Channel Fireball hosted the CFB Pro Showdown today, a free tournament for CFB Pro subscribers. The event featured best-of-3 Standard in a single elimination format. Jeskai Lukka Fires was the most played archetype, as expected. The control deck is considered by many to be one of the best Standard decks of all time, with its suite of powerful planeswalkers, the ability to effectively double or triple mana with Fires of Invention and Yorion, and Lukka to cheat an early Agent of Treachery into play to steal the opponent’s permanents.
As players sought to go under the Lukka Fires deck, many turned to Mono-Red Aggro and Boros Cycling. The Obosh variant of Mono-Red has seen a surge in popularity since placing two copies in the Top 8 of the MagicFest Online Season 2 Finals, while Boros Cycling has been a staple of the metagame since a second place finish in the Weekly Championship at the beginning of May.
In the end, the Lukka Fires decks were too strong, placing five copies in the Top 8, including both finalists, as mrhadoken took down the event and earned $300 store credit. Mrhadoken had the chance to double his first place prize, but the “end boss” Luis Scott-Vargas defeated him in a bonus match, using Temur Reclamation.
In addition to the five Lukka Fires decks, the Top 8 included one copy each of Obosh Red, Azorius Control with Yorion, and traditional Jeskai Fires with Keruga as companion.
