I got 4th in a small 4-round FNM the first time here playing the deck. Round 1 was against Tron. We technically drew in games, but he gave the win to me since there was a lot of slow play involved. Some of it was on my side since I hadn't played this deck before, but most of it was on his since he was also new to his deck. Round 2 I faced UW control and drew in 3 games. Control seems like a tough matchup, and I wasn't sure what to side in besides a few Nature's Claims. I won game 1 easily but threw game 2 away by not respecting Settle the Wreckage. Game 3 went to rounds and there wasn't anything I could do. Had we had more time he would have got it though, so I'll need to research that matchup more in depth for the future. Round 3 I was against Bant Spirits and it wasn't very close. Game 1 I had a Stinkweed Imp doing blocking duty and was waiting until a large Conflagrate could clear the way. He couldn't get through or find hexproof for his guys so he was out of luck. Game 2 I found a Darkblast in my opening hand along with Abrupt Decay, which was how the first 2 turns went after he played Mausoleum Wanderer then a 2 mana lord. His turn 3 was a Selfless Spirit and I just dredged my Darkblast back and he conceded. It was likely early for him since I didn't have any pressure, but the lost tempo likely was what would have done him in. Round 4 was against Whir Prison, and this match felt like the toughest one of the night. Even bringing in 8 removal spells felt like not enough, and he was able to get the lock game 1 (Bottled Cloister, Ensnaring Bridge, Witchbane Orb). Game 2 was back and forth, with me finding grudges for his stuff and him not finding more than 1 Bridge. Game 3 was a grind, but I ultimately miscounted how many Creeping Chills I had played, and dredged one too many times. Whir Prison seems like one of the best decks in the format. It almost made me want to sleeve up Ponza again since I have Shatterstorms in the SB which is the only card that truly hoses the Whir Prison deck. I know I played bad, doing too much before my attack and missing lines with flashbacked Faithless Lootings. Hopefully after a few more reps I'll work out the kinks and place better (only top 3 get non-promo prizes in my shop). My end record was 2-1-1, and there were other draws going on that day due to the new guy on Whir Prison. I may need to break down and get Opals to give that deck a shot. It seems VERY strong.
