Welcome to the first installment of Game Day Grinder, the article series that seeks to answer questions related to a broad topic: how do budget constraints affect players wanting to play competitively? If you haven’t read the introduction to the article series yet, click here.
If I want to play in tournaments, I need to get my hands on a Standard-legal deck.
Prior to choosing an Intro Pack for this crazy experiment, I first needed to get equipped. With such a staggering array of accessories to choose from, I had to focus on the necessities and find the most affordable options available.
Our local store happily provides players with free life pads and pens, so that was one less thing to worry about. After doing some initial research, I decided on the following:
• Magic 2015 Intro Pack – $11.99 + tax
• Four-page Ultra Pro binder – $8.69 + tax
• Ultra Pro deck box (basic) – $1.49 + tax
• Legion sleeves (50 ct.) x2 – $3.48 + tax each
Total Initial Investment (after tax): $33.50 CAD
Next, I had to choose which Intro Pack to use for the next ten weeks of my budding local tournament career. I started by looking through all of the Magic 2015 Intro Pack decklists, which can be found here.
While I knew that some of the decks would provide me with greater value in the long run and others would prove easier to update, I also knew that I wouldn’t enjoy my time playing the game unless I picked the deck that I thought would be the most fun to play. I settled on the following deck:
[deck title=Magic 2015 Intro Pack – Will of the Masses]
[Creatures]
2 Sunblade Elf
2 Selfless Cathar
1 Wall of Mulch
2 Oreskos Swiftclaw
2 Midnight Guard
2 Living Totem
2 Will-Forged Golem
1 Phytotitan
2 Siege Wurm
2 Seraph of the Masses
1 Hornet Queen
[/Creatures]
[Other Spells]
1 Gather Courage
1 Naturalize
1 Titanic Growth
3 Raise the Alarm
2 Devouring Light
1 Nissa’s Expedition
1 Sanctified Charge
1 Meditation Puzzle
2 Triplicate Spirits
1 Overwhelm
2 Feral Incarnation
[/Other Spells]
[Lands]
13 Forest
12 Plains
[/Lands]
[/deck]
Token strategies can sometimes be difficult for certain deck archetypes to deal with, and I absolutely adore token-based decks, so the choice was relatively easy! I opened the box and laid everything out on the table, anxious to sleeve it up. Then came the most exciting part: opening up the two M15 booster packs that came with the Intro Pack! The contents of both booster packs would determine how easy it would be to obtain new cards for my deck. Visions of opening planeswalkers and other expensive rares popped in my head. This was the big moment!
Pack 1
Plains
Spirit Token
[card]Tireless Missionaries[/card]
[card]Glacial Crasher[/card]
[card]Child of Night[/card]
[card]Titanic Growth[/card]
[card]Selfless Cathar[/card]
[card]Chronostutter[/card]
[card]Rummaging Goblin[/card]
[card]Bronze Sable[/card]
[card]Oreskos Swiftclaw[/card]
[card]Negate[/card]
[card]Jorubai Murk Lurker[/card]
[card]Reclamation Sage[/card]
[card]Stoke the Flames[/card]
[card]Grindclock[/card]
Pack 2
Island
Tip Card
[card]Crowd’s Favor[/card]
[card]Covenant of Blood[/card]
[card]Hunt the Weak[/card]
[card]Invisibility[/card]
[card]Borderland Marauder[/card]
[card]Raise the Alarm[/card]
[card]Divination[/card]
[card]Will-Forged Golem[/card]
[card]Scrapyard Mongrel[/card]
[card]Brood Keeper[/card]
[card]Warden of the Beyond[/card]
[card]Feral Incarnation[/card]
[card]Hornet Nest[/card]
[card]Child of Night[/card] (Foil)
I was crestfallen-no big money cards. Normally, I wouldn’t care if I lost the booster pack lottery as I could just buy whatever cards I needed for a deck, but now I needed to rely on these booster packs for value. Without a bit of luck, it would be a lot harder for me to trade for other cards and make my deck better.
A sinking feeling set in my stomach, and I almost scrapped the whole idea altogether.
“Why am I even doing this? I can just take the loss, forget about this whole experiment, and go back to playing Magic like I normally would. This seems like so much work, and I won’t be able to trade for anything with these crummy cards!”
I even thought about buying another Intro Pack, hoping to get better cards in the two new booster packs and pretending that it was my initial choice all along. In the end, I decided that it was probably better that I didn’t open anything spectacular, since the challenge would give me better insight as to how people approach playing Magic on a budget.
My First Revelation
When you rely on a few booster packs to build your collection, cracking packs is like an emotional roller coaster. When I would crack packs before (not out of necessity, but because they were just lying around), I wouldn’t think twice about getting a bulk rare or one of the most expensive cards from the set. My responses would be akin to: “Oh well, another bulk card I can recycle” or “Oh cool, I got a decent card. That’s pretty sweet, I guess.” Opening up these two packs was disheartening. I really wish I could’ve opened some better trade fodder.
Even with less-than-stellar pulls, I was able to complete one small trade the day before Game Day:
Trade (08/08/2014)
[card]Stoke the Flames[/card] -> [card]Frontline Medic[/card]
[card]Child of Night[/card] (FOIL) -> [card]Devouring Light[/card]
Already, my trading mindset had shifted. Although I didn’t necessarily want to trade for cards that were going to rotate right before the Khans of Tarkir Game Day, I convinced myself that adding a [card]Frontline Medic[/card] to my deck would help tremendously. Luckily, [card]Stoke the Flames[/card] found itself a home in a burn deck showcased at the recent Pro Tour, so it was pretty easy to trade it for the rare Battalion Soldier from Gatecrash. Hopefully, he’ll be able to help me push through some damage with my swarm of attacking tokens!
I was also pleased to trade my foil [card]Child of Night[/card] for a copy of [card]Devouring Light[/card]. Premium removal will be hard to come by, so [card]Devouring Light[/card] is my go-to card for now. Using [card]Raise the Alarm[/card] tokens at the end of turn or mid-combat to then Convoke a [card]Devouring Light[/card] could be pretty awesome.
I was also lucky to have opened up a fourth copy of [card]Raise the Alarm[/card] in one of my packs. Here are the changes I made before Game Day:
Out
1 [card]Meditation Puzzle[/card]
1 [card]Wall of Mulch[/card]
1 [card]Naturalize[/card]
2 [card]Siege Wurm[/card]
2 [card]Feral Incarnation[/card]
1 Forest
In
1 [card]Bronze Sable[/card]
1 [card]Selfless Cathar[/card]
1 [card]Raise the Alarm[/card]
1 [card]Oreskos Swiftclaw[/card]
1 [card]Hornet Nest[/card]
1 [card]Titanic Growth[/card]
1 [card]Frontline Medic[/card]
1 [card]Devouring Light[/card]
Meditation Puzzle, [card]Wall of Mulch[/card], and [card]Naturalize[/card] were easy cuts. They’re better off as sideboard cards or not played at all since I’m trying to swarm by opponent and be aggressive. The [card]Siege Wurm[/card]s and [card]Feral Incarnation[/card]s seemed too slow, so I cut those as well.
I added a [card]Bronze Sable[/card] and a third copy of [card]Oreskos Swiftclaw[/card] to smooth out my curve, as well as a third [card]Selfless Cathar[/card] to enable some bigger swings with my swarm of tokens. [card]Raise the Alarm[/card], [card]Devouring Light[/card], and [card]Frontline Medic[/card] were easy additions. Although [card]Hornet Nest[/card] is probably a better card to leave in the sideboard against aggressive decks, I’d much rather play with it in the main deck than some of the other cards in the original list. A second copy of [card]Titanic Growth[/card] made the main deck as well, mostly as a pump spell to get past [card]Sylvan Caryatid[/card] and [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card], as well as some extra damage to finish off my opponents.
[deck title=Final Decklist for M15 Game Day]
[Creatures]
2 Sunblade Elf
3 Selfless Cathar
3 Oreskos Swiftclaw
1 Bronze Sable
2 Midnight Guard
1 Hornet Nest
1 Frontline Medic
2 Living Totem
2 Will-Forged Golem
1 Phytotitan
2 Seraph of the Masses
1 Hornet Queen
[/Creatures]
[Other Spells]
1 Gather Courage
2 Titanic Growth
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Devouring Light
1 Nissa’s Expedition
1 Sanctified Charge
2 Triplicate Spirits
1 Overwhelm
[/Other Spells]
[Lands]
12 Forest
12 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Naturalize
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Tireless Missionaries
1 Meditation Puzzle
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
Magic 2015 Game Day Event
I was feeling uneasy. Although I knew I wouldn’t do exceptionally well, that wasn’t my biggest concern. I adjusted my expectations and set out to have fun, focusing on learning the deck’s strengths and weaknesses so I’d know what areas to improve going forward.
The biggest concern for me was actually what people would think when I played a couple of cards and they realized I was playing an Intro Deck. I knew that I could explain the reasoning behind my deck choice and my opponents would understand, but my imagination was running wild. What would they think of me?
“This guy’s deck is terrible. Why is he even playing with this deck?”
“If I lose to this pile of crummy cards, I’m going to quit Magic forever.”
“This match is going to be a bye.”
I may be exaggerating, and not every player looks down on their opponents who don’t have tier-one decks, but it was still nagging at the back of my mind.
My Second Revelation
When you’re playing in a competitive setting and you don’t feel proud of your deck or cards, you feel vulnerable. As nice as your opponent may be, you don’t know what they could actually be thinking, and sometimes it’s hard not to think of the worst. In my case, I was dejected from the get-go and felt inferior to the other players. Even though I’m a skilled player and many of the players know me at the store, I felt more exposed than ever before.
Luckily, that feeling dissipated shortly thereafter.
It was a beautiful, sunny Sunday afternoon, and I wasn’t surprised to see such a small turnout at the store. I was told that there were tons of players who had played in the previous day’s event, but the numbers on Sunday had dwindled because of the nice weather.
There were ten players in the tournament, and each of us received the full-art [card]Reclamation Sage[/card] promo just for playing. I knew that it would be a popular card, so I was excited to find a player who wanted to trade for it at the tournament.
With only ten players in the event, it also meant that, if I could somehow string together a couple of wins, I might actually snag a full-art foil [card]Chief Engineer[/card] if I made it into the top eight. Although each player in the top eight was awarded the [card]Chief Engineer[/card] promo, the event was four rounds of Swiss followed by a cut to top four. Twenty booster packs would be split among the top four players.
Round 1 – GW Auras
My first opponent was playing a green-white enchantment deck with cards like [card]Gladecover Scout[/card], [card]Eidolon of Countless Battles[/card], and [card]Ethereal Armor[/card]. I assume that he was also playing cards like [card]Bassara Tower Archer[/card], [card]Hopeful Eidolon[/card], and [card]Unflinching Courage[/card], but I can’t be too sure because the games were pretty lopsided.
Luckily, in both games, I had a relatively aggressive start. I started with early Sunblade Elves and [card]Selfless Cathar[/card]s, and with the aid of my [card]Raise the Alarm[/card] tokens, I made short work of my opponent. Unfortunately for him, he kept a land-heavy hand the first game and succumbed to my aggressive start. He had to unfortunately mulligan to five in the second game where I took advantage of him stumbling for several turns.
SCORE: 1-0
What I learned:
If I stick with an aggressive strategy, I’ll be able to steal some wins against opponents who stumble early or make bad mulligan decisions. Sticking with an aggressive token strategy might be key going forward.
[card]Sunblade Elf[/card] and early token pressure is a great combination. I vastly underrated [card]Selfless Cathar[/card] being able to push through a lot of damage, and also being able to chip away at my opponent’s life total.
Round 2 – UWR Control
Once again, I got lucky with my opponent stumbling on land drops early in the first game. Cathars and Sunblade Elves made short work of his life total as he couldn’t cast any of his three- or four-drop removal spells in time.
The second game was more interesting. My opponent played an early [card]Nyx-Fleece Ram[/card] which stopped my soldier tokens and then played a [card]Sphinx’s Revelation[/card]. He eventually cast a second [card]Sphinx’s Revelation[/card] for five, but I managed to push through some damage, bringing him from 30 life to 13 in a couple of turns. Unfortunately for me, he was playing several copies of [card]Stormbreath Dragon[/card], which made short work of my life total as I couldn’t get rid of it with my copies of [card]Devouring Light[/card].
Another aggressive start in the third game helped me get my opponent down to two before he stabilized with a [card]Nyx-Fleece Ram[/card]. I had no cards in hands at one point when he was forced to cast [card]Supreme Verdict[/card], taking out his own Ram (and my whole board) at the same time. To my dismay, I had overextended, thinking that he might not have been playing any copies of [card]Supreme Verdict[/card] since I hadn’t seen any either of the first two games. I thought he had used up his slots for [card]Anger of the Gods[/card], [card]Thoughtflare[/card], [card]Chained to the Rocks[/card], [card]Izzet Charm[/card]s, and [card]Stormbreath Dragon[/card]s (all of which I had seen). Luckily for me, I drew a sideboarded [card]Naturalize[/card] on a key turn, playing it on his [card]Detention Sphere[/card] to get back my [card]Frontline Medic[/card] at end of turn. He was at four life at that point, and I then topdecked a [card]Selfless Cathar[/card]. With three mana open on his side of the board, I decided to take the risk and sacrifice my Cathar right away to deal the last points of damage. Luckily, he didn’t have an [card]Azorius Charm[/card] in hand and I clinched the win.
My opponent commented that he really liked the token strategy and commended me on the win, which meant a lot more to me than usual since I felt so dejected at the beginning of the day.
SCORE: 2-0
What I learned:
[card]Nyx-Fleece Ram[/card] isn’t as annoying against my deck as it might be against other aggressive strategies. Swarming the board with tokens provides enough flexibility to set up some big turns while maintaining adequate pressure. [card]Frontline Medic[/card] is an MVP against [card]Sphinx’s Revelation[/card] decks.
Round 3 – Junk Midrange
I got paired down in this round, only realizing after the match that my opponent was 1-1 at this point.
My opponent played three copies of both [card]Courser of Kruphix[/card] and [card]Voice of Resurgence[/card] in the first game. On a crucial turn, I drew my seventh land and resolved [card]Hornet Queen[/card], which stopped my opponent in his tracks. He didn’t have any cards left in hand at that time and was drawing thin. Not wanting to attack into my deathtouch tokens, there were several turns where he allowed me to chip away at his life total in the air. Unfortunately, the three life he was gaining per land drop was putting a damper on things. At one point, I had played a [card]Selfless Cathar[/card] and attacked him with my [card]Hornet Queen[/card] and four tokens in the air, bringing him down to 15 life. Knowing that he would attack with everything the next turn, I had set it up so that, even with three life gained from his Coursers, I went down to 2 life and had a lethal swing against him if I drew a second [card]Selfless Cathar[/card], a [card]Sunblade Elf[/card], my copy of [card]Overwhelm[/card], or my copy of [card]Sanctified Charge[/card]. Unfortunately, I drew a land and scooped.
We both took mulligans down to five cards in the second game, but my aggressive start was enough to secure a win. It was a relatively quick game, with me still at 20 life after having dealt the final points of damage.
The third game was a lot of fun. My opponent cast a [card]Blood Baron of Vizkopa[/card] on the fifth turn, followed by a copy of Obzedat. I managed to trick him into attacking me (for what he thought would be a lethal attack) so I could cast [card]Devouring Light[/card]. Unfortunately, he had a second copy of Obzedat to clinch the game.
SCORE: 2-1
I got another ego boost at the end of the match, with my opponent commenting how impressive it was that an Intro Pack could actually go head to head with some tier-one strategies. I felt like I played well and that the deck could pack a punch if it drew the right cards. If I managed to win the last round, I would probably make top four of the Game Day event!
What I learned:
I can’t currently beat a [card]Blood Baron of Vizkopa[/card] unless I have [card]Hornet Queen[/card] tokens out or pump one of my Green creatures on defense.
Round 4 – Red/White Burn
This is where the event took a turn for the worse. I was paired up against the only player who was 3-0, and he was sitting beside one of his friends, with a second friend sitting nearby to watch him play. I knew both of my opponent’s friends but had never played him before. The whole match, one of his friends continued to taunt him, telling him how much he would love to see him lose to an Intro Deck and how humiliating it would be. It was all in good fun, and I know that his friend had no ill intentions, but it irked me.
Even though I was dejected before the event had started, I was now sitting at 2-1, having gone to game three in the last round. I wanted to win the match more than anything. Not only would I get to top four and win some much-needed packs, but I would prove to everyone that it’s possible to do well with a sub-par deck.
I had traveled to Worcester a few weeks back to play in the Modern Grand Prix, and I had done terribly in the main event. Sitting at 2-2 heading into the fifth round, I sat across from my opponent, a kid with a bubbly personality and a funny hat. He took out his deck box and placed it on the table. “Oh,” I thought to myself, “he keeps his deck in the Modern Event Deck box”. He then removed his deck from the box, and I saw that his deck was sleeved in the Modern Event Deck sleeves. A mixed feeling of elation and dread washed over me at the same time. As soon as my opponent started chatting with the player beside me about how he took the Modern Event Deck and tweaked it slightly, seeing how far he could go with it at the Grand Prix, a million different thoughts entered my mind at once.
“This should be a piece of cake, right? There’s no way I can lose to the Modern Event Deck.”
“Oh no! What if I lose to the Modern Event Deck?”
“What am I going to tell people when they ask how well I’m doing?”
The kid proceeded to stomp me in two games. Granted, my deck was pretty weak to [card]Lingering Souls[/card] tokens, but I lost nonetheless. I immediately dropped from the main event and went to play some side events. I found it pretty funny that I was knocked out of the tournament by the Modern Event Deck, and I jokingly retold the story to everyone who asked. I’ll be the first to admit that it made a great tale. However, I felt pretty disappointed after that loss, so I knew how my opponent in the fourth round of the Magic 2015 Game Day event must be feeling as his friend was taunting him.
An early [card]Young Pyromancer[/card] clinched the first game for my opponent when I couldn’t keep up with his tokens and removal. After the game, I felt as though he was over-confident, knowing that he was the only 3-0 and playing against someone with an Intro Deck. His body language seemed to confirm my hypothesis.
He kept a one-land hand in the second game and fell way behind. He also made a crucial misplay towards the end of the game. He had a [card]Satyr Firedancer[/card] out and tried to set up a [card]Searing Blood[/card] chain but targeted my [card]Selfless Cathar[/card], which I simply sacrificed to negate the [card]Searing Blood[/card] (and in turn, the chain from the [card]Satyr Firedancer[/card]).
I was on the draw for the third game, and had an incredible hand against my opponent, which included a [card]Sunblade Elf[/card], [card]Raise the Alarm[/card], and the one copy of [card]Gather Courage[/card] in my deck, which I knew would easily negate one of his burn spells targeting my creatures. However, I only had one land in hand. After mulling it over for a while, I decided to risk it and didn’t draw a second land the rest of the game.
SCORE: 2-2
What’s interesting at this point is that my opponent could have conceded to me and still have been guaranteed a spot in the top four. I explained that he could concede to me and we would both be in the top four, and that it might be in his best interest to let the player with the Intro Deck into the Top 4 to make it an easier matchup for him should he face me, rather than play against an unknown tier-one deck. I thanked him for the games, wished him luck in the Top 4, and told him that it was his choice whether to concede or not. He eventually submitted the score as his win, knocking me down to fifth place. I guess he was afraid of the Intro Deck after all!
For my efforts, I had earned two promo cards that I could trade away: the full-art [card]Reclamation Sage[/card] and the full-art foil [card]Chief Engineer[/card] for making top eight of the event. Having checked the completed listings on eBay for both cards, we determined that the [card]Reclamation Sage[/card] hovered between the $3-$5 range and that the [card]Chief Engineer[/card] was selling for an average of $5. Although some major sites had the [card]Reclamation Sage[/card] listed at $2, the person who traded for it was happy to value it at $5, knowing that I needed help improving my deck.
My Third Revelation
If someone knows you’re looking for less valuable cards to improve your deck and you ask them for some suggestions, they can sometimes be generous when trading!
Trades (08/10/2014)
[card]Reclamation Sage[/card] (Full Art Promo) -> 2 [card]Spear of Heliod[/card], 1 [card]Hornet Nest[/card]
[card]Chief Engineer[/card] (Full Art Foil Promo) -> 4 [card]Imposing Sovereign[/card], 1 [card]Hornet Nest[/card], 1 [card]Scion of Vitu-Ghazi[/card], 1 [card]Wayfaring Temple[/card]
Out
1 [card]Hornet Nest[/card] (moved to Sideboard)
3 [card]Oreskos Swiftclaw[/card]
1 [card]Bronze Sable[/card]
2 [card]Will-Forged Golem[/card]
1 [card]Overwhelm[/card]
In
4 [card]Imposing Sovereign[/card]
2 [card]Spear of Heliod[/card]
1 [card]Wayfaring Temple[/card]
1 [card]Scion of Vitu-Ghazi[/card]
[deck title=Updated Decklist]
[Creatures]
2 Sunblade Elf
3 Selfless Cathar
4 Imposing Sovereign
2 Midnight Guard
1 Wayfaring Temple
1 Frontline Medic
2 Living Totem
1 Scion of Vitu-Ghazi
1 Phytotitan
2 Seraph of the Masses
1 Hornet Queen
[/Creatures]
[Other Spells]
2 Spear of Heliod
1 Gather Courage
2 Titanic Growth
4 Raise the Alarm
3 Devouring Light
1 Nissa’s Expedition
1 Sanctified Charge
2 Triplicate Spirits
[/Other Spells]
[Lands]
12 Forest
12 Plains
[/Lands]
[Sideboard]
1 Naturalize
1 Reclamation Sage
3 Hornet Nest
1 Tireless Missionaries
1 Meditation Puzzle
[/Sideboard]
[/deck]
Be sure to follow my journey in the coming weeks! I’d love to hear about your experiences with budgeting, your approaches to deck building on a budget, personal stories, as well as suggestions about the deck. What should we focus on? What are some good, cheap cards that we should try to get in the coming weeks with our small budget?