This past weekend, over 1300 of the best Magic players from across the United States gathered in Atlanta, Georgia for the DreamHack Regional Championship, the culmination of months of qualifying events. Thirty-two invites to Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor, two invitations to the World Championship next fall, and the title of Regional Champion were all on the line. After fourteen rounds of Pioneer, followed by a Top 8 playoff, Daniel Weiser from Minneapolis, Minnesota claimed the trophy and the title piloting Azorius Control.

Congratulations to Daniel Weiser, winner of the US Regional Championship!

Weiser defeated Mark Stanton on Izzet Phoenix in the finals. It was a battle of two classic and longstanding Pioneer archetypes, with Weiser playing Azorius Control because "it's the only deck I have ever played in Pioneer and I'm not about to change now."

Daniel Weiser and Mark Stanton play in the finals.

Congratulations to the Top 8

Congratulations to the DreamHack Regional Championship Top 8!

At the end of fourteen Swiss rounds of Pioneer, eight players advanced to the Top 8, including Anna Wegener, the only player to go undefeated on Day 1. Two players were on Izzet Phoenix, two on Rakdos Midrange, two on the new Amalia Combo, and two on Azorius Control.

Congratulations to Robert King, Paul Green, Adam Brace, Robert Wagner, Daniel Weiser, Mark Stanton, Anna Wegener, and James Manges!

Top 32 Players Qualified for the Pro Tour

It was fourteen rounds of tense and challenging Pioneer in the Swiss rounds, and at the end, 32 players left with invites to Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor in Chicago in February 2024. We look forward to seeing them represent their region there!

You can see the decklists of Pro Tour qualifying players here.

A New Combo Takes The Stage

With the December 4th ban of Geological Appraiser taking one combo deck off the table, and the ban of Karn, the Great Creator knocking Mono-Green Devotion out of contention, Rakdos Midrange was the most represented deck in a fairly even field.

Those bans also made way for Amalia Combo, a new Pioneer archetype as of the release of Lost Caverns of Ixalan, that takes advantage of the interaction between Amalia Benavides Aguirre and Wildgrowth Walker to make a 20/20 creature and wipe the board. Amalia Combo was the second most played deck of the weekend, with roughly 11% of the field on it. Though it didn't take down the tournament, it did put two copies into the Top 8, proving that it's able to hold its own in Pioneer.

Pro Tour qualifying decks also included some off-the-beaten-path entries like Mono-Black Aggro, Jund Transmogrify, and Omnath to Light, and with no deck taking up more than 15% of the metagame, it was a weekend that showed Pioneer still has surprises in store. Perhaps we'll see even more of them at the Pro Tour in February!

Congratulations again to this weekend's players on a great tournament of terrific and hard-fought matches and excellent competition. DreamHack's event also featured everything from cosplayers to a MagiKids booth where new players could try out a game of Oathbreaker to great side events. Catch the next one during the next Regional Championship cycle!

Find out more about how you can qualify for the Regional Championship and the Pro Tour by visiting here and finding out more from your regional organizer!