After fourteen rounds of Team Unified Modern, only four teams could move on to the finals. Congratulations to the Top 4 teams of Grand Prix Detroit!
William Courson, Antonio Perez, and Andrew Koko Lopez ("Team Ratchet Bomb")
Team: Courson/Perez/Lopez ("Team Ratchet Bomb")
Name: William Courson
Hometown: West Green, Georgia
Occupation: User Car Salesman
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
2nd place in 13 PPTQs within 4 months
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Humans. Linear and disruptive. Yes, so I know who has Bolts.
How did your team form?
Perez came to Lopez and I and said we're the best players from Jacksonville, so he would pay our way if we carry him.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
Realization of my goals.
Team: Courson/Perez/Lopez ("Team Ratchet Bomb")
Name: Antonio Perez
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
Occupation: System Engineer
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
Top 64 @ SCG Atlanta 2018
Game Day Champion, sadly once. But a lot of second places.
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Mono-Green Tron. My teammates were close to making Bronze level and wouldn't be able to play in anymore Grand Prix this year. I said I will help pay if they play.
How did your team form?
10-2-1. After Round 5, our second loss, I told them, just like in Rocky, "We ain't goin' down no more."
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
It is the highest accomplishment I have had in Magic and at 38 years old, the window is closing.
Team: Courson/Perez/Lopez ("Team Ratchet Bomb")
Name: Andrew Koko Lopez
Hometown: Cotton City
Occupation: Metro PCS manager
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
Top 32 GP
Top 16 Open
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Jeskai Control. I played it because I've been playing it for 1 year and in Modern I'm a fan of "play-what-you-know". And no, it didn't matter.
How did your team form?
We're glad with the decks we picked and how we picked seatings.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
Hard work paid off J
Jon Rowe, Felix Tse, and Dan Lanthier
Team: Rowe/Tse/Lanthier
Name: Jon Rowe
Hometown: Ottawa, Ontario Canada
Occupation: Real Estate
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
GP Toronto 2010 win
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Humans. Hadn't decided on a deck by Wednesday and was feeling pretty anxious — so I defaulted to the "best" deck that didn't overlap. Felix and Dan are the best players of their respective decks in the world.
How did your team form?
We're all old. Also old friends.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
Bucked list item to go to a Pro Tour with my good friends.
Team: Rowe/Tse/Lanthier
Name: Felix Tse
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Occupation: PM
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
Retired casual player
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Red-Green Scapeshift. I am like the best Valakut player in the world? (just joking).
We got the best White-Blue player, and a great Human player — I get the rest of the card pool. J
How did your team form?
Old friends.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
Cross off my last bucket list of going to the Pro Tour with my friends (we always qualified separately).
Team: Rowe/Tse/Lanthier
Name: Dan Lanthier
Hometown: Ottawa, Canada
Occupation: Merchant success @ Shopify
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
2 Grand Prix wins
Former Canadian National Champ
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
White-Blue Control, had to teach folks the good ol' gospel of Dispel.
Nope, Unified format didn't change a thing.
How did your team form?
Friends for well over a decade. Was probably time for us to team up.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
Guess it means I'm back on the Pro Tour?
Bryan Kinnell, Jose David Marzuca Lozano, and Bradley Tinney ("RIW – Last Minute Call")
Team: Kinnell/Marzuca Lozano/Tinney ("RIW – Last Minute Call")
Name: Bryan Kinnell
Hometown: Redford, Michigan
Occupation: Customer Service representative
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
FNM Champion
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
White-Blue Control because it was the deck that I had the most (yet little) experience with. Format had little to no bearing on deck decisions.
How did your team form?
Last minute [hence the name]. Friday at 6:00 while I was at a wedding.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
First is the best.
Team: Kinnell/Marzuca Lozano/Tinney ("RIW – Last Minute Call")
Name: Jose David Marzuca Lozano
Hometown: Cancun, Mexico
Occupation: Automotive Engineer
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
Day 2 Pro Tour Avacyn Restored
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Mardu Pyromancer because it's better at being Jund than Jund.
Didn't matter.
How did your team form?
Last-minute calls.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
First GP Top.
3rd Mexican in the GP Top in the year
Team: Kinnell/Marzuca Lozano/Tinney ("RIW – Last Minute Call")
Name: Bradley Tinney
Hometown: Garden City, Michigan
Occupation: Airline employee
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
Restore Balance – As Foretold – Greater Gargadon
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
I played Infect. It is the deck I have the most experience with. The Team Unified mattered because I got to strengthen my relationship with friends.
How did your team form?
Last minute when a friend dropped.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
It means everything to me. I was not able to make the Pro Tour by myself but I was with my friends.
Sam Pardee, Matt Nass, and Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
Team: Damo da Rosa/Nass/Pardee
Name: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
Hometown: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Occupation: Teacher at SpikesAcademy.com, writer for ChannelFireball.com and host of the Pro Points Podcast.
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
4 Team GP Top 4s this season!
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Bant Spirit, I thought it was the best deck. The team format didn't matter, I just took all the cards I wanted.
How did your team form?
We are friends.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
It means I don't regret skipping Brazilian Nationals that's going on right now.
Team: Damo da Rosa/Nass/Pardee
Name: Matt Nass
Hometown: Stanford, California
Occupation: Game designer, Contributor @ ChannelFireball.com
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
11 Grand Prix Top 8s, 5 wins
1 Pro Tour Top 8
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Hardened Scales – Good vs. Humans, didn't play Horizon Canopy because PV is selfish.
How did your team form?
Sam and I team for everything and we decided to add PV for this.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
A chance to tie the Team GP win record (I think)
Team: Damo da Rosa/Nass/Pardee
Name: Sam Pardee
Hometown: Denver, Colorado
Occupation: Podcast host - Allied Strategies Podcast
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
Some Grand Prix and Pro Tour Top 8s.
What did you play and why? Did the Team Unified Modern format matter?
Hollow One. We knew we wanted a Blackcleave Cliffs deck and thought it was probably the best. We couldn't play Bridgevine because Matt needed Ballista and Matt also hogged the Damping Spheres from PV. [Eds. - And Paulo said the format didn't matter...]
How did your team form?
Matt and I always team together at Team GPs and Jacob wasn't planning on coming, so we enlisted Paulo.
What does this Top 4 mean to you?
A chance to win a second Team GP in Detroit!