Finals: Michaele Teppa versus Felix Stenitzer

Both Feather and Esper may have enjoyed a larger representation among the field at large. But the weekend's big winner, as far as deck archetypes was concerned, turned out to be Field of the Dead, particularly the version with Golos, Tireless Pilgrim. Three players entered the tournament with the Nexus of Fate-powered build, and all three ended up in the Top 8. What's more, two identical main decks faced off in the finals.

On one side, we had a familiar face: Michaele Teppa had already won the Standard main event at Cardmarket Series Ghent back in April with the similar Nexus of Gates. Across from him sat first-time Top 8 competitor Felix Stenitzer. While Teppa was calculating his position on this year's leaderboard—”I was in eighth place before, so maybe something like fourth now …”—Stenitzer lamented the fact that he'd had to miss three stops so far.

Game 1

Both players deployed an early Teferi, Time Raveler, and both had some help in searching up additional lands: Circuitous Route for Teppa and Growth Spiral plus Elvish Rejuvenator for Stenitzer. Having gone first, Stenitzer was the first to generate Zombies via Field of the Dead, but Teppa was the first to summon Golos, Tireless Pilgrim.

Michaele Teppa already had one Standard trophy …

Unfortunately, Teppa had drawn both of his Temple Gardens, so his Field still didn't yield a crop of undead. Even worse, Stenitzer bounced Golos with Teferi, got in some attacks, cast Nexus of Fate, attacked some more, and generated some more Zombies.

Recasting Golos was no longer an option for Teppa. He needed to wipe the board with Time Wipe, which meant he could barely develop his own board any further once again. Stenitzer cast and activated a Golos of his own, hit Nexus, and that was enough to earn a concession from Teppa.

Game 2

This time Teppa went first, but once again Stenitzer dropped lands at a faster rate: He had Growth Spiral, Elvish Rejuvenator, and Circuitous Route, while Teppa only had Elf plus Route.

Felix Stenitzer was on a roll

Stenitzer also was the first to land Field of the Dead and the first to gain access to all five colors of mana. This proved very relevant because Stenitzer then cast Unmoored Ego to rob Teppa of all future Fields. Now fieldless, Teppa summoned a Golos that didn't accomplish much, and passed.

Stenitzer didn't even let his opponent have that. He identified, correctly, that Golos would be much better on his side of the battlefield and arranged for the move via the Travel Agent of Treachery. Following that, he moved to create some more Zombies when Teppa stopped him. “Don't bother, you got this.”

Teppa conceded and became the first to congratulate the new Standard champion, but he didn't remain the last …

Congratulations to Felix Stenitzer, Standard champion Cardmarket Series Barcelona 2019