Ol' Number 7

Sunday morning of the RPTQ, I went to breakfast with Berni, Friedman, Tobey, Dustin, and Canales at Norma's Cafe. The menu had four numbered items. #1 and #2 traditional breakfast plates, #3 was the chicken fried steak and eggs breakfast, and Ol' Number 7 was quite the mixture of foods in a giant bowl. It was never explained why there were not any numbers 4-6.

I've played in six PTs in my career. PT Philadelphia 2011, Dark Ascension, Avacyn Restored, Gatecrash, Born of the Gods and Journey into Nyx. Two of those (AVR and BNG) were in Spain. The upcoming PT Rivals of Ixalan is in Spain.

When I went to register for the RPTQ, the store was charging $20. This is not great, but really nothing to be done about it now. The complaints won't matter. After tax (?!?) the total was $21.65. I reached in my pocket and had exactly 65 cents in change to go with the Jackson and Washington in my wallet.

When I mulligan to five game three against Robots, I was mainly looking for lands. Both the seven-card and six-card hands contained only one land. The five-card hand was two Fetchland, Birds, Plains, Fracturing Gust. Top card was Ghost Quarter; I left on top. His draw was slow, no turn one creature. I play Birds after fetching Temple Garden. His turn two play was just Vault Skirge. My turn I draw another Ghost Quarter. I play a second fetch and pass. He attacks and plays Etched Champion. I fetch another Temple Garden EOT and play Ghost Quarter after drawing another land. He plays Blood Moon on his turn. Shit, why didn't I fetch a basic? This would be so much easier. Well I guess I have to GQ myself here for a Forest. He attacks me again. I play GQ on my turn, still one turn off from Gust. His turn he plays Ravager and two other artifacts. He attacks, but doesn't have enough to kill me just yet. With no cards in hand, he passes. I survived long enough and through my own misplay to cast Gust. Still at 7 life, it wasn't a guarantee, but I felt like things were looking up. I felt like I could make it all the way to the top 4.

RPTQ Prep Blog Part 4

I locked into GW Coco probably earlier than I thought. It was more than a pet deck at this point given how much I was winning with it. Adding Grasping Dunes really gave it another dimension to the existing myriad of plays. This deck has options, so many options.

The last decisions were sideboard decisions. I knew I wanted at least two Eidolon for the recent rise of Storm. I also thought Ghostly Prison would be good against the new Humans deck, considering how great it always is vs Merfolk and the similarities those two decks share. Prison also has application vs Dredge and Robots as well as rogue decks like Bushwhacker Zoo, etc. To make room for them, the Reclamation Sages ended up getting cut. While they are certainly good choices, I thought they weren't high enough impact for a sideboard slot and were merely just Nice To Have. It did leave me a bit weaker to Blood Moon, Spreading Seas, and Grafdigger's Cage, but every other card was better in those matchups. Dodging or ignoring Cage would be the plan, and Dramoka's Command would help beat pesky enchantments.

RPTQ Report

Round 1 - Goblins.
Game one he starts with Mountain Aether Vial. It took me a few seconds to even recognize that as Goblins. I played Voice into Knight into Knight, GQ myself twice in the turns to get big Knights and to fix my mana. Voice traded for a Goblin Guide, but Legion Loyalist meant the token wouldn't get to block. I attacked with it after playing the second Knight, then my opponent EOT Vial in Rabblemaster, untap play Goblin Guide number three and Goblin Bushwhacker. He attacked with two Guides, three tokens, a Loyalist, Bushwhacker, and Rabblemaster. I was forced to double block the Rabblemaster to make any kind of progress and not just die on the spot. I ended up taking one more than I should have as we both counted the token from Rabble as getting the bonus from Bushwhacker. I untapped and played Scavenging Ooze and was able to live the next turn at exactly 1 life. A third Knight helped kill him when he missed on his next draw step. Game two was never very close, he was stuck on one land so I held Path until I absolutely had to cast it, but by then I had a board of giants vs his board of weenies.
1-0

Round 2 - Robots
Game one very close, but 5 manlands and 2 Overseers proved too much for my GQ to handle and I couldn't attack on the ground. Game two he has RIP, but I have Stony Silence and Ghostly Prison. He can only attack for two a turn but I'm in danger of getting Whipflared with 2/2 Knights. I search up Township to get my guys big enough, then draw Dromoka's Command to kill RIP and eventually loop Grasping Dunes. Game three described earlier.
2-0

Round 3 - Dredge
Game one I'm fairly dead, but he forgets his Bloodghast triggers one turn and I draw my Scavenging Ooze to eat them. The game goes on at least six more very complicated turns. I manage to eat all his Conflagrates when he dredges into them also hitting Narcomoeba. I don't have enough of an army to block profitably every turn, and eventually he swarms me and kills me with top deck Bloodghast when I was trying to kill him by attacking with Scooze and Voice token. Game two I have turn 3 Ghostly Prison, he dredges all his Abrupt Decays, and I start attacking his mana. He has to Conflagrate to kill Excavator to stay in the game. I can't attack because his wall of Stinkweeds in the way until I manage to find another Excavator and loop Dunes to clear the way. I attack for lethal on turn 2 of extra turns while I'm at 50+ life.
2-0-1

Round 4 - GW Company Value
A mirror match (mostly). Game one we both have very good draws, but I have Grasping Dunes to break up his Scooze and Excavator. Eventually he is out of lands. Game two I have turn three Linvala, so my Knight and Scooze operate uninhibited by his.
3-0-1

Round 5 - GW Company Value
Would never have guess I'd play the mirror twice, but here we are. Thankfully I have more experience in mirror than opponents, and Grasping Dunes is amazing. Game two he has turn three Sigarda on the play, but I easily counterract with Linvala and multiple Coursers plus Azusa to never be threated too badly by the angel. Eventually I get Dunes online again and the 6 life I'm gaining from Coursers each turn means he can't hurt me with just the Sigarda and I kill him with giant Knights.
4-0-1

Round 6 - Valakut Breach
We ID. I'll probably be 8th seed.

By standings, the decks were: Abzan Midrange, Elves, Weird Abzan Company, Jeskai, Breach Titan, Lantern, Robots, GW Company Value

So of all the decks in the top 8, I get to play the one I have the best matchup against.

Top 8 - Abzan Midrange
He plays first, takes my Company with Brutality, and I draw a bunch of lands and die to Lingering Souls. Game two is similar, but I topdeck another Company to get back in and kill him. Game three goes longer, but I generate too much value and somehow strand a Liliana in his hand that he never has a good chance to cast. Eventually his only out is to topdeck Damnation, but he doesn't. I did manage to get a warning for fetching Horizon Canopy with Windswept Heath when I planned on going for it with Knight immediately after.

I win, I'm back on PT, and I'm going to Spain again, for Ol' Number 7.

Props:
Todd Stevens for making the deck
Whoever I stole Grasping Dunes tech from
Shane for finally Qing for PT
Will for helping me out with everything all the time

Slops:
Berni drawing 4 Through the Breach
Stores charging for RPTQs
Capitalism

RPTQ Prep part 3

Played a league with UG merfolk. went 2-3, but probably played poorly. Deck still the same really, has a bit more explosiveness but still weak late game, lack of instant interaction also a liability like humans.

Played a league with GW value. 3-2
Beat Eldrazi Tron 2-1, dropped first game despite getting him with 0 lands in play i just drew lands and his TKS kept beating in til I died. Next two games much easier.
Lost to Burn. Definitely expect this to be a pretty bad matchup overall without Finks.
Lost to Rb Skred. Game one interesting almost won through Blood Moon but Relic and Kozileks Return took out my KotRs and I couldn't get through Stormbreath. Game 2 more of the same.
Beat Esper Control, too much value.
Beat BW Eldrazi Taxes. G1 took most of the time on both clocks. Ended up at 1 life for a point before recovering with 4x Courser and Grasping Dunes to stop the Flickerwisp beats. G2 he ran out of clock.

played another league with UG merfolk. 3-2.
I tried out Sygg River Cutthroat, but didn't draw him. I also tried out 2 Copters, idea being makes Branchwalker better and you can play an extra land or two.
Beat Tron, Abzan, and Eldrazi
Lost to Humans and Infect, both winnable matchups.

RPTQ Prep Part 2

This was actually done before part 1, but just a copy paste of text I posted in group slack.

4-1 a league with GW with some spicy test cards

beat Merfolk 2-0, g1 drew enough paths and had GQ to stop his spreading seas from killing me
g2 got him with stony silence + rec sage on relic + ghostly prison after he drew two vial on the play

beat elves 2-1, game 1 had mindcensor to stop his chord, then GQ his white mana to keep him off druid vizier combo, had dunes + excavator but no azusa, had to use paths on archdruids to keep him from attacking, was slowing getting his mana down when he coco into vizer ezuri and I die on the spot. game 2 was similar, he had mindcensor when i activate KotR but I hit anyway and he didn't have enough gas. game 3 he kept clunk hand with mindcensor but i soul read him for it so i only fetch when I have path up, then I get him with Linvala.

beat robots 2-1, game 1 he had 2 memnite 3 pest 1 ornithopter, had a chance with mindcensor blocks + dunes, but he also had overseer and I was too far behind. game 2 I got him realllllll good with Dromoka's Command, he was 1 point off from infect turn prior so i took just 4, next turn I reveal path on top library with courser so he attacks pest inkmoth inkmoth with ravager in play, I just block pest with birds, he sacs just 1 guy to ravager and moves to inkmoth, i command to pump birds and have courser fight the inkmoth. once i draw path and i'm at high enough life to not worry.
game 3 was close he almost burn me out with 2x blast but didn't have metalcraft on one of them and stony silence + gq kept his army from swinging

round 4 vs BW tokens, just looped canopy + excavator 6+ times each game and was so far ahead even b2b topdeck damnation (is this real life) wasn't enough to get him back in it. also had primal hunter show up and draw 5 cards with kotr

round 5 vs tron, real close both games, had a GQ to delay the tron a few turns, had some reasonable pressure, but he recovered to find tron and had the Ugin (they always have the Ugin) when any other card wasn't good enough,

Mindcensor was just fine, it wasn't enough to stop Tron though maybe if the cards lined up better it could have, it did solid work vs Elves and is reasonable with GQ but wasn't so great that playing 3 was worth it.

dunes was surprisingly great, used it to pick off lingering souls tokens, random elves, and reasonable insurance vs etched champion, def should have 1 in 75 if only playing 2 colors
I didn't miss Tireless Tracker, as I suspected extra Canopy with excavator was enough to grind
also didn't miss Scavenging Ooze, though deck is bordering on not having enough 1 and 2 drops

Ghostly Prison did what I wanted it to do, not sure if its needed
Linvala still great, Stony Silence still great, Dromokas Command still solid
Didn't bring in Intervention so its still a question mark in my mind
Primal Hunter was as good as I hoped, but no better than that, and likley isn't as strong vs other grindy decks and the slot is tight
obv didn't get to test eidolon

RPTQ Prep blog part 1

RPTQ is soon, going to type up some stuff about my prep so far.

I played some with the 5 color humans deck. It's a very nice deck, capable of some amazing starts, but can easily be thwarted and not being able to play non-creature spells really hurts your sideboard options. It has potential but I think I'm staying away.

I went to the local store tonight to play the weekly modern. I planned on playing updated Merfolk once I purchased the new cards I needed, but I do not own Botanical Sanctum and the store had zero. So instead I went with my PPTQ winning deck, changing a couple of cards. I cut a retreat for fourth Path, and cut a Scavenging Ooze for a Grasping Dunes. I would have cut the second Retreat for the fourth Excavator but didn't have access to that either. I kept the same sideboard.

Round 1 vs Grixis Tapout
Maybe not exactly tapout, but he had Goblin Dark Dwellers and Ancestral Vision, but no Cryptic Command. Game one he mulligans to five and doesn't draw much action. Game two he gets me with Blood Moon into Young Pyromancer and I couldn't draw any basics. Game three was interesting as I didn't have a lot of pressure but had Dunes for his Pyromancer and then Path when he brought it back with Kolaghan's Command, also using a Dramoka's Command to save a Noble Hierarch. He played a Grafdigger's Cage and two Blood Moon, so the Collected Company in my hand did nothing. I drew a bunch of lands with Courser but couldn't get a clock on him. Finally I drew a Knight, and his draws of GDD and Snapcaster Mage didn't do anything thanks to the Cage. Eventually he ran out of chumps for the Knight and he died.
1-0

Round 2 vs Ad Nauseam
Game one my hand is garbage for the matchup. He takes is time setting it up, then casts Ad Nauseam asking if I have any responses. I say no then he tries to play Angel's Grace. I get the judge to explain to him that this isn't going to work the way he wants it to, but then I concede after he lets me see his deck. Game two I have Birds in Knight and Unified Will with Eternal Witness. Knight kills him in short order. Game three I have Birds into Courser with 3x Unified Will, and I never really cast another spell. I could have cast another threat at some point with still 2x Will available, but I didn't think I could lose if I held up all 3x indefinitely so I did that and eventually poison him through Unlife.
2-0

Round 3 vs Lantern Control
Game one interesting moment when I know he has Whir of Invention in his hand, but he has Grafdigger's Cage revealed on the top of his library. Instead of making the play I planned on, I let him draw Cage and then cast Company when he tries to resolve it, hoping he only has the one Cage in the deck. He does so I end up with two Knight of the Reliquary in play and he has no Bridge. They kill him from 19 life. Game two I keep a one land Hierarch hand with Unified Will and Fracturing Gust. He Inquisitions my Hierarch and then keeps me off of 3 land for the entire game. Game 3 I keep two mana dude Excavator plus Gust. He reveals Thoughtsieze on his library around turn 4 so I use gust to kill 3 artifacts and keep him from Whirring for Bridge. I get a few attacks in with a Knight so even if he has a Bridge he can't beat the 2x Noble Hierarch and I win the match.
3-0

Round 4 vs Bant Knightfall
Game one I have two Collected Company and a Path. I bait a Knight and Excavator for his Queller, use Path to get Knight back, and then the double Company lets me set up a lock with GQ and Dunes. Game two I have Linvala, two Path, and Dromoka's Command to keep him from doing much of anything serious. His Company only hits one creature so it was more than enough.
4-0

I didn't mind 24 land, it can't be completely wrong. Still might want 4th Birds. Retreat seems completely unnecessary, so maybe I can cut the Hallowed Fountain. I'm a bit worried about main deck islands with the strength of Merfolk, and I have no Storm hate in the SB as it is. Gust has done serious work so I hesitate cutting it. Intervention has done nothing so it can probably go. 3rd Stony is always an option. 3rd Canopy also an option.

The real question mark right now is Voice of Resurgence. It is always your best card against Death's Shadow and very good in plenty of other matchups, but it doesn't do a whole lot for the deck as a whole. I can see cutting down to 3 like Todd Stevens has done lately for another Ooze or Tracker or Witness (but probably not for the Bird/Land spot). I'll have to reevaluate what I think the metagame will look like to decide on it.

PPTQ Report and my thoughts about Standard UB Midrange

I played another PPTQ yesterday. It was in Huntsville at Gamers Grove, where I have won the only two PPTQs I've played there. When Austin Bursavich said he could lend me a deck, I figured why not try to make it three for three?

I did very little preparation however. I played no games, so all my analysis is going to be off of the results I had in the tournament and some theory crafting. I've looked at lots of Standard lists trying to help Austin and Collin Rountree prepare for the upcoming PT. It can't hurt to think about Magic, though I believe your results are better if you actually play some games.

I played almost exactly this list. I changed the Search for Azcanta and Vraska's Contempt in the sideboard for 2x Spell Pierce.

40 people, 6 rounds of swiss.

Round 1 - UW Approach
Playing against Scott, also from College Station area. He road with me, along with Jeremy and Andrew. Before the games, he made the joke that if he won he'd have to walk home. Game 1 I kept a not ideal hand, but it has some lands and Glimmer of Genius which I thought would be useful. I didn't have nearly enough counters to fight on the axis I needed to, and he did, so I was defeated fairly easily. After SB I get to bring in 4 Duress 4 Negate 2 Spell Pierce, and really have a big advantage. Game 2 was close, I had to find a Scarab God of Supreme Will when I had him tapped out, and I found it. Game 3 I just destroyed his plan with Duress and Freebooter.
1-0

Round 2 - UW Approach
Playing against Max. Game 1 we both mulligan to 5, and I draw 3 Freebooter and easily win. Game 2 I draw all 4 Duress easily win. I'd love to play this matchup all day.
2-0

Round 3 - UB Marionette Control
He had Tezzeret, Spell Swindle, and another assorted things. Game 1 is hard because I don't have any hard counters, but I have a bit more card draw, and somehow get a Scarab God to stick and can use it on all the Gearhulks. We only have 15 minutes for game 2, he has some aggressive 2/1 that gives him treasure when it dies. I screw up and forget he has the treasure so he casts Gearhulk off only 5 lands, but I'm able to recover because Scarab God just too good.
3-0

Round 4 - Temur Energy
Paired down vs Mac on 7 points. Game 1 I have a reasonable draw, but he sequences in a way to always make it awkward for me. I trade a Gifted Aetherborn for a Hydra, and then he plays Carnage Tyrant and I die. Game 2 I'm in control for most of the game, but he has so much energy that when he finally resolves a Virtuoso he gets a bunch of guys. Scarab God helps me stabilize, and he misses on topdecks for a few crucial turns while I lock it up with my own Virtuosos and Freebooters. Game 3 he gets Carnage Tyrant in play, but I'm holding off with a Aetherborn. Scarab God comes down, and I can start attacking with a Thopter from my own Virtuoso, but time is called on my turn. I try to make as much damage as possible, scrying for Freebooter with the God. I play Freebooter on turn 2 of extras, then EOT I push it and reanimate it with God. Drain for four takes him to 7 life, and I have to hit untapped land to be able to cast two Vraska's Contempt and swing with everyone for exactly lethal. Top 4 cards don't have the land, but the 5th card is basic Island, so I win.
4-0

Round 5 - Temur?
We ID.
4-0-1

Round 6 - Ramunap Red
He didn't want to ID, despite being guaranteed the first seed if he did. So we play. I mulligan to 5 game 1, manage to get two Aetherborn, thinking I might steal the game but he has the desert that exiles my GY when I try to use Scarab God, then topdecks Lightning Strike to kill me before I can take over. Game 2 I win when he floods out, but I mulligan to 5 again game 3 and only draw 1 land.
4-1-1

I end up in 4th place after swiss.

Quarterfinals - RG Pummeler
I draw 3 Fatal Push and an Essence Scatter game 1 to keep him off the baord, but he lands a Pummeler and then has Harnessed Lightning for my Freebooter to get back Invigorating Rampage and attack for 40 power trample. Game 2 I manage my removal better, drawing both Essence Extraction and Vraska's Contempts to gain enough life to offset attacks by Voltaic Brawlers. Scarab God on Aetherborn locks it up. Game 3 I keep a slow hand with turn 3 Supreme Will as earliest play on the draw, but his first non-attune play is turn 4 Hydra so it works out. He floods out and I'm never really threatened.
5-1-1

Semifinals - Ramunap Red
Playing rematch from round 6, but since I have experience playing the matchup now, I feel a lot more comfortable. I win 2-0 when he doesn't draw much high end, and I'm able to answer his low end with timely removals.
6-1-1

Finals - Mardu Vehicles
Brandon Vickers playing Mardu, neither of us want to make any kind of deal so we just battle. I get to play first because higher seed. Game 1 he does a good job sequencing his threats and makes my removal awkward. Vraska's Contempt not ideal vs aggro decks. I manage to stabilize at 9 with Scarab God in play, but he has a second Disintegration to put me dead on board. Game 2 I get to Spell Pierce his turn 2 Heart of Kiran, and he never gets any big pressure after that. Game 3 I make a misplay when he Duress me. My hand his Fatal Push, Supreme Will, Glimmer of Genius with 3 mana untapped. He has two lands untapped, Courier and Heart in play. I Push the Courier in repsonse, then he plays Scrounger and hits me for 4 and I can't recover. I shoould have let Duress resolve and either counter the Scrounger if he takes push, or push the Heart if he takes Will. I'm still not sure I can win the game, his hand was stacked and my hand just lands, but the misplay put it so it was going to be very hard to recover, and I didn't.
6-2-1

The deck was solid, lots of good cards and lots of options, plus Freebooter gave you lots of information to use to make the hard decisions. Freebooter was even better than I thought it would be. Chart a Course is still a question mark in my mind. I sided it out vs Red and Vehicles, but I didn't have anything else cheap to bring in.

Going forward I would put the Vraska's Contempt and Search for Azcanta back in the SB, but probably cut the Kingpin for the two Spell Pierce. Pierce was very good vs Mardu, and I think it is useful enough elsewhere. Maybe I just love that card too much. I'd also consider playing more Essence Scatter or Walk the Plank so you have options for turn 4 deploying Freebooter with a spell up. I don't know the tokens matchup at all, but I think with 4 Duress 4 Negate 4 Freebooter you should be fine without the River's Rebuke. 3 Scarab God might be too many. Gonti was fine, nice to have more deathtouch if Carnage Tyrant being played in the maindeck. Commit / Memory was good catch all, but could be easily cut. I never got to Memory with Gearhulk like I wanted to.+

Props:
Freebooter
Austin for the Deck
Jeremy for keeping me company on drive back to College Staton

Slops:
Astros