Mono-Black Midrange and Izzet Cauldron Reach Equal Pioneer Shares

Mono-Black Midrange and Izzet Cauldron each reached 7 of 127 published Pioneer lists, or 5.5%, in the week of November 2, 2026, and met in the November 7 Challenge final. Capriccioso won that event with Izzet Cauldron at 6-2, beating RNAPBP1’s Mono-Black Midrange 2-0 in the final, according to MTGO’s published results.

The equal shares conceal different trajectories. Mono-Black Midrange rose from 3 of 153 lists in the week of October 26; Izzet Cauldron rose from 6 of 153. We see a stronger growth signal in Mono-Black, but the better recent finish belongs to Izzet Cauldron.

Equal Shares, Different Starting Points

Mono-Black Midrange has 14 published lists across the 6 weeks beginning September 28. Half arrived in the latest week. Izzet Cauldron has 48 across the same period and previously reached 14 of 115 lists, or 12.2%, in the week of October 5. Its latest increase is a recovery from a quieter week, rather than a new high.

The rolling seven-day Pioneer snapshot gives both decks a different headline share: 7.4%, representing 7 of 95 lists, against a reported 2.0%, or 3 of 153, previously. Its current total differs from the calendar-week total of 127, and its previous Izzet Cauldron count also differs. The weekly figures above keep both archetypes on the same dated comparison.

Mono-Black Keeps Its Graveyard Core

Pokerswizard finished third at 6-2 in the November 5 Challenge 32, a 49-player event, with Mono-Black Midrange. The published November 5 list pairs 4 each of Dark Matter Manipulator, Stitcher's Supplier and Bloodghast with 4 Overlord of the Balemurk and 4 Baron Helmut Zemo. Thoughtseize and removal support the creature plan.

The important interaction is turning self-mill into pressure rather than merely filling the graveyard. Magic.gg’s Metagame Mentor article describes Dark Matter Manipulator making Stitcher's Supplier a more substantial threat while helping stock the graveyard for Bloodghast. That gives this shell a reason to play its small creatures alongside discard instead of relying entirely on individually expensive threats.

Compared with trussell48’s third-place, 5-2 list from November 1, pokerswizard’s build cut 2 main-deck Invoke Despair and The Terminus of Return, added 2 Gifted Aetherborn and The Soul Stone, and reduced Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx from 4 to 3. The creature core stayed intact. Invoke Despair moved to 3 sideboard copies, alongside 4 Duress and 3 Leyline of the Void.

Izzet Cauldron Changes Its Creature Mix

Capriccioso’s winning list used 4 Pompous Battlemage and 4 Quantum Riddler. JustCallMeJick’s fifth-place, 4-3 build from November 5 had no Pompous Battlemage, 2 Quantum Riddler, 4 Fear of Missing Out and 4 Seasoned Cryomancer. The winner reduced the latter pair to 2 and 1 respectively.

Both configurations retain 4 each of Agatha's Soul Cauldron, Vivi Ornitier, Stormchaser's Talent, Proft's Eidetic Memory and Academic Dispute. TCG Contender’s November 5 deck guide describes the plan as using card flow and the Vivi Ornitier package to generate value while maintaining tempo. The creature slots are changing around that established engine.

The winning configuration also appeared in xfile’s sixth-place, 4-2 finish on November 8, with the same main deck and sideboard. That is 2 consecutive top eights for this exact build. Across the November 5, November 7 and November 8 Challenges, Izzet Cauldron collected 3 top eights and Mono-Black Midrange collected 2.

Golgari Midrange Remains the Obstacle

Against Pioneer’s leading deck, neither challenger has a positive six-week MTGO playoff record: Mono-Black Midrange is 1-3 against Golgari Midrange; Izzet Cauldron is 3-4. These are small samples of top-eight matches, not format-wide matchup win rates. On November 5, Arianne eliminated pokerswizard 2-1, while itstime eliminated JustCallMeJick 2-1.

Postboard.gg’s November 9 sideboard guide identifies Golgari Midrange’s discard and removal as the reason games become grindy. It recommends removing Torch the Tower, which misses several key threats, for Abrade and Octopus Form. Capriccioso’s sideboard contains 1 of each incoming card; the guide uses Abrade against smaller creatures and Mutavault, and Octopus Form to protect Vivi Ornitier.

Izzet Cauldron has better playoff results against Izzet Creativity at 3-1 and Mono Green Devotion at 2-0, but is 0-2 against Izzet Spellementals. Mono-Black Midrange is 1-1 against Izzet Creativity and 1-0 against Mono Green Devotion. The November 7 final supplied their lone recorded head-to-head playoff match, which Izzet Cauldron won.