Well, here we are.

Many brewers entered the arena looking to put their stamp of originality on the newly minted Battle for Zendkar Standard, but in the end our Top 8 turned out more or less similarly to the one last weekend at the SCG Open in Atlanta.

Though the UB Aristocrats deck from Christian Calcano got many people excited and spiked Liliana, Heretical Healer from $14 to $25 overnight, our Top 8 is a powerhouse of legendary Magic pros and the decks that now firmly define this format:

1. Owen Turtenwald (Jeskai Black)
2. Ricky Chin (GW Megamorph)
3. Paulo Vita Damo Da Rosa (Atarka Red)
4. Martin Muller (Jeskai Tokens)
5. Takimura Kazuyuki (Abzan)
6. Jon Finkel (Jeskai Black)
7. Ryoichi Tamada (Jeskai)
8. Paul Dean (Abzan)

Our ladder looks like this:

Ricky Chin (GW Megamorph) vs. Ryoichi Tamada (Jeskai)

Paulo Vita Damo Da Rosa (Atarka Red) vs. Jon Finkel (Jeskai Black)

Martin Muller (Jeskai Tokens) vs. Takimura Kazuyuki (GW Megamorph)

Owen Turtenwald (Jeskai Black) vs. Paul Dean (Abzan)

With some relatively young players facing some of the biggest giants in the game in Finkel, PVD and Owen Turtenwald, I would expect Round 1 to yield winners in Tamada, Muller and Turtenwald, with the Finkel/PVD match being largely dependent on the PVD Atarka Red hand quality since Finkel can be relied on to play out his hand competently.

Almost regardless of which deck ultimately wins, the metagame is now definitively settled on Atarka Red, Jeskai/Dark Jeskai and G/W Megamorph as the Tier 1 decks to beat. This should lead to some modest price appreciation with the already inflated Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy and Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, as the two key non-land cards with over 20 copies in the Top 8. With fetchlands dominating all of the mana bases, it’s also likely that fetches will continue to appreciate through the season.

Welcome to a fantastic Top 8. Let’s see how it plays out:

Ricky Chin (GW Megamorph) vs. Ryoichi Tamada (Jeskai)

In Game 1, Ryoichi Tamada puts Gideon, Jace and Silkwrap on the board and demonstrates how easy it is to dominate an opponent that is land poor when you are running the three best cards in the format in the same deck. Game 1 to Tamada.

In Game 2, Chin curves out perfectly with Warden of the First Tree into Hangarback Walker into Deathmist Raptor, but a missed block on an attacking Jace from Tamada sets up a board state with a flipped Jace and a paired Wingmate Roc that turns the game into a solid race. Tamada goes aggressive perhaps a turn too early in the face of a pair of Dromoka’s Command however, and Tamada finds himself tied up at a game a piece.

Game 3 starts out strong with Ricky Chin, but a Mantis Rider and a paired Wingmate Roc leads to a grindy match which ends up being won by Tamada on the back of a Silkwrap removing a massively powered up Warden. Tamada advances with Jeskai to the semis, putting Gideon, Jace and Mantis Rider squarely in the spotlight financially.

Paulo Vita Damo Da Rosa (Atarka Red) vs. Jon Finkel (Jeskai Black)

Here we have one of the best possible Top 8 matches between two Hall of Fame Magic players.

Game 1 demonstrates the occasional fragility of the Atarka Red build as PVD is forced to mulligan into a hand with minimal action, and Finkel easily removes a couple of threats before steamrolling into an early victory.

Game 2 finds PVD forced to mulligan yet again and Finkel puts another quick game away with two Mantis Rider and a total lack of combo action from his opponent. Johnny magic moves on to the semis with Jeskai Black.

Martin Muller (Jeskai Tokens) vs. Takimura Kazuyuki (Abzan)

Unable to find anything but lands to pair with his Jeskai Ascendancy, Muller is forced to chump block a few turns in a row with his early tokens, and falls to a combined attack by Siege Rhino, Anafenza and Den Protector in Game 1.

In Game 2 Muller fails to find synergy and a smart mulligan from Takimura into a more aggressive hand results in a quick win and a trip to the semis.

Owen Turtenwald (Jeskai Black) vs. Paul Dean (Abzan)

Paul Dean gets a chance here to seek revenge against Owen for trying to knock him out of Top 8 contention in the final round Saturday in favor of Reid Duke.

In Game 1 Owen loses his only threat in Mantis Rider and Dean is able to put things away with Gideon and friends in fairly straight forward fashion. In Game 2, Owen keeps a promising hand with two lands and is slowed down enough to be put away by on curve Wingmate Roc and friends, sealing revenge for fellow Canadian Paul Dean.

Our Top 4 decks are two Abzan builds and two Jeskai builds, marking our Tier 1 as a mix of last season and the new JeskaiX options.

Side note: Snapcaster Mage has been announced as the RPTQ Promo, with new art. I would expect this to delay strong gains on the cards until later this spring, and though this art is unlikely to be preferred, this does add thousands of copies to the market.

Semi-Finals

Ryoichi Tamada (Jeskai) vs. Jon Finkel (Jeskai Black)

In Game 1 Finkel manages to get a flipped Jace, Sarkhan, Dragonspeaker, and Tasigur in play at the same time, and the game goes sideways for Tamada in a hurry. A flurry of Jeskai Charms from Tamada later however, leads to Finkel losing Tasigur to the top of his deck a few times, and a Gideon is able to take out Jace and put Finkel on his heels. Facing down a double Gideon emblem and multiple attackers Finkel finds a way out via a double helping of Mantis Rider to block, live and crack back for the final three. Game 1 Finkel.

In Game 2, back and forth plays lead to a critical Gideon attack alongside his allies, and Tamada takes back a win.

Game 3 sees Finkel lose after being penalized for a mid-game land coming in tapped, allowing Tamada to get in with Sarkhan, Dragonspeaker and put away the match.

Finals

Ryoichi Tamada (Jeskai) vs. Takimura Kazuyuki (Abzan)

Well the dust has cleared and the only men left standing are from the land of the rising sun. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Japanese dominated finals at the Pro Tour, but it’s far from a surprise given the quality of play from these two gentlemen this weekend.

Takimura takes Game 1 fairly easily and puts himself just 2 wins away from a Pro Tour title.

In Game 2 Tamada manages to flood the board with Gideo, Jace and a bevy of allied threats, but carefully chips away at Takimura until a mass attack on the back of Jeskai Charm utterly closes the game in his favor. Game 3 finds Tamada using Jeskai Charm and Disdainful stroke to deal with a 4/4 Walker once via bounce, followed by the counter on the way back to the board. This traps Takimura on four lands, and leaves him wide open for a two quick attacks. Tamada goes to two games.

In Game 4 however, Takimura rallies back, his life suddenly easier with Tamada stuck on one land after a couple of mulligans. Heading into Game 5 Takimura takes a daring mulligan, giving up a hand with one land and early threats to get a hand with guaranteed land support. The next hand had two lands, and he was lucky enough to find a third in time to trade key cards and leave his opponent looking for a top deck. One big attack later and Takimura is our Pro Tour: Battle for Zendikar champion!

In the end it is Abzan in the hands of Tamikura Kazuyuki that takes the tournament in stellar fashion, and we have Siege Rhino on the podium despite the appearance throughout the weekend that it would be the tournament for Jeskai Black and G/W Megamorph to dominate the Top 8.

In the wake of Kazuyuki’s win, we see Gideon driving up towards $40, with the potential to settle anywhere within $5 of that number as the week goes on. Likewise Jace, which was easily the card of the tournament, has regained some lost ground and is pushing $75-80 again after some aggressive buying today. Liliana, Heretical Healer seems to be holding her $23-25 range so far, but could fall back towards $15 since none of her decks made Top 8. All in all, very few cards from Battle for Zendikar other than Gideon and the “battle” lands have made much of an impact at the top tables. Despite a plethora of interesting brews, our expected archetypes are still in the driver’s seat. How the metagame reacts will be interesting as we push deeper into BFZ Standard in the coming weeks.

Also of note, Dromoka’s Command should hold $7-8 as an integral part of both of the viable GW decks in Abzan and GW Megamorph. Wingmate Roc seems like it will command $6-8 in coming weeks, representing a solid gain from the $3 summer lows.

Thanks for sticking with us this weekend! See you next time.

After 8 hard fought rounds on Friday, including three rounds of draft and five rounds of standard, a metagame clustered around the best established constructed archetypes of the last few weeks has emerged. Despite more than 20 distinct decks making up at least 1% of the metagame, a full 60% of the field can be said to be on a variation of G/W Megamorph, Atarka Red or Jeskai Splash. Esper Control and Abzan take up the 4th and 5th slots by metagame at the event.

If there is a financial story on the weekend so far, it’s that many of the formats’ dominant cards are likely to hold and gain some value coming out of the weekend. In particular, cards such as Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy and Den Protector all look likely to see plenty of play post this meta.

Over the last week, all of the following cards have put up 25%+ price spikes. A common theme here is undervalued rares from KTK block that are coming into their own in the new meta as they escape peak supply and find room to break out. Many of these cards are doing well enough thus far to hold position as card carrying members of the 3 top archetypes:

• Crackling Doom (+200%): $1 to $3
• Mantis Rider (+67%): $1.50 to $2.50
• Dromoka’s Command (+60%): $5 to $8
• Zurgo Bellstriker (+45%): $2.50 to $3.60
• Dragonlord Ojutai (+40%): $20 to $28
• Den Protector (+40%): $11 to $16
• Ojutai’s Command (+33%): $3 to $4
• Dragonmaster Outcast (+40%): $4 to $6
• Anafenza, the Foremost (+25%): $6.50 to $8.25

After two more rounds of draft this morning, we now have the following players and decks within striking distance of a Top 8 berth and a date with destiny:

• Christian Calcano on an innovative UB Aristocrats brew that pairs Liliana, Heretical Healer and Whirler Rogue with Nantuko Husk to great effect. Watch for Lilanna to pop if Calcano makes Top 8.
• Eric Severson, our leader from Day 1 on Jeskai Black, with Jacob Wilson not far behind
• Hall of Famer, Paulo Vitor Dama de Rosa cutting through the crowd with Atarka Red
• Ryochi Tamada looking to make a mark with straight Jeskai
• Reid Duke on Esper Control

Cards that are noticeable absent thus far at the top tables include Oblivion Sower and Ulamog, perhaps condemning ramp to Tier 2 status, at least until the release of Oath of the Gatewatch this winter.

Follow along with us as we stalk the final 5 rounds of Standard play before the cut to Top 8.

Round 12: (6th Round of Standard)

Patrick Chapin (Esper Control) vs. Shaun McClaren (Dark Jeskai)

Chapin takes Game 1 on the back of a pair of early Silkwrap, helping cement that card as one of the best kill spells in the format. Chapin’s build eschews dragons in favor of planeswalkers to close out the game. Both these players are on 8-2-1, looking to go at least 4-1 today in Standard to ensure a Top 8 berth. Efficient use of removal followed up by the power of Ob Nixilis, Gideon and Secure the Wastes puts McClaren away in Game 2, putting Chapin 3 wins away from the Top 8.

Paul Reitzl (Esper Control) vs Martin Juza (Esper Dragons)

This match provides insights into the future of control decks in Standard as we see the dragons take on the planeswalkers in a battle of long game stratgies. The players trade a game each, and end up in a strange final game, where both players on 8-3 are forced to accept a tie and bank on winning through to the Top 8.

Deck Tech: Blue/Black Aristocrats w/ Christian Calcano

Calcano calls out Liliana, Heretical Healer as the 2nd most important card in the deck after Nantuko Husk. The players on the deck are 4-2 and 5-1, which marks the deck for potential future success. Lilianna has already doubled this week on MTGO, so a strong Top 8 performance could possibly move the paper price from $15 up toward $20. A quick look at TCGPlayer shows copies under $17 already drying up.

Round 13: (7th Round of Standard)

Christian Calcano (UB Aristocrats) vs. Kazuyuki Takimura (Abzan)

Calcano takes a tight Game 1 after using Sidisi’s Faithful (!) to remove a key blocker and finish off Takimura. Calcano gets his opponent to 1 in Game 2, but can’t keep his synergies intact for the extra turn needed to put things away. A vicious Murderous Cut forces Calcano into a draw, and the Top 8 achievement is now in doubt for UB Aristocrats.

Jon Finkel (Jeskai Black) vs. Jon Stern (Atarka Red)

As we come in Stern is up a game but Finkel puts on a good show, using Radiant Flames and then recursive Lightning Bolts vis a vis Soulfire Grandmaster and Fiery Impulse to deal with successive waves of Goblins and manages to take the second game. Most players are at 10-3, so can’t afford the loss to be secure for Top 8.

Round 14: (8th Round of Standard)

Eric Severson (Jeskai Black) vs. Yuta Takahashi (Abzan)

Both players are on 10-3 and can earn a “win-and-in” with a win in this match. Takahashi wins the grind war to take Game 1. Brilliant sequencing by Takahashi in Game 2 takes the match and Abzan moves a big step closer to claiming at least one Top 8 spot.

Owen Turtenwald (Jeskai Black) vs. PVD (Atarka Red)

Owen defeats Pualo and ensures that both of these top tier players will make Top 8.

Round 15: (9th Round of Standard)

Jon Finkel (Jeskai Black) vs. PVD (Atarka Red)

This round brings us a match between titans and a possible foreshadowing for top 8 success. Facing down a horde of goblins both games, Johnny Magic makes his 15th Top 8!

Round 16: (10th Round of Standard)

Reid Duke (Esper Control) vs. Takimura (GW Megamorph)

Reid needs to win here, and possibly also have his friend Owen win his own match to give him his best chance at a Top 8 slot. After losing Game 1, Reid suffers when a Transgress the Mind exiles his Ugin, invalidating the power of Haven of the Spirit Dragon.

Owen Turtenwald (Jeskai Black) vs. Paul Dean (GW Megamorph)

Owen didn’t need to win this match to Top 8, but by “dream killing” Paul Dean he improves the odds that Reid makes Top 8. Owen wins his match and secures the top seed for Top 8.

Brandon Burton (Atarka Red) vs. Javier Dominguez (Atarka Red)

The winner of this match is set to likely take the 8th seed in the Top 8, ensuring at least one Atarka Red deck in contention. The games are tight, but some sweet tech in the form of Hooting Mandrills helps Dominguez take the match.

Yuta Takahashi (Abzan) vs. Ryoichi Tamada (Jeskai)

Winner of this match puts a tri-color deck into the Top 8. Tamada takes it down to put Jeskai in contention.

Top 8 Decks

Despite a plethora of pretenders to the crown in the form of innovative new decks, our Top 8 turns out very much as expected with a mixture of Jeskai Black, Atarka Red and GW Megamoph, almost exactly the same as the results from the SCG Open in Atlanta last week, with a single Jeskai Tokens build to add some spice.

1. Owen Turtenwald (Jeskai Black)
2. Ricky Chin (GW Megamorph)
3. Paulo Vita Damp Da Rosa (Atarka Red)
4. Martin Muller (Jeskai Tokens)
5. Takimura (GW Megamorph)
6. Jon Finkel (Jeskai Black)
7. Ryoichi Tamada (Jeskai)
8. Paul Dean (Abzan)

With this Top 8, I’d be selling Liliana, Heretical Healer, Oblivion Sower and Drana, and trading into Jace and Gideon. Otherwise most of the key cards have already jumped.

Join us tomorrow for live Top 8 coverage!