Aetherdrift Store Champs/Player’s Championship Qualifier Recap
This past weekend we held our third Player’s Championship Qualifier of 2025! This was also our Aetherdrift Store Championships, so there was prizing, Leaderboard Points, Store Champs Promos, as well as our end of year invite to play for! This weekend we played Standard, and while in our last event we saw a reflection of the Pro Tour in Chicago with a Zur Domain mirror match final, we see a deck emerge victorious that was once thought to be pushed out of the format: Dimir Midrange. Store Championship killer Pat DeMone took down the event with his take on Dimir. Dimir Midrange has existed for quite some time but had fallen out of favor for the more aggressive Dimir or Esper Bounce decks. As the format becomes more and more red heavy to counter the dominance of Domain, will we see a permanent resurgence of the interactive classic Midrange version? Or is this a deck that requires a very specific environment to thrive? Let’s see what tools Pat used to earn his invite as well as the rest of our Top 8 decks!
Pat DeMone – Dimir Midrange (1st)
Mike Giles – Azorius Omniscience Combo (2nd)
Adam Joyce – Dimir Doomsday Excruciator (3rd-4th)
Cody Leblanc – Zur Domain (3rd-4th)
Chris Brackley – Monored Aggro (5th-8th)
Connor Cheney – Izzet Prowess (5th-8th)
Travis Benedict – Izzet Prowess (5th-8th)
Tim Foley – Zur Domain (5th-8th)
Having to fight through multiple combo decks in the Top 4, Pat DeMone came out on top. I got to get a chat in with Pat and pick his brain about his choice to register the classic Standard midrange strategy.
T: So, first thing’s first, congrats on qualifying for our 2nd annual Player’s Championship! With the first two Qualifiers being won by Chris Brackley and Tijler de Jong, this makes you the first new attendee! Was the plan to qualify through Standard? Or is this the format you feel the strongest in?
P: Still lost for words. Seeing the Player’s Championship last year, I was amazed and could not believe what HFXGames did for the players that qualified. From my perspective, they treated all the players like gold. Talking with some folks that played in it, they said it made them feel like they worked towards something, and I view the Player’s Championship as one of the premier events to try and qualify for. HFXGames didn’t have to do that, they chose to do that, and honestly it goes to show that if you do play competitive magic in the Maritimes, the HFXGames Player’s Championship should be a goal for aspiring competitive players. I played in some qualifiers last year, but with fields always being tough, it was hard sometimes to not even walk away with wins.
It was a goal of mine this year to qualify. Did not matter the format, I was just going to put my head down and accept the format at hand. EVEN THOUGH STANDARD IS THE BEST FORMAT, it was nice to get the invite with a format that I am comfortable with, as it’s the format I have been playing the most consistently since I started playing Magic.
T: And you did it with a deck that people had thought had been pushed out with the popularity of the Dimir Bounce Shell or even Esper Pixie. Do you think the metagame shifted to allow the older Midrange version of Dimir to be playable again, or do you think it never stopped?
P: Once the PT happened, people might have gotten scared with the win rate percentage. When it comes to a deck that is flexible and can hang in most games against every deck in the format. This deck hits the spot. Being a midrange lover, I want a fighting chance in a game no matter what deck I am up against. Pixie/Dimir bounce misses that when it gets paired into particular decks. The big change that has occurred with the deck is they are now BACK (yes back) to running Deep-Cavern Bat as a way to disrupt the bigger decks and provide some stability against the aggro decks with the life gain. Deep-Cavern Bat: you love to play it but hate to play against it.
T: Deep-Cavern Bat can be an absolute nightmare to play against. So, you mentioned always having a fighting chance against any deck. Does that mean your bad matches are never THAT bad? If that’s the case, does it mean you have no slam dunk auto-wins?
P: They are rascals for sure. In Magic, wins are never guaranteed. If I am playing Magic, I just want a chance in any matchup. I don’t like seeing losses as “bad matchups” or wins as “good matchups.” I want a fighting chance in every matchup.
T: That’s a good perspective to have! Did you have any memorable moments in any matches, or any specific plays you made that really stuck out to you?
P: There are quite a few. But the best/memorable one was all of my opponents I faced. They were all great players, and even finer people to play against. Also, you (Travis Benedict) congratulating me after the tournament, and welcoming me to the Player’s Championship was special.
T: I’m glad I could take a part in making that moment special for you! There’s nothing better than sharing the joy of a big win! Alright, I have one last question for you. Do you think this deck will still be a contender after Tarkir: Dragonstorm releases? What are your thoughts as to how the format may change, if at all?
P: Okay, this answer can go in so many different ways, but I will provide two quick answers. Serious answer first, the format will be based on the big three decks still (Red – Rakdos Aggro instead of Gruul/Izzet/Monored, Pixie, Zur). The key piece in this set that Dimir gets is a nice little 2 mana 5/5 demon (2 mana 5/5 is wild) that plays solidly with Kaito. As long as Kaito/Enduring Curiosity is around, the deck will have legs in the format. That’s my brain answer. My heart says… Skirmish Rhino will be the best card to ever be printed in the history of Magic, and Abzan Midrange will be played across the land by all Standard players. We will be playing midrange mirrors for 3 years before it rotates out.
You heard it here first! Grab your Skirmish Rhinos now! Congratulations to Pat DeMone on qualifying for the Player’s Championship and the rest of our Top 8 for the great finish! Our next Player’s Championship Qualifier will be April 26th where we will be battling it out in the Modern format! This will double as a Regional Championship Qualifier so you will definitely not want to miss this one!
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Written By: Travis Benedict Pro Tour Competitor, Cat Lover |
