Joshua Willis won the Regional Championship in San Diego with Rakdos Reanimator on Sunday.
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (24)
Spells (22)
Willis made the Top 8 of the 939-person tournament as the No. 7 seed by going 11-2-1 in the Swiss rounds over two days of competition. Willis was one of two players in the elimination rounds on Rakdos Reanimator, a deck that can adjust its strategy in different matchups, similar to the Rakdos Midrange deck. But the Reanimator package of Atraxa, Grand Unifier and The Cruelty of Gix gives the deck another angle of attack.
Willis navigated the Top 8 with wins against Tommy Ashton on Rakdos Midrange and Max McVety on Selesnya Toxic, to make the finals where he faced Isaac Sears, the other Rakdos Reanimator player in the Top 8. The match went the distance, with Willis being the one to land an Atraxa in Game 3 to clinch the match and claim the trophy and $30,000. Sears earned $15,000 for second place, but both players earned a spot in the upcoming Magic World Championship.
Creatures (12)
Lands (25)
Spells (23)
The Top 8 consisted of two copies of Rakdos Reanimator, two copies of Esper Legends, and single copies of Mono-White Midrange, Selesnya Toxic, Rakdos Midrange, and Four-Color Blade of Shared Souls Combo. All players that made Top 48 earned invites to the next Pro Tour and Regional Championship. Take a look at the spiciest list in the Top 8, Rei Zhang’s Blade of Shared Souls Combo deck.
Creatures (18)
- 1 Concealing Curtains
- 3 Bloodtithe Harvester
- 2 Atsushi, the Blazing Sky
- 4 Ao, the Dawn Sky
- 4 Corpse Appraiser
- 2 Ratadrabik of Urborg
- 2 Loran of the Third Path
Lands (25)
Spells (17)
View the Top 16 decklists from the Regional Championship. For all the decklists from the event, check out the Melee page.