2026 Grand Contest Washington D.C. Tournament Report

SCGCon Washington, D.C., hosted the first-ever Grand Contest. I was privileged to take part in this historic event.

I’ll save the details of the drive down, but let me say America really needs to invest in its national rail infrastructure. Thankfully, I was picked up by a few other Sorcerers affected by a railroad fire that delayed the trains for four hours. The drive down was a delight. Thanks to Sigg0 and John T. for organizing that at the last second.

We got to D.C. in time for some food and a few games before retiring for the next day's tournament.

The Grand Contest started at 1 p.m. As a Magic: The Gathering grinder, this is a blessing and a curse. It's nice to sleep in, work out those early-day jitters, get a solid breakfast, and not rush around like a maniac. I prefer to be early to an event, while Phil thinks it’s acceptable to walk in as they announce round one may begin. I’m not comfortable being late to anything, especially when I have to compete. It’s additional stress I do not want on the day of an event.

We woke up around 9:30 a.m., enjoyed a nice Hampton Inn continental breakfast, and arrived at the venue with a couple of hours before the event began. 1 p.m. is late in the day for a seven-round tournament that cuts to Top 8. At best, the Top 8 starts at 8 p.m., but rounds never finish exactly on time.

Turns out the Top 8 was scheduled for Sunday. Personally, I am not a fan of extending an event to a second day when we could start earlier, but logistics may not have allowed it. I’m not a tournament organizer, nor is it a job I'd want. I’ll leave it to more qualified folks to hash that out. I want to head home the day after the event.

It didn't matter this time, as I didn't reach the Top 8, though I came pretty close, losing my win-or-in final round to finish 4-3 to rank 19th overall. I’ll quickly break down my matches, identify what I learned, what changes I would make, and my current outlook on Enchantress.

Round 1 | John — Necromancer

This is my own personal nightmare. I hate starting the tournament against someone I traveled down with. The fact that he’s a level 3 judge and a killer in the game doesn’t help. The previous night we played, John just Shapeshifted a Dormant Monstrosity right onto my head. So I was more than aware I’d need to deal with his Skeletons proactively to have any hope.

I mulliganed to a Magic Missiles, which was effective, but an early Lugbog Cat to my Avatar was an issue. I dealt with it at great cost, and a Gnarled Wendigo became my next issue.

Fey Changeling bought time. I finally turned the corner when I hit Death’s Door. I got John to one life, but that's not enough to win.

It was a really tight game, and so many of John’s threats outclassed mine due to three versus four-damage output. I need to lean into my Thin Ice/Coy Nixie/Abaddon Succubus package to reach threat parity. Hell of a game.

Round 2 | Jeffery — Geomancer

I didn’t have a single easy match the entire day. Jeffery was on Geomancer, so I expected Villages, tokens, and earth shenanigans. I got more than expected.

I pivoted to the aggressor after jockeying for card economy. Life gained from Abaddon Succubus and a well-timed Wrath of the Sea let me turn the corner. Then, Jeffery dropped Roots of Yggdrasil into the Realm.

I had Abundance in my back row, so I took my turn with 10 mana, but I worried that he had the follow-up to destroy everything. Looking at my hand and realizing that if he had it, I would never cast my Lord of Lies.

I cast the demon and floated it closer with my Wuthering Heights before attacking for five with Abundance. The next turn, he whiffed on Sinkhole.

I took him to Death’s Door before Roots of Yggdrasil was destroyed. I had two sites in hand and closed with Enchantress well. On the second turn post-Roots of Yggdrasil destruction, I cast Shrine of the Dragonlord, which I'd sandbagged. The turn after, I cast Fey Changeling and move my Avatar adjacent to Geomancer.

Jeffery had to play two minions or move and deploy a minion with only two mana. What a slog! Great match, but it was mentally exhausting.

Round 3 | Evan — Savior

Evan revealed Savior, and I knew my ONLY chance would be Murder of Crows| out of a {Toolbox with a lot of mana to keep him honest.

My Angels Eggs, Abaddon Succubus, and Orm Infestors kept me in the game. My life total ticked from 12-10 over several turns as I got a foothold on the board.

A Border Militia was taken out by a well-timed Wrath of the Sea, and then a Guards was ambushed by Murder of Crows. My Death Dealer cleared another Border Militia.

Eventually, Evan was out of cards, and I finished him off. It was another 10-yard fight; not an easy match.

Round 4 | Ryan — Savior

I almost passed out when Ryan flipped over his Avatar. Savior? AGAIN? I was heartened to have prevailed against it moments ago. I was hungry, and these matches were not going quickly.

Ryan had me on the ropes early with an Aino and a Warded Petrosian Cavalry. I converted a Silence to remove one of his submerge minions, and Mesmerismed Aino, which was kept on my side of the Realm when he realized 1.5 damage per turn wouldn't cut it.

I attacked with Thunderstorm to convert seven or so damage per turn. Once I got him to Death's Door, there was inevitability with Aino and Wildfire in hand. Sphere of Animosity prevented him from defending or moving, so the game was mine.

This match was only slightly easier than the previous one because Ryan’s deck let me convert Silences into removal.

Round 5 | Dave — </strong>PathfinderPathfinder

When I think of Pathfinder, I think fast fire aggro. I prepared for that and got ranched by a resilient fire midrange deck. The fatal mistake was failing to develop my board and instead moving toward the other side of the Realm.

I took 12 damage from a Cherubim that I could not kill or get out of range of. At five mana, I drew Wrath of the Sea, Death Dealer, and Green Knight, and couldn’t proc my Wildfire.

I played myself because had I stayed on my side of the board and played it safer, I’d have had the mana to cast all of those spells. I would have converted some real value. Instead, my deck rebelled, and I didn’t put myself into a position to stay in the game. Shame on me.

Round 6 | Trevor — Necromancer

Oh boy, Necromancer again. Trevor's build didn’t seem to have, or at least I didn’t see, Shapeshift. The early game was a bit rocky, and Trevor got me fast with a Ruler of Thul and Skeleton for five damage.

I was fortunate to cast Atlantean Fate to clear those problems. Wildfire cleared the way and caused some damage. Silence and Acid Rain converted some value, and I kept my Wildfire churning for damage.

I was running out of steam, so I attacked my opponents' sites with an Orm Infester, my Avatar, and Wildfire to have them knock on Death’s Door. I stumbled with Scatter when I should have waited to make the kill inevitable.

At Death’s Door, Trevor stabilized. A Skeleton and a Sacred Stag were at the site with my Orm Infestor submerged and my Avatar. Fortunately, I drew Poison Nova to remove the Skeleton for the killing blow.

Round 7 | Joey G — Enchantress

I was exhausted. But this was it! X-2 into round seven. My Opp Win % was high!

I had a chance at Top 8 and certainly Top 12. Joey sat down and said, “This is awkward,” and flipped over his Enchantress. This was my worst-case scenario. I have no idea yet how to play the mirror. My play group is small, but no one else has been interested in playing Enchantress.

I played pretty loosely and, as a result, there’s not much to report. Joey knew what he was doing, and I played into his plan every time. I really dug his build, which included Monstrous Lion, Torshammer Trinkets, Majuz Ifrits, and Quarrelsome Kobolds. I need to see the list because it was powerful.

The game was a rout. At one point, Joey had six cards in hand to my one. He wasn’t drawing extra cards. I just played into his every move. I got crushed and was out of the tournament. But I was live til the end!

Post Swiss Thoughts

I was on the draw for all but one of my matches. That did not feel great. I lost many dice rolls. But the extra cards offered additional opinionality, which was useful. Being a turn behind on mana and development felt bad, though. I was never threshold screwed, so my Atlas is solid.

There were, however, some cards that were just not stonks.

Enchantress Changes

Out

Grandmaster Wizard

I never really saw my Grandmaster Wizards, and, to be honest, I didn’t miss them. I’ve said before that Enchantress is a value deck, not a velocity deck.

Enchantress gains multiple cards' worth of value by producing waaaay more damage output. Maybe Garden of Eden is an option in the Atlas.

Mariner’s Curse

I’m not that deck. To be a Mariner's Curse deck, it would require more Riptides, and I’m not committing to that plan. I can get better value from cards that I’ve been trying to make room for for a while. Mariner’s Curse was either a 3-power do-nothing or an easily telegraphed trap that opponents patiently avoided.

In

Torshammer Trinket

Proc'ing my auras with an additional power is enticing. Getting lower to the ground is a big deal. Torshammer Trinket lets Fey Changeling eat Foot Soldiers and Skeletons. Overall, it seems like a great upgrade to the deck.

Whirling Blades

Guys, it's 2026! I’ll start playing Whirling Blades in my Enchantress deck! What really needs to be said here, beyond “duh?!” The damage output from a Whirling Blades, not to mention the board control, is undeniable. CJ said it best: this is a Mythic Exceptional — Unique-level power, and you can play up to three copies! I’ll start with two.

Final Thoughts

It was an absolute blast seeing everyone. Thank you to those who came up and said hello, or recognized me from the show, told me you watch, etc. To everyone who walked up and said, “Love the suit,” thank you. All of that means a lot.

I’m extremely hype to take my next iteration of this deck for a spin! You can join Phil and me at Excalibur Events in Pittsburgh in July and get a discount with the code “Zac” or "Phil" to contest the Realm with us in those big $2K events. I hope to see you there.