July 5 2015
Top 5 Cards by Tobi HenkeMolten Vortex probably deserves an honorable mention here because it definitely was among the cards most talked about this weekend. But when you get down to what actually mattered the most at...
Claudio Bonanni took the title and trophy of Grand Prix Lille 2015, the biggest Legacy event of the summer, defeating Olivier Ruel, who claimed his 28th Grand Prix Top 8 this weekend, in yet another Miracles-on-Miracles final match!
TOP 8 COVERAGE
Lille had been the city where history's first European Legacy Grand Prix took place back in 2005. This weekend, Legacy returned to Lille in style, as 1,548 players signed up for their chance at the fame and the glory, the prices and the Pro Points, the title and the trophy.
In the end, it was Italy's Claudio Bonanni who took the top spot, but not for lack of competition. In fact, he bested none other than Hall of Famer Olivier Ruel in the finals, using Monastery Mentor to give himself an advantage in the Miracles mirror match.
Interestingly enough, this marks the second time this year that Miracles ended up in first and second place at a Legacy Grand Prix. However, the Legacy format's amazing diversity of decks was also on display this weekend, as no less than 27 different archetypes made it to the second day of the competition! To exactly no one's surprise, various Delver decks were of course very succesful yet again, but so was Aggro Loam and Omni-Tell and Storm and many, many more …
July 5 2015
Top 5 Cards by Tobi HenkeMolten Vortex probably deserves an honorable mention here because it definitely was among the cards most talked about this weekend. But when you get down to what actually mattered the most at...
July 5 2015
Finals: Olivier Ruel vs. Claudio Bonanni by Craig JonesAfter two days of hard-fought Legacy action, the tournament came down to only two players. And once again, as with Grand Prix Kyoto earlier this year, it was an all Miracles final. Those dinky...
July 5 2015
Top 8 Decklists by Tobi HenkeAfter fifteen rounds of Legacy, with 1,385 others eliminated, just eight players remained in the running for the fame and the glory, the trophy and the title. Check out their decklists here! ...
DAY 2 COVERAGE
Welcome back for the second day of Grand Prix Lille 2015! The tournament had started with 1,548 players, but now only 163 of them remain. 163 are now in the running for fame and fortune, for the title and trophy.
Legacy always brings about whacky decks, intricate interactions between cards old and new, cool combos, and games full of suspense and surprises. We've had some of that yesterday already, and we have more of it today. Also, lots of decklists!
So join us as we follow some of the best and brightest players of the game through six more rounds of Legacy. Stay tuned for all the latest tech and news straight from the battlefield of Grand Prix Lille 2015. Watch when the Top 8 is determined and when a new champion is crowned …
July 5 2015
The Silver Lining by Craig JonesWe're approaching the end of the 2014–2015 Professional Points season. This adds an extra subtext to the tournaments as players attempt to lock up levels in the Pro Players Club for the next...
July 5 2015
From Kyoto to Lille by Craig JonesThe last Legacy Grand Prix was GP Kyoto back in April. One of the players who made the semifinals of that tournament was Kai Sawatari. He was also playing in GP Lille this weekend and his story...
July 5 2015
Grand Prix Lille's 9-0 Decklists by Tobi Henke1,548 players entered the tournament on Saturday, but only three of them managed to win all of their rounds that day for a very promising and perfect and pristine 9-0. Check out there decklists...
DAY 1 COVERAGE
Day 1 of Grand Prix Lille is in the books, and what a day it was! When the scorching sun came up this morning, 1,548 players had registered for the biggest Legacy event of the summer, but 1,385 of them crashed and burned in their attempt to go 7-2 or better, leaving only 163 to return for more hot Legacy action tomorrow.
We already had some of that today: the early matches set the tournament alight as various combo decks exploded and imploded, as Young Pyromancers used their pyromantic powers to populate the battlefield, while various fire spells did their best to reverse that. We even saw some dedicated burn decks! And of course the fiery artwork of Force of Will was everywhere. Running hot were three players blazing a trail: Petr Sochurek, Brice Berna, and one Tomoharu Saito all ended the day on blistering records of 9-0.
Join us tomorrow when things heat up as the tournament nears its inevitable conclusion and when a new champion gets crowned!
While Legacy is going to be our main focus this weekend, the full contents of Magic Origins have officially been revealed yesterday, and we might have a chance to pick some pro players' brains for their initial impressions. What's more, the voting on this year's Hall of Fame ballot has begun and that always leads to some interesting discussions on the sidelines of a Grand Prix.
Finally, the 2014–2015 Professional Season is drawing to a close. After this weekend, only one more Grand Prix and one Pro Tour remain where players can pick up those last elusive Pro Points needed to reach various levels in the Pro Players Club or to earn invites for the World Championship and the World Magic Cup. So the pressure is on and there's some additional excitement added to this event.
So yes, we really do have more than enough to talk and write about. Let's get to it, shall we?
July 4 2015
The Weird and Wonderful World of Legacy by Craig JonesEarlier in the day I posted a series of basic primers on some of the decks we expected to see at the Grand Prix today. Unsurprisingly, I've seen a lot of Islands on my wanders through the hall....
July 4 2015
Quick Question on Magic Origins by Craig JonesWe talked to some of the bigger names in the venue today, and asked them about their thoughts on Magic Origins, the upcoming set the full contents of which had officially been revealed...
July 4 2015
Hall of Fame Musings by Craig JonesThis week saw the Hall of Fame ballot drop into the inboxes of those eligible to vote on who gets inducted into Magic's prestigious Hall of Fame. This is a collection of the best and most...
(1) Claudio Bonanni, 2-1
(8) Jaroslav Boucek
(5) Petr Sochurek
(4) Christoph Alsheimer, 2-1
(3) Ricardo Sánchez, 2-1
(6) Alex Mortimer
(7) Olivier Ruel, 2-0
(2) Thomas Van der Paelt
(1) Claudio Bonanni, 2-1
(4) Christoph Alsheimer
(3) Ricardo Sánchez
(7) Olivier Ruel, 2-0
(1) Claudio Bonanni, 2-0
(7) Olivier Ruel
Note: final standings reflect the number of players participating in the event, not the number of preregistered players.
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 5, 2015
by Tobi HenkeMolten Vortex probably deserves an honorable mention here because it definitely was among the cards most talked about this weekend. But when you get down to what actually mattered the most at...
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 5, 2015
Finals: Olivier Ruel vs. Claudio Bonanni
by Craig JonesAfter two days of hard-fought Legacy action, the tournament came down to only two players. And once again, as with Grand Prix Kyoto earlier this year, it was an all Miracles final. Those dinky...
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 5, 2015
by Tobi HenkeAfter fifteen rounds of Legacy, with 1,385 others eliminated, just eight players remained in the running for the fame and the glory, the trophy and the title. Check out their decklists here! ...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 5, 2015
by Craig JonesHere are the decks that just missed out on Top 8 glory, in some cases by the narrowest of tiebreaker percentages. ...
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 5, 2015
by Tobi HenkeYou've seen the decks that made it to the Top 8 and the ones that made it to the Top 16, and those sixteen lists covered ten different archetypes already. However, that's just the tip of the...
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 5, 2015
Semifinals: Olivier Ruel vs. Ricardo Sánchez
by Craig JonesThere were only four players left in Europe's single Legacy Grand Prix this year. We've seen a diverse array of decks, but—as with GP Kyoto earlier this year—it's the Miracles decks that...
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 5, 2015
Semifinals: Christoph Alsheimer vs. Claudio Bonanni
by Tobi HenkeAnd now it was down to four. Of an original field of 1,548 only four players remained. In this semifinal match, Germany's Christoph Alsheimer met Italian Claudio Bonanni. It was the first major...
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 5, 2015
by Tobi HenkeAfter fifteen rounds of Legacy, with 1,385 others eliminated, just eight players remained in the running for the fame and the glory, the trophy and the title. About time to get acquainted with...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 5, 2015
by Craig JonesWe're approaching the end of the 2014–2015 Professional Points season. This adds an extra subtext to the tournaments as players attempt to lock up levels in the Pro Players Club for the next...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 5, 2015
by Craig JonesThe last Legacy Grand Prix was GP Kyoto back in April. One of the players who made the semifinals of that tournament was Kai Sawatari. He was also playing in GP Lille this weekend and his story...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 5, 2015
Grand Prix Lille's 9-0 Decklists
by Tobi Henke1,548 players entered the tournament on Saturday, but only three of them managed to win all of their rounds that day for a very promising and perfect and pristine 9-0. Check out there decklists...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 5, 2015
Grand Prix Lille Day 2 Metagame
by Tobi HenkeThe numbers are in! 163 lists have all been counted and categorized and now we know what decks made it to the second day here at Grand Prix Lille. You want to know too? Well, look no further! (Or...
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 4, 2015
The Weird and Wonderful World of Legacy
by Craig JonesEarlier in the day I posted a series of basic primers on some of the decks we expected to see at the Grand Prix today. Unsurprisingly, I've seen a lot of Islands on my wanders through the hall....
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 4, 2015
Quick Question on Magic Origins
by Craig JonesWe talked to some of the bigger names in the venue today, and asked them about their thoughts on Magic Origins, the upcoming set the full contents of which had officially been revealed...
article GRAND PRIX LILLE 2015 July 4, 2015
by Craig JonesThis week saw the Hall of Fame ballot drop into the inboxes of those eligible to vote on who gets inducted into Magic's prestigious Hall of Fame. This is a collection of the best and most...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 4, 2015
Legacy for the Uninitiated, Part 3: The Spoilers
by Craig JonesWith all these powerful decks floating around in the Legacy format you might be forgiven for wondering how the critters have a chance in Legacy. How's an honest deck, summoning an honest...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 4, 2015
Legacy for the Uninitiated, Part 2: Combo Decks
by Craig JonesAs would be expected of a format spanning twenty-plus years, Legacy has a lot of viable deck archetypes. Legacy is also a format that really rewards a player for really knowing their deck and all...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 4, 2015
Legacy for the Uninitiated, Part 1: Core Decks
by Craig JonesLegacy is not used very often for Grand Prix events and poses some interesting challenges for players. In Standard players are working with a constrained card pool consisting of all the sets...
article Grand Prix Lille 2015 July 4, 2015
Trial Winners at Grand Prix Lille 2015
by Tobi HenkeThe actual Grand Prix may not start until Saturday, but the action on a weekend like this most definitely begins on Friday! As usual, Friday is when players have the last chance to earn byes via...
SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter
The hashtag for Grand Prix Lille is #gplille. Check out what people had to say during the event!
TWITTER: #gplille