5. Opt, Settle+the+Wreckage, and Search for Azcanta from Ixalan, giving the deck plenty of tools to navigate the Standard format. Davis cruised through the Swiss and reached the Top 8 as the No. 2 seed. While his deck was great for most of the meta, it did struggle in the mirror in the quarterfinals against David Thomas, who had access to Gideon+of+the+Trials for the matchup. Davis couldn’t get Game 1 and lost the match in Game 2 despite his opponent having no cards left in his library. Though he didn’t make it past the quarters, Davis did make the third of his team in the Top 8 on the weekend. Check out Davis’ U/W Approach Deck Tech Hostage+Taker, Seeker’s Squire, Chart a Course, and Vona%2C+Butcher+of+Magan. DeCandio had a rough Day 1 after his two byes, going 6-3, but rattled off six straight wins on Day 2 to make the Top 8 as the No. 8 seed. Once in the Top 8, DeCandio had to face off against Andrew Jessup, on the Sultai Energy deck, and ended up falling to Deathgorge+Scavenger out of the sideboard – a card DeCandio recommend they play for his exact matchup. Check out DeCandio’s Esper Gift Deck Tech Jim+Davis, who didn’t have access to Gideon+of+the+Trials like he did. In the semifinals he had to face down his toughest matchup in the meta, Ramunap Red in the hands of Tad Macaraeg. While Thomas stole Game 1 on the draw, he was unable to make the sun approach for a second time in Games 2 or 3 and settled for a Top-4 finish. Check out Thomas’ U/W Approach decklist Lightning+Strike to give the deck more flexibility in its burn package. Tad lit up the competition and made the elimination rounds as the No. 3 seed, giving him the edge of the play in the quarterfinals. Macaraeg ran over Jon Toone on Four-Color Energy in the quarters, taking two quick games that showcased the power of the deck. Once in the semis, Macaraeg dropped Game 1 to David Thomas on U/W Approach, but used his sideboard Glorybringers to take Games 2 and 3 to advance to the finals. But in the last match Macaraeg would not be on the play, and lost to a powerful draw from Andrew Jessup on Sultai Energy in Game 1. Macaraeg forced a third game with a blisteringly fast draw, but his run came to an end as he stalled on two lands in the deciding game. Check out Macaraeg’s Ramunap Red decklist Hostage+Taker deck possible. The deck performed brilliantly for the Jessups as Andrew was able to intentionally draw in Round 15, locking up the top seed, and Dan was able to take his win-and-in to be the No. 5 seed. Andrew had to take down Brennan+DeCandio on Esper Gift in the quarterfinals, before facing his brother for a second time in the semis. Andrew came out on top once again, advancing to the finals to give him the chance to claim his second Open win on the year. Andrew used the advantage of the top seed to be on the play against Tad Macaraeg on Ramunap Red, winning Game 1 in under three minutes. Andrew lost Game 2 to an equally fast start from Macaraeg before taking the third game where he was back on the play and his opponent stumbled on land No. 3. For a player who had multiple Open finals losses, Andrew Jessup has now won two finals straight, both of which in release-week Standard events. Check out Andrew Jessup’s Sultai Energy decklist here.
