Izzet Phoenix remains the most popular competitive deck in Historic going into the MTG New Capenna Championship on May 20 to 22.
The dual-format Swiss tournament will feature Standard and Historic Constructed across 15 rounds. Historic will be played during rounds 4 to 7 and 12 to 15. Both Standard and Historic are still adjusting from the release of Streets of New Capenna, but many of the top decks in Historic remain the same with only a few minor adjustments.
Over the past year, the format has been dominated by Blue decks. With Izzet Phoenix, Jeskai Control, and Azorious Control all having their time in the sun. With the addition of key Historic Horizons pieces like Unholy Heat and Dragon’s Rage Channeler, Izzet Phoenix has been the best deck in the format.
Out of the 223 players competing in the New Capenna Championship, 69 players registered Izzet Phoenix. This represents 30.9 percent of the metagame. The second most popular deck is Golgari Food with 40 entries representing 17.9 percent.
Here are the decks at the New Capenna Championship with more than one registration.
- Izzet Phoenix – 69
- Golgari Food – 40
- Azorius Auras – 26
- Azorius Affinity – 21
- Rakdos Arcanist – 13
- Selesnya Humans – Eight
- Azorius Control – Seven
- Jeskai Control – Six
- Selesnya Enchantress – Five
- Jund Food – Four
- Esper Control – Three
- Five-color Niv-Mizzet – Two
- Dimir Pact – Two
- Grixis Death’s Shadow – Two
- Azorius Lotus Field – Two
Those familiar with Historic will recognize the majority of the decks on this list. Izzet Phoenix, Golgari Food, and Azorious Auras have been mainstays in Historic for over a year. Rakdos Arcanist and Selesnya Humans are consistently strong performers at large-scale Historic tournaments.
Related: MTG Esper Midrange dominated Standard meta at New Capenna Championship
Several players took it upon themselves to bring their own brews to the New Capenna Championship. There are 13 decks registered by only one player in the field. Each tournament typically has one of these decks that surprisingly performs well.
Oftentimes, the top decks will dedicate sideboard slots to countering the other top strategies. This opens the door for off-meta choices to find success and catch most of the field off guard.
Here is every single-entry decklist at the New Capenna Championship.
- Mono-Red Aggro
- Selesnya Company
- Rakdos Sacrifice
- Gruul Aggro
- Mono-White Humans
- Mono-White Artifacts
- Izzet Wizards
- Mono-Blue Affinity
- Rakdos Goblins
- Esper Pact
- Orzhov Humans
- Rakdos Midrange
- Temur Wizards
Catch the New Capenna Championship on the Magic Twitch channel. Players will be competing for their share of a $450,000 prize pool and a spot at the Magic World Championship XXVIII. Players who win a match in the top eight will receive invitations to the world championship. All players will earn World Championship Qualifying Points based on where they finish.
