Top 10 Oath of the Gatewatch Cards!

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Thanks a lot for ruining #SCGCHAR Brian Huffman.

I kid of course. #SCGCHAR was an absolute blast for so many reasons. I got to play some Magic for a change, Chris VanMeter and Andrew Boswell, two of the SCG Tour's finest, set their decks down and picked up headsets for @SCGLive, and Jeff Hoogland and Todd Stevens made Top 8 for the second weekend in a row to further their chances of qualifying for the #SCGPC.

How did Huffman ruin #SCGCHAR? By destroying everyone with Jund of course.

Now, I know what you're thinking: Bobby Fortanely just won with Amulet Bloom last weekend at #SCGCIN, so why am I complaining about Jund winning? Because, astute reader, I have grown tired of watching the Jund menace destroy all comers, and it has done so yet again. So complain I will about Brian taking care of Joshua Cho and his W/B Tokens deck in the quarters; about Harlan Firer and his U/R Splinter Twin deck in the semis; and about Bob Huang and his Goryo's Vengeance deck in the finals, demonstrating not only that Huffman's deck was fantastic, but by beating those three SCG Tour mainstays, proving that he's pretty fantastic too.

So what's next for Modern? A banned and restricted announcement in just a few days! Do we finally see Summer Bloom bite the dust? Is it time for Splinter Twin to go? Perhaps Goryo's Vengeance is on its last legs? Your guess is as good as mine, but what I do know is that Oath of the Gatewatch is prepared to shake up every single format. With new Eldrazi, the Oath cycle, and awesome new planeswalkers, Magic is in for a big change.

Since the SCG Tour is on a break this weekend, get out to your local prerelease, crack some OGW packs, and have a blast. Just don't be like Brian Huffman and play Jund—unless you like winning of course.

Cedric Phillips, Media Manager

 

Results
Results

Brian Huffman takes the title with Jund!

Results

Matthew Tickal Rallies to a championship!

Results

Chris Boozer wins it all with Miracles!

 

StarCityGames.com ® Open Series

 

Editor's Picks
First Pick At Oath Of The Gatewatch – White

With the Oath of the Gatewatch prerelease coming soon, Limited Magic is on the mind of Ari Lax. What better way to get prepared for the release of Magic's newest set than a card-by-card analysis and breakdown of how they interact with Battle for Zendikar? Ari agrees and is doing just that, all week long, starting with white.

 

New Archetypes For Oath Of The Gatewatch Standard

First, it was putting Jace, Vryn's Prodigy in anything with blue mana. Then, it was the combo of Eldrazi Temple and Eye of Ugin in Modern. So what's next for Michael Majors when it comes to deckbuilding? With #SCGATL only days away, Michael has turned his attention towards Standard and the colorless Eldrazi.

 

Colorless Mana And Conventional Wisdom

Speaking of colorless things, Sam Black is here to challenge conventional wisdom about what is possible with colorless mana and deckbuilding in general. With Ben Rubin dominating with a 64 card deck at #GPOakland, Sam explains why perhaps we should expand our horizons when it comes to deckbuilding.

 

Match of the Week

The boys are back! Season Two of Commander VS. starts with some five-color craziness, as Justin Parnell, Stephen Green, Jonathan Suarez, and Wes Wise kick off the latest season of Commander VS. So who will start out the new year with a victory and valuable VS. Points? Watch and find out!

Match of the Week video

 

Announcements
Announcements

Oath of the Gatewatch ships January 22!

Announcements

New Grizzlybrand and Zebra Creature Collection products!

Announcements

Get ready for SCG Regionals February 6!

 

What I'd Play At The Open Series

One of the most innovative sets in Magic history will be hitting the shelves in no time, and heralding its release is one of my favorite times of the year: the prerelease. You may be asking yourself what cards you should be on the lookout for, and lucky for you, I'm here to help with that. Today we're going to go over my Top 10 Oath of the Gatewatch cards to pick up at your prerelease!

#10 Reality Smasher

Reality Smasher card preview

We expect a lot from our five-drops nowadays, but thankfully this card does not disappoint. Haste and trample attached to a 5/5 body make it a very threatening creature, and it shouldn't be terribly difficult to cast despite requiring a colorless mana to put into play. The icing on the cake is that in order to get rid of it with a removal spell, your opponent is forced to discard a card as well! This provides a natural 2-for-1 and a lot of upside.

#9 Oath of Nissa

Oath of Nissa card preview

I've discussed at length why I don't think Oath of Nissa is the heir apparent to Ponder in green form, but that doesn't mean I'm sleeping on it. A look at three cards isn't something to scoff at, especially when they're almost all hits in the kind of deck that would want Oath of Nissa. Making your Planeswalkers easier to cast is also relevant and though I believe this card is slightly overhyped, I'd recommend actively seeking a full playset.

#8 World Breaker

World Breaker card preview

World Breaker is a huge 5/7 that is able to recur on top of having reach that also exiles a land, artifact, or enchantment. G/R Eldrazi will receive many new toys with the arrival of Oath of the Gatewatch, becoming an even bigger player in the Standard metagame—and World Breaker could very well find a home in it. It helps in the mirror, can block just about anything, and can always come back for more if it is removed. Seems like a no-brainer to me.

#7 Wandering Fumarole

Wandering Fumarole card preview

Imagine if this card came out in Return to Zenkidar along with all of those early Jeskai decks! Wandering Fumarole is a very powerful creature-land that plays defense and offense extremely well. It's interesting as it can invalidate various popular removal spells like Fiery Impulse because it's able to switch its power and toughness at will for zero mana. The only thing holding it back is that it costs four to activate, but it's still a great inclusion in the popular decks utilizing blue and red.

#6 Oath of Gideon

Oath of Gideon card preview

After playing Jeff Hoogland's B/W Control deck recently, my evaluation of Oath of Gideon went from "bulk" to "very playable." Decks on the fringe like B/W or Mardu Planeswalkers are powerful, but it felt like they were missing something. This three-drop enchantment not only gives your Planeswalkers protection in the form of two 1/1 Kor Ally tokens, but also allows them to enter with an additional loyalty which is quite superb. An Ob-Nixilis, Reignited can kill a creature, be safe from attack due to your tokens, and then either kill an additional creature or start drawing you cards.

#5 Stormchaser Mage

Stormchaser Mage card preview

Flying, haste, and prowess is no joke, especially when it comes attached to a two-mana creature. Atarka's Command and Become Immense hurt this card the most due to the sheer efficiency of Atarka Red, but I think it's dangerous to ignore a card this impressive. Is there a Temur/Atarka Aggro deck out there? I don't know, but this card always means there is hope.

#4 Matter Reshaper

Matter Reshaper card preview

The only thing holding Matter Reshaper back is that it requires a colorless mana by turn three, but other than that, this card feels like a homerun. A 3/2 body doesn't drive the crowd wild, but being able to trade effectively and get card advantage by either drawing a card or putting one directly into play is an extremely strong effect for a card to have. While it may not be the next Bloodbraid Elf, this card definitely will do well wherever it lands—perhaps in a Rally deck?

#3 Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

Nissa, Voice of Zendikar card preview

My first reaction to this Nissa was "meh," but testing has proved that there's far more than meets the eye. She passes most of the important Planeswalker tests like protecting herself and generating card advantage, but with the embarrassment of amazing token producers in Standard, her -2 will end games very quickly. I believe you'll be seeing a lot of Nissa, Voice of Zendikar going forward.

#2 Eldrazi Displacer

Eldrazi Displacer card preview

Eldrazi Displacer is expensive in the sense that you'll have to build a deck with enough colorless mana to use it, but the payoff is ridiculous. Its body is reasonable for the cost, but the instant blink effect for three mana does everything: kills tokens, kills Hangarback Walkers, exiles attacking Gideons, protects your own creatures from removal spells, retriggers enter the battlefield effects and more! It seems very powerful and should find a place in Standard right out of the gate.

#1 Kozilek's Return

Kozilek's Return card preview

To the surprise of nobody, my #1 pick is Kozilek's Return. This card has cross-format applications from G/R Eldrazi in Standard to G/R Tron in Modern. An instant-speed sweeper is devastating against the tons of tokens in Standard, and getting free value from casting an Eldrazi is simply unreal. Kozilek's Return will shift Standard on its axis in favor of G/R Eldrazi without a doubt. You shouldn't just worry about picking these up; you should worry about playing against it in abundance.

Enjoy your prereleases, and my all of your packs have Expedition lands!

 

Road To The Player's Championship

Getting one Top 8 at an SCG Tour event is a daunting task for anyone to achieve, but back-to-back Top 8s? Well, that puts you in the upper echelons of players on the SCG Tour, somebody to be both feared and revered. Since the SCG Tour is on hiatus this week due to the Oath of the Gatewatch prerelease weekend, now seems like a great time to highlight some of these players.

Jeff Hoogland and Todd Stevens have made back-to-back Top 8s in two Modern Opens, showing that knowing your deck and the format inside and out can really pay off. Jeff has taken the approach of the brewer, piloting his pet Kiki-Chord deck to back-to-back Top 8s, continuing to build his lead against the rest of the field as the current Season One SCG Point Leader and thus laying claim as front runner of the Player of the Year Race as well. Todd Stevens has decided to play a little more conventional of a deck in Naya Company, but his skill with the deck is second to none. His back-to-back finishes have catapulted him up the SCG Tour Leaderboard in hopes of grabbing a coveted spot in the Players' Championship. We will see more of both of these players very soon, as they have two byes for all the Opens they enter.

SCG Tour Leaderboard

Michael Majors is another player that has Top 8'd back-to-back SCG Tour events. Instead of back-to-backing Opens, he has made the Top 8 of back-to-back Standard Classics using Four-Color Rally. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for another Rally-master in Matthew Tickal, Michael Majors would be a back-to-back Standard Classic winner, having won the Standard Classic at #SCGCIN and finishing second at #SCGCHAR. These results have pushed Majors into the Top 32 of our Leaderboard, granting him a bye in the next Open he enters. Given that the next Open is #SCGATL where Oath of the Gatewatch will be legal, don't be surprised if notable brewer Majors shows up in the Top 8 of that Standard Open.

Enjoy cracking packs and opening Expeditions at the the Oath of the Gatewatch prerelease this weekend while the SCG Tour is on hiatus. Tune into SCGLive next weekend when the Player of the Year race continues with all-new Standard action at #SCGATL!

 

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