The $25 Can of Comet: Learning from PTQ Misfortunes

This past Saturday, I attended my second PTQ (ever!) in Baltimore, MD, essentially to grind some Planeswalker Points in the hopes of achieving a Grand Prix bye for the next season.  I had other commitments later in the day, so I simply went to grab as many wins as possible (and Hell, if I did well, I could always delay my plans).

Secret Weapon?  We'll see!

My deck of choice was one that I have been piloting for about two weeks now – Naya Aggro.  Anyone who is familiar with the current metagame knows that creature-based Aggro decks are running rampant right now, and I went in with a deck that was supposed to attack those matchups particularly well. 

I arrived at the venue with about an hour to spare before round 1 began, so I went to the vendor booth to pick up the Batterskull and Phyrexian Metamorph that I added to the deck the night before.  Having my 75 ready and registered, I sat down with Wayne, a local player and good acquaintance, to break down our deck ideas and make any final changes to our decks.  Wayne was on the Mono-Green beats approach, and I quickly recommended to him that he play a Tormod’s Crypt or two to fight the UW Delver matchup.  I’m pretty sure he stuck with that plan, and we played a test game or two before pairings went up.  My deck felt really, really solid, and most of all, it felt comfortable to play.

The 75 that I registered looked like this:

A few notes about the deck:

1.  I was really happy with the decision to drop to two Huntmaster of the Fells.  Right now, I (and several others, as I have read) don’t think Huntmaster is the best of creatures in the current state of affairs.  With decks that jam creatures down peoples’ throats, it’s hard to justify a 2/2 for 4, even if it gains 2 life and a Wolf.  There are better threats that exist, in my mind, than having a third Huntmaster, especially when the majority of matchups that I expected turn into creature stalls.  There needs to be a way to break the deadlock, not enhance it.
2. To fill that spot, I added a single Phyrexian Metamorph.  One thing that makes all of these creature decks so strong is the variety of threats they can produce.  Will you see a Sword, or a Pike?  Thragtusk or Wolfir Silverheart?  Geist of Saint Traft or Blade Splicer?  Not playing Blue, Phantasmal Image was out of the question, but Metamorph turned out to prove itself and then some.  As a 1-of, it doesn’t leave your hand full of cards that you don’t want to keep – sometimes there are simply things you don’t want to copy.   But, when it comes up, it can almost certainly be useful at some point during a match while still leaving you other options for increased versatility.  This may end up being a sideboard option in the future, but I feel that it was worth the main-deck slot at this event.
   
3. Bonfire of the Damned, as you all should know, makes me feel like a 35 year-old jerk stealing a graciously-sized lollipop from a small child.  It is really that mean, that unfair, and that easy to cast.  I highly recommend 4 of them main-deck, so long as creature decks run rampant.  It single-handedly won me 4 games during the event.  Even if you’re stuck with 1 (or even 2) in an opening hand, the deck still has potent threats that are reliable enough that you can deal with an opponent long enough to make Bonfire worthwhile sans miracle.  It may even be more worthwhile to use at X=1 or X=2 to handle a board of mana dorks.  Against a lot of decks right now, that will either kill Delvers and Snapcaster Mages, or it will eliminate 2-3 mana producers.  I like that trade.
   
   

   

   An Opponent's Typical Reaction to Bonfire

4. Play Mikaeus.  Seriously, play him.  Play 2 of him.  Having a 5^th way of using Gavony Township, while having a body on the battlefield, can quickly turn around a game.  Several times, I was able to get him out on turn 2 at X=2, cast Blade Splicer the next turn, and have a 4/4 first striking golem on turn 3.  Sure, get rid of my Blade Splicer – the golem can now trade with so many more creatures reliably by doing so.  And when you decide to smash with them, bigger tends to be better.  Mikaeus is an excellent addition to help aid the engine of your deck.
5. I wasn’t 100% comfortable playing Birthing Pod on this day.  Far too much artifact destruction was looming around, and I didn’t want to devote two slots in my deck to a potential engine, when I felt I could maintain consistency.  Is Pod the “better” choice?  Perhaps.  But, I felt more comfortable with my deck by leaving them at home this go around, and frankly, that meant more. 
6. Batterskull beats mirror matches.  It also beats Zombies when it can stay on the field, and it hoses control matchups when you see them.  Right now, I think it is in a good position as a sideboard sleeper, and I would recommend adopting one in your plan.

With that, I’ll go over my matches.  Spoiler alert: I unfortunately didn’t play a lot of expected decks during the day, so some of the matchups may seem skewed unfairly.

Round 1 vs. Justin (UB Zombies)

Feels bad, man...

Justin is a SCG Open Series competitor sporting at least one Top 8 performance (judging from his playmat). No matter.  I kept a rather risky hand on the play game 1, with 2 lands, an Avacyn's Pilgrim, two 3 drops, a Restoration Angel, and a Bonfire.  I paid for it dearly when Justin Tragically Slipped my Pilgrim, and I failed to see anymore lands.  He got his Zombie engine running fast, while I had a hand of cards I couldn't play.  I quickly scooped, and we went to game 2.  In game 2, Justin showed me his choice of fatty for his deck: Phyrexian Obliterator.  Luckily, I had a Celestial Purge in hand to Obliterate it myself.  I was able to drop a Batterskull on turn 5, putting pressure on Justin's army of the undead, but Justin quickly played a second Phyrexian Obliterator.  I decided to drop Thalia and equip Batterskull to it the turn after.  Justin left his Obliterator up to block, and I attacked right into it the next turn.  When he blocked, I used 3 mana to return Batterskull to my hand before damage, and activated Gavony Township (it had been done the turn before, as well), putting Thalia at 5 First Strike damage.  I did this to only have to sacrifice 5 permanents as opposed to 8 or 9.  Leaving 3 lands and my Thalia/Batterskull mix, Justin drew for his turn and extended his hand.  Game 3 saw much of the same from Justin, with Obliterator out early.  I, unfortunately, did not have the Celestial Purge during that game, and quickly lost.
I will note that Bonfire isn't the best card in this matchup; it gets the job done, but the recursion of Zombies makes it much less effective.
0-1 (1-2 in Games)

Round 2 vs. Chris (UG Infect)
I sat down to meet my round 2 opponent, Chris, who quickly informed me that he was down a game already.  Apparently, he misregistered his deck, and took a game loss this round.  I confirmed this with a judge, and I had a quick 1-0 lead.  During game "1," I kept a great hand on the draw that had 3 mana, a Birds of Paradise, and 2 Blade Splicer.  When Chris cast a Glistener Elf, I knew I had to kill his board, and quickly.  I quickly cast Blade Splicer on turn 2, and he attacked into my Golem.  To me, this meant pump spells, and I couldn't risk a blowout, so I blocked.  Sure enough, he had a Titanic Growth, and my Golem was dead.  He then cast Blighted Agent and passed.
Luckily, my deck felt like getting a little hot, and I top-decked Bonfire, casting it as a Miracle to wipe Chris's board.  He sighed, and I cast another Birds of Paradise.  Chris brought out another Glistener Elf, and passed.  I put out the other Blade Splicer, dropped Gavony Township, and passed.  Chris drew and played another Glistener Elf, passing the turn.  My next draw: another Bonfire.  I cast it for X=3, to save myself from Mutagenic Growth, and attacked with my Golem.  He let the damage through, and I passed.  Chris basically ran out of gas from this point, and I built my army up, pumping it with Gavony Township.  A few turns later, I Miracled one last Bonfire, and he extended his hand.
This is one of those games where Bonfire saved me more than once.  It can completely turn a match sideways, quickly followed by a bunch of my creatures turning sideways.
1-1 (3-2 in Games)

Round 3 vs. Daniel (UB Control)

The Slow Death

I never enjoy playing against control, but this was undoubtedly the least fun match of the day for me.  Daniel wasn't a talker, and didn't seem like the friendliest of players.  Game 1 was the slow grind I hate about control.  Land, go.  Land, go.  I try to cast a spell.  Destroyed on end step.  Land, go...you get the idea.  A Karn and a Nephalia Drownyard finished me off as I was milled out, 25 minutes later.
Game 2 was actually fairly quick.  Landing a 2 Cavern of Souls hand on the play, I was able to reliably cast Blade Splicer twice to build a presence.  When I tried to cast Phyrexian Metamorph, I was forced to copy a Golem when Daniel Tragic Slipped my Blade Splicer.  Daniel tapped out to play Vampire Nighthawk in an effort to stabilize, but a top-decked Zealous Conscripts took him under my wing, and I swung for 12.  That ended game 2.
Game 3 was exactly like game 1.  The only fun part of that game was being able to Zealous Conscript into his Liliana of the Veil, and used her ultimate against Daniel.
1-2 (4-4 in Games)

Round 4 vs. Carey (UW Delver)

Certified Delver Killer

At this point, Carey and I were both dead, playing for some sweet Planeswalker Points.  This was a much more chatty game, and we were having fun playing without throwing each other off.  I saw a turn 1 Delver and knew what I was up against.  I played my game, going Land, Bird, go.  He was unable to flip Delver immediately, but cast Ponder to essentially ensure that it happened the turn after.  He Probed me to see my hand, and saw nothing that would slow his tempo down.  My next top-deck, though, is probably the worst card a Delver player wants to see, and I slammed Thalia down quicker than a Bonfire.  Carey kind of grunted, flipped his Delver, and cast Snapcaster Mage to flashback Ponder.  He shuffled.  I was happy.  I top-decked Bonfire the next turn.  He wasn't happy.  Attacking into a clear board, he had no answers.  Next turn, I top-deck another Bonfire! He tried to stay in the game for two more turns, but had no threats, and scooped up.
Game 2 came down to two cards: Crushing Vines and Combust.  That was all the tempo I needed to keep Carey at bay...and a Miracled Bonfire later in the game didn't hurt.  Much of a repeat of game one, Carey was out of gas late, and I built my board up to achieve victory.
2-2 (6-4 in Games)

Round 5 vs. Josh (UG Infect)
Josh played Inkmoth Nexus on turn 1, leading me to think I was playing Wolf Run Ramp.  Boy, was I mistaken.  Game 1 is a quick report.  I lost on turn 3 to a swing for 9 Infect, with 2 Mutagenic Growth and a Titanic Growth added to the Nexus.  I was on onto game 2, confused as to how I failed to realize that Infect was still (apparently) popular.
Game 2, I was able to Miracle Bonfire twice to keep his board clear while I went in with my army of Golems and Restoration Angels, and won in 6 turns.
Game 3 was a slightly slower version of game 1, but I just didn't have the answers to unblockable infectors like I did in the second round.  After shaking Josh's hand, I did what I will probably never do again in competitive play - look at the next card.  Slamming down a Bonfire, I knew that, with one extra turn, I probably could have left the PTQ at 3-2, but it wasn't to be.  This is a great example of how one card could have literally flipped the match into my favor with a single draw.
2-3 (7-6 in Games)
 

Tournament Strength Scrubbing Power!

So, 2-3…not exactly what I had in mind coming in, especially with a deck that I hadn’t lost a round with in over a week.  I was really, really surprised seeing 2 Infect decks in my five matches, and, while I don’t think my sideboard will necessarily change (unless I adopt Green Sun’s Zenith), if Infect becomes a thing during these last few months (and by thing, I mean something other than a mild threat), I may have to add a Melira to my sideboard.  I also think I may replace a Forest with a Plains, to ensure that I have access to enough white mana to cast spells and activate Gavony on the same turn, if possible.  I never was really "land screwed," save the first game of round 1, but it would have been nice to have the second white mana source a few times.

Additionally, I may be forced to add a Witchbane Orb to my sideboard.  Yes, artifact hate is a thing right now…but there needs to be “Bonfire hate” in decks like mine.  Heavy creature decks die to heavy creature destruction, and Bonfire is the quintessential creature-destruction card in Standard right now.  If I can’t be targeted by Bonfire, neither can my army of dudes.

This event definitely let me see just how variant Standard really is right now.  There are so many different decks that can be viable when the right mix of skill, luck, and miracles come together.  So many games could have been won with that top-deck Bonfire the next turn, or the extra Celestial Purge.  That’s the beautiful thing about Magic right now, though: you don’t need to be piloting only one viable deck to succeed.  Take an archetype, mold it into the weapon you want to wield, and go crazy.  Many powerful decks exist right now – take advantage of the next few months, prior to rotation.  Sometimes, it’ll bite you in the ass (this happened to me several times at this event).  Other times, you’ll be the one on the positive end of things.

Lessons Learned
As this was only my second PTQ, I wanted to take a little extra time reflecting on my experience.  For anyone who plans on entering the competitive environment in the near (or later) future, I give you a few pieces of advice that will either enhance your competitiveness (without being a D-Bag), or that will help you learn from your mistakes and losses.

• Be assertive.
  If you’re playing a match, and you feel like your opponent has done something that is either late (i.e. cast a counterspell late), wrong, or otherwise illegal, call him out on it, and call a judge if needed.  They are there for a reason.  Utilize them.  Example: during my round 4 match, I cast Restoration Angel - my opponent nods as to say "Okay" in my mind - and had already blinked my Blade Splicer to produce another Golem.  At that point, my opponent says, “Actually, I want to Mana Leak your Angel.”  I didn’t feel like he should have seen what I was going to blink before saying that so I simply said “No.  I think you’re late in casting that.”  If your opponent really has an issue with it, they will call a judge, and I’ll abide by their decision.  Honestly, that decision could have gone either way, but I stand by my gut.  Never pander to your opponent’s reactions.  At PTQ-style events, a level of play is expected of you that is higher than your FNM-style event.  Trust your instinct, be assertive, and use your resources.
• Expect bad matchups
  These happened all day for me.  Playing UG infect was not what I had in mind during rounds 2 and 5, but it happened.  I don’t have the best matchup against it (do many decks have a way of dealing with a turn 3 lethal attack in Standard?), and I knew it.  Sometimes, you’ll have to admit defeat, even if your line of play was reasonable and without faults.  Don’t let a bad matchup ruin your day to the point that it affects your reasonable and good matchups.  It happens.
• Bring food and beverage.
  Clif Bars are your friend (or, replace Clif with Granola, Nutra-Grain, or what have you).  I never go to a long event without some sort of sustenance in my bag.  Food keeps you focused.  Water keeps you hydrated.  Have both ready.  My personal recommendation: XXX Vitamin Water and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bars.  Yum.
• Watch.  Your.  Bags.
  Remember how I related Bonfire of the Damned with an older male taking lollipops from children?  Replace Bonfire of the Damned with “Stealing unattended bags” and the analogy holds.  It is so easy to take bags at a larger event, when you aren’t always watching your stuff.  You’ve probably invested several thousand dollars on the contents of that bag – watch it.  My recommendation, as is that of many others: put a strap of the bag around your leg, and sit your chair leg inside the loop.  If a thief tries to steal something from you at that point, you’ll feel it moving around, and it will be nearly impossible for them to take the entire thing.  That being said, keep it closed to be safe, just in case you have an easy-to-grab deck box sitting near the opening.
• Sleep.  Sleep Well.  Sleep the night before.
  Too many times did I hear players say, “I got like, no sleep last night…ugghhhhhh.”  I didn’t have that problem, and I didn’t let drowsiness affect my play.  This is an easy way to defeat yourself before you sit down for a match.  Maybe that keg of Natty Light seems like an awesome idea on Friday night…just know that you may not exactly feel…great…when round 1 of Saturday’s PTQ starts.
• Don’t be intimidated.
  From new PTQ players to seasoned grinders, most of us are there for one thing – an invite to the Pro Tour.  At some point, you’ll probably be matched against a grinder (my round one opponent, for instance, had at least one SCG Open Series Top 8, judging by his playmat, and probably several other high ranking finishes in events) – don’t let that bother you.  Focus on the game, focus on your line of play, and don’t let the face on the other side of the table allow you to play poorly.

Scrubbing out of PTQs and such can definitely make you a better player.  At the very least, you’ll become more familiar with high-level play, and what you could typically expect from the caliber of player at these shindigs.  Don’t let an X-3 (or worse) record get to you – take your losses as an opportunity to grow.  Take your wins as an opportunity to grow.  Let’s face it: win, lose, or draw, we play competitively to become better players.  Being better requires both success and failure. 

When you buy your next $25 can of Comet, scrub like a pro.  Use it as an opportunity to foster growth in your playing ability.  Realizing your mistakes will allow you to realize success in future events.

Until next time, everyone, happy slingin’ and happy gaming!
-tom