It started over winter break during a blizzard. My brother was playing Duels of the Planeswalkers on his iPad, which looked repetitive, so I asked him if he’d rather try out Magic Online.

I hadn’t been playing Magic much myself since moving to Atlanta for college, but we logged on and started to string together Return to Ravnica Sealed Daily Events. It felt good casting Magic cards for the first time in a while. After that, my interest was sparked again.

About a week later, I flew back to Atlanta and began preparing for my internship. When I got home from work, I didn’t have much to do. I built a G/W/B Tokens deck and started jamming eight-man events in my free time. I wasn’t doing well at all, but I was hooked.

I looked online and saw that StarCityGames.com was having a Standard Open at the Gwinnett Center, so I decided I would go and play some cards. I scrubbed out of the main event but split the finals of a couple win a boxes.

While this probably should have stifled my return to cardboard competition, I saw a familiar face casting spells at the top tables. By this point, I had been working at my internship for about three weeks, and every day I had eaten lunch with a coworker named Andrew Schneider. I had no idea that he played Magic. And until I saw him play under the camera, I had no idea he was good at Magic (turns out he is the worldwide leader in Planeswalker Points!).

At work the next Monday, I asked him about his deck and inquired if he was planning on going to Cincinnati for the next SCG Open Series. He told me that he hadn’t planned on it, but I asked him if he wanted to go. I had nothing else to do that weekend, and I have a friend in Cincinnati who I hadn’t seen in years and would let me stay at his house for free. Andrew agreed to go, so we set off on the seven-hour car ride.

The tournament was interesting since it coincided with the Pro Tour, which meant a lot of people were playing decks they saw on the coverage, but I decided to play this deck I saw make Top 8 of two Premier Events in a row on Magic Online:

Reanimator

Michael Segal

Test deck on 02-17-2013

Standard

Creatures (26)

Lands (20)

Spells (14)

Sideboard

I chose to play this deck for a few reasons.

I was not fully back into Magic yet, and this deck is relatively inexpensive to put together if you already own the mana base and Deathrite Shamans. The reason I knew it would give me a fighting chance is because it is the most Thragtusky of the Thragtusk decks. You will trigger Thragtusk about twelve times per match on average. This deck also has Angel of Serenity to Plague Wind the creature decks and go long against the control decks.

I was not a big fan of the sideboard, so I changed it to the following:

3 Abrupt Decay
2 Centaur Healer
2 Duress
1 Sever the Bloodline
1 Tribute to Hunger
2 Obzedat, Ghost Council
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter

I ended up going 7-2, which was unexpected since I had just picked up the deck that day, but it has such a good matchup against aggro decks and Reckoner decks that I could avoid easy losses. My only two losses were my fault since I kept very loose no-Forest hands with Mulch, but you live and learn.

The next two weeks, I jammed a lot more eight-mans on Magic Online with this deck and played in a few Daily Events. The deck kept performing well against the field, so I knew that if I did not make the second day of the Grand Prix in Charlotte that I would play Reanimator in the Win a Trip to Miami event on Sunday.

I fought through rounds 1 through 8 valiantly with zero byes but eventually got knocked out of the Grand Prix by Michael Jacob. I guess this is where my tournament report truly begins.

I woke up on Sunday morning at about 9 AM, walked over to the convention center, and registered this list:

Reanimator

Michael Segal

1st Place at Grand Prix Side Event on 02-24-2013

Standard

Creatures (25)

Lands (20)

Spells (15)

Sideboard

Summary of R1 through R5

Won 2-0 vs. Jund
Won 2-0 vs. Mono-Red Aggro
Won 2-1 vs. Naya Humans
Won 2-0 vs. Esper Control
Won 2-0 vs. Jund Crypt Ghast / Griselbrand

Round 6: Brian Kibler, Naya Aggro

This was my second time playing against Brian Kibler. The first was on the second day of Grand Prix Kansas City (which is the last event I played before taking an extended break from Magic). I remember last time I played him it was incredibly close and went deep into the round. A lot of people came by to watch us play, but he eventually grinded out the win thanks to three Fangren Marauders.

This was my time to avenge that loss! I was pretty optimistic since he had almost zero maindeck answers to an Angel of Serenity. Game 1 he had a pretty sick start, but I was able to trade favorably with his Flinthoof Boars using my Centaur Healers and Acidic Slimes. He had two Gyre Sages, each with multiple evolve counters on them, but his only actual threat was a Boros Reckoner. I played two Thragtusks in this game, and he reacted by casting three Mizzium Mortars. I was able to preserve a healthy life total and a defensive enough board state that when he cast Hellrider, he was not able to alpha strike me. I eventually used an Unburial Rites targeting Angel of Serenity to wipe some of his creatures away and then cast a Craterhoof Behemoth to close out the game.

Sideboard:

-1 Unburial Rites, -2 Deathrite Shaman, -1 Acidic Slime, -2 Craterhoof Behemoth, -1 Godless Shrine

+3 Abrupt Decay, +2 Centaur Healer, +1 Sever the Bloodline, +1 Golgari Charm

Game 2 he stumbled on land after a mulligan on the play, and I turn 4 Acidic Slimed his Mountain then Restoration Angeled it to kill his other land on turn 5. He threw his hands up in the air and yelled, “You win, you win!” He then shook my hand, wished me luck, and signed the slip. It was a pretty anti-climactic game 2, but avenging my loss from Kansas City felt great.

2-0 (12-1-0 in games)

Round 7: Graham Lanceford, Esper Control

Game 1 was business as usual. I forced him to counter some Thragtusks and Restoration Angels, used Gavony Township to apply pressure, and then began slamming Angel of Serenitys and Craterhoofs.

Sideboard:

-2 Unburial Rites, -1 Plains, -1 Vault of the Archangel, -1 Forest, -2 Deathrite Shaman, -1 Arbor Elf

+3 Cavern of Souls, +2 Obzedat, +2 Duress, +1 Golgari Charm

Game 2 he drew some cards with Azorius Charm and Think Twice. He Devour Fleshed my Centaur Healer. He missed a land drop turn 5, and then on turn 6 he went to Supreme Verdict with five land. I Golgari Charmed to regenerate all three of my creatures for the blowout. On my turn, I Unburial Ritesed a Craterhoof, and he scooped up his cards.

2-0 (14-1-0 in games)

Round 8: Carl Versteeg, Bant Control

This matchup is very grindy, and usually the game 1 lasts the entire round. The key is to just Acidic Slime their red sources for Kessig Wolf Run and gain as much life as possible with Thragtusk. You may never kill them; they draw so many more cards off of Sphinx’s Revelation and Think Twice, but they don’t ever do much damage to you. I ended up killing my opponent this round with a Craterhoof Behemoth trigger—with the trigger on the stack, I Restoration Angeled it to give each creature +12/+12 and attacked him for the win with eight minutes left on the clock.

Sideboard:

-1 Plains, -1 Swamp, -1 Godless Shrine, -2 Unburial Rites, -2 Deathrite Shaman, -1 Arbor Elf

+3 Cavern of Souls, +1 Golgari Charm, +2 Obzedat, +2 Duress

Game 2 went into extra turns and did not get finished, but it was safe to say I was winning it since I had a turn 4 Thragtusk followed by a turn 5 uncounterable Obzedat thanks to Cavern of Souls.

Carl was an extremely great person after the match. He and his friends offered me food as I waited for Top 8 since I had no one there to pick me up something to eat. He ended up defeating a childhood friend of mine, Asa Snyder, in the final round to make Top 8, but he ultimately lost in the quarterfinals.

1-0-1 (14-1-1 in games)

I intentionally drew into Top 8 in rounds 9 and 10.

At this point, I was alone. Everyone I knew had driven home. They held the Top 8 in a hotel breakfast area. As we walked over there, people made jokes of using sugar packets as Wolf tokens and purchasing waffles if the finals went late enough.

Quarterfinals: Ryan Jensen, Naya

This match was pretty easy. Game 1 he played a bunch of Reckoners, which don’t do a whole lot against me. I played a few Thragtusks to gain life and Acidic Slimed his sixth mana source to prevent a Mizzium Mortars or Aurelia from happening. I played an Angel of Serenity and eventually Craterhoofed for about 30 more than lethal.

Sideboard:

-2 Unburial Rites, -2 Deathrite Shaman, -1 Acidic Slime, -2 Craterhoof Behemoth

+3 Abrupt Decay, +2 Centaur Healer, +1 Sever the Bloodline, +1 Golgari Charm

Game 2 he pretty much annihilated me. Turn 1 Pilgrim, turn 2 Reckoner, turn 3 Huntmaster, turn 4 Sigarda, turn 5 Aurelia. I had no chance.

Game 3 he played two Boros Reckoners and tried to outrace my Gavony Township and multiple Thragtusks and Centaur Healers. It did not work out in his favor. I was off to face my next opponent!

2-1 (16-2-1 in games)

Semifinals: Brad Sheppard, Esper Control

We had a very intense game 1 where he Dissipated a turn 4 Acidic Slime. I saw his list and knew he only ran two Dissipates, so I ran out a Thragtusk on turn 5, but he had the second Dissipate. I spend the rest of the game applying pressure, forcing him to use his spells defensively, and keeping him off of mana for using Nephalia Drownyard. I was able to burn one Dissipate from the graveyard with a Deathrite late in the game, but the last Dissipate ended up costing me since it Snapcaster + Dissipated my last Unburial Rites as a last ditch effort to win through a maindeck Psychic Spiral.

We both played very well this game, but he bested me. It was much expected since this matchup gets a whole lot worse against a maindeck Psychic Spiral and he played very well, but as we moved to the sideboarded games, I felt confident in my sideboard plan.

Sideboard:

-1 Plains, -1 Forest, -1 Godless Shrine, -1 Acidic Slime, -2 Centaur Healer, -1 Arbor Elf, – 1 Vault of the Archangel

+3 Cavern of Souls, +1 Golgari Charm, +2 Obzedat, +2 Duress

I knew he didn’t have Rest in Peace, so I left in the Deathrite Shamans and Unburial Rites. I took out the Centaur Healers that I normally leave in since they just die to Restoration Angel and were not completely necessary. He had no Detention Sphere or Rest in Peace, so the Acidic Slimes were not necessary since I had plenty other five-drops that were more impactful.

Games 2 and 3 were not much of a game. He mulliganed to five on the draw in game 2 and died quickly to a turn 5 Obzedat. Game 3 we each mulliganed, but he stumbled on four mana as I cast a turn 4 uncounterable Thragtusk, which he killed on my turn, opening me up for a turn 5 Obzedat.

He got pretty unlucky. I am sure he was glad to get this matchup in the semifinals, but unfortunately he did not get to play much Magic due to mulligans. Sorry, Brad. I really enjoyed meeting you and hope to see you at future events!

2-1 (18-3-1 in games)

Well. Twelve rounds down, one to go. Only one match stood between me and the grand prize. This match was against the 2011 Player of the Year himself, Owen Turtenwald.

Finals: Owen Turtenwald, Jund

After my semifinal match, I did not even have time to stand up from my chair. The head judge yelled, “Owen, come forth” and Owen ran over to the table. Without even letting the judge speak, he shouted, “No split.” He sat down, looked at me, and saw that I was laughing at his comment. He shook my hand and said, “No offense.” I replied, “None taken, good luck.” He reciprocated the obligatory sportsmanship, and we were given each other’s decklists.

It took no time for me to note, “Grafdigger’s Cage, that’ll sure be good for you,” and he started barking, “Graff digga’ please.” Before I knew, it the judges were yelling it along with him. At 1:00 AM in a hotel’s dining hall, this was a pretty unorthodox finals to any Magic tournament, let alone a match for with over a thousand dollars on the line. After we handed in the decklists, we shuffled up, presented to cut, and the match began.

In Owen’s corner sat Owen Turtenwald, future Hall of Famer William Jensen, and about two or three other people on Team Owen. And across the room was Sam Black and a few other familiar faces from coverage who were all rooting for the former Player of the Year. In my corner sat me, myself, and I. It was me against the world, and let’s just say I rose up to the challenge.

Game 1 he started off with a mulligan. Turn 1 I played an Avacyn’s Pilgrim He played a turn 2 Farseek and then cast a Liliana on his turn 3 but missed a land drop. I played an end step Grisly Salvage, milled essentially nothing of note, and then on my turn cast a Centaur Healer. On his turn 4 he drew a land and played a Huntmaster of the Fells. On my turn, I played a Thragtusk and bashed in with the Centaur Healer, and then he played a Thragtusk of his own and made me sacrifice a creature with Liliana. I sacrificed the Thragtusk. The next few turns involved me Unburial Ritesing a Thragtusk and trying to kill Liliana while not dying to his Kessig Wolf Run.

I Acidic Slimed his Wolf Run, and on his turn he Bonfired for three, which killed my board and left me with a Restoration Angel and a pair of Beast tokens. I Mulched away a Craterhoof Behemoth, cast a Deathrite Shaman, and then Unburial Ritesed the Beast and swung in for 25 exactly when he was at 25. He chump blocked with his Wolf. His Huntmaster flipped back over since I cast two spells this turn, and he drew and played another Huntmaster. On my turn, I drew a land, activated Township, and bashed in again. He made great blocks just chumping with two Wolves (which I should have expected, but it was late). This block left him an out of Bonfire to kill me, but it didn’t show up in three turns. I ended up Unburial Ritesing a second Craterhoof to seal the game.

Sideboard:

-3 Unburial Rites, -2 Deathrite Shaman, -1 Craterhoof Behemoth, -1 Acidic Slime, -1 Arbor Elf

+2 Obzedat, +2 Abrupt Decay, +2 Duress, +1 Golgari Charm, +1 Sever the Bloodline

I knew he would be bringing in Grafdigger’s Cages, so why did I sideboard in Abrupt Decay if I sideboarded out the Unburial Rites? Well, here is my game plan against Jund. I sideboard out my Reanimation because if he can turn 1 Grafdigger’s Cage and I have no Decay at the moment and my draws are Unburial Rites reliant, then I lose on the spot.

My hope in the sideboarded games is to clog up the bored, Duress and Golgari Charm to counter his mass removal, and then Angel of Serenity to just grind out the game. The Decays allow me to kill late-game Cages as well as flipped Huntmasters. I have played this matchup many times, and it really comes down to who draws the first mass removal spell or Craterhoof. I wanted to eliminate this problem. The Sever comes in mostly to deal with Olivia.

Game 2, championship point, was pretty much the biggest letdown of the tournament. I think Owen kept a hand with two Grafdigger’s Cage, so it was effectively a mull to five. I kept a hand of Abrupt Decay, two Grisly Salvage, Mulch, land, land, Thragtusk. I ended up playing a Thragtusk on turns 4, 5, 6, and 7 of this game. I think it goes without saying I got pretty lucky to see all four Thragtusks. I even still had an Obzedat and Angel of Serenity in hand in case things got scary. Owen tried his best to fight them off with Mizzium Mortars and Bonfires for there, but there is not a whole lot he could have done.

2-0 (20-3-1 in games)

I wrote the first half of this report the day after I got back from Grand Prix Charlotte. Since then, a lot has happened. I have done a tally, and my collective match score is around 40-7 in games of paper Magic with Reanimator. I have earned a second bye and qualified for the SCG Invitational (through making Top 8 of the SCG Classic Series in Columbia). I would do a tournament report on the Classic, but I played zero difficult matches in the Swiss (thanks Evan Allen for drawing me into the Top 8!). In the Top 8, I squeaked by a Prime Speaker Bant deck, and then we split the Top 4. Since the Win a Trip to Miami event, the only change to the 75 I made was -1 Curse of Death’s Hold for +1 Deathrite Shaman since there has been a resurgence in Zombies and I was sick of straight losing to Human Reanimator.

More interestingly, last week I happened to be in a match on Magic Online against Demonic_Penguin playing Jund. After losing a grindy game 1, I won games 2 and 3 with Obzedat. He asked for my list, and I did not think much of it so I told him he could go online and look for it since I won the 10K. He messaged me about ten minutes later asking why I made certain selections, and I explained some of them. I was kind of busy, so I told him that if he wanted to know the sideboard plan for certain matchups he should hit me up later in the week when I had more time. He then replied, “Oh, I have won a GP with this deck, so I think I will be alright.” I had no idea who this was since I had not seen any Penguin, Demonic at the top of the Grand Prix standings lately, so I asked him:

Martin went on to tweak the deck a little bit, and he along with Shuhei Nakamura, Stanislav Cifka, and others played a list similar to mine at the Grand Prix this past weekend in Verona. While none of them made Top 8, I believe that all of them made it to the second day. Martin correctly mulliganed his way out of the Top 8, but I don’t think that hurts the deck’s or pilot’s credibility at all. Sorry Mr. “Penguin” that the deck couldn’t take you to the championship!

(Just to clarify, in the coverage done by the mothership they referred to me as winning multiple 5Ks. I never have and never claimed it! My guess is Juza just said it to convince his Platinum friends to play the deck!).

Before I finish, I’d like to thank Andrew Schneider, Keenan Davidson, Josh Revord, Dylan Mueller, and Evan Allen for all the help this past month. I hope you all enjoy Plague Winding people with Angel of Serenity and triggering Thragtusk multi-digit times per match!

Thanks for reading,

Michael B. Segal

Segal on Magic Online