November 29-December 1, 2019
Fiera Bologna
Bologna, Italy
November 29-December 1, 2019
Fiera Bologna
Bologna, Italy
Marc Vogt is your Grand Prix Bologna champion!
On Saturday morning, 1,596 players from all over the world entered the main event to take their shot at a winner's trophy and a piece of the $50,300 prize pool in the Legacy format. This was the first Legacy Grand Prix since the ban of Wrenn and Six, and Delver decks dominated: they were the most-played macro-archetype in Day 1 and Day 2, and the Top 8 featured three Delver decks.
Andrea Mengucci's first Grand Prix Top 8
The best-known player in the Top 8 was MPL member Andrea Mengucci. He is well-known for his Legacy veeedios, for leading the Italian World Magic Magic Cup team to victories, for making the Top 8 at three Pro Tours, and for winning the Mythic Invitational earlier this year. But the thing that had always eluded him was a Grand Prix Top 8. In fact, he was the record holder for most Top Finishes without a Grand Prix Top 8. But this weekend, in his 76th Grand Prix, he finally got there. "Legacy, in Italy...couldn't be a better GP to Top 8," he said with a large smile on his face.
Seven Okos and many cards from 2019 in the finals
While Mengucci fell in the quarterfinals, Tristan Pölzl (playing BUG Zenith Oko) and Marc Vogt (playing Bant Miracles) kept on winning. They finished the Swiss in first and second seed, at 14-0-1 and 13-1-1 respectively, and eventually met in the finals.
Together, they put seven copies of Oko, Thief of Crowns in the finals, cementing the planeswalker as one of the best cards in the format. In fact, 37% of the maindeck spells between the GP Bologna finalists were printed in the last nine months. Given that Legacy players can choose cards from 26 years of Magic, this is giving rise to worries about power creep.
Game 1 of the finals was slow at first, as both players spend most of their early turns trying to set up card draw engines. But then out of nowhere, it was over. Marc Vogt cast Brainstorm, revealed Entreat the Angels, and caught Pölzl without an answer.
In Game 2 Pölzl, locked under the static ability of Teferi, realized that he could still activate Faerie Macabre to counter Snapcaster Mage's enters-the-battlefield trigger. This helped him resolve Oko, turn the corner, and eventually tie the match at one game apiece.
Game 3, Pölzl made life difficult for Vogt early on with Leovold and Trinisphere. But a Terminus off the top and an abundance of lands allowed Vogt to take back control. Staying alive at 2 life, he eventually found Mentor and Entreat, which was enough to overwhelm Pölzl with token creatures. Unable to find an answer, Pölzl extended his hand in defeat.
"I am just a Legacy player, you know," Marc Vogt said after taking the trophy. "This is the dream for me. I couldn't be any happier."
Bracket
Articles
Top 8 Player Profiles by Frank Karsten
Get to know the Top 8 players
Most-played Legacy cards by Frank Karsten
Brainstorm, Ponder, and Force of Will on top
Day 1 Metagame Breakdown by Frank Karsten
U/R Delver is most popular at 7.3%
Day 2 Metagame Breakdown by Frank Karsten
Grixis Delver is most popular at 7.2%
Fact Sheet by CFB Events
GP format structure and prizes
Event Schedule by CFB Events
Overview of all side events
Pairings
Stories
Articles
Top 8 Player Profiles by Frank Karsten
Get to know the Top 8 players
Most-played Legacy cards by Frank Karsten
Brainstorm, Ponder, and Force of Will on top
Day 1 Metagame Breakdown by Frank Karsten
U/R Delver is most popular at 7.3%
Day 2 Metagame Breakdown by Frank Karsten
Grixis Delver is most popular at 7.2%
Fact Sheet by CFB Events
GP format structure and prizes
Event Schedule by CFB Events
Overview of all side events