Grand Prix Providence 2015 Tournament Report – by Sky Mason

Monday, June 29th, 2015

In the months leading up to Grand Prix Providence, I had to consider if I wanted to judge or play the event. With Grand Prix Charlotte the week before Providence and two seventeen hour drives attached to working for Star City, I started leaning towards playing in Providence. After winning a GPT in Rhode Island for the Grand Prix, I decided with certainty that I was playing in the main event. However, even though I knew I was playing, I still needed to figure out what deck I should run at the event. I had played a lot of Abzan control and even some aggro, but neither deck nor Siege Rhino as a card seemed like the place I wanted to go with a major event on the horizon. I searched the web for an interesting deck and stumbled upon the Grand Prix Shanghai results where one list caught my eye:

Xie Hao Chen’s Green Red Devotion

Planeswalker (10)

4 Xenagos, the Reveler

3 Nissa, Worldwaker

3 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Creature (26)

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Rattleclaw Mystic

4 Sylvan Caryatid

4 Courser of Kruphix

3 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Whisperwood Elemental

3 Dragonlord Atarka

Land (24)

11 Forest

1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon

1 Mountain

3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

4 Temple of Abandon

4 Wooded Foothills

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

4 Genesis Hydra

2 Hornet Nest

4 Seismic Rupture

1 Purphoros, God of the Forge

3 Arbor Colossus

1 Xenagos, God of Revels

This deck list originally intended for my girlfriend Meghan if she decided to play the main event was the basis for the list I eventually settled on for Providence. The deck put a lot of pressure on the opponent to match haymakers with a deck that ran ten Planeswalkers and three Dragonlords. However, a few days before the event I watched a streamer on Twitch.tv named BrettwJayne who I had played against on Magic Online before. He had a take on Green Red devotion that was very close to my list in Providence. The major differences were no Seismic Ruptures in the sideboard and two Deathmist Raptors in the main. I had seen many people play Raptors in the main and it never made sense to me as the deck accelerates past the early game where Raptor is a roadblock and tries to jam huge threats repeatedly that the opponent cannot deal with profitably. After taking out the Raptors and compromising on the number of Ruptures and Nylea’s Disciples in the sideboard, I came to the list I sleeved up at the Grand Prix:

Planeswalker (4)

2 Xenagos, the Reveler

1 Nissa, Worldwaker

1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Creature (32)

4 Elvish Mystic

4 Sylvan Caryatid

4 Rattleclaw Mystic

4 Courser of Kruphix

3 Polukranos, World Eater

4 Whisperwood Elemental

3 Dragonlord Atarka

2 Hornet Queen

4 Genesis Hydra

Land (24)

1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon

1 Mountain

11 Forest

4 Temple of Abandon

4 Wooded Foothills

3 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx

60 Cards

Sideboard (15)

1 Xenagos, the Reveler

2 Nissa, Worldwaker

2 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

2 Plummet

2 Hornet Nest

2 Seismic Rupture

2 Nylea’s Disciple

2 Arbor Colossus

This version of the deck focuses a lot on high-end threats and rushing them out before the opponent is ready to fight on that axis. The reduction of main deck Planeswalkers was a choice I felt unsure about, but being able to board up to 9 Planeswalkers against control decks was one of the main draws of this version. Having a few one-of cards like Ugin or Nissa also played a pivotal role in stealing some important game ones where the opponent could not react to such a potent threat along with the other heavy hitters like Hornet Queen or Dragonlord Atarka. After rushing to get my last few Genesis Hydras for the event, I had my 75 submitted and sleeved up ready for day one.

I arrived for Day one at 10:45 as I had two byes and a sleep-in special. However, as I signed in with the people at the stage it was evident that the tournament was running slowly as it was still round one. After grabbing a quick bite to eat and catching up with my friends who did not have byes or the sleep-in special round two was quickly ending and I was ready to do battle.

In round 3, I played against Sean Morgan who claimed not to play much standard as he liked legacy far more. He stated that he wanted to play a deck he could have fun with and after he lost the die roll, we began our match. He was playing Atarka Red and I was a turn slow as he finished me off with Lightning Strike, Lightning Strike. The sideboarding for this matchup is very straightforward and the only hard part is figuring what big drops have to stay in despite not being very good.

+2 Nylea’s Disciple

+2 Hornet’s Nest

+2 Seismic Rupture

-1 Ugin

-1 Nissa

-2 Rattleclaw Mystic

-2 Hornet Queen

Despite Hornet Queen being very powerful if it resolves, it does not sweep the board as well as Atarka and in games where they are stuck on mana, killing creatures to eliminate Stoke the Flames as a card is very powerful. Game two started with a Caryatid into a Seismic Rupture to slow him down while also playing a post Rupture Elvish Mystic. Next turn I deployed a Whisperwood Elemental; the next turn, another Elemental; and the next turn one more for good measure. Despite the first and second one eating Stoke the Flames after getting a manifest, I was too far ahead and swung in for lethal while he shows me eleven points of burn stranded in his hand. For game three, he started on the play and removed my elf. His hand was very slow and he ended up stuck on lands while I started deploying threats. He eventually conceded with a hand full of gas that he never cast. While every game felt close, in the end I was able to survive the onslaught of Atarka Red and move to 3-0.

Next was William Dziambor on Abzan Control, which was fantastic for me and not so great for him. Going into this weekend I saw Abzan as a bye, which given I faced it seven of the fourteen rounds I played in the Grand Prix was a blessing. William was a nice guy from Canada who knew the matchup was bad and had fun playing Magic despite knowing that after turn four or five the game was heavily in my favor. Both games involved some removal and many Siege Rhinos, but when playing Ugin and Atarka, a crash of Rhinos seems a lot weaker. Even with End Hostilities in game two, it was not close and I quickly pulled to 4-0.

+2 Ugin

+2 Nissa

+1 Xenagos

-2 Polukranos

-1 Courser

-2 Rattleclaw Mystic

Something that came up often during the Grand Prix was the idea of siding out one of a card that was not bad for a strict upgrade in the matchup and based on my sideboarding, it is clear to see when a random one-of comes out for a card that does better in that slot. Even though Courser is good in this matchup, keeping one Polukranos seemed better than the fourth Courser. Little swaps like this really take time to figure out when all of something or one of a few things is better to remove and it comes with reps with the deck.

In round five, I played against Jason Chung of New Zealand and as it turns out, Jason was one point away from Platinum. This was the first time in the event I was playing someone who I would consider either a pro or a name made through good event finishes. Jason was playing Mardu Aggro and was a generally very nice person. Game one I was on the draw and he got off to a quick start with Swift Spear into Seeker of the Way. On Turn four, he tapped out and played an Outpost Siege choosing to deal one damage to either my creatures or me any time his creatures died. I then played a turn four Atarka, wrathed his board and we quickly moved to game two. I sideboarded very poorly for game two and will not show the boarding choices as they were very bad. I was punished as he bowled me over quickly and I never really had the chance to react to his game plan. For game three, I boarded correctly:

-2 Rattleclaw Mystic

-1 Ugin

-1 Nissa

-1 Genesis Hydra

+2 Hornet’s Nest

+2 Nylea’s Disciple

+2 Seismic Rupture

Game three I played very patiently making him play removal spells on creatures I did not care about and making his Anger of the Gods poor as it would only one for one. Slowly I was able to find lands and cast bigger and bigger threats while he was stuck on reactive answers and when he ran out of answers, I just kept casting Whisperwood Elementals and Atarka until I was 5-0 and defeated a far more renowned player.

In Round six I played against Jarvis Yu whose name I knew from the SCG Open circuit. Once again, after seeing Abzan colored lands, I knew this would be a good matchup for me. While not much was very different about this match than from my earlier opponent William Dziambor, I read Jarvis’ deck as Aggro after seeing Rhino into Wingmate Roc with removal in game one. I sideboarded terribly and Jarvis was nice enough to help me out and correct my boarding in case I played against Abzan Control again, 6-0.

In Round seven I played against Dan Jessup who I also knew played on the SCG Open circuit often and would be a solid opponent. However, once he led with an Abzan land again the match felt easy. He was on Abzan Meghamorph, which is a little slow and without adjusting his removal suite to deal with GR Devotion specifically the matchup felt very much in my favor. I will be honest, I drew pretty well and the games were very one-sided, but I did not expect such a negative and tilted response from a veteran player who lost their first match to a very bad matchup. Titling off happens, but do not do it in front of your opponent, your results are not the only thing going on at a tournament 7-0 and locked for day two.

-2 Rattleclaw Mystics

-1 Courser

-2 Polukranos

+2 Ugin

+1 Xenagos

+1 Nissa

+1 Hornet’s Nest

Round eight was my first feature match and it was against Pascal Maynard who had recently top 4ed Grand Prix Las Vegas and was a big name player. Our game one ended very quickly as he was playing Abzan Megamorph and I went too big too fast and he died. Our second and third games are on Twitch.tv/Magic2 and I was quickly dispatched in game two after stumbling on resources and not finding enough gas to overpower him. Game three was a fantastic game that culminated in an Ugin -2 clearing the way for Nissa to take over the game and a missed Scry trigger from Pascal that sealed his fate. Although I feel bad about him missing his trigger, even in a high-pressure situation the smallest mistake can cost you a tournament 8-0.

We were the last match playing in Round eight due to an eighteen-minute extension where we used almost all of those bonus minutes. After rushing to the pairings boards to see whom I was playing next, it turned out I was paired against Josh McClain of Canada who was a fantastic player and an overall nice person. Game one, despite him being on Abzan Megamorph, was very tough and three Den Protectors and an Elspeth later I was down a game. I made a major mistake of chipping his first Elspeth down to three forgetting about the minus ability cleaning up my Polukranos when I could have hit with one more Hornet to put her to two. This was the first big misplay to cost me, and as I said, any one mistake can cost you when playing against players of Josh’s caliber. Game two I was able to stabilize against his slightly faster start and then cast an Atarka and Ugin to go over the top. After ultimating Ugin and finding a replacement, he conceded. Game three was rough as I took my first mulligan of the tournament and found Courser, Genesis Hydra, Atarka, Xenagos, Forest, Nykthos. With a dork on the first three turns or a green land, I could at least compete so I kept. My next draws were Ugin, Atarka, Mountain, Genesis hydra and I died to Josh’s board 8-1. While I wish I could have had a real game three against Josh, I kept a hand that had a real issue, and since I did not draw well I was punished. Either way, 8-1 was quite a good start going into day two.

-2 Rattleclaw

-1 Courser

-2 Polukranos

+2 Ugin

+1 Nissa

+1 Hornet’s Nest

+1 Xenagos

Day two started with a New England end boss who I had played a few times and had never beaten in sanctioned Magic, Mike Sigrist. After telling me he had been sick and pumped full of medicine over the night I was wishing him well in the game and outside. Mike was on Abzan Megamorph, the same list as Josh, and despite adding extra Ultimate Prices to deal with GR Devotion, I was able to take over game one quickly. In game two, he was stuck on four lands and was not able to pull the trigger on an End Hostilities dying with many cards in hand, but not much on board 9-1.

Round ten was another example of me being a bit dumb about what my opponent was playing. I sat across from Richard Tan who led with two G/B Wastes, Forest, Island, Deathmist Raptor, Sidesi, which hit Satyr Wayfinder, and three lands. I thought he was on Sidesi Whip and once again sideboarded very incorrectly. After realizing he was on G/B Five color dragons and that there were no Plummets or Arbor Colossus in my deck, the matchup seemed a lot harder. However, I was able to win by grinding through a Disdainful stroke and flipping an Atarka off my one Whisperwood Elemental trigger. After untapping with seven mana, I played around Stroke by flipping Atarka and putting him to four. This forced him to tap out to play Dragonlord Silumgar and take my Atarka. I miracled a land to cast Ugin and -6 to wrath the board except for my Ugin and my Atarka and he conceded 10-1.

After Round ten I overheard people talking about the cut to top 8 being at 12-2-1 and after checking the standings I was ranked third going into the next round. I was ecstatic that I had a real chance of top 8ing the GP and making the Pro Tour. I walked to the pairings board and found my name across from Andrew Tenjum, who I knew was playing Abzan from his match against Noah Walker the day before right next to me. After sitting down and chatting for a few minutes, I played my first land and pulled ahead with threat after threat that his Abzan control deck could not handle as he was stuck on lands game one and flooded game two 11-1. Even though it was not the most eventful set of games, it meant I only needed one more win in the next two and I could draw into top 8.

Round twelve saw me paired against Kevin Sauls whose name I did not know, but as soon as I sat down, I recognized him as one of the players in the top tables on day one. We sat down and started chatting and it turns out it was Kevin’s first Grand Prix and he is a super nice person. It was a pleasure to play the mirror against him in a Win-and-in. I took game one on the back of some big spells and finally got to board in some of my less used cards.

-2 Rattleclaw Mystic

-1 Courser

-1 Polukranos

-1 Nissa

+2 Ugin

+1 Xenagos

+2 Arbor Colossus

Game two he rushed out a Xenagos into Ugin and I died not drawing enough gas early when I had mana and too much gas after he killed all of my dorks. This is how the mirror works, sometimes they turn four Atarka and you are just dead. Game three we each had semi explosive hands and we clogged up the ground. I was able to find haymaker after haymaker while he kept manifesting his and eventually he extended the hand when I threatened to Polukranos for a massive amount wiping out his board and crashing in for lethal. Kevin was a nice person and I hoped he would be able to make top 8, but unfortunately he was in the mirror again the next round. I, on the other hand, was now 12-1-0 and the top ranked player in the tournament.

Round Fourteen saw me paired against Oliver Tiu who would end up being my quarterfinal opponent. We decided to draw as the two 36 point players paired at table one 12-1-1. Round Fifteen, I was paired against Neal Sacks who I would play in the Finals as we both drew into our first Grand Prix top 8s with a handshake and a hug 12-1-2.

I was the four seed in top 8 and paired against the five seed Oliver Tiu who was on G/B Five color dragons. Unlike Richard I got to see his list before the match and realized that game one seemed pretty easy and game two he had access to no counter magic. With that realization, it was very easy to just jam threat after threat and keep a little slower hands as he needed time to set up. Despite getting to bring in Plummets, the games were over very quickly as I ramped hard and overran him with much bigger creatures faster than he could handle 13-1-2 and into the semis.

The Semifinals was much harder as I was against Pedro Carvalho with Sultai Whip, which was about a 57% matchup in my mind as I told friends as they walked by asking how top 8 was going. From this point, forward the matches were on Twitch and I will only talk about interesting moments or decisions.

-2 Rattleclaw Mystics

-2 Polukranos

-1 Courser

-1 Nissa

+2 Ugin

+2 Arbor Colossus

+2 Plummet

Game two I kept a land light hand with two dorks and I wanted to run out one and hold the second in case of Drown in Sorrow. I ended up missing my third land drop and played out the Rattleclaw Mystic. He had Drown. I was punished and conceded shortly. Game three was much more interesting as we both had some game, but there were two talked about points in the match. First, I did not sacrifice my Whisperwood Elemental in response to Crux of Fate knowing I would draw a Genesis Hydra. I did not want to run into Drown and drawing Hydra and possibly reloading the board seemed better to me than getting two 2/2s. Second, after Pedro cast Dragonlord Silumgar taking Ugin I was unsure if he was going to -9 or +2. After realizing that his last card was likely Murderous cut because he did not Thoughtseize me and he only had B up, I felt his line of trying to ultimate Ugin was correct. However, since I had a second Ugin I had sandbagged since my opener, I knew I could get Ugin back, but as Pedro said, Plummet would be game as I would get back Ugin and have a backup for after ultimating the first Ugin. I drew the Plummet, made sure to think through both lines and showed him the Plummet and I was into the Finals 14-1-2.

My finals opponent Neal Sacks was a nice person who was willing to chat and have a laugh despite the gravity of the situation and I really appreciated that. The finals were rough as he absolutely smashed me with a savage Dromoka’s Command play and I died quickly in game one.

-1 Nissa

-1 Ugin

-1 Rattleclaw Mystics

-2 Genesis Hydra

+2 Hornet’s Nest

+1 Xenagos

+2 Nylea’s Disciple

Game two I was able to hold on and stabilized until Atarka showed up. There was the big Siege Rhino backup, which I feel Head Judge Kevin Desprez handled very well, and after correcting the board state, we finished the game. Going into game three, I was tense as it was a best of one for the title and everything along with it. I kept my hand of Scry land, four other lands, Xenagos, Whisperwood after he mulliganed since I figured I would have some time and three draw steps including the Scry to find a dork. Neal ended up mulliganing down to four cards and I drew an Elvish Mystic on turn one. Once I got to block down his creatures and he did not have a trick I knew that I had won; which did not help after looking at extra cards after my courser died. After attacking for a large chunk, Neal fetched, drew, and passed. I made another Satyr and won a Grand Prix, 15-1-2.

The scream of my friends behind me and all around was amazing and after talking about testing together for the Pro Tour, I was whisked away to give a winner’s interview with Marshall Sutcliffe. The whole coverage team was fantastic and I had a blast having brief conversations with them after locking top 8 and waiting on my top 4 match. The interview was a lot of fun and all of the photos, hugs, and congratulations were a fantastic topping to the experience of actually winning a Grand Prix. Moving forward I feel the deck is still well positioned, but now it’s higher on people’s radar and more mirrors and Perilous Vaults have shown up on Magic Online. If the Meta has shifted a little too hard from Abzan to Vaults and counter magic, sleeving up RG Dragons or Atarka Red seems like a good decision. As of writing, I am happy to say that the dream of wining Grand Prix Providence has finally started to sink in as reality and it was just as amazing as expected.

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