2018-12-21 D&A Modern FNM 2-2 with Mono W Emeria

Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1534030#paper

Mono W Emeria is one of my classic decks that I used to play a lot of in 2016-2017. It plays a slow grindy game and has insane lategame with recursion using both Sun Titan and Emeria, the Sky Ruin. It's control in that it doesn't do anything early and tries to accumulate a ton of incremental advantage.

Changes: I finally got an MPR Wrath of God, so I played that. I played a couple different forms of GY hate since that's important, but I can't play Rest in Peace because it's symmetrical.

Round 1 vs Adam on Merfolk (2-1, 1-0)
Lost game 1 to a disruptive Spreading Seas and like four lords off of a t1 vial. He didn't see much of my game plan.
In: 2 Dusk//Dawn, 1 Pithing Needle
Out: 2 Thalia, 1 Blessed Alliance
Game 2 I try to path a lord on his turn. He taps out for Spell Pierce, I untap, and Dusk his four lords.
Game 3 He knows about Dusk now, but I keep an opening hand with 3 lands, Dusk, and a Wrath of God. On his turn 5, my Path gets Pierced again. Go to my turn 6, I play an untapped land and resolve Dusk past his 2nd Pierce for crazy value, with Wrath of God for backup. I find a Titan and Path a topdecked Master of Waves for lethal.

Round 2 vs Steve on Dredge (1-2, 1-1)
Game 1 - lost because unable to interact + fast
In: 3 Surgical Extraction, 2 Tormod's Crypt, 1 Wheel of Sun and Moon, 1 Celestial Purge (bad choice)
Out: 4 Squadron Hawk, 2 Blessed Alliance, 1 Wall of Omens
Game 2: Opener has 2 Surgical, snap-keep. Turn 2 he discards a Stinkweed Imp to Cathartic Reunion, and I ruin him. I surgical one of his 2 Golgari Thugs later when it hits the bin, which was not ideal? but kept him off any further dredge action. I'd like to hit Life from the Loam instead. Nice win, he's stuck on 2 lands due to not fetching for a green source or hitting LftL.
Game 3: 7 card hand has no GY interaction, mulligan. 6 has a Surgical, 2? lands, Wrath, Titan, and something else. Fine, I guess. It doesn't do enough and I die to Narcomoeba-Bloodghasts.

Round 3 vs Ian on Experimental Frenzy Affinity (0-2, 1-2)
Plays way more 0 drops than typical affinity, also Frogmites and Myr Enforcers. He's really fast out of the gates, and I should have been mulliganing more aggressively for Stony Silence. His early 4/4s are reminiscent of Hollow Ones, and though I can chump for many turns I'm still too slow. Ravager and Plating both threaten lethal kills when his board is able to go wider than mine.
In: 3 Stony Silence, 2 Disenchant, 1 Pithing Needle
Out: 3 Wall of Omens, 2 Thalia, 1 Blessed Alliance I think?

Round 4 vs Brian on Hardened Scales affinity (2-0, 2-2)
Both games I'm able to stall out and take over. He didn't hit payoffs quickly enough.
In: 3 Stony Silence, 2 Disenchant, 1 Pithing Needle, 1 Wheel of Sun and Moon
Out: 4 Squadron Hawk, 2 Thalia, 1 Wall of Omens
Game 2 I Disenchant a Hardened Scales. He drops 2 Grafdigger's Cage, which stops my one Finks but nothing else since I didn't find Titan or Emeria. Instead I just murder him with 1/1s and 2/1s.

Thoughts:

• Pilgrim's Eye got the most "I need to read this card" reactions. It's a powerful Magic card, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
• Against my opponents the Thalias were pre-tty bad. Would have been fine against other players I saw tonight, but maybe I should change those slots.
• Should have SBd a Settle the Wreckage, probably in Celestial Purge's slot.
• Had fun doing Emeria things, though I wish I had faced slower decks.

The other deck: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1533977#paper

Built 8 rack for the kid again, changed a Fatal Push in the main to Nezumi Shortfang, altered the SB a bit. Added Liliana the Last Hope and Night of Soul's Betrayal for those annoying Kuldotha Rebirth go-wide decks, which paid off for him in round 4. Considered taking out Fulminators since Tron hasn't shown up in a while at the store. He ended up going 4-0 >:( He also took the play whenever possible, and that probably made a big difference.

Personally I usually try to slow the game down, and should instead be more proactive with both my decks and play patterns.

The store announced that they're continuing Modern FNM, but are:

• doubling the entry fee
• removing the pack for entering
• cutting rounds to 3 from 4
• and reducing the total prize pool ($60 total in credit per 8 entrants)

So 2-1s go infinite. Half the entrants get nada, and a maximum of a quarter of the entrants net value. Not really sure how this model is going to work out for players, but I suppose the store will find out soon enough.

2018-12-14 D&A Modern FNM 1-3 with Esper Seance

Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1522428#paper
Based on: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1467851#paper

Changes:

• Shriekmaws -> Lone Missionary: Meta has more aggro, and enough black/artifact creatures to make Shriekmaw look eh. However, Shriekmaw has that evasion going on for it so maybe I should have tried it out since I was slow closing
• Don't own/couldn't find Darkslick Shores, chose to play a second basic Plains
• SB: I don't own Ephara, but it's super cool.
• SB: Vs GY decks I'd rather just have t0 Leyline instead of... anything else.
• SB: Purge and Disenchant both actually hit Blood Moon, while Sundering Growth requires WW which is ... rough

Round 1 vs Scott W on "Go-Bots" (0-2, 0-1):
I kept a weak hand game 1, then a slightly better hand was too slow in game 2 as well. Not enough early interaction, Wall of Omens could only block 1 Kuldotha Rebirth token, etc.

Round 2 vs Alex on "Go-Bots" (2-0, 1-1):
Same deck, but I kept more proactive and interactive hands. Once I had both Hidden Stockpile and Seance out, I accumulated enough cards and life to have a good buffer. Still, took me like 8 turns to close.

Round 3 vs Bill on Ponza (0-2, 1-2)
Took care of his Blood Moons, Path'd Platinum Emperions, but just lost to to Stormbreath Dragons. He has inevitability by being way bigger. Even in my mono W Emeria deck, I at least have almost infinite chump blockers for Stormbreath with my Pilgrim's Eye (and Blessed Alliance as an actual answer).
Bill, if you're reading this, you should consider playing more Infernal Titans.

Round 4 vs John on Jeskai control (0-2, 1-3)
Both games I was just unable to pressure Teferi being slammed on t5 and upticking forever.
Game 2 I lost to 2x Surgical + Snapcaster (3rd Surgical)

Reflections:

• Long story, the deck is bad. You're playing do-nothing cards and do-nothing enchantments in a do-something format.
• Seance is just too slow of a payoff, and doesn't interact with the opponent enough. Compare to Waste Not which is cheap and rewards you for interacting through discard.
• Hidden Stockpile is neat but still you're just getting a 1/1 and scrying. Again, just not powerful enough for modern.
• Loses to GY interaction, which is not where you want to be - although it's maybe not fair to consider since I lost to triple Surgical
• Should have been playing some number of Thoughtseize, I think
• Mana requirements weren't too tough, which is probably more of a problem because it indicates that you're not playing powerful enough cards.
• Pack Rat - it really serves a late win-con that only combos with drawing mad cards with Mulldrifter, and unlike 8 rack which clears out opponent's hand and field it is unable to pressure effectively. Oh, on turn 3 you've spent 2 cards and 5 mana to make 4 power? That's cute.

2018-11-16 D&A Modern FNM Judging

This past FNM, I judged the event rather than participating. The night began with an unfortunate announcement that the store would no longer be running their FNMs (and accompanying YGO event) due to low attendance. Modern ended up firing with 13 people, standard with 10, and YGO with... 44? Crazy numbers. In the glory days, the store would get 100+, enough that the fire marshal would show up and warn them for exceeding capacity (because the room only had one means of egress/exit door, never mind that it was a store room with a friggin' garage door)

I can't say I was surprised by the news. They've always run a very generous prize structure even after adding the $5 entry fee. In fact, the payout guarantees that the event operates at a loss, hoping to make it up elsewhere. So after paying the entry fee, each player receives one free booster pack ($4 MSRP, but to the store it costs more like $2). Then depending on overall record, the prize structure looks like this:

• 4-0: 45 cash, or 60 credit
• 3-0-1: 30 cash, or 40 credit
• 3-1: 15 cash, or 20 credit
• 2-2: free entry into future event

So average players only need a 2-2 match record to go infinite. If 16 players show up, that results in only four players who need to pay in again next week (assuming no extra draws). In addition, the amount of payout is 1 x $45 + 3 x $15 for a total of $90 (or 120 in credit). So assuming that 16 players pay in, the store is already losing 10 bucks from the start, has given out 16 packs ($32), and we haven't even considered next week or overhead (upkeep, wages).

Now, on to some of the questions/situations I fielded.

• Chalice of the Void: If a player controls a Chalice, opponents can cast spells (that would be countered) into it hoping that their opponent forgets the trigger. However, the controller of Chalice cannot allow their own spells to resolve through Chalice, which would be considered cheating. This is due to a couple different elements of trigger policy: players are not required to remind their opponents of their (beneficial) triggers thereby helping their opponent beat them, and you are not allowed to forget detrimental triggers (which it is, if you control the Chalice & are casting a spell that would be countered).
• X is 0 everywhere except the stack. Relevant cards that interact with this: Abrupt Decay, Spell Snare, Eidolon of the Great Revel, Engineered Explosives, Chalice of the Void, Ratchet Bomb, and all the other X cost artifacts.
• Nullhide Ferox, then illegally casting noncreature spells. At regular REL, this could probably have been fixed? but was a pretty huge error. Kind of a similar thing to casting your own spells through Chalice.

Reflections:

• Judging is way more fun and interesting when people call you over.
• I wouldn't want to judge 100% of the time and play 0%, which is what most judges seem to do. Judges are usually... all judge all the time, and I think it's more fun to just play some sweet Magic
• Probably won't be judging again at this store, since they're only holding two more Magic events. Pretty unsure about when I'll next get the opportunity???

2018-11-09 D&A FNM Modern 3-1, or an Ode to Smallpox

Played 8 rack since my Seance cards hadn't all shown up.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1467005#paper

Round 1 - Ed / Unburial Rites-Soulflayer (2-1, 1-0)
Game 1 just went pretty poorly, as expected against a graveyard deck. Using Unburial Rites he reanimated a Borborygmos Enraged, but he had two Life from the Loams in the graveyard that would have stopped me from ever winning the game anyways.
In: 4x Leyline, 3x Surgical Extraction
Out: 4x Fatal Push, 2x Collective Brutality, 1x Bontu's
In games 2 and 3 I had turn 0 Leylines, and was able to strip the Assassin's Trophy in game 2 on my turn 1.
His deck seems neat, but I think blends too many strategies together and also lacks a cohesive manabase. Inclusions:

• Unburial Rites package - Rites, Iona, Elesh Norn, Griselbrand???
• Looting package - Faithless Looting, Burning Inquiry, Goblin Lore
• Soulflayer package - Soulflayer, Zetalpa, Griselbrand???
• Borborygmos package - Borborygmos Enraged, Life from the Loam, fetchlands
• Land package -  fetches, 1 of each basic (everything but Island), Ghost Quarter(s), shocklands, ???

Really not sure what the Griselbrand is supposed to do, and not a fan of the random loot effects. In game 2, while stripping the Assassin's Trophy from his hand, I noticed that he did have access to casting it turn 2... if he GQ'd the Temple Garden he played turn 1 to get a Swamp, leaving him with a single B source.
I really like the idea of trying something new, but it was just trying to use too many angles. If I were to change the deck, I'd make the following changes:

• Make GB primary - add Grisly Salvage and Sylvan Caryatids as glue
• Collective Brutality? I'm just a huge fan  of this card
• Cut the red cards to just Faithless Looting & red creatures that aren't meant to be cast - 1 Stomping Ground and 1 Blood Crypt, maybe a Mountain vs aggro
• Cut white sources, perhaps only a Temple Garden and Godless Shrine
• Probably cut Griselbrand and GQs - they're not really synergizing a ton
• Alternatively, throw some Goryo's Vengeance in there and see how that works out

Round 2 -  Alex / "Go-Bots" (2-0, 2-0)

Go-Bots is his name for the artifact-Kuldotha Rebirth-Bushwhacker aggro deck.
 He had relatively slow starts from him both games, which I was able to exploit.
My discard went after his Kuldotha Rebirths, which I think are the scariest cards in the matchup. I'm pretty sure it was the right call and luckily he never had the turn one Rebirth.
In: 2x Ratchet Bomb, 1x Bontu's
Out: 3x Thoughtseize

In game 2 I check with the judge on how Mishra's Bauble functions vs Rack effects. For the answer, check the section under reflections.

Round 3 - Andy / Scapeshift-midrange (0-2, 2-1)
Game 1
Lost to triple BBE
In: 4x Fulminator Mage, 3x Surgical Extraction
Out: 4x Fatal Push, 1x Bontu's, 2x CoBru?
Game 2
7 cards / 0 lands
6 cards / 0 lands
5 cards / 0 lands scry land on top
Never stood a chance in this game.

Round 4 - John / Jeskai control (2-0, 3-1)
Game 1
I realize I didn't de-sideboard, so I do that and mulligan to 6 (a reasonable solution at regular REL)
He mulligans to 5, I resolve a Wrench Mind and Smallpox, he concedes
In: 4x Fulminator Mage
Out: 4x Fatal Push? (1x Bontu's - I don't think I actually did this)
Game 2 - I go for a conservative line with turn 2 CoBru, not Wrench -> he t3 upkeeps a V Clique. Come close to dying, but manage to chain topdecks like a king: Smallpox, Lili, Lili, Smallpox... and end him on 0 cards with 5 rack effects out.

Reflections:

• I feel like Scapeshift is a bad matchup for 8 rack, much like the other big mana deck of Tron. They just play out a ton of lands/mana and Smallpox is ineffectual against their low creature density. They also don't need multiple cards in their hand - just the right one that just ends the game.
• I should maybe trim on Fatal Pushes, perhaps swap with some Funeral Charms
• I should probably get some Ensnaring Bridges, since they can just end the game on the spot
• Liliana of the Veil usage was kind of tough, but I think I made the right choices - she shined in closing out r4g2 (1st Lili was a 2 for 1 vs V Clique + Helix), but was terrible in r3g1 (vs BBE, mainly). Did some solid work in rounds 1 and 2 as well.
• Would I play 8 rack again? I can pull it out whenever. It's a moderately powerful deck that attempts to control the game using discard effects, which is a strong style of gameplay. It's best vs a format dominated by medium creature density decks, but is actually kind of bad vs big mana and the combo decks that only need a couple of cards to win (ex. pretty good vs Storm, bad vs Ad Nauseam)

Answer for Mishra's Bauble vs The Rack/Shrieking Affliction
The triggers go on the stack in APNAP order - that is, the active player puts their triggers on first, then the non-active player. So the non-active player's triggers resolve first. This ends up to my benefit, since the Racks deal full damage.
A similar situation arises vs Rift Bolt - if my opponent suspends a Rift Bolt, but is facing down a lethal rack, the rack effect kills them before Rift Bolt comes off suspend.

2018-11-16 D&A Modern FNM 4-0

Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1471418#paper

Round 1: Dale Mill (2-1, 1-0)
Dale doesn't play much, by his own admission. He pulled out a notebook, and noticed that "Dale vs Ben" was only two pages back - apparently I got trounced quite thoroughly, probably at the Dominaria prerelease. The record shows that I dealt him 1 point of damage in 2 games (and then he finished that game at 27).
I take down game 1, and lose game 2 to a pair of unanswered Hedron Crabs. Dale misses quite a few triggers, which I remind him about after the match. It's a little of sketchy to do so?, allowing my opponent to miss triggers at FNM (regular REL) but I stand by my philosophy on missed triggers, which aligns with missed trigger policy (tournament enforcement aka comp REL). If my opponent misses a trigger, I shouldn't have to remind them, holding my opponent's hand to help them beat me.

Round 2: Sam 8-rack (1-0-2, 2-0)
Sam was borrowing my 8 rack deck, which is why I packed "Owling Mine" for tonight
The maindeck is the same as my most recent version (2018-03 version), with a tailored sideboard for the local meta: 4x Leyline of the Void, 4x Fulminator Mage, 3x Surgical Extraction, 2x Ratchet Bomb, 1x Damnation, 1x Bontu's Last Reckoning. Not all the usual suspects were in attendance, but I think this was a reasonable plan for the expected field.

Game 1 was close. He got out a couple Racks, and had some good reach going, but my Fevered Visions were chipping away, until one turn we're both at 1 life, and Sam plays the last card in his hand. Smallpox. Game 2.
Game 2 was silly - won with multiple FV and opponent misplays in the last couple turns (tilt city). I Nourishing Shoal'd twice for a bajillion (28) extra life, which let me survive until almost decking. Liliana ult made me choose between 2 FV + Dictate + 4 lands vs Grafdigger's Cage (for Raven's Crime) + FV + a couple lands. I would have lost to drawing my deck, had opponent been RCing themselves way more aggressively - my fetchlands, Remands, and Cryptics all thinned my deck out to the point where I was going to lose on my next turn's end step (FV). I did offer indirect advice though, by confirming each discard spell's target (always me, except for once).
Game 3 was a draw. It might have been in my favor, but neither of us were in a super dominant position by turn 5, so I got there with my first 1-0-2 victory ever.
In hindsight, this matchup is actually worse for the Howling Mine/Fevered Visions deck than it would seem on paper - as long as 8 rack can answer the creature threats, RCing themselves will save them from the non-creature damage sources (Runeflare Trap, Fevered Visions).

Nathan burn (2-1, 3-0)
Lost game 1 as expected.
Game 2:
Me: "I'll be on the play"
Him: "Mulligan to 6 ... Mulligan to 5 ... Keep, scry"
Me: "Okay, pre-game actions?"
Him: "Uh, none."
Me: "Yeah me neither. Pass the turn, upkeep Nourishing Shoal to gain 14 life"
Game 3: I did not have the Nourishing Shoal-Autochthon Wurm combo, and only won through with Runeflare Trap because he missed some Eidolon of the Great Revel triggers.
Overall enjoyed the match, and I hope that he enjoyed me bringing this off-meta Fevered Visions deck instead of what everyone else plays, which is mostly netdecks/known archetypes. He pointed out insightfully that part of my success with rogue decks is that people don't necessarily know how to play against them.
I really try to bring something that can both do well and provide a unique Magic experience for other players, so this was a good match.

Austin Mono U Tron, pair-down, 0-2 (4-0)
We split, but played it anyways. I uh, tried playing out tempo Boomerangs & Thing in the Ice, but U Tron's gameplan of cheap soft-counters into huge Tron-land threats was just too much.
I haven't played U Tron in a long freaking time, if ever? though I know of it, and it still does broken Tron things by virtue of stupid ramp. They turn the corner very quickly from Remands and Condescends and Repeals to Ugin and Emrakul the Promised End. Fuck Tron, I guess.


Overall reflections:

• I should probably cut Ebony Owl Netsuke altogether. Howling Mine generally feels bad, and even Dictate of Kruphix isn't great since it's a 3 mana pass-turn-basically-do-nothing when the rest of the format is doing way more powerful things on their turn 3.
• Maybe there are some fringe cards out there that better enable Runeflare Trap and Fevered Visions, the real win-cons of the deck?
• I benefited a lot today from my opponents forgetting their own triggers. Ideally I shouldn't have to rely on that.
• I can get away with the Nourishing Shoal-Autochthon Wurm SB combo as long as the store is filled with burn & I keep my deck on the down low so people don't catch on too much. As I mentioned to my r4 opponent, I don't really have a good plan for Tron or big mana decks.
• Chalice of the Void is okay? like vs burn, which would open up some more SB slots
• Maybe Blood Moon? I have 7 basic Islands after all.
• Comment if you want specifics on how I would approach a matchup with the deck, SB choices, or SB decisions (which I didn't mention)
• edit: I kept gaining 14 life off Nourishing Shoal exiling Autochthon Wurm, when I should have been gaining 15. I should fix this.

2018-11-09 D&A FNM Modern 3-1

Updated decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1457422#paper

Differences from last week:

• -1 Urborg Tomb of Yawgmoth, +1 Blackcleave Cliffs
• -3 SSG, +3 Fatal Push
• SB: -3 Fatal Push, +3 Anger of the Gods

Round 1 - Steve / Grixis combo (1-2, 0-1)
There's got to be a better name for the deck that plays Goryo's Vengance, Living End, As Foretold, Griselbrand, Kiki-Jikki & Deceiver Exarch, and Jace Vryn's Prodigy. Game 1 I had a hand that didn't do anything (no Waste Not). Probably wasn't winning g1 anyways since I don't have graveyard interaction. Game 2 I drew all three Surgical Extractions and had an easy win. Game 3 was no action again and combo'd on turn 3, perhaps should have mulligan'd to 5 for a Surgical.
SB: +3 Surgical, +3 Liliana of the Veil, -3 Fatal Push, -3 Kolaghan's Command

Round 2 - Brian / Affinity (2-1, 1-1)
Game 1 he played a Blood Moon into an open fetchland, and I had a basic Island in my hand. the Blood Moon turned off all his manlands, which could have been a problem. Finished game 1 with a Collective Defiance, which is hilarious.
SB: +1 Fatal Push, +1 Kolaghan's Command, +3 Anger of the Gods, +1 Kalitas Traitor of Ghet, +1 Gifted Aetherborn
-2 Collective Defiance, -5 other cards I forget. JVP, Snapcasters, maybe Collective Brutalities
I think it's important to keep at least 1 Snapcaster in for the ability to flashback Torment of Hailfire.
Highlight from game 3 was weakening a Galvanic Blast targeting my Gifted Aetherborn, by removing their third artifact.

Round 3 - Ed / mono red Steam Kin? (2-0, 2-1)
Don't think it was a stock list. He played Mox Opal, Bomat Couriers, Memnites, Signal Pests, Bushwhackers, Runaway Steam-Kin, Risk Factors, Goblin Guides, Goblin Grenades. Not a lot in the way of direct burn spells. He brought me close both games, but Risk Factor worked out quite poorly for him - ex. from 6 life, take 4 because he has access to RRRR mana (Steam-Kin on 3 counters + lands), or letting him draw 3 cards with no available mana on that turn + Collective Brutality in hand.
SB: +1 Fatal Push, +1 Kolaghan's Command, +3 Anger of the Gods, +1 Kalitas Traitor of Ghet, +1 Gifted Aetherborn
-2 Collective Defiance, -2 Thoughtseize, -1 Damnation, -2 JVP?
Basically same sideboarding as round 2 vs Affinity


Round 4 - pair down vs Dan / budget elves (2-1, 3-1)
Lost game 1 to a bunch of dumb pointy-eared brutes.
SB: I don't even remember. Anger of the Gods did a lot of work here (and in the other matchups).
Game 3 I misplayed several times. The first was vs a telegraphed Collected Company (Heritage Druid + 2 elves + land). I had a Fatal Push and Anger of the Gods in hand. I should have Pushed the Druid in draw step or first main, then cast Anger in the next available main phase. Later on, though around 10 life, I was not under threat of lethal damage (even if he had two lords), and could have played a JVP with Anger of the Gods in the yard - setting up a next turn flashback. Instead I cast Wistful Thinking, and had to Wistful Thinking myself next turn to find a Snapcaster Mage for my Anger. Earlier I cast a Torment of Hailfire for X = 4, and after sweeping the board I used JVP to flash it back for X = 6.

Judge question: I control a Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet. I cast Anger of the Gods (my opponent has creatures, obviously). What happens - do I get zombies or not?

Answer: CR 616.1

Overall thoughts:

• The Fatal Push/Anger of the Gods combination was huge, at least vs my local store's meta. There are a lot of "burn" or aggro players whose decks play a ton of small creatures. Control, midrange, combo, and big mana are not super prevalent right now?
• There are several players at the store who play (at least some of the time) some variant of the deck I faced in round 3 (mono red aggro, utilizing Mox Opals).
• With all these aggro players running around, there are a lot of Goblin Guides running out there. But most of these players don't remember the attack trigger, which is super frustrating to me (and pretty sure illegal at comp REL). You don't just get a bigger Angry Goblin with no downside!
• Wistful Thinking is the game's silliest Mind Rot.
• DIY Ancestral Recall (Dream Salvage) is great. However, I don't think it's worth casting when it can only draw 1 card (enabled by Geier Reach Sanitarium/Thoughtseize/Collective Brutality/Liliana of the Veil).
• I should formalize my priority of fetch targets. Usually I prioritize BR, the BB/RR, then a U source - roughly corresponding to each turn. There's only a couple people playing Blood Moon? in which case I'd probably fetch Swamp-Island in that order, unless both my fetches are Bloodstained Mire.

2018-11-01 Iron Buffalo casual modern 1-1

Visited this place on Tuesday. It's in the former location of Dragon Snack Games (near Millersport Hwy/Eggert Rd), which was formerly formerly of Mt. Morris.

The owner is a guy named Bill/William Waterrose, and the guy heading magic is named Kevin Swanson I think. The prices are competitive (very close to TCG market, will have to see how they adjust when prices fluctuate). They aren't a WPN store yet, so they don't have sanctioned events or FNM. They offer some comics, board games, and coffee. There's a comfy play area which is currently suited more for board games than Magic (very large, separate tables).

Talking to the owner, he said that he wants to attract a more casual crowd for Magic, less of the spiky type. So I decided to hit up some friends and attend their inaugural modern event with Waste Not Storm.

The decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1440722#paper

The event: was announced on FB as $5 entry, Assassin's Trophy for first place. Right before I arrived, the TO made an announcement that because only 6 people showed up all the prizes (30 credit + AT) would go to the first undefeated player which is :/

Round 1 vs Nick on Storm (1-0)
He has no idea what I'm doing, but eventually I have two Waste Nots and make him discard a bunch using Wistful Thinking (it's like a worse Mind Rot!). I draw through almost my entire deck, and win with Snapcaster Mage on Torment of Hailfire for 5, with 3 cards left in my library.
Game 2 he has a bunch of rituals, Past in Flames, and Noxious Revival in the graveyard from Gifts Ungiven-ing in response to my discard spells (Wistful Thinking, Thoughtseize). He fizzles, but kills my Liliana of the Veil and flipped Jace VP. I Torment from hand for a bunch and get the win.

Round 2 vs Dan on Bant Spirits (1-1)
Didn't know about the undefeated thing, so we played it out. Dan is a local guy, nice enough when he's not losing. He's playing a version of Spirits with all 3 of their accelerants: Aether Vial, Noble Hierarch, and Collected Company, which seems a bit questionable.
I concede game 1 to his fast start to conceal information (all he knows is that I'm Grixis with Burning Inquiry and Faithless Looting).
Game 2 he gets a little land flooded and concedes to my Waste Not + Wistful Thinking.
Game 3 I have some bad openers and lose to Selfless Spirit negating my in-hand Damnation. Good sideboarding on his part, expecting sweepers from the Grixis deck.

Waste Not Storm retrospective:

• The SSGs can go - can probably cut them for Fatal Pushes in the main. It's not a fast combo deck - need to have the mana to have a good combo turn, but it doesn't need to be turn 3 or 4 wins. Maybe leave 1 in?
• Sideboard - can definitely use some work
• Mana base - I don't like it. I studied a couple lists online, and based it off those, but the Urborg feels super out of place and fetching+shocking hurts way more than I'm used to.

That other thing:
I decided to drag my friend Jason along with me, sticking him with a suboptimal mono red deck I threw together (including Hazorets, Ahn-Crop Crashers, Harsh Mentors, and Searing Bloods). Then I tossed him into the deep end. He played vs friend Matt on Hollow One (a crush), and then got a bye, playing against the nice Constant-ine who had a relatively casual but coherent werewolf deck. Props to both of them for being friendly and educational.
While driving Jason home, he mentioned that he felt most successful on the red deck when he just stopped thinking and planning for the long term. This is incredible - he managed to hit on a core element of Magic's game design / color pie philosophy. It's like, the most characteristic trait of red.

Bonus deck:
I threw together a quick draft for Bant Eternal Command deck, which was pretty suboptimal. The deck looked something like this? https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/1440739#paper (missing 2 from the main, most of the sideboard)
I played a couple quick games against Constant(ine) and lost both. Sequenced my removal poorly and I had a bunch of ramp with nothing to do. I realized that I have a bunch of cards to search for basics, but only about 5 basics, and can definitely use more removal/counterspells.

2018-09-15 SCG Syracuse 1-2-1

Memory is a bit hazy a month & a half later, but quick summaries.

During this event, I tried to offer the following helpful advice to my friends:

• Remember to eat something
• Play good games of Magic
• Call judges if unsure of a situation
• Only scrubs get unintentional draws (when a match goes to time in the round, and neither player has won two games)

Here's what happened:

• Forgot to eat, ended up shaking after a match (other reasons too) - friends saved the day by offering me a granola bar & grabbing a savory waffle (I think from Funk n' Waffles but unsure)
• Misplayed into losing the game a couple times
• Didn't call the judge when I definitely should have (an opponent that was stalling - which is a disqualifiable offense, another opponent who repeatedly grabbed $$$ cards after I asked them not to several times)
• Got an unintentional draw because of said stalling opponent

Now on to the report:

I chose Mardu Pyromancer, but I was really thinking that I should play an off-meta deck because Mardu is such a known quantity and everyone is prepared to play against it.

Round 1 vs Mardu Pyromancer (0-1)
Basically my opponent was able to play their Bedlam Revelers and I wasn't, in both my losses.

Round 2 vs UW control (0-2)
Game 2 or 3? I cast a Reveler in first main phase into a Cryptic counter-tap-your-team and lost.
During the games, I would play card, then he would grab my card to read it. I politely asked that he tell me before doing so next time. He didn't. I reminded him again, and really should have called a judge, but alas. He then grabbed it a third time but I was losing and ehhhhh.
This guy won the modern classic the next day, so fuck him.

Round 3 vs GW company (KotR, not combo) (0-2-1)
THIS IS THE DICK
He wrecks me game 1 with an enormous board.
We go to game 2, and he plays out a Worship. I misplay my second Collective Brutality of the game, forgetting about his onboard Knight of the Reliquary + Courser of Kruphix + Ghost Quarter, so resolve to wait out for a third CoBru + Bolt turn. Eventually I find it, but also he's basically out of lands in his deck so he couldn't really get me anyways. This entire game, he hasn't been attacking into my board of a tokens & YP & Revelers despite his dudes being like 5+ P/T, and takes like half a minute on every search of his deck for lands. I should have called a judge for stalling, but didn't.
Game 3 we go to turns on like turn 3. I have a board of tokens + Reveler + 4 cards in hand on turn 5. My opponent has Courser + 0 cards in hand, but chooses not to concede to me. I am shaking.

Round 4 vs mono G tron (1-2-1)
Kid was obviously inexperienced with the deck. Activated his Oblivion Stones on his turn, and then when he didn't, he did it in response to me casting a Blood Moon. btw I got a Blood Moon signed by SPBKASO that day.
I told the kid about these things after. The worst part of the match was my previous round opponent being at an adjacent table and saying "yeah I got a draw last round" LIKE IT WASN'T HIS FUCKING FAULT. Tilt city.

Retrospective thoughts:

• Definitely should have gone with my instinct of not playing Mardu. Probably Jeskai Ascension (not Ascendancy) would have gotten people by surprise enough, and Mono W Emeria is a second. Super important thing about SCGs especially is that the x-0 metagame is way different from the rest of the room, largely fueled by their bye system.
• Definitely should have called a judge in both rounds 2 and 3. That was really bad.
• Overall, just as bad as my 0-4 at SCG Syracuse in August 2017, but for different reasons.

2018-10-21 Casual Dragon Games PPTQ 3-3

My sealed pool had six rares only spanning three colors, which made that decision relatively easy: Camaraderie, Temple Garden, Trostani Discordant, Vraska Golgari Queen, Gruesome Menagerie, and Mausoleum Secrets. Camaraderie and Mausoleum Secrets are pretty unplayable, and I probably shouldn't have played Menagerie either. I assembled a pretty clean Golgari (GB) deck splashing Temple Garden and a Selesnya Guildgate using 3 District Guide for Trostani Discordant.

Round 1 vs Colin (1-0)

I play against the player whose pool I registered. Both of us knew all the possible cards the other could be playing, and I had a good idea of what he probably built - also Golgari, but without the bombs. Sure enough, my deck was superior.

Round 2 vs Lucas (2-0)

Memory is kind of hazy on the details, since it's been a week since the event.

Lucas was on Boros splashing blue. I beat him game 1, lose game 2 to his super fast start, and stabilize game 3 at 1 life (I think it was that game?) I encourage him to play faster, since a draw is essentially equivalent to a loss, and the time is closing in on us. He misplays a card pretty badly and I manage to close out the game.

Round 3 vs Scott (2-1)

Scott is the first opponent I recognize from the area. He's a shorter quirky guy but friendly.

I lose both the games to a Doom Whisperer.

Round 4 vs "Leon" (3-1)

If that name doesn't mean anything to you, you should watch Blade Runner.

Round 5 vs Brandon (3-2)

Izzet with Ral Izzet Viceroy and other assorted spells. So my 3-1 (9 pts) record should allow me to draw into the top 8, but unfortunately two players drew in round 4 (2-1-1, 7 pts). So four players are able to draw into the top 8, but four 3-1s are paired against one another and forced to play it out. By the time I lose my two games for the round, the other 3-1 match is concluded and one of the 2-1-1s is now a 3-1-1, with the other still going. That's 7 of the top 8 slots determined, so the only way I can make it in is on tie-breakers. Brandon reports, and eventually it comes out that the 7 pointer lost his match. I MAKE IT IN

Top 8

I go into the draft with the wrong mindset. I've heard some experts say that green is a weak color, and I don't see any particularly standout green cards pass to me, so I stick to UB maybe R colors in the draft. I have a pretty good surveil theme going on, but lack late game power.

Quarterfinals vs Michael (3-3)

0-2 for games

His threats outpace my counterspells, and although I'm able to drag the game out for many many turns, it seems that his draft went way better than mine and my deck lacks the ability to return from the brink. I made a questionable decision in the first game, and in the second slightly less so. He's pretty good, and later won the whole event so overall I'm not too upset. I'm just happy to be here.

Lessons:

Uh, don't draft what I want to to draft, but rather what is open in my seat.

I don't think I have enough experience in drafting the other color combinations (Boros, Golgari, Selesnya), but I ended up fighting for blue and black cards with several of my neighbors, to the point where I had essentially no removal or win conditions.

Overall I should definitely learn to play more aggressive decks, and beat down more often.

2018-02-10/11 GP Toronto 8-6 with 8 rack

Day 1: 6-2

Day 2: 2-4, drop

Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/985463#paper

Background: I'm a moderately competitive player from Buffalo that has always leaned towards B/BW decks that try to t1 Inquisition people or Smallpox you, as characterized by members of my LGS lol. I 0-4'd at SCG Syracuse last year on BW tokens, 4-3'd at SCG Columbus with 8 rack, and was a bit more successful this weekend at GP Toronto.

Disclaimer: The meta is wide open and diverse. There's only 15 possible rounds of Swiss, and more than 15 different decks in the room, so you may not run into some tier 1/2 decks at all, but on the other hand can run into anything, up to and including 8 rack or Bogles. I think my day 1 performance had a good deal of luck, since I had a lot of favorable matchups as evidenced by 5 2-0 wins. Missed connections include Burn, Humans, Tron on day 1, any variant of Death's Shadow, any GBx deck, Affinity, etc. The most amusing part of 8 rack is your opponents figuring out that you're on 8 rack. The others are removing all of your opponent's lands, or attacking with 1/1 Mutavaults.

Changes/previous list: I switched 2 Funeral Charms out with my 4th Fatal Push and a Bontu's from the sideboard, replacing them in the SB with 2 Pack Rats.

Day 1 (6-2)

Round 1 - Infect (2-0, 1-0)

Fairly easy matchup. I managed to have all of the answers, and they found none of the counter-answers. My sideboard changes are going off memory, so they may be a little off.

-4 Raven's Crime, -1 Bontu's

+3 Fulminator Mage, +1 Dismember, +1 Night of Soul's Betrayal

Round 2 - Hollow One (0-2, 1-1)

First game is pretty close. Both games I manage to turn 1 IoK their loot spell (Faithless Looting, Burning Inquiry), then they top deck another one :/

Their deck is kind of built to beat ours. Inquisition is bad against their threats, not hitting the big stuff, and putting their smaller stuff (Bloodghast, Flamewake Phoenix) into the graveyard for them. Still necessary to hit their enablers and other spells. Faithless Looting in both this deck & Mardu Pyromancer are great against us, since they can sculpt their hand even from the GY.

-4 Fatal Push, -2 Collective Brutality

+4 Leyline of the Void, +1 Bontu's, +1 Dismember

I chose to take the play here, aiming to remove their early looting, but he topdecks too strongly. I see no Leyline in openers, and just go for it.

At this point, I go over to a vendor and pick up 3 more GP Mutavaults for 13 USD ea.

Round 3 - Merfolk (2-0, 2-1)

Game 1 I keep a sketchy hand of Swamp, Mutavault, Mutavault, Mutavault, Inquisition, Fatal Push?, and Thoughtseize?.

On my turn 1 I see a hand of Master of the Pearl Trident, MotPT, Spreading Seas, Master of Waves, Island - take Spreading Seas.

My opponent tried to put both MotPTs onto the field but I Push + Brutality them.

A poorly-thought-out Lord of Atlantis from them turns my Merfolk-vaults into a quick clock.

-2 Collective Brutality

+1 Bontu's, +1 Dismember

I find a lot of disruption, see them ditch a Lord of Atlantis to Raven's Crime, cast a value Smallpox, and find all 4 of my shiny GP Merfolk Illusion lands to beat them down through an empty board.

Round 4 - Storm (2-0, 3-1)

Almost lost game 1 to double Electromancer beats, but I stabilize.

-4 Smallpox (hurts me more than it hurts them I think), -1 Collective Brutality (most lists run more Baral than Electromancer, I think?)

+4 Leyline of the Void, +1 Night of Soul's Betrayal

No Leyline, clean sweep. They try to go off in desperation after Lili hits the board, but it doesn't do it.

Round 5 - Lantern (2-0, 4-1)

I disrupt them and cut off the lock pretty quickly.

Game 1 Thoughtseize a Witchbane Orb, early concession from them.

-4 Fatal Push, -4 Smallpox, -3 Collective Brutality, -1 Bontu's Last Reckoning

+4 Leyline of the Void, +4 Fulminator Mage, +2 Pack Rat, +2 Surgical Extraction (better than having creature removal, eh?)

Two Shrieking Afflictions provide a quick clock after tearing apart their hand.

Round 6 - Storm (2-0, 5-1)

Some early Raven's Crimes, but I don't get to see their hand. I Collective Brutality and they concede.

Sideboard: see round 4

I take a Remand, kill their Baral, and according to the life totals I killed them with two Goblin Wizards of my own. I think they might have gotten stuck on lands?

Round 7 - Hollow One (0-2, 5-2)

Early 4/x provides beats, then Flamewake Phoenix and Bloodghast join the party.

Same sideboard plan as round 2.

Game 2: Dead again.

Round 8 - UW Control (2-1, 6-2)

Flooded Strand opener puts them on UWx something. A discard spell lets me take a Runed Halo, and I know it's UW control. I had the opportunity to Smallpox them at 4 lands, and they get away with dropping Gideon Jura. Double Mutavaults aren't great, and I die to the beefslab.

-4 Smallpox, -3 Fatal Push?, -3 Collective Brutality, -1 Bontu's Last Reckoning

+4 Fulminator Mage, +4 Leyline of the Void, +2 Pack Rat, +1 Dismember

Memory is hazy on this sideboard plan, but I think it's right? Search for Azcanta basically turns off Racks, and I anticipate correctly that they'll sideboard out Verdicts.

Turn 1 Thoughtseize takes a Search for Azcanta, sees a clear path for t2 Pack Rat. It's like playing RTR-THS standard, but the UW opponent doesn't have their Verdicts. A couple more Rats with Rat lands nails them.

No real SB changes for game 3, though my notes seem to have gotten lost.

I got in with Pack Rat a few times, then got board-wiped. My opponent plays a Runed Halo, I call a judge to clarify how it interacts with The Rack and planeswalker redirection (tl;dr opponent gets to choose replacement effects, it does not work out in our favor). I don't remember what else I had, but I was keeping them on low lands and maybe beating down with my own 2/2 Human Soldier. I topdeck a Shrieking Affliction and it seals the deal.

Day 2

Round 9 - Mono G Tron (1-2, 6-3)

Notes indicate that I conceded at a life total of 21-10, so I think it was after a resolved Wurmcoil Engine.

-4 Fatal Push, -3 Collective Brutality

+4 Fulminator Mage, +2 Surgical Extraction, +1 Bontu's

They play a couple Ballistae, that I get rid of via Smallpox eh. Once they've assembled Tron, I surgical a discarded Karn on draw step and see 2 more Ballistae in hand :| At least I won that game.

Game 3: Didn't find enough interaction, died to a 4/4 Ballista

Round 10 - Jeskai Tempo (2-0, 7-3)

Turn 1 shockland, pass, telegraphing Opt. Look at their hand, see Flooded Strand, Cryptic Command, Opt, Vendilion Clique, Snapcaster, Field of Ruin. I take the Snapcaster. Iirc I Thoughtseize Cryptic later, kill Clique, get Lightning Helix'd, and finish the game with a Shrieking Affliction.

I've identified that they're on Tempo more than control. No Colonnades seen, but I side out Push since I can't turn on Revolt. Collective Brutality seems fine. Again, fearful of Azcanta, but I don't overboard lol.

-3 Fatal Push, -1 Bontu's Last Reckoning

+4 Fulminator Mage

I seem to be missing hand notes, but I think I intuited that they had a Snapcaster in hand? Cast turn 3 Liliana, +1'd, they flashed in Snapcaster and targeted Opt, discarded last card, cast Opt in end step. Attack Lili to 2, but I have my 1 Fatal Push. Two Shrieking Afflictions and an active Lili clean it up.

Round 11 - UR Breach (2-0, 8-3)

An early Raven's Crime prompts an interesting conversation. My opponent played faced an 8 rack player in the "turbo-town" (irl 2 man queue) modern Saturday night, who told him that an 8 rack player had made day 2!!! So he knew there was an 8 rack player, but totally didn't expect it.

Targeted discard puts them on UR something, Smallpox a couple times to keep them off of 4 mana, and they discard a Through the Breach late in the game, so that's them figured out.

I forget my sideboard changes, but it was pretty minimal. Talking with my opponent, they had notes on matchup impressions and 8 rack was one of the two "double minus" matchups lol

Game 2 they take the draw, so I see a full 7 - 2 mismatched Islands, Polluted Delta, Snapcaster, Remand, Through the Breach, Madcap. Clear the Remand, and I think Raven's Crime got everything else.

Round 12 - Mardu Pyromancer (1-2, 8-4)

So this is the sad part of my day. I disrupt their hand, and apparently got two Rack effects online to clock for 6 a turn, but they got on board and hit me to 13, 3, and lethal while they finished at 2. Bedlam Reveler is a beating.

-4 Smallpox, -2 Liliana of the Veil

+4 Leyline of the Void, +1 Bontu's, +1 Night of Soul's Betrayal

I take the play, discard a Faithless Looting, Liliana of the Veil, and something else. I have an active rack going, drop Night on two Spirit tokens, and they concede.

Game 3 they get a bunch of Lingering Souls tokens while I have no answers. Opponent does commit an error, fetching for a basic Mountain off of Marsh Flats, explaining that with my Urborg, they didn't see the need to grab Blood Crypt (the deck also plays Blood Moon, I guess). Judge call, gets a warning, low impact on game since they could have just grabbed tapped Blood Crypt on end step :| Results-oriented thinking, but I wouldn't have won anyways since I drew about 6 lands without a Raven's Crime.

Round 13 - GB Tron, Seth Manfield (0-2, 8-5)

"So that's the way it's going to be" -Seth Manfield, with Raven's Crime on the stack.

Seth resolves 2 Wurmcoil Engines and it's over.

sideboard: see round 9

I take the play, Inquisition to see a hand of GQ, Karn, Karn, Fatal Push, Ancient Stirrings, Expedition Map, Chromatic Sphere. What's the take?

I took Stirrings, though Sphere was a consideration

So I have a Lili on 6, Shrieking Affliction on field, know of a Sanctum of Ugin in hand off Expedition Map, Seth has Tron + GQ on field.

I take a bad line, ulting Lili. GQ+Tower, Mine+Power Plant. Seth keeps the Mine+Power Plant. I Thoughtseize next turn, and find that he's topdecked a Tower. :|

Finds a Wurmcoil Engine, I do get a Bontu's, then die.

Round 14 - Titanshift (1-2, 8-6 drop)

I Collective Brutality on turn 2, see Scapeshift, Chandra Flamecaller, Forest, Forest, Cinder Glade.

Smallpox to hold them off 6 mana, and I think I killed them using 2 of my 2/2 Giant Snake Shamans.

-4 Fatal Push, -2 Collective Brutality?

+4 Fulminator Mage, +2 Surgical Extraction

I play a blind Wrench Mind and die to Obstinate Baloth, which apparently he's running 3 out of the side. Seems like a good call vs Hollow One decks.

-1 Collective Brutality

+1 Bontu's

7 cards, no lands

6 cards, 5 swamps, 1 Urborg

Die to 2 Baloths, the first hardcast, the second due to me misplaying Lili. Was moderately on tilt.

Bonus feature:

Went to the turbo-town seeking redemption, went 3-0 vs

Abzan Company (minimal combo), Affinity, Abzan Eldrazi ???

Future:

My current goal will be to make day 2 again and achieve a winning day 2 record