After spending basically an entire day in airports I’m finally back from my hometown of Chicago. First, the good news: Chicago was amazing as ever. After moving to Florida a few years ago, any chance I have to spend in the place of my birth I will gratefully take. I spent a lot of time with friends, ate at Jim’s Original Polish and Hotdogs, had Joy Yee in Chinatown, amazing Italian Beef from Portillos, had a Chicago Mix from Garrett’s Popcorn, fantastically famous Filipino breakfast at Uncle Mike’s Place, oh yeah, and I got to see my hometown team The Chicago Bears play the AFC’s #1 team The Houston Texans. I’ve been home a number of times but this time was a little different. I had a chance to play at the Grand Prix.
Now, the bad news. I played Jund as I said I would. Although I didn’t get that much practice in I do think I was prepared to face the gauntlet of decks that would make up a majority of tournament: Jund, Affinity, UW Midrange, Storm, Splinter Twin, Infect and Eggs.
For a refresher here is what I played.
JUND
I really expected a lot of Affinity. I stayed with a friend from back in the day and he used to play a ton of Magic when we were in high school. He kindly helped me practice more the night before the Grand Prix. I did have a chance to practice against Affinity a lot and felt I had a better then 50% against the deck game 1. Post-board I was 100% going to crush Affinity as a lot of my board had that deck in mind.
As for Jund, Obstinate Baloth, Thoughtseize and Jund Charm came into play to fight the mirror. Because Messengers negate Kitchen Finks and hit harder with Undying I felt I had the upper hand.
Against combo decks Slaughter Games, the extra hand disruption and depending on the deck, Seal of Primordium would come in to shore up those match ups. I tested against Splinter Twin a lot and found the hand disruption and value off of Liliana of the Veil to be too much for the deck to handle. With just a bunch of cantrips Twin had a hard time getting back into it after being decimated by Lily. Plus, Slaughter Games naming Splinter Twin really ends their game. During my testing I was able to ramp with Deathrite Shaman to Slaughter Games turn 3 a few times while they are tapped out playing Spellskite. Having to dig for Kiki-Jiki just isn’t going to get you there.
ROUND 1: Mike from Elgin, IL playing Jund.
This kid was super nice and I really enjoyed our games. Despite being nervous, him being a good kid helped calm me down. Game 1 I’m on the draw. He mulligans to 5 and I snap keep with a Turn 1 Deathrite Shaman, into Turn 2 Liliana of the Veil, into a Turn 3 Bloodbraid Elf. I basically ravage his hand with Lily and commence the beatdown with Bloodbraid and Dark Confidant off of the cascade. It doesn’t get much better then that. I start pinging for 2 with Deathrite as he tries to survive with a Kitchen Finks. A second Bloodbriad into a Tarmogoyfcloses it out.
Game 2 I side in Obstinate Baloths to combat his Liliana and side out my own Liliana as I feel I want to be more proactive with the beatdown plan. I have to mulligan to 6 after seeing a 1 swamp 6 business spell hand. He keeps his opening 7. For the first 4 turns we are playing Confidants and Kitchen Finks that we both quickly kill with Lightning Bolts and Terminates. We are both in topdeck mode by turn 4. He is on a fresh Deathrite Shaman and Kitchen Finks to my Deathrite Shaman and Dark Confidant. Its my turn and reveal another Dark Confidant with my trigger and draw a land. I declare my attacks with Bob and swing in. He blocks with Finks hoping to trade, gain some life and get a 2/1 back. After Finks hits the graveyard and after its Persist ability stacks I stack my Deathrite Shaman‘s green ability to remove a creature in a graveyard naming his fresh Kitchen Finks and I gain 2 life. His Finks fail to persist. I play my new Confidant and pass. He plays another Deathrite Shaman. I reveal land off my trigger and draw Bloodbraid Elf. I cast Bloodbraid and hit Tarmogoyf. Sick beats. I swing in with my Elf which he Bolts. EOT he gains 2 life after removing a Confidant from my yard, which I think is a bad move considering his position. At that point he is playing to not lose instead of playing to win. He is at 24 life from early Finks and Deathrite activations. He plays a second Deathrite, which makes the game more difficult for me. As I start trying to carve away at his high life total with Bloodbraid and Goyf I feel the game slipping away as he begins to land his own threats. After a few turns of combat and removal he is at 12 and I am at 6. He has two Deathrite Shamans and I have a Bloodbraid and now 2/3 Tarmogoyf because of all his graveyard removal. I decide to swing in and put pressure on him. Hopefully force some blocks. All he has to do is take the damage, at the end of my turn double activations off his two Deathrites, untap, repeat and win the game. Although the game is in his hands he chooses to block both of my threats instead. He gets me to 2 life after his activations. He draws his card and passes. My guys crash in the win.
After the game I tell him I was dead on board that last turn. He thanks me for the advice and we part ways with a handshake and a good luck. I hope that kid did well the rest of the way.
Dark Confidant and Deathrite Shaman are ridiculous creatures. They were all-stars for me this match. Deathrite will be a staple for the deck and format as it is now seeing playing Gifts Ungiven and Junk decks too.
2-0 / 2-0 / 1-0
ROUND 2: Dude from Wisconsin playing Red Deck Wins
Game 1 I keep a hand with all removal and 3 lands. He plays Goblin Guide, trigger, no land, I Bolt it. He plays Grim Lavamancer and I Terminate it. I play a Confidant that he lets stay since it hurts me. Ironically I draw only lands off of my Bob triggers and naturally draw infinite Bloodbraid Elf and Tarmogoyfs. The beatdown commences and he is pretty much finished in short order.
I figure him to be on Blood Moon and side in Seal of Primordiums and take out Geralf’s Messengers.
Game 2 He turn 1 Goblin Guides me, trigger, no land and go to 18. This game I have 2 lands in my opener which I keep. I have to go to 15 to Inquisition of Kozilek him and see he sided in Molten Rain which I take. Unfortunately he has a hand filled with Bump in the Night, Rift Bolt and Lightning Bolt. He goes, draws and plays a fresh Grim Lavamancer and swings with Goblin Guide, trigger, no land. I am stuck with a Obstinate Baloth and Bloodbraid in hand by the time I draw my 4th land. While I go to lay down the Baloth he Flames of the Blood Hands me so I don’t gain life. I’m at 3. He calmly untaps then Lava Spikes me to death.
I sided completely wrong as Blood Moon wasn’t seen. I go back to my normal main deck.
Game 3 I keep a good hand that has a Obstinate Baloth in it. I turn 1 fetch, play a Overgrown Tomb and I have to Thoughseize him. He is on 2 lands, Molten Rain, Goblin Guide and ton of burn spells. I take Molten Rain again since my mana is so bad. He turn 1 Goblin Guides me, trigger and draw a Raging Ravine. I draw another Thoughtseize but decide to keep mana up to kill his Goblin Guide with Abrupt Decay. He lays a land, attacks and I Abrupt Decay his Goblin Guide. Second Main Phase he play a Torpor Orb effectively shuts down my Obstinate Baloth and Geralf’s Messengers into guys that can’t block. At his point all my lands come into play tapped and I’m drawing every Thoughtseize in my deck just helping him kill me.
Ugh. Horrible set of games. With 25 minutes left in the round I shake his hand and wish him well on the rest of the Grand Prix. He told me he’d have played the exact same deck as me if he only had the money for the cards. He also preferred the Messengers over Finks. Nice guy.
1-2 / 3-2 / 1-1
ROUND 3: Dude from Ohio playing Red Deck Wins
Game 1 I’m on the play and keep my opening 7 because it has lands, removal, Confidant, Bloodbraid Elf and a hand disruption spell. He draws his opening 7 and stares at it for a while. I give him some time. I look over at the game next to us and a dude called a judge to watch the board state so he can go take a dump. Ugh. I look back at my opponent. He is still pondering his hand. I ask him, “Are you good?” He reluctantly replies, “Yeah, I’ll keep.” I play a Blackcleave Cliff and Inquisition of Kozilek him. I see a Blackcleave Cliff, a Spark Elemental, a Vexing Devil and 4 take 3 damage spells. I take a Bump in the Night because I have a bolt for Devil and everything else deals me 3 damage. He opens on Spark Elemental and swings in. I play Confidant and pass. He follows up with Vexing Devil but no additional land. I decide to pay the 4 life. I untap, Confidant trigger a land and draw a Bloodbraid Elf. I Terminate his Grim Lavamancer and swing in with Confidant. He is still stuck on 1 land and Lava Spikes me. I drop Bloodbraid Elf into Geralf’s Messenger and swing in and pass. He draws, sees no more land and Bump in the Nights me. I untap, Bob trigger a land and draw another Bloodbraid Elf. I cast it and swing for the win.
I hate that he was mana screwed and I really don’t like winning that way but I’ll take it. Obstinate Baloths come in.
Game 2 I keep a rather slow hand because it has a Baloth in it. But It doesn’t matter as he his firing on all cylinders this game. With just 2 mana and four turns I’m burnt to a crisp and wishing I played Kitchen Finks instead of Geralf’s Messengers. But I never actually saw a Messenger this game.
Game 3 I play an early Dark Confidant and draw 2 Bloodbraid Elves and an Obstinate Baloth off it to basically help him only need 3 actual business spells to kill me. Damn.
He was a nice guy from Ohio and is just like me: married with kids but trying to play this crazy game called Magic.
1-2 / 4-4 / 1-2
At this point I’m still in it. After talking with some friends about how their tournaments were going, 2-1 and 1-2, I felt I still had a chance to possibly run the table to make Day 2. I was in the x-2 bracket after all. My friends saw Infect, Splinter Twin, and Affinity. “Where the hell are those decks for me?” I told them. I was prepared to play those decks.
ROUND 4: Dude from Minnesota playing…you guessed it…RED DECK WINS
When I titled this articled Chicago Fire, it wasn’t because I was playing with the “Fire” that some players get when they go on a run. I felt it was more aptly named because, in the world of Magic: The Gathering, I was literally burned to death. THREE. ROUNDS. IN. A. ROW.
Game 1: After I saw a Blackcleave Cliff into a Goblin Guide I pretty much just sunk in my chair and emotionally gave up. My note pad has my life being dwindled away in increments of 3.
Game 2: I’m basically telling my opponent, who had a Bye, a loss and a draw, that I got incinerated the last two rounds. He was happy to see me fetch, put my shock lands into play untapped, and quickly decimate my own life. Needless to say I had no fight in me and just took each red spell to the face like a man.
0-2 / 4-6 / 1-3 Drop
So, that was my Grand Prix experience. Ironically I felt very prepared for a lot of the decks I felt I was going to see. Red Deck Wins was just the deck I ignored in my testing. You could argue that playing the Kitchen Finks package over the Geralf’s Messenger package would have been the better move. But if you notice, I think I played Geralf’s Messenger a total of twice in 10 games. The other argument is that the Jund decks that Top 8′d and were the eventual GP Winner and first runner up both had zero Kitchen Finks main deck. But I guarantee you that those players had 3 Byes (both being a part of Channel Fireball) and dodged the Red Decks that I saw all tournament.
That being said, if there was a tournament this week, I’d probably play the same list with Kitchen Finks main instead of Messengers and I’d add one more Baloth to the board because I would just expect more Jund and more Red Deck Wins. Also, I think Rakdos Charm would be a solid 2 of in the board. Something to consider.
The Modern PTQ season is coming and I’m not sure I’d play Jund again. I’d expect to see a lot of Red Deck Wins and Affinity so I’d rather be prepared for those two decks. Of course the Modern iteration of Soul Sisters is also a very popular deck on MTGO and I’d probably expect to see that deck. It is also very inexpensive to build.
It was just announced the other day that come January 2013 Modern will be an option for FNM. Also, the PTQ season will start then so Modern is really getting a huge bump. My thoughts on this next time! And I’ll discuss a deck I’d probably play next year: GW Hate Bears.
Until next time. Keep on brewing.
Peace,
Chris Adraneda
Twitter: cpa13
Follow Us!