Evo Forest Leads the Eight Decks Heading Into the SEAO Season 1 Finals
Five of the eight players in tomorrow's Shadowverse Open 2026 SEAO Season 1 finals are bringing Evo Forest, making it the clear deck to beat going in.
The Top 8 for the Shadowverse Open 2026 SEAO Season 1 finals is locked, and the bracket plays out tomorrow (June 7). Before a single finals game is played, one thing is already clear: Evo Forest is the deck to beat (as it has been most of the season).
Five of the eight qualified players are bringing Evo Forest, more than any other archetype. But raw presence only tells part of the story. The two most common lineups that made it through, that's Evo Forest / Crest Haven, and Midrange Abyss/ with Artifact Portal, each advanced two players at a 100% rate. Every player in the broader playoff field who registered either pairing reached the Top 8. Evo Forest plus Artifact Portal was technically more popular at three copies, but only one made it through, leaving it at 33%.
The biggest difference between popularity and qualifying belonged to Evo Abyss. It was the third-most-registered deck in the playoff field with 14 copies and 25% usage, but only one player advanced with it, a 7% rate. Enhance Sword ran in the opposite direction: only 7 copies in the field, but 2 made it through at a 29% rate, the best mark in the data.
Thirteen different pairs showed up in playoff registration, but only six reached the Top 8. That gap is the story going into finals: the format has options on paper, but Evo Forest plus a strong Abyss or Sword partner was what actually got players to the final table.
The eight players heading into tomorrow's finals, per the official public decklist sheet: CS, EMT Dayy, Jimmy, maxiebon1234, [EMT] AVERY, Jasondarulol, Flyinggoatee, and Xallorev. Their decks are decoded from the public deck hashes below.
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