So lately I've had Warhammer 40K on my mind a lot lately. I was very pleased with the way the last tournament went, even if I got crushed in day two. Anyway, long story short, between writing group rule changes for our next tournament and thinking about my list, I've also been working on some modeling and tinkering with a campaign idea. It's still in the brainstorming stages, but hey, gotta start somewhere. Right now, I'm working on a kitbashed and remodeled Saint Celestine model. I hated her giant cape and all that crap, and I didn't like her sword. So I've replaced both. I'm pretty satisfied so far. Still tinkering with the replacement jump-pack, but I'm pretty happy with the results so far.
Also, been reading and watching more about Magic the last week or two. Kinda been out of it for about a month or so. Just haven't had time to play much. I did play in a few tournaments at one of the smaller tournaments a couple of weeks ago. I got second in both, losing to the same guy in the finals in both events. Modern he was on Splinter Twin and Standard he was on a pretty interesting 4c Reanimator that was running blue instead of red. I was kicking myself in the ass for this one because the standard was within my reach and I blew it. Once by forgetting to desideboard between rounds and once for making a few sloppy plays in the second game because I was on tilt. Lessons learned...
So anyway, I'm not usually much into espousing the values of music on here since this is supposed to be my nerd-blog, but I have to admit, I've been listening to a lot of underground Seattle Hip-hop lately. If you're into hip-hop that's very independent in thought and that's layed back, check out Macklemore, Grynch, and Sota from Seattle.
SD13
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The First SCG Open...
So, Saturday didn't go quite the way I'd have liked. I ended up placing way back in 110th out of 430+ players. This may sound good, but in reality, I was only 5-5 for the day, which means I was very much middle of the pack at best. I attribute my poor finish to some play mistakes, a bad mana count in my deck, and in at least one case, a bad go with variance. So anyway, I'll get down to the nuts and bolts and post up my round by round history after a quick look at my final sideboard.
I hadn't really hammered out my sideboard choices until right before the event, mostly because I wasn't sure what I wanted to be afraid of and with so little play testing, I wasn't sure what my worst matchups were. With that in mind, I just tried to be prepared for what I expected some of the more popular decks to be.
Sideboard
3x Centaur Healer (to help stem the flow of blood against aggro)
2x Thragtusk (to help prevent being blown out by board sweepers in control)
2x Tormod's Crypt (to help out against graveyard strategies)
1x Grafdigger's Cage (Same as Crypt)
3x Sever the Bloodline (To help clean up Angel tokens in control)
2x Sundering Growth (I figured populate with enchantment removal might be relevant)
2x Pithing Needle (To help against control with planeswalkers)
So with the board in mind, and the deck list posted in the previous blog, you can now see the full 75 I took to the event. With no further ado, let's move on to the meat of today's article.
While I intended to run through my match-by-match opponent and results, it seems I've misplaced my notes on the subject, so I'll just touch on the highlights. I started out round 1 with a win, which thinking back on it seemed easy.
I moved to round 2 against a BG Zombies deck and an opponent that was ultimately condescending, but blew me out. This is one of the first rounds that I realized my mana count was off. I kept my game 2 hand without a white source and got blown out before I played a single card. I remember making a note not to keep bad hands, but apparently I didn't head my own advice. More on that later.
Round 3 and 4 were more wins. I vaguely remember an American control list and UW Humans, both of which went down pretty quickly, leaving me at 3-1 going into round 5. So far I was pretty pleased with myself and I was one of a handful of my friends that was x-1 up to this point. We were all on a high, thinking we had a legit shot at making top 8 or at least placing into the money.
I sat down for round 5 and got my spirits crushed (not just the ones on the table). I was matched against a Bant Control list for the first time in the day, though they were seemingly everywhere according to my play group. Game one was quick and easy with me living the dream of turn 1 mana dork, turn 2 Lingering Souls, Turn 3 Intangible Virtue for the quick win. Game 2 started well, but I ended up the match with something like 10 lands in play, and never having seen another real card past turn 3 or 4. Game 3 went much the same way, except it took him longer to close it out and I finished with more along the lines of 13 land in play... Not the way you want to see a match like this go.
At some point along this time, I recall making a few play errors. At some point, I missed a creature that was set aside when I activated Gavony Township and netted a game warning. I did this again later in the event. Also, I managed to miss planeswalker activations at two different points in the event, one with Vraska and one with Garruk. The extra wolf would have helped, but fortunately, I had the removal spell to save Vraska when the opponent attacked her.
Anyway, in round 6 I lost again, I can't remember to what, I just remember being very disheartened at that point because I was keenly aware that one more loss would put me out of the money entirely. So round 7 I played against a nice opponent who was on Selesnya aggro and I managed to blow her out. I even managed a game one win of Vraska's tokens by way of Intangible Virtue coupled with a Garruk (flipped) ultimate to net them some trample. She could block them all, but couldn't keep the one point of damage from spilling over to win the game. Game two was a much more conventional and easy win Round 8 was another win, putting me at a running total of 5-3 for the day, and giving me a chance to sweep the rest of the day for cash. I was a little more optimistic after rounds 6 and 7, seeing more decks that I had good matches agaisnt.
Round 9 was the heartbreak. I played against a fella I know from one of the stores I frequent and was disappointed to lose to him. He was on Jund Midrange and played a very tight game against me. He seemed upset that he was in a position to beat someone he knew out of the money range, but I reasured him that I wasn't going to hold back and that he shouldn't either. I cruised to a game one win, then a second game loss. Game 3 started with a nearly perfect opening hand for me and was going very well until he cast Rakdos Return to make me discard my hand. I was kinda dejected because I had good insurance in that hand. I ended up the victim of a Mizzium Mortars that cost me the game and the match. I shook his hand and congradulated him on his win, and wished him luck in the last round since he had really good odds of placing high enough to win some money.
Finally, last round I lost some very grindy games against 4c Reanimator. The match was fine and I think I could have done better. I got stuck on 3 mana in game 2 and resulted in going to game 3. Game 3 was another long haul. I never saw any of my gy hate and never drew into any of my answers that would have allowed me to win the game. There were around 5 turns in a row where any one of 4 or 5 cards would have resulted in a game win and a positive record for the day, but I ended up flooded out again for the loss.
So, after the end of the event, my thoughts were on the future and on tweaks to make the deck play more consistently for the next time I have a chance to play in some serious standard competition. These are the changes I would make:
Maindeck:
-1 Vraska
-2 Trostoni
-2 Vault of the Archangel
-2 Call of the Conclave
+2 Collective Blessing
+1 Gather the Townsfolk
+1 Gavony Township
+1 Sunpetal Grove
+2 Selesnya Keyrune
Sideboard:
-2 Sundering Growth
-2 Tormod's Crypt
-1 Grafdigger's Cage
-2 Pithing Needle
-2 Thragtusk
+1 Centaur Healer
+4 Deathrite Shaman
+2 Trostoni, Voice of Selesnya
+2 Vraska the Unseen
My over all concern is that I wasn't fast enough or aggressive enough. By dropping out the slower cards in the deck that weren't adding to the actual plan, I figured I could squeeze in some more tokens, and more anthem effects. As for specific card choices, I'll start with Vault since it will likely be the selection that most people shake their heads at. Through the even though, I never wanted Vault though. Any time I hit Vault, I found myself wishing it was a Gavony or a land that produced the more important colors in the deck. As for dropping Vraska and Trostani, they seemed to only help the matches I was already solid against. This deck has good game against control and against midrange, and I think moving these to the board is the best choice. Game 1 Vraska was weak against aggro and Trostani was weak to control. So I decided to slide a few more cards into the deck that were more often active threats. I dropped Call of the Conclave in favor of another Gather and the Keyrunes because I felt that more bodies was better with the addition of more anthem effects and the Keyrunes would help accelerate me to a more stable manabase in addition to providing a threat that was resilient to board sweeps.
As for the Sideboard, I dropped all of the reactive cards in favor of more pro-active strategies. Why just remove the cards in Re-animator's graveyard when I could instead benifit from removing the specific problem cards with the Shaman? Pithing Needle seemed redundant to the playset of O-Rings maindeck, and by dropping in Vraska in a pair, I had much better odds of being able to destroy opposing planeswalkers and giving myself another win con against control. Trostani is good in the matchups where I need lifegain, but that's so very rare that I figured instead of drawing a game out longer with lifegain that was encouraging me to overextend, I would be better served by her in the sideboard, making room for the Collective Blessings maindeck.
Also, on the trip home, I started hashing out an American Miracles deck with the guys I was traveling with and it looks pretty solid. I'll post it up next time I get a chance, hopefully after a little playtesting of both decks.
Until next time, keep gaming and rock on.
SD13
I hadn't really hammered out my sideboard choices until right before the event, mostly because I wasn't sure what I wanted to be afraid of and with so little play testing, I wasn't sure what my worst matchups were. With that in mind, I just tried to be prepared for what I expected some of the more popular decks to be.
Sideboard
3x Centaur Healer (to help stem the flow of blood against aggro)
2x Thragtusk (to help prevent being blown out by board sweepers in control)
2x Tormod's Crypt (to help out against graveyard strategies)
1x Grafdigger's Cage (Same as Crypt)
3x Sever the Bloodline (To help clean up Angel tokens in control)
2x Sundering Growth (I figured populate with enchantment removal might be relevant)
2x Pithing Needle (To help against control with planeswalkers)
So with the board in mind, and the deck list posted in the previous blog, you can now see the full 75 I took to the event. With no further ado, let's move on to the meat of today's article.
While I intended to run through my match-by-match opponent and results, it seems I've misplaced my notes on the subject, so I'll just touch on the highlights. I started out round 1 with a win, which thinking back on it seemed easy.
I moved to round 2 against a BG Zombies deck and an opponent that was ultimately condescending, but blew me out. This is one of the first rounds that I realized my mana count was off. I kept my game 2 hand without a white source and got blown out before I played a single card. I remember making a note not to keep bad hands, but apparently I didn't head my own advice. More on that later.
Round 3 and 4 were more wins. I vaguely remember an American control list and UW Humans, both of which went down pretty quickly, leaving me at 3-1 going into round 5. So far I was pretty pleased with myself and I was one of a handful of my friends that was x-1 up to this point. We were all on a high, thinking we had a legit shot at making top 8 or at least placing into the money.
I sat down for round 5 and got my spirits crushed (not just the ones on the table). I was matched against a Bant Control list for the first time in the day, though they were seemingly everywhere according to my play group. Game one was quick and easy with me living the dream of turn 1 mana dork, turn 2 Lingering Souls, Turn 3 Intangible Virtue for the quick win. Game 2 started well, but I ended up the match with something like 10 lands in play, and never having seen another real card past turn 3 or 4. Game 3 went much the same way, except it took him longer to close it out and I finished with more along the lines of 13 land in play... Not the way you want to see a match like this go.
At some point along this time, I recall making a few play errors. At some point, I missed a creature that was set aside when I activated Gavony Township and netted a game warning. I did this again later in the event. Also, I managed to miss planeswalker activations at two different points in the event, one with Vraska and one with Garruk. The extra wolf would have helped, but fortunately, I had the removal spell to save Vraska when the opponent attacked her.
Anyway, in round 6 I lost again, I can't remember to what, I just remember being very disheartened at that point because I was keenly aware that one more loss would put me out of the money entirely. So round 7 I played against a nice opponent who was on Selesnya aggro and I managed to blow her out. I even managed a game one win of Vraska's tokens by way of Intangible Virtue coupled with a Garruk (flipped) ultimate to net them some trample. She could block them all, but couldn't keep the one point of damage from spilling over to win the game. Game two was a much more conventional and easy win Round 8 was another win, putting me at a running total of 5-3 for the day, and giving me a chance to sweep the rest of the day for cash. I was a little more optimistic after rounds 6 and 7, seeing more decks that I had good matches agaisnt.
Round 9 was the heartbreak. I played against a fella I know from one of the stores I frequent and was disappointed to lose to him. He was on Jund Midrange and played a very tight game against me. He seemed upset that he was in a position to beat someone he knew out of the money range, but I reasured him that I wasn't going to hold back and that he shouldn't either. I cruised to a game one win, then a second game loss. Game 3 started with a nearly perfect opening hand for me and was going very well until he cast Rakdos Return to make me discard my hand. I was kinda dejected because I had good insurance in that hand. I ended up the victim of a Mizzium Mortars that cost me the game and the match. I shook his hand and congradulated him on his win, and wished him luck in the last round since he had really good odds of placing high enough to win some money.
Finally, last round I lost some very grindy games against 4c Reanimator. The match was fine and I think I could have done better. I got stuck on 3 mana in game 2 and resulted in going to game 3. Game 3 was another long haul. I never saw any of my gy hate and never drew into any of my answers that would have allowed me to win the game. There were around 5 turns in a row where any one of 4 or 5 cards would have resulted in a game win and a positive record for the day, but I ended up flooded out again for the loss.
So, after the end of the event, my thoughts were on the future and on tweaks to make the deck play more consistently for the next time I have a chance to play in some serious standard competition. These are the changes I would make:
Maindeck:
-1 Vraska
-2 Trostoni
-2 Vault of the Archangel
-2 Call of the Conclave
+2 Collective Blessing
+1 Gather the Townsfolk
+1 Gavony Township
+1 Sunpetal Grove
+2 Selesnya Keyrune
Sideboard:
-2 Sundering Growth
-2 Tormod's Crypt
-1 Grafdigger's Cage
-2 Pithing Needle
-2 Thragtusk
+1 Centaur Healer
+4 Deathrite Shaman
+2 Trostoni, Voice of Selesnya
+2 Vraska the Unseen
My over all concern is that I wasn't fast enough or aggressive enough. By dropping out the slower cards in the deck that weren't adding to the actual plan, I figured I could squeeze in some more tokens, and more anthem effects. As for specific card choices, I'll start with Vault since it will likely be the selection that most people shake their heads at. Through the even though, I never wanted Vault though. Any time I hit Vault, I found myself wishing it was a Gavony or a land that produced the more important colors in the deck. As for dropping Vraska and Trostani, they seemed to only help the matches I was already solid against. This deck has good game against control and against midrange, and I think moving these to the board is the best choice. Game 1 Vraska was weak against aggro and Trostani was weak to control. So I decided to slide a few more cards into the deck that were more often active threats. I dropped Call of the Conclave in favor of another Gather and the Keyrunes because I felt that more bodies was better with the addition of more anthem effects and the Keyrunes would help accelerate me to a more stable manabase in addition to providing a threat that was resilient to board sweeps.
As for the Sideboard, I dropped all of the reactive cards in favor of more pro-active strategies. Why just remove the cards in Re-animator's graveyard when I could instead benifit from removing the specific problem cards with the Shaman? Pithing Needle seemed redundant to the playset of O-Rings maindeck, and by dropping in Vraska in a pair, I had much better odds of being able to destroy opposing planeswalkers and giving myself another win con against control. Trostani is good in the matchups where I need lifegain, but that's so very rare that I figured instead of drawing a game out longer with lifegain that was encouraging me to overextend, I would be better served by her in the sideboard, making room for the Collective Blessings maindeck.
Also, on the trip home, I started hashing out an American Miracles deck with the guys I was traveling with and it looks pretty solid. I'll post it up next time I get a chance, hopefully after a little playtesting of both decks.
Until next time, keep gaming and rock on.
SD13
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Return to Competition
So Saturday is the first competitive level event I'm going to have played in in months. I'm pretty set on my Junk Tokens. I've done some playtesting up at the local shop and here at the house and I think I've settled on a good deck design. I have good game against control, though it's not perfect. I have a very good match up against midrange decks in the form of board flood and inevitability. And I feel like I have very good game against the fast aggro decks in the format. I really do feel like the crazy control builds are my worst matchup and I'm still considering my board options against it. Most are running an inane number of board sweepers, usually between 5 and 8, and that's hard to recover from. Especially Terminus, being as indestructible, regeneration, nor protection from x do anything to stop it.
My current decklist:
Creatures
Avacen Pilgrim x2
Arbor Elf x4
Trostani, Voice of Selesnya x2
Planeswalkers
Garruk, Relentless x3
Vraska the Unseen x1
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad x2
Spells
Lingering Souls x4
Selesnya Charm x4
Gather the Townsfolk x3
Call of the Conclave x2
Intangible Virtue x4
Golgari Charm x2
Oblivion Ring x4
Land
Isolated Chapel x4
Temple Garden x4
Overgrown Tomb x4
Forest x2
Plains x2
Swamp x1
Evolving Wilds x2
Vault of the Archangel x2
Gavony Township x2
My current problem with my deck is that it doesn't offer me what I consider enough pump spells. I dropped two Phantom Generals in favor of 2 more mana dorks, which I think will make the deck play out a little more aggressively, but gives me less long game. But the short game is where I think I was lacking. Lowering the curve and giving me more chances to drop Lingering Souls on turn two feels very important. I'm also unsure of my split of planeswalkers. Vraska seems ok, but I don't know if I want a second one of her. I've been contemplating dropping her for another copy of Sorin to add to my chances of drawing an anthem effect. I'm also thinking about dropping her for a copy of Angel of Serinity that I can fetch up with Garruk's (flipped) -1 ability. It would give me a big out to some of the other deck's end game plans and offer me a chance to slip in the fatal hits needed to end a game. Just some ideas.
As for my board, right now it's built to shore up the control match up and give me some outs against Unburial Rites decks. This is in the form of 2 Tormod's Crypt and 1 Rest in peace. It also gives me more game against control decks in the form of 2 Pithing Needles and 3 Sever the Bloodlines. I feel that a lot of control decks are riding Entreat the Angels to the win and a timely Sever will snatch the game out from under them. I've got 3 Centaur Healers in there for match ups that are bad races. Azorius Aggro and Rakdos/BR Zombies being my biggest worries in that respect. The last 4 slots are currently utility things such as Sundering Growth and Rootbound Defense (2 each). I haven't decided if these are the best things in the slot or if I'm better off putting in a pair of each of the knights. Pro white and pro black are both very relevant right now and I may want to drop them both in in different match ups over the utilities. Alternatively, I can add in some bigger nasty critters to act as my finishers in the place of Vraska. I have no idea at the moment, these last 4 spots are the only ones I'm not confident in right now.
I'll post again when it's all over and update the decklist one last time, as well as posting a tournament report.
SD13
My current decklist:
Creatures
Avacen Pilgrim x2
Arbor Elf x4
Trostani, Voice of Selesnya x2
Planeswalkers
Garruk, Relentless x3
Vraska the Unseen x1
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad x2
Spells
Lingering Souls x4
Selesnya Charm x4
Gather the Townsfolk x3
Call of the Conclave x2
Intangible Virtue x4
Golgari Charm x2
Oblivion Ring x4
Land
Isolated Chapel x4
Temple Garden x4
Overgrown Tomb x4
Forest x2
Plains x2
Swamp x1
Evolving Wilds x2
Vault of the Archangel x2
Gavony Township x2
My current problem with my deck is that it doesn't offer me what I consider enough pump spells. I dropped two Phantom Generals in favor of 2 more mana dorks, which I think will make the deck play out a little more aggressively, but gives me less long game. But the short game is where I think I was lacking. Lowering the curve and giving me more chances to drop Lingering Souls on turn two feels very important. I'm also unsure of my split of planeswalkers. Vraska seems ok, but I don't know if I want a second one of her. I've been contemplating dropping her for another copy of Sorin to add to my chances of drawing an anthem effect. I'm also thinking about dropping her for a copy of Angel of Serinity that I can fetch up with Garruk's (flipped) -1 ability. It would give me a big out to some of the other deck's end game plans and offer me a chance to slip in the fatal hits needed to end a game. Just some ideas.
As for my board, right now it's built to shore up the control match up and give me some outs against Unburial Rites decks. This is in the form of 2 Tormod's Crypt and 1 Rest in peace. It also gives me more game against control decks in the form of 2 Pithing Needles and 3 Sever the Bloodlines. I feel that a lot of control decks are riding Entreat the Angels to the win and a timely Sever will snatch the game out from under them. I've got 3 Centaur Healers in there for match ups that are bad races. Azorius Aggro and Rakdos/BR Zombies being my biggest worries in that respect. The last 4 slots are currently utility things such as Sundering Growth and Rootbound Defense (2 each). I haven't decided if these are the best things in the slot or if I'm better off putting in a pair of each of the knights. Pro white and pro black are both very relevant right now and I may want to drop them both in in different match ups over the utilities. Alternatively, I can add in some bigger nasty critters to act as my finishers in the place of Vraska. I have no idea at the moment, these last 4 spots are the only ones I'm not confident in right now.
I'll post again when it's all over and update the decklist one last time, as well as posting a tournament report.
SD13
Monday, September 24, 2012
Returning to Ravnica!
So here we are, a few days away from the pre-release events we all know and love. I've already preregistered to compete in all six events at Legends. I'm playing the first two events as Selensya, then one as Izzet, then two more as Azorius, then the last one as Golgari. I'm looking forward to seeing what all comes in the guild packs. I'm also looking forward to playing with as many of the new cards as possible. The cards I'm most looking forward to playing with are pretty much the ones you'd expect. I want to play with the new planeswalkers, though Vraska looks a lot more fun that the new version of Jace. I like the new guild charms and the new guild keys. I'm curious to see what kinds of fun ways we can break those kinds of cards. I think there's a few new versions of Delver decks I want to explore, as well as new token decks. My personal favorite in the format right now is the Token deck.
So, as I'm sure the few people that read this blog are aware, I'm a huge fan of token strategies in almost any format. They're just fun to me. They usually offer great card advantage when pitted against point removal, and they're less of a blow out against sweepers. Also, they have the most efficient anthem effect in the game at the moment in the form of Intangible Virtue. There are a few different ways to go with the over all strategy at the moment and numerous color combinations, but I think my favorite right now is Junk. Selensya is offering some awesome token generators as well as some great support spells, so I love G/W tokens, but then you're missing out on the opportunities offered by splashing for another color. Of the token support that I think has the most to offer at the moment (and that will improve with Gatecrash in another three months) is Black. By adding black we get access to some point removal, some Golgothi cards to go with our Selensya base, and even more importantly, the mana to flashback Lingering Souls and to play Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. So here's the decklist I come up with as a rough draft.
Creatures (8)
4x Arbor Elf
2x Doomed Travelor
2x Trostani, Selensya's Voice
Planeswalkers (6)
2x Vraska the Unseen
2x Garruk the Relentless
2x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Spells (22)
4x Intangible Virtue
4x Lingering Souls
3x Gather the Townsfolk
3x Call of the Conclave
4x Selesnya Charm
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Abrupt Decay
Lands (24)
4x Evolving Wilds
4x Temple Gardens
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Isolated Chapel
2x Forest
2x Plains
1x Swamp
1x Vault of the Archangel
2x Gavony Township
This is a rough draft and I still haven't decided if I want to up the land to 25 to help support the three colors, or if I want to change the count of Abrupt Decay and Oblivion Rings. The sideboard will vary quite a bit, but I think it's safe to say the remainder of the playset of O-rings and Abrupt Decays will be in there, as well as the new version of Naturalize. I feel like there's also an American Tokens deck that's possible, but not sure how it is positioned. I think it'd be more of a straight forward aggro deck and less mid-range, but the card pool is very interesting. Tokens does have some problems in the current meta, but I don't think there are so many weaknesses as to make it improbable for this to be a competitive deck. On the plus side, most of those weaknesses are in red, which will partially limit the number of decks that support them. However with the number of multi-colored decks that are going to be running rampant in the coming months, I really doubt that there will be a shortage of these cards in the format. Then again, I feel that way about the hate cards for any deck type. Thanks to the abundant manafixing in the set, there's going to be no shortage of hate from all colors spread around in splashes into other decks.
In closing, as I've said, I think Token decks are going to have a wide range of options to choose from. I'll fully expect to try Junk tokens first myself, but American Tokens has a lot to offer as well. I will probably at some point attempt to build both of these decks and playtest them thoroughly. I'll post again later this week with my idea of the American Tokens deck.
SD13
So, as I'm sure the few people that read this blog are aware, I'm a huge fan of token strategies in almost any format. They're just fun to me. They usually offer great card advantage when pitted against point removal, and they're less of a blow out against sweepers. Also, they have the most efficient anthem effect in the game at the moment in the form of Intangible Virtue. There are a few different ways to go with the over all strategy at the moment and numerous color combinations, but I think my favorite right now is Junk. Selensya is offering some awesome token generators as well as some great support spells, so I love G/W tokens, but then you're missing out on the opportunities offered by splashing for another color. Of the token support that I think has the most to offer at the moment (and that will improve with Gatecrash in another three months) is Black. By adding black we get access to some point removal, some Golgothi cards to go with our Selensya base, and even more importantly, the mana to flashback Lingering Souls and to play Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. So here's the decklist I come up with as a rough draft.
Creatures (8)
4x Arbor Elf
2x Doomed Travelor
2x Trostani, Selensya's Voice
Planeswalkers (6)
2x Vraska the Unseen
2x Garruk the Relentless
2x Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
Spells (22)
4x Intangible Virtue
4x Lingering Souls
3x Gather the Townsfolk
3x Call of the Conclave
4x Selesnya Charm
3x Oblivion Ring
2x Abrupt Decay
Lands (24)
4x Evolving Wilds
4x Temple Gardens
4x Overgrown Tomb
4x Isolated Chapel
2x Forest
2x Plains
1x Swamp
1x Vault of the Archangel
2x Gavony Township
This is a rough draft and I still haven't decided if I want to up the land to 25 to help support the three colors, or if I want to change the count of Abrupt Decay and Oblivion Rings. The sideboard will vary quite a bit, but I think it's safe to say the remainder of the playset of O-rings and Abrupt Decays will be in there, as well as the new version of Naturalize. I feel like there's also an American Tokens deck that's possible, but not sure how it is positioned. I think it'd be more of a straight forward aggro deck and less mid-range, but the card pool is very interesting. Tokens does have some problems in the current meta, but I don't think there are so many weaknesses as to make it improbable for this to be a competitive deck. On the plus side, most of those weaknesses are in red, which will partially limit the number of decks that support them. However with the number of multi-colored decks that are going to be running rampant in the coming months, I really doubt that there will be a shortage of these cards in the format. Then again, I feel that way about the hate cards for any deck type. Thanks to the abundant manafixing in the set, there's going to be no shortage of hate from all colors spread around in splashes into other decks.
In closing, as I've said, I think Token decks are going to have a wide range of options to choose from. I'll fully expect to try Junk tokens first myself, but American Tokens has a lot to offer as well. I will probably at some point attempt to build both of these decks and playtest them thoroughly. I'll post again later this week with my idea of the American Tokens deck.
SD13
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Return to Ravnica Previews
I'm thrilled to say that the spoiler season for Return to Ravnica is in full swing. There are already a few very nice cards that have seen the light of day. My personal favorite that's shown up so far are the "shock" lands from the original Ravnica block. I love the way these lands work. The only downside to seeing them reprinted is that they will lower the value of my originals slightly... On the other hand, I can't wait to play them in Standard.
Anyway, moving on to less fanboy-ish things... The Warhammer community is all lit up with rumors about new codexes and the latest 40K release from Games Workshop is helping to fan the flames. The new starter set for 6th edition is a combination of Chaos Marines and Dark Angels. There really aren't any completely new things to be looked at on the Dark Angels side, but the addition of cultists and of a new dreadnaught type model for Chaos is causing a stir. It makes sense to assume that these are going to be the first two codexes released for 6th edition.
In other news, the MidwestWarfare gaming group is set to host it's next tournament on the 15th and 16th this month at Legends in Vincennes. I'm hoping we have a good turn out, but it seems unlikely given the launch of a new rules set. But one can hope anyway. I'm still tinkering with my army lists and trying to nail down exactly what I want to play. I'm not sure if I'll even actually be playing in this event. I guess we'll just have to see.
SD13
Anyway, moving on to less fanboy-ish things... The Warhammer community is all lit up with rumors about new codexes and the latest 40K release from Games Workshop is helping to fan the flames. The new starter set for 6th edition is a combination of Chaos Marines and Dark Angels. There really aren't any completely new things to be looked at on the Dark Angels side, but the addition of cultists and of a new dreadnaught type model for Chaos is causing a stir. It makes sense to assume that these are going to be the first two codexes released for 6th edition.
In other news, the MidwestWarfare gaming group is set to host it's next tournament on the 15th and 16th this month at Legends in Vincennes. I'm hoping we have a good turn out, but it seems unlikely given the launch of a new rules set. But one can hope anyway. I'm still tinkering with my army lists and trying to nail down exactly what I want to play. I'm not sure if I'll even actually be playing in this event. I guess we'll just have to see.
SD13
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Reflections on 6ed 40K.
After playing my first full sized game with allies and the whole shootin' match, I like the new rules even more. I played 2K with Mathew down at Legends yesterday. He was on Chaos Marines and I played Blood Angels with Grey Knight allies. It was a fun game, even if there were a lot of distractions and some confusion caused by the new rules. It took us about 4 hours to finish 5 turns, then I had to leave. I won, but it was kind of a sketchy victory. Due to the time limit we had, the game ended before he had a chance to get another objective. If the game would have gone full term, I think he'd have won, but there's no way to say for sure.
Other than the games of 40K going on this month, it's been pretty quiet on the gaming front. I haven't had much time to devote to Magic, which is sad considering the pace at which the metagame evolves these days. I'm an easy month and a half behind the ball on that one. If the last article I read this week on TCGplayer was any indication, it smells like Delver is making a come back. It made a huge portion of the top 8 placings last weekend at the larger open events. I'm not sure if I want to play much before rotation. Even if that means come rotation time, I'll have to completely rebuild a new deck, since the ones I've been tinkering with lately all rely very heavily on cards that are going to rotate in October.
Things to consider.
SD13
Other than the games of 40K going on this month, it's been pretty quiet on the gaming front. I haven't had much time to devote to Magic, which is sad considering the pace at which the metagame evolves these days. I'm an easy month and a half behind the ball on that one. If the last article I read this week on TCGplayer was any indication, it smells like Delver is making a come back. It made a huge portion of the top 8 placings last weekend at the larger open events. I'm not sure if I want to play much before rotation. Even if that means come rotation time, I'll have to completely rebuild a new deck, since the ones I've been tinkering with lately all rely very heavily on cards that are going to rotate in October.
Things to consider.
SD13
Saturday, August 4, 2012
40K Like its My Job.
So lately I've been taking a bit of a break from Magic. I'm not a fan of the current format and I've been pressing too hard recently and I'm afraid of burnout. So, I'm taking a break and refocusing on Warhammer for a bit. As such, I'm trying to get our group, Midwest Warfare, a bit more organized.
A problem occurred with the new rules set. No-one (or at least a small minority) has managed to play games with the new rules. A few of our players reportedly haven't even laid eyes on the new rules. SO.... That pretty much rules out a large tournament style event this month. So we've dropped back 10 yards and we're taking a big punt. Tournament play will be next month, and leading up to it this month will be a few weekends of practice games and goofing off.
Starting today for a few of us, and going into next weekend for more of us. Then at the end of the month, instead of the tournament, a large gathering at our usual location at Legends in Vincennes. Then I'll (probably) be helping judge a tournament here in TH. With our tournament postponed until the weekend of the 15th next month.
At least that's the current plan. Here's to hoping it works out.
SD13
A problem occurred with the new rules set. No-one (or at least a small minority) has managed to play games with the new rules. A few of our players reportedly haven't even laid eyes on the new rules. SO.... That pretty much rules out a large tournament style event this month. So we've dropped back 10 yards and we're taking a big punt. Tournament play will be next month, and leading up to it this month will be a few weekends of practice games and goofing off.
Starting today for a few of us, and going into next weekend for more of us. Then at the end of the month, instead of the tournament, a large gathering at our usual location at Legends in Vincennes. Then I'll (probably) be helping judge a tournament here in TH. With our tournament postponed until the weekend of the 15th next month.
At least that's the current plan. Here's to hoping it works out.
SD13
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
New Sets, New Rules
So here's the deal. Since my last post, there have been all kinds of changes in my gaming world. Warhammer 40,000 was given a new rule set by the gaming lords at Games Workshop and Wizards of the Coast graced us with yet another core set in their endless pursuit of profit. The only really good thing I have to say about the release schedule from Wizards is that it keeps the game fresh.
But, to move along let's focus on the Magic side of things first. M13 has changed up the format a little bit. Right now we're in the midst of the worst (depending on how you're looking at it) or best part of Standard progression. We have two core sets and two whole blocks to pull from, and both of them are very powerful blocks in their own ways. Personally, I can't wait for October to come around and Return to Ravnica to kick Mirrodin and all the terrible cards it offers as well as the over bearing duplicity of M12 out of the format so we can all breath a sigh of relief.
However, in the meantime, competitive players have three months of this to get through. Its just a mater of knuckling under and getting work done. I've been building and tinkering with a lot of new decks and cards. Last night I went to a "win-a-box" event at one of the local shops. I played a Bant Superfriends deck that was a lot of fun, but needs some tuning. I ended up placing 4th out of around 13 players and won 4 packs. Naya Pod made up both of my actual match losses. I also had a rough time against a BR Vampire aggro deck with tons of burn in it. My final record after the swiss rounds was 2-1-1. I drew against the BR Vampires and lost to Naya Pod. Then for some reason we cut to the top 4 and lost again to the same Naya Pod list. My biggest problems with the deck were that I flooded out hard in four or five games in the event. Drawing 14-16 lands out of 25 seems very unlikely and harsh. I'm probably going to cut a few for some more ramp spells. I need to play test some more, but I think this is the deck I want to play.
So, moving on to 40K... The new rules set is pretty good after a little play testing and a lot of reading. GW may have gotten things right finally. The game plays a little more complicated, but it is a lot of fun. There are some great rules changes that have made the game a lot more interesting and a lot more balanced. My favorite two things in the new rules set are the Allies system and the new wound allocation rules. They're going to make the game a lot more bearable and add a lot of diversity to the games we play.
As of now though, I'm out to get some work done.
SD13
But, to move along let's focus on the Magic side of things first. M13 has changed up the format a little bit. Right now we're in the midst of the worst (depending on how you're looking at it) or best part of Standard progression. We have two core sets and two whole blocks to pull from, and both of them are very powerful blocks in their own ways. Personally, I can't wait for October to come around and Return to Ravnica to kick Mirrodin and all the terrible cards it offers as well as the over bearing duplicity of M12 out of the format so we can all breath a sigh of relief.
However, in the meantime, competitive players have three months of this to get through. Its just a mater of knuckling under and getting work done. I've been building and tinkering with a lot of new decks and cards. Last night I went to a "win-a-box" event at one of the local shops. I played a Bant Superfriends deck that was a lot of fun, but needs some tuning. I ended up placing 4th out of around 13 players and won 4 packs. Naya Pod made up both of my actual match losses. I also had a rough time against a BR Vampire aggro deck with tons of burn in it. My final record after the swiss rounds was 2-1-1. I drew against the BR Vampires and lost to Naya Pod. Then for some reason we cut to the top 4 and lost again to the same Naya Pod list. My biggest problems with the deck were that I flooded out hard in four or five games in the event. Drawing 14-16 lands out of 25 seems very unlikely and harsh. I'm probably going to cut a few for some more ramp spells. I need to play test some more, but I think this is the deck I want to play.
So, moving on to 40K... The new rules set is pretty good after a little play testing and a lot of reading. GW may have gotten things right finally. The game plays a little more complicated, but it is a lot of fun. There are some great rules changes that have made the game a lot more interesting and a lot more balanced. My favorite two things in the new rules set are the Allies system and the new wound allocation rules. They're going to make the game a lot more bearable and add a lot of diversity to the games we play.
As of now though, I'm out to get some work done.
SD13
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Breaking the Dry Spell
Alright, been awhile since I've posted and I'm working on new decks. Mostly working on new Bant ideas that work with Venser. I'm loving my Pod brews, but I'm having a hard time deciding if Venser's land control component works well with it or not. Control Pod seems interesting to me, but its hard to come up with a list that makes the best use of both the land control elements of the Band Land Control deck and the Venser Pod list that I've been tinkering with. Maybe the two deck ideas are best left separate, even though they do share more than half of the card choices.
The core concept of both decks is very similar. The Venser Pod deck just goes a different road to get there. Both decks use Stonehorn Dignitary to limit your opponent's early aggressive starts and buying you time to roll out Acidic Slime to get rid of his mana base or some of his threats. The pod version rolls up to Elesh Norn on the high end with Sun Titan shenanigans being possible with Phantasmal Image. On the other hand, the Bant Land Control method works the same way, but instead focuses more completely on the ETB effects of the creature base and ramps more. It runs more lands and adds even more mana dorks, as well as a playset of Rampant Growth.
Both accomplish the win by stalling the game long enough to achieve a soft lock or mana control, then end the game with big hitters and I really like that plan. I just have to decide which I think is more consistent and offers the best lines of play against the Metagame right now. By the metagame, I'm referring to UW Delver and Midrange, Wolfrun, RG Aggro, and Naya Pod. Solarflare is still a real deck, but I don't feel like it is as much of a problem as the faster starting decks for either of my lists.
I guess the good news is that I've got plenty of time for playtesting before the next big event I'll be playing in, which may not be till August. I'll get back in and update before then.
SD13
The core concept of both decks is very similar. The Venser Pod deck just goes a different road to get there. Both decks use Stonehorn Dignitary to limit your opponent's early aggressive starts and buying you time to roll out Acidic Slime to get rid of his mana base or some of his threats. The pod version rolls up to Elesh Norn on the high end with Sun Titan shenanigans being possible with Phantasmal Image. On the other hand, the Bant Land Control method works the same way, but instead focuses more completely on the ETB effects of the creature base and ramps more. It runs more lands and adds even more mana dorks, as well as a playset of Rampant Growth.
Both accomplish the win by stalling the game long enough to achieve a soft lock or mana control, then end the game with big hitters and I really like that plan. I just have to decide which I think is more consistent and offers the best lines of play against the Metagame right now. By the metagame, I'm referring to UW Delver and Midrange, Wolfrun, RG Aggro, and Naya Pod. Solarflare is still a real deck, but I don't feel like it is as much of a problem as the faster starting decks for either of my lists.
I guess the good news is that I've got plenty of time for playtesting before the next big event I'll be playing in, which may not be till August. I'll get back in and update before then.
SD13
Friday, June 8, 2012
The Trials of Testing
So, I've been trying to find a group of people that I can test with reliably for things like PTQs and SCG events. It's difficult. It is such a challenge because everyone has a different idea of testing. I know it sounds strange, but the problem comes when there's only one mind being put into a process and there's no central core to the testing.
My biggest problem comes with the fact that I have friends and acquaintances that are similarly minded to myself. They make for great friends and are fun people to play Magic with but that's not so good for testing. You see, because we're all like minded, we tend to want to play decks that are fringe competitive at best and are just bad at worst. So when I play my hit or miss homebrew against someone else's hit or miss homebrew... The end result is never exactly useful information about either deck's viability in the metagame. Sure, you learn some of the better lines of play in your deck, but you never learn how to make the key plays against the decks that are strongest (most popular) in the metagame.
With that in mind... There are some other thoughts to be put into testing and the methodology of the solo player. First of all, how and where you test makes the world of difference. For some reason, when I do solitaire runs of a deck, I learn the curve and plays of a deck better when I'm sitting at my desk with some light music on. However, when I'm actually playing and intent on learning from the games, I play better and learn more when I'm at the local shop. I don't know why, but playing against players in an environment that I already get competitive in makes me want to play that little bit better and helps me focus on the game at hand. There are also fewer distractions that aren't game related at the shop than at home. I don't find the need to watch TV, or get distracted by what a mess my house is. I just sit down, and play some Magic. Last, I want to address the idea of Magic: the Gathering Online... Don't. Don't waste your time testing on there unless it is with other players that play paper Magic. People online play in a different environment and with a different mindset to people that play at the table. This also doesn't bother to mention that they have a much different metagame for some reason. The formats online just don't transfer to the formats at the shops and at the competitive events.
So, I guess I need to get up to the shop for some more testing tonight. See you folks at 6:30.
SD13
My biggest problem comes with the fact that I have friends and acquaintances that are similarly minded to myself. They make for great friends and are fun people to play Magic with but that's not so good for testing. You see, because we're all like minded, we tend to want to play decks that are fringe competitive at best and are just bad at worst. So when I play my hit or miss homebrew against someone else's hit or miss homebrew... The end result is never exactly useful information about either deck's viability in the metagame. Sure, you learn some of the better lines of play in your deck, but you never learn how to make the key plays against the decks that are strongest (most popular) in the metagame.
With that in mind... There are some other thoughts to be put into testing and the methodology of the solo player. First of all, how and where you test makes the world of difference. For some reason, when I do solitaire runs of a deck, I learn the curve and plays of a deck better when I'm sitting at my desk with some light music on. However, when I'm actually playing and intent on learning from the games, I play better and learn more when I'm at the local shop. I don't know why, but playing against players in an environment that I already get competitive in makes me want to play that little bit better and helps me focus on the game at hand. There are also fewer distractions that aren't game related at the shop than at home. I don't find the need to watch TV, or get distracted by what a mess my house is. I just sit down, and play some Magic. Last, I want to address the idea of Magic: the Gathering Online... Don't. Don't waste your time testing on there unless it is with other players that play paper Magic. People online play in a different environment and with a different mindset to people that play at the table. This also doesn't bother to mention that they have a much different metagame for some reason. The formats online just don't transfer to the formats at the shops and at the competitive events.
So, I guess I need to get up to the shop for some more testing tonight. See you folks at 6:30.
SD13
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
I Had Venser Wrong All Along
So I was up at the local shop yesterday (Full Moon Games), and I played a match with the owner as he was giving me a few ideas to help tweak my deck. So far, everyone that I've talked to about it likes it, which is a plus. Me and one of the other more competitive guys that works at the shop have been sound boarding ideas back and forth and he's helped me make some valuable tweeks. My main point today is that I played against a deck that isn't seeing any attention in the metagame right now at all, which is strange. I don't have the exact deck list, but it is essentially Bant Pod with an emphasis on the UW side of things. There is of course the core of the Green in there for birds and the staples like Acidic Slime. What floored me is how much the deck played out like a Solar-Flare deck. There were so many great card interactions that I was left a little confused after a few of his plays and had to take the time to go through them step by step in my head before I let him finish. The deck was running Venser, Sun Titan, Phyrexian Metamorph, Phantasmal Image, Trinket Mage, Acid Slime and a ton of other great stuff. It was mind blowing how fast he got running, too. I think the best bit of tech in the deck were the Stonehorn Dignitaries paired up with the clones, the Pod, and the Sun Titans. After around turn 4 or 5 every game, I got Stonehorn locked within sight of victory. It was consistent, it was obvious and it was harsh.
My thinking is... In an Aggro dominated environment such as the one we're seeing in Standard right now, why is this deck not seeing more play? It's just too good against the other popular decks. It doesn't leave much room for escape over all. The way the Pod works in the deck is amazing. It gives a much more versatile package when paired with blue instead of Red. I'm going to go up there and ask Ray to give me another look at it later today.
SD13
My thinking is... In an Aggro dominated environment such as the one we're seeing in Standard right now, why is this deck not seeing more play? It's just too good against the other popular decks. It doesn't leave much room for escape over all. The way the Pod works in the deck is amazing. It gives a much more versatile package when paired with blue instead of Red. I'm going to go up there and ask Ray to give me another look at it later today.
SD13
Monday, May 21, 2012
PTQ Indianapolis (May 19)
Alrighty then... Where to start...
Well, I guess the first thing to do is to give a shout out and some thanks to my friend Snibble. Without him loaning me around a third of the deck I played with, I never would have been able to play as competitively as I did.
Next, how about a decklist.
3 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Champion of the Parish
2 Hero of Bladehold
2 Angel of Jubilation
4 Champion of Lambholt
3 Mayor of Avabruck
(18 Creatures)
4 Gather the Townsfolk
4 Midnight Haunting
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Entreat the Angels
1 Sword of War and Peace
2 Angelic Destiny
(17 Spells)
2 Sunpetal Grove
4 Razorverge Thicket
3 Cavern of Souls
2 Gavony Township
7 Forest
7 Plains
(25 Lands)
Sideboard
3 Grafdigger's Cage (good against Zombies, Pod, Frights, passable against RG Aggro)
2 Day f Judgment (Planed for Boros and Zombies)
2 Kessig Cagebreakers (Plan against control, never ended up using it)
2 Elspeth Tirel (plan against control)
3 Oblivion Ring (Generally awesome card to fix problems)
2 Sword of Feast and Famine (Zombies and RG Aggro)
1 Sword of Body and Mind (Expected to see a few tempo decks)
So lets get down to game play.
Round 1
Tyler on Venser Control.
I sat down across from my opponent Tyler and we went straight to business. We talked a little as we were waiting for the round to start, but mostly focused on the game. He played a bunch in different formats and sounded like a bit of a "grinder." Cool guy though and a great player. He was playing one of my decks absolutely worst matchups. After getting off to a good start in game one, he dropped a Stonehorn Dignitary and I knew I was in trouble. It took a few more turns and I was trying to get in for damage, but as soon as Venser came down, I knew there was no hope for me and I scooped straight to game 2. I brought in all 3 O-rings and dropped SoWP and both Entreats. The second game ended up with me waiting to topdeck the O-ring as he locked me down with Venser and a Dignitary. It never showed up, he got the emblem, and I scooped for a round loss. I was off to a rough start. Tyler was pretty cool though and ended up going 5-2 I think, so I didn't feel too bad about losing to him.
0-1 (0-2)
Round 2
David on RG Aggro.
So after round 1, I got called up to the judges table for a deck check. It seems that the first of many random mistakes made during the day was to start off by writing my list wrong and having it total up to 59 cards. I got it straightened out, but the clerical error cost me a game loss this round. We started on game 2, and I was recorded as losing the first game. Craptastic way to get the round started. David was all business and we got started as soon as the judge straightened us out. Starting off with game 2, I came out of the box hard. I took the game with little to no trouble and had a bit of a confidence boost. Game 3 took it away. We came out pretty much squared off toe to toe. Then he dropped a Sword of War and Peace and took it to the bank. Started really thinking about needed Beast Within and O-Rings main deck after these two rounds. I honestly think with a third game, I might have had a chance to win this round, since it seemed we were just racing each other and I was very capable of keeping pace with him.
0-2 (1-4)
Round 3
Cameron on Solar-Flare
I sat down at the table and started looking around as the round started. My opponent hadn't turned up yet so I sat and shuffled for a bit. He turned up a few minutes later and signed the slip with me as two wins and shook my hand, saying he was off to lunch. He didn't get to leave right away and we ended up doing a bunch of trading. Cool guy.
1-2 (3-4 [Kinda])
Round 4
David on Wolfrun Ramp
Game 1 was a blow out. He was firing on all cylinders and there wasn't much I could do but watch as he dropped a turn 4 titan and crushed me under its heels. Game 2, he flooded out and I took the easy win. Game 3 was a real fight. I came out strong and was worked him down to 5, then he gained a little life, then I had him back down to 1 with lethal damage on board. He top decked a Slagstorm and cleared most of my board, save one spirit token. In the process, he killed his own Solemn Simulacrum and drew an Inferno Titan off of it to kill my last spirit and hit me for two. The next turn, I botched up and made my first actual play mistake. I played a Champion of the Parish off of a Plains instead of a Cavern of Souls, meaning I didn't have the mana open to play the Angelic Destiny on it to keep it alive through the titan attack. He killed the champ on his attack and then finished me off. If I hadn't made that mistake, I may have been able to take the game honestly, but he scooped to me on his turn before killing me, citing the need for food and wanting to play in a cube as his reasons for not rubbing his good luck in my face. I thanked him, shook his hand and then went on wondering when my odd luck was going to stop.
2-2 (5-5)
Round 5
Feng (not his first name, but I don't have his first name written down) on UW Miricale Planswalkers.
Game 1 was a complete blow out for him. He hit 3 Temp Mastery with no deck fixing while having Gideon and Tamiyo on the field. Easy win for him. Second game, I boarded out SoWP, both Angelic Destiny, 1 Angel of Jubilation, 1 Champion of Lambholt for both copies of Elspeth and 3 O-rings. My board plan against control went off without a hitch. Elspeth ended up winning both games for me in the long haul. This was the first taste I got of something actually going according to plan.
3-2 (7-6)
Round 6
Sam on Naya Pod.
Sam made the mistake of fixing his deck face up when I came to the table and I had the opportunity to see what he was playing before we started. It wasn't my fault, I don't know why he was doing it that way, but he was. As it turns out, game 1 was an easy win. I dropped turn 1 Champ, turn 2 Mayor, Turn 3 SoWP and he scooped without ever playing more than basic lands. Game 2 ended up being just as easy. I brought in Grafdigger's cages against him and drew one in my starting hand after a mulligan (I had a really bad hand the first round). I played a Pilgrim on turn 1, a champ and the cage on turn 2, and then cruised past to an easy win after a few more tokens came in. I made a play mistake here of missing a Mayor's trigger for my token. That was the second of my actual play mistakes for the day, and probably the least important. He did some grumbling about the cage and how he was holding two pods in his hand. I half expected he'd have boarded them out expecting some kind of hate against them. Another perfect sideboard game.
4-2 (9-6)
Round 7
So perseverance had brought me to the 7th round with a good enough record to have a legitimate shot at landing myself in the prize pool. Obviously not the top 8, but I had a decent shot if I won of making some packs off the top 16.
Jacob on Grixis Zombies
I didn't expect to see this deck at all. I expected a few zombie decks, but nothing like this. Game 1 was a loss for me, and he played heavy control elements and just crushed me with small damage every turn while I couldn't stabilize long enough to mount a comeback. Game 2, I boarded in Day of Judgment and Sword of Feast and Famine, thinking the protection could be vital. I ended up out racing him and never hit a sideboard card. Game 3, I did hit a SoFF, but a missplay ended up costing me dearly. I used an Avacyn Pilgrim to play and equip the sword while I had plenty of land to do so. I had cards in hand that may have been able to save me, but after hitting with the sword, didn't have the mana to play them since I used the pilgrim instead of a land to play it. He ended up being able to win a slightly longer game after my mistake.
4-3 (10-8)
So, not really the way I needed the last round to go, but that's just the way it happens. The only reason I made it that far was because of opponents that were hungry and dropped anyway, so I shouldn't have been so surprised by the loss last round.
As far as things I learned from this PTQ, my deck is very strong against the stuff I expected to see in the metagame, and weak against the things I didn't. Also, making very small play mistakes with the deck's manabase really screwed me out of a few wins. Matchups I expect to see more that need work will be the Wolfrun Ramp and RG aggro matchups. The other seemed pretty solid and Zombies isn't really a deck worth worrying about. My match up against Vensor Control was an anomaly as well, and not something I expect to have repeated.
There are a few changes I think I'll end up making to the deck. I think Garruk Relentless has a solid place in the deck and I'd like to work him in somehow. I think Kessig Cagebreakers need to come out of the board. I never played them and I don't know that I ever would. Especially if I end up dropping more creatures to add Garruk, which seems likely. I also may drop the Entreat the Angels to add a few copies of Beast Within main deck. The card is just too good to be sitting on the sidelines and offers solutions that even Oblivion Ring doesn't. As far as the extra swords in my Board? I picked up a few more SoWP and may make them main deck, moving the Angelic Destiny to my board. I also feel like Timely Reinforcements has a place in the sideboard against decks like Zombies and Boros, but I'm not sure if I'll add it or not.
Anyway, that's about it for my PTQ Recap. Questions and comments are always welcome and feedback on the deck or sideboard plan is always great.
SD13
Well, I guess the first thing to do is to give a shout out and some thanks to my friend Snibble. Without him loaning me around a third of the deck I played with, I never would have been able to play as competitively as I did.
Next, how about a decklist.
3 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Champion of the Parish
2 Hero of Bladehold
2 Angel of Jubilation
4 Champion of Lambholt
3 Mayor of Avabruck
(18 Creatures)
4 Gather the Townsfolk
4 Midnight Haunting
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Entreat the Angels
1 Sword of War and Peace
2 Angelic Destiny
(17 Spells)
2 Sunpetal Grove
4 Razorverge Thicket
3 Cavern of Souls
2 Gavony Township
7 Forest
7 Plains
(25 Lands)
Sideboard
3 Grafdigger's Cage (good against Zombies, Pod, Frights, passable against RG Aggro)
2 Day f Judgment (Planed for Boros and Zombies)
2 Kessig Cagebreakers (Plan against control, never ended up using it)
2 Elspeth Tirel (plan against control)
3 Oblivion Ring (Generally awesome card to fix problems)
2 Sword of Feast and Famine (Zombies and RG Aggro)
1 Sword of Body and Mind (Expected to see a few tempo decks)
So lets get down to game play.
Round 1
Tyler on Venser Control.
I sat down across from my opponent Tyler and we went straight to business. We talked a little as we were waiting for the round to start, but mostly focused on the game. He played a bunch in different formats and sounded like a bit of a "grinder." Cool guy though and a great player. He was playing one of my decks absolutely worst matchups. After getting off to a good start in game one, he dropped a Stonehorn Dignitary and I knew I was in trouble. It took a few more turns and I was trying to get in for damage, but as soon as Venser came down, I knew there was no hope for me and I scooped straight to game 2. I brought in all 3 O-rings and dropped SoWP and both Entreats. The second game ended up with me waiting to topdeck the O-ring as he locked me down with Venser and a Dignitary. It never showed up, he got the emblem, and I scooped for a round loss. I was off to a rough start. Tyler was pretty cool though and ended up going 5-2 I think, so I didn't feel too bad about losing to him.
0-1 (0-2)
Round 2
David on RG Aggro.
So after round 1, I got called up to the judges table for a deck check. It seems that the first of many random mistakes made during the day was to start off by writing my list wrong and having it total up to 59 cards. I got it straightened out, but the clerical error cost me a game loss this round. We started on game 2, and I was recorded as losing the first game. Craptastic way to get the round started. David was all business and we got started as soon as the judge straightened us out. Starting off with game 2, I came out of the box hard. I took the game with little to no trouble and had a bit of a confidence boost. Game 3 took it away. We came out pretty much squared off toe to toe. Then he dropped a Sword of War and Peace and took it to the bank. Started really thinking about needed Beast Within and O-Rings main deck after these two rounds. I honestly think with a third game, I might have had a chance to win this round, since it seemed we were just racing each other and I was very capable of keeping pace with him.
0-2 (1-4)
Round 3
Cameron on Solar-Flare
I sat down at the table and started looking around as the round started. My opponent hadn't turned up yet so I sat and shuffled for a bit. He turned up a few minutes later and signed the slip with me as two wins and shook my hand, saying he was off to lunch. He didn't get to leave right away and we ended up doing a bunch of trading. Cool guy.
1-2 (3-4 [Kinda])
Round 4
David on Wolfrun Ramp
Game 1 was a blow out. He was firing on all cylinders and there wasn't much I could do but watch as he dropped a turn 4 titan and crushed me under its heels. Game 2, he flooded out and I took the easy win. Game 3 was a real fight. I came out strong and was worked him down to 5, then he gained a little life, then I had him back down to 1 with lethal damage on board. He top decked a Slagstorm and cleared most of my board, save one spirit token. In the process, he killed his own Solemn Simulacrum and drew an Inferno Titan off of it to kill my last spirit and hit me for two. The next turn, I botched up and made my first actual play mistake. I played a Champion of the Parish off of a Plains instead of a Cavern of Souls, meaning I didn't have the mana open to play the Angelic Destiny on it to keep it alive through the titan attack. He killed the champ on his attack and then finished me off. If I hadn't made that mistake, I may have been able to take the game honestly, but he scooped to me on his turn before killing me, citing the need for food and wanting to play in a cube as his reasons for not rubbing his good luck in my face. I thanked him, shook his hand and then went on wondering when my odd luck was going to stop.
2-2 (5-5)
Round 5
Feng (not his first name, but I don't have his first name written down) on UW Miricale Planswalkers.
Game 1 was a complete blow out for him. He hit 3 Temp Mastery with no deck fixing while having Gideon and Tamiyo on the field. Easy win for him. Second game, I boarded out SoWP, both Angelic Destiny, 1 Angel of Jubilation, 1 Champion of Lambholt for both copies of Elspeth and 3 O-rings. My board plan against control went off without a hitch. Elspeth ended up winning both games for me in the long haul. This was the first taste I got of something actually going according to plan.
3-2 (7-6)
Round 6
Sam on Naya Pod.
Sam made the mistake of fixing his deck face up when I came to the table and I had the opportunity to see what he was playing before we started. It wasn't my fault, I don't know why he was doing it that way, but he was. As it turns out, game 1 was an easy win. I dropped turn 1 Champ, turn 2 Mayor, Turn 3 SoWP and he scooped without ever playing more than basic lands. Game 2 ended up being just as easy. I brought in Grafdigger's cages against him and drew one in my starting hand after a mulligan (I had a really bad hand the first round). I played a Pilgrim on turn 1, a champ and the cage on turn 2, and then cruised past to an easy win after a few more tokens came in. I made a play mistake here of missing a Mayor's trigger for my token. That was the second of my actual play mistakes for the day, and probably the least important. He did some grumbling about the cage and how he was holding two pods in his hand. I half expected he'd have boarded them out expecting some kind of hate against them. Another perfect sideboard game.
4-2 (9-6)
Round 7
So perseverance had brought me to the 7th round with a good enough record to have a legitimate shot at landing myself in the prize pool. Obviously not the top 8, but I had a decent shot if I won of making some packs off the top 16.
Jacob on Grixis Zombies
I didn't expect to see this deck at all. I expected a few zombie decks, but nothing like this. Game 1 was a loss for me, and he played heavy control elements and just crushed me with small damage every turn while I couldn't stabilize long enough to mount a comeback. Game 2, I boarded in Day of Judgment and Sword of Feast and Famine, thinking the protection could be vital. I ended up out racing him and never hit a sideboard card. Game 3, I did hit a SoFF, but a missplay ended up costing me dearly. I used an Avacyn Pilgrim to play and equip the sword while I had plenty of land to do so. I had cards in hand that may have been able to save me, but after hitting with the sword, didn't have the mana to play them since I used the pilgrim instead of a land to play it. He ended up being able to win a slightly longer game after my mistake.
4-3 (10-8)
So, not really the way I needed the last round to go, but that's just the way it happens. The only reason I made it that far was because of opponents that were hungry and dropped anyway, so I shouldn't have been so surprised by the loss last round.
As far as things I learned from this PTQ, my deck is very strong against the stuff I expected to see in the metagame, and weak against the things I didn't. Also, making very small play mistakes with the deck's manabase really screwed me out of a few wins. Matchups I expect to see more that need work will be the Wolfrun Ramp and RG aggro matchups. The other seemed pretty solid and Zombies isn't really a deck worth worrying about. My match up against Vensor Control was an anomaly as well, and not something I expect to have repeated.
There are a few changes I think I'll end up making to the deck. I think Garruk Relentless has a solid place in the deck and I'd like to work him in somehow. I think Kessig Cagebreakers need to come out of the board. I never played them and I don't know that I ever would. Especially if I end up dropping more creatures to add Garruk, which seems likely. I also may drop the Entreat the Angels to add a few copies of Beast Within main deck. The card is just too good to be sitting on the sidelines and offers solutions that even Oblivion Ring doesn't. As far as the extra swords in my Board? I picked up a few more SoWP and may make them main deck, moving the Angelic Destiny to my board. I also feel like Timely Reinforcements has a place in the sideboard against decks like Zombies and Boros, but I'm not sure if I'll add it or not.
Anyway, that's about it for my PTQ Recap. Questions and comments are always welcome and feedback on the deck or sideboard plan is always great.
SD13
On Gaming, Planning, and the Lack Thereof
This is the first in a pair of posts about my weekend adventures in Magic. This one will be devoted to all things not directly tied in to the actual PTQ. There are a ton of things that I'd like to touch on that happened, but I figured putting both the PTQ recap and the side notes all in one post would make it exactly half the length of the book of Genesis.
So what is this post going to relate to... Well, there's travel plans and last minute changes. There's also trading to touch on. And lastly, I think card choices and sportsmanship need to be touched on.
So, let's start with travel plans. The original plan was to meet up with some guys from Legends and ride the majority of the trip with them. Due to some events in the personal life department, my girlfriend and I decided to drive up together. There were a few reasons for this. First, she has friends in Indy and wanted to get out of the house and see them again since we don't get up that way very often. The second is that my step-dad has been having health issues and I didn't want to be stranded if I needed to head home in a hurry. It all worked out for the best and we ended up having a great time both before and after the tourney. Sorry to the driver from Legends from changing plans so many times over the course of the week. I'm sure it had to be a headache!
Of course, at events such as PTQs, Grand Prix, and other large Magic related tournaments and gathering, there are always people looking to trade cards. It's a great way to meet new people and help the community by enriching card pools and wallets. This is a story about the two kinds of traders that I met this weekend. The first guy that tried to trade for me was a complete pain in the neck and I regret even trying to swap cards with him. I don't know where he was from and I didn't catch his name. The long and short of the story is that he wanted to trade for full value for his cards, and wanted an average of 25% of value off of mine. Needless to say, when I want to swap cards, I want equal values. If I want a 25-30 dollar card, I want to be able to trade my 25-30 dollar card for it. Not 40-45 dollars for the 30 dollar card. That is unfair and just being a jerk. Nice not trading with ya, pall. The second part of my trading story is actually very cool. The guy's name was Cameron and he was from here in Indiana. He was there with some friends and was s'possed to be my opponent on round 3 but conceded to me to go have lunch. He didn't end up getting to leave in a hurry because his ride was in the middle of a trade, so we started talking. He was trying to break into Legacy and was building up his card collection. We just BSed about the tournament so far and what our opponents were like and about some of the cards we were looking for. We started to hash out some small trades at first and they were all very easy going. I ended up trading off some of my dual lands to him for some Standard stuff that I really needed. I kinda regretted it, but was willing to make the sacrifice to get the cards I needed in a much more played format. Afterwards, we parted ways, he went and got lunch and I went on to round 4. Later that day, we got back to trading and I ended up getting my playset of duals back in tact. It only cost me a few prized collection pieces that I never played with. I do miss those cards, but at the same time, I helped him get his collection started, restored my playset of duals (with an artist signed copy after the trade), and picked up a ton of stuff I needed or could trade off a lot more easily than the Mox and Chaos Orb.
The moral of the story is... Don't be a jerk when you're trying to trade. It builds bad blood and makes people avoid you. Be cool. Be sociable and likable. Don't be standoffish and over value your cards while undervaluing your trade targets. The fact that Cameron and I were able to establish what values we were comfortable with using, and then sticking to them made things go much more smoothly and even made it fun and profitable for both of us.
Now, on to the sportsmanship portion of my rant.
I played a guy 5th or 6th round that was playing a deck that's very easy to hate against and has a few very solid hate cards to shut it down. My problem with this player's sportsmanship was his attitude about me sideboarding in the card against him in game two. When I played it, he just got a crummy attitude towards me and started being really salty through the rest of the game. I can't help it that he picked a strategy that 1, I knew would be present 2, that I knew how to play against, and 3, that has such easily playable hate. If you play a popular deck choice that has cards that oppose it like that, don't be shocked or angry when it happens to you. Be a better player and play around those cards.
That's all of my non-game related ranting for now. I'll be back in a bit with the PTQ follow up.
SD13
So what is this post going to relate to... Well, there's travel plans and last minute changes. There's also trading to touch on. And lastly, I think card choices and sportsmanship need to be touched on.
So, let's start with travel plans. The original plan was to meet up with some guys from Legends and ride the majority of the trip with them. Due to some events in the personal life department, my girlfriend and I decided to drive up together. There were a few reasons for this. First, she has friends in Indy and wanted to get out of the house and see them again since we don't get up that way very often. The second is that my step-dad has been having health issues and I didn't want to be stranded if I needed to head home in a hurry. It all worked out for the best and we ended up having a great time both before and after the tourney. Sorry to the driver from Legends from changing plans so many times over the course of the week. I'm sure it had to be a headache!
Of course, at events such as PTQs, Grand Prix, and other large Magic related tournaments and gathering, there are always people looking to trade cards. It's a great way to meet new people and help the community by enriching card pools and wallets. This is a story about the two kinds of traders that I met this weekend. The first guy that tried to trade for me was a complete pain in the neck and I regret even trying to swap cards with him. I don't know where he was from and I didn't catch his name. The long and short of the story is that he wanted to trade for full value for his cards, and wanted an average of 25% of value off of mine. Needless to say, when I want to swap cards, I want equal values. If I want a 25-30 dollar card, I want to be able to trade my 25-30 dollar card for it. Not 40-45 dollars for the 30 dollar card. That is unfair and just being a jerk. Nice not trading with ya, pall. The second part of my trading story is actually very cool. The guy's name was Cameron and he was from here in Indiana. He was there with some friends and was s'possed to be my opponent on round 3 but conceded to me to go have lunch. He didn't end up getting to leave in a hurry because his ride was in the middle of a trade, so we started talking. He was trying to break into Legacy and was building up his card collection. We just BSed about the tournament so far and what our opponents were like and about some of the cards we were looking for. We started to hash out some small trades at first and they were all very easy going. I ended up trading off some of my dual lands to him for some Standard stuff that I really needed. I kinda regretted it, but was willing to make the sacrifice to get the cards I needed in a much more played format. Afterwards, we parted ways, he went and got lunch and I went on to round 4. Later that day, we got back to trading and I ended up getting my playset of duals back in tact. It only cost me a few prized collection pieces that I never played with. I do miss those cards, but at the same time, I helped him get his collection started, restored my playset of duals (with an artist signed copy after the trade), and picked up a ton of stuff I needed or could trade off a lot more easily than the Mox and Chaos Orb.
The moral of the story is... Don't be a jerk when you're trying to trade. It builds bad blood and makes people avoid you. Be cool. Be sociable and likable. Don't be standoffish and over value your cards while undervaluing your trade targets. The fact that Cameron and I were able to establish what values we were comfortable with using, and then sticking to them made things go much more smoothly and even made it fun and profitable for both of us.
Now, on to the sportsmanship portion of my rant.
I played a guy 5th or 6th round that was playing a deck that's very easy to hate against and has a few very solid hate cards to shut it down. My problem with this player's sportsmanship was his attitude about me sideboarding in the card against him in game two. When I played it, he just got a crummy attitude towards me and started being really salty through the rest of the game. I can't help it that he picked a strategy that 1, I knew would be present 2, that I knew how to play against, and 3, that has such easily playable hate. If you play a popular deck choice that has cards that oppose it like that, don't be shocked or angry when it happens to you. Be a better player and play around those cards.
That's all of my non-game related ranting for now. I'll be back in a bit with the PTQ follow up.
SD13
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Pre-PTQ Nervers
Well, I'm getting the pre-event jitters. This time, it comes from not playtesting nearly enough. I only finalized my deck over the weekend and haven't had a chance to really play a single game with it. I have faith in the card choices, and in the deck's numbers for the most part. What I don't have faith in is the way it is going to curve out and my ability to make informed choices while playing it. When I sit down at my first game, I just have to remind myself that its just another game of Magic.
Other than the jitters, I'm also going to be making my first outing with Team Legends. Or at least most of the Linton branch of it. Guess that roots me in a team for the next round of Nerd Day tournaments in Robinson. heh. Always fun to picks sides, right?
And shortly after the dust settles from the PTQ, I'm off to help run a Midwest Warfare Warhammer 40K event on the following weekend!
SD13
Other than the jitters, I'm also going to be making my first outing with Team Legends. Or at least most of the Linton branch of it. Guess that roots me in a team for the next round of Nerd Day tournaments in Robinson. heh. Always fun to picks sides, right?
And shortly after the dust settles from the PTQ, I'm off to help run a Midwest Warfare Warhammer 40K event on the following weekend!
SD13
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Prepping for PTQ Indianapolis (May 19th)
Alright, so I've had almost no time to playtest and the one deck I was brewing was too inconsistent on three colors to work. I liked the principle, and it had some very explosive games, but I think I can make something almost as good with better mana in two colors. So, let's have a look at the evolution of my deck for this event.
I started off with my BW Tokens. I love this archetype, probably to my detriment. I was digging through red though and found some very interesting cards and wanted to test them. I tested a variation of my tokens deck with Rally the Peasants, Thatcher's Revolt, and Zealous Conscripts. Loved it when it worked. There were a few very satisfying surprised looks on the faces of opponents that didn't see what was coming when they get first turn Champion of the Parish, second turn Intangible Virtue, third turn Thatcher's Revolt for a total of 10 damage in the form of a hard to stop ball lightning effect. That's right, I just compared Thatcher's Revolt to a Ball Lightning. But in this deck it was better than Ball Lightning in some very dumbfounding ways. In addition to permanently buffing Champion, it made some hard to stop damage that came across after you dropped a few anthem effects. Adding more non-basic lands just unbalanced the manabase too much to be acceptable and made for some bad games where I was essentially time-walking for the other player after not having a relevant drop till turn 3 or 4.
So, I went back to the drawing board. I still love the Tokens archtypes. I think with the right twists, it can over run a lot of the bad matchups for aggro decks in the format. I think Hero of Bladehold has made new friends with what is possibly my favorite three drop critter in the format right now. Champion of Lambholt. I didn't realize just how good she was until a good friend of mine and I started doing some playtesting on a WG Humans deck I suggested to him. After thinking about it more, and goofing around with it some in my head and on paper, I decided that GW Human/Tokens can be really nasty and have some great plays. It immediately has some amazing perks. It has a better curve than BW because of having a mana dork to play as a 1 drop, bringing the first turn a long way from "land, go." Next, it offers a lord in the Mayor on the two spot, helping round out some great two drops with an anthem on a body. At the three position, green brings Champ of Lambholt, which is a house. And for some true end game success, Green offers us some solutions to bad match ups. Against control with a ton of board wipes, how about a few Kessig Cagebreakers to get the ball rolling back in my favor again? Or how about Sigarda as a solution to things like Killing Wave and other nastiness of that nature.
Of course, as a few end-game cards to really spice the deck up, how about Entreat the Angels? It's already a great card, but I think paying 5 mana for an Archangel is way better than paying 7. And if you miracle it into play, you can get 3 of those angels for the same price... So... If I draw this on accident on turn 5, with 1 Intangible Virtue on the field, you're telling me I get three 5/5 flyers with vigilance? Sounds like a game winner to me. Even on turn 3 for 1 of those, I'd be thrilled.
So, where does that leave me? With very little time to playtest this deck until the weekend and with a few more key cards to trade for or borrow. Fortunatly, I think I know where I can get a few of the ones that I really need to put the cap on the thing. I'm naming the deck, I just haven't figured out what yet.
So here's the list as I see it right now.
2 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Champion of the Parish
2 Hero of Bladehold
2 Angel of Jubilation
4 Champion of Lambholt
2 Mayor of Avabruck
2 Sigarda, Host of Herons
2 Angels of Jubilation
(18 Creatures)
4 Gather the Townsfolk
4 Midnight Haunting
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Entreat the Angels
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Angelic Destiny
(17 Spells)
2 Sunpetal Grove
4 Razorverge Thicket
3 Cavern of Souls
2 Gavony Township
7 Forest
7 Plains
(25 Lands)
That's about it for me. My sideboard is still in the air, but I've got some ideas. More to follow as I get in some testing and some trading in the next week or so.
SD13
I started off with my BW Tokens. I love this archetype, probably to my detriment. I was digging through red though and found some very interesting cards and wanted to test them. I tested a variation of my tokens deck with Rally the Peasants, Thatcher's Revolt, and Zealous Conscripts. Loved it when it worked. There were a few very satisfying surprised looks on the faces of opponents that didn't see what was coming when they get first turn Champion of the Parish, second turn Intangible Virtue, third turn Thatcher's Revolt for a total of 10 damage in the form of a hard to stop ball lightning effect. That's right, I just compared Thatcher's Revolt to a Ball Lightning. But in this deck it was better than Ball Lightning in some very dumbfounding ways. In addition to permanently buffing Champion, it made some hard to stop damage that came across after you dropped a few anthem effects. Adding more non-basic lands just unbalanced the manabase too much to be acceptable and made for some bad games where I was essentially time-walking for the other player after not having a relevant drop till turn 3 or 4.
So, I went back to the drawing board. I still love the Tokens archtypes. I think with the right twists, it can over run a lot of the bad matchups for aggro decks in the format. I think Hero of Bladehold has made new friends with what is possibly my favorite three drop critter in the format right now. Champion of Lambholt. I didn't realize just how good she was until a good friend of mine and I started doing some playtesting on a WG Humans deck I suggested to him. After thinking about it more, and goofing around with it some in my head and on paper, I decided that GW Human/Tokens can be really nasty and have some great plays. It immediately has some amazing perks. It has a better curve than BW because of having a mana dork to play as a 1 drop, bringing the first turn a long way from "land, go." Next, it offers a lord in the Mayor on the two spot, helping round out some great two drops with an anthem on a body. At the three position, green brings Champ of Lambholt, which is a house. And for some true end game success, Green offers us some solutions to bad match ups. Against control with a ton of board wipes, how about a few Kessig Cagebreakers to get the ball rolling back in my favor again? Or how about Sigarda as a solution to things like Killing Wave and other nastiness of that nature.
Of course, as a few end-game cards to really spice the deck up, how about Entreat the Angels? It's already a great card, but I think paying 5 mana for an Archangel is way better than paying 7. And if you miracle it into play, you can get 3 of those angels for the same price... So... If I draw this on accident on turn 5, with 1 Intangible Virtue on the field, you're telling me I get three 5/5 flyers with vigilance? Sounds like a game winner to me. Even on turn 3 for 1 of those, I'd be thrilled.
So, where does that leave me? With very little time to playtest this deck until the weekend and with a few more key cards to trade for or borrow. Fortunatly, I think I know where I can get a few of the ones that I really need to put the cap on the thing. I'm naming the deck, I just haven't figured out what yet.
So here's the list as I see it right now.
2 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Champion of the Parish
2 Hero of Bladehold
2 Angel of Jubilation
4 Champion of Lambholt
2 Mayor of Avabruck
2 Sigarda, Host of Herons
2 Angels of Jubilation
(18 Creatures)
4 Gather the Townsfolk
4 Midnight Haunting
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Entreat the Angels
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Angelic Destiny
(17 Spells)
2 Sunpetal Grove
4 Razorverge Thicket
3 Cavern of Souls
2 Gavony Township
7 Forest
7 Plains
(25 Lands)
That's about it for me. My sideboard is still in the air, but I've got some ideas. More to follow as I get in some testing and some trading in the next week or so.
SD13
Saturday, May 5, 2012
FNM Playtesting
So, last night I took one of the decks I'm testing up to the local shop to get some games in. As it turns out, all the most casual players turned up to support the new set. Well, the catch is, all the casual players were playing all of the most casual decks. I got to play 4 sets. I showed up a little after they started, so I had to sit the first round out, but that was fine, I needed to finish buying a few cards and getting a few in trade as well.
I played RWB Tokens (A list I'll disclose later.)
Round 1- Loss.
Round 2.
Played against a poison deck that was very typical. Green and blue with some unblockable guys, a lot of infect, and a bunch of random combat tricks to secure the win. I crushed his hopes and dreams. First game I got a slow hand (At least it looked slow at first glance). I played a tapped land first turn, second turn another and a Champ of the Parish. Third turn Thatcher Revolt and swung for 7, Fourth turn Thatcher Revolt and Swung for 10. Fifth and 6th turn were dropping tokens to get winning damage through. Pretty fun game, he didn't have enough steam to keep me down. Second game was a more normal game, with me dropping tokens to chump block while pushing some vigilance tokens into the redzone for a fairly quick kill.
(1-1, 2-0)
Round 3.
Played against the only competitive deck I saw all night. He was running Esper Spirits. Not exactly top tier, but still fringe competitive. First game I out paced him early on and got a fairly quick win. Thatcher Revolt provided a significant damage percentage in this game, too. Second game he played all the tricks but couldn't stem the tide of tokens coming in and I flash-backed a Rally the Peasants to pull down the win. The only real mistake I made in this one was side board options. I saw delver and snapcaster and I got locked in on them without paying attention to what else he played, so I made a bad deck call. I read it as UW Delver instead of spirits, so I put in a few cards to improve my matchup against control instead of against the swarm. Fortunately for me, he never hit his swarm and I was easily able to out pace him for easy wins.
(2-1, 4-0)
Round 4.
Played against RG Werewolves. Won the first game by sneaking across in the air to get the win with some Lingering Souls tokens pumped by Intangible. Second game was very grindy and we both have very locked up board states. He managed to get out a Mayor of Avenbruck and a pair of Huntmasters and after that it was all down hill. Third game, I resolved a Sword of Feast and Famine on turn 3, Turn 4 Piled it onto a Champ of the Parish and played a Honor of the Pure and started the one sided beating. Being able to untap my lands every turn and then drop chump blockers or anthem effects won this game with ease. He did manage to get in some good damage via Kessig Wolfrun and a Daybreak Ranger that had been beefed up with Increasing Savagery. I did toss out the chump blocker tokens before he started giving it trample, but after that, I focused more about getting damage across.
(3-1, 6-1)
Round 5.
Played against another UG Infect deck. This one was even less evolved than the other and the guy just got lucky. Apparently, he'd been getting lucky every round because he was 3-1 when he sat down with me, too. First game, he got the nuts draw and beat me into the ground by turn 4 in much the same manor I'd seen most infect decks work. Game two, I kept a hand I felt good about that was going to have me locking down the board and getting damage through pretty quickly. It worked out just the way I expected, with him being forced to chump block and lose creatures. Finally, the turn before I could deal lethal damage, he suited up a Cystbearer with a few auras, a few combat tricks and, a trepenation blade. He swings, pulls my top 3 cards for a total of 10 poison in a single attack. Yay variance.
(3-2, 6-3)
End thoughts? Well, the casual players made this one a hard night to judge from a competitive stand point. I'll most likely never see infect decks when going to PTQs. I may, on some weird off chance, see one at the Grand Prix Qualifiers, but even that isn't likely. So what do I take away from the night? When you take Thatcher Revolt and pair it with a copy or two of Intangible Virtue and a Champion of the Parish, it goes from being a pretty weak card, to being a huge swing. Paired with a Champ and even a single Intangible gives you nine power spread across 4 bodies to swing in with. I wasn't sure I'd like it or not, but I really do. So the deck list?
So my thoughts on the deck go something like this... I never got to play the Conscripts, so I don't know how good they are or aren't yet. I think if I had the chance to play them against another more competitive deck like Ramp, I'd love them. Sorin... I find myself holding him and playing more tokens or more anthem effects a lot of the time. I like him, I think he's really solid, but I just don't know if he's good enough in this deck. I do like that he gives me more reach into a long game, but I'm wondering if maybe Elspeth or another copy of Gideon wouldn't be better. Game enders in the deck are the Sword of Feast and Famine and the Angelic Destiny. I can't tell you how fast those two cards just put games away after they resolve. Another great finisher is Hero of Bladehold. So hard to stop after it resolves.
Really, what I think the deck needs are a few better card choices in the midgame phase to help pull wins across. Maybe the right call is to drop Sorin for another sword and another Angelic? Not sure yet. Suggestions or thoughts?
SD13
I played RWB Tokens (A list I'll disclose later.)
Round 1- Loss.
Round 2.
Played against a poison deck that was very typical. Green and blue with some unblockable guys, a lot of infect, and a bunch of random combat tricks to secure the win. I crushed his hopes and dreams. First game I got a slow hand (At least it looked slow at first glance). I played a tapped land first turn, second turn another and a Champ of the Parish. Third turn Thatcher Revolt and swung for 7, Fourth turn Thatcher Revolt and Swung for 10. Fifth and 6th turn were dropping tokens to get winning damage through. Pretty fun game, he didn't have enough steam to keep me down. Second game was a more normal game, with me dropping tokens to chump block while pushing some vigilance tokens into the redzone for a fairly quick kill.
(1-1, 2-0)
Round 3.
Played against the only competitive deck I saw all night. He was running Esper Spirits. Not exactly top tier, but still fringe competitive. First game I out paced him early on and got a fairly quick win. Thatcher Revolt provided a significant damage percentage in this game, too. Second game he played all the tricks but couldn't stem the tide of tokens coming in and I flash-backed a Rally the Peasants to pull down the win. The only real mistake I made in this one was side board options. I saw delver and snapcaster and I got locked in on them without paying attention to what else he played, so I made a bad deck call. I read it as UW Delver instead of spirits, so I put in a few cards to improve my matchup against control instead of against the swarm. Fortunately for me, he never hit his swarm and I was easily able to out pace him for easy wins.
(2-1, 4-0)
Round 4.
Played against RG Werewolves. Won the first game by sneaking across in the air to get the win with some Lingering Souls tokens pumped by Intangible. Second game was very grindy and we both have very locked up board states. He managed to get out a Mayor of Avenbruck and a pair of Huntmasters and after that it was all down hill. Third game, I resolved a Sword of Feast and Famine on turn 3, Turn 4 Piled it onto a Champ of the Parish and played a Honor of the Pure and started the one sided beating. Being able to untap my lands every turn and then drop chump blockers or anthem effects won this game with ease. He did manage to get in some good damage via Kessig Wolfrun and a Daybreak Ranger that had been beefed up with Increasing Savagery. I did toss out the chump blocker tokens before he started giving it trample, but after that, I focused more about getting damage across.
(3-1, 6-1)
Round 5.
Played against another UG Infect deck. This one was even less evolved than the other and the guy just got lucky. Apparently, he'd been getting lucky every round because he was 3-1 when he sat down with me, too. First game, he got the nuts draw and beat me into the ground by turn 4 in much the same manor I'd seen most infect decks work. Game two, I kept a hand I felt good about that was going to have me locking down the board and getting damage through pretty quickly. It worked out just the way I expected, with him being forced to chump block and lose creatures. Finally, the turn before I could deal lethal damage, he suited up a Cystbearer with a few auras, a few combat tricks and, a trepenation blade. He swings, pulls my top 3 cards for a total of 10 poison in a single attack. Yay variance.
(3-2, 6-3)
End thoughts? Well, the casual players made this one a hard night to judge from a competitive stand point. I'll most likely never see infect decks when going to PTQs. I may, on some weird off chance, see one at the Grand Prix Qualifiers, but even that isn't likely. So what do I take away from the night? When you take Thatcher Revolt and pair it with a copy or two of Intangible Virtue and a Champion of the Parish, it goes from being a pretty weak card, to being a huge swing. Paired with a Champ and even a single Intangible gives you nine power spread across 4 bodies to swing in with. I wasn't sure I'd like it or not, but I really do. So the deck list?
4 Champion of the Parish
2 Hero of Bladehold
2 Zealous Conscripts
(8 Creatures)
4 Lingering Souls
4 Gather the Townsfolk
4 Rally the Peasants
3 Thatcher Revolt
4 Intangible Virtue
2 Honor of the Pure
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Angelic Destiny
1 Day of Judgement
(25 Spells)
1 Gideon Jura
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
(3 Planeswalkers)
4 Clifftop Retreat
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Slayers' Stronghold
2 Vault of the Archangel
2 Mountain
2 Swamp
8 Plains
(24 Land)
Sideboard
3 Oblivion Ring
1 Day of Judgment
2 Elspeth Tirel
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Grafdigger's Cage (Meant to be 3 Cages, no Nihil, but I couldn't find my other cages in time.)
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (Bad choice and I'd almost never put her in.)
2 Torpor Orb
2 Grand Abolisher
So my thoughts on the deck go something like this... I never got to play the Conscripts, so I don't know how good they are or aren't yet. I think if I had the chance to play them against another more competitive deck like Ramp, I'd love them. Sorin... I find myself holding him and playing more tokens or more anthem effects a lot of the time. I like him, I think he's really solid, but I just don't know if he's good enough in this deck. I do like that he gives me more reach into a long game, but I'm wondering if maybe Elspeth or another copy of Gideon wouldn't be better. Game enders in the deck are the Sword of Feast and Famine and the Angelic Destiny. I can't tell you how fast those two cards just put games away after they resolve. Another great finisher is Hero of Bladehold. So hard to stop after it resolves.
Really, what I think the deck needs are a few better card choices in the midgame phase to help pull wins across. Maybe the right call is to drop Sorin for another sword and another Angelic? Not sure yet. Suggestions or thoughts?
SD13
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Giddy and Intrigued
So, this is mostly a post just to relate that I'm giddy about the fact that my wonderful girlfriend and I have managed to put our finances on stable enough ground in time for me to pre-order one of the last boxes that Full Moon Games had available of Avacyn Restored, so I have a chance to crack some packs tomorrow night at midnight.
In other news, I've started hearing more and more about 3d altered art cards and I have to say I'm intrigued. The first I heard of it was a friend of mine in Florida mentioned seeing some at a local shop in Tampa. Which is pretty cool and I thought it was a novel idea. But with EDH (Now called commander because Wizards can't leave well enough alone), I can really see that having a few really fun generals made into 3d cards could be fun and enjoyable. Also, I read on TCG play (or perhaps it was Quiet Speculation) that a judge at a major event (I believe it was a PTQ) last week cleared a 3D Delver of Secrets for play so long as the required checklist card was actually the one sleeved up. That means that 3d versions of the flip cards are actually legal for play. That makes me want to get a few Delvers. Also it made me start thinking about the idea of using 3d tokens. After a brief google search, there were some really cool ideas for these 3d cards. Some include abacus type counters or even the older style spinning counters that used to come in fat packs. I love this idea. I think it would be really cool to have a few 3d Tokens with counters to keep track of numbers for my token decks. Anyone think they can pull off making these kinds of things and doing it well? If so, there may be commissions in your future.
SD13
In other news, I've started hearing more and more about 3d altered art cards and I have to say I'm intrigued. The first I heard of it was a friend of mine in Florida mentioned seeing some at a local shop in Tampa. Which is pretty cool and I thought it was a novel idea. But with EDH (Now called commander because Wizards can't leave well enough alone), I can really see that having a few really fun generals made into 3d cards could be fun and enjoyable. Also, I read on TCG play (or perhaps it was Quiet Speculation) that a judge at a major event (I believe it was a PTQ) last week cleared a 3D Delver of Secrets for play so long as the required checklist card was actually the one sleeved up. That means that 3d versions of the flip cards are actually legal for play. That makes me want to get a few Delvers. Also it made me start thinking about the idea of using 3d tokens. After a brief google search, there were some really cool ideas for these 3d cards. Some include abacus type counters or even the older style spinning counters that used to come in fat packs. I love this idea. I think it would be really cool to have a few 3d Tokens with counters to keep track of numbers for my token decks. Anyone think they can pull off making these kinds of things and doing it well? If so, there may be commissions in your future.
SD13
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Some Thoughts on Post Avacyn Standard
Well, I'm back again and I'm loving the Avacyn Restored stuff I'm seeing around so far. I didn't get a chance to play in the pre-releases, but that's just the way life happens some days. This time around though, I'd like to talk about a few cards I'm excited to see coming into play in the near future. Personally, my favorite card in the set, bar none, is Angel of Jubilation. She's cheap, she's an anthem ability, she's flying, and she'll be a fun problem to toss in front of your opponents. Best yet, she'll slot right into my token deck.
Speaking of decks that gained new toys, I've been looking through the new stuff that might add to my Venser deck. While there's not a ton of stuff added that's in the colors that I liked, there is some stuff that's fairly splashable that could be fun to add. I just have to go through and find it and do some more playtesting with the deck in general. It does look fun though. I did alright with it in the FNM I played it in. It needs some tweaking in general, but I think the numbers are close. It may need a few more lands and it certainly needs to lose the inquisitor exarchs. I've already got them slotted in for Suture Priests.
So, what do we have to talk about until next time we play? Hmmm... Cards I'm looking for from Avacyn? My list goes like this:
1. Zealous Conscripts
2. Angel of Jubilation
3. Entreat the Angels
4. Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
5. Sigarda, Host of Herons
6. Slayers' Stronghold
7. Cavern of Souls
Those pretty much sum up my picks from the set. At least the ones I don't think are too over hyped. I don't like Temporal Mastery much. It'll be good in some older formats, but I think it's being over rated currently. I feel the same way about some of the other cards in the set. Vexing Devils seem good, but I don't think they're 15 dollars worth of good. They should settle down some in a few weeks. Those are just my opinions though. I think most of the cards that are topping 15.00 right now will settle down to around there by the end of May. I don't think there are many cards in this set that are going to change the face of the Standard format the way we play it now.
SD 13
Speaking of decks that gained new toys, I've been looking through the new stuff that might add to my Venser deck. While there's not a ton of stuff added that's in the colors that I liked, there is some stuff that's fairly splashable that could be fun to add. I just have to go through and find it and do some more playtesting with the deck in general. It does look fun though. I did alright with it in the FNM I played it in. It needs some tweaking in general, but I think the numbers are close. It may need a few more lands and it certainly needs to lose the inquisitor exarchs. I've already got them slotted in for Suture Priests.
So, what do we have to talk about until next time we play? Hmmm... Cards I'm looking for from Avacyn? My list goes like this:
1. Zealous Conscripts
2. Angel of Jubilation
3. Entreat the Angels
4. Gisela, Blade of Goldnight
5. Sigarda, Host of Herons
6. Slayers' Stronghold
7. Cavern of Souls
Those pretty much sum up my picks from the set. At least the ones I don't think are too over hyped. I don't like Temporal Mastery much. It'll be good in some older formats, but I think it's being over rated currently. I feel the same way about some of the other cards in the set. Vexing Devils seem good, but I don't think they're 15 dollars worth of good. They should settle down some in a few weeks. Those are just my opinions though. I think most of the cards that are topping 15.00 right now will settle down to around there by the end of May. I don't think there are many cards in this set that are going to change the face of the Standard format the way we play it now.
SD 13
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Avacyn Restored!
The newest set has been spoiled in its entirety and I'm giddy. There looks to be so many fun new cards in this set that I'm really upset I can't afford to buy two boxes right this instant. What strikes me at first glance is how many cards look to be playable right away and how many more are bound to become staples in even the farther reaching formats. This block has been amazing and has taken its place amongst my favorites of all time for sure. I've got at least three deck ideas I want to explore more after I get my hands on this set now. My personal favorite of the three is probably going to be RBW Tokens. I'll post more when I get to play with some of the new toys over the weekend (hopefully).
SD13
SD13
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Local Level Events and Brewing
So this weekend I went and played in the Friday night events at one of the local shops. Truehidaway Family & Gaming in Robinson, IL. I played in two events, one Modern and one Standard. I ran my BW Tokens list in the Modern event and went 3-0 (6-2 for games) to win the event. The Standard event was a little less flawless, since I was running a Venser Aggro list that I'm brewing up... This is the interesting part.
So my list is pretty fresh, and I'm still getting the hang of it. Here goes:
Main Deck
3 Venser, The Sojourner
3 Ponder
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Intangible Virtue
3 Honor of the Pure
1 Day of Judgment
(15 Spells)
2 Grand Abolisher
4 Blade Splicer
2 Master Splicer
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Champion of the Parish
3 Stonehorn Dignitary
3 Inquisitor Exarch
(22 Creatures)
7 Plains
5 Island
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Glacial Fortress (I only own 3, need 1 more)
2 Moorland Haunt
2 Ghost Quarter
(23 Lands)
Sideboard
3 Trinket Mage
1 Elixer of Immortality
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Hex Parasite
1 Blazing Torch
1 Elspeth Tirel
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Oblivion Ring
The Play-by-Play of the Standard Event.
Round 1
I played against a mono black aggro deck. Basically, the only plan I could see in either of these two decks (I played the same basic deck twice) was to hurry out Phyrexian Obliterator and then skate to an easy W. Game one, he did just that and I couldn't do anything after that to secure the win. Game 2, I kept after mulling down to 6 and having 2 land in hand. I never saw a third land and that made it an easy win for him.
(0-1, 0-2)
Round 2
Played against RG Werewolves. It was a short first game and he outraced me to the win. Same as Game 1 of the first round, it could have gone either way. Game 2, was a lot more difficult for him, since I had boarded in my trinket mage package. His undying stuff wasn't working after an early Grafdigger's cage and I managed to lock out his attack phase with Venser/Stonehorn until I could build up game winning damage and get through with everything unblocked. Sadly, this opponent doesn't belive in conceding lost games, so we had to play it all out. We didn't even have time to start Game 3, and it went to a draw.
(0-1-1, 1-3)
Round 3
I played against a mono-white weenies style deck for this one. It was a tough couple of games. He won first round with a 4th turn Champ of the Parish suited up with Angelic Destiny. After the first game loss, I plugged in some O-rings and let the rest ride. We went back and forth and I got lucky enough to land a few well placed O-rings to get through for the win. Third game was more of the same.
(1-1-1, 3-4)
Round 4
Round 4 was playing against another Mono-black aggro. Game 1 was rough and he won. Game 2 I boarded in the Trinket Mage package and the Oblivion Rings. I managed to control him long enough to get a win in through 2 O-ringed Phyrexian Obliterators. Game 3 was more of the same. He played a problem, I played a solution. Finally Dayed to wipe his board, then made my case with a Giest of Saint Traft suited up with a Sword of Feast and Famine.
(2-1-1, 5-5)
Not exactly the way I'd have liked to have rode to victory, but I guess placing third (in a weak play environment) with a deck that I had never played before isn't so bad. I need to tweak and refine the monster though. I wasn't impressed by the Inquisitor Exarch at all and I'm thinking Suture Priest will be a better fit. Each creature I drop bumps me up by 1 and each one they drop takes one down... I think that'll be a good way to help along the road with clogged board states like what I saw in the Mono-white and the RG Werewolf match ups. I know that none of these decks are likely to be seen in more developed metagames, but I still needed to playtest and some of the lessons will apply across the actual meta. I'm open to questions, commentary or suggestions on this deck. I think it has real potential, but it'll just have to see more play before I know for sure.
SD13
So my list is pretty fresh, and I'm still getting the hang of it. Here goes:
Main Deck
3 Venser, The Sojourner
3 Ponder
1 Sword of War and Peace
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
3 Intangible Virtue
3 Honor of the Pure
1 Day of Judgment
(15 Spells)
2 Grand Abolisher
4 Blade Splicer
2 Master Splicer
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Champion of the Parish
3 Stonehorn Dignitary
3 Inquisitor Exarch
(22 Creatures)
7 Plains
5 Island
4 Seachrome Coast
3 Glacial Fortress (I only own 3, need 1 more)
2 Moorland Haunt
2 Ghost Quarter
(23 Lands)
Sideboard
3 Trinket Mage
1 Elixer of Immortality
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Hex Parasite
1 Blazing Torch
1 Elspeth Tirel
2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Oblivion Ring
The Play-by-Play of the Standard Event.
Round 1
I played against a mono black aggro deck. Basically, the only plan I could see in either of these two decks (I played the same basic deck twice) was to hurry out Phyrexian Obliterator and then skate to an easy W. Game one, he did just that and I couldn't do anything after that to secure the win. Game 2, I kept after mulling down to 6 and having 2 land in hand. I never saw a third land and that made it an easy win for him.
(0-1, 0-2)
Round 2
Played against RG Werewolves. It was a short first game and he outraced me to the win. Same as Game 1 of the first round, it could have gone either way. Game 2, was a lot more difficult for him, since I had boarded in my trinket mage package. His undying stuff wasn't working after an early Grafdigger's cage and I managed to lock out his attack phase with Venser/Stonehorn until I could build up game winning damage and get through with everything unblocked. Sadly, this opponent doesn't belive in conceding lost games, so we had to play it all out. We didn't even have time to start Game 3, and it went to a draw.
(0-1-1, 1-3)
Round 3
I played against a mono-white weenies style deck for this one. It was a tough couple of games. He won first round with a 4th turn Champ of the Parish suited up with Angelic Destiny. After the first game loss, I plugged in some O-rings and let the rest ride. We went back and forth and I got lucky enough to land a few well placed O-rings to get through for the win. Third game was more of the same.
(1-1-1, 3-4)
Round 4
Round 4 was playing against another Mono-black aggro. Game 1 was rough and he won. Game 2 I boarded in the Trinket Mage package and the Oblivion Rings. I managed to control him long enough to get a win in through 2 O-ringed Phyrexian Obliterators. Game 3 was more of the same. He played a problem, I played a solution. Finally Dayed to wipe his board, then made my case with a Giest of Saint Traft suited up with a Sword of Feast and Famine.
(2-1-1, 5-5)
Not exactly the way I'd have liked to have rode to victory, but I guess placing third (in a weak play environment) with a deck that I had never played before isn't so bad. I need to tweak and refine the monster though. I wasn't impressed by the Inquisitor Exarch at all and I'm thinking Suture Priest will be a better fit. Each creature I drop bumps me up by 1 and each one they drop takes one down... I think that'll be a good way to help along the road with clogged board states like what I saw in the Mono-white and the RG Werewolf match ups. I know that none of these decks are likely to be seen in more developed metagames, but I still needed to playtest and some of the lessons will apply across the actual meta. I'm open to questions, commentary or suggestions on this deck. I think it has real potential, but it'll just have to see more play before I know for sure.
SD13
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The 19th of May
So I decided to back up 5 yards and punt. I've ruled out some of the other thoughts I had and have decided to use my position in Midwest Warfare to my advantage. Instead of trying to plan around the Terrain building day on the 19th that would have precluded me from going to the Indy PTQ, I decided to move the event to Sunday so I could go to Indy on Saturday. Now I just have to decide what I want to play in that tournament. I'm trying to bash out a Venser aggro list, and I think I've got a good start on it. Now just to sleeve it up and do a little playtesting.
SD13
SD13
Monday, April 16, 2012
Conflicted Intrests
Well, that sucks. I finally got my hands on the upcoming PTQ schedule for Protour Return to Ravnica and it is very unfortunate for me. Seems that most of the nearby dates that would be easy to get to and have fun at are corresponding with the 40K tournament we're putting on. So yeah, I'm gonna have to drive all the way to Louisville, St. Louis, or Columbus to play. I'm a bit bummed. But, I need to get in 2-3 more of these events over the next 3 months to keep up with my resolution of playing in six competitive level events this year. So irritated...
In other news, I'm working on a few fun brews for Standard. I'm tinkering with a Venser deck that's more aggro than control, which is definitely not where he's used most. But I think keying him up with some of the "enters the battlefield" effects has a lot of potential for some cards that usually play into more aggro style decks. I'm thinking of pairing him with a few of the splicers that put golems into play, as well as a few of the other good white creatures that hit the same way. With a few copies of intangible virtue, honor of the pure, and some other prize cards, I think we can make a very fun UW aggro deck that manages to feature the underplayed and unsung planeswalker. And I would definitely like some feed back on this idea.
SD13
In other news, I'm working on a few fun brews for Standard. I'm tinkering with a Venser deck that's more aggro than control, which is definitely not where he's used most. But I think keying him up with some of the "enters the battlefield" effects has a lot of potential for some cards that usually play into more aggro style decks. I'm thinking of pairing him with a few of the splicers that put golems into play, as well as a few of the other good white creatures that hit the same way. With a few copies of intangible virtue, honor of the pure, and some other prize cards, I think we can make a very fun UW aggro deck that manages to feature the underplayed and unsung planeswalker. And I would definitely like some feed back on this idea.
SD13
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Trades and Upcoming Events
So got a few things to post about tonight...
May is going to be a very busy month for me. The last few weeks especially. May 19th is a terrain building day being hosted in Vincinnes at Legends Family Games. It's to stock up the store terrain pool and to make sure we've got enough stuff for a table or two more than we do now. Currently, the Midwest Warfare group is up to nearly 40 people. That's a personal point of pride. The Indianapolis tournament scene (the seriously competitive part) is around 30 people that show up to the 'Ard Boyz events that Games Workshop sponsors. I'm pretty proud of the fact we've got so many people in our group. Also, our 6th tournament is being held on the 26th and the 27 at Legends as well. Talking to the guys down there today helped really get some good work put together for next month.
Speaking of the guys in Vincinnes, I got to do a little trading and some playing today that was productive. I met a guy named... Something I can't remember. I really need to work on names. But he's a cool guy and was very knowledgeable. We did some trading, partially for value, partially for playability in our own interests. I hope he got the stuff he was looking for and I'm very pleased with the stuff I got in return. I have to attribute the smooth trading to the guys over at TCG for the articles about trading, particularly the recent one about transparency in trades. Being able to establish what we were and were not willing to trade right away and with ease really helped get things along. It also helped to know what each other were looking for and what kind of prices we went by. Things went very well. Then we sat down to play a few games. I only had one playable deck on me, my Modern BW Tokens. He played one game with a mono-white Humans for Standard. His second deck was BG Pod. He had a very interesting spin on it. It piloted more like a control deck than the standard Birthing Pod fare. It was innovated, and very effective. I have to admit, I underestimated how effective massacre wurm. That card really turned his game around when he dumped it out. The deck he played really was very good at putting me on a tight clock. The lesson learned was easy enough to sort out... Grafsdigger Cage is worth it's weight in gold and I need to find my few copies. They shut down Undying, as well as the Birthing Pod itself.
So, in closing, I've learned a few things today and got a lot done. Now just to start figuring into my Standard deck for the upcoming PTQ season. And before that, I have to get a Warhammer tournament in order... Sounds like May is going to be a very busy month.
SD13
May is going to be a very busy month for me. The last few weeks especially. May 19th is a terrain building day being hosted in Vincinnes at Legends Family Games. It's to stock up the store terrain pool and to make sure we've got enough stuff for a table or two more than we do now. Currently, the Midwest Warfare group is up to nearly 40 people. That's a personal point of pride. The Indianapolis tournament scene (the seriously competitive part) is around 30 people that show up to the 'Ard Boyz events that Games Workshop sponsors. I'm pretty proud of the fact we've got so many people in our group. Also, our 6th tournament is being held on the 26th and the 27 at Legends as well. Talking to the guys down there today helped really get some good work put together for next month.
Speaking of the guys in Vincinnes, I got to do a little trading and some playing today that was productive. I met a guy named... Something I can't remember. I really need to work on names. But he's a cool guy and was very knowledgeable. We did some trading, partially for value, partially for playability in our own interests. I hope he got the stuff he was looking for and I'm very pleased with the stuff I got in return. I have to attribute the smooth trading to the guys over at TCG for the articles about trading, particularly the recent one about transparency in trades. Being able to establish what we were and were not willing to trade right away and with ease really helped get things along. It also helped to know what each other were looking for and what kind of prices we went by. Things went very well. Then we sat down to play a few games. I only had one playable deck on me, my Modern BW Tokens. He played one game with a mono-white Humans for Standard. His second deck was BG Pod. He had a very interesting spin on it. It piloted more like a control deck than the standard Birthing Pod fare. It was innovated, and very effective. I have to admit, I underestimated how effective massacre wurm. That card really turned his game around when he dumped it out. The deck he played really was very good at putting me on a tight clock. The lesson learned was easy enough to sort out... Grafsdigger Cage is worth it's weight in gold and I need to find my few copies. They shut down Undying, as well as the Birthing Pod itself.
So, in closing, I've learned a few things today and got a lot done. Now just to start figuring into my Standard deck for the upcoming PTQ season. And before that, I have to get a Warhammer tournament in order... Sounds like May is going to be a very busy month.
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Tuesday, April 10, 2012
PTQ Dreams
So the newest season of Pro Tour Qualifiers started last weekend on the 7th and is running through the middle of August. I'm really hoping to catch some breaks on the front of playtesting partners and potential car-pool help to get to these events. With a little luck, I could play in more than the 6 that I set the bar for in December. Standard is really accessible, so it should be a little easier to have people to play with than Modern was. And with the way the new set looks so far, this format is going to be sick.
Plenty of new staples for Standard coming in with the new releases from the look of it. Still really liking the positioning of BW Tokens so far, and even GW Ramp or GW Tokens may have some good gas. I also want to check into Venser Control. It looks like a very fun deck to play with a lot of fun interactions. I guess we'll just have to see where the format heads with the new cards coming in. I really doubt the meta game will be shattered and altered entirely by the new set. Sure, there will be some changes to the established decks, but they're all sure to gain some new playables. It's hard to imagine the format gaining entirely new deck types until after the Scars block rotates though.
We'll see. Here's to hoping that the new set has a lot to offer though. I'm looking forward to seeing the new face of the game.
SD13
Plenty of new staples for Standard coming in with the new releases from the look of it. Still really liking the positioning of BW Tokens so far, and even GW Ramp or GW Tokens may have some good gas. I also want to check into Venser Control. It looks like a very fun deck to play with a lot of fun interactions. I guess we'll just have to see where the format heads with the new cards coming in. I really doubt the meta game will be shattered and altered entirely by the new set. Sure, there will be some changes to the established decks, but they're all sure to gain some new playables. It's hard to imagine the format gaining entirely new deck types until after the Scars block rotates though.
We'll see. Here's to hoping that the new set has a lot to offer though. I'm looking forward to seeing the new face of the game.
SD13
Saturday, April 7, 2012
New Sets Revealed!
Just tossing out there how excited I am about the newest things previewed by Wizards of the Coast about Magic. The few cards (there are 6) that they have spoiled from Avacyn Restored are very interesting. Nothing game-changing yet, just a preview of the newest mechanics they're going to be dropping on us. There's an interesting top-decking mechanic that will be fun to play into some blue decks that have deck stacking capabilities. There's an obligatory banding style mechanic that buffs two creatures at the same time by "pairing" them. And there are some very cool cards in general. Now onto my actual "sqee" moment...
The next block is Return to Ravnica. For those not in the know, Ravnica: City of Guilds was one of my favorite sets and the Ravnica block is probably my all time favorite Magic environment. Those sets made multicolored decks the norm, not the exception. It also had a very competitive power level and very interesting set of interactions. Deck building wasn't linear since pure tribal decks weren't the solution. And while I do love me some tribal Magic, it does make for a very boring constructed environment if everyone is running one of four or five competitive ready-made tribal decks they way it went down in the two Lorwyn blocks.
So, depending on the direction that the last set of the Inistrad block takes and what direction they decide to go with M13 (core set), Magic is bound in a very fun and interesting direction! I can't wait to get a hand into all of it. That being said, there is still a ton of room for error and for the guys at Wizards to drop the ball. I'm praying that the next two years of Magic are as exciting as I think they can be!
SD13
The next block is Return to Ravnica. For those not in the know, Ravnica: City of Guilds was one of my favorite sets and the Ravnica block is probably my all time favorite Magic environment. Those sets made multicolored decks the norm, not the exception. It also had a very competitive power level and very interesting set of interactions. Deck building wasn't linear since pure tribal decks weren't the solution. And while I do love me some tribal Magic, it does make for a very boring constructed environment if everyone is running one of four or five competitive ready-made tribal decks they way it went down in the two Lorwyn blocks.
So, depending on the direction that the last set of the Inistrad block takes and what direction they decide to go with M13 (core set), Magic is bound in a very fun and interesting direction! I can't wait to get a hand into all of it. That being said, there is still a ton of room for error and for the guys at Wizards to drop the ball. I'm praying that the next two years of Magic are as exciting as I think they can be!
SD13
Thursday, April 5, 2012
New Friends
So I went on a bit of a safari today in the name of Midwest Warfare. I bumped into a new group on accident at the school today. They're from a bit farther north, so I referred them to the guys here in town instead of trying to talk them into driving 2 to 3 hours to play with us. After meeting him and getting his info, I went on into the local shop here in town to help cement a working relationship with the locals. I guess this is how networking goes... Who'd have thought that Snibble and I launching a gaming group would have led me to such an interesting position. I find it a point of pride that the full blown competitive tournaments in and around Indianapolis have around 12-15 players and we in our small group have 12 regular players and a handful of extras. And even better, we're still growing. As I meet and speak to new players from all over this edge of the state, we're going to be picking up new players. I already know of two or possibly three more people who are going to be playing in the next tournament, putting our numbers up to around 15. I'm proud of that.
In a slightly different direction, I've managed to drag a few new friends into the wonderful world of Magic and I've managed to get my girlfriend to agree to learn. At least she's willing to pick up the basics.... It's a start. I'm looking forward to teaching her, too. It'll be a good time if I don't nit-pick and drive her mad.
So, on this new bit of my journey, I'm going to become a teacher of Magic again... Fun. I hate teaching the basics. I suck at it.
SD13
In a slightly different direction, I've managed to drag a few new friends into the wonderful world of Magic and I've managed to get my girlfriend to agree to learn. At least she's willing to pick up the basics.... It's a start. I'm looking forward to teaching her, too. It'll be a good time if I don't nit-pick and drive her mad.
So, on this new bit of my journey, I'm going to become a teacher of Magic again... Fun. I hate teaching the basics. I suck at it.
SD13
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Scheduling...
Scheduling is a pain in the ass. I'm trying to get a grip on how I'm going to book the rest of the year out as far as my gaming adventures go. So far, I'm 2/6 on my competitive Magic endeavors. I'm trying to plot out the next few so I can start practicing and getting a feel for the next big thing to try. It looks like the coming PTQs will be in Standard, which suits me fine, since I think I can make a few standard decks that'll play well in a variety of ways. That's always a good plan so you can have a feel for the metagame and be able to make last second audibles to new decks away from the weaker ones against a given field.
Anyway, that's my big thing right now. So far, I'm looking at a Grand Prix in Minneapolis, but that's a 10 hour drive and has the potential to turn into a 3 day event... I can't afford that. There's also a Grand Prix in Columbus, which is much more manageable, but could still be a 2 or 3 day event... Less driving, but still... Could be tough to finance. That's all that's on the big event calendar right now. There's always more to come though.
SD13
Anyway, that's my big thing right now. So far, I'm looking at a Grand Prix in Minneapolis, but that's a 10 hour drive and has the potential to turn into a 3 day event... I can't afford that. There's also a Grand Prix in Columbus, which is much more manageable, but could still be a 2 or 3 day event... Less driving, but still... Could be tough to finance. That's all that's on the big event calendar right now. There's always more to come though.
SD13
Monday, March 26, 2012
On the Horizon
Well, the next thing up on the gaming agenda is prepping for the next Midwest Warfare tournament. Some weekend in May. Just put up a poll for it in the Facebook page. Get over there and have a look if you haven't yet. Other than that, still in the middle of a move. That schedule may have just got stepped up, but there'll have to be more details on that later, since I'm not sure what's going on yet. That's pretty much all from me for now.
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Wednesday, March 14, 2012
D&D Reloaded
I'm getting things in order to start playing in a new D&D game with some friends and possibly my girlfriend for her first time. I'm working on a new character and right now, I've got the basics of the campaign in mind. We're going to be starting at level 2 and working up from there. We are also required to take 1 level of fighter, as we've been inducted into a large city's militia. So... I'm thinking I'm going to play a rich kid who's rank was paid for by "daddy." Maybe a fighter/ aristocrat or fighter/bard. Don't know yet. But I'm planning on kind of basing him off of Zap Branigan from Futurama. I think he'll be hilarious and will give a lot of flavor to the group. I just have to make him a touch more realistic and serious. But yeah, lecherous pompous asshole seems to be the order of the day. Just some thoughts for the day.
SD13
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Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Next Big Move?
Alright, so my gf and I have found a new place and I'm going to be moving for the rest of the month. That means no big events for a little bit. On the upside, the gaming room I've got set aside there is a solid 10 sq. foot bigger than the one in this house and still has a nice roomy closet to stash all the construction materials in. Anyway, I've got to get running to finish securing the said abode.
SD13
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Friday, March 9, 2012
Afterthoughts about PTQ Indy
Alright, so it took a few more days than I expected, but spring break caught up with me and I felt like getting out of the house and relaxing a bit.
So, post PTQ Barcelona notes... Well, BW Tokens was really powerful and steady. To be blunt, I was under-rested and underfed and I was still able to pilot this wonderfully fun brew to a solid finish. If I had had a good night's rest and a proper breakfast, I might have been sharp enough to avoid making some of the mistakes that cost me a few of those games. I will concede however that one game loss was purely the result of a lack of experience in the format on my part. Veldakin Shackles in a control deck is just too powerful.
Also, after a little more playtesting, U control seems to be my deck's biggest weakness. Which, all things considered isn't that bad. Control decks like UW Control and monoU Fairies don't make up a very big percentage of the field in most of the modern format tourneys I've read through. Especially not at the top end. My deck beat a few of the nastier decks that the format has to offer and came through pretty easily. The one deck that beat it that wasn't outright control was still not really a bad matchup, it was just a bad game for me and a close race for the two decks.
As far as personal play notes... Bob is a pain in the ass. If you get anxious and forget his trigger during your upkeep, you instantly screw up and get a game play warning, and if you do it enough times, and automatic game loss. After my second warning, I managed to remember the rest of the day. But he's still a lurker that can cost you. Secondly, it is important to slow down and do things one step at a time and in the proper order. Fortunately, my first opponent was nice enough to let me take back a step in combat to avoid screwing up a bad play. My other opponents were not so lenient, and honestly shouldn't have been. So, slow down, take things through the phases of each step one at a time, and keep your head in the game. Speaking of focus... I wasn't able to block out the outside world from the game as easily as I usually do. That's saying something. Typically when I sit down to play competitive Magic, nothing shy of a hurricane can break my concentration. That day, I couldn't keep my head in a game for a minute. I'll chalk that up to lack of good rest.
Lessons learned in summary? Slow down and do it right, get a good night's sleep, eat breakfast, and be aware of the tricks that at least most of the field have to offer. I think next time those are my goals. There are no more PTQs for this season, so I'm going to shoot for Grand Prix events to fill out the rest of the calendar year. My goal is four more competitive level events this year. I think I have an honest shot at doing great things if I keep learning at the pace I am.
SD13
So, post PTQ Barcelona notes... Well, BW Tokens was really powerful and steady. To be blunt, I was under-rested and underfed and I was still able to pilot this wonderfully fun brew to a solid finish. If I had had a good night's rest and a proper breakfast, I might have been sharp enough to avoid making some of the mistakes that cost me a few of those games. I will concede however that one game loss was purely the result of a lack of experience in the format on my part. Veldakin Shackles in a control deck is just too powerful.
Also, after a little more playtesting, U control seems to be my deck's biggest weakness. Which, all things considered isn't that bad. Control decks like UW Control and monoU Fairies don't make up a very big percentage of the field in most of the modern format tourneys I've read through. Especially not at the top end. My deck beat a few of the nastier decks that the format has to offer and came through pretty easily. The one deck that beat it that wasn't outright control was still not really a bad matchup, it was just a bad game for me and a close race for the two decks.
As far as personal play notes... Bob is a pain in the ass. If you get anxious and forget his trigger during your upkeep, you instantly screw up and get a game play warning, and if you do it enough times, and automatic game loss. After my second warning, I managed to remember the rest of the day. But he's still a lurker that can cost you. Secondly, it is important to slow down and do things one step at a time and in the proper order. Fortunately, my first opponent was nice enough to let me take back a step in combat to avoid screwing up a bad play. My other opponents were not so lenient, and honestly shouldn't have been. So, slow down, take things through the phases of each step one at a time, and keep your head in the game. Speaking of focus... I wasn't able to block out the outside world from the game as easily as I usually do. That's saying something. Typically when I sit down to play competitive Magic, nothing shy of a hurricane can break my concentration. That day, I couldn't keep my head in a game for a minute. I'll chalk that up to lack of good rest.
Lessons learned in summary? Slow down and do it right, get a good night's sleep, eat breakfast, and be aware of the tricks that at least most of the field have to offer. I think next time those are my goals. There are no more PTQs for this season, so I'm going to shoot for Grand Prix events to fill out the rest of the calendar year. My goal is four more competitive level events this year. I think I have an honest shot at doing great things if I keep learning at the pace I am.
SD13
Sunday, March 4, 2012
PTQ Barcelona (Indy, March 3rd)
So the event started at 11, which was one thing in a long series of lucky breaks that made it possible for me to even attend. My girl friend got sent home from work and if not for her waking me up, Stars know when I might have come around. But she woke me up at nine and as far as the event posts were concerned, nine a.m. was the opening of registration. She talked me into getting up and trying to run up there anyway. I'm glad she did.
Anyway, long story short, we arrive late, but still in time to catch the last 15 minutes of the extended registration period. I got my deck list written out and picked up the last few cards I needed for my deck in time to have about ten minutes to catch my breath before the first round.
So, there we are at the start of round one.
Round 1
I pair up against a gentleman from Louisville, KY by the name of Phillip. Good guy, very friendly, and easy going. Turns out he was playing American Delver or possibly Scepter of Secrets. I never saw a Scepter drop, but that doesn't mean they weren't in there.
Game 1 was down to the wire, and he ran out of gas before he could finish me. I spent four or five turns dangling like bait at one life while he hit land after land on the draw. I managed to cruise to a win on pure luck.
Game 2 was a race to the line. We both came out swinging for the fences and a turn difference either way was the game breaker. He finished me off with only 6 life and winning damage on the board for me.
Game 3 was a different story. I had a sketchy hand that I kept because of inexperience with the deck I was piloting. He came out with a nuts draw and had me burnt off in a mater of four or five turns total.
Lessons: Don't get in a rush. Calm down and keep your head in the game. This is just another game of Magic and you've been playing it since you were 14... Also, take the time to do things in the proper order so you don't miss triggers.
Record: 0-1 (games: 1-2)
Round 2
I paired off against a guy named Jackson. Seemed a friendly guy and as the first Thoughtseize in game 1, I got to see he was playing Vengevine/Fauna Shaman in some kind of ramp deck.
Game 1 ended up with me making a bad play and nearly letting my own Dark Confidant kill me. I should have hit him with a path instead of hitting a blocker that Jackson dropped that wouldn't have saved him more than a turn or two at most. Game ended with me sitting on one life. This was also the game that I made my first missed trigger on and failed at using Bob's trigger. I got a warning, but we didn't lose game-state, so that was it. Fortunately, there was a judge standing very nearby and we got the situation sorted out in a hurry.
Game 2. I boarded in my graveyard hate and never needed it. He dropped down a Knight of the Reliquary that never got to attack. I came out swinging for the fences with a nuts draw and he went down fast.
Record: 1-1 (games: 3-2)
Round 3
I sat down across from an over confident gentleman that shall remain nameless for his protection. He had a very cocky attitude and seemed to be very sour on me from the time we started playing. Even more so after he went down to a deck he though was a scrub pick. He was playing GW Ramp, with very little in the way of finesse.
Game 1 he mulled to 4, but still managed to put up a good fight, which had me concerned. He ended up losing the game, but it was drawn out and tough fought. Thoughtsculler actually was a game maker in this one. Also, the gentleman seemed genuinely confused about the presence of Dark Confidant in my deck, and then even more so by the Thoughtseize. I couldn't help but shake my head, wondering what the circumstances were that you would play a color and not utilize two of the best cards in the format that followed it.
Game 2 was a little less off balance for him, only having to mull once. However he immediately started boasting about his nuts draw after looking at his second six. I sat by passively and didn't let the trash talk get to me. I kept my opener on Bob, Intangible Virtue, and a Lingering + Land. He countered Bob, which I was planing on and baited him into. I stuck the LS and IV, then ground him out to an easy victory which he seemed rather put off by. Apparently he didn't think his homebrewed midrange ramp was going to have problems with my more aggressive rogue brew.
Record: 2-1 (games: 5-2)
Round 4
This is where my luck started to slip back against me. I played against a rather quiet, but polite fellow named John. He was running a very strong UW Control deck that put me on the back foot almost straight away. I hadn't expected to have such a tough matchup against control, but didn't really plan for it, either, seeing as I predicted a long list of aggro decks in the meta.
Game 1 was back and forth and could have gone either way. I don't remember all the details, but I did manage to slip by for the win.
Game 2 was a different story. I made a bad play early on and instead of burying a Veldakin Shackles under my Sculler, I put down a Wrath. The turn before, I picked out a disenchant with a Seize. So, I ended up playing back and forth between the wrath and the shackles the whole game... Talk about a mistake. I think I could have won this game if I'd have taken the shackles instead of the disenchant. I was too worried about protecting my aggro game and not enough about ensuring that his control was damaged sufficiently. After blowing out my initial onslaught with a few well placed removal, then following up with the wrath and a Squadron Hawk, I ended up getting ground out in a long game of attrition that ended very poorly.
Game 3 was much the same as game 2, but faster about it and with fewer mistakes. He just had a better seven and kicked the crap out of me with it.
Lessons: Don't get blinded by your game plan when you're using disruption. It's called disruption because it is supposed to mess up their strategies, not necessarily expedite yours. So with that in mind, and not having seen the dreaded Affinity match up, I should have kept the disenchants in the board so I could have dealt with Shackles.
Record: 2-2 (games 6-3)
Round 5
This was the second round of bad luck. I got seated opposite a very polite and skilled woman by the name of Brenna. She was piloting Monoblue Fairies, which as it turns out is one of my weakest match ups. All things being equal, the number of play mistakes I made was truly painful.
Game 1 was rough. It was a long drawn out game that ended with me losing to a pair of back to back Mistbind Clique that kept me out of the game for two turns and pounding me in the air for the loss.
Game 2 was very one sided. I had a great hand and she must have been lacking. I came across for an easy win. As an aside, I boarded in Torpor Orbs and Leyline of Sanctity against her, trying to prevent the same fiasco from occurring twice in a row.
Game 3 started off well, then went all terrible on me. I made a play mistake and had my second warning for a missed trigger on Bob. I had one of Brenna's friends watching from my side of the table and he screamed for a judge as soon as I picked the card up without flipping it over... I was a little irritated about it. Not that the judge was called, being as that was the proper course of action, but that a third party that wasn't a part of our game at all did it, and did it before I could say a word myself. So, I got distracted and put out of sorts. I kept listening to the people around me and got way out of my comfort zone, losing all focus. I ended up making a few more bad plays, and in the end Torpor Orb worked out to her advantage, allowing her to play a Mistbind Clique without causing the Champion effect to remove her remaining fairie from the board and giving her lethal damage.
Lessons: DO NOT ALLOW OTHERS TO PUSH YOU OUT OF COMFORT. This is a game of skill and concentration is what allows you to make good decisions and play at the top of your game. Having people watch at larger events such as this are just part of the game, and should be anticipated. Do not allow that to put you out of your focus.
On an unrelated note, Brenna's husband and coach went on to place in the top 8, though I didn't stick around long enough to find out how he actually finished. Other than the last game and getting so far out of focus, she was a pleasant opponent that even allowed me to take a few minutes to catch my breath and calm down during the third game.
Record: 2-3 (games: 7-5)
Round 6 and 7.
I don't really have any notes on these two rounds. I played round 6 against a guy named Josh who was piloting an American Delver deck that either wasn't built very well or just fizzled against me on bad draws. I went 2-0 against him with seeming ease. Vault of the Archangel was a beast against him, putting me at 31 life by the end of the second game. Round 7 was against a fairly friendly chap named Carl. Carl was playing a very straight forward RG aggro deck designed to bring out beefy big guys quickly and pound you into a pulp with them. My solution was to provide chump blockers and trade out with him on the ground. Vault saved me again on game one, and let my little chumps become big threats in the air that he had no solutions for. Game 2 was me shoving my little human tokens and an out of control Champion of the Parish down his throat until it was just too much for him.
Record: 4-3 (games: 11-5)
It was a fun event and Gamerz in Indianapolis always puts on a good show. Those guys are a class act and know how to get things done. Also, I'm happy that the Marriot was slow with the internet that was to be provided, since it meant I could play, but other than that little error in the morning, the event had plenty of room and there were all manors of conveniences nearby. I'll cover my post tourney notes in another blog that I'll probably put up tomorrow. I'm still letting a few ideas stew away in my head for now.
SD13
Anyway, long story short, we arrive late, but still in time to catch the last 15 minutes of the extended registration period. I got my deck list written out and picked up the last few cards I needed for my deck in time to have about ten minutes to catch my breath before the first round.
So, there we are at the start of round one.
Round 1
I pair up against a gentleman from Louisville, KY by the name of Phillip. Good guy, very friendly, and easy going. Turns out he was playing American Delver or possibly Scepter of Secrets. I never saw a Scepter drop, but that doesn't mean they weren't in there.
Game 1 was down to the wire, and he ran out of gas before he could finish me. I spent four or five turns dangling like bait at one life while he hit land after land on the draw. I managed to cruise to a win on pure luck.
Game 2 was a race to the line. We both came out swinging for the fences and a turn difference either way was the game breaker. He finished me off with only 6 life and winning damage on the board for me.
Game 3 was a different story. I had a sketchy hand that I kept because of inexperience with the deck I was piloting. He came out with a nuts draw and had me burnt off in a mater of four or five turns total.
Lessons: Don't get in a rush. Calm down and keep your head in the game. This is just another game of Magic and you've been playing it since you were 14... Also, take the time to do things in the proper order so you don't miss triggers.
Record: 0-1 (games: 1-2)
Round 2
I paired off against a guy named Jackson. Seemed a friendly guy and as the first Thoughtseize in game 1, I got to see he was playing Vengevine/Fauna Shaman in some kind of ramp deck.
Game 1 ended up with me making a bad play and nearly letting my own Dark Confidant kill me. I should have hit him with a path instead of hitting a blocker that Jackson dropped that wouldn't have saved him more than a turn or two at most. Game ended with me sitting on one life. This was also the game that I made my first missed trigger on and failed at using Bob's trigger. I got a warning, but we didn't lose game-state, so that was it. Fortunately, there was a judge standing very nearby and we got the situation sorted out in a hurry.
Game 2. I boarded in my graveyard hate and never needed it. He dropped down a Knight of the Reliquary that never got to attack. I came out swinging for the fences with a nuts draw and he went down fast.
Record: 1-1 (games: 3-2)
Round 3
I sat down across from an over confident gentleman that shall remain nameless for his protection. He had a very cocky attitude and seemed to be very sour on me from the time we started playing. Even more so after he went down to a deck he though was a scrub pick. He was playing GW Ramp, with very little in the way of finesse.
Game 1 he mulled to 4, but still managed to put up a good fight, which had me concerned. He ended up losing the game, but it was drawn out and tough fought. Thoughtsculler actually was a game maker in this one. Also, the gentleman seemed genuinely confused about the presence of Dark Confidant in my deck, and then even more so by the Thoughtseize. I couldn't help but shake my head, wondering what the circumstances were that you would play a color and not utilize two of the best cards in the format that followed it.
Game 2 was a little less off balance for him, only having to mull once. However he immediately started boasting about his nuts draw after looking at his second six. I sat by passively and didn't let the trash talk get to me. I kept my opener on Bob, Intangible Virtue, and a Lingering + Land. He countered Bob, which I was planing on and baited him into. I stuck the LS and IV, then ground him out to an easy victory which he seemed rather put off by. Apparently he didn't think his homebrewed midrange ramp was going to have problems with my more aggressive rogue brew.
Record: 2-1 (games: 5-2)
Round 4
This is where my luck started to slip back against me. I played against a rather quiet, but polite fellow named John. He was running a very strong UW Control deck that put me on the back foot almost straight away. I hadn't expected to have such a tough matchup against control, but didn't really plan for it, either, seeing as I predicted a long list of aggro decks in the meta.
Game 1 was back and forth and could have gone either way. I don't remember all the details, but I did manage to slip by for the win.
Game 2 was a different story. I made a bad play early on and instead of burying a Veldakin Shackles under my Sculler, I put down a Wrath. The turn before, I picked out a disenchant with a Seize. So, I ended up playing back and forth between the wrath and the shackles the whole game... Talk about a mistake. I think I could have won this game if I'd have taken the shackles instead of the disenchant. I was too worried about protecting my aggro game and not enough about ensuring that his control was damaged sufficiently. After blowing out my initial onslaught with a few well placed removal, then following up with the wrath and a Squadron Hawk, I ended up getting ground out in a long game of attrition that ended very poorly.
Game 3 was much the same as game 2, but faster about it and with fewer mistakes. He just had a better seven and kicked the crap out of me with it.
Lessons: Don't get blinded by your game plan when you're using disruption. It's called disruption because it is supposed to mess up their strategies, not necessarily expedite yours. So with that in mind, and not having seen the dreaded Affinity match up, I should have kept the disenchants in the board so I could have dealt with Shackles.
Record: 2-2 (games 6-3)
Round 5
This was the second round of bad luck. I got seated opposite a very polite and skilled woman by the name of Brenna. She was piloting Monoblue Fairies, which as it turns out is one of my weakest match ups. All things being equal, the number of play mistakes I made was truly painful.
Game 1 was rough. It was a long drawn out game that ended with me losing to a pair of back to back Mistbind Clique that kept me out of the game for two turns and pounding me in the air for the loss.
Game 2 was very one sided. I had a great hand and she must have been lacking. I came across for an easy win. As an aside, I boarded in Torpor Orbs and Leyline of Sanctity against her, trying to prevent the same fiasco from occurring twice in a row.
Game 3 started off well, then went all terrible on me. I made a play mistake and had my second warning for a missed trigger on Bob. I had one of Brenna's friends watching from my side of the table and he screamed for a judge as soon as I picked the card up without flipping it over... I was a little irritated about it. Not that the judge was called, being as that was the proper course of action, but that a third party that wasn't a part of our game at all did it, and did it before I could say a word myself. So, I got distracted and put out of sorts. I kept listening to the people around me and got way out of my comfort zone, losing all focus. I ended up making a few more bad plays, and in the end Torpor Orb worked out to her advantage, allowing her to play a Mistbind Clique without causing the Champion effect to remove her remaining fairie from the board and giving her lethal damage.
Lessons: DO NOT ALLOW OTHERS TO PUSH YOU OUT OF COMFORT. This is a game of skill and concentration is what allows you to make good decisions and play at the top of your game. Having people watch at larger events such as this are just part of the game, and should be anticipated. Do not allow that to put you out of your focus.
On an unrelated note, Brenna's husband and coach went on to place in the top 8, though I didn't stick around long enough to find out how he actually finished. Other than the last game and getting so far out of focus, she was a pleasant opponent that even allowed me to take a few minutes to catch my breath and calm down during the third game.
Record: 2-3 (games: 7-5)
Round 6 and 7.
I don't really have any notes on these two rounds. I played round 6 against a guy named Josh who was piloting an American Delver deck that either wasn't built very well or just fizzled against me on bad draws. I went 2-0 against him with seeming ease. Vault of the Archangel was a beast against him, putting me at 31 life by the end of the second game. Round 7 was against a fairly friendly chap named Carl. Carl was playing a very straight forward RG aggro deck designed to bring out beefy big guys quickly and pound you into a pulp with them. My solution was to provide chump blockers and trade out with him on the ground. Vault saved me again on game one, and let my little chumps become big threats in the air that he had no solutions for. Game 2 was me shoving my little human tokens and an out of control Champion of the Parish down his throat until it was just too much for him.
Record: 4-3 (games: 11-5)
It was a fun event and Gamerz in Indianapolis always puts on a good show. Those guys are a class act and know how to get things done. Also, I'm happy that the Marriot was slow with the internet that was to be provided, since it meant I could play, but other than that little error in the morning, the event had plenty of room and there were all manors of conveniences nearby. I'll cover my post tourney notes in another blog that I'll probably put up tomorrow. I'm still letting a few ideas stew away in my head for now.
SD13
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