Return from Philadelphia.
9/5: Discount Draft
We got back just in time for me to turn around and go to the Relentless Dragon for a discount draft. My parents say I’ve got a problem, I say I’m getting a head start on my senior project. I’m not going to let up on the tournaments as I’ve been told many times that the best way to get better. I go green/black, which is a color combination that I have only used once. That was my first M12 draft. I face Nathan again and he takes game one with his red/black deck. Combining Grave Diggers with Goblin Arsonists and Fireslingers is a pretty awesome combo, and I go down fairly easily. Game two starts, and I manage to gain the upperhand by being able to play stronger creatures to make up for a lack of speed, damaging him more than he can damage me. I forget if I ended up using Overrun or not, but I ended up winning. Game 3, turn 3: Dungrove Elder. His burn spells won’t work on it. 3/3, 4/4, 5/5, I was playing other creatures as well, and soon Dungrove Elder had Trollhide on it. I also had a Vastwood Gorger with Trollhide. He managed to hold me off for a while, but, eventually, he wasn’t able to hold me off anymore and lost.
Match two, I was up against a guy with a blue/white deck with named Joshua, who I had never faced before, but know now that he is pretty good, and is likely better than I am, although I haven’t faced him since then, so I may have improved enough. Anyways, he wins game one with his fliers. His whole deck is pretty much fliers and I only have a couple of spiders, so he eventually finds a way to deal with them and win. My second game, I am able to get out creatures quickly and eventually lead up to a Sengir Vampire (foil), which leads to a standstill between his fliers and my Sengir and couple of other creatures. I am able to slowly hit him, because I have an Onyx Mage which basically makes him not want to block or attack with too many creatures. He doesn’t have too many fliers yet, and I eventually win. Game 3, excellent, I have Sengir Vampire, a bunch of lands, and maybe a Greater Basilisk. I figure I’ll keep it and draw the rest of the creatures I need later. Since I can’t play a creature until Sengir, and he just returns that to my hand, I lose without even being able to put up a fight. Keeping a hand with nothing you can cast for less than five is a bad idea.
Match three, I’m up against another new guy named Robert. I remember that Joshua had walked over to him last round and was really surprised that he lost a round. At this point, I was kind of worried. Joshua was better than I was, so for him to be surprised that someone took a loss was kind of surprising, especially since I had built a very slow deck. We started. He was playing a black/white deck, and immediately thought back to my black/white deck from my first sealed tournament at Pandemonium. I hoped that maybe all white/black decks were bad, but this was a stupid thought and I knew it. I didn’t get to see the full extent of his deck, but it Child of Night and various other cheap creatures, which he was able to pull out quicker than I could get my five drops. When I finally did manage to get something out, he would kill it with a removal spell, and I got destroyed twice in a row. I’m facing new people, which is cool, and I did manage to beat Nathan, who I hadn’t previously beaten, which was also pretty awesome. Still, I would have preferred a higher score. Of course, this was my fault for building such a slow deck in a fast format…
9/9: FNM
My brother, Matt, decided to come with me to this one. It was his second magic tournament, with the first one being a two-headed giant sealed tournament at the Shadowmoor prerelease. We got destroyed there. Anyways, we ended up in different pods, and I ended up going green/black again, but then I got an Oblivion Ring in third pack, when I had already taken an Aegis Angel early on. I had two Rampant Growths and a Birds of Paradise, so when I proceeded to get an Oblivion Ring passed to me, I knew that I would be splashing white. Green/black with a Splash of white, I chose to go against the suggestions I was getting from people, and splashed white, even though it seemed risky. Having those Oblivion Rings saved me from situations that I would have lost otherwise, and since I lacked bombs, having Aegis Angel was very useful at times. The other bomb I had was a Pentavus.
I was up against someone named James. He was wearing white and had a white baseball cap. Anyways, my first game went horribly, with me drawing all three of my plains quickly and having no black, with a hand full of black. I don’t know why I kept that hand, but I did. Anyways, I couldn’t play many of my cards, and so I got destroyed first game. Game two, I had a lot of mana, but as usual with green/black, a lot of my creatures cost more, so he was able to get out creatures faster, and again, he was an opponent with fliers. I know he had red, and I’m pretty sure that his other color was blue. He had fairly strong creatures and fliers, and my only defense was a Birds of Paradise, which I wanted to keep for mana. I took damage. I was able to play out Aegis Angel, but that would probably die to Chandra’s Outrage, a mana leak, or another removal spell. Additionally, I was at low life, and he had Stormblood Berserkers out. Playing out Aegis Angel would require tapping my bird for mana, which would means that I wouldn’t have enough to block both attacks and would probably lose. I played out a basilisk instead, and lost, but at least I survived the turn. I played a few games with my bro, who hadn’t played the set before, and so it was his first time seeing Pentavus in action. Afterwards, I took on Trevor, who I believe was going black/green. I cannot remember for sure, though, but I recall him having a vampire with lifelink, which I trumped by making Child of Night invincible with Aegis Angel. I won 2-0, this time, and did so fairly quickly. Both games were pretty much stalemates, or with me in a slight lead until I played a bombs. Poor guy had to face Aegis Angel and Pentavus.
My last game was against a guy named Mark, who I had never played before, but had won against my first opponent. It was an eleven man pod, so he was kind of bothered that he had no chance at getting first place (since the winner of the other two 2-0’s would have better tie-breakers. He had a godly deck, supposedly, with an Inferno Titan and a Jace. It was a red/blue deck, but it was mostly red and was very fast. He took me down pretty far the first game, and when I was finally prepared to try and turn things around, he powered up one of his creatures and gave it flying so that I failed to block it and lost. The second game started, and I was able to get some creatures out, so I didn’t lose as much life (and also so I could take some of his). He started to get the upper hand, but then I played Pentavus, which allowed me to stop his attacks and deal more damage with the tokens. Unfortunately, he managed to take control of it, so I created four tokens before it left. Then I realized that he could just remove the last counter and kill it, giving him a token. I didn’t think about this beforehand, and should have just removed the last counter when I had it. It was still sort of a stalemate, but we were both low on life. Finally, I played Aegis Angel, I was able to gain the upperhand. He couldn’t get rid of it next turn, and I could block his attacks. Since I had more creatures then he did, I was able to use one or two to attack, while keeping the rest open for blocks. Soon after, I was able to swing out for games, since he wasn’t drawing any burn. I was amazed I had actually made it to game three, and was happy to get an Oblivion Ring, hoping to save it for Jace or Inferno Titan when they came. I was quick to get out creatures, and was dealing damage faster than he was. I got out Aegis Angel and eventually used the Oblivion Ring to get rid of one of his possible blockers, to take him down really low. Since he wasn’t able to get rid of my creatures, they killed him a couple turns later. It was kind of interesting. The only person to beat me was James, who only lost to Mark, who only lost to me. It’s a circle. On a side note, I am very glad he didn’t get his bombs in any of those three games. ^ ^
9/12: Discount Draft
I found myself with a blue/white deck, once again. I believe it was a pretty good deck, although I was up against Brian once again. Time to get him payback, for all of the times he beat me (well, I won once, but still…). Anyway, he has a godly deck that is mono-white, and makes great use of guardian’s pledge. He has a lot of fliers, and I am pretty much screwed. He 2-0’s me. The games start off fairly even, but the moment we get into combat, he guardian’s pledges and I am at a large disadvantage. Oh well. With my typical blue/white deck, I am able to win. Azure Mage definitely helps. I win the next two matches, but to be honest, I can’t really remember them in detail. Nothing particularly interesting happens and there are no intense moments, just me kicking ass with blue/white. Brian goes 3-0 as expected, and he has amazing tiebreakers even though that isn’t really necessary. Everyone who was 2-1 got their 1 from Brian, so that was pretty awesome. Only one person actually got a win on Brian, and he was the guy who came in second. I got third. Not too bad. I wish I could go more into detail on my two wins, but there was nothing that stuck with me from this tournament regarding those games. Blue/white just feels so natural.
9/16: FNM
Friday rolls around, and I’m back for another day of FNM. I’m up against Aaron once again and I have a blue/green deck. We start, and I get a hand that I’m having trouble deciding whether or not to keep. I have lands of both colors and two Azure Mages. I decide to keep it, and I do not regret it. I play out my first one and use it to block his Goblin Arsonist. He is playing red and another color that I cannot remember. I probably shouldn’t have done that, but oh well. I play my second one, and it stays. It allows me to draw cards when I don’t have anything else to play, and I eventually win. The second game goes similarly and I 2-0 him, thanks to Azure Mage and Overrun. My second match, I’m up against Chase once again. I forget how this match goes, but I know I lose. My final match, I’m up against a kid who is probably in his early teens or maybe a little younger. Aaron just beat him, and I felt kind of bad. He had a blue/white deck and wasn’t too bad. I was kind of surprised that he actually managed to get off Griffin Rider with a griffin, but it didn’t really matter since I had my crown of empires. Thanks to my Azure Mage (and I believe I had a Jade Mage as well), and I then used Overrun (I think I used it both games) and won. It was sadly pretty one sided and I felt bad 2-0ing him, but a win is a win I guess.
9/19: Discount Draft
I went blue and white again as usual and ended up against Chase first round. Chase was playing a mill deck, which was definitely good for him this round, since my deck was fairly control based and couldn’t do very much to fight him once he got his mesmerists out. I had quite a few counters, but at first I didn’t think it would be worth mana-leaking a mesmerist, instead of playing a creature. It turned out, that most of his cards were low cost, and by the time I could play a mana leak, he could pay three. Game one was close, and I was just a couple damage off lethal, but I got milled. Game two, he didn’t get erasures, I ended up forcing him to block with his mesmerist, and soon after killed him. Game three, I got out Gideon’s Lawkeeper, Grand Abolisher, and Crown of Empires, thinking he was screwed. He mind controlled the Abolisher, forcing me to double block it next turn, which cost me my lawkeeper and I basically had no chance of fighting back. He started playing creatures, and quickly won.
I got a bye for round two and ended up against a guy who was playing a red/white deck. I thought I had the game for sure. Game one, I was playing out creatures like crazy and using Jace’s Archivist to keep gaining advantage. He played Day of Judgement, but I quickly made up the difference. I was at 14 or so and attacked him with all of my creatures including a Gideon’s Avenger that I had +7/+7 or so, taking him to one. I figured there was nothing he could do. He took control of it with act of treason and swung for game. Had I left even one creature untapped, I would have won, but I got cocky and left myself wide open. I really need to stop doing that and I am pissed at myself. I regain my careful attitude and take game two easily, but am unprepared for a Volcanic Dragon with swiftfoot boots on game three. I had already used the counters I drew and now I had no way to counter it or even target it. I was low on creatures and he also had a Bonebreaker Giant, so I lost soon after. I was pissed at myself for getting so cocky. I assumed that I would win and even felt bad that I was going to destroy him. I let my guard down at the wrong time and I couldn’t make up for it. I have never felt worse after a tournament. I didn’t lose because he was a good player, I lost because I wasn’t.
9/23: FNM
I drafted blue/green once again and ended up playing against someone who I had been talking to alot, but hadn’t actually played named Anthony. While we were drafting, he told me that he had had godly luck with getting Grave Titans during drafts, and sure enough, I found myself up against a Grave Titan. We start playing, and after a little bit, he taps 6. Grave Titan. I lose soon after. The advantage Grave Titan gives is especially deadly in limited, and the best thing I can do is to return it to his hand. Game two, however I am prepared and copy it with my Phantasmal Image. Unfortunately, he still has a bunch of other creatures and more life. Then he plays Stonehorn Diginitary (he is black and white) preventing me from getting more tokens. He also has a Rune-scarred Demon, which gave him easier access to Grave Titan. Anyways, I didn’t have a chance. His creatures flew more, were faster, and I didn’t really have any bombs of my own (well, Phantasmal Image in a way). I had a couple of ways to tap them, but in the end, there were just too many. I lost.
Game two, I was up against Mark (the guy with the Inferno Titan and the Jace from a couple weeks ago). He is playing a red/white deck. He gets out a couple of creatures and I’m worried at first, but soon enough I play out my Stampeding Rhino. A little bit later, I have used Divination and two Hunter’s Insights on my rhino, plus seven overall. He puts up a good fight, but thanks to my immense card advantage, I end up winning. He plays out Pentavus, but I unsummon it and finish him off. Game two, he plays out an Arbalest Elite. Anyways, I played Aether Adept and returned it to his hand. He played it again, so I played Phantasmal Image copying Aether Adept (I almost copied his card, but then realized it required white) and returned it again. I was able to take him down quite far, but soon after I found myself relatively low as well. He got out more creatures, and was able to hit me some as well, but I had more creatures. Eventually, he played out Pentavus, which I just tapped with my Crown. I tapped another one of his creatures, and had enough to swing out for a win. Really bad move on his part. I then played my last game against Aaron whose deck I cannot remember for sure. It was fairly quick and I got 2-0’d. I believe he was playing black or maybe it was red, along with another color. It was quick at getting out creatures, and I couldn’t keep up, and didn’t have a chance. Oh well, I didn’t feel too badly, though. Despite going 1-2, I still felt fairly successful, as I knew all of my opponents were good.
9/24: Innistrad Prerelease
I got off work and headed down to Pandemonium ready for the prerelease, ready to play Innistrad for my first time. I’d been playing M12 since I started playing in tournaments this summer, and wasn’t sure what it would be like to switch sets. Anyways, there was no back draft, so I couldn’t resist taking a few of the rares that were passed my way, since I wanted them, and it ultimately cost me. I was playing a red/green/black deck, and drew Olivia Voldaren in all but two of my opening hands of the tournament, but rarely got any of my three black mana (black was more of a splash). My first game, I was up against a black/blue deck, and he hit me with his rats (1/1, deathtouch) for a while, while I held off his other creatures with a few creatures of my own, and a tree of redemption, until I finally drew a swamp and killed him with Olivia, game two was another stalemate, but this time, he had the blue/black land that milled me. He milled two of my swamps and my third was the last card of my deck. By the time I drew it, it was too late. We were nearly out of time, but that didn’t stop me from keeping a horrible hand game three. I couldn’t play anything due to a mana shortage, and lost. Damn. The next match, I was up against a girl with a green/something (I think blue deck). I got 2-0’d losing the first game because I kept a hand which only had two swamps in it for mana, hoping to draw the other colors. Mulliganing is another thing I need to work on. Anyways, game two was pretty close until she got out Essence of the wild, and I couldn’t stop it. I stayed in the game for a couple more turns, because of my tree, but I ultimately lost.
Game three, I was up against a boy with kind of long hair and a face that could go either way. I noted that he was quite cute, and I would seriously want to go out with him if he were female. Then I realized that it was kind of weird for me to be thinking this about my opponents, considering I didn’t really think anything of my last opponent, who was a girl and was fairly good looking. He sat down and I got kind of embarrassed. I’m glad people can’t read my thoughts (well, I suppose if you’re reading this…), particularly if I’m thinking about what they’d be like as a girl (don’t worry, this is the first time I’ve thought of that). Flirting is something I do naturally when I find someone attractive, except that person usually is not male. This was the first time I had to keep my flirting in check and it was more difficult that I thought it would be, although I managed. It was kind of a weird experience. Anyways, he was playing a blue white deck with a lot of fliers and humans. During the first game, he was able to do some damage to me, but then I got our Wall of Redemption and Daybreak Ranger, which could hit his fliers, and was even more deadly once it transformed. I finally got out Olivia Voldaren and took game one, but by that time, there were only fifteen minutes left in the round. In round two, things started off very similar, except he had creepy doll. Time ran out, and I played Olivia Voldaren, wiping him out of creatures. I was about to attack for game, but he flashbacked Feelings of Dread, causing the game to become a draw. He had nothing left except for his doll. Oh well. He got paired down against me, so I gave him the win to give him a shot at a prize. What a weird day, I think I’ll get some sleep. Needless to say, I was very entertained by this, the next day.
9/26: Discount Draft
This makes me feel kind of sad. It’s my last M12 draft. All of the cards I’ve gotten used to are going to be replaced with new cards (except for naturalize). Oh well, I have to make sure to shine today. I draft blue/green and have both mages, two Mind Controls, and a bunch of other blue/green cards. I’m up against my first opponent, Robert (the guy who beat me with black/white on 9/5) who is using a red/black deck this time. The first game is fairly close, with him hitting me slowly with small cards like Goblin Arsonist and Tormented Soul. I play my creatures but he kills some of them. In the end, I get him down quite a ways, but in the end, he outnumbers me and wins. Game two, I have to mulligan a couple of times, and don’t stand a chance.
My next match is against Dave, who I’ve never faced in a draft before. He either works at the store or is just there a lot. Anyway, he says he was bored and thought he’d draft. This was the most intense face off I’ve had in a bad game. He takes game one fairly easily, when I let myself go down far enough to get killed by a burn spell, but I’m able to overpower him game two, leaving it at the most intense of the games, game 3. He plays out Fiery Hellhound and gives it Angelic Destiny, but I tap it with Crown of Empires, until I manage to take control of it. I also give it Swiftfoot boots, which helps me out greatly. Anyway, it ends with me making a mistake that should have cost me the game, but didn’t because so did he. He had Crimson Mage out, and I used Ice Cage on his Serra Angel, and immediately point out my mistake. He tells me he noticed that, but I shouldn’t say anything as the opponent may not always notice. I attacked, nearly finishing him, and during his turn, he played a Goblin Tunneler and then played act of treason. I mana leaked it, using up my mana, but he couldn’t pay the cost. If he had simply kept the tunneler, I would have lost. Of course, if I hadn’t played the Ice Cage, I would have been able to use my Crown, and all would be well. Anyways, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who makes mistakes.
For my last game, I’m up against a guy whose name I recognize, but I don’t remember facing him. I guess he hadn’t been coming for the last couple of weeks due to other plans. He is playing monoblue, and plays out Phantasmal Bear and deals me some damage while get out both of my mages and him back. He doesn’t get any creatures for a while, and when he finally gets out his Djinn of Wishes, I mind control it. Game one, won. Game two is similar. He gets out Phantasmal Bear again and plays out swiftfoot boots, which he doesn’t equip or course. He plays out Aether Adept, returning one of my creatures to my hand. I am getting out creatures at a decent rate, and he is slowly feeling the wrath of a Lurking Crocodile, which I sided in after remembering my game a long time back with Alex. He plays out Thran Golem and gives it flight. He equips his boots…to Aether Adept. I play my own Aether Adept returning Thran Golem, and he realizes his mistake. I would have been in big trouble if he had equipped his Thran Golem, but since he didn’t, I have nothing to worry about as flight is now in the graveyard, and he is nearly out of cards in hand, while I have a few creatures left to play, and he is already at low life from the crocodile. I take game two as well, causing me to go 2-1 on my last day of M12 drafts. I got third and got a Sun Titan. Now then, on to Innistrad. ^ ^
9/30: Innistrad Launch Party
I had to work on Saturday and Sunday, but, luckily, Larry’s Comics in Lowell was doing one on Friday night instead of the draft. There was no backdraft, again, but this time I told myself to focus and not take all of the rares. I didn’t take all of the rares and ended up with a pretty sweet red/white deck, that made use of Rally the Peasants as well as some werewolves, such as Kruin Outlaw. My first opponent was playing a blue/black deck that could make zombie tokens thanks to that card with flashback that puts two zombies into play. He also used that bat/vampire card and Invisible stalker. If I remember correctly, I took game one by having quite a few werewolves out, against an opponent who was helpless after I took his Vampire with traitorous blood. I believe he beat me game two, but even with four Zombie tokens, game three, as well as a few other cards, I was able to beat him thanks to Terror of Kruin Pass, after tapping down a couple of his guys with my Avacynian Priest (combat and then during my turn). I won.
My second opponent was playing a blue/white deck that had a lot of spirits. I didn’t have many fliers, and I couldn’t stop them with my aura’s (white aura that prevents damage dealt to and by enchanted creature and gives it flying), as he had cards like Silverchase Fox. I lost game one, since his spirits powered each other and I couldn’t fight back. Game two, I managed to deal damage to him, and was nearly dead until he played out a Geistcatcher Rig, which I gained control of and attacked giving me the win. Game one was similar to this, and ended up in a situation where he had a tapped spirit, a fiend hunter exiling my priest, and Mikaeus. I only had out a Werewolf with 3 or so power. I had 8 mana untapped and had Rally the Peasants, Traitorous Blood, and Smite the Monstrous in hand. I played Traitorous Blood followed by Rally and realized that I couldn’t win. He was forced to block, giving me back my priest, but leaving him with four life. I forgot he would get Mikaeus back and I lost. I thought a while, and came to the conclusion that there was nothing I could do to win.
My third opponent was playing red/white, and chose to keep a one land hand. He played Reckless Waif, and I took some damage, before getting out creatures of my own and killing his Werewolf, and getting out my own Tormented Pariah. I won game one quickly, and we started game two. He started and had more lands this time, and played the waif again. He powered it up with an enchantment that also forced it to attack, so when it changed back, he lost it. He didn’t have much else to play and found himself up against my Pariah once again. I won 2-0. He swore a lot. I went to check on my previous opponent who asked if I got a bye. XD
On my way home I was thinking back to the game I lost, and realized that I may have been able to win. It was basic, Rally was an instant. First off, I would gain control of his Lunarch, and attack with both acting like I’d given up. If he blocked either, I would get back my priest back which he may probably would try and stop by not blocking, which would let my creatures go through and I would Rally for the win. Given our interactions, I think that may have worked, but I’m not sure. Regardless, it would have worked better than what I did or at least the same. In short there would be no downside to it. Why didn’t I think of that earlier?
10/3: Discount draft
Being new to Innistrad, I figured I should ask someone who seemed more experienced with drafts for help on what to do with my card pool. I was planning on going blue/green, but the guy suggested that I go blue/white because of my three Feeling of Dread. The deck had only seven creatures, two of which required another creature to be exiled. I didn’t really think of this, and ultimately ended up playing a horrible deck and realizing that maybe I should trust myself more. Anyways, the deck was really good at stalling, it just couldn’t win. I took on my first opponent, who ended up winning the tournament. He was playing a red/black deck and seemed to anticipate my counters, which made them almost useless since he only had to pay an additional 1. I stalled him for a while with my six uses of Feelings of Dread and my three claustrophobia and two sensory deprivation, but since he had black, he killed the few creatures I played out and won 2-0 the same way. I probably should have sided to green, but to be honest, I enjoyed this deck very much despite the fact that it kind of sucked.
My second opponent was using a blue/green deck and I was controlling it pretty well. I took him down a lot with my Moon Herons, and thought I had the game won, until he played Essence of the Wild and returned my remaining Heron to the top of my deck. I was able to claustrophobia one of the Essences, but I was unable to stop the rest of them, since he played a few creatures afterwards. Even with my Feelings of Dread, I was one essence short. Game two, he had to mulligan, making my job even easier. I controlled his creatures and played out Ludivic’s Test Subject. Once I pulled off its transformation, I won, making us 1-1. The third game, I kept a hand with too much land on the draw. Unfortunately, I drew more land and didn’t have enough control cards to stall him long enough. I lost without putting up much of a fight.
My last opponent started playing in tournaments at the Relentless Dragon a little bit after I did, and was playing a red/white deck. He was a pretty cool dude, named Evan. He didn’t seem to have a lot of creatures to play, however, so controlling them was a simple matter. I also got out Ludivic’s Test Subject, and it once again made it to its final form, causing me to win. Game two, I decided to see how blue/green would work, and it worked a lot better with more creatures, so I won 2-0. Despite going 1-2, overall, I still got a Grim-Grin, which was pretty cool. On the way out, Ryan (an employee) told me that I’d be better off asking him for advice (he usually tells me he’s not good at drafting, so you can imagine) and I say that I’ll make sure not to make a mistake like that again. I’ll trust myself next time, I will make sure to have a win condition. While I’d like to blame it on the guy who gave me the advice, I was the one who took it and didn’t switch to green until the very end.
This marks the end of my catching up, and I will now give reports as they happen. Also, there’s a PTQ this Saturday…I hope I’m prepared…
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