Magic 2010 Prerelease - July 11, 2009

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

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. ;-)

Conflux Prerelease - Jan 31, 2009

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. :)

Shards of Alara Prerelease - Sep 27, 2008

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? ;-)

Eventide Prerelease - Jul 12, 2008

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. :)

Shadowmoor Prerelease - Apr 20, 2008

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. :)

Another FNM, another PR

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). :)