SEA Championship Philippine Invitational: Kevin Motus and Jerome Francisco Share the Crown

Date: July 19, 2024

Tournament: SEA Championship Philippine Invitational

Rank: Co-Champions

Decks: Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth (Kevin Motus) and Rakdos Scam (Jerome Francisco)

Contemporary Nook is thrilled to announce that Kevin Motus and Jerome Francisco have emerged as co-champions at the SEA Championship Philippine Invitational. Both players showcased exceptional skill and strategic prowess with their respective decks, securing top honors in this highly competitive event. In this article, we cover Kevin Motus' win, as he has mastered and won using this deck with high consistency even during the last season's Modern League, where he was a runner-up. Here’s a detailed look at Kevin Motus’s journey with Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth.

Primer:

Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth is a powerful combo-control deck in Magic: The Gathering’s Modern format, centered around Yawgmoth, Thran Physician. The deck uses Birthing Ritual to tutor for key creatures, setting up combos with undying creatures like Young Wolf and Strangleroot Geist, which Yawgmoth can sacrifice repeatedly to draw cards and drain life. Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons generates deathtouch tokens, and Marionette Master serves as a finisher by draining the opponent's life. The deck's strategy involves controlling the board early with removal spells like Fatal Push, assembling combo pieces mid-game using Birthing Ritual, and executing game-winning loops with Yawgmoth’s abilities. With additional support from cards like Necromentia, Force of Vigor, and Haywire Mite, the deck adapts to various matchups, making it a resilient and formidable choice in the Modern meta.

Tournament Report: Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth by Kevin Motus

Round 1: Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth vs. UB Murktide (2-0)

Game 1: An early Birthing Ritual on turn 2 allowed Kevin to fetch his combo pieces. The Yawgmoth + Hapatra combo, bolstered by Marionette, enabled him to simultaneously kill his opponent's large Murktide and drain their life every time he sacrificed a snake from Hapatra's ability, leading to an early concession.

Game 2: Sideboarded Fatal Pushes dismantled his opponent's early threats, such as the Psychic Frog. A timely Birthing Ritual revealed through an end-of-turn surveil land on turn 4 started the creature-fetching engine, which overwhelmed his opponent with relentless pressure.

Round 2: Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth vs. 4C Omnath (2-0)

The one-off Haywire Mite in Kevin's mainboard was the MVP, efficiently dealing with his opponent's early The One Ring in both games. With Birthing Ritual providing consistent access to Yawgmoth, Kevin systematically neutralized Omnath before it could generate value, securing another clean 2-0 victory.

Round 3: Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth vs. Bant Nadu (2-1)

Game 1: Despite a solid opening hand, Kevin's deck lacked the necessary tools to counter Nadu, and Yawgmoth’s mana cost prevented an early drop to halt Nadu’s momentum.

Game 2: A pivotal moment occurred when Kevin cast Force of Vigor on his opponent's Urza's Saga, nullifying their mana sources and causing a Summoner's Pact failure, resulting in a concession.

Game 3: Kevin's turn 2 Necromentia naming Nadu effectively sealed the game. With no green mana for Veil of Summer and all copies of Nadu exiled, Kevin could grind out a hard-fought victory.

Round 4: Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth vs. Domain Zoo (2-0)

Game 1: Kevin's opening hand featured a potent combo kill, allowing him to execute the double undyer + Marionette drain combo early, leaving his opponent without answers.

Game 2: In a closely contested game, Kevin's Chthonian Nightmare + Accursed Marauder combo forced his opponent to sacrifice all threats. Despite a valiant effort from his opponent, including Leyline Bindings and Surgical Extraction, Kevin’s Birthing Ritual eventually found a Reclamation Sage to unlock Nightmare from Binding, leading to a decisive swing for lethal.

Round 5: Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth vs. BR Scam (ID)

In the final round, Kevin intentionally drew (ID) with Jerome Francisco, securing their co-champion status.

Tough or Difficult Matchups:

The Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth deck faces several tough matchups in the Modern meta. Against UB Murktide, the challenges stem from Murktide's ability to generate large threats and maintain card advantage with counterspells, making it difficult to assemble and protect key pieces like Yawgmoth and Hapatra. Similarly, 4C Omnath presents difficulties due to its life gain and card advantage through landfall, which can outpace Yawgmoth's setup. The versatility and multiple threats in Omnath make it hard to control, necessitating early removal and efficient tutoring. Bant Nadu is another challenging matchup because of its explosive plays and quick combo potential, along with counterspells and protective spells like Veil of Summer that can disrupt Yawgmoth’s combos. The key to overcoming these matchups is to disrupt their combo pieces early with cards like Necromentia and Force of Vigor, while utilizing targeted removal and efficient tutoring.

Domain Zoo and BR Scam also pose significant threats to the Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth deck. Domain Zoo's aggressive strategy and wide board presence can quickly put Yawgmoth on the defensive, with multiple early threats that can overwhelm its defenses. Efficient removal and value generation from combo pieces are essential to stabilize the board before executing a win. BR Scam, with its disruptive elements like Ragavan and discard spells, hinders Yawgmoth's ability to assemble combos and can swiftly close out games with aggressive threats and removal. Early interaction and removal are crucial to slow down BR Scam's aggression, while prioritizing the assembly and protection of combo pieces with cards like Orim's Chant.

Final Standings:

1st - Kevin Motus (Birthing Ritual Yawgmoth)

1st - Jerome Francisco (Rakdos Scam)

3rd - Michael Cabrerabanter (Bant Nadu)

4th - Francis De Guzman (Eldrazi Agro)

5th - Ronald Pates (RG Eldrazi)

6th - Jonathan Vidal (Ruby Storm)

7th - Denis Bueno (UR Murktide)

8th - Jeff Dolor (UB Mill)

Acknowledgments

We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Kevin Motus and Jerome Francisco for their outstanding performances and to all participants for making the SEA Championship Philippine Invitational a remarkable event. This qualifier sets the stage for Ludus' SEA Championship Philippine Invitational on August 3, 2024, at SMX Music Hall, where the winner will earn an invite to the SEA Regional Championship Q1 2025.

Contemporary Nook is dedicated to providing a premier venue for Magic: The Gathering enthusiasts. Join us for future events and experience the camaraderie and competition that define our community.