Live Coverage of StarCityGames.com Open: Atlanta

The StarCityGames.com Legacy Open has drawn to a close here in Atlanta! There were 200 competitors hoping for a shot at the glory on Sunday morning, but after eight rounds of Swiss action, only eight remained to battle for the title.

Along the way, a host of innovative decks fell by the wayside. Jedi Emreka, a Eureka deck starring Progenitus and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn came out of nowhere to catch the field by storm, but fell just short at the end of the day. A new take on Sneak Attack featuring a host of legendary Eldrazi and Hellcarver Demon to cast them for free nearly made the single elimination rounds as well.

Ultimately, however, it was the tried and true archetypes that broke through to the final rounds of play. Blue-Black Reanimator, Ad Nauseam Tendrils, Zoo, New Horizons, Goblin Charbelcher, and Goblins were all represented. It was a story of Pro versus Joe to determine the title. On one side of the bracket, Pro Tour star Gerry Thompson wound his way through his opponents with Reanimator. Across the bracket was local Atlanta, Georgia hero David Mayer who was hoping to defend the title and keep the Open trophy in his own hometown. The final round was a tight one as the players split the first game, then went long in the third. But a lucky Ad Nauseam Tendrils gave Mayer just enough to storm his opponent out.

Hometown hero David Mayer is the StarCityGames.com Atlanta Legacy Open champion!

Legacy Open Top 16 Decklists	By Coverage Staff
The Top 16 Legacy Decks in the StarCityGames.com Open: Atlanta!

Legacy Top 8 Player Profiles	By Coverage Staff
Meet the Top 8 competitors at the Atlanta StarCityGames.com Legacy Open!

Finals: Gerry Thompson vs. David Mayer	By Bill Stark
Before the Finals had started, David Mayer declared it was his tournament to win. Gerry Thompson, the seasoned pro, had no comment on that and instead focused on the game.

Semifinals: Gerry Thompson vs. David Price	By Bill Stark
David had battled his way to the Semis with his Bant New Horizons deck, but he’d need to take down Gerry Thompson Reanimator deck if he hoped to be turning guys sideways in the finals.

Quarterfinals: Christian Valenti vs. Mark Brislin	By Bill Stark
A long day of Legacy play was down to three final rounds: the Top 8. For Christian Valenti, that meant hoping his Charbelcher deck would continue giving him the blessed hands he’d been having all day long.

Quarterfinals: David Mayer vs. Joshua Adams	By Bill Stark
Two very aggressive decks squared off against one another as Joshua Adams’ Zoo list took aim at David Mayer’s Ad Nauseam Tendrils build.

Round 8: John Cuvelier vs. JT Henricks	By Bill Stark
A Top 8 slot on the line, Henricks and Cuvelier face off in a Reanimator mirror match!

6:28 – Judges’ Legacy Pointers	By Bill Stark
Legacy is a big, complex format. The judge staff at the StarCityGames.com Open in Atlanta pitch in to help you be prepared for the next Legacy Open through sharing tips on what you can do to avoid penalties and be more aware of what to expect.

Round 5: Gerry Thompson vs. Reed Shindell	By Bill Stark
Gerry Thompson Reanimator list came blistering out of the gates for his feature match against Reed Shindell’s Counterbalance deck, opening on Careful Study that allowed him to deposit both Terastodon and Iona, Shield of Emeria into his graveyard.

Standard Deck Tech: Jedi Emreka	By Bill Stark
We sit down with Andrew Shugart to discuss his innovative new Legacy deck: Jedi Emreka. The deck uses Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and Progenitus powered to the battlefield via Eureka and Show and Tell.

2:33 – Eldrazi Movers and Shakers	By Bill Stark
The big question on the minds of many this weekend was what type of impact Rise of the Eldrazi would have on both the Standard and Limited formats.

Standard Deck Tech: Lewis Laskin Super Friends	By Bill Stark
We sit down to chat with Gerry Thompson about his deck choice for the weekend: Open the Vaults.

Round 2: Lewis Laskin vs. Chris Sanchez	By Bill Stark
Laskin got off to an 0-1 start after taking an ironic loss to a Legacy deck featuring Elspeth, Knight Errant and Ajani Vengeant, two cards that were instrumental in his win on Saturday.

Gladiators to the Rescue!	By Bill Stark
Lewis Laskin took down Jund in the finals to claim victory with American Gladiators, a U/W/R Planeswalker control deck designed to tear apart the format’s long-standing boogie man.

Standard Open Top 16 Decklists	By Coverage Staff
The Top 16 Standard Decks in the StarCityGames.com Open: Atlanta!

Standard Top 8 Player Profiles	By Coverage Staff
Meet the Top 8 competitors at the Atlanta StarCityGames.com Standard Open!

Finals: Lewis Laskin vs. Alex Bertoncini	By Bill Stark
It was all down to one final match. For Lewis Laskin, it was blue-white-red Planeswalker Control, the breakout deck of the format. For Alex Bertoncini, the deck that had already won him a StarCityGames.com Open title: Jund.

Semifinals: Lewis Laskin vs. Ben Stark	By Bill Stark
Laskin was the brains behind the blue-white-red control deck they were playing, and both had gone 8-0 to start the tournament off, IDing with one another to make the Top 8.

Quarterfinals: Ali Aintrazi vs. Tanner Lange	By Bill Stark
Ali considered his Eldrazi Conscription Mythic deck a serious underdog to Tanner Lange’s U/G Polymorph deck, but he was still eager to shuffle up and let the cards fall where they may.

Quarterfinals: Alex Bertoncini vs. David Yancey	By Bill Stark
Despite being a StarCityGames.com Open champion playing Jund, Alex Bertoncini entered the Quarterfinals in Atlanta an underdog.

Round 10: Chris Simpson vs. Taylor Raflowitz	By Bill Stark
A classic matchup for this weekend’s featured Standard bubble match – U/W vs. Red Deck Wins.

On Camera: Standard’s New Best Deck	By Bill Stark
At the StarCityGames.com Open in Atlanta, we asked a number of the game’s top players what deck they think is best in Standard now that Rise of the Eldrazi is legal.

Round 8: Ali Aintrazi vs. Lewis Laskin	By Bill Stark
The StarCityGames.com Standard Open in Atlanta was winding down the Swiss rounds, with only two left to play as Ali Aintrazi sat down to square off against Lewis Laskin.

5:24 – Stars of the StarCityGames.com Open Series	By Bill Stark
The StarCityGames.com Open has spawned a series of stars, players who have done well at events over the course of the tournament series’ lifespan.

Deck Tech: Turbo Open the Vaults	By Bill Stark
We sit down to chat with Gerry Thompson about his deck choice for the weekend: Open the Vaults.

Round 5: Chris Woltereck vs. Nick Shoaf	By Bill Stark
StarCityGames.com Legacy Open – Richmond champion Chris Woltereck wasn’t playing Legacy, but that hadn’t stopped him from starting the day in Atlanta undefeated.

2:54 – Hot Faces in Hotlanta	By Bill Stark
This weekend we’re in Atlanta, Georgia, and the stars have come out to give their best at walking home with a trophy in Standard and a nice haul of Open Points.

On Camera: Rise of the Eldrazi’s Standard Impact	By Bill Stark
With Rise of the Eldrazi freshly released to the Magic world, we sat down with some of the top players at the StarCityGames.com Standard Open in Atlanta.

Round 2: Aaron Wayne vs. William Greer	By Bill Stark
StarCityGames.com Open Points Leader Aaron Wayne faces off against his buddy William Greer in the second round.