Great Sable Stag: Maindeck or No?

I've been wondering for a few days if Great Sable Stag is maindeckable in today's Standard. Today, I decided to check it out. I originally considered using a Five-Color Control list, but I'm unskilled at it and wouldn't really need GSS. I then decided to switch to a Jund list. Jund has Cascade, which should allow me to see a lot more GSS'es over the course of a few matches.

Here's the list I used, copied from a tournament, replacing GSS in the sideboard with the Kitchen Finks maindeck.

Lands (25)

4 Savage Lands

4 Twilight Mire

3 Vivid Marsh

3 Vivid Grove

4 Reflecting Pool

3 Graven Cairns

1 Swamp

1 Forest

1 Mountain

1 Fire-Lit Thicket

Creatures (18)

4 Bloodbraid Elf

4 Great Sable Stag

4 Boggart Ram-Gang

4 Putrid Leech

2 Sygg, River Cutthroat

Spells (17)

2 Maelstrom Pulse

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Sign in Blood

4 Bituminous Blast

4 Volcanic Fallout

Sideboard (15)

3 Anathemancer

4 Kitchen Finks

1 Maelstrom Pulse

2 Snakeform

3 Blightning

2 Infest

On to the match reports!

Match 1 vs. Crucifera (Five-Color Control)

Game 1 I start with Sign in Blood, and Bloodbraid Elf into Boggart Ram-Gang. He Cryptic Commands's the Ram-Gang, and I swing. I swing again next turn and he flashes in a Cloudthresher, killing my Bloodbraid Elf. I use Maelstrom Pulse on it, then pass. He plays Liliana Vess, and I discard a land. End of turn, I double Lightning Bolt Liliana to kill her.

I play Bloodbraid Elf into Boggart Ram-Gang again, and hit him down to 9. He Firespouts, then passes. I play a Great Sable Stag. When I swing, he flashes another Cloudthresher. I use a second Maelstrom Pulse after combat. He plays Jace and passes. I play Putrid Leech. He plays end of turn Plumeveil. He uses Jace to bring it up to 7 counters, then plays...Jace? I remind him of the subtype rules, and he ruefully puts both in the graveyard.

He blocks my Putrid Leech with Plumeveil. I pump, and he Agony Warps it in response. I pass, so does he. I play Sygg, and he plays an end of turn Makeshift Mannequin for Cloudthresher. He then plays Cruel Ultimatum after untapping, and I concede.

Sideboard: In: 1 Maelstrom Pulse, 3 Anathemancer. -4 Volcanic Fallout.

Game 2 I play a turn 3 Boggart Ram-Gang, the first play of the game, and swing. He evokes a Mulldrifter. I play Bloodbraid Elf into Great Sable Stag and swing for 6. He plays Kitchen Finks. I play a second Boggart Ram-Gang and attack with just them. He blocks with one and takes 3. He passes without playing a fifth land. I swing with all my guys. He Makeshift Mannequins a Mulldrifter. I Lightning Bolt it before blocks, and he goes to 3. I then play Anathemancer for the win.

Game 3 I play a turn 2 Sygg. We both pass: I suspect a Plumeveil, so don't attack. I play Bloodbraid Elf into Anathemancer, and he Cryptic Commands my Anathemancer, bouncing Sygg to my hand. I swing for 3. He untaps, and plays a full-priced Mulldrifter. I untap and cast Bituminous Blast, cascading into Great Sable Stag, and swing again. He goes to 14. He plays Firespout. I play Boggart Ram-Gang and Sygg. I swing with the Ram-Gang, and he plays Plumeveil and blocks. Ram-Gang dies, and his Plumeveil becomes a 1/1. He draws and plays Anathemancer for 4. I play Boggart Ram-Gang and swing. It gets double blocked by Plumeveil and Anathemancer. I pass.

He plays Liliana Vess. I cast Maelstrom Pulse, and play Putrid Leech. I swing for 1 with Sygg, and pass. He plays Makeshift Mannequin for Mulldrifter. I untap, lay a seventh land and unearth Anathemancer for 7. I swing, he blocks my two guys. He plays Kitchen Finks, bringing his life up to 10. He plays a full-price Mulldrifter and passes. I draw Anathemancer, play it, and knock him down to 2, then play Lightning Bolt to win.

1-0

Match 2: FastMast (Master Transmuter Deck)

He makes the first play of the game, casting Fabricate for Master Transmuter. I play Boggart Ram-Gang and swing for 3. He plays Ornithopter and a full-price Borderpost, then passes. I play a second Boggart Ram-Gang and swing. He blocks one with Ornithopter. He goes to 14.

He untaps and plays Master Transmuter. I untap, and Bituminous Blast into Bloodbraid Elf into Great Sable Stag. That's just sick. He plays a Sphinx Summoner, searching for a Master Transmuter, but I just alpha strike for the win.

Game 2 (No sideboard)

He mulligans to 5, plays an Ornithopter and a land, and passes. I play Turn 2 Sign in Blood. He passes, and I play Putrid Leech and pass. He plays an Etherium Sculptor, and I swing with Putrid Leech. He takes 4, and I play Great Sable Stag. He passes again, and I play Sygg and swing. He blocks, and saves his guys with Ethersworn Shieldmage.

He plays Tidehollow Sculler, stealing a Bloodbraid Elf. I swing with Great Sable Stag and Putrid Leech. He takes 3 and blocks Leech with the Sculptor. I cast two Lightning Bolts, one at him, one at his Sculler. He plays a Scourglass.

I play Bloodbraid Elf, hoping for a Boggart Ram-Gang, but instead hit Putrid Leech. I swing with my three guys. I expect him to block at 10 life, but he forgets about Putrid Leech's pumping, takes the hit, and dies.

2-0.

Match 3: Ace of Spades (Faeries)

I play a Turn 3 Great Sable Stag and apologise. He passes. I plays Bloodbraid Elf into Boggart Ram-Gang, and he Broken Ambitions the Ram-Gang. I swing for 6. Next turn I play Bloodbraid Elf into a Fallout, which I deign not to play. He Peppersmokes Boggart Ram-Gang and goes to 3, and concedes next turn.

(No sideboarding)

He plays Turn 1 Thoughtseize, revealing Putrid Leech, Bloodbraid Elf, Bituminous Blast, and lands. He takes the Putrid Leech, but I draw a duplicate next turn, and play it Turn 2. He passes. I play Sygg, and swing with the Leech for 4. I end the turn, drawing off Sygg. He plays a Bitterblossom. I topdeck Maelstrom Pulse and play it, and he casts Flashfreeze on it. I swing him to 9, pass, and draw off Sygg.

He passes. I swing, he flashes in a Scion and blocks a guy with the token. After combat, I Bituminous Blast it, cascading into a Boggart Ram-Gang. I end the turn.

He Agony Warps my Ram-Gang and passes. I play Bloodbraid Elf into Putrid Leech. He Cryptic Commands the Bloodbraid Elf and taps my guys. I pass. On my upkeep, he Mistbind Cliques. I swing with the Leeches, and he blocks with a Clique and a token. I pump the one blocked by Clique and both die. Next turn, he Mistbind Cliques in my upkeep. I attack with Putrid Leech. He blocks, and I kill the Clique again. I cast Bloodbraid Elf into Great Sable Stag and swing. He blocks, goes to 2 from Bitterblossom, draws, and concedes.

3-0

Match 4: Ace of Spades (Five-Color Control)

Ace of Spades asks me for another set. I explain I'm doing coverage for a blog, but will gladly play him if he switches decks. He offers to let me switch too, but of course I decline.

Game 1 I play a Turn 3 Putrid Leech. When I swing, he casts Plumeveil. I pump it and both die. I play Sign in Blood and pass. He passes. I play Bloodbraid Elf into Great Sable Stag and swing for 3. He takes it, then plays Hallowed Burial.

I play a Great Sable Stag and pass. He evokes a Mulldrifter and passes. I swing him to 14. He untaps, and Cruels me. In response I cast all my burn: 2 Lightning Bolts and a Volcanic Fallout. My guys die, my hand is discarded, he goes to 11, and I go to 9. I've never won a game where Cruel resolved against me, but I fight on anyway. I play a Sygg, and pass. He passes, and I play Great Sable Stag and pass. He plays an end of turn Plumeveil, then Cruels me again. I swing him down to 13, and play Putrid Leech. He plays Essence Scatter. He evokes a Mulldrifter, plays Broodmate Dragon, and I concede.

Sideboard: +1 Maelstrom Pulse, +3 Anathemancer, -4 Volcanic Fallout

Game 2 I play a Turn 2 Sign in Blood. He passes. I play Sygg, he passes. I play Great Sable Stag, and he plays an end of turn Esper Charm to make me discard. I discard Bituminous Blast and Anathemancer. He evokes a Mulldrifter. I swing for 4 and pass, drawing off Sygg. He Esper Charms himself and passes. I play Boggart Ram-Gang and swing him to nine. He plays Hallowed Burial. I Lightning Bolt him twice, then play Anathemancer for the win.

Game 3 we play land-go for a few turns. Then he evokes a Mulldrifter. I play Great Sable Stag and pass. He plays Runed Halo naming Great Sable Stag. I cast Maelstrom Pulse and swing. He plays a full Mulldrifter. In my turn I Bituminous Blast it, cascading into a Sign in Blood, which I cast. I swing. He plays Broodmate Dragon and passes.

I play another Bituminous Blast, hitting the non-black one (since I have Great Sable Stag) and cascade into a Boggart Ram-Gang. He blocks it, and his Broodmate becomes a 1/1. He draws, and plays Puppeteer Clique to steal Boggart Ram-Gang. He swings me for 3. Next turn I untap, swing with Great Sable Stag knocking him to 8, play Anathemancer for 7, then Lightning Bolt for the win.

4-0!

So as you can see, not only did all 4 decks I faced have blue and black in it, but I also won every single match I played. If I were to play this deck at a PTQ or FNM, I'd add the Anathemancers maindeck and put the Fallouts in the sideboard. They're simply less necessary now, with the rise of Five-Color Control, and Anathemancer was powerful in just about every match. I'd also add a fourth Anathemancer. They're very, very good. I might also replace the Kitchen Finks in the sideboard with something else, but I'm not sure what yet.

Lessons I've Learnt Today:

Always force your opponent to play through his mistakes, or he'll think he has the right to do it again. (I left this match).

Anathemancer is even better than I thought. Same with Sygg.

Jund is my deck of choice. If I had the money, I'd build it, and even take it to a local PTQ. I wonder if Jeremy has a Jund mana base...I have 3 Pulses after all...

Question for the Readers!

Many of my articles are far longer than I expected to write regularly: over a thousand words. I don't mind this, in fact, I can keep it up quite easily. However, they might be too long for you guys: and that's what this blog is for. The people. So tell me: is this blog too long? Should I save the long posts for special occasions, and are the match reports to detailed?

I always accept critique, but this time I'm openly asking for praise or criticism. Please leave a comment, and leave your two cents. You can comment anonymously.

Thank you,

Jay Bailey (Mtgsalivanth)

Next Level Faeries: First Impressions

Well, I've tested Next Level Faeries a bit today, and I've come to the following conclusion: it is awesome.

I changed the list slightly since yesterday. Here's the list I tested with for all the matches today:

Lands (25)

4 Cascade Bluffs

4 Crumbling Necropolis

3 Island

1 Mountain

4 Reflecting Pool

4 Secluded Glen

4 Sunken Ruins

1 Swamp

Creatures (13)

4 Mistbind Clique

3 Scion of Oona

2 Sower of Temptation

3 Spellstutter Sprite

1 Vendilion Clique

Spells (22)

4 Bitterblossom

3 Broken Ambitions

4 Cryptic Command

3 Firespout

4 Lightning Bolt

2 Terminate

Sideboard (15)

4 Anathemancer

3 Double Negative

2 Glen Elendra Archmage

2 Jace Beleren

2 Sower of Temptation

1 Flashfreeze

1 Puppeteer Clique

We have the decklist, now let's justify it's existence. Into the testing!

Match 1 vs. Elf Combo

He starts out fast and I start out slow. He plays 2 Elvish Visionaries, a Llanowar Elf, and a Devoted Druid. I kill the Devoted Druid with Lightning Bolt and play Bitterblossom. I Spellstutter Sprite a Heritage Druid, and flash in a Scion of Oona so I can block a Visionary with my now 2/2 token. He plays Heritage Druid and Ranger of Eos for 2 Nettle Sentinels and hits me to 11 next turn. I play another Scion of Oona and use my 3/3 army to swing for lethal.

Game 2, I sideboard in a Flashfreeze for a Terminate.

He plays 2 Llanowar Elves and Heritage Druid while I build my manabase. He plays Eos and Nettle Sentinel, and I sprite the Sentinel. After he draws, I Vendilion Clique him, seeing a Mirror Entity, Regal Force, Nettle Sentinel and Dauntless Escort. I toss the Regal Force (normally, I'd toss the Entity, but I have a Sower in hand which at the moment appears my one chance to win the game).

I block Ranger of Eos with the Clique, and he plays out his hand. I use Sower of Temptation to steal Mirror Entity. He plays an Imperious perfect and I take 7. He passes, and so do I. He plays Coat of Arms, setting himself up for a blowout Cryptic Command, which I gratefully take, tapping his guys and countering the trumping artifact.

I pass, and he plays Mirror Entity. I Broken it for 2, forcing him to tap two Llanowar Elves or let it get countered. After a think, he taps the Elves and swings. I flash in a Scion and block the Perfect with a 3/3 Sower, and he sacs the Escort to save it. I untap, activate Mirror Entity for all 6 of my mana, and swing with a 6/6 Scion, 7/7 Sower and 7/7 Sprite to win the game and the match.

1-0.

Match 2 vs. U/B Mill

I mulligan to 5. Not good. He plays a Turn 2 Howling Mine, and I flash in a Spellstutter Sprite. I swing, and pass. He passes, and I flash in a Scion. I swing for 3. He plays Infest. I use Cryptic Command, and he Countersqualls it. I pass. He plays Jace, which I Broken Ambitions, and he uses another Countersquall. He uses it's +2 ability, and I use double Lightning Bolt to kill it. I play Bitterblossom.

He untaps, and plays Time Warp go, Time Warp go, Wall of Frost (keeping in mind he's drawing 2 cards per turn off Howling Mine) and says go. I pass. He plays Mind Funeral, and Twincasts it, leaving me with 27 cards left in my deck. I play Mistbind Clique, which gets Essence Scattered. He passes, and my second Clique also gets Scattered. My Cryptic Command gets Countersqualled, and the same thing happens AGAIN next turn.

He plays Mind Funeral and mills 4 land in a row, but then plays another Mind Funeral dropping me to 6 cards. I play all my Faeries, but am unable to find the last Scion I need to win the game before I run out of cards.

Game 2 I side out my Firespouts, Sowers and Terminates for Glen Elendra Archmage, Double Negative and Anathemancer. He's not running many nonbasics, but it's better than a 4 mana 2/2.

I play a Turn 2 Bitterblossom, which he finds hard to deal with. He plays Howling Mine. I pass, and he goes for a second. I use Spellstutter Sprite, and Bolt him down to 17. I swing, and flash in a Scion. He plays Mind Funeral milling me for about twelve cards, and I swing for 7. Failing to find an answer at 10, facing 9 damage next turn and a Lightning Bolt as soon as I draw it, he concedes.

Game 3

I mulligan to 5 again, but he plays Turn 2 Howling Mine, alleviating my concerns of mana screw. I play Turn 2 Bitterblossom. He plays Turn 3 Howling Mine, and I match it with a second Bitterblossom! I start swinging in earnest, including a Spellstutter Sprite flashed in at EOT. He plays MF + Twincast for 22 cards. I take advantage of his being tapped out and swing with 6 Faeries, flash in a Scion of Oona, and play Lightning Bolt to take out his last 15 life in one hit.

Afterwards he showed me an Infest, and says he knew he should have played it, and that he made a mistake. I agree, tell him he'll get better with more testing, and we part ways.

2-0.

Match 3 vs. B/W Discard

He has an evil little deck with Duress, Thoughtseize and Scepter of Fugue, with Nyxathid and Baneslayer Angel as finishers.

Game 1 he plays Thoughtseize for my Turn 2 play, then Sign in Blood, then Scepter of Fugue, then Duress. I've basically already lost this game. He plays Thoughtseize, which I Broken, then play Bitterblossom. I go for a Mistbind Clique on his upkeep and he Doom Blades it. He takes my last card in hand with Scepter and plays Nyxathid. Next turn he plays Baneslayer Angel. I use Vendilion Clique to reveal 2 Path to Exile and Mind Shatter. I keep playing to find out what else is in his deck, but he plays a second Nyxathid and I scoop.

I sideboard out Firespouts for Anathemancers and something else for Archmages.

Game 2 he plays Scepter of Fugue, and I play Anathemancer Turn 3 and Archmage Turn 4. He plays double Path to Exile, and I play a second Archmage. I play Lightning Bolt, and hit him to 14, then play Jace, last card in hand. He plays Baneslayer Angel a couple of turns later. I use a third -1 to kill my Jace, then play another one from my hand and draw with that. He Paths my Archmage and kills Jace, then plays a second Baneslayer Angel. I play Bitterblossom. He purges it, and that's the game right there.

2-1.

Match 4 vs. Grixis Mannequin

At first I think it's the mirror match Game 1 as we both play identical lands. I play a Jace, which gets Broken Ambitioned, and then he evokes a drifter. I play Jace 2, and he plays Mulldrifter at full price. I Sower it, and use Jace's +2 to go to 3 counters. He evokes Shriekmaw to kill my Sower, and I play end of turn Spellstutter Sprite, which gets through, and end of turn Scion, which gets hit with Double Negative. I use Terminate and Mistbind Clique when he taps out, and he uses Cruel Ultimatum. Ow.

I've never, ever won a game where my opponent has resolved Cruel Ultimatum. Nor have I lost a duel where I resolved it. But I play on anyway. I Mistbind Clique my last guy, and pass. He evokes Shriekmaw to kill it and then plays a full-price Mulldrifter. I use Sower of Temptation, and he uses Bogardan Hellkite to kill Sower and Jace. I draw land, Broken Ambitions, and Bitterblossom and die to the dragon.

Game 2 I sideboard in my Puppeteer Clique and my Flashfreeze for Firespouts. I might have sided in Archmages too. Can't remember.

Game 2 I play Bitterblossom, and he passes for a couple of turns. I start attacking. When he evokes a Mulldrifter, I Spellstutter Sprite it. I Puppeteer Clique his Mulldrifter and swing. He plays a Mulldrifter and I Bolt it, and he concedes, and just like that it's on to Game 3.

Game 3 I play a Bitterblossom, and he uses Broken Ambitions. He gets stuck on 3 mana, and I play Jace. He draws a Crumbling Necropolis as his fourth mana, and I use Jace and pass. He Makeshift Mannequins for a discarded Hellkite, and I Cryptic Command it. He Makeshift Mannequins during his turn for a Hellkite, killing Jace. I Lightning Bolt it, and it dies thanks to the mannequin counter on it. I draw into a second Mistbind Clique with no other Fae, but I've drawn lots of lands with Jace, thinning my deck.

I draw the bomb, playing Puppeteer Clique. By some miracle it resolves, and I aim the Hellkite squarely at his face, knocking off half his life total. Next turn I Terminate my own Clique, stealing his Mulldrifter. I swing, he uses Volcanic Fallout. I CC to bounce my Clique and draw, and he Fallouts in response. Fine by me. He drops to 6, and I play the double Lightning Bolts I'd been saving in my hand for the win.

3-1.

So all in all I'd say that Lightning Bolt is very useful in the Faeries deck, and I would continue to use it if I was a Fae player. I might also consider taking out a Firespout and Terminate for 2 Time Warps, and 2 Double Negatives in the sideboard for Firespouts, which without green mana can't hit any of your guys! I think with tuning and testing, Next Level Faeries is a viable deck for FNM or even a PTQ. I'd love to hear any success you have with the deck, either by Twitter (my username is mtgsalivanth) by blog comment, or by e-mail (at www.salivanth@live.com).

Until next time, may you test before taking my word for it:)

Lessons I've Learnt Today:

It can be very hard to get people to play a match to conclusion in MWS. Especially if it's your last match of the day.

Lightning Bolt is AWESOME. Terminate is less awesome due to the mana, and nonblack is almost never relevant. I would consider replacing it with Doom Blade maindeck.

Grixis Mannequin runs Cruel Ultimatum! Don't tap out against it!

Time Warp + Howling Mine is a powerful tempo boost.

See you tomorrow!

Faeries Never Dies!

Faeries is dead. Dead as a doornail, dead as Elvis, dead as the dinosaurs. Right?

I seem to remember this stuff being said before. Oh that's right. It was after Conflux, when Volcanic Fallout came out. Of course, Great Sable Stag is in a whole new level. Faeries can still survive. But it has to change a bit. It has to give a little to get a little. And that little is a little thing called Lightning Bolt.

As Wizards probably intended, Lightning Bolt is the perfect answer to Great Sable Stag. For one mana, it kills it. And in this world where playing UUU, WW, GG and RR in the same deck is perfectly reasonable, we can pretty easily make a splash for some of Red's greatest.

Here's the list that came 5th at France's Nationals. (Two other Fae decks placed higher, but they used Time Warp, and we're going with a tried and true build here.)

Creatures
4 Mistbind Clique
3 Scion Of Oona
2 Sower Of Temptation
4 Spellstutter Sprite

Instants
4 Agony Warp
3 Broken Ambitions
4 Cryptic Command

Legendary Creatures
2 Vendilion Clique

Planeswalkers
2 Jace Beleren

Tribal Enchantments
4 Bitterblossom

Tribal Instants
3 Peppersmoke

Basic Lands
5 Island
3 Swamp

Lands
4 Drowned Catacomb
1 Gargoyle Castle
4 Mutavault
4 Secluded Glen
4 Sunken Ruins

Sideboard:
2 Puppeteer Clique
1 Sower Of Temptation
3 Stillmoon Cavalier
3 Countersquall
3 Flashfreeze
3 Thoughtseize

Not bad, but with 3 Fae decks in the Top 8, I think that GSS is more popular in America than France. Since most of my readers are American, we need to tune it to the GSS-stuffed metagame.

Here's my proposed list:

Next Level Faeries:

Creatures
4 Mistbind Clique
3 Scion Of Oona
2 Sower Of Temptation
4 Spellstutter Sprite

Instants

3 Broken Ambitions
4 Cryptic Command

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Terminate

Legendary Creatures
2 Vendilion Clique

Planeswalkers
2 Jace Beleren

Tribal Enchantments
4 Bitterblossom

Basic Lands
2 Island
2 Swamp
1 Mountain

Lands

3 Cascade Bluffs

4 Crumbling Necropolis

4 Drowned Catacomb
1 Mutavault

4 Secluded Glen
4 Sunken Ruins

Sideboard:
2 Puppeteer Clique
4 Anathemancer

3 Glen Elendra Archmage
3 Flashfreeze
3 Double Negative

I haven't actually tested this list yet, but I intend to once Magic Workstation decides to be nice. Sometime in the next few days I'll post a report of the testing. I'm sure I'll come into direct contact with Great Sable Stags. In the meantime, feel free to test and adjust the decklist yourselves. The sideboard of this deck is tuned towards Jund and Five-Color decks specifically, since they'll show up in big numbers at PTQ's and other events, which is what this list is aimed towards. I hope it does well for you.

I like Faeries. I think it has it's place in the metagame. It's a good foil to Five-Color, which has now risen to dominance. Hopefully this can bring it back as a Tier 1 strategy.

Until next time, may what you thought was dead rise from the grave.

Lessons I've Learnt Today:

I intend to make this a regular posting whenever I learn something about Magic, so I can share it with all of you. Some of these lessons aren't from today, but I'm catching up.

Never, ever, play Cruel if you even think the opponent might have a possibility of having a counter. Especially if he plays 5CC better than you.

Ajani Goldmane gaining life is actually good against Blightning. Especially if you defend him with Harm's Way. Eventually, they'll run out of gas and you can play a big-ass Avatar. Or a token generator and give the tokens +1/+1 countery goodness.

Figure of Destiny is absolutely nuts against 5CC. If you're at 6 mana, you have an 8/8 in 2 turns for one card.

Goldmeadow Stalwart isn't that good in a 14 Kithkin deck. Path to Exile and HW are better draws.

See you tomorrow!

The 10 Levels Of Magic Mistakes

Magic is a game of increasing perfection. The players who win more make less mistakes than those who win less. The more mistakes you eliminate from your play, the better you will become. However, not all mistakes are made equal. A new player will make mistakes you never will, and the top players in the world will eliminate mistakes you don't even know exist.

I am not a top player, so I will not be able to fully detail this system, but I present, to the best of my ability, the 10 levels of Magic mistakes. Generally, a player will almost never make mistakes two or more levels below them, occasionally make a mistake one level below them, and fairly often make mistakes at their level. They will almost always make mistakes above their level: catching a mistake at the level above you often makes you a better player.

Level 1: The Basics

Level 1. Most players who read this blog will never make a mistake at this level, as it has become subconscious. This includes things like remembering the steps of a turn, drawing your card, untapping mana, and playing lands and spells (not necessarily the RIGHT spells, just remembering to play them). Players at Level 1 are the ones still learning the game. They haven't yet achieved competence. If you're at this level, focus on mastering the basics so you don't forget them.

Level 2: Low-Level Strategy

Level 2. This is the level of playing Magic not just properly, but correctly. Again, most people reading this blog will have achieved mastery of this level. This level includes areas like playing spells after combat, playing instants on your opponent's turn, and countering / killing threatening cards. As a litmus test to see if a player has passed this level, generally someone who chump blocks at 18 life or trades their 3/2 for your 2/2 at 15+ life hasn't achieved this. A part of low-level strategy is resource management: mana and life. Card advantage doesn't come into play just yet. If you're at this level, focus on doing the most with your resources at the most advantageous times.

Level 3: Mechanics

Level 3. A player at this level will start being interested in the mechanics of the game. He starts learning and actually understanding (though not necessarily mastering) card advantage, card quality, mana curves, what you can expect at each mana cost, etc. He may begin reading Magic theory like this blog. He will understand why Enchant Creature cards are bad unless they're very high quality, and knows the advantage of combat tricks, even if he can't pull it off reliably yet. If you're at this level, focus on learning what makes the game tick, and what can give you an advantage.

Level 4: Outside the Game

Level 4. A player at this level has now gotten a thorough grounding of low-level concepts. He may still hit and miss on them, but he knows them and works on using them. A player at this level now realises that as good as they may play, there is room for improvement when not actually playing Magic. They start getting interested in deckbuilding, and in improving their decks. They begin to learn how to mulligan, and understand on some level the use of a sideboard. They know of the existence of a 'metagame', but they don't really understand it yet. A player at this level may start entering tournaments. If you're at this level, find a local tournament scene, and ask one of the players there to mentor you. A complete newbie won't benefit from this much, but you're now at the level where you can learn from them.

Level 5: Reading the Opponent

A player at this level has probably taken some tentative stabs at the tournament arena. They've probably been beaten a fair bit. Their mistakes are that they don't know what the opponent has, and probably haven't looked into it much. They start getting interested in this now. They start focusing not just on their play, but the opponent's. He learns the common cards a player might have, and knows to be wary if the opponent has mana up and cards in hand. If you're at this level, practice playing against some people that are less skilled than you and try to read what tricks they have. Once you've learnt how to, practice it on people at your level or higher.

Level 6: The Metagame

A player at this level now notices that powerful decks are played often, and remembers the metagame he's heard about. He starts researching, and slowly assimilating what he learns. It may take months to fully understand the metagame, but he's committed to doing it. His main mistakes at this level are not knowing what his opponent may have. At this level, a player may start playing a metagamed deck, and start doing better all of a sudden. If he can't do this, he'll at least be a better deckbuilder. They'll also start eliminating sideboarding mistakes. If you're at this level, focus on learning. If you can, go to a second tournament scene once in a while to expose yourself to more input.

Level 7: The Best Plays

A player at this level probably plays fairly well. But now they start looking toward the future. They start considering what the opponent may have when he gets to X mana, and conserve resources for a reason, not just because he knows he should. He'll get better at reading his opponents, and conserve the answer to a specific threat his foe has. Normally he couldn't do this, but now he knows the metagame. He can also play around tricks his foe may have. They may start becoming interested in more major tournaments, even though he probably isn't ready. If you're at this level, work on the skills you're already working on. Learn to experience the ebb and flow of the game. Also, pick one deck, and play it. A lot. Test it so you know how the deck works so you can make more intelligent predictions.

Level 8: Outplaying Your Opponent

At this point, a player has very good technical skills. Now he needs to put them to use. The next step is to recognise the mistakes your opponent is making and capitalise on them as best you can. You want to play not just as well as your opponent, but better than him. You want to win matches with your play skill, even if luck goes slightly against you. This is the level I am currently almost at: I'm in the transition. Because of this, I won't be able to write very much about the next levels. At this stage, you should be focusing on taking dominance over every part of the game, seeping into every area you can gain an advantage in, no matter how small (except cheating, of course!)

Level 9: Totality

At this level, you want to experience everything about every aspect of the game. You want to know where it's been, where it's at, where it's going, if that's good for you, how you can make it good for you if it's not, how to keep it there if it is, and what needs to happen for you to win. You should always read signals correctly in a draft and not be trapped in one that gets cut off. You should know exactly what you're doing at all times.

Level 10: Making Your Own Levels

At this level, you want to be at the forefront of Magic theory, inventing it, bettering it, and using theory the rest of the world doesn't even know yet. You should be able to progress in ways that lesser players can't even imagine. Lesser players may think you're playing suboptimally when in reality, you're playing at a level they can't possibly grasp.

There are almost certainly more levels even beyond Level 10, but I don't know them, and I'm not going to lie and say I do. I hope this has been an entertaining read for you all. An interesting exercise for you is to go back and remember your own progression through each level: it's quite interesting. I remember the moment it sunk in not to play instants as sorceries:)

Until next time, may you reach the next level.

Tournament Report: August Week 1

There are a few advantages to getting your teammate to give you your deck at the event, but one major disadvantage. Unless you manage to get the answer out of him beforehand, you don't know what deck you'll be playing. As soon as I get all the cards for the Kithkin list I intend for that to change, and fast.

I showed up to the event, only to find that I would end up playing Five-Color Control, not exactly the deck of choice to play without testing. I became a bit more confident after demolishing Jeremy's Blightning deck in 3 straight games with it, however.

Quick aside: my team is composed of:

Me. I'd like to think I'm the best player out of the three, but I may be wrong. Adam's fairly skilled. My main problem is a lack of money so I can't play top-tier decks. This problem has been alleviated since I joined the team (the name is still up for debate).

Jeremy Tjaardstrada. I think that's how you spell it. Jeremy has a few competitive decks at any given time since he varies between playing them a lot. This is helpful for the team because we get to play a larger selection. He usually goes 1-3 or 2-2 at events though, and I routinely beat him. He's good, but he doesn't put in as much effort to seriously improve his game.

Adam Sesperez. A new addition to the team, me and Jeremy have known him for a while. He usually plays Merfolk or an artifact deck: he likes the Tier 2 strategies. No idea if that will change now or not. He's an experienced, skilled Magic player.

So I have a Five-Color Control deck with a suspicious lack of M10 tech (no Great Sable Stags in the SB, and no Bolts) and not all the choices I would have agreed with (no Anathemancer in the main, only one in the sideboard). But hey, what can you do, right? Pairings are drawn for Round 1 and we get underway.

Round 1 I play Jared Buellesbach. Jared is one of the better players at our store, but I've inched my way ahead of him slowly. He always plays an aggressive Red deck of some sort.

Game 1: He plays Vexing Shusher and Rise of the Hobgoblins(?). I Pulse his Shusher and take a few damage from the token. He Flame Javelins and bashes me to 13, at which point I drop a Broodmate Dragon. He uses a combination of a Mutavault and Redcap to kill my Broodmate Dragon, and I start swinging. He tries to Bolt my other one after blockers, but I Cryptic Command it, and bash him to 8. He tries for a Rise of the Hobgoblins, I Broken it and reveal a Broodmate. He concedes.

SB: In: 2 Jund Charm, 3 Firespout, 2 Celestial Purge. Out: 2 Hallowed Burial, 4 Mulldrifter, 1 Essence Scatter (remember, I'm unfamiliar with the deck. I'm almost certain these choices are wrong, but I don't know what was correct)

Game 2 we play land-go for a while. Turn 3 he lays a Dragon Fodder. I Jund Charm his guys in response to attackers, and he Javelins me to 16. He bashes me down to 13 with Ram-Gang, and on his second swing I cast Plumeveil to block. He Bolts it to finish it off. He plays a Shusher, and when he attacks I use another Plumeveil. He has nothing except Tattermunge Maniac, which he has to attack with. I block, and use EOT Esper Charm to draw two. I lay a Wall of Reverence, and at 13 life, about to gain 4 per turn, he concedes the match.

At this point I stop taking detailed notes and start taking briefer ones.

Round 2 I go up against Desmond Ng, a member of Team OMG, and a powerful opponent. Game 1 we have a long standoff, and I gain loads of life from double Wall of Reverence, until I stupidly go for a Cruel. He counters it, then Cruels me back, plays Ajani, blows up my lands, and plays Liliana. Faced with Broodmate death over the next 10 turns or so, I concede. That one was purely my fault.

I don't know what I SB'd out, but I sided in Anathemancer and Purges.

Game 2 is very uneventful. He plays Great Sable Stag and bashes me to death. My only answer is Hallowed Burial, which I don't find. I go to X-1.

Round 3 I go up against Justin Cheung, one of the top-rated players in Australia. Just my luck, eh? He's playing Five-Color Blood, though thanks to Gilt-Leaf Palace and Twilight Mire I think he's playing G/B Elves, then Jund Elves, then it finally sinks in halfway into Game 1. His Anathemancers hurt me quite badly, but I drop Obelisk of Alara and claw my way, agonisingly, to victory. It was a very long game, and we go to Game 2.

Game 2 he plays Great Sable Stag, then ANOTHER Great Sable Stag. I learnt my lesson and sided in Firespouts this time, but don't find them.

Game 3 I remember him playing a GSS and me Firespouting it, but little else. I got a Cruel off at some point, but that's the only damage I ever did to him and I got bashed to death.

Round 4, I'm now 1-2, and I go up against Tim Burke. Tim is a former National Champion, and an exceptionally good Legacy player, but he's not much for T2 anymore. Since there are no Legacy events where I live, he's getting back into it.

From the first turn I know what he's playing. As I expected, it's Elf Combo, the only Tier 1 deck that Standard and Legacy both play.

Game 1: He starts off with Nettle Sentinel, and I lay a couple of lands. He plays double Elvish Archdruid and I'm worried about him going off, but instead he bashes me for 11. I pray, and crack a Hallowed Burial off the top. He fights some more, but he's in topdeck mode and I play a Broodmate that gets there.

Game 2 I sideboard in Firespouts and Jund Charms for Plumeveils and Walls of Reverence.

He does well in this, but I draw about 3 sweepers. Heritage Druid and Nettle Sentinel get Jund Charmed, Ranger of Eos + 2 Llanowar Elves get hit with Firespout, and I have Hallowed Burial in reserve. I counter his Ranger of Eos #2, and bash him with Broodmate despite a Regal Force landing. I end the tournament 2-2. I come 6th, however, top of the 2-2's, since I played up in Rounds 2 and 3.

Then it's time for a wait before the draft. The draft is triple M10, which is good for me. I love to draft M10, and I'm pretty good at it. I usually end up with a U/B deck, but this draft may be different.

During the draft I open a Great Sable Stag first pack, first pick. So naturally, I take it. I get passed a green fattie, a decent red guy, and then, somehow, a Lightning Bolt fourth pick. I take this to mean red's wide open and set myself up for R/G.

Unfortunately, in Pack 2 it totally, TOTALLY dries up. I get almost nothing from this pack, and have to hope Pack 3 ties it together.

And boy does it. I crack Platinum Angel, which I draft instead of a great red card, because I absolutely could not resist. I also get passed some Craw Wurms, and an Enormous Baloth.

At the end of the draft I'm short a lot of playables and am forced to maindeck Dragon's Claw and Ignite Disorder. However I'm very confident that once it hits 6 mana my deck is unstoppable. I play 18 lands, including a Gargoyle Castle I was fortunate enough to grab. I have mixed feelings about my deck, but it's time to draft!

Match 1 I play Jarred Mack, a guy I haven't seen around before. Game 1, the deck works exactly as I expect. I take some early damage from Child of Night (he's playing B/R) before stabilising with a 3/3, and then start dropping Craw Wurms, Berserkers of Blood Ridge, and an Inferno Elemental. I start bashing him, but he clogs the ground. I drop Platinum Angel one turn, crack my Gargoyle the next turn, and it's all over in short order.

Game 2 was a long and difficult one. I mull to 6, and he keeps. We both get manascrewed, but me a bit more than him. I get Land 3 after a couple of turns, and start laying guys when I get a Forest. I gain about 8 life from Dragon's Claw in this game. We fight back and forth with creatures, him getting my 4/4 with a Kindled Fury. He plays Acolyte of Xathrid and Prodigal Pyromancer and starts pinging me. I play a Craw Wurm, but he drops Ball Lightning. I drop dangerously low, still being pinged, and have to block Lightning with Craw Wurm. I drop another one, and a Baloth, and I might win the race, but then he plays Wall of Bone to stop half my offence, and I lose.

Game 3, in an anticlimax, wasn't very fun. I mulliganed to 5 and didn't draw any good cards all game. He, on the other hand, curved out well and blew me over in short order.

Round 2, I play Desmond again, but I have a decent chance to beat him in Draft if I play well.

Game 1 we both play Awakener Druids. He kills mine, but I get it back with Nature's Spiral and Oakenform it after replaying it. A creature stall develops, and while I'm searching for a Platinum Angel to blow it open, he plays Overrun, and I die.

Game 2 we both keep. We start out playing small guys and trading a lot. I start getting guys out. I play a Baloth, and he Fireballs it for 7! I play a Craw Wurm which gets double blocked, then I topdeck Platinum Angel. I play it. He plays Overrun and swings. I drop to -2, and bash him to 7. I activate my Gargoyle Castle, giving him one turn to find a removal spell. He doesn't. On to Game 3!

In Game 3, he keeps, and I mulligan to 6. Not only that, I get stuck on 4 mana. I get my fifth in a couple of turns though, and begin playing big guys. In desperation, he Overruns, but I sac 3 creatures to kill 2 of his and take 6 from the last guy. I could have taken more but knew he had Fireball, so I was playing around it. I then play a Craw Wurm, and a Baloth, and he dies beneath my onslaught of giant men.

Round 3 I play Bret Willcocks. Bret's a fun guy to play, in Constructed and Limited. I usually beat him but occasionally he'll just blow me away.

Game 1 we both keep, and he's playing mono-blue. He plays a Snapping Drake and Alluring Siren, but I Ignite Disorder to kill both of them. I play a Craw Wurm, and he Clones it. I play another Craw Wurm, and our Craw Wurms trade. I pop a GC, and I've got the board advantage and win, despite his chump blocking with 1/1 fliers.

Game 2 I accidentally flip a Forest, revealing his secret sideboard plan. Not that I can do anything with the knowledge. However, to be fair I show him the Windstorm that I sided in. It's FNM so I don't get a game loss, but I do need to be more careful.

We both play small creatures, and a lot of trading happens as we fight back and forth, neither of us taking damage. I play a Craw Wurm but he Mind Controls it. I force a trade with my 4/4, and play another 4/4. From there I don't really know what happened. He just ran out of guys. One minute it was an even fight, the next I had him backpedalling. It was pretty weird, but I suppose someone at a higher level of skill than me would be able to identify what critical thing went wrong for Bret. (More on this topic in the strategy article tomorrow) And then the draft ends, and I'm 2-1.

It's a happy ending though, as the 2 OMG members who come 1st and 2nd already have playsets of Honor of the Pure, and the one who comes third takes Goblin Warchief for his deck, so I take a miracle 4th-pick Honor of the Pure, so I now have 2 out of the 4 I need.

All in all, it was a fairly good day, although 4-3 is actually a bit on the low spectrum for me: I usually go around 5-2. Still, I'm happy with my result, and especially with my Honor of the Pure, which I'll put to excellent use next Saturday.

Join me tomorrow, when I'll start talking Magic strategy.

Until next time, may your topdecks be awesome and your play be spot-on.