Today, I’ll be writing about the Magic Online Championship Season 5, as it runs in real time. The format for the event is M10 Sealed, and 335 players (invitation only) are registered for play. That means there are 9 rounds of swiss before the cut to Top 8, which is M10 booster draft. I will write the article while playing the rounds, and talk about the opening hands and in-game decisions.
I open my card pool, and receive the following cards:
White
Armored Ascension
Elite Vanguard
Excommunicate
Lifelink
Open the Vault
Razorfoot Griffin
Rhox Pikemaster (foil)
2 Silvercoat Lion
Solemn Offering
Soul Warden
Veteran Armorsmith
Veteran Swordsmith
Wall of Faith
The White in this pool is very thin. Armored Ascension is the highlight, alongside the two first strikers Razorfoot Griffin and Rhox Pikemaster. I think, in a tournament like this, I’d rather drop and spend my time doing something constructive instead of playing White cards such as these.
Blue
Convincing Mirage
Essence Scatter
Flashfreeze
2 Horned Turtle
2 Ice Cage
Illusionary Servant
2 Jump
Merfolk Sovereign (foil)
Mind Control
Negate
Ponder
Tome Scour
The Blue seems like a fine second color, if we find good primary color to support it. Mind Control delivers a bomb, while there are several good support cards. The color gives us few creatures, though; even when counting Mind Control, there are only four. With double Horned Turtle, double Ice Cage, and some countermagic, it is a possible second color for a creature-heavy controlling primary option.
Black
Acolyte of Xathrid
Cemetery Reaper
Consume Spirit
Deathmark
Disentomb
2 Dread Warlock
Duress
Megrim
Mind Rot
Rise from the Grave
Sign in Blood
Soul Bleed
Vampire Aristocrat
The Black screams to be the main color (if it wants to be played at all). Dread Warlocks, Sign in Blood, and Consume Spirit want to have at least nine Swamps. As the color only delivers ten playables, it seems very unlikely that I end up playing these cards. It is probably still a better second color than Blue, especially for an aggressive Red or Green base.
Red
Berserkers of Blood Ridge
Burning Inquiry
Burst of Speed
3 Canyon Minotaur
Capricious Efreet
Goblin Artillery
Goblin Piker
Ignite Disorder
2 Kindled Fury
2 Lightning Bolt
Raging Goblin
Shatter
Siege-Gang Commander
Sparkmage Apprentice
We have two bombs, Siege-Gang Commander and Capricious Efreet, which are supported by some good cards like Goblin Artillery and double Lightning Bolt. We also have several filler cards including the 3 Canyon Minotaurs, which I like a lot in this format. The Red can give us a solid base, with 11 playables and potential for more (I don’t mind playing a Kindled Fury or an Ignite Disorder if I have to). Definitely a color I would like to play.
Green
Ant Queen
Borderland Ranger
Bountiful Harvest
Bramble Creeper
Cudgel Troll
2 Deadly Recluse
Emerald Oryx
Enormous Baloth
Entangling Vines
Garruk Wildspeaker
Giant Growth
Llanowar Elves
2 Mist Leopard
Mold Adder
Regenerate
Runeclaw Bear
Windstorm
Another two bombs in Green — Ant Queen and Garruk Wildspeaker. In addition, there is the almost-bomby Cudgel Troll, and (as always in Green) several fine creatures. After looking at the entire pool, I don’t see any reason not to play Green/Red.
Artifacts
Angel’s Feather
Demon’s Horn
Dragon’s Claw
Ornithopter
Yes…
The Red/Green base is pretty obvious, but after adding 37 cards to the deck there are some final options to consider…
Llanowar Elves
2 Deadly Recluse
Runeclaw Bear
Sparkmage Apprentice
Borderland Ranger
Goblin Artillery
3 Canyon Minotaur
Cudgel Troll
Emerald Oryx
Ant Queen
Siege-Gang Commander
Capricious Efreet
Enormous Baloth
2 Lightning Bolt
Giant Growth
Garruk Wildspeaker
These are the options you can add to the deck above:
An 18th land
Mold Adder
Berserkers of Blood Ridge
Bramble Creeper
Windstorm
Goblin Piker
Entangling Vines
I choose not to run the 18th land pretty quickly. No matter what I am adding to the deck, the deck should work pretty smoothly with access to four mana, and the 17 lands are supported by Llanowar Elves and Borderland Ranger.
Entangling Vines can be a fine card, depending on the deck. In this build, I already have tons of four-drops. The only reason to play the card is if I have trouble dealing with cards like Air Elemental or Stampeding Rhino. But as I have two Deadly Recluses to stop those big guys, and a Windstorm that is better at dealing with fliers, this card has to stay in the sideboard as well. I definitely board it in against bombs that have to attack, like Baneslayer Angel.
I want to run another early drop, and here it’s between Goblin Piker and Mold Adder. While Goblin Piker is a bit stronger against non Blue or Black decks, the hoser can win games against those colors. Against a deck using the Naya colors, I have to remind myself to switch the cards around come sideboarding.
So, that’s one card. That leaves two spaces for Windstorm, Bramble Creeper, and Berserkers of Blood Ridge. I think Bramble Creeper is slightly better in Sealed, while Berserkers of Blood Ridge is slightly better in Draft; this is the reason why I choose to run the Creeper. As I want to run Mold Adder over Goblin Piker, I choose the Berserkers as the final card. Windstorm usually shines against Blue decks, where Mold Adder already is very good there too, and I don’t want too many dead cards against a Green/Red deck.
Eventually, I added Mold Adder, Bramble Creeper, and Berserkers of Blood Ridge to the above deck.
Submit.
One last decision before I am able to play my first round…
Assuming I am winning a die roll (or losing a game), I have to decide if I want to play or draw first against an unknown opponent. For me, it is pretty clear that I draw first with the deck. With two Lightning Bolts, Runeclaw Bear, Sparkmage Apprentice, and double Deadly Recluse, I have lots of cards that can deal with a very aggressive start in the first three turns. Llanowar Elves can bring back the tempo I lost, while the Canyon Minotaurs are perfect in stopping almost any four-or-lower-drop. Garruk Wildspeaker might be better on the play, but I don’t mind it having him on turn 4 on the draw as well. Capricious Efreet is a card that gets better if you are on the draw, as your opponent will usually have more than one permanent on the board in such situations.
Round 1 – *Bye*
Round 2 – *Bye*
Round 3…
Last week, at the beginning of the second round, the first pass at this event was cancelled because of an enormous bug. I expected to be playing this very round, even though I had a bye, as that’s what was happening before the bug hit last time out. Again, pairings show up and I expect my game to pop up any second…
It doesn’t. What a nice surprise!
*Awarded Bye*
Round 4
Game 1:
I win the die roll, and choose to draw for game 1.
Opening Hand:
3 Forest
Ant Queen
Giant Growth
Goblin Artillery
Canyon Minotaur
I keep the hand, because as long as I draw a Mountain in the first four turns I should be fine.
The first draws deliver Forest, Siege-Gang Commander, and Mountain, while he is building up pressure with Child of Night, Elvish Visionary, and Bog Wraith. I can stabilize the board with the Ant Queen after my Hill Giant trades with his, as he doesn’t have a solution on his very next turn. When he tries to Fireball the Queen on the next turn, I can protect her with the Giant Growth. When he Rampant Growths later in the game, he searches for another of his several Forests. This tells me that he probably doesn’t have any Tendrils of Corruption or Consume Spirits. He can’t hold the ground against the swarm of Insects, and I win a few turns later.
I don’t sideboard any cards. I didn’t see anything with Flying, and I still like the Mold Adder over the Piker as he did show me several Black spells.
Game 2:
He chooses to draw.
2 Mountain
Forest
Lightning Bolt
Goblin Artillery
Garruk Wildspeaker
Deadly Recluse
Not much to think about there…
He mulligans to six, and my first draw delivers the perfect card for the perfect hand: Borderland Ranger. I choose to play the Ranger before the Artillery so I can play the Garruk on my fourth turn for sure. He is stuck on lands, and my Planeswalker takes down the game pretty quickly.
Round 5
Game 1:
My opponent wins the die roll and chooses to draw. We look at the following hand:
Bramble Creeper
Cudgel Troll
Ant Queen
Capricious Efreet
Garruk Wildspeaker
Deadly Recluse
Goblin Artillery
So many nice rares…
2 Forest
Mountain
Lightning Bolt
Ant Queen
Capricious Efreet
That’s what we wanna see!
He mulligans to 6 cards too, and the game begins. I Lightning Bolt a turn 2 White Knight after my first draw step is a blank (Berserkers of Blood Ridge). I don’t draw a land to play the previously-drawn Cudgel Troll, and instead I am stuck with playing the freshly-drawn Runeclaw Bear. Sadly he plays a second Prodigal Pyromancer after he played a first Prodigal Pyromancer, so the Bear doesn’t have any impact. The Troll gets taken down by a Lightning Bolt, and the Bear dies to his pingers. But he doesn’t have any other play but a Veteran Armorsmith, and he is trading his Safe Passage with my Berserker. He kills the Ant Queen with a Capricious Efreet of his own, targeting one of his pingers and my Queen. I decide to block with all three Insects when he attacks with the Efreet, as I need the Efreet to hit him and get lucky in order to win the game, but, as clever as he is, he deals all the damage so one Insect survives.
Sideboard:
-1 Mold Adder, +1 Ignite Disorder
I choose to draw. He doesn’t take a mulligan, and I see:
4 Forest
Cudgel Troll
Bramble Creeper
Lightning Bolt
Not exactly the nuts, but not bad enough to ship it, so I keep.
My first two draw steps are very good, with Deadly Recluse and Mountain… I’m doing it. I kill his turn 3 Pyromancer with the Bolt, and he plays yet another on his fourth turn. I choose to play the freshly-drawn Borderland Ranger over the Troll, so I am able to keep the shield up this time. He plays a Palace Guard and enchants it with Armored Ascension, which spells trouble. A few turns later he is equipping it with Whispersilk Cloak, which ends up giving me a lot of trouble. We both draw several lands for a while. He moves it into the offense as soon as he has 6 Plains, and two attacks, a Safe Passage, and a Lava Axe later, I am dead.
I need four wins now in order to make Top 8! But at least I get a pretty good dinner.
Round 6
Game 1:
I win the die roll, and once again choose to draw.
3 Mountain
Forest
Borderland Ranger
Ant Queen
Capricious Efreet
He keeps his opening seven, and so do I.
First action is on turn 4, when he is attacking with his Centaur Courser and I am looking forward to trade with Deadly Recluse. He chooses to play Divine Verdict to save his Warrior. I choose to block his Courser later with Ant Queen, as he has an Emerald Oryx, and he has yet another Divine Verdict. The Efreet takes down the Courser in my upkeep, which leaves him with only Emerald Oryx on the board. The Efreet and an Emerald Oryx of my own take down the game two turns later.
Sideboard:
-1 Mold Adder, +1 Ignite Disorder
Game 2:
He chooses to draw, and I see:
Cudgel Troll
Ant Queen
2 Forest
Mountain
Llanowar Elves
Runeclaw Bear
Yes…
His first play is a turn 2 Stormfront Pegasus, and I still go for the turn 3 Cudgel Troll even though I drew a Sparkmage Apprentice. He trades the Pegasus with the Bear, and down comes the Troll. He doesn’t have a play on his turn 3, and I build up more pressure with the Queen. I don’t attack with her on the following turn, as he ships back to me with four mana up. I choose not to replay the Queen after he Excommunicates her, and just keep the pressure, while he doesn’t play anything on his sixth turn.
Three more!
Round 7
Game 1:
Once again, I win the die roll and choose to draw. It’s not too exciting to win a die roll if you choose to draw every time, hehe.
I see:
Forest
Mountain
Lightning Bolt
Runeclaw Bear
Goblin Artillery
Garruk Wildspeaker
Bramble Creeper
We both keep our opening sevens, and he leads with Sage Owl on turn 2. I don’t have a play on turn 3, but kill the Sage Owl (over Blinding Mage) so that my Garruk will live longer. Garruk is doing his dirty work while he screws on three lands.
I sideboard out Enormous Baloth, which I don’t really like against UW, for an Ignite Disorder. The Oryx has to go for Windstorm.
Game 2:
He chooses to draw, and I look at:
3 Forest
Mountain
Mold Adder
Ant Queen
Capricious Efreet
Not many hard mulligan decisions today.
He keeps his opening seven as well, and I open with Mold Adder. My second play is a turn 4 Canyon Minotaur, while he plays Blinding Mage and Sage Owl. He Mind Controls my Ant Queen, and I have to hope to get it back with the Efreet… which gets Mind Controlled as well. He attacks with the Queen, and I love trading it with my Mold Adder (which grew up to 4/4 and blocked in a team with Canyon Minotaur). Later I trade my Canyon Minotaur with his Air Elemental thanks to Ignite Disorder, which deals with the tapper as well, and I pass back to him with no more board while he has my Efreet and the Owl. He doesn’t find another non-land permanent, so I can deal with his board and follow it up with two Deadly Recluses, Canyon Minotaur, and Borderland Ranger. The Hill Giant gets countered, but the small guy starts to build up some pressure, while he is shuffling his library with Ponder. One Siege-Gang later, and I manage to win this very tough game.
Two more!
Round 8
Game 1:
Once again, I win the die roll, and once again, it allows us to draw.
2 Forest
2 Lightning Bolt
Sparkmage Apprentice
Runeclaw Bear
Goblin Artillery
If I were on the play, I think I would ship it, but on the draw I don’t mind keeping it. I get lucky, and the first draw step is a Mountain! And as the second and the third are Mountains too, there are no problems in casting the Goblin Artillery. The Bear trades with his Ranger, and I choose to play the freshly-drawn Troll even though I can’t keep a shield up. With no third Forest in sight, I don’t see the point of slow-rolling him. He doesn’t have a solution for it, and instead plays two two-toughness guys after my Artillery went into the red zone. As he is Excommunicating my Artillery, I trade 2 Lightning Bolts with his tapper and Harm’s Way, after I shoot the Recluse. He is able to deal with the Artillery after I replay it (with a Bolt), but the Troll goes all the way.
Sideboard:
+1 Ignite Disorder, -1 Mold Adder
He chooses to draw, and we see:
2 Mountain
2 Canyon Minotaur
Deadly Recluse
Enormous Baloth
Berserkers of Blood Ridge
No Sir!
3 Mountain
Canyon Minotaur
Borderland Ranger
Ignite Disorder
Much better. Even though I am not completely happy with the hand, it is much better than five. I don’t draw a fourth land, but instead I draw a Sparkmage Apprentice which can deal with my opponent’s Soul Warden. I eventually draw a Forest after he’s beaten me down to 8, and I am trying to stabilize the board with the Minotaur, Borderland Ranger, and Garruk Wildspeaker. He tries to kill my Garruk with Harm’s Way, but as my sources can’t deal damage to my Planeswalkers, he just Shocks me. He finds a Fireball before I manage to take over the board, and we go to game 3.
In order to fight his Troll, I take out the Berserkers, which is very weak against it. I bring in Entangling Vines.
Game 3:
On the draw, my opening hand is:
Canyon Minotaur
Siege-Gang Commander
Mountain
Forest
Goblin Artillery
Deadly Recluse
Lightning Bolt
Sweet!
We both have a turn 2 Deadly Recluse, but while he doesn’t have a turn 3 I am able to play my Artillery, which immediately gets Celestial Purged. I don’t draw a Forest to play the Garruk I drew in the meantime, but at least I drew a Mountain, which enables the Minotaur. The Ranger I draw next turn is the best non-Forest card in my library, and a turn later Garruk comes down to fight his Giant Spider and Blinding Mage. He ones again has the Harm’s Way to protect his Mage from the Bolt, but the Siege-Gang next turn shouldn’t have problems dealing with it. Planar Cleansing leaves me with nothing but the Enormous Baloth which I’m holding back. He has the better follow up, with yet another Deadly Recluse and Blinding Mage. One Baneslayer Angel later, and a Safe Passage which protects it from being killed by Lightning Bolt and Ignite Disorder, and I’ve no more shot for Top 8. Pretty disappointing.
I play the next round to get some prizes which, sadly, are not as sweet as the first place!
Round 9
Game 1:
Another die roll won… man, I am good today. Again, I choose to draw.
Mountain
3 Forest
Ant Queen
Llanowar Elves
Lightning Bolt
Cool!
I kill his first play, a turn 3 Awakener Druid, and follow it up with a turn 3 Garruk Wildspeaker. He follows it up with a Cudgel Troll, which I answer with Ant Queen and enough mana to produce an Insect. He doesn’t find a solution for the Queen or the Planeswalker, and I am 1-0 up soon after.
I sideboard out Mold Adder and Berserkers of Blood Ridge for Goblin Piker and Entangling Vines.
He chooses to draw, and I see:
Forest
Emerald Oryx
Goblin Piker
Runeclaw Bear
Borderland Ranger
Siege-Gang Commander
Deadly Recluse
Not a hard decision.
Mountain
Forest
Lightning Bolt
Borderland Ranger
Canyon Minotaur
Capricious Efreet
The first plays in the game are my turn 3 Borderland Ranger and my turn 4 Canyon Minotaur, which immediately gets Bolted. He doesn’t have a solution for the Cudgel Troll next turn, as I have a regeneration shield up, and the Troll (with a Piker and a Runeclaw Bear) finish him off without him being able to stabilize.
I end up finishing the tournament with a 7-2 record, which is disappointing.
Next week, I am playing in Grand Prix: Prague. It’s the very same format – I hope I’ll do a little better there.
Thanks for reading!
Manu B