When Nathan Steuer and Christoffer Larsen sat down for the finals of Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven on Sunday afternoon, Magic history was sitting at the table with them.
Of course, every Pro Tour finals match is another chapter of 30-plus years of Magic history. But even after well over 100 Pro Tours played historically, Larsen stood on the verge of an accomplishment that no one—not even the legendary Kai Budde, who came the closest—has ever accomplished: Larsen could win back-to-back individual Pro Tour titles.
Budde won back-to-back Pro Tours after taking down Pro Tour New York (a Team Limited event) and Pro Tour New Orleans in 2001, achieving something that no one has ever matched, let alone topped. But with a win in this match, Larsen could do something even the German Juggernaut never quite pulled off.
Steuer, meanwhile, was returning to the finals table for the first time since his victory at Pro Tour March of the Machine. He took a small break from Magic following the culmination of one of the most impressive two-year runs we've ever seen, and he has roared back with a vengeance recently, qualifying for the 2027 Limited Championship, making it back to the Pro Tour, and now returning to his familiar spot in the Top 8 with his sixth career Top Finish.
And with that backdrop hovering over the event—along with the 25,000 attendees at MagicCon: Las Vegas—the final match of Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven began.
Christoffer Larsen
Nathan Steuer
Dueling Earthbender Ascensions kicked off the finals for the pair of Landfall players, with Badgermole Cubs providing an additional level of ramp. With both players setting up their mana engines early, the game turned to who could best pay off their early game, and it looked like it might be Steuer as he deployed an Icetill Explorer to up his ever-important landfall triggers. Larsen, meanwhile, struggled on lands but was sitting on several removal spells in hand.
The game stalled from there, with both players maintaining relatively healthy life totals but living in fear of a massive trampling attack that could come from the opposing side at any time. That resulted in a stalemate that meant there would need to be major action to change things—and that's exactly what happened.
Larsen lined up a big attack with an Earthbender Ascension helping to power through. After blocks—and with Steuer keeping up a source of white mana with one card in hand—Larsen was faced with a choice: Erode his own creature for an additional landfall trigger to try and push through lethal, or keep it back in case Steuer created a giant monster of his own? Larsen ultimately decided to go for the win—and was promptly met with the Erode that Steuer had been saving his mana for. The play kept Steuer alive, but without anything in hand. And he was still staring down a mighty board from Larsen.
Then came a copy of Mightform Harmonizer off the top of the deck. Along with the lands he already had in play, that created exactly enough trampling power for Steuer to nab a game that Larsen looked to have in the bag. With that, it was the former World Champion who got on the board first.
In the first two turns of the next game, there were three Szah's Chocobo, with Steuer controlling two of them and an Escape Tunnel to power up a big turn-three attack. Surrak, Elusive Hunter and Mightform Harmonizer were the follow-ups from Larsen, and the next combat exchange left both players with powerful Birds in play and copies of Erode in their hands. There was a lot to think about for both players—but math is for blockers, so Larsen swung out. The resulting combat left Steuer all the way down to 2 life but still alive on board, and when the dust settled Larsen could not muster a lethal attack on the next turn.
With room to breathe, Steuer resolved Badgermole Cub and Earthbender Ascension, pushing his mana advantage even further. He was able to fill his board with blockers against the trample-less Larsen. Even at 2 life, he began to plot his own way to a victorious swing at the 20-life Larsen.
A few turns later, he pulled the trigger—and this time it was Steuer's would-be lethal attack that ran into a surprise Erode. That cleared the way for Larsen to steal this one from the jaws of defeat, evening up the finals at a game apiece.
It was two strange games with a lot of landfall triggers to open the finals. Steuer was quizzical.
"I guess you didn't want to go for lethal there. You must have thought I had Erode?"
"I did," Larsen replied. "After Game 1, I just assume you'll have Erode always.
"Did you have Erode?"
"Yeah, I did."
Pure theater and Pro Tour entertainment. And now the finals would become a sideboard best-of-three to determine a winner. And there would be one other twist for these games: The close friends and teammates decided to do their sideboarding in front of each other, face up, while discussing their plans with each other and the Pro Tour crowd watching along.
The third game progressed at a much more pedestrian pace, until Larsen deployed what turned out to be the game changer: the sideboard copy of Sheltered by Ghosts. The powerful Duskmourn: House of Horror enchantment powered up Larsen's Chocobo, but after knocking Steuer down 12 life it was actually a sneaky unblockable Bagdermole Cub powered up by Mightform Harmonizer that put the final nail in the coffin and put Larsen a game away from accomplishing that something that has never happened in 30 years of professional Magic.
One to go for Larsen. The game began with the ideal turn-one Szah's Chocobo for the Dane, while Steuer matched with mana ramp and Mossborn Hydra. Larsen followed it up with two more Birds, but the critical flaw was soon revealed. He lacked a plethora of land drops, even if Badgermole Cub and Llanowar Elves kept his board moving.
But it would have to outpace the Hydra, which was ready to rumble when Steuer untapped. The former World Champion attacked the defending Pro Tour champion, who revealed a critical Erode that could stymie the Hydra and swing things back to Larsen—but as soon as he flashed that Erode, Steuer showed his friend the Snakeskin Veil he had at the ready. That was enough to secure the game and send the finals into what would be a fifth and all-deciding game of Magic.
And Game 5 would see both players start on five cards after mulligans. Both players ultimately opted to keep at that number, and Larsen began the action with a turn-one Sazh's Chocobo. For Steuer, it was Badgermole Cub on the second turn, which fell quickly to Larsen's Bushwhack. But Larsen's Chocobo would need to go the distance, as Steuer drew a Bird of his own to pair with the Sheltered by Ghosts in his hand, which removed Larsen's larger Mossborn Hydra.
Drawing a Sheltered by Ghosts of his own, Larsen instead tapped out for four-drop Mightform Harmonizer, setting up to play the Sheltered by Ghosts on his next turn and aim to swing the board. The pressure was on Steuer's next turn, though he maybe didn't fully realize what was awaiting him.
Larsen went for it. He cast Sheltered by Ghosts to target Steuer's creature, risking a potential Snakeskin Veil. But Steuer didn't have it, and instead his Chocobo disappeared to the exile zone. The massive swing from Larsen swung the life totals to 22-10 in his favor as Steuer untapped for what might be his last turn of the tournament.
But not quite. Larsen drew just a Forest for his turn, and after working through every possible permutation of his attack he reached the same conclusion that his younger teammate had: There was no line for Larsen to end the game this turn, and the Icetill Explorer plus Mightform Harvester that Steuer would follow up with would end the game from even a very high life total. With the writing on the wall and Steuer's attack looming, Larsen extended his hand—and with that, Steuer became a two-time Pro Tour champion.
