Narcoleptic Discoveries - Mirrodin Besieged Prerelease

Greetings.

I participated in my first MTG prerelease event on Saturday, January 29th at Hairy Tarantula North.  It was a Sealed Deck format consisting of 3 Mirran or Phyrexian faction-specific packs and 3 Scars of Mirrodin packs.  The split between Mirran and Phyrexian was nearly 50-50, with a total of 44 players.  Naturally, having played a Metalcraft Red deck for constructed, I picked the Mirran side.

After wishing good luck to Bobby, who sided with the evil Phyrexians, I proceeded to sit down at the cool table with my Mirran allies (including Beau, Lucas, Nina and Matt, among others).  With so many participants, we had to go through a deck registration procedure.  We were each given a checklist for Mirrodin Besieged and Scars of Mirrodin to track the cards we opened.  After listing each card we opened, we passed our pools and checklists to the left 3 times.  Each player was encouraged to check the list for any discrepancies, as random deck checks would occur later in the day.  A deck check failure would result in disqualification for the player with the deck.  I thought that this was a great preventative control for cheating.  Scars of Mirrodin has been out since October so anyone could swap in their own broken rares.  Besides, without this control and with 44 players in the room, the Hairy T staff would be hard pressed to constantly keep an eye out for cheating. 

I opened a decent pool that would make a nice R/W deck.  The pool I received, on the other hand, felt abysmal.  My sealed pool is as follows:

WHITE (10)

MBS: (7)

1x Accorder Paladin

2x Frantic Salvage

1x Leonin Skyhunter

3x Loxodon Partisan

SOM: (3)

2x Revoke Existence

1x Seize the Initiative

BLUE (15)

MBS: (7)

1x Mirran Spy

2x Quicksilver Geyser
1x Spire Serpent
1x Turn the Tide
2x Vedalken Infuser
SOM: (8)

1x Argent Sphinx
1x Darkslick Drake
1x Lumengrid Drake
1x Sky-Eel School
1x Turn Aside
2x Vault Skyward
1x Volition Reins

BLACK (7)

MBS:  None
SOM: (7)
2x Blackcleave Goblin
1x Contagious Nim
1x Hand of the Praetors
1x Instill Infection
1x Plague Stinger
1x Tainted Strike

RED (16)

MBS: (13)
2x Burn the Impure
3x Concussive Bolt
1x Goblin Wardriver
1x Kuldotha Flamefiend
3x Kuldotha Ringleader
2x Ogre Resister
1x Spiraling Duelist
SOM: (3)
1x Embersmith
1x Flameborn Hellion
1x Furnance Celebration

GREEN (7)

MBS: (2)
1x Melira's Keepers
1x Mirran Mettle
SOM: (5)
1x Alpha Tyrranax
2x Blunt the Assault
1x Carapace Forger
1x Cystbearer

ARTIFACT (29)

MBS: (13)
1x Copper Carapace    1x Pistol Sledge
2x Darksteel Plate      1x Shriekhorn
2x Gust-Skimmer        1x Spin Engine
1x Hexplate Golem      2x Training Drone
1x Knowledge Pool     1x Viridian Claw
SOM: (16)
1x Copper Myr             1x Origin Spellbomb
2x Culling Dais            2x Silver Myr
1x Darksteel Sentinel   1x Snapsail Glider
1x Echo Circlet            1x Steel Hellkite
2x Golem Foundry       1x Trigon of Corruption
1x Leaden Myr            1x Trigon of Infestation



LAND (6)
1x Forest
2x Plains
3x Swamp

First of all, Mirrodin Besieged lands look pretty cool.  Second, what's with the SOM black cards?  They're totally Phyrexian. 

Green was obviously out of the equation.  I briefly toyed with the idea of actually playing infect as a Mirran, but dismissed it as a silly (and blasphemous) notion.  2x Revoke existence was tempting, but 3x Loxodon Partisan (and 3x Kuldotha Ringleader in Red) weren't very appealing.  That left Red and Blue, my two biggest colours.  I had good mana fixing for blue in the form of 2 Silver Myrs, while Red had removal and fatties.  The only problem, I feared, was that my deck would be too slow.  In the end, I put together a Red/Blue control~ish deck.  Argent Sphinx, Darkslick Drake and Volition Reins were pretty solid for blue.  White, on the other hand, was disappointing, especially when everyone else around me played Red/White.

My first opponent would tell me that he had opened no playable MBS rares.  I sympathized with his unfortunate circumstances.  I wouldn't realize that I was in the same situation until much later in the night, when I noticed that Darksteel Plate was a rare.

"Purple Steel" - R/U Metalcraft Control

Creatures (16)

1x Origin Spellbomb
1x Embersmith
1x Goblin Wardriver
2x Gust Skimmer
2x Silver Myr
2x Snapsail Glider
1x Argent Sphinx
1x Darkslick Drake
1x Spiraling Duelist
1x Kuldotha Ringleader
1x Kuldotha Flamefiend
1x Steel Hellkite
1x Hexplate Golem

Spells (8)

1x Viridian Claw
2x Burn the Impure
1x Darksteel Plate
1x Piston Sledge
1x Trigon of Corruption
1x Concussive Bolt

1x Volition Reins

Lands (17)

10x Mountain
7x Island

Sideboard (Stuff I actually used)

1x Ogre Resister (Later sided in)

1x Darksteel Plate
1x Spin Engine (Later sided in)
1x Turn Aside (Later sided in)
1x Copper Carapace (Later sided in)

I obviously wasn't very happy with my pool, but at least I thought I managed to make a deck out of it.  It had the potential to be fast, but I felt it was short on removal.

Round 1:  Training Drills

My first opponent, John, was also Mirran.  We would be Mirran brothers fighting for the glory to dive first into combat with the Phyrexian plague.  He played an aggressive R/W deck, with plenty of equipment.  

In Game 1, I kept a hand of 2 lands, Gust-Skimmer, Viridian Claw, Concussive Bolt, Volition Reins and Kuldotha Ringleader.  I won the roll and played.  John started off with a Ardent Recruit on Turn 1, whom I met with a Gust-Skimmer on Turn 2.  He proceeded with a sphere of the suns and passed the turn.  On Turn 3, I played and equipped a Viridian Claw to my Gust-Skimmer and attacked.  John played a Leonin Skyhunter and a Copper Carapace and swung with the recruit before passing the turn back.  Despite my early lead, I stopped drawing lands, getting stuck at 3 with a hand full of powerful cards.  John shattered my Gust-Skimmer and played a second Leonin Skyhunter after I cast Burn the Impure on the first one.  After a number of turns with 2 Copper Carapaces equipped to his creatures, game 1 was over.  

Round 1:  0 - 1.

I quickly learned that my deck was far too slow.  I swapped the Concussive Bolt and Viridian Claw for a Turn Aside and a Copper Carapace of my own.  In Game 2, John suffered a series of unlucky mulligans which left him with 4 cards.  I, on the other hand, had a good starting hand.  On the play, he started off with a mana Myr on Turn 2, which ate a jolt from my Embersmith on Turn 3.  With his board empty save for a Copper Carapace and a Trigon of Rage, I graciously equipped my Embersmith a Piston Sledge and let him bash my fellow Mirran's face in for the win. 

Round 1:  1 - 1.

John's deck was extremely aggressive, so I had to maintain a tempo just as quick.  I was determined to mulligan any hand that didn't conform to this strategy.  Fortunately for me, I had a good hand in Game 3.  I started off similarly to the previous game, with an Embersmith and a Silver Myr to blow up John's only creature.  He had a terrible draw, seeing a total of 3 creatures.  I brought him down to 12 life with 2 creatures and Piston Sledge before he dropped a Gnathosaur and equipped it with a sledge of his own.  It didn't help that he also had 4 pieces of equipment on the field and only one creature he couldn't even attack with.  Around Turn 8, I played an Argent Sphinx.  John drew no answer for it and scooped in 2 more turns.  With that, I managed a precarious win in my first round of MBS Sealed.  I would (hopefully) receive the glory of shedding first blood.   

Round 1:  2 - 1 Win.

Round 2:  Captain's Fury

Before I started Round 2, I remembered that Leon told us he opened a ridiculous pool.  Also, his pool was passed on to a good player and that Kelly was confident that player would win the whole thing.  I checked on Bobby after my first round too.  He lost his first round to a powerful Phyrexian player.  I made some suggestions for his deck before I returned to my seat.  Although I wouldn't have to face him in Round 2 I was still eager to bash in some Phyrexian heads.  Unfortunately, my next opponent happened to be one of whom I considered to be the Captains of Mirrodin.  My opponent was the player who received Leon's ridiculous pool of cards.  Calling him Koth would be appropriate.  

Koth, obviously Mirran, was here to reprimand me for my reckless and overzealous actions in training.  Koth employed both Red and White mana for this battle.  He had a powerful instinct as a seasoned planeswalker.  Game 1: On the play, I started off with a Silver Myr, who managed to poke Koth for a single point of damage before meeting the sharp end of a goblin Shaman's Blisterstick.  On Turn 4, my Snapsail Glider charged recklessly into death along with the Goblin Shaman.  Afterwards, I bided my time, finding nothing but mana, while Koth's Leonin Skyhunter assailed me from the skies.  Finally, I managed to summon a Hexplate Golem to my side.  Despite its massive form, I had this dreadful feeling that my Golem was very vulnerable.  As it turned out, he was.  Koth summoned an Oxidda Scrapmelter, which promptly ate my Golem alive.  Much to my dismay, the damned Cat on a Bird continued to pester me from above.  On the next turn, I became desperate.  Koth watched me calmly, confident of his power.  I formed a desperate plan, which would be my last chance at victory.  I summoned my new Snapsail Glider, only to try to sacrifice it to my Kuldotha Flamefiend.  Before the fiend could consume the glider, it was stolen and submitted as a Divine Offering to the Vulshok gods of my opponent.  To add insult to injury, my Flamefiend was Turned to Slag on the next turn as I slumped in defeat.  

Round 2:  0 - 1.

My rage was calmed as I prepared myself for Game 2.  I started off aggressively with an Embersmith, while I Burned Koth's Impure Leonin Skyhunter from the air.  An angry Vulshok, a Piston Sledge and 10 damage later, Koth summoned an army of Precursor Golems.  I was unfazed by this development, as I found another spell.  I Burned the Impure golems with a single gesture, while adding another creature to my own army.  Koth brought out a Steel Hellkite to face my army, but by then, his lifepoints had dwindled to almost nothing.  My Embersmith sacrificed himself in combat to take down the Hellkite while my other creatures donned a Copper Carapace and secured the win for me.  

Round 2:  1 - 1.

Koth and I understood one another better after two rounds of heated battle.  We would have a final, glorious battle.  So began Game 3.  I deemed my opening hand unworthy of combat, so I had to mulligan to 6.  With Koth on the play, I mirrored his moves and summoned a Snapsail Glider soon after he did.  We traded blows and at 18 - 18, the heat blossomed into a raging inferno.  

On Turn 5 I summoned a Steel Hellkite with the help of my Silver Myr.  Koth was unfazed as he Turned my majestic Hellkite to Slag.  After an intense standoff, I sacrificed a Silver Myr to a Kuldotha Flamefiend to decimate his army and go on the offensive.  Koth, however, had other ideas.  His Mirran Crusader met my Kuldotha Flamefiend in combat and emerged victorious, as my fiend had been deemed Impure and was Burned by Koth's flames.  I stabilized my position with a Hexplate Golem, but Koth's new Snapsail Glider had achieved metalcraft with an army of Precusor Golems on the field.  The events in between are hazy in my memory, but I do recall the end in clarity.  His army consisted of a Myr, a Glider, 3 Golems and a Crusader.  With the rest of my mana, I managed to bring out an Argent Sphinx and a Darksteel Plate that would remain unequipped.  Koth's army didn't all charge at once, but instead only the 3 Golems brought down their wrath upon my army.  At 7 life, I couldn't afford to let a single one through.  

I knew I had already lost, but I continued on with honour.  On my final turn, my resources were completely exhausted.  My army was eliminated save a single Hexplate Golem wrapped in Darksteel.  Despite his glorious size, he was unable to defend me from Koth's entire army.  I lowered my head as I waited for the final blow, my punishment for recklessness.  Just as I felt the sharp edge of the Crusader's curved blades, Koth ordered his army to halt.  He extended his hand and offered to accept my defeat.  The war was already upon us, and every single Mirran was called to defend their homelands.  Koth's passionate speech reminded me of our purpose.  After we clasped hands and reaffirmed each others combat skills, he commanded me to the front lines.

Round 2:  1 - 2 Loss.

Round 3:  The Endless Plague

I awaited my opponent with a sharply honed instinct and a focused will.  What awaited me was another matter entirely.  I was shocked to see my friend corrupted by the Phyrexian oils, a living testament to their infectious plague.  My third opponent of the day was to be Bobby.  I knew the depths of his power and I knew I was walking into impending doom.  

Game 1:  My Phyrexian-corrupted friend employed an arsenal of infected creatures.  His Phyrexian Juggernaut, 3 Rot Wolves and 3 Phyrexian Ragers could be instantly deadly. As I readied myself for battle, Bobby announced his own displeasure at facing me.  Perhaps he could still be redeemed.  I was eager to try.  My opening moves consisted of a Turn 2 Silver Myr, a turn 3 Argent Sphinx and a Turn 4 Gust Skimmer.  Bobby summoned a Turn 3 Cystbearer into a Turn 4 Phyrexian Rager.  I had a taste of the Cystbearer's toxic bite and was not looking forward to the rest of the battle.  Unfortunately, Bobby continued on the offensive.  My Skimmer died to a Virulent Wound, while the Myr was oxidized by a Viridian Corrupter.  Things weren't looking too good for me as I managed to summon nothing but mana sources in response.  Bobby Spread the Sickness to my poor Sphinx, destroying my final line defense before his plague-ridden troops forced my retreat.

Round 3:  0 - 1.

Game 2:  I recouped my losses and bandaged my wounds.  I couldn't keep my anger in check, despite Koth's teachings.  Unfortunately, my rage clouded my perception and in a blind rage, I gained back the ground I lost.  I have no memory of this particular event.

Round 3:  1 - 1.  (Actually, I'm not sure if I even won once. Sorry if this is wrong, Bob.)

Game 3:  This battle was the deciding factor.  Whoever lost would be unable to continue fighting.  I started much the same way as the first battle, with a Turn 3 Argent Sphinx.  Bobby brought out his army for this one, summoning a Cystbearer, a Blightwidow and a Rager.  His Blightwidow made a daring attempt to strike at my, but my Argent Sphinx protected me it's stinging bite.  Unfortunately, the Sphinx was Virulent Wounded by Bobby's poisonous touch.  My poor Sphinx had never been able to blink out of existence the whole day and now it would never do so again.  On the defensive, I lost both my Skimmer and  Glider to Bobby's Cystbearer and Blightwidow.  In a last ditch attempt, I Burned the Impure Cystbearer after sacrificing yet another creature to the gaping maw of the Blightwidow.  As I expected, the Cystbearer's charge unleashed his Untamed Might, shrugging off my divine flames. Anticipating an honourable death, I closed my eyes and shouted my admission of defeat to my opponent.  I braced myself in the darkness, as I could hear the Cystbearer pick up speed.  I felt the incoming gale of its powerful charge and gritted my teeth.  I was knocked off my feet as the Cystbearer came down upon my position.  I was puzzled, as it seemed to only inflict a glancing blow.  I looked up from the muck at Bobby.  Little by little, I realized that he spared my life, a testament to our friendship.  Perhaps he had his own agenda with the Phyrexians.

Round 3:  1 - 2 Loss.

Unable to continue, I staggered back to the Mirran Stronghold and nursed my wounds until the next time I would see battle.  I would never forget the events of this day.

/dramatic sequence  (...I'm not sure how that happened.)

Final Result:  1 - 2 Drop.

I dropped from the Tournament after that, as I had to leave for a party soon after.  I would've continued to play to help my previous opponents get better tiebreakers if I could.  I wished everyone luck before I left, with a shiny new promo Hero of Bladehold in tow.

After her third game, Nina said that the MBS Sealed format was extremely fast.  I agree with that statement.  Red/White gained plenty of removal, including Burn the Impure and Divine Offering.  Also, cheap Battlecry creatures such as Accorder Paladin and Goblin Wardriver make Red/White very scary.  

As expected, Kuldotha Flamefiend is very strong when its ability successfully resolves, even though it has the same weakness as Glint Hawk.  Copper Carapace is decent equipment, while Darksteel Plate sucks.  Although my blue cards were solid, they were far too slow to provide a timely answer to the format.  Hexplate Golem was a mistake, as I considered it an artifact towards metalcraft, when in essence it was merely a big creature.  Metalcraft relevant to an Argent Sphinx needs to be cheap, so that I can keep mana open to blink him. 
And apparently, my 2/1's just weren't good enough.

Despite my crappy sealed pool (imo), I made the mistake of trying to combine both different archetypes into one deck.  I ran only 13 or 14 artifacts, but the creatures were rarely relevant in my games.  I think I should have scrapped metalcraft, replaced blue with white and included more of those fatties.  Both Ogre Resisters, a couple of Loxodon Partisans and the two revoke existences could've improved my chances.  How would you have built the deck?

In any case, I enjoyed my experience at the Prerelease and I'd like to thank Leon, Nina and Kelly for organizing the whole thing.  Also, I'd like to give a shout out to my friends and Hairy Tarantula draft regulars.  Shoutouts to (alphabetically) Arthur, Beau, Bobby, Kelly, Leon, Lucas, Matt and Nina!  Hope you all did well!

... Hey, who casted Narcolepsy on me?!