Rinku helped bring Kojo his first Qualifier win for the Altered World Championship Finals 2025 at the competition in Dallas, Texas, Aug. 9. The final came down to a mirror match with Belteshazzar91’s Kojo, another of four Bravos represented in the Top 8.

The 61-player event organized by Common Ground Games at QuakeCon 2025 went for seven rounds of Swiss best-of-one with a top cut single-elimination best-of-three. It was streamed with commentary by Blue, Cohlrabi, Chile, Loco Nico, Trickster and Justin Parnell, Equinox sales and marketing director, Americas.

The Dallas Top 8 included four Bravos, three Yzmir and one Ordis among the players. Photos: Simon

Kojo, Teija, Sigismar and Afanas shared the title of most popular hero, with seven decklists each. Beyond that group, Sierra was next with four decklists. Treyst, Fen, Nevenka, Gulrang, and Lindiwe followed after with three decklists each. Only Rin and Waru weren’t represented anywhere. The heroes for four of the registered players are unknown. Of the cards that reached the tables, 58% came from Beyond the Gates, with 24% from Trial by Frost and 18% from Whispers from the Maze.

Kojo himself accounted for three of the Top 8 decklists, with Atsadi making his first appearance in a Qualifier top cut as well. Yzmir took another three of the spots with two Afanas and one Lindiwe. Gulrang was the only Ordis that managed the top cut at Dallas.

Rinku’s Kojo deck leans into his low-to-the-ground quick stats gameplay, with three rare Tiny Jinns supporting three common Fire Rabbits and three common Issun-Boshi to give him the highest chance to use early-game mana most effectively while offering additional boost options. Two rare Mighty Jinn support the mana ramp, while two rare Ordis Spies and a rare Snowman provide removal and stats. Another two rares are Havens, bringing in resupply and ongoing boosts. The remaining rares include three rare Duel of Grit (which upgrades the “send to reserve” to “discard”) and two rare Mana Eruption. The deck also brings in one additional common Mana Eruption, as well as two Mess to support draw. Two of the uniques, a 4/3 Ordis Spy and 4/4 Hua Mulan, provide direct removal, with the Hua Mulan discarding a character with a hand cost of 3 or less each time she reaches the expedition. The final unique, a 3/3 Tooth Fairy, brings card draw along with sabotage each time it leaves the expedition.

Prizing

Rinku will join the other finalists (including Popeye, Pompote and NadirM, as well as others from Lille) heading with travel and accommodation paid to Paris for the World Championship Finals Oct. 17-19. He won a trophy, an exclusive playmat, a foil Adventure Pack, six hero boosters and 10 organized play boosters. The rest of the Top 8 won the exclusive playmat, foil Adventure Pack as well as a spread of hero and organized play boosters. All players received at least one hero booster and two organized play boosters.

The next World Championship Qualifier will be known after the Aug. 16-17 European-focused online Board Game Arena Qualifier, which is open to players worldwide, regardless of nationality. That event will be the first official event reflecting Afanas’s changes from the WFM midseason patch.