Players from across the South East Asian region came together in the city of Singapore last weekend, to take part in the South East Asia Championships. The format was pioneer, there was a prize pool of $15,000, and of the 115 players who registered, six would be offered Pro Tour invitations - not to mention the one player who would score themselves a slot at next year's World Championship. That player turned out to be none other than Benedictus Budisanjaya, who stormed through the Top 8 with Rakdos Aggro to claim final victory!
Throughout the entire tournament, Budisanjaya looked to be in terrific form - he only dropped a single match in the Swiss portion, and only dropped a single game in the Top 8. His finals opponent, Justin Chin, had been in similar shape throughout the weekend, with an equally impressive Swiss score thanks to his Enigmatic Incarnation deck. Ultimately, however, it wasn't enough, and Budisanjaya was able to defeat Chin 2-0 and secure his spot at Worlds 2025.
The deck that was most strongly represented in the Top 8 came as a bit of a surprise - Enigmatic Incarnation was the fourth-most played deck at the tournament, but still managed to put no less than three copies in the Top 8. Perennial favourite Izzet Phoenix was featured twice, while the rest of the Top 8 was rounded out by Rakdos Aggro, Azorius Humans, and exciting newcomer Mono-Black Demons. This deck uses the one-two punch of
While the new Mono-Black Demons list was the breakout deck in Japan, where another Regional Championship was held this weekend, players in Singapore took a different approach to Pioneer. Izzet Phoenix was, once again, the most-played deck, with Rakdos Aggro and Azorius Control about half as popular. In terms of raw numbers, and despite winning the entire event, Rakdos decks had a quieter weekend in South East Asia in general, with other, less-commonly-seen lists working their way up the metagame rankings. Overall, however, it seems Pioneer still offers players the chance to play the decks they love and still have a good chance of success.
Coming together to play high-level tournament Magic with the best players from your region is an amazing experience, and events like the South East Asia Championships give you a fantastic opportunity to test your mettle. With promos and prizemoney up for grabs - as well as opportunities to make it all the way to the Pro Tour and even the World Championships - why not have a look where the next qualifier near you is being held - maybe it'll be you hoisting a trophy at your next regional championship!
