The Vegas 8

On July 17th we announced the Magic Online Vintage Cube Live Powered By Ultimate Guard event, which is a series of qualifiers leading up to a unique paper tournament at Magic Con Las Vegas, where 8 players will get a chance to draft Vintage Cube live. Not only will they be able to play with all the iconic cards like the Power 9, including the mythical Black Lotus, but they will get to keep all the cards they drafted and play for the rest of the Cube!

The last Vegas Qualifier is in the books which means that it is time to introduce the Vegas 8!

Here are the 8 players that made it through the qualifiers all the way to the Ultimate Guard Finals Draft at Magic Con Las Vegas 2024.

Week 1 - MunsonJenkins - Matthew Abrams

Week 2 - Foolishpuppy - Christopher Bruner 

Week 3 - FerMTG - Fernando Palmero Garcia

Week 4 - Lucajak - Luca Jakobovits

Week 5 - Slaxx - Jesse Hampton

Week 6 - Rexjak - Rex Jakobovits

Week 7 - Lenny - Daniel Prošek

Week 8 - Chefen - Oscar Christensen

Structure

Each of these players had to battle through a huge field of Vintage Cube gamers in the following structure: 

Feeder League > 64-Player Draft > Vegas Qualifier > The Ultimate Guard Finals

For more information on the qualifying structure, you can visit the information pages here and here. 

Each of these players won a flight, accommodation and a badge for Magic Con Las Vegas where they will have a seat at the final table of the Magic Online Vintage Cube Live Powered By Ultimate Guard event. 

Finals format, schedule and coverage

The Ultimate Guard Finals format is a live Vintage Cube Rochester Draft where the players keep the cards they drafted and play for the rest of the Cube. This means that every single card from the Vintage Cube will end up in the hands of the players. 

We will share more details on the Finals in the following week. 

You will find live coverage of the event on www.Twitch.tv/UltimateGuardLive, and a co-stream on www.Twitch.tv/MagicOnline. If you are interested in co-streaming our event as well, please inquire here. 

Now let’s talk about the players and some of the most exciting stories from their qualifier runs. 

$6 for a Vegas trip of a lifetime

Matt Abrams and Chris Bruner both managed to qualify on a single entry on their very first try, turning the $6 dollar entry fee for a Feeder League into a Vegas trip of a lifetime! Considering that you could play the qualifiers from the comfort of your home without having to travel anywhere, you won’t find that kind of value anywhere else. 

A Family Affair

You might have noticed that two of the Finals players share the same last name. Coincidence? Not so much. Rex Jakobovits and Luca Jakobovits are actually a father and son! If that wasn’t crazy enough, Rex’s other son, Julian, who is very well-known in the Eternal community (having won the Vintage Championship at Eternal Weekend 2022 and the Legacy Championship at Eternal Weekend 2023) came one match short of qualifying as well, losing in the finals of the Vegas Qualifier in week 3. 

And that still isn’t all of it. Julian actually ran the tables all the way to the end-of-the-week Vegas Qualifier for the last 8 players one more time in Week 8, where he ultimately lost in the semifinals. He is one of the only 4 players who managed to qualify for multiple Vegas Qualifiers. 

That is quite remarkable and, honestly, what an amazing story. This would be an insane feat for a large testing group, let alone 3 family members. We were joking that if we run the event back next year, we might as well rename it to the Jakobovits Invitational. 

Busy weekend for Jesse Hampton

Jesse Hampton from team Handshake Ultimate Guard is not only qualified for the Ultimate Guard Finals Draft, he is also going to be playing the World Championship on the same weekend! 

As one of the most experienced players on the final table, Jesse had a great competitive season, finishing 16th at Pro Tour Karlov Manor, 41st at PT Thunder Junction and 51st at PT Modern Horizons 3.

We took the possibility that some players might qualify for both events into account, so the Ultimate Guard Finals Draft will start right as the last round of Worlds ends each day on Friday and Saturday. This should be around 7pm local time. 

Preparing for one big event already takes a lot of time and effort. Jesse will have to prepare for two, including 3 different formats. On top of Vintage Cube, he will also be drafting Duskmourn and playing Standard in the World Championship. 

The “9th place” finisher

Shoutout to Tiago Fonseca (im2g00t4ubarn on MTGO) who made it to the Vegas Qualifier Draft in weeks 2, 6 and 7. Yes, Tiago made it to three of the eight possible Vegas Qualifiers . Unfortunately for him he always came just a little bit short in the end, but that is some astonishing consistency.

Player Profiles

Week 1 - Matt Abrams

Matt’s Vegas Qualifier winning deck:

Age: 37

Occupation: Server/Poker Player

Hometown: Las Vegas, NV, USA

How did the qualifiers go for you, did you manage to qualify on the first try or did you take multiple shots? 

Qualified on my first bullet.

Have you been to Vegas before? Do you have any other plans other than the final event while you’re in town?

I live here. 

When did you start playing Magic? 

Odyssey block.

What are your previous Magic achievements? 

Pro Tour top 16s, Grand Prix top 32s.

How many hours a week do you spend playing Magic? 

20 hours/week.

Describe your relationship with Magic. Are you a casual player, limited player, collector, commander player, vintage cube specialist..?

Limited player only.

Are you part of a bigger playtest group or do you mostly play alone? Anyone you want to give a shoutout to?

I just play drafts online or do cube drafts with friends.

What was your draft strategy in the qualifiers?

Be open.

What deck did you draft in the Vegas Qualifier? Any memorable matches?

I only remember the top 8 deck which was a Jeskai midrange deck

What do you feel is currently the strongest archetype in Vintage Cube Draft and why do you feel that way? 

There are so many good strategies, long as you can get the right cards for that particular archetype. 

Which 5 non-Power 9 cards do you most hope to open? 

The most expensive ones.

What would be your advice for someone trying to get better at Vintage Cube?

Try out different archetypes and see which ones you are most comfortable playing.

What is your greatest non-Magic accomplishment?

I am just blessed to be able to live the life I have and travel to many amazing places.

Is there something else you would like to mention or share about yourself?

I hope I open the Black Lotus!

Week 2 - Chris Bruner

Chris’ Vegas Qualifier winning deck:

Age: 35

Occupation: Retail Bank Trainer

Hometown: San Jose, USA

How did the qualifiers go for you, did you manage to qualify on the first try or did you take multiple shots? 

I was able to qualify on a single entry.  

Have you been to Vegas before? Do you have any other plans other than the final event while you’re in town? 

I have visited a few times before and plan on seeing some magic shows and getting good food while in town. 

When did you start playing Magic? 

I remember playing magic with my brothers in elementary school, so I would guess around 1999 or so. It wasn’t until I started going to Channel Fireball in 2010 that I started to really understand how to play. They started helping me understand the more complex strategies such as combat math, reading the pack, and playing to your outs.     

What are your previous Magic achievements? 

68th place in a 1900 player limited GP in Oakland CA, 1st place in a modern 1k at CFB, MOM Limited Challenge 32 6-0, 15 vintage cube trophies in 1 week of a league.    

How many hours a week do you spend playing Magic? 

Usually a minimum of 10 hours a week with some weeks hitting easily 40+ hours if vintage cube is available or the current limited format is a blast. My favorite non-cube limited format was LOTR. 

Describe your relationship with Magic. Are you a casual player, limited player, collector, commander player, vintage cube specialist..? 

I play limited exclusively, with a focus on cubing.  

Are you part of a bigger playtest group or do you mostly play alone? Anyone you want to give a shoutout to? 

I pilot on MTGO with my buddies Cash and Matt regularly joining in on discord. We often have different opinions on optimal draft strategies and lines of play which makes for a great time.  

What was your draft strategy in the qualifiers? 

All Threats and efficient answers, which is unusual for me as I am known as “no threats no answers” in my playgroup. My League qualifying deck was mono red* on black lotus and 2 mox’s.  I was able to 3-0 the league faster than I drafted the deck as only one game went past turn 4. The strategy during single elimination is quite different than during leagues as you are playing only against your pod, so hate drafting is very relevant. I went into the drafts looking for whatever was open, but ended up drafting the best color no one likes to play, which is White aggro. I drafted UW aggro, BW aggro, and finally RW aggro.  Efficient answers and a solid curve were the most important aspects of the decks as when you are stuck playing fair with no power, you have to have a strong start. Throughout the drafts I made note of what important cards I needed to be afraid of, so I could be prepared during the matches. 

What deck did you draft in the Vegas Qualifier? Any memorable matches?

My Finals draft was RW aggro with the very mean Ocelot pride, Ajani, Bombardiers line that basically ends the game on turn 3. The most memorable match of the entire tourney included an insane game that ended in a loss in round 5 of the 64 man. My opponent was off to an incredibly strong start of turn 1 island, Mox, Crypt, Karn and turn 2 Saheeli letting him crack in for 8. I was on the play but only had a Luminarch Aspirant staring down a very scary board. My opponent has 2 4/4 constructs, a Karn at 1 and Saheli at 3. I ripped a Solitude off the top and was right back in the game, or so I thought. Emperor of Bones and evoked Solitude obliterated his board leaving him on 2 lands, Mox and Crypt. Enter Black Lotus into Upheaval into Lorien Revealed to restart the game and put him solidly ahead on cards and mana. A Teferi and Kitten a few turns later eliminated any hope of winning game 1. I had practically accepted defeat going into game 2 of match 5 down a game and wondering how I could possibly beat a black lotus, time walk, mana crypt, Mox jet, and Mox diamond when I had zero fast mana in my deck. 

What do you feel is currently the strongest archetype in Vintage Cube Draft and why do you feel that way?

I feel like White X aggro is the strongest archetype due to the answers to everything. It has incredibly efficient exile removal, untargeted removal, hand disruption, and very efficient must answer threats. Other decks, however, are much better dopamine hits. Combo is always going to be more fun, but the Fun Police is the way to go if you want to consistently win.  

Which 5 non-Power 9 cards do you most hope to open? 

My buddy Cash really wants me to bring him home a Beta Lightning Bolt, so that’s going to one of my higher picks for sure. A Phyrexian revoker as he was the MVP of all my drafts and deserves to be framed on my wall. In terms of actually winning the matches, a Minsc and Boo, Broadside Bombardiers, or Forth Eorlingas would be my top picks.    

What would be your advice for someone trying to get better at Vintage Cube?

Start of the draft pick the highest power cards such as Tinker, Flash, Minsc and Boo, then figure out what is open and which lane to continue in. Don’t be afraid to throw away your first 3 picks if its not open. Don’t lose to your mana base, lands are very important picks. And finally, always play to your outs.

What is your greatest non-Magic accomplishment?

I would argue that I make the best cheesecakes in the Bay Area.  One customer described having a leftover slice in the fridge “Like a siren song calling for me, and I had to use every ounce of my soul to resist the temptation.”  I also regularly hear people tell me “I don’t normally like cheesecake, but this is amazing!”.

Is there something else you would like to mention or share about yourself?

As a Magician, it gets very confusing telling people that I am going to a magic tournament.  They are like oh cool are you performing?  They are always disappointed when I explain it's not Magic tricks, but the card game.

Week 3 - Fernando Palmero Garcia

Fernando’s Vegas Qualifier winning deck:

Age: 23

Occupation: Student and MTGO grinder

Hometown: Tenerife, Spain

How did the qualifiers go for you, did you manage to qualify on the first try or did you take multiple shots?

I qualified in the 3rd week and I just had 2 tries in the 2nd one. Went 2-1 and 1-1 that week and then in the 3rd I had 2 tokens to try to qualify and won the entire thing with the first of the tokens, so 3 tries in total.

Have you been to Vegas before? Do you have any other plans other than the final event while you’re in town?

No! I’ve never been to Vegas, I’ll be visiting some things on Wednesday and Thursday and then focus on having fun with some friends in the venue and in the tournament.

When did you start playing Magic?

My first contact with Magic was in 2013, I started to compete in 2020 with the pandemic at MTGO basically, since in my zone there’s very low mtg and even less competitive mtg.

What are your previous Magic achievements?

I’d qualified for one Arena PT (since the pandemic) in a special moment for me but I think for me the best achievement is always the people you meet in the game. I have a bunch of friends and known faces in all the tournaments and sharing moments with those people makes me happy.

How many hours a week do you spend playing Magic?

Lately not much, on weekends more to play the Showcase on MTGO. Probably about 30h or so.

Describe your relationship with Magic. Are you a casual player, limited player, collector, commander player, vintage cube specialist..?

I consider myself a competitive player. I like to compete and I have fun when I do so, so my fun part of mtg for me are the travels to tournaments and take the tournament seriously.

Are you part of a bigger playtest group or do you mostly play alone? Anyone you want to give a shoutout to?

I mostly play alone, but I have a group of friends where we share lot of time every day together and I think is an important part of me, even if I’m doing other stuff being in call with friends is always nice. Potato is the name of the group.

What was your draft strategy in the qualifiers?

Know what I have to do. I’m not the best cube drafter but I’m sure about most of my picks and I know all the strategies, even the worst ones can be very good if the archetype is open, so yeah, I tried to read all the drafts and pick in consequence.

What deck did you draft in the Vegas Qualifier? Please attach a screenshot of the final deck to the email. Any memorable matches?

I drafted an UR aggro-tempo deck. I think most of my matches were just insane, but I can describe the game 2 (I’m down a game) of the finals match; I sided in my Counterspells since my opponent was in a reanimator ramp deck, and I opened a very solid hand with Dack Fayden on t2 since I had Mana Crypt. Well, they had the answer to it and the game was slower, they tried to reanimate a Griselbrand with Corpse Dance and I tried to Force of Negation it, and they Reprieve they’re own spell, I felt fine with it because I had 2 small creatures on board and a Counterspell in hand for the following turn. I play my turn and leave my hand with 2 cards (Fury and Counterspell) and with 2 mana. Well… they had 5 mana and cast Mind Twist X=1 and they hit the Counterspell so they were able to reanimate the Griselbrand, attack and draw 7 cards. I untap and, the surprise of the game, I lost another Mana Vrypt flip (4 of 4) so I lose the 5 50% things in the game, the Mindtwist one and the 4 Crypts. I was at 1 and then I drew Ancestral Recall the turn I thought I was dead, with it I drew Fiery Confluence, Gut and Mountain, with 6 mana left for the turn, so I drew Exactly a combination of 3 cards to win that game the Ancestral turn, was very crazy.

What do you feel is currently the strongest archetype in Vintage Cube Draft and why do you feel that way?

I’m not sure, probably white-red strategies are the most solid ones you can have a very aggro start or a very good mid game with removal and bombs (like Phlage, Otharri…), I’d love the artifacts decks but they need some key pieces. I think the reanimator decks are a bit worse nowadays.

Which 5 non-Power 9 cards do you most hope to open?

Avoiding the prices of the cards, I think my top5 cards are: Balance, Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Tolarian Academy and Orcish Bowmasters (all the cards that punish draws can be fine: Sheoldred, the Apocalypse or Hullbreacker too).

What would be your advice for someone trying to get better at Vintage Cube?

See ton of videos of people who are good at this, know the archetypes and try to learn the best card in each of them and, an important thing, don’t get mad with this format. It is a format created to do crazy stuff, so enjoy the format as it is, sometimes you’ll win on t2 and sometimes you’ll lose on t2.

What is your greatest non-Magic accomplishment?

Not much, as I’m very young I don’t think I had a bunch of time to have a great accomplishment yet.

Is there something else you would like to mention or share about yourself?

I’m a very simple guy, I like to have fun with friends and do things on my own. I like to get better and better at everything I do in my life.

Week 4 - Luca Jakobovits

Luca’s Vegas Qualifier winning deck: 

Age: 18

Occupation: College Student

Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

How did the qualifiers go for you, did you manage to qualify on the first try or did you take multiple shots?

I played a couple of 64’s before I won.

Have you been to Vegas before? Do you have any other plans other than the final event while you’re in town?

I’ve been to Vegas twice, both times to play Magic tournaments. I want to see my magic friends

while i'm in town.

When did you start playing Magic?

When I was 4.

What are your previous Magic achievements?

Top 8 in an online GP during covid.

How many hours a week do you spend playing Magic?

Now that I'm in college, no more than 10 hours a week.

Describe your relationship with Magic. Are you a casual player, limited player, collector, commander player, vintage cube specialist..?

Recently I’ve been playing almost exclusively Vintage Cube.

Are you part of a bigger playtest group or do you mostly play alone? Anyone you want to give a shoutout to?

My brother is a much better Vintage Cube player than me, and he’s helped me get a lot better at cube. We often draft together and discuss strategy.

What was your draft strategy in the qualifiers?

By drafting a deck with many colors, you get to play the cards that wheel when they shouldn’t be

wheeling. I’ve been ending up in 4-5 colors most drafts, while taking the best cheap and efficient

cards.

What deck did you draft in the Vegas Qualifier? Any memorable matches?

I had a very lucky match in the finals where I drew a Six when I was far behind. I was able to

play all the cards in my graveyard and win the game.

What do you feel is currently the strongest archetype in Vintage Cube Draft and why do you feel that way?

Domain. The domain cards typically go very late, and you get to play the best cards of all the

colors.

Which 5 non-Power 9 cards do you most hope to open?

Bazaar of Baghdad, Gaea’s Cradle, Balance, Library of Alexandria, Sol Ring.

What would be your advice for someone trying to get better at Vintage Cube?

Play a lot of games with people much better than you.

What is your greatest non-Magic accomplishment?

Getting into college at UC Santa Cruz.

Week 5 - Jesse Hampton

Jesse’s Vegas Qualifier winning deck:

Age: 35

Occupation: Magic

Hometown: Seattle, USA

How did the qualifiers go for you, did you manage to qualify on the first try or did you take multiple shots? 

I think 5?

Have you been to Vegas before? Do you have any other plans other than the final event while you’re in town? 

Yes, win the World Championship

When did you start playing Magic? 

1994

What are your previous Magic achievements? 

Pro tour Top 8s, GP winner, Arena Championship top 4, MOCS competitor.

How many hours a week do you spend playing Magic? 

60

Describe your relationship with Magic. Are you a casual player, limited player, collector, commander player, vintage cube specialist..? 

Limited specialist, prefer competitive events.

Are you part of a bigger playtest group or do you mostly play alone? Anyone you want to give a shoutout to? 

I test with a lot of different people, big shoutouts to Tangram’s vintage cube live discord testing server, the Alphafrog’s vintage cube server, Nihaodylan’s server, and Team Handshake Ultimate Guard.

What was your draft strategy in the qualifiers? 

Draft whatever was open, try to leverage my early picks into a “deck” instead of a pile of cards.

What deck did you draft in the Vegas Qualifier? Any memorable matches? 

Mono green in the final draft. I had 2 Moxen, I drew Endurance in game 1 and game 3 against Reanimator in the finals. 

What do you feel is currently the strongest archetype in Vintage Cube Draft and why do you feel that way? 

U/B Reanimator, it gets to play the best 2 colors in the cube.

Which 5 non-Power 9 cards do you most hope to open? 

Mishra Workshop, Library of Alexandria, Mox Diamond, Karakas, Strip Mine.

What would be your advice for someone trying to get better at Vintage Cube?

Play against good players, study draft logs and try to figure out what they are doing differently and how to replicate it. Develop good heuristics.

What is your greatest non-Magic accomplishment? 

Multiple WSOP final tables

Week 6 - Rex Jakobovits

Rex’s Vegas Qualifier winning deck:

Age: 56

Occupation: I run a software company

Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

How did the qualifiers go for you, did you manage to qualify on the first try or did you take multiple shots? 

I played a bunch of feeders, converted 3 of them, and went all the way on my last one.

Have you been to Vegas before? Do you have any other plans other than the final event while you’re in town?

Many years ago.  No plans.

When did you start playing Magic?

1994 (while a PhD student at U.Washington Dept of Computer Science—it was very popular with the grad students back then). I still remember my first tournament, in 1995; it was in an old school building in Seattle near the U, with maybe 50 or 60 players. I made it to the finals with my homegrown pestilence deck. In game three, my opponent swung with Hypnotic Specter, which has “an opponent damaged by Specter must discard at random”. I pumped my Circle of Protection Black, preventing the damage. Then the judge ruled that I had to discard because “zero damage is still damage”.  As I argued vehemently, suddenly the whole building started shaking, with the ceiling lights swinging wildly. It was an earthquake! That shut me up. I accepted my fate and discarded Pestilence. I ended up losing, but I still remember it to this day. 

What are your previous Magic achievements?

Nothing of note.

How many hours a week do you spend playing Magic?

1-5.

Describe your relationship with Magic. Are you a casual player, limited player, collector, commander player, vintage cube specialist..?

I’m a casual player.

Are you part of a bigger playtest group or do you mostly play alone? Anyone you want to give a shoutout to? 

Shoutout to my son Julian Jakobovits who taught me everything I know about Vintage Cube and coached me well. He made the Vegas Qualifier twice himself, which is pretty amazing. He really wanted there to be three Jakobovits’s in the Live event, but lost in the semi-finals of the last Vegas Qualifier. He was heartbroken! I’d also like to give a shoutout to Ho Down Honolulu, our local play group that has been so fun to be part of over the years.

What was your draft strategy in the qualifiers? 

I relied on our family card ranking system (thanks to Julian), and rather than adhere to an archetype or color scheme, I would just take the best possible card. I prioritized lands highly to have a flexible mana base. 

What deck did you draft in the Vegas Qualifier? Any memorable matches?

4-color Domain. I drafted ten lands and a Sol Ring. I was able to get good value with Leyline Binding and Nishoba Brawler. The semi-finals were memorable—we both kept top-decking really well, but I got lucky and ended up eking out the win.

What do you feel is currently the strongest archetype in Vintage Cube Draft and why do you feel that way?

4-color “good stuff” with Domain. Julian taught me that it’s better to avoid committing to specific archetypes and colors, and instead pick the most powerful card (while prioritizing lands). The key to this strategy is to have an accurate assessment of the relative value of each card in the cube—ideally the other drafters are undervaluing certain cards or avoiding them because they are committed to an archetype, and those cards are falling to you. If you can take and play all the cards that shouldn’t be wheeling but are, you will have the highest card quality in the draft. If you prioritize flexible mana, you can usually support 4 colors and make it work.

Which 5 non-Power 9 cards do you most hope to open?

Mishra’s Workshop, Bazaar of Baghdad, Library of Alexandria, Mind Twist, Gaea’s Cradle

What would be your advice for someone trying to get better at Vintage Cube?

Watch lots of drafts.

What is your greatest non-Magic accomplishment?

Being a dad to my two amazing sons.

Is there something else you would like to mention or share about yourself?

Grateful for this opportunity!

Week 7 - Daniel Prošek

Daniel’s Vegas Qualifier winning deck:

Age: 32

Occupation: Operations Go To Market Manager

Hometown: Prague, Czech Republic

How did the qualifiers go for you, did you manage to qualify on the first try or did you take multiple shots? 

Qualifiers went great since I’m going to Vegas. It worked out the first week I’ve really tried, hitting the finals of the 2nd 64-player draft. Haven’t had time to play much the weeks before.

Have you been to Vegas before? Do you have any other plans other than the final event while you’re in town? 

This will be my first time in Vegas. Trying to see if there are any nice concerts while there.

When did you start playing Magic? 

2005, shortly after the OG Ravnica release.

What are your previous Magic achievements? 

2 PT appearances, GP Top 16

How many hours a week do you spend playing Magic? 

Varies a lot, but about 5 on average. 0 some weeks, 20+ others.

Describe your relationship with Magic. Are you a casual player, limited player, collector, commander player, vintage cube specialist..? 

Cube and gimmicky constructed deck enthusiast, enjoying competitive magic.

Are you part of a bigger playtest group or do you mostly play alone? Anyone you want to give a shoutout to? 

Mostly alone, while bouncing ideas off my brother. Shoutout to him.

What was your draft strategy in the qualifiers? 

Open Power. Other than that, staying open, and trying to draft something proactive.

What deck did you draft in the Vegas Qualifier? Any memorable matches? 

Flash/Oath/Reanimator. First round of the qualifier, my opponent was on UR Emrakul-Breach with Ancestral Recall. Game one was pretty grindy, and they managed to Emrakul off my Oath. Got there in the end thanks to life-gain from multiple Vaultborn Tyrant triggers and advantageous board-position before the Emrakul came down. Second one was another grindy affair, where both of us ended with under 5 minutes on the clock.

What do you feel is currently the strongest archetype in Vintage Cube Draft and why do you feel that way? 

WW(x) being my longtime favorite. Reanimator, UB tempo, Rx aggro are good as well. Overall, you want to be doing something proactive with disruption, to punish stumbles. Very narrow combo decks (storm, Doomsday, etc.) or Gx ramps tend to brick during drafting or gameplay. Old-fashioned control decks are close to non-viable, as pretty much everything has some way to punch through in the late-game.

Which 5 non-Power 9 cards do you most hope to open? 

Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Forth Eorlingas, Minsc & Boo. 5th one is a tie between Orcish Bowmaster and Broadside Bombardiers.

What would be your advice for someone trying to get better at Vintage Cube? 

Play some games and find a style that works for you. Pick orders are a good starting point, but not everything’s going to work for you. Also, understand when you’re drafting “for fun” and when “to win.”

What is your greatest non-Magic accomplishment? 

Surrounding myself with great people.

Is there something else you would like to mention or share about yourself? 

Lately, I've been enjoying the Blue Weenie archetype. Try at your own peril. Also, can we petition Wizards for a PT in Japan?

Week 8 - Oscar Christensen

Oscar’s Vegas Qualifier winning deck:

Age: 28

Occupation: LGS employee 

Hometown: Copenhagen, Denmark

How did the qualifiers go for you, did you manage to qualify on the first try or did you take multiple shots? 

I played around 15 feeder leagues and a couple 64 players, but only one finals draft which was enough fortunately! 

Have you been to Vegas before? Do you have any other plans other than the final event while you’re in town? 

It will be my fourth time in Vegas, all of which have been Magic trips! This time I’m going with some of my best friends for 10 days, getting to enjoy the city, roadtrip a couple days to the Grand Canyon and then enjoy the MagicCon.

When did you start playing Magic? 

I played my first FNM in the fall of 2007. Had been playing kitchen table magic with my cousins for some time beforehand. Played my first GP in Copenhagen in 2008.

What are your previous Magic achievements? 

Third place at Mythic Championship 6, GP Gothenburg 2013 win, 3 other GP top 8’s. 

How many hours a week do you spend playing Magic? 

Tough to say. Probably around 7-8 hours a week on average (some I don’t play at all, some I have several tournaments). 

Describe your relationship with Magic. Are you a casual player, limited player, collector, commander player, vintage cube specialist..?

I view myself as a dedicated competitive player. I strive to play the Pro Tour and I play all the tournaments that can lead me there. I mostly enjoy playing paper Magic, but I do play online/arena as well and the best format I know is without a doubt Vintage Cube! Outside of the competitive aspect, Magic is a large part of my life and has been for more than half my life. I love everything about the game and I still dream of doing something Magic related as my full time job. I’m not sure where and how I would be if I didn't have Magic in my life, as it has brought me some of my best friends and experiences in my life. I have always and I will always be grateful for the support of my family and friends and their help in making my magic career possible. 

Are you part of a bigger playtest group or do you mostly play alone? Anyone you want to give a shoutout to?

I playtest with different players for different tournaments and I have a bunch of people to thank for my results throughout my career. But one thing that always endures is our Danish group of players, all of whom I view as my close friends and great players. We have always tested together and helped each other out in different circumstances and I wouldn’t have achieved anything close to what I have today if it wasn’t for them. So shout out to the boys, you know who you are!

What was your draft strategy in the qualifiers?

Like most other vintage cube drafters I have my preferences in regards to archetypes and individual card power level. Going in I rated green very highly, as it has been underdrafted lately in my experience. I also have a tendency to rate unfair strategies and combo finishes higher than the opposite fair aggro/midrange strategies and I had at least one game winning combo in all of my three decks from the 64 player drafts and the finals draft.

What deck did you draft in the Vegas Qualifier? Any memorable matches? 

My most memorable moment from the draft is opening Ancestral Recall pack 2 pick 1 and not picking it. Instead I went with Archon of Cruelty for my Rakdos Reanimator deck and it paid off as I ended up with Archon being my only good reanimator target in the deck. Also shout out to Hazel’s Brewmaster for lowkey being my MVP throughout the drafts. Allegedly the strongest non-power card in the cube. 

What do you feel is currently the strongest archetype in Vintage Cube Draft and why do you feel that way? 

Boros aggro is probably objectively the strongest archetype, because the cards in those colors are just all very strong. I personally prefer drafting Golgari and looking for the Survival/Brewmaster/Devoted and Dark Depths/Thespian’s/Shifting Woodlands/Hexmage package. In my experience the boros deck is overdrafted and the Golgari deck is underdrafted and you can usually wheel cards such as Crop Rotation Knight/Wright of the reliquary, Reclaimer as well as the cards mentioned above. 

Which 5 non-Power 9 cards do you most hope to open? 

Hazel’s Brewmaster, Nadu, Survival, Dark Depths, Lightning Greaves. 

What would be your advice for someone trying to get better at Vintage Cube? 

Draft a lot, draft different strategies and check out content. And be aware that most of the cards have more play to them that it seems. 

What is your greatest non-Magic accomplishment? 

Maintaining a life outside of magic that I enjoy living, so that when I don’t do well at magic, I have something else to smile about. 

Is there something else you would like to mention or share about yourself? 

Just that I’m beyond excited to participate in this tournament and that I hope I get to fulfill my childhood dream of owning a physical copy of Black Lotus!