APRIL 2018: Mono Blue Merfolk

A week into the fourth month of the year, Friday Quest Hobby Shop (FQ) announced that they’ll be having their second team outing to be held at the same resort at Pansol, Laguna. Since it's an open invitation, I decided to be part of it. Here's what I brought for their event.

GP Pansol, Laguna
28 April 2018

Mono Blue Merfolk  

Main Deck
2 Dismember

4 Spreading Seas     

4 Aether Vial

1 Phantasmal Image

3 Master of Waves

4 Merfolk Trickster

4 Silvergill Adept

4 Curesecatcher

4 Harbinger of the Tides

3 Merrow Reejerey

4 Lord of Atlantis

4 Master of the Pearl Trident    

15 Island

4 Mutavault

Sideboard

4 Relic of Progenitus

3 Ceremonious Rejection

3 Negate

3 Gut Shot 

2 Dispel

The event had 20+ players, 5 rounds of swiss plus top eight. I faced the following: 

GRIX Death Shadow 1-2

Blue Living End 2-0

UW Control 2-0

Ad Nauseam 2-1

ID

Notes:
As for the top eight finishers, instead of using their own decks, they were provided with a deck. So before the start of the quarter-finals, I got an Abzan. Unfortunately, I lost to a UW Jace-Gideon deck.

Merfolk Trickster was superb all night long. Here are some of the things that I can still recall from the event:

(i) Initially, I thought two is the perfect number of it in the main deck. But after play testings with Naya Revolt Zoo, UR Gifts Storm, Dredge, and Titanshift, I am convince that four is the correct number. Tapping opponent's creatures is neat, and making it lose all its ability is so beneficial for us because it can win you the game in certain situations. 

(ii) Dismembers are no longer needed. With the addition of Merfolk Trickster, the deck has already 10 to 12 tappers (depending on your build: Trickster, Harbinger, and Reejerey) which I think are enough if you are going up against any aggro base deck. I'd probably replace the Dismembers with counter spells, Negate or Spell Pierce maybe. 

(iii) Here's a list of creatures we always see in the battlefield in which if played at the right situation, Merfolk Trickster can shift the tide into your favor: Laboratory Maniac, Signal Pest, Master of Etherium, infect creatures, those creatures that has a trigger when it is put into the graveyard from play: Wurmcoil Engine, Strangleroot Geist, Kitchen Finks, Voice of Resurgence, Matter Reshaper, Thought-Knot Seer, and the like; UR storm bears, Tarmogoyf, Phyrexian Revoker, Magus of the Moon, the red eidolon, any of he elves creatures except those have enters the battlefield triggers, Vizier of Remedies, Devoted Druid, Meddling Mage, denying him of islandwalk in case of mirror, and in situations wherein you would like to remove their first or double strikes, death touch, flying, trample, lifelink, and annihilator. 

(iv) I should have removed the Spreading Seas versus Grixis DS. 

(v) Always remember that Ad Nauseam has Bontu's Last Reckoning in their sideboard. For game three, I did not commit all on creatures. Despite the presence of Phyrexian Unlife, two lords and a Silvergill Adept were enough to get me there. Always save whatever counter spells you bring in for the deck's name sake. 

That's all for now folks! Thanks for reading! 

-Paeng4983

Manila's Eternal Calendar  

May 2018 
1 - NG Glorieta (modern) (1pm and 5pm pods)
   - NG Centris  (modern) (2pm)
   - NG VMall (modern) (1pm)
   - FQ (modern) (4pm)

12 - Block 101 (modern team trio non-unified) (12pm)

13 - Regran (modern) (Shock me not II) (11am)
     - Pinoy Planeswalker Season III at PC Butler (modern) (11am)

20 - Kick Engines (legacy) (12pm)

26 - Gatecrashers Anonas (modern) (12pm)
    - MALCON Malolos (modern and legacy pauper) (8am)

27 - Gatecrashers Anonas (legacy pauper) (12pm)

every Tuesday at Regran (7pm)
every Wedsnesday at Cedrick's (7pm)
every Thurdays at Block 101 (7pm)
Madcap Modern League every Saturday at Madcap (6pm)
every Sunday at MDP Bicutan Pque (3pm)

June 2018
3 - King of the North (Baguio) (modern)

July 2018
14 - (modern) Emperor of the South 50k modern tournament

APRIL 2018: Black, Green, red, and white.

I rarely pilot an eternal black-green deck. If I remember it correctly, excluding the Gb Kavu-False cure berserk stumpy, I only used the archetype twice. The first was five years ago, more or less, when I borrowed Mack's all foil Legacy Junk deck; and the second was around three years ago at Legion's. Joining the BGx crusade really never crossed my mind until the first Saturday of March 2018 after an inventory and found that I only needed a handful of cards to complete a BGx deck. I checked the inter web for deck list and rediscovered that most of them has this uniform: Jund,  Black-Green, and Sultai. So out of the cards that I own, the best BGx deck (without acquiring sets of Liliana of the Veil and Fulminator Mages) is a building it around Death's Shadow and Tarmogoyf. With the help of the Manila's very own Legendary Froilan Jr. and Ms. Ariane of Madcap Gaming, I was able to complete my BGxx pool in two weeks time. Here's my first try. 

BGrw

Main

3 Blood Crypt / 2 Overgrown Tomb / 1 Stomping Ground / 1 Temple Garden / 1 Godless Shrine / 1 Mountain / 1 Forest / 1 Swamp / 3 Windswept Heath / 1 Polluted Delta / 4 Bloodstained Mire / 2 Marsh Flats

4 Tarmogoyf / 3 Bloodbraid Elf / 4 Dark Confidant / 4 Death's Shadow

4 Thought Seize / 3 Inquisition of Kozilek / 1 Kolaghan's Command

4 Lightning Bolt / 3 Terminate / 2 Abrupt Decay / 1 Maelstrum Pulse / 2 Fatal Push / 4 Bitterblossom

Sideboard

1 Kitchen Finks / 1 Maelstrum Pulse / 1 Surgical Extraction / 2 Rest in Peace / 2 Stony Silence / 1 Nihil Spellbomb / 2 Anger of Gods / 1 Rending Volley / 1 Path to Exile / 1 Pithing Needle / 1 Crumble to Dust / 1 Ghost Quarter

Pretty ugly, I know. The list is rough as hell. 

31 March 2018

Madcap

30+ players and five rounds, so sweet! My first round assignment was a mono red goblin deck. I lost this one because for the following: (i) the Goblin Bushwhacker's +1/+0 pumps; (ii) direct damage from his Lightning Bolt and Goblin Grenade; (iii) Dark Confidant revealed Bloodbraid Elf, twice; and (iv) my recklessness of fetch - shock land - Thoughtseize. Unfortunately, my supposed to be five-rounder modern debut with the deck came to an abrupt end (a minute before round two) because of a work related emergency that I cannot delegate. Days before my next tournaments, I revisited my list and cerebrated on how to get better with it. 

Adjustment
Well, about the fetch-shock-Thoughseize, I'd probably be more mindful next time. Also, I will trim the number of Thoughtseize to two copies and increase Inquisition of Kozilek's number by one. Next is choosing between the red-green elf berserker and the black human wizard. Both cards are great. Each gives the deck a somewhat card advantage. But between the two, I'd probably retain Dark Confidant. Yes I know that the cascade off BBE is good but (I think) Bob's upkeep trigger is better in the long run. And besides, I do not want to see Bob flipping BBE again. 

I brought the seventy-five (in the picture) in my next two outings. By the way, the 4/4 green baloth and stony are two of's.

Three wins and five losses
I visited NG Centris and MDP in which I ended up with a combined record of three wins and five losses. Here are the eight decks that I faced. 

NG Centris 
UB Library Mill 0-2
Mono Green Aggro 2-0
Scapeshift 2-0
UW Control 0-2
UW Control 0-2

Magical Dream Portal  
Scapeshift 2-0
UR Gifts Storm 1-2
Mardu YP 0-2

Total: 3-5  (7-10)


Notes
And here are the things that I can still remember three days after MDP's.

-Out of seventeen games, my best play was (probably) during the third round at NG Centris. It was his turn, on his board he had 8 lands (two of which are Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle and the rest were Mountains) and two cards at hand. He dropped his first card, a fetch land - cracked it for a mountain - trigger pinnacles aiming at a 5/6 Tarmogoyf. I responded with a Kolaghan's Command (mode: discard and two damage at him) and saw his Summoner's Pact goes to his graveyard. After that, he was not able to get any relevant spell. I won the game thanks to a group of black faerie rouge flying 1/1 tokens off Bitterblossom.

-Speaking of Bitterblossom, I died to it multiple times (like seven out of ten). I'd probably cut a copy of it and replace it with something else for my next tournament.

-Versus UR Storm, game two, I had a very good defensive hand: Maelstrom Pulse, two Abrupt Decays, and a Lightning Bolt. Then Dark Confidant reached my hand naturally. Hastily dropped it on the table before shipping the turn back. I never get the turn back. I will exercise more diligence next time. 

-A couple of Dreadbore will be added into my seventy-five to help me win against Jace and friends. 

-Still fetching the wrong shock land.

-And lastly, Rest and Peace and Tarmogoyf in my opening seven: the horror. 

A week after MDP's, I team-up with Naya Burn and Lantern at FQ's team event. It was just so unfortunate that we lost our win-in-game (last round). Here are the decks that I faced during the event. 

Affinity 2-0
Coco 1-2
Lantern 2-1
Tron 1-2
Hallowed One Vengine Vine 1-2
(2-3)  (7-7)

Here's the sixty and fifteen by the way. 

Lands:
4 Bloodstained Mire / 3 Windswept Heath / 2 Marsh Flats / 1 Treetop Village / 3 Blood Crypt / 3 Overgrown Tomb / 2 Godless Shrine / 1 Temple Garden / 1 Forest / 1 Swamp / 1 Mountain

Creatures:
4 Tarmogoyf / 4 Death's Shadow / 4 Dark Confidant

Spells:
3 Bitterblossom / 4 Thoughtseize / 4 Inquisition of Kozilek / 3 Abrupt Decay / 2 Maelstrom Pulse / 3 Terminate / 3 Path to Exile / 

Sideboard:
2 Anger of the Gods / 1 Stony Silence / 1 Kataki, War Wage / 1 Ancient Grudge / 2 Obstinate Baloth/ 1 Kitchen Finks / 1 Eidolon of Rhetotic / 1 Ghost Quarter / 1 Crumble to Dust / 2 Rakdos Charm / 2 Back to Nature

Notes
- I died to Bob's trigger in a crucial game versus Collected Company.

- I never died to Bitterblossom. 

- Path to Exile is better than Tidehallow Sculler. 

- Always be on the look out for those window of opportunity. I just missed a crucial situation in which I should have had fired my sideboard card. 

- Probably, there are line of plays that I missed or overlooked. I'll need to improve on that aspect. 

- Rakdos Charm is great, but not that stellar. 

After playing 14 rounds (5-9 .357), or a total of 33 games (14-19 .424), with BGrw, though unimpressive, I am happy with it. I'll try to be better with this on my next event. Thank you reading folks! 

-Paeng4983

MARCH 2018: UR STORM side event at GP Kyoto 2018

Modern side event 

Grand Prix Kyoto
25 March 2018

 
A week before my return to the Land of the Rising Sun, I pondered on what deck should I bring in case we did not made it to day two. 5 peso stumpy (legacy), burn (legacy / modern), mono blue merfolk (modern) and UR Storm (modern) are my top five picks. Burn topped the list because of two reasons: (i) easily convertible into whatever format I wishes to play; and (ii) it can be my last minute substitution for AnT. 

Then I remembered that I have not played against Jace and BBE in modern since the announcement. My desire to play against them won my heart. Thus this made me sleeved UR Storm as my side event deck for Grand Prix Kyoto. I sleeved the same 71 from my March 3 Gatecrasher Anonas tournament. The changes are: - 1 Gifts Ungiven, -1 Increasing Vengeance, and 2 Faithless Looting swapping them for a set of Opts. 

The day two side event had only eight rounds of swiss. Here are my match ups.

Affinity 2-0
Coco 1-2
Hallowed 2-0
Abzan 2-1
Bant spirit 2-0
UGr Merfolk 2-0
Ponza 1-2
Tron 2-0
(6-2) (14-5)

Affinity 
He had a slow start in his game one thus gave me enough time in setting up my red enchantment kill. Game two, I totally did not expected a second turn Rest in Peace from him. Good thing the one-off Empty the Warrens showed up the turn after his white enchantment hit the table. 16 goblins, I win in two swings. 

Coco
I totally regret going to mid game versus this deck. 

Hallowed One
Both games, Baral led my storm troopers. Game one went off in my turn four while it was turn 5 for game two. Perilous Voyage's scry two was really a big help in fixing the top of my library. 

Abzan
Game three, I never get the chance to go off because his discard spells took care of the cards I have. Unfortunately, when his life point was at five (because of fetches into shocklands plus Thoughtseizes), his judge foil Dark Confidant kept on revealing non-land cards: Inquisition, Tarmogoyf, and a Liliana. Lucky me.

Bant Spirit
Lightning Bolt + Pyromancer Ascension bailed me out from the jaws of defeat during our game two. Lightning Bolt (putting PA's second counter) killing the 2/3 flying spirit - freeing the PiF it imprisoned - putting PIF on the stack, copying and allowing to resolve PA's copy first; recycling instant cards from the yard (and effectively refilling them) was the focal point of the game turning things into my favor.

UGr Merfolk
A turn two (via ritual) Blood Moon wins me the game. Slow roll from there. WIN. 

Ponza
Game three, PA went online but did not draw necessary cards. I lose. 

RG Tron
Game one, turn three PA went online. Game two, Chief of Compliance led the way to victory.

 
Thanks for reading!

-Paeng4983

MARCH 2018: Grand Prix Kyoto Team Event

Kick Engines's March 11th event was supposed to be my last tune-up tournament before heading to Grand Prix Kyoto. Unfortunately, an important errand got in way. So I was forced to sit that one out. Instead, I read internet materials and asked fellow experienced AnT players for advise. 

AnT
4 Ponder / 4 Brainstorm / 4 Gitaxian Probe / 1 Pre-Ordain / 3 Duress / 3 Cabal Therapy / 4 Lion's Eye Diamond / 4 Lotus Petal / 4 Dark Ritual / 4 Cabal Ritual / 4 Infernal Tutor / 2 Burning Wish / 1 Ad Nauseam / 1 Past in Flames / 1 Tendrils of Agony / 1 Empty the Warrens / 4 Polluted Delta / 3 Misty Rainforest / 2 Underground Sea / 1 Volcanic Island / 1 Badland / 1 Bayou / 1 Tropical Island / 1 Swamp / 1 Island

Sideboard:
1 Empty the Warrens / 1 Tendrils of Agony / 1 Dark Petition / 2 Abrupt Decay / 2 Hurkyl's Recall / 1 Surgical Extraction / 2 Flusterstorm / 2 Chain of Vapor / 2 Fatal Push / 1 Xantid Swarm  

My team played the team trios Friday four rounder side event. I faced the following:
Grix DRS Delver 2-0
BUG DRS Agent 1-2
Grix YP Delver 1-2
Miracles 2-0
(2-2) (6-4)

For the main event:
Rw Goblin 2-0
BUG Agent 2-0
Eldrazi 1-2
Grix YP Delver 2-1
Reanimator 1-2
Grix 2-0
Dragon Stompy 2-0
Omnitell / Sneak 2-0
(6-2) ( 14-5) 

Some of the things that I can recall.
-Xantid Swarm was great versus counter spells and friends.
-Goblin tokens off ETW are amazing versus team DRS.
-Hurkyl's Recall > Chalices set at zero and one + Trinisphere.
-Do not forget to flashback Cabal Therapy right after you puke out goblin tokens (especially in games two or three). ETW in the main is very effective in a meta where DRS decks are rampant.
-Reanimator killed me in his turn one.  
-Burning Wish was great! 
-I forgot to include Past in Flames and Echoing Truths in the sideboard. 
-My very first legacy game in a year and a half, a turn one kill versus an unknown opponent (which turns out that he was on a Grix DRS variant). 
-Managed to win against this hand: two Force of Wills, Stifle, Daze, and a Ponder (without Xantid's help).

 -Used his spells to fuel my storm count.
-Feels good whenever multiple copies of a card is hit by a blind Cabal Therapy. 
-My last game was versus Omnitell deck. Game two, my opening seven was: Brainstorm, petal, LED, probe, dak ritual, and PiF. I decided to keep this despite the fact that he will increase the number of counter magic spells to his deck. Ancient Tomb + petal into Show and Tell into Sneak Attack were his first moves. I drew for the turn (2nd LED). I looked at my hand and asked myself what to fire first: Brainstorm or Gitaxian Probe? The advantage of the latter first is that you'll be able to dig a card deepet than if it is the former. I decided to drop and cracked the fetch into an Underground Sea. Brainstorm let me see these: Tendrils of Agony, Dark Ritual and another Gitaxian Probe. I returned my two four to cast sorcery spell into the top of my library with PiF being second to the top. I brought down my first probe and prayed solemnly to god keranos that he'll not have any Force of Will at hand. "Probe you" I said. He shook his head for a second or two before allowing me to took that his remaining three cards at hand: Volcanic Island, Griselbrand, and a Brainstorm. Coast is clear. Casted every card in my hand, probe into PiF into recycle whatever instant or sorcery cards I can recast into lethal tendrils for the win.  

*Especial thanks to Mr. Wilson Co (for the Odland) and Mr. JM Abellera (for the whole deck). Also to Rodrigo, strong 75 you have there man! THANK YOU VERY MUCH GUYS!

Thanks for reading everyone! Until next time!

-Paeng4983 

March 2018: Damping Sphere

Damping Sphere
2
Artifact

If a land is tapped for two or more mana, it produces C instead of any other type and amount.

Each spell a player casts costs 1 more to cast for each other spell that player has cast this turn.

FEBRUARY: Modern UR Storm

The morning of February 13th saw an unusual amount of online activities because almost all of my planeswalker FB acquaintances posted mixed reactions about the unbanning of Jace the Mind Sculptor and BloodbraidElf. I was expecting the blue planeswalker two or three B&Rs ago; but the red-green elf, it surprised me. February 19th is the effectivity of the announcement but it is only on February 24th that I will get the chance to play modern. 

24 February 2018

Gatecrashers Anonas

Anonas, Quezon City 

Main deck
4 Scalding Tarn

2 Flooded Strand

4 Spirebluff Canal

3 Steam Vents

3 Island

1 Mountain

4 Serum Vision

4 Sleight of Hand

4 Thought Scour

4 Manamorphose

4 Desperate Ritual

4 Pyretic Ritual

1 Peer Through Depths

1 Increasing Vengeance

1 Gifts Ungiven

3 Past in Flames

3 Grapeshot

4 Pyromancer Ascension    

4 Baral, Chief of Compliance

Side board

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Empty the Warrens

3 Blood Moon

2 Shattering Storm

2 Perilous Voyage

1 Defense Grid

My match ups.

JUND 1-2

Dredge 2-0

Boros 1-2

Titan Breach 2-0

Boros 2-0

(no show) win

Notes

I got my wish, a rematch with BBE. Unfortunately I lost this one because I got lock out of my own Blood Moon. 

Versus Boros, opponent mulled for that red eidolon. 

Instead of two pieces of Echoing Truth as my catch all answer to whatever board hate my opponent will have, I used Perilous Voyage in its place. Returning multiple copies of a non land permanent is the sole advantage of the former over the latter. The scry two from Perilous Voyage really worked well (gave me the necessary cards I needed in order for me to go off) during my day at Gatecrashers Anonas.

Always remember that when casting a Past in Flames while having an online Pyromancer Ascension at the same time on the table, you must use the copy of PIF off the red enchantment first and use those instant cantrips / cards (rituals, Manamorphoses, Peer Through Depths, Thought Scour, Gifts Ungiven, and even Increasing Vengeance) from your graveyard before resolving the original one. 

Also, please do not forget Rest in Peace's comes into play trigger.

This coming weekend, Manila will see three modern tournaments.Here they are. 

Saturday 
March 3
Regran Modern Open

Sunday
Courtyard (Maceda cor Calamba Sts., Manila) 
Kick Engines 

Thanks for reading! 

-Paeng4983