Are the Eldrazi Winning the Battle for Zendikar?

Modern is a pretty crazy format. No matter how hard Wizards of the Coast tries, it seems that someone always finds a way to win a game by Turn 3. Sometimes, we see it happen with Amulet Bloom. Other times, it's with Hulk Footsteps. With the right draw, we've seen Storm do it many a time. So seeing Wes Blanchard hoist the trophy at #SCGDFW is pretty shocking, given how relatively fair his G/R Aggro deck looked. But that assumes that attacking with Wild Nacatl is relatively fair. Given the results of #SCGDFW and GP Porto Alegre, maybe the little cat from Shards of Alara isn't as innocent as we all thought. Remember—Wild Nacatl was banned in Modern at one point, so to see it re-emerge to the winner's circle can't be that big of a surprise. But to see it arrive there with Burning‑Tree Emissary, Flinthoof Boar, and Vexing Devil? Now that one even surprised me! What surprises are we in for at #SCGPHILLY? That's a great question. If #SCGDFW is any indication, outside of the box thinking is the name of the game, and with our Standard format evolving rapidly, it could be something outrageous that gets the job done. Matthias Hunt, Patrick Sullivan, Nick Miller, and the rest of the @SCGLive crew will be bringing you all action as the Road to the Players' Championship continues from The City of Brotherly Love. If you can't make it to #SCGPHILLY, be sure to join us at twitch.tv/scglive for all the Standard action you can handle! — Cedric Phillips, Online Content Coordinator Wesley Blanchard beats down competition with G/R Aggro! John Fuqua takes down trophy, thanks to Abzan Aggro! Miracle Man Joe Lossett spins his way to victory!     A Tale Of Four Formats Sam Black will be playing a lot Magic over the next handful of weeks, and it will come across four different formats. Does he like Jeskai Black as much as everyone else in Standard? Can Jace, Vryn's Prodigy compete in Modern and Legacy? How does he plan on solving BFZ Sealed for #GPAtlanta? Read along and find out!   GP Atlanta: 11 Days Out – Event Overview! The countdown to #GPAtlanta has begun! Over the next two weeks, Nick Miller, Ken Crocker, and many more will be bringing you a breakdown of everything to expect. Want to know how to get both the Seek the Wilds and Zur the Enchanter playmats? Curious about our Guest of Honor, John Avon? Look no further!   BFZ Undefeated Sealed Deck Breakdown Speaking of getting ready for #GPAtlanta, Ari Lax is here to get you ready for Day One of Grand Prix competition. Sealed deck is always a difficult format and BFZ Sealed is no different. This week, the Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir champion examines a handful of undefeated sealed decks to see what they all have in common.     In Round 15 of #SCGDFW, we see that Battle for Zendikar is already having a huge impact on Modern. Sam Berkenbile took his Scapeshift deck up against Ray Montes and G/R Tron, a matchup that is usually considered quite favorable for Scapeshift. But some key Eldrazi may have turned that theory on its head. Watch as Ray Montes casts Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger and Void Winnower in a match you "can't even" miss!   Check Out the SCG.com Organized Play updates! Choose your Grand Prix Atlanta Experience now! Order BFZ sealed product and Standard singles!   After Pro Tour Battle for Zendikar, it was very clear that Jeskai Black was the breakout deck of the tournament. Even though it didn't win the event, Jon Finkel's and Owen Turtenwald's version of the deck was leagues ahead of previous versions. The deck would see a huge uptick in popularity after the Pro Tour, and Mantis Rider and friends would go on to crush Grand Prix Quebec City. Standard has a way of resetting itself though and this past weekend was no different. Siege Rhino would once again prove victorious, as Abzan Aggro would win both GP Indianapolis and the Standard Premier IQ at #SCGDFW. Only one Jeskai Black deck was to be found in either Top 8, and a number of brand new decks would show up as well. Raymod Perez Jr. almost won the Grand Prix with an innovative Esper Tokens deck, while David Phelps made Top 8 with an awesome looking Bant Hardened Scales deck. At #SCGDFW, Justin Rouse made Top 8 with a very interesting Four-Color Rally deck and Darrell Loya made Top 8 with Christian Calcano's U/B Aristocrats deck. There was also a smattering of Abzan Aggro and G/W Megamorph decks as well. While this is a very interesting and wide subsection of decks, they all share one major factor in common: They have a lot of trouble defeating a resolved Ugin, the Spirit Dragon. G/R Eldrazi by Jim Davis Maindeck 1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon 4 Sanctum of Ugin 4 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods 1 Mountain 14 Forest 1 Blighted Woodland 4 Sylvan Scrying 4 Map the Wastes 4 Nissa's Pilgrimage 4 Explosive Vegetation 2 Hedron Archive 4 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon 4 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger     2 Dragonlord Atarka 4 Rattleclaw Mystic 3 Hangarback Walker Sideboard 4 Jaddi Offshoot 2 Whisperwood Elemental 2 Seismic Rupture 2 Winds of Qal Sisma 2 Void Winnower 3 Rending Volley   I'm a big fan of fantasy sports, and one of the best ways to predict future success is to look at the players who just missed out on a huge finish the previous week. Jake Mondello showed us the power of G/R Eldrazi a few weeks ago, and the deck had a number of near misses last week. This particular list is Kevin Michael's, who just missed making Top 8 of GP Indianapolis, and there were two more copies of the deck in the Top 8 of the #SCGDFW Standard Premier IQ. Make no mistake about it; this deck is fantastic at going over the top of the formats many midrange decks. This deck is built to race to Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, and most of the format is not equipped to handle that. Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger provides an excellent backup plan, mopping up whatever Ugin, the Spirit Dragon missed. Sanctum of Ugin is a perfect land for a ramp deck, as it provides a stream of huge threats. Finally, Dragonlord Atarka is as good as it ever was. I also like Michael's addition of Rattleclaw Mystic to the maindeck. With red-based aggro decks on the decline, Jaddi Offshoot loses some of its effectiveness as a blocker. While Rattleclaw Mystic can be killed, your opponent will usually have to take a turn off playing a threat to do so, and this can buy you time for more ramping. Any time Rattleclaw Mystic lives and you can play a turn three Explosive Vegetation, you are in fantastic shape. Like G/R Tron in Modern, this deck has an extremely powerful plan and executes it very well. No deck goes bigger, and with Ugin, the Spirit Dragon as powerful and as well positioned as ever, no deck seems better. — Jim Davis, @JimDavisMTG   After some detours into Legacy and Modern, the Road to the Players' Championship will make its next stop at #SCGPHILLY for some Battle for Zendikar Standard action. With only four events remaining in Season Four, each Open Series event has massive implications for the season-end tournament, as players continue to jockey for position on our Leaderboard. There are only three Open Series points between Tom Ross, the last player into the Players' Championship, and Rudy Briksza, the first player out. Given these razor-thin margins, every tournament, every match, every game matters to those on the Road to the Players' Championship. And the whole landscape could change over a weekend—for example, if Chris Andersen were to win #SCGPHILLY, he would shoot up the Leaderboard into an at-large bid—and he's currently in 14th place! Speaking of dark horse candidates, some of our players got themselves in better position this past weekend to make a run at the Players' Championship. Matthew Tickal moved from 17th place to 16th place. While this may seem minor, it means that Matthew Tickal will have two byes at his next Open Series event, putting him that much closer to accumulating more Open Series points for an at-large bid. Gerard Fabiano has been quietly moving up the Leaderboard due to his #SCGStates and IQ finishes, moving up two spots from sixth to fourth overall. With the StarCityGames.com® Open Series focusing on Standard this weekend at #SCGPHILLY, we are sure to see many potential contenders for the Players' Championship out in full force. Can't make it to the city of Brotherly Love, but want to be a part of the action? Be sure to follow along at twitch.tv/scglive as we continue down the Road to the Players' Championship!       Friday, November 6   Invitational Qualifiers Newington, CT - Your Friendly Neighborhood Tabletop Shop Somerville, NJ - The Only Game in Town Springfield, VA - Curio Cavern Saturday, November 7   Invitational Qualifiers Augusta, GA - Cardboard Castle Games Denton, TX - More Fun Game Center East Windsor, CT - Ice Imports Four Oaks, NC - Hobby Invasion Lexington, KY - Legendary Games Pensacola, FL - TBS Comics Prairieville, LA - Gamers Paradise Princeton, WV - Crit Hit Comics & Games Roanoke, VA - Star City Game Center South Saint Paul, MN - Level Up Games Statesville, NC - R&B Games Tazewell, TN - SuperPowerPlay  PPTQ (IQ Prizes) Evansville, IN - The Gaming Guild 5K Premier Invitational Qualifiers Chicago, IL - Nerd Rage Gaming  1K Super Invitational Qualifiers Denver, CO - All C's Gaming Arena Sunday, November 8   Invitational Qualifiers Austin, TX - Whose Turn Is It? Games Columbus, OH - Comic Town Denton, TX - More Fun Game Center East Windsor, CT - Ice Imports Findlay, OH - Post Board Gaming Granite Falls, NC - Warlords Games Littleton, CO - Black Gold Naperville, IL - Dean's Dugout Roanoke, VA - Star City Game Center Stockbridge, GA - Book End  PPTQ (IQ Prizes) Claremont, NH - Triple Play Sellersburg, IN - Silver Creek Game Shop  GPT (IQ Prizes) Gatlinburg, TN - Gamers Link Wilmington, NC - Cape Fear Games     If you would like to unsubscribe and stop receiving these emails please click here.

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