Search Content

Live Coverage of StarCityGames.com Open: Orlando

Live coverage of the StarCityGames.com Open Series in Orlando!

In one of the largest Legacy events in Florida history, the StarCityGames.com Open saw over 120 competitors squaring off to determine who would be crowned champion. The previous afternoon it had been former Pro Tour champion Charles Gindy taking the title, and he started the Legacy portion of the event off strongly at 3-0. But the wheels came off shortly thereafter.

A second player from Saturday’s Top 8 who performed well on the day was Taylor Raflowitz. The finalist from Saturday was in the hunt all of Sunday, but suffered the ignominy of a 9th place finish. Still, the extra Open points he picked up will help him in his quest to become Open Player of the Year. One previously successful player quietly making a run in Legacy? David Sharfman. The two-time Nationals Top 8er brought black-red Goblins to battle, and the tiny green creatures went to work for him. He ripped off enough wins to make the Top 8, and from there it was all David.

In the Quarterfinals he took down Lewis Laskin’s innovative Bant deck in three games. The Semifinals saw him favorably paired deckwise against Mike Brady’s Merfolk deck, but in all their matches against one another David had never defeated Brady. But it was his day, and he swept the match with ease. That left just Zack Wilson in the Finals, and his Aggro Loam deck just couldn’t keep up with David’s speed.

David Sharfman is your StarCityGames.com Legacy Open champion in Orlando!

StarCityGames.com Open Series Event Photos on Facebook

StarCityGames.com Open Series Orlando

StarCityGames.com Open Series Event Coverage Photos on Facebook!


Click Here to Go to Complete Coverage!

Reflecting Ruel – Analyzing Turbo Fog in Standard

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – At Pro Tour: San Diego, Olivier Ruel made an interesting deck choice: Turbo Fog. Today, he talks us through the decks main matchups and sideboarding plans, and brings us a down and dirty walkthrough of his tournament matches.

Ideas Unbound – Plans

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – I was watching a match last year that has stuck with me for quite a while. It was game 1 the Five-Color Control mirror, and “Rich” was in the tank in the midgame. Rich had been on the draw; his opponent had evoked Mulldrifter on turn 3, and Rich had done the same. Rich’s hand was Broodmate Dragon, Cruel Ultimatum, Cruel Ultimatum, Cryptic Command, and lands. I forget how many cards the other guy had, but it was quite the grip. Both players had six lands in play. Rich thought. And thought.

The Long & Winding Road – Playing in the MUD

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – At its core, Vintage isn’t really different than other formats. You can exploit the metagame using deck choice and deck design; proper deck choice and design, and minimizing play mistakes, will lead to tournament results. If you build your deck to attack certain elements of the metagame, and face those elements, you’ll do well.

Feature Article – Playing Zoo at Grand Prix: Madrid

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – Marijn Lybaert rocked to Grand Prix: Madrid with a Zoo deck and a desire for fun. While his Grand Prix performance didn’t set the world alight, he did learn some valuable lessons about beatdown in Magic’s Hottest Format. He shares his thoughts on the deck, and his play-by-play game walkthroughs, today!

The Magic Show #182 – The Rise of the Eldrazi Spoiler Train Arrives!

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – Hello everybody, and welcome to another edition of the Magic Show. This week I’ve got a piping hot new spoiler ready to go, the never-before-seen Boar Umbra, and it looks ready to kick some serious ass. Plus we’ve got a huge helping of new spoilers, a common Eldrazi monster and the mind-blowing Level Up mechanic. Let’s go!

Legacy’s Allure – The Reserved List and Unbanning Issues

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – With Wizards’ change in the Reserved List last week, nearly all discussion on the Reserved List’s legitimacy was quashed and it looks like it’s set to forever effect Eternal formats. This week, Doug looks at the impact this will have on Legacy and what can be done to soften its blow. Due to the matter of bannings and unbannings has come up in discussion through official channels, Doug also considers the opportune times to change and examine the list so as to have the best impact on the format while not hampering pre-scheduled tournaments. Get this and more in this week’s policy-oriented Legacy’s Allure!

The Dragonmaster’s Lair – Zoo at Grand Prix: Yokohama

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – At Grand Prix: Yokohama, Brian Kibler returned to his Extended Zoo roots… only this time, he focused on Speed and Efficiency. With nary a Grove of the Burnwillows in sight, he proceeded to lay down the smack in fine fashion. He shares his tournament stories today.

You Lika The Juice? – Digging into Knightfall

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – For a while now, I’ve been focused pretty heavily on playing G/W Knightfall. After finally giving up on Summoning Trap, I turned to G/W Knightfall and it carried me to the finals of States last year. It’s a good deck, chock full of powerful cards… and yet when I’m checking out the Top 8s of the recent big Standard events, it seems to keep falling short.

The Kitchen Table #330 – A Pox on Both Your Houses

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Friday, March 26th – Hello folks, and welcome back to the column for all your casual needs. Today I want to write a full article about one deck, Pox. During the past ten years, I’ve been playing various versions of Pox in a variety of formats, including tournaments and such. I’ve clocked in hundreds of tournament games with Pox, as well as countless casual games.

Yawgmoth’s Whimsy #318 – Pre-Orlando Metagames

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Thursday, March 25th – I will be travelling to Orlando for the StarCityGames Open this weekend. In preparation, I have been looking at the Standard and Legacy metagames. We have a lot of data this time around – the SCG events, the GPs, the Pro Tour and more, so let’s start cranking some numbers.

The Justice League – The StarCityGames.com Indianapolis Legacy Open

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Thursday, March 25th – Hello everyone! I thought I’d walk you through some of the fun and logic behind events that went on at the SCG Legacy Open in Indianapolis almost two weeks ago. I’m sure you’ve read or heard a lot already, but there’s one view I guarantee you haven’t heard: me, the head judge.

The Wescoe Connection – Counterfactual Reasoning in Magic

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Thursday, March 25th – In this excellent theory article, Craig Wescoe discusses the practice and application of Counterfactual Reasoning. Using a collection of in-game examples across a number of formats, Craig invites us into the minds of the highest level of spellslinger. Unmissable stuff!

Feature Article – Welcome to Legacy!

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Thursday, March 25th – Welcome to Legacy, the most diverse and balanced format in Magic. Legacy is by far the most exciting format to play, and if that was not enough… There are no Jund decks in Legacy!

Best of the West – A Grand Prix: Yokohama Report *9th*

Visit the StarCityGames.com booth at Grand Prix Houston!
Thursday, March 25th – We begin this step of the adventure in Kuala Lumpur, fresh off not making the second day at the Grand Prix there. Brian Kowal and I were both a bit in the dumps about coming so far only to scrub out. We made this up to ourselves seeing monkeys, eating delicious curries, and receiving massages, but those are all stories for another day.