Luis Scott-Vargas
Scott-Vargas at Pro Tour San Diego 2010
NicknamesLSV
Born (1983-02-17) February 17, 1983 (age 41)
Oakland, California, U.S.
ResidenceDenver, Colorado, U.S.
NationalityUnited States United States
Pro Tour debut2004 Pro Tour San Diego
Winnings$337,980[1]
Pro Tour wins (Top 8)1 (10)[2]
Grand Prix wins (Top 8)5 (15)[3]
Lifetime Pro Points508[4]
Planeswalker Level50 (Archmage)

Luis Scott-Vargas (born February 17, 1983), commonly known as LSV, is a professional Magic: the Gathering player from Oakland, California, USA, currently living in Denver, Colorado. His accomplishments include fifteen Grand Prix Top 8s (five wins among them) and ten Pro Tour Top 8s (one win among them).[5][6] In 2013 he was inducted into the Magic: The Gathering Hall of Fame. As well as being a prominent player of the game, LSV is also known for writing about the game. He was a writer for StarCityGames.com before becoming the editor and vice president for ChannelFireball.com, a Magic: The Gathering shop and strategy website. LSV still writes for ChannelFireball but ended his tenure as editor in 2012 to work as a game designer at Dire Wolf Digital, specifically on Eternal, and in 2021 LSV joined Good Luck Games to work on Storybook Brawl.

Magic: The Gathering career

LSV first qualified for the Pro Tour in 2004 for Pro Tour San Diego and has been an active competitor in major Magic: the Gathering events since.

LSV's breakout performance came at the 2006 US Nationals, where he won a play-off to take third place and earn a place on the US Nationals team with Paul Cheon and Benjamin Lundquist.[7] The US Nationals team finished 13th in the team competition at the 2006 World Championship.

He went on to win US Nationals in 2007, leading a US Nationals team featuring Thomas Drake and Michael Bennett.[8] The US National team finished in 25th place at the 2007 World Championship. He also won Grand Prix San Francisco that season, his first Grand Prix title.

The 2008 season brought even greater success for LSV. He made the Top 8 of Grand Prix Philadelphia before going on to make his first Pro Tour Top 8 at Pro Tour Berlin.[9][10] LSV reached the finals of the Pro Tour where he defeated Matej Zatlkaj to win his first, and so far only, Pro Tour title. He continued his success by winning his second Grand Prix event at Grand Prix Atlanta. By the end of the year, LSV had amassed 58 Pro points, placing him in joint second place in the Player of the Year standings alongside Olivier Ruel.[11]

The 2009 season featured another strong set of results for LSV. He started the season by winning his third Grand Prix in as many years at Grand Prix Los Angeles. He then made his second career Pro Tour Top 8 at Pro Tour Kyoto. Once again, he reached the finals, but this time lost to Gabriel Nassif. He rounded out his year with another Grand Prix Top 8 at Grand Prix Seattle. He finished in seventh place for the 2009 Player of the Year standings with 52 Pro Points.[12]

The 2010 season was the first time since 2006 that LSV did not win a major event. However, he did make a Grand Prix and a Pro Tour Top 8 at Grand Prix Sydney and Pro Tour San Diego. LSV currently holds the record for the longest undefeated run at a Pro Tour after going 16-0 at Pro Tour San Diego, before losing in the semifinals to eventual winner Simon Görtzen.[13] For the second consecutive year, LSV placed seventh in the Player of the Year standings at the end of the season.

The 2011 season was a very successful one for LSV. He won Grand Prix Kansas City and advanced to the Top 8 of US Nationals, Pro Tour Nagoya and the 2011 World Championship. This was the first time that LSV made the Top 8 two Pro Tour events in a single season, and the first time he made Top 8 of a World Championship. LSV only needed to win his quarterfinal match against Richard Bland at the World Championship to overtake Owen Turtenwald and win the Player of the Year title. He lost 2-3 to Bland, leading to Owen Turtenwald winning the Player of the Year title and LSV taking second place.[14] Also in 2011, LSV was invited to take part in the third annual Magic Online Community Cup. The Community Cup is a special event held by Wizards of the Coast in which prominent members of the Magic Online community are invited to the Wizards of the Coast offices to play in a tournament against staff.[15] LSV was picked for the Community Cup for his contribution to the community through draft videos and his articles and work for ChannelFireball.com.[16] Ultimately, it was the Community Team that won the tournament defeating the Wizards Team and winning the Community Cup as well as a prize for the Magic Online community.[17]

From 2009–11, LSV was one of the most consistent players on the Pro Tour, with the highest median and average finish at Pro Tour events amongst high-ranked players.[18][19]

In the 2012 season, LSV made the Top 8 of Grand Prix Lincoln. His overall performance for the season also qualified him for the inaugural Magic Players Championship. LSV won a 2012 World Magic Cup Qualifier to earn a place on the United States national team, alongside national champion Brian Kibler, for the first World Magic Cup event.[20][21]

LSV first became eligible for the Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame in 2013. LSV lead the 2013 ballot, receiving 95.63% of the vote, and thus was the first inductee in the Class of 2013.[22] LSV was inducted into the Hall of Fame at Pro Tour Theros alongside Ben Stark and William Jensen.

After his 2011 Worlds top 8 finish LSV experienced a drought of high-caliber Pro Tour finishes although he made it to the top 8 of several Grand Prix in that period. Eventually LSV managed another Top 8 at Pro Tour Oath of the Gatewatch in 2016 alongside two of his ChannelFireball teammates. In what was LSV's sixth Pro Tour Top 8 he lost to eventual champion Jiachen Tao in the semi-finals, ultimately finishing in third place. LSV followed this up with a top 8 at the next Pro Tour for Shadows Over Innistrad, piloting a BG Aristocrats deck for the standard portion of the event. He lost his quarter final match 3-1 to Shouta Yasooka. The next Pro Tour, for Eldritch Moon, led to LSV's third Pro Tour top 8 in a row, a feat accomplished only twice before (by Scott Johns and Jon Finkel) and not for nearly 18 years.[23]

Despite LSV's great success in the 2015-16 season, he decided to move to primarily doing coverage for the following season instead of playing. However, Wizards of the Coast has allowed him to defer the platinum status he had earned, and he has stated he intends to play on the Pro Tour again at some point in the future.[24]

Play style

LSV is known to favor control decks in Limited, and often comments on his love for drawn out games involving mana-intensive cards.[25] In Constructed, Scott-Vargas has a preference for Combo and Control decks, but has been successful with a variety of different archetypes. When he won Pro Tour Berlin, he piloted an Elf tribal combo deck; he achieved his two Constructed Grand Prix wins with a blue-black control deck and a Storm combo deck; and his three most recent Pro Tour top eight finishes were all with aggressive decks, including a Naya (red-green-white) deck with which he went undefeated in the Swiss rounds of Pro Tour San Diego 2010, and an Eldrazi aggro deck in 2016.

Achievements

 Season   Event type   Location   Format   Date   Rank 
2006 Nationals Atlanta Special July 28–30, 2006 3
2007 Nationals Baltimore Special July 26–29, 2007 1
2007 Grand Prix San Francisco Block Constructed August 25–26, 2007 1
2008 Grand Prix Philadelphia Extended March 15–16, 2008 3
2008 Pro Tour Berlin Extended October 31–November 2, 2008 1
2008 Grand Prix Atlanta Limited November 15–16, 2008 1
2009 Grand Prix Los Angeles Extended January 17–18, 2009 1
2009 Pro Tour Kyoto Standard and Booster Draft February 27–March 1, 2009 2
2009 Grand Prix Seattle/Tacoma Standard May 30–31, 2009 5
2010 Pro Tour San Diego Standard and Booster Draft February 19–21, 2010 3
2010 Grand Prix Sydney Sealed and Booster Draft October 9–10, 2010 2
2011 Pro Tour Nagoya Block Constructed and Booster Draft June 10–12, 2011 7
2011 Grand Prix Kansas City, Missouri Sealed and Booster Draft June 18–19, 2011 1
2011 Nationals Indianapolis Standard and Booster Draft August 5–7, 2011 5
2011 Worlds San Francisco Special November 17–20, 2011 6
2012 Grand Prix Lincoln, Nebraska Modern February 18–19, 2012 3
2012–13 Grand Prix Philadelphia Sealed and Booster Draft October 27–28, 2012 7
2012–13 Grand Prix Indianapolis Sealed and Booster Draft December 22–23, 2012 3
2013–14 Grand Prix Richmond Modern March 8–9, 2014 8
2014–15 Grand Prix Portland Team Limited August 9–10, 2014 4
2014–15 Grand Prix San Jose Team Limited January 31–February 1, 2015 1
2014–15 Grand Prix Atlantic City Sealed and Booster Draft May 9–10, 2015 6
2015–16 Grand Prix Detroit Team Limited August 15–16, 2015 2
2015–16 Pro Tour Atlanta Modern and Booster Draft February 5–7, 2016 3
2015–16 Pro Tour Madrid Standard and Booster Draft April 22–24, 2016 7
2015–16 Pro Tour Sydney Standard and Booster Draft August 5–7, 2016 4
2018–19 Pro Tour Atlanta Standard and Booster Draft November 9–11, 2018 2
2018–19 Pro Tour Cleveland Standard and Booster Draft February 22–24, 2019 4
2018–19 Grand Prix Denver Standard July 20–21, 2019 1

Last updated: August 7, 2016
Source: Event Coverage at Wizards.com

Team ChannelFireball

Team ChannelFireball is a team of professional Magic: The Gathering players, formed in 2010.[26] The team is named after two Magic: the Gathering cards – Channel and Fireball, one of the most famous two-card combos from the early days of the game. Many of the members of the team write strategy articles for an eponymous website. LSV is considered to be the official leader of the team, as he is often responsible for organising the team meeting and practicing for events.[25][26]

Current and former Team Members[25][26]
Pro Tour Achievements

Team ChannelFireball has had considerable success on the Pro Tour, putting at least one player in the Top 8 of every Pro Tour from Pro Tour San Diego 2010 to Pro Tour Dragon's Maze 2013, with the exception of Pro Tour Avacyn Restored. Eight of the sixteen players participating in the inaugural 2012 Magic Players Championship were members of Team ChannelFireball. Three members of Team ChannelFireball have won Player of the Year titles since the creation of the team: Brad Nelson (2010), though he left the team prior to winning the title; Owen Turtenwald (2011); and Josh Utter-Leyton (2013).

Year Pro Tour Members in Top 8 (players in bold won)
2010 San Diego Luis Scott-Vargas
2010 San Juan Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Josh Utter-Leyton, Brad Nelson
2010 Amsterdam Brad Nelson, Brian Kibler
2010 Worlds Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Eric Froehlich
2011 Paris Ben Stark
2011 Nagoya Luis Scott-Vargas
2011 Philadelphia Josh Utter-Leyton
2011 Worlds Conley Woods, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Luis Scott-Vargas, Josh Utter-Leyton
2012 Dark Ascension Brian Kibler, Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa, Lukas Blohon
2012–13 Return to Ravnica David Ochoa
2012–13 Gatecrash Ben Stark, Gerry Thompson, Eric Froehlich[27]
2012–13 Dragon's Maze Josh Utter-Leyton
2013–14 Journey into Nyx Josh Utter-Leyton
2013–14 Magic 2015 Patrick Cox
2014–15 Fate Reforged Eric Froehlich
2014–15 Oath of the Gatewatch Ivan Floch, Luis Scott-Vargas, Shuhei Nakamura
2018–19 Guilds of Ravnica

Other Magic-related work

From 2006 to 2009, LSV wrote strategy articles for StarCityGames.com and AdventuresOn.com (now BlackBorder.com). In early 2009, he left both to help launch ChannelFireball.com. Among his work for the site, he's been known for his draft videos and set reviews as well as the Magic TV show. Since 2013, LSV has also been doing commentary at Pro Tours, in addition to the occasional Grand Prix. In 2015, LSV joined Marshall Sutcliffe as a cohost of the Limited Resources podcast,[28] a popular podcast that focuses on the Sealed and Draft aspects of Magic.

Personal life

LSV was born in Oakland, California to his parents Claudio and Penny. He has two brothers, Antonio and Miguel. He graduated from UC Davis in 2005.

In May 2012, LSV announced that he would be moving to Denver, having acquired a job as a game designer there.[29]

On June 29, 2016, LSV and his then wife Geneva Sarcedo's first child was born. They named her Naya Scott Vargas Sarcedo,[30] after the Magic nickname for the color combination of red, green, and white.

On October 11, 2021, Gaby Spartz gave birth to LSV's son and second child, Santi.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Top 200 All-Time Money Leaders". Wizards of the Coast. February 13, 2017. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  2. ^ "Lifetime Pro Tour Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. February 13, 2017. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  3. ^ "Lifetime Grand Prix Top 8s". Wizards of the Coast. April 10, 2017. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  4. ^ "Planeswalker Points". Wizards of the Coast. April 17, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2017.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Back to Back for LSV". November 15, 2008. Archived from the original on May 11, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. ^ "LSV + ELVES Equals Champion!". October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on August 9, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  7. ^ "Cheon Conquers All at U.S. Nationals". Wizards of the Coast. July 30, 2006. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  8. ^ "All Hail Scott-Vargas the Omnipotent!". Wizards of the Coast. July 29, 2007. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
  9. ^ Scott-Vargas, Luis (November 7, 2008). "Feature Article – Pro Tour: Berlin Tournament Report, Part 1 *Winner*". StarCityGames.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  10. ^ Scott-Vargas, Luis (October 11, 2008). "Feature Article – Pro Tour: Berlin Tournament Report, Part 2 *Winner*". StarCityGames.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  11. ^ "2008 Pro Tour Player of the Year". Wizards of the Coast. December 22, 2011. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  12. ^ "2009 Pro Tour Player of the Year Standings". June 17, 2009. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  13. ^ "Görtzen Goes All the Way in San Diego". Wizards of the Coast. February 21, 2010. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  14. ^ "2011 Pro Tour Player of the Year Standings". Wizards of the Coast. November 23, 2011. Archived from the original on December 20, 2011. Retrieved December 1, 2011.
  15. ^ "Magic Online Community Cup 2011". Wizards of the Coast. April 26, 2011. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  16. ^ Ashley, Monty (May 24, 2011). "2011 Community Cup: The Community Team". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  17. ^ "Community Team Makes it Three in a Row". Wizards of the Coast. June 17, 2011. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  18. ^ David-Marshall, Brian (September 2, 2011). "Phantasy Drafting". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on November 14, 2011. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  19. ^ Mascioli, Chris (August 24, 2011). "Magicalmetrics – Pro Tour Statistics, 2009–2011". StarCityGames.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  20. ^ Scott-Vargas, Luis (June 10, 2012). "WMCQ Interview with Winner Luis Scott-Vargas". ChannelFireball.com. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved June 12, 2012.
  21. ^ Scott-Vargas, Luis (June 14, 2012). "Luck, Skill, Victory – WMCQ Report". ChannelFireball.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  22. ^ "Magic Pro Tour Hall of Fame 2013 Voting Results". Wizards of the Coast. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  23. ^ Walkinshaw, Ray (August 6, 2016). "LS3". Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  24. ^ Scott-Vargas, Luis (September 4, 2016). "Entering the Coverage Bracket". ChannelFireball.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  25. ^ a b c "Team CFB". ChannelFireball.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  26. ^ a b c Vitor Damo da Rosa, Paulo (January 4, 2012). "PV's Playhouse – Team ChannelFireball". ChannelFireball.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  27. ^ Cooperfauss, Andrew. "Tom Martell Wins #PTGTC". ChannelFireball.com. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
  28. ^ "New LR Host and Sponsorship FAQ". lrcast.com. January 6, 2015. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
  29. ^ "Magic TV: Show #125 – Cubing at the Players Championship". ChannelFireball.com. May 2, 2012. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  30. ^ "The June 30, 2016 Update | MAGIC: THE GATHERING". Archived from the original on October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  31. ^ @lsv (October 12, 2021). "I know I said I was going to stream last weekend, but baby Santi had other plans for us. He showed up early and we are all overjoyed to meet him!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
Preceded byPaul Cheon Magic US National Champion 2007 Succeeded byMichael Jacob

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