"Math is for blockers."

It's an adage as old as Black Lotus, and one that has held up through more than three decades of Magic. If you've got enough creatures, just attack with them all and let the defending player figure out the math. It's a useful combat shortcut that has served millions of drafters well over the years; there's no need to overthink things.

But what if you're in the Pro Tour finals?

That's the impossible situation Matt Nass found himself in, deep into Game 5 of the finals of Pro Tour Aetherdrift against James Dimitrov. The players had been locked in a back-and-forth marathon match, with both players flooding the board with permanents. With their life totals at 54 and 36 (Dimitrov and Nass, respectively), the math was a bit more daunting than your typical Aetherdrift Draft match—especially considering that Dimitrov was holding onto a full grip of cards.

So, Nass started counting. And the one benefit of being so deep into the Domain Overlords mirror? He had plenty of mana to count up for Zur, Eternal Schemer and plenty of permanents that he could animate. He did the addition aloud: "24, 31, 38 …" Before he could get all the way up to Dimitrov's 54 life—Nass ended, having a few extra points of damage—his opponent extended his hand and congratulated Nass on his first Pro Tour victory.

And then came an instantly iconic moment.

"I was super tired and thought it would be nice, and funny, to lie down," Nass explained. It was the moment that took the Magic internet by storm, where almost eight hours of Domain Overlords gameplay on that bright Sunday stage hit him all at once, and he did what felt natural. He laid down on the main-stage floor, took a breath, and let it all sink in.

And why not? Nass has been a Pro Tour regular for a long time. He's a Grand Prix champion and a renowned combo deck builder. With two previous Pro Tour Top 8 appearances, he knows exactly how rare an opportunity like this is. So when the years of hard work—forged in the fires of the Krark-Clan Ironworks that made Nass the player he is—and the grind of the past years came together in a perfect Pro Tour moment in Chicago? Nass made sure to take a moment, and to take it all in.

"I thought about doing it just before the match ended; I was really happy, and tearing up a little bit," Nass admitted. "It turned out to be a pretty iconic picture, which is cool."

The fact it spawned a slew of Magic memes was a bonus.

🏆 Congratulations to Matt Nass, winner of Pro Tour Aetherdrift!🏆

Known for his prowess with combo decks, it's no surprise that Nass was able to outmaneuver the field with Domain Overlords to secure his first ever Pro Tour victory.

Congratulations again, Matt!#PTDFT pic.twitter.com/tojekcIKMZ

— PlayMTG (@PlayMTG) February 23, 2025

For those who have known Nass the longest, his win came as no surprise. Fifteen years ago, in an age before Fireshoes, infinite decklists, and metagame information at your fingertips, Nass exploded onto the Magic scene. His breakthrough came in 2010 at Grand Prix Portland, where the Extended format featured some of the most powerful cards to see Constructed play. Combo builds like Dark Depths and Thopter Sword ran wild. Nass was plenty familiar with it. It's the list he won against in the finals of the Grand Prix, taking a 30-creature Elves deck built around Cloudstone Curio and Glimpse of Nature.

The combo showcase Nass put on in the finals there was a preview of things to come. His next Top 8 appearance came at GP Pittsburgh in 2011, playing a combo that would become known as Splinter Twin. You might have heard of it. Nass's combo chops were becoming known.

But Nass has never been "just" a combo player. Alongside teammates Jacob Wilson and Jesse Hampton (and later Sam Pardee), Nass added two more trophies in the 2014–2015 season, this time in Limited. His first Top 8 at a Pro Tour came from Pro Tour Kaladesh in Honolulu. And he didn't stop there.

Nass's next achievement was hiss magnum opus, piloting a deck that'd be closely associated with him: Krark-Clan Ironworks Combo. I was there in Phoenix, Arizona, for the 2018 Grand Prix that required some of the most complicated homework I've ever done. The rumors were spreading before the tournament even began: Matt Nass has done it again, and you have to see it to believe it.

Nass figured out that, thanks to a quirk in the timing rules of Magic, he could use Chromatic Star, Scrap Trawler, and Krark-Clan Ironworks to create infinite mana in a manner that circumvented any interaction from opponents, even if they had it in hand. He cruised through the Grand Prix and into the Top 4, and Krark-Clan Ironworks was banned shortly afterward for Matt Nass doing things with the cards we literally didn't know were possible.

And so, the legend of Matt "Nassty" grew, with a second Top Finish following at the 2020 Mythic Invitational.

But one thing still eluded Nass. For all his triumphs, both of his Pro Tour Top 8 appearances had ended in unceremonious fashion. And then came the pandemic-induced reset. After more than a decade of Pro Tour excellence, Nass found himself back at square one with everyone else. You might assume that making the Pro Tour is trivial for a near champion, but it's not that simple at all. No matter who you are—even if you're Matt Nass—qualifying for the Pro Tour is hard.

"I've been trying pretty hard to get back onto the Pro Tour for the last few years, despite my lack of success up until now. I played most of the Regional Championships I could, along with any Pro Tour Qualifiers or $100,000 Opens I could find," Nass explained. "But there aren't that many chances to qualify now, and I missed out in a few good spots. I came in 2nd place at the last MagicCon: Chicago PTQ, and I was 8-1 going into Day Two of the Regional Championship, but the wheels fell off."

If that story sounds more like the average player's experience than a Pro Tour champion's, then you're missing what makes Nass that Pro Tour champion.

Last year in Chicago, @MatthewLNass and I both lost in the finals of the PTQ. He left talking about the other chances he had, eager to get back on the PT. I left planning to play the next Magiccon PTQ. One year later, I chose to lose the PTQ again, and he won the PT.

— Sam Black (@SamuelHBlack) February 23, 2025

In a word: resilience. No one finds high-level Magic success overnight, and past performance is no guarantor of future results. The path to the summit is not a straight line, but that's no problem for Nass, the combo expert who can see all the lines.

This is the most @MatthewLNass way to win a Pro Tour 😂 😂 😂

— Luis Scott-Vargas (@lsv) February 23, 2025

Another trait shared by Pro Tour champs? Respect for the process, not just the results. To that end, you can probably guess what Nass has planned after a few days of letting his Pro Tour victory sink in.

Onto the next one.

"Like AJ Brown said after the Eagles won the Super Bowl, the glory fades away pretty fast, and you kind of just want to get back to work," Nass explained. "I'm excited to play the upcoming Pro Tours and World Championship, and I'd love to build toward a Hall of Fame resume if that comes back."

Exhausted and ecstatic.

— Matthew Nass (@MatthewLNass) February 24, 2025