Pioneer Players Tour Phoenix 2020 Top 8 Analysis

Hello, internet! My name is Blue, and today will be my first attempt at a tournament analysis! I’ll be going over each deck in the Top 8, my thoughts on them individually, and which one I think has the best chance at pulling it out! Before we begin, you may notice that the sideboards are not complete, consisting of anywhere from six to twelve cards in total. This is because as of this article, the number of each card in the sideboard is not public knowledge, so all we know is what cards exist, not how many. With that out of the way, let’s start off with Bant Spirits!

Bant Spirits

Thomas Ashton

Creatures – 32
4 Mausoleum Wanderer
4 Spectral Sailor
4 Rattlechains
4 Selfless Spirit
4 Supreme Phantom
4 Empyrean Eagle
4 Nebelgast Herald
4 Spell Queller

Instants – 4
4 Collected Company

Lands – 24
4 Botanical Sanctum
4 Breeding Pool
4Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple Garden
2 Plains
2 Island

Sideboard – 15
1 Permeating Mass
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Remorseful Cleric
1 Deputy of Detention
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Reflector Mage

Bant Spirits has been in the format since its inception and I’m happy to see it continue to put up results. It’s interesting to see Nebelgast Herald, as that’s not a card I’ve seen before. I see the appeal of it though, being able to tap down blockers or even attackers with a Rattlechains out. Other than that, the deck seems to be pretty normal for the archetype, and I’m excited to see where it goes in the tournament. Looking at the sideboard, Permeating Mass is another card I haven’t seen a long time. I like it, and clearly it’s doing pretty well to place Ashton in the Top 8.

Dimir Inverter

Corey Burkhart

Creatures – 8
4 Thassa’s Oracle
4 Inverter of Truth

Planeswalkers – 3
3 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

Instants – 17
4 Fatal Push
4 Opt
2 Censor
2 Drown in the Loch
1 Hero’s Downfall
4 Dig Through Time

Sorceries – 6
4 Thoughtseize
2 Thought Erasure

Enchantments -1
1 Omen of the Sea

Lands – 25
2 Choked Estuary
4Drowned Catacomb
4 Fabled Passage
2 Fetid Pools
1 Ipnu Rivulet
5 Island
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Watery Grave

Sideboard – 15
1 Damping Sphere
1 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Legion’s End
1 Negate
1 Pack Rat
1 Cry of the Carnarium
1 Hero’s Downfall
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Witch’s Vengeance
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Languish

Dimir Inverter is one of the new decks to pop up thanks to Theros: Beyond Death, and so far, it’s been a beast. Two different versions cracked into the Top 8 at this event (the second of which I will discuss later) and I’m excited about it. I love it because it’s a good Dimir control deck with a decent way to finish the game. I’m concerned it may be performing too well though, as there’s been a lot of discussion on the internet to ban Inverter of Truth. People are worried it’s just another iteration of Splinter Twin or Copy Cat, and we all know how Wizards feels about two-card combos like this. As of current, I think it’s okay, but I can see it becoming a problem and I’m sure WOTC has their eyes on it.

Azorius Control

Austin Bursavich

Planeswalkers – 8
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
3 Teferi, Time Raveler
1 Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis
3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

Instants – 20
4 Opt
4 Azorius Charm
3 Censor
1 Dovin’s Veto
1 Absorb
1 Mystical Dispute
3 Sinister Sabotage
3 Dig Through Time

Sorceries – 4
4 Supreme Verdict

Artifacts – 1
1 Soul-Guide Lantern

Enchantments – 1
1 Seal Away

Lands – 26
3 Castle Ardenvale
1 Castle Vantress
2 Fabled Passage
2 Field of Ruin
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
3 Irrigated Farmland
5 Island
2 Plains

Sideboard – 15
1 Soul-Guide Lantern
1 Damping Sphere
1 Dovin’s Veto
1 Seal Away
1 Ashiok, Dream Render
1 Detention Sphere
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis
1 Dream Trawler

Ah, Azorius Control. This brings me back to when I first started playing Magic. My first ever control deck was Ojutai Control during DTK standard. I’m always happy to see UW perform well and this time is no different. I like this list, though I don’t know how I feel about Elspeth, Sun’s Nemesis. I don’t feel good about it as a card, and I want to say it’s just bad, but with at least two copies in the 75, it’s doing at least somewhat well. I think my favorite part of this deck is the main-deck Soul-Guide Lantern. The pioneer version of Relic of Progenitus doesn’t disappoint, especially in a format with Lotus Breach Storm running around.

Dimir Inverter

Peter Ingram

Creatures – 7
3 Thassa’s Oracle
4 Inverter of Truth

Planeswalkers – 4
4 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries

Instants – 17
4 Fatal Push
4 Opt
2 Censor
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Hero’s Downfall
4 Dig Through Time

Sorceries – 5
4 Thoughtseize
1 Thought Erasure

Enchantments – 2
2 Omen of the Sea

Lands – 25
2 Choked Estuary
4Drowned Catacomb
4 Fabled Passage
2 Fetid Pools
6 Island
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Watery Grave

Sideboard – 15
1 Agonizing Remorse
1 Damping Sphere
1 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
1 Legion’s End
1 Pack Rat
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Cry of the Carnarium
1 Hero’s Downfall
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

There isn’t much to talk about here since I covered it all the first time, though there are a couple of differences in the decks. Notably, this version swaps the numbers on Thassa’s Oracle and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. I’m not sure which is correct but it’s interesting to see both in the Top 8. The sideboards differ slightly as well, with this version opting not to play any sweepers. I can’t imagine not playing any board wipes to be correct, but it’s working, so I can’t really say too much about it.

Lotus Breach Storm

William Jensen

Creatures – 14
4 Arboreal Grazer
4 Fae of Wishes
2 Satyr Wayfinder
4 Vizier of Tumbling Sands

Instants – 3
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Dig Through Time
1 Expansion // Explosion

Sorceries – 16
4 Hidden Strings
4 Strategic Planning
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Pore over the Pages

Enchantments – 3
3 Underworld Breach

Lands – 24
1 Blast Zone
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
4 Lotus Field
1 Sheltered Thicket
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Thespian’s Stage
3 Yavimaya Coast

Sideboard – 15
1 Natural State
1 Tome Scour
1 Underworld Breach
1 Unravel the Aether
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Lost Legacy
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Thought Distortion
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Lotus Storm is another deck to be around since the inception of Pioneer, except this version got a spicy new toy with Theros: Beyond Death, and it makes me worried the deck may be too good now. Before, it was a good deck but had minor consistency issues that kept it from dominating. Now it has access to a cheaper Past in Flames with Underworld Breach, and that begs the question: with Breach in the deck, is Lotus Field in the discussion to be banned? The short answer is no. The long answer is we’ll have to wait and see how the two versions in the top 8 perform. I’d hate to see a banning on a deck like this, but as I mentioned when talking about Inverter Combo, WOTC hates decks like this.

Mono-Red Aggro

Zachary Kiihne

Creatures – 28
4 Monastery Swiftspear
4 Soul-Scar Mage
2 Zurgo Bellstriker
4 Abbot of keral Keep
4 Rimrock Knight
4 Bonecrusher Giant
4 Goblin Rabblemaster
2 Torbran, Thane of Red Fell

Planeswalkers – 1
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance

Instants – 9
1 Shock
4 Wild Slash
4 Lightning Strike

Lands – 22
1 Castle Embereth
2 Mutavault
4 Ramunap Ruins
15 Mountain

Sideboard – 15
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Abrade
1 Eidolon of the Great Revel
1 Lava Coil
1 Kari Zev’s Expertise
1 Chandra, Torch of Defiance
1 Experimental Frenzy

There isn’t much for me to say here. Mono-red aggro has been a staple of nearly every format for so long. There isn’t anything unique here to talk about. My only note would be that I find it weird to play three different creatures with Prowess in a deck with so many creatures, but even then, it’s fine because of all the Adventures. It’s just your typical mono-red aggro deck.

Sultai Delerium

Jacob Wilson

Creatures – 20
1 Walking Ballista
1 Brain Maggot
2 Jace, Vryn’s Prodigy
4 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Courser of Kruphix
2 Murderous Rider
1 Tireless Tracker
4 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
1 Ishkanah, Grafwidow
1 Emrakul, the Promised End

Planeswalkers – 2
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Nissa, Who Shakes the World

Instants – 7
4 Fatal Push
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Grisly salvage

Sorceries – 8
4 Thoughtseize
4 Traverse the Ulvenwald

Lands – 23
4 Blooming Marsh
1 Botanical Sanctum
4 Breeding Pool
3 Fabled Passage
2 Forest
1 Ipnu Rivulet
1 island
4 Overgrown Tomb
1 Swamp
2 Watery Grave

Sideboard – 15
1 Disfigure
1 Disdainful Stroke
1 Noxious Grasp
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Unmoored Ego
1 Hostage Taker
1 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet
1 Leyline of the Void

When I see this deck, it brings me back to when it dominated the standard meta a few years back. It’s basically an upgraded version of that. I’m sad there’s no Grim Flayer just as a decent threat, but there’s a lot of other incredibly powerful cards here, so I see not having room for it. The key difference here between this and its standard counterpart is the addition of enchantment creatures, which weren’t around during the time. This deck looks insanely powerful, and that’s not even to speak of the absurdity of Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath. I can see this winning the entire event, but we’ll get more into that later.

Lotus Breach Storm

Allen Wu

Creatures – 15
4 Arboreal Grazer
4 Fae of Wishes
2 Satyr Wayfinder
1 Thassa’s Oracle
4 Vizier of Tumbling Sands

Instants – 2
1 Dig Through Time
1 Blink of an Eye

Sorceries – 16
4 Hidden Strings
4 Strategic Planning
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Pore over the Pages

Enchantments – 3
3 Underworld Breach

Lands – 24
1 Blast Zone
4 Botanical Sanctum
2 Breeding Pool
1 Forest
4 Lotus Field
4 Temple of Mystery
4 Thespian’s Stage
4 Yavimaya Coast

Sideboard – 15
1 Alpine Moon
1 Natural State
1 Tome Scour
1 Underworld Breach
1 Unravel the Aether
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Lost Legacy
1 Mystical Dispute
1 Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
1 Hour of Devastation
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
1 Thought Distortion
1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

This list is incredibly similar to the one before it. Most of the key differences are in the sideboard with Niv-Mizzet, Parun, and Alpine Moon, both of which I have to assume are for the mirror. There isn’t much more for me to say here, except I think this list is better prepared for itself than the other one. Interestingly enough though, Wu decided to play Blink of an Eye over Mystical Dispute, and I’m curious how that’s been playing out for him. I can’t imagine that’s correct, but as I’ve said a few times now, it’s working enough to get him to the Top 8, so it’s not doing poorly.

Predictions

At the end of it all, I feel like the overall winner will come down to pairings. In my heart, I want Azorius Control to pull it out, but to be realistic, I think I have to give it to Corey Burkhart on Dimir Inverter. His list plays more discard than any other deck in the Top 8 and that gives him an edge against Lotus Storm. His counterspell suite feels good against both the mirror and Azorius, and his removal package seems capable of fighting mono-red well in addition to spirits. On the sideboard, he has a little bit for everything, and that makes me feel confident he’ll get this.

Wrap-Up

How do you think I did for my first analysis? Did I say anything you don’t agree with? Is there something I should’ve mentioned that I didn’t? Who do you think will pull it out in the end? Let me know in the comments or on twitter @TheRealBlueMTG! Don’t forget to follow the site @MTGOracle as well while you’re there! That’s all from me for now. This is Blue, signing out!