Like Day 1 of Mythic Championship IV Barcelona, Day 2 was full of Hogaak decks—but at an even higher rate than on Day 1.
While the Hogaak Vine deck made up 21.4% of the Day 1 metagame at Mythic Championship IV, the deck climbed to 24.2% of the Day 2 metagame. Most other decks, like Izzet Phoenix, Eldrazi Tron, Azorius Control, Humans, Jund, etc, appeared in similar percentages in Day 2 as the appeared in Day 1.
Day 2 metagame at Mythic Championship IV
Despite Hogaak’s huge share of the metagame, the deck did not manage to dominate the Top 8 of Mythic Championship IV. Only one Hogaak Vine deck made the Top 8 in the hands of Martin Müller.
Over the last few years, multiple Pro Tours (before their rebranding as Mythic Championships) have seen single archetypes take over the tournament without having as high of a metagame share as Hogaak at Mythic Championship IV. Pro Tour Amonkhet (2017) had four Aetherworks Marvel decks in the Top 8, while Pro Tour Hour of Devastation (2017) had five Ramunap Red decks in the Top 8, and Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch (2016) had six Eldrazi decks in the Top 8.
All three of those Pro Tours resulted in bannings—Aetherworks Marvel, Ramunap Ruins, and Eye of Ugin (among others), respectively.
Match of the Day
As Round 16 began, six of the Top 8 players had already been decided. One of the two remaining to slots would be filled by the winner of the match between Hall of Famer Jelger Wiegersma and Juan José Rodríguez López.
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The match began with two quick games that showed of the power of each player’s deck. Game 1 saw Wiegersma land a Turn 2 Hogaak, Arisen Necropollis and win easily with his Hogaak Vine deck. Game 2, on the other hand, allowed Rodríguez López to return the favor with a nut draw of his own from his Mono-Red Phoenix deck.
The decisive Game 3 played out in a much more exciting fashion. Rodríguez López appeared to be on the front foot the start the game, but Wiegersma was able to get his engine going and stabilize with a Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis. Wiegersma looked to have turned the corner at nine life and made a massive attack, forcing Rodríguez López to chump block with three of his five creatures, falling to two life himself.
Rodríguez López’s back was up against the wall—he had to find a way to win on his final turn or die to a lethal attack on Wiegersma’s turn. With access to two Soul-Scar Mages on the battlefield, two Manamorphoses, and a Faithless Looting cast with flashback, he was able to find a third Manamorphose plus two Lightning Bolts to pump his Soul-Scar Mage and remove Wiegersma’s two blockers, allowing Rodríguez López to attack for lethal to win both the game and match and lock his spot in the Top 8 of Mythic Championship IV Barcelona.
A Diverse Top 8
While Hogaak dominated the metagame at Mythic Championship IV Barcelona, it didn’t manage to convert that into a high percentage of the Top 8.
Only Martin Müller made the Top 8 of Mythic Championship IV with Hogaak Vine—and he made Top 8 after getting his deck stolen five minutes before Round 12 was about to begin. He was joined in the Top 8 by David Mines and Zhiyang Zhang who both played Jund, Manuel Lenz on Grixis Urza, Sean Gifford on Eldrazi Tron, Alvaro Fernandez Torres on Hardened Scales Affinity, Thoralf Severin on Tron, and Juan José Rodríguez López on Mono-Red Phoenix.
Martin Müller's Modern Hogaak Vine from Mythic Championship IV
| Creatures (31) 4 Bloodghast 4 Carrion Feeder 4 Gravecrawler 4 Stitcher’s Supplier 3 Insolent Neonate 4 Satyr Wayfinder 4 Vengevine 4 Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis Spells (8) 4 Faithless Looting 2 Lightning Axe 2 Assassin’s Trophy Enchantments (2) 2 Leyline of the Void | Lands (19) 3 Blackcleave Cliffs 2 Blood Crypt 4 Bloodstained Mire 2 Overgrown Tomb 1 Polluted Delta 2 Snow-Covered Swamp 1 Stomping Ground 4 Verdant Catacombs Sideboard (15) 2 Leyline of the Void 2 Assassin’s Trophy 2 Engineered Explosives 2 Fatal Push 1 Nature’s Claim 2 Rotting Regisaur 1 Shenanigans 3 Thoughtseize |
David Mines's Modern Jund from Mythic Championship IV
| Creatures (10) 2 Scavenging Ooze 4 Tarmogoyf 3 Tireless Tracker 1 Bloodbraid Elf Spells (17) 4 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Thoughtseize 2 Fatal Push 2 Surgical Extraction 3 Lightning Bolt 1 Abrupt Decay 3 Assassin’s Trophy Planeswalkers (9) 4 Liliana of the Veil 1 Vraska, Golgari Queen 4 Wrenn and Six | Lands (24) 1 Barren Moor 2 Blackcleave Cliffs 1 Blood Crypt 3 Bloodstained Mire 2 Forest 1 Mountain 1 Nurturing Peatland 2 Overgrown Tomb 2 Stomping Ground 2 Swamp 1 Tranquil Thicket 4 Verdant Catacombs 2 Wooded Foothills Sideboard (15) 2 Collective Brutality 2 Collector Ouphe 1 Engineered Explosives 2 Fulminator Mage 1 Ghost Quarter 4 Leyline of the Void 2 Plague Engineer 1 Weather the Storm |
Zhiyang Zhang's Modern Jund from Mythic Championship IV
| Creatures (14) 2 Dark Confidant 1 Seasoned Pyromancer 3 Scavenging Ooze 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Bloodbraid Elf Spells (16) 4 Inquisition of Kozilek 2 Thoughtseize 2 Maelstrom Pulse 2 Fatal Push 4 Lightning Bolt 1 Abrupt Decay 1 Kolaghan’s Command Planeswalkers (7) 4 Liliana of the Veil 3 Wrenn and Six | Lands (23) 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 1 Blood Crypt 3 Bloodstained Mire 1 Forest 1 Mountain 1 Nurturing Peatland 2 Overgrown Tomb 2 Raging Ravine 1 Stomping Ground 2 Swamp 3 Verdant Catacombs 2 Wooded Foothills Sideboard (15) 1 Ancient Grudge 2 Collective Brutality 1 Collector Ouphe 3 Fulminator Mage 2 Leyline of the Void 3 Nihil Spellbomb 3 Plague Engineer |
Manuel Lenz's Modern Grixis Urza Thopter Sword from Mythic Championship IV
| Creatures (7) 4 Urza, Lord High Artificer 3 Goblin Engineer Spells (4) 3 Whir of Invention 1 Galvanic Blast Artifacts (27) 3 Thopter Foundry 4 Arcum’s Astrolabe 1 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Grafdigger’s Cage 1 Ichor Wellspring 2 Mind Stone 4 Mishra’s Bauble 4 Mox Opal 2 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Pithing Needle 1 Pyrite Spellbomb 1 Spine of Ish Sah 2 Sword of the Meek Planeswalkers (2) 2 Teferi, Time Raveler | Lands (20) 1 Gemstone Caverns 1 Hallowed Fountain 4 Polluted Delta 4 Scalding Tarn 6 Snow-Covered Island 1 Snow-Covered Mountain 1 Snow-Covered Swamp 1 Steam Vents 1 Watery Grave Sideboard (15) 1 Teferi, Time Raveler 1 Ancient Grudge 2 Ceremonious Rejection 1 Dead of Winter 3 Fatal Push 2 Leyline of the Void 1 Sai, Master Thopterist 1 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas 3 Thoughtseize |
Sean Gifford's Modern Eldrazi Tron from Mythic Championship IV
| Creatures (17) 2 Endbringer 4 Matter Reshaper 4 Reality Smasher 4 Thought-Knot Seer 3 Walking Ballista Spells (5) 2 All Is Dust 2 Dismember 1 Warping Wail Artifacts (10) 4 Chalice of the Void 4 Expedition Map 2 Mind Stone Planeswalkers (4) 4 Karn, the Great Creator | Lands (24) 2 Blast Zone 1 Cavern of Souls 4 Eldrazi Temple 2 Ghost Quarter 1 Scavenger Grounds 4 Urza’s Mine 4 Urza’s Power Plant 4 Urza’s Tower 2 Wastes Sideboard (15) 1 Walking Ballista 1 Basilisk Collar 1 Ensnaring Bridge 1 Grafdigger’s Cage 4 Leyline of the Void 1 Liquimetal Coating 1 Mycosynth Lattice 1 Mystic Forge 1 Pithing Needle 1 Spatial Contortion 1 Tormod’s Crypt 1 Wurmcoil Engine |
Alvaro Fernandez Torres's Modern Hardened Scales Affinity from Mythic Championship IV
| Creatures (18) 4 Arcbound Ravager 4 Arcbound Worker 4 Hangarback Walker 2 Metallic Mimic 4 Walking Ballista Spells (4) 4 Ancient Stirrings Artifacts (13) 3 Animation Module 4 Mox Opal 2 Throne of Geth 4 Welding Jar Enchantments (5) 1 Evolutionary Leap 4 Hardened Scales | Lands (20) 1 Blinkmoth Nexus 4 Darksteel Citadel 7 Forest 4 Inkmoth Nexus 2 Llanowar Reborn 1 Pendelhaven 1 Phyrexia’s Core Sideboard (15) 3 Damping Sphere 3 Dismember 4 Grafdigger’s Cage 4 Nature’s Claim 1 Torpor Orb |
Thoralf Severin's Modern Tron from Mythic Championship IV
| Creatures (9) 2 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger 3 Walking Ballista 4 Wurmcoil Engine Spells (9) 4 Ancient Stirrings 4 Sylvan Scrying 1 All Is Dust Artifacts (17) 3 Chromatic Sphere 4 Chromatic Star 4 Expedition Map 3 Oblivion Stone 3 Relic of Progenitus Planeswalkers (6) 4 Karn Liberated 2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon | Lands (19) 1 Blast Zone 5 Forest 1 Sanctum of Ugin 4 Urza’s Mine 4 Urza’s Power Plant 4 Urza’s Tower Sideboard (15) 2 Dismember 1 Emrakul, the Promised End 4 Leyline of the Void 2 Nature’s Claim 1 Spatial Contortion 3 Thragtusk 1 Veil of Summer 1 Warping Wail |
Juan José Rodríguez López's Modern Mono-Red Phoenix from Mythic Championship IV
| Creatures (13) 4 Arclight Phoenix 1 Bedlam Reveler 4 Monastery Swiftspear 4 Soul-Scar Mage Spells (28) 4 Faithless Looting 1 Finale of Promise 4 Lava Spike 4 Light Up the Stage 4 Gut Shot 3 Lava Dart 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Manamorphose Enchantments (1) 1 Blood Moon | Lands (18) 15 Mountain 3 Sunbaked Canyon Sideboard (15) 3 Abrade 1 Alpine Moon 1 Dragon’s Claw 1 Kozilek’s Return 1 Ravenous Trap 2 Saheeli, Sublime Artificer 1 Shenanigans 2 Shrine of Burning Rage 3 Tormod’s Crypt |