Hi Everyone, my name is Martin Dang, and I live in Aarhus, Denmark with my lovely girlfriend Tina Dahl. We play Magic on a daily basis and play twice a week at the local store, where I am an employed part-timer. You may know me as the winner of Grand Prix Liverpool, or more realistically it might be how the Pro Tour went that means you’ve come to read this tournament report. Either way, welcome.

I am a member of Team Rocket, a team of Danish players, and Team Thommo Thommo Thommo, consisting of Danish and international players, who I tested with up to this Pro Tour.

Starting at the back in this photo we have me, Nico Bohny, David Reitbauer, Lukas Tea, Martin Müller, Lars Dam, Immanuel Gerschenson, Tamas Nagy, Nicolai Herzog, Bernhard Lehner and Christian Seibold. Seibold was the founder of our group, and is probably the best one to explain where our name came from, but everyone played a part. We have a Hall of Famer in Nicolai Herzog, a World Magic Cup winner in Martin Müller, a MOCS winner in Lars Dam, and I guess now we have a newly minted Pro Tour winner. Gerschenson was our number one deckbuilder, and everyone got fully involved in testing. I’m getting ahead of myself though. Let us jump back to how we prepared for the Pro Tour.

Preparations

The Monday before the Pro Tour started, I traveled to Brussels to meet up with the others from Team Thommo Thommo Thommo. Before that, with Facebook as our main communication line, we had discussed the metagame and Standard by evaluating SCG deck lists. We had also played a bit online. However, it was in Belgium itself that our testing really got going in a big way.

We were 9 people who had shown up for testing, so we made 9 different decks and were each assigned one to test. I hurried to call shotgun on Mono Red with [mtg_card]Atarka’s Command[/mtg_card], as even before we sat down to play any matches, I had a fondness for the deck. Once we had our allotted test decks, we then had to play five games without sideboard and five with against each of the other players. Our little round robin tournament had 80 games in total per player, for which we wrote down all the results, along with our sideboard plans, and how we estimated each match up win percentage.

David processed the results in Excel and we discussed them. We then cut down, so that we had only 4 decks to choose from. We made several copies of these decks to be able to play them against each other. Through testing, it became more and more clear that Mono Red Command would be our deck of choice. I can’t say I minded having been playing it from the start. It did well considering the metagame. Many matches felt about 50/50, but all the control decks were basically a bye, if you played properly. On top of that, every match where you get to start with the deck in game 1 was a good matchup, so it would be important to win those die rolls. You need a little luck to win a tournament, and if my 50/50 matchups ended up a little ahead based on a die roll, I was certainly ok with that.

One would think that we were at the end of the road now, but we were barely halfway. Having found a clear deck to focus on we made 5-6 copies, so that everyone could test it simultaneously and offer their input regarding relevant info on each card. [mtg_card]Lightning Berserker[/mtg_card] or [mtg_card]Frenzied Goblin[/mtg_card]? [mtg_card]Become Immense[/mtg_card] or [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card]? [mtg_card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/mtg_card] or [mtg_card]Hordeling Outburst[/mtg_card]? The devil is in the details, and while we were happy to win lots of die rolls, we didn’t want to leave too much to chance.

Here is list we ended up with:

[d title=”Mono Red Command” style=embedded]

Creatures

4 Foundry Street Denizen

1 Frenzied Goblin

2 Goblin Rabblemaster

1 Lightning Berserker

4 Monastery Swiftspear

3 Zurgo Bellstriker

Spells

4 Dragon Fodder

4 Hordeling Outburst

4 Atarka’s Command

1 Become Immense

4 Lightning Strike

4 Stoke the Flames

4 Wild Slash

Lands

4 Mana Confluence

1 Temple of Abandon

4 Wooded Foothills

1 Forest

10 Mountain

Sideboard

2 Goblin Rabblemaster

1 Goblin Heelcutter

2 Hall of Triumph

1 Scouring Sands

4 Eidolon of the Great Revel

1 Destructive Revelry

4 Roast

[/d]

We could not decide whether it should be [mtg_card]Lightning Berserker[/mtg_card] or [mtg_card]Frenzied Goblin[/mtg_card] that made the cut, so we decided on one of each, as they are good in different matchups and each are of similar quality, depending on the details of the metagame. We chose not to play [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card] maindeck, as it was only good in few matchups. [mtg_card]Become Immense[/mtg_card], on the other hand, was good against the majority of decks and adds a nice surprise element to the deck.

Once the maindeck was decided, it was time to take a look at the sideboard. How many cards could we dedicate against each deck, and what were we able to board out? An excel sheet helped us keep track of how to sideboard against various decks. Going in to the Pro Tour, sideboarding was fairly well mapped out, though there was certainly room to change things around based on the details of what opponents were doing, and whether we were on the play or draw.

In our testing, we chose to focus on testing Standard decks, as most of us had drafted quite a bit before we went to Brussels. We only drafted three times in Brussels before the Pro Tour, where I went, respectively, 3-0, 0-3 and 1-1. Not impressive at all, but I felt that I had a pretty good grip on Draft format anyway.

This whole process took all the days leading up to the Pro Tour. I have since been told that the weather outside was pretty good during the week. Regardless, it felt like time well spent. While we had no dragons, our deck still seemed like a good fit for what we expected. All that was left was to see if we were correct.

Pro Tour Dragons of Tarkir Day 1

Day 1 of a Pro Tour consists of 3 rounds of Draft followed by 5 rounds of Standard.

As we approached our Draft table, there was a guy who asked me if it mattered at all where we sat at the table. I referred him to the piece of paper our seating was on and it turned out that he had to sit right next to me on my right side. My first though – ‘this will be messy’.

I love the current draft format. There is a good balance between the colors and all combinations of colors are playable. My draft strategy regarding color choices in this draft format is very open. The only thing I’m trying to avoid is BR together. While the removal in these two colours is great, they lack the creatures to bring everything together. In my opinion the best decks are often WB, UB or RG, but all other combinations can also be good. The challenge I would be facing in this draft would be that with a fairly inexperienced player to my right, the signals may prove unclear. While I may get gifted good cards late due to his experience level, that would not mean much if I couldn’t settle into colours.

I almost always choose play 17 lands in this format, since the games are fairly long and you do not want to be the one who draws the most lands. I therefore feel it is important to focus on the proper number of low drops and high end. The curve means more to me than card quality.

Draft 1

The Draft started quite well with a first pick [mtg_card]Tail Slash[/mtg_card] and other pretty good red/white cards, which made me think that my colour compinatoin is open.

As it turns out I was completely wrong. To my right I had another red/white drafter. Fortunately for me, it seemed he had never played the format before, as I in Fate Reforged (the important pack), I managed to score a 2nd pick [mtg_card]Elite Scaleguard[/mtg_card] and a fifth pick [mtg_card]Pyrotechnics[/mtg_card].

The deck ended up like this:



A good aggro deck with fair removal. I felt that with a little luck, it could easily go 2-1.

Round 1 vs. Joseph Santomassino

Joseph was the player on my right side mentioned previously. We talked a little before we started, and he mentioned that he was qualified through a top 8 at a Legacy GP. This draft was his first draft with Dragons of Tarkir. In all honesty, his lack of experience with the set showed, with his deck including a number of sub-optimal cards.

I beat him fairly quickly in two straight games. Looking back I can’t help but wonder how my tournament would have gone had Joseph changed around his practice in order to play more with the new set.

Total score: 1-0

Round 2 vs. Patrick Chapin for the King of the Hill seat

Having had a fairly leisurely start to my event, I found myself in my first feature match at a Pro Tour. Hall of Famer Patrick Chapin had already beaten Pro Tour Fate Reforged Champion Antonio Del Moral Leon for the King of the Hill seat, and seemed quite comfortable under the lights. Our match was a close one, going to a third game, where lost to a top-decked land that gave him exactly the life he needed to survive.

Total score: 1-1

Round 3 vs. Yudai Yamagami

I asked my opponent politely what his name was, when we sat down across from each other. The only thing he said was YOU DIE, which at the time seemed quite full-on. A cool name was not all that Yamagami had going for him. His red green deck had Ugin, the Spirit Dragon at the top end, which was certainly cause for concern. Fortunately for me though, it was a little clunky in reaching the late game. The priority that I’d placed on having a good curve worked out for me, so even though he picked up a game, I was able to take the match fairly quickly on the back of some aggressive draws.

Total score: 2-1

2-1 to a PT draft is a fully acceptable result. I was happy with my choice of deck for Standard and now hoped to bump into plenty of control decks.

Moving into Standard

Before we get started, I would like to share something important regarding sideboarding. The sideboard plan for Mono Red Command is very dependent on which specific cards your opponent is playing, and whether you are on the play or on the draw. [mtg_card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/mtg_card], for example, is almost always a good card on the play, but can in some matchups be the worst card in the deck on the draw. Rather than having laid out sideboard plans at the beginning, instead, I’ll go through how I actually sideboarded at the event, which will hopefully make clear how to adjust your deck game by game to beat the field.

Round 4 vs. Magnus Lantto – RG Dragons

Magnus is, just like me, qualified for the 2015 Magic Online Championship Series. You have to watch out for the players that do well online, as MTGO means that they have probably been able to play a lot of Magic in preparation.

I lost the dice roll, but ran him over quickly anyway in game 1. After the game he told me that he made two play mistakes in the game, which had cost him. Here we see another reason why choosing the aggressive path can be a good one for tournament success. Mistakes against the Red Command deck often are often severely punished, and little time is given to recover from a slow draw.

Sideboard: +2 [mtg_card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Goblin Heelcutter[/mtg_card], +2 [mtg_card]Roast[/mtg_card], -4 [mtg_card]Wild Slash[/mtg_card], – 2 [mtg_card]Hordeling Outburst[/mtg_card].

I assumed that he played Magnus would have [mtg_card]Seismic Rupture[/mtg_card] after sideboarding. Rabblemasters were better here than [mtg_card]Hordeling Outburst[/mtg_card]s. [mtg_card]Goblin Heelcutter[/mtg_card] was always in against all green decks. Roast was another answer to [mtg_card]Courser of Kruphix[/mtg_card]. [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card] made a threat out of almost all the cards, and made several of my creatures immune to [mtg_card]Seismic Rupture[/mtg_card].

As is something of a theme for this deck, I was able to win fairly quickly in the second game as well.

Total score 3-1

Round 5 vs. Valentin Mackl – Jeskai Combo

Losing the dice roll again!!!

This match against Valentin saw probably the most peculiar thing I will ever get to experience at a Pro Tour. As he sat down across me, he told that he was Gold level and that this was his first Pro Tour. I looked at him confused by that statement, saying that it does not make sense. He explained that his Gold level because his grandmother is SuperPro and since they have the same last name, he got a special invite and level. Unfortunately she could not attend because she was in China.

Who says something like that to someone you have just met??

Valentin is a super nice guy and we talked several times throughout the tournament, but that first meeting proved to be… strange. I’m not sure if he was trying to get in my head, and throw me off my game, but ultimately it didn’t matter too much. In both games we played, his mana didn’t work out. Chalk one up to the good guys, who never let a spotty mana draw go unpunished.

Total score 4-1

Round 6 vs. Shahar Shenhar – Blue Black Control

Shahar Shenhar. With all the titles he has won, I will admit it – I was a little intimidated. Especially seeing that I once again lost the die roll (6 of 6).

However, every ounce of nervousness disappeared, like a snowflake in the sun, as he played the first land. It was a [mtg_card]Temple of Deceit[/mtg_card]. My first control player is the reigning World Champion. I quickly won 2-0 and was so happy that I rushed out and wrote it on Facebook.

Sideboard: +2 [mtg_card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/mtg_card], + 4 [mtg_card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/mtg_card], + 1 [mtg_card]Goblin Heelcutter[/mtg_card], + 1 [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card], -4 [mtg_card]Wild Slash[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Frenzied Goblin[/mtg_card], -2 [mtg_card]Hordeling Outburst[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Dragon Fodder[/mtg_card].

This is a matchup where [mtg_card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/mtg_card] is great. It is always at least a burn spell, if removed, and if it hangs around it does a lot more. Rabblemaster was the best follow-up after a sweeper and Hall was against [mtg_card]Drown in Sorrow[/mtg_card]. I took some token-makers out to avoid being too vulnerable to [mtg_card]Bile Blight[/mtg_card], but knew that I was ahead even before making too many changes.

Total score 5-1

Round 7 vs. Chase Kovac – Jeskai Aggro

This was the obligatory round where brain drain set in. This doesn’t mean to say that I lost the match, but more that I don’t remember all the details. After a couple of close games, I was filling in the match slip 2-0 to me, with Chase storming off soon thereafter. Sometimes red decks will do that to folk.

Total score 6-1

Round 8 vs. Eric Froehlich Jeskai tokens

Finally winning the die roll. Yeeeaaaaayyy!

Eric was not exactly what I would call talkative, maybe due to a long day. Over the two games we had, I think I managed to get 5-6 words out of him, so it seems like I will have to wait for some other time, if I want to get to know him better. His focus was very much on the game, which I’m sure is part of what makes him such a great player.

Jeskai Tokens were, according to our testing, almost as easy a matchup as Control. [mtg_card]Atarka’s Command[/mtg_card] is the key card here. It is impossible for the opponent to make a proper block, if you keep your mana up for it.

Sideboard: +4 [mtg_card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/mtg_card], +2 [mtg_card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/mtg_card], +2 [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Scouring Sands[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Destructive Revelry[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Frenzied Goblin[/mtg_card], – 4 [mtg_card]Wild Slash[/mtg_card], – 4 [mtg_card]Foundry Street Denizen[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Lightning Berserker[/mtg_card]

That was it for day 1. With a result that wrote 7-1 in the tournament and 10-1 in duels in Standard, I had a good feeling for Day 2. The whole team went out for some food together, before quickly heading straight home, were we discussed matchups and sideboard plans for day 2.

Day 2 of the Pro Tour

Another day, another draft, same strategy!

I first picked a [mtg_card]Secure the Wastes[/mtg_card] for my second draft, and after following up with [mtg_card]Strongarm Monk[/mtg_card] I smoothly moved into red/white. For my second draft it seemed that the signals were pretty clear, and that I had found myself in the right colours. Red/white was open at my part of the table, which meant that come Fate Reforged, I was richly rewarded. Assuming you are in the right colours, it is possible to get quite a few ‘first picks’ from Fate Reforged, and that’s what happened to me. Snagging third and fourth pick copies of [mtg_card]Bathe in Dragonfire[/mtg_card], along with a fifth pick [mtg_card]Mob Rule[/mtg_card], I ended up with an amazing deck. My MVP proved to be [mtg_card]Atarka’s Efreet[/mtg_card] who, when working with [mtg_card]Temur Battle Rage[/mtg_card] was just nuts.

Round 9 vs. Ivan Floch

I won two very close games. Ivan played perfectly and almost succeeded in turning a difficult situation into a win. The beauty, of course, of being the aggressive deck is that you force your opponent into having to play well to catch back up. In this case, all that perfect play still wasn’t quite enough.

Total score 8-1.

Round 10 vs. Stephen Madden for the King of the Hill seat!!!

We talked a little before we started, and somehow the talk fell to curses. I felt that I was cursed by sitting at the only table in the room where I had previously lost a match, against Chapin for the King of the Hill seat in my first draft.

Stephen told me that he had a [mtg_card]Mob Rule[/mtg_card] Curse. It was the only thing he had lost to at the previous GP he participated in. I was smiling on the inside, knowing about the [mtg_card]Mob Rule[/mtg_card] I had in my deck.

When I lost a very close first game I couldn’t help but feel that my curse might have come back to haunt me. It turns out that Stephen’s curse was stronger though, as I was able to play my [mtg_card]Mob Rule[/mtg_card] in games two and three, in order to close out the match. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Stephen, but at the same time…

KING OF THE HILL!!!

Total score: 9-1

Round 11 vs. Rick Lee

Now I had a seat to defend. I had a great deck to do it with, but the joy of Swiss tournaments is that when you are 9-1, you are only going to play very good players. I honestly do not remember much from the match, except that I won.

STILL KING OF THE HILL !! Ok, I will stop that now, but I was proud.

Total score: 10-1

3-0 in Draft pod 1 to a Pro Tour. A Standard deck with only one lost game and two victories from securing top eight. Yes, my inner optimist was beginning to show. The curse had been lifted, and replaced with a comfortable seat in the feature match area. Now I just had to stay focused a little longer. A top 8 would be enough to make me ecstatic.

Round 12 vs. Shota Yasooka – Blue Black Dragons

I had a scout (thanks Andreas Nilsson), attempting to see what all the people on the top tables were playing, so I started the match well informed that Shota was playing Dragon Control. Shota is probably the Pro player I enjoy the most to watch play. He plays Control decks quickly and accurately, in a way that few players can copy for any kind of constructed deck. I had great respect for him before we had ever met, and I can only say that my respect for him as a player has grown from being sat opposite him. I had to keep a cool head. I had a good matchup.

I won the first game as red decks tend to do against control – by applying pressure in the early turns where the control player is looking to just develop their mana base and stay alive. My sideboarding, on the draw, was as follows: +2 [mtg_card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/mtg_card], +4 [mtg_card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Goblin Heelcutter[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card], -4 [mtg_card]Wild Slash[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Frenzied Goblin[/mtg_card], -2 [mtg_card]Hordeling Outburst[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Dragon Fodder[/mtg_card]. If it looks familiar, that’s because this sideboard plan was the same as I’d used to such great effect against Shahar. Fortunately for me, it worked out again.

After the slips were signed, Shota and I went over the match up. Shota thought I was favored in the first game, but that he had 60% in his favor after sideboard. I disagreed on this at the time and still do. Roll on more control!

Total score 11-1.

Round 13 vs. Adrian Sullivan – UB control

Adrian was a true gentleman and a pleasure to play against. He was easy to talk to and it seemed more like we were two guys having a good time over a game of casual magic, than competitors at a PT. It gave me a nice relaxing feeling.

I think we shook hands 5 times during the match. I know his lands were arranged strangely, but I honestly do not think it was his intend to intimidate or confuse his opponent. It was just the layout that he had become accustomed to.

I won the first game, before losing a close second game. For the decider, I was on the play against a four card hand from Adrian. Suffice to say, I’d consider my deck a strong favourite on the play against just about any four card hand in Standard.

Sideboard, on the draw: +2 [mtg_card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/mtg_card], +4 [mtg_card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Goblin Heelcutter[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card], -4 [mtg_card]Wild Slash[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Frenzied Goblin[/mtg_card], -2 [mtg_card]Hordeling Outburst[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Dragon Fodder[/mtg_card]

Sideboard, on the play: +2 [mtg_card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/mtg_card], +4 [mtg_card]Eidolon of the Great Revel[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Goblin Heelcutter[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card], -4 [mtg_card]Wild Slash[/mtg_card], -1 [mtg_card]Frenzied Goblin[/mtg_card], -3 [mtg_card]Hordeling Outburst[/mtg_card]

You know you’re having a great tournament when you don’t need to go into ‘on the draw’ sideboard plans until round 13! The difference in sideboarding is only small. [mtg_card]Dragon Fodder[/mtg_card] gets the nod on the play, as it allows for more explosive starts. While it turned out I didn’t need quite so explosive a start for the deciding game, I maintain that the switch is worth it.

When the match was over, I talked a little with Adrian. He also felt that I was favored in the 1. Game, but that he was 75-80% favored after sideboard. I was totally confused and still cannot understand how they can get these results. 80% matchups are rare in Magic across any format, and I struggle to see how sideboarding here can make things that favourable.

12-1 and secured top 8, this is so awesome! Since standings dictated who started in the top 8, I kept my focused on reaching the highest placing on the standing. It is quite important for the deck I played.

Round 14 vs. Ondrej Strasky – GR Devotion

Before this match I had been told that Ondrej played RG Dragons – WRONG !! (Damn you Andreas, you should be able to do this better!).

While I did win game one, here the dark side of playing an aggressive deck kicked in. I didn’t end up seeing many cards in the first game which I won with just two lands and a flurry of spells. This meant that I assumed he was still playing RG Dragons. As such, this was my sideboard plan.

Sideboard: +2 [mtg_card]Goblin Rabblemaster[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card], +1 [mtg_card]Goblin Heelcutter[/mtg_card], +2 [mtg_card]Roast[/mtg_card], -4 [mtg_card]Wild Slash[/mtg_card] -2 [mtg_card]Hordeling Outburst[/mtg_card].

As it turns out, this plan was completely wrong. Had I known what Ondrej was really up to, [mtg_card]Wild Slash[/mtg_card] would have never been taken out. In the second game I got him down to 3 life, but he started playing copies of [mtg_card]Nylea’s Disciple[/mtg_card] and quickly turned the game around. I resideboarded better but was still unsure what he played, so it was not quite good. He won the third game on [mtg_card]Nylea’s Disciple[/mtg_card]s again.

12-2. Still secured top 8, so cannot be completely dissatisfied, but a little annoyed by the way I lost, and my newfound lack of a feature match table to play at.

Round 15 vs. Andrew Ohlschwager

I was still a little shaken by how the last match went down. I would prefer to just draw, to be secured a higher place in the standings. I was paired down to Andrew, who might not have wanted to draw. We sat down and I explained my situation to him. I told him that I was secure for top 8, that a draw would get me further up and that I could not tell him about his position. All I could offer was a draw. After some consideration, he chose to accept. As it turns out, Ohlschwager was able to draw in the last couple of rounds to get into top eight, but it was very close indeed, with Kyle Boggemes missing out by the narrowest of margins.

12-2-1

Round 16 vs. Jason Chung

I approached the table where an eager Jason stood expectant. He said “Never in my life, have I wanted to shake another man’s hand like right now.”

I assessed the pros and cons. A win would secure me first place and thus the ability to play first in all my top eight matches. A loss placed me in the lower half of the top 8, while a draw secured me start in the quarterfinals as a minimum. I felt there was no point in dream crushing, and since my ambition was merely to get through the quarterfinals, I reached out my hand to a clearly relieved Jason.

After a hard day two, my top 8 was celebrated. Winner’s Dinner was on me, and we left directly from the site to go eat. We discussed sideboard plans for each of the individual matchups one more time, and tested my quarterfinal match up a couple of times, before I went to bed early and dreamed of sweet victory and cake.

Top 8

I left towards the site at 7:30, accompanied by Martin Müller and Lars Dam. I could bring two friends with me backstage, where we were spoiled with food, sofas and live stream from the Pro Tour. Even though the day was starting early, with seven rounds being played, I had to at least consider that time might be tight to make my flight home. That would of course require me to make the finals. Not the worst problem to have!

There is not much to say about the top 8 games. Most can be seen on coverage and I had already met two of the players in the Swiss rounds. For those of you who feel like watching back, the videos are below;

Quarter Final vs Marco Camilluzzi – Abzan Control

Semifinal vs. Adrian Sullivan – UB Control

Final vs. Shota Yasooka – UB Dragons

I was speechless when I won. Interviews. Congratulations. It all happened so fast. I just stayed firm and hoped I could avoid saying something stupid on camera.

A few hours later, when the dust settled, I was on my way to the airport and home to tiny Denmark. I had not yet completely understood what my victory really meant.

I would like to finish this article by sharing a picture of the wonderful people, who bothered to travel all the way to the airport to give me a warm “Welcome Home”. An event which was put together by my utterly lovely girlfriend Tina Dahl.



Thank you all for reading and taking part in my experience.

I would like to give some advice to deck changes, which may be relevant if you are trying to figure out what to play at your Regional PTQ.

I would cut the [mtg_card]Frenzied Goblin[/mtg_card], a put in a second copy of [mtg_card]Lightning Berserker[/mtg_card] more. The goblin proved not to be good enough in any matchup, while [mtg_card]Lightning Berserker[/mtg_card] is well suited to a field where control is a big player. I would cut also cut the second [mtg_card]Hall of Triumph[/mtg_card] in the sideboard to make space for a [mtg_card]Scouring Sands[/mtg_card]. There are enough one toughness creatures out there, that having a way of dealing with them in one fell swoop is attractive, as is the scry to smooth out draws slightly.

I know it’s not much, but I think that just shows how happy I remain with the list that got me a trophy and a big giant cheque.

Finally, the traditional Shout Outs:

I would very much like to say special thanks to

Tina Dahl, my lovely girlfriend who already on Friday, was talking about arranging a top 8 streaming day at home, so people could watch me live in the top 8. I love you.

Team Thommo Thommo Thommo to let me test with them.

Lars Dam for introducing me to the team and for being a good friend.

Martin Müller for being a good team mate on this trip, amazing Magic insight.

All those who supported me from home and especially those who took the tiresome trip to welcome me at the airport.

While it might be tempting to go with the flashy new control decks out there, sometimes someone needs to keep everyone honest by being the aggro player. I hope you have as much success with it as I have.