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Part 1 can be found here.

Going into the draft, my main strategy was to avoid Green if possible – I hadn't done many drafts online, but whenever I had gotten the Elf deck and had played against another good deck I felt very underpowered. In hindsight I am starting to think that I was very wrong – as I have been reading a lot of articles about how good Lys Alana is… but this was how I felt at the time.

In my first pack I had the choice between Wort, Boggart Auntie and Summon the School – and picked Wort. My next two picks were Eyeblight's Ending and Boggart Harbringer, and quick as that I was drafting goblins.

However, I think someone to my right was also drafting the deck, as I hardly got any goblin cards in the last pack. I might have switched out and only splashed the Wort, but in the second pack I was passed an Ashling Pilgrim, locking me into Red as well as Black.

This is the deck I ended up with:

1 Facevaulter
2 Soulbright Flamekin
1 Ashling the Pilgrim
1 Squeaking Pie sneak
2 Mudbutton Torchrunner
1 Spiderwig Boggart
1 Boggart Loggers
2 Boggart Harbinger
1 Dreamspoiler Witches
2 Hornet Harasser
1 Wort, Boggart Auntie
1 Caterwauling Boggart
1 Glarewielder
1 Warren Pilferers
3 Eyeblight's Ending
1 Boggart Birth Rite
1 Blades of Velis Vel
9 Swamp
8 Mountain

The deck wasn't horrible – but it was definitely missing something. Goblin decks become much better when you have sacrifice outlets for your Harassers and Torchrunners, and I had only been able to pick up one. Also the deck had only four two-drops, and a lot of the creatures were less than exciting.

Elisha had a deck with four Battlewand Oaks, Garruk, and Profane Command, while Eviatar had a deck with three Tarfires, Vigor, and multiple Blind-Spot Giants. Asaf Shomer – the fourth Israeli, who we had finally managed to locate at this point, seemed to have a good deck as well.

Round 6 versus Majlaton, Alex S from USA

Game 1 Alex mulliganed to five but got a decent draw with some two-drops; Wydwen, the Biting Gale; and a Lash Out. The game was a race between his creatures and my 5/5 Ashling Pilgrim and Wort, but I had 2 Eyeblight's Ending in my hand so it was never really in doubt.

Game 2 Alex played 2 Mulldrifters and various other fliers and ran me over while I was stuck with only Swamps, not that I think a Mountain would have helped. He finished me off with a Glarewielder.

Game 3 and I got my deck's good draw. Mudbutton Torchrunner, Hornet Harasser, and Wort all become much better when Facevaulter is in play. Bogart Harbinger fetched up Wort, and with a Facevaulter, a recurring Mudbutton Torchrunner, and a Birthright in hand for backup, I was able to take game 3.

5-1… What is going on here?

Round 7 versus Ootsuka, Koutarou from Japan

We had just drawn our hands for game 1 when the judges called Koutarou aside. It turns out he had registered 46 cards and was to receive a game loss.

Game 2 was over in about 4 minutes. Koutarou's first play was a four-drop, while I played a two-drop, a three-drop, a Caterwauling Bogart, then two more two-drops. On turn 8 I had seven creatures to Koutarou's six, and he was on 10 life and tapped out. I removed one of his creatures and alpha struck for the win with my embarrassing assortment of bad bears.

2 Soulbright Flamekin, 1 Pie-Sneak, 1 Boggart Loggers, 1 Spiderwig Boggart, 1 2/2 Ashling, and 1 Caterwauling Boggart. Is my deck good or what?

I think I have to go with the "what."

6-1

Eviatar and Elisha were both 4-3 at this point.

Round 8 versus Hron, Mike P from USA

Mike was playing a UW splash Black deck with some pretty powerful spells. In game 1 he played Merfolk Harbinger into Summon the School, but I had Dreamspoiler Witches and Eyeblight's Ending to keep that from getting out of control. I was pretty manaflooded with only the Witches in play when Mike played a Ponder, then a sixth land and a Wellgabber Apothecary. I attacked and removed it and his remaining school token with my second Eyeblight's Ending during his upkeep, and Mike passed the turn to me with six mana untapped.

Sound a bit fishy? I didn't think he had Sentinels of Glen Elendra because he had played the Wellgabber Apothecary the turn before. What did he have then? I wasn't sure, but I figured it couldn't be good for me. My hand at this point was Hornet Harasser and Blades of Velis Vel, and playing the Harasser would allow Mike to two-for-one me with any removal spell. So I just attacked with the Witches and said go.

This scenario then replayed itself four more times – until, at ten life, Mike played Cryptic Command at end of turn to return his Oblivion Ring (that was holding a Pie-Sneak) to his hand, then untapped and played Austere Command.

Now that's scary… fortunately for me Mike was even more flooded than I was, and when I played out my hand of Harassers and Torchrunners he wasn't able to put up more than token resistance.

Game 2, and I got the good draw again.

Facevaulter. Torchrunner. Wort. With Eyeblight's Ending, Boggart Birthright, Ashling the Pilgrim, and Warren Pilferers in hand – I was able to win easily despite Mike playing both Cryptic and Austere Command.

Eviatar and Elisha had both gone 2-1 in their drafts, so at this point team Israel was looking good. I was 7-1, and they were both 5-3. What the hell was going on here?

It was at this point that I finally realized I might end up doing well in this tournament. I had a 7-1 record, and I wasn't completely clueless about Legacy. So I figured now might be a good time to make sure my deck was okay.

Antonino DeRosa is a really nice guy and has helped me with good deck advice in the past (although back then I wasn't smart enough to follow it). So I told him what I was playing and asked him what he thought about it. He said he didn't think it was a good choice, because everyone would be prepared for Threshold, and cards that are good against Threshold are good against my deck. He showed me what he was playing, Landstill, and told me that Nassif had given him the decklist.

That was enough to convince me. Gabriel Nassif has a pretty good track record in Constructed – getting to play a decklist similar to his was a unique opportunity, and with my record meant I might actually do well enough in Legacy to make Top 8. Which was very strange considering the expectations I had had coming into this tournament, but I guess sometimes life surprises you.

I asked Orr, who wasn't playing in the main event, if he could get me the cards for the deck. I convinced Eviatar to also make the switch, while Elisha preferred to stick to our 4c Counterbalance deck rather than playing a different deck for the first time at Worlds.

With five rounds of Constructed, a draft, and three rounds of Limited, Day 1 ended pretty late. Orr and I were staying at his cousin's house three trains away in the north of Manhattan. The problem was that there was only one key to the house. This wasn't supposed to matter as Orr's cousin had told us he would definitely be home before midnight – but he wasn't answering our phone calls, and we couldn't enter the apartment without him.

It turned out he was running late, and couldn't answer because phones don't work when you're taking the subway. He found us dozing in the corridor, and we agreed that the next day he would give us the keys, as he was only coming home at eleven thirty and we would definitely be back before that.

Five and a half hours of sleep later…

…

I talk in my sleep, by the way.

…

…

And we were off for Day 2.

The second draft went much better than the first. I opened a Dread, then second picked Silvergill Douser over Oblivion Ring. The next few packs had no Black at all, but a lot of Blue and White cards. White seemed very open, and Blue reasonably so – so I figured I would just draft Blue/White Merfolk. I had Silvergill Douser, Streambed Aquitects, Deeptread Merrow, Avian Changeling, two Plover Knights and some other decent white cards.

Pack 2 I opened a Mulldrifter… but there was also a Profane Command in the pack. I deliberated about it up until I was forced to make a pick, but the truth is I didn't really know which pick would be better. Obviously having Profane Command and Dread in your deck is busted, but I knew I was going to get much better Blue than Black cards in pack 3, and that by passing the Mulldrifter I would be forced to play BW – as I had more playable cards in White and I would probably have to scrape for playables if I played black.

I picked Profane Command. In retrospect I can say I'm pretty sure the UW deck would have been better- but I didn't know I would get passed 2 more Silvergill Dousers at the time.

This is the deck I ended up with:

1 Goldmeadow Harrier
2 Goldmeadow Stalwart
2 Skeletal Changeling
2 Kithkin Greatheart
1 Avian Changeling
1 Wispmare
1 Boggart Loggers
1 Dread
2 Hillcomber Giant
1 Quill-slinger Boggart
2 Plover Knights
1 Sentry Oak
1 Moonglove Extract
1 Profane Command
2 Oblivion Ring
1 Eyeblight's Ending
8 Swamp
10 Plains

It had a few filler cards, but I liked it much more than the last deck. It had a lot of power and the potential for some explosive draws. Elisha and Eviatar both drafted strong decks again, with Elisha's starring three Mulldrifters (he ended up 3-0ing that draft).

Round 9 versus Zacharias, Panaiotis [GRC]

Zacharias was seated immediately to my right in the draft, and wondered why I hadn't drafted the Blue cards he passed to me. I told him that I had wanted to but broken rares had steered me in another direction…

It also turns out he is the one who taught one of my friends, Simon, how to play Magic. Simon doesn't play Magic anymore, having been sucked into World of Warcraft – a game that has made quite a lot of the people I know abandon various things they had been doing in their life previously (a good friend of mine actually stopped smoking thanks to WoW as he couldn't bother leaving his house to go buy more packs).

Game 1 and I find out Zacharias is playing a Green/Black Elf Treefolk deck. The game went back and forth a little as we traded blows and removal. I was a bit manaflooded, and after Panaiotis played Shriekmaw he was able to go on the offensive. At this point the board was Shriekmaw and Battlewand Oak for him versus a Boggart Loggers for me. What Zacharias didn't know was that I had been holding Profane Command all game. I Profaned for seven, returning my Plover Knights and taking him down to three life. After drawing for his turn Panaiotis conceded.

Game 2 and I was also pretty flooded. Zacharias played out a Gilt Leaf Seer, a Jagged Scar Archers and a Lys Alana, while I played a Kithkin Greatheart and two Hillcomber Giants. Zacharias traded the Archers, an elf token and some removal spells for my creatures. With the Archers gone, I was free to play the two Plover Knights in my hand. Zacharias then evoked Mournwhelk to make me discard the two lands I was holding, and followed by Lignifying both of my creatures. I drew an Avian Changeling while he drew Nath's Elite, and it looked like it was going to be a close race. Then I drew Profane Command.

Maybe picking it was correct.

8-1

Round 10 versus Birner, Armin [AUT]

Armin is the guy who played the GR Big Mana deck to a Top 4 finish in the last GP before Worlds. He had played a similar deck in Standard, tuned to be better against the Blue decks with Red Akromas and Molten Disasters, but he told me he felt the changes had only made the deck worse. I know these things because Armin was a very nice guy – he was one of the most pleasant people I played throughout the tournament.

Game 1 I mulliganned to five on the play, and drew a slow land heavy hand. Fortunately for me Armin was stalling on lands a bit. My Kithkin Greatheart stared at his Spellstutter Sprite before being offed by Peppersmoke, drawing him his third land but not allowing him to play more spells that turn. On turn 5 I played Sentry Oak, while Armin was busy making his second Streambed Aquitects.

All this time I had been holding Dread, and two turns later I drew a Swamp that enabled me to cast it. Unfortunately for me Armin was ready with a Weed Strangle. Two turns and two clashes later, however, I drew Dread again, and this time Armin didn't have a solution.

Game 2 and Armin chose to play second. I killed him on turn 5.

Turn 1 Plains, Goldmeadow Stalwart
Turn 2 Swamp, Kithkin Greatheart, take two. No two-drop?
Turn 3 Plains, Avian Changeling, take five.
Turn 4 Skeletal Changeling before combat, attack for seven, you're at six.

At this point Armin's board was Thieving Sprite and Dreamspoiler Witches. My board had four lands, and I was holding Profane Command in hand.

9-1… and are you getting the feeling that Dread and Profane Command are winning me a game here and there?

Round 11 versus Campana, Rubens [BRA]

Campana was playing a Blue/White Merfolk deck splashing Black. I get the feeling this is similar to the deck I would have had if I’d not drafted Profane Command – whether the choice was correct or not I still don't know, but I do know I would have had a great deck either way.

Game 1 and the ground became clogged pretty quickly. Rubens has a Harpoon Sniper and a lot of Merfolk, but I had Plover Knights and Avian Changeling, as well as a Goldmeadow Harrier to keep the Sniper tapped down. It seemed we both didn't have any relevant plays, but then Rubens drew a Stonybrook Angler, followed by a Ponder that drew him into a Shriekmaw and Silvergill Douser. With me unable to block or attack due to the Harpoon Sniper, Rubens was able to start attacking me. I had a six turn window where I could draw Profane Command to win, but this time it let me down.

Game 2 I drew Profane Command in my opening hand, and was hoping to get Rubens low enough to use it to kill him. Rubens had other plans however, coming out fast with a two-drop, Aquitect's Will, and two Streambed Aquitects, as well as a Changeling Hero and an Aethersnipe. I was forced to make bad trades defensively, and used Profane Command to kill a creature and get a Plover Knight back. This swing was enough to mostly stop his offense, and I managed to kill him two turns later.

Did I just win a game with Profane Command again?

Game 3 and there was not much time left in the round. I was playing defense from the start, as Rubens had a Silvergill Adept, a Streambed Aquitect, a Turtleshell Changeling, a Changeling Hero, Aquitect's Will, and a second Changeling Hero. Meanwhile I was stuck on four lands with Dread, Profane Command, Sentry Oak, and a Plover Knight in hand, and was forced to play two- and three-drops every turn.

When I hit five mana I managed to semi stabilize the board by getting rid of the Aquitect which was making the Changeling Hero unblockable, but Rubens Pondered into a Shriekmaw and Aethersnipe, and the game ended with me very dead and him over 30 life.

9-2

Elisha has had an amazing run, and after starting the tournament 0-2 was now sporting an 8-3 record. Eviatar's second draft hadn't panned out and his record was 6-5. Orr had managed to build me and Eviatar the Landstill decks for Legacy.

Join me on Friday for my Legacy performance, plus a rundown of my thoughts in the Top 8!

Uri