FNM again, 13th

Well hi howdy. Wanna know how last week went? OK, press holt Ctrl and press Pg Dn now. For those who like to read a story proper, just keep agoin'. By the way, Ah'm also watching How the West Was Won right now, so excuse mah ak-sent.

Taking the list previously written, I was eagerly awaiting how the deck would run without the Solemn's, and curious to see when I'd wanna side in the great 1-ofs in my sideboard, namely Elesh Norn, Venser and Jace. Turns out Elesh is a very easy inclusion to any deck with creatures, especially any deck running Delver of Secrets seeing every creature it plays is just dead. Also, Snapcaster Mage's no longer bash for two, while your whole team is just stupid big. I mean a 6/8 flying sphinx just isn't Ouch enough.

Also the Think Twice's being gone was an easy fix, seeing it's just a card that cycles, which is inherently useless right? Let's get to it.

Round 1 versus Jarred playing Solar Flare.

Straight away my arch nemesis. I haven't got much of a chance right here, because every threat I play can be countered or killed, and at the end of his turn so I ain't got much chance to interact right like. We both keep 7.

My threats for the first game are two Hero of Bladeholds that get Doom Blade'd each. He gets out some Pristine Talisman action and drops a Grave Titan. I manage to cast DoJ, while he Forbidden's for an answer he doesn't find. His turn he drops Gideon (that traitor!) onto the field, saying all the critters I don't own gotta attack him. I Oblivion Ring during my own turn, but he Alchemy's again, and finds the Mana Leak to counter it, or always had it and felt like playing around.

Sideboarding I don't know what he'll do and don't remember how I sideboarded, but he plays Drownyard and I can't do anything as my library slips into my graveyard. I knew I had 2 Ghost Quarters main but even if I drew one o' them he'd still have another Drownyard I wager. I try an Elspeth to out bash him, countered, then a Sphinx who draws me two cards before dying as well. Also in reality it were a stupid choice, seeing I'm just milling myself another 2 per turn, if I do choose to draw.

He also gets Karn, who is HORRIBLE to play against. Which is to say he a fantastic card. Upon hitting the board, threat the first is gone. In this case, Sphinx. Then if I don't present another one during his tapped out turn, he just exiles a card from my hand. Mind you I gave him a Timely Reinforcements, but soon enough the game is obviously completely over.

I swear that the deck needs black in some form, and he agrees, and Rony laughs when it seems like I've finally seen the light. That, or simply play more things that work at end of turn, when it'll encourage my control opponents to tap out for counterspells. (In reality, I'm just thinking of adding the slightest touch o' Black for Forbidden Alchemy.)

0-2
0-1

Round 2 I'm paired up against Nathan, mah arch nemesis. Or my "bro" from Mega games. He's piloting the Twinx Poison deck, or what you might know as solar flare with the Spellcaster's Pike deck. I don't know this until game 1, when I keep a 5 lander and keeps 6.

He Tribute to Hunger's my first Hero because he's hungry, then Snapcaster's it back to eat my Wurmcoil Engine as well, but from his lofty 30 life he's smacked down to 24 but the follow up tokens. I sit on my cards before copying the Snapcaster with Phantasmal Image to flashback my Ponder and go asearchin'. Elspeth comes down soon after and begins gaining me life, when he castes Surgical Extraction for Mana Leaks. "You do it," I say, giving him my everything and letting him exile them hisself.

Now at this I'll take a small detour. If I'm playing well at all levels, that includes FNM or a GP. So I play by the rules to the T. While searching Nathan only took the 3 Mana Leaks in my deck, leaving the original on in the graveyard. Halfway through the match he finds another Extraction and spies my bin again, removing the "left behind" Mana Leak which I says he can't do so-sir-ee. I explain to him the rules of the cards say everything right thar, so he begins to argue, sees the point and figures it don't matter anyway. In a GP this would matter good and proper, as I could later Snapcaster my own Mana Leak back, (regardless of my deck's current configuration) so I say it's made us both better players. Now back to it.

At 29 life I begin to gain life with Elspeth, making tokens when she can. His life trickles down from 24 to 22 and eventually 16, 11 and 9, but he gets a Pike out, "Man up" his Inkmoth Nexus and "suit up" with his Pike, and bashing Elspeth lil' head in. Soon after her, he comes to poison me outta the game, me at 10+ poison but 38 life. It may not read like it, but this game took 30 odd minutes.

Game 2 I don't record our opening hands, so we'll say 7. He gets a Sun Titan early, I deal with it and get a Hero and he's straight down to 13 from an unblocked hit. He assembles the winning hand of Inkmoth Nexus with Pike threatening, but I have an Oblivion Ring to get rid of instant-death-fear.

He keeps my Hero at bay using Feeling of Dread (surprisingly useful) so the tokens get to bash as simple 1/1s. I get Elspeth to make some more tokens and increase the pressure, and she starts cooking up the counters as he resolves a Sun Titan against me returning an Inkmoth. He's got a Ghost Quarter for my Ghost Quarter, then Elspeth blows up the board. This was hilarious to actually do, because it was done completely wrong. I put Elspeth in the bin. "She had 6 counters. Her ultimates only 5." I put all my creatures in the bin. "Your dudes are tokens." You know, makes sense.

His Pike returns and he threatens to then poison me out, but I bum block with the Soldier token, and on the following turn have the Oblivion Ring to stop him from getting the poison kill, my soldiers finally doin' the overwhelming thing.

Game 3 we know there isn't much time left, so I sideboard quick enough but I'm aware of the crappy start risk and him being able to simply win the match. He keeps a full grip, I forget my own.

He gets to a quick Inkmoth poisoning attack, before trying a Shrine of the White Tokens which I counter with my sideboard Steel Sabotage (worth it!). The next hit comes from a Pike wielding Inkmoth Nexus (6 poison) but he can't kill me on the last turn as I draw and play an Oblivion Ring, that goes along reel purdy with the two I already had in hand. Time is called, and I draw.

Bonus: during game 2 I passed one turn without activating Elspeth at all. Nathan laughed at the mistake just as I noticed it myself. "Elspeth is not Lilly." I tell Nathan both have to win, so we'll be 2-1-1 brothers and totally rock all the 6 pointers.

1-1-1
0-1-1

Round 3 versus Jeremy playing black/red Vamps

Well, Vamps certainly isn't the deck it was. Jeremy has Bloodcrazed Neonite and I let it run into my Hero of Bladehold. He casts Crossway Vampire so Hero can't block his attack that drops me to 17, when I cast Timely Reinforcements and bash for 7 with Hero. His next life is 8 and then we shuffle for game 2.

Game 2 I get an education in opponent level's. We both keep 7, he has Stormkirk Noble turn 1 but it stops dead (after he enchants it with a Gruesome Deformity) when I get desperate and cast an Phantasmal Image copying. It never attacks again, so I believe Jeremy thought it was a 3/3 red dork as well. The 3/3 part ain't right.

Jeremy Tribute to Hungers up to 23, then drops to 16 as I get a Wurm out and start stabilising real nice like. He casts a Markov Patrician at one point that blocks my Hero on it's lonesome, gaining a minute of time. Now my board is filled with tokens and I drop a second Wurm, when Jeremy has a Sever the Bloodline against me. It's a great move, dealling with two awesome threats and leaving no token-y residue but the Soldier tokens just eat face, as another Wurm joins in the final swing of Hero, tokens, and Wurm, taking Jeremy from 27 to -20.

2-0
1-1-1

Between rounds I find Nathan who has won his match, so we're both 1-1-1. We need to win the last round, though I'm paired up against Rony. Rony, the fella who I was taking to FNM for his birthday. I concede straight away, but he protests profusely and we play it out.

Rony's piloting a Delver of Secrets blue/red deck, which is he own fun brew. It looks fun but too inconsistent, seeing without a flipped Delver is has no real pressure beside the burn. We both keep 7 handers, me keeping 2 counter spells, sphinx n lands.

He has the Delver and plinks me for 1 before trying to Ponder, which I Leak. He reveals a Disperse next and beats me to 16, then resolves a second Ponder. I Wrath after that clearing the board, though Rony Disperse's his Insect and replaying it his turn. He attempts to play a Bears which I laugh at, to think I'm countering.

Elspeth shows up and begins making babies, which he Gut Shots, Vapor Snags and then blocks with AEther Adept (yes). Hero comes down on my side, he AEthers again but I have the inevitability as he can't get a threat going, while mine are coming in a constant stream now, via new cards and Elspeth tokens/life gain.

He struggles to remake ground, but a Mirran Crusader that I double up with Phantasmal Image, which Rony carves outta the way with Arc Trail (2 your Crusader, naturally) before a Timely Reinforcements prompts a concession.

Game 2 is too tricky for my liking, the game went long when I didn't feel like it would, so I take out the Mana Leaks in favour of more threats. Stupid, I guess? The idea was good, but I didn't count on game 2.

We both keep 7, and Rony's turn 1 Delver flips immediately (Mana Leak revealed) into Insect Ab. I'm at 10 before I Timely back to 20 and Soldiers, but he Leaks and has a second Delver instead! My Day of Judgment never gets its sunrise (Mana Leak #2) and I drop and O Ring at 4 life that does nothing really useful.

Game 3 the Mana Leaks go right back in. And did I mention I brought Elesh in? Naturally.

So the final game of the night. Rony is 2-1 and wants glory, I'm 1-1-1 and wanna win. We both keep 7 handers and Rony's early Phantasmal Bear is Oblivion Ring'd into Oblivion. He has another creature which turns on my Timely Reinforcements, gumming up the ground and raising me ot a lofty 24. AEther Adept and Arc Trail deal with my tokens, while I Oblivion Ring another Bear and he Vapor Snag's my tokens.

He life snips away in snippets of 2 when he tries for a Delver, which I Dissapate, which he Dissapates. The next turn I Day of Judgment, which he swears I didn't have because I wasn't playing it. I had a second in hand which I'd had since the games start, so I felt confident that I would get the points.

At this point my hand is Elspeth, Hero and Sphinx, and I know I can layer out the threats in the right order. The first one will get Mana Leak certainly, then after that hopefully the next two make it. I cast a Timely Reinforcements regardless and Rony says "Life only?" I didn't realise the board was empty, so I shrug and accept my play mistake, upping to 19 life.

Next turn my Elspeth is countered instantly, "Why are you playing bad?" Rony asks earnestly, followed next turn by a Hero of Bladehold that he Vagor Snag's, before it comes down again. Rony draws for the turn and Arc Trails, targeting me for 2 and the Hero for one, which I think about before I let resolve. Immediately after comes the Incinerate everyone was expecting, which I Leak. Sphinx comes down soon after, to match Rony's new Bear, and that takes the card when I'm drawing 3 a turn and Rony's outta gas.

Boom!! 2-1 win for an event result of:
2-1-1 (7 points).

So the new design played remarkably well. After my round 1 lose and revelation I was expecting a few more loses but didn't lose another match. 4th outta 12, the most annoying thing about my latest list is the Sphere's in the sideboard. Never even considered. I'm super wanting to move Elesh to the main, and main deck Timely Reinforcements is just so fun and unexpected, it's a proper show stopper.

Gideon also has been amazing since I managed to get my Ps and start driving him properly, and Elspeth has also been a great card for her versatility with army production/life gain potential.

Now, did I miss the Solemns or Think Twice's at all? No, not one bit. There was a teensy bit of "aww, I'm bored," while playing Nathan in round 2, as he'd draw cards at the end of turn, but apart from that nothing. They truly are "get there" cards, and when your deck is full of them you can't get "there" assuming "there" is your threat and thus the win. I also ran 3 Wurms main which I will maintain before I love a chunky Wurm. Everybody else suggests 2.

The Ghost Quarters were also good, so I'm moving 2 main and removing a Plains, leaving 2 more in the sideboard against dedicated Kessig Wolf Run/nonBasic land lovin' decks.

As mentioned above, the black I'm hoping to add is Forbidden Alchemy, and some Go for the Throats. Being able to let a spell resolve and then "counter" it once it's on the board is great, as it puts less strain on the mana I need to leave open. Doom Blades as further answers to Inkmoth Nexus's too, seeing everybody and their dog has them.

As for the Land base, I've got some Isolated Chapels. Not so much for this deck, but for Sorin who's about to be released. Everybody's seen him, right? I figure putting those 4 Chapels and 1 Swamp in the main will help the deck to run the flashback/Terror wannabes, and we'll have ourselves a not-quite Solar Flare.

Thanks for reading all this by the way, it's fun to really play some Magic now :)