How I Won the NYC 2026 Q2 Premodern League Championship

I love the Premodern scene in NYC. We average about 25 people at our weekly three-round events, which is quite impressive! It’s pretty light and casual, but don’t be fooled, we’ve got world champions and tournament ringers in our ranks that show up and win regularly.

Our weeklies run for a whole quarter. The Top 8, who accumulated the most points during the season, play an eight-player tourney for the Championship.


I scored a disappointing ninth-place finish in the previous season (Q1). I lucked into the Top 8, however, when veteran and reigning champion Mike Flores dropped out due to surgery. When he graciously bowed out, he told me to avenge him and win, so his sacrifice wasn't in vain. I was promptly crushed by Stephen Wyatt Bush, aka SWB, in the first round (Quarterfinals!) and eliminated.

{Opal Avenger} by Edward P. Beard, Jr.

That set the stage for Q2. My wife is due in August for the birth of our second kid, so I knew this would be my last chance at the Championship (and tapping mana in general) for the foreseeable future. Across Q2, I attended nine weeklies, but never scored better than a 2-1.

I somehow scraped in to the Top 8 via solid showings with {Phyrexian Dreadnought}, Moneyball [b], and Nether Contamination despite some major losses mid-quarter to have fun with {Greater Good} and … {Didgeridoo}. I also brought {Covetous Dragon} {Wildfire} the week Kai Budde passed for a 2-1 (R.I.P. Kai).

{Voidmage Prodigy} by Scott M. Fischer

After consulting with my consigliere and close friend, David Tao, (Top 4'd 2024 Vintage Championship Eternal Weekend, top finishes at many Premodern events), he suggested I come prepared for [u], which is why my list featured five red blast effects. Of course, I never played against [u] at all during the Top 8, and I even cut some stuff in the sideboard typically reserved for [r] decks to do so. I did not expect to see many basic mountains. Whoops!

[g][w][r] Terrageddon

DECKLIST_START

Creatures (13)

3 {Nimble Mongoose} [g]
3 {Weathered Wayfarer} [w]
2 {Werebear} [1][g]
4 {Terravore} [1][g][g]
1 {Anurid Brushhopper} [1][g][w]

Sorceries (7)

3 {Call of the Herd} [2][g]
4 {Armageddon} [3][w]

Instants (6)

4 {Swords to Plowshares} [w]
1 {Naturalize} [1][g]
1 {Disenchant} [1][w]

Artifacts (4)

4 {Mox Diamond} [0]

Enchantments (4)

4 {Sylvan Library} [1][g]

Lands (26)

4 {Wasteland}
4 {Windswept Heath}
3 {Gemstone Mine}
2 {Treetop Village}
2 {Rishadan Port}
2 {Forest}
2 {Plains}
2 {Rith's Grove}
1 {Tranquill Thicket}
1 {Secluded Steppe}
1 {Karplusan Forest}
1 {Battlefield Forge}
1 {City of Traitors}

Sideboard

1 {Zuran Orb} [0]
1 {Tormod's Crypt} [0]
3 {Pyroblast} [r]
2 {Red Elemental Blast} [r]
3 {Pyroclasm} [1][r]
2 {Cursed Totem} [2]
1 {Ray of Revelation} [1][w]
2 {Aura of Silence} [1][w][w]

DECKLIST_END

Quarterfinals

After a re-pairing due to one person dropping out of the Top 8, I was matched against the same guy who knocked me out in the previous season, SWB! SWB isn’t just any player; he’s the league organizer and its former champ! Thanks to his coding wizardry and diligent data collection, we have a running tally of every matchup, record, and player history for every season of the league! Before today, I was 1-3 against him.

He started our Quarterfinal match on a mull to six on Elves. A good Elves start is usually challenging for me to deal with if they go wide. I {Swords to Plowshares}'d his first mana dork and followed with a {Wasteland} on his {Karplusan Forest}.

I paid eight for {Sylvan Library}* since my life total wasn't being threatened. He cast two more elves but didn't drawing enough [g] sources to land a {Deranged Hermit}. I found {Terravore} and locked it up with {Armageddon}.

Editor's Note: Do players not always pay eight life in the blind? Pretty sure it's always correct to always pay eight.

{Sylvan Library}

I didn’t see much of SWB's deck at that point besides the usual suspects, so I boarded assuming he was on Survival Elves (he was, in fact, not running {Survival of the Fittest}!).

I {Swords to Plowshares}ed his first creature and landed an early {Cursed Totem}, which turned the rest of his green dorks into vanilla 1/1s. Some timely {Pyroclasm}s kept his board clear. He played two morphs that threatened my {Cursed Totem} — {Nantuko Vigilante} would have been brutal. After flipping in response to each of the {Pyroclasm}s, I discovered they were {Tribal Forcemage}s. Phew!

With {Cursed Totem} intact, I pressured with my litany of threats to get revenge at 2-0.

Semifinals

I was matched against Taylor in the Semifinals. I always enjoy playing against him. He is the quintessential gentleman" incredibly friendly and welcoming, but don’t mistake his kindness for weakness, he’s an incredibly sharp player! You have to be when you are known for piloting one of the most complicated decks in the format, HFEB.

{Hermit Druid} by Heather Hudson

Taylor was promoted into the Top 8 at eighth seed, so I had the advantage on the play. I’m glad I did, because he was on Burn. My advantage was short-lived. Burn did the typical Burn thing, and with a combination of {Jackal Pup}, {Grim Lavamancer}, and {Cursed Scroll} plus {Fireblast}, Taylor took game one easily.

I was drastically unprepared in my sideboard, since I had removed a second {Zuran Orb} and {Sphere of Law} from the board to make room for two extra red blasts. I boarded in my singleton {Zuran Orb}, {Cursed Totem}s, and {Pyroclasm}s. I was iffy on {Cursed Totem}, but it was the right call to shut off {Grim Lavamancer}, which was crucial in game three.

{Cursed Totem} by D. Alexander Gregory

We both mulliganed in game two, but I had a fast {Mox Diamond} plus {Werebear} start. He landed a {Goblin Vandal}, and I had to ask him what it was (it was a foreign printing). I actually thought it was an {Orcish Librarian{ because I had seen those in some Sligh lists! Luckily, it didn't connect to blow up my Moxen.

I cast some sticky threats: {Nimble Mongoose} (Shroud MVP) and an {Anurid Brushhopper}. I misplayed with it, where I blinked it on my opponent’s turn instead of on my end step. I was trying to give it pseudo-vigilance, and I totally spaced on the timing. The two cards I discarded, however, gave {Nimble Mongoose} threshold, which was relevant as a blocker and a threat.

I was taken to a low life total by {Price of Progress} plus {Cursed Scroll}, but stabilized with multiple creatures against two {Jackal Pup}s. Taylor ran out of gas. I was luckily not punished too heavily for the misplay, and won the second game by the skin of my teeth.

{Price of Progress} by Richard Kane Ferguson

I remember playing around {Price of Progress} pretty heavily in game three; fetching for basics earl. {Sylvan Library} found answers like {Cursed Totem} (Taylor had a trio of {Grim Lavamancer}s), and a memory of blocking Elephants, courtesy of {Call of the Herd}. I took the offensive, and ground to the win. I never drew a Terravore in game three!

Finals

I was matched against Dan S., aka Mookyspulder, a gracious and formidable opponent. I’ve played against him before, on Clerics. I’ve also seen him pilot {Psychatog} and Moneyball [b], so I was surprised when he showed up with The Boys (the correct name for Goblins).

I knew it was going to be an uphill struggle because the matchup is a bit of a toss-up, and somewhat play/draw dependent. I prefer playing against [r][b] Goblins than [r][g] Goblins, though, because the former lacks {Naturalize}. {Smother} is great against, {Terravore} though.

In game one, I mulled to a six-card hand with {Swords to Plowshares} but not much other gas. At least I had an answer to {Goblin Lackey}, I thought. Dan was the higher seed and had a quick start. I think I never really got anything going besides a few elephants, and Goblins did their typical go wide and smash.

{Weathered Wayfarer} by Greg Hildebrandt & Tim Hildebrandt

Game two was equally lopsided. I played a turn one {Sylvan Library} off a {Mox Diamond}. I paid four life for four turns in a row to bring myself down to four (life total is a resource!). With that extra card advantage, I found another {Mox Diamond} and a land to pitch to develop a pair of {Terravore}s to seal the game. It was an uphill battle for Dan, who never found second [r] source until it was too late.



Going into the last game, having come back from being down in the first game in two consecutive matches, I needed my deck to deliver and for me to not misplay. Luck went my way, as I didn’t see a {Goblin Lackey} in either of the post-board games. An active {Weathered Wayfarer} tutored {Wasteland}s to constrain Dan to two {Mountain}s.

I had three {Call of the Herd}s in hand and cranked out a handful of Elephant tokens over a few turns, along with a {Nimble Mongoose}. My opponent landed {Dralnu’s Crusade} with a board of {Goblin Matron}, {Goblin Piledriver}, and a {Goblin Tinkerer}, but {Armageddon} prevented any additional threats from entering the battlefield.

A few swings later, and it was over! I won a playset of {Meddling Mage}s, and was crowned NYC’s newest Champion!

{Champion's Victory} by Hong Yan

The Crown

I’m glad to have piloted one of my favorite Premodern decks to victory. In retrospect, and through Mike Flores’ backseat commentary on what I should have done during the match, I realized I could have {Armageddon}ed one turn earlier, saved a {City of Traitors} with a {Weathered Wayfarer} activation for my second {Rith’s Grove}, and many other things.

[g][w][r] Terrageddon is often eclipsed by {Oath of Druids} or [g][w][u] variations, so I’m glad I could represent. If I were to pilot the deck in the future, I’d would add the second {Zuran Orb} in the board. While I’m partial to {Sphere of Law}, I could see it becoming another hate card for [r] matchups or maybe {Phyrexian Furnace}. 


I want to thank Mike for teaching me something new every week, D Tao for constantly bouncing {Terravore} ideas (and hot dog memes) back and forth, Roland, SWB, and Max for always practicing with/supporting me, and the whole NYC crew.

I will likely have to halt tapping mana in a few weeks to start changing (more) diapers (this will be our second little one). With that said, I can retire as undefeated champion (kidding). I will savor my title. As someone who’s putting in the reps at a 55% win rate, I can say I’m proud of what I accomplished. As Lan D. Ho would say, “Scoreboard!”

Until next time!

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Featured image: {Terravore} by Jim Nelson