This past weekend, 141 of the best Magic players from across Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean gathered in Mexico City for their Regional Championship. It was the culmination of months of qualifying events in the Central America Magic Series, with not only four Pro Tour slots on the line, but also the title of Regional Champion and the corresponding World Championship seat. After eight rounds of Pioneer competition followed by a Top 8 playoff, the trophy was claimed by Joaquín Roberto Soto Castillo, piloting Rakdos Demons!
Congratulations to Joaquín Roberto Soto Castillo, winner of the Regional Championship for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean!
Joaquín Roberto Soto Castillo, a 31-year-old player currently living in Mexico City, emerged victorious in his first Regional Championship Top 8. However, it was not just an individual success. Soto Castillo has been a member of the Hobby Mart Team since its creation, and they have achieved at least a Top 8 at every Regional Championship.
With a winner's trophy on the line, Joaquín Roberto Soto Castillo was laser-focused in the finals.
His deck, which he described as "Demonless Demons," straddles the line between traditional Rakdos Midrange and Rakdos Demons. Soto Castillo's deck contained four copies of Unholy Annex—a card that he called "broken"—but there are no copies of Archfiend of the Dross, Bloodletter of Aclazotz, or Blade of the Oni to support it. Instead, his creature suite featured four copies of Graveyard Trespasser. Nevertheless, Ritual Chamber and Mutavault could still turn Unholy Annex into a life-draining engine, and the Room does everything you want in a midrange deck.
Finalist Javier Castellán gave his best efforts in the finals of his Regional Championship.
In the finals, Soto Castillo defeated Javier Castellán, an experienced tournament player from Guatemala. Castallan had sleeved up Azorius Humans, a deck he know how to play well. While Thalia, Guardian of Thraben was his best card of the weekend, a blue splash for Mockingbird let him maintain pressure, as it could enter as a flying copy of Coppercoat Vanguard or Thalia's Lieutenant.
Nevertheless, the black and red removal spells proved too efficient, and Soto Castillo managed to lock up an invitation to Magic World Championship 31, which is set for December 2025.
Top 4 Players Qualified for the Pro Tour
Top 4, left-to-right: Joaquín Roberto Soto Castillo, Erick Manuel López Basulto, Javier Castellán, and Edgar Emmanuel Rangel Páez
With four Pro Tour invites on the line, it was a tense quarterfinals. Congratulations to the Top 4 players in the final standings of the Regional Championship, who earned invites to Pro Tour Aetherdrift, to be held at MagicCon: Chicago on February 21–23, 2025. We look forward to seeing you proudly represent your region there!
The Top 8 decklists featured five different archetypes, with Rakdos Demons appearing four times. While all except the winning list used Blade of the Oni alongside either Archfiend of the Dross or Bloodletter of Aclazotz, it's clear that a black-red midrange deck with Unholy Annex is on top of the Pioneer metagame right now. After the high-stakes quarterfinals, four players secured a seat to the Pro Tour. You can see the Top 4 decklists below in final standing order.
3 Swamp
4 Blazemire Verge
4 Blightstep Pathway
3 Duress
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
4 Haunted Ridge
1 Anoint with Affliction
4 Mutavault
4 Fatal Push
4 Blood Crypt
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
2 Torch the Tower
4 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber
4 Thoughtseize
4 Graveyard Trespasser
2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
1 Go for the Throat
2 Heartless Act
1 Damping Sphere
2 Hidetsugu Consumes All
1 Unlicensed Hearse
1 Feed the Swarm
1 Dreams of Steel and Oil
1 Extinction Event
3 Invoke Despair
1 Weathered Runestone
1 Torch the Tower
1 Reckoner Bankbuster
1 Withering Torment
1 Anger of the Gods
4 Dauntless Bodyguard
4 Hopeful Initiate
4 Recruitment Officer
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
4 Thalia's Lieutenant
4 Coppercoat Vanguard
4 Mockingbird
4 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
2 Extraction Specialist
3 Declaration in Stone
1 Get Lost
4 Mutavault
4 Seachrome Coast
4 Hallowed Fountain
3 Cavern of Souls
4 Fortified Beachhead
1 Plains
2 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
1 Rest in Peace
2 Wedding Announcement
2 Containment Priest
1 Get Lost
2 Sheltered by Ghosts
4 Portable Hole
3 Reflector Mage
4 Thoughtseize
2 Duress
4 Fatal Push
2 Torch the Tower
4 Bloodtithe Harvester
2 Blade of the Oni
2 Go for the Throat
4 Unstoppable Slasher
4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
3 Bloodletter of Aclazotz
4 Unholy Annex // Ritual Chamber
4 Blood Crypt
4 Blightstep Pathway
3 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Mutavault
1 Sulfurous Springs
1 Haunted Ridge
4 Blazemire Verge
2 Blackcleave Cliffs
1 Torch the Tower
3 Unlicensed Hearse
2 Hidetsugu Consumes All
1 Duress
2 Anoint with Affliction
3 Invoke Despair
1 Anger of the Gods
2 Extinction Event
3 Llanowar Elves
4 Cauldron Familiar
4 Ygra, Eater of All
1 Swamp
1 Forest
3 Boseiju, Who Endures
1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Traverse the Ulvenwald
4 Blooming Marsh
2 Llanowar Wastes
4 Gilded Goose
4 Fatal Push
4 Cache Grab
4 Scavenger's Talent
4 Deadly Dispute
1 Vraska, Golgari Queen
4 Witch's Oven
4 Darkbore Pathway
4 Thoughtseize
3 Assassin's Trophy
4 Pawpatch Formation
4 Leyline of the Void
A Memorable Event With a Rakdos-Heavy Metagame
In line with many players' expectations, Rakdos Demons was the most popular Pioneer deck archetype at the Regional Championship by far. Given its dominance in the metagame, it was no big surprise to see four copies in the Top 8, with the deck ultimately taking the trophy. Meanwhile, Magic: the Gathering Foundations also made an impact on Pioneer, with Boltwave as the most important addition. Six players registered Boros Burn for the tournament and several of them finished a hair's breadth away from the Top 8, showing the power of fire.
Overall, it was a terrific weekend full of hard-fought matches, high-level competition, and opportunities to celebrate anything Magic. The Central America Magic Series put on display the talent and skill of players from across the region, propelling the best players to Magic's biggest stages, and we again extend our congratulations to Joaquín Roberto Soto Castillo!
141 players gathered in Mexico City to do battle across two days of Pioneer.
The Expo Reforma played host to the Regional Championship.
The Top 8 players had to duke it out in high-stakes quarterfinals to decide who would clinch the four Pro Tour invites.
If you want to see Soto Castillo and all the other qualifying players at Pro Tour Aetherdrift, be sure to get your badge for MagicCon: Chicago. Early bird badge sales start December 10 at 10:00 a.m. PST, and there's plenty of casual and competitive events for attendees to explore.
Be part of the next cycle of Regional Championships by joining a qualifying event near you! You can find events via the Store & Event Locator or your regional organizer's website.
