It has been a considerable amount of time since I last attended a Grand Prix (more than a year has passed since Chicago), so when I was packing for Grand Prix: DC I was getting pumped. Twelve hours is a long way to drive, but I had a feeling it would be more or less worth it in the end. I’ve never been to that part of the country, so at the very least the change of scenery would be nice.
On the ride down Thursday, I still wasn’t sure what I’d be playing. I made it clear last week that I definitely thought that creatures were the way to go for this Grand Prix, and as a result I was of course trying to figure out which of the creature decks I felt was going to serve me the best. After ten hours I still had nothing, so I figured I’d just give Jund a last run.
As we passed through the town of Manassas (you should have heard our GPS pronounce that one) toward the tournament site, it began to sink in: I needed byes. My rating has been very high in the past, but this is not one of those times. My Total rating is particularly horrid, as I play very little sanctioned Limited, and even when I have it was mostly when I was still learning how to play it. These days I play lots of Limited, but it is mostly on MTGO or in 4-man drafts in Grand Rapids. A long, sad story short, I was sitting on… zero byes. I literally was just under receiving one, so I resolved just to smash a grinder and pick up the byes.
I registered a Jund list for the first grinder that was much like my Regionals list but featured more Sarkhans and more removal in the sideboard (Mythic was everywhere in the grinders). My first round mirror match went to a third game, but his deck had Lotus Cobra and by the time I was able to play my first spell he already had four creatures in play. Not surprisingly, I lost that one and packed it up. Rather than grind out another one, I told myself that I would just play the GP without byes, and went out to chat with friends I hadn’t seen in a while and try to track down cards for the deck I wanted to play in the Grand Prix.
My friend Jon was kind enough to loan me a mostly foiled out version of Mythic, which I had decided on as my weapon of choice for the next day. Now, I’ve played a lot against Mythic and a good deal with it in testing, but I’ve never played it in a sanctioned event and I’m not sure that picking it up was correct. Still, I felt good about it and if I’ve learned anything from competitive play it’s that sometimes you have to just trust yourself. I tracked down a few extra cards, and began finalizing my list.
By 10pm that night I had a complete 75, though I changed two cards last-minute when I got to the Grand Prix in the morning. Here is what I played:
Creatures (29)
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Noble Hierarch
- 4 Knight of the Reliquary
- 4 Sovereigns of Lost Alara
- 3 Dauntless Escort
- 4 Baneslayer Angel
- 4 Lotus Cobra
- 2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
Planeswalkers (4)
Lands (25)
Spells (2)
Sideboard
The maindeck is pretty standard (it’s not as though the deck has much room for innovation), but instead of the full set of Escorts and three Jaces I played Linvalas main, which definitely proved their worth. I saw them in the grinders and also in a lot of the Regionals lists for the archetype, and they seemed really strong in the mirror and against Naya’s Cunning Sparkmages. I mean, at worst they were going to be 3/4 fliers that could get past Wall of Omens, and that seemed legitimate enough.
The sideboard is also pretty normal, with the only standouts being my decision to play Bojuka Bog for Vengevine decks and Open the Vaults. Bant Charms were for the mirror, Open the Vaults, and Naya. Vapor Snare is a very underrated card in this archetype, and I personally find it to be key in the Jund match-up and the mirror. Pridemage is great against opposing Conscriptions, Oblivion Rings, and Everflowing Chalices. The only card in my sideboard that I hated was Rhox War Monk, which I wish was just Path or Celestial Purge. Oh well — that’s what I get for not playing much with the deck prior to the event.
I registered, downed an energy drink, and set off to my first round. I’m going to make the round-by-rounds really quick, since in most cases the matches went more or less the same way: I put an aura on my guy and my opponent died.
Round 1: Anthony Cushman — RBW Control
Anthony’s deck was a control deck featuring planeswalkers like Gideon, Sarkhan, and I’m guessing Chandra Nalaar. Game 1 was a nongame, as I stuck an early Jace and kept him off of red mana while he cast no spells.
In game 2, he played Wall of Omens, Gideons, Sarkhans, Day of Judgments, and I eventually whittled him away with exalted Lotus Cobras.
2-0
1-0 overall
Round 2: Jim Morley — Mirror
I sat down next to Evan Erwin this round, and he and I chatted with our opponents for a good while before we got down to business. It turns out that we were both playing Mythic, and Evan and I were crashing in with Conscripted dudes before long.
My sideboarding for the mirror:
-4 Baneslayer Angel
-3 Dauntless Escort
+2 Vapor Snare
+2 Qasali Pridemage
+3 Bant Charm
In the second game Jim made quick work of me much the same way I did to him in our first game, but I landed a turn 3 Sovereign in the third game and took the match.
2-1
2-0 overall
Round 3: Jimmy Tessitore — Naya
Game 1 I got out an early Baneslayer Angel and beat with it a few times before it was gunned down by a Collared Sparkmage, but the next turn I ripped Sovereigns with an active Knight and crashed in for lethal.
My sideboarding for Naya:
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Glacial Fortress
-3 Dauntless Escort
+1 Bojuka Bog
+3 Bant Charm
+2 Qasali Pridemage
Originally I was bringing in War Monks for this match-up, but every time I played against Naya I looked at my notes and wondered why the hell I would want to bring them in. That being said, I felt like this was a more reasonable way to go about the sideboarding. Vapor Snare might be a card I need to have brought in, but hindsight is 20/20.
Game 2 was a typical Mythic game where I took some hits from his creatures, more or less ignored what he was doing and just suited up my creatures with auras.
2-0
3-0 overall
Who needs byes, right?
Round 4: Rob Thrieringer — Mirror
Another mirror, of course. By this round of the tournament I still have not yet won a die roll, but it didn’t matter much as my Hierarch/Cobra hand quickly puts me very far ahead…and so did my Sovereigns of Lost Alara.
My opponent did have Stoneforge Mystic in his deck, though, and in game 2 I got rocked pretty hard by it. He quickly beat me with it along with Sovereigns, but he didn’t see it in our last game. In fact, according to my notes, he only saw a total of about seven or eight cards before conceding, so I’m guessing that he just mulligan’d into oblivion (my notes just say “m5” next to my opponent’s life, so I’ll take it that that is what I meant).
2-1
4-0 overall
Round 5: Stephen Mullins — Jund
Ah, Jund. The bad guy had finally arrived to rear his ugly head! I finally got to go first, but it hardly mattered as he had two Lightning Bolts, a Terminate, and two Blightnings waiting for me. A pretty nongame.
-2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
-1 Birds of Paradise
+2 Vapor Snare
+3 Rhox War Monk
This game went much better for me, as I landed an early War Monk and got him to 14 before too long. His life total goes straight to zero after that point in my notes, so logic tells me that I probably had a Sovereign…
Game 3 was very, very close, and I finished the game at 1 life. He backed me into a corner where I just needed to block until I drew some gas, and in my last turn I found a Conscription, hard-casted it, and prayed that he didn’t have the removal spell. He extended his hand in defeat, and I picked up my fifth win.
2-1
5-0 overall
At this point I felt really amazing, and even more so when I learned how well my teammates Brian DeMars, Kyle Boggemes, and Ari Lax were doing also. I went outside to clear my head, and pressed on.
Round 6: Rick Krattenmaker — Mirror
Rick and I had a fast first game which showcased how dumb our deck can be when I came out of a losing board state with a Sovereigns of Lost Alara to take the win. I mulligan’d to four cards in game 2, which was pretty distressing. I hadn’t mulled much that day yet, but these weren’t the kind of mulligans you tank about: we’re talking the no-lander and the 1-land Celestial Colonnade hands, you know?
I mulligan’d to five in game 3, but actually managed to almost win it. The entire game I was behind on lands, but my hand was still always pretty saucy. If I drew a land over the course of three turns I had a shot to land my Sovereign and possibly pull out the win, but he had Deprive and it mattered little whatever I was doing at that point.
1-2
5-1 overall
Round 7: Cody Damm — Naya
In our first game I kept a sketchy hand that was a little light on lands, and his second-turn Sparkmage punished my decision quite handily. Not much else to explain for this one, sadly…
In the second game, I kept this six:
Misty Rainforest
Noble Hierarch
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
Linvala, Keeper of Silence
Sunpetal Grove
Bant Charm
I drew a Celestial Colonnade on my second turn, and then another land the following turn. And then another. And another. And, yes, another. I eventually drew a Gideon when he had lethal on the board, but by that time the land that I drew the next turn was obviously not going to help me. Magic is sometimes like that, I guess.
0-2
5-2 overall
I was x-2, and I needed to win out to make Day 2.
Round 8: John Cuvelier — Naya
John’s first-turn Hierarch made me put him on the mirror, but his Sparkmage the next turn was a bit more telling. I got down to 10 in that game, but Linvala kept me in it long enough to overwhelm him, ending the game with his life total at 21 (according to my notes, that is).
In our second game I wrecked him with a fast Sovereigns of Lost Alara. These matches are so interactive, wouldn’t you say?
2-0
6-2 overall
Round 9: Daniel Villamizar — UWR
Dan and I rolled to see who would take the play, and I was quite sure that I had rolled a six. Upon him rolling a seven, I asked if he was playing or drawing. He informed me that I had in fact rolled a seven, and that we should reroll. I ended up winning the second roll, when he could have not said anything and had the advantage. Daniel, if you’re reading this, I thank you for doing the honorable thing.
I mean, not that it mattered. Game 1 was a fairly large blowout in his favor, as while I stumbled to deal with his sweepers he was dumping planeswalker after planeswalker into play. I eventually was just unable to deal with Elspeth and Chandra, and packed it up.
-4 Baneslayer Angel
-2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
+4 Negate
+2 Qasali Pridemage
I don’t honestly remember the specifics of this game, but my notes indicate that I was able to get him to 10 before I landed a Sovereign and killed him.
Our third game, though, was quite a bit different. I started out very far ahead, but between some lucky rips from him and some from me, we found ourselves with a pretty locked down board position when time was called. He had Ajani Vengeant, Chandra, and Elspeth in play, and I had a Gideon, two Wildwoods, and two Knights (one of which he had been keeping tapped). By attacking into him every turn with my creatures I had managed to get around his tokens and Wall of Omens just enough to put him in a position where only a Path to Exile could save him on my last turn, and he didn’t have it. I made the mistake of not playing a Lotus Cobra earlier in turns so I could get some extra damage in, but I suppose I was playing around Day of Judgment. I shouldn’t have been, of course, since we were in turns, but I had been playing for nine hours and was pretty exhausted.
Daniel and I shook hands and parted ways.
2-1
7-2 overall
I had done it. With zero byes, and I had smashed through nine rounds of Swiss and kept an x-2 record. I was going to Day 2!
Day 2
Round 10: Paul Capriolo — RW Aggro
In our first game, I played a turn 3 Baneslayer Angel. Yep, that’s basically all.
-2 Jace, The Mind Sculptor
-3 Dauntless Escort
-2 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
-1 Birds of Paradise
+3 Bant Charm
+3 Rhox War Monk
+2 Negate
Game 2 went well for me, but it could have been a massive punt. I had a 10/10 Knight at one point, and I had just cast Baneslayer Angel. I was at 10 at the time, and he had at least 8 power on the board. I attacked with my Knight, he took it, and I passed.
Whoa, how incredibly stupid. I was very fortunate that he didn’t have anything, but man. There is literally no reason to attack with Knight there, and unfortunately I got rewarded for my poor play.
2-0
8-2 overall
Round 11: John Rolf — UWR
John is a really good player and very nice to talk to, so it was good to see him across from me in Round 11. Our first game was quick, and you can probably guess how I killed him. I got him to 6 in game 2, but he played an Ajani Vengeant, Helixed my Cobra, and then kept my board clear. I conceded quickly afterward.
In game 3, we found ourselves at very little life each. I was at 3, and he was at 6. I had three Lotus Cobras in play, and for three consecutive turns I failed to draw a land to allow me to cast the Eldrazi Conscription in my hand and blow him out (he only had available mana open on one of them, and it was just Path mana). He commented later that day that I had simply just “mulled into oblivion,” but I’d say it was definitely my failure to draw a mana source for three turns in a row that did me in, not the initial mulligan.
1-2
8-3 overall
Round 12: Ty Holden — Jund
This round was awful. And when I saw awful, I mean that I basically sat there and watched him destroy me. Game 1 he had boatloads of removal, and I was quickly dispatched. In our second game, he played a Cunning Sparkmage on turn 3 and my board of Hierarch, Birds, Cobra seemed really bad all of a sudden.
0-2
8-4 overall
After talking with a few people, we determined that x-5 was good enough for Top 64, so there was no good reason not to keep playing until x-6. I decided to play Round 13.
Round 13: Jerry Tondini — UWR
Game 1 against Jerry was lightning-fast. I played two Dauntless Escorts by turn 4, and a 5th-turn Baneslayer Angel was more than enough to keep him far behind. He conceded before I had attacked with my Angel, because apparently he wasn’t holding the Path.
I mulled to either four or five this game, and my second-turn Cobra never had lands to play with. Sadface.
In game 3 he mulled to 6, and I played a first-turn Hierarch and a second-turn Cobra with Negate back-up. He told me that if I showed him a fetch and a Sovereign that he would concede, but I instead just asked if he was done. He passed, I drew a Sovereigns of Lost Alara, and flashed him it along with a Rainforest.
2-1
9-4 overall
Round 14: John Winters — Jund
John and I had an awkward first game where we were at 5 and 6, but his Sarkhan the Mad was a bit better than my… well, not Sovereigns of Lost Alara.
In game 2, though, I had the Sovereign and was able to get there without much trouble. His third hand, however, had lots more removal and my lone War Monk only held the fort for a few turns before I was out of creatures and options.
1-2
9-5 overall
Round 15: Ryan Boegner — Mirror
Here’s the gist of the first game: I had a Sovereign, and he had two. Awkward. I plowed him with Conscription in game 2 where he kept an awkward Linvala-only hand, but I didn’t feel all that great about it.
Game 3, though, was where I need help. I mulled to six and kept this hand (on the draw):
Lotus Cobra
Lotus Cobra
Misty Rainforest
Verdant Catacombs
Sovereigns of Lost Alara
Vapor Snare
Over the course of the weekend, I kept a similar hand (that is, 2-landers with 2x Cobra) three times on the draw. Once it had resulted in a total blowout, and once I never drew more lands in time. Would you keep this hand? Literally any land on turn three or four gets me into the game, and a fetch on that turn is good enough to just win outright. Statistically I should be fine with that keep, though I’d like to get some opinions.
In any case, I kept the hand and didn’t draw a land until turn 7. By then he had played a Baneslayer Angel, and then suited it up with a Conscription courtesy of his Sovereign. I found a land, played Vapor Snare on his Angel, and hoped that one of two things didn’t happen: that he didn’t see that I was at 4 and that he had a Colonnade, or that he didn’t see the Colonnade and that he had the second Conscription in his hand. He of course saw the manland play, and dealt me lethal. I asked to see his hand, and he flashed me a Conscription… which made me feel slightly better about being eliminated, but it was still rough.
And with that, Grand Prix DC was over for me. Over 15 rounds, I felt like only two of my losses were 100% because of me or my opponent’s play. That is, only my two Jund opponents actually beat me with their decks as opposed to me not drawing lands or mulled to 4 or 5. Now, don’t get me wrong — this is not an excuse. This is a testament to the power of my deck. Mythic is the type of deck that requires a bit of luck sometimes, and it carries a lot of variance with it. Variance is a big thing in the current format, with entire decks based around mechanics like cascade that pretty much embody the concept. However, Mythic is different in that it has a combo within its aggressive shell, and it also is fairly fragile due to its acceleration game plan. When my Jund opponents had Sparkmage and all their removal, that’s just them being prepared and keeping correct hands. I kept fine hands in those matches, but theirs were better. That’s Magic, and I am of course fine with that. In fact, I’m also fine with losing because I couldn’t draw lands — that is also Magic, and I want to stress that I am not bellyaching here. If anything, I am just voicing that I don’t think Mythic was the right choice for this tournament.
Allow me to explain. Had this GP been a PTQ in, say, Michigan, I played well enough and built my sideboard in such a way that could have pretty easily allowed me to take down the tournament and get the invite. However, because I instead was playing 15+ rounds of a GP with the same deck, the variance that comes along with a deck of this nature has far more chances to make itself known, and I suffered for it. I mean, the games where I drew like 7 lands in a row are frustrating, but we’ve all come to terms with that. But losing when I keep hands like the 2x Cobra, 2x land hands that I described? That’s quite different. Not because I am any less “fine” with it, but because that is an example of where making the correct decision can often not be rewarding due to variance. Should I have been able to draw the lands I needed to make those hands explosive? Yes, within 4-5 turns the chances of me whiffing are very slim. But, as it turns out, I did whiff on two of those occasions, and I lost those matches because of it. If you draw that hand up one hundred times, shuffle the deck, and then draw five cards, a certain number of those will play out how my games did in this GP, and that’s just how it goes. Was that hand right? I still don’t know, but I highly doubt that my five-card hands would have been better, and looking at it from a statistical standpoint I feel I was justified.
Again, I don’t mean to seem as though I am complaining — I’m really not. My friends were watching me play a lot of my rounds, and they told me I handled myself really well when some of those events took place. I mean, when I consider that all four of my opponents in those matches commented on how “unlucky” I had gotten, I can’t feel that bad, you know? I made a lot of mistakes, but overall I think I played pretty well at the tournament. Luck goes both ways, too, so I have even less reason to complain — I mean, there were a number of times where I just drew the Sovereign right when I needed it, and I have to keep that in mind when I look back in retrospect.
The moral of the story? I should have played UW. I know, I know. I hate that deck, yes, and it isn’t a “creature” deck, but it is one of the few decks that don’t include Bloodbraid Elf, mana guys and a combo kill with Eldrazi Conscription, or a win condition spell like Polymorph. That is to say, it has little variance compared to the other decks. After 18+ rounds, that would probably be really awesome to have.
In any case, I had an amazing time and it was great to be at a Grand Prix again. I made Day 2, learned from some mistakes, and have relit a fire inside me for the game that was slowly burning out. I can’t stop thinking about Magic now, and hopefully that enthusiasm will remain. Columbus isn’t that far away, after all!
Before I head out, some props and slops:
Props:
– Pam Willoughby for making RIW a reality, for making my trip possible, and for being overall just awesome
– Brian DeMars for his words of encouragement throughout the tournament
– Ari Lax for being a sicko at American Constructed GPs
– Kyle Boggemes for smashing into Top 4
– Nick Harry for letting me crash at his place for the weekend
– Jon Johnson for loaning me most of the deck I played
Slops:
– Variance, for being stupid
– The twelve-hour car ride to the event
– That waitress at Hooters
– Chick-fil-A, for being gross-looking
– Cunning Sparkmage, for killing all of my freaking creatures
Until next time…
Chris Jobin
Team RIW
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