FNM and M11 Pre-release report
This past Friday I attended FNM at my favorite gaming spot, but I didn’t run Jund! I know, big Shocker there. I didn’t run Jund because I wanted to prove to myself (and some other people) that I can indeed win without playing Jund. Well, I did just that. I ended up placing top 4 (it was reported as 2nd) with a home brewish deck. I sleeved up the following:
Spoiled Again!
Wait, didn’t I just write about spoilers last week? Well…in this week’s Act of Reason I’m going to cover a few more of the cards spoiled and talk about their viability in Standard. This week won’t be quite as organized as last week, so be prepared for me to jump around colors, rarities and all sorts of other wonderfulness.
The first thing I want to touch on is the likelihood of all the original Planeswalkers being back in the set. One can assume that this is the case but I’m going to go on record and say it makes logical sense to put all of the original walkers into a core set. With this being said, is this going to really change things up? I’m going to go out on a limb and say maybe (lame answer, I know). Right now, these walkers aren’t seeing a ton of action due to the emergence of three of the most powerful walkers created to date; Elspeth, Gideon, and Jace 2.0. Come October, we say bye to Elspeth (my current favorite) and look forward to a new batch in Scars of Mirrodin…or do we? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we can’t guarantee new walkers in Scars, however, I think that it would be a bad idea not to print any. With that being said, there could be some nice synergy with the core walkers and any from Scars.
I now want to talk about the cycle of Titans in this set. These guys are cool and each of them is dripping with flavor—even you Frost Titan! I talked about Sun Titan last week and referred you to Flores’ article. This week I want to talk about the potential for Primeval Titan. To be honest, the first time I saw this card, I read it as “basic lands and put them into play tapped.” After looking at the original price of the card, I took my time reading it and realized that this guy fetches two LANDS for you. Now I’ve been seeing a lot of people harping on the fact that this guy dies to removal and all you did was fetch to lands and spent six mana on a Harrow that grabs non-basics. Wait, really people, it dies to removal? Is that the best you can come up with? This guy is not a waste. What would you pay to fetch two non-basics and put them into play tapped? Eldrazi Temple? Eye of Ugin? Two man-lands? Two Tectonic Edges? Let’s also not forget we get a 6/6 trampler! This guy can get out of control fast if they don’t have the removal for him. But I think this guy is going to see some standard play in Turboland and possibly Valakut Ramp. I think it is a bit of a Squeeze on Valakut Ramp to have those forests out there but also, like a lot of people are saying, this guy allows these deck builders to thin out their decks a bit and get rid of the clunky Khalni Heart Expeditions. Look for this guy in a deck near you! Grave Titan just looks fun. I don’t know if he’ll see the Standard scene or not. A lot of Jund players don’t want to spend 6 mana any more in their decks as they’ve gotten even more aggressive. It’s hard to go wrong with a 6/6 creature that poops two 2/2’s right out of the gate and two more each time it attacks. Did I mention he has deathtouch? Inferno Titan and Frost Titan, to me, are a bit underwhelming for Standard. Inferno, because most red decks that would utilize his ability aren’t running high casting cost creatures and Frost, because his ability is just soft control. His “semi-shroud” ability isn’t really worth mentioning either. Honestly, unless you cheat him out on turn 2, your opponent isn’t going to have much trouble paying 2BR for a Terminate.
So I’m still waiting on a Merfolk lord out of blue. Is it the one pictured on the booster packs? Who knows? I almost want to see Merfolk Sovereign back because he/she has nice synergy with Scroll Thief. Take two damage and I draw a card. I’d like to see some others as it looks like the Elf tribe could possibly make a comeback with the rumor of Imperious Perfect also being in this core set. And where is the goblin lord? Will we see Goblin Chieftain back as well? With Ember Hauler hanging around will goblins be viable again? There are just so many questions still left to be answered…
One thing I do know is assuming that we will see all five of the core walkers back, that leaves us with 2 mythic rare cards left to be spoiled. I’d wager as well that they’ll be in black and red unless they didn’t balance out the mythic placement. There are still a couple of question marks as far as the booster pack pictures are concerned. What’s that Lich looking thing? Could this be a mythic creature for black? As this week rolls on, we’re bound to see more of the rare cards spoiled on wizards’ website. I don’t know about you all (how many of you are there anyway?) but I was not blown away by Angelic Arbiter this morning. I think it might find its way into some sideboards at best…and that’s some risky tech if you ask me. At that late a stage in the game, does it really matter if you’re locking your opponent? Ugh, I realize that all cards aren’t created to be amazing, or to see Standard play, but this card had me shaking my head. EDH and Limited bomb, absolutely. Other than that it’s shiny and cool, but that’s about as far as I see it going—oh and it’s a foil in the intro packs. I see myself pulling a foil of this on top of the intro pack one based on my track record of doing this.
So that’s all I’ve got for you this week. Enjoy the next week and a half of spoilers. I hope they keep things fun and interesting like they have so far. Wizards has done a fantastic job keeping things under a better lock and key for this set than ROE. I’m sure there will be one or two more surprises on the horizon with this one. Finally, I have no idea what to play at FNM this week. Suggestions??
Spoiled!
It’s That Time Again…
Spoiler season for the latest core set is here and in this week’s Act of Reason I’d like to talk about the cards we’ve seen spoiled so far and which ones I like for sealed. First and foremost, I don’t claim to be a sealed pro or anything special. Much like all of my articles, I can only write based upon my observations and experience. I’m going to break down each group by color. So with that, let’s begin!
White:
Obviously Baneslayer Angel is a great card to see back; especially to those of us who already own a playset. I really don’t have much else to say about this card other than it’s still amazing, but while playing in sealed, keep a close eye on it. I mean this from both sides of the card. Be hesitant to cast it early as your main threat as there is quite a bit of removal in this core set. For the other side of the coin, if you know someone pulled it—and you will, hold your removal for it. This card will lock up the game if left unchecked.
With most sealed events there are two creature types that Thrive: fliers and fatties. I want to talk about a couple other fliers that I really like. I love seeing Goldenglow Moth back in action. This card is going to be a major nuisance in sealed. Plop a Holy Strength on it, and bam, you’ve got a viable blocker, attacker, and life gainer all in one! I also really like Cloud Crusader; flying and first strike, bonus!
Another card I’d like to touch on is Sun Titan. All I have to say is that I can’t wait to see this card broken in the format. For more information read Flores’ article here. I completely agree with him. Finally to wrap up white, I want to highlight Condemn, Pacifism, and Safe Passage. We all know Condemn is going to replace Path to Exile. Being an uncommon, keep your eye on this one because if you’re splashing white, you need this in there. Pacifism will save your butt from a big creature early and likely swing the tide to your advantage, but if that doesn’t do it, a timely Safe Passage might. Honorable mention goes to Elite Vanguard in this group. A 2/1 on turn 1 can get dangerous fast, especially if it’s followed with another on turn 2.
Edit: After writing this article, more cards were spoiled—I want to take a look at Knight Exemplar. Because Knight of the Reliquary wasn’t good enough, let’s permanently make it indestructible with Knight Exemplar. This card is replacing Dauntless Escort in Mythic Conscription decks. As far as sealed is concerned, I’m not afraid of it. There’s not much of a chance you’ll see too many tribal knight decks in a sealed tourney. I’m sure I’ll be eating my words in a few weeks…
Blue:
Tons of people have talked about Aether Adept and how it is the replacement for Man o’ War. I’m not going to say much more other than I like the addition to blue and the possibilities as early soft control. Back on topic for sealed, I love Air Servant! He taps fliers while you attack with him! This guy is like Dawnglare Invoker plus. He lets you bombard your opponent with your airborne army, while you keep theirs at bay. I also like Augury Owl and all of the Scry spells. They bring fun back to blue, not only for sealed, but for constructed. Jace’s Ingenuity is also a nice card for sealed and standard. Need drawing power, check, need it at instant speed, you got it! Finally for blue, one you want to really keep an eye out for is Mind Control. If you’re running blue and you leave this card on the side you’ll really want to kick yourself. “Nice Baneslayer.” *Yoink* “Mine now!” Honorable mention for blue has to go to Diminish. I love this card paired with Cunning Sparkmage, but for sealed, pair it with Prodigal Pyromancer and we’re good.
Edit: Mana Leak!!!!! Nuff said about that. Time Reversal, wow…this card makes me happy. I’m not sure how to abuse it quite yet; give me some time to think about it. But seriously, they made a functional reprint of Time Twister! This card could be sick in sealed as well!
Black:
It’s where the removal is at, but I want to touch on the powerful Nightwing Shade for sealed. Pumpable is good in sealed, but a flier to boot; yes please! We then have your Reassembling Skeleton – your multipurpose, non-trample, blocker. Reassemble him at your opponent’s end step and untap on yours. Finally, we know that Doom Blade is back but I want to talk about Necrotic Plague a bit. This card is an enigma to me. 2BB to destroy an opponent’s creature and then one of yours. Then it’s rinse and repeat while there are still critters on the board. I just want to say I love the flavor this card is covered with, but as far as sealed is concerned, it’s only conditional removal. I have no creatures and my opponent has one, bam – bye, bye birdie. Honorable mention goes out to Stabbing Pain and Unholy Strength.
Red:
Now here’s a color that has me a little hesitant to play sealed. I’m seeing a ton of burn and burn related spells here and not a lot of good creatures to protect my Planeswalker butt. I want to touch on how good Act of Treason is in sealed. You take your opponent’s biggest creature away from them, swing out and win. More times than not it works, just watch out for the occasional Safe Passage and Fog. Now Fling on the other hand paired with Act of Treason is just a downright dirty play for all of five mana. Highlights in the burn category, for me, include Lightning Bolt, Lava Axe, and Prodigal Pyromancer. My sleeper for red enchantments is Volcanic Strength. I feel like it does so much against red that it’s a must run. Honorable mention for this group, for me, goes to Arc Runner and Ember Hauler. Arc Runner on a clean board is nasty for three mana. A hasty 5/1, that doesn’t go away, means you need an answer fast. Ember Hauler, I feel ,can be great given the right deck in sealed and it could be the card that wins you the game with that last point of damage.
Edit: Hording Dragon. I really, really, want this card to be good. It’s dripping with flavor but I just don’t see it fitting into constructed play (yet). Combustion however…wow! Let’s really take care of that big bad Baneslayer with M11.
Green:
I like a lot of cards in green right now for sealed, so I’m not going to touch on them all. I do want to talk a little bit about some of green’s fatties. I scoffed at Yavimaya Wurm until I read the card again and realized that it had Trample. It’s a much more functional version of Craw Wurm, yippee! Granted an unchecked Craw Wurm is still damaging but this guy runs through blockers if they can’t kill it. Garruk’s Companion; a 3/2 trampler is also a nasty card at two green mana. Look to face multiples of this in your events. While this card isn’t exactly a fattie, I place it there simply because of its destructive capability. If you really want to talk about a fattie, look no further than Greater Basilisk. This guy can also Wreak Havoc if left unchecked. My sleeper for green, so far, is probably Wall of Vines. This card is going to protect you in the early game while you ramp up using Cultivate to drop bigger creatures. Finally, honorable mention, and also “watch out for,” goes to Plummet. Being that you can only run four of this in constructed; I want to run as many of this as possible in sealed.
Edit: Well we got the Jund hoser spoiled that Aaron Forsythe talked about – Obstinate Baloth. This card is going to find a home in so many decks; limited and constructed. I love the symmetry of it. A 4/4 for 4 mana that gains you 4 life when it enters the battlefield and can’t be discarded. Overwhelming Stampede will see play as well, even with some potential to replace Overrun in some decks. I like its potential for a REALLY BIG swing.
Edit2: I’d also like to talk about a couple of the artifacts that have been spoiled. My teammates would not let me post this article without talking about Juggernaut. I HATE this card. Of course by hate, I mean love. This card is going to hose U/W control unless they have an answer to it. I see it making its way into some sideboards just to walk past Wall of Omens and Wall of Denial. I also like Gargoyle Sentry in sealed a lot. This guy could potentially give people fits. Big ups to MTGSalvation for posting all the spoilers, without which I wouldn’t be able to talk about all of this today.
On a final note, I got my first 1st place in a FNM last week. I made top 4 for the 2nd week in a row and they were nice enough to give me the victory. And for the “awwww” factor, I gave my prize packs to a new kid, from what I could guess was under 15, who showed a lot of guts coming to a FNM filled with 25+ year olds. I hope he comes back! I’m taking a hiatus this week from FNM in favor of a graduation party. Until next week!
Meta-Schmeta!
First, I’d like to say that I have come up with an official name for my weekly blog articles. Drumroll please! *Ehem* Drumroll?? No? Whatever, I am calling my weekly article “Act of Reason.” Catchy huh? Anyway, in this week’s Act of Reason, I’m going to talk about choosing the right deck for your store’s meta.
There is only so much you can do by checking the top decks from tournaments on starcitygames.com each week for choosing which deck you want to play. What was good for that tournament’s meta might not be good for your store’s meta. You really need to sit back, look at your store, see who’s winning, and with what. You also need to look at your own matches and see what you faced. The week before last I faced 3 Jund decks, as the meta was flooded with it. There were zero control decks at our store. That made my decision for FNM pretty simple – play U/W control. Boy did I pick right! I went 3-1 and finished in the Top 4 on the night. The only deck that gave me trouble was a Runeflare Combo deck. Against U/W, Runeflare pretty much dominates. In fact, that Runeflare Combo deck was even more appropriate for our store’s meta than my selection of U/W Control! This completely goes to show you why choosing the right deck is so important.
So you might be asking, “Ok Bob, how do I know what to play?” The answer is not quite so simple and it requires a lot of research on your part. You should indeed research which decks are winning tournaments near and far, but more importantly you need to study their meta. Is Jund cleaning up? Likely the field is running aggro without control. Is Super Friends at the top? You’re likely facing a control dominated meta. At our shop, we see a heavy dose of Naya, Jund, and Vampires. In this aggro heavy field U/W Control was a perfect fit. Being that I was likely to face a lot of removal, I added the element of shroud in my deck to combat the large amount of removal. There were many games where I had dropped a Wall of Denial and my opponent could only shake their head in disgust. I didn’t just randomly decide that Wall of Denial would be “fun” for my deck, no, I needed something that was going to Fend Off an early assault by my opponents without getting Terminated while I dropped Elspeth, Jace and Gideon on the board. This wasn’t exactly where knowing what to play stops however, the other half of this is your sideboard.
I can say from my own experience, I am notoriously bad at both creating a sideboard and actually sideboarding during games. It is very important to once again, not only study the big tournament sideboards, but to study your own store’s meta. This week I got it right for once…erm well, mostly. I was really wishing I had a Mindbreak Trap in my sideboard against that Runeflare Combo deck. But other than that, I can’t say enough about running Hindering Light in U/W Control. Let’s look at all of the cards that this card stops at my store’s meta. It stops Doom Blade, Terminate, Blightning, Maelstrom Pulse, Lightning Bolt, Flame Slash, Runeflare Trap, Consuming Vapors, Path to Exile, and it also cantrips! Let’s bear in mind however that Hindering Light will counter Bituminous Blast but it won’t counter the cascade, so pick and choose carefully on this one. I also threw Deprive into my sideboard as kind of a catch all counter if I faced the mirror; I used it once to counter a Jace Beleren. The rest of my sideboard consisted of extra planeswalkers, one more Martial Coup and an Iona. I only sided in Iona against the Vampire deck I faced. The game dragged out to the point where I had the mana to hard cast her but I never drew her. Overall, I give my sideboard, for last week, a grade of B. There was room for improvement, but it shined mostly where it needed to. This week, if I bring the same deck, the sideboard will be slightly changed. Another quick sideboard tidbit for you is to know what cards you’re siding out and in with your sideboard for which match ups. I was able to side out all of my walls against the Runeflare Trap deck and side in some counter magic. Against Vampires, I was able to drop a land and some Spreading Seas. It’s important to know what you’re siding in and out and against what matchups because, in my experience, siding in something is only half the battle; knowing what to take out is key. The other issue I see a lot with myself is siding in cards that I don’t truly need in a match up. Why do I need to side in X card if I handled the deck fine game 1 and don’t Foresee anything crazy coming in from their board for game 2?
In the end, like I had already talked about, I went 3-1 and finished in the top 4 with my only loss from the Runeflare Combo deck. I was successful, mainly because this week, I picked the right deck to pilot for the store’s meta. So this weekend, when I sleeve up a deck, I need to think about two things 1) What decks are going to make an appearance and 2) what decks are going to be tweaked to beat mine? After all of this thought I’m likely going to give this deck a whirl again. It still feels like one of the best decks to run at the store and I think if I can get things right on the sideboard, I’ll be in even better shape this week.
So what did we learn this week? Meta is very important and you need to have keen observation skills at your store. You likely only play 4 or 5 people at your FNM each week, so you really need to pay attention to what is being played and by who so you can be prepared for the following week. Try to keep in mind what worked for you, what didn’t, what can I do to make things play out to my advantage, what sideboard should I bring, etc? These are all questions that are pertinent each week, but more importantly, they’re only good if you answer them based on your meta.
Oh yeah, I cracked a Gideon Jura out of my prize packs…
Defending the boogeyman
Yes, I know, another post about Jund. It so happens I am a big supporter of the deck type, so I would obviously have a lot to say about it! This time around I want to hit on something I am increasingly seeing across the internets.
More and more I am seeing comments like “People who play Jund are not good players” or “Playing Jund requires no thinking, just playing and flipping cards.” Now, the majority of people who say that tend to fall into the “get beat by Jund a lot” category and refuse to say Jund is a good Tier 1 deck. Well folks this just is not true. While Jund is easier to play when compared to U/W control (or any control deck for that matter) it is far from easy to play. Countless times I have seen people come to FNM with a standard Jund build and fail to win a game while someone with the same exact build places top 4. This is due to the player, not the deck.
I first started piloting Jund back when Zendikar rotated in. My first builds included Madrush Cyclops, Sedraxis Specters and a few other odd cards. My first time out I placed top 4 and introduced that store to the boogeyman. No one was playing Jund before that and no one was prepared. After that I started looking at what the pro’s were playing and started changing my deck. Almost every week I would come in with a different version then I had the week before. After a while the store I played at started getting flooded with Jund builds. They all had the same core cards (Sprouting Thrinax, Bloodbraid Elf, Blightning, Lightning Bolt, etc) with a few odd builds, mine included. Now if the theory “anyone can play Jund” was true, you would expect to see a variety of people placing top 4 with Jund, correct? Well, this wasn’t true. Every week the same Jund decks would be near the top (mine included) and the others would have poor records. I had a few bad weeks myself, mostly when I played with some crazy idea’s that never worked, but when I stuck to the core set of cards that I felt worked, I won. I also noticed I would have a bad week if something was bothering me or if something was going on with my life. Back when my last relationship fell apart, I had a string of poor finishes. Was this due to my deck? No, it was due to the player.
You may ask yourself “Why do you play Jund every week? Don’t you know how to play anything else?” That is a pretty good question and one I get asked every week. I play Jund every week because I feel it has the tools to compete with every deck in the format. I have played many other decks using Magic Workstation and other testing means and I always find myself coming back to Jund. The meta where I play is also Jund friendly, so it makes more sense to run a deck that will do well. There was a time where all the non-Jund decks were stacked with Jund hate and that is when I started changing things up. The standard Jund builds would fall while the innovators would rise.
It will be interesting to see what happens when Shards/M10 rotates out. I am willing to wager you will see the same players who top 4 with Jund top 4′ing with whatever deck they choose to play.
Jund is Dead?? (repost)
Original article by Bob Lanza, reposted due to site issues
…At least not yet. Jund is alive and well, and with the emergence of the Vengevine varieties, Jund is going to be around until most of its core cards rotate out in October. This FNM I was privileged to play not two, but three Jund decks in my escapade with an experimental Esper Conscription deck I threw together. This deck is/was favored slightly against Jund in our testing during the week—except for my teammate Jesse’s deck (which mind you I gave one hell of a run at during the tourney). I ended up going 2-2 on the night. I lost 2 games to—you guessed it; Jund. I’m here to tell you some things about Jund that you may already know, or maybe you don’t.
First, Jund is very much alive, and the main reason for it being alive has been the ever present Maelstrom Pulse. I can’t begin to tell you people how good this card is in this deck. This card is the catch all destroy-a-card. With Bloodbraid Elf, this is just beyond a sick combo. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I had a BBE cascade into a pulse and ruin my plans. I had thought I combatted this by running shrouded creatures, but every time I thought they had run out of removal and I dropped a Baneslayer Angel, bam I got hit with a pulse. Let me elaborate even more as of to why this card is so good. I have not lost one Jund GAME, not match, GAME, against a Jund deck that was budget and didn’t run pulse. This card makes this deck.
Another card that makes this deck still very dangerous despite the advent of Wall of Omens is Bloodbraid Elf—hell, Bituminous Blast has even made a return. So let’s talk about why these cards are so key in a Jund deck right now. The Vengevine varieties rely greatly on Cascade (a mechanic that I maintain has broken the game). If you aren’t running cheap creatures, Cascade can get you that Vengevine trigger far easier. This leads to MAJOR card advantage early. This is something I’m convinced even the control decks cannot do (which is why I ran Kathari Remnant in my Esper Conscription deck this weekend. I’ll tell you what is dead in this matchup—discard. I can’t begin to tell you how much Jund players will giggle when you make them pitch 2 Vengevines. Blightning needs to go bye bye in the mirror, but is still very much a strong Planeswalker removal factor along with more card advantage.
Finally, Jund is where the removal is at. With cards like Terminate, Doom Blade, Maelstrom Pulse, Consuming Vapors, Deathmark, Lightning Bolt, and Bituminous Blast, how can you go wrong?? Did I miss any? Jund runs the most removal in a creature heavy format. I think we might see a resurgence of shrouded creatures to battle Jund in the near future. But in the end, Consuming Vapors sideboarded in, can be a real hoser. I was on the receiving end of a Doom Blade on the stack as Consuming Vapors rebounded. This especially hurt because not only did I PURPOSELY play a Baneslayer because I knew vapors was going to rebound, but I lost a Wall of Denial as well. All this removal may in the end be Jund’s weakness, but at our store…not a chance. In a store filled with Aggro Naya, Vamps, and Jund, there is no such thing as too much removal.
My Esper Conscription deck did what I thought it would when I needed it to. My teammate bluffed his way into a win against me (well played sir) in a matchup that I was typically favored against. My other Jund loss was to a Hyper Aggressive build featuring 4 maindecked Siege-Gang Commanders, Broodmate Dragons, Putrid Leeches, and the coup de grace maindecked Consuming Vapors.
People say that Jund’s weakness is its manabase. My response is: “ freakin DUH!” If you can shut down a single color, Jund sits there and Twiddles its thumbs for a bit while you either set up your control, or beat it down. Seriously, if you don’t have this figured out, you need to go back and look at your blue. Why was spread em so successful months ago in a Jund heavy environment? But this still falls back to my statement about Maelstrom Pulse. Three of my lands are Seas?? Maelstrom Pulse says “hi.”
In the end, I’m going to say to you that Jund is not dead. I think Jund is far from dead and it is evolving into a new powerhouse. Jesse ran Goblin Ruinblaster main deck and totally caught people off guard. There are tons of possibilities for these combos, and we haven’t even scratched up the surface. So now you ask, “Bob, what are you sleeving up for this week’s FNM?” My answer is simple: J.U.N.—naw I’m just kidding, I’m probably going to run control.
FNM and Vengevine Jund
This past Friday I sleeved up my Jund deck (as always) and went to battle my fellow planeswalkers at Friday Night Magic. The big difference this week was the version of Jund I decided to run. I took one of the many Vengevine versions and tweaked the sideboard to fit my meta. Read more
Losing Sucks…
This week I want to touch on Magic and what you can learn from losing. This past FNM I went 1-3 on the night. It was my worst tournament outing ever. When you lose you can do a couple of things: whine about how you got unlucky with your card draws (which I did), or look at the night and find out where things went south (I casted a Gideon Jura with a Vampire Hexmage on the battlefield). This single misplay ruined my whole night. The game would have likely ended much differently had I not botched up that single play. When all is said and done, you can step back and ask yourself, “What have I learned?”
In all honesty, the night mostly was just bad draws from a deck that has very little drawing power. I found myself behind early on in most of my games due to decks featuring some kind of early removal. Initially, I decided to sleeve up my own version of Mythic Conscription featuring Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Gideon Jura maindeck. Other than those two cards it was a pretty stock deck. Throughout all of my play testing during the week, the deck dominated most of the match-ups. I beat Jund handily; I mopped the floor with Vampires and handled Polymorph pretty easily. The one deck I forgot to test against was Naya. I honestly wasn’t concerned with it based on the fact that I could beat Jund, and shut down Naya’s Basilisk Collar, Cunning Sparkmage combination with Linvala. I was so confident that Jesse, my team member, was really torn on what to play knowing that my deck was so dominant. In the end he sleeved up a version of Jund that we came up with that gave it a good chance against everything in the meta- with my deck being the exception for the most part.
My night started off with Vampires. I learned a lot about my deck right off the bat in the first game after having my Birds of Paradise and Noble Hierarch removed without a problem. Mythic has NOTHING if you remove its early threats. After that, I battled through to drop a Baneslayer Angel and took the game. It was game two that I discovered a HUGE flaw with my deck. I had absolutely no removal outside of Celestial Purge in my SB. The purge served me well until my opponent dropped a Malakir Bloodwitch. It then occurred to me that this card was going to be the end of my night when it got played unless I could draw an Eldrazi Conscription. It didn’t happen, and just like that, I was 0-1 on the night. This was also the game where I played my Gideon with a Hexmage on the board in a game where I had complete control.
Match two was against Jund. With confidence I beat my opponent down (with a little luck) in the first game with the Sovereigns of Lost Alara Eldrazi Conscription combo. The second game post SB, my challenger still had no gas. This Jund deck ran very little removal and I was able to run it over pretty easily even after mulliganing down to four during the second game. What did I learn from this win? Honestly, not a whole lot. I had expected to beat Jund in the fashion that I did. If I had to guess, this was a budget Jund deck- there were no Maelstrom Pulses and I didn’t see Sarkhan the Mad. At this point, I was 1-1 and feeling better about myself.
Match three was against my teammate who was 1-1 on the night as well. He wasn’t thrilled at the challenge he was going to face in trying to overcome my deck. It was this match that honestly got me the most upset with myself and really turned everything for the worse. This was the worst luck in a match I had ever had. During game one I managed to pull 1 mana after mulliganing down to five- my hand was Forest, Birds, Heiarach, Baneslayer and Lotus Cobra. I figured I could work with this and that I’d draw some gas along with lands. Boy was I wrong. I didn’t pull a single land, and all of my acceleration was removed early and fast. This game was over by turn six. Game two rolled around and I had to mulligan down to six, but I had a sick draw. I was feeling pretty good about myself. I managed to stick a turn three Gideon, and felt like I had the board locked up. It was then that I had three consecutive Maelstrom Pulses played on me to end my night. Good game, but talk about luck not on my side. Luck is part of Magic, but this loss was hard to swallow. I was now 1-2 on the night, and out of contention for the top four. The good news was that my teammate was primed to make his way in!
Match four was against Naya, and this is where things really took a turn downhill. I won the first game when my opponent got mana screwed. Game two post SB, I got hit with removal and once again, (surprise, surprise), crappy hands. I had to go down to five and was run over by Vengevine. Game three was almost a carbon copy of game two, and my night was over.
Losing sucks…but what can I really take from this? I had a lousy SB for the match-ups I faced. I think in the end if I had had a better SB, I could have taken a game or two, but everybody’s deck was so much better post SB than mine, I didn’t have much of a shot. Luck also did play a big factor throughout my night, so I can’t really learn much from that except to know that if you’re playing Mythic Conscription, you are going to have to do the best with what you’ve got in your opening hand. Luck is a huge factor with this deck because it doesn’t draw extra cards and can lose its momentum VERY fast. In the end, it was a very educational night, I met some new people, and I look forward to going 1-3 again sometime soon. I might also go 4-0, who knows! Until then, remember that losing sucks, but it’s what you can learn from your mistakes and loses that will make you a better player.
Why I Came Back
Wake up world! My name is Bob Lanza, self-proclaimed Magic: The Gathering geek, and collector of cards. I work as an IT Guru during the day, and at night I Sleep. I picked up Magic again around January 2009 and have since had success as of late on the tournament scene. I’m one of the founding members of Team Chaotic. I’ll be writing articles on the current meta, life, and possibly the occasional rant. Welcome, and enjoy!
I can’t begin to tell you how many people out there in the world today play Magic: The Gathering. Every corner I turn, I find someone else who is ready and raring to duel. Magic is a game of strategy, wits, luck, and let’s face it- money. If you don’t have the most recent cards, you don’t have what it takes to reach that next level. But seriously, who doesn’t want to play a game slated in a fantasy world where you are a Planeswalker (a superior being who has not only potent magic, but the ability to walk from one plane of existence to another). At your control are countless spells, creatures, enchantments, artifacts and other tools to show your dominance over man and beast. The trick is combining these abilities into something that will not only make you the victor, but also showcase your smarts. I digress.
I started playing Magic when I was about 13-years-old, circa 1994. Magic was young and new, and some of the kids at school started playing. I found this new card game fascinating and being the geek that I am, (seriously, if you play magic you’re a geek- embrace it) I was full on hooked from the first time I tapped a forest for this magic called “mana.” Back then there weren’t nearly as many cards as there are today, and having certain cards gave you a flat out advantage. Being only 13 at the time, it was difficult to procure money to buy booster packs, boxes, starter packs and other accessories. Every chance I got, I scraped together a few bucks here or there for some cards, never knowing what a “rare” was let alone today’s “mythic rares.” I knew what I liked and what worked for me. I thought that cards like Craw Wurm were amazing because of the sheer power. I ran the Channel Fireball combo for a bit, and then everybody stopped playing me. But for the most part back then, I kept things simple: Green Stompy and Red Burn, both of which led me to mild success. When the Ice Age block came out, I had begged and pleaded for a booster box from my family. I don’t recall how much these boxes cost back then, but I know they were not too thrilled that this was my latest obsession and it was EXPENSIVE even then! Needless to say, I got the box and with that came new cards and new ways to beat my friends.
High school rolled around shortly after, and my cards disappeared into The Abyss that is my closet. There they sat for 14 years. Jokingly in my last year of college (last of 7) I had talked about my geeky tendencies and how I used to play Magic: The Gathering. I couldn’t believe that one of my good college friends used to play when he was younger, and better yet, he still had his cards! Just like that, the addiction started all over again. However, now I’m older and smarter (I think), and more in tune with the way things work.
After trying to find new techniques to beat my friends, I decided that I needed a new edge- that’s right, cards from the new sets. I started by buying a box of Conflux. After opening them, I remembered the thrill of pulling a rare card. Shortly thereafter, I learned about the tournament scene and what was legal for each format. It was then that I decided I was going to become a Standard Legal kind of guy. Hell, I just spent 80 bucks on a box of Conflux, how much could it cost to go back to Shards of Alara and then just keep up with everything afterwards? Man it’s expensive, but oh so worth it! The game to this day still keeps me thinking, “how can I play better- no, perfectly!”
As they say, the rest is history. I currently have found many more people to duel, and I have since formed/joined a team of experienced players from both way back in the day and the present time. I have had some recent luck as a deck builder and player in some tournaments lately. Limited is something completely untapped for me, and yet I’ve won the last three Sealed events in which I’ve participated. In the end, this hobby of mine has cost me big bucks, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, except maybe a foil Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
Rise of the Eldrazi Pre-Release roundup
This past weekend I attended my first pre-release (and Limited) event at my local shop, Numbskullz. I am usually a Constructed player so switching gears to Limited was a challenge. No longer could I build a deck and test it for weeks before I brought it to FNM, I was on the spot and I had to get a deck together within 30 minutes. 24 players showed up and the event lasted about 5 1/2 hours. We played 5 rounds and then the top 4 decided to split because of the time. Over all I went 2-3 which I consider to be fair since I never attended a Limited event before. My deck started out as a tri color (black, blue, green) that won me round one. Drana, Kalastria Bloodchief was hands down the key card for me both of the games we played. I used her ability to kill off all the creatures my opponent had out and attacked for 10+ two turns in a row. With no creatures to block, thats game over. I only had one copy of this card, but I managed to draw it both games. Round one was the highlight of the day unfortunately, with things going downhill fast. Rounds two and three I lost 0-2, both within 15 minutes. I kept drawing single color land which totally crippled my hand. After the third round I decided to switch my deck completely. I ended up with a white green deck that was smaller (45 cards) and faster. I won round four 2-1 and lost round five 1-2. Round four was somewhat frustrating to me because the player I was facing jumped down my throat over every little thing I questioned. I have been playing for many years but I do not consider myself all knowing when it comes to the rules. Factor in the new set with new mechanics, I was questioning/reading every card in play. Just because you thought out the card and what you are going to do with it doesn’t mean I will as soon as it drops into play. Overall the event was a great learning experience and I am considering attending the release event as well.
As for the new set itself, it plays very slow in Limited. It seemed to be a race to see who can get out the first Eldrazi and attack with it. I don’t remember a player who lost a match with an Eldrazi on the table first. Ironically, I never played a single Eldrazi (I had 3 in my deck) so maybe that was a flaw in my deck building. I am looking forward to seeing what impact this set makes on Standard. I have a few ideas floating around for my Jund deck (Vengevine anyone?) and I also am thinking about changes to my Vamp/Mono White decks. Green seems to be the big gainer with ROE so I might start a Mono Green Eldrazi deck. I have most of the cards already and a deck like that is dominating FNM week in and week out. I have 2 booster boxes pre-ordered so I should get some good pulls.
I hope everyone likes the new theme and good luck with your release events this weekend!
