This marks my second Old School tournament, my first being my 6-0 victory at Hurricane 2023 in my hometown last August, organized by the Falling Stars group in Houston. I’m pleased to have become an active member of that group via Discord. We also got together for some games up at Asgard Games, my regular shop in Houston, prior to the Holidays. It was through the group that I learned about this event.
The timing of the event was a bit unfortunate for me, being scheduled for January 13th. I had to be out in Yuma, AZ for a work trip in the week leading up to the event. Because my work out there involves a test that depends on weather, the end date was not 100% certain. If our schedule held to completing our test as planned on Tuesday, I’d be able to return home Thursday and make the tournament! But if it slipped, I would be unable to attend. As the existence of this report indicates, there was no delay. But I couldn’t commit to group travel plans with the Falling Stars guys. I would have liked that but next time!
Instead, I brought with me to the event my good buddy Vince, a seasoned tournament player with major RCQ wins under his belt and who was a groomsman at my wedding! I loaned him the Counterburn deck I played at the Hurricane event. He tried to fight me on that, saying that I should play it again because it would give me a better chance to top the event. While we’ve jammed games with my decks at our weekly game nights, this was going to be Vince’s first Old School event and I wanted him to have a great experience. He’s also no stranger to blue/red decks, playing Murktide in Modern and Izzet Phoenix (yes, it is) in Pioneer, so I knew he’d be comfortable playing it in an event.
I was also really excited to play one of the other decks I have and had been tuning this one to get ready for this event. As I told Vince, there’s not much reason to have decks if you don’t want to play them.
Deck Tech
Note: the rules set for the tournament was Boreal. It’s basically Eternal Central rules with additional unrestrictions of Time Vault, Recall, and Shahrazad. None of the added cards came up in my matches.
Creatures (19):
4x Icatian Javalineers
4x Savannah Lions
4x Order of Leitbur
4x White Knight
3x Thunder Spirit
Instants and Sorceries (9):
2x Army of Allah
1x Balance
2x Disenchant
4x Swords to Plowshares
Enchantments (4):
4x Crusade
Artifacts (7):
3x Aeolipile
1x Mox Pearl
3x Winter Orb
Lands (21):
2x Mishra’s Factory
15x Plains
4x Strip Mine
Sideboard:
4x Black Vise
1x Chaos Orb
2x Disenchant
2x King Suleiman
2x Holy Light
4x Repentant Blacksmith
One of my favorite things about this deck is that it contains 11 cards from Fallen Empires. Fallen Empires has lots of problems but power level really isn’t one of them. It’s easily better than The Dark and Homelands and I’d argue Ice Age. For a set of 102 unique cards, it has a pretty high percentage of tournament playable cards. However, as mostly nuts and bolts creatures, for casual players, those cards aren’t very interesting or exciting. There’s not a chase rare for the average player like say, Ball Lightning in The Dark. Combined with multiple arts for commons, opening booster packs of the set is miserable and that, along with ridiculous overproduction, is why the set is so maligned in Magic’s history. The Fallen Empires cards really elevate this deck to high Tier level in EC or ATL, as White Weenie is just not that great in Swedish Rules without its second set of Knights and high performing (as you’ll read) one-drop.
Maindeck Card Choices and Discussion
Auto-includes – Savannah Lions and the two drop creatures, White Knight and Order of Leitbur, are the backbone of the deck. These are your best threats and some of the most efficient creatures in the format.
Icatian Javelineers – An archetype staple but I’d like to remark on how this card overperforms so often. Other potential one drops like Clergy of the Holy Nimbus and Tundra Wolves are just 1/1s with an identical floor and ceiling. Javelineers is the best way for this deck to generate a 2-for-1 in aggro mirrors, something it really needs, and those matchup end up defined by this card. Further, it’s excellent anti-Factory tech in combination with first strike.
Thunder Spirit – I acquired three of these from Star City Games on sale and it’s the perfect top-end for the deck. It flies over crowded boards and is just the right mana cost for the deck. I had been running two Serra Angel previously and it’s just so hard to get to 5 mana to cast her with all the Strip Mines (yours included) running around. I elected to run 0 copies of her in the board as well for the same reason.
Aeolipile – A late addition. I had been running Relic Barrier for mana denial, anti-Factory tech, and synergy with my Winter Orbs. I was pleased I made the switch away from that. For one, Aeolipile is much needed against opposing Black Knights and Order of the Ebon Hand. It also kills Factories in response to pump activations or disables them as blockers. It can get the last damage in by going to the dome. Further, it lets your first strikers attack into Serendibs and Serra Angels uninhibited. 3 total mana for just 2 damage isn’t the best rate but to have access to direct damage in white is an absolute blessing!
Chaos Orb – Not maindeck because when I designed the deck, I envisioned being able to play it without proxies and I don’t own a Chaos Orb. I was being stupid not to put it into the main.
Winter Orb – A nonfactor this event. I boarded it out in every single round and never cast it when I did draw it. I’m going to cut these add that Chaos Orb, Land Tax, and maybe Aeolipile #4. I’m not even sure Winter Orb is useful enough to be played at all, even as a sideboard card, to be honest.
Sideboard Discussion
Holy Light – While expensive at 3 mana, it’s solid, being able to take down Order of the Ebon Hand and clear out X/1s so you can attack It’s a brutal combat trick with first strike. Two copies feels just right.
Repentant Blacksmith – Probably a bit excessive as a 4-of. I was anticipating seeing more Disco Troll, a tough matchup, and this is strong against them, allowing you to focus on keeping the Disk off the table.
King Suleiman – As a 2-of, I like this card for being totally Old School fun. He’s narrow but against the decks where his ability is relevant, he forces removal that would be used on something else.
Cards I considered but didn’t include (maybe next time)
- CoP: Black might be a nice addition. Order and Black Knight are big problems for this deck.
- Copper Tablet is also a card I think is interesting. Having a way to do damage that doesn’t involve combat or require opponent participation (Vise) helps close out games is most helpful.
- Ankh of Mishra is another card I think would be good as a 2-of instead of Winter Orb. A lot of decks don’t need to tap out that often but they do need to play lands. Ankh does function a lot like Black Vise against control decks, so perhaps a split between the two would be good.
Round by Round
This time I made voice notes right after each round, rather than doing it late in the event and struggling to remember what happened. I’m hoping these play-by-plays are accurate–I’m confident I at least got the major points down! But if my opponents remember the games better, I stand to be corrected as needed!
The tournament had 26 participants, enough for 5 rounds of Swiss. No cut to Top, just straight Swiss.
Round 1 – Brian with MonoBlack Rack
Prior to this beginning, Brian thanked me for the kind words I had written about his girlfriend Liz in my Champion’s tournament report for the Hurricane event back in August. She was my second round opponent that event and the hardest match I played that event–she was the closest to beating me that day and we played a real squeaker of a Game 3. He said that while he assures her of her competence, it really helped to have another “really good player” (his words!) validate her play. We then discussed the pivotal moment in that match, where Liz had to make an agonizing decision about what to target with the Stone Rain she was casting, and agreed that from her perspective it was probably correct.
I’m glad that my words made Liz feel better about herself! She ended up making the finals of Vintage event held the day after this tournament (which I did not stay for), so it seems she has little reason to doubt herself. She can let her play stand for her, words not needed. ^_^
Game 1 – I won the die roll and mulliganed once. I opened on a Plains, a Mox Pearl, and a White Knight. Great start to the event! He followed with a Swamp and a Dark Ritual and a Hymn to Tourach. That hit both Orders of Leitbur in my hand, leaving me with just one card in Icatian Javalineers. So much for that start. He followed that with a Strip Mine and I had just a couple guys that couldn’t race a pair of Racks.
Boarding: -3 Winter Orb, -2 Swords to Plowshares, +2 Disenchant, +2 Holy Light, +1 Chaos Orb
I took out two StP because I wasn’t sure if he had any creatures I could target, not having seen any in the first game. I figured he’d probably have Hypnotic Specter but it’s not certain in every build.
Game 2 – My opening hand had multiple lands, Chaos Orb, and Aeolipile but no good threats. I kept it, figuring I could contain early threats and if he hit me with Hymns, my hand would be large enough to let me keep my lands and any late-game cards I drew (Army of Allah). Eventually I’d draw threats and play them thanks to all the lands I had because discard doesn’t stop topdecks. He Strip Mined me. Then again. Then again. But I had drawn three lands in a row and played a Plains in between each Strip Mine. He didn’t have any mana producing lands for several turns until he Dark Ritualed out a Hypnotic Specter, which I sent farming. I had a Strip Mine for his Swamp. He had no lands after that until a Maze of Ith, which I hit with a Strip Mine so I could attack. He played a Swamp eventually and I Striped that. Six Strip Mine game! He wasn’t able to find land after that and my creatures finished him off.
Boarding: +2 Swords to Plowshares, -2 Icatian Javalineers
Having seen Hippies in the previous game, I brought my spot removal back in to guard against those. Javelineers can’t target Order of the Ebon Hand and can’t generate a 2-for-1 here. It’s not great as a blocker either, not being able to do anything against pro-white knights.
After the match he revealed he brought in two Nevinyrral’s Disks and one other card I can’t remember.
Game 3 – I kept a one-lander on the draw and played a turn 1 Savannah Lions, which stayed in play for a very long time. It chipped away at his life total. He Strip Mined my only land. I took out one of his Swamps with a Strip Mine as well. He played three Racks but I had seven cards in my hand so they just sat there and he didn’t have any creatures for the longest time. I finally hit three lands and cast a Thunder Spirit to limit the damage from his pair of Hippies, one of them freshly cast the turn before my Thunder Spirit. I had him down to 6 life at this point and had a Crusade in hand. But he topdecked a Hymn to Tourach… that was his best out as he attacked with both Hippies, losing one to the Thunder Spirit, and emptied my hand, putting me down to 8 life from 10. Then I took 9 damage to the set of Racks in play and that was that. If he hadn’t drawn the Hymn, his potential lines were:
- Attack with both Hippies. One dies in combat to a first striking Thunder Spirit and I discard one card. I take three to the set of The Rack but remain at 5 life. He doesn’t know I have the Crusade but I have a 67% chance to keep it. I’d have 6 power on board for a lethal attack.
- Attack with neither Hippie. Then I cast Crusade and he is forced to block with at least one of them. He then needs to produce a second blocker or discard spell on his next turn or he loses.
It’s not certain I win if he doesn’t draw the Hymn but I think the lines available to him without it are not terribly likely to be successful for him. Oh well, such is Magic. We will get ‘em in the next rounds!
Round 2 – Ruby with Erhnamgeddon
As Ruby was setting up her play area, she pulled out some notes that indicated she didn’t have a ton of Magic experience. I would give her added patience as she pondered her plays as a result but still treat her as I would any other competitor, not underestimating her and giving it my all as she deserves.
Game 1 – She won the die roll and opened with a Land Tax. My hand was a one-lander with three copies of Icatian Javalineers. I figured those could tide me over while I hoped to draw a second land; being on draw also gave me one more card to find that land before my second turn. As a result, her Land Tax just sat there and looked at her since I lacked the ability to play a second land for several turns. My first Javalineers met a Swords to Plowshares but my next two shot down her Mana Birds and Elvish Archers, which allowed me to get through for some damage. She cast an Armageddon. I was able to draw some lands after that. She had just one land but also a Birds of Paradise and Mox Pearl. Her Land Tax finally turned on and she searched up two Plains. As she rebuilt her mana, I assembled a board of Savannah Lions, Order of Leitbur, and two Crusades. She got down an Erhnam Djinn but it was a bit late; I had a Swords to Plowshares for the four-mana genie. I believe she had a Serra Angel after that, after destroying one of my Crusade with her Chaos Orb. I made what was to be a lethal attack and she didn’t declare any blockers. I recommended that she block to give herself another turn (a table over, Vince overheard it and said my quote of “I recommend blocking” would make a wonderful epithet for me one day). She changed her blockers and bought another turn. But her draw step didn’t save her and that was that.
Boarding: -3 Winter Orb, +1 Chaos Orb, +2 King Suleiman
I probably should have brought in Black Vises here but I didn’t because I didn’t think about it until later. Disenchant doesn’t have great targets here, just Land Tax and Sylvan Library. Vise solves Land Tax, either by discouraging her from grabbing multiple lands at once or punishing her the turn after she does. Paying 4 life for just one extra Sylvan Library card is not what she wants with her life under pressure and so Sylvan is just Mirri’s Guile. Further, Vise is superb on a stalled board after a parity Armageddon.
Erhnamgeddon feels like a deck that Winter Orb should be great against; the deck wants to cast successive 4+ mana spells and Orb after the first one stops the second one. But with all the mana dorks, it’s hard to keep the deck off its mana and Winter Orb can easily backfire. I think this is the strongest indication that it doesn’t have a place in the deck at all because there’s just too much artifact mana and dorks running around to make it work (and this deck relies on its lands for mana).
Post match, she revealed her sideboard changes, which included a Wrath of God and other cards I can’t remember. She said she was considering putting it in the main; I think that’s not a bad idea at all.
Game 2 – She opened with a Land Tax yet again. I kept a one-lander in this game as well but I had a supply of one drops in the form of Savannah Lions and those pesky Javalineers, one of which was disabled with a Spirit Link. I chipped away at her life total with some Orders of Leitbur but she dropped a Serra Angel. And then an Icy Manipulator, as she hit me with the Serra. She had two Mishra’s Factories but casting those high mana spells left her unable to use them as blockers and I was able to attack, losing a creature to the Angel as she brought me down to 12 with her. I had a Thunder Spirit which she kept at bay with her Icy. I cast a Crusade so that I could attack with my guys again, realizing that I was dead in three attacks whether her Angel was 4/4 or 5/5. Out of spells to cast, she was keeping her Factories up but she was at just 5 life at this stage of the game. I did some math and cast another Order of Leitbur. No attack (she Icy’ed my Spirit). She attacked one more time to take me to 5 as well. I cast the Aeolipile in my hand I had been sitting on. And a second Crusade. I went to combat and she Icy’ed my Thunder Spirit as expected. She activated a Factory using mana from the other Factory but I killed it with Aeolipile before it was able to block and enough of my creatures were able to get through for the last of her life.
After it was all said and done, I pointed out that she should have activated both Factories instead. This was the play I was expecting her to make and based my attack on it and why I didn’t attack the turn before. She admitted she hadn’t quite digested all the complexities of Mishra’s Factory; no one taught her that she could tap Factories to make them 3/3s after blocking even. In that game, I assumed she would make that play and that it was stalling my attack. She was pleased to understand that she actually held a really good board position in Game 2 and that it took careful planning for me to get out from it–and I very nearly didn’t. I hope these new tricks and understanding helped her out in the next rounds!
Round 3 – John with MonoBlue Merfolk
I think this is a pretty tough matchup for him because my creatures have first strike and his don’t. Still, John was very excited to play against me because of my victory at the last event. He said he really likes the challenge of top competition–I was very honored by such kind words, being so new to the Texas Old School community and having won just one event (which could have just been luck!).
Game 1 – I can’t remember if I was play or draw but my first play was an Icatian Javelineers that killed his Merfolk of the Pearl Trident. I then cast a White Knight. I continued casting creatures to apply steady and increasing pressure. Eventually a Crusade hit and that made things even stickier for John, who had some blockers in the form of Vodalian Soldiers and a Lord of Atlantis. He also had a War Barge but I had no islands. An Aeolipile took out the Lord and that made his blocks painful as my army closed him out.
Boarding: -3 Winter Orb, +2 Holy Light, +1 Chaos Orb
He flipped through his sideboard and concluded he had nothing helpful and made no changes.
Game 2 – I had a slower hand with no one drop, mirroring his opening of “Land, Pass.” I played a turn 2 Order and a turn 3 Order. He cast some Merfolk, including a Merfolk Assassin, to which I commented that NOW I understood the War Barge from the previous game. I had an Icatian Javalineers with a counter and cast a Holy Light to kill one of his guys; I misread the Power/Toughness on Assassin and thought it was a 2/1 instead of a 1/2, so I only got a 1-for-1 with the Holy Light instead of the 2-for-1 I thought. Still good enough. In any case, a board of 1/2s don’t beat 2/1 first strikers, which eventually became 3/2 first strikers thanks to a Crusade. He was able to double block and reduce my board a bit, leaving me with just one Order. I had a hand of Balance, Swords to Plowshares, and Savannah Lions and I really wanted to empty my hand to cast the Balance to empty his AND kill his board but it just didn’t work. He had two creatures to my one, so I cast the Balance to take out one of his guys and make him discard a card (I lost a land in this). I StP’ed the other one letting my Order through. I then cast the Lions, giving me two 3-power creatures to his none and that was that.
Round 4 – Nicolas with White Weenie (The Mirror!)
Nicolas is one of the Houston guys and is as avid a collector of foreign black border cards as I am. But he always gets his cards French, his native tongue, to the point where he jokes that “FBB stands for French Black Border cards.” ^_^ This was sure to be a match with a lot of very stylish cards in it!
Game 1 – He won the die roll and mulliganed once. He led on a Savannah Lions and I responded with an Icatian Javelineers. His Lions got in one attack before biting the dust. I used an Aeolipile on his active Icatian Javelineers, which shot my exhausted Javelineers (they did enough killing those Lions). That allowed me to play the two Order of Leitbur in my hand and gain board superiority. Satisfactorily ahead on creatures and life, I cast a Crusade and attacked aggressively.
Boarding: -3 Winter Orb, -1 Crusade, +3 Repentant Blacksmith, +1 Chaos Orb
I brought in the Blacksmiths just to have some additional threats. They’re not the best but they’re sure better than Winter Orb and nothing else in my board was going to help. I took out just one Crusade because I do want to draw one in the mid-game to make an alpha strike but only one. We aren’t going to be slamming them early like I do in other matchups so I don’t draw two to clog up my hand.
Game 2 – I had a fast start with Mox Pearl and a turn-1 White Knight. He took it out with an Aeolipile a couple turns later. We jockeyed back and forth. I Strip Mine’d his Plains after he didn’t play a third one on turn 3 and got out a couple of Javelineers to make things awkward. Then he began to flood out on lands and had five in play by the end of the game. He didn’t have many creatures but had enough to keep my board at bay. I cast a pair of Thunder Spirit in succession; he was unable to block the fliers that were 3/3s thanks to a late game Crusade I waited to deploy until I achieved superior position. When he knew it was all but over, he went for an attack just to have it. He cast an Army of Allah that would have made it 8 damage (I was at 15 life or so) but I had just cast that Thunder Spirit to first strike one down.
While this is “the mirror,” our builds are significantly different, as I learned after the match. We differ in the number of Crusades, with him just having two since he couldn’t find four French copies (100% totally can relate about style over play value). Nicolas is running a lot more creatures than I am, including Benalish Hero and Mesa Pegasus. I have no banders in my current build. I’m running a lot more removal in a playset of Swords to Plowshares, whereas he has just two copies in the main, and I have three Aeolipile to his one or two. This removal really gave me the edge in this matchup, although I will say it really comes down to Javelineers. The ability to get 2-for-1s and take out an Order is so so strong in this matchup. I was fortunate to draw many copies of the Fallen Empires one drop in this match. Does this help make my case about FE being not all that weak? 😀
Round 5 – Jon with Black+White Rack
Game 1 – I won the die roll and opened with a Javelineers. I had a threat-light hand that had two Crusades. He cast a turn 2 Demonic Tutor and I was sure he grabbed Mind Twist. I prioritized getting both Crusades down in succession to ensure that whatever I’d topdeck after my hand went kaput would be huge. I played a second Javelineer and an Order of Leitbur. He cast a Paralyze on one of my spearmen. We went back and forth with unblockable creatures and he had a Rack. I got him down to 2 life and drew a Strip Mine and excitedly removed his Mishra’s Factory. That was an error because the Mine was my fourth land, which would have let me untap the Javelineers. Fortunately my deck bailed me out with a land the next turn, which was good because I was running low on life from that Rack. He cast a Chaos Orb. I moved to my upkeep, said “Pay 4 to untap the Javelineers?” which he let resolve. I then immediately tapped both of them, still with counters, to do the last two points of damage with the Rack trigger on the stack. (I don’t remember if it was lethal for me.) I was lucky he didn’t realize he could have Chaos Orb’ed the paralyzed Javalineers with the untap trigger on the stack and I wouldn’t have been able to defeat him right there. I believe he had forgotten he was at 2 life because he said “Oh, right, I’m at 2” when I activated the abilities; that is likely why he didn’t activate the Chaos Orb.
Boarding: -3 Winter Orb, -2 Icatian Javelineers, +2 Disenchant, +2 Holy Light, +1 Chaos Orb
We learned how to board for this matchup in Round 1, so that was a good lesson.
Game 2 – He mulliganed to 5 cards. Rough. He Ritual’ed out a Hippie on his first turn. I don’t feel so bad for that mulligan now. I hit it with Swords to Plowshares. Ok, now I do. He passed his second turn with a City of Brass, Mox Pearl, and Mox Jet. I had a Strip Mine and agonized over whether I should Strip his City or cast a 2-mana pro-black creature. I figured since he was so down on cards, I should take out his City. My logic was that he would need to draw BB knights, the thing I really didn’t want to see at that point, AND a land to cast them and that was asking a lot. He was splashing white for Swords to Plowshares and Disenchant (which did get cast on Aeolipile in one of the games). The best removal spell ever hit one of my creatures. He ate away my hand with a follow-up Hippie he played after a The Rack. I was taking 5 per turn and he was taking less than that so I wasn’t able to race, although he ended the game with 2 life. That moment where I had to decide between Strip and a threat, if I had chosen a threat, probably would have resulted in a game win because I would have gotten more damage in and he would have been tapping City of Brass. I could have used my Strip on his follow up land to leave him just with the damage-dealing multiland and that would have hurt him a lot.
Game 3 – I opened with a Mox Pearl and a White Knight. An excellent start! I followed that with a Turn 2 Thunder Spirit. And then I slammed an Order of Leitbur for a superb board position with him at 14 life, slated to take 8 the next turn. BALANCE, DRAT. There went my board. His last card was a Hymn to Tourach, leaving us both with zero cards and zero creatures. He had a Mishra’s Factory which got some hits in in the interim. I was able to recover surprisingly well, producing a few creatures. He flooded hard during this and the one threat he did draw, a Black Knight, was met with an Aeoliple. I rebuilt just enough to keep doing damage and with his life already low, it didn’t take too long to close out the game for my fourth straight match win. Now all there was to do was await the final standings.
Wrap-Up and Conclusions
The standings were announced from the bottom-up. We got to 8th and Stu, the tournament organizer, made it all the way to 5th without announcing my name. Vince nudged me and said “Hey, Top 4!” and my name was announced as 4th Place. I knew starting at 4-1 my tiebreakers would be weaker so I didn’t finish higher but I’m really proud of my placement and performance. But most importantly, I had a great time at the event and really look forward to being more involved in the Texas Old School community.
Reflections on My Deck
I didn’t prepare my sideboard enough for the monoblack matchup. I hadn’t tested it and assumed it would be fairly easy with eight protection from black creatures. But they also have eight pro white creatures and the match-breaking card: Hymn to Tourach. This allows them to get a 2-for-1 while White Weenie doesn’t have anything that can do that for it. The games are going to be very close and a single 2-for-1 can create all the advantage needed to push it to Black’s favor. Passive damage from The Rack is also a big edge and we saw that in Round 1: multiple copies of The Rack did most of the damage in my losses. I think the match is slightly unfavorable as a result of those and some added sideboard help is needed.
I knew I was pushing it a bit with just 15 Plains in my deck but flooding out is generally so much worse than being light on lands for this deck. Sure, Order of Leitbur is a mana sink but one extra damage from two unneeded land draws is not much compensation. I had lack of land issues in more than one game and while I was able to play through that almost every time, I think it does need some reconciliation.
The answer is Land Tax. It was in the deck for some time but I didn’t find it all that useful. It’s really a card that solves both issues above: it puts cards in your hand to turn off The Rack immediately and pads your hand for Hymn to Tourach. It also solves your land issues and makes your draw steps in the late game a lot better by thinning your deck immensely–stripping out as many as 6 lands in two turns is insane. I’m going to put one copy back in my main and one sideboard to start.
Otherwise, the deck felt really robust and solid all day. The one thing I prize most about this deck is its consistency. With lots of interchangeable cards and a simple manabase, it executes its game plan well every game. I really enjoy small creature decks and it was blast to play one again; Humans was one of my favorite Modern decks in its day, as was Classic Affinity, and it’s a shame the format just punishes small creature decks now. But they have a home in Old School and that makes me very happy.
Aside from the Winter Orb issue I mentioned in the deck tech section and throughout the play-by-play, I really liked my maindeck. I thought maybe I could use more creatures but what you can add just isn’t all that great (all 1/1s). A fourth Thunder Spirit could be good though. Two Disenchants felt like the right number; it’s good to be more aggressive in game 1 but still have answers to cards like Moat and Mishra’s Factory. Giving life with Swords to Plowshares feels bad sometimes but you can really break a board state wide open with it and I feel four is the correct number to play.
Post Tournament
Oh, what about Vince? We haven’t heard from him since Round 2. He finished the day at 2-3, having run into spouts of bad luck with opposing Hymn to Tourachs. He gave me some valuable feedback on the deck as well, with it in just its second tournament run. He talked about it on the three hour ride back to Houston. I’m going to try Force Spikes in Counterburn next!
After the event, Vince and I stopped over at Pat’s Games for a little bit. Vince likes to wheel and deal (not the Onslaught card) and acquired two foil Subtlety for his Modern decks. We grabbed a nice pizza dinner at Home Slice and left Austin around 6:30 or so, arriving back in Houston 9:30-10. We reflected about the event and deck tech a bit–Vince said he would play again! I also introduced him to “Alice’s Restaurant” for the first time, so now he can understand my constant references to the song.
Oh, and because we suck so much, we didn’t take a photo of the two of us to commemorate the event.
Falling Stars 