TOP 8 COVERAGE
Jeskai had been one of the biggest stories to come out of Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir, but at the following Grand Prix in Los Angeles the deck shocked the Standard world by its absence from the top ranks. Nevertheless, Slovak Matej Zatlkaj, a veteran of multiple Pro Tour Top 8s, was adamant: The deck was still good, he claimed even in the early rounds of Saturday, and if no one else was going to prove it, he would do it himself. And prove it he did, piloting the deck all the way to victory.
Over the course of the tournament, we also saw the rise of Sultai, which in turn found its perfect foil in the form of another graveyard-based deck: a green-black build with Eidolon of Blossoms and Doomwake Giant put two players into the Top 8. A testament to the diversity of the current Standard format, the Top 8 further included one Mono-Red and one Abzan deck, one copy of the aforementioned Sultai deck, a Temur deck that, piloted by Einar Baldvinsson, made it all the way to the finals, and two Jeskai decks.
And in the end, Jeskai, in the capable hands of Zatlkaj, defeated all comers. He gave away but one game in the whole Top 8, a Top 8 which also included well-known pros Lukas Blohon and Christian Seibold. Congratulations to Matej Zatlkaj, champion of Grand Prix Stockholm 2014!
Article
October 26 2014
TOP 5 CARDS
by Frank Karsten
Here are five cards that sum up some of the biggest stories of the weekend.
5. Riddle of Lightning
The new delve spells from Khans of Tarkir have already left their mark on...
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DAY 2 COVERAGE
Welcome to Day 2 of Grand Prix Stockholm 2014! Yesterday morning, 1,043 players had entered the tournament, a number reduced to but 123 by the end of the day. These 123—everyone with a record of 7-2 or better—return today for an additional six rounds of Standard and will try to clinch a berth among the Top 8.
Who will make it? Three players finished Saturday with perfect records of 9-0: Pro Tour Born of the Gods quarterfinalist Christian Seibold from Germany as well as Oskar Sköld from Sweden and Einar Baldvinsson from Iceland. With records of 8-1, players like Matej Zatlkaj, Lukas Blohon, Anssi Alkio, and Kenny Öberg aren't far behind however, and Valentin Mackl, Martin Jůza, Denniz Rachid, (10) Stanislav Cifka, Wenzel Krautmann, Florian Koch, Ondrej Strasky, Patrick Dickmann, Pierre Dagen, and Max Sjöblom at 7-2 can't be discounted either.
We have already seen some new developments in the Standard format yesterday, like the rise of Sultai and aggressive two-color decks based in white. We will certainly see more today, when we take a deeper look into the metagame, when we follow the best players on their way to the Top 8, and when a new champion is crowned. Join us, both on text and on live video, as we bring you all the news, all the action, and all the excitement straight from the battlefield of Grand Prix Stockholm 2014!
Article
October 26 2014
ROUND 14 FEATURE MATCH
by Tobi Henke
In this, the penultimate round before the Top 8, Matej Zatlkaj met Max Sjöblom. Both have one previous Grand Prix Top 8 to their name, with one additional Top 8 at the Pro Tour for Sjöblom and...
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Article
October 26 2014
QUICK QUESTION #5
by Tobi Henke
We asked a couple of players how to beat Abzan, arguably the biggest deck in the format and the one match-up one absolutely has to have a plan against …
How do You Beat Abzan?
Thoralf...
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DAY 1 COVERAGE
Day 1 of Grand Prix Stockholm 2014 is in the books. 1,043 players had entered the tournament this morning and, through nine grueling rounds of Standard, the field has now been reduced to but 123.
Leading the pack overnight are three players with perfect records of 9-0: Pro Tour Born of the Gods Top 8 competitor Christian Seibold from Germany as well as Oskar Sköld from Sweden and Einar Baldvinsson from Iceland. These three may have a head start over the competition tomorrow, but well-known players like Matej Zatlkaj, Lukas Blohon, Anssi Alkio, Kenny Öberg (all 8-1), Valentin Mackl, Martin Jůza, Denniz Rachid, (10) Stanislav Cifka, Wenzel Krautmann, Florian Koch, Ondrej Strasky, Patrick Dickmann, Pierre Dagen, Max Sjöblom (all 7-1) are not far behind.
We've already seen some new developments in the Standard format today, like the rise of Sultai and aggressive two-color decks based in white. We will certainly see more tomorrow, when we take a deeper look into the metagame, when we follow the best players on their way to the Top 8, and when a new champion is crowned. Until then, good night from Stockholm!
Article
October 25 2014
BUBBLE MATCH ROUNDUP
by Frank Karsten
It's bubble-match time once again! If you're 6-2 going into Round 9, you need to win the last match of the day to earn your spot into the second day of competition. Amongst the competitors facing...
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