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Live Coverage of StarCityGames.com Open Series: Louisville

Chris Kronenberger is your Louisville Legacy Open champion! Chris piloted a unique mono blue list into the Top 8, leaning on Vendilion Clique, Back to Basics, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor backed by a wall of counterspells. Once in the elimination rounds, he knocked out three Team America pilots in a row before hoisting the trophy, riding Back to Basics all the way. In a world with mental Misstep, many players have turned to Hymn to Tourach for attrition-based wins, but Chris showed players that you should watch where you point that sorcery. If it doesn’t hit a Spell Snare, you may find a Misdirection pointing it back the other way.

Meanwhile, following Alex Gonzalez’s Standard Open win with Caw-Blade, the Draft Opens were won by Lee Johnson and Andrew Shrout, deft players of the forty-card format. Thus concludes the last Open Weekend before the Indianapolis Invitational, where StarCityGames.com will be handing out thousands of dollars in prizes as Gavin Verhey and Adrian Sullivan deliver commentary all weekend long!StarCityGames.com Open Series Event Coverage!

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Chris Kronenberger is your Louisville Legacy Open champion! Chris piloted a unique mono blue list into the Top 8, leaning on Vendilion Clique, Back to Basics, and Jace, the Mind Sculptor backed by a wall of counterspells. Once in the elimination rounds, he knocked out three Team America pilots in a row before hoisting the trophy, riding Back to Basics all the way. In a world with mental Misstep, many players have turned to Hymn to Tourach for attrition-based wins, but Chris showed players that you should watch where you point that sorcery. If it doesn’t hit a Spell Snare, you may find a Misdirection pointing it back the other way.

Meanwhile, following Alex Gonzalez’s Standard Open win with Caw-Blade, the Draft Opens were won by Lee Johnson and Andrew Shrout, deft players of the forty-card format. Thus concludes the last Open Weekend before the Indianapolis Invitational, where StarCityGames.com will be handing out thousands of dollars in prizes as Gavin Verhey and Adrian Sullivan deliver commentary all weekend long!



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Quarterfinals   Semifinals   Finals   Champion
1 Todd Anderson   Joe Bernal 2-0        
8 Joe Bernal   Samuel Swisher 2-0
       
4 Caleb Durward   Samuel Swisher 2-1   Chris Kronenberger 2-1
5 Samuel Swisher    
       
2 Adam Turk   Adam Turk 2-0
7 Michael Tabler   Chris Kronenberger 2-1
       
3 Chris Kronenberger   Chris Kronenberger 2-1
6 AJ Sacher    

Chris Kronenberger
Legacy Open Champion

Final Standings
1 Chris Kronenberger $2,000
2 Samuel Swisher $600
3 Adam Turk $400
4 Joe Bernal $400
5 Todd Anderson $200
6 Caleb Durward $200
7 AJ Sacher $200
8 Michael Tabler $200
9 Ben Tash $100
10 Tim Lyons $100
11 Tony Payton $100
12 Christian Valenti $100
13 David Paschal $100
14 Adam Baxter $100
15 David Price $100
16 Andrew Sambo $100
17 Harrison Greenberg $50
18 Ryan Rolen $50
19 Drew Snyder $50
20 Michael Antrim $50
21 Michael Belfatto $50
22 Jacob Baugh $50
23 Timothy Janson $50
24 Chris Miller $50
25 Conley Woods $50
26 Eric Rill $50
27 Drew Levin $50
28 Gerry Thompson $50
29 Adam Cai $50
30 Mary Jacobson $50
31 Alex Bertoncini $50
32 Chris VanMeter $50
Pairings Results Standings
8 8 8
7 7 7
6 6 6
5 5 5
4 4 4
3 3 3
2 2 2
1 1 1

By Glenn Jones

Finals: Chris Kronenberger vs. Adam Turk

Samuel Swisher and Chris Kronenberger were both excited to have made the finals of their first StarCityGames.com Open Top 8, breaking through after multiple strong starts in the past.

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By Glenn Jones

Semifinals: Chris Kronenberger vs. Adam Turk

Chris Kronenberger is piloting one of the more unique decks in the event. Taking a page out of Gerry Thompson’s book, he went full Islands with a blue control list that features a ton of hard counters, including Cryptic Command alongside Legacy usuals Counterspell, Force of Will, Misdirection, and Mental Misstep.

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By David McDarby

Quarterfinals: Todd Anderson vs. Joe Bernal

Todd Anderson’s NO Bant has proven itself capable by launching him to the top of the Swiss rounds in today’s tournament. A fast Natural Order for Progenitus is an (almost) unstoppable two turn clock.

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By Glenn Jones

Legacy Open Top 8 Profiles

Meet the Top 8 competitors in the StarCityGames.com Legacy Open in Louisville.

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By Event Staff

Top 16 Legacy Decklists

Check out the decks used by the top competitors at StarCityGames.com Legacy Open Louisville.

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By Glenn Jones

Quarterfinals: Caleb Durward vs. Samuel Swisher

Caleb Durward’s Deadguy Ale deck has been surprising players all day with turn 1 Dark Confidants or turn 2 Phyrexian Obliterators.

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By Glenn Jones

Round 8: David Price vs. Samuel Swisher

David Price is known for piloting New Horizons in most Legacy events, but he and Jesse Hatfield are among a handful of players bucking traditional favorites and piloting Zoo in today’s Legacy Open, taking advantage of combo’s recession to rock Wild Nacatl.

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By Glenn Jones

Round 7: Mike Meier vs. Caleb Durward

Caleb Durward’s Deadguy Ale variant has taken him to 15 points, and with a win here he’ll be likely to lock up Top 8 with a draw next round.

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By Glenn Jones

Quick Question: Has Mental Misstep Lived Up To Your Expectations?

Mental Misstep was one of the most hyped cards coming out of New Phyrexia, so is it a flop or a four-of?

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By Glenn Jones

Round 6: Chris VanMeter vs. Andrew Ellis

Orlando Legacy Open champ Chris VanMeter has continued running well in Louisville, off to a solid start in Legacy and looking to repeat his championship. In his way is Andrew Ellis, a Bant player in search of an Invitational qualification before Indianapolis in June.

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By Glenn Jones

Deck Tech: Reanimator with Sam Stoddard

The deck remained a Tier 2 contender for some time, until New Phyrexia got players thinking. In particular, Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur sent Sam’s heart into flutters. “When I saw the card for the first time, I knew I wanted to be Reanimating it on turn 2.”

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By Glenn Jones

Round 5: Alex Bertoncini vs. Christian Valenti

The matchup was a dismal one for Alex due to all the Pyroblasts and Red Elemental Blasts in Christian’s deck, along with his Goblin Welders to dodge Alex’s countermagic.

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By Glenn Jones

Deck Tech: Deadguy Ale Aggro with Caleb Durward

SCGLive featured Caleb Durward’s unique variation the Deadguy Ale archetype in the second round of the Louisville Legacy Open.

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By Glenn Jones

Eric Klug, Alterist Extraordinaire

If you follow card modifications or even just play a lot of Commander and Legacy, then you’re probably familiar with Eric Klug.

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By Glenn Jones

Quick Question: What’s Your Favorite Creature In Legacy Right Now?

With almost every creature ever printed to choose from, which critter holds a special place in players’ hearts?

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Quarterfinals   Semifinals   Finals   Champion
1 Adam Varner   Adam Varner 2-0        
8 James Wolfe   Mike Long 2-0
       
4 Mike Long   Mike Long 2-0   Alex Gonzalez 2-1
5 BJ Bessler    
       
2 Matt Landstrom   Matt Landstrom 2-1
7 Tyler Winn   Alex Gonzalez 2-0
       
3 Alex Gonzalez   Alex Gonzalez 2-0
6 Alex Bertoncini    

Alex Gonzalez
Standard Open Champion

Final Standings
1 Alex Gonzalez $2,000
2 Mike Long $800
3 Adam Varner $500
4 Matt Landstrom $500
5 BJ Bessler $250
6 Alex Bertoncini $250
7 Tyler Winn $250
8 James Wolfe $250
9 Neil Michalares $100
10 Ben Wienburg $100
11 Adam Fellon $100
12 Robert Vroman $100
13 Caleb Durward $100
14 Michael Belfatto $100
15 Joseph Keaveny $100
16 Ken Adams $100
17 Eric Flickinger $50
18 Jonathan Tessler $50
19 Chris Anderson $50
20 Chris Grady $50
21 James Wager $50
22 Joe Bernal $50
23 Brian Grimm $50
24 Adam Turk $50
25 Gordon Johnson $50
26 Wyatt Urbahns $50
27 Zack Strait $50
28 Heath Perdue $50
29 Hunter Hersko-Fugitt $50
30 Timothy Jansen $50
31 Todd Anderson $50
32 Ryan Rolen $50
Pairings Results Standings
9 9 9
8 8 8
7 7 7
6 6 6
5 5 5
4 4 4
3 3 3
2 2 2
1 1 1

By Glenn Jones

Finals: Mike Long vs. Alex Gonzalez

An advantage in the mirror is the theoretical purpose in choosing to sleeve up Darkblade, but history has shown that Caw-Blade tends to win the matchup when both pilots are equally wizened wizards. Has New Phyrexia changed anything?

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By David McDarby

Semifinals: Alex Gonzalez vs. Matt Landstrom

Matt was the shining (sparkling?) beacon of hope in the sea of Caw-Blade with his R/B Vampires deck. Could the aggro deck trump the Stoneforge menace?

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By Glenn Jones

Semifinals: Adam Varner vs. Mike Long

No, not that Mike Long. He and Adam Varner have been blasting through the field with their Darkblade and Caw-Blade lists, but now only one of them could advance any farther.

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By David McDarby

Quarterfinals: BJ Bessler vs. Mike Long

BJ got here piloting Darkblade, which has seemed to still be the reigning champion of the current standard format, because Mike Long had also achieved his top 8 slot with the same archetype.

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By Glenn Jones

Quarterfinals: Alex Bertoncini vs. Alex Gonzalez

Alex battle! With Alex Gonzalez on Caw-Blade and Alex Bertoncini on Darkblade, this matchup would feature the two dominant variations on Stoneforge Mystic in a fight for the semifinals.

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By Glenn Jones

Standard Open Top 8 Profiles

Meet the Top 8 competitors in the StarCityGames.com Standard Open in Louisville.

Read Article >>

By Event Staff

Top 16 Standard Decklists

Check out the decks used by the top competitors at StarCityGames.com Standard Open Louisville.

Read Article >>

By Glenn Jones

Round 9: Neil Michalares vs. Adam Turk

Adam Turk had made it this far on the back of a Grixis Twin list packing Consecrated Sphinx and Spellskite. His opponent, Neil, needed a lot of luck and a win here to make the elimination rounds with Soul Sisters, a hybrid version that included the Phyrexian Metamorph/Leonin Relic-Warder infinite life combo.

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By Glenn Jones

Round 8: Matt Landstrom vs. Heath Perdue

Matt Landstrom took down the Indianapolis Standard Open earlier this year with an aggressive Vampires strategy he’d been playing for months and he hasn’t changed his tune since.

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By Glenn Jones

Deck Tech: Soul Sisters with Conley Woods

Conley Woods had every intention of playing in the Louisville Standard Open this weekend, but things don’t always go as intended.

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By Glenn Jones

Round 7: Ryan Rolen vs. Garrett Young

It promised to be a friendly match between top decks of the recent Standard format, with Ryan on Caw-Blade and Garrett playing a Valakut list with Nature’s Claims in the main to help defeat Splinter Twins.

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By Glenn Jones

Round 6: Todd Anderson vs. Caleb Durward

StarCityGames.com columnist Todd Anderson came packing his own modifications to the popular Grixis Twin list, while Caleb Durward sleeved up U/W Caw-Blade a la Edgar Flores.

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By Glenn Jones

Quick Question: Is Squadron Hawk Essential To The Stoneforge-Based Strategies In Standard?

Is the little white Ancestral an integral part of the Stoneforge Mystic-fueled decks, or a crutch deckbuilders are relying on?

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By Glenn Jones

Deck Tech: Phy Sligh with Anthony Eason

Anthony Eason is hoping to notch a win for aggressive strategies this weekend, with an innovative strategy that combines Phyrexian mana with Death’s Shadow to create quite the monster.

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By Glenn Jones

Quick Question: Which Is Better For The Metagame – Darkblade Or Caw-Blade?

Is the splash of black worth it?

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By Glenn Jones

Deck Tech: Hawkward with Ken Adams

“I was a little bit worried about the Rapture because I’m so weak against Day of Judgment, but there are no sweepers and no Gideons anywhere.”

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By Glenn Jones

Quick Question: Which Splinter Twin/Exarch Color Combination Is The Best?

Grixis and RUG versions of Standard’s newest combo deck were both used to some success last weekend, so we asked players which version they thought was best.

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