1st round vs Grixis Control. This was the only match I lost; game results were 0-2. I lost both games to the singleton Consecrated Sphinx in his deck, which I was just unable to answer. Also, quad Pillar of Flame in game 1 was extremely brutal, and super land flood game 2 really hurt. The Sphinx really just put him out of reach with card advantage, so I scooped a turn or two early both games knowing there was no way around it.
2nd round vs Mono White Soldier. This was a newer guy to the shop and to Magic as well, but the deck wasn't terrible. I could tell it wasn't a draft deck, and Odric, Master Tactician almost got me in game 2. If I hadn't had my Talrand, Sky Summoner to make some drakes for extra flying damage, he would have won that game next turn with his millions of soldiers. 2-0.
3rd round vs UG Infect. This is a regular at the shop. I won game 1 because she got stuck on 2 lands. Game 2 she infected me on turn 4 with Artful Dodge + Titanic Growth on a Glistener Elf while Wild Defiance was out. Game 3 I managed to have a Delver turn 1 and flip sometime later (not turn 2), but I had Mental Misstep and Mana Leak in hand, and a Ponder showed I had an Oblivion Ring coming up. I Misstepped an Elf, Leaked an Ichorclaw Myr, and O-ringed her Wild Defiance, and that was more than enough to seal the deal with Vapor Snag backup. 2-1
4th round vs Naya Pod. This was against one of my best friends, and I helped him build the deck before the tournament, along with giving him the sideboard from my Pod deck, so I knew what he had to use against me. I won game 1 with Talrand, Sky Summoner making plenty of tokens to get in early damage. I left Mana Leak mana open while he was at 7 mana. I had a Blade Splicer and it's token, along with Talrand, Sky Summoner and some number of drakes out. He opted to play it safe and instead cast a Primeval Titan instead of Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite. I did not have a counter spell, so it resolved. I Vapor Snagged his Titan during his EOT to help clear the path. He had a single Birds of Paradise on the field. I was able to attack for enough next turn to take him to 1. He then cast Norn in an attempt to stabilize and wipe my board except for the 1 Golem token, so While his Norn was on the stack I flashed in a Restoration Angel to blink Blade Splicer and get another Golem. After all was said and done, I had two 1/1 golems and a 1/2 Angel while he only had his Norn and Bird, meaning I had just enough creatures to get through for that final point of damage next turn.
Game 2 he obliterated me. I got stuck on four lands, and because of the way my hand was I couldn't cast anything relevant and get a board presence, mainly because he had two Cathedral of War out so my Restoration Angel cuoldn't block anything. I eventually had to Vapor Snag an Acidic Slime 3 times to keep from dying, and that pretty much did it.
Game 3 was so one-sided that you'd of thought a Korean developed a program that converted Starcraft skill into MTG luck and somehow gave me all of his. I flashed in a Snapcaster Mage at the end of his second turn to start beating. I then proceeded to draw 2 more snapcasters while having a Celestial Purge, Mana Leak, and Flashfreeze in hand. He never had a nonland permanent stay on the board for more than one step/phase, if they even made it that far. 2-1, finishing in 5th place out of 16 players. My tiebreakers were terrible, unfortunately as 2 of my 4 matches were against relatively weak players who did not do well. It was a good night, except for the excruciatingly frustrating first round. Losing to a singleton two games in a row is a terrible way to lose, even for Delver.
