FNM 8/17/12

Took my Naya (see previous posts) to FNM at Gotham Comics in Westminster, MD.
The only change that I made was to my sideboard.
I removed the 2 Wolfir Silverhearts and 2 Wolfir Avengers; I added 4 Magmaquakes to try to combat the increasingly popular G/W elves.

Round 1: Eric with Mono White Weenie (Budget)
Eric played a budget deck with Mikaeus the Lunarch being the only rare I saw.
Game 1 was pretty one sided, I Fiend Hunter'd his Mikaeus, and they everyone else flew over his blockers.
In Game 2 he got off to a pretty quick start, dropping me as low as 2 life before I stabilized with Huntmaster and Thragtusk.  I then began flickering the Thragtusks with Restoration Angels and the fliers once again prevailed.
(2-0)

Round 2: Mark with Green/White/Blue Infect.
Infect decks have given me trouble in the past.  I dodged some bullets in this one.
In game one he got out pretty quick with a Blighted agent, which I Fiend Huntered.  He then dropped two Inkmoth Nexus, activated and played a rancor on one of them.  I respond with Restoration Angel flickering the Fiend Hunter, exiling the Inkmoth Nexus, but giving him back Blighted agent.  Rancor, with no legal targets, failed to resolve.  He then attacked with the second Inkmoth, which was killed by Restoration Angel.
I bonfired on the next turn, killing the Blighted agent.  I then swung for a bunch since he had an open field.
In game two, I got Thalia out early, which helped against a Rancor-enchanted Blight Mamba.  I was at 6 poison counters when he hard-cast "Revenge of the Hunted", but was one mana short due to Thalia.  I used Fiend Hunter to Exile the Blight Mamba the following turn, and took board control.
(2-0)

Round 3: Jimmy Cannon with Green/White Elves.
This is a matchup that I dread because the elf deck has the ability to get so big so fast that it becomes impossible to race.
Game one, luckily I am on the play.  My hand is "Ok", I have two lands, but two of them come into play tapped.  Jimmy plays Arbor elf turn 1 and then birds and a Elvish Archdruid.  Me and the T.O. begin joking about being able to smell brimstone as I am about to top-deck a bonfire.  I top-deck a bonfire, wipe the board and play a land.  Jimmy responds by replaying most of what he had lost.  I drop a Huntmaster of the Fells.  Jimmy gets two more elves into play.  I top-deck another Bonfire.  Jimmy scoops.

I go to my sideboard, remove 2 Thalias and 4 Elvish Visionaries.  I put in 2 Grafdigger's cages and 4 Magmaquakes.  I am on the draw, my opening hand is land, land, land, Grafdigger's cage, Bonfire, Huntmaster, and Restoration Angel.  Party on.  Long story short, I drop the Cage turn 2 and Bonfire on 3 for the Win.

Round 4:  My opponent and I are the lone 3-0's.  We Intentionally Draw (ID) and split 1st and 2nd.  This move was met with some disdain by some of the other players.  I was called "gay" and a "pussy" by some. Not being easily riled, I let these slide and engage the offenders in some dialogue about IDing.
I asked if there was a sort of stigma surrounding IDing, apparently there is.  However, I want to point out that one of the people offended by my actions was someone who I had offered an ID to just a few weeks earlier. He was on board until I told him that there was a miniscule chance that he would not get 1st place and might get second because of tie-breakers (but it was pretty likely that he would get first)
With this new info, he declined a draw and we played.  Not informing me of the stigma this past time throws his recent comments into the realm of "suspect" to be sure.

I wish to investigate if IDing is frowned upon or "business as usual" (as I have seen it done MANY times)

Until next time.