The first season of the SCG Tour Online wraps up this weekend with the fourth Championship Qualifier on Saturday and the Seasonal Championship on Sunday.
Both events are Standard and Saturday is the last day for players to earn points to qualify for the first Seasonal Championship with a prize pool of $25,000. Players will need 100 SCG Online Points to play on championship Sunday through collecting points throughout the season or by making the Top 8 of Saturday’s Championship Qualifier.
Format
With two Championship Qualifiers already in the books following the release of Core Set 2021, it is clear that Standard is still Growth Spiral’s world and everything else is just living in it. While decks like Mono-Green Aggro and the Jund or Rakdos-based Sacrifice builds got some new tools, ramp decks of all shapes and sizes are still dominating the format.
Every Championship Qualifier up to this point has been won by a Growth Spiral + Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath deck. In fact, last week’s Championship Qualifier Top 8 was seven ramp decks and a lone Rakdos Sacrifice, with Noam Zimet winning the whole thing with Bant Ramp. Also in the Top 8 were Temur Reclamation in second place by Nicolas King, Four-Color Reclamation by David Inglis, and Sultai Ramp by Christopher Iaali. Even Simic Ramp finished ninth in the hands of Anne-Marie Houle.
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (8)
Lands (23)
Spells (21)
- 2 Forest
- 2 Plains
- 2 Island
- 4 Growth Spiral
- 3 Aether Gust
- 1 Mystical Dispute
- 3 Elspeth Conquers Death
- 2 Shatter the Sky
- 2 Shark Typhoon
Sideboard
Creatures (5)
Lands (23)
Spells (32)
- 2 Forest
- 1 Mountain
- 2 Island
- 3 Opt
- 2 Negate
- 4 Expansion
- 4 Growth Spiral
- 4 Wilderness Reclamation
- 2 Aether Gust
- 4 Mystical Dispute
- 4 Shark Typhoon
Sideboard
Creatures (4)
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (24)
Spells (29)
Creatures (12)
Planeswalkers (7)
Lands (22)
Spells (19)
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (7)
Lands (17)
Spells (28)
Only four of the Top 16 decks from last weekend didn’t play Growth Spiral. Florian Klein’s Rakdos Sacrifice made Top 8 while Andre Santos, Simon Nielsen, and Jason Bouchard all made Top 16 with Mono-Green Aggro.
Creatures (25)
- 1 Judith, the Scourge Diva
- 3 Gutterbones
- 4 Priest of Forgotten Gods
- 4 Dreadhorde Butcher
- 4 Mayhem Devil
- 4 Cauldron Familiar
- 2 Woe Strider
- 3 Serrated Scorpion
Lands (18)
Spells (17)
Creatures (28)
- 4 Scavenging Ooze
- 2 Kraul Harpooner
- 4 Pelt Collector
- 4 Barkhide Troll
- 4 Lovestruck Beast
- 4 Questing Beast
- 4 Stonecoil Serpent
- 2 Gemrazer
Planeswalkers (3)
Lands (5)
Spells (24)
- 20 Forest
- 4 Primal Might
Players To Watch
Check out some of the notable players participating in Saturday’s Championship Qualifier and the Sunday Seasonal Championship (as well as how they qualified for it).
Saturday – Championship Qualifier 4
- Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
- Autumn Burchett
- Brad Nelson
- Eric Froehlich
- Yuuki Ichikawa
- Corey Baumeister
- Ari Lax
- Cedric Phillips
- Jim Davis
- Brandon Burton
- Simon Nielsen
- Kyle Boggemes
- Michael Bonde
- Erin Diaz
- Carolyn Kavanagh
Sunday – Seasonal Championship
- Louis-Samuel Deltour (CQ1 winner)
- Erin Diaz (CQ2 winner, CQ1 Top 8)
- Noam Zimet (CQ3 winner)
- Fabrizio Anteri (CQ1 Top 8, CQ2 Top 8)
- Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (CQ1 Top 8)
- Autumn Burchett (CQ1 Top 8)
- Corey Baumeister (CQ2 Top 8)
- Jonathan Hobbs (CQ2 Top 8)
- Brad Nelson (100 SCG Online Points)
- Yuuki Ichikawa (100 SCG Online Points)
- Michael Bonde (100 SCG Online Points)
- Jim Davis (100 SCG Online Points)
- Brandon Burton (100 SCG Online Points)
Coverage
Coverage for both events kicks off at 10 am ET on Saturday and Sunday. Dom Harvey, Emma Handy, Ryan Overturf, and Todd Anderson will be calling all the action on Saturday while I do my usual thing of picking matches, interviewing players, and running things behind the scenes. Commentators for the Sunday Seasonal Championship will be a surprise based on whether or not Cedric Phillips qualifies for the event. Watch the action at twitch.tv/starcitygames and check out the tournament pages on MTG Melee for the Championship Qualifier and the Seasonal Championship.