Last weekend was a strange one, to be sure. During the week, we had planned to go to the Open Series in Columbus. We were testing during the week, getting
back in the groove, and shaking off the dust of Christmas break. But at some point, BBD brought up the fact that there were a few PTQs he wanted to go to
instead, trying to qualify for the Pro Tour. An admirable goal, and one I had a mind to replicate.
You see, I am currently a Silver Level Pro on the Pro Tour circuit. What that means to most people is absolutely nothing. It is a complicated system in
which only the people deeply invested know what is going on. But regardless, I am a Silver Pro, and that means I have one more Pro Tour this season before
I am no longer qualified. Pro Tour Fate Reforged will be my last hurrah unless I can miraculously find my footing, whether that means winning a PTQ, Top
8’ing a Grand Prix, or doing well in the Pro Tour itself.
So with that in mind, I hesitantly canceled my plans for Columbus and started grinding pre-qualifiers on Magic Online with the sweet 4-Color Constellation
deck that Brad Nelson wrote about last week. I ended up doing well
enough in the first one I played to lock up an invite to the PTQ on Magic Online on Saturday. I can’t exactly say I was looking forward to it. After all,
I’ve been hit with a bug (or two) in three of my last four PTQ Top 8s on Magic Online, with the fourth one being rebooted for a later date due to three or
more of the other competitors experiencing bugs of their own. But it is what it is, I suppose.
After a demoralizing 1-2 finish in the “main event,” I didn’t exactly know what to do with myself. The PTQ the next day, on Sunday, was in Roanoke. I
talked with Brad throughout the day on Saturday to see if he was still playing his Constellation deck (spoiler alert, he wasn’t). While I was playing the
Magic Online PTQ, Brad was busy getting down and dirty in a Super IQ at the store, where the PTQ would be held the next day. To the surprise of literally
no one, he ended up splitting in the finals with friend (and author) Nick Miller. What may surprise you was that he was playing the same Sultai Reanimator
deck he used to win the Players’ Championship.
For some people, this might come as expected. After all, when you win a tournament, why not keep playing the same deck, right? In all honesty, I wish he
would keep playing the same deck for at least a week or two after his initial burst. It would make testing a much easier process. Plug the holes, change a
few sideboard slots here and there so that you can fight off whatever deck(s) did best in the last round of tournaments. But that isn’t Brad’s style. In
fact, this was such a rare occurrence that he would keep playing the same deck, that I knew something had changed. Whatever Brad had found, I wanted. And
so began the long day of following Brad blindly down the rabbit hole into the PTQ.
Saturday night, before the PTQ, I told him that I was just going to play whatever 75 cards he handed me. I mean, it was already sleeved up and ready to go.
It even had the requisite tokens for all of the generators. How could I say no? After some chatting with Brad, we figured out that we wanted a little bit
of help against a few different decks that might give us trouble, and especially so in the hands of a competent pilot. One of those decks? Abzan Aggro, in
the hands of both CVM and BBD.
“I’ve wanted to try out Dark Betrayal for a while now. It feels like it would be good against Abzan Aggro, like having another Murderous Cut.” I nodded
along as he spoke the words, the only contribution I made to the conversation, as I added a second Dark Betrayal to the decklist.
From here, I don’t want to go too deep into the deck. After all, it is spoiler season once again, and about half the set has been spoiled for Fate
Reforged. Anything I say about the deck or card choices will be invalidated in a week, so I’ll just fast forward to the good stuff. For reference, here is
the list I played.
Creatures (23)
- 2 Hornet Queen
- 4 Sylvan Caryatid
- 4 Courser of Kruphix
- 4 Satyr Wayfinder
- 2 Doomwake Giant
- 1 Pharika, God of Affliction
- 1 Soul of Innistrad
- 1 Reclamation Sage
- 4 Sidisi, Brood Tyrant
Lands (24)
Spells (13)
Follow the Path Set Before You
To return my favor of helping him during the Players’ Championship, Brad decided to come up to the store and help me all day, as he wasn’t able to play in
the tournament itself (the perks of being a Gold Pro, etc). Every round, we would go outside and talk about every single game and match I played. He would
explain the small mistakes, hammering home the importance of this or that. We went over sideboarding theory constantly, figuring out when it is correct to
Thoughtseize someone while on the play, when you should side out Sylvan Caryatid, etc.
But the most important help came in the form of having my own personal scout. After the first round, I had a piece of paper in my hand that told me what
every single person was playing. And that information proved invaluable throughout the day, but not just for me. CVM and BBD both reaped the spoils of
Brad’s effort.
I played against a number of strategies, including the breakout Four-Color Delve deck that you may have seen in the Top 8 of SCG Columbus in the hands of
Chris Andersen. But I couldn’t be stopped. With the master of Standard standing over my shoulder, I felt like I had super powers. Each match, I would
navigate my way to victory, albeit in a roundabout fashion on occasion. Since I didn’t have nearly as much experience with the deck as Brad, I found myself
playing too quickly, making novice mistakes, because the deck just has so many small things to constantly remember.
But as the day wore on, I noticed myself getting more proficient with the deck. This is a strange phenomenon that occurs in a tournament while piloting a
new deck. The early rounds are “practice,” and you’re just hoping to get out alive so that you can make it to the later rounds and actually know what
you’re doing. Fortunately, I was able to do just that.
And moving into the Top 8, I saw that BBD and I were the first and second seed. We wouldn’t have to play until the finals, if we both survived. My first
round of the Top 8 was a rematch against the Four-Color Delve deck. And from our last match, it was clear that his deck was unbelievably powerful.
Throughout both of our matches, I wouldn’t be surprised if he gained over 500 life from Soul of Theros. He even won a game by decking me, though I’m not
sure I would have actually won the game.
But I came out the victor of the two-hour match. I remember the sun shining brightly when the Top 8 began, but was just a dull flicker on the horizon once
it had ended. I don’t think I’ve ever played a match that took as long, even in a best of five. But I went outside with Brad. Our routine. We looked over
my sideboard to figure out the best configuration against U/W Control.
Another rematch. Things looked good as he started off with a double mulligan, but my hand wasn’t exactly aggressive. And when you give a control deck time
to dig themselves out of a hole, they’re usually going to do it. But I took the first game on the back Hornet Queen, him without enough mana to cast End
Hostilities. The second game was a bit more of the back and forth. But still, he never cast End Hostilities, and I was able to run him out of answers
before I ran out of threats.
And so two friends met in the finals. That big, bald bastard. That loveable, cheesy grin sweeping the room. For him, for BBD, this was a virtual triple PTQ
finals. If he won, he would be guaranteed to play in the next four Pro Tours, while a win for me would only get me one more. We sat down, putting on our
best “enemy face,” knowing that only one of us would walk out of there with a smile. But this was the best possible scenario for us, truth be told. At
least one of us would win this damn thing! Brian had lost in the finals of a PTQ just a week before, and while I was hoping to help him replicate that
result, I knew it would eat at him for a long time to come.
I wish I could write you an epic tale of how insane our match was. I wish I could tell you that one player’s deck or one player’s line of play was so
ridiculous that it just overwhelmed the other. But the hard truth is that Magic is a cruel game sometimes, leading you by the hand until it leaves you
right on the train tracks with a steam engine roaring close. You can feel the vibrations on the rail, but you’re too tired or too stupid to move out of the
way.
I mulliganed twice in the first game and hit every land drop until I died. But no matter. My sideboard plan was about to commence. I would draw a lot of
removal and a few big threats and take the match. Ashiok and Kiora are both phenomenal in this matchup. But as I looked at my seven cards for the second
game, I knew that it was slowly slipping away. My six-card hand was playable, but not great. I ended up with a Sidisi as my first play of the game on Turn
4. Spoiler alert: I bricked. After another Sidisi and another brick: I was actually dead on board.
My hands were shaking. Why were my hands shaking? I just lost. I just lost? What happened? I stared blankly at the board. Slowly, my gaze moved upward
toward the man, the myth, the legend.
“I just can’t beat you anymore.”
It is a tough thing to do, to swallow your pride as everything starts to slip through your fingertips. After a good twenty seconds of shock, I finally
snapped out of that strange trance. I gave Brian the congratulations he deserved. A handshake, a hug. I walked out of the store to meet them for dinner at
a Mexican restaurant down the street. But the blood was boiling. My face was bright red, and I lost myself for a moment. Fortunately, only Brad was there
to see it. The meltdown. The sheer loss of control as I started screaming at the sky.
But while I was losing control, something else shifted inside me. Something that once seemed small and distant, I finally realized how important it
actually was to me. I have joked over the last few years about quitting the PTQ circuit in favor of the SCG circuit. After all, I am already qualified for
the Invitationals, and I’ve had a lot of success on the Open Series, so why not? Isn’t it easier to just drive a few hours to a tournament every weekend
instead of flying around the world?
But what came back, that small and distant part of me that I thought was gone, it stirred. It didn’t want what was easy. It wanted to run uphill. It wanted
to claw and fight. It wanted me to be on the draw for every game for the rest of my life, just to make it harder. It didn’t want the easy way out because
the easy way is boring, and I just can’t do boring.
The next day, I booked a flight to Omaha, Nebraska.
Into the Wild Blue Yonder
Flying to a Grand Prix? Who am I?
I haven’t had much experience with the current Modern format. In fact, I haven’t played a single match of Modern outside of the VS Series since Khans of
Tarkir came out. I didn’t need to. I could always play Standard or Legacy instead. Plus, it seemed like a veritable hellscape. A place where players battle
back and forth, trading resources, only to have the entirety of that work undone by an effective reprint of Ancestral Recall. The bannings can’t come soon
enough.
But alas, I must venture forth for one weekend into the maw. But what deck should I play? My gut tells me that combo decks are bad thanks to the breakout
of U/R Delver. With so many Spell Pierces running around, it just seems foolish. But what about my tried and true Temur Twin? Surely Tarmogoyf is good
against these monsters, dodging their Lightning Bolts with the greatest of ease.
And with that in mind, I began.
Creatures (12)
Lands (22)
Spells (26)
This was the first iteration of Splinter Twin that I built since Treasure Cruise ruined the format. It isn’t pretty, but I do like a lot of the theory
behind the deck. There are still some combo matchups in the format that are tough to beat on a normal wavelength. I think that having access to some form
of combo end-game is important, if only to beat those decks. I’ve written quite a lot about Temur Twin in the past, and most of those words still ring true
for this version, but a lot has changed since then.
For starters, trying to one-for-one your opponent to death with removal isn’t exactly an ideal spot to be in. Treasure Cruise and Dig Through Time are
absurdly powerful cards that actually reward your opponent when you attack them on this wavelength. And this doesn’t even mention the fact that Siege Rhino
is making its mark in a big way. Since people are so inclined to deal themselves a lot of damage with their manabases, thanks to fetch and shocklands,
Siege Rhino actually makes a lot of sense. Add to that the fact that Lightning Bolt is the best removal spell in the format, and you have yourself a
winner.
In the immortal words of BBD:
“Birthing Pod is just Siege Rhino #5-8″
You can’t make this stuff up! To be quite honest, I doubted how powerful Siege Rhino was in Modern…until I played against it a few times. After losing to
the card straight up two matches in a row, I knew that something had to change. So I tried adding a black splash for Deathmark out of the sideboard. I
considered moving to Grixis Twin featuring Young Pyromancer instead of Tarmogoyf so that I could play Murderous Cut. But I think the correct answer to the
Siege Rhino problem is actually pretty clear:
I should just play Siege Rhino.
So for this tournament, I will once again be putting all my faith in a friend and trusting them. It is humbling, but also comforting in a way, to know that
I can rely on two of my best friends to do most of the heavy lifting for me. I mean, it isn’t like I’m not trying. I’m just holding the hammer while they
hit the nail home. But our relationship will always be a give and take. I just have to know when I’m wrong and they are right (and vice versa), so that we
are all in a much better position to win the tournament.
I haven’t flown to a Grand Prix in a long time, and playing Siege Rhino in Modern is not exactly what I had in mind when I booked a last minute flight to
Omaha, but it is what it is. At this point, I’m just glad that I can be excited again. Win or lose, it is all about the journey of how you got there.