14th at SCG Con Vegas Modern 5k tournament report - Amulet Titan

About me: I started playing Magic in high school in early 2013, around Gatecrash, which also coincides with when my academic and career aspirations nosedived. I’ve been playing Modern since 2014, and have been one-tricking Amulet Titan since the beginning of the pandemic. Other than a few FNM and Pro Tour top 8s in my dreams, I have no notable finishes. (I did qualify for RC Atlanta 2023 and play post-ban Mono Green, but it was expectedly not notable.)

Prologue: Thursday, 11pm. I receive a Discord message from a friend and local Hammer coper/extraordinaire if I would like to join his car. The offer was for me to crash at their place Saturday night, then ride up to Vegas at 4:30am to make it to the Modern 5k that started at 9am. As enticing as the offer was to see just how well I could play on as little sleep as possible, I let him know I would not be able to make it but appreciated the offer. I had a 2-month-old at home to help take care of. Besides, I would only have two days to scramble to acquire new cards, and I had only touched paper Magic cards once in the last two months.

18 hours later I had booked a hotel, assembled an even cooler squad of 4, and was actively searching for MH3 upgrades. My lovely wife had encouraged me to chase my dreams as long as they didn’t involve hookers and/or blow, and I assured her that Magic players could not possibly afford such things during set release. (For real, shoutout to Star (my wife) and her mom who held down the fort at home!) My group settled on a plan: we would leave Saturday afternoon, have a relaxing dinner, finalize decklist choices, then have a good night’s rest at Circus Circus just half a mile from the venue.

None of these things happened.

We 1) departed San Diego at 5:30pm, 2) made an early detour to get Costco Gas n Glizzies™, 3) tested the limits of the human gut at all-you-can-eat sushi 4) got to the hotel room half past midnight, 5) splattered the toilet with our Hershey squirts (perhaps sushi related), 6) said “fuck it, ball” playing cards that were more pretty than good, and 7) slept at 1:30am.

In other words, I had the grinder mentality: 7 reasons to defend a bad run.

Notable card choices:

• 2 Forest - I hate going down this low, but with a fetch, Disciple, 2 Vestiges, and 2 Boseijus, 8 untapped green sources is passable.
• Disciple of Freyalise - as Jack (HouseOfManaMtg) put it, the front side could be a green creature named “ligma balls” and it would still be playable. It’s a green source (your choice of tapped or untapped) that you can Pact for; everything else is gravy. Bad gravy, like KFC kinda gravy, but optional gravy.
• 2 Tolaria West - a small nod to the possible presence of Harbinger of the Seas by enabling transmute for Otawara. The second copy also increases redundancy for the two Amulet kill (elaborated below) and is generally an underrated way to up your threat count.
• Echoing Deeps - this is my replacement for a “kill land” on two Amulets (e.g. Kessig Wolf Run or Oran-Rief, the Vastwood). Preface: your choice of kill land matters very little. On two Amulets, Echoing Deeps enables a couple of ways to kill, which I will not go too into detail on (feel free to message me about it).
  One involves getting Valakuts and transmuting for Dryad before making another land drop for lethal, and the other involves transmuting for Springheart Nantuko, going pseudo-infinite with Titan copies, then transmuting for Dryad and going actual-infinite with Valakut triggers. Note that either of the lines above requires Tolaria West for lethal.
• 2 Springheart Nantuko - possibly should just be a one-of, but it’s a new card and I have the initial belief that this card is very good and significantly increases the power level of the deck for game 1s. I appreciate that having a naturally drawn Nantuko allows you to go for the wacky combos without having to fear for Pact blowouts, especially if you already cast Pact for your Titan. In particular, I appreciate that Nantuko in hand presents lethal with a resolved Titan and just 1 (One! Only ONE (1)!) Amulet on board.
• 0 Expedition Map - nonland slots are tight, and 2 Explores can (falsely) give you hope that you will find your bounceland.
• 0 Azusa, Lost but Seeking - once again, nonland slots are tight. I really wanted to find room for the second Springheart Nantuko and decided to cut Azusa over running 62 cards. I certainly plan to find a cut for her again, I think she's just too valuable as a pact target; even moreso with Castle Garenbrig and Shifting Woodland often asking you to have more green available where Grazer can fall flat on 1 Amulet.

(Editor's Note: Please play 60 cards, Nick, cut your second explore)

Sideboard card choices:

• 2 Firespout - respect the Yawgmoth, Scam, and Merfolk matchups, although awkward against Harbinger out of Merfolk. Spoiler: did not perform as well as I hoped vs Nadu.
• 1 Shifting Woodland - testing; I anticipated it would be good vs most interactive matchups, e.g. Murktide, UW Control, Scam. Also, currently a fan of more lands in the sideboard as I shave Sagas aggressively post-board.
• 1 Urza’s Cave - anticipating Living End to still be somewhat popular, I wanted to test Urza’s Cave as a Bojuka Bog’s BFF, enabling an instant-speed exile effect off of a Titan on 1 Amulet. I suspect that having this in the sideboard was a mistake.
• 2 Spelunking - card is gas no notes

Tournament report

Round 1 (0-0) OTP vs Jack on GB Yawgmoth

I sit down and immediately feel some first match nerves; I tend to make the most creative and unique game-losing plays in the first round of events. Definitely something to definitely work on.

Game 1, my opponent mulligans to 6. I have a quick hand with Saga, Bounce, Amulet, 2 Grazers, and a payoff, so I snap it off. My opponent leads basic Forest into Gilded Goose; it made me think they might be on some Amalia combo list or maybe some other creature combo, but a GB fastland Turn 2 somehow made me realize that they were probably on Yawgmoth. Nothing too notable except my opponent chooses to take Turn 2 off to Boseiju my Amulet instead of playing a Grist, but my Saga popping the turn after makes wrapping up the game with a powered up Titan easy.

In: 2 Spelunking, 2 Firespout, 1 Dismember, 1 Roxanne, 1 Boseiju, 1 Castle, 1 Shifting Woodland
Out: 4 Urza’s Saga, 1 Mycosynth Gardens, 2 Grazer, 1 The One Ring, 1 Springheart Nantuko

During sideboarding, my opponent mentions that they are new to Modern and Amulet Titan scares them. “The deck scares me too”, I reply.

Game 2, we both keep 7. I keep a loose one: Amulet, Pact, Roxanne, and 4 lands including Valakut and Bounceland. However, my opponent keeps what must have been even more questionable, as they lead Young Wolf into Turn 2 swing, pump with Pendelhaven and play Haywire Mite, upkeep Force of Vigor (pitching Wall of Roots) just 1 Amulet. We play a slow game as we both just play lands and I get smacked around by 1/1s, eventually playing out an Explore to get me to 4 mana before a Fulminator Mage hits my Valakut. I answer back with a Ring that he interestingly chooses not to exile with Mite before he lands a Yawgmoth with just the Young Wolf and Haywire Mite still on board. I am able to answer with a combination of Pact for Dryad and Explore to play Echoing Deeps Valakut as land #5, then two more to take care of Yawg. Interestingly, during these turns they chose to let me draw with my Ring twice despite having the Haywire Mite and open green on board. A couple turns later, after I played out a second Ring and verbalized the ETB trigger, he casts Necromentia targeting me, names Amulet, and we begin resolving it; neither of us catch the illegal game action until a spectator pauses us and calls a judge. My opponent is a class act and apologizes profusely and asks the judge if he can just concede to save us all the trouble, but we both end up with a GRV. Game record: 2-0-0-1.

Round 2 (1-0) OTD vs Ryan on Mono B (Winter) Moon Scam

Game 1, my opponent mulligans to 6, and I am terrified as my opponent leads basic Swamp, Thoughtseize. I reveal an interesting hand, clearly missing Bounceland: Otawara, Saga, Amulet, Pact, Ring, Titan, Titan. As they decide, I pin them on RB Scam. They take Amulet. My next draw step is Saga, which I think is not bad for enabling a construct value game. I lead Otawara. They completely stunlock me when they go Turn 2 second Swamp, Winter Moon. I let my opponent know that they are truly the bravest of MH3 cooks, and the game continues in a weird direction. I end up drawing a third Saga, Ring (comes in handy when they Turn 3 Thoughtseize taking ring), Crumbling Vestige, and Amulet (which causes me to fail to find on the third Saga popping), while my opponent flounders playing out Swamps and two Rings, but no other action. We both nervously laugh about how high powered the Modern format is. The laughter ends when I find Bounceland. I go way over the top of any removal, and he scoops to the board of two Dryads and the second Titan grabbing a Mirrorpool. He is in on the joke of Titan lethal on upkeep.

I side similarly to how I would vs RB Scam;
In: 2 Spelunking, 2 Firespout, 1 Dismember, 1 Roxanne, 1 Boseiju, 1 Castle Garenbrig, 1 Shifting Woodland
Out: 3 Urza’s Saga, 1 Mycosynth Gardens, 1 Valakut, 1 Summoner’s Pact, 2 Arboreal Grazer, 1 Springheart Nantuko

Game 2, he keeps 7 and I mulligan to 6. He leads Swamp. I breathe as I dodge Grief scam AND Thoughtseize (coaching link in bio). I plan to play Forest, Amulet, but draw step Mycosynth Gardens convinces me to play that out instead of Forest. His Turn 2 he taps two Swamps, and I immediately verbally let him know that if I walked into a Break the Ice he deserves that W. He is kind enough to play a Dauthi Voidwalker instead. My Turn 2 is a nasty one, where I play Vestige, Spelunking, put in Bounceland, bounce Vestige, Explore, then tank on whether or not to play out Springheart Nantuko. To do so, I would have to play out my last “bounceland” in Crumbling Vestige and also lose the opportunity to safely make a 1/1 Insect from the Nantuko Landfall trigger. I end up choosing to raw dog the Nantuko, and I avoid getting punished when he does not have Orcish Bowmaster on his turn. He plays a Winter Moon, and I eventually win off the back of Insect tokens and a resolved Roxanne both killing Dauthi and unlocking mana via Meteorites. Shoutout to a sick play my opponent made: although forced into sacrificing a hardcast Grief to Phyrexian Tower because of Roxanne, he did so to cast Disruptor Flute(!) naming Primeval Titan in response to my Bounceland trigger.

Round 3 (2-0) OTD vs Sean on Combo Nadu (with UG creatures, Saga, Flare, and Chord)

Game 1, my opponent keeps 7 and I take and keep my free* mulligan to 6. My opponent leads Windswept Heath, Misty Rainforest, and fetches Basic Snow Island and Snow Forest at the end of my turn, flashing in Ice-Fang Coatl. I mention that the Nadu deck is sick and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays. Spoiler: the deck instead makes me sick and I no longer look forward to playing against it. He plays out a Coiling Oracle and a couple more dudes before he taps low. I assemble a Turn 4-ish two Amulet kill through a neat line making a bunch of mana off of Explore and Dryad, then casting a Titan that eats a Flare of Denial. I have exactly 3 mana leftover to Nantuko onto Dryad, pact for Grazer to trigger landfall, then generate infinite mana before bouncing Twest to resolve Pact into Titan.

In: 2 Spelunking, 2 Firespout, 2 Defense Grid, 1 Dismember, 1 Roxanne, 1 Boseiju, 1 Castle Garenbrig
Out: 3 Urza’s Saga, 1 Mycosynth Gardens, 1 Summoner’s Pact, 1 Grazer, 2 The One Ring, 1 Explore

While sideboarding, I realize I have no idea what I’m doing.

Game 2, I keep a suspect hand with 2 Firespouts, a Dryad, and a bunch of lands. A Turn 3 Firespout is able to sweep up two constructs and a Sylvan Safekeeper, and I note his land sequence looked awkward as Forest, Saga, Forest. But, he finds the blue mana to cast Nadu, paired with Shuko that had previously come off the Saga for a big value turn developing a few more bodies. This turns into a full kill the turn after, before I can get anything meaningful going.

Game 3, I mulligan to 6 and tank. Castle Garenbrig, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet, 2 Grazers, Nantuko, Titan. I end up choosing to bottom Grazer, which may have been wrong, but my logic is that I would like to fully end the game once my Titan resolves on one Amulet and I will choose to be lucky. I draw Twest, which is not the best but still a land to play. I lead Garenbrig. Turn 2, I draw a second Titan; I go Amulet, Twest. I’m sad my Grazer will not let me cast Titan next turn because I lack the two G to sink into Garenbrig, but my opponent mindreads my bad vibes and plays Yavimaya as their land for turn! And also casting Nadu.
I mentally fist pump and, Turn 3, go for Grazer into Titan for lethal, choosing to bounce the Bounceland which also may have been a mistake. They Subtlety, and, with the second Titan in hand, I bottom, hoping to spike another Grazer or Pact off the top. Their T4, they continue to play out dudes and have small creature beats alongside Nadu. My Turn 4 gives me a Vesuva, which is not the worst; as an effective Bounceland, it lets me play out my Growth Chamber, bounce and Transmute Twest for Pact.
The gameplan is Turn 5 Vesuva(Bounceland), activate Garenbrig for Titan into lethal, and if anything goes wrong, do it again on Turn 6 via the Pact I just transmuted for. Unfortunately, they have the Flare of Denial when I go for it Turn 5, and they draw into a Chord of Calling on their Turn 6, giving them the Outriders en-Kor that is all but deterministically lethal with so many creatures on their board.

Round 4 (2-1) OTP vs Joshua on Primal Prayers Nadu (no Saga, no creature tutors)

Game 1, I have the Turn 3 kill all wrapped up, all I see is a Guide of Souls and an Ice-Fang Coatl, and I sideboard thinking I am playing against a Primal Prayers combo deck. Luckily, I sideboard the same anyways.

In: 2 Spelunking, 2 Firespout, 2 Defense Grid, 1 Dismember, 1 Roxanne, 1 Boseiju, 1 Castle Garenbrig
Out: 3 Urza’s Saga, 1 Mycosynth Gardens, 1 Summoner’s Pact, 1 Grazer, 2 The One Ring, 1 Explore

Game 2, Opponent mulligans to 6, mentioning that his 7 would be good but not good enough against Titan. I keep a slow, land-heavy hand that has Dismember, Amulet, and a payoff that convinces me to keep. Retrospectively, I’m not sure if this hand was supposed to be a mulligan; my rationale must have been that the Primal Prayers combo is a little slow, especially with a Dismember, and Turn 1 Amulet makes any ramp spell a great draw.
My opponent plays Turn 1 Halfling, and I decide to hold Dismember for a more important threat, opting to play an Amulet instead. They slam a Harbinger of the Seas (notably, off of Breeding Pool and Hallowed Fountain), and I’m faced with a question of how to proceed: I can 1) mainphase the removal spell on Harbinger to play around a hardcast Flare, 2) wait and develop slowly while their mana situation is also awkward, or 3) lean hard into their mana troubles by mainphase killing the Halfling. I quickly cross off option 3 as I have no basics in hand and Dismember is the only permanent way to kill a Harbinger in my deck. I settle on option 2, seeing as they would have to stop casting spells and just hold up Cancel the whole game for me to get punished. I am surprised, after they attack, when they cast a Nadu off of their Halfling. Still more scared of being shut out of the game by the Harbinger, I fire off Dismember before Nadu hits the board. However, I am unable to accelerate before their next turn’s Stoneforge Mystic for Shuko quickly buries me in value then outright combos me. I see that they do have Primal Prayers, Guide of Souls, and Man O’ War as an infinite life combo that can also draw their deck if they have Nadu. I also see they have two copies of Subtlety and a bunch of copies each of Force of Vigor, Harbinger, and Flare of Denial. Fuck.
Looking back at this game, fetching Breeding Pool into Halfling should have set off alarm bells in my head that this might be Nadu combo.

Game 3, my opponent once again verbally mentions their 7 is “not good enough vs Titan” and goes to 6. They once again curve Halfling into 3-drop, this time Nadu. I am once again lucky and my deck has heard my prayers of “Save me, one-of Dismember”, and they get but one trigger off their Nadu. They play out a Stoneforge into Shuko on Turn 3, but both Stoneforge and Halfling get swept up by a Firespout, and he draws air as I play out my spells. He does have a Subtlety for my first cast of Titan, but is dead to the second cast with Dryad on board.

Round 5 (3-1) OTD vs Vinnie on Nadu (Ephemerate, Eladamri’s Call, no Sagas or small UG creatures)

I recognize my opponent from LA, a known Living End gamer. We banter a bit and discuss the merits of my pelvic floor concerns and he is bewildered. My hemorrhoid game is weak, but my mental game is strong. I am cool as a cucumber.

Game 1, I keep a medium-ish hand that contains Primeval Titan and Bounceland, hoping to potentially cheese a win against Living End on the draw. To my horror, he goes Forest, Halfling. Fuck. I pin him on either Yawg or Nadu. Either way, my hand is a little too slow when he casts Turn 2 Nadu and then Turn 3 big value turn into Turn 4 kill. I let him know he’s my third Nadu opponent in a row as he’s going off, but he does not shed a single tear for me.

In: 2 Spelunking, 2 Firespout, 2 Defense Grid, 1 Dismember, 1 Roxanne, 1 Boseiju, 1 Castle Garenbrig
Out: 3 Urza’s Saga, 1 Mycosynth Gardens, 1 Summoner’s Pact, 1 Grazer, 2 The One Ring, 1 Explore

Game 2, his hand is a little slow with his first play being a Turn 2 Stoneforge for Shuko. This lines up well for me as he takes Turn 3 to play out some dudes, and I am able to Firespout his board, and crack in with a Dryad for 2. He has fetched and shocked aggressively, bringing his life total to a very relevant 12. He plays out a Nadu and assembles a bit of value, but I show him Pact into Titan, pass the Subtlety/Flare check, and double Valakut him for exact lethal.

Game 3, I mulligan to 5 and keep a clean Turn 3 kill: Saga, Amulet, Bounceland, Grazer, Titan. He leads Halfling, I lead Saga Amulet. He devastates me with a Turn 2 Teferi, bounce Saga. I replay Saga, and he is able to develop his board with a Nadu turn 3. Turn 3, I play another land, and his Turn 4 he is able to go Eladamri’s Call, Stoneforge Mystic, and Shuko using all of his mana. He draws 6 off of his board (Halfling, Nadu, Stoneforge) as I say a prayer out loud for him to whiff. He finds a land and a Sylvan Safekeeper, giving him a couple more looks. Luckily, he does end up whiffing on lands! The bad news: he revealed a Force of Vigor on his last one, along with some green creature along the way. I’m all but dead as he pauses me on Upkeep and I shake his hand on my draw step. He reveals he could have dug deeper using Evoked Endurance in hand + Sylvan Safekeeper, which I thought was pretty neat, but he felt he was far enough ahead with Force that he didn’t have to risk sacrificing lands.

It is at this point that I notice my Crocs have been in sandal mode this entire time, and I let my opponent know he’s lucky I haven’t been in sport mode. He agrees that the Force of Vigor would not have been on top of his library had I been in proper competitive REL footwear. Despite knowing I’m dead for top 8, I take my Crocs, strap in, and lock in.

Round 6 (3-2, dead for top8) OTD vs Abel on Mono B Moon Scam

Game 1, my opponent leads Swampass with the same foil Unfinity basics as my round 2 opponent, and I immediately assume he is on the same deck. Either way, I’m glad I dodged Turn 1 Scam or Thoughtseize. I play an Amulet, and he fires back with Swamp, Winter Moon. I ask if he worked on the deck with someone else, and he confirms that he did with his friend, my round 2 opponent, but that his friend is a much better pilot and sitting at X-1. I let him know that I am his friend’s one loss, and I ask that he will forgive me for what I must do.
We both have slow hands, me able to ramp but with no payoff, and him with nothing other than Winter Moon and early Sheoldred. I find my One Ring and I choose to draw and take the Sheoldred triggers, knowing that my life total is safe behind two Grazers and a Dryad. After he forces a chump block, he lands his own Ring. I untap, draw more cards, eat more Sheoldred triggers, and I am able to assemble an easy double Amulet kill – except I forget that he has Ring protection. I find this out after needlessly cracking my Mirrorpool when I try to point Valakut triggers at him and he lets me know that it's against the law. I think for a second and pivot. I point Valakut triggers to clear his board then Pact for Disciple of Freyalise to sacrifice the Titan Copy token and draw 6, effectively sealing any chance he had at winning off my own Ring burning me out.

In: 2 Spelunking, 2 Firespout, 1 Dismember, 1 Roxanne, 1 Boseiju, 1 Castle Garenbrig, 1 Shifting Woodland
Out: 3 Urza’s Saga, 1 Mycosynth Gardens, 1 Valakut, 1 Summoner’s Pact, 2 Arboreal Grazer, 1 Springheart Nantuko

Game 2, I once again am not Grief scammed, and we slog through a weird, slow game that favors us as I keep a land-heavy hand with no payoff. He is able to land an early Winter Moon followed by Bowmaster in response to my Explore. My opponent wisely sandbags his Evoked Grief until the last second, able to snag my only spell in Primeval Titan the turn before it would come down. I find myself in a spot with Dryad, Grazer and Amulet in play and only lands in hand, and decide whether to just pass. Instead, I decide to float 6 mana, bounce Garden of Freyalise then play the creature side to sacrifice my Dryad and draw 2, growing his Orc Army.
The game plays out slowly, as I tank a medium-sized Orc Army hit before I chump block to preserve my life total, eventually finding a One Ring at an excellent time to hold back his Bowmaster, Orc Army, and Grief. He also finds his own Ring, tapping out for it. However, my Ring draws are simply built different. I Dismember his Bowmaster (using my one-of Golgari Rot Farm!) to painlessly draw 2, which lets me line up to enable a hasted Titan. Sitting at 11 life and facing threats in the 5/5 Orc Army and 3/2 Grief, my Titan finds Otawara and mana to hold it up. On his turn, without making a land drop, he taps out for Sheoldred. I consider bouncing the Ring in response before realizing that is an awful play that would leave me dead to Fatal Push on my Grazer after Sheoldred and Ring triggers happen on my turn. Luckily, he just draws 2 off the Ring and gains some life, plays land, and attacks, letting me chump the Orc Army as Grief takes my life down to 8. When I Otawara the Sheoldred on his end step, he accepts defeat.
I also manage to get two warnings this game in the span of about two minutes for first forgetting to bounce a land after making the Disciple play and then forgetting to discard to hand size after drawing 2 from the Ring and holding up Otawara off Titan. The judges are firmly on the scoreboard. Game record: 2-0-0-2.

Round 7 (4-2) OTP vs Kevin on Murktide

The teamkill. The dreamkill. This is my homie in the banner who plays normie decks like RB Scam and UR Murktide. “I’ll cast my Mythic Rare 2/1” (doesn’t win the game). “I’ll interact with the board” (doesn’t win the game). “I’ll delve 5 cards and leave UU untapped” (actually does win the game). What a prude. We agree to split the winnings before identifying that our tiebreakers are basically the same. We will play for glory.

Game 1, I mulligan and keep an excellent hand of Amulet, Vestige, Bounceland, Grazer, Ring, Pact. I lead Vestige, Amulet. He leads Ragavan, and I think I have the perfect answer to the Monkey: Grazer, plus Ring to gain Protection From Kevin’s Ragavan. My deck has other plans: it offers me a humble second Amulet, letting me know that the best answer to Ragavan is actually a dead opponent. I don’t hesitate for a even a fraction of a second about playing around Subtlety and immediately go for it with Pact, and he scoops it up. I force him to watch me diddle with the convoluted kill. He finishes sideboarding before I can prove to him that he is dead.

While sideboarding, I realize I can bring in basically everything.
In: (my whole sideboard except Urza’s Cave) 2 Spelunking, 2 Firespout, 1 Dismember, 1 Roxanne, Starfall Savant, 2 Defense Grid, 1 Endurance, 1 Generous Ent, 1 Boseiju, Who Endures, 1 Castle Garenbrig, 1 Shifting Woodland, 1 Bojuka Bog
Out: 3 Summoner’s Pact, 4 Urza’s Saga, 1 Mycosynth Gardens, 1 Arboreal Grazer, 1 Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, 1 Springheart Nantuko, not sure what else. Possibly went up to 64 cards.

Game 2, I cleanly answer his Turn 1 Ragavan with a Turn 1 Grazer, but he curves Turn 2 DRC and Preordain into Turn 3 Blood Moon. It would be scary if I didn’t have the perfect answer in Dismember for DRC, then Roxanne to kill his Ragavan. He taps out of double Blue to play a 6/6 Murktide Regent, and scoops to my Meteorite giving me the double green to cast a topdecked Titan. I thought it was a little premature, but he claims I was too far ahead because of the option to freely attack with Roxanne and point the Meteorite’s 2 damage at Murktide. I hadn’t even considered that line, I’m so glad my friends are good at the game. 5-2!

Recap

Two of my opponents, Ryan (B Scam round 2) and Sean (Nadu round 3) ended up making top 8, landing my 5-2 at 14th place, good for $100 (split with Kevin) and a foil promo Springleaf Drum, very cool. I also got my Crocs signed by none other than Barcelona Resident(?) Jake Beardsley and, on stream, the very chipper Corey Baumeister. Very, very cool.

Overall, I'm happy with how I did given the condensed prep time. The updates I made from MH3 were relatively conservative, but I knew Amulet Titan would be inherently strong against most unrefined brews, affirmed by a final match record of 4-0 (8-0) against non-Nadu decks and 1-2 against Nadu. For Nadu, I think Titan is faster on average pre-board (especially with Nantuko enabling potential kills on 1 Amulet), but they have many options to swing the matchup in their favor post-board, similar to the Yawgmoth dynamic. Going forward I will be packing more Dismembers and fewer Firespouts, and I would also like to test Strix Serenade and Pact of Negation in a blue splash for the matchup.

Of the new cards, I think Disciple and Nantuko are promising tools and, for now, they have earned their slots. Shifting Woodland requires more testing but, for the same theorycrafting reasons as before, will remain in the sideboard for interactive matchups. Urza's Cave I am still puzzled by and would like to test further in the maindeck. If combo-focused graveyard decks do not crop up, I think this card will not warrant a spot.

If you've made it through, thanks for reading. I had a blast playing paper Magic with a tier 0 deck and, as always, hanging with the homies. If you ever catch the Hawaiian shirt at a competitive event, feel free to say hi, even if it's not me.

-Nick Tu