After a nice performance at my first Pro Tour*, I decide that winning any more matches
would be a bad idea. My combined records from Honolulu and Charleston had a grand total of one
match win, and I vowed to never play Constructed again. Fast forward to U.S. Nationals… I
dropped from the tournament on Day 2, still in Top 8 contention, because the Constructed
portion was coming up and I’m bad at that. Incidents like this are not very
encouraging since I already have no idea what my cards do.
With Constructed out of the way and Limited season coming up, I figure it’s time to
start getting ready with my usual routine. And what better way to jump on the stairway of
success than by playing poker and drinking on weeknights? Seeing as how I can barely do math
sober, I rely on my intuitive skills to get me through the first PTQ and before I know it,
I’m going to Geneva!
In all seriousness though, many people I know reach a certain plateau and have trouble
getting to the next level. A break from Magic is often all it takes, as you approach the game
differently when you return and see stuff you may not have before. I talk a lot about playing
poker and it sounds completely unrelated, but as you’re constantly dealing with new
situations and need to figure out the right play, it’s a perfect way to get ready for
Limited season. The first PTQ was practically a prerelease with everyone unfamiliar with the
set, but I felt I had a big advantage as I saw many interactions other people didn’t.
I’m not saying, “Go play poker and you’ll win at Magic!” I’m just
recommending taking a break if you’re in a slump because you’ll approach the game
differently when you come back.
I continued preparation with more poker, and to motivate myself for the Pro Tour I decided
losing 30K in the previous 2 weeks would be a good idea as I would want to win more. After a
couple of online mysteries like this gem**, and
cramming with a few of Richie’s drafts, I was ready to go.
I was due to fly out with Joe Gagliardi and Adam Yurchick, and we would stay together at a
hotel where Joe booked reservations. Not according to plan, my initial flight from Cincinnati
was delayed by a solid three hours and I missed the connecting flight from Newark to Geneva.
Excellent. After a rollercoaster ride through the airport, I arrived in Paris before finally
getting to Geneva with my friend Sam Stein randomly being on the same flight as me. The airport
decided it would be far too convenient if my bags got there with me, so they were sent on an
adventurous trip to Egypt and Cambodia and who knows where else. Completely alone in a city
I’ve never been to before, I start walking aimlessly and somehow stumble upon the
convention center fifteen minutes later. Even luckier, the hotel we’re staying at is
located next to it, so I head over looking for the people in my room.
I spot a group of Magicians drafting in the lobby, with my friend John Moore playing a
tiebreaker against Scott Johns. After watching John dispatch him in three games, I head over to
his room with Mike Patnik, Brad Taulbee, and Ernie Marchesano.
John: That guy was sooooo bad. He made like 10 mistakes.
Me: He’s pretty good from what I’ve heard.
John: Yeah right, he just punted the match to me. Soooo bad.
Me: You know he’s won a Pro Tour right?
John: Haha, very funny. You saw his plays right?
Me: You know he Top 8’d five pro tours?
John: Alright man, you can stop messing around.
John: … why are you all staring at me?
John: …
John: It’s true?!?! Man, I just thought he was just another coverage donkey!
Adam eventually finds me and I’m happily in the room, joined by old school master Ben
Farkas. At first I thought he wasn’t for real, but after learning he was disqualified
from a Pro Tour at 9-3 for throwing a chair he earned my respect [Hmm… – Craig.]. After a
late night draft against my friend Sam Black and his two random friends Matt and Mike***, we
discuss some archetypes in my room and fall asleep.
My first pod was not too exciting, with the only people I recognize being Yann Hamon and
GP: New Jersey winner Guillaume Cardin. I start the draft with a Sulfurous Blast, and slowly
solidify myself in B/R. As I’m getting passed removal the entire draft, I nearly jump out
of my seat when I get Oros, the Avenger seventh pick in pack 3. I already had a Terramorphic
Expanse and I would only have to play 1 Plains to support it. Apart from one pick where I took
a Withered Wretch I couldn’t support over Coal Stoker, I couldn’t have been happier
with the way the draft went.
Round 1 versus Fried Meulders
Fried is playing a U/W deck, an archetype that I’ve come to believe the B/R deck
struggles against.
I begin game 1 with Ridged Kusite, getting in for two before he trumps it with Merfolk
Thaumaturgist. I didn’t know this at the time, but apparently that guy just owns my
entire deck. No Saltfield Recluse required, Dream Stalker is suddenly a mighty opponent for
even the bravest of Trespasser il-Vecs and Bonesplitter Slivers. My newly-formed Mana Skimmer
plan gets crushed by a Bewilder and we enter a standstill, something B/R desperately wants to
avoid. Fried played a Poultice Sliver to fortify the fort, following up with an Amrou Seekers
for a slow clock. Several turns later I’m finally able to smash in Bonesplitter Sliver,
Vampiric Sliver, and Trespasser il-Vec for a measly three points of damage, but with no loss of
creatures the mandatory alpha strike on the following turn leaves Fried at one. It leaves a
sour taste in my mouth since I could have pitched a card the entire game to deal one with
Trespasser, but there wasn’t a creature I’d rather discard than play.
Game 2 sees Fried mulligan and stumble on two lands, but I’m unable to capitalize
with the Dream Stalker on the other side of the board.
Is it just me, or is suspending Phthisis really bad? Every time I hear a story about it,
the hero ends up gunning down his own critter.
When the last counter is removed, Fried Snapbacks one of my two creatures and bounces his
Dream Stalker via Momentary Blink, leaving my Gorgon Recluse as the only target. Dream Stalker
comes back down and I’m unable to mount an attack before Fried kills me with evasion
creatures.
0-1
Round 2 versus Klaus Joens
Klaus has a slow U/B deck that I should be able to beat with a decent start, as it seems to
be lacking in early drops.
Game 1 I am able to play some slivers and easily take him down with his first play being on
turn 5.
For those of you who haven’t met me, I’m not kidding when I say I don’t
know what my cards do. If a card looks like it flies in the picture, then it’s crashing
in there Hokori style. Heaven forbid a card has two abilities on it, like Goblin Legionnaire.
Did you know that Piracy Charm gives islandwalk?
We kick game 2 off with slow draws, and I block his attacking Gorgon Recluse with one of my
own. As I’m putting mine in the bin, he informs me they live because they’re Both
black. Cute. After dealing with his 2/4, he Eternity Snares my Coal Stoker and I need to decide
how to continue my attack. I have a few creatures and I can bounce his with Stingscourger, or I
can add to my army by returning my Coal Stoker. I conclude a 3/3 on my side would be a nice
addition to my army, but he stops me because I apparently can’t do that! Some nonsense
about creatures you don’t control or something… A Phthisis ends any attacking
chances I have and I lose the game soon after.
Klaus keeps another terrible hand this game, his first play being Spitting Sliver. He plays
Vampiric Link on my Coal Stoker, which buys him two turns against my three creatures, but
I’m able to kill him when Coal Stoker deals the lethal damage and Link goes on the stack.
He says something about mana flood despite us having the same amount of lands, earning lots and
lots of sympathy from me.
One thing that holds a lot of people back is underestimating the amount of luck in the
game. You will get unlucky. Guess what? It happens to everyone. People still complain about
mana screw as if they are the only one on the planet, but it happens. Just take it and move on.
Often something could have been done to avoid the bad luck, so don’t just blame your deck
for your losses. My opponent said he got manaflooded, but he kept a hand with no plays until
turn 5, and was sporting gems such like Vampiric Link. I’m going to go out on a limb
here, but I would say there were other factors in addition to the ten lands that resulted in my
opponent losing this game.
1-1
Round 3 versus Yann Hamon
Yann is sporting some kind of 4 color U/G deck, which I can’t imagine could be bad
for me.
Game 1 is long and drawn out with him slowly taking control, eventually killing me with
flyers.
I start very fast in Game 2 and able to kill everything he plays, finishing him off within
eight turns.
Game 3 is the memory loss game of the tournament, although Skirk Shaman was excellent and
dealt more than his fair share to take this game.
2-1
Pod 2 has my good friend Shaheen Soorani sitting on my right, and other than level 6 mage
Paulo Vitor I don’t recognize anyone else at the table. I start things off with a Teferi,
after which I get passed Fathom Seer and Rift Bolt. I have no objections to going U/R, and the
cards just keep on coming. In pack 2 I get passed Fledgling Mawcor, followed by the absolute
gift in fifth pick Fathom Seer. I open Serra Sphinx in pack 3, and after being passed
Shapeshifter Parasite and 2 Prodigal Pyromancers my deck is simply absurd. I build my deck so
fast that the judges think I forgot to fill out the deck registration sheet, but that’s
probably the only way I can lose a match with this monstrosity.
Round 4 versus Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
Obviously the person at the table I least wanted to play, but my deck is retarded so
I’m not that concerned.
Game 1 my pingers go to town against his R/W deck, and I eventually kill him with flyers.
Game 2 Paulo surprises me with a Pyrohemia after I block his creatures, and I’m
unable to draw Rift Bolt to finish off his Cavalry Master and empty the board.
Game 3 I make one of my biggest mistakes in the tournament, but fortunately it didn’t
cost me. I’m calmly in control and the only real threat Paulo has is his suspended Ivory
Giant, almost ready to go with only one counter left on it. It is my turn and Paulo is
completely tapped out except for a lone Mountain. For whatever reason, I don’t cast
Teferi immediately and wait for his upkeep instead. This is absolutely terrible, because there
is no advantage to this play and if he has Mana Tithe my Teferi won’t even resolve.
Luckily for me, Paulo does not have the White instant and after effectively countering the
Ivory Giant, Teferi is more than enough to take the game.
3-1
Round 5 versus Hafiz Mokhtaruddin
Hafiz has some kind of strange U/G/B deck that my friend Shaheen lost to last round after a
deck registration error.
Game 1 his first play is Vorosh, the Hunter after I already have three creatures out. I
Temporal Eddy it to the top of his deck and he replays it with lethal damage staring him in the
face. By far the biggest mistake I saw people making at this Pro Tour was keeping hands with no
early drops. If you’re making your first play on turn 4 or later, any decent deck will
just run you over since the initial tempo advantage is too great.
Game 2 I stumble on lands after a mulligan and the combination of Durkwood Baloth and Giant
Dustwasp is too much for me to handle.
Game 3 my deck comes out in full force and although I have to trade Teferi for a Durkwood
Baloth, it clears the way for the rest of my team to enter the red zone.
4-1
Round 6 versus Antti Malin
Antti is exactly the kind of person I don’t want to be playing against at a Limited
Pro Tour. Not a complete unknown as he Top 8’d Pro Tour: London, but the Limited
specialists few people know about are the most fearsome opponents at these events. While
you’re not pumping the fist when you get matched up against a well known pro, very
proficient technicians like Sebastian Thaler or Przemol Wolowiec, who are now bursting onto the
Pro Tour scene, are the real guys you want to avoid.
I win the die roll for Game 1 and it proves crucial as he gets down an early Stormbind.
Since I was on the play, it meant I had the mana to unmorph Shaper Parasite and could give him
a much harder time killing my creatures. Teferi comes down and Antti wisely chooses to race me
rather than try to kill my creatures, as any trick from me will win the game if he commits. He
runs out of cards to fuel the Stormbind and I am able to kill him before he plays more threats.
Antti comes out of the gates in Game 2 with his R/G/W deck, with a Might Sliver proving
very difficult to handle. As I am scooping up to the lethal damage on board, Antti reveals the
last card in his hand, the Stormbind.
On the play in game 3, I play my three toughness morphs and am on the offensive from the
beginning. As I’m swinging for lethal, Antti makes a remark that he can still win as he
reaches for my morphs.
“If either of these is a land….”
Nope.
5-1
My third pod contained Quentin Martin two to my left, and Rob Dougherty directly on my
right. After starting off with some shaky White, I decide Black will be open after a
seventh-pick Urborg Syphon-Mage. Pack 2 was another disaster, but pack 3 couldn’t have
gone better. Kor Dirge, Big Game Hunter, Calciderm, and two Blightspeakers (one twelfth pick)
left me extremely happy with my deck.
Nick Eisel, what is up with you and Treacherous Urge? After hearing so many things about it
from you and several of your friends, I windmill slammed it when it was passed to me, and I was
very unimpressed. While it’s sometimes insane, that situation does not seem to come very
often. In B/R, all of their creatures are dead anyway, while in W/B you’re in trouble if
they’re attacking. Also if you’re losing with W/B, it’s probably after
they’ve deployed the big critters out of their hand. The best uses I can see with it is
against something like R/G when you’re already way ahead, or possibly in U/B when
you’re trying to race, but that seems very situational.
Round 7 versus Alessio Angeli
He is playing G/W, and not the good kind****.
Game 1 I get out an early Rebel chain and he is unable to stop it thanks to G/W’s
lack of removal. He tries a desperation Saltblast on my Outrider en-Kor, but I inform him
it’s White and don’t think much of it.
Game 2 I start off with a Blightspeaker, and on turn 4 I have a very formidable Calciderm.
He tries to Utopia Vow it, but ends up casting something else when I tell him it can’t be
targeted. I search out a few more rebels and the game is over in short order.
As soon as this match is over, Adam Yurchick comes over and yells at me for not calling a
judge. My opponent tried to do two illegal things and played it off as accidental, and I
thought nothing of it. Whenever this happens, you need to call a judge and make sure it goes on
that person’s record. I felt like such an idiot when being told this, because no one on
the Pro Tour makes innocent mistakes like that. This isn’t “Stingscourger
can’t bounce your own guy,” because that’s subtle. EVERYONE knows Blastoderm
(Calciderm) can’t be targeted. When you play Saltblast, you know exactly what it does.
Pointing it at a White creature, the only thing you’re hoping for is that your opponent
doesn’t notice and you mise. My inexperience on the tour let my opponent get away with
attempting these plays, when he should have been punished for trying to cheat. At an FNM, this
kind of stuff happens all the time and there’s little reason to worry, but at a Pro Tour
these things are not accidental.
6-1
An excellent way to end the day, and I’m confident my deck can go 3-0, or 2-1 at
worst.
Round 8 versus Koutarou Ootsuka
While I think I have a good matchup against the U/G deck with my rebel chain, I have
literally zero lifetime wins against Japanese players at Pro Tours.
In Game 1 I begin a steady rebel chain while Koutarou plays some flyers, following up with
Jodah’s Avenger. I don’t have enough creatures to race it, but the Big Game Hunter
in my hand is doing little in helping me kill it. With me at six life, he gives the Avenger
shadow and attacks, giving it double strike before damage. At this point I make a play that
I’m still unsure about, as I didn’t know what kind of player my opponent was. He
asks to put first strike damage on the stack, and I cast Tendrils of Corruption having 2 swamps
in play. In response, Koutarou plays Might of Old Krosa making it a 4/4 and dealing exactly
eight to me. At that time, I concluded that this was my only chance to remove the Avenger and
Koutarou would wait until the next turn to kill me, holding the pump spell to play around
Tendrils. What if I neglected to cast Tendrils and let first strike damage go on the stack?
Would that give him the green light to cast the Might before regular damage since I’m
representing no removal? If I let first strike damage go on the stack and he casts Might before
regular damage, I can respond with Tendrils and completely blow him out of the game. The reason
I’m unsure about the play is because I don’t know if he would have cast the Might
had I passed priority back to him. If he wouldn’t have and he is playing around the
Tendrils, I played correctly as I can only win if he has nothing. However, if he was going to
commit to killing me that turn I may have missed an opportunity to steal a lost game.
Game 2 was completely uneventful until the last turn, where Koutarou made a lethal attack
but would die to a counterattack. I surprised him with a Big Game Hunter pitched to my Urborg
Syphon-Mage, killing a creature and providing just enough power for the counterattack since I
got to keep the 2/2.
Game 3 Koutarou came storming with Jodah’s Avenger once again, and after a few
unanswered attacks I was at zero.
6-2
Round 9 versus Robert Dougherty
Fake feature match!
Game 1 my rebel chain is too much for Rob to handle, and I am able to outrace his R/G deck
in short order.
I double mulligan for game 2 and put up a fight with Calciderm, but Hunting Moa and Ashcoat
Bear go the distance when a Brute Force lets Rob trade for the 5/5.
Game 3 sees a reverse of fortune with a mulligan for Rob and early stumble. He plays this
game very aggressively, which surprises me as having the rebel chain I cannot lose without
extreme errors on my part. If Rob played more defensively I would have to think about my
attacks more, and there would be more opportunities for me to make a mistake, which is what he
needed to win the game.
7-2
My fourth pod contains Sebastian Thaler and Johan Sadeghpour, with my friend Nicolay
Potovin on my right. I start off with a Fathom Seer and stick to the Blue course for the rest
of the draft, unfortunately giving me what I felt was a rather poor U/R deck. With Planar Chaos
out, U/R’s main weakness is the early game where it is imperative to have removal like
Lightning Axe and Rift Bolt. Although I did have 2 Prodigal Pyromancers, the amount of
three-drops in my deck left me very vulnerable to a deck that could come out very early.
Round 10 versus Koutarou Ootsuka
This time Koutarou is the one with the rebel chain and his deck is exactly the one I wanted
to avoid.
Game 1 he starts with several early drops and I’m trying to play catch up the entire
game. I am unable to answer a Stormfront Riders and quickly lose the first.
I miss my third land drop in the second game, and Koutarou finishes me off in short order.
7-3
I go to get some encouragement from my friend Joe Gagliardi, who just drafted the worst
deck I’ve ever seen, but after he crushes me in two fun games I’m not feeling too
good.
Round 11 versus Przemyslaw Wolowiec
Przemol is apparently a MTGO master, something I was unaware of at the time.
Game 1 turns into an immediate standstill with his B/U/W deck holding the ground with
Watcher Sliver and Necrotic Sliver. After killing my flyers, I have no way to get through and
Przemol attacks me down to zero soon after.
I get a fast start in game 2, something I didn’t even think my deck had. With
Prodigal Pyromancer on board Przemol has trouble making favorable blocks, and eventually my
flyers take the game.
Game 3 starts off as a quick race when Przemol plays Griffin Guide on his Opaline Sliver.
On the critical turn, I take an attack of Celestial Crusader and the Sliver leaving me at one,
but with lethal damage on board after I Snapback his D’Avenant Healer. I attack for
exactly his life total, but with six mana up Przemol plays Whitemane Lion in an attempt to stay
alive. I flip up Parasite to kill Crusader in response to the Lion’s ability, and Przemol
scoops it up.
8-3
Round 12 versus William Ljungberg
William is G/W, and not the good kind.
Game 1 I’m somehow able to grab the tempo and put him on the defensive for the rest
of the game. Crookclaw Transmuter and Jodah’s Avenger soon arrive to deliver the final
blows.
Game 2 he plays a Thallid Shell-Dweller stopping my Voidmage Prodigy attack force. I get
down a Prodigal Pyromancer, and after a second get so cocky that I choose not to leave UU
untapped. William takes this opportunity to resolve Teferi’s Moat, meaning it will take
an extra five turns to kill him because I’m an idiot. I end up playing really sloppy this
game because I figure there is no way I can lose, and eventually ping him to death.
While perfect Magic is what we strive for, it’s alright to let your brain rest
sometimes. I’m not proud of the fact that I gave my opponent extra turns in round 12, but
if I relaxed in a position where I was unlikely to lose, it means I can focus at a time when I
really need it. Again, I’m not encouraging playing poorly, but don’t beat yourself
up over mistakes when you have more important things to worry about.
9-3
The only people I recognize in my final draft are Quentin Martin and Osyp Lebedowicz, so I
like my chances to win two straight and draw into the Top 8. I first pick Serrated Arrows, a
great card as it will make the cut in any deck and keeps the draft flexible. After taking a
Lightning Axe and getting passed some late Green, I decide to take the plunge into an
aggressive G/R deck for the first time in the tournament. I open Magus of the Arena in pack 3
and get passed another one along with Dead / Gone in the pack. Since I already had plenty of
late drops and was worried about getting rushed out by a fast White deck, I took the removal
spell rather than the big creature. I receive a gift in Gaea’s Anthem, and I’m once
again very please with my deck.
Round 13 versus Pieter Viljoen
Pieter is playing a U/B deck, historically a favorable matchup for G/R.
I mount an early offense in Game 1 but he crushes me with a Damnation I was not playing
around. I have trouble answering his flyers and after a bit too much land Pieter deals the
final blow.
Game 2 sees Mire Boa doing 10 damage to Pieter, and Magus of the Arena eventually comes to
sweep up the remaining creatures.
Pieter keeps a risky hand without Swamps for game 3, drawing one after taking several hits
from Essence Warden and Mire Boa. He plays Basal Sliver and sacrifices it to cast Damnation,
something I’m more than happy about since he didn’t even gain a card off the trade.
Magus of the Arena soon arrives once again and Pieter has no answers.
10-3
Round 14 versus Quentin Martin
I watched Quentin play the end of the last round against Osyp and he seemed to have a very
synergetic U/W sliver deck. We consider drawing and possibly getting an easier pairing next
round, but decide playing would be better since we do not want to accidentally draw ourselves
out. Before game 1 starts, we get deck checked and Quentin receives a game loss for his second
deck registration error of the tournament.
I start off nicely with a curve of Essence Warden and Mogg War Marshall, but Quentin
stabilizes with Saltfield Recluse and Poultice Sliver. After gunning down a flyer with
Hammerheim Deadeye, I almost have enough to attack but decide to pass one more time since a
Temporal Isolation would completely obliterate my board. After a Lightning Axe on the Recluse,
I drop the Gaea’s Anthem I had been sandbagging the whole game and Quentin concedes when
all of my creatures enter the red zone.
11-3
Round 15 versus Marijn Lybaert
Marijn has 34 points and is a lock with a draw, so he will most likely take it at any time.
As I’m celebrating the Top 8, I look at the standings and realize a draw does not
guarantee that I get in. With four key matches played out, two had to go my way in order for me
to make it. Feeling my chances to win were better than 50%, I decided I would play and offer a
draw if I thought my chances were worse than 50%.
I win game 1 through a combination of Serrated Arrows and Magus of the Arena, while his U/W
deck can do little to contain my creatures.
Game 2… ah… game 2. Biggest punt of my life. It happens, we all make mistakes.
With Ghost Tactician and Saltfield Recluse in play, my Magus of the Arena couldn’t go to
town on Marijn’s squad. Finally drawing Dead / Gone to get rid of the annoying Recluse,
Marijn responds by giving my Magus -2/-0, to which I respond by using it. WHY? I have no
earthly idea. I guess I was hoping in some other world he would do something stupid and bin the
Tactician but no, Marijn made the obvious play and chose the Recluse that was dying anyway.
This left my Magus tapped and a flipped Brine Elemental put me very far behind. I didn’t
have enough creatures to attack for the rest of the game and a Veiling Oddity was enough to
seal it.
I shuffle my hand up for game 3 and take a look at my opening 7. No lands.
“Draw?”
11-3-1
Marijn instantly accepts as he is a lock, and I’m left kicking myself for leaving a
Top 8 up to chance. Kenji knocks Thaler out of contention, and after a timely Disintegrate peel
by Katsuhiro Mori, Tomoharu Saitou is also out, leaving five people vowing for four spots.
Randy Buehler: And in eighth place…
Randy Buehler: FROM USA!
Music to my ears. After a near punt of the Top 8, my tiebreakers held up to let me sneak
in. In my next article I will discuss the Top 8 draft and my seemingly terrible picks.
Until then,
Ervin Tormos
[email protected]
…
* Part 2 from my LA report still on the way. I know you have been waiting eagerly.
** Took me about 2 hours, very challenging but very rewarding if you finish.
*** I later learn that their last names are Severa and Hron, respectively.
**** I will discuss this more in my article on the Top 8 draft.