Grand Prix Atlanta - Day 2 (the PTQ)

Sixty-four players started the day drafting in the Grand Prix, while 240-some started another Sealed deck at the PTQ. I get passed a pool with tons of great Green and White beaters with three Akrasan Squires, 5 or 6 bears, and two Mycoloths, along with two Sigil Blessing. I was short on removal, with only Branching Bolt and the pseudo-removal Excommunicate, but the deck's plan was just to not have to remove things and run over people. I was in love with the deck because it was only playing 2 Red cards. I possibly could have cut an Obelisk of Naya for a Naturalize because I had 2 Mountains, a Jund Panorama, and a Druid of the Anima for my two red cards already... but I really didn't want to mess with the mana.

First two rounds are blowouts, as I wasn't playing against very good players. Round 3 I play Ben Stark, an old pro with a handful of Pro Tour top 8's. I already played him earlier in the weekend in a grinder, where he was late and got a game loss, then got blown out in the second game. This game, I lose the first one as he comes back, game 2 I win on the back of Mycoloth-Mycoloth, and game 3 I have too much pressure and win. He was pretty upset from the double Mycoloth since he told my friend he played the next round, but he was a lot cooler and nicer than I expected those old pros to be in the heat of battle.

I then lose the next two rounds. One round I lose in three because I cannot deal with Battlegrace Angel. The next round I lose to Scourglass and then a recurred Scourglass via Sanctum Gargoyle. I made a goof in that round where I intended to lay an Ethersworn Canonist with a Scourglass on the table, holding Elvish Visionary and Mycoloth in hand for post-Glass, but I looked down at the card I layed and it's Elvish Visionary. Since two turns before I made him burn for 1 when he overtapped his mana, I didn't even bother trying to pick it up.

I then beat Erik, who is a Raleigh player who I think is very good and whom I've never beat in like five sanctioned matches. I get blown out by Naya Charm game 1, get there with Mycoloth Game 2, then blow him out Game 3 when he can't draw his Plains for Naya Charm, which I don't feel remorse for necessarily since he was playing five colors.

I lose to an insane deck next with double Bant Charm, Naya Charm, double Oblivion Ring, and a couple other great tricks, and he just keeps drawing gas. That was one sick deck. I made one bad play where I played a Squire on a board of Ethersworn Canonist and a couple other Exalted guys, attack into a 3/3 or something, and he pays Sigil Blessing, and I'm about to tap my mana, but he notes that I have already played a spell, so I lose my guy. Felt really dumb because that's exactly what my plan was.

I blow out my next opponent, and then I go to three in my final round and lose because I can't deal with Elspeth. This includes an uncharacteristic mull to 5, the mana had been great all day, where I nearly keep any hand with a Plains, Squire, and bears. I possibly threw away Game 1 because I attacked Mycoloth into a Resounding Silence that I didn't consider. I possibly still needed the pressure to deal with Elspeth, but it was more likely a mistake and me not playing tightly at the end of the tournament.

So I went 5-4. If I had gone 6-3 I would have been pretty ecstatic given how my season has been going, but 5-4 is still the best I have done in Shards Sealed.

I gave Zack, a friend at Pitt, and he still asks me why I'm sucking the big one in Shards sealed. Maybe my deck should have been an X-3 or X-2, but I certainly can't complain about my pool, even if it did lack in hard removal. I thought this was the best day of Magic I've played this season, even if the record is relatively mediocre. It felt like while I was sitting down, I was a lot more relaxed than I have been where I put so much pressure on myself to the point where apparently I make really scrub plays.

If I had 0-2 dropped or something, I would be totally pissed, but my play today convinced me that maybe I'm not as bad at Magic as I think I am, and I probably think I'm way worse than I actually am. I think I'll still make the trip to Portland for one more PTQ, hopefully get lucky, but more hopefully to not make mistakes and get a decent enough record just so I can really tell myself that I'm not that bad.

Overall, my weekend was better than I expected. A lot of Raleigh guys that I used to play with came down, some old friends also made the trip, and I made some new friends, as opposed to not knowing anyone and sitting by myself goldfishing every round.

"Hey, Mike Ward, why did that guy just get DQ'd?"
"Language!"