November 22 2015
Top 5 Cards by Ben SwartzWhat were the biggest cards of the weekend? Then read on to learn more about Grand Prix Kobe's Top 5 Cards! 5. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Although Blue Green Ramp decks only made up a small...
Takuma Morofuji crushes 2571 other players in Kobe with his Atarka Red deck, claiming his first major victory since 2005.
TOP 8 COVERAGE
Takuma Morofuji defeats 2571 other players to become your Grand Prix Kobe 2015 Champion.
Arming himself with an Atarka Red deck, the 2005 Japanese National Champion burned his way through the top eight, reducing his opponents to a crisp with Monastery Swiftspears, Zurgo Bellstrikers, and Atarka's Commands.
Along the way he took out Pro Tour Hall of Famer, Shuhei Nakamura–and his Esper Dragons Deck, Grand Prix Shizuoka Finalist Shota Takao–and his Esper Mentor deck–before finally defeating Joe Soh and his Black White Warrior deck. Rounding out the top 8 was Akio Chiba, Akihiro Okawa, Shunsuke Takahira, and Pavel Matousek.
Coming into the second day, over 35% of the players were playing Abzan decks, but the top 8 was extremely diverse. With 7 unique archetypes, GP Kobe has proven that Standard is anything but a stale format.
This victory qualifies Takuma Morofuji for his first Pro Tour since 2006. Congratulations once again to your Grand Prix Kobe 2015 Champion Takuma Morofuji!
November 22 2015
Top 5 Cards by Ben SwartzWhat were the biggest cards of the weekend? Then read on to learn more about Grand Prix Kobe's Top 5 Cards! 5. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Although Blue Green Ramp decks only made up a small...
November 22 2015
Finals: Joe Soh vs. Takuma Morofuji by Ben SwartzWithout much delay the finals had been set. On one side sat Malaysian player Joe Soh. Joe originally fell into his brother, Terry Soh's, shadow, but recently has been having success of his own: he...
November 22 2015
Top 8 Decklists by Ben SwartzEight Players made the final cut of Grand Prix Kobe 2015. Here are the decks that they piloted throughout the tournament! ...
DAY 2 COVERAGE
It's time for day 2 here in Kobe. Overnight 2572 players were reduced down to 293. Sitting atop the standings with perfect 9-0 records include Hall of Famer Shuhei Nakamura and Grand Prix Kobe 2014 Champion Teruya Kakumae. While those players are looking to add another Grand Prix Victory to their résumé, a bunch of players are trailing closely behind. Lee Shi Tian, Tzu-Ching Kuo, and Ken Yukihiro are sitting at 8-1 and Martin Jůza, Makihito Mihara and Yuta Takahashi, among others, are clinging on with 7-2 records.
The Standard format has developed over the past couple weeks with Lucas Blohon being crowned victorious in Brussels last weekend with Esper Dragons. Martin Juza and Shuhei Nakamura are playing a slightly modified version of the deck that Blohon played last week. On the other hand, MTG Mint Card players have made modifications to their Rally the Ancestors decks and are looking to repeat their past performance this weekend.
We have 6 rounds left here in Kobe before we cut to top 8. Stay tuned for continued coverage of Grand Prix Kobe throughout the day.
November 22 2015
Round 15 Feature Match: Kotaro Ostuka vs. Akio Chiba by Ben SwartzHeading into the final round of the day, tensions were high. After this round only 8 players could continue playing here at Grand Prix Kobe. Two of them sat down in the feature match to decide...
November 22 2015
Ken Yukuhiro’s Esper Mentor by Ben SwartzStarting off 7-0 and locking up a spot in day 2, Ken Yukuhiro decided to bring an Esper deck to Grand Prix Kobe 2015. Compared to the many Esper players who made day 2, Ken took a different...
November 22 2015
Grand Prix Kobe Day 1 Undefeated Decks by Ben SwartzAfter 9 rounds of Swiss on day 1 on Grand Prix Kobe 2015, 8 players escaped with a 9-0 record and 3 players with am 8-0-1 record. Here are their decklists: ...
DAY 1 COVERAGE
As the sun sets here in Kobe, 2572 players have been reduced down to the 293 that will play tomorrow. Among them 8 players have perfect 9-0 records including Japanese pros Shuhei Nakamura, Teruya Kakumae, and Akio Chiba. Hot on their heels include Lee Shi Tian, Park Jun Young, Tzu-Ching Kuo, and Ken Yukuhiro sitting with 8-1 records. Barely scraping into day 2 with 7-2 records include such pros as Martin Juza, Naoki Shimizu, Nam Sung Wook, Makihito Mihara, Yuta Takahashi, and Tomoharu Saito.
Abzan came out in full force today here in Kobe and was seemingly the most popular deck in day 1. To combat it players brought a variety of decks, including Esper Dragons, Rally The Ancestors, Dark Jeskai, and many others. With the field whittled down, the cream will rise to the top tomorrow.
Join us tomorrow for 6 more rounds of Standard before we cut to a top 8 and crown another Grand Prix champion here in Kobe!
November 21 2015
Grand Prix Kobe Round 9 Roundup by Ben SwartzAt the end of day one there are multiple storylines coming to a close: who will end the day undefeated? What pro players make it to the second day? Who will narrowly miss day 2? I took a look at...
November 21 2015
Round 6 Feature Match: Kenji Tsumura vs. Kazuyuki Takimura by Ben SwartzWith so many good Japanese Magic players in the field at GP Kobe, it's no surprise that two would meet sooner rather than later. The sixth round brought a match between Pro Tour Hall of Famer,...
November 21 2015
Catching Up with Ryoichi Tamada by Ben SwartzAfter having a breakout performance at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar and qualifying for the World Magic Cup, Ryoichi Tamada is still quite unknown to most of the world. The 30 year old player from...
Note: final standings reflect the number of players participating in the event, not the number of preregistered players.
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
by Ben SwartzWhat were the biggest cards of the weekend? Then read on to learn more about Grand Prix Kobe's Top 5 Cards! 5. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Although Blue Green Ramp decks only made up a small...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
Finals: Joe Soh vs. Takuma Morofuji
by Ben SwartzWithout much delay the finals had been set. On one side sat Malaysian player Joe Soh. Joe originally fell into his brother, Terry Soh's, shadow, but recently has been having success of his own: he...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
by Ben SwartzEight Players made the final cut of Grand Prix Kobe 2015. Here are the decks that they piloted throughout the tournament! ...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
by Ben SwartzHungry for more Standard decklists? Here are the decklists from the 9-16 players at Grand Prix Kobe 2015! ...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
by Ben SwartzEight became four and now four will become two. Take a look at the roundup of the Semifinals at Grand Prix Kobe 2015. Joe Soh (White Black Warriors) vs. Akio Chiba (Esper Dragons) Akio Chiba...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
by Ben SwartzEight players entered the feature match area to kick off the Top 8 of Grand Prix Kobe, but only 4 would remain after the Quarterfinals. Here is a roundup from the quarterfinals. Shunsuke Takahira...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
by Ben SwartzAfter many rounds of Swiss and some great games of Magic, the Top 8 for Kobe is set! Learn more about this event’s Top 8 competitors, their history at the top tables, and more by taking a look...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
Round 15 Feature Match: Kotaro Ostuka vs. Akio Chiba
by Ben SwartzHeading into the final round of the day, tensions were high. After this round only 8 players could continue playing here at Grand Prix Kobe. Two of them sat down in the feature match to decide...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
by Ben SwartzStarting off 7-0 and locking up a spot in day 2, Ken Yukuhiro decided to bring an Esper deck to Grand Prix Kobe 2015. Compared to the many Esper players who made day 2, Ken took a different...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
Grand Prix Kobe Day 1 Undefeated Decks
by Ben SwartzAfter 9 rounds of Swiss on day 1 on Grand Prix Kobe 2015, 8 players escaped with a 9-0 record and 3 players with am 8-0-1 record. Here are their decklists: ...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
Grand Prix Kobe Day 2 Metagame Breakdown
by Ben SwartzAll 293 decklists from day 2 of Grand Prix Kobe have been tallied and the numbers are in! Here is the metagame breakdown: Deck Name Number ...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 22, 2015
by Ben SwartzThis weekend MTG Mint Card's Lee Shi Tian decided to play a Rally the Ancestors deck. Although him and his team built the deck for the Pro Tour he didn't have the confidence to play it until this...
article GRAND PRIX KOBE 2015 November 22, 2015
Round 10 Feature Match: Shuhei Nakamura vs. Teruya Kakumae
by Ben SwartzWith only 8 players at the end of day 1 with perfect 9-0 records, it seemed inevitable that two titans would clash sooner rather than later. Pro Tour Hall of Famer Shuhei Nakamura and Grand Prix...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 21, 2015
Grand Prix Kobe Round 9 Roundup
by Ben SwartzAt the end of day one there are multiple storylines coming to a close: who will end the day undefeated? What pro players make it to the second day? Who will narrowly miss day 2? I took a look at...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 21, 2015
Round 6 Feature Match: Kenji Tsumura vs. Kazuyuki Takimura
by Ben SwartzWith so many good Japanese Magic players in the field at GP Kobe, it's no surprise that two would meet sooner rather than later. The sixth round brought a match between Pro Tour Hall of Famer,...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 21, 2015
Catching Up with Ryoichi Tamada
by Ben SwartzAfter having a breakout performance at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar and qualifying for the World Magic Cup, Ryoichi Tamada is still quite unknown to most of the world. The 30 year old player from...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 21, 2015
Round 4 Feature Match: Ryoichi Tamada vs. Shota Hirai
by Ben SwartzComing off of his 2nd place appearance at Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar, Ryoichi Tamada came hungry for more Standard here in Kobe. With a quick win after his two byes, Tamada sat down in the...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 21, 2015
Grand Prix Kobe 2015 Photo Journal
by Ben Swartzby Seo Asako and translated by Ben Swartz Welcome to Grand Prix Kobe 2015. Because the event is so large, the Side Events and artists are on the first floor, while the main event is on the second...
article Grand Prix Kobe 2015 November 21, 2015
Grand Prix Trials Winning Decklists
by Ben SwartzOn Friday, many players played for byes for Grand Prix Kobe 2015. Fourteen Standard players emerged with a two-round bye for the main event. Here are their decklists: ...
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