Seth Manfield lives up to his reputation as one of the best Magic: The Gathering Pro players, winning the MPL Emerald Division M20 split with Orzhov Vampires.
In an unprecedented week two victory over the likes of Esper Control and Simic Nexus, Manfield earns himself a day-one bye to the MTGA Mythic Championship V. Playing Esper Control through the round-robin matches and winning with Orzhov Vampires, Manfield humbly gushed over why the Emerald Division win is a big deal.
Finishing in second within the Emerald Division M20 split was Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, playing Simic Nexus while Martin Jůza and Shota Yasooka respectfully took third and fourth place. We said earlier in the week that Manfield would have to be on his A-game to top Simic Nexus, and he was—even after Damo da Rosa opened with a near-perfect hand.
Vamps are hot right now. Week one of the M20 split was filled with Orzhov Vampire decks while week two was dominated by Esper. But when it came time to battle it out for a day-one bye to MTGA Mythic Championship V, it was Orzhov Vampires who assisted Manfield with his victory.
Perhaps Mono-Red Aggro (or even Esper Hero) could have stood up to Orzhov Vampire, but from the looks of it—vamps are the best deck in the MTG Standard meta, for now.
Week three of the M20 split will likely see another influx of Orzhov Vampires, similar to week one. Or maybe, one of the top MPL players will find a way to kick vamps from the number one spot.
