Redemption?

I get to Games and Gizmos and play a few games with Gurney's Extended decks he's trying out for Berlin. We split 1-1 with me playing Faeries and him playing Bubble Hulk. He beat me with Tron and me with Faeries and I was about to win the next game but it was time for deck construction. To me, Faeries plays really well in Extended, especially T1 Bitterblossom and sitting on Spellstutter Sprites. Too bad that deck is a little more expensive than I'd want to dish out for a deck, although conceivably I could build it for Standard and then have my Extended deck ready...

Games and Gizmos was not doing the Shard restriction, which was great because I didn't enough great cards in one chard. I played base GWU with the most exciting cards being 2 Rhox War Monks. I decided to splash Red for Branching Bolt, Resounding Thunder, Soul's Fire, Skeletonize, and Rakeclaw Gargantuan, instead of Black for Tower Gargoyle, Agony Warp, the 2/1 Deathtouch Flier, and a couple of Executioner's Capsules. I think the red is more powerful, but if I really wanted to I could board into Black if the burn alone won't do it. My bomb was a foil Sigil of Distinction, and I opened 2 Master of Etheriums.

Rounds 1 and 2 are pretty much byes. Round 3 wasn't really that close, my deck played out pretty well. There was one mistake that could have let me win one turn earlier because I forgot I would get an extra point from Exalted, so I didn't tap my last guy to Topic Ascetic to put him to 3 for the Resounding Thunder I was holding in my hand. Round 2 is a blow out with a T3 Woolly Thoctar of his meeting my T4 Rhox War Monk followed up with a Sigil of Distinction and going all the way.

Round 4 I play against a deck with great rares that took down Gurney. Basically I can't really deal with Broodmate Dragon. Maybe should have chumped his Cavern Thoctar when he and another guy took me down form 16-6. I also think there was another misplay where I didn't think I had mana for a cycled Resounding Roar, but would have liked to do another 6 to put pressure and to draw a card. Don't really remember. Game 2 I board in Cancel because of his bombs and I know he has a Hellkite Overlord. I tap out to play a fatty to match his fatty with Cancel in hand he plays Broodmate Dragon and he goes all the way again. I did get to Cancel a Vein Drinker. Wow, three absolutely busted rares in one pool...

Round 5 I play Noah and he has a hiccup in mana Game 1 after I take a couple of Woolly Thoctar beats and once I Oblivion Ring that guy he can't catch up to my board position. Game 2 he really gets mana screwed and I blow him out.

4-1 gets me 18 packs (this store is insane with prize support!) which I use to never pay for another draft at this store for at least the next month. I started keeping track of my mulligans and I felt like I have to keep hands that give me all my colors, even if it might be a 2 or a 1 spell hand, because it can't get a whole lot better with one less card. I did get lucky more than a couple times on topdecking a color so I could play a 2 drop, but I'm not really going to play.

So all in all, pretty uneventful day. More familiarity with the cards is great.

I'm trying to see if I can get a ride to Vancouver this weekend for the PTQ. Hopefully this will turn my Magic brain on to actually start playing great. I've been playing like shit, and I don't know how to draft yet, but the pressure will hopefully trigger a hidden superhuman ability to play really tight Magic.