A Couple of PTQ Reports

Over the weekend I was reminded that I have a blog that I never update. The post before this was 7 months ago and that one was 5 months after the one before it. I wasn't planning on this being a biannual blog so I'll try to start updating it more often.

Last weekend was a PTQ in Lincoln, NE. A couple weeks before the tournament I asked a couple people if they could think of a reason I shouldn't just run the most powerful deck. No one came up with anything convincing so I started working on getting the cards I needed for the UB Thopter Depths deck developed by GerryT. This is no easy task as no one opened any Cold Snap and the $3 rare the deck was named after had catapulted to $40 or more if you could even find any. I lucked out by finding a spare one in my trunk one day while looking for my phone charger and a local store that no one really goes to just happened to have 3 more that they sold me for $25 a piece before they knew they were worth more. Ding! Pretty much everything else I already owned or could borrow. This is the list I registered.

4 Dark Confidant
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Thoughtseize
4 Muddle the Mixture
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Compulsive Research
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Duress
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Repeal
1 Echoing Truth
3 Thopter Foundry
2 Sword of the Meek
4 Chrome Mox
4 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Dark Depths
4 River of Tears
4 Sunken Ruins
2 Tolaria West
1 Academy Ruins
3 Island
1 Swamp
1 Dimir Aquaduct
SB:
3 Extirpate
3 Deathmark
1 Exile into Darkness
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae
1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
2 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Darkblast
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Duress

On the way to Lincoln we miss our exit and show up 15 minutes after it is supposed to start. Luckily they have never, fucking ever started a tournament on time in Nebraska. I'm signed up and ready to go. Again, I don't have notes so this is all from memory.

Round 1: UWB Teachings

I Thoughtseize him, play Bob, Thoughtseize him again and make a 20/20 on turn 3. He didn't draw and answer and it was off to the sideboards.

-1 Engineered Explosives
-2 Repeal
-1 Echoing Truth
-1 Thopter Foundry
-1 Sword of the Meek
+1 Oona, Queen of Fae
+1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
+1 Duress
+1 Phyrexian Arena
+2 Extirpate

Game two I opened up on Thoughtseize again and he had kept 5 lands, Teferi, and Mystical Teachings. I played Bob again and another on turn 3. Turn 4 I Duressed him and after his draw I Extirpated Teachings. Turns out he had just drawn one so I got tons of value. Next turn I played Hexmage and a Depths that I had to transmute for and he scooped.

Round 2: Mono Red Burn
Game one I play Foundry on turn 1 and Sword on turn 2. He had to read every card I played including Chrome Mox. Good times.

Game two I had Foundry but no Sword. At one point I sacced a Mox to chump block a Hellspark Elemental and he didn't assign any trample damage so I decided it was worth it to use the Chalice in my hand to do the same thing next turn. I was able to buy enough time with that and Darkblast to find the Sword but he has a Everlasting Torment so I Echoing Truth it, gain 9 or 10 life to put me out of range and kill him with Thopters.

Round 3: Boros
This round I got deck checked and it turns out in my haste I forgot to register the Engineered Explosives. This is the first time I've ever punted deck registration and it was pretty embarrassing and hurt a lot since this is such a bad matchup already. I was able to win game 2 but got stuck on mana and ran over in game 3.

Round 4: Zoo
I don't remember much from this match but in game 1 I wasn't able to do much. I got attacked down to one, bluffed the Muddle for the Helix I know is in his hand from a Thoughtseize, then drew the Muddle I was bluffing on the next turn. But the only blue lands I had were Island and River and I had to lay a land to be able to make enough Thopters to survive an attack next turn. So I had to make him play the Helix before I lay a land. So I announce Chrome Mox like it's a question. "Chrome Mox?" He thinks for a second and Helixs me in responce. I Muddle it and it turns out he was slow rolling me with a Lightning Bolt. Game 2 he flashes me his hand half way though the game so I know he has Bolt and Path. I make the only play that gives me any shot and he draws a second Bolt and I'm dead.

I decided not to drop out of the tournament because Ryan was still in contention and I wanted some more practice with the deck and boy was I awarded in the next round. I had to use the bathroom and wait in line so I was showing up to the table just as the round clock started.

Round 5: Blue Zoo
I sit down and start shuffling after I pile shuffle twice and do a couple riffles he turns to his friends behind him and says, "How long does he have? Three minutes?" Then he turns to me and says, "You're going to need to hurry up because I will call you on time." I laughed at him and assured him it would not be an issue. I pile shuffle again just to get under his skin and he starts counting, "13, 12, 11.." as I present. I realized then he was counting down the last few seconds of the three minutes on the time clock, had I realized that sooner I would have shuffled again. Game one I Thoughtseize him on turn 1 and make a 20/20 on turn two. Just 5 minutes off the time clock at this point. Game 2 I Thoughtseize him again on turn 1 and he had kept a hand with all 3 drops and a Mana Leak and only 2 lands. I took a Leak. I played a Bob on turn 2 and he missed his 3rd land drop. I Thoughtseize him again and take a Matrix he just drew. He misses his land drop again and I make a 20/20 with Muddle backup the next turn and it is over BEFORE WE EVEN HAVE RESULT SLIPS. I have to rub this in his face so I say, "Good thing we started on time, we don't even have the result slips yet." And he had to sit there pissed off while we waited for the judge to come around. I then dropped and we left soon trying to beat the snow back to KC.

KC PTQ Report coming tomorrow.