Magic: the sucking

[tigertoy]

I finally got to FNM and played Standard -- my first Standard FNM since Theros came out. I had a deck that I thought was OK, but I got crushed horribly, and to top it off I was feeling like I might be starting to get sick, so I couldn't stay for afterdraft -- which I haven't been able to do for like 2 months.

this may be off by a card somewhere, because I was borrowing 2 Kalonian Hydras -- thanks, Sarah! -- and I'd fiddled with the deck a bit to make room for them, and then I fiddled a bit more after I gave them back, and I'm not quite sure I reconstructed correctly.

main:
4 Advent of the Wurm
1 Arbor Colossus
4 Boon Satyr
1 Bow of Nylea
4 Elvish Mystic
4 Fleecemane Lion
1 Frontline Medic
1 Garruk, Caller of Beasts
3 Kalonian Hydra
2 Kalonian Tusker
4 Loxodon Smiter
1 Plummet
4 Selesnya Charm
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Voice of Resurgence

10 Forest
6 Plains
4 Temple Garden

side:
1 Arrest
1 Druid's Deliverance
1 Fade into Antiquity
2 Mistcutter Hydra
1 Pacifism
1 Pithing Needle
2 Plummet
1 Riot Control
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sundering Growth
2 Unflinching Courage
1 Witchstalker

I've played casually with the main deck enough to feel sort of comfortable with it, but the sideboard is still fairly half-assed. Match 1, I played Phil Stanton, who was playing a Bant brew featuring a lot of the same cards I'm running plus Sphinx's Revelation and Trostani. Game 1, I mulled to 5 while he went to 6, I didn't get out to a quick lead, and he Sphinxed me into oblivion. Game 2, he had to mull to 6 and my deck actually worked, he had some creatures but I had more and killed him. Game 3, I made a colossal misplay. He had a Voice out and I waited until his turn to cast Advent of the Wurm -- giving him a Voice token that was 4/4 at the time. I might have had a chance without that, but with that error it was all over. 0-1. Match 2, I played Andy Forbes. When I sat down, he had an Erebos face up on top of his deck and I knew I would have trouble. Turned out he was playing a green splash in his mono-black for Abrupt Decay. Mull to 6 game 1 left me too little to kill him quickly and I couldn't come back. Game 2, I boarded in extra Plummets but they didn't help me as much as his Lifebane Zombies helped him. 0-2. Match 3, Zach Morlock was running his Rakdos deck. Game 1 I flooded badly, and while I was amassing my 8 lands and 3 Caryatids, he was actually drawing effective cards. Game 2, I drew a 0 lander, mulled to 6, and stupidly decided to keep 1 Plains and a Caryatid, and never drew a Forest. I dunno -- I was unlikely to win with any 5 card hand, but I had to draw a forest turn 2 to have any chance with that keep, just under 25%. We had half an hour so we played a couple more games, and of course I won both of them handily, once it didn't count. 0-3. Round 4, I dodged the bye because the 19th person had dropped, and Joe Buckus piloting Esper showed me how unprepared my deck is to handle Elspeth. Elspeth killed me game 1, game 2 I actually came out quick and killed him, and game 3 he got Elspeth again and I didn't see my 1 Pithing Needle before she went ultimate. Then round 5, another person dropped and I got stuck with the bye.

The only positive thing about the whole night was that I won the Commander deck in the door prize lottery.