| I've covered a lot of tournaments on the Open Series, and yet I've never seen anything like what I saw at #SCGNJ last weekend. Dylan Donnegan. Reid Duke. Chris Andersen. Ross Merriam. Caleb Scherer. Those are five names you're probably familiar with. Tom Keating? Not so much. But if you watched #SCGNJ last weekend, you're familiar with him now because Keating beat all five of those players on his way to becoming an Open Series champion. That's a group with over 30 Open Series Top 8s and 2 Invitational wins that Keating got through with his Punishing Abzan deck, showing that Legacy is more diverse than people give it credit for. Speaking of diversity, that's the name of the game with Standard right now. With the fetchland + Battle land mana base out in full force, anything is possible this coming weekend at #SCGDEN. I'll be joined by Patrick Sullivan, Nick Miller, and the rest of the @SCGLive crew in The Mile High City, as we watch 18 rounds of Standard action during the last Open of Season Four before the #SCGINVI in Las Vegas. Due to how close the race is to the Players' Championship, this is an event you can't miss! If you can't join us at #SCGDEN, be sure to check out all the action at twitch.tv/scglive! — Cedric Phillips, Online Content Coordinator | | |  |  | If You Read Only One Vintage Article This Year... Standard, Modern, and Legacy are Patrick Chapin's specialty, but he's been known to dabble in Vintage from time to time. Since the Vintage Challenge just took place on Magic Online, now seems like a good time to dig in to some old school Magic. So buckle up for all the Mishra's Workshops and Time Vaults that you can handle! |  | Mardu Blue And Grixis With Jeskai Black trending downward in Standard, is there another deck that can take its place at the top of the metagame? Michael Majors believes that Mardu Blue is the deck to do so and explains why it might be the best deck for #SCGDEN and the #SCGINVI. Time to dust off those Soulfire Grand Masters, my friends |  | Video: UW Tron In Modern 3 Urza's Mine? 3 Urza's Power Plant? No copies of Condescend? What is this madness!? This madness is Gerry Thompson playing U/W Tron. If you haven't seen his build of the deck, now is the time. G/R Tron isn't the only big mana deck in Modern, and U/W Tron might just be the right place to be for the #SCGINVI. | | | Whenever @SCGLive covers Legacy, you can expect there to be some unconventional decks on camera. However, finding one in the semifinals of an Open is another story! Watch as Tom Keating pilots his innovative Punishing Abzan deck against Ross Merriam and Storm for a spot in the finals of #SCGNJ! |  | | This ain't your granddad's Burn deck anymore. Standard is so remarkably diverse with tons of powerful options at your disposal. Decks run the gamut from control (Esper Dragons) to combo (Four-Color rally) with everything in between. There are plenty of weapons with which one could grind an opponent to death.. Or… you know… You could just kill them on Turn 4. Right now, Atarka Red seems to be very well-positioned in the Standard metagame and would be my deck of choice at #SCGDEN. Esper Dragons won a Grand Prix in Brussels, and the response to it was Takuma Morofuji taking down Grand Prix Kobe with Atarka Red. The deck further proved its worth as Mark Evaldi won the #SCGNJ Premier IQ, which contained three copies of the Esper Dragon menace. | | Atarka Red is such a strong choice right now because it has one of the best (if not the best) Game 1 win percentages in all of Standard. This allows you to be extremely flexible in regards to how you sideboard, knowing your opponent will bring in all sorts of hate for your game plan. The fundamental difference from traditional burn decks is that Atarka Red allows you to play as both an incredibly agile aggro deck and a combo deck, thanks to Temur Battle Rage and Become Immense. While many players are trying to figure out the best strategy for Jace, Vryn's Prodigy mirrors via Painful Truths and Kolaghan's Command, Atarka Red players are trying to figure out what kind of soft drink they're going to get after beating someone who died with two Dragonlord Ojutais in their hand. Concession lines can be a really bad matchup for Atarka Red.  
These two creatures make a brutal tandem that allow for early game aggression while offering late game card advantage. Monastery Swiftspear gives you a great return on the numerous tempo-oriented spells this deck plays, and the early damage from it can back your opponent into a corner quickly. Abbot, simply put, may be one of the most impressive two-drop red creatures ever created.  
One of the best changes this deck has made is reincorporating token producing sorceries to go wide on decks like Abzan Aggro, G/W Megamorph, or Esper Tokens. Previously, it was trying to win with more creature-centric builds and slower, clunkier spells like Exquisite Firecraft. With a multitude of goblins, your odds of pulling off a lethal Temur Battle Rage + Become Immense combo increases exponentially.  
The sideboard has the usual staples that you've come to expect in the form of Roast and Outpost Siege, but Mark decided to stay fairly close to Takuma's GP-winning list and keep both Chandra and Rending Volley. Volley as a four-of is fantastic in this format, giving you ways to deal with creatures from Anafenza all the way up to Dragonlord Ojutai! 
One small but significant change Mark made was the addition of Boiling Earth over Act of Treason from Takuma's version. There are almost certainly going to be less Eldrazi Ramp strategies in a room than the emerging token decks which players seem to be very fond of. Grand Prix Kobe saw two distinct types of token decks in the form of Esper and B/W. This can be a somewhat difficult matchup, as they are able to match your ability to swarm, so an ace in the hole like Boiling Earth can equalize their threat and aid in a lethal attack. Whether you choose to play with it or against it at #SCGDEN, be sure to be ready for Atarka Red. | | So much can change in just one weekend on the Road to the Players' Championship. Whether it is winning a star-studded IQ or a Top 8 performance at an Open Series event, every point counts for those trying to claim a spot in our year-end tournament. With only one more Open Series event left in Season Four, every match, every game, and every turn is more important than ever. #SCGNJ was a prime example of just how important each turn can be. Ross Merriam was only a couple turns away from making the Finals of #SCGNJ. He came up a little short in the semis against Tom Keating, but received 15 Open Points for his Top 4 effort. He also won an IQ, giving him 20 Open Points for the week, launching him five spots into third place on the Leaderboard. While Ross hasn't been quite as involved on the Open Series lately, he has been racking up wins on the IQ circuit when he wasn't at Pro Tours and Grand Prix. However, Ross shouldn't feel too comfortable in third, as only 20 Open Points separate him from the last person qualifying for the Players' Championship, Tom Ross. |  | | Speaking of Tom Ross, he has traded places with Eric Hawkins this week as the last person qualified for the Players' Championship. While he did not make huge waves at #SCGNJ, he did take second place at an IQ the day before the event. That event was a bit stronger than your usual IQ, however, as Joe Lossett, Rudy Briksza, Matthew Tickal, and Joe Bernal joined him in that IQ Top 8. Furthermore, Todd Anderson, Chris Andersen, and Eric Hawkins were also in attendance. Imagine going to your local store and seeing that murderers' row of competitors! One more Open Series. One more Invitational. That's all that remains for these players on the Road to the Players' Championship. Who will make the journey to the Mile High City for a chance at points and prizes? Follow along with us at twitch.tv/scglive as we travel down the Road to the Players' Championship! |  |  | | Friday, December 4 | | Invitational Qualifiers Somerville, NJ - The Only Game in Town Springfield, VA - Curio Cavern | Saturday, December 5 | | 5K Premier Invitational Qualifiers Newington, CT - Your Friendly Neighborhood Tabletop Shop 1K Super Invitational Qualifiers GPT (1K Super IQ Prizes) Bay City, MI - The Stadium | Invitational Qualifiers Alpharetta, GA - FCB Comics & Games Columbia, MO - Magelings Games Fayetteville, NC - Cardz-N-Things Findlay, OH - Post Board Gaming Glen Burnie, MD - Squabbles Trading Cards Louisville, KY - Through the Decades Orlando, FL - Campus Cards & Games Overland, MO - Game Haven STL Statesville, NC - R & B Games, Cards, & Comics GPT (IQ Prizes) Erie, PA - Game Corps Eugene, OR - Addictive Behaviors Orange, CA - Plus EV Games Shakopee, MN - Phantasy Hobbies | Sunday, December 6 | | 1K Super Invitational Qualifiers East Windsor, CT - Ice Imports GPT (1K Super IQ Prizes) Raleigh, NC - Event Horizon Games | Invitational Qualifiers Bel Air, MD - Bel Air Games Centreville, VA - The Island Games Chattanooga, TN - Game On Fowlerville, MI - Game Links Kearny, NJ - Gamer's Edge Shakopee, MN - Phantasy Hobbies GPT (IQ Prizes) Dallas, TX - Common Ground Games | Tuesday, December 8 | | Invitational Qualifiers Brooklyn, NY - Kings Games | If you would like to unsubscribe and stop receiving these emails please click here. |
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