Practice Makes Perfect! A Grand Prix: Kyoto Report *Top 8*

Long time no see, everyone! I’m very sorry that I’ve not written more often… it was because I was very busy practicing for GP: Kyoto, which was my favorite format: Standard.

Anyway, GP: Kyoto is over and my best friend, Yuuya Watanabe, won the tournament. I am very happy about his victory, because we have been friends since I began playing Magic. Fortunately I made Top 8 in this GP, then I lost to Yuuya. However, I placed first after the swiss, so I am very satisfied with the result.

In order to finish so well at the GP, I’d been practicing for about three months. I would like to begin my report with the birth of my new masterpiece, Cell.

Chapter 1 – Before The Finals

In Japan, we have a big Constructed tournament in December. It is called The Finals, and many Japanese pro players aim to do well in order to improve their end of year record. Unfortunately, I was not qualified for this tournament, but this didn’t stop me playing my favorite Standard format whenever I could. At that time, especially on Magic Online, a U/B Pickles deck seemed very popular. I’m interested in morphs, and saw those decks play Teferi plus Mystical Teachings. As soon as I knew this, I tried putting Brine Elemental and Vesuvan Shapeshifter into the U/W Urzatron deck, which finished in 2nd place at Worlds. Actually, the deck I made was very similar to the deck that won the Finals. But I noticed that if Teferi isn’t in play, that deck can’t make the combo, and it is not easy to keep Teferi from being killed. I looked through the card list to find some ways to search for creatures much easier than Mystical Teachings, and I found Chord of Calling.

Ah, Chord of Calling… I remembered some of my friends played it through Wall of Roots. I decided to play Walls, and Thelonite Hermit (which is awesome with Chord of Calling or Vesuvan Shapeshifter). To provide a huge amount of mana, Urzatron is the best tool we have. I worried about colored mana symbols, but there was no other choice for Big Mana because we don’t have U/G charge lands. The first list of U/G Urzatron was like this.

4 Urza’s Tower
4 Urza’s Power Plant
4 Urza’s Mine
4 Breeding Pool
4 Yavimaya Coast
2 Island
1 Urza’s Factory

4 Simic Signet
4 Wall of Roots

3 Thelonite Hermit
2 Vesuvan Shapeshifter
2 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
2 Mystic Snake
1 Brine Elemental
1 Willbender

4 Chord of Calling
4 Remand
4 Compulsive Research
3 Think Twice
3 Repeal

Anyway, I test-played this deck online. I realized that the combination of Vesuvan Shapeshifter plus Thelonite Hermit can stall almost all creatures played in Standard. It can’t stop Soltari Priest, but that can be handled by Serrated Arrows.

Against control builds, Vesuvan Shapeshifter is, even on its own, ridiculously strong. The Brine Elemental combo is great, and I knew this deck was especially good against Solar Flare. At first I worried about Chord of Calling’s triple-Green mana requirement, but this problem can be solved very easily with Wall of Roots and Thelonite Hermit. Besides, other Urzatron decks play Teferi. If you have UUU, it is that difficult to imagine getting GGG.

This deck was a lot of fun to play. For instance, when Mystic Snake is in play, you can counter a spell with Chord of Calling for Vesuvan Shapeshifter. And when you have Vesuvan Shapeshifter face-down, plus Chord of Calling and enough mana, you can force the cheeky Stasis combo at instant speed. If you have Thelonite Hermit face-down, you can play Chord of Calling as soon as you unmorph it.

Whether the deck is interesting or not is the most important question to keep you play-testing, I think, and this deck is definitely interesting. I took this deck to a card shop in Tokyo. It was Friday, and the day before The Finals, and I hooked up with Makihito Mihara (the current World Champion. I participated in the FNM with this deck, and played against him. He was playing a Martyr-Tron deck, and I won very easily. At that time I thought, “this is a fun deck, and it unexpectedly won! But maybe it’s just a good match-up for me…”

Chapter 2 – New Year

The Finals was over, with the Vesuvan Shapeshifter plus Brine Elemental combo crowned champion. I couldn’t help feeling the potential of my own deck, so I kept testing on Magic Online, and I began to win in 8-man Constructed tournaments. Therefore, I decided to take the deck to a local Standard tournament named the Planeswalker’s Cup. I named the deck “Cell” as a tribute to a “Vesuvan-Shapeshifter-alike” from Dragonball Z that has a similar style of ability. You can read about this “Cell” here.

To tell the truth, it’s a far-fetched name.

As a result, I made 5-1 in the tournament. I lost to Boros, but won against Zoo that made a turn 1 Kird Ape, turn 2 Kird Ape plus Savannah Lions, turn 3 Kird Ape plus Watchwolf! I was confident with the deck, and continued to improve the build.

One day I noticed that I had some trouble completing the Urzatron. Urza’s lands are just crap when the Tron is not complete, so I tried taking the Urza lands out of the deck. However, this made the deck weak against all control builds, especially against other Urzatron decks. Urzatron is too strong! I gave up testing the non-Tron version of Cell, and put the Urza’s lands back in. At that time I played some IPA Qualifier Tournaments. I tested and practiced to win those, and told my friends online about this deck, and finally I began to win constantly. Eventually Kenji Tsumura was interested in this deck, and played it to an IPA Top 8.

It is true that this deck is not very good in game 1 against aggro or Dragonstorm, but I saw the number of Dralnu de Louvre decks increasing, and this deck was very good against that (especially before Planar Chaos arrived… they couldn’t do anything against a resolved Thelonite Hermit!)

I gave Cell’s decklist to some of my friends (in real life) who were fond of Urzatron, and they were very interested. Two of my friends, including Yuuya Watanabe, decided to play Cell in GPT for GP: Kyoto. For me, my rating was at about 1970, so I aimed at making it 2000 to get three byes. Luckily I made 6-0-1 in this GPT, and I thought I got to 2000, so I dropped. Yuuya also made 5-1-1 to make Top 8, and won this GPT to get the three byes. At this point, I was convinced that Cell was one of the best decks in Standard.

Chapter 3 – Planar Chaos

Planar Chaos was released, and it was clear that Harmonize would fit into Cell. However, playing only one card from a new expansion sounds boring. I thought that the player who would win GP: Kyoto would play many cards from Planar Chaos. I looked through the list again, and paused at Deadwood Treefolk. This is awesome with Vesuvan Shapeshifter, and it’s a great answer to Wrath of God or Damnation, which would be popular in the new Standard. But there was one problem – the increasing number of Lightning Angels in the format. Cell is weak against fliers, as they can’t be stalled by Thelonite Hermit. To make the matter worse, Lightning Angel has vigilance, so even Brine Elemental can’t deal with it. In fact, Serra Avenger is ridiculous against Cell for the same reason. Why can you play a 3/3 flyer with vigilance for only WW? The only thing Cell can do is copy it for 3 plus 1U. Sigh. If you would like to beat Cell, play 4 Serra Avengers main or in your sideboard.

There was also an increasing number of Mono Green Aggro decks appearing online. Silhana Ledgewalker and Scryb Ranger were a headache for Cell. Cell can do nothing against those cards. What could I do to combat them?

One of my friends said, jokingly, “When you get in trouble, look through the Core Set.”

Thus, I found Silklash Spider, shining bright.

It took me no time at all to slot one into the maindeck. It can block Akroma, Angel of Wrath, and can shoot down all manner of troublesome fliers. Besides this, while thinking the deck was too weak in the early game against aggro, I added Mana Leak. However, Mana Leak turned out to be best against Angelfire decks. As Angelfire gradually became more popular in Japan before GP: Kyoto, this adjustment was considered to be nice.

As soon as Planar Chaos was released on Magic Online, I began to practice. Since GP: Kyoto is Standard, I thought that the “top Pro Players” don’t have enough time to practice the format. As I mentioned, Standard is my favorite format, so I thought GP: Kyoto was my best chance to do well. I decided to play more than 100 games before GP. Those games included the sideboard. We often forget to practice sideboarded games, because it is a bother to set up, but I heard that World Champion Makihito Mihara never forgets it. Magic Online is the best place to do this. I wrote all the results down in my diary, whether I won or lost. My record was seventy wins and thirty losses… If it were reduced to 12 rounds, the losses would be three or four. It means I can make Top 8 if I am lucky. I was satisfied with this result.

Being confident with my deck, I recommended Cell to some of my friends. At first they seemed to be interested in playing this at GP: Kyoto, but they all said that “Cell is too complicated.” That’s true. I think you can’t play Cell well without playing a lot of games with it. At last, at GP: Kyoto, there were only two people who played the Cell as built by me, including myself.

Chapter 4 – The Perfect Form…

After various adjustments, Cell became Perfect Form. (Yes, he drained the Androids…) [I have no idea what this means. — Craig.]

Firstly, here’s the deck list.

As usual, I will answer the frequently asked questions.

Q. Why don’t you play Bottle Gnomes instead of Spike Feeder?

A. This is the most frequently asked question. They say “you can’t always get GG. Even if you can, you take at least one damage to play it.” Of course, it is easier to play Bottle Gnomes than to play Spike Feeder. And it can stall Kird Ape. However, with confidence, I say Spike Feeder is better than Bottle Gnomes. Against Boros or Gruul for instance, the first thing to do is to kill opponent’s creatures with Serrated Arrows, and then you attack. If you can prevent Thelonite Hermit from being killed, it’s enough. But of course it is not easy for Thelonite Hermit to survive, so you must attack with other creatures. Spike Feeder has two power, while Bottle Gnome has only one. The power difference is very important. The best defense is a good offense. And imagine your Bottle Gnome being killed by Krosan Grip, which was popular in GP: Kyoto, while few players played Sudden Shock. It seems to be difficult to produce GG, but you know Cell has more Green sources than Blue. And finally, remember that Spike Feeder’s ability to move +1/+1 counters enables you to avoid mana burn after you got the Urzatron online, by moving the counter to itself.

Q. Don’t you need Teferi in the main?

A. If you expect a lot of Dralnu de Louvre, you should play him in the maindeck. However, in Japan there are fewer players playing that deck than in other countries. Instead, Solar Flare still lives in Japan. Against Solar Flare or Angelfire, Teferi isn’t needed. As I expected more Solar Flare or Angelfire than Dralnu or Urzatron, I thought I didn’t have to play it in the maindeck

Q. What is Rewind for?

A. Rewind’s slot was originally Trickbind, but Trickbind is for Dragonstorm only. As I said, there were a lot of Angelfire or Solar Flare, and Rewind was good against those. Of course Rewind was good against Dragonstorm’s Gigadrowse, which is their most frightening card.

Q. Why did you play 4th Repeal and 4th Serrated Arrows?

A. At first I thought Repeal was crap against control builds, but it turned out to be misunderstanding because Repeal can rescue my morph creatures from Wrath of God or Damnation. I needed more cantrips, as I took out Think Twice, so Repeal seemed the best. The 4th Serrated Arrows slot was for originally Fortune Thief. But the day before GP: Kyoto, in the final Trial, there were few Mono Green Aggro decks. Fortune Thief is lethal for those, but crap against all the other decks. So I left it out, and added a card that is good against general aggro builds – Serrated Arrows.

Q. Only two Mana Leaks?

A. I really wanted to play the third Mana Leak, but I couldn’t find the room for it. If you think you don’t need Silklash Spider, play Mana Leak instead.

Remember that the existence of Mana Leak can change opponent’s playing style. I expected many players wouldn’t play their important spell without three mana open.

Match-Ups

Against Boros

In: 4 Serrated Arrows, 4 Spike Feeder
Out: 4 Remand, 2 Harmonize, Mystic Snake, Deadwood Treefolk

In Game 1, it is very difficult to win unless you get your Urzatron early.

After sideboarding, however, the match-up became much better. You often lose Game 1, but win both Games 2 and 3.

The in-out ratio depends on whether Boros plays Celestial Crusader, or Stonecloaker. If they don’t, you should side out Silklash Spider instead of Harmonize or Deadwood Treefolk.

Against Gruul

In: 3 Serrated Arrows, 4 Spike Feeder
Out: 2 Remand, 2 Harmonize, Mystic Snake, Deadwood Treefolk, Silklash Spider

This match-up is much better than against Boros. If you manage to turn your Thelonite Hermit face-up, and if you have Chord of Calling or Vesuvan Shapeshifter, you almost always win. However, Gruul definitely plays Blood Moon after the sideboarding. Sometimes they add Krosan Grip or Ancient Grudge. This seems hard for Cell, but they lose some of their attackers to do this. Just be wary of Blood Moon, and the game became very good for you if you deal with it. What is more, practice against these decks will help you a great deal.

Against Angelfire

In: 2 Annex, Rewind, Willbender,
Out: 2 Repeal, 2 Thelonite Hermit,

Against Angelfire, you should win Game 1. Don’t forget they have Boom / Bust. That is the worst card for Cell. They will play Detritivore, but you have Willbender. If it is suspended and you have Willbender, Detritivore is no longer a threat. Imagine this if you also have Vesuvan Shapeshifter… I was told that my deck is too weak against Detritivore, but that’s simply wrong.

Against Urzatron

In: 2 Annex, 2 Rewind, Teferi, Muse Vessel
Out: 2 Mana Leak, 1 or 2 Thelonite Hermit, Silklash Spider, 1 or 2 Repeal

Remember that Urzatron versus Urzatron depends much on the luck. The game will owned by the first one who get their Urzatron online. I think if both you and your opponent complete the Urzatron quickly, Cell will win. Teferi plus Spell Burst is the most frightening combination, but I think you will win before being locked up.

Against Dralnu du Louvre

In: 2 Rewind, Teferi, Muse Vessel
Out: 2 Thelonite Hermit, Silklash Spider, Repeal

Don’t forget they have Damnation. You must not cast too many creatures. This match up is quite good for Cell. I played against it ten times and lost only once. In this match, too, practice will help you very much. Especially after sideboarding, as they aim at resolving Persecute. You should keep both Green and Blue cards in your hand if you can. Harmonize is very good card against Persecute. They often say “Blue!” when they Persecute you.

Against Dragonstorm

In: 2 Rewind, 2 Annex, Teferi
Out: 2 Thelonite Hermit, Repeal, Willbender, Deadwood Treefolk

First, don’t cry even if you’re killed on turn 4 or earlier. It is very important to keep your Vesuvan Shapeshifter in your hand. If Dragonstorm player find they can’t make a decent Storm count, they’ll try to play Bogardan Hellkite via Seething Song. In such a case, your Vesuvan Shapeshifter works very well. Sometimes Silklash Spider will do. After sideboarding, the biggest threat is Storage Land plus Gigadrowse. To deal with this, you should play Annex (especially if you play first). Rewind can nullify Gigadrowse, and of course Teferi can slow them down.

These match-ups are just a few examples. You may face off against a number of decks. Remember that there are no two decks that are completely identical, so your sideboarding should change too.

Chapter 5 — GP: Kyoto Finally Starts!

Round 1 to 3: Awarded Bye

Round 4: Gruul Beats
Next to me sat Akira Asahara… I had been looking forward to seeing what he would play. He played a Dredge deck.

Game 1 started with an opponent’s Stomping Ground, but nothing followed. My opponent played Keldon Marauder on his next turn, and I answered with Wall of Roots. I blocked the Marauder with the Wall, and saw Call of the Herd, which I bounced with Repeal. Very lucky. I countered the Flashback with Remand, and the cantrips brought me more Wall of Roots. Eventually I had 4 Wall of Roots in play. That was enough to survive until I completed the Vesuvan Shapeshifter plus Thelonite Hermit combo.

Game 2 began with Kird Ape on turn 1, and he followed with more Kird Apes and a Rift Bolt. My cards were insanely poor, and I was killed very quickly.

Game 3 saw nothing on turns 1 and 2, and Blood Moon on turn 3. Fortunately I had Island and Forest in my hand…Well, Blood Moon was crap in that case. I defeated him with my Spike Feeders and Vesuvan Shapeshifter.

4-0

Round 5: U/G/B Control (Ryuichi Arita)

This deck is created by Hiroaki Yamakawa, who made the original Solar Flare. It has Wall of Roots and Signets, Damnation, Putrefy, Shadowmage Infiltrator, Persecute, Ana Battlemage, and so on.

Game 1 saw Shadowmage Infiltrator on turn 3. I couldn’t stop it. Arita drew some cards thanks to its ability, and played Persecute after I tried to stall Shadowmage with my Vesuvan Shapeshifter. I had a few countermagic cards in hand, so a counter-war broke out. After all cleared, I could Remand the Persecute, and Arita was tapped out. Luckily I ripped Brine Elemental from the top, and won this game.

In Game 2 I took a double mulligan. Again Arita resolved Shadowmage Infiltrator. However, I completed my Tron early, then I played Vesuvan Shapeshifter face-down holding Chord of Calling in my hand. He tried to play Last Gasp on my Morph, so I Called for Willbender to change its target to Shadowmage. Arita seemed to think that was enough for me to win the game, and conceded.

5-0

Round 6: Angelfire (Ren Ishikawa, Top 8 of GP: Kyoto)

Game 1 saw me complete my Urzatron early again. I attacked Ishikawa with Thelonite Hermit, but it was burnt by Lightning Helix. Four 1/1 tokens remained, and Ishikawa played Bust. As I had kept a few lands in my hand to avoid losing to Bust, it was not very efficient. From then on Ishikawa kept on drawing lands… but I completed my Urzatron again, then won.

Game2 saw Ishikawa mulligan to four. He missed his second land drop, and I Annexed the only land he had.

We call games like this “The Darkside of Magic” … I hope you don’t experience them too often.

6-0

Round 7: U/B Pickles (Jun’ya Iyanaga, finalist of Japanese Nationals 2005)

In Game 1 Iyanaga missed his 4th land drop for a quite a while. I completed my Urzatron again, and won this game easily.

Game2 saw all of my attackers killed or countered. I saw Seize the Soul, and conceded.

Game3 saw Iyanaga get screwed again. I played Harmonize and Compulsive Research successively, and this advantage was big enough for me to win.

7-0

Round 8: Dralnu du Louvre

Game 1 saw my Urzatron completed early again. I played Vesuvan Shapeshifter face-down, and my opponent seemed to get upset, then he played Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir (tapping out in the process). I played Chord of Calling with X=6 for Brine Elemental in response, and won this game.

In the next game I had my Urzatron completed in my opening hand. It was miracle! My Remands were Extirpated, but I had Rewind, and kept attacking with Morph and Mystic Snake to defeat him.

8-0

Round 9: Izzettron

Actually, this Izzettron deck wasn’t a normal build. It had Jodah’s Avenger and Wildfire, and Loxodon Warhammer.

Game 1 saw my opponent’s Urzatron completed first on turn 4. He played Jodah’s Avenger, thinking if it successfully resolved he would win. However, I countered it with Mana Leak, which seemed to be unexpected. I turned Thelonite Hermit face-up, and won this game because he didn’t get his second Red mana to play Wildfire.

In Game 2 I played Annex first to complete Urzatron and attack with Brine Elemental, but my Tron was broken by Detritivore. Luckily I drew Thelonite Hermit and Vesuvan Shapeshifter afterwards, and he couldn’t deal with those, so I won.

9-0

I won all my matches on Day 1! I think I was so lucky that I completed my Urzatron much easier than I had in practice.

Round 10: Project X

To tell the truth, I hadn’t played against Project X, because no one plays it on Magic Online. (It is clear that you run out of the time if you try to get infinite life or tokens.) This match-up was what I was afraid of…

Game1 began with Dark Confidant on turn 2, and I answered with Wall of Roots. I ignored Dark Confidant to play Harmonize on the next turn, and got Compulsive Research. Thanks to Compulsive Research I completed the Urzatron, and dropped Vesuvan Shapeshifter face-down. I played Chord of Calling for Brine Elemental before he completed his combo, and I won.

Game2 saw my opponent take three mulligans. I thought I could win with Vesuvan Shapeshifter and Thelonite Hermit, but my tokens (and the Hermit) were all killed by Orzhov Pontiff. I didn’t expect it at all.

I got upset. I made Vesuvan Shapeshifter and Thelonite Hermit again, but forgot Orzhov Pontiff’s haunt ability could be triggered by Saffi Eriksdotter. I allowed him gain infinite life. However, the round was over, and in the extra five turns he couldn’t kill me, so this game ended in draw. I won the match.

10-0

Round 11: Project X

Again, I was matched up against the deck I wouldn’t like to face.

Game 1, I had my Urzatron complete in my opening hand, and the other cards were Thelonite Hermit and Deadwood Treefolk. I kept this hand, but I didn’t draw anything else that I could make do. I lost this match very quickly.

The next game saw Hypnotic Specter on turn 3, which was also unexpected. I Repealed it twice, and attacked with Thelonite Hermit to win.

Game3 saw my Urzatron completed on turn 5. My opponent had several creatures in play at this point, including Dark Confidant and Saffi Eriksdotter. I had Brine Elemental face-down, and considered whether or not to attack with it. Attacking meant turning it face up. I knew he had Chord of Calling that I had Remanded, so the situation was tough for me because he could make the combo if he had Crypt Champion. I decided to turn it face up, as I thought I could defeat him if he didn’t have Crypt Champion. However, he did. He played Chord of Calling with X=1 for Essence Warden after seeing Brine Elemental turned face up, and on the following turn he played Crypt Champion to gain infinite life. Luckily, Before he make infinite tokens, I managed to get Vesuvan Shapeshifter to complete my combo, and the match ended in draw.

10-0-1

Round 12: G/W Aggro

This deck was not Ghazi-Glare. My opponent played creatures that were all low-cost and efficient. Game 1 saw my opponent’s fast beatdown draw overwhelm me early. He played Savannah Lions, Icatian Javelineers, Skarrgan Pit-Skulk. I couldn’t draw Wall of Roots, so it was very tough. I turned Thelonite Hermit face up to stall them, but he played the most frightening creature, Serra Avenger. If I had had Chord of Calling or Silklash Spider, I could shoot it down, but I didn’t draw anything good against it.

Game 2 began with Savannah Lions, and double Skarrgan Pit-Skulk on the following turn. I had Serrated Allows, but he added more Skarrgan Pit-Skulks, and I couldn’t block them with Wall of Roots. I didn’t draw anything again, and lost my match of the tournament.

10-1-1

Round 13: Izzettron with Sulfur Elemental (Yuuya Watanabe, GP: Kyoto Champion)

Yuuya is one of my best friends, as I said earlier. I really hated to be paired against him…

In Game 1 I took a double mulligan, and Yuuya completed his Urzatron on turn 4. However, he missed land drops on the following two turns, and I could complete my Urzatron quickly. He played Sulfur Elemental, but I caught it with Wall of Roots. When he tapped for an Urza’s Factory token, I had Vesuvan Shapeshifter face-down in play, so I played Chord of Calling with X=6 for Brine Elemental to win game 1.

Game 2 saw me take a mulligan to four. That hand was no good, and I lost this game very quickly.

Game 3 saw my Urzatron completed on turn 7, while his wasn’t completed. So the game was one-sided, as I played Annexes to break his manabase. I defeat him and he dropped to three losses, which meant it was very difficult for him to make Top 8.

We shook hands. I wished him well for his Top 8 quest, and piled on the encouragement.

11-1-1

Round 14: Gruul Beats

By winning this round, I could guarantee a Top 8 berth.

Game 1 began with my opponent’s Kird Ape. I couldn’t make Wall of Roots, but I completed my Urzatron quickly. I made three Thelonite Hermits, and turned them face-up one after another. Just one survived, and I succeeded in stalling his creatures. Since he didn’t draw more burn spells, I won this game.

Game 2 saw Blood Moon again. But I had an Island…! I killed his creatures with Serrated Arrows, and played four copies of Compulsive Research but drew nothing relevant. I was afraid of being burnt out, but he didn’t draw anything either. First I made Vesuvan Shapeshifter, and followed with Chord of Calling, and it was enough for me to defeat him.

12-1-1

I’d made Top 8 in a GP!

Round 15: ID

Of course, we negotiated an intentional draw.

12-1-2

I was anxious about whether Yuuya could make it or not. He was at 12-3, and had high tiebreakers. The names of players in the Top 8 were called… and the 8th was…

“Yuuya Watanabe!”

How happy we were!

However, this meant my first opponent was Yuuya Watanabe. I thought him to be the best player in the Top 8, so actually it was tough for me.

Quarter-Final: Izzetron (Yuuya Watanabe)

In Game 1, on turn 4, I debated whether to play Thelonite Hermit face-down, as he had 1UR open. I knew he had Electrolyze, and I didn’t want to let my creature be killed. “What if he had Sulfur Elemental?” I wondered, but passed my turn without doing anything. Obviously he played Sulfur Elemental, and began to attack. I played Thelonite Hermit face down as he had only UU, and I had Remand. However he answered with Spell Burst! It was critical for me. The only thing I could do was Remand my Thelonite Hermit. While I couldn’t do anything against Sulfur Elemental, it kept on attacking, and he got Urzatron completed, and burnt me out with Demonfire.

Game 2 saw his Urzatron completed on turn 4… while mine was made on turn 5. I resolved Muse Vessel, but he had a lot of draw spells, like double Tidings and multiple Compulsive Research. He also resolved Annex, and began to buy-back Spell Burst. Then I lost to Bogardan Hellkite.

Conclusion

I thought the match-up wasn’t too bad for me, and it turned out to be true after we played again. However, he had something like the Force helping his play! I saw him rip Demonfire from the top to win the Final. He was a totally different player from the one who I defeated in round 13.

Anyway, I was very happy about his victory. Congratulations, Yuuya!

I was rewarded for my efforts with success at a GP. Practice makes perfect! I hope I play against Yuuya again in PT: Yokohama, in the feature match area. To achieve this, I will practice and practice.

See you all at PT: Yokohama, and thank you for reading until the end!

Naoki Shimizu