League Day 2 or Mana Is Still Everything

I have no idea what my record was but I did OK, 4-2 on the day. This was the deck I ended up with, after opening M15, Fate Reforged, Khans of Tarkir and Dragons of Tarkir.

Veteran's Sidearm
Traveler's Amulet

Market Festival
Agent of Horizons
Explosive Vegetation
Map the Wastes
Nessian Courser
Woodland Bellower
Spirespine
Yisan, the Wanderer Bard
Bassara Tower Archer
Nessian Asp
Setessan Oathsworn
Raised by Wolves
Pheres-Band Thunderhoof

Paragon of Fierce Defiance
Starfall
Atarka Pummeler
Fall of the Hammer
Satyr Rambler
Collateral Damage
Crater's Claws
Inferno Fist
Arrow Storm
Shockmaw Dragon
Titan's Strength
Pharagax Giant
Fanatic of Mogis
Smash to Smithereens

Fetid Imp
Viper's Kiss
Weight of the Underworld
Hooded Assassin
Feast of Dreams
Aspect of Gorgon
Asphyxiate

Destructive Revelry

9 Forest
5 Swamp
7 Mountain
Mana Confluence
Bloodfell Caves

Looking back on it, I have to admit that the rare lands that I opened, forcing me to focus on the mana base and structure, was a blessing in disguise. By using the analysis from deckstats.net and keeping in everything that allowed me to generate mana, either by volume or color, the consistency of the deck helped keep me in games. I lost only one that I can think of due to color screw (hand full of white and black cards, mana of Forests and Mountains). I lost another due to flood but two games with this problem isn't a significant drawback.

In my final pack, my rare was Narset Transcendent. This was also fortunate for me: By then I was so deeply entrenched with R/G/B that going into W/U was out of the question. Caitlin opened up a Surrak Dragonclaw and ended up trying to force a four-color deck so she could play it and Liliana in the same deck. When I played her the second time, her deck didn't come together as well and I'm guessing it's because of the mana.

The other nice thing is that the initial reviews of Battle for Zendikar sealed were pretty positive. I'm still fairly dubious of the set myself in any Constructed manner but if the limited environment is good I don't begrudge people who like that their fun.

Four Color Misery (League)

After looking over what I opened last week, I've come to the inevitable conclusion that I don't have enough creatures to make a three color deck out of last week's packs. I barely have enough to make a four color deck. But you need creatures to win, so this is what I'm looking at shuffling up, at least for now.

Excoriate
Suppression Bonds

Blood-Cursed Knight
Destructive Revelry

Fleshbag Marauder
Aspect of Gorgon
Viper's Kiss
Feast of Dreams
Weight of the Underworld
Fetid Imp
Asphyxiate

Pharagax Giant
Cyclops of One-Eyed Pass
Lightning Diadem
Titan's Strength
Satyr Rambler
Fanatic of Mogis
Starfall
Fall of the Hammer
Smash to Smithereens

Raised by Wolves
Nessian Asp
Might of the Masses
Bassara Tower Archer
Agent of Horizons
Market Festival
Woodland Bellower
Spirespine
Nissa's Pilgrimage
Fade into Antiquity
Setessan Oathsworn
Nessian Courser
Pheres-Band Thunderhoof

Veteran's Sidearm
Sigil of Valor
Traveler's Amulet
Springleaf Drum

Mana Confluence
Temple of Enlightenment

This the first draft of the deck and I suspect I'll try and tweak it further with white if I can. That it allows me to play creatures like Daxos of Meletis isn't a bad thing if the mana can work. I'm adding the white for one reason: I have two rares that can produce the mana for it.

If that's the signal that I should be adding some white, then I may as well follow it. Between the Market Festival, Traveler's Amulet and Springleaf Drum, it's possible I can work around the mana issues and have a deck worth playing. I don't really like this option but playing to the mana isn't a bad strategy under the circumstances. Everyone else will be having similar problems, at least for a little while and until I can solidify the colors this is as good an idea as any.

League 2015

We've started a League again, made up from packs of the current Standard. This time it's going to be much shorter though: Day 1: Mini masters, (sort of) where every round has you adding a pack, until 4 rounds have passed.

I...didn't do so well. I think my record was 1-3. But mini masters is a silly format anyway and everyone had fun. That's what mattered.

Now we move on to Day 2: Sealed deck construction. Of the packs I opened, I now have to make the best 60 card deck I can. Every round: I'll add another pack from the current Standard pool, and tweak the deck as best I can.

The packs I opened were Magic:Origins and Theros block. Since I wasn't a fan of those sets, perhaps that's why my results were so poor? Cards with a * next to them signify my rares.

Mana Confluence*
Temple of Enlightenment*

Destructive Revelry
Daxos of Meletis*
Blood-Cursed Knight

Springleaf Drum
Traveler's Amulet
Sigil of Valor
Veteran's Sidearm

Retraction Helix
Crypsis
Riptide Chimera
Screeching Skaab
Pin to the Earth
Dreadwaters
Lost in a Labyrinth
Cloaked Siren

Starfall
Fall of the Hammer
Pharagax Giant
Cyclops of the One-Eyed Pass
Lightning Diadem
Titan's Strength
Smash to Smithereens
Satyr Rambler
Fanatic of Mogis

Fleshbag Marauder
Aspect of Gorgon
Viper's Kiss
Feast of Dreams
Black Oak of Odunos
Weight of the Underworld
Fetid Imp
Asphyxiate

Glare of Heresy
Suppression Bonds
Mortal Obstinacy
Healing Hands
Great Hart
Observant Alseid
Lagonna-Band Trailblazer
Excoriate

Raised by Wolves
Nessian Asp
Might of the Masses
Bassara Tower Archer
Shredding Winds
Agent of Horizons
Market Festival
Woodland Bellower*
Spirespine
Nissa's Pilgrimage
Fade into Antiquity
Setessan Oathsworn
Nessian Courser
Pheres-Band Thunderhoof

Man, is this bad. Half of my rares are lands and only one (Woodland Bellower) could rightly be considered a good card. You know what? This is what happened last year, too.

Gah.

So, Green gives me the most depth and some targets for Woodland Bellower. Daxos is potentially really awesome but I'm not sure about my White or Blue. Red seems to be next best-ish and Black is...I don't know. I've got a little time to mock up some ideas so I'll start there, and I know it's going to be Green/X/x which means I have a place to start.

1-3

If the title doesn't tell you enough, lets take a look at my final round:

I have a Swamp that is valiantly confronting and being run over by a Sedge Scorpion and an Akroan Skyguard. The Skyguard was eventually enchanted with a Divine Favor, so in the Swamp's defense, it really wasn't going to stain that creature anyway.

But c'mon, Swamp. Couldn't you have drowned the scorpion at least?

I had mulliganed down to six cards and was confronting a hand with a Swamp and 4 other cards that cost two mana, one black and three red, and one other card that cost three mana.

So I thought: All I need to do is draw one land and I can have board presence and that should give me enough time to get to three. Even if I draw a Swamp, the Child of Night gives me some time! And going down to five cards is such a bad idea; it's so difficult to recover from that.

I knew it would also be difficult to recover from not drawing another land but I figured my odds were good. They weren't.

I want to say the cards were against me but that would only have half the story. It certainly didn't help that of my seven packs, my rares were Overgrown Tomb, Temples of Abandon and Epiphany, Phytotitan, Cracking Doom, Whims of the Fates and Pontiff of Blight. That is some bad beats.

I think I also went awry when I moved away from the cards that were working for me: the ones with Extort triggers. Last week's trip to the realm of R/G was ill advised. I don't know if I could have made W/G/B work, or if I should've stuck with as many control elements as possible but I definitely let my lesser deckbuilding nature get the better of me.

On the upside, League is finally over. I can take my crushing defeats and move on to a new deck!

2-3

Ugh. I did not play my best games on Sunday and some of that had to do with just being in a bad brainspace.

I decided to go with the R/G/b route, hoping for a speedy deck with some nice tricks, leading into a midgame with 4/3s and...none of that really happened. It started in the second match, where, as you might be able to see in the picture, my opponent had a Garruk, Caller of Beasts and a Chandra, Pyromaster on the table. That was game 2. Game one: Chandra appeared.

I never had a chance. As soon as the planeswalker(s) arrived, the game tilted inevitably in favor of my opponent and that was just incredibly demoralizing. There wasn't a single out for me and what feels worse is that I don't think I could've built a deck that could have given me a chance.

It's not just being outmatched, it's knowing that failure is inevitable, that I may as well not even shown up to the game. Under normal circumstances, I could have taken a short walk to shake it off but if I'm being honest, the weekend was subject to a preponderance of gloominess. I probably couldn't have brought my a-game under the best of circumstances so it wasn't surprising that most of my games were a struggle to play, much less win.

Let's move on to the final pack. Khans list:

Awaken the Bear

Mardu Skullhunter

Firehoof Cavalry

Shatter
Tormenting Voice

Glacial Stalker
Embodiment of Spring
Stubborn Denial
Quiet Contemplation

Abzan Banner

Nomad Outpost
Dismal Backwater

Efreet Weaponmaster
Crackling Doom

That isn't really bringing anything to the table that I like. A lot of blue, red cards I don't need, one white, one black, one green? Yeesh. The rare is something that might be worth splashing in a R/B deck (which is where I think I'm going next) but for the most part? I'm not very hopeful about my chances. Maybe an evening or two of sleep and a big picture look at this deck and maybe I'll see things differently.

2-2

Sigh. This is not the record that I was hoping for. In the pictured matchup, I had 13 of my 15 lands in play and in hand. All of the fuel, nothing to power it with.

So now we're looking at a new conundrum. While I noted last week that the opening hand evaluation has changed, what I didn't take into consideration was the overall deck evaluation. The games I lost often had to do with finding myself mana flooded. It's time to start looking at the overall curve of the deck so that I can put in more effective cards and cut some lands where possible.

Let's see the M15 pack.

Razorfoot Griffin 

Welkini Tern
Amphin Pathmage 

Circle of Flame
Lightning Strike 

Feast on the Fallen
Covenant of Blood
Carrion Crow 

Phytotitan
Gather Courage
Elvish Mystic
Hunt the Weak
Hunter's Ambush

So, that's interesting. Circle of Flame and Feast on the Fallen have some interesting board impact, and the green stuff is very cool. I may be able to redirect this deck into a B/G/r deck, using as much removal as red will provide.

But. I've been thinking. What is black really bringing to the table? Would it be better to just hammer away with G/R? There's a lot of burn and acceleration and that is a tried and true method for winning. Plus, it would be a real shakeup from previous weeks, which means that my opponents might not expect some cards in the first round.

4-1

Not a bad showing at league again; being able to go to three colors was critical in my consistency. Things have evolved on the evaluation of the opening hand, though. The shift has gone from about having mana (any mana) to; what is your gameplan in the game? Do I have turn 2 or 3 plays?

These choices became a lot more interesting, because I can't count on my opponents having slower starts, anymore. Decks have become more refined and better at setting the pace of a game, including the pictured game which was against an opponent who had tweaked her deck to go aggro. I lost the match in a critical decision in game two, when she swung with the whole team and I decided I had to block in case she had a trick.

She didn't and it left me unable to recover. I don't think she had a trick, either. Kudos.

Still, the rest of the time I did well; plenty of removal, mana was almost never a problem and I was able to pull out some convincing wins. Next pack!

Journey Into Nyx 

Returned Reveler
Cruel Feeding 

Pull from the Deep
Sigiled Starfish
Countermand 

Moral Obstinacy
Harvestguard Alseids 

Golden Hind
Strength from the Fallen
Desecration Plague 

Mogis's Warhound
Bladetusk Boar
Magma Spray 

Temple of Epiphany

You have got to be kidding. My rare again is completely useless. Temple of Epiphany? Damnit.

Mogis's Warhound might be a solid early play with a pretty big upside in the later game. Magma Spray is worth including too. The black doesn't add anything but Desecration Plague might be a solid sideboard card. Golden Hind has some potential too: Mana ramp doesn't suck. Still, I don't see much to help and GOD does that rare suck.

I am grumpy about that rare.

League 2-2: The Fall is Sharp

The drop off hit pretty hard. Many of my opponents were able to get their decks down to three colors and I was still at four. I don't believe I made any serious mistakes in my losses however there was a match where I had to mulligan down to four cards-I didn't win that game.

Mulligans were a large part of the day, actually and I think that had a pretty big impact on my ability to win games and often created a greater struggle at large. I noticed it in matchups where I won, too: mulligans down to five cards were frequent all day. I need to get my deck down to three colors if I'm going to be competitive in the next set of matches. Fortunately, I've got two weeks to figure it out.

Born of the Gods pack:

Satyr Wayfinder
Culling Mark

Necrobite
Servant of Tymaret
Weight of the Underworld

Great Hart

Retraction Helix
Siren of the Fanged Coast

Whims of the Fates
Everflame Eidolon
Stormcaller of Keranos
Kragma Butcher
Impetuous Sunchaser
Pharagax Giant

That is a whooooole lot of red. Again. I am hugely tempted to outright cut the white from my deck at this point. The black isn't great but it's probably good enough, the green is just thin though and that's a bummer.

Here's the dilemma: the mana sources I have go G/B/R. It is possible I could go G/R/U but it's not nearly as strong from a pure mana base perspective. In this format, mana bases win you games and so I want to stick with those cards, unless something outright amazing shows up in White or Blue.

Also, hey, thank you for another shitty rare, Magic gods. I really needed that Whims of the Fates as opposed to any other red rare from this set. Sigh.

League 2014

We've started up the 2014 Standard league again. If you don't want to click the link here's the basics: we start with one pack from each set in Standard, including core sets. Build a 60 card deck out of M14 and Return to Ravnica and then add a pack every week until all the packs are gone. Here's what I am starting with:

Havoc Festival
Restore the Peace
Chemister's Trick
Beetleform Mage
Dimir Charm
Paranoid Delusions
Morgue Burst
Treasured Find
Maw of the Obzedat
Coursers'Accord
Down/Dirty

Staff of the Mind Magus
Razortip Whip
Golgari Keyrune
Golgari Cluestone

Pontiff of Blight
Fatal Fumes
Bane Alley Blackguard
Horror of the Dim
Grisly Spectacle
Basilica Screecher
Stab Wound
Deviant Glee
Nightwing Shade
Child of Night

Sunspire Gatekeepers
Guildscorn Ward
Syndic of Tithes
Knightly Valor
Armory Guard
Charging Griffin
Steelform Sliver
Pillarfield Ox
Angelic Wall

Thrashing Mossdog
Tower Defense
Spire Tracer
Towering Indrik
Urban Burgeoning
Mutant's Prey
Groundshaker Sliver
Rumbling Baloth
Verdant Haven

Murmuring Phantasm
Incursion Specialist
Simic Manipulator
Way of the Thief
Aquus Steed
Phantom Warrior

Punish the Enemy
Mugging
Pitchburn Devils
Lava Axe
Goblin Diplomats

Overgrown Tomb
Golgari Guildgate
Izzet Guildgate

There seems to be a reasonable base for a B/G/w/r deck there, so that's where I will start.

1 Morgue Burst
1 Treasured Find
1 Maw of the Obzedat
1 Coursers' Accord
1 Down // Dirty
1 Golgari Keyrune
1 Golgari Cluestone
1 Pontiff of Blight
1 Fatal Fumes
1 Bane Alley Blackguard
1 Horror of the Dim
1 Grisly Spectacle
1 Basilica Screecher
1 Stab Wound
1 Deviant Glee
1 Nightwing Shade
1 Child of Night
1 Sunspire Gatekeepers
1 Guildscorn Ward
1 Syndic of Tithes
1 Knightly Valor
1 Armory Guard
1 Charging Griffin
1 Steelform Sliver
1 Pillarfield Ox
1 Thrashing Mossdog
1 Tower Defense
1 Spire Tracer
1 Towering Indrik
1 Groundshaker Sliver
1 Rumbling Baloth
1 Verdant Haven
1 Punish the Enemy
1 Mugging
1 Pitchburn Devils
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Golgari Guildgate
3 Mountain
7 Plains
6 Forest
8 Swamp
1 Angelic Wall

62 cards, yes but I wanted to get to 20 creatures and at 26 lands, I would rather have mana flood than starvation. Being able to play the higher costing cards is going to be crucial and having mana for 4 colors equally so. I'm erring on the side of 'too much' in the hopes that my opponents will be erring on the side of 'too little'. In those instances, I'll probably win that battle.

I've also been using the analyzer at Deckstats.net to try and come up with the correct mana mix. I'm just a smidge high on the Forest count but I'm OK with it. There's a nice curve and enough mana boosters to get me to the 5 and 6 spots on the curve. Everything starts at 4 mana though so I'm going to make sure that I have 4 mana.  

Still, you know how it is: everybody's got a plan until they get hit in the face. So I'm going to hope for the best and shuffle very thoroughly every game. 

League, final

Well, I did much better this time, posting a winning record in what were absolute streetfight matches. There was the matchup I lost after my opponent did 40 damage to me. There was the one I won with only 16 cards left in my deck. It was that kind of day. The games were exceedingly challenging and well played by everyone.

I went with this deck:

Slitherhead
Sin Collector
Purge the Profane
Heavy Mattock
Bladed Bracers
Angelic Armaments
Ring of Xathrid
Cathedral Sanctifier
Haazda Snare Squad
Voiceless Spirit
Maze Sentinel
Palisade Giant
Boros Elite
Oblivion Ring
Guardian Lions
Smite the Monstrous
Ray of Revelation
Pacifism
Angelic Wall
Ajani, Caller of the Pride
Basilica Guards
Farbog Explorer
Doom Blade
Victim of Night
Fatal Fumes
Mark of the Vampire
Liliana's Shade
Syndicate Enforcer
Ubul Sar Gatekeepers
Unburial Rites
Harrowing Journey
Daggerdrome Imp
Morkut Banshee
Harvester of Souls
Wring Flesh
Walking Corpse
Child of Night
Evolving Wilds
11 Swamp
12 Plains

My strategy was to play the mana game. I figured (correctly, as it turned out) that my opponents were going to try and make 3 color decks work, using their best cards. I was going to make my mana work and hope that my deck would function at a higher level because of this, despite having less powerful cards (I'm looking at you, Liliana's Shade. I hate you.)

It worked, for the most part. There was only one game where I suffered from mana issues, and that was game 1 vs Noah, when I had a hand full of cards requiring white, and drew 4 Swamps. My opening hand was reasonable but not great so I kept it because I was afraid to go to five.

I should have gone to five. Go big or stay home.

The rest of the time, cunning play, solid mana, lifegain and the occasional topdeck carried me through. I didn't win League, though: I was 12-9 throughout and that wasn't even close to the 19-2 record of the winner. Still, these kinds of formats help sharpen my skills so I am looking forward to doing this again.

In about a year.

League Day 4: 50-50

I had a vastly improved deck, going G/B/R but I still only broke even, going 2-2. Why? Because I had to mulligan down to 5 in multiple games.

Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes it gets you. I don't think I made an significant mistakes and of the two times I had to keep a 5 card hand, I was dubious about one, and confident about the other. It didn't work out but at least I was doing the evaluations to properly justify my choice.

M14 (in italics) is the last pack to add, so here's what I'm looking at:

Eaten by Spiders Wandering Wolf Grounded Geist Trappers Strangleroot Geist Somberwald Dryad Hollowhenge Beast Grizzled Outcasts Spidery Grasp Ambush Viper Moonmist Bountiful Harvest Druid's Deliverance Axebane Guardian Savage Surge Burst of Strength Disciple of the Old Ways Manaweft Sliver Predatory Sliver Fog	Harvester of Souls Essence Harvest Harrowing Journey Sightless Ghoul Morkrut Banshee Unburial Rites Walking Corpse Victim of Night Liliana's Shade Daggerdrome Imp Syndicate Enforcer Fatal Fumes Doom Blade Mark of the Vampire Wring Flesh Child of Night
Leap of Faith Farbog Explorer Cathedral Sanctifier Ray of Revelation Smite the Monstrous Voiceless Spirit Oblivion Ring Guardian Lions Palisade Giant Murder Investigation Basillica Guards Boros Elite Maze Sentinel Haazda Snare Squad Ajani Caller of the Pride Pacifism Angelic Wall	Afflicted Deserter Pyreheart Wolf Fling Russet Wolves Somberwald Vigilante Uncanny Speed Searing Spear Traitorous Instinct Massive Raid Blur Sliver Chandra's Outrage
Favorable Winds Beguiler of Wills Nephalia Seakite Artful Dodge Runic Repetition Rooftop Storm Jace's Phantasm Encrust Faerie Invaders Merfolk of the Pearl Trident Index Vedalken Entrancer Doorkeeper Downsize Inspiration Spell Rupture Hidden Strings Murmuring Phantasm Merfolk Spy	Bladed Bracers Angelic Armaments Heavy Mattock Ghoulcaller's Bell Ring of Xathrid Gruul Cluestone Azorius Cluestone Accorder's Shield Slitherhead Izzet Staticaster Spawn of Rix Maadi Sluiceway Scorpion Simic Charm Purge the Profane Ruination Wurm Assemble the Legion Pilfered Plans Sin Collector Species Gorger Warleaders helix Armored wolf rider Flesh/blood Shimmering Grotto Evolving Wilds Rootbound Crag Rakdos Guildgate Simic Guildgate Boros Guildgate 2xPlains 2xMountain 2xSwamp

I am pretty sure that a GBW deck is possible now; the white has always been solid but not great, however Ajani is too good to ignore. That said, the Red has always done well for me and I have solid R/B and R/W cards to add. I also think that the removal that Red brings might be more important, especially if it stays on the cheap side. I'm going to build a few configurations with B/W as the core and see where it takes me. At the moment, splashing Red for removal seems like it would be more helpful. 

League Day 3 results: Misassignment of Role

This is a game I was fortunate enough to go on to win:

That streak of fortune did not follow me through the match, however, nor during the day. I had my worst showing yet: 1-3.

My deck was virtually unchanged: addition of Simic Guildgate and Simic Charm, yet as an inverse from last time when I went 4-0, when I needed creatures I got land. When I needed land, I got creatures. When I needed removal, I got Fuck You.

What went wrong? I believe I did not properly evaluate how fast everyone else's deck would become. Every match I lost, I lost in no small part because I had built a deck that was overly reliant on bombs that show up on turn 5, instead of a deck that could steadily increase the pressure or withstand pressure until I could win.

On the upside, every match I lost, I lost 1-2, so clearly those bombs were good enough to make the matchups a struggle, they just weren't enough to carry me to victories.

Now to add the weakest link, the Dragon's Maze pack, and re-evaluate the entire deck:

Maze sentinel
Haazda snare squad
Hidden strings
Murmuring phantasm
Ubul sar gatekeepers
Fatal fumes
Pilfered plans
Sin collector
Species gorger
Warleaders helix
Armored wolf rider
Flesh/blood
Boros guildgate
Gruul cluestone
Azorius cluestone

League Day 3

Here's what I've got going into Sunday. The new stuff is italicized.

Eaten by Spiders Wandering Wolf Grounded Geist Trappers Strangleroot Geist Somberwald Dryad Hollowhenge Beast Grizzled Outcasts Spidery Grasp Ambush Viper Moonmist Bountiful Harvest Druid's Deliverance Axebane Guardian Savage Surge Burst of Strength Disciple of the Old Ways	Harvester of Souls Essence Harvest Harrowing Journey Sightless Ghoul Morkrut Banshee Unburial Rites Walking Corpse Victim of Night Liliana's Shade Daggerdrome Imp Syndicate Enforcer
Leap of Faith Farbog Explorer Cathedral Sanctifier Ray of Revelation Smite the Monstrous Voiceless Spirit Oblivion Ring Guardian Lions Palisade Giant Murder Investigation Basillica Guards Boros Elite	Afflicted Deserter Pyreheart Wolf Fling Russet Wolves Somberwald Vigilante Uncanny Speed Searing Spear Traitorous Instinct Massive Raid
Favorable Winds Beguiler of Wills Nephalia Seakite Artful Dodge Runic Repetition Rooftop Storm Jace's Phantasm Encrust Faerie Invaders Merfolk of the Pearl Trident Index Vedalken Entrancer Doorkeeper Downsize Inspiration Spell Rupture	Bladed Bracers Angelic Armaments Heavy Mattock Ghoulcaller's Bell Ring of Xathrid Slitherhead Izzet Staticaster Spawn of Rix Maadi Sluiceway Scorpion Simic Charm Purge the Profane Ruination Wurm Assemble the Legion Shimmering Grotto Evolving Wilds Rootbound Crag Rakdos Guildgate Simic Guildgate 2xPlains Mountain 2xSwamp

That's quite a zoo. Part of me wants to go G/R/W (get it!?) with a hint of B because there's removal, there's good creatures, the Red can handle occasional artifacts (which I saw few of) the White can go for troublesome enchantments (which I saw plenty of) and Black, essentially, for Unburial Rites. I get access to Ruination Wurm, which is the largest creature I have (without the effort Grizzled Outcasts requires) and Assemble the Legion, which everyone seems to insist is awesome but the lure of getting a 1/1 with haste on turn 6 feels like a trap.

But Simic Charm has many, many uses and Simic Guildgate helps improve my mana. I don't really improve my best colors unfortunately, but mana wins games and that is a bigger key than Assemble the Legion. I feel more as though I should continue to shore up the current leaks in my boat than try and build a new one, so I'm going to stick with my UGB/r deck for now, and look for places to bring in Simic Charm Syndicate Enforcer or Ruination Wurm.

League Day 2: Results

You know how I said:

This is a very attractive prospect because it means I can play stronger cards, it just feels insane because there is one experience that I know is coming:

I have red cards and no Mountains.

 Yeah, well that happened. Just not quite the way I predicted.

What you see is that there are no Forests on the table. What you don't see is the fistful of Green cards mocking me as I die to the onslaught of Mogg Flunkies and Knight of Glory.

However, this was a rarity for the day. I did well, even managing to beat the previously undefeated person, and my deck frequently gave me the outs I needed to win close games. Mana was an issue for everyone (still) and once again I heard or overheard the line: "I shouldn't've kept that opening hand."

I didn't say that; every hand I decided to keep I kept because I had faith in it.That paid off and I'm glad.

Then I opened my pack of Gatecrash:

Burst of Strength

Disciple of the Old Ways
Massive Raid

Syndicate Enforcer

Murder Investigation

Boros Elite

Basilica Guards

Spell Rupture

Assemble the Legion

Simic Charm

Purge the Profane
Ruination Wurm

Simic Guildgate

Armored Transport

Swamp

Oh, boy.

League Day 2: The Mana

Here's what I've got going into Sunday:

Eaten by Spiders Wandering Wolf Grounded Geist Trappers Strangleroot Geist Somberwald Dryad Hollowhenge Beast Grizzled Outcasts Spidery Grasp Ambush Viper Moonmist Bountiful Harvest Druid's Deliverance Axebane Guardian Savage Surge	Harvester of Souls Essence Harvest Harrowing Journey Sightless Ghoul Morkrut Banshee Unburial Rites Walking Corpse Victim of Night Liliana's Shade Daggerdrome Imp
Leap of Faith Farbog Explorer Cathedral Sanctifier Ray of Revelation Smite the Monstrous Voiceless Spirit Oblivion Ring Guardian Lions Palisade Giant	Afflicted Deserter Pyreheart Wolf Fling Russet Wolves Somberwald Vigilante Uncanny Speed Searing Spear Traitorous Instinct
Favorable Winds Beguiler of Wills Nephalia Seakite Artful Dodge Runic Repetition Rooftop Storm Jace's Phantasm Encrust Faerie Invaders Merfolk of the Pearl Trident Index Vedalken Entrancer Doorkeeper Downsize Inspiration	Bladed Bracers Angelic Armaments Heavy Mattock Ghoulcaller's Bell Ring of Xathrid Slitherhead Izzet Staticaster Spawn of Rix Maadi Sluiceway Scorpion Shimmering Grotto Evolving Wilds Rootbound Crag Rakdos Guildgate 2xPlains Mountain Swamp

Filling out a 60 card deck is easy with U/B/G, so long as I am willing to play substandard cards. Doorkeeper is awesome! Jace's Phantasm is not. Then I thought I should go B/G/r because I do have some really good cards there. I just don't have enough to make 60. 

So there's the tension folks: I can play a deck with crappy cards or I can play an illegal deck. 

Except: the mana is there to splash Red. Rootbound Crag and the Guildgate mean that I can start putting in some Red without losing my ability to play Black or Green. The format is a little slower, so it's possible I could weed out the worst Blue, Black and Green cards to make room for even 4 Red ones, without disrupting the whole process. This is a very attractive prospect because it means I can play stronger cards, it just feels insane because there is one experience that I know is coming:

I have red cards and no Mountains. 

This means I'm going to have to take my advice from last time: Make sure I'm confident in my opening hand. So long as I keep that in mind, I should do OK. 

Everyone have a safe 4th of July!

League Day 1 Results

This was the most amusing part of league for me: in my round 4, game 1 against Scott, our first four turns were identical: Swamp, Swamp, Mountain: cast Heavy Mattock, Plains. At some point I think Scott, who played second, was copying my plays just because he could.

I eventually chose the G/B/w/r configuration after a great deal of thought. The Blue just wasn't strong enough to justify inclusion.

My record was 3-2 for the day and while I feel pretty good about that I also know that there were at least two games where I looked at my opening hand and thought; I could do better, but let's keep this. This is a strange form of overconfidence: I don't take what is but actually project what could be and then assume I will be able to make it work from there.

Sealed doesn't work like that. I have to be confident in my opening hand. When I was, or even better, my opponents weren't confident, I won and when I wasn't, games were a struggle. Nonetheless, with that record I should be well positioned to stay in the race to win League. I don't want to get ahead of myself, though since confidence will take me farther than ego.

Also, I may have to find time to take short walks between rounds, because that will help keep my head in the game!

Finally, look at this shit, from my Return to Ravnica pack:

Palisade Giant
Daggerdrome Imp
Druid's Deliverance
Axebane Guardian
Savage Surge
Doorkeeper
Downsize
Inspiration
Traitorous Instinct
Slitherhead
Sluceway Scorpion
Izzet Staticaster
Spawn of Rix Maadi
Rakdow Guildgate
Swamp

Man. 3 Blue cards and only Downsize is good. The rare (Palisade Giant) is awful coupled with my other White cards. One black card and while I am glad to have something replace Sightless Ghoul, I really wish I had more options. The Green...I just don't know what to make out of. Lastly, of the gold cards, only Sluceway Scorpion and Slitherhead really want to bridge colors I feel are strong.

What I do know, though, is that I have to start all over, as if I was building a brand new deck. Only that mentality will help me build the best deck with the cards I have.

League Begins

For the next few weeks, I'm going to have posts on league matches, which I've started with some friends.

The setup is pretty simple; take one pack from each set legal in standard. Use M13 and Innistrad block to build a 60 card deck. Then add one pack per league event until M14 is out. 4 events, 4 packs, the deck evolves as we play. The winner will get beers the losers will get to keep the Magic cards.

Here's what I opened:

Eaten by Spiders Wandering Wolf Grounded Geist Trappers Strangleroot Geist Somberwald Dryad Hollowhenge Beast Grizzled Outcasts Spidery Grasp Ambush Viper Moonmist Bountiful Harvest	Harvester of Souls Essence Harvest Harrowing Journey Sightless Ghoul Morkrut Banshee Unburial Rites Walking Corpse Victim of Night Liliana's Shade
Leap of Faith Farbog Explorer Cathedral Sanctifier Ray of Revelation Smite the Monstrous Voiceless Spirit Oblivion Ring Guardian Lions	Afflicted Deserter Pyreheart Wolf Fling Russet Wolves Somberwald Vigilante Uncanny Speed Searing Spear
Favorable Winds Beguiler of Wills Nephalia Seakite Artful Dodge Runic Repetition Rooftop Storm Jace's Phantasm Encrust Faerie Invaders Merfolk of the Pearl Trident Index Vedalken Entrancer	Bladed Bracers Angelic Armaments Heavy Mattock Ghoulcaller's Bell Ring of Xathrid Shimmering Grotto Evolving Wilds Rootbound Crag 2xPlains Mountain

Really, everything was fine until I opened my pack of M13, which had 6! fucking blue cards, all of which suddenly made me consider the color. Prior to that moment, GWBr was looking pretty positive.

The unplayables are clearly: Ghoulcaller's Bell, Moonmist, Favorable Winds, Rooftop Storm and Runic Repetition. Sideboard cards include Ray of Revelation, Grounded and Leap of Faith. Bad but possible cards are Artful Dodge, Merfolk of the Pearl Trident, and Liliana's Shade.

So here's how it breaks down: Green gives the the most creatures and has some decent cards. White has both solid creatures and good removal, while keeping the color requirements low. Red has some removal and an "I win" card in Pyreheart Wolf.

Which leaves Blue and Black and that's where I'm torn. I can't use both, because the best cards in each color cost UU or BB, which would be a huge strain on this deck. Traditionally, I avoid Blue because the creatures are weak, the removal is nonexistent and the things Blue tends to do well: draw cards and counter spells, don't happen consistently in sealed games.

But Beguiler of Wills, man. Faerie Invaders is a pretty solid body for the cost. Encrust could handle a lot of problems and Index could help dig in critical situations. The problem is; it doesn't synergize with anything else and Merfolk of the Pearl Trident, Vedalken Entrancer and Jace's Phantasm are all horrible, yet I would have to play them to get to 60 cards.

Black presents as different problem. It probably has my best creature in Harvester of Souls and some support from Ring of Xathrid with synergy with white in Unburial Rites. Unfortunately, there is little removal or card draw; things I would hope to find in that color, and to hit 60 I would be compelled to play Liliana's Shade, which is awful under these circumstances. Morkut Banshee is situational and Sightless Ghoul can't block and doesn't blend well with the Ring initially.

My inclination is to go black and try to run 27 lands, using the sheer volume of land to overcome the potential color screw that may be showing up. Hopefully I'll get some test runs in before we start on Sunday.