With the excitement from 【Pro Tour: Eldritch Moon】 still fresh in mind.

A gathering of top players from across the world, clearing the path to a brand new meta game, we look forward to the 2016-2017 season!

Today at the dawn of a new season, these 4 brilliant top players will join the Hareruya Pros.


Lukas Blohon

Martin Muller

Oliver-Polak Rottmann

Pierre Dagen


Each one of them a top representative for their country on the international stage of magic, find out more about these 4 players in the following interviews.

Interview with Lukas Blohon

He’s represented the Czech Republic on the international magic stage for a long time. Always devoted to his goal of becoming a better magic player, as remarked on by fellow Czech pro Petr Sochurek few people work as hard as Blohon at improving their game.

Achievements include a PT: Dark Ascension Top 8, GP Brussels 2015 Champion, 6 GP Top 8’s & just recently he was the PT: Eldritch Moon Champion. Now he joins the Hareruya Pros to continue making his mark on magic history.

■ Introduction

Lukas Blohon
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Could you tell us about how you got into magic, and what impact magic has had on your life so far?

Lukas Blohon: I first got introduced to Magic when my mom bought me a starter pack of Portal and I started playing right away with my neighbor. Then there was this boom of Magic in our school, where everyone was playing, but after some time I was one of the few people who didn’t stop.

Lukas Blohon: Since then I have pretty much been hooked for these last 15 years. Starting as an innocent game for a few afternoons when I was a kid (or at least that’s what my mom thought when she bought me that starter), continued as a hobby that I spent all my free time on and now it’s become my profession.

Stanislav Cifka
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Could you tell us about your magic community, and in short about some of the pro players that you respect and interact with?

Lukas Blohon: We have pretty good community in the Czech Republic, with lot of talented players that mostly prepare for events together.

Ivan Floch
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Lukas Blohon: Last few years we’ve mostly prepared for Pro Tours and other big events together, with a few extra Czechs who won a PTQ or some other pros from Europe. Martin Juza, Petr Sochurek, Ivan Floch, Ondrej Strasky, Stanislav Cifka just to name the most successful ones who’s had Platinum during their careers.

■ What kind of player are you?

Lukas Blohon
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Which format Is your speciality, and the reasons for why it is?

Lukas Blohon: If there would be one format to choose as my favorite, I would say standard. It and limited are formats I spend the most time on, because it is the format of PTs and most GPs.

Lukas Blohon: During the last few years I really liked standard because games are usually very interactive and rewarding if you prepare for the event and attack the metagame from specific angle, or have practiced a lot with your deck if there’s only a few choice tier 1 decks way better than everything else.

Lukas Blohon
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Do you have any favorite cards or decks you could share with us?

Lukas Blohon: Just to name few cards that I really like right now and that make standard enjoyable for me – Tireless Tracker, Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet & Dragonlord Silumgar.

■ The history you intend to write as a member of the Hareruya Pros

Lukas Blohon
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: What got you interested in joining the Hareruya Pros?

Lukas Blohon: I was interested in being part of a team that I could start writing articles for and Hareruya setting up its Europe team was a great opportunity for me. It was definitely perfect timing.

Q: What goals do you have as a magic player going forward?

Lukas Blohon: Going forward, I would like to qualify for the World Championship at least once and get more PT Top8’s, possibly even get in the Hall of Fame, but that is more of a dream.

※This interview was taken before 【Pro Tour: Eldritch Moon】

Blohon got crowned with his teammates.
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】

Interview with Martin Muller

He is one of the youngest pro players of the current era, and stands at the top of Danish magic.

His first Pro Tour appearance was at PT: Born of the Gods in 2014, at just 17 years old while also clinching the Danish World Magic Cup captaincy that year and proceeding to lead the Danish team to a first place at the World Magic Cup, leaving a powerful first impression on the magic community.

Achievements include a Top 8 at PT: Battle for Zendikar and 5th place at the 2015 World Championship, definitely a player to take note of from here on out.

■ Introduction

Martin Muller
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Could you tell us about how you got into magic, and what impact magic has had on your life so far?

Martin Muller: I have been playing Magic a little more than six years. I started the classic way, I went to the local Magic store together with a friend from school when I was 12 years old, and it was at the prerelease of Scars of Mirrodin.

Martin Muller: It was at Fanatic in Roskilde, Denmark which is very good at creating a friendly Magic environment and good at hosting tournaments for players under 18 every Friday night before FNM.

Martin Muller: Magic has been the most impactful thing in my life so far. It has made it possible for me to travel all around the world and has had a big part in defining who I am now.

Muller with “Team EUreka”
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Could you tell us about your magic community, and in short about some of the pro players that you respect and interact with?

Martin Muller: I will probably call team Eureka my Magic community right now. I interact with everyone on the team and they are all players worthy of looking up too.

■ What kind of player are you?

Martin Muller
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Which format Is your speciality, and the reasons for why it is?

Martin Muller: I do not have a specialty I just practice different formats depending on what tournament is coming up.


Q: Up to this point, what has been the most memorable moment in a game of magic for you?

Martin Muller: Making the top 8 in 【PT Battle for Zendikar】.

Q: Do you have any favorite cards or decks you could share with us?

Martin Muller: My favorite card is Birthing Pod. I do not have a favorite deck.

■ The history you intend to write as a member of the Hareruya Pros

Matej Zatlkaj
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: What got you interested in joining the Hareruya Pros?

Martin Muller: I got informed by Matej Zatlkaj that Hareruya was looking to sponsor players from Europe and I knew they got those awesome sleeves.

Q: What type of activity will you be actively participating as part of the Hareruya Pros?

Martin Muller: This year I will be playing in the World Magic Cup with some great & dependable teammates and I’m looking to win it again. I will also be playing tournaments in Hareruya uniform and I will be making videos and write articles for them.

Q: What goals do you have as a magic player going forward?

Martin Muller: My biggest goal is to win a Pro Tour or the World Championships.

Muller already got the team title. Next he takes aim at the individual title.
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】

Interview with Oliver Polak-Rottmann

A powerhouse player who was the Champion of GP Utrecht 2014 with Mono-Blue Devotion and another 4 GP Top 8’s to his name and countless Pro Tour appearances.

Always on the forefront of reading the Standard metagame of any given season, he continues to travel and find success at events all over the world.

■ Introduction

Oliver Polak-Rottmann
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Could you tell us about how you got into magic, and what impact magic has had on your life so far?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann: My parents bought fourth edition pre constructed Decks and as a small boy I really liked the pictures and I never quit playing after that. I was playing professionally before but stopped that for a while to finish my studies and now I am back to face the competition and do battle with the greats of the game.

Masashi Oiso
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Could you tell us about your magic community, and in short about some of the pro players that you respect and interact with?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann: I am from Vienna and we have a strong community there with a lot of players with PT and GP Top8’s which I learned a lot from and now they ask me for information which is a great honor. I am a part of Team Eureka, so the players there are the ones I interact with the most on a professional basis but there are also big names that I used to look up to like Jon Finkel, Kai Budde or Masashi Oiso.

■ What kind of player are you?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Which format Is your speciality, and the reasons for why it is?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann: I always liked Standard the most as it evolves so quickly and therefore never gets boring. Besides that I used to love Rochester Team Drafts.


Q: Up to this point, what has been the most memorable moment in a game of magic for you?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann: The most memorable moment in my career was my win at Austrian Nationals in 2008, but my win at 【GP Utrecht】 came very close.

Q: Do you have any favorite cards or decks you could share with us?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann: Oona, Queen of the Fae and Master of Waves.

■ The history you intend to write as a member of the Hareruya Pros

Oliver Polak-Rottmann
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: What got you interested in joining the Hareruya Pros?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann: I knew Saito for a long time as we used to trade and Team Draft and I like supporting a strong brand.


Q: What type of activity will you be actively participating as part of the Hareruya Pros?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann: I’ll be playing in a bunch of GP’s and PT’s since I’m aiming for platinum again next year. Since I joined Hareruya Pros I’d also like to use the opportunity to play in more Japanese GP’s. Other than that I will be writing articles and wearing the uniform I suppose?


Q: What goals do you have as a magic player going forward?

Oliver Polak-Rottmann: Reaching Platinum and getting the Austrian captaincy this year. Then stay on the train as long as possible, travel the world and try to play more events in Asia.

※This interview was taken before 【Pro Tour: Eldritch Moon】

Polak-Rottmann slid into Platinum level last week. His travel is just getting started.
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】

One of Europe’s most well-recognized players, whom at Pro Tour: Theros squared off against his “Les Bleus” teammate Jeremy Dezani in a Mono-Blue Devotion mirror match in the finals, a game to go down in magic history.

　Other notable achievements include 3 GP Top 8’s, and 3rd place at the World Magic Cup 2015 as captain of the French team.

■ Introduction

Pierre Dagen
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Could you tell us about how you got into magic, and what impact magic has had on your life so far?

Pierre Dagen: A friend forced me to try the game when I was in high school. Since then, I met about half of my best friends through Magic, visited 3 continents, and started a company with my prize money.


Q: Could you tell us about your magic community, and in short about some of the pro players that you respect and interact with?

Pierre Dagen: My magic family is two-fold: the Paris community, a ton of close friends I have known forever that get to play a PT every now and then, including famous names like Louis Deltour, Elie Pichon or Jeremy Dezani.

Louis Deltour
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Pierre Dagen: And Team Eureka, my playtest group that ended up becoming a group of very good friends, with members like Brad Nelson, Matej Zatlkaj, Louis Deltour (again!), Aleksa Telarov and such.

■ What kind of player are you?

Pierre Dagen
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: Which format Is your speciality, and the reasons for why it is?

Pierre Dagen: I am pretty good at sealed deck. I love working under constraints, that is when I get the most creative, and having to work with a limited amount of (shitty) cards gets my creativity flowing.

Q: Up to this point, what has been the most memorable moment in a game of magic for you?

Pierre Dagen: Bluff-attacking with a 2/2 into a 1/3 double strike, with both players at 20, under camera, against Gaudenis Vidiguris with no trick in hand at PT Atlanta (Theros Limited).

Pierre Dagen: Had he blocked there, I would never have been able to look like a remotely decent player again…I cannot think of another moment where I felt such tension playing.

Q: Do you have any favorite cards or decks you could share with us?

Pierre Dagen: Gifts Ungiven.

Pierre Dagen: Whenever you actually go get four cards like the gods intended you to, the mind game reaches an absolute climax. What does he need? What does he already have? Why did not he pick this card, does he already have it in hand? Is he just not playing it at all? I must have spent more times creating an “ideal pile” per match-up in Modern than the next ten builders combined. I just wish they ran a “Gifts Ungiven: The Gathering tournament”, where people would select the ideal four cards and their opponent must figure out which ones to give them.

■ The history you intend to write as a member of the Hareruya Pros

Dagen with “Team EUreka”
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】 Q: What got you interested in joining the Hareruya Pros?

Pierre Dagen: Hareruya is already a very well-established brand, but also a relative newcomer on the international scene. I just like shaking up the hierarchy, just like we did with EUreka. Also, I heard a few good friends of mine would be there…and the shirts look awesome.


Q: What type of activity will you be actively participating as part of the Hareruya Pros?

Pierre Dagen: I will be playing every PT and quite a few GPs, and hopefully leading team France at the WMC. Also, I’ll try to provide the readers with some strategic content regarding standard, limited, and Gifts Ungiven. Might even stream a bit if my girlfriend lets me, but that is quite a big if.


Q: What goals do you have as a magic player going forward?

Pierre Dagen: Every time I reach a goal, I want to aim just a little bit higher. My best finishes so far are 2nd at a PT, and 3rd at the WMC. So, well… winning those? Aim for the sun, and you might at least reach the moon, right?

Dagen will wear the same uniform as Dezani again.
※Source of photo: 【MAGIC: THE GATHERING】

These 4 exceptional players are now part of the Hareruya Pros.

Under the banner of the Hareruya Pros they will continue to aim for the top of the magic world. We’re sure the opportunity to see them at Japanese Events will increase as well.

We hope you’ll continue supporting the Hareruya pros, and the 4 excellent new members: Lukas Blohon, Martin Muller, Oliver Polak-Rottmann & Pierre Dagen from here on out!