Azorius Control vs Faeries | Quarterfinals 2 - Quest for the Best Deck Ever

[@CardmarketMagic]

🧙🏿🧚‍♀️ Decklists: bit.ly/3BN2OZO

[@pr0fess0rbadass]

I would love to see the pre-top 8 matches too!

[@daolothe]

Oh wow, I never even thought about Bitterblossom counting as a Faerie for Spellstutter Sprite. That makes the card even more powerful than I originally thought.

[@nerdtopiade]

And dont forget u can champion bitterblossom if your life total where a little bit 2 low against mono r :)

[@Ly0n64]

Mutavault is a faerie too. :,)

[@nerdtopiade]

@@Ly0n64 yeah that is right

[@davidhickey8613]

You can also champion it out with mistbind clique to stop taking damage in the late game.

[@AAGEnzee]

Oh yea, the ideal 1, 2 ,3 was Thoughtseize, bitterblossom, then play almost everything else at instant speed for most of the game. Sometimes it was suspend ancestral visions turn 1, depending on when you were playing the deck. One of my favorite decks of all time, love decks that can operate at instant speed. Just do everything on opponent's end step. Spellstutter was basically guaranteed to hit something at some point.

[@thaneofstuff7340]

Just in case anyone else is confused as much as I was at 20:49 when the Spellstutter Sprite ability was successful, Bitterblossom is ALSO a Faerie, which gives the needed total of 4 Faeries with the Sprite, Token, Mutavault, and Bitterblossom itself. Really cool interaction there, shows the real power of the deck. Excellent games.

[@crawdaddy2004]

Having played Bitterblossom and Mutavault, I saw the play and was very impressed that he saw it, too.

[@halfwaytozero]

tysm

[@PKFat]

That interaction right there is entirely why I wish they'd make more tribal cards

[@crawdaddy2004]

@@PKFat The reason they don’t is because there’s no clear distinction between what is just a “tribal payoff” versus a “tribal” card.

[@PKFat]

@@crawdaddy2004 I know that's been their excuse, but why can't they sort it? It doesn't seem that hard - just give cards tribal that directly interact with the tribe. For example it makes sense on BB bc it makes fairies. If something only interacts w/ druids, make it druid tribal. Don't worry about reconning other cards that have already been printed, just move forward in a more concise direction.

[@RLKC8]

Holy crap. The sideboard tech, and the face made in response

[@ThereIsAnExtension2UndoHandles]

22:16 its honestly perfect XD

[@samgiblett3671]

Love to see Carl so happy. It feels like he often gets the tough matchups so glad for hom to get some great hands here.

[@CardmarketMagic]

Oh yeah! And playing a deck I love :D I was mostly lucky Thoralf didn't draw an early Teferi 😅

[@jongibson4766]

@@CardmarketMagic 0 T3feri v 3 Bitterblossom kinda sums up the games lol

[@Lucapapini-z6g]

Honestly guys, I do hope you really make it big time with this channell. Every piece of content is great to watch and I'd love to see more!

[@CardmarketMagic]

That's so kind of you to say :)

[@benyseus6325]

I love it when he said “It’s bitter blossoming time!” and bittered all over Thoralf’s blossom.

[@WordoftheElderGods]

Next bit

[@raymondcarter4335]

This whole crew is hilarious, I found them on Noah’s channel as guest, and followed them here a few months back 😂

[@Soupr5]

Saw this pop up into my feed and got SO excited! This is such a wonderful idea for a series, the production value is PERFECT, it's easy to follow even with cards I haven't seen in forever, just love this! Keep up the great work, everyone!!!

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you :) I've put a lot of time and effort into this series, I'm happy you are liking it so far!

[@Soupr5]

@@CardmarketMagic It's not going unnoticed! Your hard work is really paying off, and I hope it reaches far and wide so more people can enjoy it! Thank you for all your hard work, this was an excellent episode!

[@AncientHydraGaming]

@@CardmarketMagic Could you do a video after the final 8 are reveal that goes over each deck and how they performed in the Swiss rounds? I'm really curious where some of these ended up. Only two more have yet to be revealed and there are some (like the infamous 1996 White Weenie, 2004 Astral Slide, 2007 Dragonstorm, and 2010 Blue Black Control) that I've always wondered how they would stack up against Standard of the last 10 years.

[@AwkwardlyBrutal]

You guys are literally my favorite magic channel. You've got some of the highest quality paper footage available and your personalities bounce off each other so well. I really enjoy the departure into more spectacle/timeless deck choices as opposed to just keeping up with the current modern/pioneer/pauper decks.

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you :D all of that is so kind! We put a lot of thought and effort into our content and it always feels great to read comments like yours :)

[@JarogniewMieszko]

I hope you guys will compile this series into a playlist, great video as always

[@CardmarketMagic]

There is already a Playlist for the 2 episodes that are now out (this one included), we'll be adding each match to the Playlist as they are released :)

[@JarogniewMieszko]

@@CardmarketMagic Wow that's great to know, been really enjoy them, looking forward for the next one 🥳

[@Jamesserx10]

The thing I most appreciate about these videos is that they don't just sit down and play the decks. They don't even just explain their plays. They also take the time to explain the importance of each deck in it's period. Making this a fun way to not only find the best worlds deck ever but also a way to get your magic history lessons for the day.

[@outputcoupler7819]

Editing on point in the intro. The last one felt like there was too much camera shake, but this time it feels like you got it _just_ right, so it feels dynamic without drawing your attention to the fact it's happening.

[@JazzKaioshin]

Wow! Did not expect the deck from 2008 to beat the deck from 2019. Have to say though, we didn't see Teferi, Time Raveler in either game which could have potentially swayed things Thoralf's way. Forcing the Faeries deck to play at sorcery speed makes it considerably less threatening. But with so many small fliers it would've been hard for it to stick I guess 🤔 Also, Thoralf's reaction to the Mind Shatter 😂 priceless! Keep making awesome content like this, CM!

[@denissinner4625]

Faeries was probably one of the best anti control decks to ever exist. I remember beating some trashy legacy control decks with standard fearies.

[@vaclavnemec9053]

It's fun, it's relaxed, easy to comprehend even for someone whose last expansion was Homelands :D Keep up doing great work guys :-)

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you! And, welcome back :) it's been a while since homelands

[@SagazLiam]

Bitterblossom always had a spot in my heart, and played a lot with it in BW Tokens a while back. Seeing those fairies pushing damage as they did when I played that deck was really great. Nice video, I’m rooting for the fair folk!

[@GraemeGunn]

I like that you guys have fun while playing the game, there's a few people at my LGS who come to play Pioneer, but like... they're SO serious about it, they never laugh, they just sit there. It's weird. Imagine playing a game and not having fun lol

[@thomas6831]

Brilliant und vielen Dank. Hätte nie gedacht, dass 2009 2019 besiegen kann

[@bruhcalzone1275]

Karl: most of my creatures can be played at instant speed T3feri: and i took that personally

[@philipblades3213]

Just wanted to say you guys actually got me back into playing Magic again. Watching you play decks that aren't always 1000euro just got me excited again.

[@CardmarketMagic]

Love to hear it! :D and if you haven't yet, I cannot recommend Pauper enough! The format is fun, diverse, challenging, open for brewing and decks never cost over 50€

[@philipblades3213]

@@CardmarketMagic As pure coincidence I was actually writing out my first ever pauper list. Now on to card market to pick up what I need haha

[@OtherSideLLC]

Mono Blue Faerie in pauper rules

[@godtiermtg]

I completely forgot Bitterblossom counts towards faerie count for Spellstutter. Love to see a deck 15 years old make it to top 4!

[@mopanda81]

big props to toralf for reaching deep into the depths of his psyche and pulling out a great reaction face for that mind shatter. that's what it looks like when you realize all your plans for winning the game are gone.

[@Thomas-dk6fr]

thoralfs little bite thing at 18:30 made me lose it, thanks for the great video!

[@ajpbrunet]

What a great concept, this was straight up delightful you guys! Thoralf's face when Mind Shatter hit the table was just perfect. Can't wait to see the rest of the series.

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you :)

[@Snuzfuzz]

LOVE THIS SERIES! I do wish there was like a 5hr VOD of all the swiss rounds :(

[@CardmarketMagic]

We didn't film the Swiss rounds. We took notes though and might make a video about it afterwards if the series does well, but we don't want people to take them too seriously since only 5 rounds is high variance, and a few too many mulligans or two bad matchups could easily kick a great deck out of the top 8

[@blueplayer6197]

What a fun one starring my favorite card of all times bitterblossom. I admit I was skeptical but I was really really hoping for the winner to win (trying to avoid spoilers.. ) That was great can't wait to see it against Hazored

[@inferno1217]

THE BEST MTG CHANNEL ON KZbin, I LOVE THIS SERIES. AMAZING EDITING, BEST HOMIES PLAYING PAPER MAGIC WOOO edit: AND CARL WOOOOOOOOOOOOON LETS GOOO

[@CardmarketMagic]

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 THANK YOU

[@RNeato-qk6wg]

I love Lorwyn art and universe so much, I was very happy to see that the deck was qualified for the top 8, and the games it proposed in this video ! Thanks a lot for the top notch videos of paper gameplay, always very cool to watch !

[@CardmarketMagic]

Happy you like them :) a lot of work and love goes into them

[@cadukich]

Hey guys. Thanks for playing those games. It`s verry fun to watch. I have played this game for 25 years now. And I still enjoy it. In 2008, I use to play Faeries... and today still use my Spellstutter Sprite but in Pauper.

[@harrydugan8237]

I love these gameplay videos. Even without crazy editing effects you guys make it so much fun.

[@CardmarketMagic]

That's really kind of you to say :)

[@Kirin_the_Bouncing_Unicorn]

I absolutely love this, it's like Lithium's Cross-Banlist Cup from Yugioh and I always wanted something like it for Magic content!

[@joshcastro8526]

You guys definitely have the most readable easy to follow way of presenting games of magic on KZbin! I'm sure the editing is a nightmare, but for someone who isn't familiar with every card it's super helpful. Your guy's videos are awesome, thanks so much for putting in the work to make it accesible!

[@CardmarketMagic]

It's a lot of extra work, but comments like yours always make it worth the effort :D thank you!

[@polishhockeyfan]

Not only do you guys have interesting ideas, the chemistry you guys have as a team as well with alot of the pros is what makes this channel fun to watch. Also the best outro song on KZbin, big love from the US!

[@CardmarketMagic]

That's so kind of you to say :) thank you

[@georgejancosek6473]

This is the most wholesome magic channel I have ever seen. I haven't played too much modern but when you guys breakdown your plays and explain why you are doing what you do, I feel like I'm learning ALOT.

[@CardmarketMagic]

That's high praise 😃 thank you!

[@Norgorber]

Spoilers for the outcome: This video is a great showcase as to /why/ they initially banned Bitterblossom in Modern: it really is a crazy card (even if Faeries isn't really a thing in Modern anymore IIRC)

[@CardmarketMagic]

Yes! Now that modern is much faster, bitterblossom has trouble competing, but in slower formats (like standard or 2011 modern), bitterblossom on turn 2 is almost impossible to outpace

[@SiwanBouss]

I honestly think that if Thoralf had a t3 tef the games would have been very very different

[@sjdhrjrjejdhdhsh]

​@@SiwanBouss it depends if he's on the play or draw though. If he's on the draw Teferi likely just gets countered into oblivion

[@SiwanBouss]

@@sjdhrjrjejdhdhsh He was on the play both games, so if he had had the tef he would have just bounced the bitterblossom and would be so far ahead at that point

[@sjdhrjrjejdhdhsh]

@@SiwanBouss he wouldn't be on the play game 2 if he won game 1

[@retektereptest]

Few cards are as satisfying to resolve as Spellstutter Sprite, great stuff.

[@faucetrememberly2399]

can I just say- something i LOVE about your channel’s amazing editing style is how the few animations and effects you do on cards are unobtrusive and brief as possible. Nothing worse than when they stop the flow of the video/overload your eardrums/take up time that could be spent listening to carl and thoralf’s beautiful voices.

[@Rnaux]

I am really excited about this series. I never got into competitive magic but now I'm super invested in knowing which is the best deck of all time 😁😁😁😁😁 Great videos!!

[@TaisxD]

Amazing editing, cool games and an awesome concept with the worlds decks. The best thing about this is you two though. Thoralfs reactions to the G2 mistbind clique actually had me laughing out loud and Carls enthusiasm is awesome as always

[@owendoughty2340]

Just running into this series, and I’ve wondered about this type of all-time king of standard gauntlet pretty much since I heard about the format! I’m happy that someone is actually doing it, and I love that it’s you guys!

[@nekrataali]

Check out "Gauntlet of Greatness." The most powerful Standard decks are probably Academy and Jar, with Necro and Affinity not far behind. I don't think Weissman (i.e. _The Deck_ with Power 9, Moat, Library of Alexandria, Mana Drain, etc.) was included, since it was strongest before Magic was split into Type 1 and Type 2.

[@nickraupp6104]

This series continues to deliver! Love it! Keep up the great work and I'm excited for the rest of the series

[@CSLWoodward]

Man, it's wild seeing how much power there is in decks that are 10 years apart and how the sideboards still work well for completely different matchups and metas. Great job everyone!

[@halmyrach]

As an Alela enjoyer in EDH it was a very fun match to watch! Thanks to the team for providing such great content.

[@corkimus]

I actually really like this new series of pitting famous decks up against each other. Great idea! Also, you were great, you were great, really liked the video

[@renzuki5830]

First of all the whole concept of this is really outstanding, very fun to watch. The only minor thing I think you could improve is show a table of the swiss results, so it is a bit easier to follow along. (Or maybe you could have had an intro/overview video showing what is what). In any case, really looking forward to more of it :)

[@CardmarketMagic]

Happy you like it! We've had a blast working on it :) We are purposely avoiding showing the Swiss results for now because this series is about the 8 decks playing the single elimination brackets. 5 rounds of Swiss is far too little to measure which deck is truly best, and some archetypes snuck into the top 8 whilst some clearly powerful decks succumbed to 2 bad matchups. We don't want anyone focusing on the standings too much. The Swiss was only to pick which 8 we get to play, not actually for determining which is truly best.

[@OtherSideLLC]

Man the editing on this is just fantastic, i saw Carl say he put extra effort into this series and man it shows. Best paper magic on KZbin imo

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you! I did work really hard on these, so it's great to see people notice it :)

[@dimitrialberti2092]

Love the content guys! The editing is on point and thoralfs poetry is on point.

[@zealcrux]

I sincerely love y'all so much; I can't wait for the rest of the series!

[@submarinesailor5140]

This tourney-winning modern decks showdown was a pretty neat idea!

[@percyvile]

Great production values here, super easy to understand what's going on compared to a lot of mtg content. Well done!

[@davodav7746]

Faeries was such a great deck, I loved watching you play it!

[@draconocor]

Love this series so far, really interested to see if the 2022 deck made it to top 8 (I'd be a bit surprised if not)

[@johnskelton6840]

This is the best magic channel on KZbin, hands down

[@BertockLeg]

That was such a great show. It is so nice to see the channel from where I buy all my cards making such nice videos Also, spoiler: . . . I am very surprised that a deck 11 years older could not only compete but also win. This shows how the limited cardpool in standard makes it more fair to older decks

[@Bull_1112]

Always fun to watch these two play! Can’t wait for the next round 😊

[@CanadianPianoMan]

I remember how miserable it was playing as control vs the Mono Blue Curious obsession decks a couple years back. I feel like Faeries could be similarly tough for a control deck to deal with. Pressure back up by counters to make sure the relevant time-buying cards from the control deck don't resolve.

[@CardmarketMagic]

Many people compared that curious obsession deck when it was popular to this old Faeries list

[@kevincruz-lr7rq]

This series is great, can’t wait for the next matches

[@theblakwarior]

I'm really excited for the next few weeks. Just a bounch of great cardmarked paper magic :)

[@AAIIYAAA]

Absolutely loving this miniseries so far!!!

[@8Smoker8]

I love how the music changes to aggressive at first and then just goes chill at second xD

[@XTimTheEnchanterX]

Very cool to see some older decks holding up against the power creep.

[@alexn188]

Morningtide was when I got back to playing Magic. So happy to see this deck still kick ass!

[@andrewp6738]

This series is so dope. Stuff like this keeps me interested in Magic as a new player

[@andrewp6738]

Rewatching this video 8 months later and I’m definitely still around :D

[@justinleblanc9089]

Incredible! I was genuinely surprised at the outcome

[@DeadlyGrim]

Carl definitely got some lucky draws there, but luck doesn't mean much if you don't play it right -- and Carl played it right! Well played on both sides and I can't wait to see the next quarterfinals.

[@dks6515]

22:18 i died lol, this was absolutely hilarious. What a great video! Can't wait for the next episode XD

[@millergee1215]

Woke up early for this episode, great way to start the day!

[@danielaserkoff7746]

Hell yeah!! This series is looking to be awesome!!!

[@danielaserkoff7746]

Cheers guys!! So proud of the CM production team, KEEP THIS UP!!!!

[@EpicallyEvil1]

Honestly, my favourite Magic channel on KZbin right now. Everything is so good, the production quality is great, and the personalities on camera is even better. Been a long time sub since sub 10k and seeing the evolution of the channel to what it is today is incredible. Could easily see this being one of if not the most subbed MTG channel on KZbin. Keep up the great work!

[@CardmarketMagic]

That's so kind of you to say! :) you've been around since way back when Jamin & I first started the feature matches! Thank you so much :D

[@EpicallyEvil1]

@@CardmarketMagic Yeah, I still remember during when MH2 first came out the videos with the bad audio inside what looked like an attic of a house 😂

[@CardmarketMagic]

@EpicallyEvil it's actually the same room! But we've upgraded our walls, our cameras, our table, our mics... oh boy the audio used to be terrible 🤣

[@EpicallyEvil1]

@@CardmarketMagic oh wow, that's a big transformation 😱. Even with the terrible audio the content was still 🔥.

[@koragola]

I LOVE this series! I kinda want to know the results of the Swiss rounds at the end to see what decks stacked up and which ones didn’t because this is an excellent idea.

[@CardmarketMagic]

We might do a breakdown of the Swiss after this series is done, but we are purposely avoiding posting the standings because this was a small 5 round tournament. Some decks sneaked into the top 8 on good matchups and some powerful decks just got unlucky twice and were kicked out. We'd have to play 100 rounds to get standings that are a real depiction of the decks' powers :)

[@koragola]

@@CardmarketMagic That makes sense. I wonder how feasible it would be to have a best of 3 round robin style tournament to see the match up spread for the decks.

[@davec8385]

Continuing to love this series! Can't wait for the nest one :)

[@silphonym]

That azorious deck blew me away when I watched PVDDR play with it. I was basically completely new to the game and it was the first worlds I watched.

[@F4xP4s]

Thoralf: I played Blue White but my list was a bit different. A bit of an understatement since he was playing Black Red!

[@CardmarketMagic]

No-no, this was his list: www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2768924#paper

[@bondeulv]

@@CardmarketMagic The coverage overlay that was shown had him on Rakdos. I was surprised as well ^^

[@F4xP4s]

@@CardmarketMagic YES YES! CHECK THE FOOTAGE SLOW MO!

[@CardmarketMagic]

@bondeulv that was his draft deck. He did not do very well in this event so I couldn't find any footage of him with UW 😅

[@lucasrios2089]

lol! I had the same reaction. As far as I can tell the screenshot they took there is just from draft coverage.

[@MindstabThrull]

Completely agree with rk post's tokens. During Khans block Standard I ran an Alesha Reanimator deck which brought back Hornet Queen and Priest of the Blood Rite, and I picked up Demon and Insect tokens for it from his booth at the GP. They are AMAZING!

[@nidunha14]

Another great video. Can’t wait for more guys. Thank you for your hard work ❤️

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you for watching! :)

[@simonteesdale9752]

Awesome content, and love this series! Can't wait for more!

[@NeoSlimey]

I love magic the gathering. It's cool to see a largely comp-focused channel also give some time for commander and judge tower and to hang out with Noah (a good friend of mine) without losing sight of their comp focus. Love you guys. Keep up the good work. And play dandan.

[@CardmarketMagic]

We recorded Dandan this week :) and yes, Noah is great & his videos are hilarious!

[@NeoSlimey]

@@CardmarketMagic Awesome

[@nolanpearson211]

Thoralf's "no..." at the end LOL. Same feeling I always had playing against this deck

[@Loki-]

I like the board state window during the side bars now. It helps me understand the context of the reasoning better! Great job, team(Carl?)!

[@CardmarketMagic]

Thank you! Yes it's just me (Carl) for now, but we just hired two new editors, so in a few weeks you'll be able to congratulate a team effort 😃 (outside of this specific series, it's my personal passion project so I work on these alone)

[@Loki-]

​@@CardmarketMagic well, also congratulations to all of you for making such a fun channel that cardmarket is expanding you all! Stoked!

[@marxmeesterlijk]

wow that faeires deck was cool. And I can't wait to see the John Finkel Tinker deck next.

[@CardmarketMagic]

Tangle Wire is an unfair magic card 😃

[@simonteesdale9752]

​@@CardmarketMagic Does that deck even contain _any_ fair cards?

[@marxmeesterlijk]

@@CardmarketMagic This keeps getting better and better 😁

[@peterheinisch2294]

​@@simonteesdale9752Uhm... Island?

[@mrpinguimninja]

this was one of the most beautiful games ever displayed on the channel

[@marinusbrask8186]

Incredible Idea for a series. Love it so far!

[@TheMuffinBagare]

When it was finally printed, many decks just played Volcanic Fallout in main-deck just for this boogie-man deck. I myself played five-color control aka Cruel control in this format, which was my very first standard format. So nostalgic!

[@nickthejack]

Glad to see thoughtseize into bitterblossom remains an insane opener even against much more efficient modern decks. I'd be kind of interested to see a more streamlined version of this format, where you pit different eras of standard decks against each other without being beholden to decklists from those eras. That way you could build more diverse sideboards, and even change up some of the maindecks if you wanted

[@GamerdevilPro]

Love to see the Lorwyn block constructed deck smash a post-WAR deck :D Bitterblossom is such a fun card and spellstutter is one hell of a common!

[@henryzelman4541]

I feel like mono red snow would’ve obliterated this deck though

[@carlosRodriguez-vs5qi]

Great video guys! I love how creative you guys are and I cant wait to see how this tourney ends!! (I'm rooting for faeries but also rakdos midrange 😭😭)

[@grimgorlefort]

This is a great serie, and video !! It would be nice to continue on this theme with like standard game from old top 8 from premodern area.

[@CardmarketMagic]

We have plans to do a similar series with only decks from the 90s :)

[@briandixon9140]

I always had so much fun running Faeries back in Lorywn. I got my playset of Bitterblossoms early and at a huge discount because someone mis-priced them, and had been trying to make a Blue/Black Faerie Rogue deck work since the set was first spoiled, so Morningtide giving me the big guns was a huge improvement.

[@ajslade8727]

Can't wait to watch the other episodes!

[@Davidbruun]

Hey, we like the video. You were great, we were great, all are great.

[@heitortremor]

Haven't watched yet, but I'm cheering for Azorius Control!

[@heitortremor]

😢

[@Steamboat2016]

Man have I got some bad news for you lol

[@giacomofasulo3861]

Faeries is one of the most infamous deck, it looks like early modern even though it's a standard deck from 15 years ago

[@davioliveira7233]

Amazing series! And like the other videos I will ask again for the Swiss results of all DE decks, if possible 🙃

[@GotchaPlaysGer]

Holy moly this video format is the best

[@Vardaris]

Bitterblossom is probably the most beautiful card in magic. Beautiful name, beautiful art, amazing effects/play style, beautiful flavor text. It is like an ad for the game. It is a shame it sees no play anywhere now as it is such a great card to see. I think they should make it a thing in pioneer so people can admire it more often.

[@rodzeroher]

alot of black decks play it in commander

[@camberleaf2410]

Absolutely loving this series !!

[@HurricaneGregor]

Here's to mega happiness :) btw I remember that Faeries deck. Spellstutter Sprite is kinda busted, especially with the synergy there. Though I imagine the Archon would've brick walled the faerie army pretty hard if it ever resolved.

[@dariusdale3946]

Awesome to see Azorius Control, i actually watched that match. So many Jeskai Fires decks back then.

[@Monkey12Ninja]

Blue Black Fairies (and decks like it) are literally my favorite decks of all time, and watching this video reminds me of why

[@abusus75]

So sad it’s unplayable everywhere now

[@joshuagriffith9191]

Great video guys. It will be interesting to see the fae deck against Rakdos midrange that plays 4 goblin chainwhirler. On a sad note, I was excited when PVDDR won worlds with this list because it was almost identical to the list I had been playing since Theros beyond Death released at the time. Disappointed to see it go down, but not surprised with the unlucky matchup.

[@CardmarketMagic]

It did great in the Swiss rounds, though! :) This is a tiny tournament with only 27 individual decks. A lot is left up to chance, and there is high variance in all the games being best-of-3. This does not mean the UW deck is worse than the others, just that this is where it ends for it in this particular tournament :)

[@joshuagriffith9191]

@@CardmarketMagic I completely agree. I only play best of three magic. It limits the variance, but variance is part of the game. I am actually more impressed that UW control got as far as it did and wasn’t expecting it to win. It really was built to compete with the reclamation and fires of invention decks. It usually got ripped apart by tempo. I love the fae deck also. Too many good decks in this tournament. I’m excited to see which 4 other decks made it to top 8.

[@KlittoD]

Yikes. UW really drew the short straw in the matchup bracket. Great production, thanks!