I GOT 1,164th PLACE!!!

Grand Prix Minneapolis came and went… AND SO DID MY DCI SCORE!!! I went 0-3, dropped, and got 1,164th place out of 1183 (at least I wasn't last). This weekend I realized that the reason why I play Magic is because it’s fun! If I played for the money or the glory I would have quit a long time ago, but the reason why I play is because I enjoy it! I have A LOT OF FUN when I win, I have A LOT OF FUN when I learn about Magic, AND I still manage to have fun when I lose, even when I get blown out!

Here’s my Sealed Pool:

White (15): 1 Arrow Volley Trap / 1 Brave the Elements / 1 Bold Defense / 1 Caravan Hurda / 1 Cliff Threader / 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria / 1 Kor Aeronaut / 1 Kor Hookmaster / 1 Kor Skyfisher / 1 Makindi Shieldmate / 1 Pitfall Trap / 2 Shieldmate’s Blessing / 2 Steppe Lynx

Not too bad, 2 forms of removal and 2 Steppe Lynxes. If my W was deeper I would have played Iona because she’s way too greedy.

Blue (11): 1 Archive Trap / 1 Caller of Gales / 1 Kraken Hatchling / 1 Lethargy Trap / 1 Living Tsunami / 1 Merfolk Seastalkers / 1 Reckless Scholar / 1 Shoal Serpent / 1 Whiplash Trap / 1 Umara Raptor / 1 Windrider Eel

The good cards: Living Tsunami, Seastalkers, Scholar, Whiplash Trap, Raptor and Windrider Eel, but there aren’t enough playables. Seastalkers is completely splash’able.

Black (12): 1 Disfigure / 1 Descrated Earth / 1 Feast of Blood / 1 Gatekeeper of Malakir / 1 Hagra Crocodile / 2 Mire Blight / 1 Nimana Sell-Sword / 1 Soul Stair Expedition / 2 Vampire Lacerator / 1 Vampire Nighthawk

Disfigure and Gatekeeper are good removal, except that Gatekeeper is kind of greedy. 2 Lacerators are good and so is Nighthawk. Black looks playable.

Red (16): 1 Bladetusk Boar / 1 Burst Lightning / 1 Goblin War Paint / 1 Goblin Ruinblaster / 1 Hellkite Charger / 1 Highland Berserker / 1 Inferno Trap / 1 Magma Rift / 1 Mark of Mutiny / 2 Molten Ravager / 1 Quest for Pure Flame / 1 Shatterskull Giant / 1 Slaughter Cry / 1 Tuktuk Grunts / 1 Zektar Shrine Expedition

Very deep. Burst Lightning and Inferno Trap are good removal. Bladetusk is awesome! 2 Ravegers are nice because they are 0/4’s and can clog up the ground as well as be very aggressive.

Green (17): 1 Beast Hunt / 1 Gigantifrom / 1 Harrow / 1 Joraga Bard / 2 Khalni Heart Expedition / 2 Mold Shambler / 1 Oracle of Mul Daya / 1 Oran-Rief Recluse / 1 Quest for the Gemblades / 2 Savage Silhouette / 1 Scythe Tiger / 1 Taglesap / 1 Tajuru Archer / 1 Zendikar Farguide

Lots of mana fixing: 2 Expeditions, 1 Harrow, and 1 Oracle. Decent spot removal with 2 Mold Shamblers and 1 Recluse. Plus with 2 Savage Sihlouettes I was really tempted to play green.

Artifacts (4): 1 Blazing Torch / 1 Carnage Altar / 1 Expedition Map / 1 Hedron Scrabbler

GROSS!!!

Lands (9): 1 Jwar Isle Refuge / 2 Kabira Crossroads / 1 Magosi, the Waterveil / 1 Piranha Marsh / 1 Soaring Seacliff / 1 Teetering Peaks / 2 Turntimber Grove

Seriously… 9 lands? I averaged 1.5 lands per pack! That’s so gross!

The guy who registered my pool didn’t organize my cards alphabetically and he didn’t write in his DCI number on the registration form so he got 2 warnings. I didn’t feel bad at all because I didn’t want to get in trouble. By this time, 5 or so of my 20 minutes have passed and they only gave me a 2 minute extension for deck building and registration!

Here’s what I quickly and foolishly registered:

White (6): 1 Arrow Volley Trap / 1 Kor Hookmaster / 1 Kor Skyfisher / 1 Pitfall Trap / 2 Steppe Lynx

Pitfall Trap is very underwhelming at times. I usually wanted to use it on a flying creature because I could already clog up the ground.

Black (6): 1 Disfigure / 1 Nimana Sell-Sword / 1 Soul Stair Expedition / 2 Vampire Lacerator / 1 Vampire Nighthawk

Green (9): 1 Gigantiform / 1 Harrow / 2 Khalni Heart Expedition / 2 Mold Shambler / 1 Oracle of Mul Daya / 1 Oran-Rief Recluse / 1 Savage Silhouette

Artifacts (1): 1 Blazing Torch

Lands (18): 9 Forests, 5 Swamps, 4 Plains

I was trying way too hard to be cute! I totally thought that with 4 forms of mana fixing (2 Khalni Heart Expeditions, 1 Harrow, and 1 Oracle of Mul Daya) that my deck would be fine. The problem was that my deck needed a turn 1 Plains for my Steppe Lynxes as well as a turn 1 Swamp for my Lacerators, but you see, G was my main color and I had no early drops in G. Usually I would not be able to play my Steppe Lynxes or Lacerators until turn 3 or 4, which is way too late by then.

Now if I went with mana fixing in my early game and then was able to build up enough mana for my bombs like Iona or Hellkite Charger, then maybe my deck would have made more sense. But because I positioned my deck to fix mana in the early game and then to play weenies, it totally defeated itself.

I should have taken a deep breath after the deck registration incident, refocused, and registered the following deck:

Black (8): 1 Gatekeeper of Malakir / 1 Hagra Crocodile / 1 Nimana Sell-Sword / 2 Vampire Lacerator / 1 Vampire Nighthawk / 1 Disfigure / 1 Soul Stair Expedition

Red (8): 1 Bladetusk Boar / 1 Hellkite Charger / 2 Molten Ravager / 1 Shatterskull Giant / 1 Tuktuk Grunts / 1 Burst Lightning / 1 Inferno Trap

Green (5): 1 Oracle of Mull Daya / 1 Harrow / 1 Khalni Heart Expedition / 2 Savage Silhouette

Artifacts (1): 1 Blazing Torch

Lands (18): 1 Piranha Marsh / 1 Teetering Peeks / 1 Turntimber Grove / 6 Swamps / 6 Mountains / 3 Forests

I could have splashed U instead of G but 2 Savage Silhouettes is tough for people to deal with. If I would have went with U as my splash, I would of needed my Islands sooner because I would have had really agro U creatures but with G, a lot of my G cards are more mid to late game. Your splashed color should never be your early game cards.

Regardless, I had fun and learned a lot. I would love to go to another Grand Prix if I ever get the chance. I seriously could of spent all weekend there!