by Kyle Duncan
Today, we bring you Part 2 of Kyle Duncan's emotion-filled Canadian Nationals tournament report. Read on to find out how this young man was able to get himself an invite to Chiba!
Round 8 vs. U/X [Zafra, Marcel Angelo]
The night before, I had been informed that Marcel’s deck was the deck I needed to avoid, therefore I was not happy to be sitting across from one of Francis’ close friends in round eight here to avenge his friend's loss to me. Packing up to three Aether Adept and a Sword of Vengeance, this match was definitely going to be an uphill battle. After exchanging lopsided wins, game three Marcel mulliganed down to five cards. Not even two Preordains and a Foresee could draw him out of the hole my deck had put him in. Needless to say I was pumped to get a win from this round, knowing both Marcel and his deck were most likely better mine.
7-1
Round 9 vs. G/B [Boyce, Aaron]
Feeling a little more relaxed at five and 0 in the draft portion, I was finally paired up against a deck that I felt was a good matchup. In game one he wins the die roll and chooses to draw. Of course this makes me happy, because I know we are both playing green and I feel any tempo I can achieve by going first will work well for me. Game one I drop my Baloth, Outrage one of his double block, and continue to roll forward with a game one win. Game two my opponent chooses to play first and basically does to me what I had done to him in game one, but the black version. In game three we both start mulling and both settle at five cards. I look down at my five: forest, forest, forest, mountain, mountain and turn to the crowd behind me and announce, “I’m doing it live!” after my Chandra’s Spitfire crashed for a solid one, it was met by a following turn Doom Blade. My opponent then untaps and casts Mind Rot. I look down at my four lands in play, and the only two cards in my hand being two more additional lands, and say, “oh well”. I then rip the top card off of my library, turn back to the crowd and ask if I could have ripped a better card. I tap my three mana and drop Crystal Ball. My opponent looks at me comments how nice that is. I tell him to “get on this level” sarcastically, and ship the turn back. For the rest of the game three all I drew was gas, and at last I was eight and one through nine rounds!
8-1
Round 10 vs. R/G Titan Valakut [Thibeault, Vincent]
Alas, after nine rounds of intense Magic, both Vincent and I were sitting high atop the standings, posting a 9-0 and an 8-1 records respectively. Not sure whether I would be able to find two consecutive people after Vincent to draw with me, I had to unfortunately turn down his offer for an ID.
Game One: After much testing and practice, I knew that the deck Vince was running was a good matchup for me. He could neither deal with an explosive start nor a late game Eldrazi Monument. Unfortunately in game one I saw neither of those. In fact, I am fairly sure that when our match was done, Vincent most likely assumed I was running a stock Jund list. Game one my turn three Thrinax, turn four Elf into another Thrinax was no match for his turn two Rampant Growth, turn three Cultivate, turn four Titan, turn five win on the play. Not to be discouraged, I scooped up my cards, began to sideboard, all the while making conversation with Vincent.
Sideboarding Note:
-3 Maelstrom Pulse
-1 Obstinate Baloth
+4 Doom Blade
Game Two: Game two did not start off much better. With both of us mulling down to five and me on the play, I quickly found out that Vincent is much more of a wizard than I. After ripping his Terramorphic Expanse right off the top on turn one, he essentially repeated his game one performance, with me never seeing a third land. I joke around with Vince for a bit after. He could clearly see I was frustrated although I tried to hide it. Vince is a gentleman and that is all there is to say. He is polite, has a good sense of humour, and it was a pleasure playing him. I wished him luck and told him I would be seeing him in the Top 8 at some point. Vince chuckled and we went our ways.
8-2
Round 11 vs. Jund [Moore, Grayson]
After reviewing the previous round’s standings for close to ten minutes, it was clear that there was no way for the X and twos to consecutively draw themselves into top 8. Having known Grayson for a while now, I felt comfort in knowing that the winner of this match would be moving on to the top 8 and the loser would still have a shot with the coming round. We rolled the dice, I chose to play, and the game was on its way.
Game One: Game one started off very quickly for me, turning a turn two Lotus Cobra into a turn three cascading Elf stopping on a Sprouting Thrinax seemed very fortunate in this match. I felt confident that I would be taking game one when Grayson’s turn four Bloodbraid Elf cascaded him into a Blightning. If the stars had not been on my side that day, this play may not have gotten Grayson back into the game. As it were though, I was holding the lone maindeck Obstinate Baloth in my hand and with a giant smile on my face I lightly placed it into the middle of the board. Grayson did not seem too enthused at this point and quickly scooped up his cards and began sideboard. In between sideboarding, I muttered to Grayson, “that’s pretty much how my day has been going.” That got a smile from him.
Sideboarding Note:
-4 Lightning Bolt
-3 Maelstrom Pulse
+3 Obstinate Baloth
+4 Goblin Ruinblaster
Game Two: Game two was much the same, with my deck playing exactly how Sammie T had designed it to. My turn two Nest Invader allowed me to cast my Goblin Ruinblaster a turn earlier than Grayson could cast his. After the tempo from both sides had settled a bit, with Grayson having two or three creatures on his side holding off the 8 1/1 tokens on my side (half Saproling, half Goblins), I drew my card for the turn. With Grayson tapped out, I peeked at the card I had just drawn, tapped five of the most beautiful colourless mana I have ever tapped in my life, and dropped my Jund mirror match trump card: Eldrazi Monument. I double checked life totals again. With Grayson sitting at 16 life I declared my attack step. Grayson, the good sport that he is, only smiled, shook my hand and congratulated me on potentially top 8’ing. I told Grayson that he was X and three at this point because he had played great Magic all weekend. I told him to keep his head on straight, and that we would all be cheering for him in the last round. I picked up all my stuff, put both my hands directly in the air, and all my friends that had been watching started to cheer. Almost 100% sure I would be in the top 8 regardless of the outcome of the last round. I had done what I had come to Montreal to do; to prove that I could play on the National level.
9-2
Round 12 vs. U/G/R Titan Force [Long, Noah]
Pairings went up for the twelfth and final round. Before I could even make my way over to see who I was playing, Noah came running up to me and grabbed me by the shoulders, gave me a pretty good shake and said “we got paired up! You can scoop me in!” After confirming with James and Sammie (the only two people I would ever trust to do ID’s/scoops/analyze the standings) that this was true, I was happy to be in a position to scoop a close friend into top 8. My theory was that the more people I knew in top 8 the better. For the reason that a) it would be easier to handle a defeat (it is a lot easier for me to lose to someone I know, knowing they can be happy even though I might not be) and b) it would increase my chances of potentially having friends accompanying me to Japan (if I could make it to top 4). We signed the slip, Noah jumped up and hugged me again, and we went to tell everyone the good news.
After all the congratulations I walked over with James Vance and began to watch the most gruelling match of Magic I have ever witnessed between Grayson Moore and Guillaume Daoust. After Grayson had taken game one, game two saw both players continuously cast creature onto creature in a savage effort to gain board position without casting removal. Imagine watching two young children playing Limited for the first time, decks full of subpar creatures and so light on removal you’re not even sure if they are running any. That is essentially what this board position became. With more than ten creatures on either side, no player was willing to risk the effect that one “trick” might have on the combat phase. In the end, Grayson was able to hold off Guillaume’s last minute push for the game win and went on to take the match 1-0.
After the final standings went up after twelve long rounds of Magic, it was bittersweet to see my name sitting in the 5th position. I say bittersweet because perched right above my name in the 4th position, and my future top 8 opponent, was Noah Long. Not only did Noah stand as my closest friend in the top 8, but his deck had been somewhat of a rogue variant until this point thus giving me very little testing time against it. Sammie quickly pulled me aside and asked me if I knew how I would be approaching/sideboarding this match. Although Sammie is both Noah and my friend, he knew Noah would have plenty of support and knowledge in this matchup. In a certain way, I felt like Sammie knew I was representing both myself and also him. After briefly going over strategy, I briskly walked over to the table where forms were sitting for both Noah and I to sign. I felt a little less nervous when Noah had to ask all the questions about the form that I too was also curious about. With my hands still shaking a bit, I handed in my form and stared at my top 8 opponent.
Top 8 vs. Noah Long [U/G/R Titan Force]
With both Noah and I being affectionate Magic players, Noah looked at me and asked, “are we going to hug this out?” I responded without hesitation “hell yes!” We agreed that no matter the outcome we were still friends and would be happy for the other.
Game One: For some reason most of this match is a blur to me. I cannot remember if both Noah and I mulliganed. I do know, however, that all Noah saw was two lands, an Explore, and a bunch of other cards he would never cast in this game. It really did not matter what I played in this game against him because when I finally brought Noah’s life to zero he was still sitting with those two lands in play. Visibly discouraged, I apologized to Noah wished him better luck in the following games.
Sideboarding Note:
-4 Lightning Bolt
-1 Obstinate Baloth
-3 Nest Invader
+4 Doom Blade
+4 Goblin Ruinblaster
Game Two: This game I am unable to compete with Noah’s explosive start. After a turn two Rampant Growth into a turn three Cultivate, Noah follows up with a turn four Titan followed closely by his coveted Destructive Force. With me one turn away from dropping a Monument I know it is only a couple of turns until I am dead. I let Noah play it out and begin to look through my sideboard again. As if deciding to change my strategy, I shove all fifteen cards into my sixty and slowly begin to extract every exact one again.
Game Three: Game three I immediately start to put pressure on Noah with multiple two drops hitting the board. While Noah is somewhat stumbling on his mana, I still remember having Sammie tell me that unless I am land flooded only keep four land in play at all times. With this in the back of my head, I start to hold the few lands past four I have drawn in case Noah does find the mana to pump out a Destructive Force. With six lands in play and Noah staring down lethal, I remember him tapping out to drop a 6/6 Primeval Titan that would provide adequate blocking to potentially get him out of this. With two lands and a Doom Blade in hand, I start to wonder if I would be “slow rolling” Noah if I don’t show him the Doom Blade in hand.
After grabbing his Halimar Depths and a second land, without even noticing, I show Noah the Doom Blade in my hand and ask him if that would be game. Noah quickly drops his second land, which was a Khalni Garden, and snaps at me saying, “I have a blocker Kyle, play the game.” At this point the audience that had been watching our match began to laugh in the background. Extremely embarrassed and somewhat flustered, I slouch back into my chair and think, you’re in the top 8 of Canadian Nationals Kyle, get your head on straight. Sammie, being the great friend he is, quickly notices the effect the crowds’ laughing has on me, and snaps at them by yelling “these guys are playing in the top 8, where the hell are you? Standing and watching! So shut the f*ck up!” The funny thing is, having Sammie yell like that actually calmed me down and made me feel a little better. Noah went on to draw no gas and we were moving on to game four.
Game Four: Very similar to game one, Noah’s deck just does not do what he wants it to, and I continue to draw like a Jund player. At zero life before he can cast any real threats, Noah leans across and shakes my hand. People start to clap and I feel an instant sigh of relief throughout my whole body. A little upset that he did not really get a fair match with his deck not cooperating, I ask Noah if we’re going to hug it out again, he quickly shakes his head yes. Noah is a great player but also a good friend, he wishes me the best of luck for the rest of the top 8 and grabs his stuff. *Note* it may have been a lot easier to concentrate on the games if Noah’s girlfriend and her friend hadn’t decided to join the audience in the middle of the match. I remember thinking, “did the two most beautiful girls at the venue have to be sitting directly behind my buddy Noah.” I hope Noah takes this as a compliment and doesn’t want to kill me after he reads this.
Top 4 vs. Vincent Thibeault [R/G Titan Valakut]
Game One: Still fairly certain that Vince’s deck is a good matchup for me, I remain confident. After losing the roll and looking down at my opening seven, it is not the specific cards I would like to see in this match; however, I have good mana drops and your standard Jund cards that can always seem to smash an opponent. I figured if at any point Vince’s deck stumbles that my hand will be able to punish him. Unfortunately, Vincent picks up where we left off in round ten, drawing “the nuts.” I quickly cannot compete with his deck’s sheer power and have to scoop it up and hope the sideboarded games will bode well for me.
Sideboarding Note:
-3 Maelstrom Pulse
-1 Obstinate Baloth
+4 Doom Blade
Game Two: Moving onto the play in game two I had hoped my deck might be able to develop enough tempo to back Vincent’s deck into a corner. Still drawing the typical Jund cards with nothing that sets my deck apart from traditional builds, again I was unable to cope with his ramping into Avengers and Titans and I quickly found myself down two games. After this game, I overheard Vincent asking how the other top 4 match had been proceeding, clearly curious who his top 2 opponent might be. At this point I informed Vincent that I would be coming back to take the next three straight games and the match win. Vincent, in his slight French-Canadian accent, chuckled and asked, “is that so?”.
Game Three: After dropping a turn two Lotus Cobra, Vince leaned across and noted, “Oh, I didn’t realize you were playing that card.” I laughed and told him there was a lot about my deck that he did not know. Turning my turn two Cobra into a turn three Elf/Thrinax combo, Vince quickly realized why I had been telling him that this was a favourable matchup for me. Unable to bounce back from my onslaught we were off to game four.
Game Four: Right off the bat Vince asked if my deck could repeat the same performance on the draw, he promptly found out the answer. Almost duplicating my game three plays, I had swiftly knocked Vince’s deck down a notch as I won my second straight game. At this point Vince agreed that he could see how this was a closer matchup then he first assessed.
Game Five: After two explosive starts from either side, my early pressure was halted by his turn five Avenger of Zendikar. After making his six men quickly into 3/4's, I was unable to push through for the final points of damage I would need to get to the finals. Sitting at 9 life, with all his tokens, Vince was staring down two Putrid Leechs, a Sprouting Thrinax, and a Siege-Gang Commander with all his buddies still available. For four straight turns, I kept waiting to rip the final nail in the coffin for my opponent. To my dismay, my next four draws did not contain any of my 4 Eldrazi Monument, 4 Lightning Bolt, or my lone Maelstrom Pulse still in my deck and when Vince tapped six mana at the end of my turn, revealed a Summoning Trap, and then placed a Primeval Titan into play. It took one attack phase from Vince to deal eighteen points of damage out of my healthy nineteen life. When Vince showed the additional Mountain in his hand that was needed to shoot me for three more damage, I smiled like a good loser, shook his hand and congratulated him. Although I had lost, I was still in really good spirits knowing I would be qualified for Chiba regardless.
Although I would love to bore you all even further by telling you how I lost in the 3 vs. 4 matchup despite my opponent misplaying and donating game four to me, I will not. I had an amazing time at Nationals and it was one of my favourite tournaments up to this point in my Magic career. I met so many great people for the first time including Jay, Dan, and Doug but also got to see people I rarely get to see throughout the year like Nick Leblanc and Francis Cormier. Sunday night we celebrated by going to a bar called Fouf’s downtown. Apparently Friday and Saturday nights this is the place to be, unfortunately Sunday night the bar plays heavy metal music and attracts a different crowd than what I am use to. Needless to say, I was dressed in summer plaid with my white v-neck on, with everyone around me wearing black on black leather with spiked necklaces. Just like we do in Hamilton, the group we were with made the best time of it. We ended up getting hooked up through a mutual friend’s high school buddy and drank for free the whole night. Shouts out to Slim Marty, Lil Pete and Marco for the great times that night!
I’d like to take this last part to just give credit where it’s due. Thanks to everyone for all the testing and support in these past few months. To the Hamilton crew of Jon, Rob, James, Brad, Kev, and Dane, the Toronto crew of Andy, Matt, Halley, and Jon and everyone else I might be forgetting at this point. Mostly I would like to thank Sammie T for everything this past year. We’ve become really good friends and even better testing partners. He is hands down the best Magic player I know in Ontario and I learn ten new things every time I play with him. Thanks so much Sammie!
I hope this isn’t the last article I get to write for you guys. I was so happy when KYT gave me the go ahead to write something and I hope this can continue because I love talking about everything Magic related. Until next time I hope everyone reads this and can let me know how I did for my first article.
“Remember, there are things in life far worse than missing your third land drop”
– K.A. Duncan
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.
