So, having never gone to MNM at my LGS, I learned that it's taken even more seriously than FNMs... here's a breakdown:
Match 1: (2-1 Win vs. WU Control) The first game, I managed to be way too speedy to allow my opponent to set up, but he sideboarded really well the second game and beat me that time around. Game three was a miracle - I had to mulligan down to 5 cards, and even then I didn't have a single land in my hand (I only kept it because 4/5 were 1 drops, and it was all or nothing...) - all I could do was hope luck was on my side. It was. The next 4/6 cards were all lands, and I was able to be aggressive, get some of my most important sidedeck cards in this match-up into play (i.e. Erebos), and managed to prevent him from getting any traction. A good start.
Match 2: (2-1 Loss vs. RG Monsters) This was an insanely close match up, and even my opponent was shocked that he won. Game one I simply ran out of steam - I had him down to something like 6 life, while I was at 18, and just couldn't seal the deal. Game 2 I had him in just a few turns, and he scooped. Game 3 was insanely cut-throat, but he was able to trigger Monstrosity on his Polukranos and clear my side of the board before I could finish him off for the win.
Match 3: (2-0 Win vs. Junk Midrange) Honestly, I'm not even sure what my opponent was actually playing in his deck, since I more or less steamrolled him in both games. He was never really able to get started. I've played against him a few times in the past, and I don't think I've ever beat him before - but it must have been a really bad match up for the deck he was playing or something, because he was never able to get any semblance of a game going. Luckily, that's exactly what I want a Rakdos Aggro deck to do, so I'm happy with the win.
Match 4: (2-0 Loss vs. WU Control) This was the polar opposite of my third match. I was never able to get anything going. The one mistake I seemed to have made, was bringing in Dark Betrayal, since the only creatures he was running were Aetherling and Thassa - I thought he may bring in a few other staples in WU Control from teh sideboard, but I was wrong. Game 2 wasn't a terrible loss - but it would have been much better if he wasn't able to D-Sphere my Pithing Needle, Erebos, AND Whip... I could theoretically blame this loss on luck, especially the 2nd game, but instead I'll just say the deck could use some adjustments for the current meta, and that this match in particular should be viewed as a learning experience.
Tomorrow, during the day, I'm going to go down to my local LGS and make some trades and whatnot to improve this deck as well as my Orzhov weenies deck. One change that needs to be made is that I think I need to ditch Madcap Skills. With so much removal around, it's a constant 2 for 1 for my opponents. Sure, it's awesome playing it turn 2 on a Tormented Hero for a total of 6 damage - but more often than not, it's a hindrance. We'll see.
