Seth Manfield won Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor in Chicago, Illinois with Rakdos Vampires on Sunday.
Creatures (14)
- 2 Dusk Legion Zealot
- 4 Bloodtithe Harvester
- 1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
- 3 Preacher of the Schism
- 4 Vein Ripper
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (25)
Spells (17)
Manfield, a Magic: The Gathering Hall of Famer and former World Champion, added a second Pro Tour title to his resume this past weekend with the breakout Rakdos Vampires deck that Team Channel Fireball brought to the tournament. Manfield went 8-1-1 in Pioneer Constructed and 4-2 in Murders at Karlov Manor Draft to reach the Top 8 (his fifth individual Pro Tour Top 8) as the No. 5 seed.
The Rakdos Vampires deck puts a new spin on the Rakdos Midrange archetype, adding an explosive combo of Sorin, Imperious Bloodlord and Vein Ripper, which allows the deck to land a Turn 3 6/5 Flyer in matchups where a fast-clock or hard-to-kill creature is needed. Backed up with hand disruption, cheap removal, and the all-powerful Fable of the Mirror-Breaker, the deck surprised the field and put up a 60 percent win rate in the hands of its 11 players in the field of 257 competitors.
The Top 8 featured two World Champions, the reigning Player of the Year, Pro Tour mainstays, and newcomers making a name for themselves. Five decks were represented in the elimination rounds: Rakdos Vampires, Lotus Field Combo, Izzet Phoenix, Boros Heroic, and Amalia Combo.
Manfield kicked off the Top 8 with a 3-1 win over current World Champion Jean-Emmanuel Depraz on Izzet Phoenix. In the semis, he faced Mingyang Chen, who defeated Team CFB players on Rakdos Vampires in his previous two matches, on Lotus Field Combo. Manfield defeated the Vampire slayer 3-1 to reach the finals, where Player of the Year Simon Nielsen awaited with Boros Heroic. Keeping with the trend of the first two matches, Manfield won 3-1 to take home his second Pro Tour trophy and $50,000.
Creatures (16)
Lands (18)
Spells (26)
The Pioneer metagame shook out about as expected, especially in the five-most popular decks. Izzet Phoenix led the field, followed by Azorius Control, Rakdos Midrange, Lotus Field Combo, and Amalia Combo. Azorius Control was the only deck with more than 10 percent of the meta share to not make the Top 8. Azorius Control and Rakdos Midrange put up sub-50 percent win rates in the event (47 and 41, respectively). Izzet Phoenix, while being the most-played deck, won 57 percent of its matches. Lotus Field Combo had a 47 percent win rate and Amalia Combo won 56 percent of its matches,
Rakdos Vampires had the highest win rate of decks with more than two pilots, clocking in at 60 percent. Boros Heroic checked in at 53, Boros Convoke at 55, and Izzet Ensoul at 45 percent.
View the Top 16 decklists from Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor. For all decklists check out the official coverage from WotC.
