[Deck] U/G Infect

[Adibou1er]

I just finished 3/4 at a local 31 player tournament here in Paris (starring Lejay) after 5 swiss rounds, for a 4 win - 1 ID run before Top 8 (finished 1st at the standing).
Probe, Stifle and Wasteland were my MVPs

Everything went just fine with the following list except that I made a mistake while writing it on the subway.


That mistake got me a GL in quarterfinals but I managed to beat my opponent who was playing Esper without SFM.
The key was to wait until I draw the 2nd flusterstorm which allowed me to dodge his.

R1 : won 2-1 vs Tin Fins
R2 : won 2-0 vs UR Delver (very strong all Green hand in G1 and a very neat wasteland on G2 faced him with a mana death. He also took hydroblast to his Monastery Swiftspear)
R3 : won 2-1 vs Team America (probe then stifle to dodge his denial plan (2 wasteland + 2 stifle in oppening hand) were incredible in g1)
R4 : 2-0 vs lands. (Again, probe, stifle and VoV helped me to counter crop into waste and maze in G1. G2 was even worse for him because he took submerge, surgical on loam, needle on rishadan, waste on grove.)
R5 : ID
Quarter : won vs Esper
Semi : Lose to Storm 2-1.

8 Green fetchlands
1 forest
4 inkmoth Nexus
4 tropical Island
1 pendelhaven
1 wasteland

4 blighted agent
4 glistener elf
4 noble hierarch

1 crop rotation
1 stifle
1 sylvan library

4 invigorate
2 berserk
3 vines Of vastwood
1 become inmense

4 brainstorm
3 gitaxian probe
4 daze
3 force Of Will
2 flusterstorm

---
1 karakas
1 bojuka
1 force Of Will
1 flusterstorm
1 spellskite
1 viridian corrupteur
1 grafdigger's cage
1 surgical extraction
1 krosan grip
2 submerge
1 nature's claim
1 pithing needle
2 hydroblast

[Runner5678]

Congrats on the strong performance! I've been really happy with maining a Flusterstorm too recently. I split my second in the main with Spell Pierce though for the Chalice/Blood Moon type synergies.

[Adibou1er]

Congrats on the strong performance! I've been really happy with maining a Flusterstorm too recently. I split my second in the main with Spell Pierce though for the Chalice/Blood Moon type synergies.

I think I will go back to that split but I wanted to see how strong flusterstorm could be.
Actually the card is ok in early game but very strong in late game.
When your main plain is grinding your opponent, the card gets stronger.
I won several games with one or two flusters to protect nexus.

I ran 4 daze to prevent the turn 1 chalice/bloodmoon (not effective without the toss) but I was quite lucky not to face any of these decks.
I'd add that chalice is not that difficult to play around. Trinisphere and bloodmoon are bigger problems.

And thanks for the congratz :)

[eviscerations]

greetings. long time lurker. finally decided to make an account.

so, i won the local gpt here and secured 2 byes for gp vegas. the gpt was modern, and i ran dredge, which i'll probably be playing in the modern main event. as much as i'd love to also play infect in modern while i'm there, i just don't think it's very good at the moment. i've been tuning my legacy infect list for the better part of 6 months. i'm at a point now where i'm having to consider the final cuts and a possible 3-5 different options in my main and sideboard.

here's my list for reference:

creatures

4 noble hierarch
4 glistener elf
4 blighted agent
1 viridian corrupter

spells

4 brainstorm
3 gitaxian probe
1 piracy charm*
2 spell pierce
1 flusterstorm
3 daze
3 force of will
4 invigorate
3 vines of vastwood*
2 berserk
1 crop rotation
1 green sun's zenith

lands

4 inkmoth nexus
2 misty rainforest
2 windswept heath
3 verdant catacombs
3 tropical island
1 savannah
1 pendelhaven
1 wasteland
1 dryad arbor
1 forest

sideboard

1 crop rotation
1 karakas
1 wasteland
1 sylvan library
1 rest in peace
1 absolute law
2 submerge*
1 surgical extraction
1 krosan grip
1 nature's claim
1 pithing needle
1 force of will
1 flusterstorm
1 hydroblast

i've put some asterisks next to a couple cards here, and these are where i'm not 100% settled on what to do there. i'll put down some comments regarding those below.

you'll note this is 61 cards. i need to make a cut. i'm not sure what it should be. i think it's between the 7th fetch, the 3rd vines, the piracy charm, and a gitaxian probe.

full disclosure, i really like piracy charm. kills so many relevant threats: young pyromancer, thalia, unflipped delvers, every elf other than deathrite, dark confidant, and baleful strix. it ups the blue count which isn't trivial. in this slot i've previously ran a 1-of ponder. i wanted more utility, so it became the charm.

i recently tweeted frank karsten about his article on cfb here:

https://www.channelfireball.com/arti...ur-land-drops/

i also went back and looked at a previous article he'd wrote in 2013 here:

https://www.channelfireball.com/arti...t-your-spells/

the tweet i'm referring to is here:

https://twitter.com/karsten_frank/st...?cn=cmVwbHk%3D

the math here is very difficult. you have to calculate the total cmc of the main deck, which means making some assumptions as invigorate is rarely 3 mana, and become immense is never 6. then you have to run calculations from there to figure out exactly what the optimal land count is. assume each match goes to 3 games, and also assume that you'll play for a win and in to top 8 in round 15. minus the 2 byes, cutting 6 games from the 45 total making it 39 individual games versus any permutation of random decks, and then figure out the statistics regarding how many 1 or 2 land unkeepable hands (where the 1 or 2 lands aren't color producing, or dryad arbor) over the course of those games. very complex and well above my pay grade.

i'm honestly considering playing 18 lands, and cutting 1 fetch. perhaps this is wrong. maybe i'm crazy. i've goldfished hundreds of games in the past couple days, and more than 90% of the time i have at least 1 land in my opener. some of you may not like dryad arbor, but i got knocked out in the quarterfinals of a 30 man tournament here not too long ago by deathblade guy who was on edicts and lotv. bug delver guy at my lgs also runs edict out of the board. it's terrible in the opener, but otherwise a free roll. i'd rather not cut it if i don't have to.

in the sideboard i'm having difficulty deciding between about 3 cards in the slot of that 2nd submerge. that list is:

1 grafdigger's cage
1 surgical extraction (would be #2)
1 swords to plowshares

i'm enjoying the interaction of submerging in response to a fetchland, and as such i've cut the 1-of sword i had in the slot of the 2nd submerge. if that 2nd submerge was a singleton swords to plowshares, my sideboard would literally be 15 different cards.

i'm moderately worried about the small amount of graveyard hate that i'm packing, and other than submerge or tricks with berserk, i'm packing zero removal.

it could also be that i'm just flat out wrong and should play a wild defiance or city of solitude over the absolute law. i would love to hear peoples opinions on this one. it's proven to be good against young pyromancer and punishing fire for me, allowing me to dodge the removal grixis delver presents, and attack through tokens at the same time. it poops all over sudden shock also. i hate sudden shock. intensely.

what i expect to see at gp vegas, from round 3 onward, is grixis delver, bug delver, bug leovold, lands, sneak and show, elves, storm, deathblade and reanimator. if i have a feel for the best decks in the format as of right now, that's what i would bet on. probably a safe assumption.

i've gone through the entirety of this thread. numerous times. i've read countless articles across the web. i'm very comfortable with the deck, but simply not 100% locked in with a couple slots, and the indecisiveness is literally causing me to lose sleep.

if you were in my shoes and this was the deck that were handed to you to borrow and you were attending gp vegas, and you had exactly 4 slots where you could change no more than 4 cards, what would you do? are the options i'm considering a lot different than what you'd do, and if so, what would be your thought process behind those changes?

i've been playing since 96, first sanctioned event was a mirage sealed deck tournament. but this is my first ever gp. i've put in about 6 months into tuning this list. getting anxious. feeling nervous. can't decide with these last few choices, so i'm coming here to ask you all about your opinions. i greatly appreciate any advice or criticisms. probably should have come earlier, as i've only got about 6 days left before this whole thing begins. having 2 byes means i only need a 4-3 record to make day 2, and that is my goal. i think it's attainable.

if anyone else happens to be attending gp vegas, i'll be wearing the same outfit for the duration - black "dna sauce" hat and matching t-shirt, and glasses. if you happen to see me, feel free to hit me up. i'd love to chat or play some games. edit: adding my reddit/twitter/youtube handle in case anyone wants to hmu - @eviscerations on everything.

thank you all for your time.

[qomori]

I really like Piracy Charm, but if you're not already running Ponder, I would make that switch for sure--I've been considering a cut for a second one, in fact.

For Arbor, I think you're putting too much into a few bad beats. Yes, there are going to be some BUG decks that bring in edicts against us, but there are also decks that run Forked Bolt, Zealous Persecution, etc that are going to get way ahead by 2-for-1ing you for a coloured source and an infector. It's worse the less fetches you run as well.

I'm running 2 Surgicals right now and I do think there'll be a lot of people in the early rounds running RBx Reanimator since it's (relatively) cheap and there's the impression that it's easy to play. When I'm on the other side, playing that deck, I definitely find Surgical harder to play around than Cage.

I think I have an unrealistic love of Absolute Law, so peeps here might disagree, but when I can find it vs. Grixis Delver or Lands, I think it makes those matches significantly easier. And even though Burn isn't a bad match-up, it's great there and at GPs there's going to be lots of Burn in the first four rounds too.

Changing subjects a bit, but has anyone tested against the new "Miracles"? Ran some games against my buddy (who was pretty awesome at piloting the deck pre-ban) and crushed him for the most part. I was considering Standstills, because a lot of people might be on the new list, but I don't think it's necessary to bring in more stuff for that match up.

[Adibou1er]

@Eviscerations : thanks for the links and congratz for the qualif' !

You seem way to careful in your approach to the deck.
My opinion is you don't have to be so worried about the matchups.
IMHO, the more you add responsive cards MD, the less your deck is effective.
You have to keep in mind that most of the time you'll be the agressor and your opponent will be the one who will have to deal with your threats.

If you have read the thread, you have probably read this :
https://thelibraryatpendrellvale.com...g-with-infect/
There is all you have to know.
You don't need to rush nor to be stressed, just stay focused and evaluate your openning hand :
- when am I supposed to win with it ?
- what do I need for ?
- Do I need to probe my opponent right now ?

That's why the grinding will be your main plan most of the time : it values the most your hand, since you have to keep your cards until you can't, and because you don't play a lot of cantrips.
Don't waste a MD slot for a responsive card that does not fit your general plan, you could regret it.

IMHO Dryad (and I would say GSZ and Piracy charm too) has nothing to do MD.

[eviscerations]

@ Adibou1er

thanks for the reply.

you're right in that i am being careful in my considerations. i don't necessarily think that's a bad approach however. i've encountered my fair share of infect pilots who just want to jam, and it costs them wins. i tend to think that being studious and thoughtful in making the right decisions, from deck building to piloting, can make a world of difference in performance during crunch time.

i do kind of disagree w/ your assessment of gsz. the card has been pure gas for me. being able to tutor up a threat or a noble, or a corrupter, have won me matches outright. it's certainly not a card i'm close to considering as far as the 1 to cut. one application that gsz has that people don't account for is it's ability to play out a glistener elf or a noble through a chalice. because i'm running the main deck corrupter, the gsz is even better. i don't ever consider using it to ramp on t1 by getting a dryad arbor.

the arbor itself, as i stated, seems polarizing to many players. i think there's a reason tom ross runs one, and i think he's probably correct to do so. sometimes you need a chump blocker and arbor is the best of the bunch. sometimes you gotta go regular damage beatdowns, and the arbor is good there too.

as i said, other than the times it's in the opener, it's basically a free roll. if i get blown out w/ a forked bolt, that's just how it goes. it's simply not possible to play around absolutely everything. there are only 75 slots in the list.

@qomori

i'm not sure why i have this unhealthy love of such a medium card in piracy charm, it's just so flexible in what it does.

if i cut the charm for a ponder, the next consideration would be do a run 2 vines, or 3. i think there are arguments to be made for either. i am not sure what's correct.

i haven't had a chance to play against the new miracles list yet. i think i agree with reid duke in his assessment of the deck when he said "i think they're trying too hard". figure we're 70/30 favorites, at least. terminus is just awful against inkmoth nexus.

anywho, i do appreciate any and all feedback. i'll take everything into consideration, and probably won't lock in until wednesday.

thanks again.

[qomori]

Is Tom still running an Arbor in Legacy? He def knows better than me. I thought he was off that once Jund sort of dropped off though.

Also, totally get the love for Charm. But I still think you want a Ponder. Between sideboard and main I've got 3 Vines and a Blossoming Defense, but there've been some great performing lists with just 3 of those combined, so I'm really not sure what's best there.

Either way, excited to finish tuning a list this weekend and to poison some folks in Vegas.

[Havrekjex]

Is Tom still running an Arbor in Legacy? He def knows better than me. I thought he was off that once Jund sort of dropped off though.

Does anyone know a more recent Tom Ross list than this one? No Arbor here, but it's almost a year old.

https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/441580#paper

Also, has the white splash gone out of fashion? Straight UG lists everywhere it seems. I'm hanging on to it mostly.for RIPs against Lands...

[geneyquakes]

Is Tom still running an Arbor in Legacy? He def knows better than me.

While Tom Ross is almost certainly a better Infect and Magic player than you (I am making wild assumptions, but I would guess I am right, and of course this applies to me too), I wouldn't necessarily place too much stock in following his latest list.

If he happens to place in a event, you should without a doubt look at the decklist. You should look at all of the card choices, and try to understand them. If there is an interview or article attached, that should be absolutely considered essential reading. He is one of the most influential pilots to ever sleeve up Invigorates, and to deny that would be insane. However, that doesn't just make that list the canon Infect list until his next top 8.

One thing you'll notice is that he changes a few cards in the deck basically every times he plays. You should be doing the same thing. Looking at not just his lists as well as other successful lists and figuring out why the look the way they do is important. I have seen winner's interviews at SCG Opens with Ross where he said his deck was incorrectly built for that tournament. If him playing a Dryad Arbor or a 2nd Become Immense or maindecking all 4 Forces was wrong for the tournament he just won, there is no reason for you to just take it as gospel for your next event. (I particularly enjoyed one interview when he said he actually would have prefered playing Mono-Red Sneak Attack but couldn't find Sandstone Needles, but that's irrelevant.)

On a more specific level, I don't think he has placed in a major event since the Top banning. I would place a lot more stock in top placing lists from the last month or so, even if they are from 'lesser' pilots. There will be too many Krosan Grips and you will ignore decks that have picked up speed since then.

I don't mean this as a personal attack on you, I just think that people fall into the 'He is better at Magic than me so I must be wrong' trap way too easily. You are doing the right thing: you are testing things, practicing, reading articles, and asking questions. Don't make the mistake of thinking that someone 'better' than you doing something two weeks ago makes it right. Pros make mistakes in every tournament they play, and the 73rd to 75th cards in their deck are probably wrong more often than they are correct.

[qomori]

Definitely get that. What I meant to imply with the "thought he was off that" was that he (and others) have tested since then and that's not the list. Felt like I was naysaying our new friend a bit, so worded it a bit softly.

I think I read somewhere that he's on Cephalid Breakfast in Vegas (spice alert), so there is no new Boss infect list anyhow.

Close to settling on this for a sideboard for Vegas (I run Savannah main for context):
Swords to Plowshares x2
Pithing Needle x2
Dissenters Deliverance
Nature's Claim
Viridian Corrupter
Green Sun Zenith
Hydroblast
FoW
Vines of Vastwood
Absolute Law
Rest in Peace
Surgical Extraction x2

I've been playing around with Piracy Charm, Standstill, Teferi's Response, and Reality Ripple in various spots, and while they're all fun as hell when they work, they're all a bit too niche or mana hungry.

Only change I'm still contemplating is putting Corrupter main and cutting Stifle, then running a second Absolute Law. It just seems so bad in multiples though.

[Runner5678]

You say there's only 75 slots. So why play Dryad Arbor? I generally think it's worse than the other 75th card you could play. I cut it over a year ago and have missed it once or twice when I could've gotten lethal through regular damage. That's just not worth the amount of times it was bad.

[geneyquakes]

Definitely get that. What I meant to imply with the "thought he was off that" was that he (and others) have tested since then and that's not the list. Felt like I was naysaying our new friend a bit, so worded it a bit softly.

I think I read somewhere that he's on Cephalid Breakfast in Vegas (spice alert), so there is no new Boss infect list anyhow.

Close to settling on this for a sideboard for Vegas (I run Savannah main for context):
Swords to Plowshares x2
Pithing Needle x2
Dissenters Deliverance
Nature's Claim
Viridian Corrupter
Green Sun Zenith
Hydroblast
FoW
Vines of Vastwood
Absolute Law
Rest in Peace
Surgical Extraction x2

I've been playing around with Piracy Charm, Standstill, Teferi's Response, and Reality Ripple in various spots, and while they're all fun as hell when they work, they're all a bit too niche or mana hungry.

Only change I'm still contemplating is putting Corrupter main and cutting Stifle, then running a second Absolute Law. It just seems so bad in multiples though.

Right, if we are just specifically talking about Arbor most people have stopped playing it at this point. If you are playing against barages of big creatures you have to chump and Diabolic Edicts, then it could be worth a slot, but I am much more worried about Golgari Charms, Orzhov Pontiffs, and Toxic Deluge than I am worried about Edict. The best BUG decks aren't even Liliana decks anymore, and worrying two much about specific removal spells being good against us isn't constructive. Removal spells of all flavors are just generally going to be good. I would rather play Spell Pierces, Flusterstorms, Vines, and Blue Blasts and just fight them straight up than try to get cute.

My biggest complaint about Arbor is the times you draw it naturally. If I could dedicate a slot to Arbor and always have it in my deck but be guaranteed to never draw it, it would be worth one spot out of 75, but drawing opening hands with a summoning sick Forest that dies to Fatal Push hurts too much.

That sideboard looks solid overall. I have liked Corrupter in the main and I haven't really felt the need for Stifle lately so that change makes sense, but I also have a Zenith in the main to make the Corrupter more valuable and give you the nice two-outter against those pesky turn two Jitte on the play openings. Piracy Charm is solid, but if the main mode is killing dudes Plow does fine. I want to test Standstill but haven't tried it yet and feels too cute to just jam at a GP. I play Teferi's Response in random events when I really feel like fishing for blowouts, but it is super narrow and you are probably better served using a more well rounded option.

[Adibou1er]

I did 3-1 to the weekly tournament in Paris (I lost the last round for 4-0) with my usual list with 2 flusterstorm MD.
I faced :
R1 : DnT with Chalice (2-1)
R2 : Bloodmoon Stompy (2-0)
R3 : DnT with Chalice (2-0)
R4: Bloodmoon Stompy (0-2)

Just to say that it is the first time in my infect player life that I regret not to have packed GSZ and Viridian MD.
Also, Nature's Claim is sooooooo bad in that metagame... I will go back to a second K Grip or try another removal for 2 CMC.

Otherwise the deck went just fine with a lot of good draws.

[geneyquakes]

Just to say that it is the first time in my infect player life that I regret not to have packed GSZ and Viridian MD.
Also, Nature's Claim is sooooooo bad in that metagame... I will go back to a second K Grip or try another removal for 2 CMC.

It is annoying how Nature's Claim is the best possible artifact/enchantment answer for us except for exactly, specifically Chalice of the Void and nothing else.

I don't think you need any Krosan Grip right now. The uncounterability is less relevant than ever and the 3 mana is a lot. I personally still play one Claim, but if that is the meta you are facing you should almost certainly cut it for something else. I would look at Naturalize, Seal of Primordium, and Dissenter's Deliverence. All of these are pretty solid options. I have liked Deliverence after trying it out, the cycling is quite nice and 90 percent of the time it is going after Jittes and Chalices anyway. The Enchantment I am worried about the most is Blood Moon, but I have 2 blue blasts that can still hit those.

[Scott]

Magic Pro Tour‏
@magicprotour

After winning Round 12, Zachary Koch, on Infect, is Legacy's last undefeated player at #GPVegas!

https://twitter.com/magicprotour/sta...17076874555393

[tescrin]

, I just think that people fall into the 'He is better at Magic than me so I must be wrong' trap way too easily.

On top of this, people may not correctly use cards correctly when they are 1-ofs or similar. I think it makes more sense to replace slots you don't understand *deeply* with things you do. Understanding intricacies and how pieces fit together is better than badly playing cards that are meant to fit together in a specific way.

For instance, I keep 1+ Canonist in my (not this deck) sideboard, and run E-Tutor. Someone without understanding things may side in tutor, canonist, see tutor in the opener and say "Shiii!" Tutor Canonist and lose to TES's goblins. Why? Because the SB and tutor slot is designed to wait until EoT of storm's turn and determine what you still need to win. They went off? Well, you're not dead so it must've been gobbos, tutor up the plague. They didn't? Grab/Jam canonist. The design is more intricate than the cards show off. Bringing plague in might not even be obvious as an out. Jamming a copy of that side can mean suboptimal play against a variety of MUs without understanding how I'm planning to SB.

Going back, in that same vein jamming a 1x Haven 1x Wasteland 1x Crop package is somewhat intuitive, but there are more complex examples of the intricacies of CRot that you may not get until losing enough times. I'm sure there are better examples, but you get what I mean.

EDIT: This is to say, if you look at a card funny, you may start by running more quad-lazery lists. Run an extra Berzerk or Mutagenic Growth. Yes. It's worse, but the worse you are at the game the more you need to understand the deck; which can mean simplifying it and/or speeding it up in order to learn what problems and tradeoffs all the cards you're putting back in are slowly filling. Those voids may not be necessary to fill anymore, or in your meta, etc.. and figuring out *exactly* why they are there will let you know *when* they are necessary.

[TheoryCraft]

Any chance we could get a write-up from your GP experience, @Svyelunite? :) Congrats on being the last undefeated player in Swiss rounds! I'd love to hear your thoughts on SB options with so many Delver decks running around.

[Runner5678]

I think it's time we ask if Zach is the best Infect pilot around. I know it's been Tom's mantle for years but Zach has consistently been putting up results. I steal his lists and tweak them every time one surfaces.

[Svyelunite]

Hi everyone! As some of you no doubt heard, I had a (mostly) awesome tournament at GP Vegas. I'll do a very brief recap and hit on some highlights and observations.

Rd 1. Bye

Rd 2. Nic Fit - Game 1 my opponent kept a 6 card hand with only basic plains and swamp, and conceded before playing anything. Game 2 I got wrecked by Pernicious Deed. G3 I combo killed after protecting my invigorate from Therapy with a BS.

Rd. 3 Eldrazi Stompy - Opening hand has 2 Agents and 2 inkmoths. I basically race faster than his draw. G2 get killed by exactzies with lethal pump in hand (play vs. draw strikes again). G3 he keeps a hand soft to Wasteland. I have Wasteland.

Rd. 4 Elves - You guys know how this matchup goes. We combo when ready and bam they die. G2 was interesting because my opponent had a fair amount of interaction (Decay and Thoughtseize) but IMO boarded out the wrong stuff and made himself too slow and clunky to kill me despite it.

Rd. 5 Eldrazi Stompy - Won the die roll and had a T2 Triple Invigorate kill with Inkmoth Nexus. My opponent dropped a T1 Chalice so I was fairly certain what he was on even though the game last 3 turns total. G2 he curved really well and got me before I could set up. G3 I had a Hierarch into Agent hand and a FoW to protect it. He stripped an Invigorate with TKS but I ripped another and that got there.

Rd. 6 Sneak and Show - G1 I kept a hand with only Spell Pierce as interaction and got obliterated. G2 my opponent mulls to 5 and I aggressively counter cantrips. G3 I had a threat and permission but no pump. I click in for 2 a turn for 3 turns and counter a Show and Tell and a Sneak Attack. My opponent's hand (Git Probe) is Emrakul, Sneak Attack, 2x Land. He has 5 mana. I brainstormed on my turn to find a Vines but only have Hierarch and Inkmoth left so have to wait to cast it. I have no permission left and a BS in hand. My opponent Brainstorms, casts Show and Tell (1 mana left after playing a land) and I debate what I'm supposed to do. I decide to Brainstorm and look for a Daze but find Pithing Needle as my 3rd card down. If I put it out and my opponent goes for Emrakul no biggie, I'll uptap and Vines kill him. If he puts out Sneak Attack I've got that covered too. He chooses Griselbrand (from the BS) and needle stops that instead, fortunate. I kill on my turn.

Rd. 7 Death and Taxes - G1 My opponent gets a Jitte, but I have just enough pump spells and a Pendlehaven to weather the first hit and kill on my turn. G2 I have a slow hand but it features both Nature's Claim and Dissenter's Deliverance. When I realize my opponent kept a 2x Vial, 1x Land hand, I know what to do...

Rd. 8 Sneak and Show (Andy Boswell) - G1 I get in lots of chip shots and fight over Show and Tells, but eventually one sticks and I die before I can finish it. G2 Andy Preordains, Ponders and then proceeds to draw 5 lands in a row. G3 Andy resolves a pair of Blood Moons but I already have Agent + Hierarch out, and he dies to chip shots while I hold mana for Flusterstorms and Force of Wills.

Rd. 9 Merfolk - G1 Opponent has a beat down hand without disruption and I combo kill the turn after he drops to 1 card in hand. G2 my opponent mulls to 6 and keeps a 3 land, 2x Chalice hand. Fortunately Invigorate and Blighted Agent don't care.

Day 1, 9-0

Rd. 10 Sneak and Show - G1 I lose to a fast combo. I had FoW but so did he. G2 I have a T2 kill with Flusterstorm to protect it. GG. G3 my opponent pyroclasms me on his third turn. I could Force it, but I opt to hold it for combo parts because I have a backup Elf and I let my Elf + Hierarch die. We fight over a few cantrips while he tries to find gas and ultimately he can't get it assembled in time.

Rd. 11 Temur Delver - Game 1 I scrape out a win when my opponent is forced to use a removal spell on a creature so I can't block + pump kill his goyf taking away all his pressure. This makes it easy for me to resolve another a turn later for lethal. G2 my opponent has a lot of removal and a Tarmogoyf that I can't deal with. We had a few spots where I think I could have played a little tighter and maybe found a route. One specific one I remember well was trying to block with Glistener Elf and Become Immense it. I had a fetchland left as my only mana, and my opponent wastelanded my land to make me crack it and Dazed my spell with the fetch on the stack... G3 my opponent kept a 1 land hand and failed to find a second before he was basically dead.

Rd. 12 Miracles (Sam Roukas) - G1 Sam has the nuts with Triple Brainstorm and a Ponder to set up 2 backbreaking Terminus on my turns. I lose to a T5 Jace. G2 I have a grindy hand and play conservatively. Sam bricks on cantrips drawing mostly lands and chooses not to get into a counter fight over Izzet Staticaster. Sam's draws this game were particularly bad. G3 I stick a Glistener Elf and am able to start applying pressure early. It dies to a plow, and on T4 Sam main phase resolves a Staticaster vs my team of Agent, Inkmoth and lands. He tries to kill Agent but I use invigorate to protect it. The next turn I'm able to fend off the Staticaster with a second Invigorate found with a Brainstorm and then on my turn I have enough spells in yard to Become Immense for the kill through Flusterstorm.

Rd. 13 U/R Delver - And this is where the wheels fell off... instead of describing the games, I'll direct you to the feature match coverage. I haven't gotten to watch it myself yet, but I will and if I notice anything that I think was blatantly wrong or questionable, I'll comment here on it later. To summarize I feel like I was an underdog in the match and his G3 hand lined up incredibly well against me. First loss, end of undefeated run.

Rd. 14 BUG Lands (Dr. Evil) piloted by the deck's creator Lincoln Baxter - Lincoln and I are good friends and we knew this match was pivotal for both of us. I lose the die roll and mull to a passable 6 but its slow. Lincoln's deck does what its supposed to and I succumb to wastelands, Pernicious Deed, and Abrupt Decay. G2 I mulligan two Inkmoth-only hands and keep a 5 card hand of Inkmoth, Ponder, Surgical Extraction, Vines, and Noble Hierarch (I think, can't remember exactly). My scry reveals a Tropical Island. I play Inkmoth and pass. I forget his exact plays, but I know eventually I am in a position where I protect my Inkmoth from a wasteland for a turn and need to rip a Berserk or Invigorate to win with it plus Become Immense. It doesn't happen and Loam + Wasteland and Liliana eventually lock me out of the game. I am pretty disheartened by my 2 non-games and sequential losses. Unfortunately, this isn't where the heartbreak ends.

Rd. 15 Grixis Delver, Samuel Tharmaratnam (Gold Level Pro) - G1 I lose the die roll and by the time I can keep a creature alive, my life total is low and Sam has a pair of Forces. G2 I keep a decent hand with 2x Blighted Agent. I get off to a slightly slow start and Sam has early pressure again. By the time I get my creatures down and set up, I cannot mitigate enough damage, and die before the pump spells get there. Grixis Delver is a brutal matchup, and this match goes about as expected

After losing my 3rd consecutive round and win-and-in match, I was really bummed about my tournament. Now that its been a few days and I have had time to reflect on everything, I can definitely say it was a great event, an awesome experience, and despite falling short, a very strong performance for me. I finished in a respectable 21st place, and had a blast. Thank you to everyone for the support and encouragement!