After fifteen rounds of Standard, with a total of 1,238 others eliminated, only eight players remained in the running for the fame and the fortune, the title and the trophy. Find out more about these people here!
Name: Samuel VuillotAge: 27
Occupation: Web developer
Hometown: Tulle, France
Previous Magic accomplishments:
Champion Grand Prix Utrecht 2017, Top 48 Pro Tour Aether Revolt, Top 24 Pro Tour Ixalan.
What deck did you play this weekend, and why did you choose it?
Four-Color Temur, really strong deck.
What was the best card in your main deck, and why?
The Scarab God, that card just wins them all!
What was the best card out of your sideboard, and why?
Confiscation Coup. I'm beating you with your own cards!
Name: Louis BachaudAge: 21
Occupation: Student
Hometown: Lyon, France
Previous Magic accomplishments:
Won packs at Rhich Hagon's Trivia Game Show. Also, Bronze pro.
What deck did you play this weekend, and why did you choose it?
Sultai Energy. No time to test, and this was closest to what I was used to playing.
What was the best card in your main deck, and why?
Blossoming Defense. The deck is all about protecting key threats.
What was the best card out of your sideboard, and why?
Vraska's Contempt. Came in in every single matchup.
Name: Jean-Emmanuel DeprazAge: 22
Occupation: This year ... Magic
Hometown: Paris, France
Previous Magic accomplishments:
Two Grand Prix Top 16 finishes and two Pro Tours played.
What deck did you play this weekend, and why did you choose it?
Four-Color Energy. I'm a midrange guy.
What was the best card in your main deck, and why?
Glorybringer. It puts the opponent off-balance and it less expected now that most lists only have two.
What was the best card out of your sideboard, and why?
No card really stood out, it's more like a package of decent cards. I guess maybe Negate, in the matchup against God-Pharaoh's Gift.
Name: Valerio LuminatiAge: 21
Occupation: Employee
Hometown: Rovereto, Italy
Previous Magic accomplishments:
Two Grand Prix Top 64 finishes and some mediocre results.
What deck did you play this weekend, and why did you choose it?
Temur Energy. Less clunky than Four-Color Energy and the sideboard is great. Best deck in Standard.
What was the best card in your main deck, and why?
Promo version of Glorybringer. You always draw it at the right moment.
What was the best card out of your sideboard, and why?
Negate, allows you to win against anti-Temur decks.
Name: Alexander PrivalovAge: 29
Occupation: IT manager
Hometown: Moscow, Russia
Previous Magic accomplishments:
2008 national champion, many Pro Tour starts, but without any good finishes.
What deck did you play this weekend, and why did you choose it?
Mardu Vehicles, also known as "Mashinki!" I played this deck for a long time, since last season.
What was the best card in your main deck, and why?
Heart of Kiran on turn two, can easily make a game.
What was the best card out of your sideboard, and why?
Dusk // Dawn leads to interesting plays and can completely turn a game.
Name: Jedrek SzmydAge: 23
Occupation: Student/working at my local game store
Hometown: Poznan, Poland
Previous Magic accomplishments:
A few 12-3 finishes at GPs.
What deck did you play this weekend, and why did you choose it?
White-Blue God-Pharaoh's Gift, because it has three of the best features a Magic deck can have—blue card selection, lots of value, and a good matchup versus "kanister" [otherwise known as Piotr Głogowski].
What was the best card in your main deck, and why?
Hostile Desert and Angel of Sanctions. Both hit hard and are great versus energy decks.
What was the best card out of your sideboard, and why?
The dream team of Angel of Sanctions and Fairgrounds Warden, once again great versus energy.
Name: Grzegorz KowalskiAge: 26
Occupation: Wannabe Magic pro
Hometown: Wroclaw, Poland
Previous Magic accomplishments:
Three Grand Prix Top 8s, a few Pro Tour Top 16s.
What deck did you play this weekend, and why did you choose it?
Four-Color Energy. The black cards are powerful enough to make the splash worthwile. The matchup against Temur Energy is great.
What was the best card in your main deck, and why?
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship. It's just a better version of Glorybringer. I regret that I didn't realize this on time before Pro Tour Ixalan.
What was the best card out of your sideboard, and why?
Cartouche of Ambition. Never played this card before, but my teammates told me to on Friday evening. I trusted them without any testing and it won three matches today. Thanks guys!
Name: Hannes KeremAge: 30
Occupation: Sports trader
Hometown: Tallinn, Estonia
Previous Magic accomplishments:
Two Grand Prix Top 8s, one Pro Tour Top 8, one World Magic Cup Top 8, seven Nationals Top 8s.
What deck did you play this weekend, and why did you choose it?
Green-Blue Pummeler. Looked like it was good in theory. Didn't have much time to test everything.
What was the best card in your main deck, and why?
Not sure. I think without Electrostatic Pummeler the deck would not exist.
What was the best card out of your sideboard, and why?
The one Confiscation Coup I added at the last moment was basically the only card I boarded in. Not sure why some cards even are