is a fun deck. Thanks, Paradise Druid and Sentinel's Eyes!

Marshall: I like going big, and cards like Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath help you do just that. Gadwick the Wizened is the perfect big payoff in my mind.

AliasV: White got some cool new cards to help the archetype out in Heliod and Daxos so it's been good to play the deck again, albeit nowhere near Tier 1. The Gods and Demigods have added some spice to existing archetypes so it's been fun to see how they're being used. Whether it be Anax dying and generating Satyrs in Mono-Red or Thassa bouncing creatures with "enters the battlefield" effects, they've all made Standard pretty interesting.

Kibler: To the contrary, as someone with a fondness for creature strategies Theros Beyond Death has been a pretty rough set, since both Storm's Wrath and Shatter the Sky are absolutely brutal against Pelt Collector and friends.

Day[9]: Theros Beyond Death is the most fun I've had in Standard since Guilds of Ravnica. Although there are about six archetypes that have clearly risen to tier 1, I've found plenty of room to experiment. The aggro decks don't end games quite as fast as metas of the past, and the control decks don't have insurmountably powerful win conditions, so I've been enjoying fiddling with all sorts of odd deck ideas and still having reasonable and interesting games. I've played a lot of Standard in the past few weeks and the top tier decklists have been continuing to evolve at a healthy rate. I'm eager to see if any of the World Championship contenders will reveal something truly broken!

Do you have a favorite Standard deck or card yet? What is it and why?

Paul: My favorite card in Standard is Dream Trawler as it's an incredibly powerful and reliable win condition for control decks. My least favorite card in Limited is Dream Trawler as it's an incredibly powerful and reliable win condition in any deck.

Maria: I'm a big fan of the Orzhov Auras deck. Is it Tier 1? No. Is it Tier 2? Probably not. Is it Tier 3? I suppose so. It's a silly amount of fun. I love, love, love Aphemia, the Cacophony and its synergy with Tymaret Calls the Dead.

Marshall: I like Temur Reclamation because I like doing big, powerful, things in Standard, but it also has a lot more play because of the namesake card which makes the games more interesting overall.

AliasV: I've been playing a lot of Orzhov Enchantments since Theros Beyond Death released and found it to be pretty good against the aggro and midrange decks. It struggles against control but it's fun to play nonetheless. Hateful Eidolon is such a cool card to play because of the card draw every time a creature dies with an aura attached to it. Besides that, another favorite card is probably Lampad of Death's Vigil. I find myself picking that and winning because of it more often than not.

Becca: My most both loved and loathed card would be Dream Trawler. When it goes off, it really goes off. Woe Strider has also been a fun inclusion in the Sacrifice decks.

Kibler: I want to find a good home for Setessan Champion, since it's a great creature to provide early pressure that can generate a ton of value to keep up with the mass removal effects that oppress other creature decks.

Day[9]: I mean, look, I have a love-hate relationship with Outlaw's Merriment. It's not a great card. But, I have a background in RTS games and the enchantment feels like a unit production structure. I've been trying Naya, Jeskai, and Boros variants and have yet to post better than a 40% win rate but I'll guaranteed keep trying and never give up hope.

As for good cards, Medomai's Prophecy is my current favorite particularly because of how much I undervalued the card before release—and for how powerful it is in Jeskai Fires. In a deck that has key 4-drop cards, Medomai's Prophecy is often a guaranteed draw-two on turn 4.

The Standard metagame for the World Championship is fairly well split out. Which deck do you like in this field, and why?

Paul: I like Piotr Głogowski's Jund Sacrifice deck. He has already demonstrated mastery over the deck as he won Mythic Championship VII with a similar build. It's the type of deck that can compete against any other deck in the field, and few players have been as dominant as Piotr over the past year.

Maria: I think Jeskai Fires is the most fun deck in the field and you'd better believe I always root for the most fun deck. It's also capable of extremely explosive turns that other decks simply cannot deal with.

Marshall: I like Azorius Control. It has the potent Planeswaker duo of Narset, Parter of Veils and Teferi, Time Raveler to stunt the Reclamation decks, but also the sideboard game plan that works against Mono-Red Aggro.

AliasV: I'm keen to see Azorious Control in action. I think of all the archetypes, this one has gotten the most out of Theros Beyond Death, especially in terms of finishers. Dream Trawler is an absolute powerhouse and can swing a game drastically in favor of the control player. On the other end of the spectrum, I'm keen to see what shenanigans the Mono-Red decks can pull of, and how many wins out of nowhere they can get!

Becca: Seeing that a quarter of the field chose to bring Mono-Red Aggro, it's definitely the deck I'll be watching. When a straightforward aggressive deck is this popular I predict it's going to make a big dent in the bracket.

Kibler: I like the aggressive red decks, since they have great tools to rush down the Temur Reclamation decks, and they're really the only option for attacking in the field.

Day[9]: Azorius Control has been far and away my most successful deck in practice. Dream Trawler can stabilize versus aggro with lifelink and avoids removal with hexproof. Teferi and Narset provide a powerful instant and card draw denial to slowly build momentum. Shatter the Sky as a four-mana sweeper addresses issues against both midrange and aggro. And, in case of other problems, good ol' fashioned blue countermagic helps. Playing against Azorius is tricky with both Mono-Red and Temur Reclamation due to the reliance on instant speed effects (powered up by Reclamation and Embercleave with flash).

Though I don't doubt Mono-Red and Temur players will have tactics to win against Azorius, I firmly believe Azorius Control is the archetype to beat.

Did any player's Standard deck choice surprise you? Why?

Paul: Gabriel Nassif on Jeskai Fires. Nassif tends to gravitate towards control decks and Azorius Control looks to be the real deal so it was surprising to see him on Jeskai Fires instead.

Maria: I think all the players made the best deck choice for them! Why, yes, I am running for elected office. Why do you ask?

Marshall: Andrea Mengucci on Mono-Red surprised me, mainly because I haven't seen him play decks like that very often historically—and also because I'm so used to seeing him play highly interactive decks, which red isn't really known for.

AliasV: I think Andrea's deck choice was the only surprise for me, purely based off what we've seen him play in previous events. There's no doubt he can play whatever deck he picks up, but I wasn't expecting Mono-Red! The other semi-surprise was Piotr's but given his success with Jund Sacrifice at Mythic Championship VII it makes sense that he'd run it back, and perhaps even throw off the other players who may not have expected it!

Becca: I don't know if "surprise" is the word, but I definitely chuckled to see Piotr Głogowski brought the only Jund Sacrifice deck, staying loyal to the choice that earned him the win at Mythic Championship VII. It seems that although the power of Mono-Red and Azorius Control has caused many players to pivot to something new, Głogowski must know something we don't about why Jund Sacrifice is still the right choice.

Kibler: I'm surprised and honestly a bit sad to see Chris Kvartek playing Temur Reclamation after his success playing disruptive green aggro decks throughout the year. The great midrange hope is no more!

Day[9]: Piotr Głogowski's Jund Sacrifice surprised me quite a bit. He's the only player in the field running it and it's the same archetype he won Mythic Championship VII with. But, with the rise of Azorious Control countering with Absorb and denying draw with Narset, Trail of Crumbs is increasingly a reliable tool to gain card advantage in the matchup. Only in the last two or three days have I played against some new Jund lists and they've been very challenging to beat. With Azorious Control as my pick of the tournament, Jund might have the right suite of tricks to get around Azorious's oppressive planeswalkers.

There's a gauntlet of Theros Beyond Death drafting and Standard Constructed to play—but only one competitor becomes the next Magic World Champion. #FindYourChampion: Who is it, and why?

Paul: Javier Dominguez. He's been on an absolutely incredible run over the past few years. He is the reigning World Champion and was finalist the year before. He is without a doubt one of the favorites to win it all.

Maria: Javier Dominguez. He's the best player in the world right now and there's nothing better than going back to back!

Marshall: Paulo Vitor Damo Da Rosa. I know this isn't anything fancy, but he's the best player in the field (World?) and I'm not counting against that.

AliasV: My instincts say Andrea Mengucci. I think he's had an absolutely stellar year and it's about time he gets a big finish! I think he's the next Magic World Champion, and a deserving one at that.

Becca: It goes without saying that all these players are incredible and there will not be a dull moment of this entire weekend. The predictable choice would be to name the gentleman from Spain, Javier Dominguez, who qualified for this World Championship at least three ways that I can count. But I am always surprised by the cool collectedness of Andrea Mengucci, who seems to always make the correct plays no matter the situation. It also might be time for Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, considered by many one of the top three players of all time, to have a World Championship trophy to add to his many Magic accomplishments. With this level of talent present, only the cards will tell!

Kibler: With his incredible consistency—not just this year but throughout his career—it would be crazy to pick anyone in this field other than Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa.

Day[9]: Javier Dominguez. Javier won so much last year. He had a 50 Mythic Point lead above #2 in MPL standings. He won Mythic Championship V. He's the reigning World Champion. He won so much that coverage constantly had to account for how he was messing with other player's storylines and tournament chances. How many times did you hear one of the coverage team say, "Well 'player' won't have a chance for worlds unless Javier continues to perform well, at which point the next slot will go to 'player' because Javier has already qualified for Magic World Championship XXVI in three different ways"? It happened for multiple players at multiple tournaments—and I see no reason to doubt someone so deserving of the title of World Champion.