PTQ Austin - Winner

I realize I haven't updated my blog in over 5 months but there reall hasn't been anything for me to write about except for those 2 PTQ wins and the money in PT Honolulu. Today I'm here to write about my latest PTQ win last weekend in the scenic Wichita, KS.

The week leading up to the PTQ I had no idea what I wanted to play. I had had minor sucess with 5cb and Elementals but only on a local level and I didn't really like the decks enough to PTQ with. There weren't any decks that I liked but Boss and Kenny kept talking about this Elf deck. It had been a while since I modo'd for anything other than draft so I didn't know it had been putting up some decent results. When I saw other people who's opinions I actually respect saying the deck is good I decided I would give B.J. and Kenny a chance. I put the deck together in MWS and goldfished the deck a few times then beat up on some randoms. The Thursday before the PTQ I decided I would be gaming with 4x Regal Force and maybe even some Mosswort Bridges.

After borrowing what Boss had put together, changing some cards around and finding the Sunpetal Groves and Archdruids I had my deck. The plan was to meet up at Win More and drive down in the morning with Coonan and Scott. I got back to Danielles place around 1:30, she got home at 2:00 and I got to sleep around 3:30. Next thing I know my alarm is going off and I'm having thoughts of calling up Scott and telling him they can leave without me because there is no possible way I'm getting out of this bed right now. Then I remember I have cards that I have to loan out to Brett McCleaf and Loren Canady. Couldn't bring myself to end the PTQ for these guys because I was too lazy so I get up and head out.

The drive down was uneventful. I head my headphones on and tried to sleep in the back but that didn't work out. When we got there we saw that the place it was being held at was also having a farmers markey outside. SCORE! There was enough vegetables, wooden crafts and old people to go around.

I register this:
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Heritage Druid
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Devoted Druid
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Ranger of Eos
4 Regal Force
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Vampire Aristocrat
1 Elvish Promenade
2 Manamorphose
4 Primal Command
1 Mosswort Bridge
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Wooded Bastion
10 Forest
SB:
1 Quasili Pridemage
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Silence
3 Path to Exile
3 Cloudthresher
4 Great Sable Stag

The event finally started almost an hour late but I guess I'm only complaining because I'm a KC player and have been spoiled rotten by Feral Events, Lloyd Dodson and Josh Olson.

DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NO NOTES FROM THIS TOURNAMENT SO THIS IS ALL WHAT I CAN REMEMBER.

Round 1: Justin Boyle - Doran
Before the match starts he has his SB laying face up on the table and I see some Canonists and Fallouts. Couldn't really tell what he was playing from this but I knew what I was going to want to bring in. He plays a turn 2 Rhox War Monk and a Doran on 3. I have Devoted Druid and an Archdruid before I play Ranger of Eos for Nettle and Heritage. I chump block the next turn and easily go off the next turn by putting 2 of his lands on top and making a huge army before he scoops.

-2 Manamophose -1 Vampire -1 Promenade
+3 Path to Exile +1 Pridemage

Game 2 is a turn 2 Doran who beats down for a little while before I can lay down a Regal Force to draw 4-5 cards and go off next turn.

1-0

Round 2: Random - Kithkin
Game 1 I get ran the fuck over. I didn't come out nearly fast enough and there came a turn where I set it up to win next turn if he didn't have another Honor of the Pure or an Ajani. He had the Honor and took me down with Spirit tokens.

-1 Manamorphose -1 Vampire -1 Promenade -1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
+3 Path +1 Pridemage

Game 2 my opponent plays a Snow-Covered Plains on turn 2 and I put my hand in the air and call for a judge. Some guy sitting next to me starts saying, "You're calling him on a Snow-Covered Plains? Wow, wow." I told him if I don't call a judge and just allow it I'm cheating too but he is having none of it. I'm just a huge douchebag, obviously. He then asks me what my name is and says to the rest of the table we're at, "Quick, somebody twitter this, this guy is calling a judge on a Snow-Covered Plains." Zandi GL's him and has him replace it with a normal Plains.

Game 3 my opponent has this sick curve:

Turn 1: Plains
Turn 2: Windbrisk Heights
Turn 3: Plains, Honor of the Pure
Turn 4: Plains, Honor of the Pure
Turn 5: Plains, Figure of Destiny.

This game was CLOSE.

2-0

Round 3: 5cCascade - Ben Jackson
Ben is a friend of mine and before the tournament he had shipped me the list that he was playing since I gave him the Reveillark list he had used to Top 8 a PTQ in Texas at the begining of the season. I just told him I was playing Elves since I hadn't decided on a list yet. Game 1 I get a fast draw and he has one turn in which to Jund Charm me, but my hand was stocked as I just Regal Forced so I was probably going to win anyways, his Bloodbraid Elf misses and we are on to game 2.

-1 Vampire -1 Promenade
+2 Forge-Tenders

I know after board he has Fallouts and Infests.

It ends up not mattering as he never hits a 3rd land to play either.

3-0

Round 4: Tyler Kozal - 4cCascade
His deck is like Bens but has stuff like Primal Command and Baneslayer where Ben has Esper Charms and Grixis Charms. I really can't remember much about this match. I think he may have gotten mana screwed in game 2 and wasn't able to play his Hallowed Burials but this match is really foggy in my head for some reason.

4-0

Round 5: John - Elf Combo
There isn't anything to say about the mirror, a lot is the die roll and whoever gets faster hands. I mulled to 6 all three games. I won game 2 on the back of Silence and kept a 1 lander in game 3 and didn't even come close to getting there.

4-1

Round 6: Jason Goliher - 5cc
Game one goes like it probably should. I sand bag combo pieces, play other guys, they all die to sweepers (or Plumeveils and Cloudthreshers in combat) in pairs until he runs out of sweepers and I play Primal Command to shuffle my graveyard in and search up a Ranger of Eos (Best card in the deck by far). The turn after I do that he draws a MD Haunting Echoes and exiles all my Primal Commands. After that I play Nettle, Heritage, Devoted Druid and tap those 3 for Archdriud. Put a counter on Devoted and tap Nettle, Devoted and Archdriud for a Promenade for 4. He draws a Mulldrifter, plays it and passes. I am able to draw most of the cards in my deck without tapping any of the tokens or the Heritage Druid, play 2 more Archdruids and attack for lethal past his 2 blockers.

-1 Promenade -1 Vampire -1 Manamorphose
+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender +2 Silence

I know he has mostly sorcery removal in Firespout, Hallowed Burial, and Maelstrom Pulse not to mention Cruel Ultimatum so I figure the Silences will be practically Time Walks and better than more Forge-Tenders or the cards I had in the main.

Game 2 was all about the little green man beat down. Since I knew he would take out Plumeveil I was free to swing in as much as I wanted. I forget a lot of the specifics but it mostly came down to playing a second Regal Force off the Bridge before he killed my guys and played Cruel Ultimatum. The game ended like this. I attack him down to 3 after Cruel resolves and then attack with Regal Force, he flashes in Cloudthresher and blocks putting him down to 1. I play Visionary, Visionary, Llanowar Elf and pass the turn. In his upkeep I play Silence and he looks like he just died a little inside. He tanks, looking at the cards in his hand like the actually matter, and passes. I untap a put a card into my hand from my library without looking at it and turn my 3 guys sideways and he shrugs and scoops. His hand after I played Silence was Firespout, Cruel, and Maelstrom Pulse.

5-1

Round 7: Some guy - doesn't matter
We draw into Top 8.

5-1-1

Top 8: Kenny Punter - Elf Combo
I actually don't remember much about these matches except I lost the die roll, he won game 1, I won game 2 and then Silence got him game 3. He took it like a man though.

6-1-1

Top 4: Some guy - Boat Brew(ish?)
Kenny lost to this guy earlier in the tournament so I knew he had Canonist and Firespouts in his board. Agains, I'm sorry I don't remember too much about this match. I was way to fast for him game 1. I brought in Paths, Pridemage, and a Forge-Tender. Game two I didn't have much gas and he killed my guys then me. Game 3 I Primal'd for a Pridemage twice to kill his Canonist then I just sat back and held a hand of Llanowar Elves, Llanowar Elves, Nettle, Nettle, Nettle, Heritage, Regal Force until he did something about my 2 Ranger of Eos that were beating him down. Finally he tapped down to play Austere Command leaving 2 mana up and 1 card in hand. On my turn I draw Ranger of Eos (!!FUCK YEAH!!) and play Nettle, Nettle, Heritage. I tap for 3 and he Paths my Heritage Druid in resp to the other Nettle. I play Ranger for 2 Heritage Druids, play all my guys but don't draw a Primal to put the game away. He has one turn to draw another Austere Command. He doesn't and I'm on to finals.

7-1-1

Finals: Another some guy - Elementals
Normally this matchup should be a bye as they have almost no ways to interact with you and not a fast enough clock to race me. Their Soul Wardens don't matter since you can go infi with Vampire Aristocrat and Primal Command. Game 1 he gets a redic draw with turn 4 Horde of Notions with an active Bloom Tender in play so he can regrow Mulldrifter. Doesnt' matter cause I kill him the turn before he attacks me for ~40 in the air. He seems really shocked and off put and says, "I really don't know how I can lose with that hand especially when you mulligan."

The only way for me to lose this matchup is if he starts recuring creature kill with Horde of Notions so I board in 3 Path for 1 Elvish Promenade 1 Forge-Tender and 1 Manamorphose.

Sooooo he started recuring Nameless and Shriekmaw with Horde of Notions and I scooped.

Game 3 I played turn 1 Llanowar turn 2 Archdruid turn 3 Primal to Plow Under you and get a Regal Force and Mosswort Bridge finding another Regal. He just has lots of guys that make tons of mana but nothing to do with it. When I played the second Regal next turn I am able to find the combo pieces, I show him but he wants me to go a few steps farther to see if I actually have the mana. So I play a Devoted Druid and he scoops 'em up.

8-1-1

Ended up I was lucky my tie breakers were shit in Honolulu so I could miss being q'd and be able to PTQ for the ticket. It seems like these PTQ's just keep getting easier and easier to win. Hopefully with Honolulu, Nats, and Austin I'll be able to level up this year.

Look out next week for my Nats report, thanks for reading.