AuthorBrad Nelson

2010 Player of the Year Brad Nelson started his Pro Tour career as FffreaK on Magic Online and quickly catapulted to the top of international Magic success. He won GP DC, the 2014 Star City Games Players' Championship, and was 2nd at PT Amsterdam. He conquered Grand Prix Omaha in 2017 without dropping a single match, one week after winning the SCG Tour event in Baltimore. He now lives in the Pacific Northwest producing top-notch video and article content.

The Top 5 Decks For Standard Right Now

With SCG CON looming just over the horizon, Brad is giving all the Standard hopefuls some excellent stuff this week! The Standard guru picks his five favorites going into the big weekend, great reasoning included!

Jeskai Control Is Not A Midrange Deck

We’ve got a great debate blooming between Ari Lax and Brad Nelson! Today, Brad is breaking down Standard Jeskai to help you understand what your role in matchups should be and why!

5 Lessons Golgari Midrange Pilots Need For SCG Vegas!

Bard Narson is back as we know it! Golgari is just Jund without the burn, and Brad is all about it! But this isn’t a dominant archetype that can run roughshod over the SCG Vegas metagame! Brad gives the best advice to keep you in the win column!

The Boros Angels Primer

Brad Nelson played more matches with Boros Angels in Grand Prix New Jersey than he did before the event! What made him commit so late, and how can Boros Angels evolve for the future?

Applying Mana Advantage Theory To Standard Golgari Decks

To accelerate or not to accelerate? Brad Nelson thinks this is the big split among Standard Golgari decks, and he’s prepared two lists to guide the way!

Fighting Off Golgari One Idea At A Time

How do you solve a problem like Golgari? Brad has seen a lot of decks of its style over the years, and they traditionally have a few weaknesses. So where to begin for SCG Dallas’s Standard Classic?

Everything I Know About Building And Playing With Golgari In Standard

Brad has some great resources in his pocket for navigating these wild Golgari brews no one has gotten perfect yet! Has Brad done it? Golgari mages: Are we there?

Examining The Defined Standard Metagame

The first Guilds of Ravnica Standard results revealed the new metagame! Get Brad Nelson’s takes on Mono-Red Aggro, Selesnya Tokens, Golgari Midrange, and more!

Everything I Know About New Standard Red

Brad has been going with the conventional wisdom that SCG Columbus will be a great place for week one red decks! But how should he build it? He’s tested a lot of options, and this is everything he has so far! Good luck!

The First Steps To Crushing New Standard

The Standard master has been working hard to maintain his status, and he wants to share his work with you before your team packs up your decks for SCG Columbus this weekend!

All Things Golgari

Brad Nelson might be “Jund Guy,” but for Guilds of Ravnica he’s dropping the red! See his first principles and early decklists for the new Standard!

Establishing New Standard Early

How do you know if your guild is going to make it in early Standard without the total set previewed? Brad Nelson has gotten started early on examining the many moving pieces we already have access to!

My Top Regional PTQ Picks!

Looking for your Pro Tour breakthrough at the Regional PTQs? Brad Nelson has the decks to give you the best chance of joining him at Pro Tour Guilds of Ravnica!

How We Handle Cheating

With accusations of cheating and more flying around the Magic community, Brad Nelson shares his thoughts on how players and the Pro Tour System can improve the ways they tackle it.

Attack Top 8s And Block Top 32s

Bryan Gottlieb got Brad Nelson thinking! The Worlds competitor refines his thoughts on metagaming for large events and offers Standard decklists to put them into practice!