I came in 29th at RC Portland last weekend with UR elementals. This is the story of qualifying, preparing and playing the event.

Qualifying

I've been a sort of casual player the last 4 years since becoming a dad. But I've tried to play one RCQ a quarter. This year between work and the birth of my third I only got one in but I won. It was a really exciting week of my life where I also got Twitter monetized for a cool $420.69 (actually $420.64). We'd just decided to shutdown AbanteAI the week before and I had some sense that my luck was changing and everything was going to work out for me now.

The RCQ itself was a lot of fun. It was spiderman sealed, a set I really enjoyed. I thought it was kind of sweet to do 4 man pick 2s and only having 5 archetypes was a fun bit though I'm glad it's not how sets typically work. I wasn't a fan of different art and names online but it's not the kind of thing that bothers me. I didn't realize until I was putting on the Limited Resources SPM sunset show on my drive to the event that I learned that actually everyone hated the set. It's kind of nice only playing magic very occasionally and only forming opinions from your direct experiences with the cards. I think both things make the game a lot funner.

The RCQ was only 16 people and the same store the day after was hosting a Edges of Eternity sealed RCQ that was over twice the size. Of course I won, I was the only player there having a good time, one of the largest edges you can have in any game. Two funny stories from the event:

I ID in my final round after waffling a bit about how I really wanted to be on the play in top 8. My opponent convinces me pointing out I'd be at least the second seed anyway and possibly we wouldn't be paired at all, especially if we were in separate pods. Naturally we're in the same pod and then paired in the quarterfinals. My opponent seems really upset about this, shaking his head, seeming frustrated. I was confused because he was the top seed so what did it matter to him if we were paired or not? He got to be on the play no matter what I was the one who should be tilted! But then I realized it was due to his immense respect for me as a player. That he could tell I was a master. Then I was flattered and quickly 2-0ed him.

In my pod of the top 8 I convince the players to accept a winner takes all prize scheme. There's only $90 total to split between us and I convince them with the argument "What are you going to spend $22.5 on anyway?". I'm always trying to get winner takes all in the finals but have only gotten one taker: Allen Wu accepted winner takes all in the finals of a Khans of Tarkir standard event. It was probably a bad idea to offer since he'd beaten me a bunch of times in a row in between round practice matches. I think he asked if I was sure more than once before accepting and 2-0ing me. So it was nice to get a whole pod to do winner takes all here.

I also meet Newton who I end up preparing for the RC with.

I was mildly disappointed to qualify for a standard RCQ because I hadn't played any constructed since GP Columbus 2019 but resolved to give it my all. Historically I've picked decks early. Often quite bad ones and just focused on playing well and deluding myself. This time I intended to play with every deck and genuinely try to play the best one.

Preparing Pre Llorwyn

I began prep pre-worlds, pre-avatar even by playing a league with mono-red which I 1-4ed. The next week screaming nemesis was banned. Derek added me to a social magic discord server. I read through every card in standard. A process that takes weeks. I was shocked and dismayed to learn the set from the last large event I played Wilds of Eldraine, MagicFest Vegas 2023 (14th!) was still legal. I don't think I impressed anyone with some of the cards I posted in the standard channel as interesting options. No one really wants to talk about standard much in that server maybe because the worlds players were embargoed.

After worlds I 1-4 one league with BG oroboroid. I try lessons and over December 3-2 3 leagues. I put together a UW flash deck and play a number of leagues with it that constitutes self harm. I have a cool 50% win rate but aang, swift savior + aven interrupter and nurturing pixie + seam rip feel so good I can't stop.

Harrison who I've known over a decade since Chicago (though to be clear we were more acquaintances than friends before this event (I don't mean to imply we didn't like each other or anything just like we weren't hanging out you know. We were just at a lot of the same events)) adds me to a dedicated standard testing server for Atlanta and Portland that spun of the social server. In some ways it's a strange dynamic because only ~5 players are going to Atlanta so there isn't really much energy to prepare. I help a bit by villaining lessons but mostly people seem frustrated there aren't people to play matches against.

Overall the team does great in Atlanta on a mix of UG oroboroid and Lessons.

Preparing Post Llorwyn

Pre Llorwyn I had the idea that I would play an existing top deck with the obvious Llorwyn upgrades e.g. steam vents in lessons. But I can't help but brew as the set comes out. So many sweet cards. The first thing is goblins. I play a set of goblins vs. Avi on Lessons and do a lot of winning. Avi says he's never played the deck before and doesn't think he's playing very well. We do another set the next day after Avi did some reading and now he's doing a lot of winning. I'm sort of off the deck. Matt still wants to play it so I villain lessons and cub for him and he beats me on both of them. But I also wasn't playing very well so no one gets too excited for Goblins. I think the deck is fine but not great.

I brew up a merfolk list but never get around to playing a game. I think there's maybe something here since you have 8 interactive creatures floodpits drowner , tishana's tidebinder that are standard all stars without merfolk synergies.

I brew a moonshadow deck and self play it vs. ug cub but 1-5 and drop it. I only have about an hour a day to play at 7:30pm after putting the kids down so I have to be pretty selective with my ideas.

A note on self play: This was the first tournament I did a significant amount of self play to prepare for. It was also the first tournament I played where cockatrice was the only way to prepare online sine the cards only came out 3 days before the tournament. And I actually think it's great, I'll probably do a lot more of it. In a way you get double the prep since you get to think about both sides. The big danger of course is that you probably want your idea to win so you may play that side better. Generally I try to let the villain cheat by playing around what is in the other players hand and try to be objective about what lines my deck would reasonably take. But it's easier said than done.

Then I try elementals. The first version is pretty different with Soulbright Seeker and Springleaf Drum . For a long time I think Soulbright Seeker + Ashling, rekindled casts a 5 drop on turn 3 but it actually doesn't because when ashling's flip trigger is on the stack you only have two lands and then the ashling mana can't activate seeker. I'm suspicious of the elementals deck but I think it's worth trying because Ashling's Command and Sunderflock both seem quite good against ug cub. And with Wistfulness and Deceit I figure we'll have game against lessons though I expect to be a dog because they'll keep me off 5 mana by killing my mana creatures and I'll be too slow. My very first draft was:

4 Soul Bright Seaker
4 Ashling, Rekindled
4 Flame Braider
4 Scalding Elemental
4 Ashling's Command
4 Catharsis
4 Vibrance
4 Wistfulness
1 Champion of the Path
4 Sunderflock
4 Steam Vents
4 Stomping Grounds
4 Spirebluff Canal
4 Riverpyre Verge
2 Cori Mountain Monastery
4 thornspire verge
1 mountain

Actually playing matches the deck feels great. We start with 8 game 1s against cub and elementals wins 6-2. Sunderflock and Ashling's Command just shut them out of the game. It feels like turn three craterhoof behemoth is the only way you can lose.

A note on only game 1 testing: I feel like it's actually a pretty good idea to play a quick only game 1 set with a new brew. Making a sideboard takes time and probably your first draft is pretty bad so you'll underrate the deck's potential anyway. Though after just ~8 games with a brew you should probably either drop it or make a sideboard.

I expect lessons to be bad but I self play some game 1s and it's actually fine. The elementals interact well. You can just evoke them if you're tight on mana. Vibrance helps you hit land drops if they're killing your mana dorks. I go 8-6 in game 1s in self play. I play one match against a teammate and go 2-0, 1-2 in two matches. I get flashfrozen once and can't cast wistfulness for GG once and instantly put 4 cavern of souls in the deck which I'd previously not wanted to do because of its awkwardness with Soulbright Seeker

At this point I'm starting to get pretty excited because any deck that can beat lessons and cub just feels like a great choice. I post that I plan to play the deck at the RC and others in the discord start to get interested too. This is where I'm at:

4 Springleaf Drum
4 Soulbright Seeker
4 Ashling, Rekindled
4 Flamebraider
4 Vibrance
4 Wistfulness
4 Sunderflock
4 Deceit
4 Ashling's Command
4 Cavern of souls
4 Eclipsed Realms
2 Thornspire Verge
4 Riverpyre verge
4 Steam vents
1 Cori Mountain Monastery 
1 Restless Spire
2 Stomping Grounds
2 spire bluff canal
3 Chomping Changeling 
3 soul guide lantern
4 sear
2 pyroclasm 
3 spidersense 

Harrison and Avi play a set vs. ug cub and report elementals went 3-1 in matches. They play a match against air bending and report elementals won 2-1. I'm getting excited too because people are bringing a lot of ideas to make the deck even better. No one likes Soulbright Seeker or Springleaf Drum . People suggest interactive cards like Torch the Tower and Bounce off and divination cards like Stock up and horrible common and uncommon elementals. I'm not interested in divination because with ashling it's so important all our gas actually costs 4+ and with all these 5 drops I'm not that worried about losing a very grindy game. But a smattering of cheap instants sounds nice.

All that energy gets cut short when Avi and Nicole play a set against UG cub and report cub won 4-0 with them switching sides and it didn't feel close. This was also shortly after I discovered soulbright + ashling doesn't work so well. There were only 5 days until the event and confidence was greatly shaken. Everyone else was off the deck. I was worried that I was being irrational and was just attached to my own ideas. Which on some level I definitely was. But at the same time many of the things they said just didn't make much sense to me. They focused a lot on meltstrider's resolve and sure it's important but it's hard to believe ug cub bringing in 2-3 meltsrider is more impactful than us bringing in 4 pyroclasm. And we had bounce off at that point which more than counters it. It's also just hard for them to actually kill ashling with melstrider's. On the draw it requires llanowar elves + Quantum Riddler and it's not even trivial on the play since so many of their mana dorks are small. Even with their result we were still 5-5 in matches internally. And it's Sunday, I already bought the cards, and I have to work that week. So I decide to stay where I am. Everyone else ends up on Lessons or Airbending.

I submit the following deck on Thursday:

4 Springleaf Drum
4 Ashling, Rekindled
4 Flamebraider
4 Vibrance
4 Wistfulness
4 Sunderflock
4 Deceit
4 Ashling's Command
4 Bounce Off
4 Steam Vents
4 Spirebluff Canal
1 Cori Mountain Monastery
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eclipsed Realms
1 Restless Spire
4 Breeding Pool
1 Restless Vinestalk
1 Botanical Sanctum
3 Soul-Guide Lantern
3 Chomping Changeling
3 Spider-Sense
4 Sear
2 Pyroclasm

Getting the cards wasn't too painful. I was able to borrow wistfulness and cavern of souls and Card Kingdom had two day delivery for pickup from Mox. Thanks to Harrison for picking up 5 different orders of mine! One twist was I was sure I had breeding pools and steam vents and fast lands and was getting panicked looking for them. I eventually found them in the box I had set out for GP Detroit where I planned to play temur adventures before it was cancelled by the pandemic which was the last time I planned to play constructed.

But there's one last twist in prep: Thursday night Newton posts Roaming Throne to the elementals channel. And it just so obviously does so many things Elementals needs. It's a 4 so ashling can cast it turn 3. It's absolutely broken to curve it into Vibrance or deceit. It's easy on the mana, it's hard to play any colored spells that aren't elementals. With only one day left and having already submitted a 75 yesterday I don't really see right away that I just have to play this card. But driving down to Portland from Seattle with Harrison he says he has one, I put it in my deck and start goldfishing. And every time I draw it it just feels like it does something completely broken. The danger of goldfishing is you don't see how your opponent would interact with you but I could see the ward 2 makes it impossible for them to interact with you too favorably. I also realize it's totally broken with ashling. It copies ALL triggered abilities. Not just those caused by entering the battlefield. Which means with ashling every turn you can make 3 mana and every other turn you can discard 2 draw 2. I realize if you ever go ashling into throne and untap with both you will never lose.

As we're driving I text Derek to find me a throne in the hall and then later text him again to find 2 more to have 4 along with the one Harrison can lend me. Somehow this card I've never heard of is $50. I said earlier I read through every card in standard but I guess my eyes glazed over on this one.

I make 4 random cuts: deceit, springleaf drum, 2 bounce off and resubmit. Note cutting a deceit from the main deck wasn't horrible, I actually think it's the worst of the elementals because 6 is so much more than 5. But not putting it in the sideboard was a pretty big oversight because it actually is super valuable against jeskai control at least and there are other match ups where you'd like to have a 4th.

As we're driving I'm feeling pretty nervous goldfishing. Would any of these hands be good enough? Harrison tells me he has a full UG cub deck minus badgermole cub and some lands I happen to have on me he could lend to me.

We get to the hall at 4:30 and I'm pretty frazzled. I meet a friend of friends, Jacob Milchman, renowned lessons master for the first time and ask him to play. I talk a lot about how I think I may be about to make a huge mistake. He tells me there's still time to switch if I feel that way. We go 2-2 in games pre sideboard which actually makes me feel pretty good considering he's a lessons master and my low confidence belief was elementals was only slightly favored preboard. I decide I'd rather lose with my own ideas make a final submission and we go to dinner at Frank's Noodle House, I convince Aylin to play at the restaurant and the first game we play demoralized her so much she said she was too hungry to play. The food was medium but the company was good.

I walk back with Avi to our motel and we play 10 games of elementals vs. airbending. Airbending wins 4-2 preboard elementals wins 1-3 post. The games feel extremely play draw dependent. I'm glad we played because I learned a lot. Like sunderflock costs zero when it's airbent.

I go to sleep and outside of 1-4 am when our upstairs neighbors (it sounded like there were 6 of them?) were extremely loud I slept medium.

We get to the convention center at 8:30 and I play a warm up game against friend of friend Joel Sadowsky on Jeskai. We don't have time to finish even one game and it was my only prep game against jeskai but it confirms all my theories. The games are unloseable. Never in a million years could I lose a game against Jeskai. Thanks to Vibrance you have 8 cavern and 5 Cori Mountain Monastery . Every creature you play can win the game on its own. You can play at instant speed with command. You have deceit!

Notes on the Deck

The deck is basically improverge. Sadly though once featured by channelfireball and starcity games that deck which I won an PPTQ (it was a 64 person one at cfb. This was a real accomplishment, honest!), top 8ed a PTQ and 10-5ed a GP with are lost to the sands of time. Since I wrote this blog back in 2022 the channelfireball article has become a 404.

• Ashling, Rekindled is Key to the City
• Deceit , Vibrance , Wistfulness are Maverick Thopterist
• Springleaf Drum is Inventor's Goggles
• Sunderflock is Elder Deep-Fiend

The Tournament

Round 1: lessons 2-0

I read over my opponent's very teched out lessons list and realize every choice they've made has doomed them against me. Without the stormchaser's talent they just have no angles. I also realize in this match that despite being favored in game 1 against lessons I still want to board 10 cards:

-4 sunderflock 
-4 flamebraider 
-2 springleaf drum 
+3 soul-guide lantern 
+3 chomping changeling 
+2 spider-sense 
+2 sear 

Possibly my sideboard is misbuilt to have this property. But all the cards I bring in I also bring in in other match ups so maybe it's just good.

Round 2: dimir 2-0

First time playing against it. Our team had no respect for it to a possibly irrational extent.

Round 3: monored 2-0

Roaming Throne into Vibrance is a hell of a play. I think it was a very frustrating matchup for my opponent as I went low both games, to 1 game 2, and then went back to 5. Also thanks to Deceit had a clean answer to Hazoret, Godseeker . I played quite slowly and my opponent asked me repeatedly to speed up. I always play slow against mono red. Every decision is so high impact and depends so much on their hand and the top of their deck. And the games are so quick when you turn the corner I'm not worried about going to time.

Despite playing so slowly I make one major misplay. Or rather misobservation I think possibly my play was fine. I thought I could not Sunderflock because this would bounce my opponent's Sunspine Lynx when I was at 5 with 5 nonbasics. But actually it's an elemental. I can't remember the rest of the situation or what I did but I guess it was good enough.

Round 4: Simic Oroboroid 2-1

My first feature match and first game loss of the day. Game 2 my opponent actually messes up by tapping down to single blue while casting Formidable Speaker when actually Marang River Regent would have made me unable to cast Sunderflock and shut me out of the game. I don't even remember what they got once they realized but it wasn't good against Sunderflock .

Game 3 I cast 3 pyroclasm.

I made a significant mistake forgetting to swap decklists back but it was easy to get another printed.

Round 5: Jeskai Control 2-0

All I remember from this game is having 8 maps in play at some point, exhausting my opponent's supply of 6, and he chided me "You're supposed to crack them".

Round 6: Jeskai Control 2-0

Another feature match though we were on table C so I don't think we appeared on camera. I win a 40 minute game 1 in which my opponent casts all of their The Unagi of Kyoshi Island , Day of Judgment , Ultima and Jeskai Revelation . I actually misremembered their list in game and thought I could possibly lose to Wan Shi Tong, Librarian . But actually I was always going to win.

We do have time to play a complete game 2 somehow. They boarded in their Voice of Victory to have outs to win a quick game but it doesn't work.

Round 7: Lessons 2-1

Another feature match this time against lessons. I actually play extremely poorly on camera, no one watch. My opponent manages to get game 1. They do the difficult task of combustion techniquing Ashling, rekindled on the draw. I get game 2. Game 3 I win but I play horrible:

• I forget to crack Soul-guide Lantern to protect my Vibrance from Combustion Technique .
• I try to naturalize with Vibrance . Actually more than once in the tournament I thought I was safe because I had one more disenchant effect but was actually wrong. I think this is the only time I actually cast it incorrectly though.

But I get a very undeserved match win anyway.

Round 8: 0-2 Reanimator

The poor plays continue. I miss that Ardyn, the Usurper makes tokens without lifelink. I should have made a much more aggressive line than I did. I also should have Spider-sense the first demon token making trigger. I wanted to save it for Bringer of the last gift but that was just silly. And I had enough in my yard that they probably couldn't have simply bringered anyway.

Round 9: 2-1 Lessons

Intermission

After the final round we went to the excellent Dimo's Pizza for dinner. I'm feeling pretty good about being 8-1. We go back to the motel. I actually don't sleep too well even though there's no noise tonight. My heart was raising. I don't think I had too much caffeine. I had 3 coffees and my last one at noon, which for a addict like me is basically a normal amount. But so it goes. I realized later that I should play white noise when I travel because I always do at home and I'm just very used to it.

Avi and I go back to the convention center at 8:30 so he can play the limited PTQ and I warm up against Julian on Airbending. He wins more than me.

Round 10: Airbending 1-2

I think I play game 1 badly and die to beatdown. I was a little too scared of the combo. Also I missed that he could transform aang, swift savior in response to Vibrance . I should have killed Doc Aurlock and llanowar elves instead of doc and aang.

I get game 2 but not 3.

Round 11: Mono-green Landfall 1-2

Landfall is one of the worst matchups. In testing Avi beat me 2-0, 2-1, 2-1. I did think over the course of our testing though I developed a better and better plan so I didn't feel totally cold. I win game 1 which is sort of hard to do. Game 2 I felt like I was in a totally dominating position about to start casting deceit every turn with throne in play and then my opponent casts torpor orb. I'm just a turn slow to kill with my vanilla 5/5s.

After the match my opponent said they thought carefully about boarding in torpor orb and then decided to with the explicit plan of waiting until I had 5 lands in play. A very heads up play so kudos to him for coming up with the plan over the board.

Round 12: Mono-green Landfall 1-2

Again I get game 1 and lose 2 more.

After the fourth loss I'm dead for top 8 but still live for top 32. It's not great to go from 7-0 to 8-4 and I wasn't happy with my play in any of the matches. I didn't feel too bad though. Just a little tired maybe. But excited to play more magic. When you only play magic once a quarter it's always pretty fun.

Round 13: Lessons 2-0

After this match my opponent said he didn't think he'd beat me one game in a hundred matches.

Round 14: Lessons 2-0

Don't really remember this one so well. But 5-0 against lessons feels pretty good since going into the event I thought I probably wasn't even a 60% favorite.

Round 15: Jeskai Control 2-1

Who do I sit across from Round 15 but who I warmed up with, Joel Sadowsky! After an awkward first couple moments where I don't recognize him (Sometimes I think after covid I've developed some mild face blindness?) we sit down to play a very high stakes match.

I actually lose a 30 minute game 1! I use all my deceits early and then have no answer to Wan Shi Tong, Librarian . I think I actually made one of the biggest mistakes of the weekend conceptually in this game where I play very fast. But really I should just be focused on winning game 1 and accepting that might just be all we get. I'm sure I missed countless points of damage and left many pips of mana unused for no reason. I played fast because I used my Deceit s early and knew the Librarian meant he had the inevitability so I wanted to be able to win a 3 game match. But if I had of focused on playing well I think I could have won anyway. He didn't Librarian me for a very very long time.

I'm very grateful to Joel for continuing to play fast. I win game 2 somehow. Honestly I don't remember it too well but I imagine he must have flooded out for me to kill him somewhat early.

Game 3 we're still flying. We come to turns. The board on turn 5 (his turn) is Beza, the Bounding Spring on his side and Restless Vinestalk , Restless Spire , with one counter from a map and Ashling, Rekindled on my side. We put down our hands and he has Day of Judgment . So he's actually dead in 2 turns if he bricks. Turn 1 I attack with Vinestalk, turn 2 I attack with everything. He concedes! I almost don't believe it. I've gone to turns a few times and I've never had an opponent actually concede. I guess I've never been in a spot where a draw is clearly so horrible either though. Thanks so much Joel!

It's hard to believe I've finally qualified for the pro tour after all these years. I actually top 8ed my very first standard PTQ in 2012 and thought being a professional magic player would be easy. I've lost in the finals of at least 3 PTQs (I can't shake the feeling I'm forgetting one), 12-3ed 3 GPs and even top 8ed a team GP but never qualified. It's bitter sweet to qualify now. Like it's time to move onto bigger dreams anyway.

UR Elementals going forward

The deck felt good. Actually landfall might not be so horrible. I did 1-2 twice and all 4 game losses were close and possibly not played so well by me. Reanimator I'm not sure about. It's certainly complicated. I guess my biggest concern with the deck is the best match ups will go away. Sure I 5-0ed lessons but will anyone every play the deck again? I guess 3-0ing jeskai is nice but that's not the biggest match up either. After the weekend and the Avi-Nicole match I remain unsure about cub. Sunderflock is possibly a little slow and it's easy to lose to a single Spider-sense . Anyone playing my list should at least go -2 springleaf drum +1 Deceit +1 land. I'm also interested in revisiting Soulbright Seeker now that I know throne exists. It just seems really nice to cast throne on 3. But that requires a very different mana base, you probably have to trim cavern, play verges and not board blue cards. Possibly it'd just be worse. I probably won't play any more standard until Strixhaven so I won't think too hard about these questions personally. Good luck to everyone at the Pro Tour and going to Milwaukee!