Welcome to FNM III

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Wolfking3000

22 January 2013

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Welcome to FNM III

Hello everyone, I’m back with a very exciting Welcome to FNM (at least for me). For those of you who don’t know, my name is Nathaniel and this is my semi-regular blog/article series about my experiences at my local FNM at Gaming Underground. I believe there will be a link to my other articles included at the bottom if you’re joining me for the first time this week.

I have made some more changes to my deck after many of the suggestions I have received from my wonderful readers, and I have definitely upped the draw power of the deck. I also decided to add some sweepers in and went with two Supreme Verdicts. I know I’m not really prioritizing what cards to get fantastically, but after some playtesting before the event started with some of my friends, I realized I needed some pretty badly. Also before I begin, I received some valuable words of wisdom that I believe helped change the outcome of this week’s FNM. Before I bought the Supreme Verdicts, I asked one of the shop owners where he thought I should put it in my deck. He suggested them over Dungeon Geists because I had enough stall cards to not really worry about playing the curve. That absolutely blew my mind. I didn’t have to play the curve. In almost every game before that, I had been trying to let all my guys hit right when the mana permitted instead of slowing my opponent down, and then letting my guys come out. While most players who play a lot of control know that, I didn’t, and hearing that helped me up my game tremendously.

Now we’ll look at the deck list for this week.

Mainboard

24 x Land

4 x Glacial Fortress
4x Azorius Guildgate
4 x Swamp
6 x Plains
6 x Island

10 x Creatures

4 x Doomed Traveler
4 x Drogskol Captain
2 x Geist-Honored Monk

14 x Instants

4 x Feeling of Dread
3 x Midnight Haunting
3 x Azorius Charm
3 x Think Twice
1 x Sphinx's Revelation

6 x Sorceries

4 x Lingering Souls
2 x Supreme Verdict

6 x Enchantments

3 x Favorable Winds
3 x Oblivion Ring

Sideboard

3 x Negate
2 x Dissipate
3 x Dungeon Geists
2 x Faith's Shield
2 x Cackling Counterpart
    1 x Detention Sphere
    2 x Essence Scatter

Round 1:U/W/b Spirits vs. U/W Flash

Game One: Spirits Win (my life: 14 – opponent’s life: 2) Game Two: U/W Flash Wins (6 – 7) Game Three: Spirits Win (15 – 9) Life totals are before final blow.

Game One Summary W (14 – 2)

I’ve been at the shop just long enough now that I’m starting to play a lot of the same people. This game was against a guy who I played the very first week I put my spirits together, except then, he was playing R/G aggro. Anyways, our game started off with an Augur of Bolas on his side and a Doomed Traveler on mine. He was able to Unsummon my Doomed Traveler and hit me for a small amount of damage with his Augur of Bolas. I wasn’t really worried about it until he dropped a Runechanter's Pike and equipped it to his Augur of Bolas. After taking more damage that I wanted from his buffed up Augur of Bolas, I played an Oblivion Ring the keep it from doing any more damage. The next turn, I Oblivion Ringed his Runechanter's Pike as well, just in case he got any more creatures to attach it to. Despite my best efforts, he was still able to play another of each. I, however, was able to meet him with two Drogskol Captains and a few spirit tokens left by my Doomed Travelers. I played an Azorius Charm for lifelink and a Lingering Souls late in the game to really put it away.

Game Two Summary L (6 – 7)

This was a really slow game, and by far our longest of the three. The first thing that hit the board was a Lingering Souls which was met with a Detention Sphere. After spawning some tokens, and even getting two Drogskol Captains out on the field, he played a Supreme Verdict, which set me back big time. His life had dipped dangerously low, but a Sphinx's Revelation for five was able to pull it back up into a reasonable range. After a lot of drawing on both of our parts, he was finally able to play some threats. A Runechanter's Pike, and a Restoration Angel both appeared, posing a pretty big threat for me. Fortunately, I had enough tokens out to merit another Supreme Verdict from my opponent, which got rid of the Restoration Angel for me. Unfortunately, he was also sitting on a Geist of Saint Traft and another Restoration Angel which were able to hit me for enough damage to finally put the game away.

Game Three Summary W (15 – 9)

This was a pretty solid game for me. I started off with a Favorable Winds which became surprisingly relevant later in the game. I also played a Drogskol Captain. As a matter of fact, I played the same Drogskol Captain four times thanks to three very obnoxious Unsummons. After having my Drogskol Captain un-summoned, re-summoned, and un-summoned again, I decided to hold on to it and played a Favorable Winds in its place. He was able to play both an Augur of Bolas and a Snapcaster Mage to create a decent board presence, but I was able to slow him down with my Feeling of Dreads until I could get some token spawning power. With my tokens out on the field, I played another Drogskol Captain to boost them up. My opponent wasn’t too worried, mostly because he forgot about the Favorable Winds. He was a little surprise when I told him I was swinging for four with each. With my tokens boosted and hexproof I was able to pull off a win for game three.

Problem Cards/Noteworthy Cards

Runechanter's Pike Geist of Saint Traft Restoration Angel Sphinx's Revelation Supreme Verdict

Thoughts on the Round

Overall, this was not a bad round for me. U/W Flash is usually pretty tough for me to beat, and I feel like I did a decent job responding to most of his threats and playing a competitive game. The guy I was playing against was a very good player, and could have taken the round if he hadn’t forgotten about my Favorable Winds. One of my biggest issues with this deck type is dealing with Geist of Saint Traft. Most of my control cards target creatures, and dealing with a hexproof guy that can hit for six turn after turn is a real issue, especially when he’s given a Runechanter's Pike. I’m thinking about getting Nevermore for my sideboard to deal with him and other cards that can cause me some major issues. Also, just a heads up, I plan on doing a lot of sideboard talk in my Thoughts on the Round for today, mostly because that is my weakest area, and it’s the thing I’ve thought most about when preparing to write this article.

Round 2: Spirits vs. Red Deck Wins

Game One: RDW Wins (4 – 14) Game Two: RDW Wins (1 – 16) Game Three: Not Played

Game One Summary L (4 – 14)

These games were extremely fast. RDW and other speedy aggro decks are often hard for me to handle, and this matchup was no different. My opponent started the game with a Vexing Devil, and I decided to be sneaky and not take the damage, especially because I had a Doomed Traveler to chump block it. That turned out to be a really bad idea when he played an Ash Zealot the next turn and swung at me for six. I quickly changed my tactic, bouncing his Vexing Devil with an Azorius Charm, and electing to take the damage the next turn. I was able to get some tokens onto the field, and even got out a Drogskol Captain, but he was met shortly with a Searing Spear, which really slowed my boosting down. This was the only game I got off a Sphinx's Revelation, but it was only able to buy me two life and two cards. After two Hellriders hit the field, I couldn’t handle the triggers and lost game one.

Game Two Summary L (4 – 14)

Again, this was another fast game. I didn’t have much of an early game, and he had two, count it, two Vexing Devils right off the bat. After my experience last game, and what was in my hand, I decided to swallow the eight damage. I did eventually get some token out, and was even able to boost them up a bit with a Favorable Winds before a Thundermaw Hellkite hit the board, and started threatening my life pretty heftily. The next turn I was able to Oblivion Ring it, which did slow him down slightly. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any more creatures beyond my first two tokens, and he was able to get a Hellrider, Ash Zealot, Rakdos Shredfreak, and a Reckless Waif  ^Flip (not all in one turn). The only thing I could do was slow him down slightly with Feeling of Dread, and draw a card with a Think Twice before the game was done.

Problem Cards/Noteworthy Cards

Vexing Devil Ash Zealot Hellrider Thundermaw Hellkite Reckless Waif  ^Flip

Thoughts on the Round

Really fast aggro decks are often a real challenge for me, especially when those decks have enough reach to put a game away when I’m trying to stall them out. Most of this came down to my opponent being able to hit me for a lot early, and keeping me on the defensive for the rest of the game. I think a good sideboard option for decks like this would be Unsummon and Downpour to stall them out long enough for me to wipe the board and start over new with tokens. Another huge problem with these decks is how well they top deck. Talk about making your draws exciting, RDW decks can drop any game winning threat at almost any time. Essence Scatter may also be a good card to bring in against a deck like this.

Round 3: Spirits vs. G/B Aggro

Game One: Spirits Win (16 – 8) Game Two: Spirits Win (20 – 6) Game Three: Not Played

Game One Summary W (16 – 8)

I started this game off fairly slow. My opponent kicked things off with an Arbor Elf, followed by a Wolfir Avenger and then another Arbor Elf to get a decent board presence and put a little pressure on me before I could get anything onto the table. I was finally able to get some tokens to stall her out a bit, but she was able to play an Increasing Savagery on her Wolfir Avenger, effectively increasing its potency quite a bit. Fortunately, I was able to play a Supreme Verdict while she was tapped out, and clear the board of both her mana ramp and her super buffed creature, paving the way for me to get a few creatures onto the board. She was able to bring back a little bit of a presence with two Strangleroot Geists later in the game, but at that point I had a ton of tokens, and a Drogskol Captain to boost them all, so I was able to put the game away.

Game Two Summary W (20 – 6)

You wouldn’t know it from the life totals, but this was actually a much better game for my opponent. She came out of the gates swinging, and swinging hard. She started with an Arbor Elf like the game before, but this time, she was able to get a Strangleroot Geist when it really mattered, turn two. She then played a Corpsejack Menace, which I Oblivion Ringed, mostly in hopes that I could kill her Strangleroot Geist and not have it come back with two counters instead of one. I was finally able to get out a decent board presence, but then the Corpsejack Menace came back when she played an Acidic Slime to blow up my Oblivion Ring. She then played an Increasing Savagery on her Acidic Slime to create a real threat. Luckily, I had a Feeling of Dread in hand to slow her down, as well as a Geist-Honored Monk. With an Azorius Charm used for lifelink, I was able to pull the game well out of reach and take it home.

Problem Cards/Noteworthy Cards

Wolfir Avenger Increasing Savagery Strangleroot Geist Acidic Slime Corpsejack Menace

Thoughts on the Round

It’s always interesting for me when I play a new player. This girl had only been playing for about a month, and it put me in a weird position. Part of me really wanted to help her out, and point out some things that would really have helped her, and part of me really wanted to win at all costs. For those of you who think like I do, you’ll understand my predicament. That aside, my deck is usually pretty good at handling heavy creature decks with little to no removal, and not a lot of reach. The most I would have sided in would be more tap spells to stall her out more, and maybe a few Essence Scatters. All in all, I played alright, but got a little careless, especially since I have a tendency to underestimate new people. That’s definitely something I need to work on.

Round 4: Spirits vs. Esper (W/U/B) Walkers

Game One: Spirits Win (20 – 4) Game Two: Esper Walkers Win (10 – 22) Game Three: Esper Walkers Win (11 – 18)

Game One Summary

This was a fairly new archetype for me to play, and it was also a pretty fun one. I came out of the gates swinging with a Favorable Winds and a Drogskol Captain. I was able to get out another Drogskol Captain, and give them both some nice hexproof power. He got rid of a Favorable Winds with a Detention Sphere and got some of his own spirit tokens with a Lingering Souls that was played and flashed back in the same turn. I made the mistake of swinging with my Drogskol Captains, and he quadruple blocked one to kill it, and then played Sever the Bloodline to kill the other. He then played Tamiyo, the Moon Sage to keep my guys at bay, but another Favorable Winds and a Midnight Haunting were just what I needed to put the game away.

Game Two Summary L (10 – 22)

While our first game went really quickly, mostly because of the fountains of mana my opponent was getting, this game took forever. I didn’t get to see a lot of this guy’s deck in our previous game, so I didn’t really know what to expect going into this game. What I got was a whole lot of planeswalkers. I went to start the game the way I normally do, Doomed Traveler turn one, Favorable Winds turn two. Apparently he had been expecting that, because a Sundering Growth got rid of my Favorable Winds pretty quickly. From there, he got Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, Jace, Architect of Thought and Sorin, Lord of Innistrad out. With his planeswalkers sitting comfortably on the board, he played a Terminus to kill off my tokens, and send both of my Doomed Travelers away without setting off their triggers. I spent the rest of the game trying to catch up, but wouldn’t you believe it, he ultimated Jace, Architect of Thought. Not to say this guy isn’t original, but he took exactly what everyone else took, a Geist-Honored Monk. Then, he grabbed a Restoration Angel from his own deck to blink my Geist-Honored Monk and beat my face to a pulp with tokens. Not only that, but I managed to play a grand total of five Doomed Travelers that game, while sitting on a sixth in hand. Considering I only run four, it was a bit ridiculous.

Game Three Summary L (11 – 18)

This was not a fun game for me. I was really hoping I could pull off a win this game, but alas it just wasn’t meant to be. I started the game having to mulligan to four, thanks to a one land hand, and then two no land hands. I finally got my four cards and decided to play and see where it got me. I tried to play quickly with what I had, and got a decent token presence onto the field before my favorite planeswalker, Jace, Architect of Thought, hit the field, and rendered my tokens useless. Just to add insult to injury, he played a Supreme Verdict and killed off all of my useless tokens. He again ultimated Jace, Architect of Thought for a Geist-Honored Monk, which put the game away right as time was called for the round.

Problem Cards/Noteworthy Cards

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage Jace, Architect of Though Sorin, Lord of Innistrad Restoration Angel Supreme Verdict

Thoughts on the Round

This was a really tough round for me. As a matter of fact, anytime Jace, Architect of Thought hits the board, it’s a tough round for me. He’s probably one of the hardest cards for me to deal with, mostly because my creatures are weak, and he makes the small amount of damage that each individual creature could make that much smaller. In the future, I think bringing in Nevermore and Detention Sphere(if I can ever get more) would be a solid idea, as well as bringing in Negate and Dissipate. I definitely needed more ways to neutralize his threats, and I feel like those would be solid cards to do that.

Round 5: Spirits vs. R/W Humans

Game One: Spirits Win (15 – 8) Game Two: Spirits Win (12 – 5) Game Three: Not Played

Game One Summary W (15 – 8)

These games were against a guy who has already made an appearance in one of my articles. I played him in my third game during my very first article, and when I went to play him again he fondly remembered me with the nickname he had given me that day, “Blogger.” That aside, he had been working on his deck, and it had been paying off for him, as he had won two games up to this point. Our game started off with a Rakdos Shredfreak from my opponent, which I met a turn later with some tokens from a Lingering Souls. He played another Rakdos Shredfreak, and swung with both, but I chump blocked them, killing them off. I then flashed back my Lingering Souls, played a Favorable Winds and a Drogskol Captain to boost up my tokens and fly over his head for the win.

Game Two Summary W (12 – 5)

This game was a bit slow for the both of us. He led off with a Silverblade Paladin, which was met by one of three Oblivion Rings I had sitting in my hand. After his Silverblade Paladin bit the dust, he used a Gather the Townsfolk for some tokens, and played a Searing Spear to kill my recently played Drogskol Captain. I was able to get another one out shortly after, but it shared the exact same fate. He played a Precinct Captain, which was met with my second Oblivion Ring, effectively slowing him down, and forcing him to top deck the rest of the game. After that, I used Feeling of Dread and tokens to slow him down and finally win the game.

Problem Cards/Noteworthy Cards

Rakdos Shredfreak Silverblade Paladin Searing Spear Gather the Townsfolk Precinct Captain

Thoughts on the Round

Most, if not all, of his deck was creature based, and that is exactly what my deck was made to control. He lacked a lot of the triggers that RDW or R/B aggro have that mess my deck up, and that really helped me pull out a win. He has improved a lot as a player from when I lasted played him, and it pleased me to see him doing decently in the tournament that night. As for how I played, I feel like I did a decent job trying to slow him down until I could get the creatures I needed to win. I probably would have handled the sideboard the same way I would have against G/B Aggro or RDW since they all share a common creature heavy feel.

Round 6: Spirits vs. R/G Werewolves

Game One: R/G Werewolves Win (6 – 15) Game Two: Spirits Win (15 – 1) Game Three: Spirits Win (13 – 11)

Game One Summary L (6 – 15)

This game was against a good friend of mine, and the guy who takes my brother and me to FNM every time we go. We had been playtesting before FNM started, and I had yet to beat him, which was kind of nerve racking. He started the game off with a Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip which I Oblivion Ringed a little too early. He followed that up with a Full Moon's Rise, which rendered the Supreme Verdict in my hand absolutely useless. I really should have Oblivion Ringed his Full Moon's Rise instead of his Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip. After that he played an Instigator Gang  ^Flip with a Rancor on it, to buff it up tremendously. I played a ton of tokens, and tried to get him to sack his Full Moon's Rise by quadruple blocking his Instigator Gang  ^Flip, but instead he played a Moonmist, killed my spirits, and still punched a ton of damage through. After trying to slow him down over and over, the trample effect given by Rancor, and the +3 boost given by a flipped Instigator Gang  ^Flip was too much for my Spirits to handle as he took game one.

Game Two Summary W (15 – 1)

This game was much slower for my opponent. By the time he got his second creature out, I had already played a Doomed Traveler, a Favorable Winds, a Midnight Haunting, and a Drogskol Captain. He did play an Immerwolf early, and even put a Rancor on it, but a well placed Azorius Charm bounced it back on top of his deck. He then played a Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip, but I was able to play an Oblivion Ring to get rid of it. At that point the game was pretty much over. A late Moonmist on a big swing, did buy him a turn, but it wasn’t enough for him to pull out a win, as I took game two.

Game Three Summary W (13 – 11)

This game was a pretty close one. My opponent got a lot more creatures than the previous games and also got a lot more boosting power. He played an early Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip, followed up with a Reckless Waif  ^Flip. I did my best to respond and played an Oblivion Ring on his Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip. I also played a Doomed Traveler for some blocking, and to prevent his werewolves from flipping. He played another Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip after the first one was gone, and I used my sided in Detention Sphere to get rid of it. After that, I played a Drogskol Captain as well as a Lingering Souls to get a decent board presence. He played another Reckless Waif  ^Flip, followed up with a Moonmist to flip his werewolves, and the next turn played his third Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip of the game. He dropped a Rancor on one of his flipped Reckless Waif  ^Flips, and attempted to swing for game, but a super buffed token blocked it, allowing me to take minimal damage, and still fly over his head for the win the next turn. When the game was done, we tried to see if he had made a play error by only swinging with one, but in the end, it didn’t make a difference how he had attacked, I still had enough power to win.

Problem Cards/Noteworthy Cards

Mayor of Avabruck  ^Flip Instigator Gang  ^Flip Full Moon's Rise Moonmist Rancor Immerwolf

Thoughts on the Round

This was probably one of my favorite games because it was against the guy who taught me how to play Magic. It was kind of a student teacher moment, and even though he lost, he was glad to see I had beaten him and improved so much as a player. One of the biggest issues I ran into this game was the trample effect given by a lot of his cards. I do a lot of chump blocking to slow people down, and when a chump block doesn’t matter, I’m in a world of hurt. The regenerate effect that was a constant presence in the first game was a real issue as well, because it meant I couldn’t really get rid of his creatures. I think a good sideboard option would have been to bring back in my Dungeon Geists to slow down his creatures, and forcing him into a situation where he can’t attack. Also, a Sundering Growth to kill his Full Moon's Rise would not be a bad idea. Now, at this point in my article, I would usually give my stats and final thoughts, but today it’s going to be a little different. You see, this game put me at four and two on the night, which was just enough to get myself the bottom seed in the top eight. I was pretty excited, seeing as I’ve never gotten a top eight before, and was more than ready to start the next round. So, without further ado, here is my first top eight appearance at FNM.

Top Eight: Round 1: Spirits vs. R/B Zombies

Game One: R/B Zombies Win (5 – 18) Game Two: R/B Zombies Win (4 – 16) Game Three: Not played

Game One Summary L (5 – 18)

First things first, just because I made it to the top eight does not mean I did well in the top eight. The guy I was playing not only top eight-ed with this deck almost every time he played it, but usually won the whole thing with it as well. That being said, it was still a pretty fun game, and he’s a really nice guy to play. His deck was extremely fast, and hard to keep pace with. He opened up with a Diregraf Ghoul, which I met with a Doomed Traveler. The next turn saw another Diregraf Ghoul and an unleashed Rakdos Cackler. He swung at me for two, and I chump block with my Doomed Traveler to get a spirit token. I played another Doomed Traveler the next turn in hopes to slow him down. I didn’t. He played a Geralf's Messenger the next turn, forcing me to take two, and then swung for more damage after that. I thought I would be clever, and played a Supreme Verdict to clear the board. That play proved to be fatal because he played a Brimstone Volley for five, which was enough to finish me off for the game.

Game Two Summary L (4 – 16)

I started this game with a little more gusto than the previous, opening up with a Doomed Traveler, and even being able to get in some damage before he let his first creature fly. That first creature was a Rakdos Cackler which I left unblocked, later proving to be a big mistake. I managed to get out a few tokens, but they really couldn’t do much after he played a Geralf's Messenger and a Falkenrath Aristocrat. I went to Oblivion Ring his Geralf's Messenger, but before it resolved, he sacked it to the Falkenrath Aristocrat, which triggered its ability, getting me for two more damage. I was able to play a Drogskol Captain, but it was hit by a Searing Spear. Shortly after my Drogskol Captain left the field, his Liliana of the Veil entered. He counted her down the next turn, forcing me to sack a creature, and then played Brimstone Volley to deal me five damage. He played another Liliana of the Veil after that to make me sack my final creature and win the game.

Problem Cards/Noteworthy Cards

Falkenrath Aristocrat Geralf's Messenger Liliana of the Veil Brimstone Volley Diregraf Ghoul

Thoughts on the Round

I didn’t really play this round very well. That was due to a mix of excitement at making top eight, and because I knew how good my opponent was. I should have played a little smarter with how I responded to his threats. I think a solid sideboard option would be bringing in more tap effects to slow his creatures down with causing undying triggers to go off. I also needed more booster spells so that my creatures could go toe to toe with his. One of the biggest things he suggested after the game was bringing in Divine Deflection. Not only does it prevent damage, but it redirects it back at your opponent. He said it really messes his deck up. With those additions, I feel like the deck would have played better against his, and I may have been able to win game two.

Round Record: 4 wins – 3 losses

Game Record: 9 wins – 8 losses

Favorite Deck of the Night: R/G Werewolves

Place: 8 out of 40

Career Round Record: 9 wins – 9 losses – 1 draw

Career Game Record: 22 wins – 22 losses – 1 draw/no play

Best Place: 8 out of 40

Career Top Eights: 1

Final Thoughts

All in all, I was very pleased with this night. I did very well, and I would like to thank the people who have been reading these blogs and giving me suggestions along the way. Thanks to you guys, I’ve been able to improve tremendously, and I’ve made it to my first, and hopefully not last, top eight. As for my favorite deck of the night, I really liked playing werewolves. Not many people play werewolves, and it was fun to have the tribes of Innistrad face off. I may have a bit of bias since this guy is a good friend of mine, so I’m inclined to have an honorable mention. Esper Walkers definitely goes down as my close second favorite of the night. As much as I hate playing against Jace, Architect of Thought, the deck was very well put together, and played really smoothly. Well, that’s all I have for today. Until next time, Nathaniel.