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