110 invited players, seven rounds of Swiss, and an Elves deck at the end of it.
Iván de Castro (Spain) won the first-ever European Premodern Masters in Valencia on Sunday, October 11. He played Natural Order Elves and beat Pedro Dores (Portugal) and his Stiflenought in the final, at the Feria de Muestras de Valencia.
It was the closing event of Premodern Eurofest, a full weekend of Premodern run by the Tecnoliga Valenciana. Saturday’s open Eurofest was the last chance to qualify; Sunday was the Masters itself, for players who had earned an invitation at one of the national qualifiers across Europe or in Valencia the day before.
Top 8 results
| Place | Deck | Player | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural Order Elves | Iván de Castro | Spain |
| 2 | Stiflenought | Pedro Dores | Portugal |
| 3-4 | GWR Survival / “Elfogeddon” | Jiri Hradecky | Czech Republic |
| 3-4 | Stiflenought | Simone Fierro | Italy |
| 5-8 | Enchantress | Sergio Molero Sr | Spain |
| 5-8 | Stiflenought | Hampe | Sweden |
| 5-8 | Not shown on stream | Daniel Gutierrez | Spain |
| 5-8 | Not shown on stream | Georgios Vontitsos | Greece |
The bracket
Quarterfinals
- Jiri Hradecky def. Sergio Molero Sr (GWR Survival vs Enchantress)
- Iván de Castro def. Hampe (Natural Order Elves vs Stiflenought)
- Pedro Dores def. Daniel Gutierrez
- Simone Fierro def. Georgios Vontitsos
Semifinals
- Iván de Castro def. Jiri Hradecky
- Pedro Dores def. Simone Fierro (a Stiflenought mirror)
Final
- Iván de Castro def. Pedro Dores
What stood out
Stiflenought was everywhere, and it still didn’t win. Three of the eight players were on it, two of them made the semifinals, and one made the final. That matches what we see online: Stiflenought has been the most played deck on our tier list through every refresh, at 12% of the field in September. At the format’s biggest European event, the answer to it was green creatures.
Elves had a big day. Iván’s Natural Order Elves beat a Stiflenought deck in the quarterfinals and another in the final. Jiri Hradecky, who lost to him in the semifinals, was on a green Survival deck the stream called “Elfogeddon”. Elves was 13th on our September tier list, so this is one of the biggest results the archetype has had this year.
Six countries in the Top 8. Spain had three players, and Portugal, Italy, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Greece one each. For a first edition built on national qualifiers, that’s exactly the European spread the organisers were going for.
Saturday: Premodern Eurofest
The weekend opened on Saturday, October 10 with the Premodern Eurofest: 272 players, ten rounds of Swiss and no Top 8. Eight wins or more earned a seat in Sunday’s Masters, and 14 players got there.
Florian Schilff was the only one to go 10-0, with Gro-A-Tog. Daniel Gutiérrez Viñas finished second at 9-1 with GW Enchantress, and Brian Torboli third at 8-1-1 with Mono-White Control.
| Place | Deck | Player | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gro-A-Tog | Florian Schilff | 10-0 |
| 2 | GW Enchantress | Daniel Gutiérrez Viñas | 9-1 |
| 3 | Mono-White Control | Brian Torboli | 8-1-1 |
| 4 | Naya Terrageddon | Francisco Barata | 8-2 |
| 5 | Mono-Blue Stiflenought | Simone Fierro | 8-2 |
| 6 | UW Replenish | Cormac Smyth | 8-2 |
| 7 | Techno Elves | Pablo Suárez Fernández | 8-2 |
| 8 | UW Replenish | Wiaczasław Kukhtsiuk | 8-2 |
| 9 | Life Combo | Michael Kammer | 8-2 |
| 10 | UW Replenish | David García Mora | 8-2 |
| 11 | Naya Terrageddon | Jorge Clares Artés | 8-2 |
| 12 | Devourer Combo | Michał Sekiewicz | 8-2 |
| 13 | RG Goblins | Sergio Molero Porras | 8-2 |
| 14 | Mono-Black Aggro | José Cuberos Pons | 8-2 |
UW Replenish was the most common deck among the 14, with three copies, and Naya Terrageddon had two. Stiflenought, which took three seats in Sunday’s Top 8, had only one here: Simone Fierro’s Mono-Blue Stiflenought in 5th. He went on to reach the Masters semifinals the next day.
Below are all 14 lists, as published by the organisers. The Masters Top 8 lists haven’t been published yet; we’ll add them when they are.
Eurofest decklists (8+ wins)
1st: Gro-A-Tog, Florian Schilff (10-0)
Creatures
[6]Instants
[26]Sorceries
[6]Artifacts
[3]Lands
[19]Sideboard
[15]2nd: GW Enchantress, Daniel Gutiérrez Viñas (9-1)
Creatures
[4]Instants
[4]Sorceries
[2]Enchantments
[28]Lands
[22]Sideboard
[15]3rd: Mono-White Control, Brian Torboli (8-1-1)
Creatures
[4]Instants
[4]Sorceries
[9]Artifacts
[18]Enchantments
[2]Lands
[23]Sideboard
[15]4th: Naya Terrageddon, Francisco Barata (8-2)
Creatures
[12]Instants
[6]Sorceries
[7]Artifacts
[4]Enchantments
[5]Lands
[26]Sideboard
[15]5th: Mono-Blue Stiflenought, Simone Fierro (8-2)
Creatures
[4]Instants
[34]Sorceries
[4]Artifacts
[1]Lands
[17]Sideboard
[15]6th: UW Replenish, Cormac Smyth (8-2)
Instants
[11]Sorceries
[4]Artifacts
[2]Enchantments
[18]Lands
[25]Sideboard
[15]7th: Techno Elves, Pablo Suárez Fernández (8-2)
Creatures
[35]Instants
[2]Enchantments
[4]Lands
[19]Sideboard
[15]8th: UW Replenish, Wiaczasław Kukhtsiuk (8-2)
Instants
[13]Sorceries
[4]Enchantments
[18]Lands
[25]Sideboard
[15]9th: Life Combo, Michael Kammer (8-2)
Creatures
[15]Instants
[12]Sorceries
[6]Artifacts
[3]Enchantments
[1]Lands
[23]Sideboard
[15]10th: UW Replenish, David García Mora (8-2)
Instants
[13]Sorceries
[4]Enchantments
[17]Lands
[26]Sideboard
[15]11th: Naya Terrageddon, Jorge Clares Artés (8-2)
Creatures
[13]Instants
[6]Sorceries
[7]Artifacts
[4]Enchantments
[4]Lands
[26]Sideboard
[15]12th: Devourer Combo, Michał Sekiewicz (8-2)
Creatures
[7]Instants
[8]Sorceries
[4]Artifacts
[19]Lands
[22]Sideboard
[15]13th: RG Goblins, Sergio Molero Porras (8-2)
Creatures
[34]Instants
[3]Lands
[23]Sideboard
[15]14th: Mono-Black Aggro, José Cuberos Pons (8-2)
Creatures
[18]Instants
[8]Sorceries
[9]Artifacts
[2]Lands
[23]Sideboard
[15]If you’re getting ready to play against any of these, you can build a plan for the matchup in the Sideboard Planner and log your games in the Match Tracker.
By the numbers
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Masters players | 110 (invitation only) |
| Masters format | 7 rounds of Swiss, then Top 8 |
| Eurofest players (Saturday) | 272 |
| Eurofest format | 10 rounds of Swiss, no Top 8 |
| Eurofest players with 8+ wins | 14 |
| Eurofest undefeated | Florian Schilff, Gro-A-Tog (10-0) |
| Countries in the Top 8 | 6 |
| Most copies in the Top 8 | Stiflenought (3) |
Congratulations to Iván de Castro, the first European Premodern Master, and thanks to the Tecnoliga Valenciana, the European Premodern Masters team and every national organiser who ran a qualifier. Huge thanks as well to Karn’s Academy for streaming both days, nearly twelve hours each.
Event organized by the European Premodern Masters and the Tecnoliga Valenciana. Final and field size confirmed by the organisers; Top 8 bracket from the official stream by Karn’s Academy; Eurofest standings and decklists published by the organisers.