GP Seattle

Grand Prix Seattle... Wow. What a blast. After the fiasco in Chicago, I spent a few days chilling out, enjoying Chicago, and headed out on Amtrak on Tuesday. The train was great; got to meet lots of interesting people, and the scenery going across the Great Plains, and through the Rockies is generally stunning. If you're willing to take some time traveling, it's definitely worth it. Got into Tacoma on Thursday with a motel room for the night but that's it. I was glad to get some time in a room on my own to shower and such; but that Friday, I headed out to the grinders needing a place to stay.

Grinders were pretty intense, and I can't say I did too well, running my straight up R/B Aggro. I do pick up an awesome altered Hellspark Elemental, from the cool cat over at Planeswalkers Paradise, where he luckily posted a picture before trading it off to me. On the room front I ran into one Yoni, a guy I had hung out with a bit when I had visited Japan for the Pro Tour. We had taken the Train from the Airport to Kyoto together, ended up getting dinner that first night when none of us were sure where to go. I asked if he'd be willing to have me crash on his floor, and after deliberating with his roommates, said yes. Score! Glad not to be sleeping on the streets, I Signed up for the GP, got my playmate and scrubbed out of another grinder. Overall a pretty good day.

The Event was being held at the Tacoma Convention Center, which was a very attractive building; and, as we were on the fifth floor, had a stunning view of Tacoma and Mount St. Helen. Unfortunately, the place might as well have been in the middle of a Desert. Surrounded by the business district of Tacoma, all the restaurants that might have been open, closed on the weekends. It was at least a two block hike to any open eatery, and most places closed around 6... Uhg. Luckily they had a burger stand in the venue, so I tried not to leave if ever possible. The view was better then the walk.

having failed pretty miserably to make any progress in the grinders, I decided I really just wanted to play a deck with Bloodbraid Elf, since it's just too good. Stretching my Anathemancer decks mana got me this.

Jund bleh

Land:

4 Auntie's Hovel

3 Savage Lands

4 Karplusan Forest

3 Graven Cairns

4 Reflecting Pool

2 Fire-lit Thicket

4 Mountain

Creatures:

4 Figure of Destiny

4 Hellspark Elemental

4 Boggart Ram-Gang

4 Anathemancer

4 Bloodbraid Elf

Spells:

2 Magma Spray

3 Terror

3 Volcanic Fallout

4 Blightning

4 Flame Javelin

Borrowing some cards from my newly acquainted roommates, I was set to play.

 I'm not going to spend too much time on the GP although considering, I probably should to improve. I went 0-4, playing against a very nice fellow running G/W with Knight of Meadowgrain, the match-ups bad enough without having my hellsparks blanked, but I did have some horrid misplays to lose the second game. then I lost to Bloomtender Lark, including a game where I stuck him on 2 lands for about 10 turns with a fulminator mage, but only had figures to attack when his only play was pithing needle on figure. Round three I lost to some awful by it's players admission elementals deck. Finally round 4 I ended my misery against elves combo, having them blow me out in 2.

I spent the rest of Saturday wandering the hall, talking to artists, and getting sketches and signatures on my playmat. By the end of the day I had a pretty awesome giant mousepad. Hopefully I can post pictures later, as soon as I find the wire from my computer to my camera... yeah.

I had a pretty good day all things considered, and Yoni even made day 2! That was pretty cool, but none of the other guys in our room did (: P), so a few of them went around building 5-color bloodbraid for the PTQ on Sunday. After having such an awful day with my deck, I was interested. Unfortunately there was no way 3 of us were going to be able to get the cards together, and as the man who had lended me my Karplusan Forests wanted them back, I ended up back at my old BR Anathemancer stand by.

Meatgrinder

Land:

4 Aunties Hovel

4 Sulfurous Springs

4 Graven Cairns

3 Ghitu Encampment

1 Reflecting Pool

8 Mountain

Creatures:

2 Mogg Fanatic

4 Figure of Destiny

3 Goblin Outlander

4 Hellspark Elemental

4 Boggart Ram-Gang

4 Anathemancer

2 Puppeteer Clique

Spells:

2 Magma Spray

3 Terror

4 Flame Javelin

3 Volcanic Fallout

1 Banefire

Because of the awkward timing of everything, this was the list I made. I wasn't sure with all the weird numbers, but it had all the tools probably kill you, so I named the deck Meatgrinder. Clunky but gets the job done, Meatgrinder.

Match 1- Will playing 5c Bloodbraid

 Game 1 I start of a bit slow goblin outlander, he drops a kitchen finks I can't deal with and soon overwelms me with cascaded card advantage. Game 2 I hellspark him down to 14 before he drops 2 kitchen finks and crushes me.

0-1

God I'm awful at magic, I must have won like, 4 games this entire weekend...

Match 2-Mike playing Rogue(not the creature type)

 Mike was playing an interesting cascade deck that seemed to have decided to replace about 18 of the land in the combo deck with other thinks that gain life. Game 1 He gains some life but doesn't put on any pressure, gets swans and seismic assault but can possibly draw enough lands to kill me. Game 2 I just run him over with a single figure of destiny and land.

1-1

Match 3- Joel playing Combo Elves

 I wouldn't figure this out until later but I got the pair up in this match; in a 350 person PTQ, total hacks. Game 1 Joel gets stuck on one land for like 4 turns after I kill his llanowar elf and I'm able to beat him down before he can get anything going. Game 2 I get him down to 8 and Thought Hemorrhage his primal command, but his mosswort bridges are total gas and he combos me out.

Game 3 I get him down to 10, but then he starts running out Primal Commands. He's at 26 when I drop a figure hitting him for 2. Next turn I draw a flame Javelin and hit him for 8 down to 16; He combos out finishing with an Imperious Perfect and pray for Volcanic Fallout. Untap, draw... Flame Javelin. Your at 16? 8 you with Figure, finish you off with Javelins. Savage. Rips.

2-1

Match 4- Mike playing Faeries

 These games aren't really fair. at one point he taps out for Mistbind Clique with double Scion in play and I volcanic fallout him to 3 for 1. Really it was rather brutal.

3-1

After this I go get some lunch, I was feeling pretty good, but you can never know when a bad matchup might end your day.

Match 5- Bob playing Faeries

 Well, guess it's not now. Hell, he even got a game off me with Loxodon Warhammer.

4-1

Match 6- Asher play B/G Elves

 This was an interesting match-up. I played against Asher Hecht, I've heard his name around the New York player area, and man was he a jerk. As far as I can tell, he wasn't playing Chameleon Colossus, so in general my dudes were just better then his. Without Kitchen Finks his biggest threat seemed to be treetop villages. And while I don't argue that Maelstrom Pulse isn't amazing, in this match-up Volcanic Fallout is really Just Better. Game 1 he dealt me a grand total of 5 damage, and while game 2 was closer, both were decided by the fact that I had reach and he didn't.

5-1

Getting a little excited now, might actually be able to live the dream...

Match 7- Jon playing Bant

 Jon was a friend of the guy who beat me first round of the GP, and both were great guys, but I feared that he too might be running the GW. Luckily such was not the case, and in both games he kept pretty gas light hands and I was able to remove his few real threats and just smash for the win, although in game 2 he did deal me a decent chunk with his birds+hierarch combo..

6-1

Wow, one more game and I might be able to draw into the top 8!

Match 8- ??? playing Swans

 I feel bad because I lost my notes for this game so I don't recall the name of this guy, but I will say he was quite cordial and luckily, these games weren't too complicated. Game 1 he plays turn one spinerock knoll, turn two vivid crag, turn three reflecting pool seismic assault. turn four he knocks me for 8, flips swans off of rock and combos out.

At this point I make a fatal misplay in sideboarding. I side in my Thought Hemorrhages and Fulminator Mages, not even giving my Everlasting Torments a thought, since he doesn't play lifegain! Uhg. Game two he goes turn one Spinerock Knoll, turn two Vivid Crag, Turn three Reflecting Pool seismic Assault. On turn 4 he domes me for 8, flips swans off of rock, draws two... and passes. I proceed to kill him with my figures and ram-gangs posthaste.

Game 3 I end up keeping a 1 lander don't draw another land until around turn 3 or 4 and without any hate or pressure he easily combos off for the match.

6-2

2 cards and a mulligan out of top 8. Well it was probably more difficult then that, but still.

Match 9-Dante playing GW tokens

 I battle valiantly, even taking game 2 off him, but really he wipes the floor with me.

6-3

In the end, with tie breakers of 57% I make 30th; the top of the 6-3s because the guy I lost to first round placed 9th, and I get 6 packs. Me and the guys in the room go out to an alright pizza place and celebrate Yoni getting 50th and 200 dollars. We spend the rest of the night drafting and I flew home the next day, where I was horridly sick. I personally, blame the mediocre pizza. Next time, I'll take the train.

Wandering Off,

P.