MTG Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven: Nathan Steuer Wins Second Title in Five-Game Las Vegas Thriller

Nathan Steuer is a two-time Pro Tour champion. The former World Champion claimed his second title at Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven on Sunday, defeating Christoffer Larsen 3-2 in a five-game final at MagicCon: Las Vegas in front of 25,000 attendees.

The win denied Larsen what would have been the first back-to-back individual Pro Tour title in the game's 30-plus year history. Kai Budde came closest with consecutive wins in 2001, but one of those was a Team Limited event. Larsen, the defending Pro Tour champion, came agonisingly close to doing what even the German Juggernaut never quite managed. As reported by Corbin Hosler at Magic.gg, it was a match that had Magic history sitting at the table with both players.

Five Games of Landfall

Earthbender Ascension Erode

Both players were running Landfall-based green decks centred on Earthbender Ascension, Badgermole Cub, and Mightform Harmonizer. The Landfall mirror came down to sequencing, threat assessment, and the knowledge that your opponent always has Erode.

Steuer took Game 1 by holding his Erode through a turn that looked lethal for him, surviving on a thin life total before ripping Mightform Harmonizer off the top to swing the board. Larsen evened things in Game 2 with the same trick in reverse, stealing a game Steuer looked to have won. Two games, two massive Erode bluffs.

In an unusual moment of sportsmanship, Steuer and Larsen, close friends and teammates, chose to sideboard face-up and discuss their plans openly for Games 3 through 5. The Pro Tour crowd watched along.

Sheltered by Ghosts Snakeskin Veil

Larsen edged ahead in Game 3 on the strength of a sideboard Sheltered by Ghosts making his Badgermole Cub unblockable. One game from history. Steuer answered in Game 4 with a Snakeskin Veil protecting his creature at the critical moment, sending the match to a deciding fifth game.

Both players mulliganed to five cards in Game 5. Larsen's Sheltered by Ghosts consumed Steuer's Sazh's Chocobo and swung the life totals to 22-10. With Steuer down to his last few cards and facing a board that looked insurmountable, Larsen drew a Forest and could not find a line to close the game. Steuer untapped, built a lethal board with Icetill Explorer and Mightform Harmonizer, and Larsen extended his hand.

What This Means

Steuer had taken a step back from competitive Magic after a remarkable two-year run that ended with the Pro Tour March of the Machine title. Returning to take a second championship, with a sixth career Top Finish, is a statement. He has quietly re-established himself as one of the best players in the game.

Larsen's achievement should not be diminished. Making back-to-back Pro Tour finals is extraordinary, and the record he was chasing remains unbroken. That script may be revisited in future events.