1. Eldritch Moon Is the Same Old Standard…
White was out in full force at #SCGCOL, often paired with either green token generators and card advantage machines or lightning-fast red splashes. Bant Company took the trophy at the end of Sunday.
2. …Except It Isn’t.
A huge handful of rogue decks didn’t just turn heads; they nearly stole the event.
Creatures (14)
- 1 Dragonlord Silumgar
- 2 Den Protector
- 4 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
- 1 Nissa, Vastwood Seer
- 4 Sylvan Advocate
- 1 Emrakul, the Promised End
- 1 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (26)
Spells (17)
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (26)
Spells (25)
Creatures (10)
- 2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
- 1 Linvala, the Preserver
- 1 Archangel Avacyn
- 1 Bruna, the Fading Light
- 3 Gisela, the Broken Blade
- 2 Thalia's Lancers
Planeswalkers (5)
Lands (26)
Spells (19)
It’s understandable that people would like to play the archetypes they’re comfortable with, especially if there are SCG Leaderboard spots to be taken; however, a handful of brilliant minds ignored the stagnant Standard stigmas and played whatever the hell they wanted to. Sometimes it pays to just take the most Level 1 hive mind strategy, but it’s pretty obvious that there are smart deckbuilders out there that know a lot more than the rest of the field. Sure, Reflector Mage and Thraben Inspector made decent money this weekend, but a lot of players are richer for playing cards like Gisela, the Broken Blade and Emrakul, the Promised End.
3. The More Things Change…
The Top 8 of the field had stars to be certain, but if you look just beyond you’ll see a ton of high-profile near-misses right behind them. Tom Ross , Todd Anderson , Jeff Hoogland , Andy Boswell , and tons of others were just outside the cutoff. Events like this display just how difficult it is to climb to the top of The SCG Tour®. It can be done, but you need to take down a lot of powerful mages to get there.
4. The Champ Is Down
SCG Players’ Champion Jim Davis was on top of the world at the end of Saturday. He positively dominated Day One on his way to an undefeated record. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hold on during Day Two and fell all the way to 32nd. It’s hard to imagine Jim being too upset about this with a brand new trophy so fresh in his memory, but it does display how quickly a lead can dissipate. Jim’s MetaGameGurus squad still put up great final numbers, led by Dan Jessup.
Creatures (26)
- 4 Bounding Krasis
- 4 Reflector Mage
- 4 Sylvan Advocate
- 4 Lambholt Pacifist
- 4 Duskwatch Recruiter
- 2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
- 4 Spell Queller
Planeswalkers (1)
Lands (25)
Spells (8)
5. Make Your Lands Pretty!
Chas Andres has a well-deserved off week this week, so I’ll give you some finance advice in his stead: lands are on sale! We’re not talking arm-and-a-leg real estate here either; we’re talking about getting the fundamental elements of every Magic deck to look as good in your deck as it does in your friends’. Unless you’re friends with one of those white-bordered basics weirdos. Get new friends.
6. The Daily Double Daily Digest
Our good friend and Daily Digest auteur Ross Merriam confirmed many of our suspicions about him being smarter than all of us this week by appearing on the long-running Jeopardy! game show. Ross wasn’t able to come away with the win (this Pranjal Vachaspati gentleman is a big game), but he knew a lot of things and outscored most of America as they sat at home confused and ate dinners that cost way less than the wardrobe Ross sported for the cameras.
You have to wonder if the “Pranjal Hunneds” nickname will gain any traction.
7. Ari Lax: Pro Tour Champion and Prophet
The “well-positioned” label is quite the empty promise from most people (seriously, who among us hasn’t blindly labeled whatever deck we just impulse bought as “well-positioned?”), but when it comes to the decks Ari Lax flirts with, you can bet there’s something to it.
Take for instance his unusual choice for a video last week, given his deck selection history.
Now examine the deck that ran over the #SCGCOL Modern Classic:
Creatures (28)
- 4 Arcbound Ravager
- 4 Ornithopter
- 2 Master of Etherium
- 4 Steel Overseer
- 3 Memnite
- 3 Etched Champion
- 4 Signal Pest
- 4 Vault Skirge
Lands (17)
Spells (15)
Coincidence? Maybe. But Ari’s smart so you should listen to him anyway.
8. A Well-Deserved Tip of the Hat to an SCG Friend
Standard blue cards are a little too mourned these days. Long gone is the golden age of tapping a few Islands and countering your opponent’s amazing eight-mana pack pull with a ten-cent common.
“I used to matter.”
One of the most prolific SCG writers of all time is still crafting Magic entertainment for all the kitchen table kids around the Multiverse. The unforgettable Abe Sargent’s latest piece for his new home on GatheringMagic takes a look at all the historical ways to tell your opponent to get wrecked just by using some blue mana and a lot of gleeful contempt. Counter on, Abe. Counter on.