Hello Everyone,

This morning I arrived and met up with the official Wizards reporter Josh who was really helpful all day with me, being the new guy never having done this before. You can see his coverage of the event here as we were both doing separate feature matches providing double the coverage. Also his reports have pictures which unfortunately we did not have as I was writing this up on an iPad which accounts for the lack of formatting and spelling mistakes, sorry. When I had the chance I also covered what was remaining of the other feature match. I hope you all enjoy reading about the coverage of these matches.

(Note: This was updated throughout the day, thus the last round is first)

Round 7 Matchup Alexander Hayne (Blue/Black) vs Marc Anderson (White/Black)

Alex won the die roll and chooses to play first with both players keeping their starting seven.

Alex is first to land action with a [Card]Blood Seeker[/Card] which Marc answers on his next turn with a [Card]Child of Night[/Card]. Alex is quick to clear it from the board with an [Card]Aether Adept[/Card] allowing him to swing with the Seeker.

On his next turn Marc tries for a [Card]Warpath Ghoul[/Card] which is bounced by another [Card]Aether Adept[/Card], clearing the way for Alex to swing. After a brief judge ruling Marc lands his [Card]Child of Night[/Card]. Alex missed the [Card]Blood Seeker[/Card] trigger and on his turn Alex swings with the Adept which Marc is happy to trade with his Child netting him two life in the process. Alex increases his board presence with a [Card]Reassembling Skeleton[/Card] after which Marc returns his [Card]Warpath Ghoul[/Card] to play before passing the turn.

On the next turn Marc lands a second Ghoul starting to increase his presence. Not to fall behind Alex casts a [Card]Divination[/Card] which finds a [Card]Royal Assassin[/Card] and chance for Marc to begin chipping away at Alex’s life. On his turn, Marc plays a [Card]Timely Reinforcements[/Card] netting him three tokens and only three life thanks to the [Card]Blood Seeker[/Card] trigger on the tokens.

Alex’s next attack allows him to trade an Adept for a Ghoul passing the turn back to Marc who misses a land drop and discards a [Card]Dark Favor[/Card] wishing to avoid any additional loss of life. Alex for his turn plays an [Card]Adaptive Automaton[/Card] naming Warrior to pump his [Card]Reassembling Skeleton[/Card]. Swinging in with the Skeleton is answered by a main deck [Card]Celestial Purge[/Card] from Marc only for Alex to Assasinate his Skeleton putting it in the bin instead of exiling it.

On his turn, Marc casts [Card]Day of Judgment[/Card] to stem the bleeding but allowing Alex to return his Skeleton to attack with no blockers in the way. Alex follows his attack up with a [Card]Mind Rot[/Card]. Marc is able to find his third copy of [Card]Warpath Ghoul[/Card] and an [Card]Alabaster Mage[/Card], in hopes of raising his life total.

At end of turn Alex has a [Card]Doom Blade[/Card] for the Mage which is negated by a [Card]Stave Off[/Card] while still being able to kill the Ghoul with a [Card]Sorin’s Thirst[/Card]. On his turn Alex has another Thirst for the Mage, this time succeeding, and adds an [Card]Aven Fleetwing[/Card] to his board to put the pressure on Marc once again.

Marc responds with a [Card]Gravedigger[/Card] to get back his Mage in hopes of starting to gain life in response to Alex’s constant pressure. The next turn he is able to halt the pressure with a [Card]Drifting Shade[/Card] which coupled with the mage represents a healthy life swing in Marc’s favor.

Alex’s early pressure is beginning to fade as Marc begins to claw back, bashing with his forces which Alex allows to pass. This allows Marc to get back to twelve life while Alex drops to fifteen. Alex adds his own lifelinker to the board with [Card]Child of Night[/Card] and cuts Marc off of lifelink with a [Card]Doom Blade[/Card] on the [Card]Alabaster Mage[/Card].

Next turn, Marc attacks with his [Card]Drifting Shade[/Card] pumping it up four times after Alex declared no blocks. Alex attacks with his Child and Fleetwing gaining two and hitting for two as Marc blocks the Child with his [Card]Gravedigger[/Card]. On his turn Marc attacks for six this time with the Shade dropping Alex to six and within range of losing this game with another attack. For his turn, Alex draws and then passes back to Marc who once again attacks with the Shade which Alex is forced to block with the Fleetwing. Marc pumps the Shade three times to kill the Aven. Marc adds an [Card]Auramancer[/Card] to his board before passing the turn allowing Alex to draw for the turn before conceding. He was unable to find an answer.

Both players were silent as they shuffled up for game two with Dmac interrupting the silence to ask what the score at each table was only to realise that there are score numbers on the table.

Marc Anderson 1 – 0 Alexander Hayne

Having lost the first game, Alex opts to take the first turn hoping to gain an edge. Alex keeps his seven, while Marc takes a while before deciding to do the same.

Alex is first to hit the board with a [Card]Reassembling Skeleton[/Card] which is answered by a [Card]Child of Night[/Card] by Marc. Alex adds a [Card]Warpath Ghoul[/Card] on his turn followed by a [Card]Divination[/Card] on the next one to dig deeper with neither side engaging in attacks.

Alex decides to break the stalemate trading his Ghoul for Marc’s Vampire, then running out an [Card]Aven Fleetwing[/Card]. Marc ends the turn with [Card]Celestial Purge[/Card]; this time removing the Skeleton for good. On his next turn, Alex plays out an [Card]Aether Adept[/Card] bouncing Marc’s [Card]Zombie Goliath[/Card].

Marc is able to resolve a [Card]Timely Reinforcements[/Card] for full value this time and trading two of his tokens for the Adept on the next turn. Alex plays a [Card]Gravedigger[/Card] to get back the Adept. Marc replays the Goliath Alex bounced. Alex answers the Goliath with two [Card]Blood Seeker[/Card]s. On his next turn, Marc attacks with the Goliath which connects before adding his trump card from last game, [Card]Drifting Shade[/Card] to the board causing him to lose two life due to the Seeker triggers.

Alex attacks in with the Fleetwing hoping to get rid of the Shade as Marc blocks the bird. Alex has a [Card]Sorin’s Thirst[/Card] for the Shade which Marc answers with a [Card]Stave Off[/Card] and the Shade being pumped twice. Alex bounces the Shade with the [Card]Aether Adept[/Card] he returned with [Card]Gravedigger[/Card], only for Marc to replay it on the next turn, again losing two life due to the Seekers. Alex responds with another Adept returning the shade and attacks with his whole team with Marc trading a token for a [Card]Blood Seeker[/Card].

Alex ends his turn with a [Card]Child of Night[/Card]before passing it back to Marc. Now facing a daunting board position and himself low on life Marc is looking for his Day to level the playing field. Marc replays the Shade losing another life and passing the turn back to Alex. Alex on his turn [Card]Mind Rot[/Card]s Marc causing him to discard a [Card]Plains[/Card] and a [Card]Dark Favor[/Card]. He attacks with the team hitting Marc for five and knocking him down to four with Alex gaining two life before adding a [Card]Merfolk Looter[/Card] to the board and passing the turn.

Marc spends a moment to contemplate his next move before playing an [Card]Auramancer[/Card] and losing a life due to the one [Card]Blood Seeker[/Card] Alex has. It is his only target for [Card]Dark Favor[/Card]. On his turn Alex [card]Mind Rot[/card]s Marc discarding a [card]Tormented Soul[/card] and [card]Dark Favor[/card] before landing a [card]Phantasmal Bear[/card] and passing back the turn. Marc plays an [card]Elite Vanguard[/card] losing another life before passing the turn to Alex. He adds [card]Warpath Ghoul[/card] and on the next turn attacks for lethal prompting Marc to scoop his cards.

Marc Anderson 1 – 1 Alexander Hayne

Both players keep their seven with Marc letting Alex play first. Alex is first to land something in [card]Blood Seeker[/card] with Marc playing out a [card]Child of Night[/card] and both players trade creatures on the next turn. This is followed by Alex landing a [card]Warparth Ghoul[/card] and Marc answers with a [card]Devouring Swarm[/card]. Alex attacks in unblocked with the ghoul and then adds a [card]Royal Assassin[/card] to the board. Marc once again lands a [card]Timely Reinforcements[/card] for the third game this time getting full value from it. Alex counters on the next turn with a [card]Mind Rot[/card] getting Marc to discard a Goliath and a [card]Disentomb[/card]. On his turn Marc lands an [card]Oblivion Ring[/card] on the Assassin and then [card]Wring Flesh[/card]es the blocking Ghoul to hit Alex for four. Alex takes his turn dropping a [card]Merfolk Looter[/card] before passing it back. Marc again swings with the team with no blocks before adding a [card]Warpath Ghoul[/card] to his board. Alex attempts to [card]Sorin’s Thirst[/card] the Swarm but Marc sacrifices it to prevent Alex from gaining life. He then adds another Ghoul which Alex only answers with a [card]Phantasmal Bear[/card]. Marc crashes in again trading his Ghoul with two of Alex’s creatures. Alex draws for the turn and reaches across the table to offer his concession.

Marc Anderson 2 – 1 Alexander Hayne

Round 7 Feature Match #2 Dan Lanthier (White/Red)vs Jeremie Ross-Latour (Red/Black)

Jeremie won game one and then Dan came back to win game two. Jeremie took game three in the end remaining the only undefeated player left in the tournament field with no loses and twenty one points.

Jeremie Ross-Latour 2 – 1 Dan Lanthier

Round 6 Matchup Vincent Thibeault (Red/Green) vs Jon Boutin (Blue/Black)

Jon was featured two rounds before but we couldnt pass up an opportunity to feature Mana Deprived’s own Vincent Thibeault against Jon Boutin which should be a great match. Both players are joking back and forth about sleeves with kittens and dogs and other magic cliches.

Jon won the die roll and elects to play first with Jon keeping his seven and Vincent sending his grip back for a better six. Vincent stays at six.

Vincent is first to get action by landing a [card]Garruk’s Companion[/card]. Jon is quite content to let it resolve so he can land his [card]Aether Adept[/card]. Next turn Vincent replays the Companion with Jon in turn attacking with the Adept without being blocked. This enables bloodthirst and he land his [card]Duskhunter Bat[/card]. Vincent loses his Companion in the next attack thanks to a [card]Wring Flesh[/card] but is able to rebound by landing a [card]Cudgel Troll[/card]. Unfortunately for him Jon has the answer. He lands his Jace and mills Vincent for ten including a [card]Fireball[/card] and [card]Chandra’s Outrage[/card]. He declines to attack, instead preferring to have added protection for his Jace. Vincent swings the troll at Jace only to be blocked by the [card]Aether Adept[/card] and follows it up with a [card]Bonebreaker Giant[/card]. On his turn Jon counts the cards he has left to mill and prefers to take action by [card]Mind Rot[/card]ting away Vincent’s hand. This causes Vincent to discard a Mountain and [card]Chandra’s Phoenix[/card]. Jon mulls to himself that Vincent must have a [card]Chandra’s Outrage[/card] in hand realizing that his Jace dies regardless of what action he chooses. Unfortunately for Vincent, Jon was slowrolling an [card]Unsummon[/card] for the Troll as he blocked the Giant with the Bat allowing Jace to live. With only nine cards left in his library Vincent picks up his cards.

Jon Boutin 1 – 0 Vincent Thibeault

Vincent asks a judge whether he is allowed to change the size of his deck with sideboard receiving an affirmative answer. He elects to play first with both players keep their respective hands.

Vincent is first to land a creature with a turn two [card]Crimson Mage[/card], to counter Jon lands a turn two [card]Coral Merfolk[/card]. Vincent taps three mana with some chiding from Jon before landing a Phoenix and swinging for two. Jon mulls over his options to deal with Vincent’s board before settling on passing the turn. Vincent swings for another two with the Phoenix before surprising Jon with a [card]Rampant Growth[/card] to get a second Forest. Jon, in fear of some hasty green dudes, uses [card]Sorin’s Thirst[/card] to kill the Mage and swing in with a [card]Coral Merfolk[/card] and landing an [card]Amphin Cuttthroat[/card]. Vincent again swings with the Phoenix before landing a Troll. Jon is more than content to steal away thanks to a [card]Mind Control[/card] that was sitting in his hand for a few turns. Undeterred Vincent swings with the Phoenix and then plays out his [card]Acidic Slime[/card] removing the [card]Mind Control[/card] and getting back his Troll. Jon adds a [card]Drifting Shade[/card] to the board and another Swamp so that he will be able to knock off the Phoenix on the next turn. Jon lets the attacking troll pass putting him to ten and enabling bloodthirst for a [card]Gorehorn Minotaur[/card] to come in with five power and toughness. Jon swings for one with his [card]Drifting Shade[/card], no pump, which is explained by his playing out a [card]Grave Titan[/card]. Vincent attacks Jon with the Phoenix again aiming to race even harder in the face of the Titan. He nexts adds a Hellhound to his board. Next up Jon [card]Mind Rot[/card]s Vincent prompting him to need to cast his [card]Titanic Growth[/card] choosing to target his Hellhound and discard a [card]Garruk’s Companion[/card]. Jon, not wanting to lose his Titan, declines to pass the turn stating that although smaller Vincent has too many creatures to deal with on board damage. Next turn they trade the Shade and Phoenix as Jon had tapped all but one Swamp. He then adds a [card]Chasm Drake[/card] providing a flyer and the possibility to attack with the Titan allowing it to fly over Vincent’s defenses. On his turn Vincent lands a [card]Crimson Mage[/card] before shipping the turn back. On his turn Jon uses [card]Frost Breath[/card] to tap down Vincent’s Troll and Minotaur before attacking with a flying [card]Grave Titan[/card] and Drake.

Jon Boutin 2 – 0 Vincent Thibeault

Round 6 Feature Match #2 Nassim Ketita vs Alexandre Savoie

Nassim lost game one but prevaled to win the match.

Nassim Ketita 2 – 1 Alexandre Savoie

Round 5 Matchup Dan Lanthier (White/Red) vs Marcel Angelo Zafra(Blue/Green/Splash Red)

Although having already had feature matches in standard both Dan and Marcel made a return as this matchup is definetely the highlight of round 5 with both undefeated.

Both players keep their grip of seven with Dan going first.
Marcel lands a turn one [card]Llanowar Elves[/card] and attacks for one before Dan can answer with a turn three [card]Manic Vandal[/card].
Marcel adds a [card]Giant Spider[/card] to his board as Dan counters with a [card]Rusted Sentinel[/card]. Next in line for Marcel is a [card]Chasm Drake[/card] which Marcel is willing to trade with the Sentinenl before Dan follows it up with a [card]Peregrine Griffin[/card]. On his turn Marcel plays a [card]Llanowar Elves[/card] and has a [card]Mana Leak[/card] waiting for Dan’s second Griffin. Dan tries to add a [card]Bonebreaker Giant[/card] to his board but Marcel has a second [card]Mana Leak[/card]. Passing back the turn Marcel adds a [card]Chasm Drake[/card] which Dan responds with a [card]Gorehorn Minotaur[/card] on the next turn, though without Bloodthirst. On Dan’s turn he comteplates his options a while providing a break from the quick paced action. He attacks in with the Griffin and Minotaur. Marcel promptly double blocks the Griffin with the Drake and Spider. Dan deals two to the Spider and follows it up with a [card]Fireball[/card] killing the Spider and an Elf. On his next turn Dan trades the Minotaur for the Drake passing back the turn. Marcel lands an [card]Azure Mage[/card] representing two additional cards a turn. Dan’s only answer is a [card]Roc Egg[/card] with Marcel following up with an [card]Aven Fleetwing[/card]. Dan’s next attack yields a trade of Vandal for the Aven but he soon finds himself at a disadvantage as Marcel is drawing two additional cards a turn. Marcel is able to ramp up with all the additional card draw to have two Looters and a [card]Jade Mage[/card] to go with the rest of his board. Dan’s answer is quite succint with a [card]Fireball[/card] killing both Mages and one of the Looters. Marcel answers with a second [card]Azure Mage[/card] and another Fleetwing. Dan’s board includes a [card]Roc Egg[/card] and [card]Armored Warhorse[/card] which are quickly [card]Frost Breath[/card]-ed and Dan’s [card]Fiery Hellhound[/card] meets an end when Marcel finds his Mountain to [card]Incinerate[/card] the Hound and Dan draws another land for the turn with Marcel showing the [card]Fireball[/card] in hand. Dan proceeds to pick up his cards.

Marcel Angelo Zafra 1 – 0 Dan Lanthier

Dan chooses to play first this turn with both players keeping their hands and offering “good luck”s.

Marcel is first to the board with a [card]Merfolk Looter[/card] which Dan [card]Incinerate[/card]s having seen the card draw advantage that Marcel can generate. Dan tries for [card]Arbalest Elite[/card] which is met by a [card]Mana Leak[/card] allowing Marcel to land a Solemn and find the necessary Mountain. Dan is able to land a Griffin on the next turn which Marcel counters with a [card]Chasm Drake[/card] only for the Drake to feel [card]Chandra’s Outrage[/card] and get binned. Marcel, however, has a second Drake on the next turn with Dan playing a [card]Stonehorn Dignitary[/card] preventing an attack from Marcel. He follows it up with a [card]Gorehorn Minotaur[/card] which meets an [card]Incinerate[/card]. An [card]Aether Adept[/card] for Marcel deals with the Griffin…for now. Dan, feelng the heat, casts a [card]Fireball[/card] to kill the Drake while Marcel is able to land an [card]Azure Mage[/card] and swing for two. Dan however draws his trump card as he kills the Adept and Mage with his [card]Inferno Titan[/card]. An attack from Dan puts Marcel down to four and earns the concession from Marcel.

Marcel Angelo Zafra 1 – 1 Dan Lanthier

Both players discuss the cards that they saw and try to figure out how many of each there were.

Both players contemplate their hands as Marcel ships his grip back with Dan keeping stating that hes not sure if Marcels deck is good at mulliganing.

Marcel begins with [card]Llanowar Elves[/card] and on the next turn a [card]Jade Mage[/card] but missing land drops two and three. Dan lands [card]Benalish Veteran[/card] and then [card]Rusted Sentinel[/card] with Marcel finding land and landing a [card]Giant Spider[/card]. Dan continues the beats until he puts down a [card]Bonebreaker Giant[/card] which is backbreaking for Marcel and quickly earns the concession as Marcel as no answer for Dan’s Boa without having access to another color outside of green.

Dan Lanthier 2 – 1 Marcel Angelo Zafra

Round 5 Feature Match #2 “Sammy T” vs Ronald Be

Ronald Be 2 – 0 “Sammy T”

Round 4 Matchup Jonathan Smithers (White/Red) vs Mani Davoudi (Red/Black)

Jon won the die roll and elects to play first in the matchup. Both players shuffle up with Jon taking first look at his grip and deciding to stay at three.

Jon starts off with a Plains passing it back to Mani to be met with a Mountain and [card]Fireslinger[/card]. The [card]Fireslinger[/card] is quickly [card]Shocked[/card] on Jon’s next turn when a Mountain joined the board. Mani lands a Swamp and an [card]Onyx Mage[/card]. Jon plays out another Plains, a [card]Goblin Arsonist[/card], and [card]Griffin Rider[/card]. During the next turn the Mage attacks into Jon’s board and trades with the Arsonist before being able to land a [card]Royal Assassin[/card] preventing further board development. Jon’s next turn adds the Griffin to pump his Rider.  It is unable to attack due to the Assassin though. Both players trade creatures with spells before a [card]Throne of Empires[/card] landed on one side putting Jon at a disadvantage that would only grow deeper. To answer Jon drew his trump card-[card]Angelic Destiny[/card] equipping the [card]Griffin Sentinel[/card]. This put Mani in a rather unfortunate predicament as he would take five a turn that could avoid the Assassin.
Mani, feeling in a bind, began attacking his army of tokens into Jon’s creatures landing three damage along the way and then topping off his board with a [card]Grim Lavamancer[/card]. Prompting Jon to state that Mani had opened some nice bombs.
Jon attacked Mani with both creatures having a [card]Stave Off[/card] to protect the Griffin from Mani’s Assassin and an Honor to pump his creatures up for the final four damage to present lethal and led to game two.

Jonathan Smithers 1 – 0 Mani Davoudi

Both players spend the time shuffling discussing the packs they were passed as well as trying to predict which of the people in their pod had drafted which color. Having lost Mani elects to play first and elects to keep with Jon agreeing to do the same.

Mani lands a Swamp to Jon’s Plains followed by Mani landing a Mountain to pass it back and be met with a Plains and [card]Armored Warhorse[/card].
Mani, on his turn, quickly runs out a [card]Royal Assassin[/card] which meets a [card]Shock[/card] on Jon’s next turn and attacks with the [card]Armored Warhorse[/card]. Mani plays land go while Jon adds a [card]Goblin Arsonist[/card] to his board. To slow Jon’s board down Mani lands a [card]Crumbling Colossus[/card] which brings the board development to a crawl and both players playing land go till Jon was able to add a [card]Griffin Rider[/card] which was replied to by [card]Onyx Mage[/card] and a pass.
Jon then lands his trump card of [card]Flameblast Dragon[/card] which leads him to wonder whether Mani is waiting with [card]Doom Blade[/card] in hand.
The only answer Mani has is a [card]Crimson Mage[/card] before passing the turn bck to Jon who mulls over his decisions before declaring combat and burns Mani for 4 with the Dragon’s triggr.
Mani unfortunately only continued to draw lands and with the Dragon presenting lethal. He shows his hand lacking in answers and puts his hand out to congratulate Jon on the win.

Jonathan Smithers 2 – 0 Mani Davoudi.

Round 4 Feature Match #2 Jay Elarar (Blue/Black)vs Jon Boutin (Blue/Black)

Jay Elarar 1 – 0 Jon Boutin

Game two sees Jon start first landing an Island to be met with Jay’s Island and then a Swamp from Jon and a [card]Duskhunter Bat[/card]. Jay mirrors Jon’s lands with a Swamp before passing it back. Jon gets two swings in with the Bat until Jay is able to respond with a [card]Coral Merfolk[/card shipping the turn back to Jon.
Jon seems content in following the mirror philosophy as he plays his own [card]Coral Merfolk[/card] and then attacks again with the Bat. During his mainphase Jay [card]Frost Breath[/card]s Jon’s two creatures so he can hit with the Merfolk and get bloodthirst with a Bat that is quickly answered by a [card]Sorin’s Thrist[/card] by Jon.
Next turn both players then add an [card]Amphin Cutthroat[/card] to the board with Jon continuing the slow attacks with his Bat. The following turn Jay drops his [card]Azure Mage[/card] which, if not dealt with quickly, represents two cards a turn. Jon tries to [card]Mind Control[/card] the Mage only to be met with a [card]Mana Leak[/card] from Jay. Jon continues the attack with the Bat and adds a [card]Sengir Vampire[/card] to the board. At end of turn Jay draws another card leading to a growing card advantage that Jon is trying to hold off with quick damage thanks to his flyers. Jay adds a [card]Child of Night[/card] to the board so that the lifelink will prevent the bleeding a little. Jay follows it up with a [card]Doom Blade[/card] for the cuttthroat and swings with the Vampire to gan life only for Jon to have the [card]Unsummon[/card] preventing the life gain and prompting the concession from Jay leading to game three.

Jay Elarar 1 – 1 Jon Boutin

Both players wish each other luck with Jay announcing he will play first and both players decide to keep. Jay is first to hit the board with an [card]Onyx Mage[/card] to be answered by a Bat by Jon which on his turn Jay uses [card]Wring Flesh[/card] on it and hits for two with the Mage. Now with three lands, Jon attempts an [card]Aether Adept[/card] which is met with a [card]Mana Leak[/card]. Jay continues the Mage beat down then taps getting Jon to ask whether the bloodthirst bat is coming but instead a [card]Warpath Ghoil[/card] lands. Next time around Jon plays a [card]Manalith[/card] and Jay again attacks and adds an [card]Amphin Cuttthroat[/card]. The cuttthroat is answered with a [card]Bloodrage Vampire[/card] but with Jon at eleven Jay is in control right now. On his turn Jay plays an [card]Adaptive Automaton[/card] with one of each creature on the board and when it resolves he chooses salamander pumping the cutthroat. Jay swings with his team to be met with a vampire blocking the ghoul and a [card]Sorin’s Thirst[/card] for the [card]Onyx Mage[/card] resulting in Jon only taking one but now with a board of two creatures for Jay to Jon’s none. That changed thanks to [card]Sengir Vampire[/card]. Jay [card]Mind Rot[/card]s Jon but off the top Jon rips his trump card- [card]Jace, Memory Adept[/card]. Jace has a protector with the vampire. Jon elects to mill Jay for ten before passing back the turn. Jay adds a Skywinder before passing the turn without an attack. Jon then ripped his next trump card [card]Grave Titan[/card] and mills Jay. This promptly earns the concession from Jay with no answer and five cards left in his library.

Jon Boutin 2 – 1 Jay Elarar

It is now the draft portion with the feature pod being the one containing Phil Samms, Jon Boutin, Jay Elarar, Jon Stern, Andrew Van Leeuwen, Guillaume Daoust, Chris Seifert and Vincent Thibeault. If you look at the article with the list of undefeated players, they are ordered according to pod meaning one to eight is pod one and nine to sixteen is pod 2. Another feature pod for the montreal area contains Dan McDonald, Joey Smith and our own Kar Yung Tom.

Round 3 Matchup Eric Gaudreault (Exarch Twin) vs Jeremie Ross-Latour (Jund)

Jeremie arrives first and quickly shuffles his deck then presents it just as Eric arrives and begins pile shuffling. As Eric shuffles the two begin chatting in French and ask if they are allowed to speak in French. It is okay as both of them understand the language. Luckily, I do too. Eric pile shuffles Jeremie’s deck and teases Eric about card count. Both players look for dice but finally some one offers them two. Eric wins and elects to go first.

Both players elect to keep their starting hand with Eric leading with [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] and Jeremie leading with a Forest. Eric cracks his fetch for a Mountain before adding an Island and landing a [card]Shrine of Piercing Visions[/card]. Jeremie then draws and plays a Mountain and adds a [card]Sphere of the Suns[/card] before shipping it back.

Eric draws for the turn and then ponders what his next play will be with a [card]Ponder[/card] before electing not to shuffle adding an [card]Arid Mesa[/card] and passing the turn.

Jeremie adds a Swamp which indicates a Jund deck and passes it as Eric adds another [card]Arid Mesa[/card] before passing.
Jeremie in turn adds a Swamp and passes as Eric misses a land drop before shipping it back to Jeremie who adds a [card]Raging Ravine[/card] and ships it back allowing Eric to crack a fetch and search out a Mountain to land an Exarch. In response to the tap effect Jeremie pays four life to [card]Dismember[/card] the Exarch.

Eric again ponders on his turn and elects not to shuffle before cracking his shrine with it at eight counters on it. He remains quiet and without a land as he pays two life to [card]Gitaxian Probe[/card]. Jeremie’s hand reveals [card]Batterskull[/card], [card]Beast Within[/card], [card]Grave Titan[/card] and [card]Inferno Titan[/card] and another [card]Beast Within[/card]. Eric draws and finds a [card]Halimar Depths[/card] off the top and quietly contemplates what order the cards should be returned in, looking back at his hand for reassurance.
Before untapping Jeremie looks over Eric’s board and [card]Beast Within[/card]s one of Eric’s Mountains at end of turn before playing a [card]Rootbound Crag[/card] and landing a [card]Grave Titan[/card] representing ten power on board.

Eric has no response and draws for the turn landing a [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] on his board and shipping it back.
Jeremie draws for turn and goes to the attack step in which Eric responds with an Exarch tapping his [card]Grave Titan[/card].
Jeremie declines to attack and instead passes the turn back to Eric who begins thinking over his options. Eric elects to fetch with his [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] to find a second Mountain. Eric lands a [card]Splinter Twin[/card] and declares that he is making infinite copies to which Jeremie decides his two blockers will not do the trick and scoops.

As both players begin to sideboard their decks they are discussing, in french, what the correct line of play would have been with the [card]Beast Within[/card]. Eric states that he had the answer to any one card Jremie had thanks to his one blue mana up representing [card]Dispel[/card].

Eric Gaudreault 1 – 0 Jeremie Ross-Latour

As they are still deciding their sideboard choices, Eric is talking about how Jeremie’s opponent must be completely confused in their matchup against him.

Jeremie is quietly contemplating his seven card hand before deciding to keep while Eric annouces he needs a moment to think his seven card hand over before electing to keep.

Jeremie starts off with a [card]Verdant Catacimbs[/card] to find a Forest at the end of Eric’s turn after he played an Island. On his turn Jeremie lands a Swamp to play a [card]Rampant Growth[/card] which finds a Mountain. Eric adds a second Island to his board before shipping it back. This allows Jeremie to play a Swamp and land a Solemn which Eric lets pass before adding a Forest to the board. Making the land count 5-3 in Jeremie’s favor.

Eric [card]Preordain[/card]s leaving both on top and finds a [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] before passing it back. For Jeremie’s turn he attacks for two before playing a [card]Raging Ravine[/card] and playing out a [card]Batterskull[/card] which Eric lets resolve.

On his turn Eric [card]Ponder[/card]s leavng all three in the same order and finding a second [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] to add to his board. He elects to crack one fetch during his main phase finding a Mountain and then [card]Preordain[/card]ing to ship both cards to the bottom.
Jeremie attacks with both the Solemn and [card]Batterskull[/card] on his turn dropping Eric to eleven before playing out his [card]Grave Titan[/card] representing lethal next turn if it is not answered.
Eric draws for the turn adding an [card]Arid Mesa[/card] before shipping it back to Jeremie.

Jeremie goes to his attack phase as Eric looks over the board thinking that without an answer to [card]Grave Titan[/card] this match is going to game three. Eric taps three lands to land the [card]Deceiver Exarch[/card] to tap Titan which when the ability resolves Jeremie announces that he holds priority as Jeremie pays four life to [card]Dismember[/card] the twin which Eric answers with a [card]Mutagenic Growth[/card]. Allowing that to pass Jeremie activates his [card]Raging Ravine[/card] crashing with his board earning the concession from Eric.

Eric Gaudreault 1 – 1 Jeremie Ross-Latour

As both look over their sideboard once more and shuffle up Eric elects to play first before announcing he will keep followed by Jeremie announcing a snap keep.

Eric plays a [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] cracking it to find an Island and cast a [card]Ponder[/card], leaving all three cards on top. Jeremie for his turn adds a Ravine then passes it back for Eric to add a [card]Halimar Depths[/card]. He announces he needs a moment to think before deciding on the order. He then pays two life to Probe Jeremie to reveal two [card]Grave Titan[/card], a [card]Batterskull[/card], a [card]Verdant Catacombs[/card], a [card]Go for the Throat[/card], a [card]Dismember[/card], and [card]Beast Within[/card] announcing he is not going down with a fight.

Jeremie untaps to find a Swamp and tries to land a [card]Sphere of the Suns[/card] which Eric quickly [card]Spell Pierce[/card]s.
Eric, for his turn, plays a [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] and fetches for a main phase Island before [card]Preordain[/card]ing. He leaves both cards on the top. Jeremie finds a [card]Rootbound Crag[/card] off the top which arrives into play tapped . Eric [card]Preordain[/card]s again leaving both cards on top and adds an [card]Arid Mesa[/card].
Jeremie finds another land on top, a Forest this time, before shipping it back to Eric; who again [card]Preordain[/card]s leaving both on top. Jeremie find another land off the top, a [card]Tectonic Edge[/card], which he uses to destroy Eric’s [card]Halimar Depths[/card]. Both players play draw – no land for two turns before both start laying lands and passing for several turns.
Jeremie then draws and opts to discard a Titan but misses a land drop. This leads Eric to land an Exarch at the end of Eric’s turn. Jeremie [card]Dismember[/card]s it, only to be met with a [card]Mutagenic Growth[/card] from Eric as Jeremie draws for the turn and passes. Eric adds a Mountain to his board and he attacks with the Exarch for one prompting Jeremie to pay four life for a [card]Dismember[/card] which Eric responds to by allowing his Exarch to die.
Jeremie, on his turn, casts a Chalice kicked one time to which Eric responds by playing another Exarch to tap his [card]Rootbound Crag[/card]. Jeremie adds a red which he uses to [card]Combust[/card] the Exarch. In response Eric fetches another Mountain to [card]Into the Roil[/card] his Exarch. This resolves, much to Jeremie’s chagrin.

Eric untaps for the turn asking how many cards are in Jeremies hand to be met with an answer of six.
At end of turn Eric plays an Exarch. Jeremie taps to play his [card]Go for the Throat[/card] causing Eric to [card]Dispel[/card]. Jeremie tries [card]Beast Within[/card] to be met with Eric’s [card]Negate[/card]. Eric untaps for the turn counting Jeremie’s two mana available. Eric plays a [card]Twisted Image[/card] on his Exarch to draw another card. Eric fetches and then taps down four Mountains to go for the Twin. Jeremie responds by fetching to play another [card]Combust[/card]. Eric fetches for an Island dropping him to eleven in order to play a [card]Twisted Image[/card] on his Exarch which does not find the answer he needs. Jeremie lands a [card]Grave Titan[/card] which if it attacks next turn will put Eric in great risk.
Eric plays an Island for the turn before passing it back to Jeremie which causes him to look over his board in hopes of finding a way to end the game this turn before Eric can have a chance to combo off. As he announces going to attacks Eric plays a [card]Deceiver Exarch[/card] using the trigger to tap down the [card]Grave Titan[/card]. He attacks Eric with both tokens. The Exarch blocks one and the other drops Eric to nine. Eric on his turn draws and then passes the turn right back.

As Jeremie draws for the turn he drops his hand on the table to sit back and reflect on the best available play to be made. Jeremie declares attack phase which prompts a second Exarch from Eric to tap down the Titan.
Eric again draws for the turn and passes it back to Jeremie who draws for his turn looking over his eleven lands on board and two cards in hand and sits back to contemplate his options. Jeremie swings with his team killing an exarch and dropping Eric to seven with Eric dead next turn without a Twin.
Eric rips a [card]Ponder[/card] off of the top and elects to shuffle his deck. Eric slowly looks at his card before passing the turn back. Jeremie activates his [card]Raging Ravine[/card] and declares attacks with his four zombies, titan and land. He first goes over every possible scenario Eric could have before activating the second [card]Raging Ravine[/card] representing lethal. Eric reveals a [card]Spell Pierce[/card] and [card]Dispel[/card] offering his hand in congratulations.

Jeremie Ross-Latour 2 – 1 Eric Gaudreault

They then spend a moment going over the line of play which was most ideal with Eric pointing out that Jeremie could have killed him a turn or two before and Eric explaining that he should not have allowed the [card]Twisted Image[/card] to resolve which might of found an answer that could change the game.

Feature Match #2 Round #3 Marcel Angelo Zafra (CawBlade) vs Guillaume Daoust (Mono Red)

Marcel won this match in three games that ended midway through game two of our match so unfortunately I was unable to provide any matchup coverage.

Round 2 Matchup Ben Moir (Exarch Twin) vs Lucas Siow (CawBlade)

Both players arrive with the friendly banter discussing how the only time they ever played is for random events and random prizes that did not amount to much. They then shift to how their national records contain one win a piece in standard and are confused how they both ended up at the feature match table. Lucas retells the story of how last year he played against a guy with [card]Squadron Hawk[/card]s long before they were popular and this guy was ahead of the curve with super pimped out hawks.

Lucas wins the die roll and elects to play first.
Both players look over their grip of seven and both elect to keep
Lucas leads with turn one Colonnade passing the turn for Ben to play a scalding tarn and pass back
Lucas in his turns lands a Plains and [card]Squadron Hawk[/card] and finds two more hawks.
Ben plays a [card]Halimar Depths[/card] looking at his three cards before passing the turn
Lucas attacks with the hawks and lands a mainboard [card]Spellskite[/card].
Ben, on his turn, lands a [card]Grim Lavamancer[/card] through Lucas’ Misstep with a [card]Dispel[/card]
On his turn Lucas lands two [card]Squadron Hawk[/card]s and elects to find the last one before attacking for one and passing the turn
Ben cracks a fetch on his turn to have two cards in the bin. He contemplates before playing the [card]Ponder[/card]. Lucas thinks it over before letting it resolve. Ben then plays an [card]Arid Mesa[/card] and lands his second Lavamancer.
Lucas plays a [card]Preordain[/card] leaving both on top before attacking with his three hawks knocking Ben to 14. On his second main he plays a Jace which causes Ben to crack his fetch and [card]Mana Leak[/card] the baby Jace.
Ben plays [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] on his turn before passing it back to Lucas.
Lucas attacks with the three hawks before he lands a [card]Gideon Jura[/card] which Ben allows to resolve. At the end of turn Ben uses both of his Lavamancers to kill the [card]Spellskite[/card] before fetching for another Mountain on his turn to land the Exarch.
Ben annouces he is a luck sack half heartedly revealing the [card]Into the Roil[/card] he just drew to go with the [card]Splinter Twin[/card] he had in hand.

Ben Moir 1 – 0 Lucas Siow

Both players are silent as they shuffle up for game two contemplating their sideboard slots very carefully for matchups they have both seen in the past.

Lucas elects to play first again in the second game and quickly keeps his grip of seven with Ben taking a little longer before doing the same.

Lucas plays a Colonnade on turn one before passing
Ben, for his turn, plays a [card]Halimar Depths[/card] carefully reflecting before passing back
Unlike game one, Lucas plays a turn two [card]Preordain[/card] instead of a hawk splitting them top and bottom
Ben plays a Mountain and lands his “[card]Demonic Tutor[/card]”- [card]Shrine of Piercing Vision[/card]
Lucas lands a Plains and Jace before drawing and passing
Ben plays an Island and contemplates before landing a main phase Deceiver untapping his Island to then [card]Preordain[/card] putting both on the bottom
Lucas draws for the turn and then draws with Jace before paying four life to [card]Dismember[/card] the Exarch and playing a hawk for the turn only finding one more.
Ben lands a second Mountain waits a little and then plays a second main phase Exarch untapping a Mountain
Lucas attacks with the hawk for one and then draws off of Jace before passing it back
Ben attacks baby Jace for one before casting a [card]Grim Lavamancer[/card] which draws a [card]Flashfreeze[/card] from Lucas and a [card]Negate[/card], in return, from Ben. Before trigger for shrine resolves Lucas [card]Mental Misstep[/card]s the Lavamancer.
For his turn Lucas draws two thanks to the additional card from Jace. He thinks a little before landing an [card]Azure Mage[/card] and passing it back.
Ben plays a [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] asking Lucas how many cards he has. Lucas has five cards in hand. Ben attacks the Jace with Exarch only for Lucas to block with a hawk.
Lucas draws a card at end step with the mage and then two more on his turn with Jace. This kills off the baby Jace. Lucas plays a [card]Preordain[/card] and then a Colonnade before passing it back
At end of turn Ben cracks his shrine on eight and untaps
He sits contemplating the correct move before adding a [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] to his land collection and cracks both for an Island and a Mountain. He thinks a while longer before playing the Twin. Lucas’ [card]Mana Leak[/card] is met with a [card]Dispel[/card] and his [card]Dispel[/card] is met with a [card]Negate[/card] from Ben- earning the concession.

Ben Moir 2 – 0 Lucas Siow

Ben brags that he is now 2 – 0 in features matches with the last one coming four years ago at regionals. Lucas then goes over the play order of lands and realizes that he may have made a mistake with the way he played his land which would have prolonged the game had he played differently. Both players admit to being unsure of the correct order.

Feature Match #2 – Dan Lanthier (Exarch Twin) vs David Rood (Mono Red)

Game three finds Dan with two Islands to David’s Mountain, Peaks and Geopede
David plays an [card]Arid Mesa[/card] on his turn to trigger Landfall. He attacks for three before adding a second Geopede and passing back.
Dan adds a [card]Scalding Tarn[/card] and begins mulling over the correct play order before passing back the turn.
David draws and thinks a little before attacking with the Geopedes without any landfall triggers and adds a shrine to the board. At end of turn Dan fetches for the Mountain and lands an Exarch before targetting David’s [card]Arid Mesa[/card] to be tapped. Thinking for a while David decides to crack his fetch and let Dan draw.
Dan lands his second Mountain to play Twin, in response David [card]Dismember[/card]s, paying four life, which Dan answers with a [card]Mutagenic Growth[/card], paying two life himself, causing David to read the card before conceding the match to Dan.

Dan Lanthier 2 – 1 David Rood

Round 1 Matchup Dan McDonald (Boros) vs Paul McKinnon (Mono Red)

Paul won the die roll and chooses to play first. He keeps his hand.
Dan looked over his seven card hand and shipped it back.
Paul plays an [card]Arid Mesa[/card] and passes.
Dan cracks his own mesa for a Mountain and [card]Goblin Guide[/card]
Paul reveals a Mountain and cracks his fetch before Bolting the Guide.
Paul plays Mountain and taps out for a Shrine
Dan plays a Plains and a hawk fetching two more hawks
Paul drops [card]Kargan Dragonlord[/card] on his turn and passes without playing a land
Dan plays [card]Adventuring Gear[/card] and equips his hawk before dropping a land and swinging for three. He then drops a lynx and passs the turn
Paul plays an [card]Arid Mesa[/card] and [card]Searing Blaze[/card]s the Lynx before cracking the fetch and leveling the lord for one
Dan drops a hawk and gear on his turn and swings for one with his equipped hawk
Paul attacks with his dragon lord, no pump, and plays another shrine with the first on five counters
Dan attacks for one with his hawk and drops another hawk
At end of turn Paul cracks his Mesa for a Mountain and [card]Searing Blaze[/card]s the hawk which drops Dan to 11
Paul untaps playing a [card]Teettering Peaks[/card] to level the dragon lord by two power and swings. Dan bolts it. Paul then plays another lord levels it twice and passes
Dan draws for the turn. Contemplates then swings for one with the hawk and dropping a [card]Grim Lavamancer[/card] and hawk for his turn before passing.
Paul draws for turn playing another Peaks, levels the lord twice, and passes the turn
Dan draws for the turn and scoops facing a Shrine on lethal

Paul 1 – 0 Dan

While the players are sideboarding for game two, Paul remarks how he hasn’t seen Boros in a while and seems unsure of the correct sideboarding strategy.

For game two Dan begins with a mulligan before keeping his six while Paul decides to save his seven

Dan plays [card]Marsh Flats[/card] and gets a Plains on his turn for a [card]Steppe Lynx[/card]
Paul meanwhile plays a Mountain and drops a [card]Goblin Guide[/card] revealing [card]Stormblood Berserker[/card]
Dan takes two draws and passes back without a land
Paul then draws for his turn, adds a Mountain, and attacks with the guide which reveals a bolt before dropping a shrine
On his turn Dan draws and passes the turn
Paul then attacks with the guide revealing a Mountain. Dan blocks with the the lynx before having the turn passed back to him
Dan draws the Mountain plays it and passes
Paul attacks with guide revealing another Mountain before having the guide bolted
Dan draws for his turn and passes. Paul end of turn double [card]Incinerate[/card]s Dan causing Dan to scoop with the shrine on Lethal.

Paul 2 – 0 Dan

Feature Match #2 of Round 1 – Phil Samms (Valakut) vs Brandon Chreptyl (CawBlade)

Phil 1 – 1 Brandon

Turn four Phil has a board of double [card]Lotus Cobra[/card] which he enables him to land a Titan with his fourth land vs Brandon’s board of [card]Hero of Bladehold[/card] and four lands
Brandon [card]Oblivion Ring[/card]s the Titan before crashing with his Hero causing Phil to double block with with a cobras and take four
On his turn Phil lands a Titan wiping Brandon’s board before passing back the turn
Brandon [card]Preordain[/card]s leaving one on top and one on the bottom before shipping the turn
Phil declares attacks before Brandon [card]Into the Roil[/card]s the Titan and then [card]Flashfreeze[/card]s it on the way down but Phil has the [card]Summoning Trap[/card] waiting netting him another [card]Inferno Titan[/card].
Brandon draws for his turn and is quietly comtemplating the play before landing a Hero and shipping the turn.
On his turn Phil lands a [card]Primeval Titan[/card] earning the concession from Brandon.

Phil Samms 2 – 1 Brandon Chreptyk