November 15 2015
Top 5 Cards by Tobi HenkeThese were the cards that shaped the tournament, that sparked discussions and were the most debated, the cards that won games and turned Grand Prix Brussels into an event to remember ... 5....
Playing Esper Dragons in Standard, Team Cabin Crew's Lukas Blohon destroyed all opposition in Brussels, including Team Eureka's Simon Nielsen and his Rally the Ancestors in the finals, to become champion of Grand Prix Brussels 2015!
TOP 8 COVERAGE
It was a tale of two teams. All weekend long, the two big European teams of Eureka and Cabin Crew were vying for the top spot at Grand Prix Brussels. Expecting the need to beat a lot of Abzan decks, both teams came up with their very own solution. Cabin Crew chose Esper Dragons, Eureka went with Rally the Ancestors.
And things worked out perfectly for them. In a field of 1,938 players, Eureka's Simon Nielsen and Magnus Lantto went 9-0 on Day 1, as did Lukas Blohon of Team Cabin Crew. Neither group fared any worse on the second day. In fact, when the 226 remaining players were reduced to a mere eight for the playoffs, all of the aforementioned made the cut. They were even joined in the Top 8 by additional teammates (22) Martin Müller and (16) Ondřej Stráský, of Eureka and Cabin Crew, respectively.
The rivalry continued all the way to the finals. Previously, Blohon had beaten Lantto, Nielsen had evened the score by kicking out Stráský, and Blohon in turn had defeated Müller. That left Blohon and Nielsen to duke it out for the title and trophy. In a close three-game final match between Eureka and Cabin Crew, between Rally the Ancestors and Esper Dragons, it was once again Lukas Blohon who prevailed and became champion of Grand Prix Brussels 2015. Congratulations!
November 15 2015
Top 5 Cards by Tobi HenkeThese were the cards that shaped the tournament, that sparked discussions and were the most debated, the cards that won games and turned Grand Prix Brussels into an event to remember ... 5....
November 15 2015
Finals: Lukas Blohon (Esper Dragons) vs. Simon Nielsen (Four-Color Rally) by Frank KarstenThe big story to come out of this Grand Prix was that the two biggest European pro teams each found a way to beat the Rhino in the room with a different Jace, Vryn's Prodigy deck. Team Cabin...
November 15 2015
Top 8 Decklists by Frank KarstenAfter 15 rounds of Swiss competition, 8 players remain to compete for the trophy. Want to see what rose to the top? Then take a look at the Top 8 competitors' decklists! ...
DAY 2 COVERAGE
Welcome back to Day 2 of Grand Prix Brussels 2015! 1,938 players were in the running originally, now it's down to just 226.
The two big European teams—that is Team Eureka and Cabin Crew— did extremely well in the tournament so far, with their members largely deciding on one deck each. Magnus Lantto and Simon Nielsen of Team Eureka, for instance, both piloted the same 75 cards to a 9-0 start. Meanwhile, Lukas Blohon achieved the same record with Cabin Crew's resurrection of Esper Dragons. Both decks are supposedly (and evidently) great against the ubiquitous Abzan, but now they would need to face off against one another. Who would come out on top? Or could Abzan be able to stage a coup to claim yet another Grand Prix trophy?
Stay tuned to find out, and to get all the latest straight from the battlefield of Grand Prix Brussels 2015!
November 15 2015
Interesting Decks in Day 2 of Grand Prix Brussels 2015 by Frank KarstenAs I went through the Day 2 decklists earlier today, there were several decks that looked particularly interesting to me. These decks might not be perfectly tuned yet and most of their pilots soon...
November 15 2015
9-0 Decklists on Day 1 of Grand Prix Brussels by Tobi HenkeDespite the huge attendance, only four players managed to escaped the carnage of the first nine rounds of the tournament with their pristine records still intact: Kirill Tsarkov, Lukas Blohon,...
November 15 2015
The Resurgence of Esper Dragons by Frank KarstenWith the recent rise of Abzan, which again is the most popular deck in Day 2 of this Grand Prix, a question on many competitive Standard players' minds was how to beat it. Here in Brussels, it...
DAY 1 COVERAGE
What had started with 1,938 players in the morning, was now, after nine grueling rounds of Standard, reduced to a mere 226. 226 players reached the requisite score of 7-2 or better and have earned the right to return on Day 2, for another six rounds and a shot at the Top 8.
Overnight, four players sat atop the standings with perfect records of 9-0: Kirill Tsarkov and Lukas Blohon as well as Magnus Lantto and Simon Nielsen, the latter two (both of Team Eureka) playing the exact same Rally the Ancestors decks. But fierce competition on the second day would include other well-known pros too, as Ivan Floch, (20) Joel Larsson, Martin Jůza, Martin Müller, and Valentin Mackl all made the cut with 8-1.
Meanwhile, Standard impressed us with a variety of new developments. Most notably, Esper Dragons appeared to be back in fashion and the aforementioned Rally the Ancestors rallied magnificently. Also, the recent success of white-black token decks continued, and we even saw some Woodland Wanderers and at least one deck with The Great Aurora in the feature match area.
Tune back in tomorrow for more Standard, for more action and more decks, and for the epic conclusion of Grand Prix Brussels 2015!
November 14 2015
Quick Question: How to Beat Abzan? by Frank KarstenAbzan was one of the decks to beat in Standard this weekend. I sought out the advice of experienced players on what would be the best card, best deck, or best game plan for beating it. Ondřej...
November 14 2015
Quick Question: How to Beat Dark Jeskai? by Frank KarstenDark Jeskai was one of the decks to beat in Standard this weekend. I sought out the advice of experienced players regarding the best card, best deck, or best game plan for beating it. Ondřej...
November 14 2015
Meet Branco Neirynck by Frank KarstenA year ago, Branco Neirynck was relatively unknown to most of the Magic-playing world. But over the span of the last six months, he finished in the Top 8 of three European Grand Prix events,...
Note: final standings reflect the number of players participating in the event, not the number of preregistered players.
article GRAND PRIX BRUSSELS 2015 November 15, 2015
by Tobi HenkeThese were the cards that shaped the tournament, that sparked discussions and were the most debated, the cards that won games and turned Grand Prix Brussels into an event to remember ... 5....
article GRAND PRIX BRUSSELS 2015 November 15, 2015
Finals: Lukas Blohon (Esper Dragons) vs. Simon Nielsen (Four-Color Rally)
by Frank KarstenThe big story to come out of this Grand Prix was that the two biggest European pro teams each found a way to beat the Rhino in the room with a different Jace, Vryn's Prodigy deck. Team Cabin...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
by Frank KarstenAfter 15 rounds of Swiss competition, 8 players remain to compete for the trophy. Want to see what rose to the top? Then take a look at the Top 8 competitors' decklists! ...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
by Frank KarstenThere is more to this event than just the Top 8. Below are the decklists of the players who finished in 9th through 32nd place. All of them were at most one match win away from the Top 8. ...
article GRAND PRIX BRUSSELS 2015 November 15, 2015
Semifinals: Lukas Blohon (Esper Dragons) vs. Martin Müller (Four-Color Rally)
by Frank KarstenIn this semifinals, two of Europe's best players at the moment met: Gold level pro Lukas Blohon and No. 22-ranked Martin Müller. A lot of spectators were curious how this matchup between Esper...
article GRAND PRIX BRUSSELS 2015 November 15, 2015
Semifinals: Simon Nielsen vs. Antonio Castellani
by Tobi HenkeIn this semifinal match, Simon Nielsen, champion of last year's World Magic Cup with the Danish team, met Italy's Antonio Castellani. Castellani was playing in his first premier event Top 8, but...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
by Event Coverage StaffAfter 15 rounds of Standard, with a total of 1,930 others eliminated, only eight players remained in the running for the fame and the fortune, the title and the trophy. Find out more about these...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
Interesting Decks in Day 2 of Grand Prix Brussels 2015
by Frank KarstenAs I went through the Day 2 decklists earlier today, there were several decks that looked particularly interesting to me. These decks might not be perfectly tuned yet and most of their pilots soon...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
9-0 Decklists on Day 1 of Grand Prix Brussels
by Tobi HenkeDespite the huge attendance, only four players managed to escaped the carnage of the first nine rounds of the tournament with their pristine records still intact: Kirill Tsarkov, Lukas Blohon,...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
The Resurgence of Esper Dragons
by Frank KarstenWith the recent rise of Abzan, which again is the most popular deck in Day 2 of this Grand Prix, a question on many competitive Standard players' minds was how to beat it. Here in Brussels, it...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
Sideboard Plans for Dark Jeskai and Abzan with Oliver Polak-Rottmann and Kenji Tsumura
by Frank KarstenSideboarding is an important skill in Standard, and the decision on which cards to bring in and which ones to take out in a certain matchup can be pivotal. Surprisingly, however, not much has been...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
Day 2 Metagame of Grand Prix Brussels 2015
by Tobi HenkeThe numbers are in! 226 decklists have all been accounted for and counted, checked and categorized. Now we know what the people on Day 2 of this Grand Prix chose to play. Take a...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 15, 2015
Looking In on Nine Deck Tech Videos
by Frank KarstenOn Saturday morning, several well-known players were kind enough to lay out their Standard decks for the video coverage team and talk about their choices on camera. You may have seen these...
article GRAND PRIX BRUSSELS 2015 November 14, 2015
Quick Question: How to Beat Abzan?
by Frank KarstenAbzan was one of the decks to beat in Standard this weekend. I sought out the advice of experienced players on what would be the best card, best deck, or best game plan for beating it. Ondřej...
article GRAND PRIX BRUSSELS 2015 November 14, 2015
Quick Question: How to Beat Dark Jeskai?
by Frank KarstenDark Jeskai was one of the decks to beat in Standard this weekend. I sought out the advice of experienced players regarding the best card, best deck, or best game plan for beating it. Ondřej...
article GRAND PRIX BRUSSELS 2015 November 14, 2015
by Frank KarstenA year ago, Branco Neirynck was relatively unknown to most of the Magic-playing world. But over the span of the last six months, he finished in the Top 8 of three European Grand Prix events,...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 14, 2015
The Most Popular Deck Choice among the Three-Bye Players
by Frank KarstenWith almost 2,000 players in the room, there's no chance we could tell you about the whole of the Day 1 metagame. Something we can tell you about, however, is the deck choices of the select group...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 14, 2015
by Frank KarstenThe Standard metagame is always changing and marching ever onward. As you can see in the following picture, the top archetypes have experienced some notable shifts in popularity over the course of...
article Grand Prix Brussels 2015 November 14, 2015
Grand Prix Trial Winners at Grand Prix Brussels
by Tobi HenkeAs always, the Friday before the Grand Prix had hundreds of players taking part in the last-chance Grand Prix Trials. Those grueling single-elimination tournaments were their last chance to earn...
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