The Importance of Good Pairings

So my matchups affected me more than ever yesterday. In the past it wasn't such a big deal. I had a ton of tournaments with varied matchups and it just didn't matter in the format. Extended in Berlin was a perfect example. I didn't play my best matchup until the last 3 rounds and in LA I played a plethora of decks.

Regionals was far different. I went into the tournament thinking that token based decks were going to be 20-25%~ of the field and red decks probably another 15-20%. Elves making up probably 5-10% and rest would be a smattering of Fog, 5C, Faeries, GW Kid Beatdown and random junk.

My matchups on the day, including the Mox Tournament I won, went like this:

UW Lark
Elves
Turbo Fog
Faeries

drop

GWr aggro
Grixis Control
Something that escapes me, but I know didn't have tokens
UW Lark
GB Quillspike combo

So in 9 rounds, I didn't play any of the major decks in the format, be it Boat Brew, B/W, GW tokens or Rx.

It didn't affect me poorly in the second tournament, partially because of the deck I played. Which makes me realize that in a somewhat open format, playing a specialized deck can sometimes be disastrous. Had I played against Tokens all day in Regionals, however, I probably would have X-0d.

/shrug

Nationals

So I've never actually qualified for Nats. Isn't that crazy? I've almost ground in, but Regionals has never really been good to me. Not really sure why...

I feel like my game has stepped up lately, however, so I feel quite confident in my abilities this weekend. I have a great list and people won't really be ready for it. The edge is huge.

Unreal

So I was linked to a video by a friend on facebook.  It was simply unreal.  

Road Trip!

Today:

I can't wait.  Seattle then Hawaii.  Oh man.  So much work has gone into making sure everything is in place for both of the trips.  It's going to be such a blur, I hope I remember it all.

Seattle should be a great time.  I really hope I can make a strong push and top 8.  I need it if I'm going to make Level 5 this year.  That and a top 32 in Honolulu.  I feel that my game has progressed to that level, as well as my networking to get knowledge of formats.  Something that I think is really key to high level success in this game.

Hawaii is going to be a blast.  Barbeques, beers, beaches, friends and drafts.  With the ocassional party thrown in.  I just hope nobody gets hurt.  I also hope I don't forget anything before I leave for Hawaii.  Nothing like going on a trip and realizing that you left your iPod charger or something similar at home.  I know there's going to be SOMETHING I forget, because you always do.  I just hope it's something of minimal consequence.

Summer, where are you?

May Whenever:

I am quickly growing tired of the weather here.  I know I know, I've lived here my whole life.  But it's really starting to get annoying.  Summer teases you constantly.  Yay it's 70 and 75 and 76!  Wait, it's 50 and raining.  Ugh.  I can't wait to graduate and move down south.  I know some people think I'm selling my soul for sun, but I don't care anymore.  I need warmth.  Skinny people are not made for the cold.

Once Summer hits, however, there will be plenty of things done to take advantage of it.  Joel's pool, I'm looking at you.  That and the lake and camping trips and the beach and blah blah blah.  It's going down this Summer.  You're all invited.  Yes, all of you.

A rant on Standard

May Whenever:

For those of you that don't play cards, you're going to be very confused, for that I apologize.

So I've been playing a ridiculous amount of Magic over the last few months and I don't really have the luxury of letting up, not if I want to actually make it on the train this year and try to make a real push.  

That said, I hate Standard right now.  With a passion.  I've played it for so long and it's ridiculous.  My friend Ryan put it very well last night.  Standard is basically Wizards handing everybody decks.  Here's Elves, here's Kithkin, here's Faeries, here's some great RG Aggro cards, here's the ability to play any card in your deck that you want (lol Vivid Lands and Reflecting Pool) go play.  What happened to the days of ingenuity?  There are a few decks out there, like the Swans list from the Japanese or the Sanity Grinding lists, but it's just not the same.  Decks seem to come manufactured.  I can't WAIT for M10 and the next block to come out so that I can stop playing with tribes (although Shards is a bit manufactured in that way, I'm sure there will be more creativity involved).

Vacation homes and the retards that rent them

May 5th:

So I get an email from the "landlords" that will be renting out the place to myself and about 10 others stating that they want an additional $1000 for deposit.  Apparently they think we're a bunch of hooligans and that we're going to trash the place.  I told them that we were there for a card tournament and immediately they think Poker.  They thought we were some brash group of college kids, in town to wreak havoc.  It couldn't really be further from the truth.  

I link her to the PT site, http://wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=mtgcom/protour/honolulu09 , for those of you not aware.  We're nerds.  We game.  That's what we do.  

After reviewing this, I try to talk them down to $1500 just so that I can actually HAVE a place for us to stay, as we're close to a month out and I don't really have the time or patience to go through this process again.  Plus I don't want to have to tell people that they're not going to be able to stay if I find a smaller place (who do I kick out, how is that fair, etc etc.).

It was just a long and painful process and hopefully is all works out.  This trip should be a blast.

Shower heads and the search for luxury

May 1st:

I'm out of my old place and into my new one.  It's better in just about every way, which is great.  Less people, no animals, working appliances (kind of), bigger room, better location.

The only thing I've disliked so far is my shower.  Showers are important to me.  Without sufficient water pressure, it just kind of drips on you.  I like forceful shower heads with plenty of water pressure.  Goes back to when I lived in Medina, WA as a kid, with my dad.  We had a shower head that was probably the best ever.  The thing literally beat you up.  I need to find something like that again.