Before actually going to the elections last Monday, I played some Limited-format Magic last Sunday at Galleria.
The format was Time Spiral Block Sealed, and I was feeling good. I opened a card pool with no outstanding rares. The only real bomb was the red uncommon Pyrohemia. Spotting the Deep-Sea Kraken and wanting to play it, I decided to go red-blue. I tested the build for a few minutes before realizing it completely stunk and had very few creatures. I looked over the card pool and quickly realized I had overlooked some quality green fatties: Nacatl War-Pride, Durkwood Baloth, Sporesower Thallid, etc. During the last minute of deck-building, I switched to a red/green build with a rather nice curve that proved quite solid.
I went 5-1 in the first six rounds, always hovering near the top tables. Also took down quite a few of the top limited players in the country. Not too shabby for a deck built in under a minute! For the seventh and last round, my opponent asked for the win since I was guaranteed top eight status already. After some negotiation, he agreed to split his prizes with me after I conceded.
So my finish was a respectable 5-2, but with some pretty good wins and quite a number of packs taken home. Nacatl War-Pride is quite good in sealed (dunno in draft), it’s practically a “must-kill” creature. Pyrohemia is a true bomb, as it turned the game around for me more than once.
I love playing Limited Magic, much more so than Constructed, despite the fact it feels more expensive (I’m still not sure whether it actually is more expensive) Constructed Magic is fun, but I prefer not having to worry about metagames. Coming to a tournament bringing nothing but your deckbuilding and playing skills, opening your packs, building your deck and slugging it out — there’s no better way to play Magic.
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