I think that Worlds looks more like a nutty FNM testing ground is AMAZING. Not even the Pros know how to nail down the format right now.
They cut modern off of pro tours and high-profile events because it was too boring apparently, so look at it now. For every deck that's been around since the beginning there is a deck that hasn't really existed since the last two months AND dead archetypes--makes legacy and standard look boring to me.
This is the best assessment, and most succinct, that I have ever heard about Worlds. It really IS a nutty FNM, both in terms of insularity, and in terms of size. And as anyone who plays FNM knows, an FNM metagame can be very different from the wider paper metagame, just because of structure and player/deck familiarity.
I think we can safely choose to infer very little from the metagame here - the deck choices look like the players are trying to counter deck choices they believe will appear at the event, rather than a deck that could be played in a wide open event. I mean, when was the last time we say UR Pyro storm with this %?
That about sums up my feelings of Worlds. Sadly, I'm sure the ban maniacs will be out in force for the rest of the week, wildly extrapolating from the results of this isolated and anomalous event.
Can someone explain to me what's happening at Martell v.Jensen? I have no sound right now so I'm completely lost.
Jensen wins. There was an issue with the order of spells resolving after Jensen cast Manamorphose, Martell casts DTT and then Wear/Tear on Ascension, and then Martell said he passed priority. It sounded like Martell made a misplay and then realized the misplay and tried to back out of it, which Jensen didn't allow to happen. The funny thing is that I don't think it would have mattered anyway, given Jensen's hand. Martell's only hope was to either DTT in his main phase and then win on the spot, or to DTT and pick a Remand and then double Remand the Manamorphose to keep Jensen off red mana. But he already missed the boat on both those play trees by the time the judges got involved.
Is everyone playing combo, or have I just chosen the wrong time to start watching? Every match they're cutting to is bleedin' combo versus combo.
There are more combo players here than at any other post-KTK event, but it was just due to luck that all of them happened to run into each other in these rounds. At least the games are interesting to watch, especially that Jensen/Martell one.
ROFL @ Tom Martell
Trying to back out of his play, and it wouldn't even have prevented the loss.
It was winnable by Martell, but it would have taken a very specific decision and a very high-level inference about the gamestate. Hard to do if rested, let alone in the high-stress arena of Worlds. Props to commentators for an incisive and critical examination of that match!
And...
lol (x2)
JA Storm, most broken deck IN THE HISTORY OF ALL MAGICZ, loses to UR Storm AGAIN despite Storm being "dead" since 2013.
I'll mark this as the day that cruise got banned. Not that its broken, just because how much of it is being played in the above, and how good it is against those same decks, and how everyone will freak upon seeing that.
I disagree. The Worlds metagame is just too insular for Wizards to make decisions based on it. The next two GPs will have to follow the Worlds trends for anything to get banned.
JA Storm should perform much better at Worlds than it did at GP Madrid. With fewer rounds to go through and a more insular metagame, it is much better positioned. It's like the Bogles effect that we have seen in the past.
24 of the best players in Magic have gathered in Nice, France to duke it out to crown an MTG world champion! The event will have a few rounds of Modern action (back by popular demand after initially being excluded!), and this is the place to discuss the event. Feel free to also discuss the event more generally, especially while waiting for the Modern coverage to start; Vintage Masters draft is awesome.
As I'm posting this now, it looks like the Modern coverage has already started with Chapin on UR Delver and Shaun McLaren on (what looks like) his trademark UWR Kiki Control.
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This is the best assessment, and most succinct, that I have ever heard about Worlds. It really IS a nutty FNM, both in terms of insularity, and in terms of size. And as anyone who plays FNM knows, an FNM metagame can be very different from the wider paper metagame, just because of structure and player/deck familiarity.
That about sums up my feelings of Worlds. Sadly, I'm sure the ban maniacs will be out in force for the rest of the week, wildly extrapolating from the results of this isolated and anomalous event.
So they are all 1-3 in the Modern standings? I'd calculate it myself but I can't find the standings at the end of the Modern rounds.
MVP
MVP
MVP
Jensen wins. There was an issue with the order of spells resolving after Jensen cast Manamorphose, Martell casts DTT and then Wear/Tear on Ascension, and then Martell said he passed priority. It sounded like Martell made a misplay and then realized the misplay and tried to back out of it, which Jensen didn't allow to happen. The funny thing is that I don't think it would have mattered anyway, given Jensen's hand. Martell's only hope was to either DTT in his main phase and then win on the spot, or to DTT and pick a Remand and then double Remand the Manamorphose to keep Jensen off red mana. But he already missed the boat on both those play trees by the time the judges got involved.
There are more combo players here than at any other post-KTK event, but it was just due to luck that all of them happened to run into each other in these rounds. At least the games are interesting to watch, especially that Jensen/Martell one.
Trying to back out of his play, and it wouldn't even have prevented the loss.
It was winnable by Martell, but it would have taken a very specific decision and a very high-level inference about the gamestate. Hard to do if rested, let alone in the high-stress arena of Worlds. Props to commentators for an incisive and critical examination of that match!
And...
lol (x2)
JA Storm, most broken deck IN THE HISTORY OF ALL MAGICZ, loses to UR Storm AGAIN despite Storm being "dead" since 2013.
JA Storm, most broken deck in the HISTORY OF EVAR, loses to UR Storm, a deck that has been "dead" since 2013.
I will say that the Gifts sideboard plan in JA Storm is awesome.
I disagree. The Worlds metagame is just too insular for Wizards to make decisions based on it. The next two GPs will have to follow the Worlds trends for anything to get banned.
1 Twilight Mire
2 Overgrown Tomb
2 Godless Shrine
1 Temple Garden
2 Tectonic Edge
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Stirring Wildwoods
1 Treetop Village
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Marsh Flats
1 Windswept Heath
1 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Plains
4 Siege Rhino
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Scavenging Ooze
2 Fulminator Mage
Spells:
4 Liliana of the Veil
4 Thoughtseize
1 Duress
3 Inquisiton of Kozilek
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Dismember
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Darkblast
1 Lingering Souls
1 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Duress
1 Golgari Charm
1 Fulminator Mage
1 Sigarda, Host of Herons
1 Drown in Sorrow
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Lingering Souls
2 Shadow of Doubt
4 Timely Reinforcements
EDIT: Okay he fixed it. Close one.
Official page: http://magic.wizards.com/en/events/coverage/2014WC
Twitch streaming: http://www.twitch.tv/magic
As I'm posting this now, it looks like the Modern coverage has already started with Chapin on UR Delver and Shaun McLaren on (what looks like) his trademark UWR Kiki Control.