McLaren Weaves Victory in Valencia

Pro tour Born of the gods 2014

SUNDAY VIDEO ARCHIVES

Finals:

Semifinals:

Quarterfinals:

Welcome to the Modern Magic world, Shaun McLaren. The 25-year-old Canadian best known as a Magic Online player defeated fellow countryman Jacob Wilson in the finals of Pro Tour Born of the Gods, earning the $40,000 first prize, a spot at the World Championship, and immediate promotion to Platinum status in the Pro Players Club. McLaren's WUR Control deck outmaneuvered Wilson's Melira Pod deck in a thrilling five-game match thanks to the timely use of Threads of Disloyalty. McLaren came back from a 2-1 deficit to win the last two games and secure the victory. Game 4 was particularly tense when it looked like Wilson might actually come back after losing all his lands to an ultimated Ajani Vengeant.

Spain continued to be a home away from home for Canadian Magic, as McLaren followed up on Alexander Hayne's win at Pro Tour Avacyn Restored last year in Barcelona. Expect to hear plenty from these three Canadians the rest of the season as all three jump into the hunt for Player of the Year.

The Pro Tour's return to Valencia opened with great anticipation on what the recent changes to the Modern Banned and Restricted List would do to the metagame. The absence of Deathrite Shaman opened up deck choices and made for a vibrant format that featured eight distinct decks in the Top 8. Couple that with the debut of Born of the Gods/Theros Booster Draft on the Pro Tour stage and the impressive performances by all the Top 8 players and you get a Pro Tour few will soon forget.

Top 8: Decks | Profiles
Day-by-Day Coverage: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Inside R&D: Planeswalkers and Gods | New Mechanics | Making Every Card Count
Pro Tour Player Statistics: By Event Type | By Format | Vs. Pro Tour Field
Team Overviews: GatheringMagic.com | ChannelFireball.com

top 8 bracket

Quaterfinals

(1) Shaun McLaren

(8) Tim Rivera

(4) Christian Seibold

(5) Patrick Dickmann

(2) Lee Shi Tian

(7) Anssi Alkio

(3) Jacob Wilson

(6) Chris Fennell

Semi-finals

Shaun McLaren, 2-1

Patrick Dickmann, 2-1

Anssi Alkio, 2-0

Jacob Wilson, 2-0

Finals

Shaun McLaren, 2-1

Jacob Wilson, 2-1

Champion

Shaun McLaren, 3-2

^{*Finals match is best 3-of-5; all other Top 8 matches best 2-of-3.}

Decks

by Event Coverage Staff
Top Modern Decks
by Event Coverage Staff
Top 8 Decks
by Brian David-Marshall
Video Deck Tech:
Blue Moon with Lee Shi Tian
by Brian David-Marshall
Video Deck Tech:
Hexproof Aurus with Raymond Tan
by Brian David-Marshall
Video Deck Tech:
Mono-Black Control with Arjan Van Leeuwen
by Brian David-Marshall
Video Deck Tech:
Living End with Michael Hetrick
by Randy Buehler
Video Deck Tech:
Tarmo-Twin with Patrick Dickmann
by Zac Hill
Video Deck Tech:
Jund with Willy Edel
by Zac Hill
Video Deck Tech:
Amulet Control with Matthias Hunt
by Zac Hill
Video Deck Tech:
UWR with Jeremy Dezani
by Zac Hill
Video Deck Tech:
Pod with Conley Woods

sunday

by Blake Rasmussen
Top 5 Cards
Pro Tour Born of the Gods
by Nate Price
Finals:
Vengeance
Shaun McLaren (W/U/R Control) vs.
Jacob Wilson (Melira-Pod)
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
Four Things we Learned about Modern
by Blake Rasmussen
Semifinals:
Adventures in Mana
Patrick Dickmann (U/R/g Twin) vs.
Shaun McLaren (W/U/R Control)
by Mike Rosenberg and Nate Price
Feature:
Pro Tour Born of the Gods Metagame Analysis
by Nate Price
Semifinals:
The Perfect Crime
Anssi Alkio (U/R Twin) vs.
Jacob Wilson (Melira-Pod)
by Blake Rasmussen
Quarterfinals:
Redirect Ramifications
Patrick Dickmann (U/R/g Twin) vs. Christian Seibold (Affinity)
by Nate Price
Quarterfinals:
Portent of Betrayal
Shaun McLaren (W/U/R Control) vs.
Tim Rivera (W/U/R Twin)
by Blake Rasmussen
Quarterfinals:
Chris Fennell (Storm) vs.
Jacob Wilson (Melira-Pod)
by Nate Price
Quarterfinals:
Tap Out
Anssi Alkio (U/R Twin) vs.
Lee Shi Tian (Blue Moon)
by Event Coverage Staff
Top 8 Profiles
by Event Coverage Staff
Top 8 Decks

saturday

by Rich Hagon and Brian David-Marshall
Video Feature:
Day Two Wrap-up
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
And the Leading Team Is...
by Nate Price
Round 16:
One Leg at a Time
Saul Aguado (Hexproof Auras) vs.
(14) Alexander Hayne (U/R Twin)
by Craig Gibson and Mike Rosenberg
Feature:
Pro Tour Born of the Gods Photo Essay
by Simon Goertzen
Round 15:
The Final Points
Chris Fennell (Storm) vs.
Dominik Prosek (Burn)
by Nate Price
Feature:
Team MTG Mint Card
by Blake Rasmussen
Round 14:
A Flash Bash
Tim Rivera (U/R/W Twin) vs
Jingwei Zheng (W/U/R Flash)
by Ines Alcolea Illopis
Feature:
Esther Morena Morales
by Nate Price
Feature:
Shooting the Moon
by Simon Goertzen
Feature:
Sideboarding in Modern
by Blake Rasmussen
Round 13:
An Aura of Uncertainty
Raymond Tan (Hexproof Auras) vs.
Jacob Wilson (Melira Pod)
by Nate Price
Round 12:
Searing Blood
Shaun McLaren (W/U/R Flash) vs.
Lee Shi Tian (Blue Moon)
by Simon Goertzen
Round 10:
Seeing Red
Nico Bohny vs. Melissa DeTora (Draft)
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
The One Percent
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
A Fae's Life
by Nate Price
Feature:
Day Two Modern Metagame Breakdown
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
Drafting with Michael Hetrick
by Event Coverage Staff
Draft Viewer:
Draft 2, Pod 5
by Event Coverage Staff
Pods:
Draft 2

friday

by Rich Hagon and Brian David-Marshall
Video Feature:
Day One Wrap-up
by Nate Price
Round 8:
Dead End
Patrick Dickmann (U/R/g Twin) vs.
Michael Hetrick (Living End)
by Nate Price
Feature:
Released Back into the Wild
by Blake Rasmussen
Round 7:
Obliteration
(3) Reid Duke (B/G Midrange) vs.
(13) Makihito Mihara (Kiki-Pod)
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
A Courser of Action
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
There's No "Team" in "I"
by Nate Price
Round 5:
Blood in the Water
Kai Budde (Storm) vs.
Alex Sittner (Faeries)
by Ines Alcolea with Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
Spain's Joel Calafell on the Pro Tour
by Nate Price
Feature:
Pro Tour Born of the Gods Modern Metagame Breakdown
by Blake Rasmussen
Round 4:
Slippery Slopes
Michael Hetrick (Living End) vs.
Stephen Mann (Hexproof Auras)
by Nate Price
Feature:
Modern Glossary
The Big Decks of Pro Tour Born of the Gods
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
Five up and Five down in Theros
by Blake Rasmussen
Round 1:
Getting a Grip
Olle Rade vs. (23) Craig Wescoe (Draft)
by Nate Price
Feature:
The More Things Change…
by Event Coverage Staff
Draft Viewer:
Draft 1, Pod 28
by Event Coverage Staff
Pods:
Draft 1
by Blake Rasmussen
Feature:
Know Their Roles
by Rich Hagon and Brian David-Marshall
Video Feature:
Pro Tour Born of the Gods Preview
by Rich Hagon
Feature:
Six of the Best - A Pro Tour Born of the Gods Preview
by Brian David-Marshall
The Week That Was:
A Column You Say...
by Luis Scott-Vargas
Top Decks:
Mastering Modern
by Jacob Van Lunen
Perilous Research:
A New Cannon for Modern
by Brian David-Marshall
The Week That Was:
Pro Tour Born of the Gods Coverage Roundtable
by Brian David-Marshall
The Week That Was:
Marvelous Team-Ups
by Wizards of the Coast
Information:
Pro Tour Born of the Gods Event Information

Top 8 Final Standing


1. Shaun McLaren	$40,000
2. Jacob Wilson	$20,000
3. Patrick Dickmann	$12,500
4. Anssi Alkio	$12,500
5. Lee Shi Tian	$10,000
6. Christian Seibold	$10,000
7. Chris Fennell	$10,000
8. Tim Rivera	$10,000