I’ve received a few comments regarding my last article, mostly on how it didn’t focus too much on the strategy aspect of the game. I would like to clarify that this series isn’t centered around strategy but is more of a casual blog. I don’t have the time needed to research and fine tune articles geared towards teaching people how to better play the game. I’m here only for the purpose of entertainment, although I must admit I’m not that entertaining in the first place. Considering however the dearth of article writers on this site, I don’t think I’ll be fired anytime soon. Anyway, for the convenience of first time readers who might not want to spend the next few minutes wasting their time, I reiterate this is an article by a Filipino magic player who just wants to share his experiences in tournament competition, any lessons you may learn will be purely coincidental.

Preparation for Grand Prix Manila began for me in the PTQ and GPT held two weeks before the event. I used a regular Kithkin deck which gave me good finishes in both events, but never lead me to a top 8. For the next PTQ, I decided to try a monored build, taking into consideration the recent success I had with the color in Nationals. Seeing how much I love throwing burn to the face, it was no surprise that I immediately fell in love with the deck and was 99% sure I was going to use it in the Grand Prix. The fact that it cost a measly Php 1,000.00 didn’t hurt (by today’s deck building standards, that even beats budget decks)

Here’s the decklist:

Lands:
20 mountains

Creatures:
3 Thunderblust
3Murderous Redcap
4 Duergar Assailant
4 Pyre Charger
4 Intimidator Initiate
__
19

Other Spells:
4 Tarfire
4 Flame Javelin
3 Rekindled Flame
4 Puncture Blast
4 Lash Out
3 Shard Volley
__
22

Sideboard:
4 Chaotic Backlash
4 Moonglove Extract
2 Chandra Naalar
4 Poison the Well
1 Flame Jab
__
15

I’ll give you some time to search gatherer to find out what most of the cards do. Limited players shouldn’t have problems as all of these cards are very useful in draft and sealed.

This is what I was going to bring to the Grand Prix to attempt to fend off the Japanese hordes. This was going to ensure a top 8 berth and bring me all the glory and treasures that a Grand Prix win brings.

...

...

...

Just kidding.

The abovementioned red deck only helped me lose something like 70 points in my constructed rating and barely won any games in the second PTQ held by NG in Galleria. So much for my dreams of being a deck designer.

I decided to go with the Kithkin again, since I had sufficient familiarity with the deck and John Rey Sequio claimed the team’s last set of Cryptic Commands as he was dead set on playing Quick and Toast, leaving me with no Faerie option.

Here’s the real decklist for the GP:

Lands:
4 Windbrisk Heights
4 Rustic Clachan
2 Mutavault
16 Plains
__
26

Creatures:
4 Figure of Destiny
4 Goldmeadow Stalwart
4 Wizened Cenn
4 Knight of Meadowgrain
2 Thistledown Liege
4 Cloudgoat Ranger
__
22

Other spells:
4 Spectral Procession
2 Ajani Goldmane
2 Mirrorweave
4 Unmake
__
12

Sideboard:
3 Burrenton Forgetender
3 Stillmoon Cavalier
3 Moonglove Extract
3 Archon of Justice
1 Broken Apparition
1 Pollen Lullaby
1 Forfend
__
15

There are only 3 Stillmoons since we only have 6 copies and I had to split those with Mark Rivera. The one-ofs are there for decoration and/or head games. The Archons are useful against Toast and Doran, especially since they tend to take out Crib Swaps. If I had to do the sideboard again, I would have put in Flame Javelins as in most of the losses I had, the opponent was down to 4 or less life and were frequently tapping out eot.

We didn’t get to play in any of the Grinders as it took us 3 hours to get to Megamall because of the traffic, so we ended up just registering and doing a little scouting of the venue (comfort rooms, yosi places and where to eat) on Friday.

I had the same feeling of boredom and apathy for this Grand Prix as I did in all the other Grand Prix I joined. Considering that I made money in those, except for the one in Malaysia where DJ knocked me out of Day 2 in the last round of Day 1, I took it to be a pretty good sign.

Saturday we actually arrived early, parking at the event five minutes before the start time. Due to the long registration line, we even had to wait around 30 minutes before the actual start of the event. A personal best for me and my other teammates.

Hats off to Sir Freddie and Mam Des, by the way, for holding the largest Grand Prix in Southeast Asia, outside of Japan. I heard we could have actually reached 800 if not for the concerns of the head judges.

Round 1 – Bye

Due to the aforementioned me giving away points at the last PTQ, I was stuck below 1800 and didn’t have a bye based on rating. Good old Pro Player – LEVEL 1 to the rescue.


Round 2 – Rock

When he played a first turn Gilt-Leaf Palace I thought I was up against Doran or Elves. He then played a second turn Devoted Druid and I realized that it was probably some kind of Quillspike combo with midrange features. His Druid then helped out summon a Deity of Scars on the third turn and I knew I was in a losing race despite my curve from Stalwart into Procession. I had no good blocks because of the trampling ability of the Deity, no Mirrorweave to win the game out of nowhere and was very low on life until I finally drew an Unmake for the monster. He didn’t have a follow-up and I eked out the win.

Second game, we both had mediocre draws but his got upgraded immediately with a Deity. I stabilized at a low life and was going to kill him the next turn. I counted his lands and asked “Profane?” He said no, but then drew the next card face up and we were on to the final game. Never call out your opponent’s draws. Game 3 he was stuck on 3 lands and not much gas, giving me my first actual win.

2-0, 2-1

Round 3 – BR Elementals

First game I mull to five and hold him off for the first 10 turns but he draws enough to still kill me. I put in the Archons then just before presenting, realize that I should put in the pro-red maids also. The tenders help me win a long drawn out second game, with only two minutes left on the clock. We shuffle pretty fast and I pray for the fourth turn kill but it doesn’t come and we draw.

2-0-1, 3-2-1

Round 4 – Kithkins

I was paired against a guy from HK who I remembered dropped during the deck construction portion of GP Bangkok because he said his pool was stupid. I ask him about it and he confirms. We exchange god draws over the next 3 games. He went first in the last game allowing his god draw to beat my god draw.

2-1-1, 4-3-1

Round 5 – Doran

More long drawn out games which fortunately were very friendly. An Archon nukes a Cloudthresher, allowing for a big attack on the next turn and a follow up attack is good enough for lethal on my last turn of extra turns.

3-1-1, 6-4-1

Round 6 – Kithkin

We exchange god draws in the first 2 games, which seems to be par for the course for Kithkin mirrors. He is stuck on 2 lands in the decider and I gratefully take the win for a coin flip match.

4-1-1, 8-5-1

Round 7 – Kithkin

This was one of the weirdest matches I’ve played in Magic. First 2 games we exchange god draws (it was at this point that I was beginning to hate the mirror). The guy was nice and we were exchanging jokes throughout the games. In the final game, I get a head start but he plays out Brigid, forcing us into draw-play some guys-go mode for the next few turns. He plays Tenders on consecutive turns, leaving me wondering why he didn’t sideboard them out. I look at my 4/4 Figure (no sixth land) and rationalize that that could be the reason why he left them in. I draw an Ajani and pump up the team, still unable to attack profitably into the big boobed hero. He decides to attack into the planeswalker and I set up some blocks, he activates Brigid and casts Mirrorweave killing all my blockers but leaving him with none of his own. I attack for lethal with vigilance and ask him if he’s taking the damage, fully expecting the Pollen Lullaby. He then extends his hand and I take it. I then point out that he could have activated the Tender on the FOD to prevent lethal. His jaw drops and his eyes pop out and then he tells me that he didn’t concede because he hadn’t scooped up his cards. I laugh before realizing that he is, in fact, serious about the non-concession. I call the judge and she tells the player that he can’t take back the concession. He asks for an appeal and I see the Head Judge and Nikki laughing near the stage, which was definitely a good sign. The HJ comes to our table and he still doesn’t want to admit that he conceded. Finally, the HJ tells him that “it’s not a good idea to lie” and he hurriedly scoops up his cards.

5-1-1, 10-6-1

Round 8 – Kithkin

When he plays out a Plains, I slump a little into my chair. Kithkin mirrors for the last 3 rounds might be as close to Magic hell as you could get. Either you’re praying that he doesn’t get two god draws or that you don’t get into board filled stand-offs with tokens. The last round isn’t as bad as I thought it may be though as he has a very bad draw in the first and nothing much better on the second. I finally let out a little sigh of relief as I’ve made day 2. Unlike the previous guy, the guy this round is more gracious and takes the loss like a gentleman. I promise him a burger when I get the money. Small consolation, I know.

6-1-1, 12-6-1

My brother also makes day 2 but my cousin draws himself out of the money. The two parties stubbornly refused to concede to each other. The locals aren’t in a very good shape as we manage 33 players for day 2, as opposed to 31 out of a 100 for the foreigners. JT Porter doesn’t make it, leaving others to defend his title. Previous GP success stories Jiro Francisco and Mark Baeyens also don’t make the cut, but Nick Ortega squeaks in with a 6-2 record. Nationals champ Bayani is in with a similar record.
Day 2 started at 9 am sharp and all the players were still trying to wake themselves up. Nobody was complaining however, quite happy with the guaranteed payoffs.

Round 9 – Elementals

No mass removal, Kithkins win. In the second game, my opening seven has Wizened Cenn, Spectral Procession, Mirrorweave, Unmake and three Plains on the play. I play the Cenn and he answers with Bloom Tender. On my third turn I’m faced with a decision between killing the mana producer or playing Spectral for the kill. I consider that he probably doesn’t have Firespout because of the Tender and just go for it. He plays a Vivid Land and taps out to evoke Mulldrifter. Fourth turn kill FTW. (He had Incendiary Command as his next play)

7-1-1, 14-6-1

Round 10 – Quick N Toast

My brother calls me and tells me that the round is starting. I run back to the hall only to find out that I’m paired against Terry Soh in the feature match. I never thought I would say this in FFJ but:

“Details of the match can be found in the Wizards Coverage.”

Grin.

I thought I had the win in game 3 as I had a very good hand. I survived two Firespouts, but three is just too much. Soh also inexplicably made multiple mistakes here. See, Pros are just idiots like us. Anyway, I’m 0-2 in feature matches and I add another Pro to the revenge list.

7-2-1, 15-8-1

Round 11 – Merfolk

When I find out that I’m paired against Shuhei Nakamura, visions of the GP Manila ’06 come back to me. I was in the running for top 8 when a 1-2 bitch slap from Masashi Oiso and Mori knocked me out of contention. A combination of Kurihara-Ruel-Saito also knocked me out of the top 8 in the final rounds of Singapore. In other words, while I have won against the Pros, I have never done so when it matters the most. I promised to myself that this would be when I changed that.

Or not.

Nakamura outraces me with third and fourth turn Colossi, helped out by a Banneret. Next game he has a bad opening hand (as told by John Rey) but draws Cryptic after Cryptic, stopping 2 of my Cloudgoats and an Archon. One more for the revenge list.

7-3-1, 15-10-1

Out of the Top 8 again. And much earlier than my previous attempts at it. This is getting very frustrating.

Round 12 - Fae

I have around a dozen creatures on board against a couple for Ramon Allan Oca and he’s very low on life:

Me: “Ano pa pinipinta mo?"
Oca: “Di ko alam.”

Second game he hits my guys with 4 Peppersmokes but still doesn’t draw anything. Why can’t the Pros have bad draws like these.

8-3-1, 17-10-1

Round 13 – Quick N Toast

Both games he has trouble hitting five mana. I have the usual Kithkin draw and take it pretty quick. Only foreigner I beat the whole tournament. Yuck.

9-3-1, 19-10-1

Round 14 – Fae

I think we were both tired at this point and were just going through the motions. I have better draws and take it.

10-3-1, 21-10-1

I fall short of top 16 due to awful tiebreakers, caused by only having one bye. You probably know the other important details about the Grand Prix through the coverage and forums so I won’t bore you with that.

One thing I learned from this tournament is I have ways to go before I can compete with the Pros. Problem is you need time and money for cards and travel to reach their level, both things that I don’t have the luxury of right now. I really hope a Filipino steps up with the resources to compete, we’re not that far off from the Pros. The only difference being experience. JT Porter almost made it but work has gotten in the way. Luis Magisa could use some of his winnings to get there.

Anyway, without question this was a successful and very enjoyable event for the Philippines, despite not winning the trophy, and I hope that Wizards finally takes notice and gives us a yearly GP. Thanks go out again to Neutral Grounds, which has only gained more experience for handling big events. Of course, Team WTF and BT FTW.