My ProQuest S3 at Haven Games

Decklist will be here soon:

I had landed on a list very similar to the final ProQuest list earlier on, but had more Pursuits and Pummels, which worked like a high-roll when you hit them properly – but quickly went wrong when you drew multiples together or too many non-weapon related cards during your turns after gaining tempo. I found a very good balance in another list using just one copy of the blue pummel and one pursuit. After testing my version fairly extensively, I switched to this list and found it was just as consistent as my previous lists, but offered a very strong ability to play into almost all matches without worry about getting a lopsided hand. Since consistency is the name of the game for me, I chose to switch to this list and start running it as soon as possible to get reps in for ProQuest.

I made the switch fairly successfully, and got a bunch of practice in quickly in order to play in the Vancouver ProQuests at Magic Stronghold Games and Infinity Cards & Games. Both of these tournaments went well, but I had lots of learning experiences throughout games as the lower count of 3-block cards as well as a Dynasty shifted meta came into play for me. These became apparent quickly as I engaged in a higher level of play than my online testing and Armory event games had yielded in the later stages of the ProQuests. I felt good about the deck and my gameplay, regardless – with Top 8 finishes at each event. Before I end up going into too much detail about those events, let’s get to the matches I played at Haven Games in Kamloops!

Round 1

Dromai

Bryanna was my first opponent, running Dromai. This isn’t particularly a bad matchup for Dorinthea, but it can get out of control if you don’t stick to the gameplan and make sure to stick counters on Dawnblade as soon as you can. Farming dragons is the easiest way to do this, but if they don’t play multiple dragons you know they’ll at least be turning on reprise or allowing counters throughout. Once you have 3 counters on Dawnblade, it becomes very hard to deal with. Dromai can certainly drag this game on quite a while staying alive and thwarting your big damage turns to maintain a decent life total.

This game went long, and I did my best to walk life totals down while adding counters onto Dawnblade to make the end inevitably turn to my favor. Unfortunately for me, Bryanna played very well and didn’t fall into many, if any traps that I had tried to set up to gain tempo as the game progressed. Eventually, I had amassed counters on Dawnblade and closed the gap in our life totals by dealing 14 damage. She was still very much in the game, as she hung onto cards in the process and attacked back. During the process of announcing her attack, time was called and we paused there. We discussed the game state briefly, as both of us were unsure we could finish the game during our turn and did not want to take an action once time was called. Bryanna opted to concede to me, and we revealed remaining cards to see what would have happened – coming to the conclusion that neither of us could have dealt lethal damage in this game.

Round 2 (1-0)

Fai

Lucas had won his round and we were paired against each other round 2. Fai is an interesting match, because I have a lot of aggressive turns with Dorinthea, but end up being more of a control deck here. I essentially try to walk life totals down and maintain some sort of parity while denying extra damage. I want to get mask out of the way, then regain tempo so that the potential for them to pivot again is already gone.

Thankfully this game was a quick one, as I had broken two sleeves in the previous round and I needed to re-sleeve my entire deck between this game and the next. The transfers of tempo were extremely quick in this match, and I nearly broke Courage of Bladehold too early to take tempo before I needed to, but made a more disciplined play. Later turns rewarded that choice, when I drew into two Ironsong Pride on back to back turns. The counters mixed with full hands to play ultimately finished the game, with my final couple of turns dealing 9 damage, then 7 and finally lethal damage.

I raced off to change out my sleeves before the next round at a nearby table so that I could continue the tournament from there.

Round 3 (2-0)

Kano

Next up was Dakota’s Kano deck. I was unsure exactly what kind of build he was playing, but the game plan is pretty generic against the wizard. I try to find Oasis Respite and save it for when it’s relevant. I need to stop cards like Aether Wildfire and Ather Flare from dealing too much damage and enabling a strong combo. My deck generally has enough blue cards that I can operate off of a 3-4 card hand easily enough to keep pressure on relentlessly as I minimize damage to myself.

The game started with a bit of a laugh, as I revealed my equipment with only one piece of Arcane Barrier. People around us were fairly surprised, but as I’m trying to be the aggressor in the match it seems correct. I don’t want to durdle through the game stopping small amounts of arcane and allowing extra time for setup.

We did have one judge call during this game, as I didn’t clearly understand what had happened with one card in particular – but Dakota was able to walk through the entire turn to show exactly what I had missed and we carried on with play from there. It was just a simple matter of me assuming that a card was placed on the stack, when in fact it was only banished and put close to me so that I could see it.

With that resolved, he was able to deal 6 damage, then 7 more – putting me at 26 life and into the danger zone – but thankfully I had only taken 1 point of damage up to that turn. I had to accept most of the damage and crack back in a meaningful way to pressure the game before he could have another big turn. I maintained the weapon swings and stuck to the game plan until we were at 26-6. At this point I had to make a decision based on the cards remaining in his hand, as my swing was coming over the top for 3 and I had the attack reaction in hand for lethal. I weighed the potential for combo with the number of cards in his hand against the fact that he had blocked and decided to go for it. Dakota extended his hand and said good game. I had made the right decision.

Tournament organizers inserted a break here, instead of after the 4th round. This was seemingly irrelevant other than the fact we’d have to wait longer to get dinner after the break with the two rounds following it. This suddenly becomes relevant very soon. I quickly grabbed my things with this news and we headed to lunch.

Round 4 (3-0)

Lexi

Next up was Lexi. This is arguably one of my best matchups, for a couple reasons. My deck just blocks, and the Ice Lexi disruption builds are the easiest to fatigue. I have a total block count of 182 in the deck, 181 if I use Courage for tempo shifting attacks instead of blocks. Secondly, I played nothing but Lexi for months myself, and I’m intimately aware of every card and build of the deck, lines of play etc.

We sat down and play went in my favor very quickly. As I attacked and built up some counters, forcing blocks and often dealing damage in spite of them. I made sure to capitalize on this damage and push, but something terrible had happened.

I was worried from turn 1 that I had done something when my opening hand contained an Oasis Respite. My fears were confirmed when I had a commanding lead, and I started drawing into sideboard cards for Kano from the pre-break match. When we had quickly packed up to go I did not remove my sideboard from that game. This added several cards that don’t block to my pool, and disrupted my game repeatedly at key points – and my opponent simultaneously drew very hot as well. This led to me dropping a 25 point lead and ultimately ending up with not enough blocks to stop him from winning the match. A very upsetting turn of events, indeed. As the current second place player, I was in no danger of losing my top 8 spot but was definitely out of contention for top seed.

A good match suddenly gone bad, I had to tell myself it was fine, as I would definitely never let that happen again. Definitely disheartening, though, despite still being in for the top 8.

Round 5 (3-1)

Kano

I paired against Isaiah on Kano for round 5. This was a match that I was wary of when I saw that he was coming to the tournament. A very good player, capable of sequencing and opting into the combo in a manner that often seemed to come from nowhere – I had played with him many times. He also notably had been rumored to be running d-reacts as well as edicts to take out the decks running my game plan out into Kano. I just have to race damage on this one.

The game went fairly smooth in the beginning, with neither of us seeming to gain a significant advantage, but as Isaiah set up fairly early, I failed to put up much in the way of relevant threat to his life total. Eventually he got into the swing, and I ended up eating a lot of combo damage and he drained my life total to zero before I connected with Dawnblade a 5th time.

I went into this game a little bit tilted, and I don’t believe I played optimally here. Isaiah also noticed this I believe, and he told me not to think too much about it. He was right, all players in the top 8 have the same chance to win 3 games in a row and face single elimination no matter what. We chatted a bit about it, and I took his advice. Just clearing my head would be priority before we entered the top 8.

Quarterfinals

Kano

The first round of my top 8 journey was against Isaiah’s Kano. Again, I need to play for the fast game, and understand his combo potential. I maintain the Oasis Respite and other cards, believing the game plan is correct – despite having lost the previous round. It’s Kano with a proficient pilot, so these things will happen sometimes. I’ve also straightened out my head so I can put my best into the game again.

This time around, I went for it at every possible opening. After a slow start on the early game, I was able to turn a corner and push consistent damage through. On the third turn, I was able to start putting counters on Dawnblade and take the tempo. From there I was able to consistently deal 3-6 damage each attack and put the game into a ‘do-or-die’ situation. With Kano at 7, and my life total at 33, I knew I was able to push. I took a few arcane damage to set up a lethal turn. It’s worth noting that he also broke the edict naming Oasis Respite this turn.

Next I pushed Dawnblade up onto the Combat Chain for 9, with go again. I expected that this would force the issue, as it would cause a full block each turn going forward and still leak damage because I am operating with a full hand. Remember I’m running AB1. Isaiah responded by cracking Storm Striders and playing Blazing Aether. He held priority in order to activate Kano twice and pitch all of his hand but 1 card, holding priority to break a Potion of Deja Vu putting the cards from his pitch in order on his deck. This allowed him to choose his Kano activations, and he played it out with Red Aether Wildfire for 6 (Metacarpus and Crucible), Blue Aether Flare for 7 (Aether Wildfire and Metacarpus), then resolving down the stack to the Blazing Ather.

I counted my life total and calculated damage between the spells, coming to the conclusion that I would live here based on my knowledge of the top cards of his deck after the Potion of Deja Vu. I didn’t know what order he put them in, but I knew the 4 cards. I walked through the play in my head, and I realized I knew what his card in hand and the top of his deck were. He had pitched out his hand except for one card in order to set up his deck, revealing them to me before he activated ragamuffin’s hat to place Aether Wildfire on top of his deck for the Kano activation. He then placed the Aether Flare on the top for the next Kano activation. This meant his two remaining cards were an energy potion and a defense reaction one of them was in hand and the other was on top of his deck. It didn’t matter which one was in his hand, this meant there would be no potential follow up damage.

This is where it got a little weird on us. He was just as confident as I was. I thought I was winning, and he thought he was winning. He pointed out that the Blazing Aether would be for over 20 damage to my 18 life with only AB1 at that point which caught me off guard. I asked to read Aether Flare and Aether Wildfire, and pointed out that Aether Flare only applies to the next card played after it. A nearby judge leapt into action (I don’t think we called for one) and made a ruling on the sequence of the play showing that I would have to take 17 from the Blazing Aether, but would end the combo at 1 life. Isaiah said good game & good luck, I progressed to the semifinal.

Semifinals

Lexi

Jessie had also won his first round of top 8, and we got paired for a rematch as well.

During the start of game procedure, Jessie jokingly asked if I had remembered to remove my sideboard from the Kano match this time. I had, and the game went very differently as a result. We progressed through the game, both of us leaking damage through as we went along. I walked my life total down in a reasonable manner, knowing that Lexi can’t actually output enough damage to put my life total in jeopardy before they run out of cards if I play a disciplined match.

The match went as I intended, rolling through small amounts of damage for each Rain Razors and Lightning Press in his deck – but not enough to put me near lethal range. I monitored Jessie’s graveyard zone pretty closely, just to be sure of what threats and resources were still available as the game progressed – and asked for a card count after hearing bystanders mention the time remaining in the round and a judge coming to watch the game more closely. He had 8 cards remaining in his deck. After one more turn Jessie realized what I was getting at – the game was long over, as I can win with a single card in deck, but Lexi actually can do nothing with limited cards.

Jessie conceded the game, and I moved on to the finals.

Finals

Bravo

The finals started with a pretty bold discussion with Max. I had played this matchup weekly for a long time, and had a very high success rate against it. Playing primarily with Arcanite Skullcap for all of my Dorinthea playing days, I was already used to walking totals down to get maximum value out of Heart of Fyendal – and playing all the Steelblade Shunts really help to shut down big turns. The equipment suite (aka the fridge) gives me so much value against those Tear Asunder and Crush turns that most heroes fear.

Max opened with a split offer that I did not deem favorable, stating that this match would be heavily in their favor. I didn’t buy that for a second, and made a counter offer. I stated clearly that this is a match I’m happy to play, but that I was open to a favorable split. I offered instead to give all the store credit to Max and I could keep the pro tour seat and the prize card. This was declined, and it started to sound like we would just play the match – which I was happy to do, other than the fact that I had people waiting for me so we could travel back to Kelowna. My opponent and his friends explained that they simply wanted the card so that they could post it as content for their stream, so we came to an agreement that they would share the link with me before it went live so that we could also share the opening of the card. I only wanted the card to open for our pages and our channel anyway. The Pro Tour Invite was the only thing I definitely wanted outside of that. We agreed to a split on the credit, with Max taking the card and the PTI going to myself.

With that, I find myself off to Pro Tour Baltimore!