Going into the weekend, my mind was focused primarily on winning the Avacyn Restored Game Day. I seriously considered constructing a paper version of the MTGO Hero deck for the event, but I didn’t have all of the cards for it. After considering my options, I ended up playing W/U Delver. With a combination of bad play on my part and some incredibly horrible luck, I successfully acquired my first 0–2 drop. The Delver deck felt alien in my hands, and I actually found myself missing my aggressive Humans.

This is where I would usually create a pseudo-clever heading for the tournament report and discuss the details of the match. The problem with that plan is that there were barely any details worth mentioning. Game 1, my opponent played all his lands tapped and never cast a single spell. Game 2, he managed a Ponder, Think Twice, and Snapcaster Mage targeting his Ponder. Those were his only spells, and in both games, my dudes vanquished him quickly. I never saw what his deck was supposed to do, and he never saw turn six.

I began the tournament with 37 tickets and 0.17 bot credits. I was able to sell my prize of one Avacyn Restored booster pack to the bots for 3.40 tickets. After deducting the 2-ticket cost of the tournament and adding the winnings, I had 38 tickets and 0.57 bot credits remaining. At this rate, it would only take me just over two years of playing two-man events to reach my goal. Enough was enough. It was time for a real tournament again, but first, I wanted to hit the bots for a couple of additional weapons.

Dressed For Success

There were a few cards I needed from the bots to help put my deck over the top. I wanted to fill in some gaps before I was willing to donate my precious tickets to another Daily Event. Here is what I was looking for and my reasoning behind each card:

• Corrosive Gale – I needed a way to rid myself of enemy flyers. Lingering Souls has been a horrible card to deal with, and killing Delver of Secrets is an added bonus.
• Cloudshift – Maybe the card is too cute, but it will serve multiple purposes for me. Not only can I protect a creature, but I can reset a Fiend Hunter as well. There is also the occasional benefit of using this on a Fiend Hunter with the trigger on the stack to permanently exile an opponent’s creature and still remove another creature when the Fiend Hunter returns to play.
• Faith's Shield – I really liked the Cloudshift idea, but this would give me another option in case it didn’t work out. Cloudshift is completely worthless against a red deck’s arsenal of board sweepers. This spell is far more versatile for creature protection, and the bonus fateful hour ability could potentially be a game changer.
• Riders of Gavony – Hero of Bladehold is an amazing creature, no doubt, but I rarely find that she survives long enough to attack. Riders, on the other hand, make their presence felt the moment they enter the battlefield. I saw this card as a potential finisher, and if nothing else, it is another way around those annoying Lingering Souls.

I found all the cards I was looking for at my bot of choice, and here is the list of my purchases:

It was time to make my deck changes before returning to the battlefield. It was a difficult decision to cut Hero of Bladehold from the main, but I wanted to give Riders of Gavony a real test. Overall, I felt good about most of my choices, and here is the list I came up with:

"MTGOHero3.0.dek"

• Creatures (31)
• 2 Loyal Cathar
• 2 Riders of Gavony
• 4 Champion of the Parish
• 4 Doomed Traveler
• 4 Elite Vanguard
• 4 Fiend Hunter
• 4 Gideon's Lawkeeper
• 4 Mirran Crusader
• 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

• Spells (6)
• 1 Cloudshift
• 1 Increasing Devotion
• 4 Honor of the Pure

• Lands (23)
• 17 Plains
• 2 Moorland Haunt
• 4 Glacial Fortress

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Celestial Purge
• 1 Cloudshift
• 2 Corrosive Gale
• 2 Faith's Shield
• 1 Hero of Bladehold
• 3 Nihil Spellbomb
• 3 Oblivion Ring
• 1 Timely Reinforcements

Buy This Deck

Following up a Game Day loss with a two-man event win proved only one thing to me: I can’t win with a good deck, but maybe I can bank on my jank and rock this tourney MTGO Hero style. Or I could get my face stomped again . . . either way. Bring it on.

Standard 4-RND (Event #3891055)

Round 1 vs. U/B Zombies

I know the power of Smi77y’s “Kamikaze” Zombie deck, which can be found on his site at 60Cards.com, and if this deck was anything similar to Smi77y’s, I was in for a fight. This game was a Zombie versus Human slugfest to the very end.

My mistake came when I chose to attack with my Lawkeeper and leave my Doomed Travelers and Fiend Hunter back to block. On my opponent’s turn I was at 8 life to his 7. I had two Doomed Travelers, Gideon's Lawkeeper, two Honor of the Pure, and Fiend Hunter exiling a Diregraf Captain. My opponent had a Gravecrawler, Crypt Creeper, and Diregraf Captain.

He played a Phantasmal Image copying Fiend Hunter. He used Fiend Hunter’s ability to remove my Fiend Hunter and return his second Diregraf Captain. I hadn’t anticipated the Image or I would have held back the Lawkeeper to protect from that threat.

Game record: 0–1

That definitely wasn’t the start I hoped for. I punted Game 1 on the play and I was facing a very aggressive opponent, but I wasn’t going down without a fight.

Sideboard:

+3 Oblivion Ring

+2 Celestial Purge

−3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

−1 Increasing Devotion

−1 Elite Vanguard

Game 2 – Being on the play with a hand full of 1-drops and drawing into three Honor of the Pure meant that my dudes were bigger. Still, my opponent put up a hell of a fight even though he was greatly outnumbered. Apparently, having large amounts of removal doesn’t always mean a win against a hoard of Zombie-slaying Humans. Who knew?

Game record: 1–1

+3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben

−2 Riders of Gavony

−1 Oblivion Ring

Game 3 – This was another very tough battle until the very end, but dropping a second Mirran Crusader with an Honor of the Pure on the board was enough to put the game away. It turns out black creatures and removal spells don’t enjoy the Crusader very much. Thank you, New Phyrexia!

Game record: 2–1

Match record: 1–0

I was sweating bullets for the entire match, but the MTGO Hero prevailed. I knew my Game 1 error immediately, and I wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

Round 2 vs. U/B Zombies

Game 1 – I kept a slow opening hand of two Mirran Crusader, Doomed Traveler, Cloudshift, two Glacial Fortress, and a Plains.

I had 14 points worth of damage on board, but I only had one hope . . . and drawing Fiend Hunter was exactly what I needed. The Hunter exiled his Artist and pumped my Champion of the Parish, which allowed me to swing for the win.

Game record: 1–0

Sideboard:

+2 Celestial Purge

+1 Oblivion Ring

+1 Timely Reinforcements

+1 Faith's Shield

−2 Elite Vanguard

−2 Riders of Gavony

−1 Increasing Devotion

Game record: 2–0

Match record: 2–0

I was much more confident after winning my first match against Zombies, but with Mirran Crusader as my bodyguard, it was hard not to be. The first two rounds’ MVP awards definitely go to the Crusader.

I was 2–0 and couldn’t really believe it. I believed my deck was capable of two wins, but in a row? Now I was beginning to feel the pressure. If I could win one of the next two matches, I would win six booster packs. My adrenaline was definitely pumping.

Round 3 vs. Naya Something . . .

Game 2, he played multiple Strangleroot Geists. I was able to Fiend Hunter one of the Geists early, and soon, Riders of Gavony arrived to give my troops protection from Spirits. This game lasted until turn five.

Game record: 2–0

Match record: 3–0

I literally raised my hands in the air and let out a shout of triumph! Being 3–0 meant that I locked in a six-booster-pack win and a large profit on the day. I now knew what Jon Medina was feeling in FNM Hero the first time he cashed in a tournament. I may not have won first place, but going 3–0 with my MTGO Hero deck was more satisfying than any tourney win I’ve ever had. Now I had my sights set on a new goal: going undefeated.

Round 4 vs. R/G Aggro

Game record: 1–0

Sideboard:

+2 Celestial Purge

+3 Oblivion Ring

−1 Increasing Devotion

−3 Elite Vanguard

−1 Cloudshift

Game 2 – Apparently, Birds of Paradise equipped with a Sword of War and Peace is all it takes to beat a white player with a hand full of cards. My two Mirran Crusaders weren’t on the battlefield quick enough to win this game.

Game record: 1–1

+2 Corrosive Gale

−2 Celestial Purge

This was a bad sideboarding move. I wanted to be able to rid myself of an early Birds of Paradise, but it wasn’t worth giving up my ability to remove his more powerful creatures.

Game 3 – This battle was epic and involved me having nearly complete board control and yet not being able to seal the deal thanks to my opponent’s Sword of War and Peace. I had him down to 1 twice in the game, and a combination of the Sword and Huntmaster of the Fells kept him alive. If I could have drawn any of my removal cards, Riders of Gavony, or even an Honor of the Pure, I would have won, but it is what it is. I told my opponent “GGs” and proudly ended the event 3–1.

Game record: 1–2

Match record: 3–1

Wrapping Up

I walked away from the tournament with six Avacyn Restored booster packs, which I was able to sell for 20.40 tickets. After deducting the 6-ticket cost of the tourney and adding my winnings, I found my budget increased to 52 tickets and 0.97 bot credits. This was a major achievement and a very successful weekend for MTGO Hero indeed.

I wanted to give readers an opportunity to see my results and decklist for themselves via the Magic Online website at this link: Tournament #3891055

I also wanted to give an additional thanks to Jonathan Medina for inspiring me to write this article series, to my reader Adam for his very useful deck suggestions, to Adam Styborski for giving me an opportunity to write for this awesome site, and to all those friends and fans who have given me so much support and feedback in this endeavor. I greatly appreciate each and every one of you.

Until next week,

– Tangent was here . . .