The Christmas season is always a time to have fun and relax. But for tournament hungry players like me, it is 3 weeks of no playing time, no practice, and no grinding. The good news though is that its the best time to focus on new tech since the metagame is well defined and there is no rush to practice your deck.
The project I came up with for the next 2 weeks is coming up with a deck to fit the monster demon named Abyssal Prosecutor. In my opinion he is definitely a player in the game if only we could find him a place in this standard world. A friend of mine came up with a B/G aggro version for him comprised mostly of beats and a little disruption. I on the other hand would like something a little bit more on the control side, but still aggressive enough to make a few palms sweaty.
First thing that came to mind is monoblack control, which i think i will stick with right now. there are three major components to previous successful MBC decks: 1. lots of creature control; 2. lots of disruption; and 3. a card advantage engine. Black right now has the first two components, but lacks the final key. this led me to the other side of the coin: card advantage isn't simply drawing more than your opponent, its making your opponent lose cards without you losing any. having said this, i came up with a list of cards that would do that. my best choices are:
gatekeeper of malakir(+1rcreature for me, -1creature for opponent)
skinrender(+1rcreature for me, -1creature for opponent)
mind rot(2 cards for one)
mindsludge(X cards for one)
bloodhusk ritualist(X cards for one)
consuming vapors(2 cards for one)
consume the meek(X cards for one)
ratchet bomb(X cards for one)
lilianna vess(X cards over time)
now, mix these with a few of black's staple cards and i think we may be on to something... here's what i came up with:
3 inquisition if kozilek
1 duress
4 mind rot
1 mindsludge
3 consuming vapors
4 gatekeeper of malakir
3 skin render
3 bloodhusk ritualist
3 abyssal prosecutor
2 grave titan
3 liliana vess
2 ratchet bomb
4 everflowing chalice
4 tectonic edge
20 swamps
The one thing that sets this decklist apart from the other MBCs is its speed. When opponents cast creatures, Gatekeepers and Skinrenders rush in to kill the critter, and provide a creature to put pressure on the opponent early into the game. Plus lets not forget our powerhouse demon.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of a playing partner, I havent playtested it yet. on paper, It looks decent enough, I just dont know yet. I would appreciate any feedback on this decklist.
We may as well be on the verge of building the perfect Prosecutor deck, maybe we're one or two sets away,this much i can say though about that card: give it the right fit and it will rule the standard world.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Gold Rush 2010
The Gold Rush weekend has been nothing but full of surprises and harsh realizations. This is the Philippines year-end tournament and is one of the biggest of the season.
after weeks of preparation and a two-day brainstorming session with a fellow player and good friend Marvin(who claims to be the next pro player in the Philippines), we have come to the conclusion: UB control still has the best matchups for the metagame. Disruption in the form of duress is great against UW(or so we thought); Grave titan, Doom blades and Consume the meek makes short work of beatdown; Spreading seas and Tectonic edge takes care of Valakut, and so on...
We have come up with this decklist:
3 duress
3 inquisition of kozilek
4 preordain
2 smother
2 doom blade
4 mana leak
1 deprive
1 stoic rebuttal
3 spreading seas
2 seagate oracle
1 jace beleren
4 jace the mindsculptor
1 consume the meek
3 grave titan
4 darkslick shores
4 drowned catacombs
3 creeping tar pit
4 tectonic edge
2 misty rainforest
1 verdant catacomb
5 island
3 swamp
The battle plan was simple: construct a deck that has favorable matchups against control. Based on experience, control decks are as slow as ever in standard. So winning game one is key. Our deck had 3 duress and 3 inquisitions to prepare for the control match-ups. My sideboard was filled with nine creature control spells to win back games 2 and 3 against beats. The deck seemed pretty solid. Our play seemed very tight. Yet after the dust settled, I finished at 3-3-1. I would love to go through the details of each round, but right now I just want to point out some things I learned in the event.
1. Too few win conditions - Grave titan is an excellent card for this deck, unfortunately, it was the only one capable of finishing the opponent in a short timespan. Jace the Mindsculptor is a wn condition as well, based on experience takes too long to pull off. This proved to be a fatal flaw of the deck as it gains control fairly easily during the first few turns and fails to take advantage of the disruption during mid-late game.
2. UW control is a monster - All of my loses came from UW. The deck simply has too many powerhouses! Gideon Jura, Jace the Mindsculptor, Baneslayer angel, Sun titan, Elspeth Tirel, and the list goes on... I gain contrl of the game early, but having that many outs in his/her deck, top-decking an out was inevitable.
3. Using a decklist based on the world championships puts a big bullseye in your forehead - I'm sure you noticed that this decklist is an improvised version of the decks that made it to the top 8 of the worlds. The bad news is that everybody else saw it and either prepared for it, or played it as well. luminarchs ascensions, leyline of sanctities, and vampires were all over the place. All of my loses came from UW, and I even consider myself lucky to not have faced a vampire deck(that would have made my record worse).
4. Two days of practice is not enough - i invited my friend over two days before the tourney to do serious playtesting. we barely covered a third the field of potential decks to watch out for. Magic requires a lot of time and commitment. 2 days with a new decklist is like dipping your toes in the water to see if you can take the cold.
5. Eat Healthy and Smart! - For those of you who dont know, the reason why we feel sleepy after eating has to do with our body's natural reaction to digestion. Our bodies only have a certain ammount of energy to release at a particular time. And digesting food needs energy. So eating a heavy meal right before a match would mean diverting some of your energy to digesting instead of focusing it on the game(imagine captain kirk telling Zulu to divert 50% power to thrusters and 50% to shields while fighting a klingon warship, that's goodbye Enterprise!). the key to sustained energy: eat small portions every chance you get. this would maintain your energy level thougout the tourney.
This weekend was a wake-up call for me. If I am to make it to the national championship this year, I would have to put some serious work ethic in my game. Otherwise this personal goal of mine to make the Worlds would just be another pipe dream. There are no failures in life, just lessons to be learned. This was a big one.
after weeks of preparation and a two-day brainstorming session with a fellow player and good friend Marvin(who claims to be the next pro player in the Philippines), we have come to the conclusion: UB control still has the best matchups for the metagame. Disruption in the form of duress is great against UW(or so we thought); Grave titan, Doom blades and Consume the meek makes short work of beatdown; Spreading seas and Tectonic edge takes care of Valakut, and so on...
We have come up with this decklist:
3 duress
3 inquisition of kozilek
4 preordain
2 smother
2 doom blade
4 mana leak
1 deprive
1 stoic rebuttal
3 spreading seas
2 seagate oracle
1 jace beleren
4 jace the mindsculptor
1 consume the meek
3 grave titan
4 darkslick shores
4 drowned catacombs
3 creeping tar pit
4 tectonic edge
2 misty rainforest
1 verdant catacomb
5 island
3 swamp
The battle plan was simple: construct a deck that has favorable matchups against control. Based on experience, control decks are as slow as ever in standard. So winning game one is key. Our deck had 3 duress and 3 inquisitions to prepare for the control match-ups. My sideboard was filled with nine creature control spells to win back games 2 and 3 against beats. The deck seemed pretty solid. Our play seemed very tight. Yet after the dust settled, I finished at 3-3-1. I would love to go through the details of each round, but right now I just want to point out some things I learned in the event.
1. Too few win conditions - Grave titan is an excellent card for this deck, unfortunately, it was the only one capable of finishing the opponent in a short timespan. Jace the Mindsculptor is a wn condition as well, based on experience takes too long to pull off. This proved to be a fatal flaw of the deck as it gains control fairly easily during the first few turns and fails to take advantage of the disruption during mid-late game.
2. UW control is a monster - All of my loses came from UW. The deck simply has too many powerhouses! Gideon Jura, Jace the Mindsculptor, Baneslayer angel, Sun titan, Elspeth Tirel, and the list goes on... I gain contrl of the game early, but having that many outs in his/her deck, top-decking an out was inevitable.
3. Using a decklist based on the world championships puts a big bullseye in your forehead - I'm sure you noticed that this decklist is an improvised version of the decks that made it to the top 8 of the worlds. The bad news is that everybody else saw it and either prepared for it, or played it as well. luminarchs ascensions, leyline of sanctities, and vampires were all over the place. All of my loses came from UW, and I even consider myself lucky to not have faced a vampire deck(that would have made my record worse).
4. Two days of practice is not enough - i invited my friend over two days before the tourney to do serious playtesting. we barely covered a third the field of potential decks to watch out for. Magic requires a lot of time and commitment. 2 days with a new decklist is like dipping your toes in the water to see if you can take the cold.
5. Eat Healthy and Smart! - For those of you who dont know, the reason why we feel sleepy after eating has to do with our body's natural reaction to digestion. Our bodies only have a certain ammount of energy to release at a particular time. And digesting food needs energy. So eating a heavy meal right before a match would mean diverting some of your energy to digesting instead of focusing it on the game(imagine captain kirk telling Zulu to divert 50% power to thrusters and 50% to shields while fighting a klingon warship, that's goodbye Enterprise!). the key to sustained energy: eat small portions every chance you get. this would maintain your energy level thougout the tourney.
This weekend was a wake-up call for me. If I am to make it to the national championship this year, I would have to put some serious work ethic in my game. Otherwise this personal goal of mine to make the Worlds would just be another pipe dream. There are no failures in life, just lessons to be learned. This was a big one.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
The Gold Rush trials...
Its Thursday night again, time for another Gold Rush trials at Titan Hobby Shop. there wasn't too many people(8 to be exact), but still a good place to earn some points and gain some experience. The payout is a few packs and one Gold Rush bye for the winner. Gold Rush by the way is a 64k tournament coming this December. So the goal is nothing less than a 1st place finish. later on in the tourney I heard news that the bye may be waived due to the lack of attendees. Lets just play hard and hope for the best.
The tourney started at around 8pm. 4 rounds. This should be fun...
I wont go into detail with the games since the ambiance was very casual. There were 2 other UB control decks, a RUG Ramp, a Boros Landfall, and a few rogues. These rogues were particularly fun since one of them was a poison deck, the other was a metalcraft concept. Nevertheless, I ran though both of these concepts like a freight train. Poison decks in my opinion is still too young to be a threat(although it did win one game against me). One set is just not enough for it to be formidable. Metalcraft is the same. It may have a bunch of nice components, but that's about it for now. I had the most problems with the mirror match. the games were simply too long and the advantage shifted so many times that we were only able to manage a draw. RUG Ramp as usual was very explosive and needed a 3rd game for me to become victorious.
To sum it all up, I won the tourney with a record of 3-0-1. not bad,since it gave me the confidence to play the deck even more! I'm starting to get the hang of the pace and slowly realizing the strength and synergy of the deck. UB control is really about gaining small advantages at the start and start gaining momentum at the very late game(when I say late game I mean turn 20+).
All successful people say that all successes, no matter how big or small, should be celebrated. This is to strengthen the heart, and nourish the spirit. this may be a small victory for me, but it is mine to enjoy!
The tourney started at around 8pm. 4 rounds. This should be fun...
I wont go into detail with the games since the ambiance was very casual. There were 2 other UB control decks, a RUG Ramp, a Boros Landfall, and a few rogues. These rogues were particularly fun since one of them was a poison deck, the other was a metalcraft concept. Nevertheless, I ran though both of these concepts like a freight train. Poison decks in my opinion is still too young to be a threat(although it did win one game against me). One set is just not enough for it to be formidable. Metalcraft is the same. It may have a bunch of nice components, but that's about it for now. I had the most problems with the mirror match. the games were simply too long and the advantage shifted so many times that we were only able to manage a draw. RUG Ramp as usual was very explosive and needed a 3rd game for me to become victorious.
To sum it all up, I won the tourney with a record of 3-0-1. not bad,since it gave me the confidence to play the deck even more! I'm starting to get the hang of the pace and slowly realizing the strength and synergy of the deck. UB control is really about gaining small advantages at the start and start gaining momentum at the very late game(when I say late game I mean turn 20+).
All successful people say that all successes, no matter how big or small, should be celebrated. This is to strengthen the heart, and nourish the spirit. this may be a small victory for me, but it is mine to enjoy!
Monday, November 29, 2010
If it ain't broke... dont fix it!
For those of you who don't know, I have been using Nick Spagnolo's famous UB control deck the past weeks. I have had success with it so far, but the main problem I encounter is with the Trinket Mages. It is true that in the late game, they are monsters. Able to improve your percentage of drawing spells and further maximize my mindsculptors. Early in the game, it makes for good defense against beatdown and even fetches an extra turn(with the elixir). The biggest problem though is the mid game. With all the ramp versions out there, clearly this is a cause for concern. having said that, I have come up with a few options to edit my deck.
1. Abyssal Prosecutor - This card is obviously a monster for mid game runners. it is a massive blocker for beatdown decks, a good card to race with titans(except for frost), and the drawback is easy to take care of considering the other components of the deck. it's only bad match-up would be the mirror.
2. Mimic Vat - Once again focuses on the early to mid game. Very good against beatdown, and very good against ramp. it is also a decent addition against a mirror match. the only down side: It has to be a total deck re-vamp. To make it an effective card, you have to load more useful creatures. The mages will only be good for a few turns except with a mindculptor in play, but i don't want to consider a 3-card combo considering we want to take care of the mid-game. If this card is to enter the deck, the mages need to go, gatekeepers and prosecutors also need to come in.
3. Gatekeeper of Malakir - Great for beatdown, great against titans. But once again, bad for the mirror. The BBB casting cost is going to be a problem in some games where we need it by turn 3.
These cards all make good additions to the deck. The only question would be the mirror. by going with these cards, we could be in very good shape for everything else. I have another tournament to attend this thursday, I would need to make a decision by then.
1. Abyssal Prosecutor - This card is obviously a monster for mid game runners. it is a massive blocker for beatdown decks, a good card to race with titans(except for frost), and the drawback is easy to take care of considering the other components of the deck. it's only bad match-up would be the mirror.
2. Mimic Vat - Once again focuses on the early to mid game. Very good against beatdown, and very good against ramp. it is also a decent addition against a mirror match. the only down side: It has to be a total deck re-vamp. To make it an effective card, you have to load more useful creatures. The mages will only be good for a few turns except with a mindculptor in play, but i don't want to consider a 3-card combo considering we want to take care of the mid-game. If this card is to enter the deck, the mages need to go, gatekeepers and prosecutors also need to come in.
3. Gatekeeper of Malakir - Great for beatdown, great against titans. But once again, bad for the mirror. The BBB casting cost is going to be a problem in some games where we need it by turn 3.
These cards all make good additions to the deck. The only question would be the mirror. by going with these cards, we could be in very good shape for everything else. I have another tournament to attend this thursday, I would need to make a decision by then.
Friday, November 19, 2010
the first of many...
My first tournament report.
i went to the tournament venue a full hour before the event began. it was the Gold Rush Trials at Titan Hobby Shop. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the field and adjust my UB control deck accordingly. there were already a lot of players there, but no one was playing except for two UB control decks playing each other. everybody else had their decks with them, but was not willing to give up any information. at this point, i was a bit tempted to play 2 grave titans and 1 frost titan instead of 3 frost titans due to the amount of doom blades i was expecting to encounter. after a few minutes of contemplation, i went with the 3 frost titans. This decision would prove to be crucial in this tournament.
Round 1: (vs. UB control)
It seemed just right that my first round back on the tournament scene would be a headache. a mirror match would not only be a long ordeal, but also a draining one.
Game 1: after a few exchanges of mana leaks and duresses, i found myself with stuck at four lands. after my opponent saw i didnt land drop for two straight turns, he activated both his tectonic edges and killed off two of my lands, i never recovered and the trinket mage finished me off. it took him a good 10 turns but the mage had a ton of counterspells and doom blades to back him up.
Game 2: i boarded in 3 memoricides and 2 more duresses. an early and mid game duress gave me enough room to get my mindsculptor in, after that it was all downhill from there. the massive card advantage eventually ended in an exiled library. on an off note: the trinket mages were pretty useless in this situation. i boarded them out, put back the doom blades i previously removed.
Game 3: once again, we exchanged duresses and mana leaks. i had 6 land untapped, 7 in hand, one of them a frost titan, and no counterspells. this is the point of the tournament that i realized i still had a lot to learn. in a moment of lunacy, i casted my titan hoping to use up one of his counters and set up my next few turns to cast the 2 mindsculptors in my hand. he mana leaked the titan and cast memoricide on his turn to eliminate my mindsculptors. i never recovered. there was a point in the game when i had the chance to bounce his titan to force a draw, but i was on tilt. i failed to make the right play again.
erick 0-1-0
Round 2: (bye)
i had a lot of time to cool off and reflect on what just happened. one of the things i learned to read in my days playing poker is the art of bluffing. little did i know that it would be the difference between winning and losing. had i kept my mana untapped and represented a few counters, the game would have gone differently. after lots of hydration and focus, i was ready to make another run.
erick 1-1-0
Round 3: (vs. ramp)
Game 1: i started my hand with a bunch of counters, kept the momentum up with a midgame jace beleren, and eventually replaced it with the better jace and broke the game wide open.
Game 2: dumped the mages and a few others for 2 more duresses and 3 memoricides. i casted a turn 3 mindsculptor but my opponent responed with a turn 5 and 6 gaea's revenge. 'nuff said.
Game 3: The same as game two, but without the Gaea's Revenge on turns 5 and 6.
erick 2-1-0
Round 4: (vs. RDW)
Game 1: after seeing the klin fiend on turn 2, i knew i was in good shape. i have been playtesting this deck against RDW with a lot of success. my rule against this deck: take the burn and pick on the creatures. with a deck composed of several creatures and several burn spells, my opponent will need around 9 or ten burn spells to kill me. on the average, RDW has around 14-18 burn spells. this means he will only get those burn spells by turn 23 based on the law of averages. 23 turns is about 18 turns too many for RDW. i can't remember the specifics of the match, but i remember i knew exactly how to play my cards.
Game 2: i loaded up with lots of removal in the form of disfigures and vapors, But an explosive hand with 2 goblin guides and a jinxed idol on the fifth turn was enough to force a game 3.
Game 3: i tried to stop the initial assault with doom blades and disfigures. at turn 5, he had no creatures and 2 cards in hand. i casted my mindsculptor and fatesealed to give him 5 counters. looking at the opportunity as a chance to cast spells without permission, he opted to cast the jinxed idol w no creatures in play. Jace and i loaded up on counterspells and kept the creatures from play. he took 10 damage from the idol before he could dump it to me, to which i responded with into the roil on the idol. he never played it again and my tar pits ended the game.
erick 3-1-0
Round 5: (vs. eldrazi ramp)
Game 1: after what seemed to be an eternity of countering, we ended up in the midgame with 1 or 2 cards in hand(probably both of them lands) and topdecking our swing cards. he got one first with eye of ugin. i could nnot keep up with eldrazi after eldrazi. he finally resolved an emrakul and finished the game.
Game 2: still countering the land spells to keep my opponent from reaching 6 mana early, i ended up with the same decision as in round 1: i had no countermagic in hand, 6 or 7 untapped mana and 1 frost titan. it took me a long time before deciding he had no threats he could cast the next turn to stop me. i casted the titan, tapped the eye of ugin. the next turn he dropped ulamog and destroyed my titan. this was my round 1 nightmare all over again! luck was on my side though, my next 3 draws were consuming vapors(+12 life from ulamog!), frost titan, and another frost titan for good measure.
Game 3: i mulligan-ed down to 5 and ended up with flashfreeze, island, darkslick shores, jace beleren, and doom blade. due to my hand disadvantage, i changed plans and stopped trying to counter/doom blade his ramp cards and kept them for the biggies. it worked! eventually we were in a stalemate again waiting for a few good draws. because i had a jace beleren in play. i was gaining more ground. he was able to cast kozilek at one point, but i had 2 titans at hand and that proved to be the game breaker.
erick 4-1-0 (final ranking: 2nd place)
overall, not a bad way to start the season. with proper play and more playtesting, i'm sure thinks will just get better. things to note though: had i not tilted in round 1 and forced a draw, i would have been 1st in the tourney and got myself a bye in the gold rush next month. one small mistake ripples into something bigger. hopefully this ripple doesn't reach the Gold Rush next month.
i went to the tournament venue a full hour before the event began. it was the Gold Rush Trials at Titan Hobby Shop. I was hoping to get a glimpse of the field and adjust my UB control deck accordingly. there were already a lot of players there, but no one was playing except for two UB control decks playing each other. everybody else had their decks with them, but was not willing to give up any information. at this point, i was a bit tempted to play 2 grave titans and 1 frost titan instead of 3 frost titans due to the amount of doom blades i was expecting to encounter. after a few minutes of contemplation, i went with the 3 frost titans. This decision would prove to be crucial in this tournament.
Round 1: (vs. UB control)
It seemed just right that my first round back on the tournament scene would be a headache. a mirror match would not only be a long ordeal, but also a draining one.
Game 1: after a few exchanges of mana leaks and duresses, i found myself with stuck at four lands. after my opponent saw i didnt land drop for two straight turns, he activated both his tectonic edges and killed off two of my lands, i never recovered and the trinket mage finished me off. it took him a good 10 turns but the mage had a ton of counterspells and doom blades to back him up.
Game 2: i boarded in 3 memoricides and 2 more duresses. an early and mid game duress gave me enough room to get my mindsculptor in, after that it was all downhill from there. the massive card advantage eventually ended in an exiled library. on an off note: the trinket mages were pretty useless in this situation. i boarded them out, put back the doom blades i previously removed.
Game 3: once again, we exchanged duresses and mana leaks. i had 6 land untapped, 7 in hand, one of them a frost titan, and no counterspells. this is the point of the tournament that i realized i still had a lot to learn. in a moment of lunacy, i casted my titan hoping to use up one of his counters and set up my next few turns to cast the 2 mindsculptors in my hand. he mana leaked the titan and cast memoricide on his turn to eliminate my mindsculptors. i never recovered. there was a point in the game when i had the chance to bounce his titan to force a draw, but i was on tilt. i failed to make the right play again.
erick 0-1-0
Round 2: (bye)
i had a lot of time to cool off and reflect on what just happened. one of the things i learned to read in my days playing poker is the art of bluffing. little did i know that it would be the difference between winning and losing. had i kept my mana untapped and represented a few counters, the game would have gone differently. after lots of hydration and focus, i was ready to make another run.
erick 1-1-0
Round 3: (vs. ramp)
Game 1: i started my hand with a bunch of counters, kept the momentum up with a midgame jace beleren, and eventually replaced it with the better jace and broke the game wide open.
Game 2: dumped the mages and a few others for 2 more duresses and 3 memoricides. i casted a turn 3 mindsculptor but my opponent responed with a turn 5 and 6 gaea's revenge. 'nuff said.
Game 3: The same as game two, but without the Gaea's Revenge on turns 5 and 6.
erick 2-1-0
Round 4: (vs. RDW)
Game 1: after seeing the klin fiend on turn 2, i knew i was in good shape. i have been playtesting this deck against RDW with a lot of success. my rule against this deck: take the burn and pick on the creatures. with a deck composed of several creatures and several burn spells, my opponent will need around 9 or ten burn spells to kill me. on the average, RDW has around 14-18 burn spells. this means he will only get those burn spells by turn 23 based on the law of averages. 23 turns is about 18 turns too many for RDW. i can't remember the specifics of the match, but i remember i knew exactly how to play my cards.
Game 2: i loaded up with lots of removal in the form of disfigures and vapors, But an explosive hand with 2 goblin guides and a jinxed idol on the fifth turn was enough to force a game 3.
Game 3: i tried to stop the initial assault with doom blades and disfigures. at turn 5, he had no creatures and 2 cards in hand. i casted my mindsculptor and fatesealed to give him 5 counters. looking at the opportunity as a chance to cast spells without permission, he opted to cast the jinxed idol w no creatures in play. Jace and i loaded up on counterspells and kept the creatures from play. he took 10 damage from the idol before he could dump it to me, to which i responded with into the roil on the idol. he never played it again and my tar pits ended the game.
erick 3-1-0
Round 5: (vs. eldrazi ramp)
Game 1: after what seemed to be an eternity of countering, we ended up in the midgame with 1 or 2 cards in hand(probably both of them lands) and topdecking our swing cards. he got one first with eye of ugin. i could nnot keep up with eldrazi after eldrazi. he finally resolved an emrakul and finished the game.
Game 2: still countering the land spells to keep my opponent from reaching 6 mana early, i ended up with the same decision as in round 1: i had no countermagic in hand, 6 or 7 untapped mana and 1 frost titan. it took me a long time before deciding he had no threats he could cast the next turn to stop me. i casted the titan, tapped the eye of ugin. the next turn he dropped ulamog and destroyed my titan. this was my round 1 nightmare all over again! luck was on my side though, my next 3 draws were consuming vapors(+12 life from ulamog!), frost titan, and another frost titan for good measure.
Game 3: i mulligan-ed down to 5 and ended up with flashfreeze, island, darkslick shores, jace beleren, and doom blade. due to my hand disadvantage, i changed plans and stopped trying to counter/doom blade his ramp cards and kept them for the biggies. it worked! eventually we were in a stalemate again waiting for a few good draws. because i had a jace beleren in play. i was gaining more ground. he was able to cast kozilek at one point, but i had 2 titans at hand and that proved to be the game breaker.
erick 4-1-0 (final ranking: 2nd place)
overall, not a bad way to start the season. with proper play and more playtesting, i'm sure thinks will just get better. things to note though: had i not tilted in round 1 and forced a draw, i would have been 1st in the tourney and got myself a bye in the gold rush next month. one small mistake ripples into something bigger. hopefully this ripple doesn't reach the Gold Rush next month.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
First Strike...
Two days away from my first standard tourney in years... This Thursday at Titan Hobby Shop owned by JT Porter(one of the top guys in the Philippines). This should be interesting...
On a different note, I'd also like to add a few things i noticed about my UB control deck while playtesting:
On playing Jace the Mindsculptor; Once he hits the board, if your opponents are UW control, RDW, Quest WW, and Elves(with no Vengevines in the graveyard), play the fateseal ability first. It is the optimal play most of the time due to Lightningbolts, Creeping Tar Pits, and plain and simple beatdown. This is definitely not a rule set in stone. Magic is such a High-Variance game that the best play is not something you can memorize. One thing about poker that i'm starting to apply in my magic game is putting players on hands(or thinking of what they might have based on statistical probabilities), and acting accordingly. the problem with most players i see in FNMs is that they play on just one side of the table. they think of what they have and what to do next, without regard for the opponents board. this is a fatal mistake. not only do you have to adjust to your opponent, but you have to think of the best play at that point in time.
one thing i will do from here on: observe my opponent! memorize my hand, put it down, and get as much info as i can from my opponent. proper strategy, reading opponents, and making the correct play is key to magic success!
I will discuss this theory of mine in future blogs cause i still need time to test it first.=)
On a different note, I'd also like to add a few things i noticed about my UB control deck while playtesting:
On playing Jace the Mindsculptor; Once he hits the board, if your opponents are UW control, RDW, Quest WW, and Elves(with no Vengevines in the graveyard), play the fateseal ability first. It is the optimal play most of the time due to Lightningbolts, Creeping Tar Pits, and plain and simple beatdown. This is definitely not a rule set in stone. Magic is such a High-Variance game that the best play is not something you can memorize. One thing about poker that i'm starting to apply in my magic game is putting players on hands(or thinking of what they might have based on statistical probabilities), and acting accordingly. the problem with most players i see in FNMs is that they play on just one side of the table. they think of what they have and what to do next, without regard for the opponents board. this is a fatal mistake. not only do you have to adjust to your opponent, but you have to think of the best play at that point in time.
one thing i will do from here on: observe my opponent! memorize my hand, put it down, and get as much info as i can from my opponent. proper strategy, reading opponents, and making the correct play is key to magic success!
I will discuss this theory of mine in future blogs cause i still need time to test it first.=)
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