Locations
The only problem with success is the great expectation that comes along with it. I could really feel the pressure to continue winning after my 3–1 performance in the Daily Event last week. I was looking forward to the challenge, however, and I was hungry for more victories.
After any kind of triumph, I always want more. It’s like an itch that won’t go away until it’s scratched. That is how it felt for the first couple days after the tournament. In fact, it was only a matter of hours until I took the same deck that I used in the Daily Event into the two-man queues to scratch the itch.
Mano-a-Mano
In the days following the Daily Event, I played in three two-man events. I don’t want to go into great detail on these minor tournaments, but here is a small breakdown of how I fared:
- Against G/W Humans – This was such a great match, and I wish that I had recorded it so that it could be uploaded for viewing. My opponent destroyed me in Game 1, but Game 2 was an epic battle. The board was clogged with Humans on both sides, and things were looking grim as the time was dwindling. I was able to steal the game thanks to Riders of Gavony, but that left my opponent with four minutes of time remaining to my two and a half minutes. Game 3, I had an insane opener, but he had enough removal and chump-blockers to hold me off. I lost the match in the worst way: by running out of time.
- Against W/B Tokens – This was also a tough match. Elspeth and a board full of tokens locked up Game 1 for my opponent. Game 2 was a nearly perfect hand for me, and it was over on turn five. In the final game, my Riders of Gavony once again entered the battle to give my Humans protection from Spirits, which were his only creatures at the time. After drawing his next card, my opponent conceded.
- Against R/G Aggro – Another good fight against one of the best decks of the format. Game 1, I was able to remove an early Birds of Paradise with my Fiend Hunter. Fortunately, my opponent wasn’t able to play another creature right away, and by the time his Sword of War and Peace–equipped Birds were able to attack, it was too late. Game 2, he drew a far more aggressive hand and beat me down with multiple creatures without me putting up much of a fight. I controlled Game 3 with Fiend Hunter, Celestial Purge, and Leonin Relic-Warder. His remaining Wolf token wasn’t able to stand up to my army.
I won two out of three matches and came away with two Avacyn Restored booster packs. The events cost me 6 tickets total, and I was able to sell the boosters for a disturbingly low 3.33 tickets each. So my reward for winning 66% percent of my matches was 0.66 tickets. Thrilling, I know.
Once again, I set about the task of tweaking my deck. I felt that it performed so well in the previous week’s tournament that I didn’t want to mess with it too much. The one thing I wanted to make absolute sure of was that I added more artifact removal to deal with Sword of War and Peace. I considered many options and asked some friends for advice. Most opinions were that I should use Revoke Existence or Divine Offering over Leonin Relic-Warder to prevent being blown out by a timely removal spell. I agree with that observation, but Jay Boosh disagreed. His point was that if you are playing an aggressive creature deck, you want as many dudes as possible. That pretty much echoed my own thoughts on the matter, and I decided I would try the Relic-Warders before anything else.
After making my changes, here was the updated list:
"MTGOHero4.0.dek"
- Creatures (32)
- 1 Mirran Crusader
- 2 Riders of Gavony
- 3 Fiend Hunter
- 3 Leonin Relic-Warder
- 3 Nearheath Pilgrim
- 4 Champion of the Parish
- 4 Doomed Traveler
- 4 Elite Vanguard
- 4 Gideon's Lawkeeper
- 4 Silverblade Paladin
- Spells (6)
- 2 Cloudshift
- 4 Honor of the Pure
- Lands (22)
- 16 Plains
- 2 Moorland Haunt
- 4 Glacial Fortress
- Sideboard (15)
- 2 Celestial Purge
- 2 Corrosive Gale
- 2 Faith's Shield
- 3 Mirran Crusader
- 3 Oblivion Ring
- 3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
As the time to play in another Daily Event drew near, I could feel my anticipation growing. I had raised the bar for myself, and I needed to continue performing well to meet my new goals for myself. With all this buildup, I merely set myself up for a fatal mistake. I was so excited for my next victory that I decided I couldn’t wait until the next day to enter a tournament. I joined a Standard Daily Event that started at 2:00 A.M.
I will spare the gruesome details, but after having the life sucked out of me by a mono-black control deck, I was beyond fatigued. I felt like I was ten years older. I realized my error in joining the event when I could barely keep my eyes open for the third game.
I swallowed my pride and decided to cut my losses. I quit the event after the first match so that I could get some sleep and hope to be rested for a later tournament.
The morning came, and I joined the much more reasonable 10:00 A.M. event. I was disappointed in myself for wasting 6 of my precious tickets, and I was now was going to be spending 6 more to join another Daily. It was more important than ever that I redeem myself for my epic failure.
Standard 4-RND (Event #3918711)
Round 1 vs. R/W Humans
Game record: 1–0
Sideboard:
−2 Cloudshift
Game 2 – I was feeling very good to begin this game when my opponent traded his Champion of the Parish for my Elite Vanguard. My joy was diminished when he played a Sword of War and Peace the turn after I played a Leonin Relic-Warder with no target available. I should have known he would be running the Sword, and this was a serious error in judgment on my part. In order to stay aggressive by dropping the Relic-Warder early, I literally punted the game. A Human token with the Sword equipped bullied me into submission.
Game record: 1–1
Game 3 – I kept a very solid opening hand with two Champion of the Parish and two Fiend Hunter. I then continued drawing into dudes and quickly overwhelmed him with a hoard of Humans. The 21 life I had gained courtesy of Nearheath Pilgrim was never needed.
Game record: 2–1
Match record: 1–0
I was able to start off with a win, but I wasn’t happy with my overall performance. I wasn’t playing very tight, and it definitely cost me Game 2 as a result. I needed to gain focus if I wanted to make it deep in the event.
Round 2 vs. R/G Aggro with Birthing Pod
Game 1 – I was able to put out multiple Gideon's Lawkeepers to lock down the board early, but I never drew a third land. My opponent had acquired a board full of dangerous enemies, while I had built a hand full of 3- and 4-drops with no land to play them.
Game record: 0–1
Sideboard:
−2 Cloudshift
Game record: 1–1
Game 3 – I attempted to slow my opponent by locking down his turn-one Birds of Paradise with Gideon's Lawkeeper. He then proceeded to play two more Birds and Llanowar Elves. I decided to drop a Silverblade Paladin and go on the offensive. My opponent thought it would be better to play his own Inferno Titan and kill my Paladin and Lawkeeper. Fiend Hunter removed the Titan, but he followed up with Huntmaster of the Fells. The following turn, he was able to transform his creature and attack with his 8/8 trampling Ravager of the Fells. He then dropped a Wolfir Silverheart and paired it to his Ravager to put the game away. I drew a Celestial Purge to remove the Ravager, but the damage was already done, and I died on the next turn.
Game record: 1–2
Match record: 1–1
I definitely should have gone on the offensive sooner in Game 3. After this match, I knew I was truly off my game. That didn’t change the fact that I needed to find a way to be successful.
Round 3 vs. W/U Delver
Game 1 – I wasn’t too excited to be facing one of my worst matchups in Round 3. That being said, I began with a very aggressive start and kept the pressure on early. My opponent had twin Delver of Secrets on the board, but it took them multiple turns to transform. Fortunately for him, he was able to play and equip a Runechanter's Pike, which made attacking awkward. He was never able to go on the offensive, however, and he was eventually forced to chump-block with the Delvers. His Restoration Angel came much too late to the party and wasn’t enough to stop my assault.
Game record: 1–0
+3 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
−2 Cloudshift
Game 2 – My opponent played Delver and was able to transform it on his next draw. His timely Gut Shot killed my turn-one Champion of the Parish. I then attempted to buy time with Gideon's Lawkeeper, but a Vapor Snag followed by Dungeon Geists kept me locked down. Delver did what it does best: stomp my face.
Game record: 1–1
Sideboard:
+2 Cloudshift
Game 3 – Yet another unforgivable mistake cost me this game. I had very favorable board position with four creatures on board. I had used Leonin Relic-Warder to remove a Golem token from play, but my opponent had a Runechanter's Pike equipped to the remaining Blade Splicer. I tapped down his only creature with my Lawkeeper and attacked with my three untapped creatures. My error came in thinking that Restoration Angel required two white mana in the casting cost. I felt secure attacking with my opponent stuck on one white mana source, and of course, he flashed in Restoration Angel targeting his Blade Splicer. He blocked and killed two of my creatures and played a Delver on his turn. I was never able to recover.
Game record: 1–2
Match record: 1–2
My play mistakes and inability to maintain focus paved the way to my defeat. I knew the probability that I wouldn’t be able to repeat the previous week’s success, but I didn’t expect to go out like this. I couldn’t help being disappointed with myself.
Wrapping Up
A successful beginning to the week ended in disaster for MTGO Hero. That being said, I can’t let this setback keep me down. I will learn from these mistakes moving forward. There will not be any 2:00 A.M. tourneys in my future—that’s for damn sure. I will simply need to step my game up a notch.
To start the day, I had 50 tickets and 0.99 bot credits. Subtracting the 11.56 tickets worth of card purchases and 12 tickets worth of tournament entry fees, I was left with 27 tickets and 0.43 in bot credits. Just like that, I nearly cut my funds in half.
I will need to do much better than this if I intend to make it to my goal. I need to get over this stank and renew my efforts to make bank on my jank. Yeah—that just happened.
Until next week,
– Tangent was here . . .
