Results from the local May Modern Tournament, 10.05.2015: 3-2

Round 1: 2-0 vs UR Twin. Not much to say. Thought Scour after two of his Serum Visions keeping a card on top was pretty effective at keeping him off combo in game 1, and baiting out his Remand to resolve an early Angler locked out the game. Game 2 also went smoothly.

Round 2: 0-2 vs Grixis Control. Game 1 I kept a sketchy opener and got stuck on 2 lands for way too long, with two Pyromancers and only removal (two Terminates and three Bolts). Not ideal against a control deck. Game 2 went similarly, getting stuck at 3 lands with a few Delvers that ate removal, removal that weren't of much use, and Snapcasters that couldn't flash anything back.

Round 3: 2-1 vs Affinity. Game 1 I was overwhelmed and wrecked within a few turns. Game 2 I managed to survive at 1 life after stabilizing with an Angler on the ground (after his turn 1 storm count of 6) and finally getting the fifth mana for overloaded Vandalblast after almost too long. Game 3 my opponent mulliganed to 5, so when I destroyed his Cranial Plating with K-Command and a Pyromancer on the board, the game was already pretty much over. Overloaded Vandalblast some turns later put the game away.

Round 4: 1-2 vs Protean Hulk combo. Game 1 was quick and easy with a turn 2 Angler and protecting it for a few turns. Game 2 looked to be going my way with an Angler, a Pyro and some tokens on the board and Snapcaster in hand while opponent was at 11. Sixth land into Footsteps however made my Mana Leak as dead as my Spell Snare, and I promptly died. Game 3 I got my opponent to 7, beating down with Tasigur and Snapcaster. He uses Boseiju to Footsteps up a Wurmcoil, and I Murderous Cut the lifelinker, down to 5. With Snapcaster in hand I could have flashbacked the Cut and killed the token for the win, but I proceeded to attack into it, bringing him down to 3 (token trading with Tasigur). He dredges up Darkblast, getting Hulk in the yard, and Boseiju's another Footsteps for the combo, at 1 life. No bolts were seen this game.

Round 5: 2-0 vs Dead Guy Ale (modern equivalent-ish). The matchup was relatively easy due to not a lot of pressure from the opponent. Deploying a threat early (and adding a second later as protection from Smallpox) and just keeping up counters for the important threats (like Liliana) worked pretty well. Seems like a good matchup.

Changes after this tournament:

Maindeck: Out 1x Electrolyze, In 1x Kolaghan's Command

Sideboard: Out 1x Kolaghan's Command, 1x Batterskull, In 1x Bonfire of the Damned, 1x Rakdos Charm