By Niels Viaene
In many ways, this Gentry Open really showed that the community is not done yet with Gentry, it had been since the XIII edition that we had as many players showing up, with 21 people sleeving up their Gentry decks. It would have been 22, but I decided to judge without playing, giving up on my last chance to play Mishra, Excavation Prodigy, a card I had been trying to make work since it was printed but sadly failed to make work. In the end, it found an unlikely ally in Push the Limit, but that found its way through this event without Mishra support.
Semi-finalist Kjell Maekelberg (BG selfmill)
Kjell found inspiration in decks that were played in regular standard and ported it to Gentry, a very valid strategy when you see the core of a deck relies on Uncommons, rather than Rares and Mythics. With Innistrad block in the mix, there is usually a lot of synergy around milling your own deck, whether it is with returning things from the graveyard, or, in this case, reducing the cost of your signature spells. The deck aims to take a few turns filling its graveyard while supplying some chump blockers you do not really care about. Then, as soon as 4 to 7 creatures have found their way into your graveyard, all hell breaks loose and haymaker after haymaker starts hitting the board.
Semi-finalist Robbe Ipers (WR Push the Limit)
As teased in the intro, Push the Limit found its way into this event and into the top 4. Robbe Built a version of the deck featuring white for more Vehicles in Detention Chariot and used whit’s defensive spells to buy more time rather than trying to rush faster with Mishra, as I did. His transformational sideboard shows a back-up play against control decks that can stop your winning Sorcery but I know from experience, that is not where you really want to be.
Finalist Tibo Maes (WUR Dragons)
Smash together control elements, tempo elements, and dragons, and you get… Tibo’s deck that aims to have answers for everything while posing enough pressure to make you go look for your own. With Runescale Stormbrood // Chilling Screech[/] doubling as permission and finisher, and [c]Twinmaw Stormbrood // Charring Bite doing the same with removal and finisher, the deck has tremendous flexibility and resilience built into it without even looking at Rares. And with the Twinmaw coming with a bunch of lifegain, it even protects a bit against mono red strategies.
Champion Renzo Verkooren (WB Pixie-Blink)
Much like Kjell before, this deck was heavily influenced by the mainstream Standard format, even causing some bans there. In Gentry, the deck was less problematic but clearly strong enough to compete in the capable hands of Renzo further solidifying his name as one of the best Gentry players. The deck aims to gradually keep chipping away at resources of your opponents while almost magically keeping their own flowing freely. There is no one big effect you need to worry about, just the everlasting needle pricks that seemingly effortlessly end in defeat.
