Game Day Grinder - Week 4

Welcome back to “Game Day Grinder”, the article series that follows a veteran Magic: the Gathering player and his journey to discover what it feels like to try playing competitively whilst constrained by a budget.

If you’re new to the series, click here for links to all the previous articles.

I decided to take the plunge and dive head-first into a new deck archetype this week. I was ready to retire my mid-range deck in favor of a more aggressive Heroic deck. Instead of playing efficient creatures and pushing through damage with a small army, I planned to go “all-in” on one creature that would hopefully grow to be unstoppable. I knew I’d be taking a big risk switching strategies without much testing, but I also knew that getting early practice with a deck that wouldn’t rotate once Khans of Tarkir was released would give me a significant edge come Game Day.

I couldn’t wait to play with the new version of the deck. I had worked diligently to obtain all of the key pieces and was extremely pleased with myself. I had come up with a deck that fit my budget, I had created the deck list with the looming Standard rotation in mind, and I felt as though I had all the tools at my disposal to be successful. I might not go undefeated the first couple of weeks, but I felt confident that I could put up decent results and continue to fine-tune the deck until a first place finish was within reach.

I was as excited as ever! All that was left to do was buy the last few key cards and build the deck.

I. Spending Our Weekly Budget

Week 4 – $5 Purchases
2 [card]Hero of Iroas[/card] ($2 each)
1 [card]Ordeal of Heliod[/card] ($0.15)
2 [card]Favored Hoplite[/card] ($0.25 each)
2 [card]Ajani’s Presence[/card] ($0.15 each)
Total: $4.95

My weekly budget was enough to cover the missing cards from my main deck. My sideboard was still lackluster, but I could work on that in the coming weeks. Since most of my main deck cards had already been acquired, I could spend my weekly budget and winnings to build an appropriate sideboard going forward.

I was ready to finalize my deck list, but wanted to open my tournament entry booster pack in case I opened a valuable card that would allow me to upgrade my sideboard before the event started.

II. The Booster Pack

Booster Pack Contents (Notable):
– [card]Waste Not[/card]
– [card]Lightning Strike[/card]
– [card]Warden of the Beyond[/card]

Not a bad pack at all! [card]Waste Not[/card] is a popular card among tournament players and casual players alike, and I knew that I could trade it away easily.

I looked around the room and saw several players that might be willing to trade with me, but decided against approaching them. I had a long day at work and didn’t feel like striking up a conversation, let alone haggling over prices. I was already feeling confident about my deck choice, so I decided to save the [card]Waste Not[/card] for another day when I’d be more in the mood to trade.

III. The Changes

Main Deck (IN):
4 [card]Hero of Iroas[/card]
4 [card]Favored Hoplite[/card]
4 [card]Hopeful Eidolon[/card]
2 [card]Ordeal of Nylea[/card]
4 [card]Ordeal of Heliod[/card]

Main Deck (OUT):
2 Forest
2 [card]Triplicate Spirits[/card]
4 [card]Raise the Alarm[/card]
2 [card]Spear of Heliod[/card]
4 [card]Imposing Sovereign[/card]
4 [card]Sunblade Elf[/card]

Sideboard (IN):
2 [card]Glimpse the Sun God[/card]
2 [card]Ajani’s Presence[/card]
1 [card]Hushwing Gryff[/card]

Sideboard (OUT):
1 [card]Devouring Light[/card]
2 [card]Rootborn Defenses[/card]
2 [card]Scion of Vitu-Ghazi[/card]

Here’s the list I finalized before the Standard tournament:

[deck title=GW Heroic – Peter Sachlas]
[Lands]
10 Forest
12 Plains
[/Lands]
[Creatures]
4 Favored Hoplite
4 Soldier of the Pantheon
4 Hopeful Eidolon
4 Fleecemane Lion
4 Hero of Iroas
4 Boon Satyr
[/Creatures]
[Other Spells]
2 Ordeal of Nylea
4 Ordeal of Heliod
4 Gods Willing
4 Selesnya Charm
[/Other Spells]
[Sideboard]
3 Sundering Growth
1 Reclamation Sage
2 Devouring Light
1 Setessan Tactics
3 Hornet Nest
2 Ajani’s Presence
2 Glimpse the Sun God
1 Hushwing Gryff
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]

My hands were practically shaking! I was ready to start bashing my opponents with a fully equipped Hoplite or Hero. I was feeling more confident than I had ever felt playing with my Game Day Grinder deck. Today was the day that I’d finally go undefeated!

IV. Tournament Report

ROUND 1 – vs U/W Lifegain

I recognized my opponent from a prior week. I knew that he was fond of playing mono white strategies, and I remember having given him some advice regarding splashing blue as a second color and using some of the more powerful cards in an aggressive creature based deck. I had suggested playing [card]Lyev Skyknight[/card] to gain a tempo advantage against other creature based decks, playing [card]Ephara, God of the Polis[/card] as a card advantage engine that works well with [card]Precinct Captain[/card] and Brimaz, as well as playing [card]Detention Sphere[/card] as a catch-all removal spell that deals with Pack Rat and annoying Elspeth tokens.

My opponent started our match by playing a [card]Temple of Enlightenment[/card], and I smiled, knowing that he had probably taken my advice. At least I now knew what to expect, and I was careful to shape my hand and board appropriately, knowing that [card]Lyev Skyknight[/card]s and [card]Detention Sphere[/card]s could stop me in my tracks.

I had kept a reasonable hand but all of my early draws were laughable. Each card I drew was one that would have been perfect the previous turn. I had played a [card]Hopeful Eidolon[/card] on the first turn, only to draw a [card]Hero of Iroas[/card] the next. If I had had the Hero from the start, I would have saved the Eidolon for a later turn. Now that I had drawn the Hero, I decided to play him on the second turn and hold back the Ordeal I had in hand. I must have looked like such a fool casting a [card]Hopeful Eidolon[/card] on the first turn only to play a [card]Hero of Iroas[/card] on the second. I drew a Soldier of Pantheon on the next turn and sighed.

“Why couldn’t I have drawn this earlier?”, I pined.

As I equipped my [card]Hero of Iroas[/card] with an [card]Ordeal of Heliod[/card] and played my [card]Soldier of the Pantheon[/card], I eyed my opponent suspiciously. He had cast a [card]Nyx-Fleece Ram[/card] on his second turn, followed by a [card]Precinct Captain[/card]. He sure had some unorthodox main deck cards! To my dismay, the main deck Rams were terrible for me as my smaller creatures couldn’t mount a reasonable offensive.

I got lucky and drew a [card]Boon Satyr[/card], giving me the option to Bestow it at the end of turn or keep my [card]Gods Willing[/card] up as a safety measure. My opponent played a [card]Detention Sphere[/card] on his next turn, targeting my Hero (which had now grown quite large thanks to my Ordeal and two attacks), and I immediately played my [card]Gods Willing[/card] to save it and scry. While I was attacking with my humongous Hero, my opponent was effortlessly blocking with his 1/1 tokens from his [card]Precinct Captain[/card], and I was finding it difficult to push damage through.

I eventually had to face down an Elspeth, which ticked down to destroy my gigantic creature, and I was left with a handful of small cratures. A copy of [card]Archangel of Thune[/card] paired with the surviving [card]Nyx-Fleece Ram[/card] made it difficult to race, and I lost shortly thereafter.

I kept a hand in the second game that included a good early curve with white cards, but no Forest. I didn’t think much of it since I only had one copy of [card]Selesnya Charm[/card] in hand and knew that I would eventually draw a forest in later turns. Unfortunately, I was halted by a [card]Precinct Captain[/card] and Brimaz as I tried to develop my board, and drew two more copies of [card]Selesnya Charm[/card] in a row.

I eventually drew a forest and had to make an important decision. My opponent had developed a massive board that included an Elspeth and a 5/6 [card]Archangel of Thune[/card] and was currently tapped out. I decided to take care of the Elspeth first, casting [card]Selesnya Charm[/card] on one of my creatures to trample over and finish off the Planeswalker. I had been gaining a significant amount of life thanks to [card]Hopeful Eidolon[/card]s and Ordeals of Heliod, so I wasn’t too concerned about damage from his Archangel. Passing the turn with only one card in hand an an Island untapped, I knew that I had my opponent cornered and that my second copy of [card]Selesnya Charm[/card] would be key in winning the battle.

I untapped and immediately played [card]Selesnya Charm[/card], targeting my opponent’s [card]Archangel of Thune[/card].

My opponent then tapped his Island and cast [card]Swan Song[/card].

I stared at the card in disbelief. I wouldn’t be able to deal with the Angel until the following turn.

Although I managed to exile the Archangel with my third copy of [card]Selesnya Charm[/card], I was shaken. My opponent drew another Elspeth and quickly closed out the game.

I had lost my first round.

SCORE: 0-1

At this point, I was annoyed. I had reached 57 life in one of the games and had massive creatures, but felt cheated not drawing a [card]Selesnya Charm[/card] or [card]Gods Willing[/card] at the appropriate time to push through damage and secure a win. I would not go undefeated this week, and my deck had failed me. I guess it wasn’t going to be as easy as I had thought to steamroll the competition.

ROUND 2 – vs Mono Green Devotion

Things were looking up! I had been paired up against someone who had won their first round. If I managed to win my next three games, then my tie-breakers would be the best in the room and I would be at the top of the standings.

I had to mulligan down to six cards in the first game and, although my opponent was on the play and had kept a full grip, I felt confident that I could do some serious damage with the new cards I had drawn.

My opponent played an [card]Elvish Mystic[/card] into a [card]Sylvan Caryatid[/card], while I set up a [card]Favored Hoplite[/card] into an [card]Ordeal of Heliod[/card]. I had only seen Forests and green creatures from my opponent, so I knew he would have a hard time getting rid of my big creatures.

Unfortunately, a Polukranos hit the table on the third turn and I couldn’t safely attack with my Hoplite (not having any tricks in hand), so I played some smaller creatures and passed the turn. We both started building up small armies, neither of us willing to make the first move. Eventually, my opponent played a copy of Nykthos, generating a boatload of mana, and cast [card]Setessan Tactics[/card] on all six of his creatures which took down all of mine in turn. Nykthos is one heck of a good card for mono color decks!

I took another mulligan in the second game. My starting hands hadn’t been the best, and I took note of how much easier it would have been if I had some better mana fixing such as [card]Mana Confluence[/card] or [card]Temple of Plenty[/card].

The second game played out similarly to the first in that we both built up little armies. I, however, had a 5/6 [card]Favored Hoplite[/card] that had been pecking away at my opponent’s life total. I had little time to spare, knowing that my opponent could find a copy of [card]Setessan Tactics[/card] and make short work of my team. Luckily, I drew one of the best sideboard cards possible against my opponent’s green creature deck.

I attacked with my Hoplite and cast [card]Glimpse the Sun God[/card], targeting all of his creatures (as well as my Hoplite who had already attacked), dealing exactly enough damage to steal the second game.

Being on the draw against a Mono Green Devotion deck is a huge disadvantage (as I learned during our third game). I couldn’t keep up with my opponent’s start of [card]Elvish Mystic[/card] into double [card]Burning-Tree Emissary[/card], revealing a Nykthos on the third turn and casting a [card]Garruk, Caller of Beasts[/card]. I did my best to push enough damage through, but it was difficult to do as my opponent cast two copies of [card]Nylea’s Disciple[/card] and had also found a copy of [card]Nylea, God of the Hunt[/card]. I didn’t draw any copies of [card]Glimpse the Sun God[/card] and scooped up my cards.

SCORE: 0-2

This was the first time I had started a Game Day Grinder event with two losses. I felt miserable. All I wanted to do was pack up my cards, head home, and rebuild my deck, but I couldn’t just quit. I sat down and patiently waited for the next round to start.

ROUND 3 – vs Mono Black Devotion

This was my chance to redeem myself.

I looked at my opening hand and grinned ear to ear. My opponent wouldn’t stand a chance.

I started the game with a [card]Favored Hoplite[/card]. My opponent played a [card]Thoughtseize[/card] on the first turn, revealing a Plains, a Forest, a [card]Hero of Iroas[/card], an [card]Ordeal of Nylea[/card], and a [card]Gods Willing[/card]. He took the [card]Gods Willing[/card] and passed the turn. Luckily, I drew a second copy of [card]Gods Willing[/card] and quickly cast my [card]Hero of Iroas[/card]. Facing down a second turn Pack Rat, I drew my card for the turn and thanked the heavens.

I had drawn a copy of [card]Ordeal of Heliod[/card].

I cast both Ordeals on my [card]Favored Hoplite[/card], growing him pre-combat, and swung with both my creatures. My Hoplite became a 5/6 and I triggered both Ordeals, gaining 10 life and searching out two basic lands.

My opponent was down to 10 life. He played his third land and passed the turn. I untapped, and quickly attacked with my two creatures. Hesitating, my opponent decided to block with his Pack Rat, and I cast the copy of [card]Selesnya Charm[/card] I had just drawn. He then tried to cast [card]Hero’s Downfall[/card] on my Hoplite, only to let out a deep sigh when I cast [card]Gods Willing[/card]. I trampled over for exact damage.

In the second game, my opponent played a Pack Rat on the second turn but decided to cast a [card]Nightveil Specter[/card] instead of discarding a card to make another rat when he saw my second turn [card]Hero of Iroas[/card]. I untapped and cast two copies of [card]Ordeal of Nylea[/card], attacking for 6 damage on the third turn and finding four basic lands from my library. My opponent tried casting another copy of [card]Hero’s Downfall[/card], only to be met with a well-timed [card]Gods Willing[/card].

My opponent was furious.

He started berating me and accusing me of being a cheater.

“No one draws that well!”, he screamed at the top of his lungs. “You’re stacking your deck!”

He scooped up his cards and hurried out of the store.

“That deck is unbeatable!”, he cried.

I had won my third match.

SCORE: 1-2

At least that’s how I imagined my third round would have gone. In reality, I had been awarded the bye for the round for being at the bottom of the totem pole. If only my real matches had been that exciting…

ROUND 4 – vs Rabble Red

I was dejected. I had lost my first two matches and was given the bye in the third round. Being awarded a third round bye feels like you’re being coddled, with everyone trying to spare your feelings and make sure you don’t fall into a deep pit of depression because of your embarrassing record. I was so upset that I had already resigned myself to losing the last round. I felt emotionally drained.

I was the only 1-2 player left in the tournament. Everyone else had dropped and gone home. I was paired up against a player with a 2-1 record.

My opponent was playing Rabble Red and, despite taking a mulligan, burst out the gates with a [card]Rakdos Cackler[/card] followed by a [card]Burning-Tree Emissary[/card] and [card]Firefist Striker[/card]. I had played a [card]Favored Hoplite[/card] on the first turn, but decided to trade it for the [card]Firefist Striker[/card] when my opponent attacked the following turn. Facing a slew of small creatures (one of which was an [card]Ash Zealot[/card]) and several Shocks and [card]Lightning Strike[/card]s later, I was burned to a crisp.

I was so discouraged that I played the second game in a haze. My opponent didn’t draw any burn spells, and turn after turn we were trading creatures. On a crucial turn, my opponent activated a [card]Mutavault[/card] and swung with his team. In all my infinite wisdom, I decided to make the worst play I’ve ever made in my Magic career.

One of the creatures my opponent had attacked with was a [card]Legion Loyalist[/card], giving his team First Strike and Trample after having declared an attack. I decided that it would be an excellent idea to block the [card]Mutavault[/card] with my [card]Soldier of the Pantheon[/card]. Losing my Soldier and taking a point of trample damage wasn’t bad enough, so I also decided to cast a copy of [card]Gods Willing[/card] on my Soldier. Immediately after casting it, I tried to act as though I had meant to make that particular play from the start.

“It doesn’t matter what color I choose, I just need to scry”, I solemnly announced.

I traded two of my cards for one damage.

I knew I was playing terribly and conceded the game.

SCORE: 1-3

I. Week 4 Wrap-Up (and trades)

Overall Record To-Date: 9-10

What a miserable experience.

My 1-3 record was embarrassing, especially given that my only “win” was getting the third round bye. What’s worse is that I’m now unsure whether I did so poorly with my new deck because of the current metagame at our local store, because of my inexperience with the deck, because I made bad decisions due to tilting, or because the deck lacks the tools to be successful.

To get a better sense of why I was unsuccessful, I could make some minor main deck changes and try again next week with a clear head and better mindset.

To be honest, I didn’t really feel like trying to make the deck work anymore than I already had. In theory, the deck seemed strong and synergistic. In reality, it felt clunky and underpowered. I made the decision to put the deck on the backburner and return to playing a midrange strategy. Hopefully playing with the old version of my deck will bring me more success and I can amass some booster packs that might help me obtain key pieces for my final deck choice post-rotation.

I’ll either stick with playing a Green/White midrange strategy when Khans of Tarkir is finally released, or I’ll move towards a White/Blue or White/Red Heroic strategy since the other cards are relatively cheap and affordable right now.

A good starting point is Jared Boettcher’s U/W Heroic deck from the Block Constructed portion of Pro Tour Journey Into Nyx:

http://archive.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/deck/1501

While I likely won’t be able to afford the copies of Brimaz, [card]Mana Confluence[/card], and [card]Temple of Enlightenment[/card] needed for the deck, the rest of the cards should be relatively easy to acquire.

I can focus on playing my Green/White midrange deck pre-rotation while trading towards key white Heroic cards such as [card]Eidolon of Countless Battles[/card], and also try picking up less valuable red and blue Heroic pieces should I choose to go a different color than Green.

What do you think? Should I have scrapped the idea of Green/White Heroic so soon? Will it be in my best interest to focus on a different strategy going forward? What would you do in my position?

Join me next time to find out if it was a good idea to stick with my G/W midrange strategy!

Game Day Grinder – Week 4