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[metabretsmagicblog-blog]

Modern Local - December 12, 2017

Tonight's event went much better than last Tuesday. I ended the 3-round event with a 2-1 record, taking 2nd in overall standings. I made adjustments to my deck, including a stronger sideboard and two Smuggler's Copters in the mainboard. I took out two copies of Master of Waves for the Copters (2 copies remaining in mainboard).

Round 1 brought me up against UB Faeries. Their game plan is essentially to out-tempo their opponent with counterspells, flash creatures, and a wide board. The deck manages to do so quite effectively, but game one went in my favor because Aether Vial bypasses counterspells and two thirds of my Lords give my board Islandwalk. Smuggler's Copter provided a 3/3 flying blocker that fixed my hand. I out-valued my opponent to a swift victory.

Game two went a little longer. My opponent had a clutch Spell Snare and made me fight for the board. Bitterblossom cranking out bodies for a few turns, then using Mistbind Clique to remove it and tap all your opponent's lands is a frightening strategy. Nevertheless, the fight was won, and I moved into round 2 with an X-0 record.

Round two was played against GW Eldrazi Hate Bears. Thought-Knot seer on turn 2-3 is strong, and Ghost Quarter against my Mutavault is strong. I couldn't keep up with his large creatures (including two copies of Reality Smasher). This match was brutal and I lost 0-2.

Round 3 brought me against a strong RW Prison deck. Wrath effects, Chalice of the Void, and Engineered Explosives in the mainboard meant I shouldn't have won this match, but win I did in a spectacular fashion. In game one, I spent a few turns hitting his face with Merfolk. When I had him down to one, my opponent used Nahiri to summon Emrakul, the Aeons Torn from his deck and made Gideon Jura a creature to alpha strike me. I tapped my last Island with Emrakul's Annihilator trigger on the stack, and cast Vapor Snag on Gideon, causing my opponent to lose his last 1 life.

Game two: turn 5 Emrakul (with haste)

Game 3 determined my shot at prizes. I had to keep up the pressure with my merfolk if I wanted to win. The game was ultimately decided by a Mutavault and a Smuggler's Copter. A particularly important clutch play was casting Vapor Snag on my own Mutavault in response to a Lightning Helix, simultaneously saving me from Lando and preventing my worthy opponent from gaining 3 life. In the end, I was able to out-pressure his Planeswalkers and avoid his destruction enough to get the W.

My next event will hopefully be this Friday, December 15, 2017. I may also be shifting to UG soon, but I'll definitely keep testing with Copter. I adore that card, and it provides a good amount of value. Definitely worth two slots in the mainboard.

[metabretsmagicblog-blog]

Modern Local - December 5, 2017

During the first round, I played against an Amulet/Titan deck with the potential to almost reliably win turn 4 with a 10/6 Primeval Titan with Double Strike and Vigilance.

Game one basically ran itself. Aether Vial on turn one, Lord of Atlantis turn 2, Cast Master of the Pearl Trident and cheat in a second Lord using Aether Vial, and swing big before he could stabilize. Game one was an easy win.

During game 2, I made my first misplay of the night. I had forgotten that when Slayer's Stronghold bestows +2/+0 and Haste, it also gives the target creature Vigilance. I had played around being able to just Vial in a Harbinger of the Tides to bounce his big nerd before damage. This was game-ending. Siding out Harbinger of the Tides in favor of Tidebinder Mage in this matchup should make it a more favorable one. This game ended in crushing defeat.

Game 3 was a rather long ordeal. He didn't see an Amulet, and I didn't see a proper lord until turn 8 or later. I ended up stockpiling lands and holding onto Spreading Seas while swinging in with Cursecatcher and/or Mutavault for 1-3 damage a turn. The Spreading Seas came in clutch while my opponent had a Sakura-Tribe Scout in play, allowing him to play a bounce land at instant speed to protect his lands. Using two copies of Spreading Seas, I was able to bait him into tapping his Scouts, then I played and sacrificed a Ghost Quarter to destroy his Slayer's Stronghold. Without the ability to give his Titans haste, and with a Lord in play and a Spreading Seas on one of his lands, I was able to grind out a win.

Overall match result: 2-1.

My next opponent played a very well-put-together U/W Spirits deck. Flashing spirits, counterspells, and Hexproof made this matchup a tough one. All of his answers shone brightly game one, and I was swiftly beaten.

After siding in answers to his counters and more removal to try and get around him giving his dudes Hexproof with Rattlechains or Drogskol Captain, I felt good going into game 2 until I mulled into a 1 Island, 1 Mutavault hand with a Cursecatcher and a couple lords, and couldn't find a blue source to save my life, despite being on the draw and scrying before turn 1. I suppose we all need to be reminded that sometimes bricks happen.

Match result: 0-2

Round 3: Affinity. Probably my toughest matchup. Speed unrivaled, getting a handle on a wide board of artifacts is challenging. Nevertheless, a clever use of Vapor Snags and Harbinger of the Tides, as well as my own high-pressure board born of a turn one Aether Vial and the beautiful interaction between Nykthos and Merrow Reejerey allowed me to scrape a win game one.

During game 2, I found my sideboard to be woefully unprepared, and I couldn't keep up with his board without an Aether Vial and/or answers to his guys. Swift defeat this game, as well as the next.

Match result: 1-2.

Overall record: 1-2.

Not a good showing, but it was a learning experience. Using a new deck is a challenge in itself, but coming off of such a long hiatus also affected my performance, as did my hunger and general fatigue from having just gotten off work. Proper preparation is the key to a good tournament showing. I will be prioritizing my sideboard and hopefully ensuring I'm rested, fed, hydrated, and of clear mind by the next event.

[metabretsmagicblog-blog]

Obligatory Introductory Post

Greetings, Reader.

My name is Bret, and I've been playing Magic: the Gathering for around 12 years. I've played a variety of formats, but I'm primarily an EDH player these days. That's changed, however, as I've recently rekindled my love of Modern. This blog will chronicle my experiences playing Merfolk over the next year or so, culminating in my Grand Prix debut at GP Portland 2018.

I have played many Modern decks in my time: Infect, Burn, Control, Splinter Twin, Delver, Pod, Dredge, Tron, Death's Shadow, Affinity... Lots of decks. However, for my reintroduction to the format, I decided to build Mono Blue Merfolk, and there are several reasons for this.

Merfolk has been consistently good in Modern for as long as Affinity has. It's cheaper to build and in my opinion has more resilience than Affinity. While Green/Blue is an option I'm still considering due to the opportunity for a more diverse build, Mono Blue has a long history of effectiveness and efficiency, and seems the best way to familiarize myself with the basic principles and foundation of the archetype. Merfolk also feels almost ban-proof. All the pieces work together very nicely, but the deck isn't broken or unfair in any sense. This safety net of sorts will in theory allow me to brew, experiment, and practice with Merfolk limitlessly for an entire year to play at GP Portland. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Merfolk is new for me, and is so far a lot of fun. Falling in love with a new deck is the most fun I feel one can have playing this game.

While I'm running this blog, I will be taking notes every game I play, and blogging about my thoughts, findings, lamentations, and whatever else comes to mind that seems relevant. I believe this will help me better pilot the deck, really learn how to handle various matchups, and hopefully get a good showing at GP Portland. Expect a post about my first local tournament by tomorrow. Until then, I'm signing off.

-Bret