Feature Article – Top 8 at U.S. Nationals

For me, U.S Nationals has always been a tournament I wanted to win. I’ve yearned to win it more than winning a Pro Tour. The money was never a reason for me to play the game; I am far from rich, but I think most players will agree with me that we play for all the reasons besides the money. We play the game for the friends we make, the respect we gain from our peers, or just the fact that we love Magic.

The trip started on Wednesday, when I drove down to Allen Jackson’s house in Maryland. When I got there, we decided to fire up a draft on MTGO. We ended up Blue/Green and split the finals. Prior to Nationals, I was doing badly on MTGO, losing about five Sealed tournaments and five drafts in the matter of a week. After going MTGO-Broke, I talked with Hall of Fame candidate Anton Jonsson about his thoughts on M11. He gave me a pretty straightforward breakdown: he told me to draft Blue. He said card draw was basically the most important factor in M11, and Blue had the best of it. His Blue common breakdown was a little different to that of other players. He thought #1 went to Foresee, #2 to Aether Adept, and #3 to Scroll Thief. Anton has possibly the best Limited results in the world, so I figured I’d listen to his wisdom and see how I did. He also mentioned that you don’t really need many ways to win, and decks with 7 to 10 creatures are fine. In decks such as these, you want Elixir of Immortality, since late game you get to shuffle your good spells into your deck minus the 7 or 8 lands you have on the battlefield, essentially increasing your odds of pulling a good spell during your draw steps.

I ended up 6-0 in the draft portion of Nationals, as I fully followed Anton’s advice both times. I drafted Blue, and in the first draft I had five Aether Adepts.

Before Nationals, I attended a 61-man Standard tournament. I ended up playing a stock UW Control list, and split in the Top 4. The deck was okay, but there was lots of stuff that didn’t make sense to me. First of all, the way the deck was built, plus the sideboard, meant it was nearly impossible to beat the RG and UG Ramp decks. Aside from that, I felt like I was always boarding out Wall of Omens, even against creature decks. And finally, Mana Leak and Path to Exile is not a combo, so it makes sense to choose one or the other. I decided I wanted to play UW since it seemed more consistent than Esper, but I was up to try anything. Brian Six can vouch for this… we tried anything you can imagine, including Esper Aggro.

I played RG Ramp a lot on MTGO, with four maindeck Banefires, but the ramp deck had lots of problems. First of all, I felt it mulliganed poorly, and it would sometimes get clunky draws with no acceleration. It was a deck I felt that never gave you a chance to outplay your opponent. The decks I normally play involve decisions on every turn, but the RG Ramp deck presented one obvious play each turn, and nothing more.

After disappointing results with Esper, I figured I would just go with UW Control. This was when I spoke with Brian Lynch, the lynchpin from Team “Darkside of the Moon.” He told me he had a UW deck he really liked, that played no Walls, Paths, or Day of Judgment. I played it a little on MTGO, and after a few changes, which mostly included adding Preordain and messing around with the sideboard, this is what I came up with and sent to my friend Uri.

This was the message I sent my friend and former World Champion Uri Peleg, who asked for my advice on what to play at his Nationals:

Main Deck
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Jace Beleren
1 Gideon Jura
3 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
3 Baneslayer Angel
1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
4 Mana Leak
1 Cancel
3 Flashfreeze
3 Condemn
4 Spreading Seas
3 Preordain
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Into the Roil

Top 10 Songs Of The Week
1.) B.O.B “Magic”
2.) Sarah And Tegan “The Con”
3.) The Do “Stay Just A Little Bit More”
4.) Biggie Smalls/Miley Cirus “Party In The Usa Remix”
5.) Eminem “So Bad”
6.) Ani Di Franco “Fake Palidromes”
7.) The National “Fake Empire”
8.) K.O.S “Love Song”
9.) Shawyzee “Polirod”
10.) Rilo Kiley “Sliver Lining”

I had a sideboard plan and was happy with the deck overall. After playing a few games late Thursday night, and getting input from a few friends, this is what I finally decided to play:

U/W Control

Gerard Fabiano

Test deck on 08-29-2010

Standard

Creatures (4)

• 3 Baneslayer Angel
• 1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle

Planeswalkers (9)

• 1 Jace Beleren
• 3 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1 Gideon Jura

Lands (25)

• 4 Plains
• 8 Island
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 4 Celestial Colonnade
• 3 Tectonic Edge

Spells (22)

• 4 Mana Leak
• 3 Condemn
• 2 Flashfreeze
• 1 Cancel
• 2 Oblivion Ring
• 2 Into the Roil
• 4 Spreading Seas
• 4 Preordain

Sideboard

• 4 Meddling Mage
• 3 Negate
• 1 Relic of Progenitus
• 1 Celestial Purge
• 2 Day of Judgment
• 2 Calcite Snapper
• 2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence

I was pretty happy with the deck list, but there are a few things I would change. I would swap out the Sphinx for the fourth Baneslayer Angel. Not many people are playing Thought Hemorrhage, and even with four Baneslayer Angel, the card is not that good against you since you have many ways to win. Baneslayer is just a better card versus more of the decks in the metagame. I thought Sphinx may be better against Jund, but the way the games played out in testing I’m not even sure if that is the case. Versus most of the top decks out there right now, Baneslayer is pretty much game over.

Aside from that, I would have added a second Relic of Progenitus to the sideboard and cut the Celestial Purge. I really liked everything else about the deck. Let’s get to the tournament!

Round 1: Naya

Your Naya match up game 1 isn’t too good, and honestly, you don’t really have any good game 1 match-ups. Most game 1s are around 50/50, but if you play really well you can win almost any game. My opponent makes an early Fauna Shaman and fetches Vengevine after Vengevine until I can’t hold off the beats, and I lose. I board into Day of Judgments, Relic of Progenitus, and Linvala, Keeper of Silence, which I think will give me a huge edge. It turns out I was right, and I win games 2 and 3. Baneslayer Angel is the most important card in this match-up, since the way the Naya deck is built means they currently have no real answer to it. I also feel that adding the second Relic to the board will help this match-up a great deal.

1-0

Round 2: Naya (Josh Wagner)

Josh, a.k.a. The Champ, won Nationals in 2003 and recently started playing again. He is one of the best “unknown” players in the game right now, and he proved this by making Top 4 at Grand Prix: DC after not playing a GP or PT in years. I knew this match-up would be tough. Game 1 he led off with a Raging Ravine and Verdant Catacombs, so I instantly thought he was playing Jund. I make a turn 2 Spreading Seas on his manland, and at the end of turn he cracks the catacomb to fetch a Forest. I was happy about this, since it would impossible for him to cast a turn 3 Blighting. On turn 3 he played another Forest and a Fauna Shaman. At this point I still thought he was playing Jund, just with Shamans and Vengevines. Over the next few turns, the gig is up. I realize he is playing Naya, and I end up losing to the Shaman. Looking back, I could have just passed on turn 2 with Flashfreeze. I’m still not sure what the best play is here. It would be something worth discussing if I remembered my exact hand, but I just felt like Spreading Seas was good in that spot.

I board in the same stuff as round 1. Game 2 looks good for me, but time is low, so Josh decides to concede with about 7 minutes to go so we have a shot to play game3. This seemed like a smart play for Josh to make, since my deck normally takes more than 7 minutes to win, while his can come out fast and win in a matter of turns. I ended up getting a fast creature draw game 3, and he ended up being on the defense, but the game was still close and we would have needed another 5 minutes to finish.

1-0-1

Round 3: GBW Shaman

Game 1 was a long game. I ended up playing to the point where I have the win next turn, but he rips a Vengevine for the win. I board in the same stuff I would bring in against Naya, and win game 2. Game 3 was tough to play, since he was stuck on lands but he had a Fauna Shaman building up his graveyard with Vengevines. I decided to tap out for a Baneslayer Angel, thinking if he has a Maelstrom Pulse he would have to waste the only three mana he had on his turn to Pulse it. Turns out that he boarded in Doom Blade, and he destroyed the Baneslayer at end of turn, untapped, drew a land and attacked for 12, and I lost on the following turn.

1-1-1

Round 4: Dredge (Jim Davis)

I figured this match-up would be difficult, so it looked good when he mulliganed down to five game 1. It turned out it didn’t matter, and he still crushed me.

I boarded into Calcite Snapper, Meddling Mage, Linvala, and Relic of Progenitus, hoping to get a fast creature draw, which I did in game 2. I made a Jace and managed to fateseal him away from drawing a land in three or four draw steps, and thus I won. Game 3 was about the same as game 2, with him being land-light and me getting down a Mage and another guy to lay the beats.

2-1-1

My first Draft pod only had Wagner as a name I recognized, and I ended up going 3-0 with a UB deck that featured five Aether Adepts.

I ended the day at 5-1-1, which made me pretty happy. I figured I needed a 5-2 result the following day to make Top 8.

For the second Draft, I saw my pod and recognized a few more names: Josh Ravitz, Austin Frtiz, Todd Anderson, and Conrad Kolas.

Again, my plan was to follow the advice Anton gave me. I ended up with a UW deck, but it seemed to be short on creatures. However, like Anton said, it didn’t really matter. He was right, and again I ended up going 3-0.

The best advice I can give you on M11 Draft mirrors what Anton said. The format comes down to a lot of play-skill. The biggest mistake everyone makes is wasting cards. I saw a game in a team draft on Sunday where Ben Lundquist was playing Sam Black. It was Blue/White on Blue/White and, cutting a long story short, Ben ended up going down to one life before he cast Day of Judgment with Redirect back up for Sam’s Mana Leak. Ben extracted as many cards and resources from Sam as possible, which is something lots of players don’t do. Sam still ended up winning the game with a topdecked Jace two turns after the Day of Judgment, but it was a good example of how to play a game of M11.

So, going into the last four rounds of Constructed, I was 8-1-1, needing only a 2-2 result to make Top 8.

Round 11: Esper Control (Todd Anderson)

Game 1 wasn’t really too close. He had the edge due to his Esper Charms, I board into the creature plan for games 2 and 3, and win with ease between his mulligans and an early Mage followed by Calcite Snapper.

9-1-1

Round 12: Dredgevine (David Ochoa)

This match was covered on GGSLive, and I end up losing due to punting game 2 by not naming Sedraxis Alchemist with my second Meddling Mage. This was mostly due to me not knowing what was in the Dredge deck, but I felt like if I’d thought about it long enough I could have came up with it.

9-2-1

Still, just 1 win away…

Round 13: Mythic (Fredrick Chang)

This match was crazy because Fredrick never had anything, and every time I thought he might play something good, he would just lay another land and pass the turn.

10-2-1

Round 14: ID

I draw in, and end up being the seventh seed after the swiss.

10-2-2

As shown in the coverage, I lost in a close game 5 to the eventual champ in the quarterfinals. I was a bit disappointed in not making the team, since coming in I really thought I would win Nationals, but was happy with putting up a strong finish, and with all the support I received from fellow Magic players and friends.

Overall, I think this is the UW deck list you want to play in upcoming Standard tournaments until the new set comes out, and as far as M11 Limited goes, I’m writing an article rating all the rares and giving further tips on how to improve your Limited game. Thanks for reading, and if you guys have any questions or want to hear my advice, let me know.

For reference, here is the current UW Control list I would play:

Blue/White Control

Gerard Fabiano

Test deck on 08-29-2010

Standard

Creatures (4)

• 4 Baneslayer Angel

Planeswalkers (9)

• 1 Jace Beleren
• 3 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1 Gideon Jura

Lands (25)

• 4 Plains
• 8 Island
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 1 Arid Mesa
• 1 Misty Rainforest
• 4 Celestial Colonnade
• 3 Tectonic Edge

Spells (22)

• 4 Mana Leak
• 3 Condemn
• 2 Flashfreeze
• 1 Cancel
• 2 Oblivion Ring
• 2 Into the Roil
• 4 Spreading Seas
• 4 Preordain

Sideboard

• 4 Meddling Mage
• 3 Negate
• 2 Relic of Progenitus
• 2 Day of Judgment
• 2 Calcite Snapper
• 2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence

Against Jund – After playing some more games, the sideboarding can vary a little, but since your main deck is set up pretty well against them, you are only ever really boarding in two to four cards: Day of Judgments and Calcite Snappers. If they don’t have Malakir Bloodwitches, the Days are less important, but they should still be boarded in for the most part. I would cut a Baby Jace, Cancel, and Into the Roil if they don’t have Manabarbs in the board. Sometimes I’ll leave in the Into the Roils; it just depends on who I am playing against, and how I feel at the time.

Against UW – I wouldn’t really say that Game 1 is in your favor, but since I think it comes down to Jace anyway, it isn’t so bad that you have Flashfreeze in your deck. The Preordains help a lot, and so do the Spreading Seas since the manlands tend to be relevant. After boarding, you want to go aggro and bring in Meddling Mage, Calcite Snapper, and Negate. You should board out a Baneslayer or two, along with Condemn, Flashfreeze, and Spreading Seas, but you can always mix it up a bit. Most of the time your opponent won’t be ready for your switch, and you should be able to win a game just from the surprise factor alone.

Against Dredge – As I mentioned before, Baneslayer is your best card against them, and with Relic and Meddling Mages to help fight their plan, your matchup should be fine if you play it correctly. Day of Judgment is also pretty good against them. I would take out Flashfreeze, the Cancel, and a few Condemns to make room for what you are bringing in. Don’t forget to bring in the two Linvalas, as they are one of the best creatures against Fauna Shaman and Looters.

Against Mono Red – This deck has fallen off the radar, but since it did well at Nationals I’m sure some people will start to play it again. Not having Wall or Kor Firewalker makes it a bit harder, but you make up for it by having 4 Baneslayer Angels. You want to bring in the Snappers and Relics, along with a few Negates, removing Spreading Seas, a Cancel, and a Baby Jace.

Against Mythic – I feel this is a pure 50/50 match-up, but if you play well you should be a favorite. I decided to bring in 4 Meddling Mages, 2 Linvala, 1 Relic, and 2 Day in my match-up, but I changed around the sideboard in each of the games. Spreading Seas is really good versus some builds, but merely okay versus others, so what comes in and goes out really depends on their build of Mythic. If they do have Oblivion Rings or Paths , I wouldn’t board in Meddling Mages. If they have no removal, then I would.

Against Eldrazi Green – I think this match-up is pretty good the way things are set up. We get to bring in Mage/Negate against them, and Baneslayer is a huge clock. The only disruption they have is All Is Dust, which you should normally name with Meddling Mage, and if Jace gets down you should take control of the game.

Against UR Pyromancer’s Ascension – Just go aggro on them after game 1 with Mage/Snapper. Take out Seas and Condemn, and bring in both Relics.

I really feel the introduction of 4 Preordains makes UW Control one of the top decks right now, and you should be running four if you are playing UW. I see lists with zero Baneslayers and zero Preordains…

Good luck at your Nationals. Take it easy!

Gerard
Gernardi on MTGO