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The Week That Was: Taking a New Path to the Pro Tour

January 17, 2025
Corbin Hosler

Pieter Tubergen remembers the first big Magic event he went to: Grand Prix Philadelphia in 2012, where he tried his hand at Return to Ravnica Limited alongside 2,000 other Magic players. He didn't make a deep run in his first tournament, but he did feel the rush of competitive Magic as he watched an incredible Top 8 that included Luis Scott-Vargas, Martin Jůza, and the event's winner, Shuhei Nakamura.

That's a trio of open tournament mainstays that encapsulates the open field of the era. You were just as likely to be paired against your friend from your local game store as you were to face down a Hall of Famer at the top of their game.

So, Tubergen gave it a shot—and he was instantly hooked.

"After that, I played pretty much every GP or SCG Open I could find a ride to," he recalled. "I enjoyed playing almost exclusively Modern and had my best GP finish in 2015, going 12-3 with Affinity for 32nd place."

Tubergen has kept that affinity for competitive Magic going strong. He was a part of multiple record-breaking fields—including multiple tournaments with more than 4,000 players—and he was there in Atlanta for the first-ever Magic Spotlight Series. The Spotlight Series marks the return of open-invitation, high-stakes tournament play. He, alongside more than 1,400 other competitors, were seated for a historic "Welcome to Round 1" announcement. It felt less like the beginning of the tournament and more like coming home.

I've talked to dozens of people who love Magic and either played, judged, or just attended the momentous event held at SCG CON, and they all echoed that same sentiment. As Tubergen put it, just like so many of his peers who were present in Atlanta to watch Nick Odenheimer persevere through two grueling days of Standard competition to win it all with Gruul.

"We are so back."

It's an exciting time to be a Magic player. Todd Anderson, a Pro Tour competitor turned coach and content creator, was feeling that excitement. "I spent weeks preparing with my students leading up to the event, testing various strategies and reviewing footage of games to find mistakes. I like Standard and want to play more of it, so these Spotlight Events being Standard is great, and open entry is the way to go," he said. "People want to spend a weekend battling with their friends and trying to get to the Pro Tour. Sunday night felt like every Sunday night I've spent at Magic tournaments: great dinner, good friends, and relaxing after a competition. There's nothing like it."

The Magic Spotlight Series differs from the Regional Championship circuit that players have become familiar with in a few ways. Most notably, it offers a direct path to the Pro Tour that anyone can accomplish in a single weekend. If you can make the Top 8 of the Spotlight Series, you go straight to the Pro Tour without passing through another level of qualifier, not to mention that you head home with the lion's share of the $50,000 prize pool and a special Spotlight Series–themed prize. It's the most compelling opportunity imaginable to many active players and those who, like Tubergen, may have fond memories of competing back in the day but can't always chase the latest qualifier.

A few years ago, we all learned that the gathering wasn't a given. Tubergen made sure he was there for this return.

"When the Spotlight Series was announced and it looked like GPs were back, my housemates and some local players were all interested in checking it out, and I wanted to see if it had the same vibe that I loved back in the day. Sitting at the player meeting felt like a return to form," said Tubergen. "These events occupy a pretty unique space in competitive gaming: anyone can show up and play, and anyone can win. No team requirements, no minimum rating to be invited, no qualification circuit: just a stack of cards and motivation to win.

"Did you make the Top 8? Welcome to the Pro Tour. Did you miss the Top 8, but still put up a good record? Here's a pile of money. I love playing Magic, and I especially love playing for something, even if the most likely result is going home empty-handed.

"It was a strange mix of nostalgia while almost re-experiencing the scale of an event like this for the first time," he continued. "The judge announcement booms from the speakers and the sea of players starts flowing in. I turn up my music and double-check my pairing. I've done this so many times, and now, we're so back.

"I know it's not particularly reasonable to expect to win or even do well at events of this scale, but everyone knows that they can. Eight people will make the elimination rounds, and one will win. It could be me."

It's easy to view the Spotlight Series as a stepping stool, one where new or up-and-coming players can run into grizzled veterans, but I think that framing misses something important that Tubergen hit on. These events are special in a way that even the many other Magic tournament offerings aren't—and that's felt by everyone, even those grizzled veterans.

"I was honestly excited just to get out after the holidays, hang out with friends, and play some Magic for a few days," explained Pro Tour regular, streamer, and content creator Jim Davis, who is used to his Magic events being as high stakes as they come. Playing on Day One of the Magic Spotlight Series is a very different vibe than playing in the World Championship. "The tournament was great, honestly, big Magic events are a lot of fun. I started off a 7-0 heater but would end up faltering on Day Two, but I still had a lot of fun. It felt just like old times."

That doesn't just go for players.

"Living in the Midwest, I have no shortage of opportunities to judge medium to large events, and Atlanta is comfortably outside my normal travel radius," explained Dave of the JudgingFtW podcast. "But as soon as the Spotlight Series was announced, I knew I wanted to judge it.

"When GPs went away, it left a big hole in competitive play that nothing has been able to fill yet. The excitement and anticipation that comes from a convention center full of Magic players all vying for the same prize is absolutely unique, so when I saw an opportunity to be part of that again, I jumped on it!

"I was on the late shift for Saturday, so I didn't even have to be present for the start of the tournament and the head judge announcements. But I was. I still wanted to be there."

So just what was everyone so excited to play for? Not to oversell it, but in terms of competitive Magic, everything. This tournament awarded the final slots for Pro Tour Aetherdrift, which is taking place next month at MagicCon: Chicago on February 21–23. The kickoff Pro Tour of the year, Atlanta was the perfect, and last, opportunity for players to stake a seat for the Pro Tour season that will end at Magic World Championship 31 later this year.

Pro Tour Aetherdrift will be the usual three rounds of Draft, followed this time by Standard, the same format just put through its paces by the best in the business. But the only thing we really know about Standard after thousands of games recorded in Atlanta? How little we know.

Frank Karsten put it best last week: Standard is rich in diversity and teeming with unexplored strategies. Gruul Aggro, like the one Odenheimer won with, has been the de facto "best" deck of the format, but it has itself had to adapt over the last few months to keep up with a format that seems to spit out new, successful decks every other week.

While Dimir Midrange and Gruul Aggro topped the Magic Spotlight Series metagame at fourteen and thirteen percent metagame share, respectively, but neither finished in the top three in match win rate. Instead, the breakout deck of the weekend was Esper Pixie, such as the list Nicole Tipple piloted to a 12-3 record and 14th-place finish, utilizing Fear of Isolation, This Town Ain't Big Enough, and Nurturing Pixie to continuously reset value cards like Hopeless Nightmare, Nowhere to Run, or even Tithing Blade.

3 Caves of Koilos 4 Concealed Courtyard 4 Nowhere to Run 4 Fear of Isolation 4 Optimistic Scavenger 4 Stormchaser's Talent 3 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 4 This Town Ain't Big Enough 4 Nurturing Pixie 4 Hopeless Nightmare 4 Seachrome Coast 3 Underground River 2 Restless Anchorage 4 Darkslick Shores 1 Swamp 2 Go for the Throat 2 Adarkar Wastes 2 Spiteful Hexmage 1 Tithing Blade 1 Defiled Crypt // Cadaver Lab 3 Pest Control 1 No More Lies 1 Kaito, Bane of Nightmares 2 Temporary Lockdown 2 The Witch's Vanity 3 Destroy Evil 1 Loran of the Third Path 1 Cut Down 1 Defiled Crypt // Cadaver Lab

"I lost playing for Day Two in the last round, but all my losses went to three games, and I had a lot of fun piloting my Dimir Tempo strategy, though I felt like I was an underdog to the Esper Pixie and self-bounce decks in the field; overall, it was a great tournament experience," Anderson reflected. "It felt like we were back, and to be honest, I feel that we are back. These events will happen often, and I'm stoked to be able to play in these types of events again, to have goals to reach for. I really enjoyed my experience at the Spotlight in Atlanta, and I'll likely attend more."

He'll have a chance. The Magic Spotlight Series heads to Europe for Spotlight Series: Modern on March 15–16 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and then back to the United States for a April 11–13 stop in Denver!

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