So this was an interesting event. 15 players, and half the meta was either on Phoenix or Dredge. I took this deck (obviously), and here is how it went:
Round 1 vs Dredge 0-2
I...don't wanna talk about this match. Mainly because you'll see me do much better against these decks later. Anyway, they say Dredge wins Game 1, and it was true there. And I didn't find my GY hate on a mull to 4. Both games were close, but sadly no cigar.
Round 2 vs Bye
Yeah...this was an easy win. Nice lunch break too.
Round 3 vs Tron 2-1
Before I talk about the matches, we had a deckcheck. Pretty simple, really, only the Head Judge thought I had a fake Verdant Catacombs, which turned out I didn't. With that panic over, we got a 15 minute time extension. And tron is one of the best matchups for me. So much so that we didn't need the time extension. Game 1 was pretty simple, just kill quickly. Game 2 I was locked out before dying. Game 3 also went quickly.
Round 4 vs Dredge 2-1
Again, Dredge wins Game 1. I did, however, get them to 8 infect before my death. Game 2, they had a good sized GY by turn 4, and would lethal me next turn. Ashiok, Dream Render stopped that, and I cleaned up quite quickly. Game 3...well it was quick.
Round 5 vs Dredge 2-1
Choosing to play this match instead of IDing and likely not making it to playoffs, I lose game 1. Game 2 was...grindy. Scavenging Ooze did some work, becoming an 9/9 eventually and removing most (if not all) the dredgers and Conflagerate. Resource management was needed, and I managed it well. I was also tempted to call the judge for stacked deck when my opponent ripped 3 Creeping Chills in a row off one dredge. Game 3...let's just say the judge was shocked when I killed on Turn 2 on the draw. I was hoping he didn't have any removal, and he didn't.
Semi-Finals vs Tron 2-1
Another decent match for me. I had the play Game 1, and got a fairly quick kill. Game 2, I kept a bad hand, and he Lattice Locked me when I couldn't remove the Karn. Game 3, he died quite quickly on Turn 4, after blowing up an Expedition Map to stop him making tron.
Finals vs Phoenix 0-2
Phoenix is my worst matchup by a lot. While they were both close games, I wasn't able to break through his removal. However, my opponent didn't realise that Plague Stinger is a Horror, so Thing in the Ice
Flip doesn't flip it.
Changes for next time
So, I've made a few changes so that my Phoenix games are better. Here is what I have done:
MB:
I took out the MB Nature's Claim, and the Murderous Cut, and replaced them with Repudiate / Replicate. I feel the Stifle effect will help me in my weaker matches.
SB:
Fatal Push has gone from my Sideboard, as has my Collective Brutality. The one's role is done by Abrupt Decay, and the other was too slow. Instead, the MB Nature's Claim is in there, and I've added another Scavenging Ooze to help when I need to be a lot more grindy.
