Belgian Nationals, Part 3

Check out part 1 and part 2.

6. Veni, Vidi, Vici

One might think that I must have been feeling quite confident sitting at 5-1. Well, one would be very wrong. Unfortunately, my experience has thought me the difference between ‘almost there’ and ‘there’ is quite big in magic. Add to that the fact that, like I have already mentioned, I had hardly any experience with Eventide and you can understand that I was very cautious with getting my hopes up.

I start off the draft with Kulrath Knight and proceed to stay flexible with a Trip Noose. Subsequently I pick up a Gloomlance, Faerie Macabre and a couple of white cards in Inquisitor’s Snare and Niveous Wisps. The idea of monoblack forms when I take three Loch Korrigans over not much else. When I crack Incremental Blight in the second pack I’m only barely able to withhold myself from doing a lap dance. Bram Meulders (‘brother of’, lover of minerals and Marijn’s nemesis) then proceeds to ship me Kulrath Knight & Puppeteer Clique. I take the latter, figuring I already have a Knight and not much counter action (probably wrong? No clue). Afterwards I don’t get much else (Tatterkite, Good Old Ghastbark, another Macabre) but I’m really happy when I scoop up 2 Oona’s Gatewardens, as my curve until then appeared exponential. I had given up on monoblack at this point since I had nowhere near enough playables even when counting the white cards. Nevertheless, I should be awarded for drafting Zebra in Eventide, right? Yes sir.

Check out this beautiful odd-toed ungulate:

Oona’s Gatewarden
Nightsky Mimic
Sulture Spirit
Hag Hedge-Mage
Gwyllion Hedge-Mage
2 Faerie Macabre
Tatterkite
2 Smoldering Butcher
Voracious Hatchling
Puppeteer Clique
Kulrath Knight
Old Ghastbark

Last Breath
Trip Noose
Inquisitor’s Snare
Unmake
2 Recumbent Bliss
Incremental Blight
Gloomlance

10 Swamps
8 Plains

Zebra! Yes, you're still reading a Magic: the Gathering article.

Bombs? Check.

Removal? Check .

Fliers? Check.

3-0? Check.

Round 7, Jean Philippe Skocek with Red-Green aggro
I lose the first to mana flood and, if I remember correctly, a particularly painful Gift of Deity. After I take control of game two fairly easily I crush his hopes in the last one with a well-timed (I crack myself up) Incremental Blight.

Round 8, Wim Depickere with Red
Wim lost the preceding round and is unfortunate enough to be paired against me. I win game one swiftly with a turn four ‘Supersize me’ Voracious Hatchling. The next game is even more ugly as I topdeck a land to be able to Gloomlance his Deus of Calamity … which joins my side the next turn to kick him in the nuts, thanks to Puppeteer Clique.

Round 9, Pavlos Akritas with Green-White
I draw all my good cards at the right time: Spectral Procession? Incremental Blight. Archon of Justice? Unmake. A frustrated Pavlos has no chance. Nevertheless, let me be so generous to share embarrassing moment #2:

Pavlos attacked with all his creatures on his turn so I can safely strike back with Suture Spirit and a Hedge Mage. That is, if he didn’t have a Safehold Sentry. Oops. Pavlos obviously calls my bullshit, untaps the Sentry and prepares to block. Trip Noose saves my creature but it’s too late to save my dignity.

8-1

Finally reunited with my precious red deck, nothing can go wrong now, can it?

Reunited at last.

Round 10, Gilles Grandjean with a red deck
I told Gilles I built my deck to win the mirror so he’s curious to see what’s up my sleeve. Unfortunately I don’t have any Mogg War Marshals in game one, but two Skreds are enough to seal the deal in a tight race. In the second game he has to mulligan twice and doesn’t really stand a chance.

9-1

Round 11, Sacha Bonroy with Elves
We take an intentional draw.

Round 12, Jurgen Cleuren with 5cBlink
All the blood drains from his face when I tell him I might want to play. After one minute of pondering my inner pussy rears its ugly head and I draw.

9-1-2

In retrospect, I didn’t consider all my options at the time: I could have conceded. I knew there was a big chance I would have to play Luis or Pascal in the quarters. Both are friends, first-class players and are packing relatively good decks against me. If I had conceded I would have ended up 3rd and this would pit me against Bernardo/Pavlos or Bram/X , which might have been preferable by a small margin.

In the end the top 8 looks like this:
1 Doise, Jan 29 RDW
2 Bonroy, Sacha 29 Elves
3 Grandjean, Gilles 28 RDW
4 Siron, Geoffrey 28 RDW
5 Cleuren, Jurgen 28 5cBlink
6 Da Costa Cabral, Bernardo 27 Reveillark
7 Meulders, Bram 27 Elves
8 Vieren, Pascal 27 Reveillark

7. Veni, vidi, edi
Saturday evening we have our yearly date with ‘t Fonduehuisje. I try to impress Pascal with my chocolate fondue skills in an eating contest, which has some effect as apparently he didn’t sleep from eating too much. Try to think out-of-the-box when looking for a way to win, folks!

8. Requiem for a Dream
I agreed with Pascal to exchange decklists since Christophe already told me some of his sideboard. I know, I have to work on that inner pussy. For reference, this is his list:

4 Adarkar Wastes
2 Mouth of Ronom
4 Mystic Gate
5 Snow-Covered Island
7 Snow-Covered Plains
1 Tolaria West
2 Aven Riftwatcher
2 Body Double
2 Kitchen Finks
2 Mirror Entity
4 Mulldrifter
4 Reveillark
2 Riftwing Cloudskate
2 Venser, Shaper Savant
2 Careful Consideration
3 Mind Stone
2 Momentary Blink
2 Pact of Negation
3 Prismatic Lens
2 Runed Halo
3 Wrath of God

Sideboard:
3 Condemn
3 Faerie Macabre
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Pact of Negation
2 Sacred Mesa
2 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
2 Teferi's Moat

I must confess I wasn’t too happy to see Kitchen Finks *and* Aven Riftwatcher, Mouth of Ronom, main deck Runed Halo, and Teferi’s Moat. But despite all that I still estimated my chances around 40%.

In the first game we both have good hands and at some point he’s at 7 when I draw a second burn spell. He has two mana open and a Riftwatcher + Cloudskate in play so I play around Blink by attacking with my Demigod to get rid of the Riftwatcher. With the life-gain effect on the stack I throw the burn at him and the first one is in the bag. Pact of Negation. Probably wouldn’t have been so excruciating if I had thought of it.

For the remainder of the match I sideboard as usual against Reveillark (Macabres, Sulfurous Blasts) and add 1 to 2 Unwilling Recruits to have an extra winning condition against Teferi’s Moat. In between games I always shuffle my sideboard into my deck to annoy him. The smallest mental edge can do it, folks!

Too bad the remaining games weren’t that interesting as each time one player drew much better than the other, the end result being a 3-1 victory for Pascal. Perhaps I should have mulliganed a questionable hand in the last game (No action before turn three) but hindsight is 20/20 hence I have no regrets.

9. Aftermath
The good: I’ve won four points and five boxes. I'm extremely motivated to do well at Berlin. I'm happy to have Pascal on our squad for Berlin and Memphis.
The bad: I’m still far away from those precious 30 points (13 to go) and I missed an excellent opportunity to earn a ticket to the US and play in the National team.
The ugly: 5 out of the other 7 decks in the top eight were >50% matchups.

Tired now,
-Jan.

Belgian Nationals, Part 2

In part one you heard all about my preparation for Nationals and how I, albeit a bit emotional, reached the tournament site.

After arriving my yoga sessions pay off since my mental condition becomes perfect and I even have an enormous lust to sling red spells. Let's get it on!

Round 1, Geert Tyssens with Red-Black tokens
I take the first game with a strong draw. During sideboarding I am actually salivating as I bring in Gargadons and Unwilling Recruits which give me hope for winning this otherwise bad matchup. In the second game things are back and forth until he gets out two Grave Pacts and draws a Mogg War Marshall. My hope wasn’t misplaced though as I manage to kill him in the decider before he has time for shenanigans.

Round 2, Tristan Pype with something including green
This match was such a beating that I don’t even remember what deck he played. I do recall him playing Primal Command, going to 16, and dying the next turn anyway. What can I say, Demigods treat other Demigods well.

Round 3, Johan Dewez with funky Quick 'n Toast
The first game is pretty even until I drop the hammer - I can't remember if it was Demigod number two or a combination of burn spells. In the second he wants to cast Sudden Death (which he fetched with Mystical Teachings the turn before) with an empty Dreadship Reef, Reflecting Pool and two other lands as I turn my Figure into a monster. He awkwardly looks at his lands and scoops.

3-0, did you expect anything else?

I sit down at a table without many familiar faces, and open Mulldrifter and Cairn Wanderer. I figure Mulldrifter is the best pick, but I’m not sure (it’s been a while). In the end Cairn Wanderer finds his way into my pile and I immediately regret it. I continue with Lash Out over Aethersnipe and then Wren’s Run Vanquisher. After I pick Lys Alana Scarblade out of an empty pack and see another one in the next pack I decide to go all-in on Elves (Going all-in is almost always the right move in this format if you are unaware).

All in.

The deck:
Bramblewood Paragon
2 Wren Run’s Vanquisher
Blightsoil Druid
Leaf Gilder
Kithkin Mourncaller
Fertilid
Moonglove Changeling
3 Lys Alana Scarblade
Gilt-Leaf Ambush
Ambassador Oak
Lys Alana Huntmaster
Final-Sting Faerie
Elvish Promenade
Cairn Wanderer
Weed-Pruner Poplar
Nightshade Schemers

Earthbrawn
Nameless Inversion
Lignify
Moonglove Extract

9 Forest
8 Swamp

I was happy with the result, nothing is really lacking and I have some powerful cards and synergy.

Round 4, Stijn Van Goethem, Blue-Red Elementals
Something went wrong with Stijn’s draft, most of his cards are mediocre and he never really has a chance.

Round 5, Julien Bernard, White-Black Kithkin
The first game is going according to plan until Final Revels wreaks havoc. I win the next even though I have embarrassing moment #1:
My Vanquisher is facing Moonglove Changeling and Kithkin Greatheart. I want to trade with the changeling and thus attack, unaware of the fact that the Greatheart is big and I have no tricks up my sleeve. Julien immediately pushes the Greatheart forward and my heart pounds as I realize my misplay, but I manage to stay cool on the outside and a fraction of a second later he takes it back and thinks some more. Finally he decides not to take the risk and trades with his changeling. Ding!

Unfortunately it was all for naught as he comes out strong in the last game, unlike myself, and I'm left defeated.

Round 6, Michael De Bosscher, Blue-Black
After losing the first game, I take the match fairly easily with my Scarblades playing a key role.
5-1

Still in the mood for more, I manage to start up a Shadowmoor draft, in the hope of having a clue tomorrow instead of spending all my pick time reading Eventide cards. I manage to draft a really solid Black-Red deck but in a close final against Peter I succumb to his monored. At least I had my first positive record in the format.

Until next time, when this epic story will come to its dramatic end,
Jan.

Belgian Nationals, Part 1

1. Foreplay

Ah, nationals. The tournament of tournaments. It’s like the Olympics, only more special. Even for people who already have numerous Pro Tours under their belt, there is something extra-ordinary about it. In theory it’s just a quadruple PTQ, but in practice everybody wants to be that guy carrying the flag come December (well, except Stan, who probably prefers sleeping).

2002 Belgian National Team. So young and naive.

 2. Vandaag is rood, de kleur van jouw lippen

 In my preparation for nationals, I had some dilemmas:

• I had almost no time for practicing
• I had almost no willingness to test standard
• I really wanted to do well, in a vain attempt to reach 30 PT points this season and regain some self-esteem

This left me with only one out: play a red deck.

I choose red.

 3. Grand Prix Copenhagen

I leave for this tournament bringing only the bare necessities: my red cards and my mobile phone. I give Frank Karsten (the man, the myth, the buffoon that played Rekindled Flame) a call and he shares his decklist, which, next to Rekindled Flame, also features Brute Force. 

The deck performs quite well, as I only lose to Red-Black tokens (bad matchup I guess), Elves (bad luck I guess), and twice to other red decks (out of four matches, seems fair).

Since my theory is that almost everybody always plays creature decks in Belgium I plan to adapt the deck to win the mirror and win nationals. 

I bought this card at a dealer. So much for my self-esteem.

4. Les Ardennes 

In order to fully prepare ourselves mentally (be completely Zen) for the tournament of tournaments, I organised a magical weekend (need more puns) in the Ardennes. All present: Fried, Peter, Pascal, Marijn, Kelly, Christophe, Jurgen, Stijn (although not always conscious) and myself. I once again bring only the bare necessities: my red cards, packs, and water balloons. 

A day in this soothing environment lifts me to higher spirits and I build the perfect red deck:

4 Figure of Destiny
2 Magus of the Scroll
4 Blood Knight
3 Mogg War Marshall
4 Ashenmoor Gouger
2 Boggart Ram Gang
4 Demigod of Revenge
4 Skred
4 Incinerate
4 Flame Javelin
3 Keldon Megaliths
22 Snow-Covered Mountains

Sideboard:
3 Greater Gargadon
3 Unwilling Recruit
3 Faerie Macabre
2 Magus of the Moon
2 Sulfur Elemental
2 Sulfurous Blast 

The key in the mirror is very simple:

•  Don’t take damage (Mogg War Marshall)
•  Kill their big guys (Skred, Unwilling Recruit + Gargadon)
• Let your big guys do the job (Greater Gargadon)

Not that I had any chance to test the sideboard, but it looked great in theory. 

I did test against Reveillark though, where I went funky against Marijn and brought in Sulfurous Blasts (alongside Macabres, obviously), which were surprisingly good. Since they sideboard in Condemns, Runed Halo, etc. they have to take out action cards and most of the time they are rather low on gas. The Sulfurous Blasts together with all the other direct damage ensure you can kill all their guys (obviously you need Macabres with this strategy) and eventually they’ll die. I believe it was 5-1 in testing (sample size, schmample size). 

I mentally put all the other decks in the box ‘Creature deck/Bad deck/Other’ which I considered a good matchup without having to test. 

Boosterdraft was another story. I felt comfortable with LLM, having practiced a lot for Malaysia. I only got the chance to draft SSE twice, going a combined 1-2. The sole win being against judge Jurgen who was screwed.

5. Oh such a perfect day

It’s the 5^th of September, 7:30 a.m. Together with Stan I’m cruising on cobblestone roads in order to avoid traffic. Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy?

It makes me think about all the sacrifices I’ve already made in my life, just in the hope of getting there once. Spent thousands of euros. Played 2HG with Geoffrey Siron. Slept in the same bed as Marijn Lybaert. Sat in planes & airports for 36 continuous hours. Sold my soul to the devil. Had my fries stolen by Marijn Lybaert.

But it’s just the price I pay.
Destiny is calling me.
Open up my eager eyes.
I’m Mr. Belgian Champ.

To be continued.