National Pride

By Brian David-Marshall

Brian David-Marshall is a New York–based game designer who has been involved with Magic since 1994, when he started organizing tournaments and ran a Manhattan game store. Since then, he has been a judge, a player, and one of the longest-tenured columnists on DailyMTG.com, as he enters his second decade writing for the site. He is also the Pro Tour Historian and one of the commentators for the Pro Tour.

Mike gave a quick wrap-up of the above-the-fold National Championships in yesterday's Top Decks, including a look at the decks of an exciting U.S. team. Grand Prix and Pro Tour winner Charles Gindy will lead Adam Yurchick (who finished 9th at the Pro Tour that Gindy won) and Todd Anderson into battle against Team Japan. Sure, there are plenty of teams heading to Rome to compete in the event but they are all thinking about facing off against an impressive Japanese team helmed by Shuhei Nakamura and featuring former Rookie of the Year Yuuya Watanabe. Even as the U.S. event was heading toward the Finals the competitors were thinking about potential match-ups with the Shuhei-led team.

Charles Gindy, Adam Yurchick, Todd Anderson, Shuhei Nakamura, and Yuuya Watanbe.

Kenji Tsumura.

"Was Kenji fourth?" asked Adam Yurchick, when someone mentioned that the Japanese team could be going to their alternate if self-described salaryman Yuma Shiota had to pass on the spot due to work commitments. If that came to pass then none other than Kenji Tsumura would have the opportunity to fill the third spot on the team. The result would be one of the most formidable teams in Worlds history, with 11 Pro Tour Top 8 finishes, umpteen Grand Prix Top 8s, two Player of the Year titles, and a Rookie of the Year between them. Every other team heading to Worlds is to be thinking about this squad—even if Kenji does not take the third spot—on the flight to Rome this winter.

There are plenty of other teams to consider when looking ahead to that event, the U.S. squad right at the top of the list. Charles Gindy is not someone to dissmiss lightly. He now has a titles at the Grand Prix, Pro Tour, and National Championship level. The only remaining event trophies to win on the modern pro play schedule are Team and Invidual World Championships, and he will get his crack at both of those this winter. Gindy is a serious competitor and has said he will put in extensive work with Todd Anderson—the least experienced member of the U.S. team—and you can expect all three members to be loaded for bear in Rome. Gindy knows his team has their work cut out for them in Rome, based on his comment on Facebook when I congratulated the Brazilian team heading to Rome.

Eloi Pattaro, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Carlos Romao, and Aristides Camara.

"(Expletiiiiiive Deleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeted)!" wrote Gindy when he learned that Brazil's squad would be helmed by Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa. Also on the team was former World Champion Carlos Romao, who apparently conceded to his friend in the finals out of deference to Paulo's potential run at the Player of the Year title, and the relatively unknown Aristides Camara. The 10 points that Paulo earned for the Championship catapulted him up the standings into 6th place just a single point behind Kazuya Mitamura and three points behind Shuhei. With additional Pro Points available in the team competition I would not be surprised to see Paulo and Shuhei jockeying for the Player of the Year lead in the Team Competition come Worlds.

Yann Hamon, Olivier Ruel, Antoine Menard, Guillaume Mantignon, and Pierre Canali.

France Nationals featured Pro Tour Top 8 veteran Yann Hamon and Hall of Famer Olivier Ruel in the Top 8 but both players were turned away in the quarterfinals. Champion Gilles Mongilardi has a Pro Tour invitation under his belt from earlier this year in Kyoto but does not have nearly the experience of his two teammates. Finalist Antoine Menard has participated in more than two dozen Pro Tours with close to half of them resulting in Top 32 finishes, which has pushed him across the 100-point threshold required for Hall of Fame eligibility. Guillaume Mantignon was the National Champion two years ago and has had his hand in more than a few noteworthy decks to come out of France, including Pierre Canali's winning deck list from Pro Tour–Columbus several years back.

Frank Karsten and Niels Noorlander.

Another Nationals from this past weekend that had a disapointing Quarterfinal result for Pro Tour observers was Netherlands Nationals, which saw possible Hall of Famer and former magicthegathering.com columnist Frank Karsten lead the standings throughout the closing Swiss rounds only to fall in the first round of elimination to eventual team member Niels Noorlander. Kevin Grove was the eventual National Champion, playing a Cruel Control/Mannequin hybrid. Noorlander played Faeries, and former National Champion Tom van Lamoen ran an usual, non-combo Swans of Bryn Argoll deck. While five-color decks dominated U.S. Nationals, the flying blue-black menace strafed the Dutch field with three players, including the aforementioned Karsten, piloting Faeries into the Top 8.

Kevin Grove's Mannequin Control

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

Planeswalker (5)

3 Jace Beleren 1 Ajani Vengeant 1 Liliana Vess

Creature (15)

3 Kitchen Finks 3 Plumeveil 2 Shriekmaw 4 Mulldrifter 1 Reveillark 2 Cloudthresher

Sorcery (7)

3 Firespout 2 Hallowed Burial 1 Cruel Ultimatum 1 Martial Coup

Instant (8)

1 Essence Scatter 1 Agony Warp 2 Makeshift Mannequin 4 Cryptic Command

Artifact (1)

1 Pithing Needle

Land (26)

3 Island 4 Reflecting Pool 4 Vivid Creek 3 Vivid Meadow 2 Vivid Crag 2 Vivid Marsh 2 Mystic Gate 2 Sunken Ruins 2 Flooded Grove 2 Cascade Bluffs

62 Cards

Sideboard (15)

4 Great Sable Stag 4 Anathemancer 4 Volcanic Fallout 2 Runed Halo 1 Identity Crisis

Deal Another Hand

Niels Noorlander's Faeries

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

Planeswalker (2)

2 Jace Beleren

Creature (14)

4 Spellstutter Sprite 3 Scion of Oona 2 Vendilion Clique 4 Mistbind Clique 1 Sower of Temptation

Sorcery (2)

2 Thoughtseize

Instant (10)

4 Cryptic Command 3 Broken Ambitions 3 Agony Warp

Enchantment (4)

4 Bitterblossom

Land (25)

4 Drowned Catacomb 4 Sunken Ruins 4 Secluded Glen 4 Mutavault 3 Swamp 6 Island

Tribal instant (3)

3 Peppersmoke

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

3 Sower of Temptation 2 Thoughtseize 1 Jace Beleren 2 Deathmark 1 Flashfreeze 2 Stillmoon Cavalier 2 Puppeteer Clique 2 Warren Weirding

Deal Another Hand

Tom van Lamoen's Angel Burn

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

Planeswalker (4)

4 Ajani Vengeant

Creature (8)

4 Swans of Bryn Argoll 4 Baneslayer Angel

Sorcery (8)

2 Banefire 3 Pyroclasm 3 Hallowed Burial

Instant (15)

4 Lightning Bolt 4 Intimidation Bolt 4 Flame Javelin 3 Volcanic Fallout

Land (25)

4 Mutavault 4 Rugged Prairie 4 Reflecting Pool 4 Jungle Shrine 4 Plains 5 Mountain

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

2 Banefire 1 Volcanic Fallout 1 Hallowed Burial 1 Elspeth, Knight-Errant 2 Manabarbs 1 Austere Command 3 Runed Halo 4 Kitchen Finks

Deal Another Hand

Johnny Niemeijer's Jund Blood

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

Creature (22)

3 Anathemancer 4 Bloodbraid Elf 4 Boggart Ram-Gang 3 Chameleon Colossus 4 Putrid Leech 4 Wren's Run Vanquisher

Sorcery (3)

3 Maelstrom Pulse

Instant (8)

4 Jund Charm 4 Lightning Bolt

Land (24)

4 Auntie's Hovel 2 Fire-Lit Thicket 4 Forest 4 Gilt-Leaf Palace 2 Mountain 4 Savage Lands 4 Twilight Mire

Tribal instant (3)

3 Nameless Inversion

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

1 Anathemancer 1 Chameleon Colossus 2 Deathmark 4 Great Sable Stag 4 Infest 3 Thoughtseize

Deal Another Hand

Frank Karsten's Faeries

Decklist Stats Sample Hand