MTG Reporter – Grand Prix Dallas 2015, 62nd Place Day 2 [Qiushi Sun]
Day 1 is in the books. On to Day 2!
After a quick breakfast at the Corner Bakery attached to our hotel, we headed into our draft pods. Fresh after our victory, we hungered for more wins. The first draft pod had teammate Eric Severson in it, and the draft went pretty well. Blue was super open, and I even got a fourth pick Whirler Rogue in pack 3!
Main
Creatures
Instants
Enchantments
Land
Sideboard
At first I thought I needed the white splash for the power cards, but I eventually just cut the high end of the curve and boarded in Clash of Wills, Ramroller, and Sigil of Valor while dropping the land count to 16. It ultimately made for a faster deck that could aggro out the slower decks.
R10: L vs. Arnaud Soumet (7-3)
In our first game, I utterly demolished my opponent. I took no hits, and a turn 1 Glory Chaser got in for 5 damage throughout the game. Unfortunately, my hands in games 2 and 3 were not as fast, and the mana base came back to punish me, which made me rethink my 3-color strategy.
R11: W vs. Paul Gilmore (8-3)
My second opponent this draft was playing some very odd cards. He had a Hangarback Walker and a Consul’s Lieutenant, but he also played Demolish and Murder Investigation. Needless to say, I easily won the games since he played cards that did not pressure me at all.
R12: W vs. Nunzio Thron (9-3)
We played three very quick games. I curved out in game 1, crushing him before he could gain a foothold. However, he played a very large spider in game 2, and I couldn’t play past it. In game 3, however, I got him down to 1 life and just stalled until I could eke in that one point of damage. It took a while, but I got there for the win.
I definitely almost creamed my pants during the second draft more than once. The first time was due to the people in the draft. I had Nathan Holiday, Gerry Thompson, and teammate Mark Jacobson in the pod. The following times were when I got passed all the great white cards. Without further ado, here’s the list!
Main
Creatures
Instants
Sorceries
Sideboard
This draft deck contained great power, and I needed great responsibility to wield it properly. The matches went as well as I could possibly have hoped with a happy ending despite some misplays. But I’m getting ahead of myself; here’s how the matches went:
R13: W vs. Davor Detecnik (10-3)
My opponent cast a Skaab Goliath in game 1 that I couldn’t deal with, and I easily lost to the mighty 6/9. However, in game 2 he had no such beefy creature, and my War Oracles gained me enough life to race him with ease. In game 3, I completely forgot my Caustic Caterpillar could destroy my opponent’s Claustrophobia on my Vastwood Gorger. Nonetheless, I eventually flooded the board with elementals and 2/2s and finally won the game.
R14: W vs. Casey Pordes (11-3)
Once again, I faced a Skaab Goliath in game 1 that I couldn’t stop. And even though I cast some pretty strong cards, I just couldn’t beat his draws that game. In game 2, I managed to Suppression Bonds his Skaab Goliath and beat in with War Oracles to steal the game. My opponent got mana screwed in game 3 and quickly lost the game, despite me missing one of my War Oracle renowned triggers.
R15: L vs. Nathan Holiday (11-4)
The weekend ended somewhat anticlimactically. I scooped to Nathan so he could lock Pro Tour gold status for the end of the year. It was the logical choice since I couldn’t use the two extra pro points and he could. I also knew him from my time in the Bay Area, and I had no problem scooping to a guy like him.
Phew! That was quite an adventure, don’t you think? Even though I ended the weekend at 11-4, I made $300 and one professional point for placing 62nd of nearly 1,700 players. It was definitely a great weekend, and I felt like I played at my best for most of it. Hopefully I’ll have a similar record at Pro Tour Magic Origins in Vancouver, BC this weekend! I’ll see you guys there!
Thanks for reading,
Qiushi Sun a.k.a. Q
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