| Another weekend, another second-place finish for the Eldrazi. Now, if you want to get technical, Eldrazi actually won two events this past weekend—Grand Prix Melbourne and Grand Prix Bologna—but I wasn't at those tournaments so they don't count! I was at Grand Prix Detroit casting some Eldrazi with the help of the Urzatron for a fairly successful weekend, but no one had a more successful weekend than the newest Grand Prix champion and successful SCG Tour player, Ralph Betesh. Betesh was able to hoist the trophy in The Motor City without the help of Thought‑Knot Seer, Reality Smasher, or Endless One. Instead, he got the job done with Viscera Seer, Anafenza, Kin‑Tree Spirit, and Kitchen Finks. Coming into this Modern weekend, it was questionable if anything could beat the Eldrazi, but after playing 18 rounds of Magic, Betesh showed that Abzan Company has what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the (likely) soon-to-be banned Eldrazi. But enough about Modern and enough about the Eldrazi! As much fun as I had casting Thought‑Knot Seer and Reality Smasher ahead of schedule last weekend, I'm ready to gather my allies and take the oath this weekend at #GPDC. Team Sealed tournaments are some of the most fun things you can do in Magic, and this one might be the biggest of all time! If you're looking to play some Magic this weekend, the nation's capital is the place to be. Get registered for Grand Prix Washington DC today, and I'll see you this weekend! — Cedric Phillips, Media Manager @CedricAPhillips |  |  | Countdown To GPDC! Grand Prix Washington DC is just a day away, and I could not be more excited. Team Sealed is my favorite format, and not only does #GPDC have that, but it also has sweet playmats, awesome side events, and Terese Nielsen! If you're not planning on coming, this event overview will likely change your mind. |  | The War Is Over When preparing for a tournament with a dominant deck, you've got two options—beat 'em or join 'em. For #GPDetroit, Patrick Chapin chose join 'em and went deep in the tournament. Can the Eldrazi be stopped? Let The Innovator answer that for you! |  | Rotational Dynamics With Eldrazi winter in Modern and #GPDC right around the corner, many have forgotten that Magic's newest set is almost here. #MTGSOI spoiler season has begun, and the set is dripping with flavor. This means we're going to lose some cards, and Ari Lax goes over what this huge change will look like. | | | The Commander VS crew is back for the Season Two finale! Join Justin Parnell, Jonathan Suarez, Wes Wise, and Stephen Green as they fulfill a special request in this episode by playing fan-favorite generals! |  | | Watching people win with Abzan Falconer over the past few weeks takes me back to my days with Ajani, Caller of the Pride. I think the current G/W aggro deck is a great choice if you are preparing for the Indianapolis Standard Open. Similar to when I won the Washington DC Open with Abzan Aggro, I think we should cut the sleeves off this archetype and make it harder, better, faster, and stronger. Trying to go big and grind value against decks that are designed to play that game always seems like a faulty idea to me. I say we stick to our guns and play the leanest and most efficient build of the aggressive archetype. For #SCGINDY, this is what I am testing first: | | The main deck is relatively unchanged from the Grand Prix Top 8s that we saw in Houston. The only notable difference is that I brought it down to 22 lands and favor Silkwrap over the other removal options. Silkwrap is at its worst against Mardu Green and blue-based control decks, but even in those matchups you can still tag a Sylvan Advocate or Jace, Vryn's Prodigy. In all the other matchups, Silkwrap is phenomenal. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the archetype, let me highlight a few cards to reveal how strong it really is. 
Hardened Scales is the namesake of the deck and while it may have tabled in your draft, this deck wants to see the card every single game. All the creatures and many of the spells have counters. Playing this enchantment on the first turn will always be a nut draw and can quickly result in five-to-10 points of power and toughness being added to the board. For a one-mana investment, this is extremely powerful. 
The synergy with Nissa, Voice of Zendikar's -2 ability and Hardened Scales is obviously great, but Nissa also rounds out the creature base perfectly. Being able to deploy a non-creature threat when you are worried about sweepers has always been a key strategy. Nissa can boost creatures out of range of Languish and Radiant Flames, and it can also help rebuild. Nissa can also help you trump blockers, push damage, and really mess with your opponent's expectations for combat. Nissa is the card that lets you play minimal removal spells, because you can grow bigger and run them over with her. 
Despite the best plans, sometimes the ground will get clogged. Abzan Falconer will always be an out to the most desperate board stalls and a great way to punish decks like Four-Color Rally for playing so few removal spells. This card gives a lot more inevitability and burst damage than people realize and is extra good in an aggro deck because opponents won't have the time to play around it. 
This is certainly my favorite Command, and I have had four of these sleeved up since they were printed. So much of the good removal in Standard is matchup-specific or three mana or more. Dromoka's Command can kill anything as long as your creatures are at least equal size on curve—and with a G/W deck, your creatures will still be big enough when you are on the draw! At two mana, Dromoka's Command is always a great tempo play, can lead to insane blow outs in combat, and even fuel two-for-ones. Hardened Scales aside, don't ignore the +1/+1 counter it can add either. Frequently, I will look back on a game and realize that the +1/+1 counter did three-to-five damage. The biggest departure that I am presenting is in the sideboard. While going down to 22 lands in the main, I also cut the more expensive and mana intensive cards from the sideboard like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Evolutionary Leap. I have no intention of doing anything with this deck other than take the most direct and efficient path to kill my opponent. While I have all the best win conditions in the main deck, the way I interact needs to change depending on the matchup. I want to have a perfectly tuned postboard configuration, so the sideboard is completely filled with the best two-mana interaction that the Selesnya guild has to offer. I would advise to never board out more than a single Abzan Falconer, and simply mix and match the spells. Remember to only interact with the things that blunt your offense. Do you really need to use a removal spell on that Mantis Rider, or can you just ram into it and save your removal for a Soulfire Grand Master? You get the idea. If you decide to sleeve this baby up, I wish you happy hunting and hope you catch some Eldrazi! — Andrew Boswell, @KaolinTiger |  |   If you would like to unsubscribe and stop receiving these emails please click here. |
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