Weekly update – 23/09/2022

Welcome back! In this week’s update, we’re taking a look at the German Legacy community, and how they decided to appoint their champions for the European Legacy Masters. We’re also checking in with some of the players that have already secured their invite, as well as showcasing some of the upcoming ELM qualifiers. Plenty to discuss, so let’s dive right in.

Community Spotlight: Germany

From Andreas Müller conquering GP Madrid in 2010, to Timo Schüneman storming GP Ghent in 2012, all the way to Marc Eric Voigt claiming the throphy at GP Bologna 2019: Germany has consistently been a powerhouse on the European Legacy scene. Looking at the leaderboards of the former Cardmarket Series, we see the same pattern: at least half of the top 8 for any given season rocks a German passport, with players like Julian Knab, Marius Hausmann and Johannes Gutbrod building a strong reputation for themselves as format specialists. In the Land of Ideas, Brainstorming and Pondering is serious business.

Because of the country’s large size, however, Legacy communities in Germany have traditionally operated in relative isolation from one another. With few large events taking place, players from Bottrop (in the West), Munich (South), Hamburg (North) and Berlin (East) rarely get the opportunity to face each other. Nor is there a community-organized National Legacy Championship, as is the case in some of the surrounding countries.

So how do you choose who shall defend your nation’s honor at the European Legacy Masters, given such a disparate player base and a lack of big events? In this case, it was decided that a community vote would be the best way to settle the debates. A Discord server was set up, and a panel consisting of various people involved with organizing Legacy tournaments in Germany were asked who they deemed worthy. The resulting selection was culled further to a top 12, at which point the community was asked to cast their votes. Here’s the shortlist of candidates that were proposed:

This is what over a decade of Legacy domination looks like: a true murderer’s row of Legacy experts, with countless GP and MKM top 8s between them. But after a week of voting, two candidates came out head and shoulders above the rest. Here are the first two ELM invitees for Germany:

Julian Knab is of course best know for his mastery of the Elves deck, which he used to win Bazaar of Moxen with in 2013. Since then, Julian has been a mainstay on the European Legacy scene, with a whopping eigth top 8 appearances at the MKM Series. Besides his tournament success, Julian is also one of the premier Legacy content creators, as the producer of the Everyday Eternal Podcast, father of the Legacy Premier League, and the star of his own streams over on Twitch and Youtube.

At the ELM, Julian will find himself accompanied by a familiar face, as the second player to be invited for Germany is none other than Kai Sawatari. Kai is of course Julian’s co-host on the Everyday Eternal Podcast, but also carries a GP Top 8 (Kyoto 2015) under his belt, as well a multiple MTGO Challenge top 8’s in Vintage. Known primarily for his prowess with Dark Ritual based strategies, he has reignited the Legacy scene in Berlin ever since he moved back from Japan, as organizer of the Weekly Legacy @ Brettspielplatz events. And when he’s not storming off or consulting with Thassa’s Oracle, he’s churning out amazing artwork and alterations on satawarix.com and on his Instagram.

We are excited to welcome Kai and Julian at the European Legacy Masters not only as fierce competitors, but also as some of the most passionate ambassadors the format could wish for.

Who else is coming?

So who are the remaining two champions for Germany? Unfortunately, we can’t tell you yet. Benedikt Gruber, the regional ELM representative, has promised to reveal the names soon via Twitter.

However, a few players from other regions have already secured their spot:

To learn all about the 2022 ELM competitors, check out our brand-new Player Profiles page. We will be updating it along the way, as more players qualify for the European Legacy Masters.

Italian Invites

Another large community with some heavy-hitting Legacy players, is Italy. Contrary to Germany, they did not leave things up to vote. Instead, their region representative will appoint three players directly, which leaves one invite up for grabs during a special event. Want to learn more about the selected players, or the special tournament? Full details will be revealed this Sunday Sept. 25th, at 9:30PM CET, on MarcoMale’s Twitch stream.

Upcoming Events

September doesn’t feature any more qualifiers for the ELM, but things will start to heat up fast when October rolls around. The Portugese qualifiers have been announced recently, and the first one is right around the corner, with Bracara Eternal in Braga giving away two precious invites. That same day, at Mox in the Hole in Edinburgh, the first UK slot will also be up for grabs.

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For a complete list of qualification opportunities per country, click here.

Thank you for reading this week’s update, and we hope to catch you back for the next one – same time, same place.

Until then, enjoy playing the greatest format of them all, and keep being awesome!