Gold Rush 2008 - Dec 27-28, 2008

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

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

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.