Grand prix Verona 2013

Mike Krasnitski came out of nowhere to take the title here at Grand Prix Verona. This is the first major title for his country, and his fellow Ukrainians were out in full force, cheering for him all throughout the Top 8 and carrying him off into the sunset afterwards. And his road to victory was by no means easy, as he had to defeat both Platinum pros in this Top 8. First, he dispatched Shahar Shenhar in the quarterfinals, then Italian Samuele Estratti in the semis. Finally, in the final, he met Andreas Nilsson and his black-red Zombies, and again his green-white-black, or "Junk", Reanimator prevailed, a deck touted over last week by both Martin Jůza and Brad Nelson.

Coming into the tournament, the aggressive weenie decks in Naya and Jund were at the top of everyone's mind, but if anything, this Grand Prix marks the beginning of what some have called "The Restoration." Thragtusk s and, most fittingly, Restoration Angel s abounded in several of the winning decks, including Krasnitski's, proving that midrange strategies are still a force to be reckoned with.

Good night from all of us here in Verona, Italy, and congratulations to Mike Krasnitski, our Grand Prix Verona 2013 Champion!

top 8 bracket

Quaterfinals (1) Toni Ramis Pascual (8) Samuele Estratti (5) Shahar Shenhar (4) Mike Krasnitski (3) Jeremy Dezani (6) Max Schultze (7) Andreas Nilsson (2) Piotr Wald Semi-finals Samuele Estratti, 2-0 Mike Krasnitski, 2-0 Jeremy Dezani, 2-1 Andreas Nilsson, 2-0 Finals Mike Krasnitski, 2-1 Andreas Nilsson, 2-0 Champion Mike Krasnitski, 2-0

Twitch See Live Coverage Streaming video coverage of Grand Prix Verona provided Matej Zatklaj, Marijn Lybaert, Rich Hagon, and Steven Leeming at twitch.tv/magicprotour. Watch now on Twitch

INFORMATION

1. Mike Krasnitski $3,500 2. Andreas Nilsson $2,300 3. Jeremy Dezani $1,500 4. Samuele Estratti $1,500 5. Toni Ramis Pascual $1,000 6. Piotr Wald $1,000 7. Shahar Shenhar $1,000 8. Max Schultze $1,000

pairings, results, standings

Final Pairings 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Results 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Standings 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Top 9-16 – Decklists by Oliver Gehrmann

Top 8 – Decklists by Oliver Gehrmann

Top 8 – Players by Event Coverage Staff

Toni Ramis Pascual Age: 21 (it’s my birthday today!)

Hometown: Spain

Occupation: Student Guild:

Dimir Previous Magic accomplishments:

Finalist of GP Barcelona 2011Top 16 GP BilbaoTop 32 GP Lyon What deck did you play and why did you choose it?

Human Reanimator - cause Joel Calafell and Rakito Camacho talked me into it! What changes would you make to your deck and why would you make them?

None. What was the most unusual card you've seen played this weekend?



Serra Avatar! The mirror match turns into a bye!

Piotr Wald Age: 19

Hometown: Warsaw, Poland

Occupation: Student Guild:

Azorius Previous Magic accomplishments:

Day 2 at GP MalmöMultiple GPTs What deck did you play and why did you choose it?

UWR Tempo - it seemed the right choice. What changes would you make to your deck and why would you make them?

At the moment, I’m pretty happy with this version, so I wouldn’t change anything. What was the most unusual card you've seen played this weekend?



Prime Speaker Zegana!

Jérémy Dezani Age: 22

Hometown: Paris / Orleans, France

Occupation: Student Guild:

Orzhov Previous Magic accomplishments:

Top 8 GP Paris 2009top 100 PT MontrealGP Winner Lyon 201212th at GP Bilbao 201347th at GP London 20136 more Top 64 or 32 at Grand Prix What deck did you play and why did you choose it?

Jund Control, because I lost so much against other Jund players at PT Montréal when playing Bant. I built the deck for the French team and Melissa Detora and couldn’t come up with any more ideas, so I left it in this state. What changes would you make to your deck and why would you make them?

Play Tormod’s Crypt instead of Grafdigger’s Cage. One less Slaughter Games in the sideboard and instead main deck it. What was the most unusual card you've seen played this weekend?



Maybe the Duress, but I was mostly surprised by the lack of Esper or Bant in this Grand Prix.

Mike Krasnitski Age: 30

Hometown: Kiew, Ukraine

Occupation: Poker Player Guild:

Azorius Previous Magic accomplishments:

I made the cut for the National Team twice! What deck did you play and why did you choose it?

Junk Reanimator. I read Brad Nelson’s article about the best deck choice for GP Verona. What changes would you make to your deck and why would you make them?

Maybe add 2 more removals in the main deck. 2 copies of Purify the Grave in the sideboard. What was the most unusual card you've seen played this weekend?



I honestly can’t tell.

Shahar Shenhar Age: 19

Hometown: Jerusalem, Isreal

Occupation: This. Guild:

Jund! Previous Magic accomplishments:

Won GP San DiegoWon GP Salt Lake CityFinished 5th at GP ColumbusTop 25 at PT Barcelona and MontrealLots of other GP cashes! What deck did you play and why did you choose it?

Jund. Reid and I played the deck in Quebec city. He advanced to the Top 8 with it and I ended up on 22nd place. Owen topped PT Montreal with it (congratz again buddy)! What changes would you make to your deck and why would you make them?

I honestly don’t know. Jund is Jund. It really just depends on what you think you will play against. What was the most unusual card you've seen played this weekend?



Angelic Skirmisher

Max Schultze Age: 24

Hometown: Berlin, Germany

Occupation: Writing for MagicCardMarket.eu while studying Computer Science Guild:

Izzet Previous Magic accomplishments:

None. What deck did you play and why did you choose it?

UWR Midrange with Assemble the Legion in my main deck. What changes would you make to your deck and why would you make them?

None. What was the most unusual card you've seen played this weekend?



Predator Ooze

Andreas Nilsson Age: 25

Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark

Occupation: Available. Just finished my engineering education at DTU. Guild:

Orzhov Previous Magic accomplishments:

Won a PTQ in Malmö.41st place at Bochum in 2012. What deck did you play and why did you choose it?

BR Zombies. I played 3 Trials with different decks. An Aristocrat deck with tokens, a Sam Black Aristocrat deck and BR Zombies. I won the Trial where I played Zombies, so I chose that deck. What changes would you make to your deck and why would you make them?

I might want to remove the Slaughter Gams from board for an Appetite for Brains. What was the most unusual card you've seen played this weekend?



Alms Beast.

Samuele Estrati Age: 26

Hometown: Pistoia, Italy

Occupation: Student Guild:

Simic Previous Magic accomplishments:

2 GP Top 8Won PT Philadelphia2 Top 4 at Nationals What deck did you play and why did you choose it? Naya Humans. Why?

I could stop thinking and instead attack! What changes would you make to your deck and why would you make them?

None. What was the most unusual card you've seen played this weekend? Flames of the Firebrand ? (I played that card :P)

Quarterfinals – Round-up by Tobi Henke

The match between Samuele Estratti and Toni Ramis Pascual was covered, both in detail and in its entirety, on video. If you're not yet watching, well, you should. Meanwhile, here's quick rundown of what happened in the other three quarterfinals.





Game one started slow, with Shahar Shenhar's first play being Liliana of the Veil , while Mike Krasnitski had Lingering Souls . But the board filled up soon enough, with Thragtusk s on both sides, Huntmaster of the Fells plus Wolf entourage on Shenhar's, and two Restoration Angel s on Krasnitski's. Despite the fact that Huntmaster turned into Ravager of the Fells and that Shenhar made good use of Kessig Wolf Run , Krasnitski's spell advantage was simply too much to overcome.

For the second game, Shenhar had great mana acceleration, but also didn't. First, his Arbor Elf was stranded without a Forest , and when Farseek got him Stomping Ground , Krasnitski was already able to cast Acidic Slime off two Avacyn's Pilgrim s. Restoration Angel flickering Acidic Slime cemented his mana screw, and Shenhar never recovered.

Shahar Shenhar 0-2 Mike Krasnitski





Andreas Nilsson didn't have the most aggressive start in game one, with Diregraf Ghoul , no turn-two play, Geralf's Messenger , and Hellrider . But it was enough for Piotr Wald's draw, who found Geist of Saint Traft an extremely inadequate blocker.

Game two, on the other hand, saw one of those outputs for which the Zombie deck is rightfully feared: Nilsson had Diregraf Ghoul , Gravecrawler , Knight of Infamy , Knight of Infamy , and Geralf's Messenger , while Wald had to make do with a lone Boros Reckoner . He fought back valiantly with Searing Spear , Snapcaster Mage plus Searing Spear , and Augur of Bolas plus Mizzium Mortars , but to no avail. Nilsson cast a second Geralf's Messenger to take the match, and never even needed the third one that was still waiting in his hand.

Andreas Nilsson 2-0 Piotr Wald





Playing first, Jérémy Dezani made the first move in Liliana of the Veil . Max Schultze countered with Izzet Charm and summoned Boros Reckoner on his turn. Huntmaster of the Fells was no match for the second Boros Reckoner , and Murder hardly solved the problem, when Schultze simply cast a third Boros Reckoner ! Still Dezani was hanging in there, and made quite the comeback with Bonfire of the Damned for all of Schultze's creatures, followed by Rakdos's Return for all of Schultze's cards in hand. Unfortunately, he had taken too much damage earlier and lost to Snapcaster Mage and Restoration Angel .

Despite a Farseek on turn two, Dezani passed his third turn without play, looking glum. But really he was just waiting for Schultze to tap out. And he did, casting Boros Reckoner . At end of turn, Dezani commited Murder , and on his turn dropped the proverbial bomb in Garruk, Primal Hunter . A constantly growing number of Beast tokens were joined by Thragtusk to take game two.

Once again, Schultze had two Boros Reckoner s, but Farseek accelerating into Huntmaster of the Fells , Garruk, Primal Hunter , and Acidic Slime quickly put Schultze at a serious board disadvantage. Three Searing Spear s killed Huntmaster before it could transform as well as the Slime and Garruk, but Liliana of the Veil got rid of one Boros Reckoner , and another Acidic Slime put Schultze even further behind. He shifted gears and tried to recover with Supreme Verdict and Sphinx's Revelation for three. However, two could play at this game (the long game), and now Dezani cast Staff of Nin which provided a steady stream of cards, including another Garruk, Primal Hunter . When the planeswalker's second ability drew yet another three cards, this game was decided, even if not technically over. Well, Olivia Voldaren and Rakdos's Return were happy to take care of that.

Jérémy Dezani 2-1 Max Schultze

Semifinals – Andreas Nilsson (Rakdos) vs. Jérémy Dezani (Jund Midrange) by Oliver Gehrmann

Only 2 more wins! That's what was on the minds of Denmark's Andreas Nilson and France's Jérémy Dezani. My briefing for this match included the fact that Nilsson was probably the fastest player in the whole Top 8; he hadn't wasted any time in the quarter finals, dismantling Piotr Wald. Could he do the same with Dezani?





"You sure shuffle a lot?!" Nilsson started the chatter prior to the match. "Maybe that's the reason why you came so far!"

Both players kept their opening hands and it was Nilsson, who was on the play, who made the first move. He invited Diregraf Ghoul to his party.

It went in the following turn, but Abrupt Decay dealt with it. Nilsson rebuilt with Knight of Infamy .

Dezani took 2 from Dragonskull Summit , which allowed him to play a Bonfire of the Damned and deal with the threat.

Nilsson wasn't impressed; a Geralf's Messenger messenger came down, but Dezani used 2 removals on it to wipe the field once again!





Nilsson wouldn't give up throwing threats at Dezani. This time it was Gravecrawler and Blood Artist . The former went in the following turn, leaving Dezani on 12. Vampire Nighthawk followed, Nilsson was now down to 1 card in his hand and that concluded the turn.

When Dezani passed without performing any actions, Nilsson sent everything in but the Blood Artist . 8 left for Dezani. Another Diregraf Ghoul followed.





Dezani finally found a fourth Land: Blood Crypt . That allowed him to add 2 possible blockers to his side of the field thanks to Huntmaster of the Fells and a Wolf creature token.

Nilsson, however, found yet another threat, wrapping things up in no time!





Andreas Nilsson 1 - 0 Jérémy Dezani

This time, it was Nilsson who took a little longer shuffling his deck. Dezani then picked up his opening 7 and after only little thought, he decided to keep them. Nilsson did the same.





Nilsson took the first damage courtesy of a Blood Crypt . That allowed him to add Gravecrawler to his field, however.

On his second turn, a Diregraf Ghoul followed and Gravecrawler dealt the first damage to Dezani.

Dezani then used Abrupt Decay on his opponent's third turn, dismantling Diregraf Ghoul . Gravecrawler dealt more damage, leaving Dezani on 16.





This time Dezani had a Land on his fourth turn. He invited Olivia Voldaren to his party. He opted not to block with it the following turn when Gravecrawler attacked. Nilsson then added Geralf's Messenger and that concluded the turn.

Five cards remained in Dezani's hand and he considered his next play carefully. He dropped a Land and passed.

Nilssen also had a fifth land and he tapped 4 of them to cast Falkenrath Aristocrat . Dezani considered responding to the play, but he opted against it. Nilssen then attacked with everything.

The effect of Olivia Voldaren was supposed to deal with Falkenrath Aristocrat , but Nilsson simply added it's effect to the chain in response, making it indestructible. This happened twice. Geralf's Messenger came right back and before Dezani could even attempt to start any more shenanigans with Olivia Voldaren , Tragic Slip dealt with her. After the dust had settled, Dezani was left with 6 life.





Bonfire of the Damned was supposed to deal with Nilsson's field, but the effect of Falkenrath Aristocrat made sure it would stay right where it was for yet another time. When Nilsson cast Thundermaw Hellkite on his following turn, Dezani didn't waste a second before he extended the hand!





Andreas Nilsson overcomes Jérémy Dezani and advances to the finals!

Wow, quite the beating that Andreas Nilsson gave Jérémy Dezani! In our other semi final, game 1 was just about to finish, so the Danish player now had plenty of time to recuperate and prepare for his most important match this weekend!

Finals – Mike Krasnitski (Junk Reanimator) vs. Andreas Nilsson (Rakdos) by Oliver Gehrmann

1,208 players showed up bright and early yesterday morning and after 9 rounds of fierce competition on our first day, we cut the field to just 177. They had to prove themselves worthy in 6 more rounds today, narrowing things down to the final 8. This is where Mike Krasnitski and Andreas Nilsson and their Junk Reanimator and Rakdos decks went into overgear, catapulting both players into the finals of Grand Prix Verona!





Krasnitski didn't waste any time, taking 2 from his Land and playing Arbor Elf . Nilsson tried to match it with Diregraf Ghoul .

A Centaur Healer followed on Krasnitski's second turn, but Nilsson had a Searing Spear for it, followed by an attack with Diregraf Ghoul .

Krasnitski didn't perform any actions on his third turn, only dropping a Land. Nilsson went into the tank, considering whether to attack with Diregraf Ghoul or not. He cast Geralf's Messenger and opted not to.





Thragtusk to his hand, casting it on the very next turn!

Grisly Salvage got Krasnitski Thragtusk . He cast it the following turn and play was right back to Nilsson.

Nilsson attacked with Geralf's Messenger and he followed it up with Vampire Nighthawk .

Krasnitski attacked with Thragtusk and Nilsson opted to block with Vampire Nighthawk . Restoration Angel bounced Thragtusk , which got Krasnitski a 3/3 Beast creature token and it also removed it from combat. Avacyn's Pilgrim followed and that concluded the turn.

Knight of Infamy entered play and Nilsson followed it up with Blood Artist . Vampire Nighthawk attacked, triggering Exalted that Knight of Infamy provided. That left Krasnitski on 19 and Nilsson on 18.





Mulch got Krasnitski 2 more Lands. He attacked with Restoration Angel and the Beast creature token. Geralf's Messenger blocked the token, the Undying creature came back and after the dust had settled, Nilsson was on 17 and Krasnitski on 15.

Before Nilsson could put down these life totals, Krasnitski followed it up with Thragtusk , which meant he went up to 20 again.

Nilsson tried to apply pressure with Thundermaw Hellkite now. He attacked with it, Geralf's Messenger and Vampire Knighthawk.

Krasnitski used Thragtusk to stop Geralf's Messenger. Triggers resolved, leaving Nilsson on 21 and Krasnitski on 11. The life totals felt like a rollercoaster ride in this game!

The Ukrainian player now had to do some maths, trying to figure out the best play. He then dropped a Land, followed it up with Craterhoof Behemoth and he turned everything sideways!





"What is the total amount?" Nilsson asked. "40!" Krasnitski shot back. Game 2!

Mike Krasnitski 1 - 0 Andreas Nilsson

Both players took some time studying their respective opponent's deck list again and accessing their sideboards.





Nilsson decided to keep his opening 7 while Krasnitski shipped them right back.

Still, it was Nilsson who made the first play, casting Knight of Infamy on his second turn. Krasnitski on the other hand kicked things off when he used Mulch and he discarded a card at the end of his second turn.

Nilsson found another copy of Knight of Infamy . That meant when he sent the first in, both would trigger, leaving Krasnitski on 16. Diregraf Ghoul also jumped into the fray!

Krasnitski used Grisly Salvage , he found Avacyn's Pilgrim and he wasted no time casting it.

Play was back to Nilsson, who briefly glanced over his opponent's graveyard before attacking with all of his creatures. Krasnitski blocked one of the Knights, so both creatures traded, then he went down to 12. Geralf's Messenger followed, making it 10 on the Ukrainian.

Krasnitski now cast Rhox Faithmender . Once again, Nilsson turned everything sideways and he followed it up with Bonfire of the Damned to clear the field after Rhox Faithmender had taken some damage blocking Geralf's Messenger, concluding the turn.

Thragtusk got Krasnitski back to 10. Geralf's Messenger attacked, dealing 3, Diregraf Ghoul followed and Nilsson had to pass with 1 card remaining in his hand.

He took 5 from Thragtusk , a Restoration Angel bounced it, with Krasnitski gaining 5 life and ending up on 12 life and a token.





Nilsson added Blood Artist , he attacked with Geralf's Messenger and it and the token traded blows. That brought back the Undying Zombie and Nilsson passed play.

Centaur Healer did what the name implied and Krasnitski went back up to 13. He didn't attack and ended.

Geralf's Messenger traded with Thragtusk , which got Krasnitski a 3/3 Beast creature token. Nothing else happened on Nilsson's turn nor did Krasnitski perform any actions on his turn.

Nilsson needed to break the ice; it didn't seem like he would be the one coming out on top if this Mexican standoff would continue any longer. He sent in his Knight of Infamy , which traded with the token.

Another Centaur Healer for Krasnitski, who once again went up to 12 after he had taken 2 the turn before.





Nilsson added Gravecrawler and passed right back. Krasnitski felt the time was right for Restoration Angel to dish out some damage. He secured his defense with another Thragtusk .

Gravecrawler attacked on Nilsson's following turn and Centaur Healer blocked it. Nilsson simply cast it again from his graveyard.

Things now looked dire for Nilsson. Restoration Angel and Thragtusk were sent in, a Deathrite Shaman followed and Krasnitski ended.





Once again, Gravecrawler attacked and just like before, Centaur Healer blocked it. That left Krasnitski on 15, while Nilsson was now down to 7. Brimstone Volley dealt with Restoration Angel thanks to Morbid.





The attacks of Centaur Healer and Thragtusk got blocked by Nilsson's 2 copies of Diregraf Ghoul . One Centaur Healer connected, making it 7 on Nilsson.

Nilsson attacked with Gravecrawler . Krasnitski took the shot, making it 10 on him. 2 more cards in Nilsson's hand. He didn't seem happy and passed play.

Deathrite Shaman 's effect got used at the end of turn on Bonfire of the Damned . In response, Rakdos Charm exiled Nilsson's graveyard.

The following turn, Krasnitski declared attacks and that's when Nilsson extended the hand!

Mike Krasnitski overcomes Andreas Nilsson 2:0

"There was nothing I could do!" Andreas Nilsson complained. That much certainly seemed true, with Mike Krasnitski finding enough copies of Thragtusk and Centaur Healer together with Restauration Angel, providing him with enough reach to survive until the later turns where he could claim total control of the game.

Congratulations to Mike Krasnitski, your Grand Prix Verona 2013 Champion!

Top 5 Cards

These were the cards that were most discussed, that led the charge, that decided matches and shaped Grand Prix Verona 2013.

5. Serra Avatar The continued popularity of Human Reanimator decks which usually win by milling all of the opponent's library with Undercity Informer led players to look for creative solutions. More than one player came up with the idea of running a singleton Serra Avatar in their sideboard, and Toni Ramis Pascual even made Top 8 with it! Of course, being left with one card in one's library doesn't help much if you can't kill your opponent within the one turn this buys. But if you're running Human Reanimator yourself, as Ramis Pascual did, you can then use your own Unburial Rites / Angel of Glory's Rise / Fiend Hunter / Burning-Tree Emissary / Undercity Informer combo to mill your opponent and win yourself.





4. Thragtusk True, Thragtusk is no longer very exciting. In fact, people simply accept its existence as an immutable constant. Often Thragtusk gets mentioned almost as an afterthought when describing games: "Oh yeah, and both players also had 5 extra life, a 5/3 creature, and a 3/3 creature." But together with Huntmaster of the Fells Thragtusk still is the gold standard of Standard creatures, and it still is everywhere, whether in the matchup between Junk Reanimator and Jund or Bant Control versus Naya.











3. Garruk, Primal Hunter With the influx of the new dual lands from Gatecrash, Stomping Ground in particular, the GGG mana cost of Garruk is now less of a problem than it used to be, and the card as such is pretty amazing. While I've never throughout the weekend seen the planeswalker's ultimate ability activated, there's really no need to be disappointed. I've seen it creating an army of 3/3 tokens, often drawing three cards, sometimes five, and occasionally a lot more thanks to Kessig Wolf Run . It was instrumental in many Jund victories here in Verona, most notably in the quarterfinals of Jérémy Dezani.





