April 19 2015
Top 5 Cards of Grand Prix Kraków 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 Kraków into an event to remember...
Alexander Hayne shined brightest of the control mages in Kraków, rode his Esper Dragons all the way to the finals, and claimed the title of Grand Prix champion.
TOP 8 COVERAGE
Alexander Hayne won Grand Prix Kraków—and claimed his fourth Grand Prix title in two years. In a star-studded field he ended it in style, defeating Robin Dolar in an all Esper Dragons final.
They came, they played and they won. Pro Tour competitors and Grand Prix grinders alike. This weekend gathered Europe's best in Kraków to cast Dragons and powerful spells in Standard. In a field full of Red Aggro, Esper Dragons, and Abzan, many walked home winners. But in the end no one won more than Canadian Alexander Hayne. He took his Esper Dragons all the way to the trophy and claimed yet another Grand Prix title.
April 19 2015
Top 5 Cards of Grand Prix Kraków 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 Kraków into an event to remember...
April 19 2015
Finals: Robin Dolar vs. Alexander Hayne by Olle RadeLook, it's a bird! It's a plane! No. It's the Esper Dragon deck, that's been flying through the field here in Kraków all weekend. So what could be more fitting than two Dragon masters facing off...
April 19 2015
TOP 8 DECKLISTS by Tobi HenkeAfter two grueling days, after 15 rounds of Standard play, only eight players remained. And their decks. Check out the eight most succesful lists of the tournament here! ...
DAY 2 COVERAGE
Welcome back for Day 2 of Grand Prix Kraków 2015! It all had started with 1,138 players yesterday morning, but only 152 of them managed to graduate from the first nine rounds of Standard play with records of 7-2 or better to qualify for the second day of competition.
Four of them even achieved the dream of going 9-0: Michael Durham, Robin Dolar, Martin Müller, and Andreas Reling, though they certainly can't rest on their laurels with names like Raphaël Lévy, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Alexander Hayne, Sam Pardee, and Marco Cammilluzzi listed not much further down in the standings, all at 8-1. In any case, all 152 players need to battle through six more rounds of Standard today, before we enter the elimination play-offs, before we sit down for the finals and crown a new Grand Prix champion.
We've already seen some interesting developments in Standard and will certainly see more today. So far we've noticed the rise of Esper Dragons, Big Red was making a splash, and both Abzan Aggro and Abzan Control appear to be big, as always.
Stay tuned for all the latest, live from Kraków!
April 19 2015
Interesting Decks on Day Two by Olle RadeIn a field where three or four decks make up almost the entire metagame it's extra interesting to look at the few gems that looks a bit out of the ordinary. Grand Prix Kraków might be remembered...
April 19 2015
The Big Three of Standard by Tobi HenkeWhen looking at all the decklists for Sunday's metagame breakdown, two things became clear very quickly. One, the current Standard format allows for a lot of variety with easily 25 different...
April 19 2015
Round 13 Feature Match: Pascal Maynard vs. Antonio Del Moral León by Olle RadeHalfway through the second day of competition saw recent Pro Tour winner Antonio Del Moral León take on Canadian Pascal Maynard in a battle of wits and green creatures, filled with surprises. At...
DAY 1 COVERAGE
Day 1 of Grand Prix Krakow 2015 is in the books. The tournament had started with 1,138 competitors in the morning, but throughout nine grueling rounds of Standard play that number was reduced to but 152. 152 players to come back on Sunday and fight for their chance at a Top 8 berth.
Among them, four stood tall at the end of the day with perfect records of 9-0: Michael Durham, Robin Dolar, Martin Müller , and Andreas Reling. But fierce competition's not far behind with household names like Raphaël Lévy, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Alexander Hayne, Sam Pardee, and Marco Cammilluzzi all making the cut on 8-1.
Until we return—for Day 2 of the event, for all the latest insights into the Standard format and all the excitement straight from the battlefield—this is good night from Krakow …
April 18 2015
QUICK QUESTIONS #3 by Olle RadeWhich deck are you playing this weekend and why? Fabrizio Anteri: "Abzan Control. I need to make Top 8 to reach Gold status, so I can't afford to play a deck that has bad match-ups. My other...
April 18 2015
Deck Tech: Big Red with Raphaël Lévy by Tobi HenkeIn the wake of Martin Dang's Pro Tour victory we saw a lot of hyper aggressive red decks at this Grand Prix, rushing opponents with an army of Goblin tokens backed up by a massive assortment of...
April 18 2015
Round 7 Feature Match: Alexandre Habert vs. Robin Dolar by Tobi HenkeFrance's Alexandre Habert had only just had his first big break, a Top 8 at Grand Prix Seville earlier this year. Robin Dolar, on the other hand, had been around a bit longer and could claim three...
(1) Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, 2-1
(8) Samuel Pardee
(5) Robin Dolar, 2-1
(4) Martin Müller
(3) Alexander Hayne, 2-0
(6) Alex Hottmann
(7) Leo Schulhof
(2) Bartłomie Lewandowski, 2-0
(1) Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
(5) Robin Dolar, 2-0
(3) Alexander Hayne, 2-0
(2) Bartłomie Lewandowski
(5) Robin Dolar
(3) Alexander Hayne, 2-0
Note: final standings reflect the number of players participating in the event, not the number of preregistered players.
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
Top 5 Cards of Grand Prix Kraków 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 Kraków into an event to remember...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
Finals: Robin Dolar vs. Alexander Hayne
by Olle RadeLook, it's a bird! It's a plane! No. It's the Esper Dragon deck, that's been flying through the field here in Kraków all weekend. So what could be more fitting than two Dragon masters facing off...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
by Tobi HenkeAfter two grueling days, after 15 rounds of Standard play, only eight players remained. And their decks. Check out the eight most succesful lists of the tournament here! ...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
Semifinals: Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa vs. Robin Dolar
by Tobi HenkeWhile this was Dolar's fourth time to the Top 8 of a Grand Prix, his accomplishments were naturally dwarfed by those of his opponent. Then again, with nine Pro Tour Top 8s and fifteen Grand Prix...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
Semifinals: Alexander Hayne vs. Bartłomie Lewandowski
by Tobi HenkeBartłomie Lewandowski, the 26 year old from Warsaw, Poland, and his Jeskai Token deck had just beat Blue/Black Control in the quarterfinals and were now up against a similar deck again: Esper...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
by Tobi HenkeAfter two grueling days, after 15 rounds of play, only eight players remained, the best of the best, the cream of the crop, the most draconic of all Dragon players. Let's get to know them a...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
by Olle RadeIn a field where three or four decks make up almost the entire metagame it's extra interesting to look at the few gems that looks a bit out of the ordinary. Grand Prix Kraków might be remembered...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
by Tobi HenkeWhen looking at all the decklists for Sunday's metagame breakdown, two things became clear very quickly. One, the current Standard format allows for a lot of variety with easily 25 different...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
Round 13 Feature Match: Pascal Maynard vs. Antonio Del Moral León
by Olle RadeHalfway through the second day of competition saw recent Pro Tour winner Antonio Del Moral León take on Canadian Pascal Maynard in a battle of wits and green creatures, filled with surprises. At...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
Meet Martin Müller – Captain of Danish Magic
by Olle RadeDanish Magic has been on a rampage lately. Their team won the World Magic Cup in Nice in December, and last weekend Martin Dang took the trophy from Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir back to Danish turf....
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
Day 2 Standard Metagame Breakdown
by Tobi HenkeThe numbers are in! 152 decklists have all been counted, sorted, and checked, and now we really know what decks put the most people into the second day of the competition here at Grand Prix...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
by Olle RadeWho's the strongest of the Dragonlords? Fabrizio Anteri: "Silumgar, for sure. His trigger is the most powerful and he needs an answer right away or the game is just over." Patrick Dickmann:...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
Round 10 Feature Match: Alexander Hayne vs. Raphaël Lévy
by Tobi HenkeWith six Grand Prix Top 8s (half of them wins) and one Pro Tour Top 8 (a win), all within the past four years, Alexander Hayne had quickly established himself as one of the greats of the game....
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 19, 2015
by Olle RadeAre you going to a Modern Masters 2 Grand Prix? Fabrizio Anteri: "Of course! I'm going to Utrecht, since it's the one closest to my home in London. Also it's organized by Tournamentcenter, and...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
by Olle RadeWhich deck are you playing this weekend and why? Fabrizio Anteri: "Abzan Control. I need to make Top 8 to reach Gold status, so I can't afford to play a deck that has bad match-ups. My other...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
Deck Tech: Big Red with Raphaël Lévy
by Tobi HenkeIn the wake of Martin Dang's Pro Tour victory we saw a lot of hyper aggressive red decks at this Grand Prix, rushing opponents with an army of Goblin tokens backed up by a massive assortment of...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
Round 7 Feature Match: Alexandre Habert vs. Robin Dolar
by Tobi HenkeFrance's Alexandre Habert had only just had his first big break, a Top 8 at Grand Prix Seville earlier this year. Robin Dolar, on the other hand, had been around a bit longer and could claim three...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
Round 6 Feature Match: Martin Müller vs. Oliver Polak-Rottmann
by Olle Rade“Little kid luck” from Denmark, 17-year-old Martin Müller already has a win in the World Magic Cup and a few Pro Tour money finishes on his resume. On the Grand Prix circuit however, he has...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
by Olle RadeHow many dragons do you think there will be in the Top 8 this weekend? (Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir had 29) Fabrizio Anteri: "My guess is 13. Two control decks with five in each, and a Green/Red...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
Deck Tech: Sidisi-Whip with Ondřej Stráský
by Tobi HenkeWith a Top 8 at Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir last weekend and another at Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir last year, Ondřej Stráský may just be one of the hottest players on the Magic tournament circuit...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
Deck Tech: Bant Mastery with Craig Wescoe
by Olle RadeLast weekend we saw the debut of Dragons of Tarkir in Standard and some decks really stood out and raised a few eyebrows. The field was filled with aggressive mono red decks and Dragonlords of all...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
by Olle RadeWhich deck do you wish that you had played at the Pro Tour last weekend? Fabrizio Anteri: "I was very happy with my deck choice last weekend (Green/Red devotion). It put both Thomas Hendriks and...
article GRAND PRIX KRAKÓW 2015 April 18, 2015
Round 4 Feature Match: Ben Stark vs. Max Sjöblom
by Tobi HenkeThanks to byes, this was the first round the pro players were playing in, and already we found quite a good match to watch. In one corner sat Hall of Famer Ben Stark, veteran of countless Grand...
article GRAND PRIX KYŌTO 2015 April 18, 2015
by Olle RadeAs always, on the Friday before a Grand Prix there are last chance Grand Prix Trials offering byes for the following day's event. Here, at Grand Prix Kraków, an impressive 37 standard trials took...
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