Hello!
I wasn’t really sure whether I wanted to go to Boston or not. I mean, I was sure I wanted to go, but I didn’t really know if I should. The ticket was pretty expensive, and the format was said to be pretty bad. I did some research and found a ticket price that was reasonable. It was a little more expensive than the others, but it also went to London so I could play in Grand Prix: Brighton. When I found out I had places to stay in both Boston and London, that did it for me, and I decided to go.
I didn’t really prepare for Boston as much as I would for other tournaments. I had Nationals the week before, and to me that was just more important (and also, spending my time testing Standard seemed just more rewarding than testing M10 Sealed), so my knowledge of the format when I got there was limited. I read some articles about it, and everything seemed pretty unappealing.
I flew straight from Nationals, and after a connection in New York I found myself in the scorching heat of Boston. I know I live in Brazil and it’s also hot here, and I’m supposed to be used to it and blah blah blah, but just because I live in here doesn’t mean I have to actually like it. I stayed at Tim Landale house, and it was very nice throughout the week, with a lot of delicious food making up for the miserable weather.
On Thursday we went to the local store and played two drafts, and I realized the format wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be — in fact, draft was pretty nice. Over the course of the weekend, I unfortunately had plenty of time to draft, and I found out that I liked the format. If anything, it’s a change from the Shards I’ve been drafting for a year.
We arrived at the venue on Friday morning, and I was doing well in most of the drafts — not absurdly well, but you know, better than my usual 1-2 in team drafts. Most of the time, we tried (or I tried) to do 4x4s with random teams, to better simulate the GP environment — it’s just too different with 6 people when you have to hate draft all the bombs and all, and I wanted a feel for the format.
I didn’t practice at all for Sealed. There is not much you can do, with every Sealed pool being completely unique, other than learning tricks and interactions from the set, but that you can get by drafting as well, which is just better, faster, and more fun than Sealed. I’ve never really had many problems with building a Sealed deck before, even when the set was brand new, and I didn’t see why I would this time.
The tournament was surprisingly big — I was expecting around 1000 instead of the 1500 they had — and surprisingly fast too. Not that It didn’t get delayed — it did, for almost one hour — but I was surprised it was only one hour and not three, with almost a thousand people leaving registration until the day of the event. I guess that’s what having registration start at 7am does for you.
I registered my unexciting pool (I never get to open the amazing ones) and received one that was a little bit better, though not very exciting either. I cut out the unplayables, and this is what was left:
Artifatcs:
White:
2 Glorious Charge
1 Righteousness
1 Griffin Sentinel
1 Stormfront Pegasus
1 Soul Warden
1 Elite Vanguard
2 Veteran Swordsmith
1 Razorfoot Griffin
1 Lightwielder Paladin
2 Serra Angel
2 Divine Verdict
Blue:
1 Ice Cage
1 Horned Turtle
1 Divination
1 Zephyr Sprite
2 Negate
1 Cancel
1 Mind Control
2 Ponder
Black:
1 Dread Warlock
1 Kelinore Bat
1 Gravedigger
1 Sign in Blood
1 Weakness
1 Diabolic Tutor
1 Assassinate
2 Child of Night
1 Deathmark
1 Disentomb
1 Duress (which I really hate, and only list as playable for other people’s benefit)
Red:
1 Wall of Fire
1 Raging Goblin
1 Seismic Strike
1 Lava Axe
1 Panic Attack
1 Fiery Hellhound
1 Magma Phoenix
2 Goblin Piker
1 Berserkers of the Blood Ridge
2 Shatter
Green:
1 Fog
1 Enormous Baloth
1 Naturalize
1 Windstorm
1 Elvish Piper
2 Mist Leopard
1 Oakenform
2 Craw Wurm
1 Kalonian Behemoth
1 Awakener Druid
1 Borderland Ranger
2 Giant Spider
1 Cudgel Troll
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Stampeding Rhino
From the beginning it became clear that I would play White, since it had both quality and quantity (and two Serra Angel), and also that I would not be able to play my two best cards — Magma Phoenix and Mind Control — the colors just had no other cards worth playing, and those two aren’t exactly splashable.
The decision was between Green and Black, and though Black has some appealing cards, like Deathmark and Gravedigger, I thought the Green fatties (Troll and Behemoth, for example) would be much better for the Sealed format. If Black had had more removal, or at least better removal, like an extra Doom Blade and Tendrils, then maybe it would have competed in more equal terms with Green, but as it was I liked the Green creatures too much and the Black removal too little that Creatures + Creatures ended up beating the usually better combination of Creatures + Removal.
My deck ended up like this:
1 Stormfront Pegasus
1 Soul Warden
1 Elite Vanguard
2 Veteran Swordsmith
1 Razorfoot Griffin
1 Lightwielder Paladin
2 Serra Angel
2 Divine Verdict
2 Craw Wurm
1 Kalonian Behemoth
1 Awakener s Druid
1 Borderland Ranger
2 Giant Spider
1 Cudgel Troll
1 Elvish Visionary
1 Stampeding Rhino
1 Gorgon Flail
1 Rod of Ruin
I decided not to play the pumps (Glorious Charge and Oakenform) because it didn’t look like my deck was going to have a problem with the size of its creatures. I didn’t play Griffin Sentinel because I already had two Spiders as flying defense, as well as two Serras, and though the Griffin would fit my curve a lot better than one of the Spiders (I had many fours and few threes, since I count Awakener Druid as a four), I think Spider is so much better that I can’t justify it. Elvish Piper had potential with all my big guys, but I felt like I just wanted to play them instead of running a card that doesn’t do anything on its own and spending my fourth turn playing it when I’m probably already behind.
I played Rod of Ruin because, well, because everyone said it was awesome — there is really no other explanation. I was not very impressed with it, and I don’t think I should have played it, especially in this deck where having uses for my mana in the late game is the least of my concerns. What I should have played instead is Naturalize, I think — in all the matches I lost, I would have had game changing targets in play, so it would have been very good for me, though maybe that is just a coincidence and it might be that playing the Griffin here is just better.
I was not very happy with my deck, but I wasn’t entirely sad either. I could see myself winning games, though I could definitely see myself losing them too. It would all depend on what my opponents had and what my draws were. I didn’t expect to do better than 7-2, but I could definitely see 7-2 happening on the strength of my good creatures.
I went to eat at the very handy shopping mall that was right beside the tournament site, and came back to play my round.
My first game of round 4 started pretty badly when I couldn’t hit my fourth land drop and the two creatures I managed to play were met with Pacifisms, and it ended just as badly when my opponent played Serra Angel on turn 5 and Baneslayer Angel on turn 6.
Game 2 was better. I had Elite Vanguard on turn 1 (I was on the draw — I think in this sealed format it’s always better to draw, because it’s so hard to rush someone out of a game — basically there are so many defensive cards that it’s almost impossible to do, and I often draw in Draft too) and then turn 3 Veteran Swordsmith (which I played after combat because I am an idiot). He Excomunicated it, and then I was able to replay it pre-combat this time, but that meant I was still stuck on three lands.
I played Elvish Visionary, but still couldn’t draw a fourth land, and the only reason we were having a game at all was because he was also short on lands. At some point, though, he drew his fifth, and then played Serra Angel and just killed me with that plus Pacifism plus the tapper. My friend who was watching the game told me that, in the end, his hand still had Baneslayer and Overrun left. Oh well.
0-2
3-1
Round 4: This time my opponent was UG. The first game was pretty unexciting. My opponent countered something ordinary with Essence Scatter, I played Serra Angel, he played Air Elemental, we traded, I played another Serra Angel and won.
Game 2 is looking pretty good — I have a solid offense and defense, and I attack him down to eight when my board is Kalonian Behemoth, Lightwielder Paladin, and an animated 4/5 Forest (all tapped), and then Razorfoot Griffin, Giant Spider, Awakener’s Druid, and Soul Warden. He is at four, and I’m at some big number — enough to survive Overrun at two life if I block with everything that is untapped.
He plays the Overrun and attacks with everything. Then, as I’m doing my math again, he drops a land into play — he now has one card in hand. That makes me pause and think whether I should let him play that land or not, since we were clearly in mid combat already.
First, to me it was obvious that he wanted that land in play, otherwise he wouldn’t have tried to “sneak it” as he did. That alone should have been enough reason to not let him do it, but I was still considering it, and I just couldn’t figure out what he could possibly cast mid combat with UGG that he couldn’t with UG. In the end, I pretend not to notice it and just leave the land there.
Now, I can block with everything and stay at two — and in that case, if he plays a blocker, I don’t kill him — or I cannot block with my Druid, staying at one and killing him 100% in the next turn. I also can’t think of anything that deals me one damage there, so I make the obvious (and correct as I see it) blocking to leave me at one, but with the Druid. Then he plays Windstorm for two, killing my Griffin, and I die to trample damage.
Now, ordinarily this would have been how the game went — he would have attacked and I’ve have blocked this way and died. Or I would have blocked with my Druid as well, and then died anyway because the Windstorm was for two. But I could definitely have won that game. By trying to play that land midcombat, he gave me all the information I needed, since there is no card in the format that makes any sense for him to have other than Windstorm (at least I can’t think of any… correct me if I’m wrong), I have to put him on having it, and then all I have to do is say “sorry, you can’t play that land, you’ve already attacked” and then block with my Druid as well (because if he has Windstorm then he doesn’t have a blocker) to stay at one life even if he casts it. I couldn’t really see the situation as it was at the time, though, and that cost me the game — basically he threw the game away with that land, and I gave it back to him.
Third game he didn’t have any Forests but a lot of Plains, which makes me think he probably switched decks while I was busy thinking about the previous play and I just didn’t notice it. I played a bunch of guys, and when he double blocked for Giant Growth I had Divine Verdict instead, and that was it. He flipped the second next card of his library and it’s Planar Cleansing (or he flipped the Plains to pay for it, I don’t remember), but I was holding Craw Wurm and Kelonian Behemoth in my hand with six lands in play. I figured the only way I’d lose was to Planar Cleansing, so there was no reason to play my Craw Wurm there, so I think I’d probably have won anyway.
2-1
4-1
Back in the game! The first win of a Sealed deck is always very important to me, because it makes me relieved about my decisions and tells me my deck has the ability to win. It’s just like the first win in Constructed tells you that your deck choice wasn’t horrid.
Round 6 I played against Black/Green. Game 1 I have superior board position, with Kelonian Behemoth among others. There is no way he can attack through, but I also can’t attack, since he has Wall of Bones, Drudge Skeleton, Enormous Baloth and other creatures, so that would be throwing away some guys for a small amount of damage, which at that point of the game wasn’t really profitable. I decide to wait for a flier to break the stall, but he draws Whispersilk Cloak and hits me for seven with the Baloth, killing me in two turns, before I can kill him.
Game 2 he has Drudge Skeletons and Wall of Bone again, but he doesn’t have a lot of Black mana, so I’m able to kill the Skeletons with Rod of Ruin. In the end, I have too many attackers and he can’t hold it.
Game 3 I’m stuck on lands for a long time, and my hand is pretty much all the expensive cards in my deck. I manage to kill an Enormous Baloth when I finally hit four mana. By then I’m pretty low already, and he plays a 7/7 Hydra. My plan is to chump block every turn until I draw the other Divine Verdict, which is admittedly not a very good plan, but he plays Whispersilk Cloak on it and that just kills me.
1-2
4-2
For round 7, I sat close to a kid who I was planning on mentioning in my Honolulu report. Since I didn’t actually write a Honolulu report, and I told him he would be included in it, he seemed somewhat disappointed about it… so I promised him I would say hi to him in this one to make up for it. So, hi Jonathan Sukenik!
For the actual play of round 7, I’m again stuck a little on lands (maybe I should have played 18? Still, I had a Ranger, and I really really hate 18 lands in most Sealeds…) and my opponent’s Gorgon Flail is preventing me from attacking. Eventually he gets a Gargoyle Castle to start hitting me, and removes my Serra Angel when I finally hit six mana. He then plays a Black Knight and equips it with Flail. Now, that is basically unbeatable for my deck, but he doesn’t attack with it for some reason. The way the game was, I’d have to block or the Griffin would just kill me. I realize that he probably doesn’t know that his guy is invincible now (since it has Deathtouch and First Strike), and consider attacking into it — but then if he decides to block that’s just terrible, because I have to tell him his guy doesn’t die, which will not only just throw my Craw Wurm away but also let him know about what happens. I decide to wait a little longer to see if I draw an answer. I don’t, and I die.
Game 2 was kind of similar, except instead of Gargoyle he had a Serra Angel that he stole from me with Rise from the Grave (which I learned only as he was targeting it that works for both player’s graveyards). He had the Black Knight plus Gorgon Flail combo again, and I again couldn’t attack into it. At one point I have Giant Spider and he has Serra Angel, and I’m at five, and he just attacks with it, so I take it, go to one and chump block next turn… if he just equips the Flail I have to block now or I die, which takes away one of my draw steps. It’ all irrelevant though, as that draw step wields nothing, and I die one turn later.
0-2
4-3
And dropped…
Overall, I don’t really know what to say. I made some mistakes, but I felt like they didn’t really change anything. There was one game I lost that I could have won, but that was in the only match I won, so it wouldn’t have made any difference. The format is not very good, and though it seems pretty immature to blame the format, a lot of very good people did pretty poorly. The Top 8 was a Top 8 in which I recognized the smallest number of names for as long as I can remember. I still think draft is fine… if only you can get past the sealed barrier.
I think the main problem with it is that, as I’ve said, there are too many defensive cards — Walls, Skeletons, etc — that people will have time to draw their best cards. One of the things you can do when facing bombs is killing your opponent before he has the time to use them, but in this format it doesn’t seem like a good possibility. As such, cards like Whispersilk Cloak are at a premium in Sealed, and cards that impact the game in a significant way (Overrun, Earthquake, Fireball) should weigh a lot more in the colors you end up playing than in a normal Sealed. I’m usually all for consistency over bombs, but I think Sam Black was pretty accurate in his article — if you have a very good card in a color, that color has to be really bad for you not to play it.
After that, I went to play Catch Phrase with everyone else, which turned out to be pretty cool, albeit hard for me sometimes because English is not my first language and I don’t live in the U.S. — for example, at one point I had to get my teammates to say “Oklahoma,” and while any American would probably be able to get his teammates to say it in five seconds, I didn’t even know if it was a State or a City, so I had to get Osyp to help me. Eventually I became better, and could handle most of the words and people I had never heard of just by association.
I ended up staying at the site until 4am, because I was going to James Pirkey’s house and he was in the finals of a constructed side event for a foil M10 set. This beat Amsterdam and Sao Paulo for longest I’ve ever been at a Magic tournament site. Of course, that didn’t stop me from getting there early the next day so I could spend the entire day drafting and Catch Phrasing. We left the venue at around 1am, and I had to wake up at 6 to catch my flight, which was good because I spent all of it sleeping.
I’m now in England, where I hope I’ll get to draft this time, because I really think it’s that much better than this Sealed (and though a lot of people think that of all Sealeds, I generally like them). I’ll also be attending their National Championship, which is the Thursday and Friday before the GP, since my host is playing in it. Maybe I get to do some coverage or something. If not, I’ll probably enjoy myself enough just by watching it — I find most games of Magic fascinating to watch if the players are somewhat competent.
Anyway, see you next week, hopefully with a bigger report…
PV