Frenzy muted

So here we go again: me, Frenzy, him using a Magistrate's Scepter, infinite turn deck. My opening hand had 3 Island so I mulligan; my second hand had 3 Mountain and two Glacial Ray.

I don't draw any Islands in 4 turns, while he sets up the combo (Energy Chamber, Power Conduit, etc) and I don't have any disruption for it so...I wait while he takes an extra turn after extra turn and that's it.

So, onto game 2. Two lands, two Tezzeret's Gambit, not much else but I've got blue and red so I keep.

Six turns later, the board is stalled out and I finally stick a Wee Dragonaut--meaning, I have enough lands to play it. Fortunately for me, he's stalled out too, with three Coretappers an Energy Chamber and a Sensei's Divining Top.

I hit for 8 in one turn but I know things are getting dire so I need to pull it out as soon as I can because one Magistrate's Scepter and he's got the lock.

So: Seething Anger, Dragonauts is a 6/3. Then Glacial Ray: 8/3, hit for two damage, then I cast Psychic Puppetry to untap the Dragonauts; to make it a 10/3 and win.

Onto game 3. Hoboy.

I get out two Dragonauts to his two Sun Droplets. I hold back on the early swing because he's going to regain 2 life a turn and I have to make it big.

But Magistrate's Scepter reveals itself and counters start to build up on it-I may have one more swing...

I don't. Copy Artifact comes out, replicating Power Conduit and he can put 3 counters on the Scepter for free every upkeep. Game is over.

Sigh. Explosive, but I couldn't get the draws to be active enough. Tezzeret's Gambit might be too expensive for the deck or maybe I need an effect like Boomerang to give me more time. Clearly this deck is capable of doing amazing things but doing them consistently is the goal.

Next matchup: I have a opening hand of two Pyromancer Ascension and two Volt Charge, Mountain, Island, Gelectrode. I figure: This is as good as it's going to get to see how the Ascension works, so let's go.

Unfortunately, I stall out at three lands and am overrun by Varchild's War Riders. Suck.

Now I know I'm playing against a deck that uses the War Riders to give me creatures, cards like Fire Ants and Simoon to take them away and Dingus Staff to kill me.

Game 2: My opening hand has five lands, Reach Through Mists and Consuming Vortex. Jesus. So I play Steam Vents, go and it's land-go for the first three turns.

In this game, I draw three more lands and now I have to use the tokens he's giving me to try and kill him off. Mentally, it's hard to get around how to use these creatures, since I both need them and don't want them. But I attack where I can and then I have a turn where I cast Reach through Mists splicing Glacial Ray, then Lava Spike splicing Glacial Ray, getting him down to 3, while I sit at 15, preparing for up to 10 damage coming at me next turn.

But the 10 damage doesn't come: apparently being at 3 isn't good for him and I pull it out. Whew.

Game 3: two Mountains, two Lava Spikes, one Glacial Ray, one Dragonauts is the hand I mulligan into. What the hell; I can do something, maybe. But at the end of my second turn, he Worldly Tutors into a War Rider and I draw into a Volt Charge.

Eventually, with a War-Riders and a Fire Ants in play, I block, Volt the Riders, then Glacial Ray the Fire Ants, next turn use Tezz Gambit to draw...Mountain. I can't get an Island to save my life and it's probably going to kill me. Again.

Soon, I'm facing a War-Riders and a Woodripper with only a Glacial Ray in my hand that can be played; everything else requires blue. I'm using Survivor tokens to chump block and swing where I can with a five Mountains out and a hand full of Wee Dragonauts, Reach Through Mists, Consuming Vortex and Gelectrode.

I'm going to fucking die because I cannot get an Island. Again.

But here's the thing: I'm not dead yet. I remember staring at the computer screen, looking at the board and thinking: Play like you can win this. You just need an Island, so you can splice Glacial Ray and then cast Glacial Ray. The mana is there, except for blue. Just play like you can win.

I keep chump blocking and at 4 life, I finally draw a Steam Vents. Play it, cast Consume into Vortex, splicing Ray, play Ray, win.

Ye gods. Better lucky than good.