Jon Finkel
Age: 37
Hometown: Fanwood, NJ
Occupation: Hedge Fund Manager
Limited Record: 6-0
Constructed Record: 8-1-1
Previous Magic Accomplishments: 16 Pro Tour Top 8s, 3 wins.
Did You Team up with anyone to practice for this Pro Tour? Who?
CFB: The Pantheon
What archetypes did you draft? Which was your favorite?
Green-Blue Clues, White-Black Vampires. The second deck was better.
What Standard deck are you playing and why?
Seasons Past. Because my teammates thought it was better than I did.
What is the most terrifying card from Shadows over Innistrad to see on the other side of the battlefield?
No idea.
What would winning the Pro Tour mean to you?
I'd only need three more to catch Kai for wins.
Shota Yasooka
Age: 31
Hometown: Tokyo
Occupation: Pro Player
Limited Record: 5-1
Constructed Record: 7-2-1
Previous Magic Accomplishments: Player of the Year 2006, Pro Tour Charleston 2006 1st, Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir 2nd Place.
Did You Team up with anyone to practice for this Pro Tour? Who?
Hareruya Pros
What archetypes did you draft? Which was your favorite?
Red-Green Beast, Black-Green Delirium. It wasn't my favorite.
What Standard deck are you playing and why?
Esper Dragons. The deck felt good.
What is the most terrifying card from Shadows over Innistrad to see on the other side of the battlefield?
What would winning the Pro Tour mean to you?
I would be happy, but I would like to win more.
Andrea Mengucci
Age: 23
Hometown: Senigallia (Italy)
Occupation: Student / Writer for ChannelFireball
Limited Record: 4-2
Constructed Record: 8-2
Previous Magic Accomplishments: Top 8 PT Journey into Nyx, Top 16 PT Dragons of Tarkir, World Magic Cup Winner 2015
Did You Team up with anyone to practice for this Pro Tour? Who?
Yes, MTGMintcard. I have to thank Katsuhiro Mori more than anyone else.
What archetypes did you draft? Which was your favorite?
Red-Black and Red-White. I liked my Red-White with five Thraben Inspector.
What Standard deck are you playing and why?
Bant Company, because it was the best deck and my team and I haven't come up with anything new.
What is the most terrifying card from Shadows over Innistrad to see on the other side of the battlefield?
Sorin, Grim Nemesis, because it is the best new Planeswalker.
What would winning the Pro Tour mean to you?
A dream come true, and seeing all my efforts realized.
Brad Nelson
Age: 29
Hometown: Roanoke, VA
Occupation: Starcitygames.com Content Producer
Limited Record: 5-1
Constructed Record: 8-2
Previous Magic Accomplishments: Player of the Year 2010, 2 PT Top 8s, 12 GP Top 8s. Winner of all Pie Bets.
Did You Team up with anyone to practice for this Pro Tour? Who?
Team EUreka.
What archetypes did you draft? Which was your favorite?
Blue-Black Zombies and Black-Green-White Humans. 40-card formats are never may favorite.
What Standard deck are you playing and why?
Red-Green Goggles. The Pyromancer's Goggles shell is amazing at beating creature decks, but blue doesn't add much. The green gives the deck more consistency and a better sideboard.
What is the most terrifying card from Shadows over Innistrad to see on the other side of the battlefield?
What would winning the Pro Tour mean to you?
Luis Salvatto
Age: 27
Hometown: Lujan, Argentina
Occupation: Chicken Businessman
Limited Record: 6-0
Constructed Record: 6-4
Previous Magic Accomplishments: Top 8 Grand Prix Santiago 2013; Super Sunday Series Championship Champion 2014, SSS Semifinalist 2015
Did You Team up with anyone to practice for this Pro Tour? Who? First time with DEX Army. Tulio Jaudi created the deck, Marcio Carvalho gave me some advice and taught me a lot about the draft format. And Sebastian Pozzo played with me all the time before.
What archetypes did you draft? Which was your favorite?
Green-White Human-Werewolves
White-Blue Spirits Old School: Flyers and Walls
What Standard deck are you playing and why?
Red-White Goggles. When Tulio showed me the deck, I was fascinated. Then I tested other decks, but didn't find anything I liked, so I took Tulio's deck.
What is the most terrifying card from Shadows over Innistrad to see on the other side of the battlefield?
Avacyn...
What would winning the Pro Tour mean to you?
Everything. I've always dreamt about this. It took a few years to become qualified, but now, I can't believe this!
Special Thanks to all my team from Argentina, especially to Martin Quiroga, my brother in Magic!
Steve Rubin
Age: 24
Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Occupation: Magic Player, High School Ultimate Frisbee coach, part-time student
Limited Record: 4-2
Constructed Record: 8-1-1
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
3 Grand Prix Top 8s
Did You Team up with anyone to practice for this Pro Tour? Who?
Team Face-to-Face Games
What archetypes did you draft? Which was your favorite?
Blue-Green & Black-Red Madness
What Standard deck are you playing and why?
Green-White Tokens; it tested well and went under the radar.
What is the most terrifying card from Shadows over Innistrad to see on the other side of the battlefield?
What would winning the Pro Tour mean to you?
It would be a great accomplishment. It would make me appreciate all the time I've spent playing Magic.
Seth Manfield
Age: 25
Hometown: Laurel, Maryland
Occupation: Dad, Magic player
Limited Record: 5-1
Constructed Record: 8-2
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
2015 World Champion; Pro Tour Fate Reforged Top 8; 3 Grand Prix wins
Did You Team up with anyone to practice for this Pro Tour? Who?
Team East West Bowl
What archetypes did you draft? Which was your favorite?
Blue-Red Spells and Sultai Good Stuff
My favorite was Blue-Red Spells
What Standard deck are you playing and why?
Esper Control. It is good versus Bant CoCo and Humans.
What is the most terrifying card from Shadows over Innistrad to see on the other side of the battlefield?
What would winning the Pro Tour mean to you?
After having won Worlds, now it's is the most important accomplishment in Magic which is eluding me.
Luis Scott-Vargas
Age: 33
Hometown: Oakland, California
Occupation: Vice President, Channelfireball.com
Limited Record: 5-1
Constructed Record: 8-2
Previous Magic Accomplishments:
3 National Team Appearances
6 Pro Tour Top 8s
15 Grand Prix Top 8s
Did You Team up with anyone to practice for this Pro Tour? Who?
Team ChannelFireball and Team Ultra PRO.
What archetypes did you draft? Which was your favorite?
Black-Red Vampires and Blue-Red-White Triple Fevered Visions.
My favorite of the two is exactly the one you think it is.
What Standard deck are you playing and why?
Black-Green Aristocrats. It's intrinsically powerful and proactive, plus very fun to play.
What is the most terrifying card from Shadows over Innistrad to see on the other side of the battlefield?
What would winning the Pro Tour mean to you?
That I couldn't complain about my bad luck for weeks (days).
Getting 1st is a large part of why I play, so it would mean a ton.