UPDATE OF STANDARD

Well, hello again my friends! I decided to take some time and give you an update of a deck I have been working on for a few months now and how it has evolved. If you go back a few articles you may see a GW deck that I was raving about. I still love the deck and have spent lots of time updating it and tweaking it.

Here is one of the Key Cards shown above.

The last two FNM's have resulted in a 4-0-2 record and then a 5-0 record. Not the ideal undefeated streak i would like (2 draws) but undefeated none the less. I noticed that the changes to the maindeck and sideboard have really helped me out.

I will give you a rundown of Last nights FNM from memory.

Round 1 - BWG Vat Allies

Game 1 I had a difficult time because of a slow draw and also 3 discard spells from him. Luckily the 3rd discard spell was a horrifying revelation which netted me a Vengevine in the yard. (1:12 odds) After that I was able to outrace him thanks to a kicked Kor Sanctifiers on the Mimic Vat.

Game 2 I just flat out raced him and was able to overrun him quickly with various creatures including a Thrun.

Games 2-0 (2-0 Total)

Matches 1-0

Round 2 - GW Homebrew (Anti Day)

This deck is made with mana ramp and huge threats such as Baneslayer, Wurmcoil Engine, Mitotic Slime etc.

Game 1 He had to mul to 5 and never got it going. I just had to outrace him and play a Vengevine or two before he got it going.

Game 2 He had to mul again to 6 and I was able to do the same thing. He played a Baneslayer but I top decked a Journey just in time to swing for lethal.

Games 2-0 (4-0 Total)
Matches 2-0

Round 3 - Mono White Knights

Game 1 He got stuck on two mana and was only able to play 2 creatures and an Honor of the Pure. I was able to blow up the Honor with a kicked Kor Sanctifiers and just ran him over with a few creatures.

Game 2 My opponent had a much better start, he actually got me down to about 7 life. We went back and forth until I got 3 Vengevines on the field and was able to sneak in damage through his indestructible army. I forced him to chump block with his Knight Exemplar then got him down to 2. The next turn he played DOJ but I had a Stirring Wildwood to finish the job.

Games 2-0 (6-0 Total)
Matches 3-0

Round 4 - Caw Go w/Venser

Game 1 I started off the game with a couple squadron hawks and double Journeyed two of his hawks just after blowing up a fresh Tumble Magnet. I then had to spend lots of time fighting through 2 Vensers and 2 Jace's. Thrun got home after dealing with the planeswalkers. (Thrun was an All-Star)

Game 2 Had a similar start. Was able to keep him off of 5 mana for a couple turns with a timely Tec edge and playing a threat thanks to Lotus Cobra. I got Fauna shaman going just in time to get a couple vengevines in the yard and attacking a few turns later.

Games 2-0 (8-0- Total)
Matches 4-0

Round 5 - Caw Go w/Venser (Again)

Game 1 I had to mul to 6 but was able to get a good start with Lotus Cobra, It then went back and forth for a while until I got Thrun on board with regen mana up thanks to a fetch land (missed 3 land drops prior). I had a couple other threats so he had to Day to extend the game but I had the mana to regen Thrun. I was able to ride Thrun to victory.

Game 2 We went back and forth for a while, but he ultimately had way too many removal spells for me to deal with. 2x DOJ 2x condemn (vengevine & baneslayer) 3x journey (hawk, cobra, Fauna Shaman) he stalled until he was able to go ultimate with Jace.

Game 3 This game almost went to time. It would have been a much easier game if i would have triple Tec edged him on turn 7 instead of just hitting 2 of his four lands at his EOT turn 6. I was able to get lots of Vengevines out thanks to a fauna shaman that actually stayed alive for a few turns. after he chumped with all of his hawks I was finally able to get through with just 1 turn left.

Games 2-1 (9-1 Total)
Matches 5-0

Well i wound up with 1st place and a little product, but I really enjoyed myself and had a fun time playing with my updates. The weird part was that I never drew a Garruk, which was one of the changes I wanted to try out.

Here is the Updated list

CREATURES (27)

4x Birds of Paradise
4x Fauna Shaman
4x Vengevine
4x Squadron Hawk
3x Lotus Cobra
2x Kor Skyfisher
1x Baneslayer Angel
1x Acidic Slime
1x Kor Sanctifiers
2x Stoneforge Mystic
1x Thrun, The Last Troll

PLANESWALKERS (2)

2x Garruk, The Wildspeaker

SPELLS (7)

2x Day of Judgement
3x Journey to Nowhere
1x Sword of Feast and Famine
1x Basilisk Collar

LANDS (24)

3x Sunpetal Grove
4x Stirring Wildwood
2x Razorverge Thicket
3x Misty Rainforest
2x Marsh Flats
3x Tectonic Edge
4x Forest
3x Plains

I didn't feel like posting the sideboard yet but if you are interested, just let me know and I will post it. Again, thanks for reading and wish me luck in the future. I'm trying to ramp up and see if I can make a splash in the upcoming GP.

PTQ Update

Well, well, well,

I had a very difficult time in my most recent PTQ. I had a big time roller coaster ride and it was not a fun one. I started the PTQ 0-2 and almost dropped out of the tournament but decided I had to get some points back and still felt like I had a solid deck, just bad draws. I eventually clawed myself back with going 4-0 in the middle of the tournament. I felt very comfortable that I had a shot at some packs, I just had to win one more match. i proceeded to go 0-2 to finish a disappointing day. Here is a quick breakdown on the matches I had.

Rnd 1 GW Trap - Lost
Rnd 2 5 Color Control - Lost
Rnd 3 Jund - Won
Rnd 4 Jund - Won
Rnd 5 Naya - Won
Rnd 6 Jund - Won
Rnd 7 Faeries - Lost
Rnd 8 Elves (mono) - Lost

Just in case you did not read any of the previous articles, I was playing Doran. Honestly, even with a 4-4 record (not good) I would probably still play it again if I had a chance. I never felt like I was completely outmatched, but I did feel like I had some unlucky draws. If I were to play the same deck again I think I would only make 2 changes, one main deck and one sideboard.

Here was the list.

CREATURES (22)

3x Birds of Paradise
3x Treefolk Harbinger
1x Stoneforge Mystic
3x Putrid Leech
2x Quasali Pridemate
2x Kitchen Finks
3x Knight of the Reliquary
4x Doran, The Siege Tower
1x Thrun, The Last Troll

SPELLS (15)

2x Path to Exile
3x Thoughtseize
2x Duress
2x Inquisition of Kozilek
2x Green Sun's Zenith
1x Behemoth Sledge
3x Maelstrom Pulse

LANDS (25)

4x Forest
2x Swamp
2x Plains
3x Stirring Wildwood
4x Verdant Catacombs
1x Marsh Flats
3x Misty Rainforest
4x Murmuring Bosk
1x Sejiri Steppe

SIDEBOARD (15)

1x Bojuka Bog
2x Deathmark
2x Path to Exile
2x Kitchen Finks
2x Nature's Claim
3x Great sable Stag
3x Infest

As I mentioned before, I really enjoyed playing the deck and would have made only a couple changes.

Main Deck
-1 Quasali Pridemate
+1 Green Sun's Zenith

Green Sun's Zenith was sooooo good for me, I was never disappointed to draw it at any point in the game, be it late or early. It was always extremely useful since it fetches everything in my deck except for the mystic.

Sidebord
-1 Bojuka Bog
+1 Deathmark

Deathmark could be go for the throat all the same, but when I sided them in they won me several games, and could have won me more if I would have had extra to draw. Bojuka bog only got sided in against Jund, and i never had to use it!

Overall, I did enjoy myself but I was a little sad with the outcome. There were a couple of times where if I would have drawn a little different in key times I would have won 2-1 instead of losing 1-2. My 4-4 record could have easily been 6-2 but that's just how things work out sometimes.

Thanks again for reading. and if you have any questions or comments just leave me a note! Thanks!!!

Prerelease!!! Mirrodin Beseiged!!!

I would like to start by saying I really enjoyed the Prerelease of Mirrodin Besieged, it was different and fun. I had mediocre success with going 2-1 in swiss draft and 4-2 in sealed but I will take it (much better than losing a bunch of points).

The Positives

- Great idea to do Mirran vs. Phyrexia all around. (diff promos and diff packs)
- Renewal of old cards (Blightsteel Colossus. Inkmoth Nexus etc.)
- New planeswalker to get.
- Nice flow from set to set.

The Negatives

- Too much infect (cards you would love to fit in a deck you can't because its infect only)
- Too much infect (did i mention there was too much infect)
- Drafts were awkward due to the different pack types.

Overall It was a nice step forward in the development of MTG as a whole. They played to the masses with the ability to "Make your own decision". It will be really interesting to see how they follow it up with the 3rd set. I believe that Phrexia probably wins the war based on my local stores choices, but we will see. I am rooting for the good guys!!!

If you read this, leave me a note and tell me about your experience and what you chose! Until next time, have fun!!!

WHATS NEW

Hello everyone,

I would like to start by saying I am in the process of re-committing myself to Magic as a whole. I have been spending a lot of time getting into proper practices (or what I think are proper practices). I am tight on time with a full time job, a wife, and a child but I am doing my best to stay focused. My primary focus has been extended since that will be what the PTQ season and and Grand Prix will be. Now I know that the format will change because there is a new set coming out but that does not mean that it is too early to get to work. In fact i believe that the new set (a small set) will only make a marginal difference in the overall meta. I think that it may drag down a few decks from one tier to another and vice versa. i would even go as far as saying there could be one brand new deck that is created and competitive right away but not much more than that.

The biggest thing I have had to do is test, test, test. It is the only way to make sure you are prepared for what will come your way. With PTQ's you sometimes have the opportunity to steal games you should not win just simply because you are more prepared than your opponent. If I were to make a list off the top of my head of the primary factors that determine a match they would be.....

- The deck you are playing (including meta gaming)
- Play skill (including rules knowledge)
- Preparation
- Luck

I think if you are exceptional at one of these you can make up for some lack in one of the other categories. Luck obviously is out of your control but if you build a consistent and balanced deck and prepare it can seem to others that you have exceptional luck. You can create the perception of luck by playing the match based on what you anticipate because you have played these scenarios out time and time again through practice. It is a wonderful feeling when things come together that way.

Play skill is the hardest of these four to change. In a way it comes from years of playing and practicing. Some are much quicker students of the game and can pick up on some of the smallest details and use it to their advantage. I personally am still working on my rules knowledge and learn quite often from other players things I either didn't know or didn't catch previously, its exciting!

I am trying my best to keep an open mind about what deck I will play and what my game plan will be for the up coming events but I can't help to find myself drifting towards the deck I was originally planning to play. Thankfully I have been surprised that it is doing well against most of the current meta-game. Again though I can't get my hopes up to much until I have adequately tested and seen what changes will happen with Mirrodin Besieged.

In case you are wondering the deck I was referring to is Doran. To me it has a lot of game against not only a lot of decks maindeck answers but also most of their sideboards as well. Aside from Day of Judgement most of the other board sweepers don't hurt me too much since they only deal 2 damage or give everything -2/-2. All the hand destruction I pack helps me against control and combo, and typically my creatures are going to be bigger than most of the other agro decks. I did not plan on posting the list today but if anyone is interested send a message and I will be happy to post it.

Thanks guys, and for the original bloggers Nicki and Justin I will be at Area 51 tonight to get on you for not keeping up with your posts, lol

Until next time....Happy building.