For the second time in four appearances, Nathan Steuer won the Magic Online Champions Showcase, expertly piloting Izzet Phoenix through the Pioneer rounds to secure his victory.
The 2022 Magic Online Champions Showcase Season 2 is a key part of the digital premier play system that leads into the Magic World Championship, and preparations are already underway to determine the competitors for the 2023 World Championship. Last week featured the Arena Championship, a tournament that awarded two invitations to next years World Championship. This week was Magic Online‘s turn to take the spotlight.
Players competed through six Swiss rounds. Three rounds of Modern Cube opened the event, followed by three rounds of Pioneer Constructed. Steuer earned his spot in the finals with a 3-0 performance in the Pioneer portion of the tournament.
His opponent in the finals, Kiran Dhokia, earned his spot by going 3-0 in Modern Draft. Dhokia also received an invitation to the 2023 Magic World Championship for his runner-up performance.
Steuer was able to take advantage of Dhokia’s clunky Mono-Green Devotion hands. With the powerful tempo gameplan online, Steuer was able to lead Izzet Phoneix to a stellar finals win.
Modern Cube Draft was a refreshing addition to MOCS, which typically includes three rounds of Limited at the start of the tournament. Typically it is Vintage Cube, a beloved format in Magic Online. Modern Cube was exciting and ended up with Dhokia sweeping the bracket with a Rakdos Midrange deck that ran with the synergy of a Constructed list.
The next competitive Magic event is the big one: Magic World Championship XXVIII. On Oct. 28 to 30, the tournament will be held at the Magic 30 convention and will pit 32 players against each other to determine the next Magic world champion.
