Grid Games in Manchester, Connecticut on July 9, 2011
Why am I writing this / Who am I?I’m writing this because I love the game and sharing those “omg that was intense” moments. I use to play a lot of competitive vintage, but now I go to a prerelease one every couple of years. None of my close friends still play Magic, so I am writing this to share amongst the internet for anyone interested. There’s nothing like the adrenaline you get from playing cards / casting spells in an epic duel between two planewalkers right? (for reference, from the Ice Age rulebook, each player is a planeswalker… idk wtf this Jace Mind Sculptor crap I hear about is
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And for anyone interested in my Vintage history… I am known for playing budget decks and winning two Mana Drain Opens with them circa 2005. The first win, I converted FCG (Food Chain Goblins) to Type 1. The second win, I invented WU TANG (White Blue Tech and Ninjas Gay) Fish.
Sealed Deck, 2012 Prerelease: White-Black Weenie Rush (Lowest to Highest CMC):
2x Gideon Lawkeeper
2x Stormfront Pegasus
1x Blood Seeker
1x Grand Abolisher
1x Griffin Rider
1x Duskhunter Bat
2x Devouring Swarm
1x Griffin Sentinel
1x Auramancer
1x Gravedigger
1x Peregrine Griffin
2x Siege Mastodon
2x Stave Off
1x Sorin’s Thirst
1x Distress
1x Mind Rot
1x Spirit Mantle
1x Dark Favor
1x Sorin’s Vengenace
SB:
1x Call to the Grave
1x Zombie Infestation
1x Pride Guardian
1x Celestial Purge
1x Divine Favor
While others were opening Flameblaster Dragons and various Titans, I got Sorin’s Vengeance. My initial plan was to quickly deal 10 damage, then blast them with Sorin. In the end, it turns out all I needed was my pairs of lawkeepers, pegasi, and swarms.
I was initially skeptical of the Devouring Swarms, enchant-creature-auras, and zombie infestation… but they came through in the end. To my surprise, I came in first place while playing a deck with 1 removal spell and 2 enchant creatures. You don’t need mythic rares to win! Everyone played pack wars with their winnings in the end.
I liked the mixed crowd at the store. Young ones and old ones. I met up with a friend who also only plays prereleases. My favorite people are the old guys though. They are the guys who had played Magic in years past and are retired from the workforce, but they keep playing because it keeps their mind sharp. I talk about the old days of Magic with them, they fill me in on some new stuff, and the tournament starts.
Round 1: Brendan with White/Blue (2-1) Game 1: Brendan plays land go for about 6 turns while my Pegasus stomps on him. The best play of the game… his Elite Vanguard wielding a Greatsword versus my Peregrine Griffin. My guy gets turned into a frog, but then I cast Stave Off to give the frog protection from white. The swarm of creatures overwhelms him.
Game 2: My fast Pegasus gets sent to the Oblivion Ring. Meanwhile, he drops Quicksilver Amulet and Fact or Faction Sphinx (Sphinx of Uthuun). My lawkeepers keep him in check, until he drops a Grand Abolisher. I am amazed that he opened 6 rares which are all in his deck.
Game 3: I don’t come out as fast I would like in this game. I end up casting a Distress and nap his Quicksilver Amulet because he’s lacking blue mana. Eventually we both stabilize and it becomes a creature race. Flyers are trading and dropping out of the air on both sides. He is at 11 and I am at 8. He’s got fatties clogging up the ground while all I have are measly 2/1 flyers. He taps out for more creatures. I show him my only playable rare and he cries because he had the counterspell for it in hand. He goes to 1 and I go to 18. The creature race doesn’t matter anymore. I cast Bloodseeker and he can’t cast creatures anymore or he will die. Our creatures trade in the air, but one of mine eventually gets through.
I love that adrenaline you get, coming back from the brinks of death.
Round 2: Ryan with Red/White (2-1) Game 1: My pegasus and Devouring Swarms are pecking away at his life, but his firebreathing Fiery Hellhound is taking chunks out of me. Granting his creature first strike with Slaughter Cry annihilates some of my men and the ground begins to get clogged with men. Eventually I am able to swing over with a swarm, respond to his Chandra’s Outrage by sacrificing all my men and do the necessary 7 damage to kill him.
Game 2: My Pride Guardian holds off his Goblin Arsonist. He destroys my awesome man-wall with an Outrage, gets the arsonist in, and casts Gorehorn Minotaurs. I cry but I stabilize with lawkeepers as he throws down Bonebreaker Giant and Flameblaster Dragon as well. I eventually succumb to the mass of fatties, and die from a Fling to my face.
Game 3: I get an early Blood Seeker attacking, and Ryan trades his lawkeeper for it. I get a few swings in with Griffin Sentinel and Dark Favor. Flying 4/4 Vigilance isn’t too shabby, but then I realize why Creature Auras are so unpopular when my man dies – very unfortunate card advantage. A multitude of creatures trade and die in battle, but my lawkeeper keeps his big men and Flameblaster Dragon from entering the red zone. My tapper is eventually Shocked but it is too late. His dragon blasts me for 10 damage to the face, dropping me to 4. I throw a Pegasus in the way of the beast. On my turn, I am able to send my remaining flyers over and finish him.
Ryan wishes he kept that lawkeeper. Another heartpounding game.
Round 3: Ken with Red/Blue (2-0) Game 1: He drops a Goblin Fireslinger which I immediately Sorin’s Thirst. I don’t want to see any bloodthirst shenanigans! A Lawkeeper and Pegasus swing over each turn as he sits on two mountains unfortunately.
Game 2: He gets Goblin Fireslinger going again and uses Aether Adept for some tempo advantage, but he has no gas. He throws me a Lava Axe but can’t do anything about my Mastodons and Flyers. Stave Off protects my men who finish him off.
Ken had very unfortunate draws. It was either mana screw or mana flood. He was unable to play his dragons and bloodthirsty beasts.
Round 4: Mike with Blue/Black/Splash-Red-For-Fireball (2-1) We shuffle and I mention that I forgot to sideboard out from last game. He says it doesn’t matter for prerelease games, and the tournament organizer agrees. I had also already presented my deck for my opponent to cut. I had unfortunately left a Zombie Infestation in my deck from the last game.
Game 1: My little flyers trade with Mike’s flyers, I get Spirit Mantle and my vigilant Griffin going. My joy is short lived after a Doom Blade takes the griffin down. I am sitting on three lands and cast a Zombie Infestation. Mike hits his land drops perfectly and plays Frost Titan, tapping out my only swamp, while I hold two swarms in hand. I am sitting at two life, while all my mana is spent on lawkeeper to hold back the titan. I eventually find more swamps and get my swarms going. However, Mike has continued to develop his board position much further than mine since I’ve been busy holding back his Titan. It’s a do-or-die situation as I swing my team over. He is unable to block one of my swarms. I discard my hand for zombie tokens, and sacrifice my entire team. The swarm is able to steal the victory!
As I am shuffling and sideboarding, Mike insists that I have gone over the three minutes allowed, which I did not know about. The TO tells him to chill out, and gives me a minute to finish.
Game 2: I am able to quickly drop Mike to 10 life, but he stabilizes with bigger flyers than me – Chasm and Skywinder Drakes. His Greatsword and Swiftfoot Boots are particularly troublesome. He is shocked that I continue to hold out with Gravedigger and additional blockers. I am so far behind, but if I can only draw Sorin’s Vengeance…
Game 3: I am stuck on three lands again but I am able to quickly drop an army of flyers. Mike destroys my first Pegasus with Deathmark, but I recast a second one. I Celestial Purge his Devouring Swarm and play a few of my own. Mike attempts to fireball my Pegasus, swarm, and lawkeeper – says they all die and go to the graveyard. I tell him to slow down, as my swarm stays alive by eating his fallen brethren. He continues to drop men – Warpath Ghoul and Jace’s Archivist – but they trade with my zombie token army. Crown of Empires is tapping down half my flyers. The life total ticker is going every turn … 20, 18, 16, 12, 8, 6, 4… He draws and plays Rune-Scarred Demon, then curses under his breath realizing that he had tapped out. He would be unable to stop both my swarms next turn. I leave mana open for Stave Off. One swarm is blocked, while the other makes it through and cannibalizes the other swarm. The final play is me discarding two lands for a zombie token, which is subsequently devoured by the swarm.
Long Live the Zerg Swarm!
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I want to conclude this story by saying that Magic is about fun. Show some good sportsmanship, or it will come back to bite you. Leave the arrogance out of the game. Also, Limited Magic 2012 is a surprisingly fun format! Very possible to win with consistency over bombs!
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy reading as I did writing/playing the tale of this planeswalker.
