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Pro Tour March of the Machine Top 8 Players and Decklists

A weekend that started with 252 competitors is now down to a final 8, each ready to claim the winner's trophy and title at Pro Tour March of the Machine !

Congratulations to the Top 8 players at Pro Tour March of the Machine . The live broadcast begins with quarterfinals at twitch.tv/magic at 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT/5 p.m. CEST) Sunday, May 7.

Autumn Burchett

Burchett makes a triumphant return to the Top 8 after winning a Pro Tour Qualifier in Philadelphia. Despite a slow start to Day Two at 5-3, the 2019 Mythic Championship winner Burchett was just setting the stage for an incredible run; and with a 7-1 Saturday record to round out the tournament, Burchett has punched her ticket to another Top Finish.

A veteran of the Sunday Super Series of events, Yiwen Chen earned his Pro Tour March of the Machine invitation through a Regional Championship. While he came hoping for a rematch against the endboss of the legacy event series, he instead found a quiet march to the top tables–and Round 16 win-and-in success–en route to claiming his first Pro Tour Top 8 appearance. Will this first-time Top Finisher also be a first-time Pro Tour winner?

Javier Dominguez

Javier Dominguez earned his appearance on Fervent Champion for winning the 2018 Magic World Championship, but a better nickname may be Frequent Champion given his results as a ten-time Grand Prix Top 8 competitor with seven lifetime Top Finishes. With a win at Mythic Championship V and enduring success through the seasons that followed, it's easy to see how he claimed the first Top 8 slot here at Pro Tour March of the Machine .

Simon Nielsen

Simon Nielsen first put himself onto the Magic map in the 2014 World Magic Cup finals by clinching an almost unwinnable game through Duneblast—cementing "Daneblast" into the lexicon of players everywhere. Since then, his persistence and positivity have kept his successes coming. With a finalist finish at the New Capenna Championship and invitations from four consecutive events leading him to Minneapolis, Mr. Checklistcard is ready for another shot at the trophy with Pro Tour March of the Machine .

David Olsen

Like Burchett, Olsen faced down winning nearly every match on his Day Two, starting Pro Tour March of the Machine on Day One at just 5-3. Also like Burchett, he was able to continue his dream run after winning a Qualifier event earlier this year. But unique to Olsen is the power of the Five-Color Ramp build his team innovated and led him to a perfect record in the Saturday Swiss and his first Top Finish.

Cain Rianhard

With both a Grand Prix Top 8 in 2018 and a 2022 Magic Online Champions Showcase appearance under their belt—plus years of work on the SCG Tour circuit and beyond—Cain Rianhard's hard work has finally paid off with their first career Top Finish at Pro Tour March of the Machine . Will that hard work also lead to their first Pro Tour win?

This Magic Online hero has emerged as a force with his recent years' focus on digital play. A part of Team Handshake, Karl Sarap notched his first Top 8 at the New Capenna Championship and translated that into a Top 4 finish at Magic World Championship XXVIII alongside teammate (and winner) Nathan Steuer. Now he's notched his third Top Finish in the span of a year; and this time, he looks ready to take the trophy home, too.

Nathan Steuer

Nathan Steuer may well be unstoppable. After dominating the Magic Online Champions Showcase events and a Magic World Championship XXVIII comeback victory, Steuer has had back-to-back Top 8 appearances at Pro Tour Phyrexia and Pro Tour March of the Machine . His work with what is quickly becoming Magic 's highest-performing team (Team Handshake) and relentless focus on play clearly shows the reigning World Champion has no intention to rest on his laurels and is ready to claim another win here in Minneapolis.

Join us at twitch.tv/magic beginning 11 a.m. ET (8 a.m. PT/5 p.m. CEST) Sunday, May 7 for the complete Pro Tour March of the Machine Top 8 playoff!

Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir

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Format: Standard Date: 2015-04-11

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Meet the Pro Tour Top Eight

• February 19, 2023

The Sunday Hopefuls

This weekend 218 players descended on Philadelphia to see if they had what it took to reign supreme. Now, only eight remain; eight players left to battle it out leaving one final player remaining. Featuring multiple Hall of Famers and several new faces to the Magic Pro Tour scene, the player base for this Top 8 is as diverse as the Pioneer decks they brought with them. Let’s take a quick look at these Sunday hopefuls.

#1 Shota Yasooka

Adding a fifth Pro Tour Top 8 to his already extensive list of accomplishments, the Hall of Fame Pro from Japan is hosting turn this run into his third Pro Tour win. Piloting an unconventional build of Rakdos, Shota became the first player to punch their ticket after racking up his 12th match win in Round 13.

Shota’s build of Rakdos features three copies of Mutavault, and a mainboard copy of Duress. While we don’t know if this break from convention will be enough to secure the trophy at the end of the day, it was enough to leave him the last Rakdos Midrange player standing despite being the most played deck at the event.

Planeswalkers (2)

Creatures (15), instants (5), sorceries (7), artifacts (1), enchantments (4), 60 cards $732.48, 15 cards $29.07, #2 benton madsen.

From Magic Arena and thoughts of an 0-8 finish to Day One Points Leader, Benton Madsen’s Cinderella tale is one for the storybooks. Breaking from the more popular decks in the field by playing an updated take of Michael Letsch Selesnya Aura’s deck from the US Regional Championships, Madsen quickly became an overnight sensation. Magic fans will be eagerly tuning in Sunday to see if he can go all the way.

Creatures (17)

Enchantments (24), 60 cards $325.32, 15 cards $68.01, #3 takuumi matsuura.

Like Shota, Takuumi Matsuura earned his seat at the Pro Tour from Japan’s Regional Championship. However, unlike Shota, Takuumi came to this event looking to make a name for himself in his first Pro Tour appearance. Takuumi’s updated Mono-White Humans deck featuring Skrelv and Ossification is poised to fight through the rest of the competition and bring this foray to an exciting conclusion.

Creatures (34)

60 cards $180.3, 15 cards $120.25, #4 reid duke.

“Good Guy” Reid Duke makes his fifth Pro Tour Top 8 appearance with the hopes of converting it in his first solo Pro Tour win. Reid has put on a clinic piloting this weekend’s breakout deck, Izzet Creativity. Can this grizzled young Hall of Famer take this previously fringe played deck to the winner’s circle?

Creatures (2)

Instants (25), sorceries (4), enchantments (5), 60 cards $394.28, 15 cards $68.79, #5 nathan steuer.

The reigning Magic World Champion wasn’t one to approach this event laying down, and enters Top 8 ahead of the rest of his Team Handshake teammates who put on a dominant performance this weekend with multiple places in the Top 16. Steuer brings to bear the explosively powerful Lotus Field combo deck. Forgoing the usual control killer Thought Distortion , Team Handshake decided to switch things up for the Pro Tour by packing Dragon Lord Dramoka as their big uncounterable spell.

Creatures (10)

Instants (4), sorceries (23), enchantments (1), 60 cards $357.58, 15 cards $107.17, #6 chris ferber.

Another Regional Championships top finisher, Chris Ferber joins Nathan Steuer as the second Lotus player in the Top 8. Ferber’s build does differ slightly from Steuer’s by including a small selection of cards like Fae of Wishes and Baral, Chief of Compiance in the mainboard, and then still playing Thought distortion in the sideboard.  

Creatures (12)

Sorceries (21), 60 cards $354.36, 15 cards $88.45, #7 gabriel nassif.

Yellowhat joins fellow teammate and Hall of Famer Reid Duke in the Top 8 and also in playing Izzet Creativity. As the most decorated player in this Top 8 he’s sure to be many viewer’s odds on favorite, but we’ll see if Nassif can hold off claimants to the throne both old and new when the dust settles. Win or lose, take solid in knowing he has Twitch Chat’s best interest at heads.

15 Cards $69.03

#8 derrick davis.

The final player to lock their seat in Top 8 is Derrick Davis. Piloting Engimatic Incarnation, Derrick was well prepared to take on a meta where the #1 deck in the field was Rakdos Midrange. While he might has the matchup edge against Shota, can Enigmatic keep up against a Top 8 where one half of the deck count is combo decks?

Creatures (16)

Enchantments (32), 80 cards $738.86, 15 cards $37.15.

Editor-In-Chief

Having started playing Magic shortly before the release of Return to Ravnica, Ruckman’s Magic lifespan covers the breadth of the Pioneer format. Despite not being a stranger to the Top 8 tables of the old IQ and PTQ systems, most of his competitive experience comes from the other side of the event space, where he served more than five years as a level-two judge, only hanging up the black shirt for good at the beginning of 2022. Currently, you can find him making Pioneer content for Crew3 on your favorite podcasting platform or on Twitch/YouTube.

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How the MTG Pro Tour Works in 2024

What's changing in the world of professional Magic?

By Seth Manfield | @SethManfield | Published 3/20/2024 | 12 min read

Magic: The Gathering has a long and storied professional scene, going back more than 30 years. On March 18, 2024, Wizards of the Coast announced several changes across multiple platforms , including Magic Online, MTG Arena and of course tabletop play. I'm going to talk about those changes, but I also want to provide my perspective on pro Magic, as someone who has been a professional player for some time now.

The Pro Tour and World Championships

In my opinion, while having digital Magic tournaments is important, there is no replacement for the Pro Tour and the branding behind it. A Pro Tour is first and foremost a tabletop tournament. The locations of these events have shifted over time, but the tour does include players from many regions of the world. 

The Pro Tour and World Championships have the largest prize purses, feature the most extensive broadcasts and are an opportunity for players to gather. The gathering part of Magic is something that has ebbed and flowed within the past decade, but having that opportunity is crucial for the success of the game. There are many positives about the Pro Tour, from the judges to the tournament organizers to the players. However, I do want to talk about the pathway to actually qualifying for the Pro Tour.

Qualifying for the Pro Tour

There is a large section of Magic players who know of the existence of the Pro Tour but don't understand how to truly get involved in the system. To be fair, it can seem a bit convoluted, at least at the start. The most direct path to qualifying for the Pro Tour when playing tabletop Magic starts with winning a Regional Championship Qualifier (RCQ). 

The Regional Championship Qualifiers are often local, though I do understand that some countries have fewer opportunities to hold RCQs, compared to others. How easy it is to play in an RCQ will vary based on where you live, though the goal is they are more accessible than the Regional Championships (RC). Personally, I think that winning a qualification to a RC at a RCQ is an attainable goal. Qualifying for the Pro Tour is very difficult, but making each step feel attainable is important so that players want to engage in the system. 

Once players do make it to the Pro Tour, there is a requalification system for future Pro Tours and potentially earning a slot at the World Championships. 10 Wins at the Pro Tour is good enough to qualify for the next Pro Tour. Each win after the third win at a Pro Tour gets you Adjusted Match Points (AMP's), which are used to string together multiple invites and potentially make it to the World Championships. It sounds more complicated than it is in practice. Good finishes at the Pro Tour level do allow you to get on a "Pro Tour train" of sorts. I know this because I have qualified for each of the last four Pro Tours without using my Hall of Fame invite (an invite only Hall of Fame players have access to). 

Regional Championship Qualifications

The latest changes to the Pro Tour qualification path relate to how many Pro Tour qualifications are given out at the RC. Here is the graphic that explains the latest shift in invites:

These changes are very important to the sustainability of the current system, which relies heavily on players qualifying for the Pro Tour at the Regional Championship. I do believe Wizards has since adjusted this graphic to 36 qualifications in the EMEA region, rather than 32. However, as William "Huey" Jensen put it best, the number of invites based on region is based on math. Simply put, there are more Magic players in U.S., for example, compared to other regions, so I do think the U.S. should have the most invites.  For some players at the RC's, the experience involved investing money into traveling to the tournament, spending time testing and then achieving the result of 11 wins out of 15 rounds. A record like 11-4 is impressive and should be rewarded. I'm hopeful that the new invitation numbers mean that the ratio of the size of the RC to how many invites are awarded closely lines up across every region. 

Pro Tour Locations

I do want to take a moment to address that most Pro Tours are being held in the U.S. The standard has become between the World Championships and the Pro Tour, three of these major tournaments happen in the U.S. and one is held in Europe within a full-year cycle. This lines up with MagicCon locations. These decisions are likely financially rooted, and there are clear incentives for Wizards of the Coast to want Pro Tours in the United States.

https://infinite.tcgplayer.com/article/robot/644af235-7fb8-4841-a6eb-6a105c9a618f

https://infinite.tcgplayer.com/article/robot/8f9e4f06-8417-4880-9c0b-de2a41dbd478

Wizards of the Coast is based in the United States, so it makes logistics easier and caters to the largest portion of the player base. While I understand why it's happening, this is a shift compared to previous versions of the system where the Pro Tour locations were a bit more spread out across the globe. 

As someone who lives in the United States, I do feel privileged by being closer to these marquee events, as traveling to a Pro Tour overseas is a major expense and endeavor. Many players have been affected by these strategic decisions, and for some, it may not be financially viable to travel to the Pro Tour at all. 

The Pro Tour Just Got Larger

Awarding more qualification slots at the RC also means that Pro Tours will be larger. I think adding more slots to the RC and making Pro Tours this size (likely about 350ish players) needed to happen. However, this is still a delicate dance, because if prizes aren't increased, it does mean from an equity perspective, the tournament invite isn't worth as much as it was before. 

The Arena Championship

The Arena Championship is the most prestigious event offered on MTG Arena. Like qualifying for the Pro Tour, there are multiple steps to qualifying for the Arena Championship. The latest announcement, which I will get into, does make it significantly easier to qualify for the Arena Championship. This was a very positive announcement for players looking to have a chance to make it to the Arena Championship. Here are the key differences:

The first step is qualifying for the Qualifier Weekend. There are a ton of ways to qualify for the Qualifier Weekend day one. Whether it's a play-in event or by doing well on the Arena ladder, for those familiar with the ways to qualify for the Qualifier Weekend Day 1, they won't be changing. For those that aren't familiar, of all the hurdles I mention in this article across multiple systems, making it to the Qualifier Weekend Day 1 is the one I feel is the least difficult.

The adjustments to how to make the second day of the Qualifier Weekend, and how to subsequently make it to the Arena Championship, are just math. You don't need to have as good an overall record as you did in the previous system because there are more losses to give and fewer wins needed. It's also possible to qualify directly for the second day of future Qualifier Weekends. Inevitably this will mean that since it's easier to qualify for the Arena Championship, the number of players competing in the Arena Championship will also increase. Early estimates are that the field will be around 100 players, which is over three times the current size. 

To cap off the announcement, there is also an increase in prize support coming to the Arena Championships to help accommodate for the increased player count. At 100 players and a $250,000 prize pool, from an equity standpoint, the Arena Championship rivals or even surpasses the Pro Tour. Having 16 confirmed invites directly to the Pro Tour at each Arena Championship also means there is a direct path to the Pro Tour from online play. Overall, I'm quite impressed with the changes to the path to make it to the Arena Championship, and I suspect this will create an influx of players into the system. 

The Magic Online Showcase

I do also want to touch on the latest Magic Online announcements, as there have been some recent shifts on the platform. Magic Online is now run by Daybreak Games, and this has potentially caused a strategy shift in terms of the direct offerings on the platform. The Magic Online Showcase events, while still present, will be changing the prize money they give out. The number will decrease from $70,000 to $50,000. While a decrease in prize money is hard to look at positively, some corresponding shifts are being made in conjunction with this change.

The Magic Online Showcase events, even before the latest changes, are not on the same scope in terms of overall prize money allocation as the Arena Championship or the Pro Tour. It makes sense that the goal of the Showcase events is to grow the Magic Online community. It does appear that the money being removed from Showcase prizes is still being used to attract interest in Magic Online. These funds will be reallocated to enhance the new version of the Magic Online Creator Program, which I will get into a bit more later. 

My Thoughts About What It Means to Be a MTG Pro Right Now

If you were expecting an article strictly presenting the facts of what the latest changes to competitive Magic are, well you likely stopped reading before this point. However, I want to provide my perspective on the life of actually being an MTG Pro. 

I know that a lot of my commentary so far has been monetary in nature. How much money is being awarded? Is it worth it to attend the events? These are certainly important questions to consider when understanding what the stakes are at a given event, but the fact is that there is not enough money in the system to "only" play Magic as a full-time job. I repeat, simply being skilled at Magic and winning lots of games isn't a good long-term career plan . There is more to "making it" as a pro Magic player than playing Magic. As someone who has tried to do this, and done very well in tournaments, I should know firsthand. This doesn't mean I'm going to discourage trying to be MTG Pro, but there are some clear distinctions that need to be made. 

The Practical Nature of the Pro Magic Lifestyle

For someone who is solely focused on playing high-level Magic tournaments, Magic is best considered as the equivalent of being on a college sports team. You still need to complete your classes (meaning have another job), while putting time and dedication into your craft. The highest-level events are on the weekend and occur infrequently enough there is time for other pursuits outside of Magic, even when qualified for all the Pro Tours. While you can try to make a living just off playing MTG, grinding leagues and challenges on Magic Online as a job isn't something I would recommend. 

Content Creation

To engage with MTG as a full-time job, I believe it is necessary to create content. It used to be that pro Magic took center stage, and content creators, like streamers and YouTubers, were more of an afterthought. This is far from the case today. While I do believe that pro Magic is a cornerstone of the overall play structure within the game, content creation has become absolutely massive. Almost all the individuals who engage in MTG as their full-time job produce content. Streaming, writing articles, podcasts, platforms like Patreon and cultivating an online audience in general are all part of content creation. Sponsorships often go hand in hand with content creation. 

Working full-time within the MTG space means being versatile. I know I have personally been juggling many ways of creating content for the past few years. Here are some tips I have for those looking to get into the content side of MTG, while also playing competitively:

• Be Aware of How You Present Yourself: Whether this be in a conversation on Twitter or how you dress for a Pro Tour. Perception matters, especially when you are putting yourself in a position to be a role model for others. 
• Form Relationships with Other Creators: Having friends and others within the community to bounce ideas off and help you cultivate your audience is extremely important. 
• Prepare For Obstacles: This path is a long one and isn't easy. The benefits aren't going to be immediate. The way you create your content may need to change out of necessity. 
• Personality is Important: Are you someone naturally funny? How about a large social circle? Having a contagious personality pays off when it comes to content creation. 
• You Can Create Content and Play High-Level Magic at the Same Time: It may be as simple as streaming gameplay while preparing for a tournament. Creating content and participating in pro Magic don't need to be and aren't mutually exclusive.  This brings me to the new Content Creator Program on Magic Online. This program has a lot of potential and is something I hope to engage with. Streamed and broadcasted gameplay is important to help advertise and grow the game, and it sounds like Magic Online will be having much more of this moving forward. 

Wrapping Up

The key to successfully engaging with the pro Magic system is making sure it occupies a healthy spot within your overall lifestyle. I know for me, detaching thinking about winning games of Magic to providing for my family and making a living was incredibly important. Going into a tournament with the right mindset really makes a difference. Never expect to win, but be happy when you do. There is too much variance in the game, and the odds are too lopsided to expect to do well in one particular event. Playing should be about enjoying yourself, having fun and hoping that the cards go your way. If you have done all the right things to prepare, that big moment may present itself, but when it happens is unpredictable. 

The latest changes to premier-level Magic play all make a lot of sense. It's good to hear that Wizards of the Coast is listening to feedback and making changes accordingly. It turns out that the best changes are often toggling numbers within the system, and that's exactly what has happened in the case of the Arena Championship. 

Do I wish there were some more changes to Premier Play like GP-style events (separate from MagicCons), or enhanced team trios opportunities? Yes. Do I wish that there were some Pro Club-level benefits like previous versions of the system? I do from a player's perspective, but it's not worth dwelling on. In this case, it's hard to detach my wishes and what makes sense. The old Pro Player Club, which provided extra appearance fees, flights, hotel rooms and more, was great for players within the system, though it's unclear how much that system benefited Wizards of the Coast. Wizards of the Coast is going to make the decisions they deem are in the best interest of the company. I'm choosing to engage with the system as it stands right now and am happy to have the opportunity to do so.