TOP 8 COVERAGE

America’s favorite playground became one of Magic’s fantastic battlefields again. The allure of the Grand Prix crown drew 1615 players to Atlantic City for Dragons of Tarkir/Fate Reforged Limited. From the 202 that earned a return for the Sunday drafts, and the eight final contenders of a talent-filled Top 8, rose one champion: Christian Calcano

Using his powerful White-Black deck to defeat No. 24-ranked Alexander Hayne in the finals, Calcano marched through his Top 8 competition with speedy aggression and late game dominance of Mastery of the Unseen. Using his combination of fast creatures and tricks backed up by the Constructed-powerhouse enchantment gave Calcano the edge he needed for draft victory.

Grand Prix Atlantic City was full of other talented competitors. With strong showings from Pro Tour Hall of Fame member Luis Scott-Vargas and No. 14-ranked Jacob Wilson to boot, the depth and breadth of Dragons of Tarkir was put to its first test this month. Powerful archetypes like Blue-Black were dominant when successful, but often fell to the efficient power of Red-Green and White-Blue when things didn’t come together. Fate Reforged continued to show it’s affect on things, namely powerhouse rares like Citadel Siege continuing to prove potent in Limited, but the multicolor heyday of the previous Limited format had given way to two-color creations.

There were plenty of lessons about Dragons of Tarkir shared this weekend, but Calcano lived up to the “Do AC” motto as he did the greatest anyone here could. Congratulations again to Christian Calcano, champion of Grand Prix Atlantic City!