What is the Dream?
The dream of every deckbuilder is to make a deck that is perfectly positioned to win the tournament. When this happens, the actual winning will almost feel like an afterthought. The best way to do this is to have the most powerful and consistent deck in the room with no bad matchups, and also for no one else to have the deck.
For many players, this dream isn't attainable. Most players spend time reacting to the metagame. They settle for copying existing lists, maybe changing a card or two. They might not even care to adventure into deck building. The opportunities to play in events before the Pros or Results have created the established metagame just isn't that common either. When some new technology does show up, they can copy it, but so can the rest of the field. What is game-changing one week can be hated out by a couple of sideboard cards the next week.
Chasing the Dream
I've come close a few times to acheiving the dream in the past. Most of my success and pathways to the Pro Tour have been limited format mastery (OLS, INN, RTR, THS, RIX) or mastery of the specific Tier 1 constructed deck (CawBlade, MonoBlack Devotion). I can remember a few times where it felt like I had the best deck in the room and was destined to win.
States 2011 - I played Dungrove Elder ramp with Kessig Wolf Run and Primeval Titan. This was just like the list that won the SCG the week before but added the Elders to win the mirror and provide stickier threats vs control. It had done well in the grinders for byes at an Australian GP that thanks to the time zone, I was able to read about before spitballing a list of all the cards I wanted to include about an hour before the tournament. This was less about having the right list and more about being faster to react to the information. By the next week, the deck was known and not particularly dominating but it was perfect that one day. Plus I didn't really come up with the idea on my own so not quite the Dream.
Modern PTQ 2012 - It was the first Modern PTQ. I had played at the first Modern PT where I thought I broke the format. Turns out, everyone had broken the format and while my deck was incredibly powerful and consistent, it was about the same level as everyone else's. After several waves of bannings, I brewed up an aggressive Boros aggro list that played the right cards and a soon to be calling card of mine - an incredible sideboard. I recall eating dinner after intentionally drawing in round six and David Thomas asking me if I thought I was going to win, and I just knew I would. The deck wasn't the most powerful howeverful, mainly I had a focused gameplan against the Big Three (Jund, Affinity, Twin) decks of the time and about ten times as much Modern experience as anyone in the state at the time. So not quite the Dream.
Regionals Hawaii 2008 / 2010 - Being a step ahead of the players in Hawaii was fairly easy. It was a small community of competitive players. Having access to the cards you needed was a big step. I played RG Countryside Crusher in 2008 that crushed Faeries (it was a known PT list) and Mythic Conscription in 2010 (a week after Matt Sperling got to live the real dream and win a PTQ the first week it was legal). Both results were good, but not the Dream. I played Mythic Conscription again a week later for a PTQ and lost in the top 4 to a now-prepared MonoRed opponent.
SCG Legacy Open 2013 - Is my Twitter profile pic really 5 years old? I guess I'll need to take a new one soon. Anyway, this probably felt most like the Dream but this was less about deck building and more about reading the text box of True-Name Nemesis, finding the physical cards and putting four copies in my Legacy deck. I know, real big brain stuff.
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
I've always tried to chase the Dream at the Pro Tours I've played, usually to my detriment. The best players know its not about where the deck comes from as long as you win. And perhaps my low opinion of my play ability when compared with the PT regulars has me looking for an edge in risky deckbuilding when I shouldn't. Many times I've been close, or built a deck a set or two too soon.
For the upcoming RPTQ, I'll be playing the deck below. I have done very little losing with it while testing on MTGA (more on this in the next post). Maybe I can live the dream one more time.
4 Benthic Biomancer
4 Kumena's Speaker
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Merfolk Mistbinder
4 Merfolk Trickster
2 Swift Warden
4 Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca
4 Incubation / Incongruity
2 Wizards Retort
4 Spell Pierce
2 Sleep
4 Breeding Pool
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Unclaimed Territory
2 Forest
8 Island
Sideboard
2 Sleep
4 Negate
2 Wizard's Retort
2 Transmogrifying Wand
2 Entrancing Melody
3 Karn, Scion of Urza
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