RC Milwaukee Izzet Lessons Tournament Report (10th Place)

 Hey, Magic spikes!

 Another standard cycle has come and gone. It's a whole new format since I'd qualified for Milwaukee on Mono White about five months ago. With several new decks appearing as viable options, including Izzet Spellementals, an upgraded Green Landfall, and the Rhythm lists, my choice for this Regional Championship was the longtime number one option before the release of Lorwyn Eclipsed. With a diversified field and, by nature, less sideboard hate directed at Lessons, we're afforded more freedom to terrorize just about any matchup with the potent synergy of Artist's Talent and Monument to Endurance, backed by a wealth of answers in damage based removal and counterspells. And... Ancestral Recall, apparently...

THE DECK

𝚂̶𝚎̶𝚛̶𝚒̶𝚘̶𝚞̶𝚜̶𝚕̶𝚢̶,̶ ̶𝚠̶𝚑̶𝚢̶ ̶𝚒̶𝚜̶ ̶𝚝̶𝚑̶𝚒̶𝚜̶ ̶𝚜̶𝚝̶𝚞̶𝚙̶𝚒̶𝚍̶ ̶𝚌̶𝚊̶𝚛̶𝚍̶ ̶𝚒̶𝚗̶ ̶𝚜̶𝚝̶𝚊̶𝚗̶𝚍̶𝚊̶𝚛̶𝚍̶?̶

 The Ancestral Recall joke being that it's very easy to get three lessons in the graveyard to make Accumulate Wisdom pick up three cards, backed by eight cards that can make it only cost one blue mana in Gran-Gran and Artist's Talent. However, the deck itself is complex to pilot and requires a lot of good judgment calls.  There are still outlets, multiple mana sink game pieces in Agna Qel'a, Stormchaser's Talent, Artist's Talent, and three choices of Monument to Endurance exist. Not to mention also having to know what you'd want to be potentially drawing (or sending away) with the deck while looting many cards and also giving you lots of instant speed agency to consider for the opponent's turn, especially before you have generated the resources to close. In a deck that has a dozen variations on how a game can go with any given hand, the secret is deceptively simple: have a gameplan. Right or wrong, it is better go have a plan than to have none. And all of this is before conversing about how to sideboard in accordance with said plans.

 To elaborate, the three main ways a game can be won, primarily game 1, are:
1) Make Otter tokens, push with prowess and interaction early.
2) Artist's Talent and Monument to Endurance go brrrrrrrr until you're ready for life loss mode.
3) Chain off multiple Accumulate Wisdoms, sometimes back with a Stormchaser's Talent, and win by concession or long game on value with a full graveyard.

 To maximize the power of the deck, it's important to weigh your options and be mindful of your plan as early as your first few turns.

 All that said, I firmly believe this is a deck that rewards the skill of the pilot, akin in a way to the Death's Shadow decks of modern years ago, if you can navigate the quiet complexity. Playing what I forecasted to be a top 3 choice at minimum, I chose lessons because I knew I could outplay throughout the weekend, even in the mirror, and after testing I felt comfortable enough with the lines to know how each matchup is won and lost. In this tournament report, I'll share my experiences, how I sideboarded, cool interactions throughout the weekend, and other nuances to help any potential lesson gamers out there.

 My choices in the "flex" spots in the list are one mainboard Spell Snare, one mainboard Three Steps Ahead, and one Iroh's Demonstration. Some lists will try Ral, Crackling Wit, Sear, or an extra It'll Quench Ya!. I'm on three Stormchaser's Talent instead of four, as having the second copy of this card at a time is less exciting with diminishing returns (think bouncing it with a Boomerang Basics), unless we're in a drawn-out game. My crucially important last-minute changes to the list, courtesy of team captain Kazi Baker for the borrowed cards and feedback, included the 2nd Agna Qel'A over 6th Island, mainboard Spell Snare over the 4th Stormchaser's Talent, a sideboard The Unagi of Kyoshi Island over a 3rd Quantum Riddler, and a sideboard Broadside Barrage over Ral, Crackling Wit. It took a long time to accept going from four down to three sideboard alternate win-cons in losing Ral, but I wasn't impressed with it enough when I was more attracted to having another answer in Broadside Barrrage for potential planeswalkers or Spellementals.

 On a personal note, being born and raised in Wisconsin, this was my first time returning to my longtime home state since leaving five years ago to move to SoCal and eventually Utah. Seeing my mom, my brother Vinny, and Shawn Dorn, who taught me how to play Magic ten years ago, was refreshing for the soul. Not to mention having Amanda (#goatedgirlfriend) also giving moral support. This was likely the most relaxed I'd been going into a Regional Championship among any of the nine I'd played, despite the obvious chip on my shoulder to not scrub out with home-field advantage. Worst case, I get to go to a Bucks game with the teammates if day 1 goes poorly. Life isn't so bad any which way.

Onto the Regional Championship! We've got 1,193 players! Tournament path with full opposing decklists is linked here if you'd like to follow along there.

ROUND 1 - WIN 2-1 VS Four-Color Control (1-0)

 This was the Jeskai Revelation deck splashing black for two Fire Lord Azula and two Inevitable Defeat. Game 1 felt nice with my opponent needing to turn 3 Stock Up on the draw to find lands and losing a card to cleanup, and essentially going shields down to allow me to rummage through bad game 1 cards (red removal) with a resolved Artist's Talent and even drawing a few cards off a Monument to Endurnace for a while before he could find an answer. Combined with a few Otter tokens chipping in and a few Accumulate Wisdoms when the opponent would tap out, the tempo and accumulating value advantage let us get there relatively easily without our opponent seeing any Jeskai Revelation. This is the kind of matchup where Stormchaser's Talent and Monument to Endurance, in particular, shine for their versatility as both clocks and value enablers.

+2 Quantum Riddler
+2 Spell Snare
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island
+1 Disdainful Stroke
-4 Firebending Lesson
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Combustion Technique

 Keeping the removal suite in mind, trimming a few Gran-Grans for Soul-Guide Lantern here (for the card draw) is acceptable. In hindsight, I would've considered trimming two.

 Two quick principles before continuing. Firstly, we obviously drop our red removal in these kinds of matchups, and lessen our lesson count. We'll cut lessons in a lot of matchups one way or another in the face of grave hate. If we're conceding power from Gran-Gran and Accumulate Wisdom in being on fewer lessons, we need to be okay with Wisdom just being Anticipate and getting us one card at instant speed or even discarding it for other things. Live with not always getting three cards, as powerful as the upside is. Secondly, like many decks I've reported on in the past, this deck can afford to play a bit of transformational sideboarding. We'll find yet another angle of attack in our Quantum Riddlers (which come in a LOT) and The Unagi of Kyoshi Island. Riddler is enabled with us emptying our hand early if we don't get our way with Monument, and Unagi gives us a very pesky instant speed threats if we're bringing in many counter spells. This is called foreshadowing! We're stretching the opponent thin post-board when they have to worry about the Talent-Monument plan, lesson count in the graveyard, sometimes just getting there with the Otter tokens, and now three stand-alone big blue haymakers. Makes you wonder how all of this versatile action fits into a 60-card deck.

Game 2 doesn't go as well. I'm slowly chipping through with an Otter and a Gran-Gran, but Quantum Riddler and Monument to Endurance aren't living for long with two timely copies of Inevitable Defeat and two Jeskai Revelations on curve shutting the door on any advantage I had. In hindsight, I should've conceded earlier, but I thought I had enough to fight through the first Jeskai Revelation. We go to game 3 with about twelve minutes left.

 Thankfully, a turn 1 Stormchaser's Talent, turn 2 Artist's Talent, and turn 3 Monument to Endurance all stick and give me enough value to push through with card advantage on the play, eventually electing to have the opponent lose three life each turn with Monument before he could play for a draw.

ROUND 2 - WIN 2-1 VS Boros Dragons (2-0)

 I still can't get on Melee and paper pairings aren't being posted anymore. Boo! I call over a judge in order to not get a game loss, and they walk with me to ensure no penalties or misunderstandings with my opponent. Next up is Jonny Stange from Chicago on Boros Dragons. Game 1 on the draw is somewhat uneventful in Jonny getting off to a decent start with a Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant followed by decking me with a Nova Hellkite twice. I'm online with a Gran-Gran and Monument to Endurance, but only having one removal spell in a Combustion Technique doesn't afford me enough time (despite an Accumulate Wisdom drawing three) to try turning the corner when he's continuing to put out creatures, and my Otter token from a Stormchaser's Talent doesn't win that race.

-2 Monument to Endurance
-2 Boomerang Basics
-1 Stormchaser's Talent
-1 Firebending Lesson
+2 Quantum Riddler
+2 Flashfreeze
+1 Disdainful Stroke
+1 Broadside Barrage

 I had no sideboard notes for this matchup and only played against it for the first time the day before, so I'm on my own. With my opponent having an aggro initiative, this is a rare matchup where I'm okay trimming on Monuments. I considered bringing in Slagstorm, but didn't feel like there would be enough small targets post-board to justify it if I'm looking for just Sarkhan, Dragon Ascendant and Voice of Victory.

 Jonny mulligans to six and has a relatively slow start. This time, on the play we've got Artist's Talent and one of two remaining Monument to Endurance up with some red removal clearance and a Flashfreeze to help stave off any 4-5 mana threats while drawing cards. This setup is a buzzsaw for creature decks if they aren't fast enough, despite him having a decent Requisition Raid.

 Game 3, again on the draw, Jonny casts a creature each turn in Voice of Victory, Clarion Conquerer, Magmatic Hellkite, and a potentially scary Dragonhawk, Fate's Tempest in a repeated suite of red removal and two Flashfreeze. Despite trading multiple cards and hitting my land drops, I'm at a measly 5 life, while Jonny's at 12, but I'm pushing with an Otter token, Gran-Gran, and a Monument to Endurance. With four lands and telling me he had two Burst Lightnings in hand, he made what I believe was a mistake and pointed the first one at an Otter token in fear of getting clocked too fast. I had thought he'd hope for a topdeck 5th land to try double Bursting me for 8 while behind on board. His 2nd Burst goes to Gran-Gran, and he later eventually tutors for a Nova Hellkite with Maelstrom of the Spirit Dragon. I have an immediate answer for it, and win the watch after using the Monument to take him down three life each turn.

 Post-match, we did some math, and double Burst Lightning was never going to be available with what hidden information later gave us, but now he was mindful of the line. Overall great match and analysis. I gave some feedback on his sideboarding in what's most likely to beat me, since he seemed like a nice guy and wanted to help him find success if possible. In a twist, we would end up checking up on each other in-between rounds and exchanged contacts by the end of the weekend. Jonny went on to go 4-0 against Lessons the rest of the way and finished in 16th at 11-3-1 to make Top 16 with me! Wholesome.

ROUND 3 - WIN 2-1 VS Green Landfall (3-0)

 This is a tough matchup, especially in game 1. Green Landfall has many haymakers in Icetill Explorer, Earthbender Ascension, Sapling Nursery, etc. that, by nature, bowl over our plans quickly. Izzet Lessons doesn't deal with big trampling creatures or go-wide approaches well if unchecked. Not to mention Badgermole Cub and Llanowar Elves can just close a game against a slower hand. To win, we need early stopgaps, and to hope they run out of gas long enough for us to properly develop. Sure enough, I have a timely It'll Quench Ya! for an early Earthbound Ascension, I Combustion Technique an Icetill Explorer, but Sapling Nursery sneaks in, and I'm just a bit too late in dealing with the multiple 3/4's clocking in before I can start being proactive.

-3 Stormchaser's Talent
-3 Boomerang Basics
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Abandon Attachments
+2 Annul
+2 Flashfreeze
+2 Quantum Riddler
+1 Disdainful Stroke
+1 Sear

 We can't get fancy; we have to mostly drop the Otter plan and just have all of the answers in the world before we can progress in this matchup. Game 2 goes very slowly, but I have a full grip of answers while eventually finding a Monument to Endurance paired with an Agna Qel'A and a very late Gran-Gran, only because I'd run out of action and drew a million lands. My opponent clocking in with a single Fecund Greenshell proved to not be enough after I would go on to finally draw a couple of Accumulate Wisdoms.

 More of the same in a somewhat quicker game 3, except chipping in with a Gran-Gran and a late Monument to Endurance. Flashfreeze has felt like an all-star so far.

ROUND 4 - WIN 2-1 VS Dimir Doomsday (4-0)

 Another tricky one. Dimir Doomsday gets to play Deceit and Doomsday Excruciator (both also copyable with Superior Spider-Man), the latter of which is an auto-loss for Izzet Lessons as the deck already can't close in one turn, especially with blue and black answers abundant. The winning line is to either lean on multiple Otter tokens crashing through if you can find them, or find a way to aggressively tick down the opponent's life total with Monument to Endurance, most times foregoing the card draw. Not hopeless with Lessons playing counter spells of their own, but this matchup needs to be played carefully.

 Thankfully, I have a Gran-Gran and two Otter tokens (Talent + Boomerang) getting through two or three damage at a time despite a removal spell, while having excellent interaction in hand without yet having Artist's Talent or Monument to Endurance online. The opponent slowly develops with a Stock Up, Winternight Stories, and a Deceit somewhere. I still have an It'll Quench Ya! for a timely Superior Spider-Man and eventually find the Monument to have the opponent start losing life without combat. With them at five life after trading a few cards, we have them just low enough to take game 1.

+2 Quantum Riddler
+2 Soul-Guide Lantern
+1 Disdainful Stroke
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island
-4 Firebending Lesson
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Spell Snare

 Our deck gets much better post-board; however, Doomsday will also get Duress and a handful of big threats like their own Unagi and Wan Shi Tong, Librarian if they choose to back off of the Excruciator plan. On the draw, I'm hit with the turn 1 Duress, turn 2 Deceit, followed by a turn 4 Superior Spider-Man copying Deceit, later teaming up with Harvester of Misery. I can't develop fast enough to effectively deal with both threats and lose to the midrange approach.

 Game 3 gets to a very complex board state where I have a Quantum Riddler, Artist's Talent, and a Monument to Endurance, and appear to be winning with hefty damage represented, only briefly slowed down by a Superior Spider-Man copying Deceit. Then my opponent throws a very annoying clock at me in Riverchurn Monument. Threatening to now kill me by mill at instant speed with its exhaust ability and forcing me to keep track of how many cards are in my library and graveyard, with not much time left. I want to commit crimes every time someone plays this bunk card against me. My opponent is at 11 and can mill me out next turn, Riddler and two activations of Monument (one on my turn, one on his) puts him to 1. Not good enough.

 With plenty of mana and spells, looting many cards, and desperately looking for another Monument effect, I remembered a line compliments of Paul Green from Team Handshake in spots where you're married to killing with Monument. Late in the turn, I pick up a Three Steps Ahead, copying my Monument to Endurance! Now I win by casting a random non-creature spell anytime in response to my opponent milling me and making him lose six life while he's at 4! The opponent digs for something and forces me to have something on my upkeep as he activates Riverchurn Monument. I respond by casting Combustion Technique on one of my own Otters to win the match! Paul, if you're reading this, thank you, and very cool.

ROUND 5 - WIN 2-1 VS Mirror (5-0)

 I'm at Table 1 for the first time, and we've got a mirror match! I'm on the draw, but my opponent leads off with a turn 1 Stormchaser's Talent with mostly churning through cards for a bit. I'm fortunate in being able to get Artist's Talent and Monument to Endurance online first. My opponent finds a Monument of their own, but I hinder him with a Boomerang Basics to slow him down. I draw more cards off a Gran-Gran, find a nice Accumulate Wisdom drawing three, and then a second Monument, now making him lose six a turn. I'm too far ahead and he scoops for game 1.

 I have a difficult decision to make while sideboarding. An excellent beginner-friendly guide written by Reid Duke suggested trimming three of the four Gran-Grans (one to keep them honest) in light of counter spells and removal being plentiful, but the sideboard for those replacement slots is outdated. Kazi and local guy Gio prepped a sideboard guide for me that called for keeping them (editors note: check out the prisoner's dilemma). After considering how many cards I wanted to bring in, here's what I did:

+2 Quantum Riddler
+2 Soul-Guide Lantern
+2 Annul
+2 Spell Snare
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island
-2 Combustion Technique
-2 Firebending Lesson
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Three Steps Ahead
-1 Abandon Attachments
-1 Stormchaser's Talent
-1 Boomerang Basics

 I decided to try four Gran-Grans up a game to test my opponent's honesty on removal for it and see what a proactive one mana creature could do for me on the draw with upping my curve for the two Riddlers and the one Unagi. Artist's Talent will be countered by all of Spell Snare, Annul, It'll Quench Ya!, and Spell Pierce, so having another card to make a potential Monument to Endurance go live would be nice. The cool thing about Izzet Lessons is that it hedges away punishment on my poor cards if I choose wrong with how much it loots. I'm trying this in place of a Stormchaser's Talent, Boomerang Basics, and Three Steps Ahead.

 The opponent is off to a slow start in game 2 with another Stormchaser's Talent, but has two Monuments. I'm proactive with Gran-Gran and a Monument as well, but hoping to take advantage of incremental value to win. This is stopped immediately with the opponent playing an Agna Qel'A as land for the turn and committing to forgoing everything else to activate it three times to make me lose 18 life. Nothing else going for him, and yet he wins in three spins. Unfortunately, I'm one life short of winning the race, and the third Agna Qel'A activation kills me. Props to my opponent for seeing the unintuitive winning line early while behind on board. Another example of understanding how you win after weighing your options.

 Game 3 is a simple one. I have lands, an Artist's Talent, and two Monument to Endurance with a Stormchaser's Talent. The hand feels great if Artist's Talent isn't countered. Everything resolves, but the opponent has the combo as well, with a few Otters trying to crash into me. Being on the play ends up being a nice advantage while drawing cards off Monument when I'm ready for the opponent to lose six life at a time, and I get there first to take the match after some complex mapping from the opponent. After some consideration, I lost seven lessons post-board, which was likely too much to justify working uphill for the upside of the full playset of Gran-Gran at the cost of the Talent + Boomerang synergy, even with it accelerating the Monument plan.

ROUND 6 - WIN 2-1 VS Spellementals (6-0)

 A generally favorable matchup with an abundance of answers for the deck's twelve creatures in game 1. I resolved an early Stormchaser's Talent and Artist's Talent, and was able to load up the graveyard with lessons quickly to get my Combustion Techniques and Accumulate Wisdoms ready quickly. Between my Techniques and kicked Firebending Lessons, my opponent's threats never stuck long as I had the way cleared to slowly set up for a Monument to Endurance drawing cards until I'm ready to start popping off, fueled by a level 2 Talent activation fetching another Accumulate Wisdom from the yard. Opponent scoops from falling too far behind.

+2 Soul-Guide Lantern
+2 Quantum Riddler
+1 Disdainful Stroke
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island
+1 Broadside Barrage
-4 Firebending Lesson
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Boomerang Basics
-1 Stormchaser's Talent

 This boarding had an inaccuracy, taking out the mainboard Spell Snare over a Flashfreeze would've been optimal. Could also take out a Boomerang Basics for the 2nd Flashfreeze. I lose game 2 on the back of getting a Monument, but no Artist's Talent, and my opponent having counter spell backup to The Legend of Kuruk and Hydro-Man, Fluid Felon coming in together to where I can't deal with the quick clock.

 Third game was a grindy one as I slowly looted every turn with a turn 1 Gran-Gran while hitting land drops and answering Eddymurk Crab and Hearth Elemental one at a time until finding a resolved Monument to Endurance off a late Accumulate Wisdom. Soul-Guide Lantern proved to be effective here in slowing down my opponent on their graveyard count just long enough for me to hit my land drops in preparation for X/5 haymakers.

 Having almost no time for breaks in between rounds, before I know it, I'm locked for day 2 at 6-0! However, Kazi and teammates Adam and Dana Fischer sadly remind me that with this sixth match win, I've also lost my win-and-in for the Bucks game tomorrow. All good though, they got spanked by the Raptors that day anyway. 🙃 Dear God, please help my team...

ROUND 7 - WIN 2-0 VS Temur Rhythm (7-0)

 This is an interesting take on the Simic Rhythm deck, splashing red for Ashling, Rekindled mainboard, plus other fun options in the sideboard. Game 1 came down to me using the red removal to blow up several mana dorks, but they would get a decent amount of utility with Ashling to eventually hit an Ouroboroid that gave the team one +1/+1 counters before I removed it. I have an It'll Quench Ya! for a big Nature's Rhythm turn (likely looking for another Ouroboroid), but they follow up with a Quantum Riddler that smorcs me a few times. However, Accumulate Wisdom gets me plenty of cards, and I progress my own plan with a late Monument to Endurance to help close it out before Riddler can.

+2 Quantum Riddler
+2 Flashfreeze
+2 Spell Snare
+1 Disdainful Stroke
-3 Stormchaser's Talent
-3 Boomerang Basics
-1 Abandon Attachments

 In a feels-bad moment for the opponent, they mulligan to five on the play and have two of their Llanowar Elves and a 1/1 land from Badgermole Cub blown up by my Iroh's Demonstration pinging the team for one damage. They bounce back nicely with a warped Quantum Riddler alleviating their card disadvantage, alongside me being off to a very slow start with little proactive development. Eventually, once Artist's Talent starts stacking my graveyard for my Accumulate Wisdoms to go live, it was only a matter of time before I caught up with interaction after getting clocked by the same Riddler again.

 I get my first 2-0, finally having a chance to grab food and water. Despite not feeling great physically and being somewhat beside myself mentally for the hot start, it's important not to lose oneself at this stage at the risk of making avoidable mistakes or getting too caught up in the moment. There are still two matches in the day to fall to 7-2 and fall off pace for a Pro Tour berth, so I cared more about just continuing to play good Magic and put myself in the best position possible for day 2, rather than thinking about standings.

 Walking over towards my table for round 8, the tables next to me have been plucked away towards the feature match area three rounds in a row without me. This time, Alan Ke and I are called over by a judge, and we finally have a chance to play on camera. We're at Table D, meaning we're the least prioritized of the four matches for streaming, but I'm still super happy to be there.

ROUND 8 - WIN 2-0 VS Simic Rhythm (8-0)

 I'm on the play with several red removal spells and an Accumulate Wisdom. After blowing up a few of Alan's mana dorks, he finds an Ouroboroid to start pumping up what's left of the team to start chipping at me the old-fashioned way by turning creatures sideways rather than the usual Nature's Rhythm turn. I have a Combustion Technique for the Ouroboroid and eventually stabilize with Stormchaser's Talent and Monument to Endurance to ensure my long game while still at 8 life, encouraging a concession after quenching a Nature's Rhythm.

+2 Quantum Riddler
+2 Flashfreeze
+2 Spell Snare
+1 Disdainful Stroke
-3 Stormchaser's Talent
-3 Boomerang Basics
-1 Abandon Attachments

 Similar story in game 2 in blowing up plenty of small creatures and now having Flashfreeze and Spell Snare holding down the castle. This time, Gran-Gran is present early to pair with a Monument to Endurance drawing me a card each turn, as we're not in a hurry to close it out after cutting off Rhythm's mana. Alan has some potentially scary counterplay in a Sab-Sunen, Luxa Embodied, but we have too much going on for it to climb him back into it.

 Although the friends and family in my circle certainly mean well, it's getting harder to block out the noise now at 8-0. My teammate Adam is literally screaming in excitement now, which he normally does only in extreme circumstances. People are also starting to hit up my social media.

 But as Kobe Bryant famously said, "Job's not finished". Whether appropriate or not, I don't want to give myself any permission to celebrate anything until the day is over. My goal at minimum is the Pro Tour, and 9-0 would be an excellent start towards that goal.

 Four undefeated players left. My round 9 opponent is Christopher Kral at Table B in the feature match area. Still not getting to play on camera, but what's more important is that we play good Magic. Azorius Tempo punishes early mistakes if given the chance to shut down any counterplay with High Noon and Voice of Victory paired together.

ROUND 9 - WIN 2-0 VS Azorius Tempo (9-0)

 In all honesty, I don't remember much from game 1 aside from being on the play with a turn 1 Gran-Gran, pointing a Combustion Technique at a turn 2 Voice of Victory, and running away with a Monument to Endurance on drawing cards. We progressively chipped in without seeing an on-board answer from Chris outside of some counterspells and removing Gran-Gran late.

-4 Firebending Lesson
-3 Stormchaser's Talent
-2 Boomerang Basics
+2 Annul
+2 Spell Snare
+2 Quantum Riddler
+1 Broadside Barrage
+1 Sear
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island

 Mainboard Spell Snare feels great here, and we get two more post-board. Annul is also welcomed here in prep for High Noon, Seam Rip, Enduring Innocence, and sideboard Rest in Peace. That said, we sadly have to play by Azorius Tempo's rules if they stick a Voice of Victory or a timely Aang, Swift Savior, so the one mana answers feel great with our newly upgraded red removal package.

 With me now on the draw, Chris starts quietly, implying he's drawing out the game with early counterspells, but along the way, fails to hit his third land drop twice. He No More Lies something, and after seeing the missed land drop, I tried to milk the time advantage with a warped Quantum Riddler to squeak an extra card into my hand and help hit my own land drops while he's waiting to get going. He starts hitting land drops, but now I'm hard casting Quantum Riddler and have The Unagi of Kyoshi Island following soon, so he needs lots of answers to stop me from crashing through while he's on the back foot. He finds a High Noon with some temporary stops in Aven Interrupter, Tishana's Tidebinder countering something, and Aang, Swift Savior, but I have too much action after hitting Interrupter with a Sear and Aang with an Iroh's Demonstration, eventually getting my Unagi back from exile. Chris is forced into chump blocking before long, and the poor luck shortly propels us to 9-0. Nick Miller from SCG pulls me off to the side for some brief chit-chat and a photo for social media.

 Now we can celebrate for the time being. Shawn and my teammates are already waiting outside of the feature match barricade and people are starting to blow up my phone. Adam insists that we grab dinner together for a group celebration, as both he and his daughter Dana also made day 2 at 6-3! Three Logic Knot players made the day 2 cut! On our way out though, by chance, I run into Jim Davis and Corey Baumeister just outside the convention room, fresh out of SCG's commentary booth. I've been a big fan of Corey for a long time, so I absolutely had to go up and say hi. Introduced myself to Corey, and imagine my inner fanboy when he came up and hugged me in congrats the 9-0 run.

 Then like something out of a WWE promo, the other remaining 9-0 in Sergey Krasheninnikov is there too, pointing me out from the crowd in anticipation for our future feature match tomorrow morning. In excitement and much to Jim and Corey's subtle amusement, I start laying down some friendly trash talk to let him know I'm a sicko mode hardcore gamer built for the moment.

 We then make our way to SafeHouse, a spy themed restaurant in Milwaukee with a party of seventeen people! Including young prodigy Zach Aymie who also went nuts that day at 8-1! Most players at the table are convinced my Sultai Reanimator matchup is bad for tomorrow, but they help me craft a sideboard plan regardless for whatever advantages I could find.

 Onto day 2! We know our opponent. We know the matchup.

ROUND 10 - WIN 2-1 VS Sultai Reanimator
(10-0)

 View the full match here.

 Hello, world. Allow me a proper introduction.

 Without getting into the more intricate details already shown on stream, game 1 is nearly unwinnable. The two It'll Quench Ya! and the one Three Steps Ahead are the only glue that holds any hope together (Spell Snare targets are mostly limited to removal and Dredger's Insight), and even then, you have to live in fear while holding the mana up to respect anything if you're lucky to be hitting your land drops. While Sultai Reanimator can also pivot into a midrange plan with Wistfulness and Deceit if the combo isn't immediately available. Developing into a timely Artist's Talent or Monument to Endurance safely may be harder in this matchup than any other in standard.

 Sure enough, I'm trying my best to hold it together, but Sergey leads with a nicely milled graveyard, paired with an annoying Stock Up turn. Three Combustion Techniques and an Iroh's Demonstration still aren't enough when he eventually casts Superior Spider-Man, copying Bringer of the Last Gift and bringing back the whole squad, permitted to go for it after getting a look at my hand with Deceit. Essentially, nothing I could do in this one.

-4 Firebending Lesson
-2 Boomerang Basics
-1 Abandon Attachments
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
+2 Soul-Guide Lantern
+2 Quantum Riddler
+2 Flashfreeze
+1 Disdainful Stroke
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island

 Deviating a bit from the notes the dinner table suggested, I decided to try 2x Flashfreeze over an Attachments and Boomerang in hopes of hitting anything between Wistfulness, Dredger's Insight, and Formidable Speaker. Like with the Gran-Gran experiment, I'm afforded a bit of insurance to be wrong with the wealth of looting available. Sergey disagreed with the move in post-match discussions, but I felt less excited about Boomerang and Attachments in a vacuum, especially with Boomerang finding its best value only if an extra Otter off Boomerang on Talent can crash through, or I'm so far ahead that Boomerang can remove a blocker to close it out. Difficult to believe it with so much interaction for Sergey post-board.

 We have turn 1 Soul-Guide Lantern in game 2. You CANNOT wait to cast Lantern when the opponent has a million cards to remove it from your hand. If they need to evoke Wistfulness, fine. It takes time away from their own development and gives us another land drop to push our own ideas. We're both on a mostly empty board for a while, aside from a Gran-Gran for a while after a late Wistfulness on the Lantern. Stormchaser's Talent helps me refill on gas to eventually lead to double Quantum Riddler getting Sergey from 12 to 8, then 8 to 0 through a hardcast Wistfulness and Deceit in a beefy race.

 Not to brag, I'm very proud of my gameplay in game 3. I start with turn 1 and turn 2 Soul-Guide Lanterns, lightning rods to take tempo away from Sergey to deal with them and remove his proactive threats. This insurance lets me go for turn 3 Monument to Endurance, followed by Artist's Talent and Stormchaser's Talent to start churning through more draws with Sergey's shields mostly down. Sergey is forced into a midrange-ish approach with hardcast Wistfulness. He then follows up with Superior Spider-Man. And I see an insane line with The Unagi of Kyoshi Island in hand, knowing he'll make a 4/4 Gran-Gran from my yard if I pop the Lantern in response to deny an elemental reanimation. I pop the yard, and Sergey has a 4/4 Gran-Gran.

 Then this happens. Juking the guys on commentary thinking I gave Sergey permission with no answers.

 Six cards off two Accumulate Wisdoms fail to find me sufficient gas (a bunch of lands) to help close it, but it can't fail me three times in a row. A great ending with high praise from commentary.

 With a cool graphic after intermission, I'm the lone undefeated, and our next one is a win-and-in for a Pro Tour berth. This is what we're here for.

ROUND 11 - LOSS 1-2 VS Spellementals (10-1)

:(

 Heartbreaker. I didn't necessarily care about going 11-0, but more for having the Pro Tour invite safely in hand to freeroll the rest of the way for Top 8 and seeding considerations.

 Game 1 here was similar to game 1 in round 6. Opponent would cantrip for several turns, they'd cast a big elemental, I'd answer it with plenty of gas and time to be proactive, with help from Accumulate Wisdom being an unfair Magic card.

+2 Soul-Guide Lantern
+2 Quantum Riddler
+1 Disdainful Stroke
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island
+1 Broadside Barrage
-4 Firebending Lesson
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Boomerang Basics
-1 Stormchaser's Talent

 In addition to the notes on Spell Snare earlier, games 2 and 3 had me thinking that taking out all four Firebending Lessons wasn't correct, as, despite needing five mana to kick it and deal with a big Spellemental, it still keeps the opponent honest in having another removal spell if they stick. I got max-punished for this by the opponent having one of their two copies of Hydro-Man, Fluid Felon out turn 2 in both games. Secretly, a great option against me, as it adds an extra mana source on my turn to keep their shields up, and proactively chips into my life total every turn if I can't answer it. Effectively solving both issues from game 1. Being punched repeatedly while also needing to answer the big spellementals with counterspell backup wasn't in the cards this time, despite trying my best to optimize my outs. With Hydro-Man dealing enough damage, you lose a turn or two in trying to deal with the big threats when your life total isn't comfortable at 20. Well played by Jason Reid though, who eventually made Top 8. We have another chance to bag up a Pro Tour berth in the next one.

ROUND 12 - LOSS 1-2 VS Green Landfall (10-2)

 My opponent is Neil Estrada on a pretty cool Landfall list with two Surrak, Elusive Hunters mainboard, among other spicy choices over the more popular Sapling Nursery. In a twist, I win game 1 with a nice grip of interaction backed by an Artist's Talent and Monument to Endurance online together early, electing to draw cards. Somewhere early along the way, Neil just ended up running out of gas with just mana dorks present, allowing me to chain spells mostly uninterrupted.

-3 Stormchaser's Talent
-3 Boomerang Basics
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Abandon Attachments
+2 Annul
+2 Flashfreeze
+2 Quantum Riddler
+1 Disdainful Stroke
+1 Sear

 Game 2 is even more uneventful and clunky. On the draw, I have a loose, but keepable hand assuming I hitt land drops, and fail to ever find a third land, even with looting through an Abandon Attachments. Neil is ready to accelerate with an Icetill Explorer and Ba Sing Se on the field, and I quickly fall too behind to justify continuing to play.

-2 Annul
+1 Stormchaser's Talent
+1 Abandon Attachments

 I back off on Annul, seeing Neil doesn't run Sapling Nursery. Despite being on the play, I'm on the backfoot with my opponent showing me multiple copies of Surrak and a Royal Treatment blowout on a mostly removal-heavy hand, in addition to needing to fight through a Soul-Guide Lantern. Before I could effectively turn the corner double-spelling, I'm overwhelmed on board from a resilient line of threats and shake Neil's hand in congrats to his first Pro Tour. (Well deserved in light of his recent Spotlight Series run afterwards, too.)

 My hp bar is declining further within my head and stomach, and now I'm getting concerned about what few opportunities I have left for that elusive 11th match win. Cursing myself, undecided if my play is flawed, or if I can point to ill-timed variance (which I try to avoid). I'm now pacing the event hall to try to dismiss any harrowing negative thoughts.

 The tournament is over for me. The ozone layer is #cancelled. The sea levels are rising. Bitcoin is going to zero. Life sucks, and I hate everything.

 Then, in something like out of a movie, a parent of one of the Magic players from dinner last night comes up to give me some words of encouragement. Then about five players from different RCs in the past come by in my pacing round without me saying anything, maybe seeing I was under duress. (One being Zane Toledo, check out his Twitch channel meat_mtg) Still not feeling great, but they'd given me a fresh round of resolve and a reminder that we're still 10-2. Round 13 goes up, and although I'm no longer in the feature match area, it's a mirror. We like those.

ROUND 13 - WIN 2-0 VS Mirror (11-2)

 Thanks for the pep talk, y'all.

 On the draw in an absolutely wild game 1, we both basically allowed each other to go full send in looting away cards, drawing a million cards off Accumulate Wisdom, and setting up our combos. I have two Otter tokens from Stormchaser's Talents, a level 2 Artist's Talent, and a Monument to Endurance. However, the opponent has the Talent and THREE Monuments, albeit with no creatures.

 Opponent still has mana, and stops me on my upkeep while I'm at 17. Chaining random spells, while I'm responding with an Abandon Attachments and Accumulate Wisdom in looking for an It'll Quench Ya! (for what, I can't remember), and we've both gone crazy in casting spells before I can even draw my card for the turn. They've activated all modes in all three Monuments to go up three cards and make me lose nine life to go to 8. I get a Monument trigger to put them to 17, but I'm dead next turn, and it looks hopeless.

 But...wait. The opponent tapped out in chaining out during my turn. And my two Otters have three prowess triggers already with an insane amount of cards in hand...

 So I continue casting things of my own, including two Firebending Lessons on my own gigantic Otters to get eight prowess triggers on each and get in for eighteen damage to steal game 1. Boomerang Basics on my Stormchaser's Talent for two of those triggers was a great enabler.

+2 Quantum Riddler
+2 Soul-Guide Lantern
+2 Annul
+2 Spell Snare
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island
-2 Gran-Gran
-2 Firebending Lesson
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Three Steps Ahead
-1 Abandon Attachments
-1 Stormchaser's Talent
-1 Boomerang Basics

 My opponent has very little proactive action, but does have a Soul-Guide Lantern. A Stormchaser's Talent and two Monument to Endurance all resolve on my end, and my plan is simple. Make the opponent have a Boomerang Basics or something to crash through with since my Monuments already resolved, and activate Agna Qel'A three times to win. It's almost non-interactable. An Otter and an Agna Qel'A spin puts them to 11, and with only two turns to deal with it and no action, I get the handshake for the 2-0 dub.

 We always keep it real here on thelogicknot.com. Shawn was nearby and right after wishing my opponent good luck on his next win-and-in, I hugged it out with Shawn and started crying like crazy. There's not much that can prepare you for big firsts like this, and that's okay. What started out as simple clowning around at McDonald's with Shawn teaching me the basics in 2016 turned into this blessed moment ten years later not too far from where it all started. Hugged and cried some more with my teammates, then prepped for round 14 back at the feature match tables, a win-and-in for Top 8. Whatever happens though, this has been a special weekend.

ROUND 14 - LOSS 1-2 VS Spellementals (11-3)

 I'm on the draw and we both mulligan to five. Opponent is able to crash through for a bit with a Hearth Elemental and an Eddymurk Crab to hit me in increments of 5 three times to put me down to 5 before I finally answer both and reload the hand with two Accumulate Wisdoms on a full graveyard. He points a Burst Lightning at me to put me to 3, but doesn't find the 2nd one before I'm stabilized on card advantage and pushing with leveled up Stormchaser's Talent and Monument to Endurance.

+2 Soul-Guide Lantern
+2 Quantum Riddler
+1 Disdainful Stroke
+1 The Unagi of Kyoshi Island
+1 Broadside Barrage
-4 Firebending Lesson
-1 Iroh's Demonstration
-1 Boomerang Basics
-1 Stormchaser's Talent

 I don't remember many details from game 2 aside from getting hit with many Spell Snares and losing a grindy game where we were both low on resources. However, my opponent wins the attrition with a hand repleneshment like Winternight Stories and a late The Legend of Kuruk follow up. My Talents and Monuments were effectively answered, and I'm just out of gas, in the game and mentally. Accumulate Wisdom is turned into Anticipate in the face of a nagging Soul-Guide Lantern all game.

+1 Firebending Lesson
-1 Spell Snare

 Finally correcting the Spell Snare inaccuracy and trying a Firebending Lesson to respect more threats in Kuruk and Hydro Man. Game 3 is on stream, but you wouldn't be missing much. I mulligan to five on the play, and I simply die to a clunky start and seeing another The Legend of Kuruk and Hydro Man, Fluid Felon unanswered (ironically) while I'm trying to get going. I'm down on cards quick while trying to rummage for something with an Artist's Talent. All of that with John reloading with Winternight Stories and some counterspell backup seals my fate. John was a really good dude throughout the match, so couldn't be mad losing to him.

ROUND 15 - ID VS Green Landfall (11-3-1)

 Turns out it's very likely a clean cut to Top 8 with allegedly a 10% chance to miss the Pro Tour if we play and lose (and for sure be down at minimum $1,000), so there's no reason not to shake hands and call it a weekend.

CONCLUSION

 Magic legend Sam Black once told me, "It's very difficult to play a perfect game of Magic", and that you should be excited to dive into retrospect on what could've been done differently. Looking back, the gameplay felt great aside from a few inconsequential mistakes early in the weekend. Izzet Lessons has a lot of quiet butterfly effects in early choices with how many cards you see throughout any given game, so I felt like my decision making fell into a pretty high correctness rate to maximize my chances. Sideboarding could have been better. For one, in ditching Spell Snare against Spellementals earlier, and I still question if I should have kept the Annuls in for round 12 game 3 with Neil having three Soul-Guide Lanterns (it's definitely possible). Under the observable scope, I'm satisfied with how I piloted and can make peace with pointing to variance (for and against me) in some spots after properly digesting the weekend. Overall, excellent weekend and many exciting firsts. Kazi Baker, Adam Fischer, and Paul Green all deserve credit for their contributions to my practice on Lessons that Friday.

 In light of Green Landfall rising in popularity, Lessons will likely lose some points within the next few weeks as TMNT is eased into standard, but is still very likely to be a respected force when Pro Tour Secrets of Strixhaven rolls around, given how high the deck's ceiling is. I expect to run it back with Lessons in Las Vegas if the metagame by then allows it.

 Questions or comments? As always, hit me up on Discord @PrezKoumori. Be sure to say hi if you see me at MagicCon: Las Vegas in early May! I don't bite unless you try to tell me that modern is a real format.

 Good games, everyone.

 ~Prez Kuhnke