Sorry for the late report!
I have been very busy at my job.
Also, my results at this tournament were shit so it was hard to stay motivated enough to write this.
Anyway! I played in an event in Morioka last week.
The first Ravnica information came out at the same time.
(Why is Narcomoeba rare?)
The tournament was five rounds, prizes based on standings, no single elimination.
I played the Daze ANT deck I talked about in my last post. This is the deck:
4 Polluted Delta (汚染された三角州)
4 Scalding Tarn (沸騰する小湖)
3 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Island (島)
1 Swamp (沼)
4 Lion’s Eye Diamond (ライオンの瞳のダイアモンド)
4 Lotus Petal (水蓮の花びら)
4 Ponder (思案)
4 Preordain (定業)
4 Brainstorm (渦まく知識)
3 Duress (強迫)
4 Thoughtseize (思考囲い)
4 Dark Ritual (暗黒の儀式)
3 Daze (目くらまし)
4 Infernal Tutor (冥府の教示者)
4 Cabal Ritual (陰謀団の儀式)
1 Tendrils of Agony (苦悶の触手)
1 Past in Flames (炎の中の過去)
1 Ad Nauseam (むかつき)
Sideboard:
1 Badlands
1 Engineered Explosives (仕組まれた爆薬)
1 Duress (強迫)
2 Surgical Extraction (外科的摘出)
1 Daze (目くらまし)
3 Echoing Truth (残響する真実)
2 Abrupt Decay (突然の衰微)
3 Empty the Warrens (巣穴からの総出)
1 Past in Flames (炎の中の過去)
Round 1 - Death and Taxes
The opponent had some stylish sleeves.
The sleeves said 平地 on them (it means Plains).
Usually I don’t pay attention to my opponent’s sleeves, because a blue player might like red sleeves, etc...
But this opponent had a conversation with the person next to him about it.
"Paul’s the only American who you’re giving information to because he can read that."
All right, so it’s a white deck. I was feeling good because I had Dazes.
Game 1
I played first.
My hand was Dark Ritual, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Ponder, Volcanic Island, Polluted Delta.
My turn 1 I cast Ponder, and shuffled my deck to draw a Duress. Useless.
Opponent’s turn 1, he played Plains, Mother of Runes.
My turn 2, I drew another Duress. Shit.
I cast Duress. Opponent’s hand is Plains, Plains, Plains, Rishadan Port, Stoneforge Mystic, Stoneforge Mystic, Recruiter of the Guard.
Opponent played Stoneforge Mystic to find Batterskull.
I cast Duress to discard that Batterskull.
I couldn’t find Infernal Tutor and kept drawing Duress, so I was in some trouble.
The opponent eventually cast Sanctum Prelate and said I couldn’t play 1 mana spells.
...Fine. Luckily, I used Cabal Rituals and found Infernal Tutor to combo without 1 mana spells.
(Opponent should have chosen 4 to end the game instantly.)
(W)
-2 Preordain, 3 Duress
+1 Engineered Explosives, 1 Daze, 3 Echoing Truth
Game 2
Island, Tropical Island, Scalding Tarn, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Echoing Truth, Infernal Tutor
My turn 1, I played Island, and cast Ponder.
I saw Daze and Lion’s Diamond.
Perfect. I drew Daze.
Opponent’s turn 2, he cast Thalia. I Dazed it.
My turn 2, I played land, Lotus Petal, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Infernal Tutor, Ad Nauseam.
Just like I planned it! ...Wait.
"In response to Ad Nauseam, Surgical Extraction your Infernal Tutors."
Well, that made things harder.
I finished resolving Ad Nauseam at 5 life. I cast Thoughtseize. The opponent only had 2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. I used my second Thoughtseize to discard the second Thalia, and I was at 1 life.
If I could find Tendrils of Agony before my opponent found a creature, I could still win!
I didn’t find Tendrils of Agony in five turns. My opponent finally drew a creature on the sixth turn.
My opponent was very unlucky, but I was more unlucky!
(L)
Game 3
I mulliganed.
My seven card hand was Island, Scalding Tarn, Scalding Tarn, Ponder, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor
This hand looks too slow--Infernal Tutor takes time, and I must find cards I want to copy.
My six card hand was Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, Preordain, Echoing Truth, Cabal Ritual, Cabal Ritual.
I scried Lotus Petal to the bottom of my library.
Basically, my opponent played 2 Wasteland and destroyed all my lands.
After the first Wasteland destroyed my Volcanic Island, I cast Ponder with Underground Sea.
The top three cards were Thoughtseize, Infernal Tutor, Cabal Ritual.
I kept these three on top of my library, even though I didn’t have another mana because I only have 4 Infernal Tutor in the deck.
My situation was bad enough that I thought I needed to take a risk to have any chance to win.
Instead, I lost to Wasteland #2. I’m not sure if I was correct.
(L)
(OXX:0-1)
Round 2 - Team America
I know this opponent. He could be playing basically anything. Often, he plays Show and Tell decks when he is being serious, so I decided not to keep any hand that would lose to a quick Show and Tell.
Game 1
I played first.
My hand was Underground Sea, Polluted Delta, Duress, Thoughtseize, Thoughtseize, Cabal Ritual, Tendrils of Agony.
This hand seems very good against a Show and Tell opponent, right?
My turn 1 I played Duress.
I saw Underground Sea, Polluted Delta, Misty Rainforest, Ponder, Brainstorm, Stifle, Nimble Mongoose.
Now this is a blast from the past. I made my opponent discard Brainstorm.
Opponent’s clock was very small.
I was able to build up to 8 cards, and I planned to kill him with the Tendrils of Agony in my hand on the turn before I died.
When I cast a discard spell, he tapped 5 lands for Force of Will.
Cool, I cast another discard spell. His hand was Force of Will, Force of Will, Daze.
If I had one more mana, I could win, but I didn’t have enough mana so I lost.
(L)
-1 Underground Sea, 1 Preordain, 3 Daze, 1 Ad Nauseam
+1 Badlands, 1 Engineered Explosives, 1 Duress
I believe an opponent playing Nimble Mongoose is someone weak to Engineered Explosives.
I’m not sure if it was correct to care about his creatures, though.
Game 2
My hand was Island, Tropical Island, Polluted Delta, Brainstorm, Dark Ritual, Infernal Tutor, Empty the Warrens.
Opponent played Nimble Mongoose and Dark Confidant on turns 1 and 2.
My turn 3, I had enough mana to cast Empty the Warrens.
However, my opponent played Stifle and probably Flusterstorm, so I decided to wait until I could cast Duress and combo on the same turn.
Opponent’s turn 3, he played Collective Brutality and discarded my Duress. Shit.
Opponent’s turn 4, Dark Confidant revealed Leovold, Emissary of Trest.
He didn’t cast it, so I knew he wanted the mana for answer spells.
Later, I drew a second Empty the Warrens.
I waited until I had enough mana to cast both.
Opponent cast Stifle and countered Storm for Empty the Warrens #1.
I cast Empty the Warrens #2 and put 18 Goblins into play.
...But they all died to my opponent’s Golgari Charm.
On the last turn of the game, I drew Infernal Tutor.
Together with the lands and Lion’s Eye Diamond I had, I could make 8 mana, cast Past in Flames, and win.
Opponent had Spell Pierce, so I lost.
(L)
(xx:0-2)
The match seemed like bad luck.
To tell the truth, I felt like my opponent had more answers than I had discard.
The tournament had no single elimination rounds, and I have no chance of winning anything.
At this point, I was playing for more practice; I want to be prepared for GP Shizuoka.
Round 3 - BUG Midrange
Game 1
Opponent played first.
My hand was Scalding Tarn, Lotus Petal, Ponder, Dark Ritual, Daze, Cabal Ritual, Infernal Tutor.
Opponent’s turn 1 was Misty Rainforest, go.
My turn 1, I cast Ponder, shuffle and drew Scalding Tarn.
Opponent’s turn 2, he played Swamp, fetched for Bayou, and cast Hymn to Tourach.
"Ah, you tricked me, I thought you were blue," I said, then I Dazed the Hymn.
The opponent’s turn 3, he played an Underground Sea, and a Tarmogoyf.
(I got tricked real good)
The next turn, he played a Leovold.
I had no choice now, so I tried to combo.
...For some reason, opponent waited until after I cast Infernal Tutor with Flashback to finally counter any of my spells.
But he had counters, so I lost.
(L)
-2 Preordain, 3 Daze
+1 Badlands, 1 Duress, 1 Echoing Truth, 1 Empty the Warrens, 1 Past in Flames
Game 2
My hand was Tropical Island, Polluted Delta, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Duress, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor.
My turn 1, I cast Duress.
Opponent’s hand was Polluted Delta, Misty Rainforest, Creeping Tar Pit, Ponder, Ponder, Surgical Extraction, Force of Will.
I made him discard Force of Will.
Opponent’s turn 1, he cast Ponder.
My turn 2, I tried to combo.
He drew Force of Will, and stopped me.
I kept playing because my opponent had no clock.
The opponent eventually cast a Tarmogoyf and started attacking.
I cast Thoughtseize and saw Flusterstorm, Surgical Extraction, Tarmogoyf.
I couldn’t win against those cards.
(L)
(xx:0-3)
How in the world have I played against Leovold in two matches in a row?!
Didn’t you hear that Deathrite Shaman was banned?
Round 4 - Miracles
Game 1
Opponent played first.
He mulliganed to five; I don’t remember where he put his scry card.
My hand was Underground Sea, Tropical Island, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual, Infernal Tutor.
Opponent’s turn 1 was Tundra, go.
My hand could combo on turn 1...but I was afraid of his hand.
My fear was idiotic because my opponent only had four cards in hand.
I should have just tried to combo on turn 1.
...Anyway, I waited until turn 2, and I drew a Duress.
My opponent *did* have Force of Will, but I still think I should have tried to win on turn 1.
I won on turn 2 with Ad Nauseam.
(W)
-1 Preordain, 3 Daze
+1 Engineered Explosives, 1 Duress, 2 Abrupt Decay
Game 2
I mulliganed a hand with no land.
My six card hand was Swamp, Volcanic Island, Lotus Petal, Cabal Ritual, Infernal Tutor, Ad Nauseam.
I scried Past in Flames to the bottom of my library.
In this game, I went a long time without drawing any lands or discard.
Opponent used every turn to cast draw spells to find answers to my combo.
Later in the game, I finally drew lands...but it was too late.
This is what happened the last two turns of the game:
Cast Engineered Explosives.
Opponent countered with Force of Will.
Cast Cabal Ritual.
Opponent countered with Flusterstorm.
Cast Cabal Ritual.
Opponent counterer with Spell Pierce.
Ended the turn. On my next turn:
Cast Cabal Ritual.
It resolved.
Cast Ad Nauseam.
Opponent countered with Force of Will, exiling Flusterstorm.
...Fuck Miracles.
(L)
Game 3
I mulliganed another hand with no land.
My six card hand was Undergound Sea, Volcanic Island, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Ad Nauseam.
I scried Tendrils of Agony to the top of my library. The way the last game happened, I thought I can use Tendrils in my hand.
This game, I only drew one discard spell for the entire game.
My opponent played a draw spell every turn of the game for the first five or so turns.
When I finally cast my discard spell at the end of the game, this was my opponent’s hand:
Brainstorm, Flusterstorm, Spell Pierce, Counterspell, Back to Basics, Force of Will, Force of Will.
I couldn’t beat that.
...Fuck Miracles.
(L)
(oxx:0-4)
I feel like I was a little unlucky in that round.
I had to mulligan, and I didn’t draw enough discard.
More than that, I felt unprepared to play against Miracles.
Round 5 - Hypergenesis
Opponent was one of the friends I came to the tournament with.
I even lent him Faerie Macabres for his deck today.
This is not how I want to spend my last round of the day.
Game 1
Opponent plays first.
My hand is Polluted Delta, Lotus Petal, Brainstorm, Preordain, Preordain, Duress, Cabal Ritual.
Before the game starts, the opponent reveals Chancellor of the Annex.
Opponent’s turn 1 is Hickory Woodlot, go.
My turn 1 is Preordain (countered by Chancellor)
My turn 2, I cast Duress.
The opponent’s hand is Boseiju, Who Shelters All, City of Brass, Shardless Agent, Violent Outburst, Chancellor of the Annex, Nicol Bolas, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
My opponent can cast Shardless Agent for Hypergenesis no matter what I do.
I decide to try to win through Hypergenesis, until I remember that Chancellor of the Annex has abilities when it is in play.
(L)
Was this how my whole day was going to finish?
-3 Preordain
+2 Surgical Extraction, 1 Duress
Game 2
opponent mulligans to five cards, scry to bottom
Tropical Island, Polluted Delta, Brainstorm, Preordain, Surgical Extraction, Infernal Tutor, Ad Nauseam
This game ended quickly.
My turn 2, I cast Brainstorm, I found a Duress, and opponent had Hypergenesis in his hand.
I exiled Hypergenesis from his deck, and he didn’t draw enough land to cast Eureka.
(W)
Game 3
opponent mulligans to six, scry to bottom
Polluted Delta, Polluted Delta, Polluted Delta, Lotus Petal, Duress, Thoughtseize
Opponent also didn’t draw lands this game.
(W)
(xoo:1-4)
I finally won a match, but my opponent didn’t do anything for two games and I won against my friend at the bottom table in the last round of the event.
How bittersweet.
The final result for me that day was 1-4.
It was abysmal.
My metagame prediction was very wrong, and I played against many blue decks.
I even played against fucking Leovold twice!
Why did this happen? Well, most of the players I talk to at the Morioka events don’t play blue...
I forgot about the players I *don’t* know well.
Two of my blue opponents were people whose names I do not know.
I really missed Gitaxian Probe and Cabal Therapy.
In many matches, I didn’t have enough discard spells to answer my opponents’ counters.
Many of you know me for playing combo, but I believe I am still not used to playing ANT.
I *can* play ANT at a normal level, but some decisions are difficult, and I’m not used to Storm math.
For example, I spent one minute thinking about my turn 1 combo against Miracles.
If an opponent has to make important decisions, they will see that I am very close to comboing if I take so much time.
Hopefully, I can become better with practice.
Anyway, tune in next time for when I cast Mind’s Desire.
I have been very busy at my job.
Also, my results at this tournament were shit so it was hard to stay motivated enough to write this.
Anyway! I played in an event in Morioka last week.
The first Ravnica information came out at the same time.
(Why is Narcomoeba rare?)
The tournament was five rounds, prizes based on standings, no single elimination.
I played the Daze ANT deck I talked about in my last post. This is the deck:
4 Polluted Delta (汚染された三角州)
4 Scalding Tarn (沸騰する小湖)
3 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Island (島)
1 Swamp (沼)
4 Lion’s Eye Diamond (ライオンの瞳のダイアモンド)
4 Lotus Petal (水蓮の花びら)
4 Ponder (思案)
4 Preordain (定業)
4 Brainstorm (渦まく知識)
3 Duress (強迫)
4 Thoughtseize (思考囲い)
4 Dark Ritual (暗黒の儀式)
3 Daze (目くらまし)
4 Infernal Tutor (冥府の教示者)
4 Cabal Ritual (陰謀団の儀式)
1 Tendrils of Agony (苦悶の触手)
1 Past in Flames (炎の中の過去)
1 Ad Nauseam (むかつき)
Sideboard:
1 Badlands
1 Engineered Explosives (仕組まれた爆薬)
1 Duress (強迫)
2 Surgical Extraction (外科的摘出)
1 Daze (目くらまし)
3 Echoing Truth (残響する真実)
2 Abrupt Decay (突然の衰微)
3 Empty the Warrens (巣穴からの総出)
1 Past in Flames (炎の中の過去)
Round 1 - Death and Taxes
The opponent had some stylish sleeves.
The sleeves said 平地 on them (it means Plains).
Usually I don’t pay attention to my opponent’s sleeves, because a blue player might like red sleeves, etc...
But this opponent had a conversation with the person next to him about it.
"Paul’s the only American who you’re giving information to because he can read that."
All right, so it’s a white deck. I was feeling good because I had Dazes.
Game 1
I played first.
My hand was Dark Ritual, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Ponder, Volcanic Island, Polluted Delta.
My turn 1 I cast Ponder, and shuffled my deck to draw a Duress. Useless.
Opponent’s turn 1, he played Plains, Mother of Runes.
My turn 2, I drew another Duress. Shit.
I cast Duress. Opponent’s hand is Plains, Plains, Plains, Rishadan Port, Stoneforge Mystic, Stoneforge Mystic, Recruiter of the Guard.
Opponent played Stoneforge Mystic to find Batterskull.
I cast Duress to discard that Batterskull.
I couldn’t find Infernal Tutor and kept drawing Duress, so I was in some trouble.
The opponent eventually cast Sanctum Prelate and said I couldn’t play 1 mana spells.
...Fine. Luckily, I used Cabal Rituals and found Infernal Tutor to combo without 1 mana spells.
(Opponent should have chosen 4 to end the game instantly.)
(W)
-2 Preordain, 3 Duress
+1 Engineered Explosives, 1 Daze, 3 Echoing Truth
Game 2
Island, Tropical Island, Scalding Tarn, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Echoing Truth, Infernal Tutor
My turn 1, I played Island, and cast Ponder.
I saw Daze and Lion’s Diamond.
Perfect. I drew Daze.
Opponent’s turn 2, he cast Thalia. I Dazed it.
My turn 2, I played land, Lotus Petal, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Infernal Tutor, Ad Nauseam.
Just like I planned it! ...Wait.
"In response to Ad Nauseam, Surgical Extraction your Infernal Tutors."
Well, that made things harder.
I finished resolving Ad Nauseam at 5 life. I cast Thoughtseize. The opponent only had 2 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben. I used my second Thoughtseize to discard the second Thalia, and I was at 1 life.
If I could find Tendrils of Agony before my opponent found a creature, I could still win!
I didn’t find Tendrils of Agony in five turns. My opponent finally drew a creature on the sixth turn.
My opponent was very unlucky, but I was more unlucky!
(L)
Game 3
I mulliganed.
My seven card hand was Island, Scalding Tarn, Scalding Tarn, Ponder, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor
This hand looks too slow--Infernal Tutor takes time, and I must find cards I want to copy.
My six card hand was Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, Preordain, Echoing Truth, Cabal Ritual, Cabal Ritual.
I scried Lotus Petal to the bottom of my library.
Basically, my opponent played 2 Wasteland and destroyed all my lands.
After the first Wasteland destroyed my Volcanic Island, I cast Ponder with Underground Sea.
The top three cards were Thoughtseize, Infernal Tutor, Cabal Ritual.
I kept these three on top of my library, even though I didn’t have another mana because I only have 4 Infernal Tutor in the deck.
My situation was bad enough that I thought I needed to take a risk to have any chance to win.
Instead, I lost to Wasteland #2. I’m not sure if I was correct.
(L)
(OXX:0-1)
Round 2 - Team America
I know this opponent. He could be playing basically anything. Often, he plays Show and Tell decks when he is being serious, so I decided not to keep any hand that would lose to a quick Show and Tell.
Game 1
I played first.
My hand was Underground Sea, Polluted Delta, Duress, Thoughtseize, Thoughtseize, Cabal Ritual, Tendrils of Agony.
This hand seems very good against a Show and Tell opponent, right?
My turn 1 I played Duress.
I saw Underground Sea, Polluted Delta, Misty Rainforest, Ponder, Brainstorm, Stifle, Nimble Mongoose.
Now this is a blast from the past. I made my opponent discard Brainstorm.
Opponent’s clock was very small.
I was able to build up to 8 cards, and I planned to kill him with the Tendrils of Agony in my hand on the turn before I died.
When I cast a discard spell, he tapped 5 lands for Force of Will.
Cool, I cast another discard spell. His hand was Force of Will, Force of Will, Daze.
If I had one more mana, I could win, but I didn’t have enough mana so I lost.
(L)
-1 Underground Sea, 1 Preordain, 3 Daze, 1 Ad Nauseam
+1 Badlands, 1 Engineered Explosives, 1 Duress
I believe an opponent playing Nimble Mongoose is someone weak to Engineered Explosives.
I’m not sure if it was correct to care about his creatures, though.
Game 2
My hand was Island, Tropical Island, Polluted Delta, Brainstorm, Dark Ritual, Infernal Tutor, Empty the Warrens.
Opponent played Nimble Mongoose and Dark Confidant on turns 1 and 2.
My turn 3, I had enough mana to cast Empty the Warrens.
However, my opponent played Stifle and probably Flusterstorm, so I decided to wait until I could cast Duress and combo on the same turn.
Opponent’s turn 3, he played Collective Brutality and discarded my Duress. Shit.
Opponent’s turn 4, Dark Confidant revealed Leovold, Emissary of Trest.
He didn’t cast it, so I knew he wanted the mana for answer spells.
Later, I drew a second Empty the Warrens.
I waited until I had enough mana to cast both.
Opponent cast Stifle and countered Storm for Empty the Warrens #1.
I cast Empty the Warrens #2 and put 18 Goblins into play.
...But they all died to my opponent’s Golgari Charm.
On the last turn of the game, I drew Infernal Tutor.
Together with the lands and Lion’s Eye Diamond I had, I could make 8 mana, cast Past in Flames, and win.
Opponent had Spell Pierce, so I lost.
(L)
(xx:0-2)
The match seemed like bad luck.
To tell the truth, I felt like my opponent had more answers than I had discard.
The tournament had no single elimination rounds, and I have no chance of winning anything.
At this point, I was playing for more practice; I want to be prepared for GP Shizuoka.
Round 3 - BUG Midrange
Game 1
Opponent played first.
My hand was Scalding Tarn, Lotus Petal, Ponder, Dark Ritual, Daze, Cabal Ritual, Infernal Tutor.
Opponent’s turn 1 was Misty Rainforest, go.
My turn 1, I cast Ponder, shuffle and drew Scalding Tarn.
Opponent’s turn 2, he played Swamp, fetched for Bayou, and cast Hymn to Tourach.
"Ah, you tricked me, I thought you were blue," I said, then I Dazed the Hymn.
The opponent’s turn 3, he played an Underground Sea, and a Tarmogoyf.
(I got tricked real good)
The next turn, he played a Leovold.
I had no choice now, so I tried to combo.
...For some reason, opponent waited until after I cast Infernal Tutor with Flashback to finally counter any of my spells.
But he had counters, so I lost.
(L)
-2 Preordain, 3 Daze
+1 Badlands, 1 Duress, 1 Echoing Truth, 1 Empty the Warrens, 1 Past in Flames
Game 2
My hand was Tropical Island, Polluted Delta, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Duress, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor.
My turn 1, I cast Duress.
Opponent’s hand was Polluted Delta, Misty Rainforest, Creeping Tar Pit, Ponder, Ponder, Surgical Extraction, Force of Will.
I made him discard Force of Will.
Opponent’s turn 1, he cast Ponder.
My turn 2, I tried to combo.
He drew Force of Will, and stopped me.
I kept playing because my opponent had no clock.
The opponent eventually cast a Tarmogoyf and started attacking.
I cast Thoughtseize and saw Flusterstorm, Surgical Extraction, Tarmogoyf.
I couldn’t win against those cards.
(L)
(xx:0-3)
How in the world have I played against Leovold in two matches in a row?!
Didn’t you hear that Deathrite Shaman was banned?
Round 4 - Miracles
Game 1
Opponent played first.
He mulliganed to five; I don’t remember where he put his scry card.
My hand was Underground Sea, Tropical Island, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual, Infernal Tutor.
Opponent’s turn 1 was Tundra, go.
My hand could combo on turn 1...but I was afraid of his hand.
My fear was idiotic because my opponent only had four cards in hand.
I should have just tried to combo on turn 1.
...Anyway, I waited until turn 2, and I drew a Duress.
My opponent *did* have Force of Will, but I still think I should have tried to win on turn 1.
I won on turn 2 with Ad Nauseam.
(W)
-1 Preordain, 3 Daze
+1 Engineered Explosives, 1 Duress, 2 Abrupt Decay
Game 2
I mulliganed a hand with no land.
My six card hand was Swamp, Volcanic Island, Lotus Petal, Cabal Ritual, Infernal Tutor, Ad Nauseam.
I scried Past in Flames to the bottom of my library.
In this game, I went a long time without drawing any lands or discard.
Opponent used every turn to cast draw spells to find answers to my combo.
Later in the game, I finally drew lands...but it was too late.
This is what happened the last two turns of the game:
Cast Engineered Explosives.
Opponent countered with Force of Will.
Cast Cabal Ritual.
Opponent countered with Flusterstorm.
Cast Cabal Ritual.
Opponent counterer with Spell Pierce.
Ended the turn. On my next turn:
Cast Cabal Ritual.
It resolved.
Cast Ad Nauseam.
Opponent countered with Force of Will, exiling Flusterstorm.
...Fuck Miracles.
(L)
Game 3
I mulliganed another hand with no land.
My six card hand was Undergound Sea, Volcanic Island, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Ad Nauseam.
I scried Tendrils of Agony to the top of my library. The way the last game happened, I thought I can use Tendrils in my hand.
This game, I only drew one discard spell for the entire game.
My opponent played a draw spell every turn of the game for the first five or so turns.
When I finally cast my discard spell at the end of the game, this was my opponent’s hand:
Brainstorm, Flusterstorm, Spell Pierce, Counterspell, Back to Basics, Force of Will, Force of Will.
I couldn’t beat that.
...Fuck Miracles.
(L)
(oxx:0-4)
I feel like I was a little unlucky in that round.
I had to mulligan, and I didn’t draw enough discard.
More than that, I felt unprepared to play against Miracles.
Round 5 - Hypergenesis
Opponent was one of the friends I came to the tournament with.
I even lent him Faerie Macabres for his deck today.
This is not how I want to spend my last round of the day.
Game 1
Opponent plays first.
My hand is Polluted Delta, Lotus Petal, Brainstorm, Preordain, Preordain, Duress, Cabal Ritual.
Before the game starts, the opponent reveals Chancellor of the Annex.
Opponent’s turn 1 is Hickory Woodlot, go.
My turn 1 is Preordain (countered by Chancellor)
My turn 2, I cast Duress.
The opponent’s hand is Boseiju, Who Shelters All, City of Brass, Shardless Agent, Violent Outburst, Chancellor of the Annex, Nicol Bolas, Emrakul, the Aeons Torn.
My opponent can cast Shardless Agent for Hypergenesis no matter what I do.
I decide to try to win through Hypergenesis, until I remember that Chancellor of the Annex has abilities when it is in play.
(L)
Was this how my whole day was going to finish?
-3 Preordain
+2 Surgical Extraction, 1 Duress
Game 2
opponent mulligans to five cards, scry to bottom
Tropical Island, Polluted Delta, Brainstorm, Preordain, Surgical Extraction, Infernal Tutor, Ad Nauseam
This game ended quickly.
My turn 2, I cast Brainstorm, I found a Duress, and opponent had Hypergenesis in his hand.
I exiled Hypergenesis from his deck, and he didn’t draw enough land to cast Eureka.
(W)
Game 3
opponent mulligans to six, scry to bottom
Polluted Delta, Polluted Delta, Polluted Delta, Lotus Petal, Duress, Thoughtseize
Opponent also didn’t draw lands this game.
(W)
(xoo:1-4)
I finally won a match, but my opponent didn’t do anything for two games and I won against my friend at the bottom table in the last round of the event.
How bittersweet.
The final result for me that day was 1-4.
It was abysmal.
My metagame prediction was very wrong, and I played against many blue decks.
I even played against fucking Leovold twice!
Why did this happen? Well, most of the players I talk to at the Morioka events don’t play blue...
I forgot about the players I *don’t* know well.
Two of my blue opponents were people whose names I do not know.
I really missed Gitaxian Probe and Cabal Therapy.
In many matches, I didn’t have enough discard spells to answer my opponents’ counters.
Many of you know me for playing combo, but I believe I am still not used to playing ANT.
I *can* play ANT at a normal level, but some decisions are difficult, and I’m not used to Storm math.
For example, I spent one minute thinking about my turn 1 combo against Miracles.
If an opponent has to make important decisions, they will see that I am very close to comboing if I take so much time.
Hopefully, I can become better with practice.
Anyway, tune in next time for when I cast Mind’s Desire.
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