Hey everyone, thanks for tuning into our updates for Pro Tour Khans. I’ve been paying attention to the first two rounds and what is happening so far. Let’s take a look below:
Round 1 Summary
Raphael Levy (Mardu Planeswalkers)
Notable cards from the deck:
- Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
- Chained to the Rocks
- End Hostilities
- Nyx-Fleece Ram G2 & G3
- Utter End
- Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
- Chandra, Pyromaster
- Crackling Doom
Ben Stark (Jeskai Aggro) (won match 1)
Notable cards from the deck:
- Dig Through Time
- Goblin Rabblemaster
- Mantis Rider
- Seeker of the Way
- Brimaz, King of Oreskos
- Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
Park Jun Young (won match 1)
Notable cards from the deck:
- Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
- Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
- Sorin, Solemn Visitor
- Chandra, Pyromaster
- Thoughtseize
- Crackling Doom
- Butcher of the Horde
- Ashcloud Phoenix
Ivan Floch
Notable cards from the deck:
Commentator Input
- They were very excited about Dig Through Time.
- Butcher of the Horde was the number 1 rated card by commentators.
- LSV – Altar of the Brood won match 1 with Jeskai Ascendency, not covered on camera but the amazing 2-0 game was noticed. Only one Altar was played, so probably not much opportunity there but should watch this deck moving forward through the Pro Tour.
General:
- Temples were seen everywhere – more lands came into play tapped then not.
- Pearl Lake Ancient made an appearance as a two-of in control decks.
- Keranos won a game against a control deck
- Perilous Vault – seen at last pro tour, and also seeing play here.
- Dig Through Time doing so much work!
- Deck – Azorius Soul Blade. Notable cards: Ensoul Artifact, Hero of Iroas, Ghostfire Blade, Phyrexian Revoker, Master of Waves SB, Stubborn Denial SB
Round 2 Summary
Peter Steinaa (Kung Fu Tokens)
Shawn McLaren (Jeskai Aggro)
Owen Turtenwald
Park Jun Young (again surprising us)
- Empty the Pits (won a game on camera)
Commentator Input
- Unwritten Devotion archetype. Green Devotion, with See the Unwritten. Ferious to get two creatures into play. Splash black for Doomwake Giant constellation effect. Hornet Queen is also a card appearing in some lists.
- Nelson – White/Red Tokens
- Manfield – Abzan Midrange
- Blue / Black not doing well. Matches are 0-3 so far.
General:
- Jeskai Charm seems to be the most popular charm, since Jeskai in various forms is everywhere at the Pro Tour. Picking up foils of this charm seems good once the release hype dies down. Still seeing Sarkhan in basically all the red decks.
OK, so what do we know so far?
Based on James’ initial impressions, it seems like there have been tons of winners so far. Sarkhan, Sorin, Hornet Queen, Dig Through Time, and Goblin Rabblemaster all seem ripe for spikes soon after the Pro Tour. Wingmate Roc and Siege Rhino have not seen much camera time yet but as the tournament progresses they should have their time in the spotlight. Siege Rhino at least has been talked about tons by the commentators and they are big fans of the card.
Speculations are also abound. The top speculations at the moment are Jeskai Ascendency, Pearl Lake Ancient, See the Unwritten, Crackling Doom, and Perilous Vault. Based on what we’ve seen so far, all of them have performed very well and are critical parts of the decks they are present in. After spiking, these cards have a pretty good chance of staying higher than their pre-spike price even after the release hype.
Some other cards that could be good pickups are Ashcloud Phoenix, Empty the Pits, Butcher of the Horde, Prognostic Sphinx, Silence the Believers, Altar of the Brood, and Hero of Iroas (from the Azorius Soul Blade deck tech). However, the window will be much shorter with these secondary cards since there seemed to be fewer of them on camera and once the hype form the Pro Tour dies down they will go down in price as well.
Lastly, here are the Theros block and M14 cards that are performing exceptionally well and may see further gains from the Pro Tour results:
- Elspeth, Sun’s Champion
- Thoughtseize
- Hero’s Downfall
- Sylvan Caryatid
- Courser of Kruphix
- Brimaz, King of Oreskos
- Keranos (good against control, won a game in round 1)
- Temples (probably the most important from Theros)
- Goblin Rabblemaster
- Hornet Queen
- Chandra, Pyromaster
Thanks!
Go Ashcloud Phoenix!
You missed the comentary that rashaka death dealer and the 3/3 2 drop lion were in a rock aggro deck that was lacking courser or caratid, one of only 2 undefeateds that day
Thanks for the info! Any chance for a full decklist for Raphael Levy’s Mardu Planeswalkers? I think this is a great deck.