Grand Prix Las Vegas (MM15 Sealed)

After returning from GP Omaha earlier this year, I'd be lying if I didn't say I was completely defeated. My friend Stephen and I traveled the country and charged onto GP Baltimore, Denver, and Omaha within a 5 week time span. We were madmen back then and we wanted Grand Prix success at any cost. Although it was awesome to spend time with my friends, Paul and Josh, it was hard to overlook my 6-3 and 6-2-1 finishes in Baltimore and Denver respectively along with a mauling 3-3-1 Modern record at Omaha. During GP Omaha, I became really ill and couldn't care enough to test or prepare a remotely good deck for the tournament. I started to succumb to exhaustion and a sad reality started to hit me; maybe I wasn't good enough. 

Coming back home, I was thrown back into school and was forced to take a break from Magic for a few months. It actually felt really great, since I spent a lot of time working with MEDLIFE in Spring and took lead in organizing our school's mission trip to Riobamba, Ecuador. Even though I missed GP Memphis and Miami, it didn't really matter, I was enjoying everything that I was doing. I learned a lot about being patient and being positive, even when times were difficult. I think these are some of the most important things I've ever learned. 

After the Spring semester ended, I was eager to return to playing Magic again and started planning out my summer starting with GP Toronto and Las Vegas in May and Charlotte, NC in early June. I planned to go to Vegas and Charlotte with friends, but I wanted to go to GP Toronto by myself, kind of like a soul-searching trip. After finishing up classes, I flew out to Toronto and lived out of a backpack throughout the week, visiting relatives and exploring the city. I had a blast doing it and learned a lot about myself along the way. In Round 9 of GP Toronto, I was 6-2 and live for Day 2 with just one more win. After piloting Esper Dragons for most of the day, I was really exhausted and my deck didn't leave me much time in between rounds. I could feel fatigue affecting my play and I made costly mistakes, which led to a R9 defeat and a repeat 6-3 record x(

GP Toronto Esper Dragons (6-3)

I spent the next few days with family and sight-seeing across the city of Toronto, which was fantastic. The city is gorgeous and there's so much diversity and culture there to experience. As I was traveling about, realized that my body wasn't conditioned for tournament Magic. I don't eat healthy foods and I don't go to the gym; how could I compete at the highest level if I wasn't preparing my body to do so? I wanted to change that. When I returned back to Orlando, I created an exercise schedule, started waking up earlier and going to bed earlier, and started cutting out french fries, regular soda, and other foods out of my diet. I switched to eating more vegetables, fruits, etc. Obviously, it was difficult to find motivation to go to the gym most days, but I kept remembering how badly I wanted to do well in Magic, so that discipline helped push me through those tough mornings getting out of bed. It paid off though, I felt great both mentally and physically, which was a first in a very long time. 

A couple weeks later, Felicea, Sandro, and I flew out to compete at GP Las Vegas. I was really excited for this one because of all the hype surrounding Modern Masters 2015 and obviously getting to open booster packs of all these historically powerful cards. Furthermore, I was traveling with friends again, which was a great feeling, especially since this was Felicea's return to competitive Magic and Sandro's first GP. We arrived in Vegas Wednesday night and while our other friends, Greene, Jesse, etc. on the plane were heading to their resorts and what not, we opened the doors to our very 'quaint' hotel in an interesting part of town. We walked around adjacent areas and quickly realized this was the sketchiest areas Vegas had to offer. It was hard not to laugh at the situation we put ourselves in, but our hotel was surprisingly very comfortable, affordable, and walking distance to the venue, so it was perfect for what we wanted.

On Thursday, we headed over to the venue to get in some Mini Masters events in and we got to relive the old days of Khans of Tarkir limited. Luckily, I got that format on lock, so it was a fun tournament for me. Sandro even made the finals of his event and took home a 2nd place finish along with a Siege Rhino and Sorin, Solemn Visitor in his boosters as door prizes. Felicea and I did a MM15 draft later that day and then we came back on Friday to slay a few more events. Felicea even opened me a Tarmogoyf in prize packs that we all celebrated over. We got to explore the strip and see a handful of the casinos as well, where we lost Felicea and Brandon to gambling addiction. 

After battling Magic cards for two days, we were ready for Saturday morning. Brandon and I watched some of Felicea and Paul's rounds before we started slogging in the trenches ourselves. I got to a quick 4-1 record and then the stressful rounds started coming. Travis and I were both at 6-2 entering Round 9 and I was really nervous. I had been in this spot before in GP Toronto and I did NOT want to go home again. My aggro deck had put up some really strong starts, so I took Game 1. My opponent took G2 off of stalling the board and swinging in with a Ulamog's Crusher to destroy all of my permanents. I thought about Game 2 and considered splashing Black for a Spread the Sickness and Bone Splinters to kill his larger creatures and I started sleeving up a pair of Swamps. Then it hit me: 'what if I just kill him before he does anything relevant?' Then I started unsleeving the Swamps and started lowering my curve so I could overwhelm him with creatures earlier. With a few missed land drops, my opponent offered the concession and I finally had my first Day 2! I was so excited, I could not believe it. It took a long time, but I finally got there and felt like my hard work had started to pay off. 

Day 1 Sealed R/W Equipment (7-2)

Naturally, I was pretty excited, but I had no expectations of going 6-0 in drafts, so we went out to dinner and explored the city some more that evening. Felicea, Sandro, and I talked over our matches in the hotel and just enjoyed the moment, which was really fun; it was a type of camaraderie I had missed from the old PTQ days that we don't really get to share anymore. I didn't get a ton of sleep, but I ate a hardy breakfast and prepared to rare draft my way through Day 2 for value, because what are the odds of doing well? 

Jumping into Day 2, my first draft deck was a train wreck. I forced a R/G ramp deck, an idea in my head that I had made when I was first looking over all the spoilers, since I wasn't exactly sure what to do in this format. I drafted all of these giant 6+ mana spells in Pack 1, rare drafted a Dark Confidant in Pack 2, and picked up a bunch of durdly Green creatures to go alongside my low-quality, multiple copies of Tribal Flames in my two-color deck. The deck didn't look anything like how I had imagined it in my head xD I spoke to my friend, Jakob who also was in Day 2 and we both agreed that my deck looked awful. I was going to get slaughtered. 

Day 2 Draft #1 R/G Ramp (3-0)

After climbing uphill for 3 rounds and defeating the most insane B/W Spirits deck I had ever seen, I found myself at 3-0. I was oddly really quiet at this point and was thinking of how strange that my rare-drafting got me through that pod. Felicea and Sandro were rooting for me on the sidelines and were bringing food and water throughout the day, so I was really grateful. Maybe that's what kept me going. As we sat for Draft 2, one of the players in my pod was smiling and looked so excited. I couldn't figure out why until he said 'Guys, this is so exciting! It's like we're in a PTQ Top 8.' He was right. 

At 13-2, no matter what your placement is, it grants you an invite to the Pro Tour. I found myself at 10-2 and at that moment, a switch turned in my head. I'm not sure how to explain it, but I wanted to 3-0 that pod so badly, to get back on the Pro Tour. I was focused in on that draft as if there was nothing in the room but me and each pack of cards as they went through my hands. I found an open archetype, G/B Sacrifice after a first-pick Nameless Inversion and finally passing a Dark Confidant in Pack 2. Later additions included a foil Pelakka Wurm and foil Bitterblossom that would become all stars in my deck. As I was building, the deck felt very powerful. I thought to myself: 'If there's a deck that can 3-0 this pod, this is the one.'

After stomping through Rounds 13 and 14, I found myself at 12-2 in the tournament. I was on the verge of shaking; I was so nervous and the coveted 13-2 was so close. And then the announcement: Feature Matches #, #, 7, #, # and I looked at my table number and there I was. I moved over to the feature match area and I could see Felicea and Sandro just beyond the barrier. My opponent, Donald Smith, sat across from me. We were relatively quiet because we both knew what was on the line, but he was very pleasant and we discussed where we were from and how our friends were doing. In Game 1, I was blown out by two copies of Mana Leak and a flurry of aggression. In Game 2, I was able to bludgeon him to death with small creatures with him having no pressure on the board. In Game 3, we were called over to the main feature area and we started shuffling for what would be an amazing Game 3, which you can see here:

My Gameplay Starts at 25:37

That Bitterblossom did so much work during that game, it's ridiculous. Afterwards, I shook his hand, we talked over the plays and I was completely overwhelmed. After leaving the feature match area, I hugged Felicea and Sandro and just started crying. I couldn't believe it, I was going to another Pro Tour.

I didn't know if I made Top 8 or not, since there were so many people at the tournament, it was hard to tell. When they started announcing Top 8, I heard my name in 7th seed. I could not believe it. My phone blew up, people were congratulating me. It was an amazing feeling, I'm not sure how to put it into words. We had photos taken and were interviewed (I was interviewed by Walking the Planes, but I'm not sure if that will be published). Shortly after, they had us sit for our Top 8 Draft and I decided to stick to my guns and force a Green/X deck if it was open since I thought Kozilek's Predator was the best common in the set. 

Cutting the story short a little, I sat next to Pascal Maynard in the draft and was on his right side, so in Pack 2, when he opened the foil Tarmogoyf that would start #goyfgate, I was actually the theoretical recipient of said Tarmogoyf. If he had passed it for the Burst Lightning. There's no doubt in my mind that I would have taken it (I was already in Green, it's playable, right?). 

I ended up defeating Peter Maginnis 2-1 against his R/B Bloodthirst deck in the Quarter Finals and losing to Aaron Lewis 0-2 with his U/W Flyers deck in the Semis. I am extremely proud of this performance and more importantly, I broke my Day 2 curse! The following couple days we explored Las Vegas, went to some pretty bad ass restaurants and overall had a great time. This trip was amazing and I can't wait for us to have the chance to go back. 

A couple weeks later, we went out to GP Charlotte to battle Modern where I sleeved up Jund Midrange playing 2 Fulminator Mage maindeck. I went 5-4 with the deck and was very disappointed in the list. If I could go back, I would have played something a little more comfortable for me, like Junk Midrange and cut Siege Rhino for cheaper threats and more land disruption. I was really happy for my friend, Rob who went 11-4 with Affinity to clinch some cash and his first Pro Point. Also, my new friend, Donald from R15 in Vegas made Top 8 with Mono Red Burn and he queued for PT Battle for Zendikar later this year! 

Celebratory Post Day 1 Dinner

Although Charlotte didn't go super well, I'm looking positively on everything. I'm surrounded by great friends, my body is feeling great, and this upcoming month is filled with Magic. This article may not have been as detailed as I would have liked because I'm leaving for GP Montréal in a few hours, but I wanted to update everyone on what's been going on since the Pro Tour last year and a quick look at the preparation I have left to do. Once the Magic Origins Prerelease drops, I'll have a couple weeks to learn both Limited and the new Standard format for GP Dallas-Fort Worth in late July and the PT in Vancouver the week after. I even started a GoFundMe page for helping me fund GP Dallas/Fort Worth. If you have a second to leave a donation or just send a message of encouragement, it would be greatly appreciated :)

I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be able to play Magic and see the world while doing it. After doing so many GPs, I make it a priority to explore the city and try new things. Not only is playing great Magic really important, but to really immerse yourself in different cultures and see everything there is to see in the world makes you the real winner of the Grand Prix grind. Thank you to everyone who continues to support me and I hope to bring home some great stories and make you all proud. 

Check out the Casual Net Gaming Archive and join our group on Facebook!

-David J.

Record: 4th Place at 14-3 (65.8%)

Sealed - R/W Equipment

R1: Bye

R2: Bye

R3: 2-1

R4: 2-0 (R/B Bloodthirst)

R5: 0-2 (R/G Ramp)

R6: 2-0

R7: 1-2 (B/W Spirits)

R8: 2-0 (Bant)

R9: 2-1

Draft 1 - R/G Ramp

R10: 2-1 (RUG)

R11: 2-0 (Mono White Affinity)

R12: 2-1 (B/W Spirits)

Draft 2 - B/G Sacrifice

R13: 2-0 (R/W Equipment)

R14: 2-1 (U/W Affinity)

R15: 2-1 (U/R Elementals)

QF: 2-1 (B/R Bloodthirst)

SF: 0-2 (U/W Flyers)

Photo Gallery Time

Casinos Everywhere

Eiffel Tower Experience

Entering GP Vegas on Thursday

Sandro, Felicea, and I crushing Mini Masters

First Draft of MM15 on Thursday

Day 2, Draft #1

Day 2 Draft #2 B/G Sacrifice (3-0)

Top 8 Grand Prix Las Vegas

Top 8 Draft B/G Tokens (1-1)

Quarterfinals Match in Top 8 Draft

Goofballs.

Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir: Honolulu, HI

Before writing this article, I went back to read some of my old entries from mid-late 2012 and it's really interesting to see the difference in motivation between then and now. Towards the end of Summer 2012, I really wanted to go to the Pro Tour and was willing to work as hard as it would take. I had heard of a Standard PTQ in Tampa, Fl in August and was trying to get myself prepared for it, but I didn't know anything about the SoM-INN Standard format and couldn't afford to buy copies of Huntmaster of the Fells at the time to build an updated version of Kessig Titans, so I solemnly sat on the sidelines. I researched and saw that the next PTQ season was Sealed Deck. I didn't have to make any huge investments into building a Constructed deck, so I could actually participate. I began to research M13 Limited and made a promise to myself that I would work as hard as it took to qualify for Pro Tour Gatecrash in Montreal, QC. 

After the season ended, I had come short of my goal. I tried to regather my thoughts and reflect on what I could have done better. Whether I wanted to acknowledge it or not, my run had ended.

I was broke after PTQ Gatecrash season those few months since I didn't have a job at the time and was still in the process of putting my life back together. The upcoming PTQ season was Modern Constructed and I remember that I was very far from being able to buy cards to build a deck. After some friends had tried to convince me to 'get into' the format, I reluctantly declined since I knew there was no financial way to keep my competitive train going. After my final exams had ended that semester and my friends were still working on their own exams, I dabbled in some Modern articles and several days later was consumed by the format's depth and the amount of strategies that were viable. The format looked incredibly fun and I wanted to get involved. I told my mom about the format and what I would need to compete in the next PTQ season. Although I knew she didn't understand any of it, she tried to. I told her about the deck that most interested me: Kiki Pod. She asked me: 'what do you need to make the deck?' I told her that I was missing a little more than half of the deck. She asked me how much everything would cost, so I put together a shopping cart online, so she could take a look at it...

Fast-forward 2 years later, I was at home putting cards in my backpack for Grand Prix Orlando. I had spent the past few weeks familiarizing myself with Khans of Tarkir and practicing here and there with some friends who were looking to put up strong performances at the Grand Prix and somewhat help me with my preparation for the Pro Tour coming up the week afterwards. After spending most of my week on school away from Magic, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for the GP, but I feel like I've made a lot of progress as a player since the PTQ Khans of Tarkir season.

At GP Orlando, our team focused on the use of the KtK refuge land cycle and cast whatever spells our mana could afford. The strategy was slow, but had the highest probability of casting whatever gold cards were available in our sealed pool, since they are arguably the most powerful cards available. The 'gain one life' clause on the refuges would buy time in the early to mid game to setup strictly better cards. We also saw that having the correct colored lands on time was difficult, so we increased our 40 card decks to 18 land to accommodate the change. Personally, I could not figure out whether being on the play or the draw was more correct, so I hoped that my opponent won their die rolls so that I didn't have to make the decision. I didn't really mind being on the play nor the draw in this format.

Ultimately, if my deck had a higher density of morphs, I wanted to be on the play so I could morph them earlier to race and outclass my opponent's morph creatures; however, if my deck had a higher amount of noncreature spells, I wanted to be on the draw so I could react to my opponents' small creatures and win in the late game with higher card quality and quantity.

Because of the 1,000 Planeswalker point boost from winning a Modern PTQ a few weeks earlier, I got boosted to 2 byes for the next year's worth of Grand Prixs, so I got to relax a bit while I watched Evan, Rob, and friends battle out the first couple rounds. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the deck I sleeved up, but I ended up in a 4-Color Temur splashing White for some multi-colored Jeskai cards.

Grand Prix: Orlando, Fl (Khans of Tarkir Sealed - 2014)
R1: Bye
R2: Bye
R3: (2-0) Jeskai Aggro
R4: (1-2) Mardu Aggro (super close match, well played on both sides)
R5: (1-2) Abzan Midrange
R6: (2-0)
R7: (2-1) Temur Midrange
R8: (0-2) Abzan Midrange (turn 3 Anafenza G1 and G2.. GROSS!)
R9: Bye

After sitting for Round 9 and waiting for my mystery opponent, I had a good amount of time to reflect on all my preparation thus far. I don't feel like I got in as many games or read as many articles as I could have, but I had to accept that trying to balance so many things in my life would lead to voluntary and involuntary sacrifices. Although it's disappointing to lose or do poorly in a tournament, I have to learn from them, accept them for what they are, and focus on doing better. Ironically, it took away some of the pressure that had building up in anticipation for the Pro Tour only several days later. I finally felt somewhat relaxed.

I ended my Day 1 at 6-3 with a 46.2% win percentage. It's my best Grand Prix performance next to a 5-4 performance at GP Miami ('13) and a 3-4 record at GP Atlanta ('14), but I was very hopeful to make Day 2 starting with 2 Byes this go around. GP Orlando reinforced that I need more discipline and better preparation before I can consistently make GP Day 2s. Win some and lose some.

My friend, Brandon was fortunate enough to make Day 2 and he ended up building a base G/B deck with a light splash of white for gold cards in his first draft, which he took to a 2-1 record. After looking at his deck, I really liked the approach since it allows you to prioritize lands less and prioritize cards on color more. An aggressive 2-color approach to the format might be able to race decks with greedy mana bases. Interesting.

A few days later, I finished up with my exams and started packing all my cards for the flight to Hawaii. I still hadn't officially chosen a deck to play, but I was beginning to settle on Jeskai Tempo that won the SCG Open in New Jersey, because it was similar to R/W Burn championed by Channel Fireball's Matt Sperling for Pro Tour M15 that I had been piloting for several weeks. In the initial weeks of testing, I also looked at Abzan Midrange and tried to brew some builds around the menace, Siege Rhino.

After testing and reviewing MTGO dailies, my prediction on the Khans Standard metagame initially lead me to a handful of conclusions:

1) The three pillars of the format would be G/x Devotion Decks, Jeskai Tempo, and Abzan Midrange.
2) A Sultai Planeswalker/Control deck could exist off the backbone of Drown in Sorrow.
3) The format was slow.

Since the format was slow, creatures or planeswalkers that could produce a fast clock would be the best place to start. I started looking at Goblin Rabblemaster builds, but the goblin tokens often fell short to Sylvan Caryatid and Courser of Kruphix-base decks. The quickest clocks available in the midgame were Mantis Rider and Siege Rhino, Honestly, I was torn since both decks fit my playstyle well since Abzan based midrange was very similar to Jund from INN-RtR Standard a few years ago. After an almost 10hr plane ride to Honolulu with Stephen, I finally decided on Jeskai Tempo since we could not figure out the correct numbers for Abzan Midrange and our version of Jeskai Tempo was theoretically favored against G/x devotion and the mirror.

This is the list I sleeved up for the Pro Tour:

Jeskai Tempo - Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir: Honolulu, HI

Creatures (12):
4x Mantis Rider
4x Goblin Rabblemaster
4x Seeker of the Way

Spells (24):
4x Lightning Strike
4x Magma Jet
4x Jeskai Charm
4x Stoke the Flames
2x Dig Through Time
2x Sarkhan, the Dragonspeaker
2x Chandra, Pyromaster
2x Banishing Light

Lands (24):
4x Temple of Epiphany
4x Temple of Triumph
3x Battlefield Forge
3x Shivan Reef
1x Mystic Monastery
2x Flooded Strand
3x Mountain
2x Island
2x Plains

Sideboard (15):
3x Disdainful Stroke
2x Anger of the Gods
1x Magma Spray
1x Keranos, God of Storms
1x Stormbreath Dragon
1x Mindswipe
1x Gods Willing
1x Deflecting Palm
2x Harness by Force
1x Negate
1x Erase



Our maindeck was very similar to the Kevin Jones's list from the SCG Open in New Jersey, but we added a 4th copy of Seeker of the Way and two copies of Chandra, Pyromaster mainboard. We overhauled the sideboard and used Deflecting Palm tech by Jadine Komplarens as a way to punish large creatures in the midrange matchup. We brought in Stormbreath Dragon for the mirror that could only be answered by Stoke the Flames. Disdainful Stroke and Harness by Force were nods at any Green-based midrange strategy and the singleton Mindswipe was a shot in the dark in case there was a Sultai or Mardu Planeswalker-based control deck. that we had not found in testing.

On Day 1, I was super nervous. The tournament hall was incredibly lavish with a giant feature match stage and an unlimited buffet of food for all PT competitors. The atmosphere was very quiet and once pairings were posted, the room fell dead silent. While awaiting the first draft, I sat wondering if I'll remember to reveal all my Morphs or if I'll be in a feature match. Some thoughts of whether I could play with the best of the best crossed through my mind. I had never drafted at Professional REL before; would I be able to draft within the time limit? Once the Head Judge asked us to verify the number of cards in our first pack, I put those worries behind me; Draft 1 began.

Draft 1:

Pack 1, Pick 1: The pack was relatively weak with a few morph creatures, a poor rare and not much going on. I ended up taking Feat of Resistance because it was the most powerful card and has good synergy with the Abzan Outlast mechanic. It's also a cheap trick and White is a safe color to start with.

Pack 1, Pick 2: Had some decent black cards, a missing rare and a Frontier Bivouac. I think the Tri-lands are very good and I'm not unhappy to pick them up early. There was no polarizing White signal in this pack and felt the Tri-land would leave me with the most flexibility

Pack 1, Pick 3: Another weak pack, but I saw a Tuskguard Captain, which is a card I really like and has good synergy with the Feat of Resistance and playable with the Frontier Bivouac I just took.

Pack 1, Pick 4+: Saw some great Blue cards and a couple lands. Picked up a Pick 7 Polluted Delta because of greed and speculated on finding a delve card, which a Pick 8 Treasure Cruise helped out with that.

Pack 2, Pick 1+: Bountiful amount of Blue cards; early Master the Way and late Mystic of the Hidden Way.

Pack 3, Pick 1+: Rattleclaw Mystic. Jeez! Followed by early Master the Way, Mystic of the Hidden Way, and Incremental Growth. I started to prioritize some filler 2 drops because of the Incremental Growth and picked up a late Jeskai Elder and a filler Wetland Sambar later in the pack. Also picked up a Bliding Spray for the sideboard.

Overall, I really liked the deck. It had some great Blue cards and some green cards that I could use to tempo out my opponents. I was excited to get this one started.

In Round 1, I got a little land flooded and my opponent was land light and took a few turns before laying down his Savage Knuckleblade. The next turn, I cleverly played my Clever Impersonator and gave my own newly minted Savage Knuckleblade Haste and attacked and stole the game a few turns later. My opponent showed me an Awaken the Bear in G1, so I brought in Blinding Spray. In G2, I had a Whirlwind Adept and used my Awaken the Bear on it in combat to prompt my opponent's copy that I suspected he had been holding and then cast Blinding Spray to neutralize his creature and crash in for the win on the following turn.

In Round 8, I was 4-3 and incredibly happy because I was locked in for Day 2 at my first Pro Tour; I could not wipe the smile off my face. After hearing the announcement for the beginning of Round 8, I went over to the pairings list and Stephen was already there. 'Good luck. You're playing against Reid Duke.' Holy.. I sat down across from him and he was incredibly polite. We played our match and I made some pretty costly misplays to lose the match. Afterwards, I asked him how his friends were doing and curiously if my now 4-4 record was considered a 'good'. He smirked a little and turned away and said 'I can't really say, but it took me 7 Pro Tours before I made my first Day 2; you should be proud.' Those words still resonate with me today and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to hear those words of encouragement from Reid.

After Day 1, we rushed back to the hotel and I slept as much as I could. The memory of all my matches was still resonating quite loudly (in addition to Stephen pointing out all my misplays), but I was so tired I knocked out quickly after. My Day 2 overall was much sloppier than the first day because I was hit with fatigue from the 12hrs of Magic the day before.

Draft 2:

Pack 1, Pick 1: Zurgo Helmsmasher and other cards. There was a Mardu Hordechief in the pack that I was unsure if it was a better pick. I had not drafted the Mardu archetype enough to know and decided that building around the Zurgo might yield higher results.

Pack 1, Pick 2+: I picked up some Red removal spells, Ponyback Brigade, and Mardu Hordechief, but no fixing, which led me to believe there was someone else in the archetype nearby. 

Pack 2, Pick 1+: Picked up 3 fixing lands including a Nomad Outpost and a Bloodstained Mire, followed by more white removal spells. After reviewing Packs 1 and 2, I realized I was creature light. 

Pack 3, Pick 1: Opened up a High Sentinels of Arashin, which is one of the best rares in the set, but doesn't have great synergy with the deck I was building. A nice gift, but not exactly what I was looking for. 

Pack 3, Pick 2+: Picked up 8 more creatures, but didn't find any Wind-Scarred Crags that I really wanted. 

I don't remember Day 2 well, but I was unhappy with this draft deck. I kept my fingers crossed for a 2-1 finish with this one. After some tough Standard rounds, here's the summary of my PT stats.

Pro Tour Khans of Tarkir: Honolulu, HI (Draft/Standard - 2014)
Day 1:
Draft:
R1: (2-0) 4-Color Midrange
R2: (2-1) Jeskai Aggro (extremely well played match)
R3: (0-2) Jeskai Aggro (against Toni Portolan, really friendly guy)

Constructed:
R4: (1-2) Abzan Midrange (super close match)
R5: (2-0) Jeskai Tempo
R6: (0-2) R/W Heroic (holy Monastery Swiftspear)
R7: (2-1) Jeskai Tempo
R8: (0-2) G/B Devotion (against Reid Duke!)

Day 2:
Draft:
R9: (0-2) Abzan Midrange (Same opponent from R1, Day 1. What are the odds?)
R10: (2-0) U/G Midrange
R11: (0-2) U/R Aggro

Constructed:
R12: (0-2) Abzan Midrange
R13: (1-2) U/B Control
R14: (2-1) Jeskai Combo (opponent top deck'd Treasure Cruise in G3 and drew 3 lands SUPER close)
R15: (2-1) G/B Devotion
R16: (0-2) Temur Monsters (misplay in G2)

I went 7-9 with a 42.1% win percentage and finished in 176th place of 358 players.

After R16, I was incredibly exhausted. My mental and physical state had been challenged like never before, but I had an amazing time doing it. After missing Top 25 by a VERY large amount on Day 2, we went back to the venue on Day 3 and did some Chaos drafting with Platinum level pros and I even defeated Jeremy Dezani with my silly B/R Goblin deck I built after a first pick Wort, Boggart Auntie.

After all is said and done, I think we chose the right Standard deck for the tournament, but we didn't have the right list and the Sideboard needed a lot of work. I would have tailored our Sideboard to fight off Abzan Midrange because it was the only deck I lost to consistently and I overestimated the amount of Green-based devotion decks I'd be playing against. I would have considered playing Abzan Midrange more and tried to find the right decklist for it before the tournament if there was more time. All in all, I really enjoyed the experience and I got to play against GP winners, other PTQ winners, and a myriad of pros spanning the past decade of Magic's past. I really hope that I can have the opportunity to play on the PT again.

Going back in time two years ago, when I didn't think I would be able to compete in the PTQ Modern season, my mother, without hesitation looked at the shopping cart of trading cards that she knew nothing about and bought them all. She bought the entirety of my Kiki Pod deck I used to compete with during PTQ Dragon's Maze's Modern Season. She allowed me to continue working towards my dream. I'm not sure if you will ever read this, but I want to thank you for everything you've done and being so supportive in all the endeavors I strive towards. I love you, mom and I dedicate the run to my next Pro Tour, whenever, if ever that may be, to you.

As this year comes to an end, I realize that I've accomplished so many incredible things outside of Magic, started to travel the world and experienced some pretty amazing and some difficult situations. I think this year was one of the most unbelievable and impacting years in my life. Back in 2012, I made a promise to myself to strive to be a better person and although I'm far from perfect, I actually feel that I'm moving closer towards that goal. Ironically, back in July I wrote an article saying how I was going to take a long break from Magic and that didn't work out as well as planned, but I'm happy it didn't. For now, I plan on attending some Grand Prixs throughout this winter and summer and hope to obtain some Pro Points to close in on Silver in the Pro Players Club for 2015-2016. I think the chances of getting that far are very low, but I'd like to give it a shot so the future me can't say I didn't try..

'Never underestimate the impact that a simple act of kindness can have.'

Until next time, Casual Net.

Now some photos!

Waikiki on the island of O'ahu, HI

Feature Match area for PT Khans of Tarkir

PT Khans of Tarkir Champion Trophy

Tournament Hall Schedule

Who's that kid?

Our walk to the venue on the Waikiki Canal

First Round of Standard (Round 4 of Day 1)

Swag from the PT

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-David J.