Crystal Rune and Rally Sword Lead SVO SEAO Preliminary 2
Crystal Runecraft and Rally Swordcraft led the second SVO SEAO preliminary, while Ramp Dragoncraft and Tempo Evolution Forestcraft weren't as popular as they were in Preliminary 1
The second SVO 2026 Season 2 SEAO preliminary has a new pair at the top. Crystal Runecraft appeared in 43% of players' lineups, with Rally Swordcraft right behind at 42.5%. With players registering two decks each, the pair made up more than 40% of all 456 submitted lists.
These numbers are very different that the July 11 opener. At that event, Ramp Dragoncraft was everywhere then at 47% of players, but it's down to 29.4% this time. Tempo Evolution Forest fell even further, from 24.7% to 3.1%. Artifact Portalcraft headed in the other direction, climbing from 9.3% to 25%.
The most popular pairing was Crystal Rune and Rally Sword, played by 28 participants. Crystal Rune and Ramp Dragon was next at 24. Evo Haven remains the best of the rest at 13.2%, though that is a drop from 23.1% in July. Abysscraft, meanwhile, is still being pulled in several directions, with Midrange, Mode, Milteo, Shakdoh, and Evolution builds appearing without one clear favorite.
At the end of the six played rounds, three players are still undefeated: Andromeda, PecoKyaruTT, and jiean/深紅蘭. All three brought Crystal Runecraft, pairing it with Midrange Abysscraft, Rally Swordcraft, and Ramp Dragoncraft respectively. Another 18 players are at 5-1, so there is still plenty to play for when the event resumes.
The deck breakdown covers the 228 players who registered lists. A few smaller rogue decks have been grouped as best as possible, but the takeaway is that Crystal Rune and Rally Sword are the decks to beat.
Preliminary 3 takes place on September 12.
Sources: