This is legitimately my all time favorite match of competitive magic. The commentary is amazing, the game itself is amazing, and that game one is the stuff of my dreams. My playgroup has started calling a quad bolt a “Shenhar”
I've honestly watched this match 6 times since it's been uploaded. It has really taught me a lot & I think it's fantastic. Magic really has the best coverage, kudos.
7 years later and this still might be one of the best modern control mirrors ever. The master and the prodigy. Ben putting Shahar on 3 bolts but not the 4th. Shahar only 19 years old against one of the best to ever do it
Shahar Shenhar is a beast. Guy's gonna be a HOF'er/Superstar in no time. And he's got one of the coolest names in Magic. Ben Stark is a badass too. One of the coolest personalities in the major circuit. Much respect to both of these guys.
I think a big part is due to the fast play these two put out. Mirror control matches can really be a drudge but its really refreshing to see such a steady pace.
It's certainly one of my favourites too. Another one of mine, which is probably controversial: Stanislav Cifka second breakfast Vs Yuuya Watanabe Jund. Eggs might be boring to watch, but watching Yuuya deconstruct the games is awesome.
It seems like every video that I watch of a professional event there is always someone or some people rattling on about how the players constantly shuffle their cards. There are reasons for this! Get over it! "Judge, my opponent won't quit shuffling his cards"
Cake Minor edges. Say you draw your hand and never move the cards around, your opponent can then see which cards you draw for your turn and which were in your opening hand. They can gather information like how many lands you likely have in hand. Another is that rhythmic patterns increase concentration.
Oh, this time 4 judges actually watched what the fuck is going on. The next year, on the very same tournament Shahar would lose in round 4 due to the judge's mistake.
37:30 I have rewatched that part many times, and I think Shahar missed his draw step. The last card he drew from his electrolyze. I'm not blaming him, there was a lot going on. That's the downside of live play, that you can miss steps and triggers and not even high-level judged can tell what to do
7/1/2012: If the damage that would be dealt to a creature with flying is prevented, that creature will still be tapped. If that damage is redirected to another creature, the creature with flying will be tapped, not necessarily the creature that ultimately was dealt damage.
Because of the format. Mana leak might as well be a hard counter as far as this format is concerned. Most modern decks I've seen have plenty of land, but they almost never run CMC higher than 4 because it's simply too slow, too vulnerable to counters/removal. Modern is about consistency more than speed, and mana leaks do a fantastic job of screwing up your opponents mana, whether they pay it or not. Besides, there are maybe 3 'robust' counters in the format.
I think it gets countered by Mana Leak which is then placed to the left side of Ben's deck, you can see several cards in the discard a few turns later.
They're both playing control decks, not aggro so a turn 4 win wouldnt happen. American control happens to be a top tier deck, and the fact that shahar took his deck to the finals probably means he beat out even most of the best "fast" decks.
Control mirrors usually work where the first player to tap out will get his spell countered, then his opponent can untap and play a spell for free (because his opponent tapped out first) so both players want to play enough lands to be able to play threats and play defence in the same turn to prevent being punished.
Nothing, LSV just makes a sarcastic joke Bc Ben is known as veryyy rational and not attached to anything in mtg such as a certain set of lands. Back in the day I drafted with BenS and we’d say “Plains are forests and Forests are swamps” if we didn’t have enough of each without having to get up to go to the land box lol.
@@joe.5103 lol wouldn't it make more sense to just say plains r swamps? Cool story tho, I've certainly been in that situation before, took a box to someone's house to draft, forgot to bring extra lands and was left with what we drafted plus what I had in 2 other decks
@@willgary8792 in the situation , we had enough forests for the amount of swamps Ben needed but not enough for the amount of forests he wanted to play. We did have enough plains though lol. So 10 plains became 10 forests and 7 forests became 7 swamps. It’s the most extreme and stupid case of how lazy we were haha.
24:30 I got knocked out a qualifying tournament sorta like that, in draft. The card was touch of moonglow or some shit like that. It gave +2 +1 and some janky effect. It wasn't even really a playable but this kid had four in his deck, and four in his hand. I'm clearly ahead, one creature with death touch has to hit me, so I can stay ahead and the kid played four of those cards to kill me. I was shocked, it was hard not to be sour. I did congratulate him, but all the people watching the match were like " why is that in your deck ". Why are four in your deck? Its almost surprising he made it to the point in the tournament that he did with four of these in his deck, but they fucked me good.
It's always interesting when players think about how good it feels to win off an extremely narrow topdeck, but when your opponent pretty much had the game sealed up you take it from them is such a reverse feeling.
@@shorts_gaming oh god it truly is. Personally i dont like winning off a top deck, but its win. Its those games where you know your ahead, you're tasting victory, then it just gets ripped from you. Shit happens though
this game is so fantastic.
Just came here from your video.
me too!! awesome game!! draw go!!
Thank you
same lol
Same. It's definitely a good match, and I don't even play control.
I enjoy how friendly these high level matches are. Allowing minor take-backs, chatting in between games and whatnot
7 years later and this is still my favorite match of magic I've even seen
"a judge asked them why they ordered their graveyard, and they both replied 'we organized them into relevant and irrelevant'."
This is legitimately my all time favorite match of competitive magic. The commentary is amazing, the game itself is amazing, and that game one is the stuff of my dreams. My playgroup has started calling a quad bolt a “Shenhar”
I seem to come back to this match every month or so
Torvak Mendelek Thank God, I thought I was the only one lol
Kat2323 I come back to the hole top 4 of this event because every match is really solid in my opinion.
I've honestly watched this match 6 times since it's been uploaded. It has really taught me a lot & I think it's fantastic. Magic really has the best coverage, kudos.
"You know the format is good when your opponent sighs as you play think twice"
Hahahaha
Another year, another rewatch. One of the GOATS.
all the shuffle in the hand. throws 4x lighting bolt. bish u know u have it.
the other guy. all the shuffling bish u know u cant counter it
7 years later and this still might be one of the best modern control mirrors ever. The master and the prodigy. Ben putting Shahar on 3 bolts but not the 4th. Shahar only 19 years old against one of the best to ever do it
Still my most favorite game of Magic to go back and watch…
I really wish they had better mics on the players. Ben's interactions with his opponents is amazing.
The amount of (tectonic) edging in this video is great. Truly before it’s time
basically, cards that can be flashed back with snapcaster mage, and cards that cant... LMFAO
Shahar Shenhar is a beast. Guy's gonna be a HOF'er/Superstar in no time. And he's got one of the coolest names in Magic. Ben Stark is a badass too. One of the coolest personalities in the major circuit. Much respect to both of these guys.
I think a big part is due to the fast play these two put out.
Mirror control matches can really be a drudge but its really refreshing to see such a steady pace.
Great match to come back to after all these years
That makes the bracelet even more admirable. I like Shenhar and he played well these games.
This is probably my favorite match of magic ever
I've been watching it every once in a while since it was played. every year im more and more convinced it is the best game of magic ever played
It's certainly one of my favourites too.
Another one of mine, which is probably controversial: Stanislav Cifka second breakfast Vs Yuuya Watanabe Jund. Eggs might be boring to watch, but watching Yuuya deconstruct the games is awesome.
Remember when modern was Interesting?
Modern is more interesting than it's ever been. TOR is annoying, but even with it in the format, it's STILL the best format.
Call me nostalgia blind because this opinion is entirely based off of my own nostalgia but early 10s MTG was amazing.
Always great listening to LSV
Semifinal 1 - Ben Stark vs Shahar Shenhar
Game 1 1:09
Game 2 29:41
Game 3 55:05
Game 4 1:35:38
Quad Bolt. I win.
Absolutely great match. I really hate that we only got 3 games, basically, but oh boy were those 3 great!
I love this match so much
This match is amazing
23:50 or so. Something you never expect to see in a game of magic.
It seems like every video that I watch of a professional event there is always someone or some people rattling on about how the players constantly shuffle their cards. There are reasons for this! Get over it!
"Judge, my opponent won't quit shuffling his cards"
Cake Minor edges. Say you draw your hand and never move the cards around, your opponent can then see which cards you draw for your turn and which were in your opening hand. They can gather information like how many lands you likely have in hand. Another is that rhythmic patterns increase concentration.
@@phatboi716 "Now I'm gonna do whats called a pro-gamer move" *puts hand under the table*
@@faisfaizal5194 That might be against the rules
Omg shahar draws everything lmao
BAH, MAKE IT PLAY!!! I MUST WATCH IT NOW!
Can we do these again? I love control mirrors! *sigh*
I'm here to remember that a 19 years old, at his first pro tour (if I remember correctly), defeated Ben Stark (a control god) in a control mirror
Oh, this time 4 judges actually watched what the fuck is going on. The next year, on the very same tournament Shahar would lose in round 4 due to the judge's mistake.
nostalgic indeed
37:30 I have rewatched that part many times, and I think Shahar missed his draw step. The last card he drew from his electrolyze. I'm not blaming him, there was a lot going on. That's the downside of live play, that you can miss steps and triggers and not even high-level judged can tell what to do
7/1/2012: If the damage that would be dealt to a creature with flying is prevented, that creature will still be tapped. If that damage is redirected to another creature, the creature with flying will be tapped, not necessarily the creature that ultimately was dealt damage.
Great match, but a BRUTAL way to lose in that last round.
You can find them at the Magic the Gathering Website.
This is crazy how bad mana leak is compared to Counterspell that we now have
Shahar's bracelet says 'Boobies!' :D
Half-Eaten Sandwich I believe that it’s actually a thing for breast cancer awareness
Half-Eaten Sandwich Daggum. The ol’ “Save the Boobies” bracelets. That’s a blast from the past.
quadruple lightning bolt is really a cool move.
Love the quad bolt!
Thank you
That would be great, it is a pain to find the decklists at the wizards site.
Because of the format. Mana leak might as well be a hard counter as far as this format is concerned. Most modern decks I've seen have plenty of land, but they almost never run CMC higher than 4 because it's simply too slow, too vulnerable to counters/removal. Modern is about consistency more than speed, and mana leaks do a fantastic job of screwing up your opponents mana, whether they pay it or not. Besides, there are maybe 3 'robust' counters in the format.
No Reid Duke vs. Josh Utter-Leyton (Modern) semifinal in this playlist and two videos of this match?
I think it would be great if they would put the deck lists in the description, or at least more information.....
it doesnt deal the damage, but it still taps it
Commenting from 2017, I miss American Control being powerful
It's good right now.
Just call it jeskai.
Or maybe something a little more imaginative? I vote Czech- or Icelanding Control!
Or Russian aggro?
At 1:36:30 when Shenhar plays a Molten Rain, which land does he destroy? I don't see Ben countering it either? Thanks
I think it gets countered by Mana Leak which is then placed to the left side of Ben's deck, you can see several cards in the discard a few turns later.
@@alexhill2495 Cool, thank you!
I already know who wins this game, but this is so exciting anyway!
Why didn't Ben pay X or exile X amount for the logic knot in response to the electrolyze? It looked like he just paid 1 mana?
where are shahar shenhar's standard matches?
where's the video for the other semifinal?
game 3 was incredible.
why no upload of Josh Utter-Leyton vs Reid Duke??
how do they deal dmg in the beginning by using only lands..(.i guess they are lands since i cannot see very clearly)
+Mar M (DJ Avalanz) fetch lands
thanks :D
though i found out about half a month later :P
,but thanks again for taking the time to answer
Where is the final????
Everyone has a plan until they take 4 lightning bolts to the face.
If you change your resolution to 720p it should work
mirror match are usually boring...but this is quite a nice match
if the baneslayer and hellkite both hit the table, i'd wanna see everyone's face when it's brought up that baneslayer has pro dragons.
Where is the final?
49:31 thundermaw doesnt target
it still can't damage the Baneslayer because protection means can't be damaged.
So weird to hear them say the full name of the deck instead of Jeskai, weird to think that the clan was never created before
back when we called this color combo USA
They're both playing control decks, not aggro so a turn 4 win wouldnt happen. American control happens to be a top tier deck, and the fact that shahar took his deck to the finals probably means he beat out even most of the best "fast" decks.
Only so many counters you can throw chunking up your hand with mana.
where's josh vs reid? anyone know?
Modern. They're using a bunch of standard lands, so i get the confusion.
doesn't path to exile get countered by Teferi's ability?
nvm, i realized what happeed already 😂
Yay. Spoilers. Great. Good job, dude.
But it deals damage?
Kthx.
I've played magic for some years and ... WTF is this game one. 8 land drops and no spells? Am I missing something?
Control mirrors usually work where the first player to tap out will get his spell countered, then his opponent can untap and play a spell for free (because his opponent tapped out first) so both players want to play enough lands to be able to play threats and play defence in the same turn to prevent being punished.
I was thinking the exact same thing bro.
this match up seems so stressful
49:30 for reference.
KING IN THE NORTH
34:43 : can someone please explain to me what's wrong with Portal (Second Age, btw) lands, already ?
Nothing, LSV just makes a sarcastic joke Bc Ben is known as veryyy rational and not attached to anything in mtg such as a certain set of lands. Back in the day I drafted with BenS and we’d say “Plains are forests and Forests are swamps” if we didn’t have enough of each without having to get up to go to the land box lol.
@@joe.5103 lol wouldn't it make more sense to just say plains r swamps? Cool story tho, I've certainly been in that situation before, took a box to someone's house to draft, forgot to bring extra lands and was left with what we drafted plus what I had in 2 other decks
@@willgary8792 in the situation , we had enough forests for the amount of swamps Ben needed but not enough for the amount of forests he wanted to play. We did have enough plains though lol. So 10 plains became 10 forests and 7 forests became 7 swamps. It’s the most extreme and stupid case of how lazy we were haha.
Lol. Those first 8-10 turns. LANDZ LANDZ LANDZ
Does anyone know if there were any affinity players in this tournament, and where they placed?
You're right... the winner of the world magic cup is terrible for picking such a bad deck.
What format is this? Standard?
Yup
@@yosephbailey8114 This is modern.
not working for me...
24:30 I got knocked out a qualifying tournament sorta like that, in draft. The card was touch of moonglow or some shit like that. It gave +2 +1 and some janky effect. It wasn't even really a playable but this kid had four in his deck, and four in his hand. I'm clearly ahead, one creature with death touch has to hit me, so I can stay ahead and the kid played four of those cards to kill me. I was shocked, it was hard not to be sour. I did congratulate him, but all the people watching the match were like " why is that in your deck ". Why are four in your deck? Its almost surprising he made it to the point in the tournament that he did with four of these in his deck, but they fucked me good.
It's always interesting when players think about how good it feels to win off an extremely narrow topdeck, but when your opponent pretty much had the game sealed up you take it from them is such a reverse feeling.
@@shorts_gaming oh god it truly is. Personally i dont like winning off a top deck, but its win. Its those games where you know your ahead, you're tasting victory, then it just gets ripped from you. Shit happens though
thundermaw doesn't target
EpicGame
Would be fun if really some new cards appear.. this way it's just annoying.
game 1 stark punted the game away he never even tried casting sphinx's rev or cast both in 2 turns n see if opponent had 2 counters
greg merrick Yeah except he's the pro player and you're not...
THE BOLTS
Baneslayer has pro dragons...
Quad-boltage!
0:13 lmfao
Why the fuck does stark have foils and non foils and especially foils single sleeved!?!?!?!?!
thundermaw doesnt beat angel
Ben Stark shuffles like my nan!!!
shahar is the same age as me and he is at worlds thats silly haha 0.o
lol first match 10 turns of mad patience HAHAHAH
I don’t understand how they play enter battlefield tapped lands unless you pay life and none of them lose life and the lands dont enter tapped!!!
End of turn fetch for a land so you can untap before you start your next turn.