Following the Dragon's Maze to the League Finals,or If I only Had a Brain!

"Although extraordinary valor was displayed by the entire corps of Spartans and Thespians, yet bravest of all was declared the Spartan Dienekes. It is said that on the eve of battle, he was told by a native of Trachis that the Persian archers were so numerous that, when they fired their volleys, the mass of arrows blocked out the sun. Dienekes, however, quite undaunted by this prospect, remarked with a laugh, 'Good. Then we'll have our battle in the shade.' " - Herodotus, The Histories

 

If you know me, you know I love history, especially accounts of the world's great military leaders and conflicts throughout the ages.  Nothing is more to my heart than the last stand of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae nearly 2,500 years ago.  They are an appropriate side bar to a recounting of the Dragon's Maze Pre-Release and Gatecrash League final 4.

 

"Molon Labe!" (Come and get them!) - King Leonidas

 

Attendance for the Dragon's Maze Pre-Release were sparse.  Competition from other locations with midnight tournaments have caused many early tournaments to have lower turnouts.  Still, that didn't prevent those that came from having a blast.

 

 

I didn't do very well, my best placing was 2d on Sunday afternoon.  I had chosen Boros combinations for my first two tournaments, and on Saturday I got paired with Azourius.  That failed.  Sunday afternoon I got paired with Gruul, that faired better.  Sunday night I got my dream brew of Rakdos and Boros and it failed as well.  Saturday's tournament was won by Leo Walters IV (Way to go Leo!), playing a nasty Gruul build.  Sunday's early tournament was won by Rich Bourque and our Sunday evening tournament went to Steve Winz.  Congrats to all that played and thank you to all that attended. 

 

The semi finals of the Gatecrash League saw Mark Jr facing Courtney and Joanne facing me. Mark Jr. vs. Courtney was over a cup of espresso.  Well, not so literally.  The match apparently took less time to play than it would to drink a shot of coffee.  Mark was crushed by the Boros onslaught by turn 4 or 5 each game.

 

"Either With it or on it." - Queeen Gorgo, note written upon King Leonidas's shield ticket.  

 

I played Joanne.  Her Simic deck had been rolling all league long.  It was the one of 2 decks that actually defeated me in the league itself. I was honestly more afraid of Joanne's deck than Courtney's.  The deck catapulted Joanne into her first ever FINALS.  Yes, it was a league, but it was a FINALS.  To win something.  The deck was fine.  It wasn't broke. It didn't need fixing. Not to mention Mark Jr. had just helped her build one hell of a deck in her Simic colors.

 

Imagine my surprise when I sat down and saw a mountain hit the table for her first land.  And this was Boros.  There was absolutely no competition. Her deck was horribly put together and I noted it really had no tempo.  Two quick matches and Joanne was done.  Both games she had mana issues and zero synergy with her deck. 

 

Now, I have some criticism about this match and I DO NOT apologize ahead of time if anyone doesn't like what I have to say.  Who dropped Joanne's ball?  The cooks in the kitchen did.  I do not mind that people have helped Joanne design her decks.  If she is learning from what they build for her and she understands the WHY's and HOW's of the deck, that's fine.  But how do I put this?  Please allow me to use this analogy:

 

After a teenager has learned to drive an automatic sub compact car, what business does ANYONE have telling the kid they should drive a tractor trailer.  ON A HIGHWAY.  During Rush Hour. With an Ambulance behind you. 

 

That's what people did to Joanne when they learned she pulled a third Boros Reckoner in our packs for the finals.  And told her to change her deck but left her responsible for the build.  

 

You literally threw a raw meat to a wolf.

 

Yes, Joanne pulled 3 Boros Reckoners during league.  Yes, she had a multitude of Boros cards at her disposal.  Yes, in constructed she does play a similar deck, a deck that was built using input from Lilac House regulars.   But to enforce that she build a deck on her own after coddling her isn't fair to Joanne.  SHE DIDN'T EVEN PUT ALL 3 RECKONERS IN THE DECK!!!  Wasn't that the point of changing her color scheme?  AND SHE RAN 15 LAND!!!  What are you people teaching her?  Gods!  In one breath I'm so excited that both she and Courtney made the finals.  In another I want to shake someone for causing another person's demise. 

 

What were you people thinking?  I believe Joanne had a legitimate chance to win the League if she hadn't been "advised" (I use that term loosely) to change her color scheme.  If she came up with the idea on her own, shame on her advisors for not telling her to stick with Simic.  This ranks up there with some of the greatest blunders in the history of Magic at Lilac House.  I certainly hope Joanne has learned something from this.

 

"Tonight we dine in Hades" - King Leonidas

 

Courtney and I met in the fun and glaring window sun of CiCi's.  To insure that Courtney won, I brought my wife, THE COOLER, with me.  Yeah, I said that.  Mrs. Bourque whooped me in 2 successive games like I had gone out back to get the switch, myself.  Here was her build.  She pulled the Aurelia in her packs for the finals: 

Act of Treason
Aurelia, the Warleader
Boros Charm x2
Boros Elite
Court Street Denizen
Firemane Angel
Foundry Champion
Gift of Orzhova
Homing Lightning
Madcap Skills
Martial Glory
Mugging
Skyknight Legionnaire x4
Sunhome Guildmage x2
Truefire Paladin
Warmind Infantry

 

Mountain x8
Plains x6
Boros Guildgate x2 

(Editor's note:  There is a count discrepancy.  Soon as Rich notices this I will annotate the entry) 

The first was over quick; in the second I had her on the ropes after a long game that saw me mana starved for double white and unable to cast my Aurelia for the win, instead I was forced to cast a Foundry Champion, which Courtney promptly stole on her turn with an Act of Treason to seal the deal.  Courtney brings home the clock. 

"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
that here, obedient to their laws, we lie" - inscription at monument in Thermopylae 

I regret I won't have much time to accommodate this blog or even Magic going into the future.  A new door has opened for me, of which this blog is partially responsible; yet an unfortunate side effect of it will be me not having much casual free time anymore.  Future entries in this will be less and less Lilac House-centric as my new venture will prevent me from being secularized in how I write.  You may note that the name of the blog has changed to reflect that.  I pass the torch on to who wishes to grab it.  The new players at Lilac will still need a voice to guide them. 

Until the next time I shout something about being INFAMOUS . . .

 

PEACE!

Another Magic League is about to end (or WAR IS H E DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS!)

 

Cry “havoc!” and let loose the dogs of war.

— William Shakespeare 

The words from the Bard harkens the subject of today's blog.

War. 

Well, war in the Boros sense.  The Magic the Gathering sense.  You see, it's time for Dragon's Maze to hit the shelves, which indicates it's the end of another Magic League at Lilac House; and a mighty play-off for the League Championship. 

Our League format is very casual.  Some stores require you to play on a specific day in some sort of tournament setting.  At Lilac House, we play when we can against who we can.  Our regular league "days" are at currently Thursdays at CiCi's in Cicero and any given day at the Lilac House store, with Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays being the most popular. League is fun - imagine a sealed limited format going on for a number of weeks in which you can improve your deck.  Near the end, well, if you built your deck properly, you should have what amounts to a constructed 40 card deck. 

 

For the Gatecrash league I chose the Boros Faction, it served me well in the Gatecrash pre-release and has not failed me yet in the League.

 

 

My league deck, with some assistance form the greatest military minds America has ever known: 

 

…an imperfect plan implemented immediately and violently will always succeed better than a perfect plan.

— General George S. Patton 

 

Red Spells:

1x Madcap Skills

2x Mugging

1x Homing Lightning

3x Bomber Corps

1x Firefist Striker 

 

In war there is no substitute for victory.

- Douglas A. MacArthur 

 

White Spells:

3x Daring Skyjek

2x Syndic of Tithes
1x Guardian of the Gateless

1x Blind Obedience

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
- George S. Patton  

Gold Spells:

2x Aurelia, the Warleader

2x Wojek Halbediers

2x Skyknight Legionaire

1x Sunhome Guildmage

1x Foundry Champion

 

It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.
- Douglas MacArthur  

Land:

2x Boros Guildgate

7x Mountain

8x Plains 

 

Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base.

— General George S. Patton 

 

The deck is incredibly fast.  Combining aspects of the extort mechanic into the deck has assisted me in gaining the life edge against similar aggro decks.  As you can see, multiples of battalion creatures and Aurelia, the Warleader have been insuring me wins.  The deck has built a reputation - people in league didn't want to play it unless they had their games for the week in already.  I am flattered by this. 

The deck's record is 10-1-2 thus far (10 wins, 1 loss, 2 concessions) with one game to go and the play-offs to follow this weekend.  I am currently in first place, as of this writing.  Mrs. Courtney Bourque has a similar deck and It is possible that in the end Courtney could very well take my first place spot from me.  Her deck is just as good. I look forward to facing her in the finals.

 

Anyone can play in league at Lilac House and I encourage you join, regardless of your age.  The prizes Mark provides are pretty awesome and unique.  The Dragon's Maze League will start next week with the release, see the store for more details. 

 

I hope to see many faces at the pre-release of  Dragon's Maze this weekend.  Lilac House continues to grow in numbers and reputation as a place to play our game free of stress or egos (if you don't count mine). 

 

I leave you with the words of an Honorary American Citizen: 

 

War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can’t smile, grin. If you can’t grin, keep out of the way till you can.

— Winston Churchill

Gatecrash Pre-Release, or "Always the bridesmaid, Never the Bride!

Another Magic set pre-release has come and gone with a bang!  Lilac House proudly sponsored 3 pre-release tournaments this weekend, opening its doors to welcome a plethora of players of all skill levels.

Martin Biando, a refugee from Comix Zone who got there too late to play and brought a group of friends to Lilac House after finding us on the interent, won our Saturday tournament, defeating your's truley in the final round with, who would have guessed it, BOROS?

TOP Mark Carfagno Jr (left) vs. Doc Casey (right)

 

With the Boros guild the predicted shoe-in for prizes, the black horse of the weekend, was 8-year-old Henery Memmer who won our Sunday afternoon event, the largest of the three.  Henery rode Boros to victory with a 5-0 match record, losing only a handful of games all day.  The match of the day was his epic face off with our Return to Ravinca pre-release winner, 12-year-old Zach Cooper in round 4. 

Henery Memmer (left) & Zach Coper (right)

 

I had a chance to talk to Henery about his deck, one he built himself with no assistance from any adults, just before he went into the 5^th and final round. 

TOM:  Henery, when you built your deck, what were you thinking?

HENERY:  At first I thought it was bad, but then after I played my first 2 rounds and I won, everyone was like “Henery, your deck is really good.”  And then I played my third round.”

TOM: How did you decide what cards you wanted in it (your deck)?

HENERY:  Well, I started off with Boros and I opened my Boros pack first, of course, and all those cards in the pack were good and so I opened my other packs and I got a bunch of other good cards so I decided to play Boros.  And I almost played some black but I realized I could go straight Boros.

TOM:  Well, good, it obviously paid off for you.

HENERY:  Uh huh! 

Henery faced me in round 2.  His deck was a powerhouse of Boros cards.  He utilized Blind Obedience to slow his opponents down while building up hordes with Assemble the Legion.  His ace in the hole, however, was Holy Mantle.  The protection from creature’s enchantment assured him victory in most every game he played.  
 

Courtney Bourque vs. Mark Carfagno

 

After his 2-1 victory over me, Henery’s anxiety level shot up and he vomited blueberry bagel.  Poor kid.  He possibly had a stomach bug, too, no one knows and Henery sure wasn’t telling.  He apparently has nerves of steel, because this little boy recovered from the puking incident, carrying a bucket around with him the rest of the day taking names and mowing everybody’s lawn. 

After defeating Jeremy Lopez in round 5 to seal the deal, Henery had this to say: 

TOM:  So, Henery has won the tournament.  How do you feel?

HENERY:  Good that I won the tournament and I never like won a tournament in the first place before. 

TOM:  Do you like the fact that you beat a bunch of adults?

HENERY:  Yup.  Cos usually adults would be better players.

TOM:  How did you feel when you won?

HENERY:  Felt really really good because I never won first place in a (sealed) before.

TOM:  Tell us how you came up with your mancurve.

HENERY:  I came up with my manacurve cos I had a lot of low drops and Boros is supposed to be low drops and little guys and I had a bunch of those so I just put them in the deck.

TOM: How many land did you use?

HENERY:  17

TOM:  Why did you use 17? 

HENERY:  I had a bunch of 5 drops.

TOM: What card won you the most games, when you played it you knew you had the game?

HENERY:  Assemble the Legion and Blind Obedience. 

Boros assault!

 

Thanks to Henery’s performance, I ended up in second place at this tournament.  In fact, I took second at each tournament this weekend at Lilac House.  I also ran Boros in all three flights.  Boros was actually 2d in all three and first in 2 of the tournaments, Rich’s victory last night in the final tournament with Dimir being the one aberrant result from the norm.  No disrespect to Rich’s play or deck, but I made 4 critical errors in the game, which Rich pointed out to me afterward.  I played sloppily with out reading and understanding my cards fully after a long day of gaming and what was essentially my 9^th match of the day.  Boros lost to fatigue and a talented player that took full tactical advantage of his opponent’s ignorance like any good general should do! 

Until the next time I scream “I CAN’T BELIEVE I LOST TO AN 8-YEAR-OLD!”

 

PEACE!

HOW TO MAKE YOUR MANA RIGHT FOR LIMITED PLAY . . . or I hate doing math in my head!

GATECRASH is coming this weekend.  It’s time for another set release, which means it’s time for a weekend of limited sealed pre-release events.   

Other than selecting the cards to use, your mana base is the most important thing during a limited event.  Every limited tournament, people ask other people how much mana should I put in the deck.  This inevitably leads to an opponent seeing your card pool and it takes the element of surprise from you when facing that “helper.”  At a venue with a small playing pool like Lilac House, this could affect the game greatly. 

In the early days of Magic, a constructed deck was made of 20 creatures, 20 spells and 20 land. If you piled your creatures and spells into groups of 4, your would end up with 10 piles of 4 cards, adding 2 land to each pile made 60 cards and 20 years ago this mana base would have been fine with all the artifact mana fixing available like Sol Rings and Moxes.  Shift to the here and now of Magic and Mana bases have changed drastically.  Most decks bump the mana curve and run more than 20 land – even with mana dorks and fetch cards.  Most modern era decks run 23-24 land. 

Limited is VERY similar to the old days of Magic constructed yet it has the uneven mana ratio of a modern day deck.  A limited deck is 40 cards, not 60.  One would say that by using the old school “math,” you could get away with running 10 lands.  That isn’t the case.  You have to jump the curve. 

Depending on your highest casting card, a limited deck should have at LEAST 15 land.  If the highest casting cost is 5 or more, you should seriously consider 17 or even 18 land in your deck.  Yes, I know that is nearly half your deck, but if you want your “bomb” 6 or 7 drop Mythic to hit the table, you DO NOT want to miss land drops.  Mana fixing artifacts and man dork creatures can help alleviate this problem and lower your land count. 

Let’s say I pulled the following cards in a Return to Ravnica limited event.  Sealed or draft is moot, the formula is the same.  Because it is me we are talking about here, I would not want to disappoint Rich Bourque and not use Rakdos as an example.  Here is my pool, broken up by cost and separating creature from spells, enchantments and artifacts:

As you see, I have once again acquired a great Rakdos selection (wink at Rich!).  I have a good balance of creatures, removal, pump and some mana boost.  This deck would run 17 mana sources.  16 land plus a Rakdos Keyrune in order to be effective with my large amount of 3 drops and afford the Chaos Imps.

After I become satisfied with my selected cards, I then place them in piles of 4 based on color:

Note I have placed artifacts in slots where I had no cards to match the color(s) present.  There are 6 piles of 4 and a last pile of 2 Rakdos Guildgates dual lands I managed to obtain. 

Now place 2 land of each appropriate color on each stack of 4:

 On the multi colored stacks, place 1 of each color in the pile:

On piles with artifacts, place 1 of each color in the deck, as well:

After this you should have 6 piles of 6 cards in each and one with 2 cards, the acquired lands.  This will make 38 cards.  On the land pile place 1 of each land:

You now have a 40 card limited deck with a proper mana ratio.  Your building field should resemble this:

Sleeve, shuffle and run a few test hands before you face your first opponent. 

If you play more than 2 colors, adjsut the mana according to the colors you are playing, especially in regards to artifact and land piles; these should reflect the 3 or more colors you are playing in which cards you place there.  For example:  your last pile of 4 lands should have at least 1 of each color you are playing.

This simple visual tool can help solve many math problems for experienced and novice players.  I’ve used it for 20 years and it still works without fail as I rarely have mana issues in a limited event.  This formula also guides you by restricting the ceiling of your build.  Too many neophytes make limited decks larger than 40 cards.  That is a cardinal NO NO!  The smaller the deck, the better the odds that you will draw what you need.

Good luck to all those come to the Gatecrash Pre-Release this weekend at Lilac House.  Mark is running 3 release events: 1 on Saturday at 1:00 and 2 on Sunday at 1:00 and 5:00 respectively. I hope to see you all there! 

 

And Rich?  Please note the following:

Until the next time I draft a BOROS deck . . .

 

 

PEACE!

(Rich Bouque is the level 2 Sanctioned Magic the gathering DCI Judge for Central New York.  Please see him for all your judging questions.  If you wish to become a Magic the Gathering Judge, Rich can also assist you in that.)

GP Atlantic City, An Unexpected Journey OR The quest to “Not be THAT guy!”

Since returning to competitive Magic in 2009-2010, I’ve been to handful of Star City and TCG grinder events.  I’ve had mixed results, ending up in the middle of the pack somewhere at each of these and dropping after I hit the magic number of 3 or 4 losses.  This past weekend was the scheduled Grand Prix in Atlantic City, NJ – an event I hadn’t planned on going to – until an impulse decision earlier in the week.  Grabbing some of card gaming crew (Bobby King and Alex Artese), we packed my car and went on adventure to the Vegas of the East Coast. 

1646 Players.  The largest tournament I’ve participated in.  Ever.  Pro players dotted the landscape, impossible to tell them apart from your standard gaming nerd, except for buttons identifying them as pros.  We even stayed with a group of “them” Friday night when we got to Jersey.  Let me put it to you this way:  Magic pros party like rock stars.  That makes them my kind of people. 

When I go to grinders, I try not to be ME.  I can be obnoxious in a tournament setting, my lack of social skills shining like a shit stain on my underwear.  This can either make people laugh or turn them off, either is fine by me, to be honest, and locally I enjoy being a “character” in the game.  But when I go out of town, I don’t want to piss the wrong person off so I always tone it down to NIL.  I withdraw and keep my mouth shut and I play my favorite game.  Instead of sarcastically annoying my opponents and those sitting around me, I try to be mellow and calm with success.  This became the theme of my Grand Prix experience.  I thrived on it – but it was also my downfall. 

 

I came with 2 decks.  My recent play has been a Bant Mid-Range creature fest with which I’ve had some success with locally.  The build is unique in some aspects and it’s the variances of the deck that have made it successful.  I also brought my venerable RDW, the deck I won Lilac House Ravnica Gameday with.  The deck has subtly changed since I won, but kept the essence of a typical RDW I will play.  After consulting with Alex, I allowed him to talk me into playing RDW, accepting his sound logic that I should play what I know and what matches my play style best.  This was the first decision of the weekend I would regret making in hindsight.  I do not fault Alex for this, as his arguments for me playing the deck were sound. 

Main Deck:
4 Ash Zealot
4 Hellrider
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Rakdos Shred-Freak
4 Stromkirk Noble
3 Thundermaw Hellkite

1 Bonfire of the Damned
3 Brimstone Volley
3 Flames of the Firebrand
2 Mizzium Mortars
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Searing Spear

3 Cavern of Souls
20 Mountain

Sideboard:
2 Bonfire of the Damned
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Mizzium Mortars
3 Smelt
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Volcanic Strength
2 Zealous Conscripts 

A typical RDW build for me, sticking with my “old school” thought process of “MAXIMUM FIREPOWER” and not going below 12 damage spells in the main board.  This would be both a benefit and a bane through out the day.  My second regret of the day was not including my Pithing Needles in my sideboard.  That mistake would be critical during the day. 

ROUND 1:  vs. RDW (Leo Redko) 

My first GP.  My first GP match.  And my opponent is LATE.

Grumble. 

I so do not want to be THAT GUY, so I don’t call judge.  My neighboring players are getting on me for not calling judge, but I tell them – I don’t want to ruin this guy’s GP.  He shows up, and get this – HE LEAVES!  The guy sitting next me laughs and says “Time to be THAT GUY?”  

I call for the Judge.  Leo is returns, is given a first game loss. 

Leo is playing a Vexing Devil RDW build.  I didn’t see much of it.  My deck played by the numbers.  Cackler turn 1, Zealot turn 2, Flames of the firebrand turn 3, Hellrider turn 4.  Turn Hellrider sideways, win.  Poor guy dropped 2 vexing devils and a cackler the whole game. 

ROUND 2:  Vs. Peddler Rites (Jeff Miller) 

My first real match of the day wasn’t a very happy experience for me.  Jeff was confident in his deck and showed it during play.  Game 1 was all me at first, I got Jeff down to 10 life then my deck started sputtering and his started rolling.  I hate conceding with 19 life left, but I had to after the game state got out of control with a plethora of humans on board. 

Game 2 was much different.  I got Grafdigger’s Cage out on turn 1.  He fights back by going pure agro, throwing Huntmasters at me.  I manage to maintain a Hellrider with Volcanic Strength and win the game. 

Game 3.  Ugh.  I’m not going to bitch.  Take this for what it’s worth.  

I manage to control the board early and get some hits in, and then turn 5 comes.  He has 1 white source (a Clifftop Retreat) and casts Faithless Looting. AFTER casting the spell, but BEFORE he drew his cards for the spell, he realizes he made a mistake in tapping his Clifftop Retreat.  He attempts to untap it and tap instead his Rootbound Crag.  I tell Jeff I can’t allow that.  He argues he changed the mana source before he drew and it was legal.  Now I know he can’t do this.  The REL is COMPETITIVE.  Once you tap a land it’s freaking tapped.  Bottom line.  I call Judge. 

I am not faulting Amanda Stevens.  I respect Amanda.  She is a fledgling Judge and was asked upon arriving at the event to assist in officiating.  Amanda ruled that because he had not yet drawn his cards he could adjust the tapped mana sources. 

So, sticking to my guns to NOT be THAT GUY, I accept Amanda’s ruling.  This allows Jeff to cast Unburial Rites; targeting Angel of Glory’s Rise and floods the board with Huntmasters, Nightshade Peddlers and Izzet Static Casters. 

I draw my card for my turn, I’ve got some outs.  A Bonfire would be nice, I say to myself. 

I pull Grafdigger’s Cage. 

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME???? 

Scoop phase.  Handshake.  I lose my match. 

Let this serve as a lesson to all – if at any time during and Competitive REL you feel a judge has made a bad call – GO OVER THEIR HEAD AND APPEAL! 

Amanda caught up with me later in the day, admitting she had made a bad ruling.  I do not fault Amanda for this, she is still learning.  And did she ever learn from this experience.  And I learned sometimes I do have to be THAT GUY. 

I am now 1-1 going into Round 3. 

 

ROUND 3: Vs. Rakdos Zombies (Jonathan Silvestri) 

This is a quick match.  I knew all day I would have the advantage over RDW and Rakdos with my superior firepower.  It proved me right this match.  Game 1 is by the numbers.  Game 2 I win with double Hellrider on the board. 

Who’s NEXT?!?!  I’m 2-1. 

ROUND 4: Vs. Naya (Andy Tan) 

Andy is a brilliant player.  He made top 8 in the 2012 NY States tournament playing an Azorious build.  He came to the GP with Naya, a fantastic deck for the format.  We play 3 hard games. 

Game 1:  Andy’s deck sputters with land issues.  My deck plays by the numbers and I win on turn 5. 

Game 2:  My Fudge Up.  Andy’s deck rolls from the gate.  I’ve maintained a decent board state, throwing out creatures as fast as he does but he’s getting the answer every time.  During a combat exchange, he attempts to block a Stromkirk Noble with a Huntmaster.  Initially I don’t think of it, and then while he is still hemming and hawing over his block assignments, I realize he still throwing the Huntmaster in front of the Noble.  I eventually ask him if he’s passing priority, as I want to get this game moving.  He does, and when I tell him the Huntmaster can’t block the Noble, I realize he could never have assigned him as a blocker to the Noble to start.  We call judge and explain the issue at hand, feeling it would be better to have the judge handle the mess.  Andy is given a warning for essentially for not knowing his cards better and I am warned for not reminding Andy of the impossible block.  

In the end, Andy gets the win game 2. 

Game 3:  Andy starts out immediately having mana issues.  The right colors are not coming up.  My deck once again plays by the numbers.  Finally, on turn 7 I am able to swing with a Hellrider and searing Spear him for the win. 

3-1 Match record going into Round 4. 

ROUND 5:  Vs. Esper Control (Elijah Herr) 

Elijah was a fun opponent.  He came all the way from Bangor, Maine.  Game 1 goes to Elijah when I can’t deal with his board state.  Game 2 is a by the numbers win for me, again.  Game 3 I get him to 5 life, I can’t keep creatures on the board because Elijah is blowing up the board left almost every turn.  We play pass-mill for a number of turns, as he’s rocking a pair of Drown Yards on me. I’m not afraid, as I only need one of the 8 3-damage sources I run to beat him (I am holding a Pillar of Flame!).  He mills me out.  

And my earlier mistake in the day of not adding Pithing Needle to my sideboard bit me in the ass. 

3-2 going into Round 6.  I am in do or die now to make the day one cut and the day is only half over. 

ROUND 6:  Vs. Jund (Jeff Schoellkopf). 

Jeff hailed from the Reading area of PA and we had a great time playing our match.  He didn’t want to be there any more, neither did I.  Exhaustion and fatigue had taken their toll on both of us by this point.  He asked me a dozen times during our match to please win so he could go to bed.  I tried to accomodate him but things failed to work in my favor.

Game 1 I win with double Hellrider once again getting me there.  Game 2 is all Jeff as a pair of Thundermaw Hellkites win it for him.  Game 3 is in my favor until turn 6 when Jeff drops a series of Thragtusks after I had beaten him down to 3 life – and I had a Brimstone Volley in my hand but not enough mana to cast it.  He drops a Thundermaw shortly after, Rancors one of the Thragtusks and quickly overwhelms me, getting the win.   

3-3 now.  I’m exhausted and drop from the GP and enjoy my time dealing with vendors and artists. 

 

I learned much from this Grand Prix.  When choosing decks I should always go with my gut and, not what’s easiest for me to play.  Would I have had more success playing my Bant build?  No one knows.  What I do know is sometimes I do have to be THAT GUY, but now I I’ve learned a healthy balance of the 2 and I intend to project that going into the future, locally.  It makes the gaming experience more pleasurable for my opponents and myself. I need to discover a way to facilitate sleeping into my schedule when I travel out of town.  Fatigue is the #1 reason a person will make a board state mistake or keep a loose hand and I do credit some of my play errors to that.  Could I have changed what the fates had in store for me that day by playing tighter and being more aggressive? It’s possible, but the Gods of Magic randomness always seem to throw something different at you when you least expect it. 

 

Before I forget my companions for the trip, Bobby went 5-3, so did Alex – they were both playing some form of Rakdos and were in it right up to the cut, both losing in round 8.  Both had strong performances.  Note that Bobby has played Magic for only about 2 months now and did as well as a seasoned player like Alex and outshined his mentor (that’s me!).  Good job, brother. 

Until he next time I call JUDGE!

 

. . . PEACE!