Mother's Day Super IQ

I've mentioned this before, but when Nick and Jimmy took down both invites at a Super IQ about a month ago, I made it a goal to also qualify and join them in Somerset in late July.  For this reason only, I decided to play in Thanks For Playing's Super IQ yesterday -- Mother's Day.  Sunday tournaments generally draw fewer players, and this one being on a family holiday, as well as offering two invites, would probably be my best shot between now and the Invitational to qualify.  So I woke up at 6am, drove 90 minutes to my parents' house for breakfast with my mom, then headed to Urbana for the tourney, packing the same 71/75 I took to NJ last week.  I changed my 3/3 split of Thundermaw/Silverheart to 4/2, and cut the singletons in the side for 3x Gruul War Chant.

I found Mike right away and we both started bitching about the colder-than-expected temperature outside, the layout of the store, and the owners for delaying the start of the tourney 20+ minutes because one person was running late.  One thing I actually did like about TFP was that they had DirecTV and I got to watch a little bit of the O's and Caps games.

OK.... on to the tourney (46 players)

Round 1 vs U/W/R mid-range
Game one I drew faster/bigger threats and he had to hold back Geists on defense, chumping with three of them, while playing Azorius Charm on hasty creatures a couple times as well.  Eventually I took it down.
Expecting him to side out the Geists I swapped Bonfires for Mortars and brought in Huntmasters and my own (Strangleroot) Geists.  This game, after giving him the two-for-one Boros Reckoner is always good for (Mortars and a Boar) I'm holding back defenders for his triple-Geist draw.  On the last turn he's at 14, I'm at 1, but I have an out if I can draw a Rampager since Huntmaster flips and puts him to 12 and I have one Rampager in hand already.  I fake the second rampager for funsies anyway.  After two really good games, I go to a 3/3 Bonfire/Mortars split, and wreck him after he mulls and keeps a sketchy 6.
(2-1, 1-0)

Round 2 vs Naya mid-range
Both games go easily as Bonfire decimates his mana dorks and Emissaries and he never gets the mana (or right colors of mana) for his curve toppers: Hellkite and Aurelia.
(2-0, 2-0)

Round 3 vs Aristocrats
I mull to 5 on the play game one, and manage to put up a really good fight with some really good play on my part, if I do say so myself.  But a surprise Orzhov Charm returning a human and allowing the Silverblade in play to become paired catches me off guard and takes the game (a really cool play on his part, admittedly).
I swap out most of the Bonfires for Mortars game 2.
I have to mull to 6 and keep a less than optimal hand (I have Emissary into Boar and nothing else).  He plays all the Falkenraths this game, ignoring Domri so I can't even get a fog out him and die quickly.
(0-2, 2-1)

Round 4 vs Jund
Game one goes perfectly as he spends his removal on my 2-drops and has nothing left for my 5's.  Ironically, I vomit 2-drops in game two: Arbor Elf into Emissary, Emissary, Strangleroot into hasty Boar the first three turns.  Turn four I finally get to try out Gruul War Chant, which turns out to be awesome in this scenario. :-)
(2-0, 3-1)

Round 5 vs Jund
This round goes just as quickly as the last as my fast starts aren't slowed by Farseeks and a one-for-one removal spell here or there.  Game 2 I have the hard-cast Bonfire for two after his Huntmaster and take the match.
(2-0, 4-1)

Round 6 ID!
(0-0, 4-1-1)

Top 8 - I'm the 7th seed

One guy doesn't want to split the cash 8 ways ($125 a piece), so no split this round.

Quarterfinals vs my third straight (different) Jund player
I take game one ignoring farseeks and one-for-one removal.  I board as I have been all day vs Jund, which includes siding out the Hellriders.  Game two I'm able to spam the board but a Huntmaster and Thragtusk stabilizes him and I'm forced to clog the board to keep the pressure on.  Unfortunately he has the 3rd red land, his 6th land, right on time for an overloaded Mortars and I don't have the gas to comeback.  Game three I bring back the Hellriders on the play and get a decent start with turn 2 Burning-Tree Emissaries, but follow that with only a Domri.  Domri makes an a Boar fight his leftover beast after Mortars kills a Thragtusk  then +1 next turn revealing a Silverheart I can't cast.. Emissary #3 (two left in play) - go. Next turn he plays Olivia but he doesn't pay 2 life for his shock land, so only one untapped.  Hellrider off the top does a good chunk of damage (3 triggers and letting the 2/2's get through) and he trades the Vampire for the Devil.  He follows up with Huntmaster and I rip the 5th land for Silverheart and swing with both Emissaries (a 2/2 and a 6/6). He trades and chumps losing Huntmaster and the wolf token and has no follow up for the 6/6 and 8/8 coming his way.

Jarvis wins his quarterfinal and still doesn't want to split. Whatever (dick), I don't care about the cash.. Just one more win for the invite!

Semifinals vs Naya Blitz
I know Ben is running only creatures and lands in the main so I keep a one-land, two-Arbor Elf, two Bonfire hand on the draw. I can 1-for-1 on my second turn to remove a Champion before it gets out of hand, but just play more elves (Arbor #2 @ Sage).  Then BAM! 3-for-1 with the hard-cast Bonfire for 2 on my third turn.  From there I play runner-runner Thundermaw with only 3 lands in play to take game 1.
Game 2 I mull to 5 and make some "creative" plays to try to stay in it, but am overrun.
Game 3 I mulligan again and spend the first several turns deploying a Gyre Sage and 3 2/2 Boars. I'm able to capitalize on some misplays by Ben and trade some dudes on defense, while mana screwed.  I finally hit land #3 and cast Huntmaster with an evolved Sage to stabilize.  From there Thundermaw finishes him off to take the match!!

Fuck Yeah!!  I'm going to NJ with Jimmy and Nick!

Jarvis wins his Semifinal and still doesn't want to split.  Whatever (dick), I didn't want to make it to my girlfriend's mom's for dinner anyway!

Finals vs Jund
I remember nothing of this game except that he has all the answers to my less than optimal draw.  Game two he plays Thragtusk on turns 4, 5 and 6.  I think a ton this game whittling his 5/3's to 3/3's, though I'm eventually forced to cast Mortars NOT overloaded to take care of a creature while I'm at 1 life and only 5 lands in play.  Ultimately, I die to two 3/3's with a fresh Thundermaw in play.  Ever so slightly bummed to have lost to who I lost to, but still happy with the $200 and still fucking PSYCHED to get the invite I came for!!

Happy Mother's Day!!

e