Live Coverage of StarCityGames.com Open Series: Dallas / Fort Worth

Perhaps in Magic history there has never been anything like it. Two tournaments, two 14 year olds in the Finals. After pushing through the Swiss in dominating fashion with his 43 Land deck, Jacob Palaima found himself all the way in the Finals. He was hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow freshman Eric Palmerduca who had taken down the Standard competition on Saturday. Luck seemed to be on his side as he got a free game win to decide his Quarterfinals match after Andres Suarez insufficiently randomized his deck. On top of that, his opponent was playing a favorable matchup: Zoo.

But his opponent was no slouch. The most accomplished player in the room, Tom Ross had multiple Top 8s already before reaching the single elimination rounds of the Legacy Open. He even managed to send the match to a third game. There, however, his run seemed to come to a close. Unable to get enough early pressure on James, Ross could only watch as Palaima’s mana engine kicked into over drive. His only hope was that James picked up his third game rules violation, a situation that would upgrade to a game loss and hand Ross the win. Then, the unthinkable. Palaima began attacking with a Glacial Chasm on the table, something not allowed by the rules. It was the break Ross needed! Jacob had done himself in, a serious twist of fate, and Tom Ross emerged the Dallas Legacy Open champion!

Too Much Information: Dallas / Fort Worth Legacy Open	By Jared Sylva
More than a third of the Fish decks (5 of 14) in the field made the top 16 so if you hope to be at the top tables, you will want to be packing some answers to the pesky little guys.

Legacy Open Top 8 Player Profiles	By Bill Stark
Meet the Top 8 competitors from the StarCityGames.com Legacy Open in Dallas / Fort Worth!

Legacy Open Top 16 Decklists	By Jared Sylva
The Top 16 decklists from the StarCityGames.com Legacy Open in Dallas / Fort Worth.

Finals: Tom Ross vs. James Palaima	By Bill Stark
Saturday night, 14-year-old Eric Palmerduca took down the entirety of the StarCityGames.com Standard Open in Dallas. Fast forward 24 hours, and 14-year-old James Palaima found himself with the chance to be in the exact same position.

Semifinals: Tom Ross vs. Drew Feder	By Bill Stark
The Quarterfinals of the StarCityGames.com Legacy Open in Dallas had been a bit of a cakewalk for Drew Feder. His Imperial Painter deck, featuring eight red blasts maindeck, had been given the gift of a pairing against Merfolk.

Quarterfinals: Andres Suarez vs. James Palaima	By Bill Stark
The far side Quarterfinals pitted James Palaisma’s 43 Land deck against Andres Suarez’ Merfolk build.

Quarterfinals: Aaron Wayne vs. Kevin Ambler	By Bill Stark
The 2010 StarCityGames.com Open season kicked off in St. Louis and the very first winner was none other than Aaron Wayne.

Quarterfinals: Tom Ross vs. Simon Sung	By Bill Stark
At the StarCityGames.com Legacy Open in St. Louis, Tom Ross refused to dip his toes into the format, claiming he was uncomfortable playing when he was unfamiliar with the environment. By the time the Legacy Open in Dallas had rolled around, he was singing a different tune.

Round 7: Bill Yowell vs. Woodrow Bogucki	By Bill Stark
The final round of Swiss Legacy play for Woodrow Bogucki and Bill Yowell saw both battling for the Top 8.

Deck Spotlight: Dream Halls	By Bill Stark
When the Legacy format came into existence, Dream Halls was an early inclusion on the banned list. As the years have gone by and the format has matured, Dream Halls increasingly became discussed as a card that may no longer be too powerful for the land of Legacy.

Round 5: Kevin Ambler vs. Calvin Do	By Bill Stark
With four rounds down for the day, Kevin Ambler and Calvin Do entered the fifth round within striking distance of the Top 8.

3:04 – Legacy Metagame Breakdown	By Jared Sylva
Something smells fishy.

On Camera: Secret Legacy Tech	By Bill Stark
What cards are "secret tech" in Legacy? Unknown, waiting to be busted, capable of blowing a hole right through the format?

Round 3: Matt Willis vs. Erik Mynatt	By Bill Stark
Erik Mynatt paints his opponent right into the corner.

12:52 – A Sampling of Legacy Combos	By Bill Stark
Few formats have ever been as diverse as the modern day world of Legacy.

Round 1: Scott Barrentine vs. Tom Ross	By Bill Stark
At the StarCityGames.com Legacy Open in St. Louis, held in late December of 2009, Tom Ross opted not to play despite the fact he had Top 16ed the Standard event just one day prior. His reasoning, he explained, was that he didn’t feel he understood the Legacy format well enough.

StarCitygames.com Standard Open in Dallas / Fort Worth

Twilight Fans Rejoice	By Bill Stark
Eric Palmerduca takes down the StarCityGames.com Standard Open in Dallas / Fort Worth with Vampires! Includes Top 8 Bracket

Too Much Information: Dallas / Fort Worth Standard Open	By Jared Sylva
With the bloodsuckers coming out on top, what happened? Why did both of Barely Boros decks in the field finish in the top 16? How did the second most numerous deck in the field come up short? Get Too Much Information and find out!

Standard Open Top 16 Decklists	By Jared Sylva
The Top 16 decklists from the StarCityGames.com Standard Open in Dallas / Fort Worth.

Finals: Eric Palmerduca vs. Brian Tidwell	By Bill Stark
A long day of Standard competition was down to just one final match: Brian Tidwell’s Jund deck versus Eric Palmerduca’s Vampires list.

Semifinals: Eric Palmerduca vs. Justin Petri	By Bill Stark
For Justin Petri, being in the Semifinals was an extra sweet place to be. He had escaped a bad matchup in the Quarterfinals to sneak through

Quarterfinals: George Blankenship vs. Justin Petri	By Bill Stark
“Oh no!” George Blankenship exclaimed as his opponent opened up on a Goblin Guide. “I want to see the percentage of wins for players who open up on that thing.”

Quarterfinals: Eric Palmerduca vs. Brian Febbo	By Bill Stark
The first few turns saw a flurry of creature and removal spells trading.

Quarterfinals: Alex Schaub vs. Brian Tidwell	By Bill Stark
The young Schaub was facing off against an older opponent, but his Jund deck had served him well on the day.

Standard Open Top 8 Player Profiles	By Bill Stark
Meet the Top 8 competitors from the StarCityGames.com Standard Open in Dallas / Fort Worth!

7:55 – What’s Hot in the Dealer Booth	By Bill Stark
Regarding Standard cards, some of the hottest items on the weekend weren’t rares or mythics but rather uncommons.

Round 9: Justin Corbett vs. Nick Jones	By Bill Stark
When the best Nick would offer was a draw, the two sat down to battle.

Round 8: Alex Schaub vs. Aaron Tobey	By Bill Stark
Only two rounds remained in the Swiss, and two players with their eyes on the Top 8 were Alex Schaub and Aaron Tobey.

Standard Open Metagame	By Jared Sylva
The surprise of the event isn’t that Jund is the most represented deck, but that it only makes up 16% of the field.

On Camera: Kyle Sanchez on Standard and Texas	By Bill Stark
StarCityGames.com Premium writer Kyle Sanchez sat down to chat with us about what a lifetime spent playing Magic in Texas is like.

Round 6: Collin Dowdy vs. Aaron Wayne	By Bill Stark
At the very first StarCityGames.com Open tournament in St. Louis, Aaron Wayne raised the champion’s trophy in Standard playing Monored.

4:18 – Sights Around the Hall	By Bill Stark
Check out some photos from around the StarCityGames.com Open in Fort Worth!

Round 4: George Blankenship vs. Tom "The Boss" Ross	By Bill Stark
"Let’s see if I can beat you for once," George Blankenship said as he sat down to face off against Tom "The Boss" Ross in the Round 4 Feature Match.

On Camera: Magic Resolutions	By Bill Stark
It’s a new year, and you know what that means! Resolutions.

Round 2: Kyle Sanchez vs. James Wise	By Bill Stark
If you ask StarCityGames.com premium writer Kyle Sanchez who to watch from Texas he will immediately respond “James Wise.”