TnT FMN 9/10/10 *Top 8* 3-2

Oh hey there! As you can tell I decided that trying to think of witty names for the FNM each time I play (almost every week) is insanely difficult because there isn't alot that actually changes about the FNM from week to week. So, let's cut to the chase and get to it!

Round 1: UW Mythic

Before the FNM even started I found this guy just chillin off to the side watching other people play, and I decided to chat with him. After a few minutes of small talk, low and behold we are against eachother round 1! This makes me think that the people I hang out with before the FNM are the people I play round 1 because the last 2 weeks I would hang out with Mark and then play him. Now when Mark isn't here I am placed with the 1 guy I was chatting with before the cardslinging began.

But regardless, Game 1 took a bit of time as I was both trying to figure out what he was playing and having difficulty getting the right cards. The cards in hand I had but didn't necessarily need consisted of 3x Path to Exile though, so I knew there was a good chance I could stick it out for a while. He played Sovereigns of Lost Alara, and I immediatly Pathed it because I didn't want him to counter it. He eventually played a second Sovereigns, which I also Pathed. By now I was actually drawing threats, and soon took over the game from there.

Game 2 was very interesting. As we were conversing throughout the whole game, I discovered he got back into Magic with the release of Rise of the Eldrazi (thanks to his girlfriend) and so his deck is very budget. Then he played Jace the Mind Sculptor with a little pink slip of paper in it. I immediatly asked him about why he has Jace TMS in a budget deck, and what the heck that pink slip was about. As it turns out, he bought about half a box of Worldwake packs and opened up 2 Jace the Mind Sculptors. Then, he bought a single pack for his girlfriend for a reason I didn't catch, and in that one pack was another Jace TMS! The pink slip just meant that was his girlfriend's Jace. Talk about beginner's luck! (And talk about a really cool girlfriend!) But after that whole interlude, we continued to play and he dropped a Sovereigns, but I had no removal. He attacked with the Sovereigns, and I took 15. Next turn, he attacked with Sovereigns again, I took 15 more. Next turn, he attacked with Sovereigns again, and I took another set of 15 damage and was still kicking (with no removal). Then finally, on his 4th strike with the 14/15 trampler (+1/+1 when Exalted) I lost.

For Game 3, I made sure to board in more removal like War Priest of Thune. However, it wound up not being necessary because I was able to run him over before he even layed down a Sovereigns.

2-1
1-0

Round 2: GW Stompy

I don't really know what this deck was, so I am going to call it Stompy. It had white removal and green fatties. Game 1 went by really fast as I played 4 Soul Wardens and a Serra Ascendant and he couldn't do much about it. Game 2 though took me by suprise. I found out later that his sideboard had 3 Day of Judgements. I was nearing victory when I top decked a Ranger of Eos, so I played him and the two 1 drops he fetched to keep the pressure on and end my opponent the next turn. He played a Day of Judgement to punish me for overextending and then proceeded to play the boom booms every turn for the rest of the game until I was very dead. Game 3 I held the Ranger of Eos I drew in my hand in case of the Day of Judgement (which never came) and managed to beat him.

2-1
2-0

Round 3: UW Control

This should be a good matchup for me, but he only ever seemed to get his Baneslayers when I had no removal, or I would only get my removal when he would have his deprives. In game 1, I went through trying to survive against a pair of Day of Judgements right in a row. He played one, then I bounced back with Ranger of Eos, then he played another. For game 2 I sided in Felidar Sovereign, but it was all for naught, with the Felidar in play, I got up to 36 life before my life total peaked and came back down for the lose.

0-2
2-1

Round 4: Valakut Titan Ramp

This variation of the Valakut Ramp deck (adding in the red Titan) is one of my worst matchups because the Inferno Titan is able to very quickly eat away at all of my Soul Wardens, stop me from gaining life, then use his green and red Giants to deal damage to me in case the mountains dry up. I was able to win game 1 though, simply because he mulliganed to 5, got stuck on 1 Raging Ravine and cast an overwhelming 2 spells all game: Lightning Bolt and Lightning Bolt. Because of that I had no idea what to do for sideboarding reasons and quickly lost game 2. Game 3 I actually was able to sideboard against him, but my special tech never showed up and he was able to firebreathe his Inferno Titan up 8-9 times every turn.

1-2
2-2

Round 5: GR Stompy

At this point, it was getting late, so people decided it would be a good time to draft. I said, "what the heck!" and signed up for the draft. Meanwhile, I am also looking through a guy's trade binders (he had 2). Then my opponent shows up with a deck I once again can't really describe as being part of the Meta anywhere, so I will call it Stompy for its big tramplers. Playing distracted because I was searching for trades, I quickly ran over his creature based deck as I simply gained a ton of life off every one of his spells until he was finally very dead.

2-0
3-2

So now I finished 3-2, it's time to draft! I drafted a UW janky fliers deck, where I first picked a Steel Overseer, and second picked a Juggernaught before getting into a color. I wound up going 1-2, but got a good amount of rares I needed. After picking my 3, we found a Goblin Chieftan and a Phylacatory Lich just lying around and I took the liberty of cleaning them up from the store. All in all, it was a great time, and I didn't get back to my house until 1 AM! Unfortuantely though, it is my last FNM for at least 3 weeks because I have lots of band rehearsals prepping for an upcoming gig at my church. So until next time, please pre-order Koth of the Hammer and then give him to me for free for being your favorite Magic writer. I will love you forever