2018-11-02

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.

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