5 a.m. Saturday morning. I jolt awake. Ever since my first job, I wake up with either “It’s Time to Make the Donuts” or the Theme to the Teen Wolf cartoon rattling around in my head.
Today it's “Time to make the Donuts.” I’m on Breakfast, after all, l and I have to make the Amtrak by 6am to get to NYC. It was the only train available when I decided I needed to play in the 90sMTG Open IV.
We are two weeks out for Eternal Weekend. I should limber up before the event. I haven't gotten in my 100 matches this year. I haven't gotten close, actually. My PC has been on the blink for a couple of months, and I’m just too busy to play pick-up games at the local bar, as fun as that is.
Bagel and Schmear by Javier Charro
I get in a car at William Gray III station and head up to NYC. The Podcast recently got approved for a credit card. I opted for the one that gives Amtrak Points. We travel a lot up and down the East Coast. It’s been great not having to pay for that.
Arrived at Penn Station at 9 a.m., Phil’s at 9:30 a.m. From Phil’s down to Hex & Co. I wish Philly had a shop like this near me. We have similar stuff in Philly, but it’s not all within walking distance in South Philly. We have five record shops within a 10-minute walk from my doorstep. And ZERO local game stores. You’d think someone would have that covered.
Anyhow, Hex & Co is wonderful. Great food; service is solid. Plenty of board games and gaming accouterments. I spend a few minutes before the Tournament eating an egg sandwich, downing a coffee, and catching up with Eric R. Aside from being on the show once or twice, I don't know if I’ve seen him since Lucca last year.
Round 1 gets called. Thankfully I’m prepared with Larsson’s help! We did a whole masterclass on this deck for Patreon, with a sideboard guide that really made the difference.
I need to remember my Meta Glasses for Eternal Weekend this year. I have been trying to do a better job of cataloging my mulligans and keeps. Having a camera on my face really helps for that. I’ll try to do that for Eternal Weekend.
Round 1 vs. Doomsday
It's a Feature match with Zach on Doomsday. A ZAC(H)OFF!
Game one is crazy fast. Zac starts with Dark Ritual into Doomsday. My heart sinks because I was not ready for that. It resolved, and I looked through the draw to see that Cavern of Souls and two Thassa's Oracles weren't present.
Eric has taught me well enough that I know my opponent is likely going for a more resilient, countermagic-resistant pile. I can counter the first Thassa’s Oracle and deploy a Shuko.
Zach has two cards left. I don’t have a Cephalid Illusionist, though. I Brainstorm…nothing. No shuffle or anything, either. I Brainstorm again and find the Cephalid Illusionist! But I’m out of mana…bummer. Pass turn.
Cavern of Souls by Cliff Childs
Zach draws and passes. Looks like he put Cavern of Souls on top and Thassa's Oracle on the bottom. I untap, play the combo, and get lucky enough to steal the first game.
Game two, he opens with Dark Ritual again. I have Force of Negation. I’m thinking if he plays a Barrowgoyf, I’ll be upset. I counter the ritual. He drops a Lotus Petal, a second Dark Ritual, and Doomsday. Follows up with a Dauthi Voidwalker to stop me from racing this time, and I was able to get there, but I saw the line too late. He sac’d his Dauthi Voidwalker to use my Ponder, and I should have countered it. I could have won the next turn. I realized immediately and noted the misplay.
Game three: an early Dauthi Voidwalker puts me in a race with Nomads en-Kor and Loki, God of Mischief trading for equal damage, and I'm losing. Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student doesn’t seem relevant at first since I’m at five life and he’s at eight.
Dauthi Voidwalker by Sidharth Chaturvedi
I flip her and +2 for the -1/0 effect. That changed the race and bought me a turn to win. Limited skills are really paying off today. I have to be careful not to discard the Dread Return, since a countered Barrowgoyf is in the graveyard. I was heads up enough to not screw that up and took a squeaker of a win!
It was a feature match, so expect to see it on the 90sMTG channel when he streams on Wednesday. It’ll be my debut!
Round 2 vs WelderCam
Rockford and I wax on about the Virtues of its 70s TV namesake. I’m of course a big fan. I mention the trifecta of Kolchak: The Night Stalker (Darren McGavin of Christmas Story fame) and, of course, Peter Folk as Columbo as we shuffle up. I can’t recall all the details, but Rockford got me in two games, and two moments stood out.
My Relic of Progentius held the line against Goblin Welder. I’m sitting with no interaction in mind; the Chromatic Star is in the graveyard, and Rockford slung an Abade into my Relic of Progenitus. I have a clue in play, and I’m trying to decide if I’d rather draw a card or remove the graveyards. It's a really tough call.
Relic of Progenitus by Jean-Sébastien Rossbach
Because the third option is fake, I have a Swords to Plowshares to keep him honest. I let the Relic of Progenitus hit the yard. Goblin Engineer hits the stack. Oh no, a Sewer-veillance Cam is in the mix. I draw with the clue, praying for a Force of Will. Not that lucky.
He combos; I want to see it because I really haven't seen the deck in action. On review, the correct play was to blow the Relic of Progenitus for the Chromatic Star. Lesson learned.
Game two was quick. I had a chance but was one blue card short of stopping Rockford’s combo. That's life. With more reps, I could be talking about a game. Sadly, I tossed one to the gods but learned enough that the loss was worth it. I will not make the same error at Eternal Weekend.
Round 3 vs Flow State Breakfast
Maddie was on Flow State over Loki, God of Mischief. I think that was the deciding factor in this match. My Relic of Progenitus was a power player.
I was about to keep Maddie from doing unfair stuff in games two and three, and I either tempo’d them out with Constructs or out-carded them with Loki, God of Mischief and combo, with little fear since I had pressure and more cards.
Loki, God of Mischief by Vilhelmas Banys
Shout out to Larsson’s Masterclass here, because having a clear sideboard plan and context on what mattered in the match was game-changing.
Round 4 vs Hogaak
In game one, I went for the soul read (having two Force of Wills) and comboed. It wasn’t particularly interactive or anything. He did get to Wasteland my Urza's Saga with the mana trigger on the stack, so that slowed me down for a turn.
Game two was much more interesting. I had sideboarded for a Tempo match-up. When Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis hit the board on turn two, I was a little shocked. I was shocked when turn one Stitcher’s Supplier hit the board. But the sideboard for tempo was still relevant.
Hogaak, Arisen Necropolis by Vincent Proce
Karakas dealt with the Gaak. My Relic of Progenitus kept Mario's graveyard honest. I got Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student and a Nomads en-Kor online. To block his one-power hoard.
Eventually, Orcish Bowmasters hit the board. And a Moonshadow started threatening to get big. I started my retaliation with Tamiyo for more cards. I removed the Orcish Bowmasters first while I ate some hits from the Moonshadow.
Tamiyo flipped to stabilize me, then I was able to ultimate and figure out a win from there. Sometimes I try to play fair and keep getting in with the constructs, but here I want to end the game before anything else happens.
Round 5 vs AlurenTell
It all came down to Mike’s end. Game one Aluren hit the board; I had Nomads en-Kor in play and Cephalid Illusionist and Thassa’s Oracle in hand.
Mike plays Acererak the Archlich. I read Aluren and confirm it works for me too. I play Cephalid Illusionist. Mike takes a second, blinks, and plays a second Acererak the Archlich. Them's the breaks.
Nomads en-Kor by Val Mayerik
Game two, I was not in love with my six-card opener. But I had lands, a Swords to Plowshares, and a Ponder. I’d at least get to play. I started sculpting my hand and was about to draw with Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student. Pivotal turn: I have two Force of Will and a blue card, and I’m trying to find my combo, but I also feel safe with those Swords in hand as interaction.
“Orim’s Chant" I Force of Will. Mike replies with a Force of Will. And my Swords to Plowshares look bad. I died.
Took my second loss; I’m vaguely sure one X-2 can make it. And I need these reps, so I’ll keep playing.
Round 6 vs Beanstalk
Vinny is on Up the Beanstalk. We all know Beanstalk. I comboed him in game one after countering a Beanstalk.
Up the Beanstalk by Lucas Graciano
In game two, I locked in the advice from Larsson’s masterclass on this match-up; it’s all about the Beanstalk. I kept them off the board again and stayed ahead on cards with Tamiyo. Eventually, my three Urza’s Sagas pummeled him down. I countered a pretty scary Wrath of th
e Skies, but he had nothing to do about it because I was drawing more cards.
Round 7 vs Boros Energy
I was actually pretty pleased to see such a diverse metagame. Seven rounds and seven different decks. Game 1 was brutal: Guide of Souls, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, and Ajani, Nacatl Pariah.
The beats came fast as I tried to find my combo. I assembled it with what looked like one turn left, but I had a kicked Orim’s Chant ready to buy myself another turn if I had to.
I didn’t panic or feel the creeping despair here, and I attribute that to Larson’s Masterclass. Being prepped for this deck and knowing what to prioritize went a long way to keep my head in what looked like a really dangerous game.
Pithing Needle by Pete Venters
In game two, the sideboard guide once again broke this matchup open. Knowing the pivotal plays the energy player would make, I was fully prepared to fight for game two on the draw and then have another chance in game three.
Ed mulled to five, so I was feeling good about that. I mulled to six myself. But I think anytime I’m mulling with my “fair deck” opponent, I’m feeling good. I have the tools to make up those cards.
Fast forward to turn two: Amped Raptor into Goblin Bombardment. This is why I play Pithing Needle! I deploy a Tamiyo, then a Nomads en-Kor so I can ensure that he only goes if I want him to, and play an Urza’s Saga, hoping to make some guys and get that needle.
Wasteland ends that path pretty fast. But I’m holding off the Amped Raptor, which seems to be Ed’s only threat right now. I have to assume his grip is just hate. I get a Narcomoeba off a surveil land. It trades for a token.
I draw the Cephalid Illusionist and fire off an Orim’s Chant. Surgical Extraction hit Narcomoeba, cutting me off the combo for now as Tamiyo died.
I get another Urza’s Saga for Shuko. I’m turning the corner to attack. Wasteland hits my Urza's Saga as I make the first construct, but I now have more creatures and am the beatdown.
Shuko by Greg Hildebrandt
Things ended pretty fast from there. Ed showed me his hand and sideboard plan. Many over-sideboarded; he over-sideboarded. I have to agree. His deck should have overrun me with guys after that Bombardment hit the board.
Looking Ahead
5-2 was good enough for 10th place. If one or two tougher opponents had stuck around and won a few more games, who knows—top 8, or take the whole thing down?
I’ve been on a tear this year at large events. I’m consistently hitting the top 8 or just missing the bubble. This year, I feel like I’ve refined my play style and focus: I'm not getting frazzled during a match; I'm shaking off mistakes and learning from them instead of beating myself up.
Browbeat by Mark Tedin
I’ve played less than I’d like this year, but looking back before Eternal Weekend, I have several top 8s at Sorcery and Cornerstone Championship, a few Premodern local $1K top 8s, and a few near misses at Sorcery Grand Contests.
Basically, I’ve been in the top 8, or one win off the top 8, of every tournament I’ve played, with a serious goal of winning this year. That's something to be proud of as we move into Eternal Weekend. Hopefully I can keep that momentum.
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Featured image: Cephalid Illusionist by Pete Venters
