Vuillot Goes Ballistic in Utrecht

TOP 8 COVERAGE

Samuel Vuillot, piloting an exceptionally strong Mardu Ballista deck-—basically Mardu Vehicles with Walking Ballista instead of Veteran Motorist and a suite of planeswalkers and Oaths in the sideboard-—took the trophy at Grand Prix Utrecht 2017!

Earlier on Saturday morning, a crowd of 1,232 players arrived in Utrecht to play in the main event, and we've had a great weekend all around. In terms of Standard developments, some of the biggest stories to come out of this tournament were the rise of Temur Dynavolt Tower, the solidification as Mardu Ballista as the best Mardu variant, and the staggering amount of rogue decks that found success over the weekend.

The three Mardu Ballista players in the Top 8 were Fabrizio Campanino, who managed to clinch back-to-back European Grand Top 8s, and the French duo of Samuel Vuillot and Alexandre Habert, who relied on Elliott Boussaud's deck building prowess. The Top 8 matches were hard-fought, but in the end, there was only one player remaining.

Congratulations to Samuel Vuillot, champion of Grand Prix Utrecht 2017!

Day 2 Coverage

Yesterday, the original field of 1,232 players had been whittled down to just 398 after nine rounds of Swiss. We saw a diverse Standard where players had discovered numerous ways to attack Green-Black Constrictor. Among the Day 2 decks, you would find Metalwork Colossus, Paradox Engine, Commencement of Festivities, Dynavolt Tower, Aetherworks Marvel, Stitchwing Skaab, Whir of Invention, Hidden Stockpile, and many other brews.

Overnight, five players sat on top of the standings with perfect 9-0 records:

• Yu Pan Jacky Chan (Jund Aggro)
• Ondřej Stráský (Temur Dynavolt Tower)
• Danny de Rooij (Jeskai Saheeli)
• Samuel Vuillot (Mardu Ballista)
• Fabrizio Campanino (Mardu Ballista)

Hot on their heels were a lot of players at 8-1, including most notably (25) Joel Larsson and (1) Márcio Carvalho. Six more rounds would be left to play before the cut to the Top 8.

Day 1 Coverage

Earlier this morning, 1,232 players arrived at the Jaarbeurs Utrecht to show off their skills and decks in Standard. After nine rounds of Swiss, 398 of them had made the cut for Day 2, including five players at 9-0.