Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another edition of the Top 10 players to watch going into the Open Rounds! As always, I am Blevins and I’ll be talking about the Top 8 players that I’ll be keeping an eye on for the upcoming Magic Misadventures Seasonal Tournament. I realize that 8 does not equal 10, but like previous articles, my additional section covers why I’m not doing the full 10 here. As always, this list is at least somewhat subjective so if you have someone that I missed that you’d like to see featured on a future list, yell at me on Twitter! With that said, let’s jump into the list!
I’m going to start the article this time with my honorable mentions. This section has recently turned into my Unofficial Blevins Seasonal Hall of Fame player inductions. While I won’t promise that there will be inductees before every Seasonal, I do have a few to feature this time around.
The first is a player that has been in many Seasonal top cuts, Worlds, and has just been an all-around great player and community member. That player is none other than Aikado. Aikado has been popping off lately, and it’s about time I immortalize him in the ever so illustrious and sacred group that is my Unofficial Hall of Fame. He somehow flew under the radar for a while, but now it goes without saying that Aikado is one of the best players in the Americas, and is always a frontrunner to make Top Cut.
The second player and inductee into my Hall of Fame is our Reigning Seasonal Champion, TheBlackBoss. Honestly, it’s my fault for not adding him earlier. BlackBoss has been a Top player in the BR LoR scene for just about as long as the game has been around, and that prowess has finally culminated in winning a Seasonal. I won’t go into too much more detail as there should be more content coming out on our Seasonal champ. Just know this: you should have already been watching BlackBoss for a while, and if you haven’t been, now is the time.
8
Sqweeby - Twitter
Deck: Fizz Lulu Yordles in Arms
Starting off the list we have previous ‘Top 8 Gamer’, known memer, and all-around great content creator and player Sqweeby. Sqweeby has been around the top tables of LoR for quite a while. A few months ago Sqweeby won one of our GiantSlayer Fight Night events after a round 1 defeat. He went on to go to game 3 every single match, got a bracket reset, and won the whole thing. We have since coined doing that same feat as “pulling a Sqweeby”. After a relatively quiet run from Sqweeby, he came out in force this season, racking up over 500 LP on the Master Ladder. Sqweeby never really went anywhere, but I feel like now is a great time to get more eyes on Sqweeby this Saturday!
7
Drisoth - Twitter
Deck: Nami Twisted Fate
I’m the first person to tell you that I’m at least a little bit biased with these lists, and boy do I love myself some Drisoth. I’ve written about Drisoth many times in previous articles. He notably had one of the best LoR Plays of all time which is what initially got me on the Drisoth train. From there, he has consistently been a top Ladder player who has also had some good tournament finishes. He is a master of all things Twisted Fate, and is one of the better deck tinkerers in the community. I truly believe that it is only a matter of time before we see Drisoth as a Seasonal Champion or at least making a deep run.
6
GrandpaRoji - Twitter
Deck: Pantheon Shyvanna
If I recall correctly (I have a bad memory, don’t @ me) this is the first time Roji has been on a top players list. I’m glad that I’m finally righting the ship on this. Roji is not only a top player in LoR, but is doing it as a self-proclaimed ‘one trick’. Previously the trick was Malphite, but this season it’s been various Pantheon decks. Whether on mono Pantheon, Taric, or Shyvana, Roji has been the master of Pantheon. As it turns out, the meta is currently favoring Pantheon, and I certainly want to be watching one of the best players in the world on their signature deck when it’s a top pick!
5
MaybeNextTime - Twitter
Deck: Ahri Kennen Go Hard
MaybeNextTime has lived up to his name quite a bit. Multiple second-place finishes in Fight Nights have left us saying... well, their name. The thing about it is that if someone is constantly getting seconds, fourths, top cuts but no wins, people tend to only think about the fact that there isn’t a win. However, those are actually great performances. MaybeNextTime is, in my eyes, a rising star in LoR. I hadn’t heard much about them until a month or two ago, but they’ve been making a really strong case for their inclusion on this list. I will definitely have my eye on MaybeNextTime, this time!
4
Eniamor - Twitter
Deck: Ahri Kennen SUNK COST KEKW
In today’s day of the internet, we are constantly spammed with memes. In many ways, the word is watered down to the point where it barely means anything of substantial value. The standard for a meme these days is basically a picture with text on it. I bring this up because I have to showcase a time when someone transcends the current loose definitions of a meme and shows us what a meme truly is. That meme is Sunk Cost. Eniamor reached rank 1 on the ladder with Ahri Kennen with a Bilgewater splash… for Sunk Cost. Widely regarded as the worst card in the game, Eniamor made a statement by not only using the card, but using it in the top deck of the ladder. That statement is of course that Ahri Kennen is broken or at least resilient enough to not care even a little bit about what the splash is. When you not only can play at the top of the game but also have the creativity to do so with a true meme, we have something great on our hands. That greatness is SUNK COST… I mean Eniamor.
3
Darkodius - Twitter
Deck: Ahri Kennen Go Hard
When Pink / Yellow is meta, Darkodius appears. OK, he never really left, but he’s certainly making a statement with his recent successes. Ahri Kennen splashing The Absolver is the Pink / Yellow deck that has really propelled him to the top of the scene. While he’s obviously played other decks, I can personally attest (I got gatekept from Masters 3 time by Darkodius) that he is very good on that version. Seeing him play the mirror and find these little advantages really shows the skill and experience gap of the deck. Darkodius is a member of the Wombats team, which is one of the strongest teams in LoR, and being a part of one of the strongest teams only compounds the successes of its players. With Ahri Kennen being a top deck in the meta and the backing of the Wombats, I’m very excited to see where Darkodius ends up this Seasonal.
2
Kevor - Twitter
Deck: Ahri Kennen Go Hard
Kevor is a player that many may recognize from Seasonals past. He is a regular Rank 1 player and was one of my top picks in previous seasons. Since that time, he took a bit of a break from competitive LoR for one reason or another, but he’s back now. Sometimes when a player returns after a break, they struggle to get back to their former glory, but as I write this article, Kevor sits atop the Americas Ladder with over 1k LP. Kevor is also one of the players that is referenced by other top players as a master of the Ahri Kennen Go Hard. That particular version of AK is widely considered the best version, and Kevor is widely considered one of the best players of the best decks. What more can you ask for in a player to watch?
1
4lw - Twitter
Deck: Nami Twisted Fate
Last but certainly not least is a member of the illustrious Team Hydra, 4lw. I mentioned earlier how having a good team behind you is a big advantage, and many would argue that Hydra is at least one of the best teams in the world. 4lw has been on the radar of many people who have followed competitive LoR for a while so it’s really no surprise that I have him as the number one player to watch, but this time feels a bit different to me. I really had my eyes opened at the most recent Fight Night where 4lw had an absolute lineup diff over the rest of the lobby. He brought what I think may end up being a lineup of the Seasonal, or at least the Top 32, which was an anti Lee Sin Lineup. Going into a small pool like Fight Night really narrows the scope of matchups you have to care about. If you have a good read on the likely meta, you can really hard counter a lot of lineups and that’s exactly what 4lw did last week at Fight Night. I can’t say that 4lw and team hydra can capture lightning in a bottle again, especially considering that the Open Rounds of the Seasonal have a much larger field, but if anyone can do it, they can.
And that’s it for the Top Players to Watch this time around. Make sure to tune in to our new channel twitch.tv/GiantslayerTV this weekend to catch all of the action of the Open rounds and follow our Twitter for all of the stuff we’re doing in LoR. I’ll see you all again for the Top 32 power rankings next week!
