From Casual To Competitive

Tapped Out

2009-10-18T19:36:00.006+08:00

It hit me when I received my MPR last week -- a Sign in Blood, and a Negate. What? That's it?

I guess this is it.

See you around. My Magic activities would be limited to reading the official site for now.

Magic Game Day - Aug 14, 2009

2009-08-18T18:44:00.004+08:00

"3 beers + 3 shots of tequila = 3 losses"

I had planned to play in the Magic Game Day tournament in our local store, but got forced to join an after-office drinking activity by my bosses, which made me arrive at the shop at the very last minute of registration. By the time we were filling up our decklists (they were required because it was a higher-K level than the usual 4K FNM), I was unprepared and hadn't played much of the new deck that I brought -- Jund Mannequin, aka The Conley Woods Special:

// Lands
4 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
4 [LRW] Vivid Grove
4 [LRW] Vivid Crag
2 [LRW] Vivid Marsh
3 [EVE] Twilight Mire
2 [SHM] Fire-Lit Thicket
2 [UNH] Forest
2 [UNH] Mountain
1 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [ARB] Putrid Leech
4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
4 [LRW] Mulldrifter
4 [LRW] Shriekmaw
4 [ARB] Bloodbraid Elf
2 [ALA] Caldera Hellion
2 [LRW] Cloudthresher

// Spells
4 [LRW] Makeshift Mannequin
4 [CFX] Volcanic Fallout
3 [ARB] Maelstrom Pulse
1 [ALA] Jund Charm

// Sideboard
SB: 3 [M10] Great Sable Stag
SB: 2 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 4 [ARB] Anathemancer
SB: 3 [ARB] Thought Hemorrhage
SB: 3 [M10] Deathmark

Round 1: vs. GW Tokens (won)

In game 1, I get 2 early Putrid Leeches which were just too much for my opponent's small creatures. In game 2, he boards in Great Sable Stag, which I try to remove via Caldera Hellion. Unfortunately, it was a huge misplay as my opponent had a Wilt Leaf Liege in play -- the Stag was a 4/4! In the deciding game, I Thought Hemorrhage his Stags, and remove everything else he puts on the board.

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. WW Kithkins (lost)

I face one of the regular winners in the FNM of my local store. I knew he was playing the Kithkin deck of the store owner, and that he was very proficient in playing it. Our first game was epic, as it lasted for a good part of the total time alloted for the round. In the end, a crucial Path to Exile of my Cloudthresher was the game winner for him. In game 2, I had removal for all of his creatures and he emptied his hand in doing so. I had a single Putrid Leech on board, and on his turn, he topdecks a Cloudgoat Ranger, which combined with the Honor of the Pure on board, was enough to kill me on a single swing.

Game standing: 2-3
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. GW Tokens (lost)

I face another GW token deck, and once again the first game was epic with me maximizing my Mulldrifters and Shriekmaws to full potential in getting rid of everything he could put on board, on my way to a very close win. In game 2, I mull to 5 with 2 lands but with wrong colors for the spells that I had. I decide to keep it, instead of mulling to 4. My opponent, on the other hand, gets the nuts draw and kills me with an Overrun on turn 5. In game 3, I get stuck on 3 lands for the duration of the game. :(

Game standing: 3-5
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. WW Soliders (lost)

I can't remember much from this game, except for the really complex combat math that we both had to endure throughout. He had creatures that give +1/+0, +0/+1, there's creatures that give +1/+1 to soldiers only, there's enchantments that give +1/+1 to all, there's exalted dudes that give +1/+1 to single attackers, you get the point. All I remember is that we went 1-1 in two close games, and then I lost the final game to another mana drought (stuck in 2 lands). I kept a 2-land hand that had a Putrid Leech play on turn 2, but the 3rd land came in too late, as the game was out of reach by then.

Final game standing: 4-7
Final match standing: 1-3

At this point, I already dropped from the tournament, as I was out of contention of the top 24 who were going to get prizes. And it was almost 11pm at this point, so if I played out the last round, I would just miss the last train home. Oh well. Time to go home.

FNM - Aug 7, 2009

2009-08-08T14:44:00.006+08:00

With the Blightning deck doing pretty badly the past couple of weeks, I decided to take a break from it, and netdecked Christopher Murray's Bw control deck for last night's FNM.

// Lands
3 [EVE] Fetid Heath
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
15 [10E] Swamp
4 [M10] Plains

// Creatures
4 [ALA] Tidehollow Sculler
4 [EVE] Stillmoon Cavalier
2 [CFX] Nyxathid
4 [SHM] Demigod of Revenge
4 [LRW] Shriekmaw

// Spells
4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
2 [M10] Duress
2 [EVE] Raven's Crime
2 [M10] Mind Shatter
3 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [CFX] Path to Exile
2 [M10] Liliana Vess

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Burrenton Forge-Tender
SB: 2 [M10] Duress
SB: 2 [LRW] Austere Command
SB: 2 [EVE] Hallowed Burial
SB: 4 [ALA] Infest
SB: 1 [ARB] Zealous Persecution

Round 1: vs. BR Aggro (won)

The night began when our TO said that there were going to be only 3 rounds tonight, because we started really late (7pm), and that there were very few players (<20). And when pairings were setup for round 1, I got a BYE!

I was already watching another player (the eventual first place winner last night) on his first match, when another player arrived to the store and wanted to play in the FNM. Now I have an opponent.

He turned out to have a very similar deck to the one I was using the past few weeks, but with minor differences (ie. he was using Sign in Blood). In the end, I easily won in 2 games -- on the first, I beat him with 2 Demigods; on the second, I just massacred his hand and beat him with Tidehollow Scullers.

Wow, that's a good sign -- beating my old deck -- and it was the first time in a LOOONG time that I had won on the first round.

Game standing: 2-0
Match standing: 1-0

At this point, my pen lost its ink, so I was using dice to keep track of life totals for the remainder of the night. Thus, I have very little memory of the details of the games. And apparently, it was a premonition of the losses that will follow... :(

Round 2: vs. Br Discarder (lost)

I was up against my second round opponent in last week's FNM, so I knew his deck from the get-go. I remember our first game being very funny. :) He would cast Shriekmaw, I would cast the same. We would trade in combat. Then he would cast another one. I would Profane it and bring back my 'Maw. Then he would Profane mine and bring back his 'Maw. Good times. In the end, he would beat me in 3 games, behind a double Thought Hemorrhage -- the first one for Path to Exile, then after seeing 2 Demigods in my hand, he would cast another one, for the Demigod.

Game standing: 3-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. Naya (lost)

This was my third consecutive week to play against this guy -- the one with the Naya deck that had Cerodon Yearlings. We were 1-1 so far (him winning the first time, then I won last week), and he was starting to say that this was our decision round. He was then surprised when he saw a Fetid Heath in my second land drop. Whoa, new deck? Our "decision game" turned out to be the start of a new battle.

Anyway, it turned out to be a bad round. On the first game, my opponent was even making mistakes in the game, but I still lost. Once, he attacked me with a 3/3 Nacatl with a Stillmoon Cavalier waiting to pump and first strike. And he even cast a Volcanic Fallout with him having more creatures on board. Eventually, I lost via Ajani Vengeant -- I had no answer for it, once it came online -- and a one-sided Armageddon plain and simply just wins games. :(

Afterwards, our second game was reminiscent of our very first game two weeks ago -- I had to mulligan to 4. Nuff said. I lost that game.

Game standing: 3-4
Match standing: 1-2

Apparently, the only time that I get lucky is on the dice roll for the random foil cards. Last night, I rolled a 7 -- but it was still enough to get second pick on the foil cards (other players rolled a 6, 5, and 4; the winner rolled a 20). I had the chance to get another foil Slave of Bolas, but decided to pass on it, and pick something else this time -- a foil DCI Mind Control.

FNM - Jul 31, 2009

2009-08-01T08:31:00.009+08:00

"Trust the Japanese."

I decided to netdeck Taichi Fujimoto's BR Aggro deck from the 2009 Japanese Nats, with a few minor changes:

-4 Blightning, +4 Boggart Ram-Gang
-4 Magma Spray, +4 Tarfire
-2 Shriekmaw, +2 Chaotic Backlash

Round 1: vs. Combo Elves (lost)

I keep a decent hand of 2 lands, Bolt, Hellspark, Ram-Gang, Javelin, Javelin. The third land didn't decide to show up until the 6th turn though, and by that time it was too late.

-4 Anathemancer, -4 Javelin, +4 Firespout, +2 Deathmark, +2 Shriekmaw

I'm confident with my Elves matchup, with 8 sweepers post-SB, and a ton of removal. And on the second game, it really started to look that way, as I was on my way to winning after clearing the board multiple times in the game. With my opponent at 7 life, I unearth my Hellspark, and drop a Demigod ftw... but wait! In comes Cloudthresher for my opponent (a singleton which he drew!), sending my Demigod to the ground, and putting him at 2 life. I Deathmark the Thresher before passing the turn to him, but on his turn, he plays Regal Force and goes off. :(

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Br Discarder (lost)

I mull to 6 on the first game, and my opponent starts talking about how he's pressured to win the game now that I mull'd. WTF? Apparently, it so happens that he plays a discarder deck, so the one less card was a huge advantage for him. Anyway, I apply quick beats as I always do, but he Terminates most of my creatures, and stabilizes at 7 life. All the while, he's pecking at my hand with Scepter of Fugue, and eventually drops a monstrous Nyxathid on the board. With nothing to kill the black elemental with, I lose the game.

-4 Fallout, -1 Anathemancer, +3 Bitterblossom, +2 Manabarbs

I play a turn 2 Bitterblossom and a turn 5 Manabarbs (I missed one land drop). He's able to Fallout once, but afterwards, I just sit back and watch my faerie army do their thing. :)

In the third game, I send my opponent all the way down to 1 life, but my lone attacker by then -- a Ram-Gang -- meets a gigantic Nyxathid. I was safely at 17 life then, so I decide to attack and wither his elemental, and hope for the best topdeck. Then, I draw land after land, and meanwhile, my opponent drops a SECOND Nyxathid. I slide my final draw across the table, and guess what, it was another land. :( I've just been Nyx'd!

Game standing: 1-4
Match standing: 0-2

Round 3: BYE
Loser round. Nuff said.

Game standing: 1-4
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. Naya (won)

By this time, I've just been texting Beej to come to UM early. And meanwhile, I play my final round against my round 1 opponent from last week. I easily win game 1 this time (no more mulling to 5), and board in Deathmarks and Shriekmaws for my Anathemancers (which were useless all night). In the second game, we play an extremely close game, with both of us in topdeck mode and at 6 life, but he draws Cliffrunner Behemoth. With Trace of Abundance in play, it has haste AND lifelink -- meaning I lose. Game 3 gets by very quickly and I win with minimal problems. 3/3 Wild Nacatl? Bolt that. Bloodbraid Elf into Cerodon Yearling? Fallout that. Woolly Thoctar? Deathmark that. Another Thoctar? Shriekmaw that. And swing. :)

OMG, it felt so good to finally get a win.

Game standing: 3-5
Match standing: 2-2

Of course, I get grouped again with the losers who will battle it out for random foil cards. I was one of the winners again, and guess what I picked AGAIN? Another DCI foil Slave of Bolas. LOLZ!

FNM - Jul 24, 2009

2009-07-26T19:31:00.008+08:00

If the M10 Prerelease was my first tournament in 2 months, last Friday's FNM was my first Standard tourney in more than 3 months! And rust (and a lot of bad luck) definitely played a factor in my downfall to a measly 2-2 record. :(

First off, here's the deck that I took to the FNM. It's basically a post-M10 build of the Blightning deck that I've been using before the 3-month layoff.

// Lands
2 [M10] Dragonskull Summit
4 [SHM] Graven Cairns
4 [ALA] Savage Lands
2 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
11 [UNH] Mountain
1 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [EVE] Figure of Destiny
4 [CFX] Hellspark Elemental
4 [M10] Ball Lightning
4 [SHM] Boggart Ram-Gang
4 [SHM] Demigod of Revenge

// Spells
4 [M10] Lightning Bolt
4 [SHM] Flame Javelin
4 [CFX] Volcanic Fallout
4 [ALA] Blightning

// Sideboard
SB: 3 [SHM] Firespout
SB: 4 [LRW] Shriekmaw
SB: 2 [M10] Deathmark
SB: 3 [ARB] Anathemancer
SB: 3 [MOR] Bitterblossom

Round 1: vs. Naya (lost)

The first thing I found out about my opponent is that he was a newbie -- as evidenced by the new DCI card that our TO handed to him as we were shuffling our decks. I thought to myself, this is good -- I'm being eased off nicely back to MTG tourneys with an easy round. :) That was until I mulliganed twice to start things off in the night. I even pondered on mulling for a third time as my 5-card hand (on the play) had only one land, a Lightning Bolt, and three 3cc cards. I decided to keep, and quickly got punished by a pair of Cerodon Yearlings. Eventually, I was able to clear the board, with both of us going into topdeck mode but I drew all lands, and I was beaten by a THIRD Cerodon Yearling.

The second game eased off my doubts on whether I chose a decent deck, when I easily finished my opponent off at perfect life.

In the deciding game, my opponent shifted from putting a bunch of hasted, vigilanced 2/2 beasts, to plain vanilla 5/4 beasts, in the form of Woolly Thoctars. I didn't have enough removal to kill all of them, and I got outraced to a first round defeat.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Wg Exalted (lost)

On the second round, I got paired against a player that I was watching before the FNM started. I knew he was playing a white weenie deck, but except for kithkins, he used a bunch of exalted guys. In the first game, I had no answer to a Behemoth Sledge strapped on to a Sigiled Paladin. In the second game, much like the first round, I also got back at my opponent with a quick and easy victory. In the third game, despite having 7 sweepers in my deck (4 Fallouts & 3 Firespouts), I drew just 1 Firespout all game, and lost to an army of spirit tokens and Akrasan Squires.

Game standing: 2-4
Match standing: 0-2

At this point, I was totally down on myself, having lost 2 rounds to players I could have easily beaten 3 months ago. I decided to continue playing anyway, as it was still early and I didn't want to go home without at least a single win under my belt.

Round 3: vs. Jund (won)

There you are, Ball Lightning! I drew and played a pair of early 6/1 tramplers on my way to an easy game 1 win. By the time we were done, all my opponent could cast was one Putrid Leech. :) In the second game, my opponent beat me with Bloodbraid Elves and Scarland Thrinaxes (and saprolings). In the third game, I finally got to see my Figure of Destinies (first time all night!) on the way to an easy victory -- and my first one in more than three months. :)

Game standing: 4-5
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. Naya-Uril (won)

In the fourth and final round, I got the surprise of my night, when on my way to my supposed easy victory in the first game, I got smacked down by a Uril, the Miststalker, with a Runes of the Deus attached to it, and a Qasali Pridemage in play. Do the math -- that's 20 damage in one turn. Right. My opponent got so happy in that first game though, that he forgot to show up in the final 2 games, and I easily beat him with Demigods and burn. Good thing Uril never showed up again.

Final game standing: 6-6
Final match standing: 2-2

As usual, the losers of the tourney rolled the dice for random free foil cards. Luckily, I was one of two lucky winners, and despite the abysmal record, managed to take home a DCI foil Slave of Bolas.

Magic Player Rewards - July 14, 2009

2009-07-14T20:17:00.004+08:00

Just received the following in the mail today:

I got an oversized Lightning Bolt card, and just one textless card -- Terminate, because I hadn't played much recently. But the 'older card' that came with it was a Flame Javelin! Yeah! :)

WotC sure knows how to inspire me to play again. :)

Magic 2010 Prerelease - July 11, 2009

2009-07-14T18:10:00.006+08:00

Whoa! Hello Magic world!

I had been dormant from Magic for more than 2 months (as evidenced by my previous post: the Alara Reborn PR!) -- I basically skipped the whole Alara Reborn expansion -- but that's what happens when a hectic work schedule gets in the way. :(

Anyway, I'm back, and I hope to be as active in Magic as I was before the "temporary freeze" -- going to FNMs, playing online, and maybe some weekend tourneys -- and the first step to getting my feet wet again was playing in the Magic 2010 (M10) prerelease. :)

Here's the deck that I built and played:

// Lands
7 [M10] Swamp
4 [M10] Mountain
4 [M10] Plains
1 [M10] Terramorphic Expanse
1 [M10] Gargoyle Castle

// Creatures
2cc:
1 [M10] Child of Night
1 [M10] Stormfront Pegasus
3cc:
1 [M10] Prodigal Pyromancer
1 [M10] Goblin Artillery
1 [M10] Looming Shade
1 [M10] Warpath Ghoul
1 [M10] Royal Assassin
1 [M10] Dread Warlock
4cc:
1 [M10] Howling Banshee
1 [M10] Lightning Elemental
5cc and up:
1 [M10] Serra Angel
2 [M10] Berserkers of Blood Ridge
1 [M10] Siege Mastodon

// Spells
2 [M10] Harm's Way
1 [M10] Deathmark
1 [M10] Doom Blade
1 [M10] Lightning Bolt
1 [M10] Lava Axe
1 [M10] Pyroclasm
1 [M10] Disentomb
1 [M10] Rise from the Grave

A pretty good deck, in my opinion, but piloted very poorly by the deckbuilder. :P And it didn't help that I got home pretty late the previous night from a drinking session. >:-)

I went just 2-2 in 4 rounds, but the deck had flashes of brilliance at times.

My MVP was Harm's Way -- that card is just superb. It's a combat trick, a burn spell, and just pure awesomeness all rolled into one. :)

My biggest misplay (which I, of course, realized only after the tourney) was with Royal Assassin. I drew and played it just once in all 4 rounds, but in that only time that it went online, I never used it on my opponent's turn. I would let my opponent attack, take the damage, and then kill the creature in my turn. Duh!

Of course, a prerelease would not be complete without some fun moments:
1. I was once at 2 life, and my opponent defeated me with a Sign in Blood -- targetting me. :)

2. Me and my opponent were both in topdeck mode, and in a battle of attrition. I topdeck Serra Angel (which he has nothing to block with), play it and pass the turn. He topdecks Lifelink, casts it on the Serra Angel, and says he gains the life dealt by the angel. I call the judge, and he correctly explains that the owner of the creature gains the life. Lifelink ftw! :)

3. Joven and I have a new recruit -- my officemate, Randy -- who is a fellow UP alumni, and also played Magic around the time we were playing it back in college. All three of us went 2-2 during the PR. :)

Good times.

Alara Reborn Prerelease - May 3, 2009

2009-05-07T21:51:00.003+08:00

Due to Customs issues, the Alara Reborn Prerelease here in Manila was delayed by a week. We were all still up for it though, so Joven and I went to our local store on the day of the Pacquiao-Hatton fight, to feed our MTG addiction.

I open a sealed pool that contained Thought Hemorrhage, Spellbreaker Behemoth, and Rafiq of the Many. I contemplated dropping since we were going to pass the registered pool, but eventually decided to play anyway, as I crossed my fingers to get passed at least a decently playable pool of cards.

I was wrong.

My card pool was weak in all 5 shards, and had very little mana fixing to splash any of my "bombs" on other shards. I ended up playing an RG-heavy Naya deck:

// Lands
7 [ALA] Mountain
7 [ALA] Forest
3 [ALA] Plains

// Creatures
2cc:
1 [ALA] Elvish Visionary
1 [ALA] Knight of the Skyward Eye
1 [ALA] Sigiled Paladin
3cc:
1 [ALA] Vithian Stinger
1 [ALA] Exuberant Firestoker
1 [ALA] Hissing Iguanar
1 [ARB] Godtracker of Jund
1 [ALA] Mayael the Anima
4cc:
1 [ALA] Godtoucher
5cc or more:
1 [ALA] Mycoloth
2 [ARB] Gorger Wurm
1 [ARB] Pale Recluse
1 [ARB] Valley Rannet
1 [ARB] Dragon Broodmother

// Spells
1 [ARB] Intimidation Bolt
1 [ALA] Soul's Fire
1 [ALA] Magma Spray
1 [ARB] Sangrite Backlash
1 [ARB] Colossal Might
1 [ALA] Dragon Fodder
1 [ARB] Trace of Abundance
1 [ARB] Behemoth Sledge

Simply put, I won in all games when I drew either the Mycoloth and/or the Dragon Broodmother. In all other games, I lost.

I made a couple of misplays, most notably:
1. Forgetting the upkeep trigger of the Exuberant Firestoker
2. Playing Intimidation Bolt on my opponent's defender, before declaring attackers
3. Playing Sangrite Backlash at EOT of my opponent (I thought it was an Agony Warp, LOL)

In the end, I finished with a 3-1 record (which was decent, considering my god awful card pool) -- the 3rd "win" was against Joven, whom I got paired with on the final round.

None of us got a t-shirt this time around, but it was still worth the (1 week) wait. Too bad though that we didn't get any "money cards" this time around. Hopefully we get a little bit luckier on our booster box and fatpacks. ;-)

City Champs - Apr 18, 2009

2009-05-07T21:24:00.008+08:00

A chance to win extended art Mutavault or Bramblewood Paragon...

Round 1: vs. Naya (lost)

In game 1, I get stuck in 2 lands, and get surprised with a main deck Burrenton Forge Tender from my opponent. I lose, of course, to the unorthodox Naya deck. In game 2, a pair of Ram-Gangs is all I need to win. In game 3, my opponent plays 2 Reveillarks, while I get mana flooded FTL.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs UB Faeries (lost)

I get faced against a familiar Nats player, but when I see him play Sunken Ruins, I smile a bit, as this is supposed to be a good matchup for me. However, it was not to be, as an early Mistbind Clique does me in, and I have no answer for the 4/4 flyer. In game 2, I mulligan to 5, and another early Mistbind Clique defeats me. Oh well.

There goes the EA Mutavault...

Game standing: 1-4
Match standing: 0-2

Round 3: vs. BGW Doran (won)

I totally forgot any details about this round. All I remember is my crucial SB of the Everlasting Torment, and I win it in 3 games.

Game standing: 3-5
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. Bant (lost)

I lose in 2 games due to lifegain shenanigans.

Game standing: 3-7
Match standing: 1-3

I contemplate dropping from the tourney at this point, but since I was meeting someone for a card deal, I just continued playing while I wait.

Round 5: vs. 4-color Ramp (won)

In game 1, I have no answer against a Broodmate Dragon. In game 2, I get really unlucky with a mull to 5. But get awesome draws, and I get my turn 1 FOD all the way to 8/8 ftw. In game 3, FOD once again won the game for me -- 2 of them.

Game standing: 5-8
Match standing: 2-3

Round 6: vs. Dark Bant (lost)

All I remember here is that I didn't see the Doran, nor his black manabase in game 1 (where I lost), so I assumed that it was a pure Bant deck -- making me SB incorrectly. The legendary treefolk came up in game 2 though, and screwed my plans to get back in the game. Afterwards, I just dropped from the tourney. There goes the EA Paragon...

Final game standing: 5-10
Match standing: 2-4

Disappointing, to say the least. :(

FNM - Apr 17, 2009

2009-05-07T10:04:00.004+08:00

I've been pretty busy with work lately, so I haven't been able to blog about my recent tourneys. Good thing I finally found an excuse to take a day off, and finally found some time to try to recall my recent mistakes, misplays and errors. LOL. Here's the first of three tourneys that I haven't blogged yet. I'll try to remember as much as I can, but since it's been a few weeks already, well... let's just say I'm going to trust what I wrote in my score sheets. ;-)

I planned to join the City Champs on that weekend, so I used the FNM to try to "playtest" the Blightning deck.

Round 1: vs. Esper Mannequin (won)

Things didn't start off well, as I mulliganed to 5. But I still kept enough pressure to put my opponent down to 2. However, a Mannequin'd Inkwell Leviathan sealed the deal, and I couldn't do anything against the shrouded trampling monstrosity. In game 2, I took the gamble and kept a 1-land hand of FOD, Hellspark & Ram-Gang. It paid off and I drew 2 lands in the next 2 turns, to easily beat my opponent. In game 3, I once again applied early beats and my opponent tried to delay the game with a Magister Sphinx, but he had no answers to my hasty army.

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. Bant Control (won)

Game 1 was pretty easy as I finished the game unscathed. In game 2, my opponent dropped 3 Stoic Angels throughout the course of the game, and I ran out of answers for that. In game 3, a crucial Everlasting Torment sealed the deal for my opponent, as he couldn't gain life off his Rhox War Monks.

Game standing: 4-2
Match standing: 2-0

Round 3: Naya Planeswalkers (lost)

What can you do when you're facing your opponent along side Ajani Vengeant, Garruk, Sarkhan Vol & Chandra? Scoop. In game 2, it was me who got burned, as my opponent accumulated a huge Banefire directed straight at my dome.

Game standing: 4-4
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: RW Kithkin (won)

This was an easy matchup. I practically threw all my burn at my opponent in both games, on my way to a 3-1 finish.

Final game standing: 6-4
Final match standing: 3-1

WNM - Apr 8, 2009

2009-04-10T08:44:00.006+08:00

Yes, you read that right -- WNM -- Wednesday Night Magic. Our local store was closed from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday, so the usual FNM became a WNM.

I used the same Blightning deck that won the FNM last week -- completing the Ram-Gangs to 4, reducing the Remains to 3 -- hoping for the best that I, at least, get to win some more packs this week.

Round 1: Jund Land D (won)

Things went off to an awesome start, as I got a dream matchup against a land destruction deck. My deck had a sickly low curve, so this type of strategy would not work at all against me. I easily beat my opponent in 2 short games unscathed.

Game standing: 2-0
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: RW Reveillark (lost)

In round 2, I had a taste of the new tech in RW Reveillark decks -- Balefire Liege. I lost in 2 epic games -- both times putting my opponent down to a really low life, and in both times, a Liege (or 2) saved him from sure death. I have to think of a way to play around this card, if I am to place even decently in the upcoming City Champs.

Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: Jund Tokens/Ramp (lost)

In round 3, my bad luck started kicking in, as I mulliganed on both games on my way to losing against a Jund deck. In the first game, I was just too slow off the gates, and a Broodmate Dragon sealed my fate. In the second game, I actually did a little better, but a crucial Primal Command saved my opponents ass. He eventually beat me in a single swoop, while I was still at 14 life, via a Torrent of Souls.

Game standing: 2-4
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: 5-Color Control (won)

In game 1 of round 4, my opponent had no chance against my barrage of quick hasty creatures. In game 2, my bad luck once again did me in, as I mulliganed to 5, kept a slow hand, and eventually lost the game. In game 3, I was on my way to ending the night at 1-3, when I mulliganed to 4 -- yes, four. It was either no lands, or all lands for 3 straight shuffles. But in one of the strangest games I've played ever, I actually still won the game. Lands appeared just in the right draws, and I drew just the right type of threats against my opponent. It also helped that my opponent drew not a single Cryptic Command all game. :)

Final game standing: 4-5
Final match standing: 2-2

Of course, such a standing wouldn't win anything, but in our local shop, where random prizes are given away like candy, I still didn't go home empty-handed -- winning an FNM foil Desert as a random prize. :)

Happy holy week. ;-)

FNM - Apr 3, 2009

2009-04-04T09:02:00.008+08:00

I went back to the Blightning deck with minor modifications (removing Blightning LOL) and used it on yesterday's FNM:

// Lands
4 [10E] Sulfurous Springs
4 [FUT] Graven Cairns
4 [LRW] Auntie's Hovel
2 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
1 [10E] Ghitu Encampment
8 [ALA] Mountain

// Creatures
4 [EVE] Figure of Destiny
4 [10E] Mogg Fanatic
4 [CFX] Hellspark Elemental
4 [CFX] Goblin Outlander
3 [SHM] Boggart Ram-Gang
4 [CFX] Shambling Remains

// Spells
4 [10E] Incinerate
4 [SHM] Flame Javelin
2 [LRW] Tarfire
3 [CFX] Volcanic Fallout
1 [CFX] Banefire

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 4 [MOR] Bitterblossom
SB: 4 [ALA] Infest
SB: 3 [LRW] Shriekmaw

Round 1 started with something I've never had before: a BYE. There were apparently an odd number of players, and I was the lucky one to get that free round one win.

Game standing: 0-0
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. BRu rogue deck

On my first game of the night, things went to an awesome start, as my opponent was stuck in 3 lands, and was unable to cast anything except for a lone Hellspark Elemental. The drawback of that was, I had no idea what my opponent's deck was. All I saw aside from the hasty elemental were Swamps and Mountains, so in sideboarding, I decided to put the Thoughtseizes for the Goblin Outlanders.

In game 2, my opponent's deck unraveled, and I got smothered by his combo of Necroskitter + Soul Snuffers. He also had splashed blue for card draw, in the form of Jace Beleren. Yeah, weird, I know, but that's what I saw and what beat me.

In game 3, my sideboard finally came out, and I was able to take out a Necroskitter from his hand, disabling his combo. I then beat him with my unearth dudes.

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 2-0

Round 3: vs. 4-Color Control

Game 1 of my next match took a long time, as eventually he was able to clear my board with a Martial Coup for 5, and I was in serious trouble against the control deck. He was down to 8 life though, so just a pair of cards -- Hellspark Elemental and Banefire -- was able to seal the deal.

In game 2, my opponent was once again on a luck drought as he was stuck in 2 lands. I was also able to Thoughtseize his removal -- a pair of Celestial Purge's -- and it was enough to quickly finish the game.

In game 3, Thoughtseize once again won the game for me, as I was able to grab a crucial Battlegrace Angel, and also a Broodmate Dragon at turns 4 and 5 -- FTW.

Game standing: 4-2
Match standing: 3-0

Round 4: vs. GWr Little Kid

The advantage of playing a red deck is that your rounds finish quickly and you are able to watch how other players' decks play out. That advantage was very beneficial to me, as I was able to scout my final round opponent before I played against him. I knew that he played the Little Kid deck, with a bunch of GW hybrid creatures along with the aura Shield of the Oversoul to create a flying indestructible monstrosity. He splashed red primarily for Firespout, but he might some other cards up his sleeve that I didn't see. He also had the Progenitus baby, Oversoul of Dusk, which I had no answer to -- should he be able to draw and play it.

Anyway, I knew then what I should do -- always clear the board for creatures, and keep mana open for removal so that I can 2-for-1 him when he plays the aura. That's what exactly I did, as he never had a creature to play the aura on, and I was lucky as well that he never drew into the Oversoul of Dusk, and I quickly dispatched him in 2 games.

Final game standing: 6-2
Final match standing: 4-0

For the very first time, I got first place in the FNM! :) It took quite a bit of luck, but I'll take that any time. :) To sweeten the win even further, due to the relatively larger number of players this week, instead of the usual FNM card (this month it was a Merrow Reejerey), the first place got the Gateway prize -- a foil DCI Path to Exile! Yeah! In addition, Joven (playing the Elf deck), also won a DCI foil Hellspark Elemental! Yeah! The booster pack prizes were a bit crappy at rare though -- the uncommons were so-so -- but it was just icing on the awesome cake that I had yesterday. :)

Best. FNM. Ever. :)

FNM - Mar 20, 2009

2009-03-30T12:56:00.004+08:00

The Blightning deck failed me miserably the day before, so I decided to take the BG Elves deck again to the FNM.

Round 1: vs. UW Merfolk (lost)

Things didn't start off well, as I got stuck at 3 lands and I easily lost game 1. In the second game, I ran out of removal and a single Wake Thrasher beat me to a pulp very quickly.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Blightning Aggro (lost)

Disappointed at my first round (it was supposed to be a good matchup for me) I vowed to do better in my second round. Alas, it was not to be, as I once again got beat 0-2 by a goblin-build Blightning deck. Voracious Dragon combined with Goblin Assault did me in on the second game.

Game standing: 0-4
Match standing: 0-2

Round 3: vs. Esper Control (lost)

I had the man-land god draw in the first game, as I very quickly beat my opponent with a Treetop Village and a pair of Mutavaults. In the second game, a pair of Magister Sphinx -- the first one putting my opponent at 10 life (from 2 life), and the second one putting me at 10 life (from 24 life) -- sealed the deal for my opponent. In game 3, I made a stupid mistake that cost me the round. I was at 18 life, and my opponent at 8 life, but my opponent had board advantage because he had 7 power worth of creatures on the board (forgot what). Time was then called while it was his turn. In my turn (turn 1), I did something irrelevant. In his turn (turn 2), he swinged for 7, putting me at 11. Then on my turn (turn 3), I drew zip again, and after a few minutes of pondering, and knowing that I had no way of winning it, I scooped up my cards. Duh! It was then that everyone watching reminded me that my opponent didn't have enough damage to kill me on the 4th turn, which was his last. Stupid stupid mistake. It was supposed to end in a draw, but I "conceded".

Game standing: 1-6
Match standing: 0-3

Round 4: vs. BW Discarder (won)

After the last round's stupidity error, I had decided to drop from the tourney. However, the TO didn't register my drop, so I got paired anyway with someone else with a 0-3 record. Not wanting to cause further confusion, I decided to play anyway. Good thing I did, as I at least finally got my share of wins, by beating my opponent easily in two games. All I remember is that I had Profanes for each of his Nyxathids, and I beat him with faerie tokens and manlands.

Final game standing: 3-6
Final match standing: 1-3

Disappointing performances are starting to pile up again... :(

WPN Gateway Level Tourney - Mar 19, 2009

2009-03-20T07:29:00.005+08:00

Three weeks ago, when I went to our local store to playtest with Joven (after a looong day of work, I should say), I caught some players do a sanctioned 8-man draft. Wanting to possibly join the draft the following week, I arrived at the store a little earlier than usual. Unfortunately, when I arrived, nobody was there to draft. Fortunately though, some players were trying to fill-up an 8-man Standard Constructed tournament instead. Of course, I signed up. :) When all slots were filled (there were 10 of us), we started the tournament, and I played with my Blightning deck from the past two FNMs.

Round 1: vs. Bant Control (lost)

When my opponent first cast a Seaside Citadel, I thought that I was perhaps against the Dark Doran deck, or some form of Bant aggro deck. However, when my opponent Broken Ambition'd my third turn Shambling Remains, I knew I was up against the control version of the deck. I never really had a chance to win in the first game, as my opponent had countermagic for most of my spells, and he kept on gaining life (via Rhox War Monk) while I worked hard to trim it down. I knew it was GG when he played Oona, Queen of the Fae, and I conceded soon after that. In the second game, my deck cooperated a little bit better, putting my opponent down to 6 life a couple of times, but two Primal Commands (gaining life on both times, of course) are just too much for any red deck to beat. I eventually lost to an EOT Cloudthresher from my opponent.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. 5-Color Control (lost)

I was up against a player whom I've playtested a few games with before the tourney started. I knew that he was playing the Nassif 5-color deck from the recent PT Kyoto. On both games, I had him in the ropes, and in both games, he went right back and beat me with a Cruel Ultimatum. With tremendous card advantage, I just had no chance to beat him afterwards. In the first game, he beat me with Broodmate Dragon and buddy. In game 2, to add insult to injury, he finished me off with a Volcanic Fallout.

Game standing: 0-4
Match standing: 0-2

Since it was a 16K tournament, and I had no chance anyway with getting any prize (it was only 3 rounds), I dropped from the tournament right after my second loss. I thought perhaps it was not a good day for me luck-wise, so I would probably be losing again on my third round and lose most of my DCI points unnecessarily.

On the flip side though, Joven finished the tournament on third place with a 2-1 record, and got a Conflux booster pack and a foil Hellspark Elemental DCI promo card. :)

FNM - Mar 13, 2009

2009-03-15T13:31:00.010+08:00

The Blightning deck did fairly well last week, so I used it again on this week's FNM.

Round 1: vs. BW Tokens (won)

My opponent's deck is one of the Tier 1 decks of the current Standard format, but for some reason, this is the first time that I had ever seen or played against this deck. Anyway, the first game ended in my favor, but did have an interesting thing happen towards the end. I had him quickly down to 1 life, with a Goblin Outlander on the board, but my opponent played an Ajani Goldmane and gained 2 life with the planeswalker's first ability. It took 5 full turns of -2/+2 life swings before I eventually drew an Incinerate to finish him off. Quite scary, considering a single card from him usually nets 3 to 4 creatures. In the second game, I lost very quickly because I got stuck at 2 lands. In the third game, I finished him quickly once again, courtesy of my unearth creatures.

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. Esper Control (won)

I'm happy each time I face a control deck, and this time was no different. The first game quickly finished in my favor with a combination of Hellspark Elementals and a lot of burn. The second game though was a bit more exciting when I had him at 2 life, but no creatures on the board and no cards in hand. I was in top deck mode for a few turns once again, until I eventually drew the Flame Javelin to finish him off. After the game, I asked my opponent why I never saw a Cryptic Command all match. He said that his CC's were used by a teammate in another deck, so he had no choice but to use Punish Ignorance -- which he DID use a couple of times, saving him from losing a few times as well.

Game standing: 4-1
Match standing: 2-0

Round 3: vs. Blightning Beatdown (lost)

When pairings were first announced, I was actually matched up with a player whom I knew was playing a 5-color control deck. I was happy about this, and in fact, had my Hellspark Elemental already attacking on turn 2, when the TO announced that we had to be repaired -- one player apparently had dropped from the tournament, but wasn't properly removed from the pairings. When the new pairings were announced, I got switched to a mirror match.

Despite having slightly different builds (my opponent had 5-drops in the form of Demigod of Revenge, while I had the more aggresive build of no 5-drops), this matchup is actually just a coin toss. In the first game, I had Mogg Fanatics against his 1/1 Figure of Destinies, and he had removal for most of my creatures, until he ran out of them and a pair of Boggart Ram-Gangs finished him off. In the second game, we went down the wire, with both of us at 5 life. No creatures were on the board, he had zero cards in hand, and I had 1 card -- Volcanic Fallout -- which I played at the end of his turn. We were both at 3 life then, and I slowly peeked at my draw. It was a land. I passed the turn, and he drew an Incinerate ftw. Game 3 was a reverse of our first game, with me playing control to his aggresive creatures, and when I finally ran out of gas, he finished me off with his creatures.

Game standing: 5-3
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. WW Kithkins (won)

I was up against the deck that I hated the most while I was playing the Elves deck -- WW Kithkins. Things didn't change as I quickly lost game 1, courtesy of an early Burrenton Forge-Tender, and an Ajani pumping his creatures. In game 2, I was able to make a super Figure of Destiny, and he had no answer against the 8/8 flying avatar. In game 3, he went greedy and kept a 1-land hand with 3 Burrenton Forge-Tenders, but ended up losing the match thanks to just a swarm of creatures on my end. Each BFT could only block one creature, luckily. :)

Final game standing: 7-4
Final match standing: 3-1

I apparently ended up with pretty good tiebreaks, because despite having a couple of other players at 3-1, I ended up in 4th place (3rd place to all the way down to 8th place were all at 3-1). Too bad I barely lost out on the Kitchen Finks FNM card (it was given to the top 3 finishers), but at least, I won two Conflux boosters this time. They both contained crappy rares, but at least I got these two uncommons:

That completes the set, so it's good enough for me. :)

FNM - Mar 6, 2009

2009-03-08T09:36:00.008+08:00

The metagame in our local shop has become more control-based rather than aggro-based, so we sleeved up an aggresive Blightning Beatdown deck for last Friday's FNM.

// Lands
4 [10E] Sulfurous Springs
4 [FUT] Graven Cairns
4 [LRW] Auntie's Hovel
2 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
1 [10E] Ghitu Encampment
8 [ALA] Mountain

// Creatures
4 [EVE] Figure of Destiny
4 [10E] Mogg Fanatic
4 [CFX] Hellspark Elemental
4 [CFX] Goblin Outlander
3 [SHM] Boggart Ram-Gang
4 [CFX] Shambling Remains

// Spells
4 [10E] Incinerate
4 [SHM] Flame Javelin
3 [CFX] Volcanic Fallout
3 [ALA] Magma Spray

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [ALA] Blightning
SB: 4 [MOR] Bitterblossom
SB: 4 [ALA] Infest
SB: 3 [LRW] Shriekmaw

Round 1: vs. Jund Ramp (lost)

I liked my odds on my first round matchup, as I was up against a slow deck, and I had decent SBs for his particular deck (Infest for tokens, Blightning for disruption, and Bitterblossom as chump blocker generator). I took him to 5 life quickly on both games, and on both games I ran out of gas and was at topdeck mode at that point. In game 1, he cast Violent Ultimatum twice on me to get back on the game and win it. In game 2, he cast Hellkite Overlord ftw.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. UBR Reanimator (won)

I was surprised when my opponent's first spell on the game was a Merfolk Looter. Oh no. I didn't expect anyone to still use this type of deck, so I had no graveyard hate in my SB. I had to finish the game quickly. In game 1, I was still safely at 18 life, but lost to a single spell -- Torrent of Souls putting back Inkwell Leviathan to play. That, along with Marsh Flitter and buddies was enough for a single lethal alpha strike.

I lost on the first 3 games of the night, but was still hopeful that things would turn the other way and I would still be able to finish decently for the night. Good thing they did. :)

In games 2 and 3, my deck finally did what it was supposed to do, and beat my opponent very quickly, before any graveyard shenanigans. In fact, I was the one with GY spells, as I beat him with my unearth creatures.

Game standing: 2-3
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. 5-Color Control (won)

Both games played out very similarly on this one. I would play some creatures, he would Wrath, I would play some more creatures, he would Wrath, then I would finish him with burn. On the second game, it was even a Mogg Fanatic, with him at 1 life, with Cryptic Command mana available, but no Cryptic Command spell. :)

Game standing: 4-3
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. 5-Color Control (won)

Similar QnT deck, similar results. I got a Hellspark draw in the first game, as all 4 copies came out and did double duty. Unearth ftw! In game 2, Blightning beatdown became Bitterblossom beatdown, as I was able to play the powerful enchantment in turn two. He had no chance against the incremental damage that the faerie tokens were making. I think the game ended with me having 6 or 7 tokens in play.

Game standing: 6-3
Match standing: 3-1

There were only two players with better records, but, despite being tied with third place, I had the worst tiebreaks (having lost early in the rounds), so I ended up finishing 6th place overall, and won a lone Shadowmoor booster pack, containing this crappy enchantment:

Better than nothing.

Magic Player Rewards - Mar 5, 2009

2009-03-06T08:46:00.005+08:00

I received the following in the mail yesterday:

Textless Remove Soul, Nameless Inversion x2, Cruel Edict, Tidings, Recollect, and a foil DCI Hypnotic Scepter. I think DCI really holds out on MPR mailings, since I have more than enough points for another foil Cryptic Command, but didn't get one. Oh well. Time to use those Nameless Inversions on our Dark Bant deck. ;-)

FNM - Feb 27, 2009

2009-02-28T09:26:00.004+08:00

I just posted about previous week's FNM, but it's weird how I remember more in that tournament that the one that just happened yesterday. :( It seemed like I was in a different place, because the meta was totally different -- everyone was playing control! And it didn't help that I played a deck that sucked against control -- a mid-range Doran Assassins deck, with Infest MB for the supposedly aggro meta.

// Lands
4 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
1 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
1 [SHM] Wooded Bastion
1 [EVE] Fetid Heath
1 [LRW] Vivid Marsh
1 [LRW] Vivid Grove
2 [10E] Treetop Village
1 [ALA] Forest
1 [ALA] Swamp
1 [ALA] Plains

// Creatures
4 [10E] Birds of Paradise
3 [LRW] Treefolk Harbinger
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [MOR] Scarblade Elite
4 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
2 [LRW] Cloudthresher

// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Crib Swap
3 [LRW] Profane Command
2 [ALA] Infest

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
SB: 3 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
SB: 2 [SHM] Faerie Macabre
SB: 2 [ON] Infest
SB: 1 [EVE] Wickerbough Elder

Round 1: vs. 5-color control (lost)

All I remember from this round were the 3 Path to Exiles that he used in our first game to get rid of my 3 Doran, the Siege Towers. Other than that, I just got beat by a bunch of Kitchen Finks, Mulldrifters, and Archon of Justice ftw.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. 5-color control (won)

In the first game, my opponent cast two Kiss of the Ameshas to bounce back, stabilize, and eventually win the game. In games 2 and 3, my deck's engine turned on and I was tutoring a bunch of threats and answers via Treefolk Harbinger, and he didn't have enough answers for them.

Game standing: 2-3
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. Bant Aggro-Control (lost)

I lost very badly in the first game, with a lethal combination of Rafiq of the Many and a Rhox War Monk both on the board. He killed me while at almost 40 life I think. I didn't feel that bad though since I mulliganed to 5 that game. On the second game, things turned the other way. It was his turn to mull to 5, and I quickly finished him off with a Doran and a pair of Harbingers. The third game was the best game of the night. We were swinging back and forth and the board slowly clogged up. It finally got to a point when I drew a Crib Swap, and decided to cast it on his War Monk so that I could Scarblade Elite his other creature. Unfortunately, he had the Cryptic Command in his hand, and he countered the Crib Swap and bounced my Oblivion Ring which had his Elspeth, Knight-Errant underneath. On his turn, Elspeth pumped and flew the War Monk ftw. GG.

Game standing: 3-5
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. UWr Reveillark Control (lost)

I believe I was mana screwed on the first game so I quickly lost that one. On the second game, I had my opponent on the ropes, at 3 life, but couldn't push the final points of damage because the board was cleared, and I knew he had a counter spell in his full hand, for my Profane. He continued to have answers to each of my creatures, eventually casting a Martial Coup for a gazillion tokens, leaving Cryptic mana untapped. I had no choice but to cast the Profane on my turn, and I found out he wasn't bluffing and he countered it ftw.

Game standing: 3-7
Match standing: 1-3

Two points:
1. If I had do it over again, I'd still use a Doran deck, but drop the whole Assassins theme, and just used Stillmoon Cavaliers instead, and Path to Exiles instead of Crib Swap.

2. If I had used the RDW deck this week, instead of last week, perhaps I could have done better.

Oh well.

FNM - Feb 20, 2009

2009-02-28T08:23:00.008+08:00

I've been really busy at work lately, so this was my first FNM in about a month (I haven't even been able to post this tournament until now), with only the Conflux Prerelease as my only Magic distraction in that month -- meaning I haven't played Standard all that time. :( Anyway, the goal was to have fun (and to bump up my Player Reward points hehe) so I decided to bring a Red Deck Wins deck -- which required minimum decisions, and resulted to fast and fun games. :) Here's the deck:

// Lands
25 [ALA] Mountain

// Creatures
4 [EVE] Figure of Destiny
4 [10E] Mogg Fanatic
3 [SHM] Boggart Ram-Gang
4 [SHM] Demigod of Revenge

// Spells
4 [MOR] Shard Volley
4 [10E] Incinerate
4 [LRW] Lash Out
4 [EVE] Puncture Blast
4 [SHM] Flame Javelin

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [SHM] Fulminator Mage
SB: 3 [CFX] Volcanic Fallout
SB: 3 [SHM] Firespout
SB: 2 [SHM] Guttural Response
SB: 3 [SHM] Smash to Smithereens

I know what you're thinking: BURN!!! :) Yeah.

Round 1: vs. RW Reveillark (lost)

My first round opponent is one of those players who take all types of tournaments (including FNMs) very seriously. Despite my attempts to lighten up the mood in our games, he was still very, um, competitive. In fact he called judge on two separate occasions during our match -- one when his Reveillark was behind a Windbrisk Heights (if he could evoke it -- of course he cannot), and second on a stack scenario (I could no longer remember what it was). All I can say is that his deck was superior to mine, but my rules knowledge is superior to his. ;-) Decks (and not rules) win in tournaments though, so he won the match. LOL.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Mono B Discarder (won)

A crazy scenario happened in this match, in game 1 to be exact. I was hot off the gates in the beginning and put him all the way down to 2 life. He then popped up an Immortal Coil, with my hand empty and nothing else on the board. I was in top deck mode, drawing nothing but lands, while he was eventually able to put 2 Nyxathids on the board -- he won that game. Haha. In games 2 and 3 though, I was ready with Smash to Smithereens, and I was able to pop his Immortal Coils and Scepter of Fugues ftw.

Game standing: 3-3
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. WGr Lands (lost)

My opponent was playing this unique deck featuring Knight of the Reliquary, Crucible of Worlds, and a lot of lands (I think he mentioned having 27 lands in his deck). In game 1, I was stupid enough to believe that he drew 3 consecutive Mutavaults (with me killing each one every time). After the third land drop though, I eventually saw the Crucible of Worlds in play. Damn! How stupid can I be? It was the same Mutavault coming back to haunt me! He beat me with Warhammer'd Mutavaults that game. In game 2, I was ready with his artifacts with Smash again, and easily won the game. In game 3, I was beat by a combination of Naya Charms, Path to Exiles, and eventually, a Knight of the Reliquary after a Scapeshift ftw.

Game standing: 4-5
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. WW Kithkin (lost)

I was still hoping for a .500 finish at this point, but my deck gave up on me as I drew crap on both games, to easily lose to my opponent's Kithkin horde.

Final game standing: 4-7
Final match standing: 1-3

Classic Pauper Faeries

2009-02-05T20:36:00.005+08:00

After using my original faeries deck a couple of times in MTGO, I noticed that I tend to lose to decks that were using older cards, meaning those that have Classic Pauper builds, instead of just Standard Pauper. Since MTGO at the moment doesn't distinguish between pauper types, I decided to upgrade my deck in order to be competitive to these "Type 1" decks. Here's my latest build:

// Lands
22 [ALA] Island

// Creatures
4 [10E] Cloud Sprite
4 [LRW] Spellstutter Sprite
4 [LRW] Pestermite
3 [MOR] Latchkey Faerie
4 [BOK] Ninja of the Deep Hours
4 [LRW] Mulldrifter
4 [DS] Spire Golem

// Spells
4 [IA] Counterspell
4 [9E] Mana Leak
3 [10E] Unsummon

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [IA] Hydroblast
SB: 3 [SC] Hindering Touch
SB: 4 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus
SB: 4 [MOR] Negate

Being unfamiliar with older cards, I based some of the card selections on decklists I found on PDCMagic.com. I still made some personal modifications though, partly due to my preferred play style -- most, if not all, of the decks I found are pure Mono Blue Control -- and I didn't want to play such a "serious" deck in pauper (I think it defeats the purpose). Also, some of the card selections of pauper net decks are actually quite expensive. For example, Exclude (the Remove Soul with a cantrip) is currently at 3.5 tix each. Prohibit (the conditional counterspell) is at 1 ticket each.

The sideboard, while improving, still needs some work though. I still don't know what to put in the place of the Relics and the Negates. I'll only learn this from experience though, so I guess it's time to go back online, and play some more pauper. :)

Conflux Prerelease - Jan 31, 2009

2009-02-01T08:54:00.009+08:00

Best. Prerelease. Ever. :)

Jovs and I both went 4-0, him with an Esper deck, and me with an aggresive Bant deck containing many evasive flyers.

// Lands
1 [CNF] Exotic Orchard
1 [CNF] Rupture Spire
1 [ALA] Bant Panorama
1 [ALA] Jungle Shrine
5 [ALA] Island
5 [ALA] Plains
3 [ALA] Forest

// Creatures
2cc:
1 [ALA] Sigiled Paladin
1 [ALA] Deft Duelist
1 [ALA] Steward of Valeron
3cc:
1 [ALA] Bant Battlemage
1 [CNF] Gluttonous Slime
1 [CNF] Matca Rioters
2 [CNF] Aven Trailblazer
1 [ALA] Gustrider Exuberant
1 [ALA] Kathari Screecher
2 [CNF] Parasitic Strix
1 [CNF] Giltspire Avenger
4cc or more:
2 [CNF] Esper Cormorants
1 [ALA] Sharding Sphinx
1 [ALA] Spearbreaker Behemoth

// Spells
1 [CNF] Path to Exile
1 [ALA] Oblivion Ring
1 [CNF] Constricting Tendrils
1 [CNF] Might of Alara
1 [ALA] Spell Snip
1 [CNF] Traumatic Visions

I can't remember my opponent's exact decks, but here are some memorable and fun moments:

1. Going down to 1 life but still winning the game, thanks to the token producing ability of Sharding Sphinx.

2. My opponent beating me in game 1 via a finishing blow Might of Alara. Then on the second game, I did the same to him, pumping my unblocked creature ftw. :)

3. My opponent playing a post-blockers "Agony Warp", only to see that it was actually a Countersquall. LOL.

4. My MVP for the whole tournament, believe it or not, is Esper Cormorants. It's amazing how one 3/3 flyer for 4 mana can win you so many games. Especially if you already have a 2/2 flyer on turn 2. Or even better, if you can follow it up with another 3/3 flyer on turn 5. :)

5. Winning my last game via a topdecked Spearbreaker Behemoth. :)

Here are some notable cards that we got from our sealed deck pools and prize packs:

1.3 Exotic Orchards
2. Ancient Ziggurat
3. 2 Giltspire Avengers
4. 2 Path to Exiles (need just 2 more...)
5. Ethersworn Adjudicator
6. Nyxathid
7. Volcanic Fallout
8. Thornling

And of course, there's the t-shirt. :)

(picture courtesy of Ongkeco's Hobby Shop)

Like I said, best prerelease ever. :)

Pauper Magic @ MTGO

2009-01-26T21:02:00.000+08:00

In a nutshell, Pauper Magic is "commons-only" Magic. That means no mythic rares, no regular rares, not even uncommons. Just your plain old commons -- the ones you never use and just rot inside your card boxes, or wherever it is that you store your Magic cards.

I've been wanting to give it a try for the longest time -- to give myself a break from the Bitterblossoms and Cryptic Commands of "normal" competitive Magic -- and with its increase in popularity and support lately (having been supported officially as an actual format in Magic Online), I finally decided to give it a try.

Obviously, it is a very cheap format... but until I built my first Pauper deck, I never really imagined that it was THIS cheap. I mean, for less than three tickets (2.9 to be exact), I managed to purchase my whole deck (via Cardhoarder.com)! That's less than 150 pesos!

Here's the deck that I built:

// Lands
22 [ALA] Island

// Creatures
4 [10E] Cloud Sprite
4 [LRW] Spellstutter Sprite
4 [SHM] Briarberry Cohort
4 [LRW] Pestermite
4 [MOR] Dewdrop Spy
3 [MOR] Latchkey Faerie
4 [LRW] Mulldrifter

// Spells
4 [10E] Remove Soul
4 [LRW] Broken Ambitions
3 [10E] Unsummon

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [MOR] Negate
SB: 4 [LRW] Faerie Trickery
SB: 4 [10E] Cancel
SB: 3 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus

It's mono-blue faeries. I've always wanted to play a blue aggro deck -- and with the control elements of faeries, this is actually a perfect deck for my playstyle. The sideboard though is so-so. I don't really have any idea about the Pauper metagame, so I just squeezed in a couple of blue cards that I know"might" be useful.

To my surprise, the deck actually performed pretty well. Or should I say, VERY well. After a couple of games in the Casual Room, I managed to beat a few decks, only losing to a mono red burn deck (which is the weakness of the faerie deck). In fact, I even tried to play in a 2-Player Pauper tournament (which is basically just a single match, and whomever wins it gets a pack), and I won! The pack turned up to be crappy -- Brilliant Ultimatum was my rare -- but I was just happy to have won something... from 150 pesos worth of cards. :)

My previous attempt at MTGO was a bit of a disappointment -- I never really pursued it due to budget constraints -- but with Pauper Magic, I'm actually sure that I will be back to play. It's fun, it's cheap, and it's new. :) In fact, let me just publish this blog post, and I'll be back right now. ;-)

FNM - Jan 23, 2009

2009-01-24T07:49:00.009+08:00

I finally gave in and replaced the Troll Ascetics in the Elves deck with Kitchen Finks. I finally realized that I always needed the 2 mana I was leaving open for regenerating the Troll, which made me always a step behind in mana. Finks has a decent body for its cost at 3/2, and basically nets me 2 blockers and 4 life for those aggresive aggro decks (read: Kithkin).

// 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 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
2 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
1 [LRW] Shriekmaw

// Spells
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
3 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
3 [LRW] Profane Command
2 [LRW] Primal Command

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 4 [ALA] Infest
SB: 1 [MOR] Mind Shatter
SB: 2 [10E] Mind Rot

Round 1: vs. Realm Razer Naya (won)

I won easily in game 1 via a Garruk overrun which put my opponent at 6 life, after which I finished him off with my man lands. Game 2 was also one-sided, as my opponent made a couple of misplays.

Game standing: 2-0
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. RW Reveillark (draw)

I mull'd to 5 on the first game, much to my dismay, and was on the defensive all game, until I finally lost. In game 2, I got some help from my opponent as he took plenty of damage from ouchlands, in addition to my quick beats. In game 3, we were called for time, and I luckily managed to get the draw despite being on the way to losing that game.

Game standing: 3-1-1
Match standing: 1-0-1

Round 3: vs. RW Reveillark (lost)

I mull'd to 5 again. And the 5-hander I kept was all lands -- I decided to keep it because it had a good mix of manlands and dual lands. Of course, I lost that first game. In game 2, I just lost based on pure card and board advantage generated by my opponent's Siege Gang Commanders, Ranger of Eos, and Reveillark.

Game standing: 3-3-1
Match standing: 1-1-1

Round 4: vs. Elf Ball (lost)

As was expected, game 1 turned out to have a really heavy board, with lots of small creatures on his side, and a few large creatures in mine. Unfortunately, his small creatures eventually went up in size, thanks to a few Imperious Perfects, and he eventually steam rolled me for the win. In game 2, my opponent made a god draw -- emptying all 8 of his cards in hand by the second turn, thanks to Heritage Druid and a pair of Nettle Sentinels.

Game standing: 3-5-1
Match standing: 1-2-1

As was always the case, the losers of the tournament rolled dice to determine who would win the random FNM card (3 were given away to the top 3 finishers, and the fourth one was given in random). I lost out on the die roll by just 1 -- the winner rolled a 17; I rolled a 16. :( Oh well.

Pre-Conflux Standard - Jan 10, 2009

2009-01-24T07:17:00.007+08:00

The tournament was held two weeks ago, and I never had the chance to blog about it due to a busy schedule and a bout of food poisoning. Basically, coming unprepared and unaware of the new metagame, my Elves deck did very poorly.

Round 1: vs. UB Faeries (lost)

I remember being pretty happy to have a relatively good matchup in the first round. Games 1 and 2 were won by whomever had the Colossus. In the first game it was him, via Sower. In the second game, it was all mine. But in the end, I lost in an extremely close game 3, having my opponent at 1 life, and praying for that Profane topdeck, it never went out and my opponent eventually got back in the game and beat me with 3 Scion of Oona's and a Mistbind Clique.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. WW Kithkin (lost)

After losing to a favorable matchup, I was disappointed to face the bane of my deck -- Kithkins. And I proved to be right, as I got two quick awful losses.

Game standing: 1-4
Match standing: 0-2

Round 3: vs. BGW Doran (won)

Round 3 was the exact opposite of round 2, as I easily beat my opponent, who is obviously not very much familiar with his deck yet.

Game standing: 3-4
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. RW Giant deck (lost)

I got faced off against a rogue deck. Initially I thought it was the so-called "Boat Brew" deck, which is basically RW Reveillark, but I got demolished by a bunch of Furystoke Giants and Cloudgoat Rangers.

Game standing: 3-6
Match standing: 1-3 (drop)

FNM - Jan 9, 2009

2009-01-13T07:44:00.005+08:00

We wanted to create a new deck for the new year, and based on available cards, we sleeved up a Vengeant Weenie deck, which is basically the WW Kithkin deck creature core, with a splash of red for burn (Javelins & Incinerates) and Ajani Vengeant.

// Lands
4 [10E] Battlefield Forge
4 [EVE] Rugged Prairie
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
4 [LRW] Windbrisk Heights
4 [MOR] Rustic Clachan
5 [UNH] Plains
3 [UNH] Mountain

// Creatures
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 [EVE] Figure of Destiny
4 [LRW] Knight of Meadowgrain
4 [LRW] Wizened Cenn
3 [ALA] Ranger of Eos
4 [ALA] Ajani Vengeant

// Spells
4 [SHM] Flame Javelin
4 [10E] Incinerate
4 [SHM] Spectral Procession

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Burrenton Forge-Tender
SB: 4 [EVE] Stillmoon Cavalier
SB: 4 [LRW] Wispmare
SB: 3 [MOR] Reveillark

Round 1: vs. Jund Mana Ramp (lost)

I kept some sketchy hands, and paid for it. My opponent smashed me with various threats like Garruk (now I know how it feels to be on the other side of those Beast tokens), Broodmate Dragon, Cloudthresher, and Caldera Hellion.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: WW Kithkins (lost)

The difference between me and my opponent, aside from the Red splash in my deck, is that he knew how to pilot Kithkins. I didn't. LOL. My opponent beat me with various tricks like a flashed in Thistledown Liege, and instant reinforce (via Rustic Clachan) in the first game. In the second game, I made the HUGE misplay of blocking his Knight of Meadowgrain with my Stillmoon Cavalier... without giving it first strike! I just realized it after 2-3 attacks, and by then, my life total was already way down, thanks to his other creatures.

Game standing: 0-4
Match standing: 0-2 drop.

Lesson learned: Never use a deck that you have never played, in a tournament.

Gold Rush 2008 - Dec 27-28, 2008

2009-01-01T09:35:00.017+08:00

Last year, I got lignified. This year, I was determined not to have the same disappointing record, actually even hoping for a .500 finish after two days of Magic dueling.

The format for this year was different. Instead of the usual Standard Constructed format for the Gold Rush (which I would have preferred), NG opted to organize a multiformat tournament a la Nationals. Basically, it's 3 rounds of Standard, followed by 3 rounds of Shards of Alara booster draft, then another 3 rounds of Shards booster draft in new pods (only 1 round on the first day, the 2 remaining rounds on day 2), then finished off in a final 3 rounds of Standard. The top 8 players would have a Standard playoff.

Not unexpectedly, I used the same BG Elves deck as the one I used the night before on FNM, but with the Shriekmaw MD, instead of the singleton Cloudthresher. I was also able to get a hold of a fourth Infest on the tourney area a few minutes before, so I could have a better chance against those Kithkin decks which I expected to swarm the tournament.

// 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
2 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
1 [LRW] Shriekmaw

// Spells
1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
3 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
3 [LRW] Profane Command
2 [LRW] Primal Command

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 4 [ALA] Infest
SB: 1 [MOR] Mind Shatter
SB: 2 [10E] Mind Rot

Round 1: vs. BR Tokens (lost)

I was happy not to have my round 1 jinx this time, as instead of having to face a Nationals player, I was paired with a famous card trader. However, after the match, I wished differently, as he still demolished me in two games. In game 1, I made the mistake of trying to race him in life. It worked for a while, up until I made a calculation mistake and forgot about the damage of the Mogg Fanatic. In game 2, I had no chance whatsoever to win the game, as he put up a Goblin Assault and 2 Grave Pacts.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. UB Faeries (won)

At last, a good matchup. This time, it was my turn to demolish my opponent as I easily beat the deck of the little blue flyers in 2 games -- the first one via an early Garruk overrun, and the second one thanks to a pair of Troll Ascetics.

Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. 5-color Control (lost)

I was winning the first game, up until a timely Jund Charm wiped out my army of manlands during my attack phase. Afterwards, there was no recovery from a semi-Armageddon. In game 2, I came back via a Garruk overrun. In game 3, I had no chance against The Queen of the Fae.

Game standing: 3-4
Match standing: 1-2

At this point, we were seated in our first draft pods. Suddenly, the TOs announced that there were random prizes to be given away from the vault, literally -- From the Vault: Dragons. I was one of the lucky players to be selected, and I was randomly given Form of the Dragon:

Then it was off to the draft. It seems that our table was rare drafting as I saw no bombs whatsoever in the first pack. I was getting passed a lot of nice Esper utility cards though, so I went ahead and drafted it. Here was my deck:

// Lands
1 [ALA] Grixis Panorama
6 [ALA] Swamp
5 [ALA] Island
5 [ALA] Plains

// Creatures
2cc:
1 [ALA] Metallurgeon
1 [ALA] Tidehollow Strix
2 [ALA] Tidehollow Sculler
3cc:
2 [ALA] Kathari Screecher
2 [ALA] Shore Snapper
1 [ALA] Windwright Mage
5cc or more:
2 [ALA] Dreg Reaver
1 [ALA] Steelclad Serpent
1 [ALA] Yoked Plowbeast

// Spells
2 [ALA] Obelisk of Esper
1 [ALA] Executioner's Capsule
1 [ALA] Hindering Light
2 [ALA] Agony Warp
1 [ALA] Oblivion Ring
1 [ALA] Resounding Wave
1 [ALA] Esper Charm
1 [ALA] Kiss of the Amesha

Round 4: vs. Bant Exalted (draw)

Things didn't start off well, as I my opponent took me to draft school and won game 1 unscathed. I had no chance against a barrage of exalted dudes. In game 2, I won a long close game (I was at 2 life when I won) thanks to my islandwalking Shore Snapper. In game 3, I was saved by the bell -- I pulled off a draw thanks to time running out, despite me being at 5 life, and my opponent still at perfect life.

Game standing: 4-5-1
Match standing: 1-2-1

Things went even more downhill from there...

Round 5: vs. Jund (lost)

I got stuck at 2 lands in the first game and easily lost. In the second game, I found a Broodmate Dragon in my opponent's hand (thanks to my Sculler), but I had to remove his Resounding Thunder. I was able to delay his dragon by discarding his other cards via Esper Charm, and stabilized against his threats while I was at 1 life. At that point, I slowly got back at the game by gaining life thanks to my Windwright Mage, and got back to 9 life. However, the inevitable happened and I wasn't able to kill him when he got his 6th land. GG.

Game standing: 4-7-1
Match standing: 1-3-1

Round 6: vs. Naya (lost)

All I remember from this match was that pesky Drumhunter which gave my opponent crazy card advantage. I was already at 1 card in hand, and my opponent never had less than 5 cards in hand. Crazy. I lost in 2 games.

Game standing: 4-9-1
Match standing: 1-4-1

At this point, I just wanted to rare draft in the second pod and go home (it was almost 9:30 pm, and we still had a draft AND a round of Magic to play). My packs did not disappoint, as I opened a Stoic Angel in the first pack, and a Tezzeret in the third pack. Yeah! At least I got back part of my entrance fee. :) I still tried to draft Bant though to utilize the angel and build a relatively nice playable deck:

// Lands
1 [ALA] Esper Panorama
6 [ALA] Forest
6 [ALA] Plains
4 [ALA] Island

// Creatures
1cc:
1 [ALA] Wild Nacatl
2cc:
1 [ALA] Sigiled Paladin
1 [ALA] Deft Duelist
1 [ALA] Jhessian Infiltrator
2 [ALA] Sighted-Caste Sorcerer
4cc:
1 [ALA] Outrider of Jhess
1 [ALA] Rhox Charger
1 [ALA] Stoic Angel
5cc or more:
2 [ALA] Cloudheath Drake
1 [ALA] Welkin Guide
1 [ALA] Waveskimmer Aven
1 [ALA] Jungle Weaver

// Spells
1 [ALA] Obelisk of Bant
1 [ALA] Gift of the Gargantuan
3 [ALA] Excommunicate
2 [ALA] Sigil Blessing
2 [ALA] Resounding Roar

Round 7: vs. Jund (lost)

It was all about the fun at this point, and me and my opponent had 2 nice fun games. I, of course, lost both. Haha.

I dropped from the tournament, so I didn't have to come on the second day.

Final game standing: 4-11-1
Final match standing: 1-5-1

In keeping with the my tradition of losing and listing learning points, here are the learning points from the Gold Rush:

1. I should draft more. Or actually, I should draft, period. LOL.

2. Shards limited is all about the bombs. I thought I had a pretty decent deck in the first pod, I just needed that 1 or 2 bombs that would make me win in the late game.

3. I should playtest... and FNM's don't count. I lost the 1st and 3rd rounds because of my unfamiliarity with my opponents' decks (I forgot all about that instant Pyroclasm-thing of the Jund Charm).

4. The best players play a lot. Since I don't have the luxury of time, with work and all, maybe I should try playing in MWS again.

5. Multiformat tourneys are fun, but are VERY tiring.

Happy new year everyone! :)

BG Elves Deck Performance Analysis

2008-12-27T00:10:00.004+08:00

In preparation for the Gold Rush later today (because it's past midnight already hehe), I decided to compile the results of all my sanctioned tournaments in the past couple of months, when playing the BG Elves deck archetype. Here are the results:

Mono Red - Won 8, Lost 5 - 62%
Elves/Rock - Won 6, Lost 6 - 50%
White Weenie - Won 3, Lost 7, Draw 1 - 27%
Random Deck - Won 5, Lost 3, Draw 1 - 56%
Faeries - Won 2, Lost 6 - 25%
Mono Black - Won 1, Lost 3 - 25%
5-Color Control - Won 1, Lost 2 - 33%
Mana Ramp - Won 0, Lost 3 - 0%
Planeswalkers - Won 2, Lost 0 - 100%
Mannequin - Won 1, Lost 1 - 50%
5-Color Elementals - Won 1, Lost 1 - 50%
Land D - Won 1, Lost 1 - 50%
Merfolk - Won 0, Lost 2 - 0%

Here are my observations:
1. The poor showing against Faeries is due to my inability to pilot the deck correctly in the beginning. Most, if not all, of the losses were in my early months of playing the deck.

2. The other deck archetypes' results are not very reliable as I haven't played enough against them.

3. As expected, I do well against random decks (decks I've played only once, ever).

4. The mirror is basically a coin toss. Perhaps I need better SB to have the advantage in the mirror.

5. And last, but most definitely not the least -- I suck against Kithkins. Now I know I really need that fourth Infest in the SB.

FNM - Dec 26, 2008

2008-12-26T22:30:00.006+08:00

I needed to playtest for the 2008 Gold Rush tomorrow, so I played once again in my local store's FNM to practice. I wanted to try something in the BG Elves deck, by MD'ing Primal Commands.

// 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
2 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
1 [LRW] Cloudthresher
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker

// Spells
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer
3 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
3 [LRW] Profane Command
2 [LRW] Primal Command

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 3 [ALA] Infest
SB: 3 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 1 [LRW] Shriekmaw
SB: 2 [10E] Mind Rot
SB: 1 [MOR] Mind Shatter

Round 1: vs. WW Kithkins (lost)

First up: Kithkins. In terms of playtesting, this was good. In terms of doing well in the FNM, it was bad. Historically, I just have a bad record against this deck. Anyway, history repeats itself as I easily lost in 2 games. In the first game, my opponent got some help with me getting mana drought. In the second game, it was close all the way, but my opponent squeezed out the win in the end.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Mono Red Elementals (won)

My opponent and I both mulliganed to 5 for our first game, which I eventually lost thanks to a Rage Forger and a pair of Sunflare Shamans. I got back and won both sideboarded games though, thanks to a Profane Command in the second game, and a crucial Infest in the third game.

Game standing: 2-3
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. BG Elves (won)

I knew it was a mirror match even before we started, because I partially saw my opponent playtest before the FNM started. So when I drew the singleton Warhammer, along with a couple of dudes in my starting hand, the decision to keep was very easy. Unfortunately though, my opponent had all the removals and my Warhammer was reduced to a useless artifact with no one to equip it to. I eventually lost the one-sided game. In game 2, it was my turn to beat my opponent, and I finished the game with a Profane Command. I also found out that my opponent had an "incomplete deck" as he was using Briarhorns and Snakeforms. That gave me the confidence that I had the advantage in the deciding game. Game 3 though was the closest of all, and we were racing all game, with my Bitterblossom online, and my opponent gaining a bunch of life thanks to a couple of Kitchen Finks. In the end, I topdecked a Garruk to decide the game in my favor.

Game standing: 4-4
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. UW Reveillark (won)

My 4th round opponent was beside me in round 3, so I knew he had the Knight-Captain of Eos/Reveillark engine in his deck. I thought to myself, boy, this is going to be a looong game. It proved to be wrong though, as I my deck gave me the right cards at the right time, and I won both games very easily. The first game while at 37 life (thanks to Warhammer), and the second game via an early Garruk overrun, which my opponent had no answer to.

Game standing: 6-4
Match standing: 3-1

My final standing was good enough for a 5th place finish, and won me another booster pack -- which turned up to contain another crappy birdie. Oh well. I just hope to do as well as I did today, in the Gold Rush tomorrow. Good luck to me.

Christmas Gift - 2008

2008-12-25T10:00:00.004+08:00

One of the best gifts I received in Christmas 2008:

It was from my Tito Benjie in Canada, who went home for the holidays.

I just found out that despite costing just $15 (~PhP 750) in the US, this product was released on a very limited basis here in Manila and is being sold for Php 1,200. Whoa.

Merry Christmas indeed! :)

FNM - Dec 12, 2008

2008-12-13T11:38:00.006+08:00

I followed the netdeck trend, and inserted Bitterblossoms onto the BG Elves deck. I further tuned the MD and moved the Thoughtseizes onto the SB as the meta in my local shop is more aggro than control.

// 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
2 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [LRW] Cloudthresher
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker

// Spells
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
3 [LRW] Profane Command
3 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 3 [ALA] Infest
SB: 4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 1 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [MOR] Mind Shatter
SB: 2 [10E] Mind Rot

Round 1: vs. WW Kithkins (lost)

The FNM crowd was larger than usual -- 28 players -- and there were a couple of good players in the room. As is my usual "practice", I once again got paired with one of the better players in the first round. He was playing Kithkins, so I once again wished that I had that 4th Infest in my SB (I really need to get that one ASAP).

Anyway, back to the match, things didn't start well, as I mull'd to 5. To add insult to injury, my opponent had a pretty good draw (which is pretty common for Kithkins, due to its amazing consistency), and I lost via a Mirrorweave to a Wizened Cenn.

SB: +3 Infest, -1 Thresher, -2 Colossus

In game 2, things started out better. I kept my initial 7 for one, and I had him down to 6 life later in the game, with me still at perfect life. He unfortunately stabilized and I had to attack every turn just to keep him at that level (he was gaining life thanks to a Glorious Anthem and a Knight of Meadowgrain). I had an Infest and a Profane in hand, which could both win me the game, but couldn't draw that second black mana source. I eventually lost via consecutive Cloudgoat Rangers which overwhelmed the board.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Naya Planeswalkers (won)

My opponent started things off with a Jungle Shrine... and nothing else. I went blazing on the game, with a Warhammer'd Ascetic, and won the game at 32 life, and my opponent having played just a single Garruk all game.

SB: +4 Thoughtseize, -1 Warhammer, -2 Threshers, -1 Nameless

In the second game, I demolished my opponent again with Beast tokens from Garruk, and a Profane Command to finish him off. I was still at perfect life at that point.

Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. Mono Red Aggro Budget (won)

This was a fun game. It kinda reminded me of playing with Tyrone at UP from 10 years ago, as my opponent was consistently playing turn 1 Raging Goblin, then turn 2 Fists of the Anvil (Blood Lust anyone?) -- on all three games! LOL. I believe he had no creatures with 4cc or more, as it seems he was sending off a bunch of weenies all the time -- Heartlash Cinder, Boggart Ram-Gang, etc. His burn was being wasted on my creatures though, so he was always having a hard time finishing me off. I won in 3 fun games.

Game standing: 4-3
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. UB Mannequin (won)

Once again, I was in a do-or-die scenario. Win, and I get a pack. Lose, and I go home empty-handed. Things didn't start well, as my opponent beat me with Oona, Queen of the Fae.

SB: +4 Thoughtseize, -1 Warhammer, -2 Threshers, -1 Nameless

In game 2, the Blossoms finally went online. I never drew them on any other game -- and in this one, I finally got a taste of why Faeries win with them. You just don't have to do anything else, just sit back, control the board, and watch the tokens attack.

In game 3, I drew a Garruk godhand. Overrun ftw!

Game standing: 6-4
Match standing: 3-1

After the match, I was watching my first round opponent in a battle of undefeateds at table 2. I wanted him to win (to improve my tiebreaks), but he unfortunately lost, so I settled for 7th place. I won a Shadowmoor pack, with this birdie at the rare slot:

FNM - Dec 5, 2008

2008-12-08T20:59:00.006+08:00

I was on a two-week Magic semi-hiatus due to increased workload and a brand-new distraction, so I was a bit out of touch in terms of Magic news, metagaming, and deck techs. Still, I was determined to play at least one more FNM this month in order to get the Hippie promo card, so when an opportunity popped up, I grabbed the chance and took the tried and tested BG Elves deck to our local FNM.

Round 1: vs. BW Hybrids (won)

My opponent's body language was shouting "tournament-newbie", so I was glad to face him in the first round. However, things quickly turned around, as I got bullied by a Nightsky Mimic and an Edge'd up Beckon Apparition token, to quickly lose game one.

SB: -4 Thoughtseize, +3 Infest, +1 Warhammer

In game 2, my opponent showed his inexperience when he overextended over and over to my Infests, and I took him down with a pair of Vanquishers. In game 3, my Colossi finally showed up, but before I could rejoice with the protection from black ability, my opponent had Oblivion Rings to remove the giant changelings. It went down the wire, with me at 5 life and him at 3 life, but the game changer was a Cloudthresher, which blocked an attacker and eventually finished him off on my turn.

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. WW Kithkins (draw)

I faced off in the second round against an acquaintance whom I was playtesting with, just before the FNM started. I knew he was playing Kithkins, and I knew he was pretty good in Magic, but I also knew that he never won in our playtests, so I had some sort of mental advantage over him. Game 1 was very close, with both of us getting to 6 life, but just like in the previous game, a mid-combat Thresher did him in and wiped his Spectral Procession tokens.

SB: -4 Thoughtseize, +3 Infest, +1 Warhammer

In game 2, my opponent had a pretty good draw, activating his Windbrisk Heights for a free Mirrorweave on my Colossus ftw. Game 3 was very very close. With my opponent having 3 Spectral tokens once again, I couldn't put down my Colossus for fear of getting beat up once again by a 'Weave. The result was a long and slow race in life, which eventually ended with a draw -- me at 5 life and him at 7 life. The Profanes just didn't come out... not even a single one. :(

Game standing: 3-2-1
Match standing: 1-0-1

Round 3: vs. Naya (won)

My next opponent was a regular top 8 player in my store's FNM. I got lucky though when he got stuck at 2 lands in our first game, and I easily beat him at perfect life. In game 2, I made a HUGE misplay, by blocking his attacking Warhammered Colossus (7/4) with my Wayfinder and a mid-combat Cloudthresher (9/9 total). I thought the trick was on him, when I figured that even if he pumped the Colossus, it would just be at 8/8. I totally forgot about the +3/+0 bonus that the Warhammer gave, and of course his Colossus, post-pump, was a beastly 14/11. Both my creatures died, my opponent went up to 30 life, and I covered my face with my hands in shame. In game 3 though, I went back to my winning ways, and beat him while still at perfect life. I had some help though from his manabase, as he was taking too much pain from ouchlands.

Game standing: 5-3-1
Match standing: 2-0-1

Round 4: vs. Mono G Elves (lost)

After 3 rounds, we found out that there was just 1 person with a 3-0 record. And he was playing the person I drew with in the second round. Basically, if I won the 4th round, I was guaranteed a top 2 to 3 finish, and a shiny foil Shrapnel Blast. Unfortunately, that was not to be, as my opponent (playing an Elf deck that I felt was inferior to mine) had really awesome draws. Let me put it this way -- three words -- Three Imperious Perfects. In the second game, it was more of the same, as my Infests stayed in the bottom of the deck. To think that he was greatly overextending with Wolf Skull Shamans, and Bramblewood Paragons, and a single copy of the black sorcery could have easily swung the game in my favor. Oh well. Once again, shit happens.

Game standing: 5-5-1
Match standing: 2-1-1

Still good enough though for a 6th place finish, and one Shards of Alara prize pack. What did it contain? This blue monstrosity:

FNM - Nov 21, 2008

2008-11-21T22:23:00.012+08:00

Our BG Elves deck has been doing pretty good recently, but it doesn't seem to get over the hump of actually winning an FNM, or top 8-ing a tourney. Because of that, and also to inject some change in my FNM experience, I sleeved up a Planeswalker Control deck, influenced by the recent Fellowship of the Ring creation in the PT Berlin LCQ, and modified based on card availability:

// Lands
4 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
4 [ALA] Jungle Shrine
3 [EVE] Rugged Prairie
2 [10E] Battlefield Forge
1 [SHM] Wooded Bastion
4 [10E] Brushland
4 [10E] Treetop Village
2 [SHM] Fire-Lit Thicket

// Creatures
4 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
4 [LRW] Chandra Nalaar
2 [ALA] Ajani Vengeant
1 [ALA] Elspeth, Knight-Errant
4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks

// Spells
4 [LRW] Fertile Ground
2 [10E] Mind Stone
4 [10E] Wrath of God
3 [10E] Pyroclasm
4 [10E] Condemn
2 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
2 [ALA] Naya Charm

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [SHM] Guttural Response
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 3 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 2 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
SB: 2 [SHM] Faerie Macabre

Having 7 board sweepers and 8 spot removals (counting the Naya Charms), the deck should run over Kithkin and any other aggro deck. 5-color control should also be an easy matchup, as they don't have any answer to planeswalkers (unless for some reason, they run O-Rings in the SB). It would have a problem against Faeries (due to Flying) and any deck running burn, such as RDW or Blightning Beatdown.

Anyway, here's what happened 5 hours ago:

Round 1: vs. WW Kithkin (lost)

My opponent opens with Plains-Stalwart, and I secretly smile as I start the first game. I end up doing business as usual, controlling the board, and finishing up with Elspeth and Chandra.

My SB strategy for aggro is "There is no sideboard plan", so I just shuffle my deck for game 2.

In game 2, my opponent pulls off a god draw, and kills me in an alpha strike despite being at 22 life. Windbrisk-Mirrorweave ftw. What do you know...

In game 3, it starts off much like game 1, when he would lay down threats, and I would Wrath. Lay down more threats, then Pyroclasm. Lay down more threats, then Wrath. Wash, rinse, repeat. Up until a single Figure of Destiny falls through the cracks, which eventually becomes a mighty-morphing-flying-first-striking-power-ranger. I topdeck a Condemn for it, but draw only lands afterward, and he finishes me off with two knights - Orchid and Meadowgrain.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. WW Kithkin (won)

Heavily disappointed after the first round, I wanted to redeem myself with my second round opponent, who also happens to play the short white weenie tribe. This time though, my deck stops disappointing me, and I easily run him over in 2 games -- first game via ultimate abilities of Chandra and Garruk (in a single turn), and second game via non-stop Beast tokens from Garruk.

Game standing: 3-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. Mono Green Elf Ball (won)

This was another easy match, as elf ball decks always overcommit to the board, and a single Pyroclasm would ruin their day. On the second game, I even get to do "The Dream" -- Ajani 1-sided Armageddon, followed by Wrath of God = no permanents in play for my opponent.

Game standing: 5-2
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. WW Kithkin (lost)

My 4th round opponent's first play was Plains-Go, and I knew he was playing Kithkins. However, after 2 more Plains-Go turns, I started to doubt myself -- what is this, mono-white control? However, when his 4th land was a Windbrisk Heights, I knew he just kept an extremely slow hand. And he paid for it, as I easily won game 1 behind Garruk Beast tokens.

For game 2, my starting hand was Brushland, Treetop, Finks, Wrath, and 3 random PWs. Not bad, I thought... I could Finks, then wait for 4 mana to Wrath the board.

And then, time stood still, all hell broke loose, and my deck went to the Phantom Zone. Apparently, my opponent used The Force, and did a Jedi-cut. I never got a third land! I drew a Mind Stone eventually, which I used to play my Finks, but the Stone was quickly O-ring'd by my opponent. WTF. O-ring as land D. By then, I was already being overrun by FOD's and knights.

For game 3, I thought for a while, but decided to keep another 2-hand land (both Treetops). What do you know... my deck wasn't finished playing games with me, and all I drew afterwards was a third Treetop and a Reflecting Pool. Mono-green ftl.

Game standing: 6-4
Match standing: 2-2

Oh well, shit happens.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to test the deck against Faeries and 5-color control, but heck, I still felt good about the "promise" of the deck. Setting aside those ridiculously bad draws in rounds 1 and 4, it actually did its job and steamrolled my opponents.

I'm looking forward to further refining the deck... though, I think I have to get a hold of a few more Elspeths and Ajanis first... ;-)

Magic Player Rewards - Nov 14, 2008

2008-11-17T10:42:00.004+08:00

I received the following in the mail last week:

- Foil Textless Cryptic Command
- Textless Unmake
- Textless Pyroclasm
- Oversized Feral Hydra
- Sarkhan Vol DCI membership card

I should have gotten more, but Wizards/DCI decided not to use all of my rewards points in the past 3 months (I wonder why...). But anyway, it's all good. For sure, I'll be able to use that Pyroclasm. ;-)

Will the real Kenji please stand up?

2008-11-17T10:03:00.006+08:00

2005 MTG Player of the Year, Kenji Tsumura.

2008, um, Starbucks Drinker of the Year, Kenji Bayutas...

Do I look Japanese to you? LOL.

1700

2008-11-13T08:57:00.004+08:00

I was doing my usual morning MTG surfing when I came across this in my DCI account:

I have finally broken the 1700 constructed barrier! :)

Looking at my play history, I also discovered that my all time low was 1480, after losing round 1 of the Shadowmoor Standard Inaugural. Browsing through the matches also made me reminisce about my previous deck choices (ie. Pickles, Goblins, pre-Mirrorweave White Weenie), sideboard "strategies" (ie. Deathmark, Paladin en-Vec, Tivadar of Thorn), and play styles (ie. attempting to play a control deck with no knowledge of the metagame whatsoever).

It took almost a year to get here, but at least I now feel that I'm actually starting to accomplish something. :) I wonder when I will ever post about breaking 1800 (if I ever get there at all)...

Alara Standard Inaugurals - Nov 8, 2008

2008-11-09T11:35:00.009+08:00

The Elf deck has been playing out well for me recently, so I decided to give it another go at the Alara Standard Inaugurals at Galleria yesterday.

// 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. :)

FNM - Nov 7, 2008

2008-11-09T10:36:00.009+08:00

After a decent finish in last week's FNM, I used the same BG Elves deck again last Friday. However, noticing that a good amount of Red decks were being played in my local store, I decided to main deck Kitchen Finks instead of Cloudthreshers.

// 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
3 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus

// Spells
4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
4 [LRW] Profane Command

// Sideboard
SB: 3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
SB: 1 [MOR] Mind Shatter
SB: 2 [10E] Mind Rot
SB: 1 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 3 [ALA] Infest
SB: 1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer

Round 1: vs. Cruel Control (won)

My "lucky" tendency for awesome round 1's continued that day, when I got paired up with the best player in the room - a regular Nats player whose surname and team name are almost synonymous with Filipino Magic. Good luck to me!

In game 1, things went to a great start as I was able to early Thoughtseize a Wrath away, and he couldn't keep up to my early beats of Vanquishers, and I beat him with a Profane to the face.

SB: +1 Mind Shatter, +2 Mind Rot, +3 Garruk, -3 Finks, -2 Nameless, -1 Profane

In game 2, I basically got Cruel Ultimatum'd twice, and lost. In game 3, I once again got lucky with my early Thoughtseize, and took out a crucial Remove Soul. I afterwards squeaked in a Mind Rot after an evoked Mulldrifter on his side, and he just got too far back, and lost to a Warhammer'd Ascetic. GG!

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: Mono Red Aggro (won)

In game 1, we were just racing life, but apparently, you almost always never win that way against a Red deck, and I lost to a Demigod and an Incinerate to the face.

SB: +1 Warhammer, +1 Finks, +2 Mind Rot, -4 Thoughtseize

In game 2, my opponent didn't stand a chance against 2 Colossi. In game 3, my Kitchen Finks army went online, which is just not fair for the Red deck. ;)

Game standing: 4-2
Match standing: 2-0

Round 3: WW Kithkins (lost)

I basically got demolished in this round. Losing game 1 with my opponent at 43 life (thanks to two Knight of Meadowgrains with multiple Ajani counters), and losing game 2 via Mirrorweave with him still at perfect life.

Game standing: 4-4
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: Fellowship of the Ring (won)

This was, unexpectedly, the most difficult, but still the most fun game I had all day. My opponent was using something similar to the decklist that popped up on the PT Berlin LCQ, with 14 Planeswalkers and utilizing their synergy with Rings of Brighthearth. My opponent always had 2 to 3 Planeswalkers online all the time, and I was basically just attacking every turn so that they wouldn't be able to use their super abilities.

My opponent would, for example, make 2 Soldier tokens from Elspeth, AND lock down my 2 Mutavaults with Ajani Vengeant, AND deal me 2 damage with Chandra ALL ON THE SAME TURN. Take note: all those abilities gave the respective planeswalkers +1 loyalty. I was just very lucky that my opponent didn't draw ANY of his 4 Wraths, so my Troll Ascetics eventually did their job and cleaned his board away of any remaining planeswalkers (thanks to some crucial Fear abilities via Profane). By the time I beat him on our first game though, time was already up, and I gladly won the round. :)

Game standing: 5-4
Match standing: 3-1

In the end, my 3-1 finish was apparently good enough for 3rd place (some pairings ended up in draws, which went in my favor), and I won 1 Alara pack (Battlegrace Angel), 1 Shadowmoor pack (Deep-Slumber Titan) and an Isochron Scepter FNM card -- my very first FNM card won via standings (and not just given away for free :) )

Good times. :)

FNM - Oct 31, 2008

2008-11-01T15:12:00.014+08:00

For the first time in how-long-I-can't-remember, The Company, er, Organization I work for (haha feeling Prison Break) had a holiday on a day when everyone else was going to work. That wouldn't stop me from playing at the FNM though, and I braved the heavy traffic on a nearby cemetery to get to Ongkeco's Hobby Shop at University Mall.

I used the new BG Elves build in the new Standard of 10E-LOR-SHM-ALA, but used Troll Ascetic in the slot where most decks put Kitchen Finks. I figured that was the way to go, because based on my previous FNM there, the FNM was always won by control deck variants. Anyway, here's the deck:

// 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] Profane Command
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer
SB: 3 [ALA] Infest
SB: 3 [10E] Mind Rot
SB: 3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
SB: 2 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 2 [SHM] Faerie Macabre

Round 1: vs. Mono Red Aggro (won)

I kept a hand of 3 Colossi and no early drops, and felt bad when my opponent played a first turn Mogg Fanatic -- this was going to end quickly. Luckily though, I drew a second turn Vanquisher to help fight off an onslaught of more Fanatics, Maniacs, and even a conspired Giantbaiting. In the end though, my opponent had no answer to 2 Colossi and a Troll Ascetic and I won the first game.

SB: +1 Lox Warhammer, +2 Finks, +3 Mind Rot, -4 Thoughtseize, -2 Cloudthresher

In the second game, it was more of the same, and in the final turn of the game, my opponent thought for a loooong time before finally deciding to concede against my army of Vanquishers and manlands.

Game standing: 2-0
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. BG Elves (won)

I was up against the guy who was watching behind my back when Joven and I were playtesting right before the FNM. Oh no. The guy knows every single card in my deck. Imagine my surprise when his first play of the game was to put down a Treetop Village -- it was a mirror match! Eventually, I found out that he was using the build that had Bitterblossom, after a first turn Thoughtseize for me. Bye bye Bitter. However, he had answers for all my creatures, while I had none against his, and I died against his army of Kitchen Finks and Vanquishers.

SB: +3 Garruk, -3 Cloudthresher

My plan was to outrace him, and outrace I did. He was matching my every single move, doing a Thoughtseize after mine, playing a Vanquisher after mine, and a Wayfinder after mine. However, I had my ace in the hole -- Garruk Wildspeaker. In the end, he couldn't find a way out against my Beast army and lost the second game.

In the third game, Garruk didn't come online, so we were just racing in the beginning. I eventually got board position though, and he was just defending against my attack every turn. I won in the end via a Profane on his defender and on the dome. (I eventually found out that I could have won a turn earlier via the fear + lose life modes. Oh well. ;-) )

Game standing: 4-1
Match standing: 2-0

Round 3: vs. Mono Red Aggro (lost)

I played against an irritating opponent in the third round. First off, he arrived late in our game (he was outside talking on the phone, while everyone else but us were already playing). Then, he kept on talking on his two phones while we were playing. And finally, he was just too damn lucky. Basically, I lost game 1 on poor draws, and I lost game 2 because I mulliganed to 4.

Game standing: 4-3
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. BG Land D (won)

In the first game, my bad luck from the previous game appeared to have stretched to this round, as I once again mulliganed to 4. Tough luck. I was all set to go home at 2-2, when I looked at my 4-card hand and saw 1 Wayfinder, 1 Forest, 1 Swamp and 1 Thoughtseize. Oh well, at least I get to reduce his hand by 1. Imagine my surprise when I saw 2 lands and a chock-full of Land Destruction spells in his hand -- Rain of Tears, Drain the Well, Poison the Well, Creeping Mold, and Fulminator Mage! I took the Rain of Tears out, and proceeded with the game. My opponent played his first land and passed.

On turn two, I drew and played a Vanquisher. Lucky number 1. :) My opponent played his second land and passed.

On turn 3, I drew another Thoughtseize. I got out his Fulminator Mage and found 2 Primal Commands in his hand. I attacked with the Vanquisher, 20-17. My opponent passed. No third land! Lucky number 2. :)

On turn 4, I drew a third land. Lucky number 3! I attacked with my Vanquisher again, 20-14, and played the Wayfinder.

You get the picture. :) My opponent didn't find his third land (a CIP Treetop Village) until it was too late, and I won (against a Land D deck) despite mulliganing to 4. Priceless. :)

SB: +3 Garruk, -3 Cloudthresher

Oh, what the heck. I couldn't remember anything about the second game -- except that I won. I was too ecstatic about the first game win. :)

Game standing: 6-3
Match standing: 3-1

Good enough for a 5th place finish, and a Shards of Alara booster pack as prize. Unfortunately, the pack contained crap -- Crucible of Fire crap -- but the night was still fun though, because of that mull-to-4-win. :)

Magic is fun. :)

FNM - Oct 17, 2008

2008-10-25T08:54:00.006+08:00

I was in Bangkok last week for a duty travel and a weekend vacation (aka shopping) with Beej. Of course, I wouldn't let the opportunity pass without playing a sanctioned game in a foreign land. By hook or by crook, I was going to play in Bangkok! :)

Before leaving last week, I did two things to try to accomplish my mission:

1. I got into contact with Kong, a Thai player that I played in the recent GP Manila. We exchanged emails a few times, but when it was time for him to tell me about the location of MTG stores in Bangkok, he didn't reply in time. In fairness to him, he DID reply eventually this week, and said that he was apparently also out of town for work.

2. I brought a list of FNM locations in Bangkok from MTG.com. I then asked the receptionist of my hotel which of those were nearest, and she pointed me to Big Magic at the Amarin Plaza. That was where my adventure began. :)

On Friday afternoon, after my meeting had concluded, I proceeded to confirm the location of Big Magic, and walked from my meeting venue (Nai Lert Park Hotel) to Amarin Plaza, which was one Skytrain station away. When I reached Amarin Plaza, I went to the 3rd floor where it was supposed to be, and walked around the floor around three times. I never found it. :( Disgusted, I went downstairs to the Information counter, to confirm what was obviously the case -- the shop has closed and is no longer there. :( Luckily though, the lady knew where Big Magic had moved! :) She gave me the new location -- Union Mall -- and directions on how to get there.

Psyched up with my new found knowledge, I went back to my hotel (Baiyoke Suite Hotel) to drop off my laptop and get my deck and binder. I walked to Rachathewi BTS station, and took the train to Mo Chit station. When I got there, I took a taxi to Union Mall, and after a few minutes of looking, voila, I was there! Big Magic indeed! :)

The shop was just small, pretty much like NG in Galleria, but they had a few more tables in place outside the stall. I was just in time for their booster draft FNM signup (360 bhat), and was 4th in the signup sheet. After looking at a couple of binders for singles, I was about to start a casual game with someone when they announced that our 8-man pod had filled up. It's time! :)

My first pick was a Thunder-Thrash Elder, but eventually ran out of red cards, but eventually proceeded to draft a Naya deck. Here's the deck that I built (note: the shop lent us card sleeves to use!):

// Lands
7 [ALA] Forest
5 [ALA] Mountain
5 [ALA] Plains

// Creatures
1 [ALA] Algae Gharial
1 [ALA] Cylian Elf
1 [ALA] Court Archers
1 [ALA] Naya Battlemage
1 [ALA] Cavern Thoctar
1 [ALA] Skullmulcher
1 [ALA] Mosstodon
1 [ALA] Woolly Thoctar
1 [ALA] Thunder-Thrash Elder
1 [ALA] Viashino Skeleton
1 [ALA] Incurable Ogre
1 [ALA] Knight of the Skyward Eye
1 [ALA] Guardians of Akrasa
1 [ALA] Sunseed Nurturer
2 [ALA] Rip-Clan Crasher

// Spells
1 [ALA] Obelisk of Naya
1 [ALA] Sigil Blessing
1 [ALA] Branching Bolt
1 [ALA] Excommunicate
1 [ALA] Magma Spray
1 [ALA] Resounding Roar
1 [ALA] Lush Growth

The first round was against a Grixis deck, where I had a lot of trouble against a couple of Tidehollow Strix and Undead Leotau's. The second round was against a Naya mirror, but he apparently had a superior deck to mine, as he had multiple Wild Nacatl's, while I had none. Unfortunately, I sucked in my very first IRL draft experience, and went 0-2 in two rounds of play (though both rounds took 3 games). Good thing though that everyone in the pod got an FNM card. :) Now I have a souvenir from Bangkok. :)

After the game, I chatted with a few of the other players, and even got to play a few casual games against two guys -- one with our draft decks; and another, playing Standard with his Jund tokens deck featuring Sprouting Thrinax and Mycoloth.

All in all, it was a truly unforgettable experience, one that I will always remember Bangkok by. :) I hope to be able to go back there later. :)

FNM - Oct 10, 2008

2008-10-10T22:56:00.011+08:00

This is my first time to get my feet wet in post-Shards of Alara standard. Unfortunately, I still haven't decided on a particular deck to build, so for today's FNM, I decided to just build a deck based on cards that we currently have. At the same, I also wanted to use something new, and since this is an FNM in a brand-new location (what will, hopefully, be our home base) I also wanted to use something fun.

This is what I came up with:

// Lands
4 [10E] Treetop Village
18 [UNH] Forest

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
4 [EVE] Nettle Sentinel
4 [EVE] Twinblade Slasher
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [EVE] Talara's Battalion
4 [10E] Troll Ascetic
2 [SHM] Boggart Ram-Gang
2 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers

// Spells
4 [SHM] Manamorphose
3 [10E] Giant Growth
2 [SHM] Tower Above
1 [10E] Loxodon Warhammer

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [SHM] Raking Canopy
SB: 4 [EVE] Snakeform
SB: 2 [SHM] Guttural Response
SB: 2 [10E] Naturalize
SB: 3 [SHM] Faerie Macabre

Round 1: vs. Quick 'N Toast (lost)

My opponent's first two land drops were vivid lands. I think to myself: Great. I bring a fun deck in this FNM, and someone is playing QNT. And I have to play him. :( Anyway, I decide to give it a go, and in the first game, I actually give him a run for his money -- despite being able to cast a Broodmate Dragon, I was actually able to kill both! Giant Growth on one, and Tower Above on the other. But heck, my opponent goes ballistic on me, as he taps colors on 7 mana for Cruel Ultimatum, netting him back his Broodmate buddies and the win.

SB: -3 Giant Growth, +3 Snakeform

In game 2, I drop him down to 9 life, but he slowly creeps back with Kitchen Finks shenanigans. He eventually drops his Broodmate buddies again -- and I kill both again! This time with Snakeform and Tower Above. However, he later drops his "other dragon", in the form of Oona, Queen of the Fae, and I scoop, without anything to do against the large faerie.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. BG Rock (won)

Basically, my opponent beats me with his Colossus in game 2, but I won games 1 & 3 with the Troll-Hammer combo.

Game standing: 2-3
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. Quick 'N Toast (lost)

Wow, two players are playing QNT. I ask my opponent why he's 1-1, he tells me someone else is playing Faeries. Wow. Then, my luck completely abandons me, as I mulligan to 4... with no lands! I decide to give it a go, but of course lost the game. In game 2, I gain control of the board, but my opponent always has that resiliency with Kitchen Finks and Rhox War Monk lifegains shenanigans. I eventually lose to a flashed out Cloudthresher, sweeping my attackers and netting him a gargantuan beatstick that I cannot handle.

Game standing: 2-5
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. Mono Red Goblins (won)

My opponent and I joke around that we're just there to wait for the random FNM card giveaway, and in the process, I beat him easily in two games. I get surprised with Fists of the Anvil at one point, but my opponent gets even more surprised, when I did a double Giant Growth. Ha, take that. :)

Game standing: 4-5
Match standing: 2-2

All players that had no chance of getting to top 3, were asked to roll a 20-sided die. The one with the highest roll would win the fourth FNM card. I actually got the highest roll (13), tied with someone else, but when they did the rankings, the TO mentioned that I actually rank 6th overall, and was actually winning a pack! Wow. I take the pack, and the Serrated Arrows foil went to the other guy. Inside the pack was a mythic rare:

Coolness. I gotta think of a deck for The Anima. :)

TS/CS Out, ALA In

2008-10-03T07:19:00.007+08:00

Today marks the first time that I will be experiencing a set rotation in Magic.

To give a short background -- the most commonly played format in Magic: The Gathering, Standard Constructed, utilizes the latest core set (10th Edition, as of today) and the two latest expansion blocks (Time Spiral/Coldsnap and Lorwyn/Shadowmoor). Now, today marks the release of the newest expansion block -- Shards of Alara. That, in effect, means the "rotation" of Time Spiral/Coldsnap OUT of Standard Constructed. Meaning, goodbye to tournament staples such as:

Snow-Covered lands
Using snow-covered lands didn't give any drawbacks whatsoever, and it even gave access to powerful cards such as Skred, Phyrexian Ironfoot, Mouth of Ronom, and the snow dual lands.

Dragonstorm
This card was such a big hit among combo, as well as budget players, because the deck was relatively cheaper to build than other tournament-worthy decks -- even making the finals of the 2007 World Championship.

Momentary Blink
Blink-Riders, Blink-Riftwing, Evoke-Blink, Reveillark-Blink... this card was in every control player's deck.

Rune Snag
The rotation of Rune Snag marks the removal of a decent 2cc counterspell for blue mages everywhere. For now, I guess we will have to put up with Remove Soul and Negate.

Damnation
The color-shift of Wrath of God to black made white unplayable. With Damnation rotating out, will white once again reclaim its old glory?

Tarmogoyf
The big daddy. The card smackers dream of, going from being a crap rare to a chase rare. For a while, it was in every deck that had green mana. The hype went down though, but the price tag didn't change. And I doubt that it will, as "the most powerful 2-drop ever" is still usable in older formats like Extended.

Which card in the new Standard will impact the format the most? Will any card mimic Tarmogoyf in terms of price and usability? How will current decks adapt to the rotation? Will the meta be control-based, as many people predict?

I don't know the answer to any of these questions, but I sure am looking forward to this brand-new Standard. :)

Shards of Alara Prerelease - Sep 27, 2008

2008-09-27T18:10:00.011+08:00

I played the Shards of Alara Prerelease at Mike Ongkeco's newly opened card shop at University Mall beside De La Salle University at Taft Avenue. Apparently, sometimes, thinking positive works, as I was praying and hoping to get a chase rare in my sealed deck card pool... and when I opened my tournament pack and booster packs, I got surprised that I got one of these:

There was then no question that I would be playing RG. :)

Not wanting to overthink deck construction, I just then decided to choose between the Jund (RGB) and Naya (RGW) shards. I ended up choosing Naya, and built the following deck:

// Lands
1 [ALA] Naya Panorama
1 [ALA] Bant Panorama
1 [ALA] Seaside Citadel
6 [ALA] Mountain
5 [ALA] Forest
3 [ALA] Plains

// Creatures
1 [ALA] Wild Nacatl
1 [ALA] Druid of the Anima
1 [ALA] Rip-Clan Crasher
1 [ALA] Guardians of Akrasa
1 [ALA] Gustrider Exuberant
1 [ALA] Naya Battlemage
1 [ALA] Court Archers
2 [ALA] Vithian Stinger
1 [ALA] Ranger of Eos
1 [ALA] Bloodpyre Elemental
1 [ALA] Scourge Devil
1 [ALA] Rakeclaw Gargantuan
1 [ALA] Ridge Rannet
1 [ALA] Feral Hydra

// Spells
1 [ALA] Lush Growth
1 [ALA] Magma Spray
1 [ALA] Resounding Roar
1 [ALA] Sigil Blessing
1 [ALA] Excommunicate
1 [ALA] Resounding Thunder
1 [ALA] Naya Charm
1 [ALA] Sarkhan Vol

I must say -- I got really lucky with my card pool. I got 3 mythic rares (Prince of Thralls, Rafiq of the Many, Sarkhan Vol), and used 1 of them in my deck; I was able to use a couple of other rares (Feral Hydra, Ranger of Eos); and I had enough removal (Magma Spray, Naya Charm, Excommunicate) and mana fixing (Naya & Bant Panorama, Seaside Citadel, Druid of the Anima, Lush Growth) to cast any card in my deck.

I ended up at 2-1-1 though.

I drew on the first round thanks to a crucial misplay on the Exalted mechanic, and my opponent's 2 Metallurgeons (unnecessarily prolonging our games). I won rounds 2 & 3 thanks to my planeswalker. And I lost the final round thanks to the card advantage made by my opponent's Drumhunter.

Aside from Sarkhan, my other MVP's were:

This card is always a 2/2, and most of the time a 3/3.

To fetch Wild Nacatl (wish I had 2 of them to fetch though).

As a win condition (tap all creatures, swing ftw!)

All in all, I had a great time in this prerelease. And it didn't help that I live just 30 minutes away from the venue. :) I sure as hell am going back to UM for more of these tourneys. FNM anyone? ;-)

Pre-Alara Block Constructed - Sep 20, 2008

2008-09-21T08:15:00.011+08:00

I've been doing relatively well with Doran Assassins, so I continued using the same 75-card deck as last week, in yesterday's tournament.

Round 1: vs. Kithkins (won)

Things didn't start off well, when I mulliganed to 5, and quickly lost game 1. In game 2, my opponent couldn't do anything but chump-block against both Doran & Colossus on the board, and lost. In game 3, it was his turn to get unlucky as he was mana screwed, and he lost the decider.

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. Mario Pascoli's 5-color Wizard deck (won)

In game 1, the Harbinger-Harbinger-Doran pro move did my opponent in, and I quickly won while still at perfect life.

SB: +1 Cloudthresher, +4 Thoughtseize, +1 Wickerbough Elder, -4 Scarblade Elite, -2 Firespout

In game 2, I attempted another pro move, but my Doran met a Crib Swap on the attack. Good thing I topdecked another Doran on the next turn, and I eventually won as my opponent had no choice but to once again chump-block.

Game standing: 4-1
Match standing: 2-0

Round 3: vs. UG Merfolk (won)

I got a bit lucky as my opponent rarely drew into his Colossi, and I had too much removal against the rest of his creatures. I easily won both games against the fish deck. In game 2 specifically, he delayed the game a bit with 3 consecutive Cryptic Commands, but eventually ran out of defensive spells.

Game standing: 6-1
Match standing: 3-0

Round 4: vs. Kithkins (won)

My opponent arrived quite late for our 4th round match up (definitely worth a game 1 loss). However, knowing that he was a nice guy, I knew he had a valid reason, so I let him proceed to play in our first game. He mulliganed to 5 on that game, but had a decent hand so it wasn't so one-sided. He still eventually lost though to a Profane. In game 2, it was my turn to be unlucky as I was mana screwed and had no white mana to cast Doran with. In game 3, I had superior board position with a Scarblade Elite, Doran and Colossus up against his small Kithkin army. When I attacked with Doran & Colossus, my opponent blocked both and Mirrorweaved my Scarblade Elite. I had ran out of assassin cards in my graveyard at that point, but good thing I had kept 2 open mana and a Nameless Inversion to kill his 'weave target. He eventually lost that game, of course.

Game standing: 8-2
Match standing: 4-0

I think this would be the first time that I was ever at 4-0. I was feeling very good at my chances at winning a prize today. :)

Round 5: vs. Quick N' Toast (lost)

And then came my round 5 opponent. I knew my opponent, and also knew that I had never won against him before (I have faced him, I think, twice before). In game 1, I quickly set him down to 2 life, but in true QNT fashion, he went up back to 10 life thanks to Kitchen Finks and Mannequin shenanigans. I was eventually able to put him back to 3 life (I was at 12 life and tapped out at that point), when I was surprised at his EOT Mannequin of a Cloudthresher. And with a Shriekmaw also on the board on his side, he had lethal for me in a single attack.

SB: +3 Faerie Macabre, +4 Thoughtseize, +1 Wickerbough Elder, -4 Scarblade Elite, -3 Firespout, -1 Doran

In game 2, my opponent made a crucial mistake -- despite having me Thoughtseized, and him knowing that I had Profane in hand, he tapped out to cast a Shriekmaw. He was perhaps confident as he also had a couple of Kitchen Finks on board to defend as well. However, I had enough mana to Profane for 3, killing his Shriekmaw and giving my Doran and 2 Harbingers fear ftw (he was at 11 life).

In game 3, I was too slow in putting my opponent's life down and saw a huge problem when he put down Oona Queen of the Fae on the board. I had no choice but to cast my Faerie Macabre after that, to block -- and I was actually able to kill Oona by blocking and a Nameless Inversion. However, my opponent already had a small faerie army at that point, and I didn't draw into my Cloudthreshers to reset the board. I eventually got my first loss of the day.

Game standing: 9-4
Match standing: 4-1

Round 6: vs. Kithkins (lost)

In game 1, my opponent and I were racing. It came to a point when I knew I was going to win if only he had no Thistledown Liege in hand. I decided to go for it, and tapped out to attack. He took the damage and fell down to 6. I was at 9 life at that point. When it was his turn to attack, guess what, one of his two cards in hand was the Liege. GG.

In game 2, my luck had really ran out. I mulliganed to 5, though I had a decent enough hand to put him down to 9 life. However, Ajani Goldmane was the difference, as consecutive +1/+1 counters and vigilance on his Knight of Meadowgrains and Order of Whiteclay did me in. He eventually won at 35 life.

Game standing: 9-6
Match standing: 4-2

Round 7: vs. Quick N' Toast (lost)

After 6 rounds, my opponent was at 4-1-1 and at 7th place, while I was at 4-2 and at 8th place (having the best tie breaks among everyone with 12 points). Pre-release passes were going to be distributed to the top 7 finishers. The top 6 players above us had all ID'ed so the 7th PR pass was going to be given to one of us. I agreed to concede to my opponent -- besides, I had already paid for my PR with a different TO. Eastwood is just too far away. ;-)

Final game standing: 9-8
Final match standing: 4-3

Pre-Alara Triple Treat (Block) - Sep 13, 2008

2008-09-14T13:10:00.010+08:00

I used the same Doran Assassins deck that I used in the Grand Prix:

// Lands
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
1 [EVE] Fetid Heath
4 [LRW] Vivid Grove
4 [LRW] Vivid Marsh
2 [UNH] Forest
2 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [LRW] Treefolk Harbinger
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [MOR] Scarblade Elite
4 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [LRW] Cloudthresher

// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
4 [LRW] Profane Command
2 [LRW] Crib Swap
3 [SHM] Firespout

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 2 [LRW] Crib Swap
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 3 [SHM] Faerie Macabre
SB: 1 [EVE] Wickerbough Elder

Round 1: vs. Mirror (lost)

My first round opponent's first play was a Murmuring Bosk into a Treefolk Harbinger. Great -- a mirror match -- which pretty much means it's a 50-50. The first game started off exactly that way, with me just winning at the end via a double Firespout, killing my opponent's Colossus, and me with a Cloudthresher surviving the fire blaze.

SB: -3 Cloudthresher, +2 Crib Swap, +1 Wickerbough Elder

In game 2, it pretty much more of the same, but my opponent won the race thanks to a crucial Primal Command -- with both of us at 5 life, it then put him back to 12. In game 3, we did mirror pro moves, but I ran out of gas eventually, and lost.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Gb Warriors (lost)

I'm always comfortable with aggro matchups, with my huge arsenal of removal, but this one was apparently too fast for me as my opponent beat me with the Colossus-on-Battle Axe-haste trick. I made the same SB strategy as the previous match because this deck, like the mirror, had no flyers -- thus taking out the Threshers.

SB: -3 Cloudthresher, +2 Crib Swap, +1 Wickerbough Elder

In game 2, my opponent couldn't do anything to the Harbinger-Harbinger-Doran pro moves, and I easily beat him at 20 life. In game 3, we were once again racing, and we were eventually both at top deck mode at the end, with him at 5 life, and me at 3 life. He had a Crib Swap token in play though, which put me down even more to 1 life, until I was able to Nameless Inversion it. However, despite the long topdeck battle, he still won and drew his Profane Command before I did. (He had 2 in his deck; I had 4)

Game standing: 2-4
Match standing: 0-2

Despite being down 0-2, I didn't lose hope, and I was aiming to bounce back to 5-2, after 7 rounds. One can always dream, right? ;)

Round 3: vs. Mono G Warriors (won)

My opponent's first play: Nettle Sentinel. What? You again?

I easily won the first game though, thanks to a Firespout, leaving my Doran alone in the board. In game 2, it was a close battle all the way, but I lost to 2 Crib Swap tokens (Yes, you read that right -- I lost to two 1/1 tokens). In game 3, I was back to my winning ways and beat him with a Profane burn to the face and fear to swing.

That's 1 down, 4 to go.

Game standing: 4-5
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. UR Rogues (won)

In round 4, I was reading my opponent's cards all match, as he was playing a mono-red deck, but utilizing the UR hybrid cards from Eventide (which I'm not very familiar with). I still beat him though in the first game with a Profane to the face. :)

SB: -2 Cloudthresher, +2 Crib Swap

He beat me in the second with a boarded-in Inside Out and a Crag Puca (apparently, this one is also good against Doran). And I beat him in the third game quite easily with various beats.

That's 2 down, 3 to go.

Game standing: 6-6
Match standing: 2-2

Round 5: vs. UB Faeries (won)

My faeries opponent was serious... dead serious. And I couldn't buy a conversation with him, even if I wanted to. But heck, serious or not, he couldn't do anything against my semi-pro moves (1 Harbinger only), and easily lost game 1.

SB: +1 Cloudthresher, +4 Thoughtseize, +1 Wickerbough Elder, -4 Scarblade Elite, -2 Firespout, -1 Doran

In game 2, I was able to do the full pro move... almost, because he had Broken Ambitions for my Doran. But anyway, I was still able to pull off the win as he was not able to draw the Cryptic Command late in the game to bounce the Bitterblossom that eventually killed him off.

3 down, 2 to go.

Game standing: 8-6
Match standing: 3-2

Round 6: vs. Quick N' Toast (won)

This round was surprisingly one-sided, as I easily won both games -- the first one with various beats and a Profane in the end, and the second game thanks to a mana flood for my opponent (which is the common drawback of the QnT deck). It was actually a scary sight as his first 4 lands were a Vivid Creek and 3 Reflecting Pools (whoa) -- he could practically cast anything. Luckily for me (and unluckily for my opponent), he didn't have anything to cast. LOL.

4 down, 1 to go.

Game standing: 10-6
Match standing: 4-2

Round 7: vs. UB Faeries (lost)

This is it. It's the final round, I was at 12th place, and playing for a slot in the top 10. The top 6 would get pre-release passes, and 7th to 10th places would get booster pack prizes.

It didn't start so well, as I lost game 1 after mulling to 6, and some pretty bad draws.

Game 2 was fun though. There was a funny sequence (can't remember it exactly), but he basically had a Sower championed by a Mistbind Clique in play, as well as some other faeries; while I had a Doran, a Harbinger, and a few other creatures. He made a crucial mistake in combat when he could have ended up with the Sower back and stealing my Doran, but instead he ended up with the Sower and my Harbinger. He attacked for a turn or 2 with the Sower, which I was eventually able to kill off with a Nameless Inversion, and ended with him at 1 life, and me at 3 life. I drew a Cloudthresher, looked at his open mana (enough for a Cryptic Command or a Broken Ambitions), he had 3 cards in hand.... and I decided to evoke the flashy elemental. I won the game -- he had no counters in hand. :)

And then, suddenly, I choked. Or should I say, my deck choked. :( I mulled to 5, and kept a hand of 1 Thresher, 1 Vanquisher, 2 Vivid Lands, and 1 Murmuring Bosk. On the next 3 turns, I drew nothing but more lands. This ended with the inevitable, and I of course lost the game, with all my lands coming into play tapped, nothing to reveal for my Vanquisher, and nothing else to play.

Game standing: 11-8
Match standing: 4-3

4-3 is not bad I guess. It's a good stepping stone up to my short-term objective of getting into a top 8. And I found out eventually (based on NG forum posts) that my round 7 opponent ended at 8th place, but the packs he won were all crappy. >:-)

I'm just happy that, at least, my ratings went up a bit again yesterday. :)

1700, here I come! ;-)

Grand Prix Manila - Aug 30, 2008

2008-09-02T18:03:00.008+08:00

Here we go. The moment we've all been waiting for. It was an amazing event attended by 640 players -- it could have been a lot more, if not for the play area limitations.

I used the same Doran Assassins deck that I used in the GPT, but put all the Firespouts on the main deck, and the 2 Crib Swaps in the board (for those pesky Demigods of Revenge). I also lowered the land count to 24, as I felt that I got mana flooded too often. Finally, I put a singleton Wickerbough Elder in the SB for those game-breaking Runed Halos set to Doran and/or Colossus:

// Lands
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
1 [EVE] Fetid Heath
4 [LRW] Vivid Grove
4 [LRW] Vivid Marsh
2 [UNH] Forest
2 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [LRW] Treefolk Harbinger
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [MOR] Scarblade Elite
4 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [LRW] Cloudthresher

// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Crib Swap
4 [LRW] Profane Command
3 [SHM] Firespout

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 2 [LRW] Crib Swap
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 3 [SHM] Faerie Macabre
SB: 1 [EVE] Wickerbough Elder

Round 1: vs. Kithkins (won)

I went to a very good start in the Grand Prix as I was able to do my "pro moves" of Harbinger-Harbinger-Doran in the first game. My opponent was chump blocking all game, and I killed off any remaining creatures to win it easily.

My deck was built against creature-based decks like Kithkin, having 3 MD Firespouts (as mentioned earlier) and the whole suite of Nameless Inversions, Scarblade Elites and 2 Crib Swaps. Therefore, my sideboard strategy for Kithkin is -- none.

In the second game, I mulled to a 1-land, 5-card hand, and lost with my opponent at 30 life (thanks to a couple of Knight of Meadowgrains). In the third game, my opponent and I were in a life race, with all-in attacks and no blocks. Unfortunately for him, Kithkin decks have no "burn" cards, while mine had a Profane Command ftw.

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. Kithkins (lost)

Winning the die roll and on the play, I made a crucial mistake in the first game by keeping a 2-land hand, with 2 Colossus and a Firespout. I didn't know my opponent's deck and paid the price for it -- losing quickly in the first game. In the second game, I thought for a while but still kept a hand that included 1 Colossus, 1 Nameless Inversion, 1 Firespout and 2 lands. I once again paid the price for keeping a bad hand, as I drew 2 more Colossus in the ensuing turns, as my second round ended in record time -- just at around 10 or 15 mins into the round.

Game standing: 2-3
Match standing: 1-1

At this point, I had some time to kill in the tournament, so I decided to have our Chameleon Colossus, Makeshift Mannequins and Dusk Urchins signed by artist Darrell Riche. :)

Round 3: vs. Kithkins (won)

I was up against the wife of a famous Magic player/entrepreneur... and her deck -- Kithkins again. Same as the first round, I was able to do my "pro moves" again, and easily won game 1. In game 2, my opponent and I traded damages for a while, up until when I was at 7 life, and she attacked with 3 Spirit tokens, and then Mirrorweaved my Vanquisher ftw. In game 3, I did a semi-pro move of just Harbinger to Doran, but it was enough to once again win against the Kithkin deck.

Game standing: 4-4
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. UG Merfolk (won)

Finally, a non-Kithkin opponent. In game 1, I won behind the back of just one Vanquisher, while removing all creatures that he was casting with Nameless Inversions and Crib Swaps.

SB: +3 Thoughtseize, -3 Cloudthresher

In game 2, I made a mistake in my SB (see above) by taking out the Threshers. I ran out of removal and lost to a crucial Sower of Temptation on my Colossus.

SB: +3 Cloudthresher, -3 Thoughtseize

Game 3 was so one-sided (I removed practically everything that my opponent cast), that my opponent was obviously pissed off at the end of the round, he didn't even want to talk to me while signing the result slip. Oh well, I was just happy I won. :)

Game standing: 6-5
Match standing: 3-1

Round 5: vs. Archon Toast (lost)

In game 1, my opponent cast some early Kitchen Finks, but after he used up both counters on his Vivid Meadow to counter some spells of mine, he practically became mana screwed, and he couldn't do anything and eventually lost the game.

SB: +4 Thoughtseize, -3 Firespout, -1 Scarblade Elite

In game 2, I went for the "pro move" but my first 2 Harbingers died to a Firespout. He then cast Runed Halo naming Doran, and I pretty much got nullified at that point. He proceeded in the game by digging up Oona, Queen of the Fae via Oona's Grace ftw.

Before game 3, having basically lost due to the card advantage generated by Oona's Grace, I did some serious thinking of putting in Faerie Macabres. However, after remembering that my opponent has never cast a single Makeshift Mannequin, I decided against it.

Game 3 was a classic -- easily one of the best sanctioned games I've ever played, period. It started with me attempting another "pro move". Unfortunately, my opponent had the Broken Ambitions in hand (he obviously didn't side it out) to counter my Doran. Afterwards, it was a blood bath. I would do some beats, then he would cast a Kitchen Finks. He would Oblivion Ring my Doran. He would Runed Halo for Chameleon Colossus. I would destroy the Runed Halo, but he would bounce it with Cryptic Command... and counter it when I attempt to cast it again. He would eventually win the game behind two cards -- Makeshift Mannequins (which he only cast on the third game), and Oona's Grace (once again). I knew I should have sided-in those Macabres...

Game standing: 7-7
Match standing: 3-2

Round 6: vs. Doran Shamans (lost)

The round didn't start so well, with me once again mulling to 5, with 1-land. I of course lost the first game very quickly. I was still quite confident with my deck on the mirror match though, as I was playing the Assassins version, which I believe was better than the Shaman version (featuring Leaf Crowned Elder and Wolf Skull Shaman). I just had to get a decent draw.

SB: -3 Cloudthresher, +2 Crib Swap, +1 Wickerbough Elder

Game 2 was, as expected, very close. At the end, here's what happened: with me at 12 life and him at 9 life, he attacked with a Colossus (with 7 mana open), with a Harbinger left behind as blocker. I also had a Colossus, and also had 7 mana open. He was probably expecting me to trade Colossi, but he was surprised when I didn't block. He pumped the colossus, putting me at 4 life. At EOT, I Nameless inversion his Harbinger. He was shocked. If I could just draw 1 land (to double pump the Colossus), or a Profane (I could pump the Colossus, and Profane for 1), I would win. I slowly peeked at my draw... and it was a land. :) Despite just being on the second game, my opponent had to shake my hand in congratulations. We were now at 1-1.

Game 3 was even better than the previous game. It started with me playing a Doran. My opponent then cast another Doran, to kill it off. On my turn, I played a second Doran. Guess what -- my opponent also cast a second Doran to kill it off. Eventually, my opponent was able put me down to 6 with various other beats and Profanes. Then, I stabilized and eventually got a Colossus online and put him down to 4 life -- when he finally Crib Swapped my Colossus. The shapeshifter was able to put him down two more points to put him at 2 life. Then, it was his turn to use a Colossus. Fortunately, I had a Crib Swap in hand, and he had to attack me with his Shapeshifter. We were both in top deck mode, as the changeling put me to 5... then 4... then 3... then 2... then 1. On the last draw, I once again slowly peeked at my draw... praying and wishing that something similar to game 2 would happen. In a way, I got what I wished for, as I drew just another land. I smiled and congratulated my opponent. :) See you in October in Bangkok! ;)

Game standing: 8-9
Match standing: 3-3

After the match, I had to drop out of the tournament, because we had a concert to watch. :)

All in all, the Grand Prix was a big success -- that one annual leave was definitely worth it. ;) I got to see some of the pros -- Levy, Saito, and Nakamura -- I was even able to see an actual Saito match (he didn't slap himself though), I got our Colossi and Mannequins signed, I played a really decent game of Magic the whole day (aside from that one round against the Kithkin, I actually had a shot at winning all the other rounds) -- and most of all, I had fun. :) I do hope that the Grand Prix, or even better, the Pro Tour, would come back here in Manila in the following years. :)

Super FNM - Aug 29, 2008

2008-09-02T15:04:00.005+08:00

I got passed a very good sealed pool (in terms of deckbuilding -- NOT in terms of card value), and built the following RW deck:

// Lands
8 [UNH] Plains
9 [UNH] Mountain

// Creatures
2cc:
1 [SHM] Bloodmark Mentor
1 [SHM] Safehold Elite
1 [SHM] Safehold Sentry
1 [EVE] Heartlash Cinder
3cc:
1 [SHM] Boggart Arsonists
1 [EVE] Hoof Skulkin
1 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
4cc:
1 [EVE] Ballynock Trapper
1 [EVE] Hotheaded Giant
1 [EVE] Belligerent Hatchling
1 [SHM] Barrenton Cragtreads
1 [SHM] Watchwing Scarecrow
5cc:
1 [SHM] Scuzzback Marauders
1 [SHM] Cultbrand Cinder
6cc:
1 [SHM] Morselhoarder
1 [SHM] Twilight Shepherd

// Spells
1 [SHM] Trip Noose
2 [EVE] Unmake
1 [SHM] Scar
1 [EVE] Flame Jab
1 [SHM] Flame Javelin
1 [EVE] Rekindled Flame

It has really good removal -- Rekindled Flame, Scar, Flame Javelin, Flame Jab, Trip Noose, and 2 Unmakes. And it also has some bombs in the form of Twilight Shepherd (which unfortunately only came out once the whole tournament), and Belligerent Hatchling (which unfortunately always died on the turn I play it). I made a mistake though in the land count, and should have put in at least 18. The mana curve was high, and I needed the extra lands to retrace Flame Jab.

I drew my first two rounds, before eventually going 1-3 on my final 4 rounds, to end up at a final standing of 1-3-2 -- very disappointing, considering I had a potentially very good deck. Oh well, learning point.

At least, it was still worth the 1,000 PhP entrance fee because in addition to the learning experience, we got a foil Crystalline Sliver and the August FNM card (Desert) for free, just by attending the tourney. :)

Pro Tour Berlin Qualifier I - Aug 16, 2008

2008-08-17T09:54:00.011+08:00

With the 2008 Philippine Nationals in the history books (with Polar Nest conceding in the Finals to his good friend Bayani), it's now Block season, and we have exactly two weeks to prepare for the upcoming Grand Prix Manila.

For a couple of weeks now, I have had this idea of a Doran Assassin deck, but I just never had the opportunity to use it because I was unable to play in the Block Division of the Philippine Open, and an earlier Block tournament got cancelled because very few players signed up. Anyway, here comes GP Denver, and I saw Hunter Burton's deck make it to the Top 8... it looked very familiar... with a few minor differences (Wren's Run Vanquisher instead of Stillmoon Cavalier), it was practically the same deck! I just had to change the mana base because we had only 1 Reflecting Pool. But heck, after a few playtests, it proved to be manageable. So anyway, here's the Doran Assassin deck that I used in yesterday's Berlin PTQ I. I wasn't able to get the Stillmoon Cavaliers in time, so I ended up with practically the same MD as Burton's.

// Lands
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
2 [EVE] Fetid Heath
4 [LRW] Vivid Grove
4 [LRW] Vivid Marsh
2 [UNH] Forest
2 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [LRW] Treefolk Harbinger
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [MOR] Scarblade Elite
4 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [LRW] Cloudthresher

// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
4 [LRW] Crib Swap
4 [LRW] Profane Command

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 3 [SHM] Guttural Response
SB: 4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 3 [SHM] Faerie Macabre

Round 1: vs. Chapin Toast (lost)

I really have the worst luck in matchups, as I was quickly paired against a top player in Round 1. He used Patrick Chapin's latest build of Quick 'N Toast featuring Archon of Justice, Oona's Grace and Runed Halo -- the one used by the eventual champ of GP Denver, Gerry Thompson. In the first game, I had a blistering start of double Harbinger and Doran, and he very quickly lost. In the second game, I had a pretty good start as well, but he was able to shutdown Doran with Runed Halo, so he was able to prolong the game and I eventually lost to some Kitchen Finks and Mulldrifter beats. In the third game, I got almost completely shutdown, with both Doran and Chameleon Colossus getting named by 2 Runed Halos. I eventually resolved my third threat, Cloudthresher, but he was able to Cryptic Command (tap + bounce) ftw.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Elf Grenade (won)

This was a fun game. I lost pretty badly in the first game, but I had fun watching the elf grenade in action. I mean, Luminescent Rain for 10, and gain 20 life? What's not fun about that? But the fun had to stop in the second and third game, as I killed each crucial elf that he had, and he never even damaged me in both games.

Game standing: 3-3
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. Gr Treefolk (won)

Game 1 wasn't close, with 3 Timber Protectors in my opponent's board. In game 2, I was able to Thoughtseize a crucial Fertile Ground and my opponent got too delayed and lost, despite being able to Dawnglow Infusion twice. In the third game, I made a risk by keeping a 1-land hand with 1 Swamp, 1 Thoughtseize, 3 Vanquishers and 2 Nameless Inversions. The risk paid off, when I drew my second hand right on the draw, and won the match.

Game standing: 5-4
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. Chapin Toast (lost)

I was up against another top player, which was actually the cousin of my first round opponent. He was even using the same Chapin Toast deck. The first game was really close, with my opponent at 4 life, and me at 2 life in the end. But then, Kitchen Finks did its job, and my opponent went all the way up to 10 again. In the final play, my opponent thought for quite a while, having a Mulldrifter ready to attack, and me with 6 mana open, threatening a Cloudthresher. But when he finally realized that I was down to 2, he eventually attacked, and I scooped (although I did have the Thresher in hand). In game 2, I was able to win very easily despite some more Kitchen Finks shenanigans. In game 3, my opponent was "borrowing" my dead creatures with Puppeteer Clique all day, and it was too late by the time I got Crib Swap, and I had already lost the match.

Game standing: 6-6
Match standing: 2-2

Round 5: vs. WW Kithkin (lost)

It's pretty easy to determine the outcome of Kithkin matches. If they resolve a Mirrorweave on their attack, it pretty much means they've won. If they do it on the defense, it means you're winning. The latter was the case on the first game, and I won despite having no creatures on board, via an evoked Thresher (he was on 1 life). In game 2, the former was the case, as I had no chance against the 1-2-3-4 combo of Stalwart, Cenn, Spectral Procession, Mirrorweave. Game 3 was the best game of all, with both of us at 2 life, and top deck mode at the end. Too bad I drew all lands, and my opponent was eventually able to draw Rise of the Hobgoblins, netting him 7 angry Goblin Soldiers ftw.

Game standing: 7-8
Match standing: 2-3

Round 6: vs. BR Wild Swing (won)

To be honest, I was surprised my opponent even got to 2-3 with his deck. It was the ultimate rogue deck, with him using a bunch of cards I've never seen in sanctioned tournaments before, like Wild Swing and Rekindled Flame. It was fun though, not just because I won undamaged in both games, but because he was quite lucky with his Wild Swings... even hitting Doran, and my lone Reflecting Pool (making me mana screwed for a short time).

Game standing: 9-8
Match standing: 3-3

Round 7: vs. W Weenie (won)

It was the end of the day, and I was expecting another "normal" player in round 7, but I was surprised to see myself paired once again, against a top player. That makes 3 Nats players in one tournament. Wow. Anyway, if I ever want to be competitive in Magic, I had to get used to this. In the end, I eventually saw why he was in the loser's bracket this time, as he was using a weird mono white deck, that had the usual Kithkins and Mirrorweave, but also had some Safehold Elites in it. He was probably trying to innovate, but obviously the innovation didn't work. I beat him easy in 2 games, and gained me some major DCI points in the process. ;-)

Final game standing: 11-8
Final match standing: 4-3

Final verdict: The Doran Assassin deck has lots of potential -- having some game, even against the top control deck of the format, Quick 'N Toast. But it still has to be further improved and tested against other archetypes, as I never played against Faeries, RDW, and the mirror. Hopefully, we can make those improvements by next week's PTQ.

FNM - Aug 15, 2008

2008-08-17T09:21:00.003+08:00

I used the same BG Elves deck that got beat up in the Philippine Open last week. I just added 1 more Kitchen Finks and removed 1 Faerie Macabre, anticipating that there wouldn't be much Reveillark decks, but rather, more RDW decks on the FNM.

Round 1: Mono U Merfolk (lost)

The first game starts with my opponent having a Cursecatcher and a Lord of Atlantis in play, while I have just a Swamp and a Mutavault (I cast a Thoughtseize earlier). He attacks with the Cursecatcher... I think for a second, and block with the Mutavault. The Cursecatcher dies, the Mutavault lives on, and I secretly laugh, thinking that this would be an easy round. But then, later on, his Merfolk engine turns up a notch and I come across a hoard of 8/8 Wake Thrashers. He casts Cryptic Command, and makes a single alpha strike ftw.

For the second game, it wasn't even close. My opponent gets a god draw (and he himself admits that this was his first time to ever see such a hand). He casts 2nd turn Banneret, then 3rd turn Reejerey, then another Reejerey, then 4th turn, 3 Lords of Atlantis -- for free. And he still has a Cryptic Command in hand.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: 5-Color Elementals (lost)

First game, I mulligan to 5, with 1 land. Nuff said. On the second game, we fight a close match, but I lost to a Horde of Notions, because he was able to Crib Swap away my entire army.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-2 drop.

Magic Player Rewards - Aug 14, 2008

2008-08-15T15:02:00.004+08:00

Last night, I was surprised to find the following in the mail:

My first ever Magic Player Rewards! :)

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to 20 tournaments before their cutoff (some events didn't get reported... :( ), so I didn't get a foil Damnation. It was still all good though, as I got a textless Incinerate, Harmonize, Corrupt, and 2 Ponders.

Getting these last night most certainly encouraged me to play even more... so I'll be playing in tonight's FNM at Galleria (if the weather will cooperate). ;-)

Philippine Open, Standard Division - Aug 10, 2008

2008-08-10T18:42:00.005+08:00

If you're not interested in learning how to lose in tournaments, stop reading now.

Still there? Ok fine.

Expecting a RDW and faerie infested meta, I modified my BG Elves deck by removing Garruk and putting main deck Slaughter Pacts:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
3 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
4 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
4 [10E] Treetop Village
2 [10E] Forest
2 [10E] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
1 [CS] Boreal Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
4 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
3 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus

// Spells
4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
3 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [FUT] Slaughter Pact

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 2 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [TSP] Squall Line
SB: 3 [SHM] Faerie Macabre
SB: 2 [PLC] Damnation
SB: 1 [TSP] Sudden Spoiling

I think I was on the right track. In fact, I read the metagame today very well, as you will see. But unfortunately, luck was just not on my side today. Lady luck was waaaaay over on the other side of the world.

Round 1: vs. Red Deck Wins

Game 1, mulligan to 5. I kept a hand with 1 Gilt Leaf Palace and 1 Vanquisher. I was still able to hit my second land drop though, but my opponent just easily burned everything I put down, and beat me with his 8/8 Kithkin Spirit Warrior Avatar while still at perfect life. In Game 2, I come out of the gates roaring, and attacked my opponent until he stabilized at 3 life. But remember my comment about lady luck? After several turns waiting for any one of my three Profane Commands, they just never came out, and I still ended up losing that game to a Demigod of Revenge.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Red Deck Wins

Game 1, mulligan to... wait for it... 5 again. We start off racing, but eventually, I had no chance against 2 Demigods. In game 2, it wasn't even close. My opponent just burned everything I put down, and I got stuck at 4 lands, with 2 Primal Commands in my hand.

Game standing: 0-4
Match standing: 0-2

Round 3: vs. UB Faeries

I actually had a chance in this one, with my opponent even making a few mistakes (casting Mistbind Clique during my main phase & blocking my Vanquisher with another Mistbind Clique), but I eventually lost to my opponent's superior card draw (you probably already noticed the abundance of Mistbind Cliques...). In game 2, I did something I've never done in a tournament. I lost by forgetting to pay for Slaughter Pact. W-T-F.

Game standing: 0-6
Match standing: 0-3 drop. With a big L in my forehead.

Post-Eventide Metagame

2008-08-04T11:30:00.004+08:00

This past weekend, there were a lot of major tournaments around the world, with various National Championships, as well as Grand Prix Kobe in Japan. This would very much dictate the post-Eventide metagame so here are the results for reference:

US Nationals (Standard):
1st - Red Deck Wins
2nd - BG Elves
3rd - UB Faeries
4th - Red Deck Wins

France Nationals (Standard):
1st - Red Deck Wins
2nd - UGrwb Quick n Toast
3rd - Red Deck Wins
4th - UW Merfolk

Italy Nationals (Standard):
1st - BR Tokens
2nd - UB Faeries
3rd - BG Elves
4th - Ramp-Toast

GP Kobe (Block):
1st - UB Faeries
2nd - BGw Doran
3rd - BGw Treefolk
4th - WW Kithkin

Quite noticeable is the apparent emergence of 2 RDW's on the top 4 of the US as well as the France Nats. Here's the decklist of the US National Champ, Michael Jacob:

// Lands
2 [FUT] Keldon Megaliths
22 [CS] Snow-Covered Mountain

// Creatures
4 [EVE] Figure of Destiny
4 [TSP] Magus of the Scroll
4 [PLC] Blood Knight
4 [FUT] Magus of the Moon
4 [SHM] Ashenmoor Gouger
4 [SHM] Demigod of Revenge

// Spells
4 [SHM] Flame Javelin
4 [10E] Incinerate
4 [CS] Skred

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [SHM] Murderous Redcap
SB: 2 [10E] Pithing Needle
SB: 3 [MOR] Spitebellows
SB: 4 [TSP] Sulfurous Blast
SB: 2 [EVE] Unwilling Recruit

Hmm. Anyone want to sell their Magus of the Moon? I'm buying at 150PhP each. ;-)

Nationals Qualifier - Aug 3, 2008

2008-08-04T07:34:00.015+08:00

I had mixed emotions coming in to yesterday's Nats Qualifier tourney. I was partly scared, because a lot of players who barely made it to Nats, but think they deserve to be qualified, will be playing. On the other hand, I was also partly relieved that none of the top players would be playing, because, well, they're already qualified for Nats.

Anyway, I once again joined the tourney with, more or less, the same BG Elves deck:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
3 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
2 [EVE] Twilight Mire
4 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
4 [10E] Treetop Village
2 [UNH] Forest
2 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
1 [CS] Boreal Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
3 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
4 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
3 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus

// Spells
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
3 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [LRW] Thoughtseize

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [TSP] Squall Line
SB: 2 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 2 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 2 [SHM] Faerie Macabre
SB: 2 [FUT] Slaughter Pact
SB: 1 [SHM] Incremental Blight
SB: 1 [TSP] Sudden Spoiling

Round 1: vs. Red Deck Wins (lost)

On the first game, my opponent easily overran me with a barrage of red creatures -- Magus of the Scroll, to Figure of Destiny, to Ashenmoor Gouger, and finally curving up to Demigod of Revenge. On the second game, I tried to hold fort, but my opponent just burned my blockers and he still managed to push through with his Gougers ftw.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. UWb Quick n Toast (lost)

After that really quick first round, I thought I was going to have a long game in the second round, when my opponent's first two land drops were Plains and Swamp. What's this, Turbo Fog? But then again, my opponent's deck unravelled, and it apparently was some kind of UWb control deck. I lost a really tight game, when my opponent put down Oona, Queen of the Fae on the board. On the second game, my opponent never had a chance when I put down creature after creature, and he quickly lost. On the third game, he was able to manage my army with some removal via Shriekmaw and Murderous Redcap, and I lost a long, but one-sided game.

Game standing: 1-3
Match standing: 0-2

Round 3: vs. a 75-card deck (won)

Things were not looking good. And the day was shaping up to be one of those 0-3 or 0-4 drop days. That was until I met my round 3 opponent. It began really weird, while shuffling, when I noticed that he had a really thick deck. I figured it must just be some new sleeves or something. But then again, after shuffling, when I offered a die roll, he instead said that I could just go first. I asked him if he was sure, and he said he was. Fine. I played first.

It was then that I knew that he was a new player. He played spells like Arena, Wheel of Fate, Sudden Impact (which actually took me down to 7 life), and creatures like Deep Slumber Titan and Juggernaut. Nuff said. I won very easily in two games.

Game standing: 3-3
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. Red Deck Wins (won)

After finally getting a break in the tourney, it was time to start winning on my own. I was up against another RDW, pretty much like my first round, and I think he actually had an identical deck. On the first game, we were racing in life and trading attacks up until he was at 11, and I was at 12, and it was his turn. He thought for a second, and swung with everything. I then thought for a second, and after everything resolved, I went down to 2 life. When it was my turn, I swung with all my creatures, and he was baffled. He apparently forgot about my man lands, and lost.

In game 2, it wasn't even close. I was able to draw my sideboards, and the expression on his face was priceless, when I Primal'd for 7 life and searched for a Kitchen Finks. And I had the second Finks in hand.

Game standing: 5-3
Match standing: 2-2

Round 5: vs. WW Kithkins (lost)

I was up against a really irritating opponent who I think wanted to finish all his rounds in 15 minutes. He played extremely fast and rolled his eyes each time I stopped to think for a second. I don't even want to bother with details, but basically, he won in 2 games, both close though, and both won via f!@#$ Mirrorweave.

Game standing: 5-5
Match standing: 2-3

Round 6: vs. Mono-G Treefolk (won)

I initialy thought that it was going to be a mirror match, when my opponent did a first turn Llanowar Elf. When he tapped 2 lands and the elf in the second turn, I was already bracing for a Perfect, when he instead put down... a Battlewand Oak. Whoa. Treefolk. Right then and there, I knew what to do. I had to race him. However, things didn't turn out good when he was able to put down a 12/12 trampling indestructible Dauntless Dourbark. What do you do in these situations? You wait for your opponent to make a mistake. LOL. Down to 5 life, my opponent attacked with his Dourbark, and I immediately went down from 20 to 8 life. On my turn, I thought for a second, and swung with everything. Much like my round 4 opponent, he also forgot about my man lands and lost.

In round 2, I had really awesome draws, by getting 3 Vanquishers and a Perfect early, and he never recovered from my quick beats.

Game standing: 7-5
Match standing: 3-3

Round 7: vs. BGw Doran (won)

This was the closest to a mirror match that I had all day. I'm proud to say that I simply outplayed my opponent in this round, and I beat him in 2 close games, despite him boarding in a ton of life gain in the second game. All I can say is... Doran is awesome, but Profane Command is better. :)

Game standing: 9-5
Match standing: 4-3

Round 8: vs. UWr Tricolark (won)

Uh oh. Reveillark. I have a really bad record against this deck, and things didn't start very well, when my opponent beat me with a Gargadon-Reveillark-Redcap combo in the first game. On the second game, I beat him with a quick Garruk overrun, putting him down to 4 life. Luckily, he didn't draw any life gain, and he quickly lost afterwards. On game 3 though, he DID draw his life gain, and went up to 26 life thanks to some Kitchen Finks and Aven Riftwatchers. However, I was more lucky and I was able to once again drop him to 9 life via another Garruk overrun. I eventually finished him off and won the third and deciding game.

Game standing: 11-5
Match standing: 5-3

Round 9: vs. UW Reveillark Control (lost)

It was already 9:00 pm, but despite being extremely tired, a little hungry, and having a bit of a headache, I felt pretty good in the tournament. And that hadn't happened in a loooong time.

For my last round, I was up against another Reveillark deck. He had the original UW build, and I actually hanged in there quite well, but my fatigue caught up with me, and I made some costly mistakes (like not casting a Thoughtseize that I had in my hand. Duh.) to eventually lose in 2 close games.

Final game standing: 11-7
Final match standing: 5-4

For most players, this would have been a disappointing finish. But for me, in my current DCI level, I'd be happy to get 5-3's or 5-4's any day. :-) I just want to get back to 1600. ;-)

Regular Standard Tournament - Jul 26, 2008

2008-07-27T12:11:00.004+08:00

There were three scheduled tournaments yesterday -- Standard, LOR-SHM Block, and Legacy. I originally planned on joining the Block tourney (I even met up with someone to buy cards for my deck), for fear of facing the many practicing Nationals players (this year's Nats format is Standard). Unfortunately, when I signed up at NG Galleria, there were only 2 players signed-in for Block! Oh well.

Good thing I anticipated the possibility of this happening, so I brought with me the parts of my BG Elves deck. I built the deck on the venue (basically the same deck that I used last time), just in time for the start of the tourney. Here's what happened:

0-3 drop.

Well, technically, it was 1-3 drop, because I got a bye on the fourth round.

On the first round, I lost to a mono-black control deck. 2 Bitterblossoms + Korlash + Corrupt = game loss.

On the second round, I lost on a mirror match. It was actually close on both games (I lost 0-2), up until I made another huge, stupid, crucial, "makes you want to punch yourself" misplay by blocking 2 attacking Mutavaults, with my own 2 Mutavaults. The only thing was, my opponent had an Imperious Perfect in play. Duh.

On the third round, I lost to a UB faeries deck, 1-2. He demolished me in the first game with 3 consecutive Mistbind Cliques. I outplayed him in the second game (the only good game I had all day). And I had really bad luck in the third game (when I counted the cards after the match, I apparently drew 15 out of my 23 lands in the game... and the game didn't last long).

Another tournament, another "oh well".

WG Little Kid Aggro on MTGO

2008-07-23T10:37:00.004+08:00

It took me the whole night, but I finally created a Standard deck in MTGO. I built the WG "Little Kid" Aggro deck featuring the WG hybrid cards and Shield of the Oversoul.

// Lands
22 [SHM] Forest - 0 tix

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves - 0.6 tix
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher - 0.5 tix
4 [SHM] Safehold Elite - 0.32 tix
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect - 1 tix
3 [SHM] Heartmender - 3 tix
4 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers - 1 tix
4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks - 2 tix
4 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Liege - 12 tix

// Spells
4 [SHM] Shield of the Oversoul - 0.6 tix
3 [10E] Overrun - 1.5 tix

TOTAL - 22.52 tix, or ~1,100 PhP

It's really amazing how large the disparity is between MTGO and paper Magic. If I built this deck from scratch in real life, just the 4 Lieges would cost 1,400 PhP -- more expensive than the WHOLE DECK in MTGO.

However, just like I mentioned earlier, it took me the whole night to build this deck. I had to scour the various bots and other users in the Trading section to get the best deals. Note that the Vanquishers actually cost more than the Llanowar Elves. LOL. I just couldn't find a cheaper price for black-bordered mana elves.

Anyway, I think this is enough as a starting deck for me in MTGO. It's definitely not Tier 1, but it can hold its own against Tier 2 decks. It's a LOT of fun to play, it's a really good starting point in learning how to use MTGO in general, and it will help me a lot in making an informed decision on whether to pursue MTGO for real or not.

Now I just need to hide my credit card, so I won't be able to use it for the next 6 months. LOL.

Hello MTGO

2008-07-22T07:19:00.005+08:00

I installed Magic Online III onto Voldemort last week... and I have to admit, despite taking 8 hours to download and install, it is really getting me to think...

PROS:

I can play at any spare time that I have, at the comfort of my own home -- no need to pay for gas to drive to Galleria, or to get an MRT ticket to Ortigas.
Cards are a lot cheaper in MTGO -- Good staple cards are still expensive (Tarmogoyfs cost around 30 tickets or around 1,300+ PhP), but uncommons and even some of the good rare cards are a lot cheaper than their paper counterparts. Imperious Perfect is just 2 for 1 ticket (~25PhP each). Wilt-Leaf Liege is just 3 tix (~140PhP). Lands are also at 3, sometimes even 2 tix each (~90PhP). You get the point.
It's a lot easier to find people to play with -- You wanna play Standard? Just create a game, and within seconds, another player will come to join you. You wanna draft? Just get 3 packs and 2 tix, and you're good to go.
Rules enforcement -- The biggest difference between MTGO and other free MTG software (ie. MWS). No more debates as to how certain triggers stack up, or how certain card interactions affect the game. Everything just happens, as they should.

CONS:

A brand new investment to an empty card pool -- I just tried to draft SHA-SHA-SHA last weekend, so basically my binder just consists of those 45 cards, plus the initial set of cards that I got free from the 9th edition starter kit. My most (and only) "expensive" card at the moment is a Mystic Gate, which I even have a hard time selling at 3 tickets. (Note: 1 ticket = $1)
Making a new investment means I have to, at least, partially say goodbye to my paper magic collection. *sob sob*
Playing against someone over the Internet is no match to actually seeing your opponent face-to-face. You don't see their violent reactions when they topdeck... or their sad faces when they lose... or their jubilant faces when they win.
Magic is a CARD game. But the fact is, in MTGO, you don't actually get to HOLD the cards.

Oh yeah. This is really making me think. Perhaps as a "middle ground", I'll just draft every now and then (maybe once a month) in MTGO. That's something that I never get the chance to do in real life, and it's something that I really had fun doing last weekend.

But I have to admit, I WAS seriously computing the amount I would need to build a decent Standard deck in MTGO last night. And from my computation, a fair investment of 1,500 PhP would get the job done (spent on a GW Aggro or a mono-red deck).

Hmm... should I take the plunge?

Eventide Prerelease - Jul 12, 2008

2008-07-12T21:12:00.009+08:00

I went 2-2 with a BG Wither-Persist deck featuring Blowfly Infestation. It's really funny how my current deck (BG Elves) and the podcast that I regularly listen to (Monday Night Magic) both influenced me into making this deck. Anyway, here was my decklist:

// Lands
10 [SHM] Swamp
7 [SHM] Forest

// Creatures
1 [EVE] Odious Trow
1 [EVE] Woodlurker Mimic
1 [EVE] Stalker Hag

1 [SHM] Sickle Ripper
1 [SHM] Dusk Urchins
2 [SHM] Gravelgill Duo
1 [EVE] Smoldering Butcher
1 [SHM] Sootwalkers

1 [SHM] Tattermunge Duo
1 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
1 [EVE] Wickerbough Elder
1 [SHM] Heartmender
1 [SHM] Foxfire Oak
1 [SHM] Morselhoarder
1 [SHM] Loamdragger Giant

// Spells
1 [EVE] Gift of the Deity

1 [SHM] Torture
1 [SHM] Rite of Consumption
1 [SHM] Fists of the Demigod
1 [SHM] Blowfly Infestation
1 [EVE] Unmake

1 [SHM] Shield of the Oversoul

Unfortunately, I can no longer remember too many details from each of my matches (despite the tourney being just a couple of hours ago), so I won't be able to post my usual tourney report. I just remembered a couple of key moments:

1. In round 1, my opponent at one point had two Recumbent Bliss in play on two of my creatures. It sucks to have 2 of your creatures getting Pacified, and it sucked even more that he was gaining 2 life in each of his upkeeps. Good thing I still won that game. :)

2. In round 2, my opponent cast a second turn Talara's Bane - with a Foxfire Oak in my hand. Haha! Discard my fattie, and he gained 7 life. :)

3. In round 3, I was able to cast a 2nd turn Woodlurker Mimic, to a 3rd turn Stalker Hag (I was up against a BGr deck, so swampwalk/forestwalk!), then swing for 4. :) Too bad he cast a Puncture Bolt 1 turn later. :(

4. In round 4, I had 2 Gravelgill Duos in play, and I cast black spell after black spell, to "fear my way" into victory. :)

My lone Blowfly Infestation actually came into play only once in the entire tourney. And I found out the hard way, that the card really does suck. Haha. At one time, I had like 2 wither guys attacking, and my opponent blocked one of them -- dying in the process. Blowfly triggers, and with no other creatures in play other than mine, I had to put a -1/-1 counter on my Sickle Ripper. Haha. I think I sided out the card on the next game.

Anyway, prereleases are still a bit on the more casual side of tourneys, so overall, I still had fun despite the "a little bit disappointing" finish. Besides, getting a total of 8 packs, for just 1,000 PhP, that's not bad at all. :)

Regular Standard Tournament - Jun 28, 2008

2008-06-30T18:55:00.006+08:00

No excuses. I pretty much just sucked last Saturday and went 0-2-1, before dropping from the tournament. Here was my decklist:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
4 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
4 [10E] Treetop Village
3 [10E] Forest
2 [10E] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
1 [CS] Boreal Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
3 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
3 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus

// Spells
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
4 [10E] Terror
3 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [LRW] Thoughtseize

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [TSP] Squall Line
SB: 2 [SHM] Incremental Blight
SB: 2 [FUT] Slaughter Pact
SB: 2 [SHM] Faerie Macabre
SB: 3 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 1 [SHM] Kitchen Finks

Round 1: vs. Mono B Demigod (lost)

My first opponent was a newbie. He was even asking me about the tournament format, how many rounds, how many games we had to play, etc. I graciously answered all his questions... but deep inside, I was actually really happy that I would get a free win in round 1..... or so I thought.

I kept a hand that had 2 Treetops, a Llanowar Elf, and a couple of Perfects and Civic Wayfinders. Not too bad. But guess what, my elf druid died to a Cruel Edict on turn 2. And lucky me, by the time I drew a third land, my opponent was already swinging with 2 Demigods of Revenge.

For the second game, I boarded out all my Terrors, in favor of Primal Commands and Cloudthreshers (let's see those Demigods get past this). Things actually started off nicely, with me being able to cast an early Colossus. My opponent had a Demigod. I thought to myself, 8 damage against 5... I'll win the race. But guess what, a Corrupt for 6 at my face changes all of that. And after that, he even cast a second Demigod. WTF.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Zvi Mowshowitz's RG Burn-Fatty deck (draw)

The first game takes forever, but I eventually win the game at 21 life (he had Grove of Burnwillows). The second game also takes a real long time, with a creature stall -- my opponent at 7 life, with 2 Deus of Calamity, 1 Shivan Dragon (yes, old school baby!), and a Colossus; and me at 24 life, and a ton of critters -- we finally hit the last 5 turns mark. Every turn, I do the math, and I could only get him down at 1 life even with an alpha strike. On the 5th and final turn, my opponent draws his card takes a peek... and laughs his ass off. It was a Firespout. GG.

Game standing: 1-3
Match standing: 0-1-1

Round 3: vs. BG Mana Ramp (lost)

This was the laugher round that made me pack my bags to go home. I made misplay after misplay after misplay. At one point I even cast a Profane, and then say "-4/-4 this, then search my library". My opponent gets baffled. WTF? I mixed it up with Primal. OMG. I lost the first game with my opponent at 24 life. I lost the second game with him at 20 life. Nuff said.

Game standing: 1-5
Match standing: 0-2-1

Lesson learned: Get enough sleep before the tournament. Period.

Regular Standard Tournament - Jun 8, 2008

2008-06-10T09:25:00.008+08:00

Having joined two consecutive Block tourneys in a row (and failing miserable on both occasions), I devised a "game plan" for my next one, and had originally planned to join the Block tourney last Sunday. However, I was not able to get a certain sideboard card in time for the tourney, so instead of again joining unprepared for the Block metagame, I instead just joined the Standard tourney, with the good old BG Elves deck.

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
2 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
4 [10E] Treetop Village
3 [UNH] Forest
3 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
2 [CS] Boreal Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect

// Spells
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
4 [10E] Terror
4 [LRW] Profane Command

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [TSP] Squall Line
SB: 3 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 3 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 2 [SHM] Murderous Redcap
SB: 2 [PLC] Damnation

Round 1: vs. UW Reveillark Combo (won)

I thought this deck was dead, with the huge amounts of Faerie decks (the undisputed best deck of the format) roaming around, but apparently, today was going to be Reveillark day. I was up against the original UW build of the deck, and things didn't start out so well. The first game took a looong time to finish, and ended with what we both learned to be an illegal play. With Mirror Entity, Reveillark and a bunch of bounce creatures in the graveyard, my opponent evoked a Body Double -- yes, a Body Double -- to supposedly finish me off with the combo. I was safely at 14 life then, and he was at 3 life, so it was especially painful to remember that HUGE mistake. In game 2 though, I quickly beat my opponent unscathed. And the same in game 3, when my opponent conceded. ;)

Game standing: 2-1
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. UWr Reveilark Control (lost)

I was up against the "Neo-Reveillark deck", which had a red splash for Greater Gargadon -- using it as the combo tool instead of Mirror Entity. My opponent was not able to combo though, but he beat me in 2 games via a barrage of Sower of Temptations. He told me later on that he had 4 of those MD.

Game standing: 2-3
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. UB Faeries (won)

Finally, a Faerie deck. Surprisingly, I easily won this match in 2 games. I think my opponent is fairly new to the deck and I noticed a few misplays on his part during the match.

Game standing: 4-3
Match standing: 2-1

Round 4: vs. UWr Reveilark Control (lost)

Here we go... another Reveillark deck. This was a real joke match. I lost real bad in 2 games, to the point that I think my opponent was playing around with me on our second game. There was even a time when he had a Vesuvan Shapeshifter, with a persist counter (because it originally copied a Kitchen Finks), copying my Imperious Perfect. And thanks to a Reflecting Pool and a Vivid land in play, he started making elf tokens for himself. That play was just nasty.

Game standing: 4-5
Match standing: 2-2

Round 5: vs. UWr Reveilark Control (lost)

But wait... there's more! Another Reveillark deck in my last round. In the first game, I actually had an opportunity to win, but of course being me, I once again made a crucial misplay at the end game. With my opponent having only 2 lands untapped, I cast a suppossedly game-winning Profane. He then casts Rune Snag. I say, "Hindi pwede, wala kang blue." But of course he had blue mana -- what I thought was an untapped Battlefield Forge was apparently a Reflecting Pool. Damn! In game 2, I once again had my opponent in the ropes, but at 5 life and on his last turn (he was going to lose on my turn), he topdecks a Reveillark for the combo win.

Game standing: 4-7
Match standing: 2-3

Grand Prix Manila Trial II - Jun 1, 2008

2008-06-02T10:12:00.007+08:00

I modified last week's BG elves deck a bit (-1 liege, +1 garruk, -4 shield of oversoul, +4 bitterblossom), and used the following deck in yesterday's GPT:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
2 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [LRW] Vivid Grove
1 [LRW] Vivid Marsh
7 [UNH] Forest
3 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [SHM] Devoted Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
4 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
2 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Liege
4 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker

// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
3 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [MOR] Bitterblossom

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 4 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 2 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 1 [LRW] Final Revels

Round 1: vs. UGbrw control (lost)

I won game 1 easily behind an early Bitterblossom. For game 2, I had my opponent at 3 life, and then he cast 3 consecutive Cryptic Commands -- all while gaining life with Kitchen Finks, which recurred again and again, via Turn to Mist. He went back all the way to 22 life, and I lost to a Shriekmaw. In game 3, I had no answer to his Chameleon Colossus and lost in a one-sided game.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. UW control (lost)

In game 1, I forgot to use Garruk's ability in a critical point, which could have won me the game. He then swept my army with Austere Command and proceeded to beat me with a Heartmender and a Kitchen Finks. In game 2, it was pretty much the same, with my army getting erased by a single Austere Command, and then him retaliating with Kitchen Finks. Too bad I couldn't draw any of my Profanes with him at just 1 life.

Game standing: 1-3
Match standing: 0-2

Round 3: vs. BG treefolk-elves (won)

This was my first game (and hopefully not the last) against a prominent Magic player (clue: he used to be a basketball commentator). Anyway, I was getting beat in game 1 by his Doran and some elves, and he had me at 8 life and him still at 19. But then, I was able to cast a Liege and Garruk overrun at the same turn ftw. In game 2, I pretty much had board control for the whole game, and won easily.

Game standing: 3-3
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. WGb Doran (lost)

Game 1 was close, with big creatures on both sides of the board. His creatures proved to be larger though (Doran + Liege = huge treefolk) and won the first game. Game 2 was one-sided and I lost to his aggressive WG elves.

Game standing: 3-5
Match standing: 1-3

Round 5: vs. BG elves (won)

I was up against another woman Magic player. Wow. There's really a lot of them nowadays. Anyway, I literally got ambushed on the first game, losing to a surprise Gilt-Leaf Ambush, and with her winning the ensuing Clash, I lost my 2 attacking creatures (I think it was a Liege and a Cavalier). In game 2, I won via a Garruk overrun. In game 3, I had board control the whole game and won.

Game standing: 5-6
Match standing: 2-3

Round 6: vs. RG warriors (won)

My opponent went off to a blazing start with Maniacs, Paragons and Vanquishers, and had me all the way down to 4 life. And then I was able to set up my large blockers and his little creatures died one by one, until I was able to get back to win the game. In the second game, it was more of the same, and he was even to conspire a Giantbaiting, with a Paragon in play -- giving me 10 damage in one swing. I was still able to get back though via a Primal Command, and I took out his creautures one by one via Profane Command and then finally Garruk ftw.

Game standing: 7-6
Match standing: 3-3

Round 7: vs. UB faeries (lost)

The thing about faeries is that they are RESILIENT. In game 1, I had my opponent at 4 life, and then I still lost. In game 2, he was at 5 life, and I still lost. My opponent is thanking this new Shadowmoor card for my loss -- Consign to Dream.

Game standing: 7-8
Match standing: 3-4

Round 8: vs. BG elves (lost)

In game 1, my opponent had some crazy plays via Obsidian Battle-Axe. For example -- with Paragon in play, cast Perfect, attach Axe, make a token, attach Axe, then swing with 4/3 token. I still lost though despite keeping it a close game. In game 2, there was a trampling Colossus (thanks to a Paragon counter) in my opponent's side, which I kept on thinking on how to take care of. I decided to pass the turn and eventually lost to the ensuing attack. After the game, my opponent told me that I could have Profaned the Paragon to remove the Trample ability (he knew I had one due to an early Thoughtseize). Damn! Why didn't I think of that?

Game standing: 7-10
Match standing: 3-5

Grand Prix Manila Trial I - May 25, 2008

2008-05-26T07:59:00.008+08:00

I was supposed to play in the regular standard tourney on Saturday, but due to a "medical emergency", I wasn't able to play. To feed my MTG addiction, I instead played on the Sunday Block Constructed tourney. Unprepared, I whipped up a deck (late in) the night before, and decided to go with the same BG Elves deck that I recently use in Standard, with some card replacements to make it legal for LRW/SHM Block:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
2 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [LRW] Vivid Grove
1 [LRW] Vivid Marsh
10 [UNH] Forest
4 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [SHM] Devoted Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
4 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
4 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Liege
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker

// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
3 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [SHM] Shield of the Oversoul

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
SB: 3 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [SHM] Firespout
SB: 1 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 2 [LRW] Spring Cleaning
SB: 3 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
SB: 1 [LRW] Final Revels

With no 1cc mana elf in block, I opted for the 2-drop Devoted Druid. The deck now plays more like a mini-ramp of some sort, hoping that at turn 3, I would have either one 4-drop (Liege or Colossus) or one 2-drop (Vanquisher) & one 3-drop (Perfect or Cavs).

Round 1: vs. 5-color Elementals (draw)

Our first game took a long time to finish, with him constantly killing my threats via Shriekmaw & Mannequin, and drawing more answers via Mulldrifter. I still won the long game though. With time running out, I knew I just had to delay the game and I would win the round. But then of course, I would make a HUGE mistake (I seem to be making this every week). I don't have the exact details, but my opponent was at 4 life, I was at 16 life, and I swung for what I thought was an alpha strike. Unfortunately, my opponent Mannequined 1 Cloudthresher, and hardcasted another Thresher, which blocked my attackers. On his turn, with all my creatures tapped, he swung for his real alpha strike of 2 Threshers and 1 Shriekmaw ftw. And the match draw... on the fifth and last turn.

Game standing: 1-1
Match standing: 0-0-1

Round 2: vs. WW Kithkins (lost)

My round 2 pairing was definite proof that I have the worst luck in matchups, as I was very unfortunately matched up against the defending Philippine Nationals champ. But when I saw that his deck was WW Kithkins, I knew I at least had a fighting chance (or so I thought). In game 1, he was deliberately baiting me to a race, with him swinging every turn, and with me also swinging every turn. I had him at 4 life (with me at 13 life), but then on his turn, he cast Wizened Cenn (still not enough to kill me), and with no blockers, he cast Mirrorweave on the Cenn. Ouch. In game 2, he was again on race mode. It was a pretty close game though, but in the end, I lost to a bunch of flying Spirit tokens, which I had no way of blocking.

Game standing: 1-3
Match standing: 0-1-1

Round 3: vs. GWu Aggro (won)

I was up against a player I wanted to play for a long time. I see him often in tournaments, but never got matched up against him. The cool thing is his age -- he was around 50+ years old (to my estimate). It was a sleeper though, as I easily won both games behind Garruk overruns.

Game standing: 3-3
Match standing: 1-1-1

Round 4: vs. WW Kithkins (won)

Wow. Another Kithkin deck. Where are the damn faeries??? Perhaps they were all in the winner's bracket. Anyway, this was another round that took the whole hour. I won a close game in game 1, and my opponent won a close game in game 2. I was actually on the way to winning that game 2, but I made a costly mistake of swinging with all creatures on a Garruk overrun, when I didn't have to. My opponent then casted Pollen Lullaby. Wtf. And swinging with his Kithkin army next turn ftw. Good thing, I easily won game 3 though (on another Garruk overrun). Otherwise, I would have been devastated by that Fog card.

Game standing: 5-4
Match standing: 2-1-1

Round 5: vs. BR Aggro (lost)

All I could remember was that game 1 was one-sided in favor of me. And games 2 and 3 were one-sided in favor of my opponent. I especially remember game 3, when he had answer after answer to my threats. Liege #1 - Flame Javelin. Colossus - another Flame Javelin. Liege #2 - Shriekmaw. Wow. Then Demigod of Revenge ftw.

Game standing: 6-6
Match standing: 2-2-1

Round 6: vs. BG Elves (lost)

I knew I won game 1 easily. And then my opponent came back from behind (at 3 life) to win game 2. And then in game 3, as expected, I made another mistake. Faced with a decision between killing a Shriekmaw and an Imperious Perfect, I chose to Profane the Perfect. And one turn later, Nameless Inversion on the Shriekmaw. That one turn turned out to be the difference, and I lost game 3. Learning point: Shriekmaw has FEAR and is unblockable even by an army of huge green elves.

Game standing: 7-8
Match standing: 2-3-1

Round 7: vs. UW Merfolk (won)

Here's another first. I was up against a woman Magic player. There's not very many of them in the local Magic scene (based on my count, there are only 4 of them -- and 3 of them were playing yesterday). Anyway, I won game 1 undamaged. Then perhaps, like many men out there, I became over-confident, and was shocked when I lost game 2, with my opponent undamaged. In game 3 though, it was all serious. Luckily, I found answers to her Reejereys in time, and I won a close game.

Game standing: 9-9
Match standing: 3-3-1

Despite another disappointing finish (when the hell will I ever be able to finish above .500???), I was just fine after the tourney. My excuses -- I wasn't able to plan on my deck (in fact, my sideboard was horrible, I wasn't able to play more than half of them the whole day), one of my losses was from the reigning nationals champ, and my 1 other loss and 1 draw were due to puny mistakes that I made late game. More learning points.

Regular Standard Tournament - May 17, 2008

2008-05-18T09:50:00.011+08:00

I used this BG Elves deck for the tourney:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
2 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
4 [10E] Treetop Village
4 [10E] Forest
2 [10E] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
2 [CS] Boreal Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
2 [MOR] Bramblewood Paragon
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
4 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
2 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker

// Spells
4 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion

// Sideboard
SB: 3 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [TSP] Squall Line
SB: 2 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 4 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 3 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending

I found out from the previous night that I had too much black mana sources, so I replaced 1 Swamp with 1 Forest. I also removed all Extirpates in the SB, in favor of additional SB against Faeries and RDW, which usually flood weekend tourneys.

Round 1: vs. UB Faeries (lost)

I really have bad luck in matchups, as I was paired against a good player in round 1. Good thing I knew his deck though, because I watched him playtest with his teammates before the tournament started. And I did pretty good in the beginning, with me quickly winning game 1, still at 19 life. For game 2 though, my opponent sided-in Damnations and I lost a close game. In game 3, I lost the race of life, with him attacking with his flyers, and with me attacking with my ground creatures. I also made some misplays by overextending, when I knew he could cast Damnations (which he did).

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. RGw Landie? (won)

I was up against the guy who beat me using the RGw Landie deck the night before. This time though, things went the other way around, with me easily winning 2 games unscathed. Both games were so one-sided that I didn't even know if he used the same deck, because he wasn't able to cast much spells, other than some Harmonize.

Game standing: 3-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. Mono-White Kithkin Soldiers (lost)

I knew my opponent used a Kithkin soldier deck before we started, because I had a lot of time to watch other matches, with my quick win in round 2. Unfortunately for me, his Soldier engine was in all gears in the first game and I wasn't able to keep up with a barrage of first striking Soldiers (via Field Marshal). For game 2, I was coasting my way to winning it, up until he was at 2 life. That's when he stopped the bleeding by casting Stonecloakers (after stacking damage), and casting Armored Ascension to make a huge flying kithkin soldier attack me every turn. Unfortunately, I didn't draw my Profane early enough and he beat me 0-2.

Game standing: 3-4
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. WG Ramp (lost)

I hate seeing Kitchen Finks on the other side of the board. I lost in 2 games because my opponent kept on casting the persistent lifegainers, while ramping up his mana. In the end, I would lose to a huge creature -- a Cloudthresher in the first game, and a Crovax (swiping my 1/1 elf army) on the second.

Game standing: 3-6
Match standing: 1-3

Round 5: vs. Mono-Black Rogues (won)

Both of our games were races, with him attacking and prowling, and me... just plain attacking. I won in 2 games thanks to Profane Command, which my opponent did not have. :)

Game standing: 5-6
Match standing: 2-3

Round 6: vs. Mono-White Kithkins (won)

My opponent was using a subpar Kithkin deck, pretty much like the one I used to take to tourneys -- the one with Forbidding Watchtowers, Oblivion Rings and Temporal Isolation. I knew exactly how this deck worked, having used it a lot of times before, and I easily won in 2 games.

Game standing: 7-6
Match standing: 3-3

Two consecutive days, two consecutive .500 and below finishes. :( Now, I don't feel THAT bad (I still do) that I won't be able to play at the Regionals today. That will probably end up as another Treefolk Shaman day anyway. At least yesterday, I was a Hill Giant.

FNM - May 16, 2008

2008-05-17T08:45:00.012+08:00

I used this BG Elves deck for the FNM:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
2 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
4 [10E] Treetop Village
3 [10E] Forest
3 [10E] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
2 [CS] Boreal Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
2 [MOR] Bramblewood Paragon
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
4 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
2 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker

// Spells
4 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 2 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 3 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 4 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending

Basically here are the mainboard changes that I made in the deck (compared to what I used in the Shadowmoor Standard Inaugural):

-3 Civic Wayfinder
-1 Bramblewood Paragon
-2 Wilt-Leaf Liege
+4 Wilt-Leaf Cavaliers
+2 Chameleon Colossus

Round 1: vs. GWb Doran (lost)

Everyone else had already started their games when my first round opponent arrived. Someone had to call him (I think he was smoking at the Old Manila coffee place) to tell him that round 1 pairings had been up. When my opponent arrived, I knew immediately what his deck was - Doran Rock - because Joven had played against him before. And I knew I was right, when he cast his first spell of the day - turn 1 BOP. Then, I made the first of my many misplays of the day, by not Inverting the mana bird. I paid for it with a turn 2 Doran, and me getting a beating and losing very quickly in game 1. I sided in 2 Eyeblights and 2 Grips (because he had Shield of the Oversoul) for game 2. It was not enough though because I did not draw my Grips early enough to remove the indestructible aura. Also, my opponent had a mini combo going with multiple Saffi's and evoked Shriekmaws. GG.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Mono-Red Beats (won)

Our 2 games were almost identical. Turn 1 Maniac. Turn 2 Mudbrawler Cohort, swing for 4. Turn 3 Lurebound Scarecrow. And then his Maniac would die attacking to a much larger defender. I would Invert his Cohort. Scarecrow dies. And then I would overrun him with my elf army with no more defenders on his side.

Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. RGw Landie (lost)

Our first game took a loooooong time. He would destroy my lands via Riders or Acid Moss. But by the time he would cast a huge threat, like a Deus of Calamity, I would have a huge Tarmogoyf on my side. Our giant creatures would battle, and die. Then repeat. Eventually, I ran out of gas and lost game 1. For game 2, I made a HUGE misplay -- 16 damage HUGE -- by not blocking a Chameleon Colossus. I thought, with 7 lands, he only had enough mana to pump the Changeling once, but forgot the Boreal Druid that he had on his side. :( GG.

Game standing: 2-4
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. RG Elf-Wolves Deathtouch (lost)

My opponent had a unique RG elf deck with the red elf being Taurean Mauler. And he would of course have access to red burn like Incinerate. I thought my deck was better though, at least in game 1, when I easily overran him via Garruk. Game 2 became a battle of attrition though, with his 2 Wren's Run Packmasters and 1 Imperious Perfect, and with me with an army of deathtouch Vanquishers. I still lost though despite being able to kill his token generators just because he had more elves and wolves, than I had creatures. In game 3, I made another huge misplay. With time up and us in our last 5 turns, I knew I had no chance of winning, so it was either I lost or I drew with the guy. All I had to do was survive in the 5 turns, and I could go home 1-2-1. But no, I miscalculated my math and took enough damage - 8 damage - on the 5th and last turn. And what was on my hand? 2 Kitchen Finks. Oh well.

Game standing: 3-6
Match standing: 1-3

Grand Prix Manila

2008-05-04T13:25:00.004+08:00

In less than 4 months...

Grand Prix Manila
August 30-31, 2008
SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 1
Lorwyn-Shadowmoor Block Constructed Format

Shadowmoor Standard Inaugural - May 3, 2008

2008-05-04T11:17:00.014+08:00

I should change the subject of this post to:

I Am Treefolk Shaman.

I joined the Shadowmoor Standard Inaugural yesterday with this BG "Semi-Post Shadowmoor" deck:

// Lands
1 [SHM] Reflecting Pool
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
2 [MOR] Mutavault
4 [10E] Treetop Village
3 [UNH] Forest
3 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
2 [CS] Boreal Druid
3 [MOR] Bramblewood Paragon
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
3 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
2 [SHM] Wilt-Leaf Liege
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker

// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
4 [LRW] Profane Command

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 2 [SHM] Kitchen Finks
SB: 3 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 4 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 2 [PLC] Damnation
SB: 1 [TSP] Sudden Spoiling

Round 1: vs. UB Faerie-Mannequin (lost)

I had my opponent all the way down to 8 life in game 1, until he was able to put down 2 Scions in play, making all his faeries untouchable. Game 2 started with him putting down 2 Bitterblossoms (scary). But he was killed by his own enchantment, and I never got any damage to win game 2. I got the worst surprise in game 3 -- with me at 6 life, and him at 4 life and tapped out, I swung with all creatures... and then he suddenly cast... Mannequin the Mistbind Clique championing the tapped Mistbind Clique. And he suddenly had a 4/4 flying blocker that killed my attacker, and can attack the next turn to finish me off. I knew the Mulldrifter and Shriekmaw he cast earlier were weird... Too bad it took me until the last play of the round to realize it.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. RDW Splash Goyf (won)

Won easily in 2 games. I just had too many threats that he had to split his burn between me and my creatures. He eventually always runs out of gas and I would still have enough creatures to finish him off.

Game standing: 3-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. RDW (won)

Lost game 1 in a fairly close game. Won game 2 in another close game. Won game 3 with me at 22 life.

Game standing: 5-3
Match standing: 2-1

At this point, I was feeling quite good about my standing... and then these happened:

Round 4: vs. RG Mana Ramp (lost)

My opponent was flawless in winning game 1 via Tarmogoyfs and SGCs. I was on the way to winning game 2 flawlessly myself, until he was down to 1. And then he finished my creatures one by one via Skreds, SGCs and finally Cloudthresher. He killed me at 15 life, in a single turn.

Game standing: 5-5
Match standing: 2-2

Round 5: vs. UB Faerie-Mannequin (lost)

I won game 1 easily. In game 2, my opponent kept on blocking with Faerie tokens and stabilized at 13 life. I lost when he timewalked via a Mistbind Clique (championing the Blossom), and killed me eventually with the huge flyer. Learning from my Round 1 defeat, I knew that my opponent also had the Faerie-Mannequin hybrid deck (he was most probably teammates with my Round 1 opponent), after seeing the Mulldrifters and Shriekmaws in the first 2 games. The Mannequin didn't come out though, but I still lost in a tight game, with both of us at 4 life, and with me unable to block his tiny flyers.

Game standing: 6-7
Match standing: 2-3

Round 6: vs. UW Merfolk Wizards (lost)

My opponent kept a 1 land hand and paid for it with a quick game 1 loss. In game 2, his Merfolk Wizard engine was in all gears, emptying his hand via 2 Bannerets and untapping lands via Reejerey. And then he would draw via a resolved Ancestral Visions, and he would cast more merfolk/wizards. It was still a close game though (him at 1 life, me at 5 life), but I eventually lost via a Sower of Temptation on my Tarmogoyf. Game 3 was pretty much like game 2. On the final turn of the game, with him on 7 life and me on 6 life, and creatures on both sides of the board, I thought for a moment on my final play. I casted Profane for 2, him losing 2 life, and giving my 2 creatures fear -- a Vanquisher and a Paragon (total 5 damage). GG right? But no. He cast Pollen Lullaby (yes, Pollen Lullaby) for the Fog effect... and the win.

Game standing: 7-9
Match standing: 2-4

Round 7: vs. WG Mana Ramp (lost)

My opponent won game 1 on yet another close game with me at 3 life and him at 6 life. I won game 2 undamaged via a Garruk overrun (23 damage!) on turn 5. On game 3, his mana ramp engine was in full gear. I got face to face against an Oversoul of Dusk, the protection from 3 colors guy. I was able to kill it though via a Nameless 7/2 Tarmogoyf. But then he cast another fatty, and his name is... wait for it... Akroma Angle of Wrath. GG.

Game standing: 8-11
Match standing: 2-5

Like I said, I Am Treefolk Shaman.

The good thing that came out of this tourney was that most of my losses (except for the one vs. RG Mana Ramp) were close games. If not for some small mistakes that I didn't notice, or a little bit of luck that went in the favor of my opponent, I could have gone from being a Treefolk Shaman to:

I just don't know when that will eventually happen.

Shadowmoor Prerelease - Apr 20, 2008

2008-04-20T20:49:00.007+08:00

Finally, my cold streak ended yesterday at the Shadowmoor Prerelease. :) I went 4-0 on Flight B (despite Jovs and I arriving at around 9am at Galleria), and won 4 booster packs and a Shadowmoor t-shirt. :)

A few notes from the tourney:

- I put only 16 lands in my deck because I couldn't choose any creature to cut. I decided it was OK since I had a pretty low mana curve. And apparently, I was right -- up until game 1 of the 4th round when I mulliganed to 5 (the only time I ever mulliganed the whole day). Most definitely, luck was in my side on this day -- what can I say, luck is part of the game. :)

- I think I did a pretty good job in deck construction this time, compared with my last Limited tourney, the Morningtide prerelease. I first sorted the cards by color, with the new hybrid cards on a separate pile in between its 2 colors. Then, I removed the "non usable" cards -- spells that work on the graveyard, artifact/enchantment hate (SB stuff), 1cc spells (none stood out as being usable), really high cc spells, etc. Afterwards, I looked for bombs among the remaining cards. None stood out, so I just chose the colors with the most number of "good" cards, and ended up with a RG deck utilizing the new mechanics of the set -- Wither, Persist, and Conspire. Finally, I sorted the cards in order of cc, for mana curve purposes. The RG deck pretty much built itself, with most of my creatures being Grizzly Bears or Hill Giants with abilities, a few fatties for the late game, and some removal & combat tricks.

- My MVPs were:

I never lost a game where this fatty came out. Even if the blocking creature would gain wither, it never did enough "withering" on the Wurm to make it less of a threat. Usually it would go down to just 4/4 or 5/5 and it would still be enough to be the biggest creature on the board.

Getting this bad guy out at turn 3 in Limited is really good, to say the least. :) I'm going to be looking for more copies of this card for Constructed. I think it may have potential for inclusion in red decks.

This card basically says, "Kill your opponent's biggest creature."

- Here are some good cards among my prerelease cards & booster packs won:

A 3cc tutor for black looks very good. A lot of potential here for breaking the format.

Really good size and awesome ability for her casting cost... but something's missing though... why is there no Flash?

Game changing effect... I'm not sure if it would be useable in Standard though, given the really high cc.

So many good cards, so little time (actual release is on Friday, May 2). And with the new WotC ruling, Shadowmoor will already be Standard-legal on the date of the release (FNM!)! I'm REALLY excited for this new set. And it helped a lot that things got off to a good start in the prerelease. :)

Triple Treat (Standard) - Apr 13, 2008

2008-04-15T10:56:00.006+08:00

This is a post on how NOT to play a BG Elves deck:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
2 [MOR] Mutavault
4 [10E] Treetop Village
4 [UNH] Forest
3 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
2 [CS] Boreal Druid
4 [LRW] Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 [MOR] Bramblewood Paragon
4 [10E] Civic Wayfinder
4 [LRW] Imperious Perfect
2 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
2 [LRW] Shriekmaw
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker

// Spells
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
4 [LRW] Profane Command

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [TSP] Sudden Spoiling
SB: 2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
SB: 4 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 2 [PLC] Damnation
SB: 1 [LRW] Primal Command
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 3 [LRW] Cloudthresher

Round 1: vs. UW Reveillark Control (lost)

Talk about bad luck. My first opponent was the guy who won first place the day before. I don't think I made any real blunders, but my opponent was simply much much better than me.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Red Deck Wins (lost)

Lost due to a sideboard mistake -- I forgot to board in Eyeblight's Ending. Greater Gargadon ftw twice!

Game standing: 0-4
Match standing: 0-2

Round 3: vs. Mono-black Rogues (lost)

I won when I drew a Chameleon Colossus. I got overran by Goblins & Faeries in the other two games.

Game standing: 1-6
Match standing: 0-3

Round 4: vs. BR Goblins (lost)

Getting Earwigged thrice in 1 game is sure to make you lose. Getting Earwigged twice on the other is not bad either.

Game standing: 1-8
Match standing: 0-4

After that, of course, I dropped from the tournament.

What went wrong?

1. My usual alibi -- bad luck. Here's my justification -- 1. I drew like 2 Imperious Perfects the whole day; 2. My opponents were crazy lucky; 3. Like always, I rarely, if ever, drew my SBs. Not to mention my crazy round 1 pairing.

2. Sideboard mistakes. I think this is where I REALLY need to improve. I think I already have a good grasp of what to board in for most matchups -- I just need to improve in knowing the cards that I have to board out.

3. Practice practice practice. I have been using a pretty good deck the past few weeks, so that's no longer an excuse. I just need to minimize my mistakes and hopefully this mean losing streak that I'm having will end soon. Besides, my birthday is coming up, so my bad luck is supposed to end, right?

For now, it's back to FNMs, since there will no longer be any more Standard tourneys until after Shadowmoor comes out in May.

FNM - Apr 11, 2008

2008-04-12T23:44:00.006+08:00

I took a "Red Deck Wins" deck to yesterday's FNM:

// Lands
16 [10E] Mountain
1 [10E] Ghitu Encampment
1 [FUT] Keldon Megaliths
2 [MOR] Mutavault
2 [FUT] Horizon Canopy

// Creatures
4 [10E] Mogg Fanatic
4 [PLC] Keldon Marauders
4 [MOR] Countryside Crusher

// Spells
4 [10E] Shock
4 [MOR] Shard Volley
4 [10E] Incinerate
2 [LRW] Lash Out
4 [TSP] Rift Bolt
2 [TSB] Browbeat
4 [TSP] Sulfurous Blast
2 [TSP] Wheel of Fate

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [10E] Dragon's Claw
SB: 4 [10E] Threaten
SB: 4 [10E] Cryoclasm
SB: 2 [10E] Manabarbs
SB: 2 [PLC] Blood Knight
SB: 1 [TSB] Disintegrate

Round 1: vs. RWu Burn-Blink(?) (lost)

Obviously from above, my opponent had a very unique build. Things actually started out looking like a mirror match as he was casting Keldon Marauders along with some burn spells. But then I was surprised to suddenly see Aven Riftwatchers and Mulldrifters, and finally a Momentary Blink in response to my Lash Out. I lost to a Morph-Blinked Akroma Red.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. UW Merfolk (won)

My very young opponent didn't even damage me on both games and I won this very easily -- he was using a subpar Merfolk deck that needed a lot of work. I even gave him some tips after the match -- and he was all ears.

Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. BG Rock (lost)

I lost game 1 to a Warhammered Ascetic. For game 2, despite being behind the whole game on the life race, I still won an extremely close game (I was at 4 life, he was at 2 life) thanks to Manabarbs. Game 3 was close as well, but I ran out of gas and lost to a couple of Treetop Villages.

Game standing: 3-4
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. BR Goblins (won)

On game 1, with Wheel on Fate on suspend, I unloaded all my burn spells at my opponent's dome. Unfortunately, still with 1 final counter on the Wheel, my opponent unsuspended Greater Gargadon ftw. On game 2, my opponent made a mistake by not responding to Countryside Crusher's upkeep ability (I really think he had an Incinerate at that time), and lost to the giant with 3 counters. Game 3 was the highlight of the whole night, with both of us basically mirroring each others moves. Shock you. Tarfire you in response. Lash Out your Goblin. Lash Out your Marauder. In the end, with me at 4 life, my opponent at 6 life, and both of us with Incinerates at hand, I drew a Horizon Canopy. I play it and drew a card off it, and my topdeck was a Rift Bolt... ftw!

Game standing: 5-5
Match standing: 2-2

Good enough for 1 Future Sight booster pack prize (which unfortunately contained all-crap cards).

Triple Treat (Standard) - Apr 6, 2008

2008-04-06T22:59:00.008+08:00

I originally planned to join the Block format in the Triple Treat, but laziness got the best of me, and I just joined the Standard format with my current deck. I gave Doran Rock another try, with LD maindecked.

// Lands
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
3 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
4 [TSB] Gemstone Mine
2 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 [UNH] Forest
1 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Birds of Paradise
3 [10E] Llanowar Elves
3 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
3 [10E] Troll Ascetic
3 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
1 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus

// Spells
4 [10E] Rain of Tears
4 [TSP] Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [LRW] Profane Command

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [PLC] Damnation
SB: 4 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 1 [LRW] Profane Command
SB: 1 [TSP] Sudden Spoiling
SB: 2 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 1 [LRW] Primal Command

Round 1: vs. UB Faeries (won)

Faeries seem to be a good matchup for me, as the only decks I've beaten in the past few tourneys were of this archetype. I won this match easily in 2 games.

Game standing: 2-0
Match standing: 1-0

Round 2: vs. UB Faeries (lost)

After the previous round, I wished to face more faeries during the day. My wish was granted, as I faced the same deck on the second round. However, the tides were turned, and I lost the match in 2 games. The difference was that this version of UB Faeries was counter heavy, with a couple of Rune Snags and Cryptic Commands. Like they say, be careful what you wish for.

Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. Reveillark (lost)

I was actually excited to face a Reveillark deck in the third round, with my maindeck LD tech supposedly "anti-Reveillark". It seemed to pay off in the first game, with my opponent losing very quickly, after 2 Rain of Tears and 1 Mwonvuli Acid Moss. In fact, he was talking about deck-checking me, because he was really uncomfortable that I had LD maindeck. He changed his mind though, probably thinking that after having lost game 1, and deck-checking being a time-consuming procedure, he will probably end up losing the match 0-1 when time runs out. My opponent's mood changed though when he wound up winning games 2 & 3. My LD spells just didn't come out in time, and he was able to cast Crovax, Ascendant Hero to nullify my Bitterblossoms.

Game standing: 3-4
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. Red Deck Wins (lost)

I lost this match, due to a misplay. Lesson learned: NEVER CAST BITTERBLOSSOM AGAINST A BURN DECK. In addition to the misplay though, my opponent also got some luck on his side, having topdecked the Shard Volley (game 1 - he was down to 1) and Threaten (game 2 - he was down to 3) to pull out the last opportunity wins.

Game standing: 3-6
Match standing: 1-3

Round 5: vs. Doran Rock mirror (lost)

My opponent had the traditional Doran Rock build, without Bitterblossoms and with 4 Garruks. With LD maindeck, I had no chance in winning game 1. After sideboarding though, I thought I had a chance against him, thinking that I had a better Doran build. I began to think I was right, as I won game 2 behind my Bitterblossoms. In game 3 though, he churned out Beast after Beast after Beast from his Garruk after Garruk after Garruk. I didn't have a chance, and lost the match.

Game standing: 4-8
Match standing: 1-4

Round 6: vs. UW Merfolk (won)

When I saw my opponent lay down an Island and then a Plains, I was starting to think that I was up against another Reveillark deck. Good thing I was wrong, when he suddenly cast a Mothdust Changeling, and then a Silvergill Adept -- apparently he had a fish deck. :) I felt confindent playing against a Tier 2 deck, but was surprised when he cast Aquitect's Will and a Lord of Atlantis. Suddenly, I couldn't block any of his creatures! I also couldn't draw any Nameless Inversion, so I was suddenly behind 0-1 after game 1. While sideboarding, I tried to keep my cool, and converted my deck to a traditional build. After boarding, my opponent didn't have a chance, and I easily won games 2 & 3.

Game standing: 6-9
Match standing: 2-4

Round 7: vs. UG Control (lost)

I didn't have a chance in this one, with my opponent either Rune Snagging or Mystic Snaking or Cryptic Commanding and even Vensering those that got through. I lost after 2 quick games. Learning point: Never cast 3 Bitterblossoms. Learning point #2: You can't kill a 2/3 Tarmogoyf with Nameless Inversion when there are no Tribal or Instant cards yet on any graveyard.

Game standing: 6-11
Match standing: 2-5

I've finally come to a conclusion that Land Destruction is not viable in today's Standard metagame. It's just too dependent on luck, and if you don't draw the LD spells early, they're all just dead cards. Plus, I always end up boarding them out anyway, so it's really better to just put more effective cards in their place. LD is just too slow against aggro, and is not good enough against control.

FNM - Apr 4, 2008

2008-04-05T16:14:00.004+08:00

Due to the disappointing results from the City Champs, I abandoned the Land Destruction idea in yesterday's FNM, and went with a more traditional Doran Rock deck.

// Lands
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
3 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [TSB] Gemstone Mine
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
3 [UNH] Forest
1 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
4 [10E] Birds of Paradise
3 [10E] Llanowar Elves
3 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [10E] Troll Ascetic
4 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
3 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
1 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
2 [LRW] Shriekmaw

// Spells
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion
2 [PLC] Damnation
3 [LRW] Profane Command
1 [LRW] Primal Command

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [TSB] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
SB: 2 [PLC] Damnation
SB: 4 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 2 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip

Round 1: vs. Red Deck Wins

Things started well, with me being able to draw both my singleton Primal Command and Chameleon Colossus in my starting hand -- and I then quickly proceeded to win game 1 behind the double-charged changeling. For game 2, I boarded in 4 Extirpates and took out the 2 Damnations and 2 Nameless Inversions. I soon realized that I made a mistake, when I drew both Shriekmaws and being unable to cast them. My opponent beat me without taking any damage. Out: 2 Shriekmaws; In: 2 Nameless Inversions. For game 3, my opponent was again getting his burn engine going. I was able to survive though, even Extirpating his Incinerates, but he just had too much going on, Threatening my Garruk Beasts and sacrificing them to Gargadon. With me at 11 life, he won via double Shard Volley on my Colossus, Shocking me (9 life) and sacrificing all his hands to get Gargadon online ftw.

Game standing: 1-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Mono-green Elves

I started nicely, by getting an early Bitterblossom online. However, all my other creatures apparently stayed on the bottom of my deck. I eventually lost game 1 via some 1-2 damage elf attacks and my own freaking enchantment. In: 2 Damnations; Out: 1 Primal Command, 1 Shriekmaw. For game 2, we went on a battle of attrition, with me having a few large creatures, and him with a bunch of small guys. Tough luck again for me, with 4 Damnations in the deck, I just couldn't draw one. In the end, I lost when I made a mistake when casting Oblivion Ring. With a choice of getting rid of Imperious Perfect and Door of Destinies, I chose the former. He then proceeded to cast Gilt Leaf Ambush twice, tapping some elves for mana via Heritage Druid, and finally Overrun ftw. He had enough damage through to kill me at 19 life. Oh well.

Game standing: 1-4
Match standing: 0-2

After the game, I decided to drop from the tournament and just look at some binders. I think I really need that final Bitterblossom and probably 2 more Colossi, to get this deck out of its slump. Too bad, I didn't see any.

Finally as consolation, before going home, I just bought us some Pre-release Tickets for Shadowmoor -- and this one I'm really excited for.

None Of The Above

2008-03-30T10:33:00.006+08:00

When I arrived at NG Galleria at around 11am, there was a looong line all the way up to Filbars. When I got near the counter a few minutes later, we were told that we will have to be placed on the waiting list. Damn. If I had just arrived a bit earlier. I think I was around 5th on the waiting list.

Eventually though, at around 12:30pm, with the tournament already starting at the 4th floor, we were told that we could still play, but we would have to do it inside the crowded store, standing up or on the floor. Oh well. For the love of the game.

Here's the deck that I used -- Doran Rock LD:

// Lands
4 [MOR] Murmuring Bosk
3 [LRW] Gilt-Leaf Palace
4 [10E] Llanowar Wastes
4 [TSB] Gemstone Mine
2 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
3 [UNH] Forest
1 [UNH] Swamp

// Creatures
3 [LRW] Doran, the Siege Tower
3 [FUT] Tarmogoyf
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
4 [10E] Birds of Paradise
2 [LRW] Garruk Wildspeaker
3 [10E] Troll Ascetic
1 [MOR] Chameleon Colossus
2 [LRW] Shriekmaw

// Spells
2 [LRW] Profane Command
4 [TSP] Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
3 [MOR] Bitterblossom
2 [PLC] Damnation
4 [LRW] Nameless Inversion

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
SB: 4 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 4 [10E] Rain of Tears
SB: 2 [PLC] Damnation
SB: 2 [LRW] Cloudthresher
SB: 1 [LRW] Primal Command

Round 1: vs. BG Elves

My very first hand of the day was apparently a sign of things to come. One land, no mana elf. Mull to 6. I kept a 1 land hand with a BOP & an Elf. It still wasn't enough though because the 2nd land didn't come until the 3rd turn, and by then, my opponent was swinging with an army of Vanquishers. Game 2 was hard-fought. Me with Doran and BOPs and elves, he would Damnation. Him with 2 Perfects and some mana elves, I would Damnation. Finally, with me at 3 life and my opponent at 4 life, it was down to who would draw his Profane first. Unfortunately for me, he drew it first.

Game standing: 0-2
Match standing: 0-1

Round 2: vs. UB Faeries

Game 1 was a battle of attrition, with me getting all the way down to 1 life due to my Bitterblossom. But with Garruk online, I swung with my army of faeries. Overrun ftw. On game 2, my opponent was stuck at 2 lands, and I ended the game the same way as the first. Another Garruk overrun ftw!

Game standing: 2-2
Match standing: 1-1

Round 3: vs. RG Mana-ramp

I lost game 1 easily due to a single attack of a double-charged Colossus. While boarding for the second game, I just suddenly realized that I had not much answers to Colossi MD -- just the 2 Damnations. I then decided to board in the remaining 2 Damnations in my SB and the 2 Oblivion Rings. That's 6 cards in all... that SHOULD be enough. But apparently, it was NOT. I drew just 1 Damnation the whole game (killing 1 Colossus), but he drew another Colossus ftw. I asked my opponent (who eventually made top 4 in the tourney) after the match how many Colossus he had on his deck, because I didn't see any other creature from him (normally Mana-ramp decks have various sorts of fatties). He said he only had 3 Colossi. Oh well.

Game standing: 2-4
Match standing: 1-2

Round 4: vs. Reveillark

For round 4, we were finally merged to the main tourney area in the 4th floor -- so I no longer had the disadvantage (and excuse) that we were playing while standing up. My opponent had the version of the Reveillark combo deck that used the Bonded Fetch method, so that he could discard combo pieces onto the graveyard... and he did. By bouncing all my permanents. GG. I had lots of SB for his deck though, so I wasn't affected much. In: 4 Extirpates & 4 Rain of Tears. Let's see if that happens again. Unfortunately, I just couldn't draw ANY of my SB. But it was ok, because I was beating him down... all the way down to 2 life... and then suddenly... another combo. GG.

Game standing: 2-6
Match standing: 1-3

Round 5: vs. RG Tarox

In game 5, I finally got matched up against a non-Tier 1 deck. Sure enough, I easily beat him in the first game. But AGAIN unfortunately, I got beat up by some pretty sick draws by my opponent, most notable of which was a Might of Oak'd and Grandeured 22/21 Tarox Bladewing. And I was "comfortably" at 17 life at that time. GG.

Game standing: 3-8
Match standing: 1-4

Round 6: vs. UB Faeries

For round 6, I got faced against a relatively familiar face. I knew this guy topped-4 at a recent FNM. And I knew this guy had a powerful faerie deck. I was wondering then... why was he matched up against me, in my 3-point table? I soon found out why. Apparently, he was a relative noob as well, just like me. In fact, he was more of a noob than me, because he kept on reading and misunderstanding Doran's ability. I easily won the match in 2 games.

Game standing: 5-8
Match standing: 2-4

Round 7: vs. Reveillark

I was once again against a familiar face. I knew my opponent had a Reveillark deck. In fact, when the player beside me was chatting and talking about his recent game that had a Reveillark player go up from 2 life way up to 23 life via Riftwatchers, I told my opponent, "Wag mo gagawin sa akin yun ah." :)

Things didn't start very well because I mulliganed to 4....although it WAS a pretty sick hand, with 2 lands and 2 Bitterblossoms. I eventually found out that 2 Bitterblossoms, plus a Garruk, apparently, equates to a win. :) My opponent was pissed off. Losing to a mulligan to 4 does that to you. On game 2, I lost due to a SB mistake... I forgot to board in my Oblivion Rings, and I had no answer to a Teferi's Moat for Green. Game 3 was well fought. Me down to 3, and my opponent at 5, I lost to flyers which I couldn't block -- he had a Porphyry Nodes disabling my Bitterblossom.

Game standing: 6-10
Match standing: 2-5

It was already 9pm, and I decided to drop because I knew that with 250+ players, I had no chance of getting the Imperious Perfect that we so badly wanted (Sorry Jovs!).

Another tournament, another disappointing result. Maybe I should stick to FNM's in the meantime...

Doran or Perfect?

2008-03-28T14:40:00.008+08:00

The City Championships will be tomorrow, March 29. Top 8 players will win a Doran EA card, while top 9 to 120 players will get the Imperious Perfect EA card.

Which deck will be most prevalent?

Which deck will win it all?

Will it be the new combo deck?

Or will it be the recent GP champion deck?

Or perhaps the world champion deck?

Or maybe one of the decks gaining popularity?

One thing is for sure -- I'm playing with a different deck this time around (no more teenie weenie Kithkins tomorrow). I've set my goals high, and I expect to have a fun time (hopefully by winning a lot of games) tomorrow.

Will it be a Doran or a Perfect? We'll find out soon. :)

Shadowmoor Orb of Insight

2008-03-25T07:34:00.004+08:00

Type any word (or number) and the Orb tells you how many times that word appears on Shadowmoor cards (excluding flavor text).

Apparently, the two "future-sighted" cards are Mistmeadow Skulk and Graven Cairns.

And I thought it was Poison. :)

Upcoming Expansions - 2008

2008-03-19T08:49:00.007+08:00

Shadowmoor
Pre-Release - April 19-20
Release - May 2

Eventide
Pre-Release - July 12-13
Release - July 25

Shards of Alara
Pre-Release - September 20-21
Release - October 3

Shadowmoor Previews

2008-03-10T17:43:00.004+08:00

Shadowmoor is the next Magic expansion after Morningtide. To be released on May 2 (just in time for my birthday, woohoo!), with pre-releases on April 19-20, it will be the large set of the next mini-block after Lorwyn.

The official MTG website has recently shown a sample booster pack of the upcoming set -- and it was very interesting, to say the least, because of the presence of:

A White Elf:

A Blue Kithkin:

A Colored/Colorless Hybrid Mana:

And this seemingly annoying/powerful card:

I wish it was April 19 already... ;-)

Standard Tournament - Mar 8, 2008

2008-03-09T11:35:00.011+08:00

Not to be discouraged at my poor performance at the previous night's FNM, I joined the regular Standard tourney the following day at Galleria.

I used a slightly upgraded version of the Kithkin deck I used in the FNM 2 weeks ago. Basically:

1. I upgraded the landbase by adding a 3rd Flagstones of Trokair and putting in 3 Horizon Canopies (thanks to Kotzen of NG forums for arriving early!) and 1 Pendelhaven.
2. Instead of the 3 Trios and 1 Ajani, I put in 2 Calciderms and 2 Griffin Guides.
3. For the 1-drops, I put in 2 Mosquito Guards to replace 2 of the Goldmeadow Harriers.

// Lands
5 [UNH] Plains
4 [MOR] Rustic Clachan
3 [TSP] Flagstones of Trokair
2 [LRW] Windbrisk Heights
4 [MOR] Mutavault
3 [FUT] Horizon Canopy
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven

// Creatures
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 [MOR] Cenn's Tactician
2 [LRW] Goldmeadow Harrier
2 [MOR] Mosquito Guard
4 [LRW] Knight of Meadowgrain
4 [TSP] Serra Avenger
4 [MOR] Kinsbaile Borderguard
2 [PLC] Calciderm

// Spells
4 [PLC] Sunlance
4 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
2 [LRW] Militia's Pride
2 [TSP] Griffin Guide

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [TSB] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 4 [PLC] Mana Tithe
SB: 2 [TSB] Disenchant
SB: 1 [TSP] Tivadar of Thorn
SB: 2 [10E] Paladin en-Vec
SB: 3 [CS] White Shield Crusader
SB: 1 [10E] Wrath of God

Round 1: vs. BG Warriors

In game 1, I had Sunlances ready for each warrior that he was casting, and I had an Oblivion Ring ready for his Chameleon Colossus. He, on the other hand, didn't have much answer to my Kithkins and lost. Game 2 was reaaaaly good -- too bad I can't remember the exact board set-up though. I think I was at 6 life, my opponent was at 1 life, and it was his turn. We both have a few creatures, but I had 1 creature more than he did. He had a Profane Command in hand, but it wasn't enough no matter which modes he chose -- I was just going down to 1 -- even if he aimed at me, my defenders, or putting Fear on some of his creatures. He did it anyway, and when it was my turn, I had enough attackers to push the final point of damage on him. Match score: 2-0; Standing after 1 round: 1-0.

Round 2: vs. WG Mana Ramp

First game was one-sided in favor of my opponent. Second game was one-sided in favor of me. The third game was well played and went down the wire... but I eventually lost to, just like the previous night, an Akroma, Angel of Wrath. Match score: 1-2; Standing after 2 rounds: 1-1.

Round 3: vs. BG Elves

All I can remember from this match was that the first thing I did was to Sunlance a 2/3 Tarmogoyf. So I started the game happy. The last thing that happened though was I got Garruk-overran by an army of elves. Not good. Meaning, I lost. Good thing his deck was 10 times more expensive than mine (exag), so no bad feelings there. ;) I still wish I had Tarmogoyfs and Garruks though... Match score: 0-2; Standing after 3 rounds: 1-2.

Round 4: vs. Mono-red Crusher

I won the first match, thanks to a costly mistake by my opponent. Down to 7 life, he attacked with all his creatures, I thought for a moment, took all the damage and was down to 10. Problem was, I had an 8/8 flying Borderguard. I again thought for a while and decided to attack with it. No blockers. Stack damage? Ok. When he looked at his life, he just smiled, and scooped his cards. The second and third games were no fun though. It just seemed like his whole deck was an anti-Kithkin deck, when I got faced by numerous Sulfur Elementals and Blood Knights. And when he wasn't casting those, he was burning my face with Incinerates and Shard Volleys -- all while he had a Countryside Crusher in play. GG. Match score: 1-2; Standing after 4 rounds: 1-3.

Round 5: vs. Mono-blue Merfolk

I kept on reading my opponent's cards on this match, because I was unfamiliar with the Merfolk cards. It was also an unorthodox Merfolk deck because first of all, it was mono-blue, and his strategy was aggro first (via Lord of Atlantis, Merrow Reejerey and other cards that grant islandwalk), and library second (via Grimoire Thief). It was a funny match though because both of us made a couple of stupid mistakes on the game. One time, I attacked with all creatures thinking that I could get him down to zero life even if he blocked my larger creatures. However, when we computed the math at end of combat, he was actually just down to 1. And I had all my creatures tapped. Good thing he didn't draw either of the Merfolk lords on his draw, or he would have been able to push enough damage to kill me. Match score: 2-0; Standing after 5 rounds: 2-3.

Round 6: vs. Dragonstorm

This match proved that practice is SOOOO important in this game. I knew about his deck inside out, having used it the night before, so I easily won the match. It did have some scary moments though when he was able to activate Spinerock Knoll, only to reveal a Sulfurous Blast underneath. That didn't kill the Paladin en Vec though, due to Pro-Red, so he got beat by my first striking Knight. Match score: 2-0; Standing after 6 rounds: 3-3.

Round 7: vs. UBrw Mannequin-Control

My Kithkins raced to a blazing start and I won very quickly in the first game. This created a problem for my second game though, because I didn't know what to side-in. I only knew that his lands covered 4 colors -- UBRW -- and that he cast a few black removal spells. This made me decide to side-in the White Shield Crusaders and the Paladin en Vecs. Problem was, on the second game, he beat me with Mulldrifters, and a few Shriekmaws. Confused for the third game, I decided to just restore my deck to its original config. The third game was long but exciting. Unfortunately though, my opponent's deck revealed its true form in that game, when he cast a few Pyroclasms to clear out my Kithkins, Liliana to disrupt my hand, and Makeshift Mannequin on his Mulldrifters and Shriekmaws. Match score: 1-2; Standing after 7 rounds: 3-4.

Final rank: 39th place among 60+ players. Still on the bottom half of the curve... :(

FNM - Mar 7, 2008

2008-03-09T10:43:00.007+08:00

The thing with playing a Dragonstorm deck is that your match results are pretty much like flipping a coin -- because it largely depends on how lucky your draw is. Problem is, I'm not very lucky with coin flips. And that was exactly the case in last Friday's FNM.

Here's the deck that I used -- a modified version of the original DS deck, without the Pyromancer's Swath-Rift Bolt combo, but with a more controllish theme, via the maindeck Sulfurous Blasts and Siege-Gang Commanders:

// Lands
4 [LRW] Spinerock Knoll
4 [TSP] Fungal Reaches
4 [TSP] Molten Slagheap
8 [UNH] Mountain
3 [MOR] Mutavault
1 [10E] Karplusan Forest

// Creatures
4 [TSP] Bogardan Hellkite
2 [10E] Siege-Gang Commander

// Spells
4 [TSB] Dragonstorm
4 [TSP] Lotus Bloom
4 [CS] Rite of Flame
4 [10E] Shock
4 [TSP] Rift Bolt
4 [10E] Incinerate
2 [MOR] Shard Volley
4 [TSP] Sulfurous Blast

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [TSB] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 4 [TSB] Dodecapod
SB: 3 [FUT] Ghostfire
SB: 3 [TSP] Ignite Memories
SB: 3 [TSP] Krosan Grip

Round 1: vs. Mono-red burn

Burn after burn after burn... Mogg Fanatic, Keldon Marauders, Incinerate, Rift Bolt. And I drew no Dragonstorm despite having sooo much mana. Match score: 0-2; Standing after 1 round: 0-1.

Round 2: vs.UB Reanimator

Four words -- Akroma, Angel Of Wrath. And on both games. I did get a chance to Ignite Memories for 5 though, with him on 12 life and 3 cards on hand -- I only hit a Shriekmaw once, and a land 4 times. Apparently he had 1 Shriekmaw and 2 Underground Rivers on hand. Match score: 0-2; Standing after 2 rounds: 0-2.

Most players would drop the tourney at this point. It was still quite early though, so I decided to play another round before heading home.

Unfortunately, my 3rd and 4th round opponents were one of those "0-2 and drop" guys, and they no longer showed up on our table. I won those matches by default, and my standing after 4 rounds was a miserable 2-2.

Spring Cleaning

2008-03-04T19:26:00.000+08:00

Hi, I'm Benj and I'm an MTG Addict.

I just noticed that I've been posting about nothing but Magic: The Gathering for the past couple of weeks, so I finally decided to just move all MTG-related posts here and try to keep my main blog Magic-free.

Standard Tournament - Mar 1, 2008

2008-03-02T13:27:00.001+08:00

Yes, I'm blogging about a tournament that probably just ended an hour ago. That's how badly the day went.

Here's the deck that got ran over today:

// Lands
4 [10E] Sulfurous Springs
4 [LRW] Auntie's Hovel
2 [FUT] Graven Cairns
4 [UNH] Mountain
4 [UNH] Swamp
1 [TSP] Kher Keep
1 [FUT] Keldon Megaliths
1 [TSB] Pendelhaven
1 [MOR] Mutavault

// Creatures
4 [10E] Mogg Fanatic
4 [TSP] Mogg War Marshal
4 [LRW] Knucklebone Witch
4 [MOR] Taurean Mauler
2 [MOR] Earwig Squad
2 [LRW] Boggart Mob
2 [10E] Siege-Gang Commander
2 [TSP] Greater Gargadon

// Spells
4 [10E] Incinerate
4 [MOR] Shard Volley
2 [LRW] Eyeblight's Ending
2 [LRW] Fodder Launch
2 [LRW] Boggart Birth Rite

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 3 [10E] Deathmark
SB: 4 [10E] Cryoclasm
SB: 2 [LRW] Profane Command
SB: 2 [TSP] Word of Seizing

Round 1: vs. UB Faeries

My day didn't start so well with my first creature, Mogg War Marshall, getting Rune Snagged. After that, it was just me trying to fend off my opponent's 1/1 flyers with removal, and even though I eventually got to cast a Boggart Mob, his Bitterblossom just made a blocker every turn. I lost when, after Incinerating a pre-damage stack Scion of Oona, he cast another one of those faerie lords, and I got ran over by slightly larger faeries. Game 2 was much better, with me racing to a blazing start with Fanatic, War Marshall and Maulers. He quickly conceded after getting stuck at 3 lands and 6 life. Game 3 however, was much like the first one, because he once again succesfully cast 2 Scions of Oona -- and I didn't have any removal for the first one this time -- giving all his faeries shroud, and me my first loss of the day. Match score: 1-2; Standing after 1 round: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Mono-white Kithkins

I felt good when I got matched up with the deck that I had the most practice with, and the deck I'm most familiar to play against. Unfortunately, my opponent was extremely lucky, with a turn 1 Stalwart, turn 2 Banneret, and turn 3 Stalwart, Banneret, Mirror Entity. There's not much I can do to a bunch of 4/4 Kithkins but block. Eventually, I ran out of blockers and lost. Game 2 was a bit better, because I got to Deathmark his Mirror Entity. However, I had no answer to a second Mirror Entity, and he was just Sunlancing my Taurean Maulers. I once again bowed to a bunch of, this time, 5/5 Kithkins, even though I got to delay it a bit by bluffing to hold removal (he was afraid that I'd chump block and Incinerate his ME). The inevitable happened, with me drawing land after land, and I once again lost the match. Match score: 0-2; Standing after 2 rounds: 0-2

Round 3: vs. Mono-green Aggro

This was really quick. Game 1 -- Warhammered Ascetic? Nuff said. Game 2 -- turn 4 Spectral Force, turn 5 another Spectral Force, and Scryb Ranger. GG. Match score: 0-2; Standing after 3 rounds: 0-3.

Maybe I should just play Pokemon. :(

After that last bit of bad luck, I just dropped from the tourney, texted Beej, and we proceeded to watch Dan In Real Life. Good thing the movie was nice.

FNM - Feb 22, 2008

2008-02-24T04:48:00.002+08:00

Here's the deck that I played:

// Lands
8 [UNH] Plains
4 [MOR] Rustic Clachan
4 [MOR] Mutavault
2 [TSP] Flagstones of Trokair
2 [LRW] Windbrisk Heights
2 [10E] Forbidding Watchtower

// Creatures
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 [LRW] Goldmeadow Harrier
4 [MOR] Cenn's Tactician
4 [LRW] Knight of Meadowgrain
4 [TSP] Serra Avenger
4 [MOR] Kinsbaile Borderguard
3 [LRW] Thoughtweft Trio
1 [LRW] Ajani Goldmane

// Spells
4 [PLC] Sunlance
4 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
2 [LRW] Militia's Pride

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [TSB] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 4 [PLC] Mana Tithe
SB: 2 [TSB] Disenchant
SB: 3 [TSP] Temporal Isolation
SB: 2 [10E] Paladin en-Vec
SB: 1 [TSP] Tivadar of Thorn

I was initially supposed to use the Dragonstorm deck that Jovs and I built up, but I had last minute second thoughts. First of all, I hadn't played in over a month. I had no idea about the post-Morningtide metagame, other than what I had been reading on the forums and around the Internet. And from that knowledge, I realized that the deck might not fare so well. Rogues had Earwig Squad; Blue had Trickbind; White had Rule of Law and Story Circle; Red had blazing speed with Mauler and Crusher; and Green was, well, really good.

Bottomline is, I realized that I wouldn't be comfortable playing a combo deck in this FNM. I wouldn't be able to stand all the talk that my opponents would do while I was busy computing if I had enough mana to make the combo go off.

Round 1: vs. Mono-black Rogues

In the beginning, I was glad that I hadn't played the DS deck because I was instantly paired against the deck that I was fearing to play to begin with. But a few Prickly Boggarts, Oona's Prowler, and an Earwig Squad later ("jesterscapping" my Sunlances), my gladness easily faded, and I went down 0-1. Even after boarding in the Paladin en-Vecs and Temporal Isolations, I quickly lost because I was never able to draw them. :( Match score: 0-2; Standing after 1 round: 0-1

Round 2: vs. Mono-red Skred

I made some early damages (as Kithkins are supposed to do), until he got to play his Phyrexian Ironfoot. Good thing I drew into an Oblivion Ring and he didn't have enough removal, and he eventually bowed down in the first game to my small Kithkin army. For game 2, I once again boarded in the Paladins... which this time paid dividends. :) I was able to draw AND play two of them, and he had no chance against the pair of human knights. All he could Stalking Yeti was my Stalwart, but his snow creature being afraid of my knights, they couldn't do anything. Match score: 2-0; Standing after 2 rounds: 1-1

Round 3: vs. RG Warriors

I was extremely lucky, or should I say, my opponent was extremely unlucky in this round. He mulled to 5 on the first game with 1 land, not getting his 2nd land until he had 5 or so life left. For the second game, I decided to board in 4 Mana Tithes. Good decision! Game 2 was an even matchup up until he tapped out to cast a Chameleon Colossus. It always feels good when you beat a 400+ peso card with a 10 peso common. :) He eventually bowed to my Kithkins after I also Sunlanced his Imperious Perfect. Match score: 2-0; Standing after 3 rounds: 2-1

This FNM was starting to shape up like my first one... well, up until Round 4.

Round 4: vs. RG Mana-ramp

The first game took a loooong time to finish. I had a bunch of Kithkins; but he would play a Siege-Gang Commander, killing them all. I would pump my soldiers with Ajani; but he would Sulfurous Blast. Eventually though, his own end of combat Sulfurous Blast killed him, when he forgot to remember that one of my creatures hadn't been blocked. For round 2, I boarded out the Sunlances in favor of Temporal Isolations, and I also boarded in my lone Tivadar because I knew he had a Chameleon Colossus (I watched him in a previous round, where he had a Warhammered Colossus pumped up TWICE... from my calculation, that would make it a 28/25 trampler... scary.)

As game 2 progressed, I realized that I had no chance of winning the game. At around the same time, the tournament organizers were already asking for our match result. Being a fair player, I just proceeded to play the game normally, when other players would have already begun to stall. He eventually won the game, as expected, and we wound up with a draw. Match score: 1-1; Standing after 4 rounds: 2-1-1.

This was when things got a little, um, intense. My opponent got a little uneasy that we ended up with a draw. He told me, "Sayang naman yung packs. Kung ok lang sayo, bigay mo na lang sa akin yung panalo, tapos hatian na lang kita sa packs kung may mapanalunan." I thought for a second, then I told him, "Wag na bro. Yung totoo na lang, draw na lang tayo." He then angrily left the table and left.

In the end, round-four-guy ended up in 15th place, and I ended up in 16th place. Prizes were awarded to players up to 13th place, so we both went home empty handed.

Oh well. Better luck next time.

Another FNM, another PR

2008-01-25T01:35:00.003+08:00

Jan 18 - FNM @ Galle

After last week's encouraging results, I decided to join again on last week's FNM. Instead of using the BR Goblin deck again though, I decided to use Beej's white weenie deck instead.

// Lands
2 [10E] Forbidding Watchtower
2 [LRW] Windbrisk Heights
2 [TSP] Flagstones of Trokair
16 [LRW] Plains

// Creatures
4 [TSB] Icatian Javelineers
4 [TSP] Knight of the Holy Nimbus
4 [LRW] Knight of Meadowgrain
4 [PLC] Calciderm
4 [TSP] Serra Avenger
2 [LRW] Mirror Entity
2 [TSP] Celestial Crusader

// Spells
4 [LRW] Oblivion Ring
2 [TSP] Temporal Isolation
2 [10E] Condemn
4 [TSP] Griffin Guide
2 [LRW] Militia's Pride

// Sideboard
SB: 4 [10E] Paladin en-Vec
SB: 4 [PLC] Sunlance
SB: 3 [TSB] Disenchant
SB: 2 [LRW] Hoofprints of the Stag
SB: 2 [10E] Rule of Law

Rd 1: Won vs. mono-black discarder

Rd 2: Draw vs. a UB control animator/Teferi deck
I'm quite proud of this round, despite just getting a draw, because my opponent was a regular winner in G2 FNMs. :)

Rd 3: Lost vs. another mono-black discarder
My opponent suggested I use Loxodon Warhammer instead of Griffin Guide. Hmmm... maybe.

Rd 4: Won vs. RG mana-ramp

Final standing: 2-1-1 Good for another 12th place finish, with a Time Spiral booster as prize. The pack was crappy though -- the lone "non-crap" card being a Scryb Ranger.

Jan 19 - Morningtide Pre-release @ Galle

Met with Jovs at 8:45am on the Taft MRT station. When we arrived at Galleria at around 9:15am, there was already a long line! The distribution of pods was starting though -- this being the only bright spot on the MOR PR -- everything went on as scheduled. Unfortunately, due to "circumstances that were beyond their control", we got 6 MOR booster packs instead of the expected 1 Lorwyn Tournament Pack + 3 MOR packs. There goes our wishes to get a Garruk... :(

Noteable cards: NONE. :( Maybe some, if you consider Titan's Revenge, Oona's Blackguard, and the warrior and soldier equipments. But I didn't get a Mutavault, Murmuring Bosk, nor a Mind Shatter. :(

Anyway, I really need to work on my deck-building. I built a UBR rogue/prowl deck, and ended up with a 2-2 standing. I didn't realize until after the first round though that my mana curve was bad (most of my spells were 4cc and up), so I had to make a "revised deck" for use on game 2's -- I basically converted my deck to UBG after each first game.

Most probably as a result of the use of MOR packs, we weren't able to get our booster prizes immediately. Instead, we got "vouchers" which, as of this morning, we apparently can't claim until the weekend of the release on Feb 1.

All in all, despite the setbacks, the PR was still fun. It's always nice to see, have, and use new cards (Moonglove Changeling + Thornbite Staff rocks). :)

First prize

2008-01-16T01:00:00.000+08:00

Actually, I got 12th place in last Friday's FNM but this is my first prize ever, since I started joining sanctioned competitive Magic. :) 50+ naman yung kasali, so this is a pretty decent finish, at least for me. Hehe. Thanks to Jovs for lending me sideboard cards. Hindi ko nagamit yung Extirpate, pero very useful ang Cryoclasm! :)

Got 160 PhP value for 120 PhP entrance fee... plus LRT & MRT fare... bawi lang. Hehe.

For my own personal log of games (and for other Magic players who might accidentally read this blog), here's my tourney report:

Round 1: Lost to a UR deck packed with Sulfur Elementals and Epochrasites. Kaya sana talunin, kung wala lang syang Pyroclasm.

Round 2: Won vs a mono-blue Illusion deck (Riftwing Cloudskate, Errant Ephemeron, Krovikan Mist). Nakaka-disrupt sya with bounce spells, pero my Goblins are too fast and too many for his deck.

Round 3: Won vs a Spinerock/Dragonstorm deck. Thanks to Gargadon! Almost lost in 1 game when I forgot to "sac all lands, attack with gargadon" until 1 turn later.

Round 4: Won vs a mono-white Kithkin deck. Note to self: Think of a solution to Dolmen Gate. Hmm. Maybe *I* should use it.

I ended up with a 3-1 record after 4 rounds, which is apparently good enough for a 12th place finish. :) I'll play again this coming Friday hehe.

The Morningtide pre-release is this coming weekend... Sana may Garruk sa Lorwyn Tournament Pack. Hehe.