Nationals Qualifiers: Revenge of the Fallen

Prelude. It was a disappointing finish for me in Regionals at Cebu last May wherein I lost in a match where I believe I had the favor, using BW Tokens deck and playing against the BG Elves. I finished at 12th place and just hope to qualify again for the next year.

After we got home to Iloilo, we are talking about drafting for our teammate Mao for Nationals, we already had the packs from his winnings combined with my little share as a 12th placer. But we can’t easily organize the draft since the Shards of Alara Boosters is still out of stock and so we decided to wait for some time for the Shards to be available again.

Came in the first week of June, my family planned to go to Manila to ready our house for a business rental of our relative as well as to get some of my important documents. This family trip opened the opportunity of me joining the Nationals qualifiers in Manila held every Saturday of June which started last June 13 so I started thinking about what deck to use in case I’ll be able to participate. I was convinced to use BG Elves after reading some articles and evaluating the results at Grand Prix and PTQ’s. I tweaked some deck list and tested them on MWS and at our local store with friends and teammates. Everything went remarkable for the deck except that I couldn’t keep up against Makoy’s Kithkins, which is quite similar to the build that won GP Sao Paolo. We then tweaked the sideboard a little bit and decided that it would be the final deck I’ll use.

The family’s trip was supposed to be on June 19 but something important came up hence it was rescheduled for the following week instead. With the flight being cancelled, I was able to join our local tournament and had the opportunity to test my deck The result turned out to be disappointing, having just a 2-3 record which made me unsatisfied with my deck. But I still have a few days remaining before the National’s qualifier’s event so I sought an advice from my friend on what deck to use. Makoy offered me a deck list from Noah Weil but I didn’t like some one-ofs and other cards on his list. After some deep analysis we came up with this list…

Maindeck
Lands
3 Twilight Mire
3 Graven Cairns
1 Karplusan Forest
2 Reflecting Pool
4 Savage Lands
1 Sulfurous Springs
4 Treetop Village
3 Fire-Lit Thicket
2 Swamp
1 Forest
1 Mountain

Creatures
3 Anathemancer
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Boggart Ram-Gang
3 Chameleon Colossus
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Putrid Leech
1 Garruk Wildspeaker

Spells
2 Volcanic Fallout
2 Jund Charm
2 Terror
2 Terminate
4 Maelstrom Pulse

Sideboard
1 Anathemancer
2 Bituminous Blast
2 Thought Hemorrhage
4 Thoughtseize
2 Primal Command
2 Infest
2 Pithing Needle

The Changes

+2 Boggart Ram-Gang. This guy is awesome when you flip it with Bloodbraid Elf. Gives early pressure damage, keeps out Finks from coming back and stops opposing Chameleon Colossus. I added the last piece in replacement for the lone Loxodon Warhammer before jotting my deck list in the event at Manila

2 Terror and 2 Terminate: I think this is the balanced number when using them both, Terminate could kill what Terror couldn’t like Doran and Putrid Leech. Terror is of course meant for Burrenton Forge Tender.

+1 Reflecting Pool. I personally don’t like playing with 10 filter lands because chances are big that you’ll get multiple mulligans for drawing all filter lands in your opening hand. Since I’m boarding in Thoughtseize, this land will help a lot.

-1 Bituminous Blast. I know this card is a Flametongue Kavu but it’s too clunky if you’re running lots of this in the sideboard so I think two is the right number.

-2 Thought Hemorrhage. Having 4 of this is irrelevant, once you named your most hated card, I’m sure your already winning anyway, like in Swans Combo, naming Seismic Assault once may do.

+4 Thoughtseize. I really like card disruption for this deck since it is good for control decks wherein discarding their answers or winning conditions would cripple them.

+2 Primal Command. The perfect answer for mid-range decks, BR aggro with Anathemancer and BG Elves.

+2 Infest. Now that Kithkins are in popular demand, this card will hit Burrenton Forge Tender together with her Kithkin buddies. It is also awesome against all kinds of Token decks.

+2 Pithing Needle. I’m not sure about this one but it’s an assurance for Fulminator Mages and answer to early Seismic Assault shenanigans. I never used this one on my matches so I would recommend swapping it with Snakeform to deal with Chameleon Colossus war in the mirror or BG Elves.

After we finalized the deck list, we borrowed some cards that I didn’t have, specially the filter lands and Thought Hemorrhage from our friends.

I only got little time left before leaving and I do not have the time to play test my deck for real since I still have work on weekdays. My only outlet was to play MWS at the office during break time, sometimes sneaking a match while I’m waiting for some uploads to finish.

All of my match ups were doing great and I’m glad to say I only lose to multiple mulligans, so I thought me and my deck are all set for the National qualifier’s battle.

It was Thursday and I was chatting with my friend Alex(currently at Manila) through Skype and asking when I’m leaving and so I said on Friday and will be back to Iloilo on Sunday, telling him I was excited to play on Saturday for the Qualifiers.

But I got it all wrong because the Qualifier is on Sunday instead. I got confused and a bit irritated for I have to reschedule my flight once again. Good thing was that before leaving for Manila on Saturday, I still was able to visit the new tournament venue at Rei’s place which I think was a great area since there are lots of spaces.

Moreover, I also got some good luck greetings from fellow magic players and got a hold of Franz’s mystical score sheet and Makoy’s magical ballpen as my good luck charms.

I arrived at Manila around 9:30pm, Alex and I set for a meeting place at Glorieta Mall. We are able to meet up together with Jonathan, who is one of the popular Batchoy players in Manila also known as the “Ankle Breaker”. We brought our deck with us and find the right place to unwind and at the same time play Magic. We talked a lot about the metagame as well as their life there in the metro while enjoying some pizza, beers and cool live music.

After some relaxing moment, we headed at Alex’s apartment and did a lot of play testing and we also brew a deck for him for the next day’s event. We felt exhausted and slept at around 5:30am. After a well rested 3 hours sleep, we started to fix things up and headed directly to the venue.

We registered on time and got some spare moments to have a heavy meal at Robinson’s food court. After eating lunch, we finalized the deck list with my last minute change on Loxodon Warhammer to Boggart Ram-Gang.

It’s Game Time!

We arrived at the tournament venue and it was infested by Magic players and their friends, others were just spectators while some have already qualified for Nationals. Most probably, they were there to scout some decks or cheer for their teammates. We also met our Ilonggo friends Nathaniel and Omar getting ready to cheer for my side.

As we roam around, Jonathan secretly pinpointed players that are good which we call “Mga Makahang” and then introduced me to his teammates from Philcoa. I didn’t really spent a lot of time talking with them since I’m more focused on how to beat the “Mga Makahang” guys. The moment the pairings were up, me and my teammate Alex got good luck cheers from our circle of support.

Round 1 vs Kenneth Hernandez (BW Tokens)

Athan already introduced him to me a while ago, he is a friendly guy and according to Athan, he’s going to provide a deck for him for Nationals. Well, that’s great news for he doesn’t need to spend money anymore for the upcoming Nationals. Geez, I wish I could have a sponsor too. As expected I’ll be facing lots of token decks. Without further ado, we started the match as the time clock begun.

He opened up with Tidehollow Sculler and exiled one of my sweepers in the form of Jund Charm while my first play was the second turn Putrid Leech and followed it up with Boggart Ram-Gang, dealing a large amount of damage in a single turn. I had all the removal in the world to deal with his threats and he quickly scoops to my hasty dudes.

Sideboard Plan:
-2 Terror, -1 Kitchen Finks
+2 Infest, +1 Anathemancer

Another impressive start for Kenneth as he opened up with Tidehollow Sculler against my sweepers. I got a slow start as my Putrid Leech showed up in turn 3. He was able to summon Murderous Redcap and scratched me for two damage. But I got my defense set-up with Kitchen Finks and some spot removals for his Cloudgoat Ranger and sweepers for his comrades, finishing it off with the hasty goblin and Bloodbraid Elf.

Record:
1-0, 2-0

Round 2 vs Briggs Miraflor (GW Tokens)

Another token deck but of a different variant for it has green on it. He is also one of the players on the event who finished in the top 8. I don’t have any background of him neither my scouts so I tested his skills in this round.

In game 1, I started with a mulligan and kept a mediocre hand of 6. He began the game with a curve, turn 1 Noble Hierarch, turn 2 Spectral Procession and turn 3 Ajani Goldmane pumping up his dudes and bashed me to the skies. Unfortunately for me, I was not able to draw any of my removals and I quickly got scooped.

Sideboard Plan:
-4 Kitchen Finks, -1 Chameleon Colossus
+2 Infest, +1 Anathemancer, +2 Bituminous Blast

In game two, I kept a hand with a sweeper and removals with some Boggart Ram-Gangs and Bloodbraid Elf. The first play was the Steward of Valeron from Briggs and I had the goblin running on turn 3. He managed to drop Burrenton Forge Tender and Kitchen Finks but I had the answer for them in the form of Infest. He still got gases after the sweeper as he dropped the Cloudgoat Ranger quickly followed by Ajani Goldmane. Fortunately, I was able to hold the line with my crits and then I sense I was in deep trouble for I had no sweeper in hand to deal with the horde of tokens, so I must rely on my top deck. A miracle happened as I was able to draw Jund Charm hence I waited for the right time to cast it since his deck has no disruptions. On his turn he dropped his second Cloudgoat Ranger then bestowed them with Ajani’s counters but before that happen, the ceremony was disrupted as I windmill slammed Jund Charm choosing the pyroclasmic effect. That left him with 2 Giants, and on my turn, the long awaited Maelstrom Pulse makes his price worth as he ended the joyful moments of the Giants. Moments later, Bloodbraid Elf and company finished off the game.

I was a bit disappointed as I shifted back my hand to 5 cards playing on draw. To my surprise, it played well as I had the curve. Turn 2 Putrid Leech then followed by Boggart Ram-Gang, although he was able to drop tokens, I still had the pulses ready to sweep off the floor, keeping my beats down running. Turns later I earned the W!

Record:
2-0, 4-1

Round 3 vs Lewie Dimapilis (GW Tokens)

I faced another GW Tokens in two matches in a row. Coming from a victory before this match raised my morale a little bit. It was a bad start for me as I mulled to 5 again, so I kept a not so impressive cards with two lands but without a black source. I was on play but didn’t have an early threat as his first play was Qasali Pridemage. My third land appeared but still no black source so I unleashed my Boggart Ram-Gang for some beating. He was able to drop multiple Wilf-Leaf Lieges and without spot removals to deal with them, I was quickly scooped.

In post board, my first play was a turn 2 Putrid Leech as he answered Kitchen Finks and the BFT as defense. I was able to react back by sweeping the pesky pro-red Kithkin and the persisted Finks off the battlefield with my Infest. Lewie still got some reinforcements with Cloudgoat Ranger plus Ajani Goldmane to pump up his guys. Unfortunately for him, I got answers for his threats, Anathemaner for Ajani, Pulse for the tokens and Bituminous Blast for the Ranger and cascading into Bloodbraid Elf and Boggart Ram-Gang for the win.

For the deciding game, Lewie had a good start with turn 1 Noble Hierarch and turn 2 Kitchen Finks but taking some bite from his painlands. I was able to Volcanic Fallout the board and dropped threats after threats on the form of the Ram Gangs and Bloodbraid Elf. He tried to come back by summoning Cloudgoat Ranger but I have drawn multiple Pulses to deal with his army. With a little help from my Anathemancer the game was over in no time.

Record:
3-0, 6-2

Round 4 vs Jo-Dale G. Matias (5 Color Control)

According to my scout Athan, this guy is playing 5 Color Control for a long time. Well this means he’s more experienced using it. I’ve already tested with Athan back in Alex apartment about this matchup and my deck did well if being played smartly.

Game one was very impressive as I started with turn 2 Putrid Leech on play and turn 3 Boggart Ram-Gang. He doesn’t have an answer to it and he quickly scoops.

Sideboard Plan:
-2 Volcanic Fallout, -2 Jund Charm, -1 Maelstrom Pulse
+1 Anathemancer, +4 Thoughtseize

In game 2, my Putrid Leech came out early but this time Jo-Dale came prepared with his timely Agony Warp on my Leech in response to my pump. Multiple Kitchen Finks came through as I play around his Broken Ambitions to secure myself to have threats against him. Wrath of God from Jo-Dale shrinks my Finks but thanks to their persist for they still remained in play for some action. Some Plumveils also showed up but with my spot removals, they won’t last for long and I secured my army with Thoughtseize for Cryptic Command and dealt the final damage and won the match.

Record:
4-0, 8-2

Round 5 vs Arvin T. Botin (Faeries)

Going to this round, a win will secure me the top 8 slot. I saw this guy playing Faeries during round 4 as I was seated just next to his previous match. I will be facing the nemesis of the Standard decks and I think this could be the final test for my deck. I have played Faeries before and I know how it works as well as its weaknesses.

He won the die roll and started off with turn 2 Bitterblossom and I match him with my Putrid Leech. He continues to attack me airborne and took some Faerie bites. I manage to spray insecticide with Jund Charm to clear off the skies and connect with my Leech. Not to be out done, Arvin was able to drop Faerie armies with Spellstutter Sprites and Scion of Oona but I got a weapon to stop this madness which is Volcanic Fallout that cleared the board while Boggart Ram-Gang and the Leech finish it off.

Sideboard Plan:
-4 Maelstrom Pulse, -1 Garruk Wildspeaker, -1 Anathemancer
+2 Bituminous Blast, +4 Thoughtseize

In game two, Putrid Leech made his first appearance. Arvin passes the turn with open mana and I know he has Agony Warp thus I made it certain that my Leech will survive by not pumping it. He dropped a late Bitterblossom and he was stuck on three lands for a moment. With one mama open, I grab the opportunity of casting my Boggart Ram-Gang and connect with Leech for seven damage. He found his fourth land and he was able to stall for a turn by tapping out my dudes with Cryptic Command. He also managed to Thoughtseize my hand and discarded my Bituminous Blast which I still couldn’t cast anyway having only four lands in play and that left me with Jund Charm. I made a stupid mistake by not clearing the board while he only got one mana open when he summoned his Scion of Oona to pump his guys while blocking my Leech, which I was forced to pump in order for it to survive, so I instead kept my Charm to have my Leech alive on that turn. On my main phase, I casted Charm to sweep all the pesky blockers but this time Spellstutter Sprite stands on its way as the tokens keep on chumping my Leech and the Goblin fall to Agony Warp. The game is looking grim as he Mistbind Clique me on upkeep and I didn’t draw enough answers, so we packed up for the deciding game.

I was haunted with my mistake in game 2 wherein I could have won that game if I didn’t committed that blunder. Feeling a little bit bothered by the previous game, I tried to forget it and instead focus to the deciding game. Starting off with Putrid Leech on turn 2 and followed by Boggart Ram-Gang, vanished my regrets on the previous game. He was able to stabilize his defense with Bitterblossom but I caught him off guard with my Volcanic Fallout for his tokens. He got stuck with only three lands early on so it was an easy victory for me.

Record:
5-0, 10-3

Round 6 vs Kirsten C. Golpeo (BG Elves)

After round 5 was over, I was amazed and glad to see my name in the number 1 spot, I and the rest of the Iloilo Boys were very happy about the results because I was the only one who got a 5-0 record. Our plan was for me to draw the rest of the games to secure the top 8 slot. The pairings are up and I was paired against the number two seed, which in my surprised was a girl. I offered her a draw but the problem is, she already got four wins and one draw and she can’t risk to draw another game and must win the last one, as a result, we were obliged to play the match.

Before the game begun, we were stopped for a deck check and were called for a Featured Match. It was my first time to be on the featured match so no room for errors and other stupid stuff. People from NG were covering our match so here is the story of what happened:

Not a good sign to start the game as I shipped back my first seven cards, but my six was a keeper. I won the die roll and going first as the first play was turn two Putrid Leech, which quickly follow by Boggart Ram-Gang. She was able to drop Wrens Run Vanquisher, so I was forced to trade my Leech with it since I don’t have any spot removals. A turn later, Bloodbraid Elf showed up and brought along another Boggart Ram-Gang for a raiding party.

Sideboard Plan:
-2 Volcanic Fallout, -2 Anathemancer
+2 Bituminous Blast, +2 Primal Command

In game 2, we both started the game with Putrid Leech, stalling the game until both of us got Chameleon Colossus. She was able to fetch lands thanks to Civic Wayfinder and she was ahead on land count. We were able to trade Colossi but she replaced them with Kitchen Finks. Although I had some Maelstrom Pulses for her double Finks and Loxodon Warhammer, the Profane Command brings back her Colossus from the grave and I was out numbered by the Elves.

It was a horrible start for me in game three as I was mulligan down to three, the worst ever due to no lands on my opening draws, so I kept a one lander, a Finks and a Terminate. She started very well and was able to drop Colossus on turn three. I had the chance to catch up with Kitchen Finks on defense but with card disadvantage due to a mulligan to 3, I easily got out of gas. It was so disappointing of being unlucky on my last game and not even having a good fight. Well that is Magic; you really need some luck in order to win.

Record:
5-1 , 11-5

Round 7 vs Orlando J. Ampo (Bant Aggro)

Checking the standings after round 6, I found out I’m still on the top 4, hanging at the number 3 spot, so me and my opponent agreed to draw the match since both our ratings are higher compared to any of those guys with a 5-1 record.

Record:
5-1-1, 11-5-1

I felt very exhausted and hungry after 7 rounds of Magic. We decided to have dinner early on so we could come back before the top 8 starts. We were so glad about the results that I made it to Top 8, my friend Alex was unfortunate who only got a 3-3 record hence, he just dropped in the tournament. Even though he didn’t make it, he did enjoy the experience.

After we ate, it’s time for us to go back to the venue. The moment we arrived, people are already crowding the final standing’s corner. We tried to sneak peak at the standings and I was at the top 4 and was very happy about it. But there is still one more game to go and that is the top 8 playoffs.

Well I’m once again faced against the only person who gave me defeat and that was Kirsten. Looks like it would be a rematch and it’s my chance to avenge my downfall and grab a spot in the Philippine Nationals, which after all is my main goal in joining the event.

Top 8 vs Kirsten C. Golpeo (BG Elves)

I won the die roll and this time I kept my opener. I had the curve on this one as I play Putrid Leech on turn two and turn three Boggart Ram-Gang. Although we traded Leech for her Wrens Run Vanquisher, my Goblin hero keeps on ramming through. I got answers for her blockers and it was soon over as the Anathemancer made the final blow.

She started fast on game 2 as Wrens Run Vanquisher showed up early on her second turn. I got some defensive stop with the Ram Gang but it was quickly Pulsed out of play. She continued to drop threats while I haven’t drawn any of my removals, giving her the win

In game 3, I started off with Putrid Leech. She got an early Llanowar Elves and got Pulse for my Leech, while she continues to beat me with her 1/1 Elf. We trade a couple of critters with Ram Gangs, Bloodbraid Elves, Kitchen Finks and Vanquishers until I dropped Chameleon Colossus which she was obliged to chump blocked. She summoned Puppeteer Clique and stole the Bloodbraid Elf from my grave and attacked me bringing down my life to 9, then summoned Garruk and put a Beast token on her side. I keep on attacking with my crits and brought her down to 12.

With my life dwindling down and her having an airborne dude, all I needed was to gain life and return Garruk to Kirten’s library with my Primal Command which could delay her so I’ll have time to setup my offense. My next offensive strike brought her down to 4 but she quickly established her defense with Beast token and some elves. A timely Bloodbraid Elf and cascaded Maelstrom Pulse on the Beast token secured my way through the top 4.

Record:
6-1-1, 13-6-1

Ending

I was overjoyed about my win against Kirsten, avenging my downfall and earning a slot for Nationals. My other comrades were also jovial and Athan got excited about the Nationals where we will play together with Mao as the Ilonggo group. The top 4 was not played; we just claimed our prizes of booster packs and went home.

It was an extraordinary experience joining the National Qualifiers in Manila. I was also happy that my deck did well despite I lack the time to play test with it. I never expected to make it to the top four since there are lots of good players also hungry to qualify. Maybe I was just lucky enough to make it through.

Here are a few of the pics taken during the event.

Special Thanks to:
Alex – for the accommodations and everything
Jonathan – for the encouragement and scouting
Nathaniel and Omar – for the support
Makoy – for convincing me to pilot this deck ^:)^
Bossing – for some advices
To All Magic Iloilo players – for the support and lending of cards
Elena – for the inspiration and support