Games Haven $1K Series Championship 2019
14th April 2019
Games Haven Paya Lebar
Matthew (Lightning Bolt) Yee
One entire year of grinding had led to this. Our most consistent point-earners, our 12 Series Event winners and our winners of our 5 LCQs, totalling 28 people, gathered for one last time in the store for our invite-only party to compete for the spot in the Top 8 that would allow them to partake of our prize pool totalling over three thousand buckaroos! The format of the event was a bit special, as we had opted for a dual format event. The first three of the 6 rounds would be Standard, while the next 3 would be Modern, and our Top 8 would be once again Standard. Who would prevail in this grueling day?
In a stark contrast to the aggressive and tempo-based metagame that launched a Mono-Blue deck to the top of the Pro Tour, over the subsequent months, the pros have iterated and upgraded Esper Control into the most stable and consistent form of control thus far in RNA Standard. Partially because of its strength in Wizards' experimental formats in events elsewhere, Esper Control has gotten a lot of attention and thus, a lot of deckbuilding centered around it. Make no mistake, the deck is here to stay, and for as long as the metagame welcomes Teferi, it will not disappear until a vast influx of new toys appear. Cough cough War of the Spark also has a Teferi cough cough.
Half of our Standard deck distribution boiled down to monocoloured decks, as if their owners were trying to escape from the fact that we just had two entire sets dedicated to 2-coloured guilds. Mono-Blue, Mono-Red and Mono-White dotted the tables, and all 3 remain viable options for cheap-ish decks to pick up if you want a change of pace before rotation hits in the 4th quarter. Hint hint - out of those 3 decks, 2 are currently available for sale as Challenger Decks. Mai gong bojio.
The rest of our Standard metagame was basically the Simic Combine. Various Nexus builds and various Sultai builds with Hydroid Krasis attempted to assert dominance on the tables, and to the credit of the Combine, 3 out of the Top 4 were affiliated with the Combine. Momir Vig would be proud.
Nexus in particular has long been a meme in various community circles, but deride it at your own peril, in the hands of a good pilot, the deck is dangerously effective as it is soporific. Pressure the deck as fast as you can, because if you are unable to apply enough pressure, you know you have lost when you start falling asleep due to lack of opportunity to take actions.
Our Modern metagame was, fascinatingly enough, simultaneously more and less predictable. Since so much money was on the line, almost every player decided to default to their pet decks that they were most comfortable with, but in so doing, ensured that almost every participant was playing a different deck. There were hardly any repeats among the Modern decks, and if there were, it was only for staples you would expect to see in mutiples anyway like Burn and Tron.
With this relatively small player number, our Modern players found their sideboarding to be tested the most, as there was no "common" deck to aim for, and thus all their sideboarding construction and deployment decisions had to be on point. For this, as the old Modern adage claims, one would vastly favour general cards over specific 'answer' cards. It is times like these where one is grateful that Cryptic Command has 4 modes prebuilt into its cardtext.
Or one could, you know, just be the one asking the questions instead. End step Bolt your face?
And of course, our winner. Demonstrating an extremely rigorous practice ethic (shoutout to the senseis at JGH for practicing with him), he demolished our first LCQ to qualify for the invitational, and he repeated that feat with a never-say-die consistent 2-1, 2-1 performance in the Swiss rounds, before unleashing his final form and uniting with the heart of the cards to take down the Top 8 and stand on top of all the rest. Here is our 1K Series Champion, Loh Han Boon!
Our Top 8 from Left to Right: Reeve Chia, Foo Zhi Jie, Aloysius Goh, Loh Han Boon, Yang Zhijian, Jocelyn Allard, Kelvin Chew, Albertus Law
Top 8 Decklists
1st Place - Loh Han Boon
Standard - Mono-Blue Tempo - Main Deck
19x Island
4x Merfolk Trickster
4x Tempest Djinn
4x Pteramander
1x Mist-Cloaked Herald
4x Siren Stormtamer
2x Surge Mare
4x Opt
1x Negate
4x Wizard's Retort
4x Dive Down
3x Spell Pierce
2x Quench
4x Curious Obsession
Sideboard
2x Deep Freeze
3x Negate
1x Surge Mare
4x Entrancing Melody
1x Quench
1x Disdainful Stroke
3x Essence Capture
Modern - Amulet Titan - Main Deck
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Slayers' Stronghold
1x Kabira Crossroads
1x Khalni Garden
4x Simic Growth Chamber
4x Gemstone Mine
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1x Boros Garrison
4x Selesnya Sanctuary
4x Forest
3x Tolaria West
1x Vesuva
4x Sakura-Tribe Scout
4x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4x Primeval Titan
1x Walking Ballista
4x Ancient Stirrings
4x Summoner's Pact
1x Primal Command
1x Pact of Negation
3x Coalition Relic
2x Engineered Explosives
4x Amulet of Vigor
Sideboard
4x Path to Exile
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Hornet Queen
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
3x Negate
1x Obstinate Baloth
1x Consulate Crackdown
1x Ramunap Excavator
1x Tireless Tracker
2nd Place - Reeve Chia
Standard - Simic Nexus – Main Deck
4x Breeding Pool
4x Hinterland Harbor
3x Memorial to Genius
2x Simic Guildgate
6x Forest
5x Island
3x Hydroid Krasis
3x Opt
3x Blink of an Eye
4x Growth Spiral
4x Root Snare
3x Sinister Sabotage
4x Chemister's Insight
1x Precognitive Perception
4x Nexus of Fate
3x Search for Azcanta//Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
4x Wilderness Reclamation
Sideboard
3x Negate
3x Crushing Canopy
1x Sagittars' Volley
2x Biogenic Ooze
1x The Immortal Sun
2x Nezahal, Primal Tide
2x Pelakka Wurm
1x Mass Manipulation
Modern - Amulet Titan - Main Deck
1x Bojuka Bog
1x Slayers' Stronghold
1x Kabira Crossroads
1x Khalni Garden
4x Simic Growth Chamber
4x Gemstone Mine
1x Gruul Turf
1x Cavern of Souls
1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1x Boros Garrison
2x Selesnya Sanctuary
3x Forest
3x Tolaria West
1x Vesuva
3x Botanical Sanctum
4x Sakura-Tribe Scout
4x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4x Primeval Titan
4x Ancient Stirrings
4x Summoner's Pact
3x Serum Visions
1x Pact of Negation
2x Coalition Relic
4x Amulet of Vigor
2x Hive Mind
Sideboard
2x Engineered Explosives
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Pact of Negation
2x Path to Exile
1x Celestial Purge
2x Negate
1x Reclamation Sage
1x Tireless Tracker
1x Chameleon Colossus
1x Obsinate Baloth
1x Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1x Hornet Queen
Top 4 - Jocelyn Allard
Standard - Bant Nexus – Main Deck
1x Arch of Orazca
4x Breeding Pool
1x Forest
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Hinterland Harbor
3x Sunpetal Grove
2x Temple Garden
2x Island
4x Nexus of Fate
4x Root Snare
2x Revitalize
4x Growth Spiral
4x Chemister's Insight
2x Expansion//Explosion
4x Gift of Paradise
4x Wilderness Reclamation
3x Search for Azcanta//Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
1x Dawn of Hope
3x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Sideboard
1x Cleansing Nova
4x Negate
3x Crushing Canopy
3x Hydroid Krasis
2x Nezahal, Primal Tide
2x Lyra Dawnbringer
Modern - Blue Moon – Main Deck
4x Scalding Tarn
7x Island
1x Mountain
1x Spirebluff Canal
1x Desolate Lighthouse
2x Sulfur Falls
2x Steam Vents
3x Misty Rainforest
4x Snapcaster Mage
4x Thing in the Ice//Awoken Horror
4x Lightning Bolt
3x Opt
1x Ancestral Vision
3x Serum Visions
1x Sudden Shock
1x Flame Slash
1x Abrade
1x Spell Snare
1x Logic Knot
4x Remand
4x Cryptic Command
1x Negate
1x Anger of the Gods
2x Blood Moon
2x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy
Sideboard
1x Dispel
1x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Spell Pierce
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Abrade
3x Dragon's Claw
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1x Keranos, God of Storms
1x Vendilion Clique
1x Anger of the Gods
Top 4 - Aloysius Goh
Standard - Sultai Midrange - Main Deck
4x Breeding Pool
3x Drowned Catacomb
2x Forest
2x Hinterland Harbor
1x Memorial to Folly
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Woodland Cemetery
4x Watery Grave
1x Carnage Tyrant
2x Frilled Mystic
4x Hydroid Krasis
2x Hostage Taker
4x Jadelight Ranger
2x Merfolk Branchwalker
1x Ravenous Chupacabra
4x Seeker's Squire
1x Thrashing Brontodon
3x Wildgrowth Walker
2x Assassin's Trophy
3x Find//Finality
2x Cast Down
2x Vraska's Contempt
1x Vraska, Relic Seeker
2x Vivien Reid
Sideboard
2x Unmoored Ego
1x Disdainful Stroke
2x Negate
3x Duress
2x Cry of the Carnarium
1x Vraska's Contempt
2x Kraul Harpooner
1x Thrashing Brontodon
1x Carnage Tyrant
Modern - BG Rock - Main Deck
4x Blooming Marsh
4x Field of Ruin
2x Forest
1x Hissing Quagmire
2x Overgrown Tomb
4x Swamp
1x Twilight Mire
2x Treetop Village
4x Verdant Catacombs
4x Dark Confidant
2x Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
3x Scavenging Ooze
4x Tarmogoyf
2x Tireless Tracker
3x Assassin's Trophy
1x Maelstrom Pulse
4x Fatal Push
2x Thoughtseize
4x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Collective Brutality
2x Liliana, the Last Hope
3x Liliana of the Veil
Sideboard
2x Grafdigger's Cage
1x Ratchet Bomb
1x Damping Sphere
3x Fulminator Mage
2x Kitchen Finks
1x Maelstrom Pulse
2x Surgical Extraction
1x Collective Brutality
1x Bitterblossom
1x Damnation
Top 8 - Foo Zhi Jie
Standard - Will Smith が言っていた (Esper Control) - Main Deck
4x Isolated Chapel
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Hallowed Fountain
3x Godless Shrine
4x Watery Grave
1x Swamp
1x Island
1x Plains
2x Cry of the Carnarium
3x Kaya's Wrath
3x Chemister's Insight
4x Thought Erasure
3x Cast Down
1x Unmoored Ego
3x vraska's Contempt
1x Negate
2x Mortify
1x Syncopate
4x Absorb
2x Search for Azcanta//Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
1x Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
4x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Sideboard
4x Thief of Sanity
2x Lyra Dawnbringer
2x Moment of Craving
2x Hostage Taker
1x Negate
2x Duress
1x Settle the Wreckage
1x The Eldest Reborn
Modern - Cawcaw Muddafugga (UR Phoenix) - Main Deck
4x Spirebluff Canal
4x Scalding Tarn
2x Misty Rainforest
3x Steam Vents
3x Island
2x Mountain
2x Crackling Drake
4x Arclight Phoenix
4x Thing in the Ice//Awoken Horror
1x Snapcaster Mage
4x Thought Scour
4x Faithless Looting
4x Serum Visions
4x Opt
4x Lightning Bolt
1x Lightning Axe
4x Manamorphose
1x Echoing Truth
1x Gut Shot
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Pyromancer Ascension
Sideboard
1x Beacon Bolt
1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy
1x Abrade
1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
2x Anger of the Gods
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Dispel
1x Disdainful Stroke
2x Spell Pierce
1x Ravenous Trao
1x Shatterstorm
2x Blood Moon
Top 8 - Joshua Yang Zhijian
Standard - Esper Control - Main Deck
4x Isolated Chapel
4x Glacial Fortress
4x Drowned Catacomb
4x Hallowed Fountain
4x Godless Shrine
4x Watery Grave
1x Swamp
1x Island
2x Cry of the Carnarium
4x Thought Erasure
3x Absorb
3x Kaya's Wrath
3x Vraska's Contempt
3x Chemister's Insight
3x Mortify
2x Cast Down
1x Duress
1x Negate
1x Moment of Craving
2x Search for Azcanta//Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
1x Seal Away
1x Kaya, Orzhov Usurper
4x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Sideboard
4x Thief of Sanity
3x Lyra Dawnbringer
2x Seraph of the Scales
3x Duress
1x Moment of Craving
1x Arguel's Blood Fast//Temple of Aclazotz
1x Cry of the Carnarium
Modern - UW Control - Main Deck
4x Celestial Colonnade
4x Flooded Strand
4x Field of Ruin
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Glacial Fortress
2x Plains
6x Island
1x Scalding Tarn
2x Snapcaster Mage
2x Vendilion Clique
4x Terminus
4x Path to Exile
4x Opt
3x Cryptic Command
1x Serum Visions
1x Ancestral Vision
1x Oust
1x Negate
1x Logic Knot
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Absorb
1x Blessed Alliance
1x Search for Azcanta//Azcanta, the Sunken Ruin
1x Detention Sphere
3x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
Sideboard
3x Rest in Peace
2x Dispel
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Lyra Dawnbringer
1x Cataclysmic Gearhulk
1x Disdainful Stroke
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Celestial Purge
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Ceremonious Rejection
1x Ancestral Vision
Top 8 - Kelvin Chew
Standard - Sultai Midrange - Main Deck
4x Breeding Pool
2x Drowned Catacomb
4x Forest
1x Hinterland Harbor
1x Memorial to Folly
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Watery Grave
4x Woodland Cemetery
1x Carnage Tyrant
3x Hostage Taker
4x Hydroid Krasis
1x Incubation Druid
4x Jadelight Ranger
4x Llanowar Elves
4x Merfolk Branchwalker
4x Wildgrowth Walker
3x Cast Down
3x Find//Finality
2x Vraska's Contempt
3x Vivien Reid
Sideboard
1x Carnage Tyrant
1x Cast Down
2x Disdainful Stroke
4x Duress
4x Kraul Harpooner
2x Thrashing Brontodon
1x Vraska's Contempt
Modern - UW Control - Main Deck
4x Celestial Colonnade
4x Field of Ruin
4x Flooded Strand
2x Hallowed Fountain
2x Glacial Fortress
6x Island
1x Ghost Quarter
2x Plains
3x Snapcaster Mage
1x Vendilion Clique
2x Surgical Extraction
3x Cryptic Command
1x Spell Pierce
1x Logic Knot
1x Negate
4x Path to Exile
4x Opt
2x Mana Leak
2x Serum Visions
2x Oust
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Timely Reinforcements
2x Detention Sphere
2x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
3x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Sideboard
2x Ceremonious Rejection
2x Celestial Purge
2x Dispel
1x Negate
1x Ravenous Trap
1x Surgical Extraction
1x Timely Reinforcements
1x Disdainful Stroke
2x Terminus
1x Rest in Peace
1x Vendilion Clique
Top 8 - Albertus Law
Standard - Mono-Red Aggro splash black - Main Deck
4x Blood Crypt
4x Dragonskull Summit
13x Mountain
4x Fanatical Firebrand
4x Ghitu Lavarunner
3x Rix Maadi Reveler
4x Runaway Steam-Kin
3x Viashino Pyromancer
4x Goblin Chainwhirler
4x Lightning Strike
4x Light Up the Stage
2x Risk Factor
3x Wizard's Lightning
4x Carnival//Carnage
Sideboard
2x Dire Fleet Daredevil
3x Lava Coil
4x Lightning Mare
2x Fiery Cannonade
2x Risk Factor
2x Angrath, the Flame-Chained
Modern - BR Prison - Main Deck
3x Blood Crypt
4x Bloodstained Mire
2x Graven Cairns
3x Mountain
9x Swamp
1x Temple of Malice
1x Magus of the Moon
4x Simian Spirit Guide
1x Hazoret the Fervent
1x Abrade
4x Collective Brutality
2x Anger of the Gods
3x Bedevil
2x Kolaghan's Command
1x Torpor Orb
4x Chalice of the Void
4x Ensnaring Bridge
4x Blood Moon
3x Liliana of the Veil
1x Liliana, the Last Hope
3x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
Sideboard
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
1x Kolaghan's Command
2x Crumble to Dust
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Boil
2x Stormbreath Dragon