Welcome to another installment of my classroom. It’s been awhile and I apologize for that but I have reasons.

First it is a bit of an ego thing. My last piece got zilch response in the forums. I know it wasn’t exactly controversial and it came out right on top of Conflux prerelease but still I normally get some response. So my writing motivation bucket was low.

Second, I had a handful of students all chomping at the bit to write something themselves and I was waiting for their stuff. The life of a teenager is apparently too busy to write at the moment. I did just get a couple of minor pieces which I’ll edit up and let you feast on in upcoming weeks. I think our local English teacher might give some bonus for being published on our site.

Third, I decided to bear down and go for a PTQ. It was a rare alignment of the stars that my schedule, my wife’s schedule and the dates of the nearest PTQ (3 hours away) would allow me to give it a go. It is my plan today to recount my experience and hopefully provide you with some insights that will make us all better players.

Stage one: Intel

To be a successful tournament player you MUST know as much about your opponent’s deck as you do your own. Establishing an understanding of the metagame help you to prepare a test gauntlet to run your deck (or decks) through to see how you’ll fare. With enough testing you should have an idea of your strengths and weakness in all probable matchups. Build up a sideboard to help shore up the gaps in your worst case opponents and you’re good to go.

That procedure should make sense to anyone who has reached for the Brass Ring that is the Pro Tour. The reality is very few people have the resources to do the job right. Including me, I ran into multiple issues on my way. Here are a few.

How do I prepare for a local Metagame when there’s barely any local game? Myself and my students comprise the majority of the players that I know. Our small town shop does have an open Friday Night Magic but it’s really unrestricted in card selection. It’s really more of a poor man's Vintage. Players who order singles online and build a serious deck are basically cold shouldered. Maybe two other players will carry versions of a Tier I deck. Rogue is the rule here. Twice I’ve carried a real deck in there and each times I've left with rather easy wins. I do play for social reasons and, well, the bitterness makes it hard for me to enjoy playing.

So my only alternative is read a bunch of internet sources and hope that most players at the tourney will do the same.

How do I play test without opponents? My students are decent players but ultimately aren’t familiar with the decks that are of higher caliber. They lack the experience to give me the game that I can expect from the top boards at a tourney even with the same deck. Back when Wizards had the JSS (Junior Super Series) it was better. Students at that time had a motivation for winning and testing that I haven’t been able to get out of my current bunch. Around here we play some very unorthodox decks.

Lesson learned: Do everything within your power to create a competitive environment amongst your playgroup but remember that 'Spikes' actually make up the smallest portion of the Magic Community. They are a vocal minority as well as the most active but they are a minority. My store shuns Spikes but it would be just as bad to shun Timmy or Johnny as well.

Stage two: The Choice

At this point you must choose your deck. Choose wisely and commit to it. I waffled. I've waffled A LOT. I really didn’t know what I was going to play until about 10 minutes before registration was due. On the drive up I thought I had decided my deck. I pretty much had my mind set on a cool Zoo deck that was heavy on the burn with maindecked Blightning. (If you want a list just post on the forums.) But alas I had no Sacred Foundries. I had ordered some but they didn’t come in time. Cool Stuff Inc got me most of what I needed but another site didn’t show up until Monday. I shrugged that off thinking that I could just buy a Sacred at the store.

When I got there I saw nada dual lands in their display case. Panic mode hit. No Zoo deck that runs Lightning Helix should be without Sacred Foundry. So I started to Punt. (BTW – I find out after that the store has plenty in stock. They weren’t displayed yet as they had just moved- ouch!) Looking behind door number two I see a 'Mirror Elves' deck that has basically no sideboard built. Not feeling lucky at the moment, seeing a ton of hate, and gaining a Meta insight from someone I from back in the day I ditch the Elf ball. It turns out to be a good move since 5 of the first 8 drop/drafters were playing the little Green men.

Next I almost went TEPS. My deck is different than some in that it is built solely for speed with no defense. I max out the digging with a full set of Sleight of Hand, Ponder, and Serum Visions plus the surprise Trade Secrets (just 2.) My secret tech is Simian Spirit Guide main and sideboard that transforms my deck into a no defense All–In red. It would’ve been cool to watch a Fae player side out his Sowers for Stifles and/or Trickbinds only to see a Deus of Calamity on turn two instead of Mind’s Desire. I probably should have gone this route but I would have had to purchase the sideboard and would have a poor match with Elves which I saw a generous amount around the room.

So I went with a Martyr Deck. Utilizing an Idyllic Tutor tool box that would fetch an Enduring Renewal for a near lock (pulled that off 4 times for a 3-1 result). The Tutor tool box also had and Ivory Mask, Aura of Silence, Oblivion Rings, and a Hoofprints of the Stag. The two win conditions where a recurring Eternal Dragon and the Hoofprints. The biggest problem that I had was very little testing. Like I said above I HAD planned on playing Zoo.

Lesson Learned: Know what you’re going to carry and gather the resources before you set off. If your depending on last minute gains weather from the store you’re playing at or a friend who is supposed to show with cards you can "borrow" make sure you have back up plan. And make sure you’ve tested that plan.

Stage three: Karma

NEVER trust luck. I drew my first round match-up. I roll the 20 and go first with a hand that has Tutor and Martyr in it. He cracks a fetch land to get Steam Vents and plays a Ponder. TEPS. I draw a Chrome Mox and decide to make him win next turn. I play Mox and Plains to play Tutor fetching an Ivory Mask. He has to read the card and is obviously surprised. Turn two he plays Peer through Depths and passes the turn. I drop Plains and Mask. He doesn’t scoop so I assume he has Echoing Truth in his deck. On about turn 12 I’m at like 80ish life and play an Enternal Dragon. He then scoops. He was wisely waiting to see a win condition before folding. Game two goes to Rule of Law with a Mask back up for the win.

Round two is an All-In red. He wins the roll and drops Deus on turn one. I play Plains. He attacks and sees a Path to Exile. Two turns later a just drawn Oblivion Ring takes care of his Demigod of Revenge. It feels like my deck is just giving me the answers I need right when I need them. Game two finds me holding off tokens from an Empty the Warrens until turn five when I finally draw and play a Wrath. I actually have to Path and O ring tokens made by a second Warrens because he sets a Chalice of the Void for one on turn 2 and the math gives him the win. I actually end up winning with a Ranger of Eos in the red Zone while sitting at 5 life. I was lucky he didn’t draw another Demigod.

Lunch break hits and I’m feeling good. It’s like fate just steered me into a deck with solutions for everything. The games around me are being won by Zoo and Bant with Faeries slipping down. Reading the Tea leaves I am feeling pretty confident. Of course I jinx it all by bragging to a 0-2 drop playing Elves.

Next round I face a Domain Zoo build. He starts with a Stomping Ground to play a Wild Nacatl. I’m smilling since I have a favorable matchup with Zoo. Game one goes his way with a turn 3 Sulfuric Vortex. Even then I’m feeling that will hit either Tutor or Oblivion Ring soon. I draw Wraths aplenty but no answer to the Vortex. Game two I keep a double Wrath and Oblivion ring opener only to get stuck at 3 mana forever. Finally I play the bane of Zoo only to see him forecast a Proclamation of Rebirth! Where did that come from? Second Wrath only slows him down as 'Goyf beats me to submission. No Martyr or Rangers. Still I felt pretty Okay about the day. One loss is no big deal.

Then disaster hits. I run into the unexpected. Tooth and Nail. I get Plow Undered. I get Mind Slavered. I get Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker / Pestermited when I was over 100 life with no Path in hand.

The rest of my day was pretty much a blur. I stick it through on Auto-pilot. The high of perfect draws only gave me a hard crash that left me with no enthusiasm for the game. It’s only now as I write this do I feel any better about myself. I get another win from Zoo and go 50/50 with two Fae decks to end up 4-3.

Lesson Learned: If you ride the wave of Luck then be ready for the crash on the Rocks. Sometimes it’s better to just swim.

Well that was my day. Hope you’ve gained some insight from my fiasco. I would appreciate it if you would post in the forums. I really need some direction for my writings. I am planning on posting some student work but aside from that, what do you want to read? I do have a couple of other fundamental lessons that I can write on. Or I can write about my crazier decks. (That is where my true love is). I am a slave to the readers. Just post in the forums what you want.

Class Dismissed.