// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
4 [MOR] Mutavault
4 [10E] Treetop Village
3 [UNH] Forest
3 [UNH] Swamp
// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [10E] Troll Ascetic
3 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [LRW] Cloudthresher
// Spells
4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
4 [LRW] Profane Command
// Sideboard
SB: 1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer
SB: 4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 1 [MOR] Mind Shatter
SB: 2 [10E] Mind Rot
SB: 3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
SB: 1 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 3 [ALA] Infest
Round 1: vs. UB Faeries (won)
I have a pretty good matchup against Faeries, having 3 MD Cloudthreshers, so I was glad to have faced the deck early. In fact, my SB strategy for it was to just remove 1 Nameless Inversion, in favor of a 4th Cloudthresher. My theory proved right in the first round, as I "relatively easily" won 2-0 against my opponent (it's never easy to win against Faeries, as they are probably the most resilient deck in Standard right now) thanks to some crucial evoking of Cloudthreshers, in response to his Mistbind Cliques.
Game standing: 2-0
Match standing: 1-0
Round 2: vs. WW Kithkins (lost)
My opponent and I were joking before the game that we were in the "feature match" area, as we were sitting in Table 1. :) After shuffling though, things quickly turned serious, especially for me, as I was getting beat up very quickly by Cenn and Ajani-pumped Kithkins. I eventually lost the game and went to my sideboards:
SB: +3 Infest, +1 Finks, -4 Thoughtseize
In game 2, bad luck fell upon me and I just couldn't draw any of my 13 removal spells (all creatures!) and my opponent's massive Kithkin horde was just too many for my Cloudthresher and Colossus.
Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1
Round 3: vs. WW Kithkins (won)
Having just lost pretty badly to a Kithkin deck, I was pumped to face another one -- I wanted revenge. Haha. And revenge I got, as I won two easy games behind the back of early Colossi.
Game standing: 4-2
Match standing: 2-1
Round 4: vs. UB Faeries (lost)
I got matched up against the guy who placed 3rd in the 2008 Philippine Nationals. Good luck to me! He was playing Faeries though, so I knew I had an inside chance of winning. In game 1, I took a chance and played a 1-land (Treetop Village) hand that had a Llanowar Elf, a Vanquisher, and a Cloudthresher. It proved to be wrong though, and once my opponent saw that I didn't have a second land, he quickly Agony Warped my mana elf, and I was just too far back behind and didn't stand a chance.
In game 2, things went the other way around, and I easily won the game with just a Llanowar Elf and a Civic Wayfinder. I knew he would counter any other spells I played, so I baited him to tap out and I won with a Profane ftw.
Game 3 was a close one, with both of us at 10 life at one point... until my opponent played his Mistbind Clique. He then put a Warhammer onto the huge Faerie, and with a single swing, the game changed a lot and he was suddenly at 17 and me at 3 life. I had an answer though for the Clique (Eyeblight's Ending) but had no answer to his other Faeries (a Conclave and a Bitterblossom token). I then decided to play a mind game with him. With a Colossus for defense, I separated my mana into 3 piles -- 4 mana (for pumping), 3 mana & 2 mana -- bluffing to have 2 removal spells. I then passed the turn. He thought for a long while -- what could I be holding??? -- but eventually decided to go for it. He activated the Conclave and swung. I shook his hand and showed the lone Eyeblight's Ending in my hand. :) He was all smiles. GG.
Game standing: 5-4
Match standing: 2-2
Round 5: vs. WW Kithkins (won)
It was apparently Kithkins and Faeries Day, as I once again got paired against the little white men. In game 1, I made a crucial misplay by not killing one of my opponent's 3 creatures before combat, so he was able to play a crucial Unmake behind his Windbrisk Heights. I lost the game. In game 2, it was my turn to beat him, and he had no answer against the tandem of Colossus and Ascetic. In game 3, my opponent did the misplaying this time, and tried to Unmake my Colossus. Pro black baby! I, of course, won that game. :)
Game standing: 7-5
Match standing: 3-2
Round 6: vs. 5-color Elementals (won)
I was happy to face a non-Kithkin, non-Faerie opponent in round 6. I was not happy to face my opponent though. He was just drop dead serious in playing, and he played extremely fast. And worst of all, he was a sore loser... frequenting a loud "Tsk!" each time I did something that was not good for him. What was important was that I beat him easily in 2 games. I didn't even sideboard anything for game 2. Haha. Take that.
Game standing: 9-5
Match standing: 4-2
Round 7: vs. WW Kithkins (lost)
After 6 rounds, I was at 21st place (in a tournament of around 100 players), and prizes were going to be given to the top 24 players. Basically, it was a do-or-die match. Win, and I go home with a couple of packs. Lose, and I go home. Period. Unfortunately, I knew my opponent and I knew he was a very good Kithkin player, having piloted the deck to a couple of decent finishes and top 8's. All that I had going for me, was that I had already beaten him before in a Block Constructed tourney, while using that same deck.
I couldn't remember much of the match though. Probably selective amnesia or something. Haha. All I can remember was that I lost both times to a Mirrorweave. God, I hate that card. LOL.
Game standing: 9-7
Match standing: 4-3
I went home empty-handed, but still quite satisfied with my finish. At least, I had an outside chance to win -- I just didn't deliver when it counted the most. But like Joven said, at least I'm now a Blind-Spot Giant. :)
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