Hey everyone! Sorry for the slight delay in my posting.. it's definitely been a hectic couple of weeks. I know I still owe you a Community Cup post, and I'm still working on that... In order to bring you some reading enjoyment, I thought I would write up a little tournament report about my recent experience at a midnight M12 Prerelease.
And yes, you read that right.. it was a midnight prerelease! I ended up taking a nap right before the event, because from past experiences.. we normally didn't get out of there till 6-7-8AM. I was sad about missing FNM, but I really wanted to be on my game for some new M12 action. I've always been a fan of core sets, and I rather enjoy limited play. The format was sealed, and I really couldn't wait to crack open some packs! I managed to make it in time to watch the rest of FNM, and I was really excited about the variations in decks. Once we were all seated, I was pretty happy to find out that I was sitting next to a couple good friends of mine.. and it was very nice to see what they opened as well. I think one of my favorite parts of prereleases is the fact that it is a little bit more laid back. Usually.. I see a lot of new players, older players, and it's normally just a great mix! If you're new to MtG, I strongly suggest going to prereleases, and even release events. People still really want to win, but players seem a bit more excited about having a great time.
Here is the pool of cards I opened.. Organized by color! :D
White:
1x Pride Guardian 3x Auramancer 1x Demystify 1x Stave Off 1x Elite Vanguard 1x Armored Warhorse 1x Lifelink 3x Griffan Sentinel 1x Divine Favor 1x Guardians' Pledge 1x Pacifism 1x Day of Judgement
Black:
2x Brink of Disaster 1x Taste of Blood 1x Tormented Soul 1x Blood Seeker 1x Royal Assassin 1x Diablic Tutor 2x Doom Blade 1x Grave Digger 1x Dark Favor 1x Warpath Ghoul 1x Child of Night 1x Sorin's Vengeance
Blue:
1x Jace's Erasure 1x Flashfreeze 1x Unsummon 1x Aven Fleetwing 2x Divination 1x Skywinder Drake 1x Sphinx of Uthuun 1x Merfolk Mesmerist 1x Phantasmal Bear 1x Cancel 1x Mana Leak 1x Amphin Cutthroat 1x Merfolk Looter 1x Mind Control
Green:
1x Skinshifter 1x Lurking Crocodile 1x Carnage Wurm 2x Reclaim 1x Plummet 1x Lure 1x Hunter's Insight 2x Vastwood Gorger 2x Gladecover Scout 1x Rampant Growth 1x Acidic Slime 1x Trollhide 1x Cudgel Troll 1x Sacred Wolf
Red:
3x Chandra's Outrage 1x Incinerate 1x Shock 1x Manic Vandal 1x Wall of Torches 1x Tectonic Rift 1x Goblin War Paint 1x Goblin Piker 1x Volcanic Dragon 1x Fireball
Artifacts:
1x Quicksilver Amulet 1x Dragon's Claw 1x Wurm Tooth 1x Thran Golem 1x Crumbling Colossus 1x Crown of Empires 2x Manalith
So before you continue reading.. what would you use to make your sealed deck? I thought I had a decent spread of good cards in each colors, but two really stood out to me. I was really excited about the 2 Doomblades, and the Mind Control. I always try to draft removal.. so I instantly wanted the Doomblades. I know the set also has some crazy bombs, so I thought... MINDCONTROL YES! Other cards that stood out to me in UB were: Show and Tell Sphinx!! (Sphinx of Uthuun), 2x Divination (Card draw always good!), Royal Assassin (More removal), and Sorin's Vengeance (10 life, eh?)! Green also really looked appealing to me, especially all the Hexproof creatures. I actually have a tendency to draft or make really strong beats decks, so I decided on trying something new. I'm happy to say that it was a good choice! Here is the deck I ended up using:
8x Swamp
9x Island
1x Manalith
1x Crown of Empires
1x Amphin Cutthroat
1x Mana leak
2x Divination
1x Phantasmal Bear
1x Merfolk Looter
1x Sphinx of Uthuun
1x Cancel
1x Mind Control (Does Work, BTW)
1x Skywinder Drake
1x Aven Fleetwing
1x Merfolk Mesmerist
1x Diabloic Tutor
1x Sorin’s Vengeance
2x Doom Blade
1x Child of Night
1x Dark Favor
1x Warpath Ghoul
1x Royal Assassin
1x Grave Digger
I ended up with a lovely 5-1-1.. and it was an overall blast! I think I actually had one of my best games of MtG also! I was playing against a very strong RUG deck, and I was down to 3 life. I was totally expecting a Fireball to the face, but I managed to get a pretty fun combo down (Royal Assassin + Crown of Empires)! I managed to wipe out his board, and finished with a couple flyers. I have a tendency to scoop when I feel like I have no chance of winning, but topdecking Crown of Empires definitely saved my butt! I think I really have MTGO to thank for this as well. Lately, I've been really striving to finish games completely, and try to figure out what options I have.. even when it seems like I'm losing. Be sure to play out games completely! I feel that MTGO really takes the pressure of having someone stare at you when you're taking a little longer on a turn. It has a timer, but having someone stare at you, and getting frustrated can be annoying, haha. You'd be really surprised at what you can do, and how you can win games.
