Christoffer Larsen won Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed in Richmond, Virginia with Dimir Excruciator on Sunday.
Creatures (14)
Lands (26)
Spells (20)
- 3 Bitter Triumph
- 2 Deadly Cover-Up
- 3 Insatiable Avarice
- 3 Stock Up
- 2 Intimidation Tactics
- 2 Winternight Stories
- 1 Archenemy's Charm
- 4 Requiting Hex
Sideboard
Larsen, in his second Pro Tour Top 8 to go with his two Players Tour Top 8s, played the maximum number of games on Sunday, going to Game 5s in each match. As the No. 8 seed in the single-elimination bracket, Larsen took down Francisco Sanchez, on Izzet Lessons, in the quarterfinals before beating Eduardo Sajgalik, on Izzet Elementals, in the semis to reach the finals, where Toni Portolan, on Temur Harmonizer, awaited.
Of the 15 games played on Sunday for Larsen, Game 4 of the finals will be the one he never forgets. With a 2-1 lead, an overwhelming board presence, and a path to victory thanks to the resolved Doomsday Excruciator, Larsen mapped out a a way to secure victory on his next turn. The problem was he passed the turn without considering all of Portolan’s ways to steal the game, leaving him talking to himself as Portolan assembled an unlikely but preventable combo kill to force Game 5.
Larsen centered himself and regained focus for Game 5, where he took a mulligan. But the matchup was favorable for the Dane and a fairly pedestrian game played out for Larsen as his control/combo deck executed its gameplan, allowing Larsen to shake off Game 4 as a mistake instead of an unforgettable blunder that cost him a Pro Tour trophy. His interview after claiming the trophy focused on his Game 4 mishap at first, but shifted toward joy and an emphasis on the gathering part of Magic as he finally celebrated an incredible accomplishment.
Creatures (8)
Lands (25)
Spells (27)
While the metagame consisted of almost a third of the field playing Badgermole Cub decks, the Standard format was much more wide open than expected following Regional Championship in Portland the week before. New decks and twists on established decks shined on the game’s biggest stage as only two decks with Badgermole Cub made the Top 8 and only one copy of Izzet Lessons converted after many thought it would dominate the format following the deck’s performance at the World Championship last year. The Top 8 featured seven different decks, with the only repeat archetype being Dimir Excruciator — a deck that was mostly forgotten leading into the weekend.
Izzet Elementals and its cousin, Izzet Spellementals, were massive breakouts at the tournament. Portolan’s Temur Harmonizer deck offered a new take on the landfall combo kill strategies while the latest iteration of Dimir Excruciator will go down in the history books as the Pro Tour winning archetype.
View the Top 8 decklists from Pro Tour Lorwyn Eclipsed. For all decklists and complete standings, check out the Melee page for the event.
