Grand Prix: Seattle Tacoma was a blast. I had the chance to catch up with a lot of old friends, meet a few new ones, and overall just have a fantastic time.
Because I’m a sheep, I’ll be writing a tournament report, just like everyone else. Hopefully, it’s entertaining. If not, there’s some bonus stuff at the end.
And here we go.
We start our report on Thursday, when I woke up in Seattle and needed to fill my day with stuff, because there was no Magic today. Yes, the Magic was gone from my life on Thursday, and I had to try to fill in the empty hole. My supposed carmates had decided to fly up on Friday, thus allowing them to work for two more days (I drove up on Wednesday). So I had Thursday all to myself. I stopped by Wizards of the Coast and hung out in OP for a while, but it’s not really as exciting as it looks all the time, so I took off. I drove down to the site, to make sure I could get there, and the Verizon Maps feature on my Blackberry was pretty much awesome all over.
After I found the site, I went back to Wizards of the Coast for lunch with some of the staff. We had some good Thai food, but I was stuffed from all the junk food I had eaten in the car, and proceeded to get mocked for being unable to finish my Pho. Apparently, and this is a direct quote, I eat “like a European Girl with Anorexia.” Ouch, well played sir.
After that, I drove into Seattle proper (as in, the actual city of Seattle) and rode the monorail (kinda fun), walked through a hobo-infested park (not fun), and went through the Science Fiction Museum. (very fun). I found a fun amusement park, met up with some attractive ladies to make a foursome for mini-golf, and played overall rather well. 9 under par both games, not bad. I played the basketball game, demolished the record, and picked up some nifty knick-knacks for the kiddies back home. Finally, I finished my souvenir shopping.
Special note to Traveling Magic Players with significant others: Nothing makes your significant other feel more appreciated, and (more importantly) more likely to allow you to continue to travel to these events, than showing you thought of her by buying a souvenir T-shirt they will never wear more than twice. I don’t know why, but almost every Magic wife I know of loves to get that kind of gift, just to show that you were thinking of her while you were gone. So, if you’re in that kind of situation, budget some of your cash to pick up something for them. It’s good for you, it’s good for them, and it’s good for Magic (because you can play more).
Friday morning, I woke up, stopped by Wizards again for some last minute planning, and then picked up Dan from the airport. We checked him into his hotel, which was, technically speaking, horrible. The desk clerk was deep in conversation with a friend of his, and was extremely displeased that we had come in to, you know, make him actually work and earn his paycheck. But let’s back up a moment. We walked in, and the lobby smelled like a mix of cat urine and hooka. I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried, seriously. When Dan explained he only needed two nights, the clerk became very sarcastic, but we couldn’t quite tell, because of his Indian accent.
“Oh, thank you for telling me you only needed two night. It helps so much.”
Dan looked at me as he went back to the office to get the paper from the printer, and asked “Is he being sarcastic? I can’t tell.”
“Yes, Dan, he is being a giant jerk.”
After he found his room, we decided this name his hotel “Hobo Stab Hotel” as there was a likely chance of being stabbed.
By a Hobo.
After that, we picked up Doug the Mug, and drove down to get in on some grinders.
Yes, now we talk about the Magic.
I decided to play Cascade Swans. I’ll throw up the decklist in a moment, but first, my reasoning.
First of all, the deck is still somewhat new. Sure, some people will have tested the matchup, but a lot of players would not have, and would rely too heavily on too little hate. It’s similar to Dredge in Extended, I felt. Sometimes it’s great, other times it’s too much of a target. I felt I could get seven wins out it if I had to, without any byes.
Second, it’s fast. I’ve never played more than 7 rounds in a day, and this would be a minimum of nine. I wanted to conserve as much brain power as possible going into the last rounds. I know I would make more mistakes with Chapin’s 5CB deck in round 9 than I would with Cascade Swans.
Third, it’s obviously very powerful, and there’s something to be said for a deck that can win even when you mess it up.
Finally, the deck requires you to mulligan correctly and work out math correctly. I felt I needed to work on my mulligans, and I could calculate the math well.
Here’s the deck I played:
Creatures (8)
Lands (40)
Spells (12)
Sideboard
I decided to start pre-boarded against the hate, with Deny Reality in the main, but that’s probably wrong. I think Bituminous Blast is better to start, and then you can board in Deny Reality as needed.
I cut Volcanic Fallout from the board, and I really regret that. I put in Banefire for the Control matchups, but I never really used it, as I didn’t want to Cascade into it. In the words of Michael J, Never Again. Fallout, on the other hand, would have been fantastic against the Faerie Decks which were so prevalent. Hindsight is 20/20, and all that.
In the first Grinder, I lost in the opening round to some deck I forgot. I butchered the deck, and basically played $20 for the most expensive playtest match ever. I played a few practice games while waiting for the next grinder to fire, and started to second guess my choice. In the next Grinder, I wrecked two Boddy-Red style decks, then a B/W Tokens deck, before throwing the game away to a Five-Color Jank deck. I had two different ways to win in hand, but instead punted the match away. I jumped in another grinder, where I lost in the third round to Faeries, which was oddly ominous.
So, on to the tournament. We had 1127 players shuffling up on Saturday, a new West Coast Record. In the first round, I 2-0’d an Esper Jank deck. It wasn’t the tech that GerryT rolled out with the new Reveillark tech, it was some kind of bad artifact deck. It was never really close.
1-0, 2-0
In the second round, I played against a G/W tokens deck. In the first game, I had to choose between playing Swans first or Blood braid first. I put him on Path to Exile, but he had Pride mage instead. Still not sure I played that wrong, as it’s essentially a coinflip. I have to try to play for whichever he doesn’t have. This was a recurring theme. I rolled him the second game, not even close.
We had 2:09 left when the second game ended, and I told him we needed to start the third game. He started pile shuffling, and I explained that a draw is essentially a loss for both of us. He quickly finishes, and we’re on to the third. I keep a hand of 5 lands, (2 Vivids, a Ghitu, a Spinerock and a Graven Cairns), Bloodbraid Elf and Swans. I play out a Vivid, then the Ghitu (mistake, should have been a Vivid.) He played out land, Noble Hierarch, turn 2 Kitchen Finks. On his third turn, he plays liege, swing for 6, putting me to 14. I go into the tank for my third land drop. If he has Overrun, I’m dead regardless. If he has Liege, I lose, as he’d have 15 damage. Playing the Cairns would allow me to chump with the Ghitu, but then I’m playing for a draw, as I won’t have time to combo. I play my other Vivid (this is turn 1 of extra time) and pass. He plays a second Liege and rolls me. I still feel like I made the right play, as I made the play that gave me a chance to win. As I said earlier, a draw is a loss, essentially. Sometime it happens.
1-1, 3-2
After this round, I went and barned Chapin for a while, getting in on a good conversation on how awesome Cascade is, and using examples and math to prove it. I like to use this analogy. You would pay three for a 3/2 hasted elf, which means you are paying one for Cascade. Paying one to cast something costing 1, 2, or 3 is really good. Consequently, Captured Sunlight isn’t as good, because you would really only pay 1 for 4 life (You could pay 1 for 3 life, but no one plays Healing Salve, hence why 1 for four life is possible) and therefore you’re paying 3 for cascade. Now, that can still be good, if it will guaranteed hit a 3 cost you really need (like, say, Seismic Assault) Chapin uses the opposite, saying if you cats Bloodbraid Elf, and cascade into Maelstrom Pulse, then you just paid 1 for a 3/2 hasted elf beater, which is obviously good, and 3 for the Maelstrom Pulse. Either way, it’s pretty good.
Round 3, I was on tilt and lost to Faeries, a bad matchup anyway. I walked into a number of counters that were painstakingly obvious, and just overall lost my composure. I probably could have won this match with tighter play, but I didn’t, and that’s my fault. I did win one game where I just had it, though. Nice Deck.
1-2, 4-4
Round 4, I crush a mono-white Kithkin deck. In the second game, he has 2 Forge[/author]-Tender”]Burrenton [author name="Forge"]Forge[/author]-Tenders out, but I have more than enough lands. There’s some issue where he calls a judge, thinking the prevention would still work, even if I kill him in response, but the judge explains the stack, and we’re done here.
2-2, 6-4
After this round, I try to barn GerryT, but he is too elusive for me, and I end up running into Riki Hayashi. I had a good heart to heart with Riki the night before about writing, and he asks how I’m doing.
“I’m X-2 already, so I’m in the dreamcrush bracket. Because every match I play from here on out is a dreamcrush match.”
Riki responded with “I like that term. Of course, if you’re there, it probably means you’re bad at Magic.” Ouch, Riki getting the digs in.
Round 5, I play against B/W Tokens, and just wreck them. They had no hate, and just didn’t get the nut draw either game. I combo’d out both games on turn 5, one where I cascaded a Deny Reality on their Windbrisk, cascading into Swans, and then going off. No dreamcrushing me this round.
3-2, 8-4
Round 6, I am paired against Faeries, and I try to play as tight as possible. I the first game, I manage to come very close, but lose. In the second, I roll out third turn Assault, fourth turn Swans, and proceed to crush. In the third, I misplay into a few counters, and just like that, I have been dreamcrushed myself.
3-3, 9-6
I feel strange, because I have a winning game record, but feel like I should be 4-2. I am haunted by the Trial punt the previous night, as I had a great matchup in the finals, which I could have won to get three byes. Que Sera Sera. I decide to play on, as I’m not really interested in any side events, and I want to play the deck some more.
Round 7, I wreck a B/W Tokens match where I Deny Reality his Windbrisk twice, and Primal Command it a third time before finally finding the combo pieces. The second is also not very close, as I combo him on turn 5.
4-3, 11-6
Round 8, I play the mirror. The best part of the match was the die roll. I mentioned I had lost seven in a row, and then roll a 9. He says “It looks like your luck has changed” I respond with “Doubtful,” and he proceeds to roll a 10. Stupid Dice. So despite losing the die roll for the 8th consecutive match, I just combo off before him both games. I mulliganed both games, where he didn’t, and I am pretty sure he kept hands he should have mulliganed.
5-3, 13-6
In the last round, I used the wrong notebook, so I don’t have my notes, but I won 2-0, so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Faeries.
6-3, 15-6
Overall, not a bad tournament. I made some mistakes, lost a lot of die rolls, and finished in the Top 25% of the tournament. I can’t complain too much.
I played in the TV Tournament, where I lost the first round to U/W Control, and then forfeited the second match to go finish the GP. Yes, I was in two events at once, and had to choose. I proceeded to win the next two rounds, and then fall asleep during the last two. Literally, lose consciousness. DCI says I won one of those events, so I’m going to chalk that up to the power of the deck. Sidenote: I never lost a die roll that whole side event. Talk about running hot or cold.
The next day, I won a couple of team drafts, lost a GP trial for Boston, barned Chapin and Billy Moreno on their team draft, and then proceeded to stay up till 3am for the third night in a row.
Thanks for reading, and until next week, this is “Brian Jeff Jesus” Phillips, reminding you: Don’t make the Loser Choice.