Hello everyone! Welcome to the very first installment of
Write of Consumption, a
regular column I’ll be penning here at FrontRangeMagic.com! Scott and Nick have
been gracious enough to give me the opportunity to be a contributor and I am
humbled and excited to be in this position. It will be my objective to bring
you something relevant, well-conceived and hopefully entertaining with each and
every installment, and I intend to have some fun doing it. A few of you may know
me personally, but most probably don’t and there’s no reason you would at this
point. I am a member of a small but very talented group of north suburban
players known as Team Mighty Mouse. Among our team we have multiple PT
appearances, GP day 2’s, and dozens of PTQ top 8’s. Well, among them actually.
I have but 1 lowly PTQ top 8 (and a few very near misses. Don’t we all?), so I am
quite the fortunate barn(scrub).
Starting
with the following report I wrote for the recent extended Grand Prix in LA, this
column will chronicle my attempt to qualify for PT Honolulu, and the travels
and battles my group and I face on the road as the qualifier season unfolds
before us. It’s going to be a long hard journey, and hopefully, stretch all the
way to paradise. Wanna come?
Into
The West:
A
Report on Grand Prix Los Angeles
After returning
from the Grand Prix in beautiful California I can safely state it was the most rewarding
experience I’ve ever had at a Magic event, despite the fact that I didn’t reach
my goals for the tournament itself. The weekend seemed to carry with it an added
sense of significance, as though something big might happen, and what better
place. There’s just something in the air here, something intrinsic to
California, and it’s no wonder people come here to follow their dreams. When
you’re here you feel like you’ll reach them. There are probably some of you who
don’t know what I’m talking about, but if you’ve ever been here chances are you
do, and there are no words to describe it.
Against
the backdrop of this enchanted location the group and I were lucky enough to
witness the dismantling of the GP by one Brett “I can only be stopped by the
hottest player in the game” Piazza, Mr. Nice Guy himself. We watched as master
rogue deck designer Conley Woods gave birth to his latest format-breaking
creation. And after all the celebration and commotion had finally come to an
end a couple of us spent a few hours at Manhattan Beach, where I was given new
life and motivation to do well at this game by the warm California sun and the
chilling but invigorating touch of the riptide around my bare feet. It seems no
coincidence that the qualifier season is feeding a PT in a tropical paradise.
Our
group hails from all around Denver and Boulder, and besides Brett and Conley,
there was Eric, Adam, Mikey, Josh, Raine, Phil, and myself. Trips like this are
so much fun in large part because of your crew, the boys you wade into battle
with, and this group was ideal for a big fat weekend in LA. Every single person
added something to the weekend, from their unique personality to their thoughts
and ideas on the format, and Colorado was represented well.
The Story of Blood Cloud
On
Friday we descend upon the public events floor, some looking to scout, some
looking to grind, all looking for answers, for some kind of edge in this
format. Our assumptions are immediately challenged. The accursed Fae are
ever-present of course, but where are all the elves and zoo?! In their place?
Everyone’s favorite G/B midrange control strategy, otherwise known as…death
cloud. It’s all over the place. And look at all the stomping grounds
and…cascade bluffs. Hmm…
At
this point more than half the group aren’t totally sure what they’re playing.
If you’re Conley Woods and you have this problem, well, you just make something
up. That night back in one of our rooms, looking through binders for
inspiration (“void seems pretty good, right?”), he did it. Starting with the
premise that, hey, death cloud and enchantments are pretty neat together.
Bitterblossom seems like a fine enchantment. So does phyrexian arena. Not a bad
start. What if instead of those cards on turn 2 and 3, it was turn 1 and 2? Better
toss some chrome mox in there. What if you wanted to accelerate your mana AND
attack someone with the same card, and that card also survived a death cloud?
Sounds like a job for guardian idol to me. I know what you’re thinking. ‘That
sure is a lot of life loss’ you’re saying, so it’s a good thing you’re gonna be
running a lot of swamps so you can rock some tendrils of corruption, amirite?
Throw in a couple of the format’s premier mass removal
spells, engineered explosives and firespout, hose entire archetypes with
chalice of the void and, well, void, and you almost have yourself a deck.
Almost. It could use some more win conditions I suspect. What if there was a
creature that was basically the perfect complement to a resolved cloud? I sure
don’t know of any. Especially ones that suspend…
The Tournament
Even
though I didn’t reach my day 1 goal (to make day 2), I feel good about my deck
choice. I went on a run in the middle rounds after starting 0-2 and climbed
back into it, seemingly destroying everything in sight and having a blast doing
it (to be fair, my opponents contributed as well. It was the 0-2 bracket after
all). My weapon of choice? Robots. Now with 100% more large robots! Once upon a
time the most hated deck in Magic, now well positioned to hunt down and kill
the newest member of the “God I’m getting sick and tired of that damned deck”
club, the Fae. In a format with so many unique and formidable positions of
power and influence, success with a linear strategy is possible because only so
much hate can be leveled at you. There are too many other factors people must
pay attention to, and those factors can shape sideboards to your benefit.
Affinity has enough natural strength to excel in an environment where people
can’t afford the space to focus on just blowing IT out. Of course, we all know
what happens when affinity starts to win again…
Round 1 - Alex playing mono U faeries.
Game
1: I keep a one lander with a drum and several small men and a ravager, which
seems like a fine way to start applying pressure, but I don’t draw a 2nd
land until around turn 5 or 6 so I’m a little hampered. He lays a shackles so I
try to go for the ravager but he snares it, and now I’m in trouble. He
stabilizes at 10, using 2 EE’s to stop all my pressure, but with 2 shrapnel
blasts in my hand I have reason for hope. I slip one through his counters but
he untaps and plays an archmage with plenty of blue up and I have nothing left.
I think it had something to do with the fact that I didn’t draw any free 2/2’s
and 4/4’s.
Game
2: Things are looking up as I open with double thoughtseize, taking an
explosives and a spellstutter sprite and get a ravager to stick. He plays
shackles again so I make ravager big and crush in, putting him on the backfoot until
he hits another EE and I’m cold to it, having drawn nothing else but a single
plating after a clique takes a master. His clique wastes no time in picking up
a jitte and wrapping it up.
L, 0-2 (0-1) - What was I saying just a second ago?
Disappointing to be sure, but I have no problem keeping my head up. It’s a long
tournament and a resilient mind-set is a necessity.
Round 2 - Scott playing elves
Game
1: On the play he goes to 5 with no land and draws one on his 2nd
turn, then goes off on his 3rd turn while my irrelevant board and I
look on in amazement. What a compelling match-up this is, eh?
Game
2: I open with a chromatic star, which I use to deathmark the first elf I see.
I proceed to draw 3 shrapnel blasts and a lot of elves are lit on fire while I
manage to apply pressure with ravager and a small team of frogmites. A master
comes down and that’s that. That was a pretty busted draw I have to admit.
Game
3: I have to mull a no-lander into glimmervoid, deathmark, and a couple
threats. Not terrible, but I hit a 2nd mark before my 2nd
land, which I have mixed feelings about. I kill a druid and a birchlore
rangers, which was probably incorrect, as the double hivemasters are what gave
him exactly enough critters to chord for a dragon in turns.
L, 1-2 (0-2) - Now is when my attitude is really put
to the test, for there’s no more room for error. Or bad matchups. This format
can be really unforgiving.
Round 3 - Mike playing UB tron
Game
1: I open with 2x nexus and 2x plating and manage to slip the platings through
his cumbersome countermagic, baiting him with a ravager. I manage to resolve a
freshly drawn ravager only to get it smothered, but it’s kind of irrelevant,
and it’s one less smother he has for a nexus. The platings are simply too much.
Game
2: While I’m sideboarding it occurs to me that relic of progenitus could have
some value here (they were a last minute addition to help the cloud match-up
but I’ve since taken them out because that’s not the right angle for affinity.
I think.). So I bring in a couple, along with 2 ancient grudge and 4
thoughtseize, of course. I open with some decent pressure while he stumbles on
his mana for a bit, and I draw a plating, a relic and a grudge. I try to set up
attacking with two ravagers and a plating with 2 black up to play around
smothers and slaughter pacts, to which he responds by running out a quick
explosives set to 2 without the mana to pop it, content to take it in the mouth
for a turn and then untap and wipe me out. Good times. I bust it with a grudge
and bash. On his next turn he plays an academy ruins, seeming to silently acknowledge
that his explosives won’t be around when he activates it on a subsequent end
step. Then he hits me with a Hurkyl’s recall and strangely, I’m able to recover
almost right away. With the relic holding down his yard he can’t even put
together a decent gifts package for an out, and cannot do anything about
cranial plating.
W, 2-0 (1-2) - Now that’s more like it. I generate a
little mojo dispatching the big slow tron deck. Gotta start somewhere.
Round 4 - Nick playing TEPS
Game
1: He tries to go off on turn 3 and hits a storm of 9 but doesn’t see a desire.
He burns for 1 and passes, and robots kill him the following turn. Uh, ok.
Game
2: I don’t see any thoughtseizes so he tries to go off on turn 4 with a desire
for 4. He flips a couple lands, a ponder and a peer through depths. He searches
some more and casts a rite and a manamorphose making no black mana for the
tendrils in his hand, which isn’t lethal yet, instead making blue for another
peer and taking a chance. He whiffs. He said afterward that he got greedy and
it cost him, which I would agree with, but I can see why he thought the last
peer might get him there.
W, 2-0 (2-2) - Well that was a little lucky. That’s
one of the things about luck. It seems to even out eventually.
Round 5 - Tabitha playing All-in-red
Game
1: She serum powders into a second 7, mulls that and plays land for 2 turns and
then imprints a spirit guide on a mox and casts…a serum powder?! The master I
made kills her in 2 swings.
Game
2: Things start a little better for her with a turn 2 demigod, and after going
to 15 I untap and promptly blast it. I deploy some men and a couple turns later
she manages a deus. On my very next turn a deathmark comes off the top. I think
that deck could use some good luck more than I could. This match didn’t really
feel fair, even in game 2.
W, 2-0 (3-2) - All-in-red seems loose, but I honestly
didn’t test against it so I don’t know how consistent it really is.
Round 6 - Julien playing mono U faeries
Game
1: He doesn’t do anything but play land for a few turns and thirsts and I’ve
managed to resolve a ravager in the meantime and apply pressure with a small
team. Then something strange happens. He pops an explosives for 1 hitting…a
chromatic star? I had no red sources so maybe he thought it would keep me off
fatal frenzy, but, really? He cliques away a master but multiple enforcers
spring into play in one ridiculous turn. Amazingly, he dies horribly the following
turn.
Game
2: He imprints a spell snare on a mox and I do a little dance in my head. He
gets a quick turn 2 clique that just gets me more gas. He makes a shackles so I
make a big ravager and it swings alongside an enforcer. He tries to repeal the
ravager so I make a 9/9 enforcer which he desperately chumps with cliques and
mutavaults until he runs out of answers.
W, 2-0 (4-2) - Six rounds in and I’ve clawed back into
it and I’m feeling pretty good. After 4 straight, what’s 3 more right?
Round 7 - Jonah playing swans
Game
1: He ponders turn 1 so I put him on TEPS, but then he spell snares a ravager
and I’m momentarily confused. I play some men and get in some damage and things
are going well until he firespouts, which I obviously wasn’t expecting. I’m not
accustomed to being caught off guard like this, but who has time to test
against everything? I’m starting to get a bad feeling about this. Then I see
the swans. Oh yeah. Now it’s all making sense. I ponder my terrible reads as I
die.
Game
2: I feel like I have outs in this match-up. Certainly thoughtseize helps and I
can deathmark a swans if he’s under enough pressure and runs it out there fast,
although I admit that’s unlikely. But I draw no black source, no drums, no
firespout-proof men, no luck. So it’s the same story, another massive
conflagrate to the dome. And I’m knocked out of contention with the loss. It’s
too tough a road to climb back from 0-2 at an event like this without the most
absurd draws, but I certainly made a go of it. Having 2 or 3 byes seems even
more important now than it ever did. I’m going to commit to having some next
time.
L, 0-2 (4-3)
And that’s it. I did have a lot of fun playing
affinity in general though, and I think it’s a good choice for the qualifier
season.
Thoughts on Robots
I’ve had a chance to speak to Brett since the
GP and the most important thing he seemed to take away from it is that since he
was boarding in thoughtseize in almost every match it should probably be main.
It would go a long way towards improving the overall percentage against TEPS
and making it much more likely to take game 1’s from them, not to mention the
other match-ups where it would have an immediate impact. Against faeries it
would be positively devastating, making it nearly impossible for them to win
game 1.
Where
does he think you have space? The frenzy package. I’ve been going back and
forth on this one for a while and I don’t know what’s correct. In a format
defined by the faerie regime, fatal frenzy has always felt cumbersome and
clunky to me in testing, and we both agreed it and atog always come out against
them. But I was the only person in our group not on board with the whole
package in the first place. I cut it in favor of a slightly older configuration
a few weeks before the GP. I have just always really liked the versatility of
good old shrapnel blast. But it’s very difficult to argue with results, so I
went back to frenzy for the PTQ on day 2 and, even though I could only manage
2-2, it had an impact for sure. But based on the way the metagame is starting
to shift he thinks thoughtseize might just be better, with the frenzy package
worsening slightly. Frenzy is at its best against decks like zoo, and the
environment seems to be getting more and more hostile for zoo by the week.
In
addition to the thoughtseize, he is intrigued by the possibility of 1 or 2
stifle in the main. No one will be more surprised than your TEPS opponent in
game 1 when you rock them with one. And then there is the savage fetchland
play.
With
the re-emergence of affinity now in full swing, the kataki levels are likely to
rise with it so darkblast may have to make a return to the sideboard, with the
added bonus that it can be pretty useful against elves.
The Beach
After
a wonderfully raucous night out celebrating Brett’s outstanding finish with the
whole crew I managed to crawl my way out of my hotel room on Monday morning, in
less than optimal shape. A few of us had the whole day before an early evening
flight back to Denver, so we boarded a trolley to Manhattan Beach about 20
minutes south of LAX. After lunch, which was a questionable prospect for me, we
ran down to the warm sand.
It was then that I felt the ocean pulling at
me, seeming to welcome me. There in the cold surf and soothing California
sunshine I was rejuvenated, and awakened to the fact that I was here in this
place because of the game. I hadn’t truly appreciated that aspect of it before
that moment. Once you reach the point that you are willing to travel to pursue
success at Magic, you open yourself up to the larger world around you, and this
brings about the most satisfying feeling that you are expanding yourself
greatly. I am now left with the feeling that I must come back to this place as
soon as I can, and would even consider moving here. I’ve never had those kinds
of impulses before, and Magic gave me the opportunity to expose myself to such
ideas.
And all I have to do is win a PTQ and an even greater
paradise awaits me. When I imagine myself on the shores of Hawaii, I don’t see
how I can lose.
In the next edition: We get out on the PTQ circuit and
to the first stop on our road to paradise – Kansas!! Yeah!
Until then, play tight, draw well, and I’ll see you on
the beach… -JD
