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.