This report is prefaced with a good amount of preface and story-telling. If you’re not so interested in this, scroll down to find the actual tournament report, or the concluding thoughts at the end.

Preface, Deck Choice and Story-Telling

This past weekend was SCG Regionals, with Modern as the format. A considerably large and competitive event, I had to miss it last year while a some of my good friends traveled to compete. Since then, I had resolved to enter this year’s Modern Regionals, which is right in line with my new year’s resolution of preparing for and playing in more competitive events.

Unfortunately, while last year’s Regionals was held in Syracuse, this year it was being hosted by Kirwan’s Game Store in Catskill, NY – a three and a half hour drive from Ithaca. Moreover, the fact that it’s a single-day event made the hefty drive even less appealing. Obviously, the fact that I’m even writing this means that it didn’t deter me. Originally I was going to go with Peter and Brett (shoutouts whoo!). In the end, Peter couldn’t make it unfortunately, but Brett and I were still committed to going. We decided to not spend money staying somewhere close overnight, and bit the bullet to just wake up early to leave Ithaca at 6 AM in the morning for the 10 AM event.

Coincidentally, the decision to not leave the night before turned out to be a big boon to the overall weekend – crucial, in fact. While I was aware of the event’s approach weeks in advance, since the January bannings and printing of Fatal Push, I had not yet locked in a deck of choice that I particularly wanted to play. I could no longer play Dredge, and while I’ve been tinkering with Eldrazi Tron and UW Thopter/Gifts at Friday Night Magic, I didn’t really want to play either of them in a large competitive event (just yet).

A week or two prior to the event, I started gravitating towards mono-W Death & Taxes. This was primarily spurred by recent contact with Elliot Smith, a very proficient D&T player with numerous successes who I had communicated with on the MTGsalvation forums before. He put together a D&T think-tank, and it became more and more clear that D&T is in a better place in the Modern metagame than ever. Coincidentally, Craig Wescoe had just Top 8’ed the MTGO Modern MOCS (and wrote about it). Olle Rade proceeded to 5-0 on MTGO with the exact list a week later. Slowly, it crept towards the top of my shortlist of decks to play. Still, despite it’s strengths, I wasn’t entirely confident in the deck’s power level (especially in a wide format), not to mention that it’s been quite a while since I’ve played the mono-W version of the deck.

It wasn’t until Friday afternoon that I decided to try BW Eldrazi & Taxes. It has all the things I like about D&T – particularly a very strong game against the unfair decks in the format, while having higher raw power levels, flexibility and more removal options. In that sense, it seemed like a stronger deck with more well-rounded matchups than mono-W D&T. Not to mention that it’s a deck I know quite well and have already had success with, both at FNM and winning a GPT. So about an hour before FNM, I put the deck back together based on a list that has done well on MTGO. My goal was just to get a sense of how the deck feels at this point in the format. Without going into the details, I ended up going 5-0 against “real” decks and had regained complete confidence in the deck. In particular, the Dark Confidants felt incredibly strong, and I am proficient with Aether Vial, Flickerwisp and Eldrazi Displacer. Those cards together can do anything.

And so, I get home from FNM confident about my deck and try to sleep early.

The Tournament

The morning of the tournament – I can’t believe I’m up at 5 AM. The world is desolate and dark. Brett picks me up promptly at 6 AM (massive thanks for driving the whole trip) and we’re on our way. The ride was great – we hash out game plans (he played Eldrazi Tron) and I work out a satisfactory sideboard for my deck.

We get there on time and my gosh – Kirwan’s Game Store is huge! Big enough for 250 players, and then some. We write out our decklists and get ready for a long day. With 244 players registered, it would be a 9-round Swiss with a cut to Top 8.

Round 1 – Rich Cali, Bring to Light Scapeshift

Game 1 (draw): He starts off with a tapped Stomping Ground into Island and Sakura-Tribe Elder. I suspect Bring to Light Scapeshift, which is confirmed when he shows white mana. I open with an Aether Vial and pressure his life total while holding Leonin Arbiter in my hand. At some point he just has to go for it, but is unable to pay for Leonin Arbiter 3 times (with Eldrazi Displacer activations). (1-0) -4 Path to Exile +2 Zealous Persecution, +1 Eidolon of Rhetoric, +1 Aven Mindcensor

He starts off with a tapped Stomping Ground into Island and Sakura-Tribe Elder. I suspect Bring to Light Scapeshift, which is confirmed when he shows white mana. I open with an Aether Vial and pressure his life total while holding Leonin Arbiter in my hand. At some point he just has to go for it, but is unable to pay for Leonin Arbiter 3 times (with Eldrazi Displacer activations). Game 2 (draw): I don’t have an early Aether Vial, and lose some creatures to Anger of the Gods. I (mis)play my Mindcensor a bit too hastily and am unable to stop BTL into Scapeshift. (1-1)

I don’t have an early Aether Vial, and lose some creatures to Anger of the Gods. I (mis)play my Mindcensor a bit too hastily and am unable to stop BTL into Scapeshift. Game 3 (play): Turn 1 Aether Vial into Tidehollow Sculler, Eldrazi Displacer and a Thought-Knot Seer strip him of answers and end the game quickly. (2-1)

Turn 1 Aether Vial into Tidehollow Sculler, Eldrazi Displacer and a Thought-Knot Seer strip him of answers and end the game quickly. (1-0) in matches. BTL Scapeshift is a very good matchup for my deck.

Round 2 – Alexander Hu, Living End

Game 1 (play): I mulligan to a good hand of six with turn 1 Aether Vial. He stumbles a bit on lands and I am able to Vial in Flickerwisp at the end of his turn to keep him off of 3 mana, buying me time to bring him to a low life total. Unfortunately I do it one time too many, and lose a second Flickerwisp to a topdecked land and Living End. Had I held onto the second Flickerwisp, it along with Eldrazi Displacer would have likely won me the game. (0-1) -4 Leonin Arbiter +2 Rest in Peace, +1 Aven Mindcensor, +1 Eidolon of Rhetoric

I mulligan to a good hand of six with turn 1 Aether Vial. He stumbles a bit on lands and I am able to Vial in Flickerwisp at the end of his turn to keep him off of 3 mana, buying me time to bring him to a low life total. Unfortunately I do it one time too many, and lose a second Flickerwisp to a topdecked land and Living End. Had I held onto the second Flickerwisp, it along with Eldrazi Displacer would have likely won me the game. Game 2 (play): I play turn 2 Rest in Peace and attack him to death, using Flickerwisp to keep his hardcast creatures from blocking. (1-1)

I play turn 2 Rest in Peace and attack him to death, using Flickerwisp to keep his hardcast creatures from blocking. Game 3 (draw): I keep a good seven without Rest in Peace, but quickly find it off of Dark Confidant and the game quickly ends from there. (2-1)

I keep a good seven without Rest in Peace, but quickly find it off of Dark Confidant and the game quickly ends from there. (2-0) in matches. Another good matchup, and a great start to the day!

Round 3 – Emerson Morse, Jeskai Aggro

Game 1 (draw): I keep a hand with no coloured mana, but Aether Vial, Bob, Path and good creatures. He opens with Sacred Foundry into Monastery Swiftspear – uh oh, Burn? He follows up with Island and Serum Visions, so Delver? Geist maybe? These go out the window as he taps 3 mana and I ask “Mantis Rider?”. Yep – I Ghost Quarter my own Eldrazi Temple to Path it. From there Bob finds me lands and I am able to use Tidehollow Sculler/Displacer/Flickerwisp to lock him out. (1-0) -4 Leonin Arbiter, -2 Thought-Knot Seer +1 Zealous Persecution, +1 Orzhov Pontiff, +2 Kor Firewalker, +1 Blessed Alliance, +1 Eidolon of Rhetoric

I keep a hand with no coloured mana, but Aether Vial, Bob, Path and good creatures. He opens with Sacred Foundry into Monastery Swiftspear – uh oh, Burn? He follows up with Island and Serum Visions, so Delver? Geist maybe? These go out the window as he taps 3 mana and I ask “Mantis Rider?”. Yep – I Ghost Quarter my own Eldrazi Temple to Path it. From there Bob finds me lands and I am able to use Tidehollow Sculler/Displacer/Flickerwisp to lock him out. Game 2 (draw): I mulligan to 6 and quickly lose to an onslaught of Goblin Guide, Stormchaser Mage, Swiftspear and Mantis Rider beats. I recall (mis?)scrying Kor Firewalker to the bottom in search of coloured mana. (1-1)

I mulligan to 6 and quickly lose to an onslaught of Goblin Guide, Stormchaser Mage, Swiftspear and Mantis Rider beats. I recall (mis?)scrying Kor Firewalker to the bottom in search of coloured mana. Game 3 (play): I play Tidehollow to see Helix, Boros Charm and Path. Knowing he had no basic Plains, I Ghost Quarter his only white source and put a soft stall on the game. I’m able to bring him to 2 life, but he manages to find a white source and stabilizes. Unfortunately I don’t draw enough gas, with my Aether Vial shut down by Pithing Needle and I end up losing to attackers with flying. (1-2)

I play Tidehollow to see Helix, Boros Charm and Path. Knowing he had no basic Plains, I Ghost Quarter his only white source and put a soft stall on the game. I’m able to bring him to 2 life, but he manages to find a white source and stabilizes. Unfortunately I don’t draw enough gas, with my Aether Vial shut down by Pithing Needle and I end up losing to attackers with flying. (2-1) in matches. I was very disappointed in myself, since it felt like a winnable matchup. Most importantly, I had mis-boarded. I cut the Arbiters after seeing that he only had 1 Island and 1 Mountain, but the right move would have been to keep them anyway, especially being on the play. I try to shake it off and get in the right state of mind for the next match.

Round 4 – Brandon Rawson, RUG Scapeshift

Game 1 (play): I keep a hand without Vial, and see tapped Stomping Ground into Island and Sakura Tribe Elder from him. I don’t see any additional colours, so RUG is probably it. I eat a suspended Search for Tomorrow with Wasteland Strangler and beat him with Strangler, Displacer and Arbiter. (1-0) -4 Path to Exile +2 Zealous Persecution, +1 Eidolon of Rhetoric, +1 Aven Mindcensor

I keep a hand without Vial, and see tapped Stomping Ground into Island and Sakura Tribe Elder from him. I don’t see any additional colours, so RUG is probably it. I eat a suspended Search for Tomorrow with Wasteland Strangler and beat him with Strangler, Displacer and Arbiter. Game 2 (draw): This time I have a turn 1 Aether Vial, and am able to protect Arbiter while I beat him down. (2-0)

This time I have a turn 1 Aether Vial, and am able to protect Arbiter while I beat him down. (3-1) in matches.

Round 5 – Neil Campbell, Elves

Game 1 (draw): Turn 1 Elvish Mystic. I don’t like the Elves matchup one bit. Archdruid, Archdruid and the game was over. (0-1) -4 Thalia, -1 ??? +2 Zealous Persecution, +1 Orzhov Pontiff, +1 Aven Mindcensor, +1 Eidolon of Rhetoric

Turn 1 Elvish Mystic. I don’t like the Elves matchup one bit. Archdruid, Archdruid and the game was over. Game 2 (play): If I had to pick a game of the day for me, this would be absolutely it. I keep an opening hand with Vial, Path, Pontiff, Confidant, Flickerwisp and Displacer, but with Plains as my only land. I Vial in Confidant and Path his Archdruid, but am unable to find a second land. Though the Pontiff (via Vial) is able to wipe a massive portion of his board, pretty soon I find myself 20+ cards deep into my library and still with no second land, flipping over stuff like Flickerwisp and Displacer (ouch). The board stalls, with Bob, Pontiff and Displacer facing some weak elves, so he takes a back seat and hopes for my own Confidant to kill me for him. At this point I’ve been discarding to hand size and am down to 3 life. A crowd had gathered around this time, and things looked bad – but I had a plan. With no life to continue gambling with Dark Confidant, I start Vial’ing in Flickerwisp at the end of his turn to remove Confidant for the duration of my own turn, and start attacking him with the Flickerwisps and Displacer. Meanwhile, I finally find a second land (Eldrazi Temple), which allows me to use Displacer/Flickerwisp to blank of my own Confidant every turn. He doesn’t draw any gas, and I topdeck a Ghost Quarter, which I use on my Temple to find a Swamp, and cast Zealous Persecution and attack for the win. (1-1)

If I had to pick a game of the day for me, this would be absolutely it. I keep an opening hand with Vial, Path, Pontiff, Confidant, Flickerwisp and Displacer, but with Plains as my only land. I Vial in Confidant and Path his Archdruid, but am unable to find a second land. Though the Pontiff (via Vial) is able to wipe a massive portion of his board, pretty soon I find myself 20+ cards deep into my library and still with no second land, flipping over stuff like Flickerwisp and Displacer (ouch). The board stalls, with Bob, Pontiff and Displacer facing some weak elves, so he takes a back seat and hopes for my own Confidant to kill me for him. At this point I’ve been discarding to hand size and am down to 3 life. A crowd had gathered around this time, and things looked bad – but I had a plan. With no life to continue gambling with Dark Confidant, I start Vial’ing in Flickerwisp at the end of his turn to remove Confidant for the duration of my own turn, and start attacking him with the Flickerwisps and Displacer. Meanwhile, I finally find a second land (Eldrazi Temple), which allows me to use Displacer/Flickerwisp to blank of my own Confidant every turn. He doesn’t draw any gas, and I topdeck a Ghost Quarter, which I use on my Temple to find a Swamp, and cast Zealous Persecution and attack for the win. Game 3 (draw): We get asked to move to the backup feature match table, but the match is uneventful. We both mulligan to six, but I blow him out with a Zealous Persecutions and beat him down with big creatures. (2-1)

We get asked to move to the backup feature match table, but the match is uneventful. We both mulligan to six, but I blow him out with a Zealous Persecutions and beat him down with big creatures. (4-1) in matches. Unbelievable. I was so happy to have won! Granted, BW E&T has a better time against Elves than D&T or Hatebears, but I was most proud to have been able to turn something out of nothing. I think I impressed a lot of the bystanders.

Round 6 – Paul Engineri, Bant Spirits

Game 1 (draw): I quickly identify his deck, and use Tidehollow Sculler to take Steel of the Godhead, which then gets processed by Wasteland Strangler to kill his Drogskol Captain. Despite taking some early beats from Geist of Saint Traft, I quickly lock the game up with Flickerwisp/Displacer. (1-0) -4 Leonin Arbiter +2 Zealous Persecution, +1 Pontiff, +1 Aven Mindcensor, +1 Blessed Alliance, +1 Grafdigger’s Cage

I quickly identify his deck, and use Tidehollow Sculler to take Steel of the Godhead, which then gets processed by Wasteland Strangler to kill his Drogskol Captain. Despite taking some early beats from Geist of Saint Traft, I quickly lock the game up with Flickerwisp/Displacer. Game 2 (draw): What was a winnable game got away from me when I opted to (mis)attack with Shambling Vent, leaving only a Tidehollow Sculler back to defend against Geist of Saint Traft, knowing he could topdeck a Captain or Hierarch to pump the Geist. (1-1)

What was a winnable game got away from me when I opted to (mis)attack with Shambling Vent, leaving only a Tidehollow Sculler back to defend against Geist of Saint Traft, knowing he could topdeck a Captain or Hierarch to pump the Geist. Game 3 (play): He mulligans to six, and gets his hand stripped by Tidehollow and Thought-Knot Seer (which took a crucial Collected Company). Zealous Persecution is pretty good here as well. (2-1)

He mulligans to six, and gets his hand stripped by Tidehollow and Thought-Knot Seer (which took a crucial Collected Company). Zealous Persecution is pretty good here as well. (5-1) in matches. Wow, feels good.

Round 7 – Mario Martinez, BG Rock

Name sounds familiar – I think I’ve seen him on SCG streams before.

Game 1 (play): I am able to do some shenanigans with Tidehollow Sculler and Wasteland Strangler, but Tireless Tracker simply runs away with the game. (0-1) -4 Leonin Arbiter +1 Gideon, +2 Rest in Peace, ???

I am able to do some shenanigans with Tidehollow Sculler and Wasteland Strangler, but Tireless Tracker simply runs away with the game. Game 2 (play): I don’t quite recall how this game went, but he developed slowly while I stripped his hand of removal and beat him with creatures, using Flickerwisp to blank defensive Tarmogoyfs. (1-1)

I don’t quite recall how this game went, but he developed slowly while I stripped his hand of removal and beat him with creatures, using Flickerwisp to blank defensive Tarmogoyfs. Game 3 (draw): I am able to lead off with Aether Vial into multiple Tidehollow Scullers and Wasteland Stranglers, which stripped him of key removal spells and blockers. (2-1)

I am able to lead off with Aether Vial into multiple Tidehollow Scullers and Wasteland Stranglers, which stripped him of key removal spells and blockers. (6-1) in matches. At this point I cannot believe that I’m in the X-1 bracket. I also cannot believe that it’s been seven rounds. I just needed one more win to have a shot at Top 8, which seemed doable given my well-rounded matchups.

Round 8 – Stanislaw Zylinski, 8Rack

What was that about well-rounded matchups? A familiar face who sat beside me during the players’ meeting at the end of the alphabetical list, Stanislaw also sat next to me in Round 1 so I knew what he was playing. I was not looking forward to this.

Game 1 (play): He wants to be on the draw anyway, and I’m forced to mulligan down to six. Thoughtseize, Thoughtseize, Wrench Mind and the game was quickly over. (0-1)

He wants to be on the draw anyway, and I’m forced to mulligan down to six. Thoughtseize, Thoughtseize, Wrench Mind and the game was quickly over. Game 2 (play): I figure that as long as I get threats to stick I have a shot. A Bob might dig me out of trouble as well. I keep a hand with Bob, but it gets immediately pushed. Fortunately, an Eldrazi Temple let me play a turn 3 Thought-Knot Seer, which goes the distance. (1-1)

I figure that as long as I get threats to stick I have a shot. A Bob might dig me out of trouble as well. I keep a hand with Bob, but it gets immediately pushed. Fortunately, an Eldrazi Temple let me play a turn 3 Thought-Knot Seer, which goes the distance. Game 3 (play): This game opened the same way as Game 2, with a turn 2 Dark Confidant getting pushed immediately. I could have jammed another 2-drop, and that is likely to have been the better play, but I figured there was a higher chance of losing a Bob in my hand to IoK/Thoughtseize than to on the board to Fatal Push. He no longer has cards in his hand, but has Liliana on board. I just need a fourth land to resolve either Thought-Knot Seer or Gideon. I topdeck a fourth land, but it’s a Concealed Courtyard that has to come into play tapped, and he manages to topdeck a Wrench Mind and take away both cards from my hand. (1-2)

This game opened the same way as Game 2, with a turn 2 Dark Confidant getting pushed immediately. I could have jammed another 2-drop, and that is likely to have been the better play, but I figured there was a higher chance of losing a Bob in my hand to IoK/Thoughtseize than to on the board to Fatal Push. He no longer has cards in his hand, but has Liliana on board. I just need a fourth land to resolve either Thought-Knot Seer or Gideon. I topdeck a fourth land, but it’s a Concealed Courtyard that has to come into play tapped, and he manages to topdeck a Wrench Mind and take away both cards from my hand. (6-2) in matches. While I can’t say that I could have or would have prepared for a matchup like 8Rack, I don’t think I played optimally.

Round 9 – James Schlott, Skred

Game 1 (draw): He opens with Snow-Covered Mountain, and I think “aw crap”. I didn’t have an Aether Vial, and a turn 3 Blood Moon backed by burn spells ended the game quickly. (0-1) -4 Leonin Arbiter, -1 Wasteland Strangler? +2 Kor Firewalker, +1 Blessed Alliance, +1 Gideon, +1 Mindcensor?

He opens with Snow-Covered Mountain, and I think “aw crap”. I didn’t have an Aether Vial, and a turn 3 Blood Moon backed by burn spells ended the game quickly. Game 2 (play): I keep a hand with Plains, Godless Shrine, Ghost Quarter, Tidehollow Sculler, Flickerwisp and Kitchen Finks, and venture to keep. I ended up losing to burn spells, Koth, and Blood Moon (despite being able to get basics into play). In retrospect, I lost as soon as I kept that hand – I should have mulliganed aggressively for an Aether Vial. (0-2)

I keep a hand with Plains, Godless Shrine, Ghost Quarter, Tidehollow Sculler, Flickerwisp and Kitchen Finks, and venture to keep. I ended up losing to burn spells, Koth, and Blood Moon (despite being able to get basics into play). In retrospect, I lost as soon as I kept that hand – I should have mulliganed aggressively for an Aether Vial. (6-3) in matches. I think at this point I was noticeably more mentally exhausted than previous rounds. Whether this was the major factor or just a sense of defeat at having to face the last two matchups, I’m not sure. But it’s hard to shake the disappointment of having two cracks at X-2 and losing.

In the end, I finished 25th, second highest of the 6-3’s. I got a little bit of cash for my troubles, which felt good, and find that I lost to the 1st, 9th and 36th place players in the standings. Not too shabby.

If I would change anything about the deck, I would switch one of the Concealed Courtyards for a second Godless Shrine. Other than that, the 2 Kor Firewalkers and Gideon in the sideboard are the cards I’m least sure about. Granted I didn’t face Burn, I was uncertain in the beginning about whether I wanted Burrenton Forge-Tender or Kor Firewalkers, so perhaps a 1/1 split could be okay at a slight detriment to the Burn matchup. Meanwhile, I’ve never really resolved Gideon, so I don’t know if that one spot could be better allocated.

Conclusions and Take-Away’s

As mentioned, it was disappointing to have lost two potential win-and-in’s to Top 8 in a row to unfortunate matchups (though I know I didn’t play perfectly anyways), but it would be unfair to complain about the bad luck without being thankful of the great luck I had throughout the rest of the day. It certainly did not define my overall experience.

But most importantly, the tournament experience was incredibly positive, uplifting and self-affirming. Though I had my fair share of good luck, for the past while I’ve felt marked improvement in myself as a player – not just in terms of technical play, but in terms of mastery of my deck and more importantly, overall knowledge and intuition of the format (which I’m happy BBD has written about being important skills to have to be successful in Magic). And it definitely showed in the tournament.

I had a deep knowledge of my own deck, and a good knowledge of just about every one of my opponent’s decks, and knew how to approach the matchups and how to navigate to victory. Even when I didn’t, I was able to reconstruct their decklists on the fly and make the right adjustments in-game. I could often feel that the same was not true for my opponents – so in my mind they were already fighting a losing battle.

In that sense (hopefully without sounding arrogant), I felt like I was generally able to beat “inferior” opponents, which is a huge validation and confidence booster for me, especially given how wide the Modern format is. It was clear that by the end of the day, the “best” players were distilled towards the top of the standings.

I’m also particularly proud of my mental fortitude. Despite how long the day was, I was able to take it one match at a time, one game at a time. I never let any match losses (or wins) get to me, and stayed relatively focused. I also never let a game loss dishearten me, even in bad matchups, as I was able to come back from losing game 1 numerous times. This was not true of me a year ago, and I’m glad to have improved.

I had a bottle of water with me and stayed hydrated all day, and never ignored my hunger (half-Snicker bars between rounds ftw).

Shout outs:

Shout outs to all the people at the event. Just about every opponent I faced all day long was a pleasure.

Shout outs to the judges, who were incredibly nice, and let me go to the bathroom in the middle of rounds many times due to all that water.

Shout outs to everyone who trekked from Ithaca to play, and those who couldn’t make it.

Shout outs to Andy, who placed 33rd with Bant Eldrazi!

Shout outs to Brett for making the trip with me – the driving, the company, and the good times :).

And thanks to everyone who encouraged me.

Next weekend? GP Pittsburgh (Standard). Weekend after? SCG Baltimore (Team Constructed). Why do I do this to myself?