Standard, 3/12/13

Hello everyone!

Okay, so I got to play my Wolf Run Bant deck again. The list I played is very similar to the previous list, except for exactly two changes: I swapped a fourth Hallowed Fountain in for the second Alchemist's Refuge, and I added Gisela to the sideboard, taking out Garruk. I figured being able to hit my colors early was much more important than being able to cast my spells with flash much later. I wanted to reduce the chance of dying to a creature rush because Supreme Verdict sits in my hand while I have two colorless lands out.

I think there were 24 or 26 players at the event, the largest one I've been to at Mox Mania for the Win-a-Box thingy. Cool for the store, but competition is heating up, methinks. But hey, it's a chance to grow as a player, right? Unfortunately, I showed up to the event in kind of a bad mood, and I think it showed. I'm not sure if it affected my play or not, but I know there were several things I could have done better.

Round 1: vs. Naya Zoo. Game one, I had the choice of A-Charming a Champion of the Parish with 2-3 counters on it, or a Howlpack Alpha. I picked the Champion, thinking my Restoration Angel and Centaur Healer could help me stabilize. Unfortunately, 2-3 turns and a Huntmaster later, there were way too many, and a doubple-striking Ravager of the Fels trampled right over my Thragtusk. Would have been a much different game had I bounced the A-Charm. In retrospect, I could have bounced the Alpha, traded Thragtusk for the Champion, and there would have been far fewer woofs to contend with. Didn't really think ahead. Second game, I mulled to 6 and got stuck on two lands and I got Rancor'd to death by turn 4 or 5. 0-1.

So one round in, and I was pretty frustrated, and I started having "f- Magic I quit" thoughts. Or maybe I should just bite the bullet and play Hellrider aggro. "Turn doodz sideways rawr." Or something.

Round 2: vs. Jund aggro-ish? I've seen this guy, a young teenager, around at FNM at Misty Mountain on the other side of town quite a bit. I didn't get to see a whole lot of his deck; he didn't seem to get great draws either game, and I won pretty easily. It seemed like he had some decent cheap creatures (Experiment One, Rakdos Cackler, Dreg Mangler), and some disruption (Duress, Dreadbore). But I was able to keep his board under control and win fairly easily. 1-1.

Round 3: vs. Wolf Run Bant. Yup, mirror match. His version was a little different, with Angels of Serenity and Snapcasters instead of Augurs. As expected, it was a big grind. Game one he was able to counter my Sphinx's Revelations (with a maindeck Negate!) and out card-advantage me. Second game I was able to run him out of cards, force thorugh my own Revelation, and beat down. Third game we went to time, and we finished turn five with a more or less even board position. I got to use Gisela, and it was pretty awesome. Unfortunately, since we were running out of time, we were both playing kind of sloppily and suboptimally, but I think it affected me more than him. I also had Tamiyo out, and I could have protected her a little more carefully than I did, including me forgetting about Restoration Angel's "non-Angel" clause. :( The final board state was more or less equal, with both of us with big Angels out. We had a few cards in hand each--I had two Sphinx's, but I don't know what he had. It would have been interesting to play that one out. 1-1-1.

Round 4: vs. Selesnya Aggro. Pretty easy match. Selesnya is about a turn slower than Naya, which is perfect for me. Game one I had great draws, always having a Supreme Verdict to 3-for-1 him (or more), and multiple Sphinx's Revelations. Game two was pretty one-sided at first, with him getting stuck on lands early. But he recovered while I just played the "draw-go" game and 1-for-1'd him with various things. Eventually, I think I Supreme Verdict'd when he overextended with two Frontline Medics, and he didn't recover after that. I landed a creature and a Wolf Run, and won a couple turns later. 2-1-1.

I finished 10th place, good enough to win 5 packs. Not bad for $10. I opened a couple of Glaring Spotlights, a Godless Shrine (completing my playset), and a Duskmantle Seer (I believe also completing my playset). Not bad.

So, first frustrating match aside, I think the deck is all right. I think I need a 3rd Centaur Healer in there to better deal with the early aggression. I'd like to put in a 4th, but what do I take out? Maybe I don't need 3 counterspells maindeck. The other thing I'm thinking about is maybe going to a midrange or tapout style of deck, where I try to "control" with board presence and D-Spheres, and Zegana is my card-advantage engine. I think I'll try tweaking this a little more and trying it again next week and see how it goes. If I continue to struggle against aggro, I'll come up with a plan B.

Okay, well that's it for now. Thanks for reading!