Arne Huschenbeth won the Kaldheim Championship with Dimir Rogues, defeating Grzegorz Kowalski on Sultai Ultimatum in two straight matches in the finals—without dropping a game.

Huschenbeth entered the Top 8 Standard double elimination bracket as the third seed after 15 rounds of swiss, split between seven rounds of Standard and eight rounds of Historic, while Kowalski entered as the seventh seed. Both players won their matchups in the upper bracket quarters and met in the upper semis, where Huschenbeth won two games to one, sending Kowalski to the lower bracket. Huschenbeth then defeated Javier Dominguez in the upper finals to advance to the championship match.

The Top 8 bracket at the Kaldheim Championship.

Kowalski’s next match was against first seed Shahar Shenhar on Temur Adventures. After winning Game 1, Kowalski seemed to be in position to win Game 2 when some kind of error forced the tournament operations team to restart the game. Wizards didn’t elaborate as to what the error was, only that it wasn’t a disconnect, and the players were forced to start Game 2 over. This time, Shenhar took the game to even up the match, though Kowalski came back to win Game 3 and keep his tournament hopes alive. Kowalski continued overpowering his next two opponents, Noriyuki Mori and Javier Dominguez, to set up a rematch with Huschenbeth in the finals.

Given their high stakes, championship matches are usually tense and thrilling affairs. But Huschenbeth wasn’t interested in fulfilling viewers’ expectations for an exciting finals. He had chosen to play Dimir Rogues specifically to beat the most popular deck—Sultai Ultimatum, which Kowalski just happened to be playing—and proceeded to do just that. Huschenbeth easily took the first match by curving out in Games 1 and 2 while Kowalski was unable to put up a fight. He then proceed to do the same in Game 1 of the second match, threatening to win the championship match in record time.

The Standard metagame at the Kaldheim Championship.

Game 2 played out a little differently, with Huschenbeth keeping a slower hand and Kowalski finally managing to get the value from his enchantments and Yorion, Sky Nomad. But in the end, Huschenbeth drew more cards and applied more pressure, defeating Kowalski in four straight games to win the Kaldheim Championship.

This was Huschenbeth’s second top finish, having Top 4’d Players Tour Online 4 last year, and his first win. It was Kowalski’s third top finish and second loss in a finals, having lost the 2018 World Championship finals to Javier Dominguez and finishing fourth at the 2020 Mythic Invitational.

While the Standard portion of the tournament featured a relatively balanced metagame, the Historic rounds were heavily tilted toward Jund Food/Sacrifice. The archetype made up nearly a third of the field at 31.3% with the next most played deck, Orzhov Auras, only reaching 14.7% of the field.

The Historic metagame at the Kaldheim Championship.

Deck Lists

Standard Dimir Rogues by Arne Huschenbeth (1st Place)

Companion (1)
Lurrus of the Dream-Den

Creatures (16)
Merfolk Windrobber
Ruin Crab
Soaring Thought-Thief
Thieves’ Guild Enforcer

Spells (20)
Drown in the Loch
Into the Story
Agadeem’s Awakening
Eliminate
Heartless Act
Mystical Dispute
Of One Mind
Didn’t Say Please
Disdainful Stroke
Lands (24)
Island
Swamp
Clearwater Pathway
Fabled Passage
Temple of Deceit
Zagoth Triome
Castle Locthwain

Sideboard (15)
Negate
Crippling Fear
Cling to Dust
Skyclave Shade
Dead Weight
Essence Scatter
Disdainful Stroke
Mystical Dispute
Lurrus of the Dream-Den

Historic Orzhov Auras by Arne Huschenbeth (1st Place)

Companion (1)
Lurrus of the Dream-Den

Creatures (10)
Kor Spiritdancer
Sram, Senior Edificer
Hateful Eidolon

Spells (8)
Thoughtseize
Claim // Fame
Sejiri Shelter

Enchantments (21)
Cartouche of Solidarity
Dead Weight
Sentinel’s Eyes
All That Glitters
Angelic Gift
Demonic Vigor
Heliod’s Punishment
Kaya’s Ghostform
Mire’s Grasp
Lands (21)
Plains
Swamp
Isolated Chapel
Brightclimb Pathway
Concealed Courtyard
Godless Shrine

Sideboard (15)
Mire’s Grasp
Kaya’s Ghostform
Hushbringer
Duress
Heliod’s Punishment
Fragmentize
Lurrus of the Dream-Den

Standard Sultai Ultimatum by Grzegorz Kowalski (2nd Place)

Companion (1)
Yorion, Sky Nomad

Creatures (3)
Polukranos, Unchained
Valki, God of Lies
Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider

Spells (29)
Cultivate
Emergent Ultimatum
Alrund’s Epiphany
Heartless Act
Shadows’ Verdict
Behold the Multiverse
Jwari Disruption
Pelakka Predation
Mystical Dispute
Sea Gate Restoration
Eliminate
Extinction Event

Artifacts (2)
Esika’s Chariot

Enchantments (15)
Binding the Old Gods
Omen of the Sea
Wolfwillow Haven
Elspeth’s Nightmare
Kiora Bests the Sea God
Lands (31)
Forest
Island
Swamp
Barkchannel Pathway
Clearwater Pathway
Darkbore Pathway
Fabled Passage
Zagoth Triome
Temple of Malady
Ketria Triome

Sideboard (15)
Negate
Eliminate
Polukranos, Unchained
Kaervek, the Spiteful
Koma, Cosmos Serpent
Shark Typhoon
Elder Gargaroth
Duress
Yorion, Sky Nomad

Historic Jund Food by Grzegorz Kowalski (2nd Place)

Companion (1)
Jegantha, the Wellspring

Planeswalkers (1)
Vraska, Golgari Queen

Creatures (18)
Cauldron Familiar
Gilded Goose
Korvold, Fae-Cursed King
Mayhem Devil
Woe Strider

Spells (6)
Claim the Firstborn
Fatal Push
Thoughtseize

Artifacts (4)
Witch’s Oven

Enchantments (7)
Trail of Crumbs
Binding the Old Gods
Lands (24)
Forest
Swamp
Mountain
Blood Crypt
Fabled Passage
Overgrown Tomb
Blooming Marsh
Cragcrown Pathway
Stomping Ground

Sideboard (15)
Abrade
Noxious Grasp
Casualties of War
Thoughtseize
Witch’s Vengeance
Binding the Old Gods
Liliana’s Defeat
Klothys, God of Destiny
Bolas’s Citadel
Languish
Jegantha, the Wellspring

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