Qualifier Weekend, 3rd & 4th December 2022 - Decklists and Tournament Report

After a busy Round 1 Qualifier in the summer, where Chris Mander took the top spot for a trip to Sofia for Legacy European Tour Round 1, we went into Round 2 hoping for a similar turnout, but realistically expecting some quieter Qualifying events.

With a combination of train strikes, cost of living pressure and a qualification spot for a less popular Standard tournament, we were right to temper our expectations. But in spite of the chilly weather, bugs and transport issues, many of our local players were still able to come out to support us, as well as a number of players from further afield, all ready to try to win the prestigious qualification spot at Legacy European Tour in Napoli next March.

With a high proportion of players well experienced with the competitive scene, even our smaller Pioneer event was tense through to the end, with many solid players in the running to take the top spot. Those that didn't make it still walked away with some generous top 4 prizing, and with striking artwork from Justine Jones and Yuko Shimizu featured on Top 8 Selfless Spirit promos, and Thraben Inspector participation promos for everyone joining in over the weekend, no one went away empty handed.

Qualifier Weekend Day 1: Modern (3rd December 2022)

21 players joined us for our Saturday Modern event. Players brought a range of decks to the competition, including a high showing of Ragavans, Murktides and Ledger Shredders!

After 5 rounds of Swiss, Mary Lou Mayjonade-Christy, Gavin Thacker, Steve Walsh, Dylan Gregory-Martin, David Inglis, Ays Banning, Daniel Yam and Liam Curry made it through to the top 8 knockouts.

Our top 8 Modern Qualifier finalists: Ays, Dylan, Gavin, David, Liam, Mary Lou, Steve and Daniel.

Mary Lou took a clean 2-0 win against Liam in the quarter finals, as did David against Dylan, whilst Gavin and Daniel took 2-1 wins against Ays and Steve respectively.

The semi finals saw David take a 2-0 win against Gavin, and Daniel went 2-0 against Mary Lou.

The finals were over quickly, as David and Daniel agreed to split the top two prizes, with David Inglis claiming our top Invitational spot for Legacy European Tour in Napoli, and £50 store credit after dropping only one game throughout the day; Daniel walked away with a cool £200 bursary from the pool.

Top 8 decklists are listed below.

Qualifier Weekend Day 2: Pioneer (4rd December 2022)

Despite a number of players taking advantage of our qualification weekend discount, train strikes and other travel issues coincided with illness and personal commitments to make for a quieter Sunday Pioneer event, with 13 players on the day. 'Cosy', as Judge, Hary Barlow referred to it! 

With a strong player base competing over 5 rounds of Swiss, there was no guarantee of a spot in the play offs, as even into round 3 the top spots were still there to play for across the board! 

Due to the lower number of players, we ran the event to a top 4 cut off. Dylan Gregory-Martin, David Inglis, Oliver Liu and Freddie Barber made top 8 on rankings, each taking home a Selfless Spirit promo. Keira Randall, Mary Lou Mayjonade-Christy, Steve Walsh and Thomas Hughes made it through to the top 4 playoffs. Decks on the day utilised a range of strategies with variants on Red Black midrange featuring most heavily, as reflected in our top 4 lists.

Mary Lou, Thomas, Steve and Keira made up the Top 4 of our Manaleak Pioneer Qualifier (4th December 2022)

The semi-finals saw Thomas take the win against Keira, and Steve win against Mary Lou, leading to an exciting Manaleak regular final! Both Steve and Tom have been competing for a qualification invite since season one, so the matches were played through to the end.

After a tense battle, Thomas took the top slot and the bursary, whilst Steve walked away with store credit and the winner's promo, kindly gifted by Thomas!

Top 4 decklists are listed below.

Huge thanks to all our players who joined us over the weekend, and best wishes to those who were there in spirit! Thank you to our judges, Ray and Hary, and to our scorekeepers, Rhian and Sam, who helped keep everything running smoothly over the weekend.

Biggest congratulations of all to our invitational winners, Thomas and David - we'll be rooting for you both in March at the European Championships in Napoli!

We're taking a little break on the events front until the new year. Join us for our weekly FNMs and Wednesday Commander Nights, watch our events page on the website, or join our friendly Facebook group to hear the latest event announcements.

Modern Qualifier Decklists: Top 8

David Inglis (invitational winner)

1 Subtlety

2 Spell Pierce

4 Mishra's Bauble

4 Unholy Heat

4 Expressive Iteration

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Consider

4 Counterspell

4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

2 Ledger Shredder

3 Murktide Regent

3 Dragon's Rage Channeler

2 Blood Moon

4 Spirebluff Canal

3 Steam Vents

4 Island

1 Fiery Islet

2 Misty Rainforest

2 Flooded Strand

2 Scalding Tarn

1 Otawara, Soaring City

Sideboard

2 Unlicensed Hearse

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Flusterstorm

2 Engineered Explosives

2 Drag Down

1 Subtlety

1 Fury

1 Seasoned Pyromancer

1 Brotherhood's End

1 Chalice of the Void

Daniel Yam (finalist): Twinless Twin

4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

2 Dragon's Rage Channeler

2 Murktide Regent

2 Snapcaster Mage

3 Ledger Shredder

1 Brazen Borrower

3 Consider

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Unholy Heat

4 Counterspell

4 Expressive Iteration

1 Archmage's Charm

2 Spell Pierce

4 Mishra's Bauble

1 Blood Moon

3 Scalding Tarn

1 Misty Rainforest

2 Flooded Strand

1 Otawara, Soaring City

4 Spirebluff Canal

4 Island

3 Steam Vents

1 Fiery Islet

Sideboard

2 Dress Down

1 Engineered Explosives

1 Invasive Surgery

2 Fury

1 Blood Moon

1 Brotherhood's End

2 Flusterstorm

2 Unlicensed Hearse

2 Mystical Dispute

1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Gavin Thacker (semi-finalist): RB Scam

3 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

3 Dauthi Voidwalker

2 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

1 Magus of the Moon

3 Seasoned Pyromancer

4 Grief

1 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

4 Fury

3 Feign Death

2 Lightning Bolt

3 Thoughtseize

3 Undying Malice

1 Persist

3 Terminate

2 Blood Moon

1 Kolaghan's Command

2 Blackcleave Cliffs

2 Blood Crypt

4 Bloodstained Mire

4 Polluted Delta

1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse

1 Snow-Covered Mountain

3 Snow-Covered Swamp

1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

1 Malakir Rebirth // Malakir Mire

1 Spikefield Hazard // Spikefield Cave

1 Agadeem's Awakening // Agadeem, the Undercrypt

Sideboard

1 Tourach, Dread Cantor

2 Hidetsugu Consumes All

2 Magus of the Moon

2 Engineered Explosives

2 Fatal Push

1 Flame Blitz

2 Necromentia

3 Leyline of the Void

Mary Lou Mayjonade-Christy (semi-finalist): 4c Kaheera

Find Mary Lou on Twitter: @MaryLou62818050

Companion: Kaheera, the Orphanguard

4 Solitude

4 Omnath, Locus of Creation

4 Teferi, Time Raveler

4 Wrenn and Six

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

4 Expressive Iteration

1 Prismatic Ending

1 Supreme Verdict

4 Counterspell

3 Lightning Bolt

4 Leyline Binding

1 Dress Down

1 Boseiju, Who Endures

1 Raugrin Triome

1 Forest

1 Plains

1 Island

1 Hallowed Fountain

1 Stomping Ground

1 Breeding Pool

1 Sacred Foundry

1 Temple Garden

1 Steam Vents

1 Scalding Tarn

4 Flooded Strand

4 Windswept Heath

4 Misty Rainforest

Sideboard

1 Kaheera, the Orphanguard (Companion)

2 Dress Down

2 Hallowed Moonlight

1 Celestial Purge

3 Flusterstorm

2 Veil of Summer

1 Boseiju, Who Endures

2 Chalice of the Void

1 Supreme Verdict

Liam Curry (quarter-finalist)

4 Expressive Iteration

1 Blood Moon

1 Brazen Borrower

3 Consider

4 Counterspell

3 Dragon's Rage Channeler

1 Dress Down

2 Ledger Shredder

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Mishra's Bauble

3 Murktide Regent

4 Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer

3 Spell Pierce

4 Unholy Heat

2 Fiery Islet

1 Flooded Strand

3 Island

2 Misty Rainforest

1 Otawara, Soaring City

3 Polluted Delta

1 Scalding Tarn

3 Spirebluff Canal

3 Steam Vents

Sideboard

1 Blood Moon

2 Brotherhood's End

2 Dress Down

2 Engineered Explosives

1 Flusterstorm

1 Fury

2 Mystical Dispute

2 Seasoned Pyromancer

2 Unlicensed Hearse

Ays Banning (quarter-finalist): 5C Creativity

Find Ays on Twitter: @spritestutter

4 Archon of Cruelty

4 Wrenn and Six

4 Lightning Bolt

4 Spell Pierce

2 Persist

3 Fire // Ice

3 Prismari Command

4 Indomitable Creativity

4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

4 Leyline Binding

1 Ziatora's Proving Ground

1 Ketria Triome

3 Wooded Foothills

1 Arid Mesa

4 Scalding Tarn

1 Raugrin Triome

3 Bloodstained Mire

2 Steam Vents

1 Mountain

1 Stomping Ground

1 Blood Crypt

1 Sacred Foundry

4 Dwarven Mine

Sideboard

1 Mystical Dispute

2 Hallowed Moonlight

2 Turn the Earth

3 Veil of Summer

2 Flusterstorm

1 Sundering Titan

1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

1 Boseiju, Who Endures

2 Nature's Claim

Steve Walsh (quarter-finalist): UW Hammer

Find Steve on Twitter at @NooneKnowsImDog

4 Ornithopter

4 Urza's Saga

2 Giver of Runes

1 Shadowspear

4 Stoneforge Mystic

3 Springleaf Drum

4 Esper Sentinel

1 Kaldra Compleat

4 Sigarda's Aid

2 Blacksmith's Skill

1 Gingerbrute

4 Colossus Hammer

2 Spell Pierce

1 Steelshaper's Gift

1 Nettlecyst

4 Puresteel Paladin

3 Windswept Heath

2 Flooded Strand

1 Marsh Flats

3 Inkmoth Nexus

2 Hallowed Fountain

2 Seachrome Coast

3 Plains

2 Silent Clearing

Sideboard

1 Pithing Needle

1 Path to Exile

2 Mana Leak

1 Blacksmith's Skill

1 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade

1 Spell Pierce

3 Sanctifier en-Vec

1 Relic of Progenitus

2 March of Otherworldly Light 

2 Void Mirror

Dylan Gregory-Martin (quarter-finalist): Yawg Chord

Find Dylan on Twitter @DylanGregoryOP

3 Birds of Paradise

4 Young Wolf

4 Ignoble Hierarch

3 Wall of Roots

4 Strangleroot Geist

1 Blood Artist

1 Geralf's Messenger

2 Endurance

4 Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

4 Grist, the Hunger Tide

3 Eldritch Evolution

4 Chord of Calling

1 Prosperous Innkeeper

1 Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons

1 Dryad Arbor

1 Swamp

2 Forest

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

2 Overgrown Tomb

3 Blooming Marsh

4 Verdant Catacombs

2 Misty Rainforest

2 Nurturing Peatland

1 Twilight Mire

2 Boseiju, Who Endures

Sideboard

2 Thoughtseize

2 Necromentia

1 Endurance

2 Force of Vigor

2 Abrupt Decay

1 Outland Liberator

2 Unlicensed Hearse

2 Chalice of the Void

1 Magus of the Moon

Pioneer Decklists: Top 4

Thomas Hughes (Invitational winner): Rakdos Midrange

Find Tom on Twitter @BoneDaddy_99

4 Bloodtithe Harvester

4 Bonecrusher Giant

4 Fatal Push

4 Thoughtseize

4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

3 Graveyard Trespasser

2 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

2 Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet

2 Misery's Shadow

2 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger

1 Abrade

1 Go for the Throat

1 Power Word Kill

1 Dreadbore

1 Sulfurous Springs

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Mountain

2 Hive of the Eye Tyrant

2 Den of the Bugbear

1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

4 Blood Crypt

4 Blightstep Pathway // Searstep Pathway

4 Haunted Ridge

2 Castle Locthwain

2 Swamp

Sideboard

2 Reckoner Bankbuster

1 Unlicensed Hearse

1 Skysovereign, Consul Flagship

1 Rending Volley

1 Abrade

1 Kolaghan's Command

1 Duress

1 Go Blank

1 Liliana of the Veil

1 Sorin the Mirthless

1 Witch's Vengeance

3 Extinction Event

Steve Walsh (finalist): Mono White

Find Steve on Twitter at @NooneKnowsImDog

4 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar

4 Brutal Cathar // Moonrage Brute

2 Extraction Specialist

3 Recruitment Officer

1 Kytheon, Hero of Akros

4 Hopeful Initiate

4 Dauntless Bodyguard

4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

4 Thalia's Lieutenant

4 Luminarch Aspirant

4 Brave the Elements

14 Plains

4 Mutavault

2 Shefet Dunes

1 Castle Ardenvale

1 Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire

Sideboard

2 Rest in Peace

2 Thalia, Heretic Cathar

3 Lay Down Arms

2 Destroy Evil

2 Reidane, God of the Worthy // Valkmira, Protector's Shield

4 Wedding Announcement

Keira Randall (semi-finalist): Rakdos Midrange

Find Keira on Twitter: @teskeract

Companion: Jegantha, the Wellspring

4 Bloodtithe Harvester

3 Misery's Shadow

2 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger

1 Tenacious Underdog

4 Graveyard Trespasser

4 Bonecrusher Giant

4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

4 Thoughtseize

4 Fatal Push

4 Dreadbore

1 Kolaghan's Command

1 Abrade

4 Blood Crypt

4 Haunted Ridge

4 Blightstep Pathway // Searstep Pathway

2 Hive of the Eye Tyrant

2 Den of the Bugbear

2 Swamp

1 Mountain

1 Sulfurous Springs

1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

1 Castle Locthwain

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard

1 Jegantha, the Wellspring (Companion)

3 Go Blank

3 Extinction Event

2 Reckoner Bankbuster

2 Noxious Grasp

2 Hidetsugu Consumes All

2 Duress

Mary Lou Mayjonade-Christy (semi-finalist): RB Midrange

Find Mary Lou on Twitter: @MaryLou62818050

4 Thoughtseize

2 Power Word Kill

1 Liliana of the Veil

3 Misery's Shadow

4 Fatal Push

3 Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

3 Graveyard Trespasser

3 Bonecrusher Giant

4 Fable of the Mirror-Breaker

2 Dreadbore

2 Kroxa, Titan of Death's Hunger

4 Bloodtithe Harvester

1 Shatterskull Smashing // Shatterskull, the Hammer Pass

4 Haunted Ridge

4 Blood Crypt

4 Blightstep Pathway // Searstep Pathway

1 Castle Locthwain

1 Swamp

1 Mountain

2 Sulfurous Springs

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

2 Den of the Bugbear

2 Hive of the Eye Tyrant

1 Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance

1 Takenuma, Abandoned Mire

Sideboard

1 Witch's Vengeance

2 Rending Volley

2 Reckoner Bankbuster

2 Duress

1 Go Blank

3 Extinction Event

1 Abrade

1 Kolaghan's Command

2 Unlicensed Hearse

Thanks for reading! Just a reminder that we're taking a little break on the events front until the new year, but we'll have more planned soon! Meanwhile, join us for our weekly FNMs and Wednesday Commander Nights, watch our events page on the website, or join our friendly Facebook group to hear the latest event announcements.

If you're building these, or any other Magic: The Gathering decks, remember to take a look at our extensive card selection at www.manaleak.com.