Rant of a BAAAD FNM experience
Standard forum
Posted on July 29, 2013, 9:52 a.m. by harrydemon117
4 rounds of Standard for FNM this last week and I took my first round 2-0 and felt good
....until I made a misplay against a U/W flash deck round 2 that cost me my match/night
My opponent was at 3 lands (1 tapped shock land and 1 open plains/island. I had just played my 4th land and casted slaughter games.
Now, knowing that hindsight is 20/20 this play looks silly but I called out "Dissipate " before thinking and whiffed pretty big. I SHOULD HAVE named Sphinx's Revelation or Restoration Angel as these were two of his key cards and I didn't. I lost that match 0-2 and was pretty mad at myself.
Thinking I could still go 3-1 on the night and make the prize pool, I pressed on. I came across a RDW deck and we went to round 3 (he was on the play now).
I kept a 2 lander with Far / Away , Devour Flesh , and one of my win cons Master of Cruelties . Figuring I could draw a burn spell (since those are the most in my deck).
Needless to say I saw my 3rd land on turn 5 or 6 and was BARELY keeping him off of me (I was at 9 LP by this time). I used my freshly drawn Far / Away to bounce his Hellrider before he attacked to minimize damage. I drew my 4th land and had nothing left so I scooped. He had his Burning Earth out this game (as well as the previous 2 games) and I could do nothing about it.
Last round was against round 3's roommate (first FNM tournament) and he was borrowing a mono-white humans deck. I lost in 3 games due to Thalia, Guardian of Thraben hitting turn 2-3 EVERY GAME.
We swapped decks to check each other's out and he only had TWO in the deck! (no sideboard as he was just learning the flow of this deck).
Thanks for reading...just wanted to get this off my chest... arg!
Those were some rough losses. Two weeks ago I ended up losing to a deck I could have beaten in a very sad way. I was running BWR mid against Bant control and we were given the 5 turn limit at the beginning of game 3. I had an amazing hand. At the end of turn 5 the judge called next player to possess the highest life total wins since we both had 20. Mid vs control doesn't do much with 5 turns so it was not surprising this came up. However...this guy drew into his Elixir of Immortality and cracked it with an empty GY to gain the life and win. I had a Vampire Nighthawk on table with Olivia Voldaren and Slaughter Games in my hand. I was less than pretty unhappy about it seeing as my FNMs are single elimination for at so that was it for me for the night in round 2.
July 29, 2013 12:23 p.m.
harrydemon117 says... #4
Oh I know luck plays a bigger part than we want to admit. I just wanted to rant :)
The thing is, I think I was running TOO FEW lands as this seems to happen more often than I want.
I also re-evaluated my "removal package" and noticed some inconsistencies there as well. I learned from my losses even though they were aggravating at the time (I mean come on...how does one start with a card in their opening hand each time when they only run it as a two of? and with NO mulligans either).
I should've have paid attention to the signs when I started dropping things on my foot at my house. It was as if the "Magic Gods of Theros" were telling me not to play that night lol
July 29, 2013 3:35 p.m.
the3rdH0kage says... #5
Don't fell bad, 3 weeks ago I ended up 4-0 at an FNM, next week I went back to that shop (not my general game store) I went I think 1-3 maybe 2-2. and I played against I think 2 of the same people from the week before with the same decks.
July 29, 2013 3:53 p.m.
I got 2nd with my Bant, then went on a straight 2 month losing streak with it until I got !st last week. It happens to everyone
July 29, 2013 4:32 p.m.
fluffybunnypants says... #7
See, that's the thing about playing control, you have to know your opponents deck or you fall apart. It's not like other archetypes where you can just do your thing to try to play around the archetype you're against. Control is about playing what you know your opponent has. Also, mainboarding Slaughter Games seems odd.
July 31, 2013 8:03 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #8
The Slaughter Games was in game 2 after sideboards...
And after game 1 I always knew what I was up against. I think I didn't have enough lands in the deck (only 25 - should have been 26 or 27) and my "removal" was too mana intensive (Izzet Charm or Annihilating Fire . I was testing the Fire out for extra ways of removing Voice of Resurgence for good but it was a dud)
The night was bad for me for sure, but I DID learn something from it which is always a positive note
July 31, 2013 8:06 a.m.
Hey, a place for me to complain about my own experience this weekend!
Mine wasn't FNM, it was an SCG IQ on Saturday. Top 8 was all good prizes, starting at half a box and going up to 2 boxes for second place (first was the Invitational invite with a travel allowance of like $400), so top 8 was really desirable. I started off 3-0 with my trusty Junk Aristocrats, meaning that with tiebreakers I was basically assured of top 8 with one more win...and that with a win in the fourth round, I could double-draw into the top 8.
Needless to say, I went 0-3 in my last three rounds, and I had favorable matchups in two of those three rounds. All three went to game 3, where I lost to some combination of "mull to 5" and "opponent gets something close to the nut draw". Four of my opponents for the day were in the top 8. (Also, the A/C was out on a 90-degree day. Just to spite me, I'm sure.)
So it happens, probably to all of us. It was a good illustration though...because if that could happen and I could still have fun, then I must really like this game.
July 31, 2013 9:03 a.m.
harrydemon117 says... #11
Amen Barandis!
Some days the "Magic Gods" frown on us and it is not our day. Best to live and battle another day I say! (I'm a poet and didn't even know it! HA!)
July 31, 2013 9:45 a.m.
detentionsphere says... #12
@capriom85: that sounds extremely wrong, rules-wise. If you go to time the game should be a draw... there's no such thing as a "highest life total wins."
August 1, 2013 12:29 a.m.
That's what I thought but it turns out that since this particular shop runs FNm as a single eliimination event the rules for single elimination apply. It sucks, but it's just FNM. As I understand it, single elim can have no draws so its highest life total or first play to have the highest life total. Kind cheap....even first damage received loses would make more sense, but it is what it is.
August 1, 2013 9:03 a.m.
detentionsphere says... #14
Oh, I see... that's weird, but I suppose it's legal. It does mean that playing a slow control deck is much, much worse.
Schuesseled says... #2
Luck plays a large part in the game, best get used to it.
July 29, 2013 10:40 a.m.