The answer to the question "Ruby Ruby, when will you be mine?" posited in the seminal Donald Fagen album The Nightfly (1982) is "this week" apparently since the Ruby Division is front and center in the MPL, well, this week. It was also an unusual week with the four winners largely separating themselves emphatically from the pack.
So, it's congratulations to our weekend all-stars: William Jensen, Javier Dominguez, Grzegorz Kowalski, and Autumn Burchett, all of whom posted 5-2 records. On the flip side, it was a tough week for Jean-Emmanuel Depraz (3-4 but who can console himself with a finals appearance at Mythic Championship V, invitation to the 2019 Magic World Champuionship, and 6 points for his season tally), Ken Yukuhiro (2-5), Eric Froehlich (2-5), and Luis Salvatto (1-6).
Let's see how our stellar quartet got the job done.
William Jensen—USA (5-2)
Jensen swapped his Top 8 Simic Food list from Mythic Championship V for Bant Food this week. Guess he was still hungry for success.
He opened against Mythic Championship V finalist Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, who made me an instant fan when demolishing a giant board in game one. What's the best thing about creatures? They die. Having fought back to take that opening match, Jensen was soon back at 1-1, losing to Yukuhiro. Wins over Luis Salvatto, Autumn Burchett, and the Rakdos Sacrifice list of Eric Froehlich put Jensen in a strong position at 4-1, and, although he split his last two matches (losing to Kowalski before defeating Dominguez), his 5-2 record held up for the No. 1 seed after tiebreakers.
Javier Dominguez—Spain (5-2)
It's an easy game, Magic. At least, if you're World Champion and now Mythic Championship V winner Javier Dominguez it is. Laying aside his $100,000-winning Gruul Aggro list, Dominguez flew back across the Atlantic, got a few hours of sleep, got right back on the horse, and picked up Bant Food. By the time that only Autumn Burchett had been an immovable object against the Spanish unstoppable force, Dominguez was guaranteed at least a playoff at 4-1. However, as the split unfolded, it wasn't enough to guarantee avoiding a play-in scenario. For that, he needed to beat Ken Yukuhiro, who was also on Bant Food. It went the distance, before Dominguez prevailed and emerged as the No. 2 seed for the playoffs.
Grzegorz Kowalski—Poland (5-2)
Bant Ramp was the deck for the ever-consistent Polish pro, but that consistency was put to the test as he opened the split with a disappointing 1-2 record. The comeback began with a turn two Oko, Thief of Crowns against Jean-Emmanuel Depraz, followed by an epic against William Jensen—including a Game 2 that took almost an hour. You know you've seen something pretty special when an 18/18 Hydroid Krasis is needed to get over the line. Planeswalkers meant a quick win against Luis Salvatto, leaving Ken Yukuhiro in the way of a Top 4 spot. "Kowalski the consistent" did it again, with turn two Oko along the way, to claim his weekend berth.
Autumn Burchett—United Kingdom (5-2)
Yet another player battling jetlag on the way back to Europe from Mythic Championship V, Burchett ran Golos Fires to plenty of success. At 3-2 things could still have been only mediocre, but closing wins over Luis Salvatto and Eric Froehlich meant a four-way tie at the top of the division this week. Now Burchett gets to give Golos Fires a sendoff in front of a global audience.
I finished 1st place on tiebreakers out of the 4 of us that 5-2'd! This means I'll be in the upper bracket in the Top 4 playoff! Hyyyyype~ https://t.co/r8DpO7HvhZ
— Autumn Burchett (@AutumnLilyMTG) October 23, 2019
Metagame Then, and Now
"What about metagame tomorrow?" I hear you rhetorically cry. "Patience, my friends, patience," I gnomically answer. Whatever a Field of the Dead may bring us, this week gives us a farewell snapshot of the Standard that was showcased throughout Mythic Championship V in Long Beach last weekend. Jensen is on Bant Food. Dominguez is on Bant Food. Kowalski is on Bant Ramp. Burchett holding fast to Golos Fires. The link, in case you missed it, is Bant, and your screens are going to look decidedly green this weekend.
The Road to Worlds
Burchett improved their split play from a 3-4 and 4-3 record to their 5-2 week here in the Ruby Division, ticking their Mythic Point total over the 100 points mark for the season. Fortunately, as the winner of Mythic Championship I, they're already qualified for the 2019 Magic World Championship.
Jean-Emmanuel Depraz has had a disappointing season within the MPL weekly play, but already has a World Championship seat with his name on thanks to reaching the Grand Finals in Long Beach last week (ultimately falling to Dominguez, who by virtue of being qualified for the World Championship had the Mythic Championship V winner invitation pass down to the finalist).
Ken Yukuhiro missed out on an opportunity to gain ground, with only 4 points added to his score. He's still in the Top 10 of MPL standings though with two Mythic Championships left to come.
The Saturday Showdown
All four of the top quartet may have had matching 5-2 records, but the tiebreaks have given us an absolute belter to open up the show. 2017 Magic World Champion William Jensen takes on Myhtic Championship I winner Autumn Burchett to get us under way in a Bant Food versus Golos Fires duel The loser of that one turns their attention to the lower half of the bracket, where the opening salvo is 2018 Magic World Champion (and fresh Mythic Championship V winner) Javier Dominguez against Grzegorz Kowalski. That is assured to be a good one too.
Whoever is left standing—and right now you'd be foolish to bet against Javier Dominguez dominating yet again—this is going to be a terrific show, so make sure you join the team on twitch.tv/magic at 12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. UTC for all the MPL action.