| Well, that was unexpected. With how many awesome new cards Oath of the Gatewatch contains, I didn't expect the winning deck of #SCGATL to be one with only three new cards in it. But that's exactly what happened as Korey McDuffie made room for three copies of Reckless Bushwhacker in his build of Atarka Red to win the first large tournament containing Magic's newest set. McDuffie's run was an impressive one, and a great start to the second SCG Tour stop of 2016. McDuffie may not have incorporated a slew of new cards from Oath of the Gatewatch, but his opponent in the finals of #SCGATL, Christopher Brickey, sure did. Brickey's take on Mono-Green Eldrazi was the talk of the tournament as he found room for powerful new cards like Thought‑Knot Seer, Spatial Contortion, Kozilek, the Great Distortion, and Crumbling Vestige. While Brickey didn't win the tournament, his second place finish with a brand-new archetype is worth noting, and I expect to see quite a bit of his deck at #SCGCOL this coming weekend. Speaking of #SCGCOL, that's where the SCG Tour heads next. I'll be there casting spells in some capacity, but I've got no idea which ones. With eight different archetypes in the Top 8 of #SCGATL, there's a lot to choose from, making it a great format to watch. Matthias Hunt, Ryan Overturf, Ken Crocker, and the rest of the @SCGLive crew will be bringing you all the action from The Discovery City as we prepare for shake-ups not only in our new Standard format, but on the SCG Tour leaderboard. If you can't make it out to #SCGCOL this weekend, be sure to watch all the action unfold at twitch.tv/scglive! — Cedric Phillips, Media Manager @CedricAPhillips |  |  | Standard As We Know It For #SCGCOL With #SCGATL in the books, the next stop on the SCG Tour is #SCGCOL. If you're headed to Columbus, Patrick Chapin has quite a bit of information for you. This week, The Innovator breaks down all the happenings from #SCGATL so that you can pick the right Standard deck for the weekend. |  | StarCityGames.com Organized Play Update Thanks to each and every one of you, the SCG Tour has been a major success in 2016. Due to that, StarCityGames.com president Pete Hoefling was more than happy to announce all of the Season Two stops for the SCG Tour. From Syracuse to Orlando, the SCG Tour has awesome shows for you all summer long. |  | Gerry VS. Brad: Mardu Green VS. Abzan Blue Gerry Thompson and Brad Nelson have had some epic confrontations in VS Videos, and they're back at it again. This week, Gerry brings a powerful Mardu Green deck to the table while Brad sleeves up Abzan Blue. Which four-color deck is better in Standard? I guess you'll just have to watch to find out! | | | At the end of Day 1 of #SCGATL, a battle of undefeated players took place to see who would start Day 2 with a perfect record. Gerry Thompson and his Jeskai Black deck went up against Zhengdong Shan and his G/R Eldrazi deck. A chain of World Breakers spells trouble for Gerry. Can he find a way to win this difficult match up? Click and find out! |  | | With #SCGATL in the books, it's clear that Standard is wide open. All sorts of decks came out to play, from eventual winner Atarka Red to Mono-Green Eldrazi featuring… Bane of Bala Ged? Sure! This is Magic! Anything can happen! But if you're wondering what you should bring along with you to the Columbus Open, there was one deck in the Top 8 that seems to be head and shoulders above the rest. | | Andy Ferguson hit it out of the park with his take on Abzan Company that deploys multiple new additions from Oath of the Gatewatch. These new additions not only supplement a powerful curve, but they also increase the overall strength and consistency of the deck. Matter Reshaper might seem tough to cast, but Andy increased the amount of painlands to eight, ensuring that you can cast it on time. Once there, it provides you with card advantage, a 3/2 body, and the possibility of it being replaced by another one of your efficient threats. Sylvan Advocate is perfect in this shell as an early attacker that supplies pressure and does a great job of playing defense as well as being a humongous creature to put in play off of a Collected Company later in the game. Don't forget that it also pumps your creature-lands with the often-forgotten +2/+2 to land creatures! Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim, stat and ability-wise, may be one of the most incredible creatures ever printed. Her Deathtouch ability allows you to trade whenever you'd like, and the ability to gain life allows you to stay out of range against decks like Atarka Red. Oath of the Gatewatch just keeps providing amazing cards for this deck! The rest of the deck seems to fall perfectly into place, giving it game against every deck archetype. Control decks have to deal with your six creature-lands, including the brand-new Hissing Quagmire as well as the battle-tested Deathmist Raptor/Den Protector combination. Midrange decks get feasted on by all of the two-for-ones you have at your disposal. Aggressive decks have to contend with your efficient curve and brick wall of creatures topped off by Dromoka's Command. There's something for beating every deck in the format, and that's going to be important due to Standard's diversity. I liked Andy's sideboard configuration, but I think it could use some tweaks, as is generally the case during the first week of a new format. Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet is one of the most interesting and dynamic creatures in Oath, and I would certainly increase that number in order to clamp down even harder on Rally the Ancestors decks. Perhaps removing the Warping Wail for him is necessary in order to supplement those Anafenza, the Foremosts. Pitiless Horde is brilliant, and I love the inclusion against other midrange decks as a way to expedite the clock against them. Andy's four Arashin Clerics show respect to Atarka Red, but I'd like to see the deck try to combat their wideness with a smaller sweeper like Flaying Tendrils or Minister of Pain for maximum blowout potential. I think once the sideboard shifts to accommodate a few more reasonable cards and cuts the superfluous ones, this deck's potential soars even higher! So what are you waiting for? Sleeve up those Collected Companies and start leaving a trail of battered opponents in your wake! #SCGCOL is just around the corner and Abzan Company is looking like a mighty fine option. Pick it up today and achieve greatness tomorrow! — Mark Nestico, @DynamoNestico | | The formats weren't the only thing to receive a shake-up this week due to the release of Oath of the Gatewatch. With new decks and tech in-hand, players made many a move up our Player of the Year Leaderboard. The first week of a new format tends to trend toward aggressive strategies, and two of our winners at #SCGATL took full advantage. Korey McDuffie used Atarka Red to take down the Standard Atlanta Open. Korey implemented a strategy that blanked his opponents' spot removal and went wide using token makers like Dragon Fodder and Hordeling Outburst in combination with pump effects like Atarka's Command and Reckless Bushwhacker, creating tons of damage very quickly. By winning the Open, the Atlanta native launched himself into the Player of the Year Race, landing in 15th place on our leaderboard and earning him two byes at every Open he attends in 2016. Korey McDuffie is definitely a player to keep your eye on throughout the Player of the Year Race. |  | | While Oath of the Gatewatch didn't make a significant impact on Modern, the recent bannings of Splinter Twin and Summer Bloom have definitely caused the metagame to shift. And just like in Standard, when a metagame shift takes place, it is usually the aggressive decks that shine. This time it was SCG's own Todd Andersonthat took advantage of this shift by piloting an innovative Temur Delver strategy in the Modern Classic, winning the whole tournament. Not only did this win place Todd in 13th place on our leaderboard, but it could also have a significant impact on the Modern format as a whole as many players are preparing for Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch. Todd's win nets him two byes for his next Open which, if history is any indicator, spells danger for the rest of the field. Look for Todd Anderson to make further moves up the leaderboard at #SCGCOL. Players now have a target to aim for at #SCGCOL, with the respective metagames being somewhat set by #SCGATL. Will an Eldrazi deck rise to the top of Standard? What about Modern? Is there any way to stop the Atarka Red menace? Watch at twitch.tv/scglive this weekend for all of the action at #SCGCOL to find out, as we continue on our Race for the Player of the Year! |  |  | | Thursday, January 28 | | Invitational Qualifiers East Windsor, NJ - Gamer's Realm Hobby | Friday, January 29 | | Invitational Qualifiers Springfield, VA - Curio Cavern | Saturday, January 30 | | Invitational Qualifiers Aurora, CO - All C's Gaming Arena Cockeysville, MD - Alternate Worlds Comics & Games Durham, NC - Atomic Empire Granite Falls, NC - Warlords Games Iowa City, IA - Iowa City Games Kingsport, TN - Mulligans Gaming Laramie, WY - Games Gauntlet McDonough, GA - Hobbit Hole Omaha, NE - Midwest Championship Group Orlando, FL - Campus Cards & Games Richardson, TX - Comic Asylum South Saint Paul, MN - Level Up Games | 1K Super Invitational Qualifiers Brooklyn, NY - Kings Games Cayce, SC - Ready to Play Trading Cards East Windsor, CT - Ice Imports Roanoke, VA - Star City Game Center | Sunday, January 31 | | Invitational Qualifiers Roanoke, VA - Star City Game Center Bethlehem, PA - The Portal Comics and Gaming Denton, TX - More Fun Comics and Games Duluth, GA - The Wasteland Gaming Lebanon, NH - Black Moon Games Lutherville/Timonium, MD - Titan Games and Hobbies Matawan, NJ - Jinx Collectibles Orlando, FL - Cool Stuff Games - Waterford Lakes Selden, NY - Brothers Grim Games & Collectibles Tazewell, TN - SuperPowerPlay Toronto, ON - Hairy Tarantula Wilbraham, MA - AAA Games, Cards, and More | 1K Super Invitational Qualifiers Memphis, TN - Comic Cellar Cards, Comics & Games Raleigh, NC - Event Horizon Games Shakopee, MN - Phantasy Hobbies | Thursday, February 4 | | Invitational Qualifiers East Windsor, NJ - Gamer's Realm Hobby | If you would like to unsubscribe and stop receiving these emails please click here. |
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