Esper mastermind and longtime magic aficionado Shaheen Soorani battled last weekend at the SCG Invitational in Las Vegas to a third place finish. Fighting through a field of 299 qualified participants he was able to slaughter most every mage who stood in his way. The Invitational, much like the Pro Tour, is a multiformat tournament requiring proficiency in both Standard and Legacy to find success. In true Soorani fashion his weapon of choice for both formats was blue, white and black control style concoctions. With the two byes he had been awarded he drudged to a final swiss record of 12-3-1, the last round an intentional bye with Thea Steele to clinch the top 8 berth. The competition was fierce with hard wins against Tom Ross, Tim Landale, Erik Smith and Jeff Hoogland. Some tough losses came at the hands of Matt Nass the last round of day 1 playing for the perfect 8-0 and against eventual winner Max Brown entering the second leg of Legacy putting Shaheen on the ropes fighting to maintain a top positioning. In the top 8 he was immediately put to the test against Brian Brawn-Duin but dispatched him easily in three games but was knocked out by Greg Hatch after a hard fought five game battle.
Planeswalkers (6)
Spells (25)
Creatures (8)
Planeswalkers (3)
Sideboard
Creatures (1)
Planeswaker (1)
Other Spells (38)
Sideboard
While Max did ride the power of his Standard deck through the top 8 there was still eight of sixteen rounds in the swiss of Legacy where he was able to pilot this list to an 6-0-2 record, the two draws intentional the last two rounds. The deck operates on a powerful engine which consists of using Show and Telll or Dream Halls to cheat out an Omniscience. Once the Omniscience is in play if you already have Emrakul in hand then you can cast it for free which will net you the extra turn and most often draw a concession on the spot. Otherwise the deck also plays to cast Enter the Infinite free which gives you access to your entire deck to then complete your combo win with definitive counterspell backup. A key cog in the engine comes from Burning Wish which has access to combo pieces Show and Tell or Enter the Infinite to help get it going. The wishboard also can get Time of Need to search for an Emrakul win, Spiraling Embers after Enter the Infinite for an blast to the dome, or answers to permanent roadblocks through Eye of Nowhere, Pyroclasm or Tremor. The deck uses Brainstorm, Ponder, Gitaxian Probe and Jace to help dig through the deck to assemble the combo as quickly as possible. Then it is backed up by Force of Will, Daze and Pact of Negation to ensure your opponent isn’t able to thwart your plan. Fast mana sources from Lotus Petal, Ancient Tomb and CCity of Traitors allows the possibility of a turn one combo kill with a surprise Show and Tell. The Omni-Tell deck is a true powerhouse and showcases exactly how legacy can exploit card interactions to create these incredible combo masterpieces.
Creatures (17)
Other Spells (17)
Sideboard
Creatures (17)
Other Spells (17)
This weekends premier tournament results came through huge for Mono-Black Devotion in Standard. Not only was the SCG Standard Open won by MBD but it was the SCG Invitational winner as well. The two decks were 72 of 75 the same list with identical main deck compositions, and only minor meta calls for sideboard tweaks. There’s nothing groundbreaking about the deck but it has matured into a solid fighting machine. The opening of Thoughtseize into Pack Rat has been said by many to be the strongest one-two punch in standard right now. Follow that up with Nightveil Specter or Underworld Connections into Desecration Demon then a backbreaking Gray Merchant and most games can be over before your opponent has even begun. Of course not all games play out quite that perfect so the deck is packed with removal wielding full sets of both Devour Flesh and Hero’s Downfall with a singleton Pharika’s Cure. Speaking of singletons there is also a one of Erebos which still catches opponents with the no life gain clause while also supplying a steady stream of card advantage. The deck can also go all in on the Pack Rat strategy which often is the last permanent you cast once dropped on turn two and is backed up by Mutavault which as rats themselves also take opponents by surprise and turn trades into chumps. Not that we didn’t already know it but this deck will definitely be top tier at least until Journey to Nykthos. Let’s not forget Owen Turtenwald took down the Grand Prix Albuquerque with MBD last month.
26 lands
7 creatures
Sideboard
