By Mark Pinder
Well I had a day off work on a Friday and immediately knew what I wanted to do; I decided I was going to go to FNM. The next choice was where to go, as no matter which location I chose it was going to be a bit of a drive but decided that I would visit Kevin Scott up in Scarborough. Kevin ran the Doncaster events for many years and also could be seen at Nationals in the Side Events area judging with a smile on his face. I remember Kevin from when I first played Magic and we had some tough battles over three games. I’ve played in Scarborough before and always found the players to be a great bunch, they are friendly and have a wide range of playing abilities. Kevin does some fine things in his local community and has players that qualified for Nationals on rating and through Qualifiers. Kevin also brings lots of new players to Magic and very laid back. How many TO’s will actually check a deck before an event, make sure it is legal and then offer advice on how it may be improved or played. Many a time at Doncaster after a match had finished Kev could be seen having an encouraging word with a defeated player or even some constructive advice. Well Rochelle and I both headed north Rochelle, had her Green White beater deck and I was going in with something new, it had tested locally but never in a proper event and FNM seemed like the right place.
“Get A Life”
Main Deck
5 Mountains
5 Plains
2 Vesuva
4 Sacred Foundry
4 Battlefield Forge
4 Boros garrison
3 Adarkar Valkyrie
4 Martyr of Sands
4 Firemane Angel
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
4 Proclamation of Rebirth
4 Helix
4 Seal of Fire
2 Faith Fetters
2 Debtors knell
1 Demonfire to the head
3 Condemn
4 Wrath of God
Sideboard
1 Sacred mesa
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Faith Fetters
2 Disenchant
2 Cop - Red
1 Wrath of God
1 Condemn
2 Serrated Arrows
2 Stuffy Doll
Life gain is normally bad but I had heard about the Martyr – Proclamation of rebirth deck but playing blue white control is not really my style of play, so whilst I was happy to play a control deck I also wanted to play something which packed a bit more punch with a few different win conditions to keep the opponent guessing. Is it rogue tech or a hybrid of other successful decks ? I basically looked at life gain from not just Martyrs but the strength of Firemane Angels. Adarkar Valkyries can also be used with the Martyrs and can deter unwanted attackers etc. I rounded the deck of with some removal to control the board of creatures and a pair Debtors knell to manipulate the graveyard further.
After a bit of trading, watching a few games and chats it soon becomes apparent that the internet apparently hasn’t arrived in Scarborough as amazing as it may seem there does not seem to be a single net deck, everyone has built their own deck or started with a pre constructed deck that they have evolved into its current form. This is going to be a very different night for sure.
Match 1
I draw Nathan, one of the best players in Scarborough and I've had some epic battles with him in the past. There is a mutual grin when we realise we have been paired together and I realise my deck is going to be tested from the very first game.
Game 1 starts off well with a mulligan and a very fast Small pox cutting my mana on hand severely. Then the vigor mortis brings back his Akroma discarded to the small pox. Needless to say it’s a very short game one and doubts start to surface that maybe I should have played Boros.
Game 2 and start hand is much better including a Tormod’s Crypt, Martyr, Proclamation and a couple of Condemns and a Wrath so couldn’t ask for more. Nathan re animates a Bogardon Hellkite dealing four to me and 1 to the Martyr in play, I smile as a in response I sacrifice the Martyr and Nathan knows what is coming and groans when I reveal all seven cards in hand … gain 21 life ! Go to 39 then back to 35. At which point the heads turned on the adjoining table and four passers by who had already finished. Seems no one has played a life gain in Scarborough before and it is met with a mixture of curiosity, bemusement and a couple of “I hope I don’t have to play that deck.” The game rapidly became a match of twists and turns Nathan kept playing bombs that were eventually removed but not before I had gained even more life. The full soul destroying principle of the deck seemed to work as just when three proclamations were in the graveyard do I manage to play a Valkyrie to start the process all over again with other source. Throw in a condemned Akroma on both side and some dodgy shenanigans with Firemane angels but finally after a wrath on the opposing side I top deck sacred mesa. Nathan hasn’t the answers and scoops as I bring out a flying squadron. I finish on a paltry 21 life and have taken 52 points of damage. Rochelle has been watching for some time and she has piloted her deck to a 2-0 win so the pressure is on.
Game 3 and we have become the feature match as only one other game is still being played and it features blue white control which finishes through Akroma played by Richard. I’d played Richard once at a “Sneak Peak” for Dissension and lost a close battle over three games, Richard used to bring his son to play and played a few games himself before getting the bug. Richard finishes his game as Nathan and I recommence hostilities I have an interesting hand 2 sacred foundries, 3 condemns a martyr and a proclamation so I decide to play .... Would you credit it the deck didn’t draw land for six turns but held off with the condemn spells from my hand but I did sacrifice martyr to gain 21 again ...and a groan from everyone watching .. the condemn spells though stop his creature shenanigans and my life total hits the mid fifties However, the condemns were also putting Nathan into a respectable life total and time is called on the round with the pair of us on quite stupid life totals. We agree a draw as neither of us can see victory in three turns as there is creature stale mate on the board with Firemane angels squaring off and a couple more in graveyards.
Match 2
I play Jonathan Lukas, never played Jonathan before he is a really nice lad. Jonathan is playing “Mono green stompy” .... What can I say about this match .... Well psychological warfare is a mighty tool. Jonathon had been unfortunate enough to be watching last match and had asked how I was gaining the life so showed him my graveyard to show the link. He wasn’t pleased and he was less pleased when I got the lock down of 7 lands meaning I could forecast proclamation of rebirth and sacrifice the martyr each turn ... worse still I ended up playing debtors knell to free up my mana. I finished him whilst on 65 life with a solitary Firemane angel flying across the clear air space.
Game 2 and my opponent is pretty broken before we start but I cant underestimate him as in game 1 he had a lot of trample tricks to take big chunks off my life. My opponent smiles as I am now playing an assortment of Foreign spells amongst my card pool. I play a martyr turn one as I know he hasn’t removal in mono green for 1 so he is clear and batter him with a martyr for a few turns sweeping the blockers with seals and helix’s eventually before can play Akroma to fly over whilst on 67 life. It is a 2-0 win and pleased with the ruthless efficiency of the deck.
Rochelle though has met a sliver deck and been given as ass whooping, well who would have expected she would have needed a Hivestone or two in her board, something to remember for the future.
Match 3
I draw Gabriel Vaz Duque and I am pleased as I have been paired up helping my tiebreakers if I should need them. Gabriel is playing a BUW discard control deck which I am told I a deck that has won here before and Gabriel is a good player. Well he has won both his other matches tonight so the match should be interesting. It certainly has me thinking when he plays the Megrim and worried as trying to play Martyr of Sands with an empty hand is pretty pointless so the other resources in my deck may be required. Then it is my turn for the puzzled expression when he starts dropping lore brokers, I place a firemane angel in the graveyard initially but all the time my opponents life total is dropping faster as he is using pain lands, a surreal experience indeed. Then two Azores guild mages come out try and lock the board unfortunately I have drawn two Vesuva’s to replicate Boros garrisons so have mana issues resolved quite effectively and get to play a valkyrie and two firemane angels over three turns which is very handy as he has to tap them down tying up his mana and taking pain. Not sure if the deck had any other bigger threats at this point or any black discard.
Rochelle is over, she met another mono green stompy deck and seemingly took the guy apart with ruthless efficiency, I am so proud lol.
Game 2 and have side boarded in two disenchants etc. Again he gets out early lore brokers but this works for me as I am binning excess land accelerating out to my mana curve quite ruthlessly. I have disenchant in hand which kills the turn three megrim and gets to use it once with his turn 2 lore broker at least. Then a key play as he brings out a faceless butcher and he states target martyr ... actually, I reply “in response I am sacrificing my martyr” .... The look of horror as I gain life and realise he has no targets on my side of the board and targets one of his own lore broker. He plays a second lore broker but I draw one of my Firemane Angels from it a couple of turns later. The pain lands are not helping him again nibbling away at his life for me without creating any threats. The Angel takes three turns to finish for the win.
The results are now all in and not surprisingly mine is one of the last to finish yet again. We had eleven players but a clear winner nonetheless on 9 points, I am pleased to see the results sheet and am second with an unbeaten record so at least the promo card is coming my way.
| Pos. | Player | Points | Deck |
| 11 | Chew, Sarah | 1 | Dimir |
| 10 | Esse, Ben | 3 | Not Sure |
| 9 | Slater, Connor | 3 | Mono Green |
| 8 | Lukas, Jonathan | 3 | Mono Green |
| 7 | Watts, Mathew | 4 | Dimir |
| 6 | Vaz Duque, Gabriel | 6 | Blue/White/Black Discard |
| 5 | WADNER, ROCHELLE | 6 | Green/White Beatdown |
| 4 | Pailing, Mark | 6 | Slivers |
| 3 | Edwards, Nathan | 7 | Reanimator |
| 2 | PINDER, MARK | 7 | Angels and Martyrs |
| 1 | Vincent, Richard | 9 | Blue White Control |
There is some more trading, chatting and a handful of people want to know if coming again and I confirm I will be in a few weeks when have some more time off. This leads to a mixed reaction of smiles and groans.
So what did I learn from tonight, well I can hold it against some good players and good decks as coming back match one was a good showing. One tweak for the deck though has to be four Vesuva not two, they are just too useful and the risk of getting overloaded in the start hand isn’t too great. Don’t see much need for Flagstones as it is more a case of playing land rather than searching for extra sources. I have considered signets for mana or totems but feel the spells are of more use. However, I really must transfer the Sacred Grounds out of my discard deck sideboard as land destruction can be very brutal.
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