Top 8 Coverage
Just one week before, at Pro Tour Eldritch Moon, the Top 8 was dominated by Emrakul and Liliana. The Standard Grand Prix in Rimini, however, marked the breakout weekend of U/R Fevered Visions and the return of Bant Company. By defeating Platinum pro Petr Sochurek in a mirror match in the finals, Arne Huschenbeth proved to the world that Bant Company is still a force to be reckoned with!
But let's start this short recap at the beginning. Early on Saturday morning, 889 players entered the tournament, and we've had a great weekend all around. At the end of the Swiss, only eight players remained. Most notable among them were World Championship-bound (3) Lukas Blohon and (11) Shota Yasooka, playing in their 7th and 20th Grand Prix Top 8, respectively. While they fell quickly in the quarterfinals, Arne Huschenbeth did not.
The Top 8 matches of the 19-year old player from Hamburg, in the second Grand Prix Top 8 of his career, were all close. The final game in particular had him at 1 life for what seemed to be ages, but he never gave up. Many hard-fought turns later, he was holding the trophy. Congratulations to Arne Huschenbeth, champion of Grand Prix Rimini 2016!
Article
August 14 2016
Top 5 Moments
by Frank Karsten
There were plenty of great moments, decks, players, cards, and stories over the course of the weekend here in Rimini. Here are our picks for five things to remember from the Grand Prix.
5. The...
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Article
August 14 2016
Top 8 Decklists
by Frank Karsten
After 15 rounds of Swiss competition, eight players remain to compete for the trophy. Out of those eight, six are playing Bant Company, and the two remaining players are on U/R Fevered Burn.
...
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Day 2 Coverage
Welcome back to Rimini for Day 2 of the first Standard Grand Prix to follow Pro Tour Eldritch Moon! Out of an original 889 players, 272 qualified for the second day, with 9-0 players Jaroslav Boucek and Yusuf Kemal Vefa taking the lead. Now it was time for six more rounds of Standard, followed by the Top 8 playoffs.
So far Bant Company, Red-Green Ramp, and Blue-Red Fevered Visions had appeared to be the most successful decks here in Italy, with a surprisingly weak showing of Temur Emerge, the breakout deck of last week's Pro Tour. We'd have more data later in the day, of course. Check back for a full metagame breakdown of the Day 2 field, further deck tech articles, and many decklists!
Day 1 Coverage
After nine rounds of Standard, Day 1 is in the books. Out of the original 889 players, 272 earned the right to come back on Day 2 in their quest for the winner's trophy.
We saw all kinds of interesting cards and decks. The biggest stories to come out of Day 1 were the continued dominance of Bant Company and the rise of U/R Fevered Burn (alternatively, U/R Alchemist, U/R Thermo-Thing, or however you like to call it). Several visionaries actually foresaw that and added tech like Peace of Mind or Orbs of Warding to their decks.
Leading the field overnight with perfect records of 9-0 were two players: Jaroslav Boucek and Yusuf Kemal Vefa, both on Bant Company. Hot on their heels were five players with technically undefeated 8-0-1 records: Thomas Holzinger, Fabio La Martina, Mathias De Momi, and William Pizzi. But the competition wasn’t far behind and included Pro Tour Eldritch Moon champion Lukas Blohon (U/R Alchemist), the Danish trio of Simon Nielsen, Tina Dahl, and Martin Dang (all on the same R/G Ramp deck), and plenty of other top players at 8-1 records.
Article
August 13 2016
Decks of Fire and Ice
by Tobi Henke
Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I've seen at this Prix Grand, I hold with those who favor … "and." Or something. In any case, the blue-red deck with Fevered...
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