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) 1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den Creatures (16) 4 Merfolk Windrobber 4 Ruin Crab 4 Soaring Thought-Thief 4 Thieves’ Guild Enforcer Spells (20) 4 Drown in the Loch 4 Into the Story 2 Agadeem’s Awakening 2 Eliminate 2 Heartless Act 2 Mystical Dispute 2 Of One Mind 1 Didn’t Say Please 1 Disdainful Stroke | Lands (24) 6 Island 3 Swamp 4 Clearwater Pathway 4 Fabled Passage 3 Temple of Deceit 3 Zagoth Triome 1 Castle Locthwain Sideboard (15) 1 Negate 3 Crippling Fear 2 Cling to Dust 3 Skyclave Shade 2 Dead Weight 1 Essence Scatter 1 Disdainful Stroke 1 Mystical Dispute 1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den |
Historic Orzhov Auras by Arne Huschenbeth (1st Place)
| Companion (1) 1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den Creatures (10) 4 Kor Spiritdancer 4 Sram, Senior Edificer 2 Hateful Eidolon Spells (8) 4 Thoughtseize 3 Claim // Fame 1 Sejiri Shelter Enchantments (21) 4 Cartouche of Solidarity 4 Dead Weight 4 Sentinel’s Eyes 2 All That Glitters 2 Angelic Gift 2 Demonic Vigor 1 Heliod’s Punishment 1 Kaya’s Ghostform 1 Mire’s Grasp | Lands (21) 4 Plains 3 Swamp 2 Isolated Chapel 4 Brightclimb Pathway 4 Concealed Courtyard 4 Godless Shrine Sideboard (15) 1 Mire’s Grasp 3 Kaya’s Ghostform 4 Hushbringer 2 Duress 2 Heliod’s Punishment 2 Fragmentize 1 Lurrus of the Dream-Den |
Standard Sultai Ultimatum by Grzegorz Kowalski (2nd Place)
| Companion (1) 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad Creatures (3) 1 Polukranos, Unchained 1 Valki, God of Lies 1 Vorinclex, Monstrous Raider Spells (29) 4 Cultivate 4 Emergent Ultimatum 3 Alrund’s Epiphany 3 Heartless Act 3 Shadows’ Verdict 2 Behold the Multiverse 2 Jwari Disruption 2 Pelakka Predation 2 Mystical Dispute 2 Sea Gate Restoration 1 Eliminate 1 Extinction Event Artifacts (2) 2 Esika’s Chariot Enchantments (15) 4 Binding the Old Gods 4 Omen of the Sea 4 Wolfwillow Haven 2 Elspeth’s Nightmare 1 Kiora Bests the Sea God | Lands (31) 3 Forest 3 Island 2 Swamp 4 Barkchannel Pathway 4 Clearwater Pathway 4 Darkbore Pathway 4 Fabled Passage 4 Zagoth Triome 2 Temple of Malady 1 Ketria Triome Sideboard (15) 2 Negate 2 Eliminate 1 Polukranos, Unchained 1 Kaervek, the Spiteful 1 Koma, Cosmos Serpent 2 Shark Typhoon 2 Elder Gargaroth 3 Duress 1 Yorion, Sky Nomad |
Historic Jund Food by Grzegorz Kowalski (2nd Place)
| Companion (1) 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring Planeswalkers (1) 1 Vraska, Golgari Queen Creatures (18) 4 Cauldron Familiar 4 Gilded Goose 4 Korvold, Fae-Cursed King 4 Mayhem Devil 2 Woe Strider Spells (6) 2 Claim the Firstborn 2 Fatal Push 2 Thoughtseize Artifacts (4) 4 Witch’s Oven Enchantments (7) 4 Trail of Crumbs 3 Binding the Old Gods | Lands (24) 2 Forest 2 Swamp 1 Mountain 4 Blood Crypt 4 Fabled Passage 4 Overgrown Tomb 3 Blooming Marsh 3 Cragcrown Pathway 1 Stomping Ground Sideboard (15) 1 Abrade 3 Noxious Grasp 1 Casualties of War 2 Thoughtseize 2 Witch’s Vengeance 1 Binding the Old Gods 1 Liliana’s Defeat 1 Klothys, God of Destiny 1 Bolas’s Citadel 1 Languish 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring |