Day 1

Finally the event is happening! We had to wake up super early in order to be there at 8 AM for deck registration. I made some last minute changes to my deck that actually cost me a few games lol (oops!). So we started walking over there and ended up at the wrong building with a bunch of other people. Instructions were unclear haha. I left Mark and Ryan to go with my friend Noel (who was staying with us for the duration of the event) to a local convenience store. The stores here are so cool. They feel very modern and out of place in such a city with brick-laden roads and bicycles everywhere. It was like stepping into what America could be. I bought two chicken wraps, a Caesar and a Buffalo wrap, to sate my hunger and hold one for later. Instead I ate both right then and there before the tournament even started lol.

Got back to the venue at 9 AM just in time for rounds to start.

Round 1

Round 1, Game 1, no info from my opponent and I’m going first (on the play). So I take a huge chance and cast a Lunette. She is a 1 toughness creature that causes the opponent’s creatures to enter rested. This means they cannot attack or retaliate until their following turn. I pass and the opponent flips a spirit of wind. They drop a creature rested and I fist pump in my head because I made the EXACT RIGHT CALL into a blind opponent, which eventually wins me the game as I trade down cards with him at a huge disadvantage. Game 2 looks really similar and he gets visibly mad that I play the card. Bad luck for him, lucky for me!

Round 2 (1-0-0)

Playing against Wind Allen, which I didn’t know until turn 4. But Allen is one of my favorite champions. My opponent was from England, and super friendly, but he was just there for fun. Felt bad beating him because Allen is simply a worse version of the deck I played round 1. We shake hands and part ways. Onto round 3.

Round 3 (2-0-0)

Fire Merlin. Oh man, this is a great matchup for me. We trade cards and I power level with Scepter of Lumina on board (which deals 4 when you level up) and end up slice and dicing him for 13. Easy win. He and I both sideboard and I bring in cards that apply even more pressure while removing his resources. I 2-0 the match and it’s onto round 4!

Round 4 (3-0-0)

I play against a guy from the Czech Republic who is on a similar deck to mine. He has some different cards that make all the difference and he kills me. Nothing I could do. I made a play mistake that cost me the game but I didn’t know his deck list exactly. Turns out he had some spice. Oh well! Round 4 over.

Round 5 (3-1-0)

I sit down and lo and behold it’s the deck I didn’t want to see. Water Arisanna. Game 1 goes as expected. I get back to back icebound slammed with no answer in hand and simply die. Literally nothing I could do. That’s the sign of a well balanced game for sure /s. So Game 2, he mills me to death, but he’s at 4, I level into my final champion killing him with the scepter before I draw out and die lol. It was actually really cool haha. Game 3 I just get stratagem’d for like 80 on turn 5. Sick.

Round 6 (3-2-0)

I play vs another wind allies and kill them. Enough said.

Round 7 (4-2-0)

I end up playing against my friend’s friend on Fire Merlin. He is on fragmented spirit, which is really good for me. Game 1, I didn’t realize he was on fire merlin. I thought he was on Fire Lorraine until he leveled into Merlin ate my floating memory and double horsed in the late game. I scoop to game 2.

I trade resources and clear his board. He drops a shieldmate and I tap it down with snow fairy, I keep applying pressure and eventually find the slice and dice. Stick puts in work. Game 3 looks similar and we shake hands. Sad I kicked him out of day 2.

Round 8 (5-2-0)

I sit down across from a water Nico (unknown to me at the time) and we intentionally draw to both make day 2. First day 2 I’ve ever made, woot!

Day 2!

This is the first event outside of Worlds that I’ve ever Day 2’d. I feel great. I’m happy with whatever happens. I dress up in a partial tux because I think it’s cool to look prestigious; make the fit match the feeling, you know? We barely make it in time for deck check because my friend Noel couldn’t find his glasses. We’re sitting in the Uber like “omg where is he?!??” Lol. Unnecessary stress! But it all worked out.

Round 9 (5-2-1)

I have to play vs my last opponent and they put me on stream. I effing hate being on stream. So we get on stream and he’s nervous and I’m nervous. Halfway through game 1, the table judge says to me, “Can you speed up your play? You’re in the gray zone.” And I’m like “wtf??” But I say, “Sure.” So then I make a gameplay error. Me, the judge and my opponent all miss it and we pass to the opponent’s turn. They pause the game and unwind the game state in a SUPER unfavorable way. I’m tilted into oblivion. I would have rather taken the game loss than have that be the ruling. It’s insane that we couldn’t just unwind back to my turn. Like, the opponent was hands down, no options so there’s no reason we couldn’t. F***ing wild. I concede after I keep whiffing my gotcha win off the top and I’m dead to rights. We shake and go to game 2.

Game 2 I drop a Nia on turn 1, he frostsworns with float because of course he does, and clears Nia. I literally am giga-tilted at this point so I don’t really care. Halfway through I just stop trying and let him have it. Fuck playing on stream dude. That shit sucks.

I make it a point to tell him good game, and be super sportsman-like. But next time I’m asked to play on stream I will disrespectfully decline and take the loss for the round. I have never won on stream because I constantly fuck it up. Never again. Even if I’m gonna make top 4 for an event if I play on stream, I’ll take the L and just get 5th or 6th. Never again and I mean it.

Round 10 (5-3-1)

Someone I can’t remember sits down across from me and I get murdered. Still tilted off the last round.

Round 11 (5-4-1)

Water Ari again. I didn’t realize we were going into overtime, they literally didn’t announce it. Judge sat down and said “that’s time in the round” and I said, “ok, we have 5 minutes” and then he said, “No, that’s time in overtime, game is over.” He tried to convince me to give him the dub but I took the tie and then dropped. Sorry dude, if you’re reading this, I know it’s not your fault — I had been having a bad day and I’d have given it to you otherwise.

Round 12 (5-4-2 Drop)

Mark had dropped from the tournament the previous round and they forgot to drop me, so apparently I would have had to play against him but instead got the bye lmaoooooo. So stupid lol. Mark and I laughed about it a lot and I went to go get some lunch.

Conclusion

5-4-2 isn’t really a great showing. I don’t actually think I deserved to day 2, but I just won the swiss lottery playing against all my most favored matchups. I will look back at this event fondly but only for the people I met and talked with and had the pleasure of enjoying the company thereof. I am somewhat unhappy with the ruling made, as we could have unwound the game state, and I think in literally any other game the opponent and I would have agreed on it. Even if not, that’s fine if the opponent wouldn’t let me take it back but I would always rather play a good game of Grand Archive and lose out because of skill than play some unwinnable board state because of a shit ruling. Oh well.

I’m looking forward to being in Utrecht, Germany and Amsterdam for the next week though! I hope you enjoyed the tournament report. I don’t write these often but it was a lot of fun. See you all soon in my next blog post now that I’m back onto touristy stuff 😉