Worlds Wildcard

The Worlds Wildcard tournament will take place on November 24th and 25th, beginning at 11am EST.

Fourteen players are locked for the $5000 ETS World Championships in December. Two slots yet remain, and we’ve gather up the sixteen most successful remaining players to fight for it. This is the second to last ETS tournament of the year, and the final chance to make the big push so everyone will be out for blood. A brutal tournament in which a great player gets eliminated nearly every round – what more could you want to watch?

Format

As always, a single deck will be used for the entire tournament following our standard deckbuilding rules.

Day 1: Matches on day 1 are played in the “Invitational Swiss” format, with 7 rounds and a target of 4 wins. In the Invitational Swiss format, matches are played the same as weekly tournaments – best of three matches against someone with an identical record. However, there is no dropping – players will be eliminated once they reach 4 losses, and qualify for day 2 once they reach 4 wins. After seven rounds, half the players will be eliminated and half the players will move on.

Day 2: Eight players remain! We will run a quick 3 round Invitational Swiss with a target of 2 wins to cut the remaining players down to 4. After that we will use the same format as the following sample bracket to determine the two players who will advance.

Prizing

The only prize for the Wildcard tournament is an invitation to the ETS World Championships, which are extended to the first and second place finisher at the Wildcard tournament.

Who’s Playing?

Almost “the Lock” (22 SP)

Well, just like we initially predicted, Almost is a man on a mission. He sailed through the Season Four Invitational all the way to the finals where he easily wo- what’s that? TonyGeeeee won in straight games and denied Almost an invitation? The greatest storyline almost told ended in heartbreak as Almost missed his direct invite by a single point. Still, Almost looks steps ahead of the competition and you can be sure that he’ll be looking cruise through this tournament as well – fortunately 2nd place will do the trick this time around.

flash2351 “the Last Hope” (22 SP)

Every team has a captain, and flash by merit of a couple of rounds of “the guy ahead of me left” has more or less become the defacto captain of OND. OND is currently the only team without a representative at worlds, and both other members are currently looking to flash to get them back into that exclusive crowd. With their hopes, dreams, and salt on the line, will flash shine brightly or gloriously flame out?

theovermaster “the Worrying Trend” (22 SP)

Uh… overmaster does it again? Resident memer memes around in weekly tournaments, but in Invitationals this year he has put up and I have shut up. At this point he’s just flat out successful, although there seems to be a direct correlation between Haunted Highway’s winrate and overmaster’s success… Can he put together the threepeat and randomly clinch a worlds invite?

Aetherllama “the New Unearthly According To IlyaK Via Comparisons Of Suspect Accuracy That Were Never Defined, Clearly Or Otherwise ” (21 SP)

He needed at least six points to go to worlds – he only managed four. Cut down in the elimination rounds, Aetherllama will reset and go for the finals. He’s won twice before this very season, so he knows how to go about it, and there’s no single elimination to ruin his day. Will he be able to overcome the other players and this terrible nickname to earn an invite?

jez2718 “the Missed Opportunity” (18 SP)

The Season Four Invitational was Jez’s big chance to steal a march on the direct invites and earn some big points. Unfortunately, he was unable to make ends meet and ended up in the bottom half of the tournament. As such, he’ll have to do it the hard way, against stellar opposition. Will he be able to bounce back from a disappointing result, or will history repeat itself?

DrPringles “the Late Bloomer” (17 SP)

He’ll be looking to the Invitational to get him over the hump and into Wildcard territory.

He went and did it, too. DrPringles run to Top 4 may have been overshadowed by the many other stories at the tournament, particularly those in the finals, but with it he’s more than doubled his point total and is now sitting pretty at Wildcards. He’ll need to dig deep and run back another strong result – can’t stop at Top 4 this time around!

Grimfan “the Offline” (17 SP)

Focusing his attention paid off – a Top 8 is a nice feather in Grimfan’s cap. If he can keep distractions to a minimum and focus, he’ll have a shot at the Wildcard crown as well. ET doesn’t have a lot of players, but it wants all of them at Worlds – can Grimfan help make that happen?

Danibor “the First Timer” (15 SP)

Unlikely nearly every other player on this list, Danibor has never had a nickname before. After earning a cool 14 points in Season One, Danibor faded into the background, earning only a single point in the next three seasons and missing all three Invitationals. He hasn’t played much and he last proved himself a very long time ago in a very different format. Will this returnee be able to readjust and find success?

Krizalio “the Player That (Almost) Ran Me Out Of Ways To Comment On Their Russian Nationality” (15 SP)

That dead horse is looking quite thoroughly beaten at this point, but there isn’t much else to comment on. Krizalio’s quiet season transitioned into a non-event Invitational. He has yet to return to the glory of his Season Two Invitational Top 8, and he’ll need to go much further than that at this cutthroat tournament. If Krizalio has another level of play, now is the time to show it.

Kroge “the TGP Captain” (15 SP)

“The Two Of” would be a better nickname, but this is probably the fastest way to find out if he’s actually the captain.

I’m gonna get an angry PM if he’s not actually the captain, so I hope he is. What I do know is Kroge is one of several players who failed to improve at the Invitational and will need to bounce back here at Wildcards. His 0-4 record is particularly tough to rebound from, but Kroge is a master of innovation and will no doubt be back with another brew, trademark 2-ofs firmly in hand.

Pupicitus “the Force Awakens” (15 SP)

Get it? Probably not, because the sixth Star Wars movie was called “A New Hope” not The Last Hope but anyhow, Pupicitus is the other OND player still standing alongside Team Captain flash2351. He’s had two disappointing Invitationals in a row and hasn’t been able to make that elusive Day 2 mark, but the best heros overcome their trials just when it seems all hope is lost. Let’s see if Pupi can put an end to the other teams’ storylines and blow up the Death Star Wildcard tournament.

gozuuu “the Evil Mastermind” (14 SP)

With ten points going into the Invitational, Gozu earned just enough points to avoid missing a Wildcard Invite (ten would have missed). Now that he’s finally made it to the final tournament, its time for stage two of his Masterplan: a five faction all merchants Nictotraxian combo deck that could be anything – even playable! While I don’t know what he’ll actually bring, Gozu has focused on getting maximum value for his effort. Well, he won’t get anything out of his effort if he doesn’t Top 2, so look for him to go all the way or nowhere at all.

trumpets “the Unbuckled” (14 SP)

Trumpets had a disappointing Season Two Invitational and a single top 8 in Season Three. He’ll need to buckle down for the Invitational if he’s going to want to earn some points.

Sad trombone trumpet. trumpets wasn’t able to make waves at the Invitational, nor was he able to even equal that single Top 8 in Season Four. With success and worlds rapidly slipping away from him, its time to firmly grasp that buckle or other metaphor of choice and win some matches.

heywhyyou “the Unruffled” (13 SP)

You wanna talk mental? heywhyyou’s got mental. Flame, praise, social cues – nothing gets through his iron skin and possible English-as-a-Second-Language. Wildcards is a brutal environment where players cut each other down without mercy and more than a few tears flow freely – trust the neutral guy to do it with callous indifference on his way to the goal.

Farodsbro “the Free Ride” (12 SP)

While we haven’t seen him in nearly two seasons, Farodsbro earned enough points to get here before taking a long hiatus from the game in the proud tradition of players like KampfKrote, VSarius, and LocoPojo. It worked out for Sarius, but not so much for the other two. He looked good the last time he played – will he back in top form, or will the rust be showing?

Tiebreaker Players

lv13david “the Player camat0 Forgets Is On ET” (11 SP, Tiebreaker)

ManuS “the Deckbuilder” (11 SP, Tiebreaker)

The last members of ET with a shot at Worlds are going to have to make a brutal teamkill to even have a chance at the crown – David and Manu will be playing a tiebreaker match before the tournament to find out which one of them will be the sixteenth and final player at Wildcards. Whichever one does, it will be a long climb through some highly motivated players to (presumably) join Grimfan in taking as many ET members to Worlds as possible. That’s no easy task, but ET doesn’t have any players who aren’t able to get results.

Predictions

It all comes down to this! Top 8, Top 4, everything is meaningless except for the two players who make Worlds and still have a season. As such, we’ll be predicting which two players we think will make it out of the bloodbath that is Wildcards. Who’s predicting? Myself of course, a number of Worlds players, and a special guest. Let the being wrong begin!

aReNGee’s Top;8 Predictions

Almost: If this guy doesn’t win, there is no Justice in the world, and probably no Fire or Shadow either. Then we have to play Elysian Midrange mirrors all day long. That’s not a world I want to live in, but Almost at Worlds is certainly a storyline I want to see play out.

If this guy doesn’t win, there is no Justice in the world, and probably no Fire or Shadow either. Then we have to play Elysian Midrange mirrors all day long. That’s not a world I want to live in, but Almost at Worlds is certainly a storyline I want to see play out. theovermaster: We truly live in the darkest timeline – overmaster is a favourite going into this event. He’s performed well when I’ve predicted him to be successful, so I’m running him back out of a morbid curiosity of what the world would like if overmaster really is a Worlds caliber player.

SooNo’s Minimalist Top 8 Predictions

Grimfan: hes super good, well deserving, very dedicated, and would look great wrapped in a a pillsbury cresent roll. Editor Note: I don’t write these. Please direct all court notices to SooNo.

hes super good, well deserving, very dedicated, and would look great wrapped in a a pillsbury cresent roll. Editor Note: I don’t write these. Please direct all court notices to SooNo. Theovermaster: hes a spg boy, nuff said.

childroland’s Top 8 SPGredictions

theovermaster: Great player, just top 8ed the invitational on a deck basically everyone in the tournament was playing or targeting.

Great player, just top 8ed the invitational on a deck basically everyone in the tournament was playing or targeting. lvl13david: Hasn’t played a ton this year, but is always impressive when he does play. We seem to get paired pretty often and I can never relax all match.

Paradox’s Hedging Top 8 Predictions

Uninteresting answer: My two teammates, Trumpets and Overmaster. They’re both fantastic players who have what it takes. I’m not just choosing them because their teammates, either.

My two teammates, Trumpets and Overmaster. They’re both fantastic players who have what it takes. I’m not just choosing them because their teammates, either. More interesting answer: If I had to choose two non-teammates, I’d say Jez and Almost. Almost has been on a tear and can probably translate that to the finals. Jez has also been just shy of a lot of strong finishes.

If I had to choose two non-teammates, I’d say Jez and Almost. Almost has been on a tear and can probably translate that to the finals. Jez has also been just shy of a lot of strong finishes. Overall, an incredibly strong group of players. All of them are capable of taking it down. Editor Note: Really narrows it down.

ThePlatypusKing’s Confession Top 8 Predictions

aetherllama: They are an insane deck builder and seemingly brew half the decks that Team Rankstar plays these days. I love their concoctions.

They are an insane deck builder and seemingly brew half the decks that Team Rankstar plays these days. I love their concoctions. theovermaster: My first love. One of the first friends I made in the Eternal Community way back when it first entered open beta. Also known for their brewing abilities, when theovermaster was on Team Rankstar, they helped me out more than anyone else when it came to preparing for important tournaments. I know they’ll put in the work and come out on top so that I can crush ’em in the finals of Worlds!

IlyaK’s Special Guest Top 8 Paragraph

aReNGee: thats 3 sentences or less per player please

Ilya K is typing…

I have to give it to aetherllama and almost. Almost is running white hot right now, and always brings decks that nobody else can play, and have difficult times playing against due to his unconventional choices. While he has only taken down one weekly tourney so far, his play and talent with piloting off-meta unique decks gives him a massive edge. He’s a combination of both an exceptionally talented pilot and a very innovative deckbuilder, and I think that makes him a better all-around player than most others in this competition. My other choice is Aetherllama – with a 66% top 8 conversion with tournaments he’s played in, 1 finals, and 2 ETS wins, aetherllama’s results speak for themselves. Furthermore, the man is a living mad scientist. He’s the one that originated the insanity that is Talir combo, and when I pressed him about it, his response was “hey, it was fun the first 30 games!”, which I absolutely can confirm. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you wish to view it, Aetherllama is like one of those jurassic park scientists–he’s so focused on the fact that he could, that he never asks if he should–and sometimes, the result is a completely degenerate deck that gives everyone consternation. Given the success aetherllama has had on both a conventional deck (Valkyries) and an unconventional one (Dark Alessi) in his tournament wins, his tight play and innovative deckbuilding also gives him the nod for me to make it to worlds, along with Almost.

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