pro tour dragons of tarkir

Atarka Abzan at Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir

The unbeatable Seth Manfield came in an impressive 16th place at Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir. Inside he goes over the reason for his finish along with showing off the Atarka Abzan list that helped him get there.

By Seth Manfield | @SethManfield | Published 2/7/2023 | 12 min read

Well it is safe to say that Dragons of Tarkir has changed Standard in a big way, and this means that many decks have started to add dragons. This doesn't mean completely new archetypes though; it could just mean adding or splashing a Dragonlord Ojutai . But in the case of the deck I played it meant adding a fourth color! Most decks in the format don't dare stretch beyond three colors because of not wanting to hurt the manabase. Dragonlord Atarka is one of the most powerful cards in Standard, and the deck I played incorporates it into a traditional Abzan Control shell, here is my list from the Pro Tour:

Once upon a time Sylvan Caryatid was a staple in the Abzan Control decks but it fell out of favor to make the deck more spell dense, and able to maindeck wrath effects. However, that does not mean that Sylvan Caryatid is bad in the deck, in fact it is great in the format right now. Sylvan Caryatid makes aggressive matchups like Monored Aggro much better as you can cast your threats a turn earlier, and block on the second turn if necessary. It was pretty early in testing that I knew I wanted to be playing Sylvan Caryatid in the deck, and at that point splashing a fourth color became a legitimate option. Team TCGplayer was testing other decks with Dragonlord Atarka and realizing how powerful the card is, so we decided to throw it in the Abzan Control deck.

The big question is can the deck support Dragonloard Atarka? As far as the mana goes we didn't want to play a lot of red lands, as we were relying heavily on Sylvan Caryatid . It was decided that one Haven of the Spirit Dragon to go along with two Nomad Outpost s would suffice. This seems like very few red sources, and to be honest it is. However, when looking further Dragonlord Atarka is a seven drop which means it isn't necessary to have red early in the game. In addition to Sylvan Caryatid the deck plays Satyr Wayfinder to help find red lands. I never had a problem with casting Dragonlord Atarka in the tournament. Besides the mana the other question is by adding Dragonlord Atarka is the deck too top heavy? The answer is that on paper yes, but when actually testing the deck there are not too many threats. However, I would make one change to the deck and that is to cut one copy of Elspeth, Sun's Champion for one Ugin, the Spirit Dragon . Since there are three Elspeth, Sun's Champion s and two Dragonlord Atarka , for the Pro Tour Ugin, the Spirit Dragon did end up in the sideboard.

Dragonlord Atarka works especially well with Whip of Erebos but the idea wasn't to make this deck into a combo deck, that strayed away too much from original Abzan Control shell. The removal spells were necessary in matchups like Red/Green Monsters. We didn't want cards that sort of don't do a lot other than filling up the graveyard like Commune with the Gods , though the deck does want some extra ways of putting creatures in the yard. The deck started with four copies of Satyr Wayfinder but we eventually settled on three. Satyr Wayfinder works very well with both Whip of Erebos and Sidisi, Undead Vizier , but you also would almost always rather be casting Sylvan Caryatid on turn two, and can get flooded pretty easily by playing too many mana sources. This is why there are three and some can be boarded out at times. Satyr Wayfinder also works nicely with Haven of the Spirit Dragon as it not only helps you mill Dragonlord Atarka into your graveyard, but you can find the Haven of the Spirit Dragon with Satyr Wayfinder .

There is only one copy of Sidisi, Undead Vizier and Whip of Erebos , as while both are strong, there will be spots when they can be underwhelming, and you rarely want to draw multiples. This idea applies to the other singletons, in Utter End and Tasigur, the Golden Fang . There were many games over the course of the Pro Tour where I went through more than half the deck, so having one-ofs that can be tutored for with Sidisi, Undead Vizier is important. With that being said the core creatures from Abzan Control remain the same. There are four of both Courser of Kruphix and Siege Rhino , which are just a given, and these cards are even better when you can whip them back.

The other cards in the deck don't differ too much from the traditional Abzan Control deck. Some of the numbers on certain cards like Thoughtseize did get shaved a bit to make room for other things. This deck has moved a little bit more towards being a threat deck, rather than a deck that relies on Thoughtseize as an answer card. The game also evolves into topdecking a good portion of the time, so you don't want more Thoughtseize s. One thing of note is that this version is not really meant for Bile Blight , but I feel like Ultimate Price is also better in a lot of situations. Bile Blight versus Ultimate Price is a give and take, one is better versus tokens, the other is better versus large green and red creatures. In the end I played the removal spell that is easier on the mana base. There are also two Murderous Cut s because this deck really does want three delve spells. Sideboarding

The maindeck is great, but the sideboard is what you rely on in tight game three situations. Sideboarding may very well be more important than choosing the right sixty cards for your maindeck. With that being said don't be afraid of sideboarding with a bunch of one and two-ofs.

Versus Control (with Dragons): The best deck based on the numbers to come out of the Pro Tour may very well have been the Dragon Control decks. With that said this does not mean that Dragon Control is the best deck, as the deck obviously has some poor matchups. I went 2-2 against control over the course of the tournament and I think that is about right. The maindeck isn't set up for control, but after board more threats can be exchanged for situational removal. Here is the plan:

Out: 2 Murderous Cut , 2 Hero's Downfall , 2 Sylvan Caryatid , 1 Satyr Wayfinder , 2 Ultimate Price , 1 Dragonlord Atarka In: 1 Thoughtseize , 1 Risen Executioner , 1 Merciless Executioner , 1 Crux of Fate , 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon , 1 Self-Inflicted Wound (for Dragonlord Ojutai ), 1 Arbor Colossus , 1 Archfiend of Depravity , 2 Fleecemane Lion .

This is definitely a lot of cards, many of which can actually answer a Dragonlord Ojutai . The biggest issues for Abzan Control are Dragonlord Ojutai and Silumgar, the Drifting Death . Edict effects and Crux of Fate are some of the best ways of answering these dragons after the opponent has tapped out. Many of these cards have implications in other matchups but can still come in here like Arbor Colossus and Archfiend of Depravity . Since we are cutting a couple Sylvan Caryatid s and Satyr Wayfinder s after game one there are less red sources in the deck, so it makes sense to shave a Dragonlord Atarka as well. The deck wants to be taking out removal spells and bringing in creatures that can pressure the opponent so there isn't time to use all the card drawing the control player has access to. The Risen Executioner is specifically for this matchup, as a threat that isn't answered by Counterspell s or one-for-one removal.

Versus Monored Aggro: This is a good matchup because of Sylvan Caryatid . The third Drown in Sorrow could be added to the board if you expect a lot of monored though. Here is the sideboard plan:

Out: 2 Thoughtseize , 3 Abzan Charm In: 2 Drown in Sorrow , 2 Fleecemane Lion , 1 Crux of Fate

After game one we basically just have all good cards against them, though monored always can have draws when on the play that you just can't do anything about. Still, once advancing to the late game it is easy to win with a Dragonlord Atarka or Elspeth, Sun's Champion . The additional sweepers after sideboard also make you less vulnerable to tokens from Dragon Fodder and Hordeling Outburst .

Versus Abzan Aggro: This is one of your best matchups. Many players should already be familiar with Abzan Control versus Abzan Aggro though I think this version is even more of a favorite against Abzan Aggro. Here's the plan:

Out: 1 Satyr Wayfinder , 1 Thoughtseize , 2 Ultimate Price In: 2 Glare of Heresy , 1 Self-Inflicted Wound , 1 Merciless Executioner

Some versions of Abzan Aggro barely play any mono-colored creatures, making Ultimate Price vulnerable to just becoming a dead card. The Crux of Fate can come in when expecting Wingmate Roc though you would rather just be on the plan of trying to deal with the early threats, and preventing the raid. Lots of the time the game can come down to topdecking, which is where the finishers like Dragonlord Atarka and Elspeth, Sun's Champion really shine.

Versus Red/Green Decks: At the moment there are a wide range of red/green archetypes but I am lumping them into a single category . The most obvious archetype is Red/Green Dragons but also new decks like Red/Green Bees and Green Devotion with Dragonlord Atarka are emerging. Most green decks are decent matchups, because of how good the black removal spells are. I am not going into specifically how to sideboard here because you don't need to sideboard very much in any of these matchups. I would look at potentially bringing in Fleecemane Lion on the play, the Crux of Fate , and the additional Thoughtseize can come in. The card that does almost always come in versus opposing dragon decks is the Arbor Colossus . It is fine to swap just a couple cards versus these deck. Trimming a Satyr Wayfinder and an Utter End is generally reasonable.

Versus Abzan Control: Over the course of the Pro Tour I was 3-0 against other Abzan Control decks. Dragonlord Atarka gives you the ability to be able to go over the top most of the time, though the games are still close. The key to Dragonlord Atarka is that it is usually correct to wait until your opponent plays Elspeth, Sun's Champion before playing Dragonlord Atarka to take out their planeswalker. This is the plan:

Out: 1 Satyr Wayfinder , 1 Sylvan Caryatid , 1 Utter End , 1 Hero's Downfall , 1 Ultimate Price In: 1 Glare of Heresy , 1 Self-Inflicted Wound , 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon , 2 Fleecemane Lion

After game one the idea is to just position your removal spells in the best possible way, and be prepared for a topdeck war or an early assault. Don't be too afraid of opposing Read the Bones as generally it feels like having more threats is better than more card drawing.

So I won't be going over every matchup for sideboarding, but this does cover some of the top decks. This deck isn't too different from Abzan Control and Abzan Whip decks before Dragons of Tarkir. The deck is super powerful, and it ended up putting me into the Top 16 of the Pro Tour, and very close to the Top 8. I recommend trying it out!

Thanks for reading, Seth Manfield

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Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir

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Format: Standard Date: 2015-04-11

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Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir

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Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir was the first Pro Tour of the 2014–15 season. The event had 357 competitors, and took place on 10–12 October 2014 in Hololulu, Hawaii. It featured Standard and Booster draft , and was the first constructed premier event where the new Khans of Tarkir was legal. The Pro Tour was won by American Ari Lax , who defeated Canada's Shaun McLaren , already a Pro Tour champion in 2014, in the final.

The 2014 Class of the Hall of Fame was inducted at Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir .

• 4 Player of the Year Race
• 5 Notable performances
• 6 External links
• 7 References

Day one [ | ]

The Pro Tour opened with the 2014 Class of the Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Three players were inducted: Makihito Mihara , Paul Rietzl , and Guillaume Wafo-Tapa , though Wafo-Tapa could not make it to the Pro Tour, and was not present. This marked the first time a player did not attend their Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The event itself started with a triple Khans of Tarkir draft. Notable players who started their campaign 3–0 included Yuuya Watanabe , William Jensen , Jon Finkel , Paul Rietzl , and reigning Pro Tour champion Ivan Floch . Five rounds of Standard followed; the most significant decks by a wide margin were Jeskai Tempo and Abzan Midrange, at 21.6% and 16.8% of the field, respectively. [1] Other popular decks included a four-color combo deck built around Jeskai Ascendancy , played by a number of top players, including Luis Scott-Vargas and Lee Shi Tian ; a number of pros also opted for a blue-black control deck featuring Pearl Lake Ancient as the win condition. This deck was played by several members of Team Pantheon, including Owen Turtenwald and William Jensen ; a slightly different version was also played by Ivan Floch and Stanislav Cifka . The undefeated players after the first day of competition were Yuuya Watanabe , playing Jeskai, and Mike Sigrist , who was playing a more aggressive version of the Abzan deck; this deck featured such cards as Rakshasa Deathdealer and Anafenza, the Foremost , eschewing more traditional options like Elspeth, Sun's Champion in favor of having a beatdown deck.

Day two [ | ]

After another triple Khans of Tarkir -draft, three players stood atop the field: Mike Sigrist , Ondřej Stráský , and Ari Lax . Japanese top pro Yuuya Watanabe had a difficult day, going 2–4 in the first six rounds. In the last round, he got paired against 2013–14 Player of the Year runner-up Owen Turtenwald , who was at 12–3 coming into the round and only an intentional draw away from his third top eight, but got paired down. Watanabe won the match, and made the top eight by virtue of having the best tiebreakers. Turtenwald, meanwhile, finished 11th. Another tiebreaker winner was Hong Kong's Lee Shi Tian , who on 12–4 edged out Gregory Orange to take the last top eight slot. Another player who made it to the knockout stage was Ivan Floch , who was looking to defend his title as the current Pro Tour champion, a feat that hadn't been accomplished since Kai Budde won back-to-back Pro Tours in 2001.

Top 8 [ | ]

Although considered one of the top players in the game, Yuuya Watanabe lost in straight sets to Ari Lax in the quarterfinals. Lax, while playing in his first Pro Tour top eight, was an esteemed player, and regarded as one of the best players without a Pro Tour top eight until that point. [2] Two newcomers to the Sunday stage met in the second quarterfinal, with Brazil's Thiago Saporito defeating Czech player Ondřej Stráský 2–1. Ivan Floch 's hopes of winning back-to-back Pro Tours were quashed by longtime player Mike Sigrist , who won 2–0 in decisive fashion. Another player with a Pro Tour win in 2014 was Shaun McLaren . McLaren, a relatively unknown player at the time of his Pro Tour win, established himself as a top Pro Tour player by finishing first after the Swiss rounds, and managed to defeat Lee Shi Tian , playing in his third Pro Tour top eight. McLaren's Jeskai Tempo deck prevailed over Shi Tian's Ascendancy combo deck 2–1.

Ari Lax and Thiago Saporito dueled in the Abzan Midrange mirror-match in the first semifinal. In a long and close three-game match, Lax finally pulled ahead when he topdecked an Elspeth, Sun's Champion when both players were out of cards, and won the match 2–1 to advance to the final. In the other semifinal, Shaun McLaren kept his hopes of becoming a repeat Pro Tour champion alive by defeating Mike Sigrist's Abzan Aggro deck 2–1. The final match of the tournament between Ari Lax and Shaun McLaren ended 3–1 in favor of Lax; a few of the games were decided by timely Siege Rhino s. As such, Ari Lax was crowned as the champion of Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir .

Player of the Year Race [ | ]

As the first Pro Tour of the season, Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir had a significant impact on the Player of the Year race. The top four were all top four finishers at the Pro Tour, with the fifth player, Owen Turtenwald , taking up the last spot on the list thanks to his 11th-place finish plus a Grand Prix win early in the season.

Notable performances [ | ]

• Six players went undefeated (6–0) in draft: Shaun McLaren , Thiago Saporito , Spencer Garnier, Stanislav Cifka , Joel Calafell , and Charles League.
• The player with the best Standard record in the Swiss rounds of the event was Hall of Famer Ben Stark , who went 8–1–1 with his Jeskai Tempo deck. Stark finished 15th in the event overall.

External links [ | ]

• Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir coverage
• Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir final standings
• Top Standard decklists: A-N
• To Standard decklists: O-Z
• Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir invitation list
• Video coverage playlist

References [ | ]

• ↑ Marc Calderaro (2014-10-10). " DAY ONE STANDARD METAGAME BREAKDOWN ". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-10-04.
• ↑ Josh Bennett (2015-04-10). " ROUND 3 FEATURE MATCH: (5) ARI LAX VS. ADRIAN SULLIVAN ". Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2015-10-04.
• 1 Modern Horizons 3/Commander decks
• 2 Modern Horizons 3