They say one of the keys to aging gracefully is accepting the changes in your life as you grow older. After all, they're going to happen no matter what, so you may as well meet things head-on. That's sound life advice, and if we look at Team TCGplayer at the Pro Tour, it seems it's advice that the team with the longest tenure at the Pro Tour has taken to heart.
"We're veterans—the dad team. That's the age we're at, and I'm in the right place," explained Seth Manfield. As a two-time (and reigning) World Champion, he knows what it takes to win at the highest levels with many different team dynamics. "We're getting older and are known as the team of old players, in a sense. We're not the young up-and-comers.
"We embrace that. We've got experience on our side, and that's huge."
With Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven just a week away, Manfield's statement really does sum things up for the team that's existed for decades, all the way back to the era of Cawblade. Dating back to the team's origins, they've touted rosters of historic ChannelFireball stars like William "Huey" Jensen, Luis Scott-Vargas, Jon Finkel, Kai Budde, and so on, bringing together the most extensive collection of Hall of Famers this side of a Denver draft night. Legendary runs by legendary players—including a Team Series championship in 2019 that included current team organizer Reid Duke—built the lore of the game's greatest and laid the foundation for a generation of Pro Tour players to come.
Fast forward to 2026, and we're living in the world that these players built. The Pro Tour is filled with teams of players who have come of Pro Tour age, so to speak, after the return to tabletop play in 2023. In that time, we've seen the rise of new staple squads like Sanctum of All or incredible debuts like that of The Boulder Merlion earlier this year. New champions have risen to the top, and new squads have begun to crowd the top tables.
But through it all, Team TCGplayer has not only endured as a reminder of the team's past reputation but at times has elevated it. Like when Matt Nass won Pro Tour Aetherdrift last year with an innovative Overlords list that eventually led to the banning of
All told, Team TCGplayer has positioned themselves as (conservatively) one of the top two or three squads in the world—and they're doing it with a roster that's connected over both drafts and daycare. In fact, the team may be down several regular members at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven next week as they navigate paternal responsibilities. But as Manfield pointed out, their combined decades of Pro Tour experience and dozens of trophies go a very long way—and so does working with a known quality of player.
"I've had success working with a few different teams. In the beginning, this was the team that I was trying to beat, and I looked up to its team members," Manfield explained. "I feel privileged to work with this group. Knowing the people you're working with is huge because you understand their strengths and what they bring to the table. For instance, we all know there's no one better at looking at a new card and giving us a take on a deck. I know who to go to for a specific Limited question. Andrew Cuneo will probably have some hot take that's probably correct.
"Everyone on this team is comfortable speaking their opinion or sharing a hot take, and if someone else makes one, you respect it because everyone in this group has a résumé; it's great to be part of a group of players you can trust."
Happy New Year! Today I'm reflecting on 9 proud years of representing @UltimateGuard First as a member of the Ultimate Guard Pro Team starting in 2017. Today as a member of #TeamTCGplayer pic.twitter.com/GLgRGPps9S
— Reid Duke (@ReidDuke) January 5, 2026
Life's way of winding has thrown in one other interesting—and, for Magic boomers, very exciting—wrench. While the team has experienced some regular churn—it's very difficult to stay qualified for every single Pro Tour in perpetuity—the core has remained largely the same. For Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven, they're even welcoming back a few familiar faces.
"Mike Sigrist is back on the team for this one as well as Andrew Cuneo, and we've added David Rood. It's all the oldies for this one," Manfield said wryly. "With a few people who haven't played a Pro Tour in a few years, we want them to do well and are motivated to get our guys qualified and back on the Tour. They've been on the bench for a few years and some are coming from the MTG Arena side, but we're getting them back. We're playing physical Magic in our 40s and 50s."
The full TCGplayer roster stretches deep, and testing for any given event is a shared responsibility among those qualified. And for Duke—who has accomplished pretty much anything and everything there is to accomplish at any level in Magic, from online play to tabletop to content creation—that responsibility stretches beyond "just" breaking the next Standard format.
"My experience on the Pro Tour for so long is valuable, and I feel like I can guide us toward making the team sustainable and helping people to grow and succeed—really I think it's the best thing I can do with my time on the Pro Tour these days," he explained. "It's very difficult to reliably stay on the Pro Tour now, so we have a good amount of churn and no two rosters are exactly the same. The goal is to create an environment with resources for everyone to be their best, whether that's helping Seth reach his potential to be the best player in the world or to help a newer player catch up to the field."
It's now a familiar role for Duke, who (speaking of aging gracefully) has shifted away from the every-weekend tournament grinding of his 20s. But despite not missing a Pro Tour in many years, they still hold the same charm they did when reiderrabbit first began tearing up the Magic Online queues all those years ago.
"I feel so lucky to be a part of the team," he professed. "I have friends from all across the world, from all periods of my life, that I get to stay connected with by playing the Pro Tour, an experience I still love after all these years. People might think it gets old or not as exciting the 20th or 30th time you show up and have a median finish, but I'm still having fun playing Magic, and I get to hang out with my friends or cheer on a teammate and share in the highs and the lows of people doing what they love."
Age and experience have not lessened the fire; no one plays Magic at a high level for as long as the members of Team TCGplayer have without truly loving the game and the competition. And make no mistake—they'll be in Vegas to win.
"I definitely don't play as I did 10 years ago, when I was a full-time Magic player, but I still aspire to be a world-class player and compete with the best by bringing my best to the few tournaments I play a year. It feels good to win against the best in the world. As a team, we were one of the most successful in 2025, but we had one of our weakest showings earlier this year in Richmond. We want to maintain our spot. The pressure is on."
That pressure will all play out over the coming days at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven. Team TCGplayer and the entire field will compete for the trophy, prize money, and title of Pro Tour champion. Tune in on May 1 to see the action unfold live!
Next week scholars of spellcraft and sorcery face off at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven!
— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) April 20, 2026
Learn all about the format and your broadcast team on https://t.co/5ENv1noNnB, then tune in starting Friday 5/1 at 11AM Pacific: https://t.co/DYTN0kAbXM pic.twitter.com/1hAtv6xr3u