
Four hundred and fifteen Pro Magic players descended on Pro Tour-Prague with drafting on the brain. Seeing as it was the debut of Dissension, there may have been that many unique draft strategies too.

With other players working complex theories on mana-fixing via bounce lands and signets to maximize the shininess of Ravnica's gold cards, Japan's Takuya Osawa played it cool and drafted a tried-and-true archetype of huge creatures and removal, spicing it up with the new Graft ability that came with the introduction of Dissension. Osawa's recipe couldn't have been any hotter, cooking up a win in the finals over Germany's Aaron Brackmann. The 21-year-old Japanese player dropped just one game all day, and the win marked the first for a Japanese player outside their own country.
Osawa's strategy involved dropping wurms of the Streetbreaker and Golgari Rot variety, making them even bigger and badder with a few Simic-enhanced grafts thanks to six Graft creatures. Two Pyromatics, a Seal of Doom, a Douse in Gloom, and a Char helped him clear up the board and deliver killing shots to the dome on his way to taking home the $40,000 first prize.
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
- Top 8 Finals (93 MB zip) | BitTorrent
- Top 8 Semifinals (59 MB zip) | BitTorrent
- Top 8 Quarterfinals (125 MB zip) | BitTorrent
- Top 8 Draft (33 MB zip) | BitTorrent
- Top 8 Pregame (14 MB zip) | BitTorrent
- Day One Wrap-up (8.3 MB zip)
- Day Two Wrap-up (7.9 MB zip)
- Day Three Wrap-up (6.7 MB zip)
- Welcome Back, Finkel (11 MB zip)
- Justin Gary Riding High at 5-0 (5 MB zip)
- Mike Donovan, Surprising Himself(5.3 MB zip)
- Olivier Shining Yet Again (4.5 MB zip)
- Terry Soh Says ‘Draft Blue’ (5.3 MB zip)
- Ben Goodman Delivers the Beats (3.9 MB zip)
- Time Out with Karsten the Fanatic (6.7 MB zip)
- Joe Crosby’s Good Day (5.1 MB zip)
- Around the Floor at Pro Tour-Prague (3.8 MB zip)
The Top 8 draft saw two distinct strategies play out regarding mana. While six players grabbed bounce lands and signets, Osawa and Brackmann eschewed that plan for Utopia Sprawls and Silhana Starfletchers. Many thought Antonino De Rosa came out of the draft with the top deck thanks to multiple Steamcore Weirds and Ogre Savants, but mana issues in the first two games put the U.S. National champion in too deep a hole against Shuhei Nakamura. Nakamura then fell to his countryman Osawa in the semis, after Osawa had steamrolled Joe Crosby in three quick games.
On the other side of the bracket, Rasmus Sibast, who had dropped only one match all weekend prior to Sunday, picked a bad time to see loss No. 2 come his way as he fell to Brackmann in the quarterfinals. Christian Hüttenberger, a German player in his first individual Pro Tour, defeated Quentin Martin in the other quarters before falling to Brackmann 3-0 in the semifinals.
While many questions about Ravnica-Guildpact-Dissension drafting were answered here in Prague, almost as many questions have been raised. Is Bloodgraft the dominant draft archetype? What are the best mana solutions? Is there key pack in the set? You can start answering those questions by replaying the Top 8 draft in the Draft Viewer. Follow how the Pros made their picks and design your strategy before your next draft!
The Top 8 bracket is determined randomly; seeds do not correspond with the final Swiss standings.
top 8 bracket

EVENT COVERAGE
- Finals: He's Grafty, but He's Just My Type
Takuya Osawa vs. Aaron Brackmannby Ted Knutson
- Semifinals: A German Showdown
Christian Huttenberger vs. Aaron Brackmannby Tim Willoughby
- Semifinals: Scattered into Dust
Shuhei Nakamura vs. Takuya Osawaby Scott Johns
- Decklists: The Top 8 Decks
by Event Coverage Staff
- Quarterfinals: Do the Twist
Christian Hüttenberger vs. Quentin Martinby Devin Low
- Quarterfinals: That Harsh Mistress Mana
Shuhei Nakamura vs. Antonino De Rosaby Ted Knutson
- Quarterfinals: Wurms Break out the Broom
Joseph Crosby vs. Takuya Osawaby Tim Willoughby
- Quarterfinals: Living the Dream
Rasmus Sibast vs. Aaron Brackmannby Hanno Terbuyken
- Draft Viewer: The Top 8 Draft
by Event Coverage Staff
- Top 8 Draft: Complete Pack List
by Event Coverage Staff
- Feature: The Top 8 Player Profiles
by Event Coverage Staff
- Round 15: Win and You're In
Antonino De Rosa vs. Justin Cheungby Ted Knutson
- Round 15: The Decider!
Shuhei Nakamura vs. Olivier Ruelby Tim Willoughby
- Draft Recap: Soh Stays on Target
by Devin Low
- Round 14: Good Start, Poor Finish
Paolo Vitor Da Rosa vs. Olivier Ruelby Ted Knutson
- Draft Viewer: Draft 5, Table 1
by Event Coverage Staff
- Feature: Taste the Rainbow: The Colors of RGD Draft
by Tim Willoughby
- Round 13: Brit Beats the Bluffs
Terry Soh vs. Quentin Martinby Tim Willoughby
- Round 13: Pods
by Event Coverage Staff
- Round 12: Tilt Takes a Terrible Toll
Joseph Crosby vs. Rasmus Sibastby Scott Johns
- Round 11: Mass Removal
Geoffrey Siron vs. Benjamin Caumesby Tim Willoughby
- Round 10: Will the Undefeated Fall?
Olivier Ruel vs. Rasmus Sibastby Scott Johns
- Feature: Colonialism and Magic
by Ted Knutson
- Feature: Picking Your Path: A Ravnica Block Draft Primer
by Scott Johns
- Round 9: Back on His Heels
Antonino De Rosa vs. Andre Muellerby Tim Willoughby
- Round 8: Flipping the Burn
Pierre Canali vs. Olivier Ruelby Ted Knutson
- Round 10: Pods
by Event Coverage Staff
- Info: Day 2 Country Breakdown
by Event Coverage Staff
- Info: Day 2 Player List
by Event Coverage Staff
- Feature: The Return of Jonny Magic
by Brian David-Marshall
- Round 7: Bluff Redux, or Swing for Two?
Frank Karsten vs. Terry Sohby Tim Willoughby
- Draft Recap: The Flow of Color at Table 1
by Ted Knutson and Tim Willoughby
- Round 7: Pods
by Event Coverage Staff
- Round 6: Silence is Deadly
Jeff "Ffej" Cunningham vs. Guillaume Wafo-Tapaby J. Evan Dean
- Round 5: Battle of the Bad Decks
Chris McDaniel vs. Craig Krempelsby Tim Willoughby
- Round 4: Defending the Home Turf
Osyp Lebedowicz vs. Arnost Zidekby Tim Willoughby
- Round 4: Thinking Things Through
Katsuhiro Mori vs. Olivier Ruelby J. Evan Dean
- Draft Recap: Walamies Finds an Angle
by Tim Willoughby
- Round 3: Masters of their Craft
Masashi Oiso vs. Anton Jonssonby Tim Willoughby
- Round 2: Prague's Favored Son Back in Action
Jakub Slemr vs. Maximilian Brachtby Scott Johns
- Round 1: Breakfast of Champions
Antoine Ruel vs. Justin Garyby Tim Willoughby
- Round 4: Pods
by Event Coverage Staff
- Draft Recap: Nuijten's Options Open
by Peter van den Brink
- Draft Recap: Reeves Still in Control
by Tim Willoughby
- Draft Recap: Hoaen's Pimp Hand is Way Strong
by Ted Knutson
- Info: Day 1 Country Breakdown
by Event Coverage Staff
- Info: Day 1 Player List
by Event Coverage Staff
- Feature: Can’t Hardly Wait: A Prague Playlist
by Brian David-Marshall
- Info: Fact Sheet
by Event Coverage Staff
FINAL TOP 8 STANDINGS
1. Takuya Osawa [JPN] | $40,000 | |
2. Aaron Brackmann [DEU] | $22,000 | |
3. Shuhei Nakamura [JPN] | $15,000 | |
4. Christian Huttenberger [DEU] | $14,000 | |
5. Rasmus Sibast [DNK] | $11,500 | |
6. Antonino De Rosa [USA] | $11,000 | |
7. Joe Crosby [USA] | $10,500 | |
8. Quentin Martin [ENG] | $10,500 |