It was a rainy Friday night here in Portland; perfect for playing Magic. I drove out to Guardian Games for FNM. There were about 20 players, some regulars, but I noticed right away that a lot of the veterans were missing. Maybe its because players haven't yet acquired the cards necessary to build the decks they want to play (Jace is $50!). I dunno. I brought the Junk Angel deck I posted last time, with some minor alterations to make the deck more viable.

Whereas the deck seemed to limp along at the Oregon State Championship, scoreing 0-4, at FNM the deck felt like it was on 8 cylinders. A couple games I got really lucky, but most of the games felt like they were solidly in my favor.

Round 1 I played against Bant control. He had to mulligan both games so the match was never really fair. I won 2-0.

Round 2 I played against Natty running U/R Delver. I never really got a chance to see how Natty's deck was supposed to work. He never cast a first turn Delver, which I was thankful for. He just seemed to switch the cards in his hand around a lot with Izzet Charm and Desperate Ravings. Eventually he played a Runechanter's Pike and I could see what he was trying to achieve, but there just werent enough creatures. I took the match 2-0, and I think I did get to 'hoof him in game two; Revenge for the thrashing he gave me with Bant Pod at the last PTQ.

Round 3 I played against another Bant Control deck. This time, my opponent didn't mulligan, and the games were extremely close. My biggest concern was running up against the time control, so I tried to play quickly. Game 1 seemed to be dragging on and on; I think it must have taken 30 minutes. I ended up winning it, but not without some crazy shenanigans. My opponent eventually took control of the board with a Sigarda, Host of Herons and a Tamiyo, the Moon Sage. Within a few turns, he had ticked the Tamiyo up to 8 counters while knocking my life down to12. The following turn, he ultimated Tamiyo, but tapped out for an Angel of Serenity. The following turn I summoned a Craterhoof Behemoth and dealt like 40 damage, winning the game. Craziness.

Game 2 was similarly climactic. My opponent once again summoned Tamiyo, the Moon Sage, but this time when he ticked her up to 8 I stole her with a Zealous Conscripts and gave myself the emblem. The following turn I summoned another Zealous Conscripts, stole his Thragtusk, bashed him with it, then used Restoration Angel on it so I could keep it forever. Yeah, it was pretty epic. I won the match 2-0.

Round 4 I played against Jund. I ended up losing this match 1-2. In game 2, I never drew a black mana and I had a handful of Sever the Bloodlines and Grisly Salvages; I didn't last long. Game 3 was close, but Fiend Hunter is generally not good against Thundermaw Hellkite. Especially when Jund is running so much spot removal. I also found Rakdos Keyrune to be an effective blocker against my Thragtusks.

Round 5 I played against GW Aggro, a deck that gave me a lot of problems at States. This time though, I seemed to have GW's number. The combination of Centaur Healer, Thragtusk, and Angel of Serenity ensured that I was able to enter the midgame, where Junk Angel is most effective. I won the match 2-0.

So there you have it. I scored 4-1 and placed first after tiebreaks. I used my credit to purchase a signed Wooded Foothills (completing a playset!). See you next time.