As 2012 winds down I've been staying busy mostly with visiting family and Melanie. I did have a chance to attend an FNM at Thou Shalt Game in Temecula, California last weekend. I have to say, if you ever have a chance and are in the location, Thou Shalt Game has a pretty decent FNM. Although the tournament management was a little inefficient and the starting time is a bit late for a 6-round tournament (7 p.m.), the prize pool is outstanding, with $100 going to first place, $50 to second, and $25 to third and fourth.

I brought Junk Angel to the tournament and did reasonably well, scoring 5-1 and placing third on tiebreaks. I used the store credit to purchase a bunch of foil EDH cards, which is the format I'm currently interested in. I don't play EDH much, but I guess I just like how EDH focuses a bit more on "bling" and less on substance, and I like how the format is pretty underdeveloped. I'm currently brewing a sick deck with Jhoira of the Ghitu as my commander.

My only loss in the tournament was against Naya Midrange. I think my opponent net-decked the winning list from the SCG Open in Las Vegas, which can be found here. I had to mulligan to 5 cards on the play in the first game. I did the best of I could, fought tooth and nail, but I couldn't overcome the drastic card disadvantage. It turns out, Huntmaster of the Fells and Bonfire of the Damned are still pretty good cards (who knew?).

I also played a bunch of Goglari aggro decks, which is strange because that deck is not very popular here in Portland. Rakdos and Mono Red Aggro are far more popular. Junk Angel has a better matchup against Golgari than against Rakdos or Mono Red because Golgari is far slower than either (Gogari has fewer 1 drops, no Hellrider, and no Falkenrath Aristocrat. Rancor and Dreg Mangler are nice, but come on, Falkenrath and Hellrider...). I think I was paired against at least 2 Golgari aggro decks and I beat them easily.

In the final round I played against a unique 5-color reanimator list running Supreme Verdicts, Griselbrand, Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Angel of Serenity, Thragtusk, etc. In the first game we got into a huge Angel of Serenity battle. We both gained tons of life and were casting angels every turn exiling eachother's angels and returning Thragtusks to hand, etc. etc. The game went nowhere and my opponent soon ran out of cards because he was running Faithless Looting and I wasn't. Game 2 I hit an early Deathrite Shaman and that bad boy went pretty much all the way. I'm glad to have picked up another foil copy of that card on Friday, especially as I think I got the better end of the trade (I gave up 2 non-foil copies). I finished the match 2-0 and thus took third place.

And so, it was a very productive evening, but it took a long time to get through the six rounds and I didn't get out the door until 1 A.M. I was hella tired. Still, despite the fact that I basically only earned $4 an hour for 6 hours, rack up another strong finish for Junk Angel; it's now 40-11-1 in its current version and 62-28-10 overall. I want to play Tuesday somewhere, but I'm not sure which shops are open on New Years. Stay tuned.

I haven't been playing much Magic lately due to work and the holidays, but I did play in an FNM at Guardian Games the Friday before last, scoring 5-0 and placing clear first with Junk Angel. With the $27 of store credit I bought a Winter Orb (beta) in excellent condition. Junk Angel is now 35-10-1 in its current version and 57-27-10 overall.

The Standard metagame has been fluctuating ever-so-slightly these last couple weeks. Dark Bant has emerged as the deck to beat after Reid Duke piloted it to first place in the SCG Invitational. Human Rites also scored well and has been gaining popularity. Both of these decks are difficult matchups for Junk Angel and I've been forced to alter my sideboard to accomodate the current metagame. Of course, there is always Rakdos Aggro to worry about as well.

There isn't much else to report. I'm planning to play an FNM at a shop close to my parents' house, where I'm currently staying. It should be interesting. Stay tuned.

Why Jace, Memory Adept Sucks

 

 

At various points last week, I had conversations with Nick about which cards are currently well-positioned in the Standard metagame. Obviously, there are a few cards in the format which are simply dominant, and help to shape the current metagame, most notably, Thragtusk. However, there are also a few cards that Nick and I agree are below the radar. One of those cards is Jace, Memory Adept.  
 
Jace seems well positioned because of the enormous amount of life gain in the format. Thragtusk, Centaur Healer (plus Restoration Angel), and Sphinx's Revelation mean that most damage-based decks are forced to deal roughly 25-30 points of damage before they can reliably win a game of Magic. In an environment saturated with so much life gain, it’s no surprise that players began to explore ways to win games without dealing damage--such as milling. Travis Woo’s Omnidoor Thragfire deck was another such attempt: Travis ran Omniscience, Temporal Mastery, and Door to Nothingness (and Worldfire!) in an attempt to simply ignore life totals and win the game in an unforeseen fashion. Similarly, Dark Bant emerged as a tier-one deck, fueled primarily by Nephalia Drownyard as a win condition.

I decided to try Dark Bant myself on Tuesday at Ancient Wonders, but I wanted to take the milling plan to the next level by adding Jace, Memory Adept. I constructed the following deck:

Creatures (4):
4 Thragtusk

Spells (31):
4 Farseek
4 Supreme Verdict
4 Azorius Charm
3 Detention Sphere
3 Sphinx's Revelation
3 Jace, Memory Adept
2 Terminus
3 Syncopate
2 Dissipate
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Garruk, Primal Hunter
1 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

Lands (25):
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden
4 Hinterland Harbor
4 Glacial Fortress
4 Hallowed Fountain
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Isolated Chapel
1 Alchemist Refuge
1 Nephalia Drownyard

I ended up scoring 1-2, and after three games with the deck I've reached the following conclusion: Jace, Memory Adept sucks. Here's why:

First, Jace really needs to come down on an open board, and in the present metagame, an open board doesn't happen that often. He costs 5 and can't protect himself, which means that if your opponent has any creatures on the board when Jace arrives, Jace will probably just die. He doesn't protect himself like Tamiyo, the Moon Sage or Jace, Architect of Thought, or any number of other planeswalkers. You will end up spending a card to force the opponent to mill 10 and save yourself 5 damage, and this sort of effect is just not worth the cost. In my first matchup against Jund, I found that I simply could not utilize Jace effectively because early in the game he would cast Huntmaster of the Fells, and late in the game because of Rakdos Keyrune + Kessig Wolf Run, Thragtusk, or whatever. I had a couple turns where I played Jace into an open board, only to have it attacked by a Thundermaw Hellkite on the following turn.

Second, Jace's utimate is just terrible. How the hell can you use that to an advantage? If you've drawn a bunch of cards off Jace's +1 ability, you don't really need to draw 20 more to win the game, and if you're trying to mill the opponent, well, you'll get there a hell of a lot faster by using his 0 ability for four turns, rather than milling 1 enough times to save up for his -7. The ultimate ability is just useless.

Third, there are a lot of reanimator strategies in the current meta, and they dont mind TOO much that you are putting cards in their graveyard. Sure, they don't want to leave Jace out for 4+ turns, but a couple turns of letting you mill can actually help their game plan.

At this point, some of you are probably thinking, "Of course Jace, Memory Adept sucks, Ryan. How could you not know that already?" But like I said, we were trying to explore alternative avenues. I won the next round against Abi's 4-color midrange deck, and lost the final round to Ryan running Yuji's reanimator list from GP Nagoya.

Im currently trying to brew a Standard turbofog list where I think Jace's abilities might be better utilized. Any ideas?

 

"It's a poor sort of memory that only works backwards."
 ----Lewis Carroll,
Through the Looking Glass











I played a lot of Magic this weekend, but without much success. On Friday and Sunday I took Junk Angel to Guardian Games, scoring 4-1 and 1-2 respectively. The first result was good enough for fourth place, and I received a foil Preordain and two packs of Return to Ravnica as my prize. I opened the packs and cracked a Jace, Architect of Thought. I win!

On Sunday I was at Guardian Games again and I lost to Dark Bant and Mono-Red. It was just a day of bad luck. Dark Bant beat me in the third game of the match on turn 4 of the time control. Strangely, the real issue with Dark Bant for my deck isn't the Nephalia Drownyard; it's the Alchemist's Refuge. Angel of Serenity is a pain in the ass when your opponent casts it in response to your attack phase.  I boarded in Acidic Slimes but never drew one. Perhaps I should also make room for a Ghost Quarter in my sideboard.

I was also unfortunate against Mono-Red. My opponent drew the nut curve in both games he won. Game 3 was particularly frustrating because I stabilized at 9 life by casting an Angel of Serenity, exiling all his creatures except an unleashed Gore-house Chainwalker. He top-decked the land he needed and played a Zealous Conscripts, winning the match. One more turn and I could have cast Thragtusk and been fine.

Junk Angel is now 30-10-1 in its current version, and 52-27-10 overall.

Modern

On Saturday I played in a Modern tournament at Ancient Wonders, scoring 1-1-1 and placing fourth. This result was good enough for 2 packs of Return to Ravnica, which I opened to receive an Angel of Serenity. I win again! I played the Martyr Proc deck some of you may remember from a few seasons ago. Here's the current decklist:

Creatures (17):
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Serra Ascendant
4 Ranger of Eos
1 Figure of Destiny
4 Squadron Hawk

Spells (19):
4 Path to Exile
4 Lightning Helix
2 Proclamation of Rebirth
3 Hide/Seek
3 Ghostly Prison
3 Supreme Verdict

Lands (24):
2 Emeria, the Sky Ruin
3 Flagstones of Trokair
3 Ghost Quarter
2 Sacred Foundry
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
4 Marsh Flats
4 Arid Mesa
3 Plains
1 Mistveil Plains

Sideboard (15):
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Ghostly Prison
2 Rule of Law
1 Ethersworn Cannonist
1 Dryad Militant
1 Hide/Seek
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Meddling Mage
1 Nevermore
2 Oblivion Ring

The first round was basically a toss-away as my opponent was unprepared for the format. I drew in the second round with Spirit Jund, which is actually a terrible matchup for this deck. I won the first game after 40 minutes by getting two Emeria, the Sky Ruins online.  I lost game 2 and there wasn't enough time to finish the match.

In the final round I faced RG Tron, which I thought would be a decent matchup for me because Hide/Seek, Ghost Quarter, and Path to Exile are good card against that deck. Nevertheless, I found that I was on my heels during all three games.

In conclusion, I definitely don't think this deck is a viable choice for a Modern tournament, and I've been considering other possible decks for next week. Thanks for reading.

"And topples round the dreary west
A looming bastion fringed with fire."
---Afred, Lord Tennyson, "In Memoriam"










I haven't been playing too much Magic lately, somewhat due to financial constraints, but also due to an attempt to find a new job. However, I did manage to attend a couple of tournaments this week, scoring 3-2 and 4-1 with my Junk Angel deck. The latter result was good enough for 4th place, earning a foil Cursecatcher and a pack of Return to Ravnica (which turned into a Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius). Hurray! For those keeping score (like myself), I am now 25-7-1 with the current version of the deck, and 47-24-1 overall.

I played against Mono-Red four times in a row on Friday. I think the deck is popular because it is so cheap. I have a favorable matchup against Mono-Red (Go Thragtusk!), but in one of the rounds I went through 30 cards without discovering an Angel of Serenity, so I lost.

There isn't too much more to report. The metagame has basically solidified into two types of decks: those that attempt to go under Thragtusk (they try to beat you before you can play it), and those that attempt to go over it (by controlling the board and casting huge spells). Junk Angel definitely qualifies as the latter, but I find that Junk Angel has definite metagame weaknesses. First, it is often disfavored against other control decks in the meta, especially Bant Control becase planeswalkers are a bit of a problem. Second, the deck is also weak against aggro decks that nut curve---it's a little slow. First turn Reckless Waif, second turn Ash Zealot, etc., can often be problematic, but I think this is true for most decks. To the deck's credit, I obtain infinite life at least once per tournament (which is just fun), often to the surprise of my opponent. In addition, the deck is fairly interesting, and presents occasionally challenging lines of play. I am constantly discovering (and being told about) my play mistakes, so the deck is somewhat educational.

However, after ~70 sanctioned games with the deck, it is getting a little monotonous. I am looking forward to Gatecrash. I think the monotony has a lot to do with the metagame. After all, I think you're making a mistake if you're not playing Thragtusk right now, and Junk Angel kicks ass because it has Unburial Rites and Restoration Angel---cards which seriously utilize the power of Thragtusk. The monotony just comes from the fact that Thragtusk is everywhere.

I have been seriously toying around with a UWr Control deck with Worldfire as a win condition. Obviously the idea is just silly, but I feel like the Standard format is pretty much solved right now, and all that's left to do is durdle around with fun ideas. Case in point: Travis Woo's recent "Omnidoor Thragfire" deck. No matter what he says, I refuse to believe this deck is competitive. Counterspells are still present in the format and this deck will always just lose to any deck running enough of them.  Still, it's fun to brew and play with cards that might not see play ordinarily.