GP Portland

One week ago I was preparing to play in my first ever Grand Prix in Portland, Oregon. Two days into the Grand Prix I had made it to the day two. Truth be told, Goblin Guide has always been good to me.

Going into the tournament I wasn't sure of what the format would look like, but I knew I wanted my deck to be aggressive. I had never played modern before, so I asked some friends to help point me in the right direction.

Here's the list I played for 15 rounds:

Maindeck

4xGoblin Guide

1xGrim Lavamancer

4 Experiment One

4 Kird Ape

4 Burning-Tree Emissary

4 Flinthoof Boar

4 Tarmogoyf

4 Ghor-Clan Rampager

3 Molten Rain

4 Lightning Bolt

1 Arc Trail

4 Searing Blaze

2 Dismember

Land

4 Arid Mesa

4 Copperline Gorge

1 Forest

2 Mountain

1 Scalding Tarn

4 Stomping Ground

4 Verdant Catacombs

SideBoard
1x Smash to Smithereens
1x Dismember
2x Deglamer
2x Phyrexian Revoker
2x Aura Barbs
2x Sulfur Elemental

1x Grim Lavamancer

(Note: Thanks to Luke McGrath and Renny Do for the deck.)

During the players meeting the head judge announced that there were 978 players in attendance. This meant day one would consist of nine gruul-ing rounds.

This is how my first day of playing look:

Round one: Was a tough battle in the line at Starbucks, but I got there. (Bye)

Round two: I find out what my worst matchup is. Can't beat UWR. (0-2)

Round three: My opponent was on a 4-color Pod deck and he never saw a third land both games. (2-0)

Round four: Ajani Jund, Jund splashing white, Ajundi, whatever you want to call it I don't care. (0-2)

At this point my record is 2-2, which means I must win my last five matches to make day two. No pressure, right?

Round five: I find out what my best matchup is. Mono-U Merfolk, Lavamancer reigns supreme. (2-0)

Round six: My opponent is on Affinity featuring Dark Confidant. Game one goes my way very quickly. Game two I'm on a mulligan to five and my opponent is at four life with two Confidants in play. His first trigger reveals Thoughtcast, game. (2-0)

Round seven: I was feeling pretty nervous when my opponent fetched a Blood Crypt on turn one and played a Deathrite Shaman. But in the end, it didn't matter. (2-0)

Just two more rounds to go. Two more wins and I get to continue my rampage tomorrow. I'm having a hard time staying focused so I devise a master playlist on my phone that consists of Kid Cudi, Odd Future, and Paramore. I put my headphones on, press play, and make my way to the pairings.

Round eight: My opponent is on the UWR control deck as opposed to the midrange version with Geist of Saint Traft. Games one and two are rather lopsided. Game three starts with mulligans on both sides. I keep six and my opponent keeps five. I draw three lands and Molten Rain his only red source. Game. (2-1)

Round nine: The magic gods must've been on my side for this one. Game one I'm able to win through four Mana Leaks and two Pyroclasms. Game two my opponent mulligans to five and draws infinite lands. After the game my opponent shows me Huntmaster of the Fells, Phantasmal Image, and Thragtusk. (2-0)

Got there.

Day two

Round ten: My opponent is Stephen Mann. He is coming off of a fifth place finish at Pro Tour Gatecrash and playing Jund. Mann gets mann-a screwed both games despite multiple Dark Confidants. (2-0)

Round eleven: My opponent is Olivier Levy, brother of hall of famer Raphael Levy. He is on Dredgevine. On my first turn Kird Ape outclasses his first turn Gravecrawler. (2-0)

Round twelve: My opponent is hall of famer Jon Finkel. Finkel is the only player in the room on UR Storm. Game one he casts Gitaxian Probe and I reveal Verdant Catacombs, Arid Mesa, Kird Ape, Burning-Tree Emissary, Burning-Tree Emissary, Flinthoof Boar, and Tarmogoyf. Finkel responds with "your hand is very good", game one goes to me. Game two I mulligan to five and get shot with tons of grapes on turn four. Game three we both keep seven. Finkel casts Empty the Warrens for six copied by a flashbacked Increasing Vengeance which is copied by an active Pyromancer's Ascension. 24 goblins hit the board on turn four and Finkel is at three life. I draw Experiment One and concede the game. (1-2)

Round thirteen: My opponent is on Ajani Jund. I win game one quite easily and he floods out game two. (2-0)

Round fourteen: Naya Scapeshift. Game one goes to me, games two and three are best described as a mountainous landscape. (1-2)

Round fifteen: I have to win to make top 64. Once again my opponent is on Ajani Jund. Game three my opponent casts both halves of a Lingering Souls. I am at four life, he is at three. I draw Tarmogoyf. #yunolightningbolt (1-2)

Regardless of my 75th place finish I walk away pretty disappointed. I had plenty of outs, but I just couldn't draw them.

Thanks for reading, I hope to do more of these in the future.