Grand Prix Seattle
Standard Main Event
Magic The Gathering
Channel Fireball
WSCTC - Seattle, WA
April 7, 2018
I decided to sign up and play in a Standard Main Event with an aggro G/W cat tribal deck. Realistically, it was not likely to do well. I hoped to not go 0-8 and mostly wanted to win at least two rounds, because trying to put together a good standard deck and the money involved with all the banhammer stuff this year regarding energy and whatnot gave me the thought that playing something no one else would be playing might give me an edge in a lot of game ones.
In the end ... 1-7 with the win coming in the first round and then 7 consecutive brutal losses, mostly in third games when I often had a win condition and still lost. No one was playing what I was playing and my deck generated a lot of conversations. I am glad I played. I am glad I worked at this deck. It does have a GP win. But winning that first round match made the long hours of constantly coming close and getting eliminated from making the second day kind of harsh.
I really learned a lot about the game and this deck though. My sideboard approach became much more strategic, although there were a number of cards in the sideboard that never seemed right to bring in. I made plays that caught players by surprise with this deck. The testing I did on Thursday in the Turbo section helped me a bit there too. Winning a lot of first games is nice, but not winning those game threes is brutal when it keeps happening even when you prepared for it. Not getting that second win was actually surprising because it just seemed so close so often. Playing that third game in round four was essentially a $10k game to stay alive and it meant I had to decide to keep playing four more rounds for pride and points or not. Not winning does not mean that was the wrong choice.
Place 1369/1502
I really learned a lot about the game and this deck though. My sideboard approach became much more strategic, although there were a number of cards in the sideboard that never seemed right to bring in. I made plays that caught players by surprise with this deck. The testing I did on Thursday in the Turbo section helped me a bit there too. Winning a lot of first games is nice, but not winning those game threes is brutal when it keeps happening even when you prepared for it. Not getting that second win was actually surprising because it just seemed so close so often. Playing that third game in round four was essentially a $10k game to stay alive and it meant I had to decide to keep playing four more rounds for pride and points or not. Not winning does not mean that was the wrong choice.
Place 1369/1502
Submitted Decklist:
4 Adorned Pouncer
4 Metallic Mimic
4 Pride Sovereign
3 Prowling Serpopard
4 Regal Caracal
4 Sacred Cat
2 Watchers of the Dead
1 Huatli, Radiant Champion
2 Anointed Procession
4 Blossoming Defense
1 Enter the Unknown
2 Heroic Intervention
1 Path of Discovery
1 Radiant Destiny
1 Shapers' Sanctuary
5 Forest
9 Plains
4 Scattered Groves
4 Sunpetal Grove
Sideboard:
2 Anointed Procession
3 Appeal // Authority
1 Gideon of the Trials
1 Gideon, Martial Paragon
2 Mirage Mirror
1 Oath of Ajani
1 Oketra's Monument
1 Rhonas's Monument
1 Vanquisher's Banner
2 Watchers of the Dead
I have now played in two Grand Prix Main Events in the past year in Las Vegas and Seattle. The Las Vegas was Standard Limited Sealed and Seattle was Standard Constructed. The two promo cards for entrance are above.
