Overall I went 2-2, which I’m not thrilled about, but I’m happy that the games I had were all very interactive and the losses I did have were things I can improve on.
0-2 vs The Mirror
As my opponent said several times during the match: “Magic is hard.” The Twin mirror match is especially so. These games really come down to counter wars, sticking a win-con, keeping mana open to stop a potential opposing combo, and maintaining card advantage. Easy, right?
My main mistakes in this game were playing into a Remand that I knew about and getting into a bad removal-counter war over a Pestermite. I wasn’t even sure he had the Splinter Twin and I didn’t have a mana advantage to have a chance of winning it.
2-1 Zoo
Game 1 was a flawless turn 4 combo. I don't really remember what happened in Game 2 (note to self: take better notes). Game 3 was decided by a timely Blood Moon, which locked my opponent out of the game, leaving us in a draw-go standstill for 4 turns, which of course is exactly what I want.
0-2 Tron
Game 1 my opponent got a very fast Tron assembled. Not realizing what I was up against, I had actually kept a hand that did very little against his. Eventually he was able to get to a full Emrakul and I scooped before realizing that the Cryptic Command *list* in my hand would've bought me an extra turn.
I got a Blood Moon in my hand the second game, along with a Deceiver Exarch + Splinter Twin
by turn four. It should've been lights out, but I mistakenly didn't tap down his Grove of the Burnwillows, and lead to a blowout Rending Volley. From there he clawed his way back to a victory by playing an Oblivion Stone to take of my Blood Moon. I also spent too much time in that game trying to reassemble a combo and control, rather than flipping into aggro mode. Eventually an Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre landed leaving me to cast Deceiver Exarchs just to stay alive, but eventually ran out. I also passed the final turn before playing a seemingly critical, but ultimately insignificant land.
2-1 Jund
These games were very fun, but my opponent's lack of familiarity with the deck and matchup left me with a slight advantage during the whole match which helped me win. It was also a prizeless match, so maybe only I cared.
I don't remember much (again, Val: notes) other than being very glad to have just learned that taking out the Twin combo vs Jund is the right play. I instead play toward the long-game where I eek out card advantage and eventually win off a Keranos or Tasigur or just Bolts+Snaps.
Conclusion
I'm still convinced that I need to fit in a Shadow of Doubt. It’s kind of a pet favorite and I haven’t yet had a deck that could cast it. I would also like to find room for hand disruption too. I'm still not fully sold on Spell Snare as there are just so many more versatile cards that could go there. I'm also not sure Jace does enough to warrant his valuable spot. Compared to a few other Grixis Twin lists, I may also be light one land.
I also haven't pulled in Dragon's Claw once (very little burn in our meta) and I think Vampiric Link serves a similar purpose and can also help against more decks. It's been called "The Truth" by some locals. I would also like some more "wide" damage to fight against the steamroll of a deck that is the CoCo Elves deck.
I'm not going to change the deck off these very limited results, but here's what I'm considering:
Mainboard:
Sideboard:
