PTQ Boise damage report

I went to lovely Boise, ID this weekend to try and snag an invite. I've done a lot of preparation for Sealed with the boxes that I bought and have a good feel for where a lot of cards stand in the format, and I've been playing pretty well in drafts I've been doing.

The PTQ was just over enough for seven rounds, so you could 5-1 and draw in, and then an X-2 could probably sneak in too. I open a pretty good pool and register this:

1 Steppe Lynx
1 Kraken Hatchling
1 Kazandu Blademaster
1 Kor Skyfisher
1 Cliff Threader
1 Kor Hookmaster
1 Kor Sanctifiers
1 Makindi Shieldmate
1 Reckless Scholar
2 Umara Raptor
1 Pillarfield Ox
2 Windrider Eel
1 Living Tsunami
1 Seascape Aerialist
1 Sphinx of Jwar Isle

2 Burst Lightning
1 Explorer's Scope
1 Journey to Nowhere
1 Summoner's Bane

1 Teetering Peaks
1 Soaring Seacliff
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Mountain
7 Plains
7 Island

I had a Cancel and a Seismic Shudder to bring in from the board, and I was taking out Cliff Threader most of the time when I would board one of them in.

I actually drew my first round of the day against a local, who didn't seem awful but was playing awfully slow. At the beginning of the day I decided I was going to take some advice Alex West had given me and take my time, because getting a slow play warning and getting a draw is less bad than making a mistake and losing a match. I was taking my time, but my opponent was playing very deliberately and tanking too, and we ended up starting Game 3 with less than 10 minutes to go. We end up drawing, but it was a little ironic because while a draw sucks, I was in a very bad position in that game.

In Round 2 I mess up a race by messing up my math and losing to a crackback when he draws a land off the top for Landfall. I wasn't going to get knocked out by a loss, but I realized that I needed to tighten up right then. In Game 2 I was able to get double Umara Raptors online and a Windrider Eel active and won the race. Game 3 I won with Jar Jar Sphinx.

Round 3 I lose to Veen, who's a new Portland player, where I auto-pilot in Game 2 and let a Kazandu Blademaster resolve with Summoner's Bane in hand and mana up like I had planned before I shipped the turn. As scrubby as it sounds, I got distracted when he asked if he could use one of my dice as counters, and he puts the counter on and ships the turn while I stare at the counter in my hand. I ended up wasting a Burst Lightning in hand on it which could have ended up doming him out in a race.

At this point I realize I can't lose again. I had three carmates still in the tournament at X-2, so if I get paired down, I have people that will scoop to me, and I can ask for scoops anyway if I get paired down, which wouldn't happen for the rest of the day. In Round 4 I win a match in three and felt really really nervous and excited toward the end of the match even though I was winning a race that I probably couldn't lose. I don't think it made me play worse, but I definitely wasn't comfortable, so I tried to calm myself down between rounds. In Round 5 I play against a guy who punts Game 1 to me when he tries to Windborn Charge in combat instead of in his main phase (since it's a sorcery) that I would have been cold to. I win the second game when he stumbles on mana.

In the match that knocks me out of contention, I get blown out Game 1 by by Allies on Turns 2, 3, and 4. Game 2 is a blowout in my favor with double Umara Raptors and a mountainwalking Cliff Threader. In the third game, I was trying to race with a 3/3 Umara Raptor. I'm able to make some double blocks resulting in trading up with his guys, but his removal leads to a board where I have a 2/3 holding off three of his 2/2's with me at 11 and him at 9 and both of us drawing off the top of our decks, meaning someone's going to get lucky to win this game. He draws a Hideous End to kill my guy and then beats me for 3, and I lose the next turn. There was one play where I had a Reckless Scholar block a 4/2 because I just didn't want to take 4 damage and go to 7. It felt like it'd be too low a life total and if he draws much more removal I'd lose the game sooner as opposed to trying to loot probably only once more.

In the last round I blow out my opponent with Jar Jar Sphinx both games. I end up in the top 16 and earn a draft set. Mike Dipetrillo from our car top 8'd along with three other Northwest ringers, but he decided the Top 8 of a Pro Tour Qualifier was a good time to experiment with Hedron Crab. Still, he deserves congratulations for his first Top 8.

I started playing better toward the end of the day. In the second to last round where I got eliminated, I felt down after Game 1 and at the beginning of Game 3 when I thought I was going to lose and started feeling excitement when I thought I was going to get out of that match and had good board position, whereas I'd rather just be able to concentrate on the game. I feel I'm getting closer to being capable of making the top 8 of a PTQ. Winning an M10 Daily Event and then Day 2'ing and winning my first draft at Grand Prix: Boston at least showed me that at the very least I can get lucky and succeed, and has given me a little boost of confidence in my game.

It sucks to not top 8 with a deck that seemed really solid, especially since at the next PTQ in Seattle I'll need a deck that can win 7 of 8 matches (or even 8 of 9 matches) to make it to the draft. Of course, your only responsibility in any tournament is to win your next match, so I just hope I win Round 1 next Saturday.