"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.