So it’s Monday again and it’s the first day of April. You’d better watch out for April Fools’ pranks and don’t believe right away any articles you might read or news heard. Anyhow, time flies so fast that it’s just a few days to go until the first World Magic Cup Qualifier (April 6th).

The team’s preparations were quite okay, and we were still holding local tournaments to test our deck builds. Last Saturday was the recent one, with 12 players in attendance. The number was quite the average since it was Black Saturday, and more of our Manila peeps were here for their vacation.

I’ve played Naya Midrange in that event and here is a summary of my matchups:

Round 1 vs Jund Midrange: Lost 1-2 because of severe mana flooding in games 1 and 3.

Round 2 vs Esper Control: Won 2-1. Game 1 was definitely in his favor due to lots of sweep cards and Sphinx Revelation. Games 2 saw him stumble on Mana while I got a fast aggro draw and was pressured early on. Game 3 also had me on a fast start but he got me stalled a while with a few spot removals and Azorius Charm. I just played it safe with Boros Charm in hand until he was forced to sweep the board. That time I got him.

Round 3 vs Bant Auras: Won 2-0. I was paired down to a friend so he just willingly conceded for me to get to 6 pts.

Round 4 vs RG Aggro: I was again paired with a teammate and since it was the last round, we just decided to talk about who’s favored to win the matchup. We checked the win percentage on the previous round and it was him who was ahead by about 11%. I deliberately gave him the win. Lost 0-2.

My final record was 2-2, which looks fine for a regular tournament. My friend whom I conceded to in the last round got 3rd in the rank and won a booster pack and foil promo Farseek. I’m glad the decision was correct.

My changes to the deck can be found in my previous post. The sideboards I am sure of including so far are:

1 Assemble the Legion
2 Boros charm
3 Centaur Healer
2 Oblivion Ring
2 Rest in Peace
1 Rolling Temblor

There are four more slots available and I am still checking for more references. Preferably I can find one from Japanese Mtg sites. Also, I need to playtest it more against popular matchups to know where the possible flaws are.

I guess this coming weekday evenings are to be spent on the drawing board. Until the next post.