JeroenC
03-04-2010, 01:01 PM
A small report of how I became #313 at the biggest Magic event ever. I'll try to rethink how I sideboarded against any game, but I didn't have notes on that. Most of my notes are very short and so I'm not saying this will be exactly how everything went. But I hope you enjoy it anyway.
Round 1: Blaya, Miguel BLOODGHAST DREDGE
Game 1: Well, GP: Madrid is off to a great start for me. Open up crap, mull into six-of crap. Then open up land, Petal, DRit, MTutor and LED. I M Tutor for Infernal, Infernal into turn 3 win off Ad Nauseam.
Game 2: He mulls to 5, I Ad Nauseam turn one. End of game.
Sideboard: -1 EtW, +1 IGG, -3 Duress, +1 O Chant, +1 S Spree, +1 Echoing Truth
Round 2: Jesu something DARK DEPTHS
Game 1: I Ad Nauseam turn 2. He scoops in response to a Duress of mine with 15+ cards in hand. All I've seen is fetch, Bayou and a Top, so I put him on something Poxxy.
Game 2: This game goes on for ages. He does minor handraping with C Therapy + Flashback(a DRit and a MTutor) it but gets a huge manaflood. I calmly collect a hand. I go IT into AN at some point and go insane. This game had the first minor play error of the day: I should've casted MTutor in response to his second C Therapy(well, the first flashbacked). Getting an IT would've allowed me to combo out as soon as I got any source of mana other than C Mox.
Sideboard:-1 Silence, -1 O Chant, +1 S Spree, +1 E Truth, -1 EtW, +1 IGG
Round 3: Daniel IMPERIAL PAINTER
Game 1: Turn 2, I squirt 14 tokens on the battlefield. He looks akwardly at a Goblin Sharpshooter he imprinted on his C Mox turn 1 to cast a Painter or something similar. Scoops when he doesn't get an answer in his next two draws.
Game 2: He makes an EE, a Goblin Sharpshooter and a Trinisphere. I Wish for a Shattering Spree, shoot down some of his stuff and go IGG ftw next turn.
Sideboard:-1 Silence, -1 O Chant, +1 S Spree, +1 E Truth, -1 EtW, +1 IGG Standard sideboard for easy matchups actually.
Alright, who needs to get byes at a Trial when I can just get them at the GP? Moving on at 3-0 makes me feel good. Slightly afraid I'm going to have to play LSV at some point soon, but I know I could probably even take him on.
Round 4: Andre ZOO
Game 1: He goes turn 1 Steppe Lynx, I do a little dance on the inside. I go turn 2 Ad Nauseam. When I want to B Wish to my Tendrils, he stops me. He claims I can't use my sideboard because it was still inside of my deckbox before the game started and that that would imply that I didn't have a sideboard. We call the judge, he says my opponent takes the rules too seriously and I Tendrils him. Because I can.
Game 2: He burns me out at turn 3 when I'm still building a hand with 2 Price of Progress and a Fireblast, backed by a Nacatl or something. Another play mistake as I put down a third land after I knew he played PoP and I didn't need the land immediately. I would've had one more draw if I didn't make that mistake.
Game 3: He drops a Grim Lavamancer turn 1, I M Tutor in response. I get IT, IT gets AN, AN gets game.
Sideboard: -1 Silence, -1 O chant, +1 S Spree, +1 E Truth, -1 EtW, +1 IGG
Gotta love Zoo players who aren't prepared for combo. Gotta hate people with a rules stick up their ass.
Round 5: Tomas with Canadian Thresh
Game 1: I mull to 6. A Goyf beats me down while I'm desperately trying to find an engine. But I don't find anything.
Game 2: Keep a mediocre hand with a lot of potential (1 Duress, 1 Chant, some accel, no engine). Obviously find no engine again. Note to self: mulligan more aggressively against blue opponents, especially when you've sided in your EtW plan and are down one game.
Sideboard: -1 Brainstorm, -1 Ad Nauseam, -1 Chrome Mox, +3 Empty the Warrens, -1 Burning Wish, +1 Orim's Chant
Down a game but 4-1 is better than I've ever been in a Legacy tournament. Feeling pretty good even though I've only won the easy matchups this far. Scouting also makes it painfully obvious that if I keep up a good record, I'll probably have more chances of easy matchups than hard ones (a lot of CB and Merfolk down on lower tables than the aggro decks). Let's go and cruise through Round 6 bitches.
Round 6: Estefan MONORED GOBLINS
Friendly Spanish guy that actually knows some English. Salvation, Estefan is thy name! We talk a little pregame. Neither of us had byes, I tell him I only just lost my first round. When I ask him when he lost a round, he replies "I lost my second game to Ad Nauseam. I didn't stand a chance." I reply by suppressing my internal happy dance. With a pokerface, I give some kind of comment about the diversity and awesome amount of decks in Legacy.
Game 1: My notes only tell me AN gave me a B Wish into IGG into ToA for 26.
Game 2: Notes sez: 2 LED, B Wish, IT, IGG, game. He sided in three Chalices (all he had against me) and didn't mull to them. His Lackey wasn't very frightening to me. He thanks me for finishing the game quickly as he hadn't had a lot of time to eat yet on the day.
Sideboard:-1 Silence, -1 O Chant, +1 S Spree, +1 E Truth, -1 EtW, +1 IGG
Alright, I'm 5-1. Day 2 is coming into sight. My friend predicted 6-3 for me, I was aiming at a solid, positive 5-4. I can't do worse than a positive record anymore but I know what I have to do now: aim straight for Day 2. Here we go!
Round 7: Iņaki CBTOP Homebrew UW version splashing red for Firespout. Extremely metad against aggro, good choice
Game 1: Turn 2, Silence and Burning Wish give me IT which gives me Ad Nauseam which gives me the win.
Game 2: I have to go all-in on an IT with a LED. He forces, we go to game three.
Game 3: I side in the EtWplan because he hasn't seen EtW for me. Duress turn 1 shows me Daze and Firespout as only valid cards. The firespout keeps me on edge and keeps me from combo'ing for a while. In the end I can go triple LED, Infernal into infernal into wish into ToA for the exact amount of damage the doctor ordered. He reveals at this point that he never even saw his CBs. I thank my lucky stars and feel kind of sorry. This guy is one of the better players I've played against all day and I could've lost here. But I don't. 6-1. Just one more win and I go Day 2!
Sideboard after Game 1: -1 Brainstorm, -1 C Mox, -1 Ponder, +1 O Chant, +1 E Truth, +1 S Spree (I think. I'm not sure. I saw a Top so I suspected CB as well)
Sideboard after Game 2: -1 AN, -1 B Wish, -1 Brainstorm, +3 EtW. He knew the deck well enough to keep Firespout anyway so this was stupid sideboarding 101.
Round 8: Iņaki Cuesta with something like UBW FISHSTILL (?)
Game 1: He drops turn 2 Standstill. I'm happy about Landstill (which this is not) and I crack it with Silence the next turn. He immediately forces and I tell him I get to Recall now (he didn't know he had to draw the cards first). A judge has to come and explain it and we continue. I still lose this game to a Jitte that makes me miss him by 2 Storm. One (!) turn of difference and I would've been Day 2 here, because:
Game 2: Turn 1 (or two, not sure) EtW for 14 dudes. He scoops. We had a little argument about what color of mana I made with two LEDS (I made 3B, 3R but he heard 3B, 3U even though there's no reason to take blue). The judge rules in my favor (something the people around us also say is right) and so I take the game.
Game 3: I have to go all in on an EtW for 10 tokens when he already has some dudes (including a Meddling Mage on Ad Nauseam which I couldn't get rid of) and a Jitte. I can't get there and I lose.
Sideboard: the EtW plan
6-2. ON THE BUBBLE. I can do this. Some of my friends that might be paired against me or paired up against me say that they wouldn't mind scooping me into Day 2, so I'm feeling good. I don't get paired against them though. I get paired against someone who's 5-2-1. I explain to him: you can't make Day 2, would you mind scooping to me? He doesn't want to scoop just yet but he just wants to play a friendly game first and then see if he'll scoop or not. His face tells me he will, though.
Then a judge comes to us. "Please don't start yet, there might be a mistake." And there was. I get paired against someone else who's also 6-2. Sadface. I go on tilt a little and it's already past midnight. My friend is sitting next to me (mad props to this guy, I haven't ever beat his Gobs with TES) and tells me under his breath to just play it calm and get this guy. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Zen.
Round 9: Oliver with Armageddon Stax
Game 1: I take off my blazer and win the die roll. He goes t1 plains I go turn 2 AN and win. I place him on White Weenie and I feel good.
Game 2: I make two mistakes in this game. Not making either of them would've gotten me Day 2. Not so very Zen I guess. First mistake: cast Shattering Spree off my 3 lands for Chalice 1, Chalice 0 and Trinisphere. If I had pitched the SSG in my hand to have another copy targetting Chalice 1 (because the original targetting Chalice 1 is obviously countered) and his hate would have been gone. I would've won the next turn. I curse and my friend tells me to chill again. Breathe in, breathe out.
Second mistake: I combo out (through Chalice 1) and I miscount my mana in a hurry. IGG only gets me storm to put him on 6. Had I fetched EtW from my side, this game would've been mine in two swift turns. Had he used Ancient Tombs somewhere in this game, the game probably also would've been mine. As it is, I go to 28, he goes to 6 and then his beatdown starts.
Game 3: My life goes steadily down as he goes turn 1 Chalice 0 and follows that up with Thorn of Amethyst, another Chalice, the Worldwake Golem and a 3Sphere. I sign the result slip and swear as loud as I can. First GP, first good performance. In the last round, I fall back into my bad habits of making stupid and obvious mistakes and screw stuff up for myself. SIGH
Round 1: Blaya, Miguel BLOODGHAST DREDGE
Game 1: Well, GP: Madrid is off to a great start for me. Open up crap, mull into six-of crap. Then open up land, Petal, DRit, MTutor and LED. I M Tutor for Infernal, Infernal into turn 3 win off Ad Nauseam.
Game 2: He mulls to 5, I Ad Nauseam turn one. End of game.
Sideboard: -1 EtW, +1 IGG, -3 Duress, +1 O Chant, +1 S Spree, +1 Echoing Truth
Round 2: Jesu something DARK DEPTHS
Game 1: I Ad Nauseam turn 2. He scoops in response to a Duress of mine with 15+ cards in hand. All I've seen is fetch, Bayou and a Top, so I put him on something Poxxy.
Game 2: This game goes on for ages. He does minor handraping with C Therapy + Flashback(a DRit and a MTutor) it but gets a huge manaflood. I calmly collect a hand. I go IT into AN at some point and go insane. This game had the first minor play error of the day: I should've casted MTutor in response to his second C Therapy(well, the first flashbacked). Getting an IT would've allowed me to combo out as soon as I got any source of mana other than C Mox.
Sideboard:-1 Silence, -1 O Chant, +1 S Spree, +1 E Truth, -1 EtW, +1 IGG
Round 3: Daniel IMPERIAL PAINTER
Game 1: Turn 2, I squirt 14 tokens on the battlefield. He looks akwardly at a Goblin Sharpshooter he imprinted on his C Mox turn 1 to cast a Painter or something similar. Scoops when he doesn't get an answer in his next two draws.
Game 2: He makes an EE, a Goblin Sharpshooter and a Trinisphere. I Wish for a Shattering Spree, shoot down some of his stuff and go IGG ftw next turn.
Sideboard:-1 Silence, -1 O Chant, +1 S Spree, +1 E Truth, -1 EtW, +1 IGG Standard sideboard for easy matchups actually.
Alright, who needs to get byes at a Trial when I can just get them at the GP? Moving on at 3-0 makes me feel good. Slightly afraid I'm going to have to play LSV at some point soon, but I know I could probably even take him on.
Round 4: Andre ZOO
Game 1: He goes turn 1 Steppe Lynx, I do a little dance on the inside. I go turn 2 Ad Nauseam. When I want to B Wish to my Tendrils, he stops me. He claims I can't use my sideboard because it was still inside of my deckbox before the game started and that that would imply that I didn't have a sideboard. We call the judge, he says my opponent takes the rules too seriously and I Tendrils him. Because I can.
Game 2: He burns me out at turn 3 when I'm still building a hand with 2 Price of Progress and a Fireblast, backed by a Nacatl or something. Another play mistake as I put down a third land after I knew he played PoP and I didn't need the land immediately. I would've had one more draw if I didn't make that mistake.
Game 3: He drops a Grim Lavamancer turn 1, I M Tutor in response. I get IT, IT gets AN, AN gets game.
Sideboard: -1 Silence, -1 O chant, +1 S Spree, +1 E Truth, -1 EtW, +1 IGG
Gotta love Zoo players who aren't prepared for combo. Gotta hate people with a rules stick up their ass.
Round 5: Tomas with Canadian Thresh
Game 1: I mull to 6. A Goyf beats me down while I'm desperately trying to find an engine. But I don't find anything.
Game 2: Keep a mediocre hand with a lot of potential (1 Duress, 1 Chant, some accel, no engine). Obviously find no engine again. Note to self: mulligan more aggressively against blue opponents, especially when you've sided in your EtW plan and are down one game.
Sideboard: -1 Brainstorm, -1 Ad Nauseam, -1 Chrome Mox, +3 Empty the Warrens, -1 Burning Wish, +1 Orim's Chant
Down a game but 4-1 is better than I've ever been in a Legacy tournament. Feeling pretty good even though I've only won the easy matchups this far. Scouting also makes it painfully obvious that if I keep up a good record, I'll probably have more chances of easy matchups than hard ones (a lot of CB and Merfolk down on lower tables than the aggro decks). Let's go and cruise through Round 6 bitches.
Round 6: Estefan MONORED GOBLINS
Friendly Spanish guy that actually knows some English. Salvation, Estefan is thy name! We talk a little pregame. Neither of us had byes, I tell him I only just lost my first round. When I ask him when he lost a round, he replies "I lost my second game to Ad Nauseam. I didn't stand a chance." I reply by suppressing my internal happy dance. With a pokerface, I give some kind of comment about the diversity and awesome amount of decks in Legacy.
Game 1: My notes only tell me AN gave me a B Wish into IGG into ToA for 26.
Game 2: Notes sez: 2 LED, B Wish, IT, IGG, game. He sided in three Chalices (all he had against me) and didn't mull to them. His Lackey wasn't very frightening to me. He thanks me for finishing the game quickly as he hadn't had a lot of time to eat yet on the day.
Sideboard:-1 Silence, -1 O Chant, +1 S Spree, +1 E Truth, -1 EtW, +1 IGG
Alright, I'm 5-1. Day 2 is coming into sight. My friend predicted 6-3 for me, I was aiming at a solid, positive 5-4. I can't do worse than a positive record anymore but I know what I have to do now: aim straight for Day 2. Here we go!
Round 7: Iņaki CBTOP Homebrew UW version splashing red for Firespout. Extremely metad against aggro, good choice
Game 1: Turn 2, Silence and Burning Wish give me IT which gives me Ad Nauseam which gives me the win.
Game 2: I have to go all-in on an IT with a LED. He forces, we go to game three.
Game 3: I side in the EtWplan because he hasn't seen EtW for me. Duress turn 1 shows me Daze and Firespout as only valid cards. The firespout keeps me on edge and keeps me from combo'ing for a while. In the end I can go triple LED, Infernal into infernal into wish into ToA for the exact amount of damage the doctor ordered. He reveals at this point that he never even saw his CBs. I thank my lucky stars and feel kind of sorry. This guy is one of the better players I've played against all day and I could've lost here. But I don't. 6-1. Just one more win and I go Day 2!
Sideboard after Game 1: -1 Brainstorm, -1 C Mox, -1 Ponder, +1 O Chant, +1 E Truth, +1 S Spree (I think. I'm not sure. I saw a Top so I suspected CB as well)
Sideboard after Game 2: -1 AN, -1 B Wish, -1 Brainstorm, +3 EtW. He knew the deck well enough to keep Firespout anyway so this was stupid sideboarding 101.
Round 8: Iņaki Cuesta with something like UBW FISHSTILL (?)
Game 1: He drops turn 2 Standstill. I'm happy about Landstill (which this is not) and I crack it with Silence the next turn. He immediately forces and I tell him I get to Recall now (he didn't know he had to draw the cards first). A judge has to come and explain it and we continue. I still lose this game to a Jitte that makes me miss him by 2 Storm. One (!) turn of difference and I would've been Day 2 here, because:
Game 2: Turn 1 (or two, not sure) EtW for 14 dudes. He scoops. We had a little argument about what color of mana I made with two LEDS (I made 3B, 3R but he heard 3B, 3U even though there's no reason to take blue). The judge rules in my favor (something the people around us also say is right) and so I take the game.
Game 3: I have to go all in on an EtW for 10 tokens when he already has some dudes (including a Meddling Mage on Ad Nauseam which I couldn't get rid of) and a Jitte. I can't get there and I lose.
Sideboard: the EtW plan
6-2. ON THE BUBBLE. I can do this. Some of my friends that might be paired against me or paired up against me say that they wouldn't mind scooping me into Day 2, so I'm feeling good. I don't get paired against them though. I get paired against someone who's 5-2-1. I explain to him: you can't make Day 2, would you mind scooping to me? He doesn't want to scoop just yet but he just wants to play a friendly game first and then see if he'll scoop or not. His face tells me he will, though.
Then a judge comes to us. "Please don't start yet, there might be a mistake." And there was. I get paired against someone else who's also 6-2. Sadface. I go on tilt a little and it's already past midnight. My friend is sitting next to me (mad props to this guy, I haven't ever beat his Gobs with TES) and tells me under his breath to just play it calm and get this guy. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Zen.
Round 9: Oliver with Armageddon Stax
Game 1: I take off my blazer and win the die roll. He goes t1 plains I go turn 2 AN and win. I place him on White Weenie and I feel good.
Game 2: I make two mistakes in this game. Not making either of them would've gotten me Day 2. Not so very Zen I guess. First mistake: cast Shattering Spree off my 3 lands for Chalice 1, Chalice 0 and Trinisphere. If I had pitched the SSG in my hand to have another copy targetting Chalice 1 (because the original targetting Chalice 1 is obviously countered) and his hate would have been gone. I would've won the next turn. I curse and my friend tells me to chill again. Breathe in, breathe out.
Second mistake: I combo out (through Chalice 1) and I miscount my mana in a hurry. IGG only gets me storm to put him on 6. Had I fetched EtW from my side, this game would've been mine in two swift turns. Had he used Ancient Tombs somewhere in this game, the game probably also would've been mine. As it is, I go to 28, he goes to 6 and then his beatdown starts.
Game 3: My life goes steadily down as he goes turn 1 Chalice 0 and follows that up with Thorn of Amethyst, another Chalice, the Worldwake Golem and a 3Sphere. I sign the result slip and swear as loud as I can. First GP, first good performance. In the last round, I fall back into my bad habits of making stupid and obvious mistakes and screw stuff up for myself. SIGH