MTG: Standard, Grand Prix Quebec City Report, 5-4

My preparation was lackluster since I wasn't a fan of standard before the GP and waited for the Pro Tour to inform my decisions, then I proceeded to get sick Saturday to Tuesday and wasn't able to think till Wednesday. After grinding some solitaire games on Cockatrice (so sad they're being sued by Wotc) I chose Eric Frolich's Naya “Aggro” deck cause it looked very well positioned against the aggressive decks I expected (WRONG) and had game against control decks with hasters and varied threats. After wolfing down some deliciously cheap Friday Subway while scrolling dailies of free wifi this is what I rampantly borrowed/sleeved up.

Lands: 24

4 Sacred Foundry

4 Temple Garden

4 Stomping Ground

2 Mountain

4 Rootbound Crag

3 Clifftop Retreat

3 Sunpetal Grove

Creatures: 26

4 Burning-Tree Emissary

4 Squire aka Gyre Sage

4 Loxodon Smiter

4 Boros Reckoner

4 Hellrider

4 Flinthoof Boar

2 Thundermaw Hellkite

Underpowered Cards: 10

2 Mizzium Mortars

4 Domri Rade

2 Boros Charm

2 Garruk, Primal Hunter

Sideboard: 15

1 Boros Charm

2 Nearheath Pilgrim

2 Pacifism

1 Aurelia, the Warleader

2 Rest in Peace

2 Triumph of Ferocity

2 Centaur Healer

1 Thundermaw Hellkite

2 Mizzium Mortars

My tournament wasn't overly memorable, so here's a quick write up of the rounds I remember.

R1: Bye vs Subway: I opted for a 6 inch instead of a 11 inch Ham sub since I didn’t want to be sluggish, picked up some ice for value.

R2: 2-1 vs Esper Control: Got very lucky to win this match, won g2 off Hellrider → Thundermaw → Aurelia, only 3 spells I cast. G3 he got mana screwed.

R3: 0-2 vs Uwr Flash: Everything came together for my opponent and I got revelated out both games.

R4: 0-2 GBWR Reanimator: Got smashed by Gisela 2 games in a row.

R5: 2-0 UWR Flash: All I remember was ultimating Garruk Primal Hunter and Domri Rade at the same time on the last turn and attacking for 108 damage.

R6: 2-x ?? Literally no idea what happened

R7: 2-x ?? Literally no idea what happened

R8: 0-2 vs Naya Midrange: Opposing deck was exactly one level bigger then mine, never had a chance.

R9: 1-2 vs Jund: The first 2 games where even, almost won g3 for planeswalker points but double Sever the Bloodline was just enough to keep him in the game.

After bombing out at 5-4 I proceeded to drown my sorrow in Poutine, a slice of smoked meat sandwich, washed down by a bottle of Red Wine (don't judge! :P). Team drafts provided little comfort as I went against the golden rule, CURVE CURVE CURVE and built 6 drop riddled abominations.

Coming into this tournament I wasn't a big fan of t2, but after jamming big monsters over 8 rounds and interacting with my opponents I've come around. I think the reason I wasn't having fun with t2 was that I hate playing Uwr and all the colors I typically like just aren't up to par. Now I'm digging turning green monsters like Loxodon Smitter or Wolfir Silverheart's sideways while playing varied and resilient threats to dodge sweepers.

My deck was a piece of crap and I hate Efro for making it, I hate Gyre Sage, and I hate myself for playing it. Here's a list of cards I have strong feelings toward.

Gyre Sage: I have no idea why I sleeved up Squire. This piece of crap deck can't effectively evolve it OR utilize the 1-2 mana you generate from it. It's playable in some G/R lists but not here.

Garruk, Primal Hunter: This was a better Thragtusk in the absence of Resto Angel and very resilient.

Boror Reckoner: IMO this is a pillar of the format, you have to have a good reason if you're getting colded by this.

Hellrider: Unless you're hyper aggro there is no bloody reason you should be playing this into Thrag/Resto/Reckoner.

Boros Charm: Very happy I swapped 2 for Mizzium Mortars, functioned virtually as removal while canceling sweeprs.

Mizzium Mortars: Was fine, not being able to dome people was annoying vs control

Aurelia: Sick sick sick card, should be playing moar.

I liked the jist of what this deck was trying to do, but it wasn't aggressive or big enough to do well. In the future I'd either lean more toward a Naya Midrange deck with Thrag+Resto and Aurelia, a hyper aggro red based aggro deck, or a RG Big Stuff deck (personal front runner). Either way I'm just gonna pick the list that I have the most fun playing.

I'd like to thank all the people that loaned me a literal metric ton of cards and put up with my constant moaning, bitching, and rants on #value. Jonny Teigesser, Nathan Rober Enkel Jr, Ryan Duffield, Bjarn, Bjarne Ling + co, Derek Lansche, Brian “Ryzaru” Liu, and Lisa Seelye. Well that's it for this week. I'd like to thank all the If you've got any questions, suggestions, or comments please feel free to post em.