Revolution, June, 2023 – 

The second tournament of Revolution’s seventh rotation concluded this past month at Grand Prix Arsawv! The meta game has continued to adapt to Hyperpop's inclusion, spawning unique archetypes that thread through both new cards and old ones that didn't get enough love. 17 players brought 12 unique decks to the table, including old favorites like Esper Control and 4-Color Consonance, as well as new contenders like UR Tempo and 4-Color Awakening.

In the finals, Kayiu's 4-Color Consonance faced up against Ndb's WB Aristocrats in a final round grudge-match: Kayiu had beaten out Ndb in the fourth round to secure his spot in the finals. 4-Color Consonance, an old favorite that won last GP, is an explosive ramp-midrange deck that uses Wildcourt Seeker to ramp into Grand Consonance, or one of many other high-cost threats. By contrast, WB Aristocrats is a newcomer, using small creatures to chip in for damage and achieve large life swings through Voidmist Prodigy and Half-Heart's Claim. Although the rematch was closer this time around, Kayiu ultimately won a hard-fought 2-1 victory, clinching a spot in next year's World Championship.

When talking with Kayiu about his deck building decisions, he attributed the deck's success to its flexibility and reliability: being effectively 5 colors allows the deck to play both the best answers and the best threats, and while Consonance was often game-winning through its sheer value, he attributed most of his wins to being able to effectively counter his opponents' strategies while advancing his own gameplan. Overall, Kayiu felt that the most powerful card in his deck, and the card which embodied this flexibility, was Ulfarl. Depending on the situation, he served as ramp, removal, life gain, card selection, and win condition, all of which were crucial tools to win different matchups.

Congrats to Kayiu for his win! Can anyone out there unseat Consonance as the reigning Rev champion? And for all you out there who are considering joining the revolution, Kayiu has this to say:

"Overall, I’m satisfied with how the tournament went, even outside of winning. My level of preparation and specific deckbuilding choices ended up paying off multiple times during the tournament, and even though I felt solidly in the driver’s seat at all times as a result, every single one of my sets were hard-fought battles with important choice points. Shoutout to my opponents, everyone who decided to participate, and the REV team for hosting this as always! I’m definitely going to be there next month, and I hope maybe reading this convinced you to try it out as well."