After 16 rounds of Phyrexia: All Will Be One Draft and Pioneer on Friday and Saturday, Reid Duke found himself down 0-2 to reigning World Champion Nathan Steuer in the quarterfinals first thing Sunday morning.

Steuer, playing Lotus Field Combo, assembled his combo a turn earlier than Duke could assemble his Izzet Creativity combo in Game 1 to jump out to an early lead. Steuer then mulliganed to five cards in Game 2, but drew perfectly to combo Duke out once again.

“It was pretty much the maximally discouraging start to the match,” Duke said. “First of all, losing both games, but also both games I felt like I had pretty good positions at points and things slipped away from me. It was tough, back against the wall, but I knew that I had some good weapons after sideboarding and I was pretty comfortable with what I needed to do to win. So I did my best to keep it together and execute.”

And execute he did. Duke boarded out the combo of Xenagos, God of Revels and Worldspine Wurm—which, when combined with Indomitable Creativity allows Izzet Creativity to attack for 30 out of nowhere—and leaned into the deck’s control element and Hullbreaker Horror to take Game 3.

But then Duke reversed course for Game 4 and boarded the combo back in. Steuer clearly didn’t expect to see the combo again after sideboarding—and neither did the coverage crew—so there were plenty of surprised faces when Duke cast Indomitable Creativity and immediately flipped a Worldspine Wurm, then Xenagos, to win Game 4.

It wasn’t clear if Duke would keep the combo in for the decisive Game 5. Steuer landed an uncounterable (and un-answerable) Dragonlord Dromoka and seemed to be in great position to advance to the semifinals…until Duke once again cast Indomitable Creativity to find the combo and win out of nowhere.

Asked about his sideboarding strategy after the game, Duke said: “I think Creativity vs. Lotus Field is a really intricate matchup where it matters more how the cards are played and less what the cards are. Which is kind of a long way of saying that I just didn’t want Nathan to know what I was doing and make it tough on him and keep him guessing.”

The rest of the Top 8 was less eventful for Duke, as he breezed past Derrick Davis on Enigmatic Fires in the semis to face Benton Madsen on Selesnya Auras in the finals. Unfortunately for Madsen, mulligans his the Auras deck hard and he couldn’t outrace the consistent speed of Reid’s Izzet Creativity deck, giving Duke a 3-0 win and crowning him Pro Tour Phyrexia Champion.

The victory is Duke’s second high level victory, but his first on the Pro Tour. Duke broke onto the Magic scene in 2011 when he won the Magic Online Championship Series; since then, he had racked up five more top finishes, including a second place finish at the 2013-14 World Championship and four Pro Tour Top 8s. Today marks his seventh total—and most prominent—top finish.

“There’s your dreams and your fairy tales,” Duke said after the finals, “and then the reality of what has actually happened and can actually happen—and sometimes those two things don’t match up. So I always pictured this moment my whole life playing Magic…but it was never real until now. I’m not even sure it’s real yet.”

Top 8 Decklists

Reid Duke's Pioneer Izzet Creativity (1st)

Creatures (2)
Xenagos, God of Revels
Worldspine Wurm

Spells (29)
Fiery Impulse
Secrets of the Key
Spell Pierce
Spikefield Hazard
Fire Prophecy
Impulse
Make Disappear
Indomitable Creativity
Valakut Awakening
Big Score
Dig Through Time

Enchantments (5)
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
Shark Typhoon
Lands (24)
Hall of Storm Giants
Mountain
Mutavault
Otawara, Soaring City
Riverglide Pathway
Shivan Reef
Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Spirebluff Canal
Steam Vents
Stormcarved Coast

Sideboard (15)
Rending Volley
Aether Gust
Disdainful Stroke
Narset’s Reversal
Negate
Mystical Dispute
Shark Typhoon
Hullbreaker Horror

Benton Madsen's Pioneer Selesnya Auras (2nd)

Companion (1)
Jegantha, the Wellspring

Creatures (17)
Generous Visitor
Gladecover Scout
Skrelv, Defector Mite
Light-Paws, Emperor’s Voice
Sram, Senior Edificer

Enchantments (24)
Audacity
Cartouche of Solidarity
Ethereal Armor
Gryff’s Boon
Hammerhand
Kaya’s Ghostform
Sentinel’s Eyes
All That Glitters
Alpha Authority
Rune of Sustenance
Warbriar Blessing
Lands (19)
Boseiju, Who Endures
Branchloft Pathway
Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
Forest
Mana Confluence
Plains
Razorverge Thicket
Temple Garden

Sideboard (14)
Boseiju, Who Endures
Portable Hole
Adanto Vanguard
Hushbringer
Rest in Peace
Rune of Sustenance
Warbriar Blessing
Extraction Specialist

Derrick Davis's Pioneer Enigmatic Fires (3rd-4th)

Companion (1)
Yorion, Sky Nomad

Creatures (16)
Destiny Spinner
Deputy of Detention
Glasspool Mimic
Hanged Executioner
Knight of Autumn
Moon-Blessed Cleric
Skyclave Apparition
Archon of Sun’s Grace
Cavalier of Dawn
Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines
Kenrith, the Returned King
Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves
Agent of Treachery
Titan of Industry

Enchantments (32)
Chained to the Rocks
Bitter Reunion
Nylea’s Presence
Oath of Chandra
Wolfwillow Haven
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
Enigmatic Incarnation
Fires of Invention
Leyline Binding
Lands (32)
Boseiju, Who Endures
Breeding Pool
Glacial Fortress
Jetmir’s Garden
Mountain
Sacred Foundry
Savai Triome
Spara’s Headquarters
Steam Vents
Stomping Ground
Sunpetal Grove

Sideboard (14)
Alpine Moon
Portable Hole
Rending Volley
Rest in Peace
Archon of Emeria
Mystical Dispute
Temporary Lockdown

Takumi Matsuura's Pioneer Mono-White Humans (3rd-4th)

Creatures (34)
Dauntless Bodyguard
Hopeful Initiate
Kytheon, Hero of Akros
Recruitment Officer
Skrelv, Defector Mite
Luminarch Aspirant
Thalia’s Lieutenant
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
Brutal Cathar

Enchantments (4)
Ossification
Lands (22)
Castle Ardenvale
Eiganjo, Seat of the Empire
Mutavault
14 Plains

Sideboard (15)
Portable Hole
Guardian of Faith
Reidane, God of the Worthy
Sword of Forge and Frontier
Wedding Announcement

Chris Ferber's Pioneer Lotus Field Combo (5th-8th)

Creatures (12)
Arboreal Grazer
Baral, Chief of Compliance
Fae of Wishes
Hope Tender
Vizier of Tumbling Sands
Lier, Disciple of the Drowned

Spells (25)
Hidden Strings
Impulse
Sylvan Scrying
Bala Ged Recovery
Mastermind’s Acquisition
Dark Petition
Pore Over the Pages
Behold the Beyond
Emergent Ultimatum

Enchantments (1)
Omniscience
Lands +3 MDFCs (22)
Boseiju, Who Endures
Botanical Sanctum
Island
Lotus Field
Otawara, Soaring City
Spara’s Headquarters
Temple of Mystery
Thespian’s Stage

Sideboard (15)
Natural State
Pithing Needle
Cyclonic Rift
Hope Tender
Mystical Dispute
Path of Peril
Behold the Multiverse
Ritual of Soot
Supreme Verdict
Thought Distortion
Approach of the Second Sun
Sphinx of the Final Word
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Gabriel Nassif's Pioneer Izzet Creativity (5th-8th)

Creatures (2)
Xenagos, God of Revels
Worldspine Wurm

Spells (29)
Fiery Impulse
Secrets of the Key
Spell Pierce
Spikefield Hazard
Fire Prophecy
Impulse
Make Disappear
Indomitable Creativity
Valakut Awakening
Big Score
Dig Through Time

Enchantments (5)
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
Shark Typhoon
Lands (24)
Hall of Storm Giants
Mountain
Mutavault
Otawara, Soaring City
Riverglide Pathway
Shivan Reef
Sokenzan, Crucible of Defiance
Spirebluff Canal
Steam Vents
Stormcarved Coast

Sideboard (15)
Rending Volley
Disdainful Stroke
Narset’s Reversal
Negate
Mystical Dispute
Shark Typhoon
Hullbreaker Horror

Nathan Steuer's Pioneer Lotus Field Combo (5th-8th)

Creatures (10)
Arboreal Grazer
Voyaging Satyr
Vizier of Tumbling Sands
Lier, Disciple of the Drowned

Spells (27)
Hidden Strings
Impulse
Shimmer of Possibility
Sylvan Scrying
Bala Ged Recovery
Mastermind’s Acquisition
Dark Petition
Pore Over the Pages
Behold the Beyond
Emergent Ultimatum

Enchantments (1)
Omniscience
Lands (22)
Boseiju, Who Endures
Botanical Sanctum
Breeding Pool
Island
Lair of the Hydra
Lotus Field
Otawara, Soaring City
Temple of Mystery
Thespian’s Stage

Sideboard (15)
Boseiju, Who Endures
Fading Hope
Natural State
Pithing Needle
Hope Tender
Voyaging Satyr
Depopulate
Ritual of Soot
Elder Gargaroth
Dragonlord Dromoka
Approach of the Second Sun
Sphinx of the Final Word
Zacama, Primal Calamity

Shota Yasooka's Pioneer Rakdos Midrange (5th-8th)

Creatures (15)
Bloodtithe Harvester
Misery’s Shadow
Bonecrusher Giant
Graveyard Trespasser
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse

Planeswalkers (2)
Liliana of the Veil

Spells (12)
Duress
Fatal Push
Thoughtseize
Dreadbore
Power Word Kill

Artifacts (1)
Reckoner Bankbuster

Enchantments (4)
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker
Lands (26)
Blackcleave Cliffs
Blightstep Pathway
Blood Crypt
Den of the Bugbear
Haunted Ridge
Hive of the Eye Tyrant
Mutavault
Sulfurous Springs
Swamp
Takenuma, Abandoned Mire
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Sideboard (15)
Duress
Pithing Needle
Rending Volley
Abrade
Reckoner Bankbuster
Kolaghan’s Command
Liliana of the Veil
Extinction Event
Ritual of Soot
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship

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