This past weekend I traveled to Grand Prix DC, the only North American Legacy GP of the year and an event I had jokingly labeled amongst my friends as “the best PTQ of the season.” For those of you who don’t know me I’m a bit of a deck specialist when it comes to Legacy. I have been playing the same deck since Lam Phan and David Caplan first brewed it up almost 10 years ago. That deck, of course-being the patriot I am-is Canadian Threshold, a.k.a. RUG Delver.

My playtesting consisted of three local events, a lot of overthinking, and several conversations with fellow collaborators David Caplan, Alexander Hayne, Jesse Moulton, Sammy T., Mike Vasovski, Morgan McLaughlin, and Andrew Van Leeuwen. After splitting a GP Trial at Hairy T North and playing Wednesday night Legacy at the Friendly Troll a few times, I came to the following conclusions about my deck for the GP:

[card]True-Name Nemesis[/card] is real. It’s slow enough that it’s not a game-breaking problem for Threshold, but it needs to be respected. Furthermore, it is a powerful new sideboard option for grindy midrange decks that tend to have a good Threshold matchup such as Punishing Jund and Shardless BUG. I decided that two was the right number to make True-Name a reliable game plan in those sorts of matchups. [card]Stifle[/card] is not where I want to be right now. It costs tempo to hold up, resulting in many cases where it would have been better to simply use mana and get further ahead. People make arguments that [card]Stifle[/card] makes Daze better-and they’re right in some cases-but what they forget is that ruthlessly pressing your advantage by using all of your mana either deploying threats or digging for them also makes Daze better.

That said, leading into the GP I was anxious about the Delver mirror (a matchup where protecting your mana from [card]Wasteland[/card] using [card]Stifle[/card] is important) and about hitting three mana for True-Name Nemesis in some post sideboard matchups, so I opted to run a pair of [card]Stifle[/card]s. A common adage in Legacy is that you’re either on four [card]Stifle[/card] or you’re not on [card]Stifle[/card] at all, but as far as I can tell this rule is completely arbitrary. [card]Stifle[/card] is quite poor on the draw in many matchups, but so is Daze. By running four of each of those cards you are left keeping in cards that are fairly weak on the draw in some matchups, which is not a place I want to be unless I’m certain that [card]Stifle[/card] is going to be an ace. In the future I would probably cut one [card]Stifle[/card] and play only a single copy in the maindeck.

Burn spells are good. Of course everyone knows this, but I see that the stock list for Threshold these days consists of four [card]Lightning Bolt[/card]s and either one [card]Forked Bolt[/card] or one Fire/Ice. Five burn spells-and only two points of damage for a card-is just not enough for me. On the unnecessarily long car ride to the GP (thanks Jesse) I was not contemplating which fifth burn spell I wanted for my deck; I was contemplating whether I wanted two or three copies of [card]Chain Lightning[/card]. In a format full of Thalia, [card]Delver of Secrets[/card], and most importantly Deathrite Shaman-a card which completely counters Threshold’s mana denial strategy-I want to reliably hit my removal spells, and I also want my cards to make a significant impact on my clock against control and combo decks. For the event, I settled on two [card]Chain Lightning[/card]s, opting for a second [card]Stifle[/card] over the third Chain and enabling myself to register my decklist as “2Chainz.” In the future it’s likely that the second [card]Stifle[/card] will become a third Chain however. [card]Gitaxian Probe[/card] is much better than I expected it to be. Playing a turn-one Probe is so strong in this deck, allowing you to ponder with perfect information and know if you’re safe to expose yourself to [card]Wasteland[/card] or deploy a turn-one threat. Mirrors (and pseudo-mirrors) are slugfests that are often won by the player who makes better use of [card]Brainstorm[/card] and Ponder, and information in general. Probe goes a long way to tipping the scales in your favor. I will strongly consider a third copy of this card for my next Legacy event.

When all was said and done this was the list I settled on for the GP:

[deck title=Canadian Threshold by Glenn McIelwain]

[Lands]

4 Misty Rainforest

2 Scalding Tarn

1 Polluted Delta

1 Flooded Strand

3 Volcanic Island

3 Tropical Island

4 Wasteland

[/Lands]

[Creatures]

4 Delver of Secrets

4 Nimble Mongoose

4 Tarmogoyf

[/Creatures]

[Spells]

4 Brainstorm

4 Ponder

2 Gitaxian Probe

3 Spell Pierce

2 Stifle

1 Spell Snare

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Chain Lightning

4 Daze

4 Force of Will

[/Spells]

[Sideboard]

1 Ancient Grudge

1 Pithing Needle

1 Grafdigger’s Cage

1 Forked Bolt

1 Sylvan Library

2 Flusterstorm

2 True-Name Nemesis

3 Pyroblast

3 Submerge

[/Sideboard]

[/deck]

Between sparse notes, life total sheets, and memory I have a passable recollection of how the Grand Prix went, so without further ado I will attempt to provide some detail about each round that I played.

Round 1 & 2: Byes.

While Jesse and Sammy opted for rest during our byes, I took Mike Vasovski up on his offer to playtest Omni Show versus Threshold to get our brains warmed up for our first round. I have found over the years that, by far, the round I am most likely to punt is the first. It is very helpful for me to get a competitive game or two in during the morning of a big event, though I view it as a luxury rather than a necessity.

Round 3: J.C. Baker with Elves

Game 1 on the play I Probed my opponent and saw a relatively Elf-light hand with a Glimpse in it. I played a Delver on turn-one and then decided to gamble on tapping out for a [card]Tarmogoyf[/card] on turn two rather than holding up [card]Brainstorm[/card] to potentially dig for a [card]Force of Will[/card] for Glimpse if my opponent drew an Elf. My opponent drew [card]Elvish Visionary[/card], Glimpsed, went bananas, and killed me with a [card]Craterhoof Behemoth[/card]. Good beats, though I would probably still gamble on Goyf if faced with this decision again in a game one. A wave of doubt washed over me as I lost my first game of the tournament on turn two, but I shook it off and got to sideboarding.

Game 2 I had the Force for his Glimpse, and double True-Name Nemesis took it home through a wall of impotent 1/1s.

Game 3 I used [card]Submerge[/card], [card]Forked Bolt[/card], [card]Lightning Bolt[/card], [card]Spell Pierce[/card] on [card]Green Sun’s Zenith[/card], and a pair of [card]Wasteland[/card]s (on [card]Dryad Arbor[/card]s) to clear my opponent’s board of permanents completely while riding a [card]Delver of Secrets[/card] to victory.

3-0

Round 4: Matthew Westbrook with Shardless BUG

Game 1 I tried to ride a Delver all the way after my hand was shredded by [card]Thoughtseize[/card] and [card]Hymn to Tourach[/card]. Eventually an [card]Abrupt Decay[/card] showed up for my opponent and I was slain by green monsters.

Game 2 I mulliganed to a five-card hand that included [card]Nimble Mongoose[/card], [card]Tarmogoyf[/card], lands, and Daze. I led with Goose then Goyf. He Forced my Goyf, tapped out from Pondering on his first turn, so I Dazed back. By the time my opponent had board presence, he was in burn range. I electrified his dome and we move on to Game 3.

Game 3 it was his turn to mulligan a bunch and he was left helpless against my hand of double Delver, cantrips, and Daze.

4-0

Round 5: David Merced with All-In Red/Sneak-Breach

Game 1 I led with a Delver, forcing my opponent’s turn-one [card]Chalice of the Void[/card] for one. My opponent followed up with a turn-two [card]Blood Moon[/card], but I was able to kill him before he killed me thanks to my flipped Delver and a flurry of burn spells. At this point I still wasn’t sure what I was facing, though I was suspicious of [card]Sneak Attack[/card] shenanigans.

Game 2 he played a pair of Chalices set at one, each of which I countered. I established a board and began applying pressure. A turn before I was able to kill my opponent, he resolved [card]Through the Breach[/card] and gave me 11 points of poison with a [card]Blightsteel Colossus[/card], much to my surprise and dismay.

Game 3 I kept a disruption-light Delver draw (with cantrips to dig for disruption) on the play. Sadly, my Ponders whiffed and I was left defenseless as my opponent Sneaked a pair of [card]Inferno Titan[/card]s into play. It is conceivable that I might have won this match had I mulliganed my fairly strong opening seven for a more interactive six. I decided not to dwell on it at the time and instead chuckled about being killed by a [card]Blightsteel Colossus[/card] and two [card]Inferno Titan[/card]s. I love legacy.

4-1

Round 6: Michael Altizer with Enchantress

This match was fairly straightforward. In game two, my opponent managed to hard-lock me with [card]Rest in Peace[/card] and [card]Energy Field[/card], but games one and two both saw me riding early pressure and countermagic to quick wins. [card]Spell Pierce[/card] is a solid 10/10 against Enchantress, and [card]Stifle[/card] on [card]Oblivion Ring[/card] is pretty sweet too.

5-1

Round 7: Justin Brisentine with RUG Delver

Game 1 my opponent won the die roll and led with double Delver. I patiently dug for removal and green men while playing around Daze and [card]Stifle[/card] as best I could. At low life, I managed to kill the Aberrations and stabilized the board in a green creature stand-off. My opponent initiated trading by attacking with his [card]Tarmogoyf[/card]. I Bolted his Goyf before blockers and then traded Goose for Goyf. I cleaned up from there.

Game 2 I got beat down by my opponent’s Mongoose while I dug and sculpted my hand, preparing to play another long game while denying my opponent’s [card]Brainstorm[/card]s with a pair of [card]Pyroblast[/card]s. Eventually we wound up at the following board state: My opponent was at 18 with a 3/3 Goose, a Goyf, an unflipped Delver, and a [card]Lightning Bolt[/card] in hand that is known information. I was at four with a 3/3 Goose, a Goyf, and a [card]Brainstorm[/card] I had been sitting on for many turns knowing I would not be able to shuffle again. The past two turns I had been taking a beating from the opposing Goyf while doing my best to look dejected, waving in the damage each combat step before the Goyf is even sideways.

On my turn I decided to [card]Brainstorm[/card], knowing that there was a chance my opponent would for the kill next turn even if he didn’t flip his Delver. To my utter delight, I hit Double submerge and a Wasteland! Obviously I scrunched up my face, slumped in my chair and passed the turn. Luckily, my opponent failed to flip his Delver. As he entered combat I frowned at him and waved in the damage as I’d done the past few turns. As my good fortune would have it, he decided to go all in, attacking with all three creatures and forcing me to “have it” or die to the known [card]Lightning Bolt[/card]. I Submerged the Goyf and ate both of his chump swingers, attacked back for seven into an empty board, Submerged again, attacked again for seven (down to four), and closed the game out with a [card]Chain Lightning[/card] after wasting my opponent’s red sources.

6-1

Round 8: Tom Swindell with BUG Delver

This match was considerably less interesting than my previous mirror. I felt like the combination of my draws and my familiarity with the matchup allowed me to remain a step ahead of my opponent for both games. As in the previous match, Pyroblasting my opponent’s [card]Brainstorm[/card]s was critical to my success post-board. Game two I closed out with a True-Name Nemesis.

7-1

Round 9: Lance Hartbarger with UWR Delver

This match was over in a heartbeat. My opponent kept a one-lander in game one, and I was able to punish him badly for it. Game two he led with double Delver, but I was able to dig for [card]Pyroblast[/card], [card]Chain Lightning[/card], and [card]Wasteland[/card]s to yet again prevent my opponent from playing a real game of Magic.

8-1

Round 10: Chris VanMeter with UB Tezzeret

This round I mulliganed both games and had fairly weak draws. I played to my outs and almost managed to steal game one, but my opponent’s play was too tight for that. Against a weaker player I believe I’d have been able to take a win here. An interesting thing to note is that my two losses from this event had an awful lot in common: they were both decks capable of casting turn-one [card]Chalice of the Void[/card] at 1; they were both decks I had zero experience playing against before the event; and they were both decks that the [card]Krosan Grip[/card] I cut from my sideboard the morning of the tournament would have been effective against.

8-2

At this point I had very poor tie-breakers and realized that I was likely dead for top eight already. I resolved to win out anyway for the X-2 invite and “win” the best PTQ of the season.

Round 11: Amin Younes with Death and Taxes

Game 1 I played a total of four burn spells on key creatures while narrowly winning a damage race with two threshed Geese against three mana and an active Vial.

Game 2 my opponent kept a six-card one-land hand containing [card]Karakas[/card] and [card]Aether Vial[/card]. My two first plays were [card]Wasteland[/card] and [card]Pithing Needle[/card], and I was able to ride a Delver while his own Thalia prevented him from casting the [card]Swords to Plowshares[/card] in his hand.

9-2

Round 12: Joey Sacino with Punishing Jund

Game 1 was a grind. On a critical turn, Joey faced lethal damage and played [card]Bloodbraid Elf[/card], needing to hit removal or a blocker. He cacaded into a [card]Deathrite Shaman[/card] to chump block and managed to stabilize and kill me.

Game 2 I stole with [card]Wasteland[/card]s and Nemesis.

Game 3 I led with Goose while he played Goyf. A few turns in I ended up Bolting a fresh Deathrite, Submerging his Goyf, Wasting his green source, and cracking a fetchland to instigate a damage race with a now threshed Goose. My next two plays were [card]Force of Will[/card], rendering me hellbent and allowing me to get another six damage in. At this point I peeled a [card]Tarmogoyf[/card] and was firmly ahead for the remainder of the game.

Kudos to Joey; he is a very friendly opponent.

10-2

Round 13: Garrett Fehon with UW Miracles

I don’t have specifics recorded for this match. I recall heaving an internal sigh of relief when my opponent led with [card]Tundra[/card] and [card]Sensei’s Divining Top[/card] as UW Miracles is one of my favorite matchups to play, and I am very confident in my gameplan. I rode a single threat at a time until each was killed and only fought over sources of card advantage ([card]Counterbalance[/card] or [card]Entreat the Angels[/card]) or removal on [card]Nimble Mongoose[/card]. Post-board I took out my [card]Tarmogoyf[/card]s and Dazes and prepared for a long game to be won by 1/1 shroud creatures with a [card]Rest in Peace[/card] in play, which went swimmingly.

My opponent was one of the more pleasant people (and most gracious losers) I have met at a competitive event in a long time. Props to you, Garret.

11-2

Round 14: Shahar Shenhar with Deathblade

This was a featured match (http://wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/eventcoverage/gpwas13/day2#7), although I felt the commentary failed to capture some of the nuance to the decisions that were made by the two of us. Sure, Shahar had some mana issues, but he also decided to rely on [card]Deathrite Shaman[/card] against my deck while resolving both fetchlands and cantrips to find the tools and mana he needed to participate in normal games of Magic. On the opposite side of the coin, I felt as though I had to make some very interesting decisions with my cantrips (as in all of the matches I played over the course of the weekend) and with my interactive spells to win a pair of quick games that were closer than they were made to sound.

12-2

Round 15: Jason Ford with UR Sneaky Show

It was the final round of the GP and I sat down across from my opponent. We discussed the likelihood that the victor of our match would fall into 10th or 11th place at the end of the Swiss and that we were essentially playing a PTQ finals at this point. I knew that he was on Sneaky Show, thanks to the scouting efforts of Pascal Maynard and Sammy T., so I prepared myself to ship any hand full of slow or irrelevant cards.

Game 1 on the play I kept a hand full of blue cards and cantrips but no Force and no pressure. I passed, holding up [card]Stifle[/card], and end-stepped [card]Brainstorm[/card] into double Delver. I don’t like playing endstep [card]Brainstorm[/card] in general, but in this matchup the Threshold player needs to apply pressure early or face an insurmountable late game. I played both Delvers hoping that my opponent either wouldn’t have a turn-two Show or would choose to play around Daze. He resolved Show for Emrakul. I attacked with two flipped Delvers and Chained my opponent, hoping to [card]Stifle[/card] his annihilator trigger on the coming attack and then draw perfectly (topdecked [card]Brainstorm[/card] into a second red source and two burn spells for lethal). My draw for turn was not [card]Brainstorm[/card] and I was slain by Emrakul.

Game 2 I have a highly disruptive Delver draw on the play, Sneaky Show’s worst nightmare. The game was not close.

Game 3 I mulliganed into Force, Force, Pierce, Daze, Dual, Fetch on the draw, knowing that if I drew a cantrip or a threat in the first few turns I had a very good chance of winning the game. My opponent Probed and Pondered. My first draw was [card]Flusterstorm[/card]. On the third turn of the game, I drew and played a [card]Tarmogoyf[/card], leaving one mana untapped. A turn later, my opponent played [card]Show and Tell[/card]. I Pierced and Dazed; he Forced; and I Flusterstormed to end the turn.

I played a Delver, attacked with Goyf, and passed back. My opponent played another [card]Show and Tell[/card], and I tanked. I had three lands in play and my hand was fetchland, [card]Brainstorm[/card], Force, Force. My opponent was tapped out during our previous counter war and very easily could have a [card]Flusterstorm[/card] waiting in the wings. He had four cards in hand, at least one of which I could safely assume was a giant monster, so he had two or three actual cards in hand. My options were to [card]Brainstorm[/card] looking for two blue cards to beat both a single [card]Force of Will[/card] or a single [card]Flusterstorm[/card] but lose to [card]Flusterstorm[/card] if I failed to draw at least two blue cards (blue count: less than 50% in the deck); or I could beat a single [card]Flusterstorm[/card] for sure by pitching Force to Force and holding my brainstorm as a contingency.

At this point my opponent had not projected either weakness or strength of position to me, which made me hesitant to place him on double Show backed by double Force (a grip that even a very disciplined player would have difficulty not projecting confidence in while holding in the finals of a “PTQ”). After about 30 seconds, I put him on [card]Flusterstorm[/card] or nothing, Forcing my Force. He Forced back and I had to dig with [card]Brainstorm[/card]. [card]Brainstorm[/card] hits fetch, Delver, Probe. I tanked for a second and then stacked fetch, Probe on top of my library.

Show and Tell resolved and we placed our cards face down. When the dust settled, I had two 1/1 Delvers and a Goyf to my opponent’s [card]Griselbrand[/card] and one card in hand. He was at 3 life. During my upkeep, my Probe flipped my Delvers. I then played my fetch and cracked it to get rid of the known fetch on top of my deck. I Probed my opponent, revealing his last card in hand to be Emrakul and praying for gas off the top. I drew my card and immediately sent in both Delvers, leaving Goyf at home to take care of the kids. My opponent looked confused but snap blocked one of the two Delvers, so I flashed him the [card]Pyroblast[/card] I’d just drawn and pointed it at the Delver he’d chosen to block, allowing the other to slide past unimpeded for exactly lethal damage and my first Pro Tour invite.

13-2

And that’s it. I was so excited about the outcome of the match that I wasn’t even a little disappointed that I ended up 11th place on breakers. I was pleased with how I played the entire event and was extremely satisfied with the list that I brought. That said, if I were to play in a Legacy Grand Prix tomorrow, I would probably cut a [card]Stifle[/card] for either a third [card]Gitaxian Probe[/card] or a third [card]Chain Lightning[/card] in the main deck, and I would cut the [card]Grafdigger’s Cage[/card] in the sideboard for either a [card]Krosan Grip[/card] or a second [card]Forked Bolt[/card].

If anyone has any specific questions about playing Canadian Threshold that aren’t covered by Alex’s excellent primer, please feel free to ask either in the comments or via Twitter (@gmacmtg).

Thanks for reading, and thanks again to everyone who helped me succeed in this event!