The past two weekends. Red/White/Black Control

I grew tired of Bant X-men and wanted to try something different.

I found a Red/White/Black control list online that I mostly liked.  I moved some of the cards around and came to this.

4 Boros Reckoner
2 Olivia Voldaren
2 Restoration Angel
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
2 Thundermaw Hellkite
1 Aurelia, The Warleader
1 Angel of Serenity
2 Dreadbore
3 Mizzium Mortars
2 Rakdos's Return
2 Ultimate Price
3 Liliana of the Veil
4 Lingering Souls
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad
2 Unburial Rites

4 Blood Crypt
3 Clifftop Retreat
4 Dragonskull Summit
4 Godless Shrine
4 Isolated Chapel
2 Mountain
4 Sacred Foundry
1 Vault of the Archangel

Side:
3 Appetite for Brains
2 Cremate
3 Electrickery
1 Aurelia's Fury
2 Underworld Connections
2 Slaughter Games
2 Assemble the Legion

I went 5-3 at the SCG Classic in Hagerstown, MD placing in top 32.

I then took this to the World Magic Cup Qualifier held in Washington DC (WMQCDC).

Round 1: Gabby Izsak with Bant Hexproof
In game one, his deck did what it was supposed to do.  I died quickly.
I made the following sideboard adjustments:
-Angel of Serenity (too Slow)
-2 Dreadbore (too slow, no walkers)
+3 Electrickery (kills Fencing Ace and Avacyn's Pilgrim)
In game two I kept a 5 land opener and peeled 3 more off the top.
0-2

Round 2: Chris Calhoun with Junk Reanimator
In game one he was on the play jumped out early and hoofed me for lethal.
I made the following sideboard adjustments:
-3 Liliana of the Veil (don't want him discarding)
-2 Rakdos's Return (don't want him discarding)
+2 Slaughter Games
+2 Cremate
+1 Electrickery
In game two, I was on the play, used Slaughter Games and Cremate to great effect and won it out.
In game three, I was able to cast Slaughter Games getting rid of his Unburial Rites, but he then dropped Seance with Trostani in play.  Angel of Serenity+populate wrecked my board and I was run over.
1-2

I dropped to play in the Elite IQ.  Same deck, same sideboard.

Round 1: Chris Morningstar with America (RWU) Control
In game one he took mulligans down to five cards and did not recover the card advantage.  He is also playing only 24 lands which he exclaimed was "too much, even for him".  I feel 26-28 would be better, but alas.
I made the following sideboard adjustments:
-3 Liliana of the Veil (making him discard when he can cast Sphinx's Revelation seems poor)
-2 Rakdos's Return (see above)
-1 Angel of Serenity (too few targets)
+2 Underworld Connections
+2 Slaughter Games
+2 Assemble the Legion
In game two I got out some Lingering Souls tokens and an active Assemble the Legion.  Chris had out Jace, Architect of Thought to shut down the 1/1's with his +1 ability.  When Chris used Jace's ultimate, he stole my Thundermaw Hellkite and his Aurelia, the Warleader.  Ouch.
I made the following sideboard adjustments.
-2 Lingering Souls (worthless to jace)
+2 Appetite for Brains

I was on the play and wasted no time getting Sorin to make me a +1 Emblem.  I then used Thundermaw, Aurelia, and Obzedat to put a lot of pressure on him.  I topdecked an Overloaded Mizzium Mortars to clear his field so that Obzedat could get through.
2-1

Round 2: James Ramsey with R/G aggro.
In game one James was on the play and I lost.
I made the following sideboard adjustments:
-2 Unburial Rites (too slow)
-1 Aurelia, the Warleader (too slow)
-1 Angel of Serenity (too slow)
+3 Electrickery
+1 Aurelia's Fury
In game two, I was on the play and got Boros Reckoner to stick, stabilized and won.
In game three, he was on the play, I kept a one land mull to 6 and did not make a third land drop by the time I died on turn 5...
1-2

Round 3: Kyle Brunette with the Aristocrats!
In game one I got the drop on him and was able to plow through for the win. (He may have kept a questionable hand)
I made the following sideboard adjustments:
-4 Lingering Souls
+2 Electrickery
+2 Appetite for Brains

In games two and three, I lost because I could not block Falkenrath Aristocrat.  Siding out my Lingering Souls was likely a mistake.  Perhaps I should have sided out Ultimate Price.
1-2

I dropped.
For the remainder of the day, Nick and I grabbed dinner and I did two booster drafts where I lost game one both times...

I had a monstrously bad weekend playing magic.  I still enjoyed myself as my opponents were all cool; we were able to have some drinks and generally have a good time.

I ended up 2-6 on the weekend, I think I need to play more games.  I missed a lot of magic between Mercadian Masques and M13, to get better I feel like I need to catch up.

Until next time.

Updating Bant X-men

With a disappointing showing this weekend, I returned the deck to its more-or-less original form, putting back in the fourth Avacyn's Pilgrim.

The current iteration:

4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
4 Fiend Hunter
3 Somberwald Sage
2 Garruk Relentless
3 Master Biomancer
4 Restoration Angel
3 Acidic Slime
4 Thragtusk
3 Deadeye Navigator
3 Angel of Serenity
2 Sphinx of Uthuun
4 Breeding Pool
3 Cavern of Souls
3 Glacial Fortress
3 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden

Side
2 Purify the Grave
3 Feeling of Dread
3 Ray of Revelation
2 Witchbane Orb
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Angel of Serenity
2 Sylvan Primordial

I would like to discuss the changes.
+1 Avacyn's Pilgrim (a necessity for the deck to function)
-3 Prime Speaker Zegana
+2 Sphinx of Uthuun

I think Sphinx of Uthuun is better in this deck than Prime Speaker Zegana.  My reasons for this:
1) On my nut-draw-ramp-to-seven, casting Prime Speaker as a 2/2 to draw two cards is miserable.
2) Casting Zegana to draw 15 is a waste of resources. (I know she is a 15/15, but she can still be chump blocked)
3) Holding a copy of Prime Speaker in your hand when you have one in play is awful.
4) You can have multiple Sphinxes on the battlefield; blinking them with Restoration Angel yields fixed incremental card advantage.  Which I prefer to the brute force of Zegana.
5) Sphinx if still a 5/6 flier; which eats Thragtusk, Restoration Angel, and can stall Angel of Serentiy (assuming they do not exile it)

I will practice with this deck on Thursday and see if Sphinx of Uthuun is all I think it can be,

Until next time...

SCG Super IQ 4/6/13

Nick, Jimmy, and I attended the Super IQ held at "Thanks for Playing" in Ijamsville, MD.
It was a Standard event; Nick took Bant X-men, Jimmy took B/W Zombies, and I took Bant X-men (a few card differences from the version Nick played.

There were 63 players, so we would have 6 rounds and then cut to a top 8.

Round 1: Ryan with Bant Hexproof.
I have never beaten Bant Hexproof with Bant X-men, as I lack true board sweepers.  In game one, he got out an Avacyn's Pilgrim, then voltroned it up to kill me. It was something like 15/11 First Strike, Trample.
In game two I got out an "Angel of Serenity" to face off against "Geist of St. Traft."  Ryan cast "Stolen Identity" copying my "Angel of Serenity", exiling it, then ciphering "Stolen Identity" onto "Geist of St. Traft".  What a blowout!
0-2

Round 2: Dan with an Omnidoor variant.
Dans; deck revolved around "Alchemists Refuge" to cast instant speed sweepers/exilers then flash in a "Door to Nothingness" to win.  He did this in game one and killed me.  He had something like 4 "Supreme Verdicts", 4 "Terminus", 4 "Oblivion Ring", 4 "Detention Sphere", and 4 "Angel of Serenity".  All being cast at instant speed.
In game two, I was onto his plan and was able to use "Angel of Serenity" to recur things from my graveyard and eventually had enough mana to get 3 "Thragtusks" in play, he finally ran out of removal and I killed him.
These games were VERY grindy and we only got through two of them.
1-1-1

Round 3: Liam with U/W/R Control
Liam had a pretty stock UWR control list.  In game one he cast "Assemble the Legion" on turn 5 and ground me out.  In game two I was able to destroy a lot of his land, forcing a concession.  In game three I did the same, and Liam got a bit mana screwed, he finally drew his 5th land too late.
2-1

Round 4: Joseph with Build-a-Bear (RUG X-men)
Josephs deck was pretty similar to mine in the use of Master Biomancer.  His deck used Red where mine used White.  In game one I got the nut draw into a turn 3 "Angel of Serenity".  In game two I was outraced and pummeled.  In game three we were pretty neck and neck for a while until he cast a "Master Biomancer" and soulbound it to a "Wolfir Silverheart".  He then cast three copies of "Arbor Elf", which all became 7/7.
The resulting two attacks killed me.
1-2

At this point, I drop.  I end the day going 0-2, 1-1-1, 2-1, 1-2 for a combined 4-6-1 ending at 1-2-1.  I am disappointed in my showing, which was very poor.  Cutting the fourth Avacyn's Pilgrim hurt the deck too much.  I am putting him back in.  Doing nothing until turn 4 is abysmal in almost every format.  Meanwhile, I put in a single copy of "Sphinx of Uthuun" and he was awesome in every game I cast him.

Meanwhile, Jimmy scooped to Nick in the Finals to make my deck (Bant X-men) show up on StarCityGames.  Thanks guys!

FNM 3/29/13

A few of us went to J&M Comics in Eldersburg, MD to play four rounds of Standard for FNM.

I took the Bant Blinking Idiot Alliance (BBIA).  I substituted out an Avacyn's Pilgrim and a Somberwald Sage for two copies of Sigarda, Host of Herons.

Round 1: Will with Saito Naya
Naya is a good match up for me at pretty much all levels.  My x-drops trump their x-drops in pretty much every slot.  I had complete control in this match save for one turn where I died to a topdecked Bonfire of the Damned.

2-1

Round 2: Jeremy with B/W Aristocrats

I was not sure what Jeremy's plan was at first.  In one game he got his engine online and started pumping out 5/5 Demons.  In the other two games, I was the one who got my engine on line first and I ended up victorious.

2-1

Round 3: Bernie with Naya Blitz

This is a hard match up for me.  I managed to steal a game, then going into game three had to mulligan down to five.  It was not close after that.

1-2

Round 4: Sean with MonoBlack (with a Red Splash)

In game one, Sean was able to kill every single creature I played with a variety of targeted removal and board wipes.  In game two I got Sigarda out and was able to fight through Griselbrand.  In game three I got hit with a turn 5 Rakdos's Return for 7 and was put into top deck mode.

1-2

In summary I went 2-1, 2-1, 1-2, 1-2 for a combined 6-6 with a final record of 2-2.  How neutral.
I was not pleased with the changes that I made to the deck, which were obviously "for the worse".  I have been thinking of how the deck can perform without Deadeye Navigator.

Until next time