Hello, and welcome back to Metagame Mentor, your weekly guide to the top decks and latest developments on the path to the Pro Tour. Since the most common path to the Pro Tour starts with in-store Regional Championship Qualifiers (RCQs), the current RCQ format is the most important for aspiring competitive players. Right now, that's Modern. Through November 3, Modern RCQs qualify for a Modern Regional Championship in early 2025, which ultimately leads into the second Pro Tour of 2025.

While the current Modern metagame has been described as "Nadu Summer," the format recently received a new influx of cards from Bloomburrow. In this article, we'll be taking a look at the most important additions to Modern from the latest set. Regardless of whether the format might be shifting with next week's banned and restricted announcement, the novel decks and strategies enabled by Bloomburrow provide exciting new directions for Modern players.

The Modern Metagame in August 2024

Modern is a nonrotating 60-card format that was introduced in 2011. It allows cards from expansion sets, core sets, and straight-to-Modern sets from Eighth Edition forward, except for cards on the banned list. The next banned and restricted announcement will be on August 26.

To provide a metagame snapshot, I analyzed 1,688 decklists from scheduled non-league Modern events held on Magic Online from August 1 through August 19, as well as all Modern events on Melee in the date range. This includes large events like AXION Now's MEGA Modern, the $20K 8-slot RCQ at MXPLA, the Modern Showcase Challenge, and the Modern Super Qualifier. Overall, the most-played nonland cards were The One Ring, Galvanic Discharge, and Orcish Bowmasters.

I awarded each deck a number of points equal to its rectified number of net wins (its number of match wins minus losses if positive and zero otherwise). Each archetype's share of total rectified net wins can then be interpreted as its share of the winner's metagame, combining popularity and performance into a single metric.

The "Other" category included Naya Energy, Five-Color Creativity, Golgari Yawgmoth, Gruul Woodland, Orzhov Grief, Jeskai Energy, Grixis Murktide, Jeskai Dress Down, Dimir Control, Hammer Time, Jund Creativity, Izzet Murktide, Golgari Soultrader, Merfolk, Hardened Scales, Hollow One, Dimir Shadow, Jeskai Wizards, Primal Prayers, Mono-Green Eldrazi, Four-Color Nadu, Dimir Reanimator, and more.

The metagame looks similar to the one from last month. In last month's Modern RCQ primer, I provided a metagame snapshot for July, along with a detailed introduction to the game plans and key cards of the top Modern archetypes. Compared to July, Jeskai Control seems to be trending down. Control players are struggling to answer both Bant Nadu and Boros/Mardu Energy at the same time, as the two decks require different answers. Another factor might be that Surgical Extraction is rising in popularity as a sideboard card. It can remove Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury, leaving Jeskai Control without a viable way to win the game.

In the meantime, Ruby Storm is making a comeback. Ruby Storm players are exploiting the fact that Drannith Magistrate and Damping Sphere have gotten less popular in Modern sideboards, with opponents using their sideboard slots to target different decks. This provides an opportunity for Ruby Storm to return. In addition, many Ruby Storm players have adopted Blood Moon in their sideboard, allowing them to steal wins against unsuspecting opponents.

Culling Ritual Revitalizing Repast

Another interesting development is that many successful Necrodominance players have explored a green splash, mainly for Culling Ritual out of the sideboard. This powerful sorcery can destroy Guide of Souls; Goblin Bombardment; Ajani, Nacatl Avenger; Static Prison; and Treasure tokens all in one fell swoop. It's a formidable weapon against the Energy decks that are becoming more and more popular in Modern. Some Golgari Necro lists even incorporated Abrupt Decay into their main deck.

This green splash is enabled by the inclusion of several fetch lands and by the replacement of Malakir Rebirth with Revitalizing Repast. According to Tulio Jaudy, who drove this innovation with a Modern Challenge victory, he's not missing Malakir Rebirth—it's actually removing a liability. According to him, Malakir Rebirth was never worth it The strategy of returning Grief is "terrible in this deck because you don't have pressure to back it up." He argues that "it doesn't work with Necrodominance in play, and Malakir Rebirth costs 2 life, which in turn costs two cards in the end." In contrast, Revitalizing Repast is great for protecting Sheoldred, the Apocalypse, and it fixes the mana perfectly.

The green splash in Necrodominance is certainly something to watch, but two other archetypes remain on top of the Modern metagame: Bant Nadu and Boros/Mardu Energy. For many RCQ players, knowing the intricacies of their matchup is of the utmost importance, and one interaction can offer a general lesson for everyone.

Burrenton Forge-Tender Harsh Mentor

For red decks, Harsh Mentor is one of the most potent sideboard cards against Bant Nadu. As Bant Nadu typically brings in Burrenton Forge-Tender to answer it, the post-sideboard interaction between the two cards is an important one to understand. The main thing to remember is APNAP: an acronym that stands for "Active Player, Non-Active Player." When both players have triggers at the same time, the triggers of the active player go on the stack first, followed by the non-active player's triggers. Since the stack resolves from the top down, the non-active player's triggers will resolve first.

This means that a Bant Nadu player can go off through Harsh Mentor on the opponent's turn. You can activate Outrider en-Kor to get a Nadu, Winged Wisdom trigger and let that resolve, perhaps benefiting from Springheart Nantuko as well. Then before their Harsh Mentor trigger resolves, you activate Outrider en-Kor again to get another Nadu trigger, and so on. Eventually, with a large number of Harsh Mentor triggers on the stack, you find Chord of Calling, put Burrenton Forge-Tender onto the battlefield, and activate it, targeting their Harsh Mentor. This neutralizes all of Harsh Mentor's triggers on the stack as well as future triggers during that turn, and you can win from there. Knowing the rules and how to navigate the stack can make all the difference, and these sorts of APNAP tricks regularly come up across different matchups and formats.

The Most-Played Cards From Bloomburrow

Bloomburrow introduced a number of powerful cards for Modern archetypes both old and new. The following table reveals the 14 most-played new-to-Modern cards across the decklists I analyzed.

These numbers of copies are relatively low compared to existing format staples. For example, there were 2,477 total copies of The One Ring and 2,159 total copies of Arid Mesa in the same group of decklists. It's often hard for a new Standard-legal set to completely upend the Modern metagame, as it joins an enormous card pool comprised of more than 100 Modern-legal sets. Accordingly, the relatively modest effect of Bloomburrow is in line with expectation.

Nevertheless, many new cards have shown their potential with promising tournament results. To focus on novel additions that have had the biggest impact on the Modern format, let's take a closer look at the most important new cards and the spiciest new decklists.

Mockingbird in Jeskai Energy

2 Aether Hub 4 Ajani, Nacatl Pariah 4 Amped Raptor 1 Arena of Glory 4 Arid Mesa 1 Elegant Parlor 4 Flooded Strand 4 Galvanic Discharge 1 Goblin Bombardment 4 Guide of Souls 2 Hallowed Fountain 1 Meticulous Archive 4 Mockingbird 4 Ocelot Pride 3 Phantasmal Image 3 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 2 Plains 3 Ranger-Captain of Eos 3 Sacred Foundry 4 Static Prison 2 Windswept Heath 3 Deafening Silence 2 Flame Slash 3 Harsh Mentor 1 Tide Shaper 2 Unlicensed Hearse 4 White Orchid Phantom

Before Bloomburrow, Energy decks had largely been either Boros or Mardu. Boros provides access to Blood Moon and a smoother mana base, while Mardu gains stronger removal and discard spells. Yet with Mockingbird from Bloomburrow, there is now a third option: Jeskai. Several players have already found success with this color combination. For example, Patryko66 finished 4th at a Modern Challenge on Magic Online with the list shown above.

A one-mana Mockingbird for X=0 can turn into an Ocelot Pride with flying, which would then soar in to deal lifelink damage, triggering its end-of-turn ability to create even more tokens. Alternatively, Ranger-Captain of Eos can grab Mockingbird, which can then be played for X=2 to copy Ranger-Captain of Eos, grabbing another Mockingbird, and so on. The resulting stream of flying creatures can quickly overwhelm the opponent. Another useful option is to have Mockingbird for X=1 turn into a legendary copy of Ajani, Nacatl Pariah. This can transform the original Ajani into a planeswalker. Offering both power and versatility, Mockingbird is the most-played new-to-Modern card from Bloomburrow across the decklists I analyzed.

Thundertrap Trainer in Izzet Wizards

2 Arena of Glory 1 Cascade Bluffs 4 Counterspell 2 Crackling Drake 2 Expressive Iteration 4 Flame of Anor 3 Flare of Denial 4 Flooded Strand 3 Galvanic Discharge 3 Island 1 Kozilek's Return 4 Lightning Bolt 1 Polluted Delta 4 Preordain 4 Scalding Tarn 1 Sink into Stupor 4 Snapcaster Mage 3 Spell Snare 1 Spirebluff Canal 3 Steam Vents 2 Thundering Falls 4 Thundertrap Trainer 2 Blood Moon 3 Consign to Memory 1 Force of Negation 2 Obsidian Charmaw 1 Pyroclasm 3 Stern Scolding 1 Surgical Extraction 2 Vendilion Clique

Thundertrap Trainer is the second-most-played new-to-Modern card from Bloomburrow. It's similar to Augur of Bolas, but with several advantages. Thundertrap Trainer looks one card deeper, can find Blood Moon after sideboarding, and can create a token copy once you reach six mana. Like Augur of Bolas, it's a Wizard for Flame of Anor, allowing you to choose two modes when casting the powerful instant. While many Izzet Wizards decks still prefer Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student, Thundertrap Trainer provides better value against decks with a lot of creature removal, and TSPJendrek recently won a Modern Challenge with the list shown above.

This particular deck can quickly turn the corner by hasting Crackling Drake via Arena of Glory, and it features 29 noncreature, nonland cards in total. If we were to take one Thundertrap Trainer and put its "enters" ability on the stack, then the probability of hitting an instant or sorcery in the top four cards would be 94.0%. This number represents a very high level of consistency, indicating that Thundertrap Trainer is an excellent new enabler for the archetype.

Pawpatch Formation in Five-Color Creativity

3 Archon of Cruelty 3 Arid Mesa 1 Blood Crypt 3 Bloodstained Mire 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Commercial District 4 Dwarven Mine 1 Elegant Parlor 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker 4 Indomitable Creativity 1 Jetmir's Garden 4 Leyline Binding 4 Lightning Bolt 1 Mountain 4 Pawpatch Formation 2 Prismatic Ending 4 Reprieve 1 Sacred Foundry 2 Scalding Tarn 3 Spell Pierce 1 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 2 Wooded Foothills 4 Wrenn and Six 1 Xander's Lounge 2 Anger of the Gods 2 Consign to Memory 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria 2 Orim's Chant 1 Strike It Rich 1 Teferi, Time Raveler 2 Terastodon 1 Turn the Earth 2 Veil of Summer

Pawpatch Formation brings an incredible amount of versatility to Indomitable Creativity decks. Its main role is similar to Deduce—putting a token onto the battlefield that can eventually turn into Archon of Cruelty. But the other modes can make a big difference as well. For two mana, you could destroy an opposing Urza's Saga, blow up Guide of Souls after it gains flying, or hit a large variety of other targets. With such versatility, the card holds potential for Indomitable Creativity decks going forward.

In the current Modern metagame where the Bird is the word, Pawpatch Formation seems particularly well-positioned. Against Bant Nadu, it's capable of destroying Springheart Nantuko or Nadu, Winged Wisdom, so it's basically a split card that either enables your own combo or disrupts the opponent's game plan. Using this piece of technology, FanksEoT finished second at a Modern Challenge earlier this month. Their build with Pawpatch Formation, shown above, might have a favorable matchup against Bant Nadu. So, it could be a sweet option for an RCQ this weekend.

Pawpatch Recruit in Domain Zoo

1 Arena of Glory 4 Arid Mesa 1 Blood Crypt 4 Flooded Strand 4 Leyline Binding 4 Leyline of the Guildpact 4 Lightning Bolt 1 Lush Portico 1 Mountain 4 Orcish Bowmasters 4 Pawpatch Recruit 3 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 1 Plains 4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer 1 Sacred Foundry 4 Scion of Draco 1 Steam Vents 1 Temple Garden 4 Territorial Kavu 4 Tribal Flames 4 Wooded Foothills 1 Xander's Lounge 2 Damping Sphere 1 Jegantha, the Wellspring 2 Pick Your Poison 2 Pyroclasm 2 Soul-Guide Lantern 4 Stubborn Denial 2 Unlicensed Hearse

In the Domain Zoo list that Dack_Fayden07 used to win a recent Magic Online Challenge, Pawpatch Recruit has replaced Wild Nacatl. The new one-drop from Bloomburrow attacks for only two rather than three, so it's slightly worse at pressuring combo decks. It's also a weaker one-drop against decks with Orcish Bowmasters. However, Pawpatch Recruit is far stronger in the mid-game against decks with spot removal.

Whether you're facing Galvanic Discharge, Fatal Push, or other targeted removal, the ability to spread out +1/+1 counters adds up. Furthermore, Pawpatch Recruit's offspring ability makes it a better topdeck than Wild Nacatl in the late game. Overall, Rabbits might be fiercer warriors than Cats.

Portent of Calamity in Simic Eldrazi

3 All Is Dust 1 Breeding Pool 1 Cavern of Souls 4 Devourer of Destiny 4 Eldrazi Temple 4 Emrakul, the Promised End 6 Forest 1 Gemstone Caverns 1 Hedge Maze 4 Kozilek's Command 4 Malevolent Rumble 4 Misty Rainforest 3 Portent of Calamity 4 Sowing Mycospawn 4 Talisman of Curiosity 4 The One Ring 4 Ugin's Labyrinth 4 Utopia Sprawl 1 All Is Dust 1 Bojuka Bog 3 Consign to Memory 2 Soulless Jailer 4 The Stone Brain 2 Veil of Summer 2 World Breaker

Ever since the release of Modern Horizons 3, Eldrazi strategies have come in various flavors: with or without Urzatron, with or without red spells, and with or without aggro elements. Even for a given color combination, there has been no clear consensus on a "stock" list. Adding to this diversity, Bloomburrow introduced Portent of Calamity, unlocking a brand-new option in Simic Eldrazi which Thodoris17 took to a second-place finish at a Magic Online Challenge.

Portent of Calamity acts as a Divination or Concentrate in the early game, getting you closer to your key cards. But it scales up rapidly. Based on my calculations for this Thodoris17's decklist, the probability of finding four different card types is already 41.1% when you look at the top X = 5 cards of your library. It increases to 58.7% for X = 6, 71.9% for X = 7, and 81.2% for X = 8. In other words, if you can generate enough mana, then it's very likely that you'll be able to cast a spell for free. If you hit Devourer of Destiny or Emrakul, the Promised End, then their powerful cast triggers can easily secure victory.

Cache Grab in Gruul Woodland

1 Boseiju, Who Endures 3 Cache Grab 2 Commercial District 4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker 2 Forest 1 Griselbrand 4 Karn, the Great Creator 4 Malevolent Rumble 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain 4 Omniscience 4 Seasoned Pyromancer 4 Seed of Hope 4 Shifting Woodland 4 Stomping Ground 3 The One Ring 3 Traverse the Ulvenwald 4 Utopia Sprawl 4 Wooded Foothills 1 Aetherflux Reservoir 1 Ancestral Statue 1 Cityscape Leveler 1 Engineered Explosives 1 Ensnaring Bridge 4 Haywire Mite 1 Liquimetal Coating 2 Pithing Needle 1 The One Ring 1 Tormod's Crypt 1 Walking Ballista

Aspiringspike never disappoints. With the sweet brew shown above, he finished sixth at the 233-player Modern Showcase Challenge this past weekend. The ultimate goal with this deck is to copy Omniscience with Shifting Woodland. After gaining the ability to cast spells for free, you would use Karn, the Great Creator to grab Ancestral Statue, which can then bounce itself a million times. Afterwards, Ancestral Statue picks up Karn, so you replay the planeswalker, get Aetherflux Reservoir, cast any other spell, and deal 50 damage to the opponent for the win.

While this combo was available before, the key new enabler from Bloomburrow is Cache Grab. Although the Squirrel part is irrelevant, the mill and card selection is perfect. You dig four cards deep, helping you find Shifting Woodland while filling up the graveyard. Putting cards into the graveyard is essential because you need both Omniscience and delirium to utilize Shifting Woodland. Overall, Cache Grab is like a worse Malevolent Rumble, a worse Malevolent Rumble is still good, and being an instant for delirium helps balance the deck. Cache Grab is certainly a card players will want to squirrel away.

Dour Port-Mage in Primal Prayers

4 Amped Raptor 2 Attune with Aether 1 Boseiju, Who Endures 1 Breeding Pool 1 Commercial District 4 Dour Port-Mage 1 Eternal Witness 2 Forest 4 Galvanic Discharge 4 Glasspool Mimic 4 Greenbelt Rampager 1 Hedge Maze 4 Imperial Recruiter 1 Island 4 Malevolent Rumble 3 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain 4 Primal Prayers 1 Seasoned Pyromancer 3 Shifting Woodland 1 Shrieking Drake 2 Solar Transformer 1 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 1 Thassa's Oracle 4 Wooded Foothills 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn 4 Endurance 3 Kitesail Larcenist 3 Pyroclasm 2 Rending Volley 2 Spell Pierce

Primal Prayers can go infinite with Greenbelt Rampager, allowing you to cast, bounce, and replay the Elephant as often as you like. Indeed, you gain and lose an energy counter every loop. There are various ways to take advantage of that. Before Bloomburrow, we might have considered Satoru, the Infiltrator, but that card was quite weak without Primal Prayers. Dour Port-Mage from Bloomburrow solves this issue.

If you combine Primal Prayers, Greenbelt Rampager, and Dour Port-Mage, then you found the full setup. You'll draw your entire deck and eventually win with Thassa's Oracle. But if you merely drew the creature part of the combo, then you can use Greenbelt Rampager and Dour Port-Mage to easily draw a few extra cards, getting you closer to finding Primal Prayers. Alternatively, Dour Port-Mage can bounce Imperial Recruiter or Amped Raptor to increase the consistency of the combo engine further. With this upgraded list, ScreenwriterNY finished 19th at a Modern Challenge earlier this month.

Helga, Skittish Seer in Domain Omnath

1 Breeding Pool 2 Dead/Gone 1 Elegant Parlor 4 Flooded Strand 1 Forest 1 Glarb, Calamity's Augur 1 Godless Shrine 1 Hallowed Fountain 4 Helga, Skittish Seer 1 Indatha Triome 1 Island 4 Leyline Binding 4 Leyline of the Guildpact 1 Lush Portico 3 Misty Rainforest 4 Omnath, Locus of Creation 2 Phlage, Titan of Fire's Fury 1 Plains 1 Sacred Foundry 4 Scion of Draco 1 Six 4 Solitude 1 Steam Vents 3 Subtlety 1 Temple Garden 4 The One Ring 1 Thundering Falls 3 Windswept Heath 1 Xander's Lounge 2 Endurance 3 Force of Negation 1 Keruga, the Macrosage 2 Mystical Dispute 4 Obsidian Charmaw 3 Toxic Deluge

This list, taken to a 10th-place finish at a recent Modern Challenge by Savior0117, is frog-tastic! It features both Glarb, Calamity's Augur and Helga, Skittish Seer from Bloomburrow, taking advantage of all the spells with mana value 4 or greater. For example, there's the Leyline of the Guildpact plus Scion of Draco package along with Omnath, Locus of Creation to dominate the midgame. While you're deploying them, these amphibians will provide card advantage along the way.

Helga, Skittish Seer will reward you with fresh cards, additional life, and +1/+1 counters when casting any of these 4+ mana creatures. Helga will also trigger while casting Solitude or Subtlety. This evokes memories of Up the Beanstalk, but Helga is arguably even better. She pitches to either Elemental, helping you cast them for free. As such, the deck is filled with powerful synergies, and it looks like a lot of fun once it gets going.

Iridescent Vinelasher in Rakdos Burn

3 Arid Mesa 3 Barbarian Ring 4 Blackcleave Cliffs 2 Blood Crypt 2 Bloodstained Mire 4 Bump in the Night 4 Goblin Guide 4 Iridescent Vinelasher 4 Lava Spike 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Monastery Swiftspear 2 Mountain 1 Rakdos Charm 4 Rift Bolt 1 Scalding Tarn 4 Searing Blaze 4 Skewer the Critics 4 Skullcrack 2 Wooded Foothills 4 Harsh Mentor 4 Magebane Lizard 3 Rakdos Charm 4 Roiling Vortex

The final Modern decklist I wanted to highlight provides a novel take on the Burn archetype, using black instead of white. Quinniac piloted this deck to a 6th-place finish at a recent Modern Challenge. Rakdos Charm is a spicy way to turn the tables on Bant Nadu, but the key new Bloomburrow addition is Iridescent Vinelasher. As a one-drop, it can pressure the opponent's life total just like Goblin Guide or Monastery Swiftspear. And in some cases, it's even better.

With fetch lands, Iridiscent Vinelasher's landfall ability can trigger multiple times per turn. If the opponent has blockers, then the damage will still happen, enabling spectacle on Skewer the Critics with ease. And if you ever flood out, then the offspring ability turns excess lands into substantial amounts of damage. The flip side is that Iridescent Vinelasher is mediocre when you have a land-light draw, but then you should have enough burn spells to spend your mana on instead. Perhaps this new Lizard Assassin can breathe new life into the age-old Burn archetype.

The Road to Magic World Championship 30

While the ongoing Modern RCQs are a perfect first step in your competitive Magic journey, the World Championship has always been the yearly crown jewel of organized play. As Corbin Hosler and I count down the weeks leading up to Magic World Championship 30 at MagicCon: Las Vegas in late October, each week I'm taking a look at a great deck from a past Magic World Championship.

At the 2015 World Championship, 24 competitors came to Seattle to compete across Standard, Draft, and Modern. For some of them, including Seth Manfield, it marked their first time competing at a World Championship. As the tournament started, he may have felt nervous. But he demolished the competition with an unforgettable 13-1 record in the Swiss rounds and didn't stop there. In the Top 4 playoffs, he tore through the world's very best players to become the 2015 Magic World Champion!

3 Elspeth, Sun's Champion 4 Courser of Kruphix 3 Den Protector 2 Nissa, Vastwood Seer 4 Siege Rhino 1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang 2 Languish 4 Thoughtseize 1 Tragic Arrogance 4 Abzan Charm 1 Bile Blight 3 Hero's Downfall 1 Silence the Believers 1 Ultimate Price 2 Caves of Koilos 3 Forest 2 Llanowar Wastes 2 Plains 4 Sandsteppe Citadel 4 Temple of Malady 4 Temple of Silence 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth 4 Windswept Heath 1 Bile Blight 1 Tragic Arrogance 1 Ultimate Price 1 Ajani, Mentor of Heroes 1 Sorin, Solemn Visitor 1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon 2 Fleecemane Lion 1 Dromoka's Command 2 Drown in Sorrow 1 Duress 2 Glare of Heresy 1 Unravel the Æther

The deck used to win the 2015 Magic World Championship was Abzan Control. Piled up with removal and sweepers, with waves of Siege Rhinos and Elspeth, Sun's Champions to follow behind, it was a deck that stymied and stabilized until it was able to wrest total control of the game to its side.

Siege Rhino

The Standard card pool at the time featured excellent mana involving fetch lands, tri-lands, and pain lands, supporting a large variety of multicolor payoffs. Some decks made great use of Dig Through Time, including Jeskai strategies with Mantis Rider and Esper lists based around Dragonlord Ojutai. Others relied on Siege Rhino, either in Abzan Control like Seth Manfield or in more aggressive versions with a lower curve to speed up the clock. Yet the advantage that Abzan Control had over the field was that nearly every card in the deck replaced itself, drew more cards, or dominated the battlefield. This ensured that Abzan Control would come out on top if the game would go long.

The finals was an Abzan Control mirror—an intense, attrition-based matchup where the number of Siege Rhinos were through the roof. The 4/5 Rhino would stabilize the board, provide a reliable life swing, and quickly turn the corner. It could play offense just as well as defense, and it was the main reason to play Abzan. In 2014 and 2015, Siege Rhino was a force to be reckoned with, and it was the card that defined the era. Manfield ultimately prevailed, using multiple Rhinos to drain his opponent for lethal in the final game of the tournament.

Since that victory, Seth Manfield has remained one of Magic's most successful competitors. At the upcoming 30th edition of the World Championship, he is one of the few players on the invitation list who could become a repeat World Champion, the others being Kai Budde, Javier Dominguez, Yuta Takahashi, and Jean-Emmanuel Depraz. Earlier this year, Manfield proved he is still on top of his game by taking the trophy at Pro Tour Murders at Karlov Manor, so he certainly is one of the favorites for the title. In a few months, on October 25, we'll get the record books ready!