Kings of Sarpadia (FE40 World Championships)

The 2025 FE40 World Championships went down this weekend, and I’d be remiss not to chronicle this one. Mike Klements and Craig Snook went all out for the second year running, stocking Shuffler’s Den with amazing FE swag and prizes. Fallen Empires as a set is super close to my heart, and getting to play in such a prestigious yet intimate event barely 30 minutes from my backyard is both appreciated and surreal. FE40 is a true labor of love for Mike and Craig; their passion for the glory of Icatia is unmatched—even by the Akron Legionnaires!

Event flyer

The host store, Shuffler’s Den, is a shining gem of beautiful Willoughby, Ohio. Initially consuming the lower walkout level of a house, Biagio recently expanded into the entire upstairs floor, providing ample gaming space for large tournaments, with individual table-filled rooms creating an ambiance that makes everyone feel at home. Biagio, of course, had his epic Old School binders on hand, and I was thrilled to help support the shop with a few game day purchases of my own. If you’re ever in the area, absolutely take the time to stop in and check out the Den!

Free swag on the left, Shuffler’s Den pickups on the right. Didn’t start the day planning on an SVC-sig shopping spree, but here we are.

While FE40 is the definition of a niche format, the balance between the colors/tribes and strategies of Sarpadia is pretty staggering once you remove Hymn to Tourach along with 50% of everyone’s Icatian Javelineers, Hands of Justice and Dwarven Catapults. Mike runs monthly events that often alter the pool in some way, allowing cards from other era-appropriate sets like Alliances and The Dark. The monthlies really deserve more of my attention, but with LML still kicking along, it’s hard for Legionnaire Magic not to be my top priority. First world problems for sure.

Last year’s stalwart attempt at immortal renown

Leading up to the event, my deck choice mostly seesawed between white and black. Last year I played W/r, leaning hard on low-cost Icatians while splashing for Dwarven Catapult, Brassclaw Orcs and Goblin War Drums, the latter of which I was convinced could put me over the top. The deck ran to a 3-1 finish, but I remember its mana consistency lacking at times and that I struggled against larger hoodlums like Derelor and Orgg. This year, I wanted the smoothness of a mono-color build, and playing out sample hands of a few different options, mono-black Orders + Thrulls felt a tier above everything else I tried, theorizing that Thrull Retainer and Armor Thrull could break “Order parity” against white, high-toughness creatures would make the deck resilient against Javelineers and Catapult, and Derelors buffed by Thrull Champions could muscle through just about anything else. Turns out every one these premises seemed to hit the mark, and I’m not a good enough Magic player that I get to say that often. :)

Sideboards are overrated. Also forgot that we could have one.

Round 1 vs. Jimbo (aka Jim Demko, aka @old_school_unlimited)

Something not always understood about random pairings is that when you attend a Swiss event with your buddy, you will necessarily get paired against each other in the first round. And so, a battle for FE40 Legionnaire supremacy it was, right from the start. I knew Jim was on mono-green, and also that Jim is a much stronger deck builder and player than he likes to let on. Moreover, Thallids are by far my favorite FE tribe, so there was legitimate fear that fungal karma alone could cost me this match. Game one by itself nearly took us to time, with Jim idling under his Elvish Farmer and Spore Flower canopy while bashing me with 2/3 Forests animated by Thelonite Druids that couldn’t be Aeolipiled fast enough. When finally I stabilized at 4 life, Jim threatened a live Aeolipile while my thrull army pummeled at his defenses. A turn or two away from me sealing the game, he drew the second ‘Pile. So much combat math! Elven Lyre and fog effects weren’t what I wanted to play against, but at least if Jim’s deck had Spore Cloud, he hadn’t drawn it yet…

A match for the ages. Or at least for over an hour.

Game two, the thrulls got hot and ended things quickly. Going into the day, I banked on my ability to throw power on the board faster than opposing decks could handle, and it worked out here. Game three was balanced with even early exchanges of resources. When turns were called, neither of us had time to eek out the victory, so our match appropriately ended in a draw. Three cheers for fellow Legionnaires!

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Round 2 vs Robert (Ohio Old School)

Robert was on black/red Thrulls-and-Dwarves which was a tantalizingly scary matchup on the heels of a first round draw. Robert, too, made heavy use of Thrull Retainer, and game one smoked me with multiple regenerating threats while I stalled on two lands. Disheartening for sure, but this was also why I settled on single-color, and game two I found my legs, going over the top with too-huge Derelors and other baddies. Game three I was temporarily stuck on two lands again, but this time recovered. Many Aeolipiles and Thrull Retainers were exchanged throughout, and I was ultimately able to present two 5-power attackers against Robert’s lone (regenerating) blocker while he teetered at 5 life. Well played Robert, this was absolutely a tough one!

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Round 3 vs. Fin

Fin is a new-to-Old-School MTG player who normally enjoys casual EDH with friends, and allegedly Mike handed her an FE40 deck minutes before the tournament—which she proceeded to pound face with for the first two rounds. The build was black/green Thallids/Thrulls which is basically the closest thing my soul has to a kindred spirit in Magic: The Gathering form. Game one we took slowly, and I tried to help explain cards and interactions as best I could en route to her annihilating me with three Thrull Champions that boasted hand-drawn alters by (I think?) Mike’s daughter.

Though I wasn’t specifically prepared for this deck, I did run three Thrull Champions of my own, feeling that any semi-mirror would effectively be a race to see who could land one first and start stealing the other’s thrulls. So it was that game two I managed to ramp Ebon Stronghold into a turn four-ish Champion and pressure the board sufficiently to claim the win. Game three, regrettably, Fin kept a one-land opener with a few early green plays but couldn’t draw mana quickly enough to keep up. Definitely a trap in formats like this where you feel like early efficiency might get you there but, in the end, it’s often hard for the likes of fungi or soldiers alone to be fast enough. Super fun match if anticlimactic finish. Thanks for the games, Fin!

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Finals vs. Herbie Wilson

End boss

Despite the early draw, I’d made the top 2 after Swiss and took my seat at the feature match table against Herb for all the marblesmushrooms. I win my first die roll of the afternoon and play second-turn Order of the Ebon Hand in response to first-turn Icatian Infantry. This was the match I wanted: Herb wouldn’t be able to both cast and sacrifice Aeolipile with only two mana, so I’d be able to untap, play Thrull Retainer, and eventually win the damage race.

Except Herb set down a Mountain and Catapulted my Order. Never assume you’ve got the opponent’s deck pegged after one land. :) Later, Herb told me how he’d hesitated to make the play, but it was absolutely the right one in that instance—no matter how much you want Dwarven Catapult to be a four-for-one or better every time, part of its strength is its versatility to wipe out an early threat, especially one with protection from one of your colors. We kept at it, and I eventually drew two(?!) more Orders and sealed the duel. Game two I kept a balanced hand with Aeolipiles and Basal Thrulls but no knight. I considered trying to mulligan for Order but ultimately felt my card quality was strong enough to take the match, and on the back of Derelor and Order of the Ebon Hand I was able to claim the crown!

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Amazing!

In closing, I just want to shoutout one more time to Mike, Craig, Biagio, Mitch (the artist who painted the set of five breathtaking FE basic land proxies), my gracious opponents and all the players who helped make this event possible. Mike doesn’t collect entry fees and everything provided on the day, from trophies to comics to prize cards to donuts, is provided at the organizers’ expense, purely for a love of the game and enjoying an afternoon of card-slinging with friends. I’m truly humbled and couldn’t be prouder to be your 2025 reigning world champion!

Bountiful swag. Endless good times.

Make no mistake: our organizers and hosts are the true kings of Sarpadia!