So I went 1-3 drop at today's PTQ running the Robots. I'm so awful at Magic, and I don't think it was necessarily preparation...
Round 1 vs. Kyle Boddy (Affinity) - Game 1 I draw the nuts and he doesn't. Game 2 he mulligans and I draw my hate.
Round 2 vs. Domain Zoo - Game 1 a Jitte gets online but I'm still in the game some how. I get attacked down to 2 with him having a Kird Ape and Tarmogoyf left on the board and I have an Atog and a fairly large Arcbound Ravager. He's at 2 and I'm at 10. He uses all his Jitte counters to attempt to kill Atog and I decline to sac one more land to save it because I was thinking I'd like the land to cast a creature I draw off the top. Stupid me wasn't thinking that I had just been put to 2 and when I fail to draw a creature I lose to a simple crackback. Basically denied myself a draw phase and possibly a win because he was out of gas himself.
I blew him out Game 2, then Game 3 he mulligans to 6 but has the absolute nuts on the play. T1 Kird Ape, T2 Tarmogoyf, after my T1 Thopter + Drum, T2 tap out for Plating, T3 I decline to block and he Might of Alara and Flames me. I finally blow out my hand full of guys on the next turn but he flashes me a second Tribal Flames. That game doesn't happen if I don't throw away Game 3.
Round 3 vs. Faeries - Game 1 I blow him out. Game 2 I try a very deep mulligan (may have been 4 or even 3) and obviously don't get there. Game 3 I keep an okay hand, play a guy T1, get my Plating Snared on T2, then get my second Plating Mana Leaked. I'm out of gas at that point but he is very hosed on mana and colors. I manage to get him to 1 until a very late Ancestral resolves and he gets Green Mana for Ancient Grudge and Tarmogoyf and I lose.
Round 4 vs. Reveillark combo - Game 1 he mucks the board up with Selkie Hedge-Mage and Reveillark and I basically can't attack without him gaining way too much life. Eventually he Chords out a Mirror Entity, and apparently Mirror Entity activated a million times for 0 with a Body Double and Reveillark means infinite bouncing and life. Game 2 he plays Kataki and I'm never in it.
And that was my PTQ and possibly the end of Extended for me. I'm slightly entertaining the idea of flying/riding to Boise but I don't think it's worth it when right now I'm absolutely begging just to go X-2 at a PTQ, something I have never done.
I feel like I'm having problems concentrating on my play at the table. I'll start doing something for my turn, then after I commit I realize there is a much better plan. I'd hate to slow down and plan out even more because I'm already a terribly slow player. I'm also really concerned that I don't mulligan correctly... I think I err to throwing away too many hands, and I probably average close to a mulligan a match in Constructed.
So I'm starting to concentrate on Standard, and this time I really shouldn't have any excuse not to figure this format out, with the crazy stuff that was happening in December and January for me and my general apathy for the previous two PTQ's. After next weekend, there's serious Standard every weekend except a couple leading up to the Grand Prix. I think I have it in me to not be awful at Magic, so we'll see how it goes the next couple months going into the summer.
