I couldn't find a deck I felt comfortable with. Goblins, W/X, G/B Cemetery, Aggro Zombies... So much to choose from, so little time. My best friend Tim Sprague suggested I try a deck based around the Affinity mechanic. What? I tested every deck I had against Affinity. What a horrible beating my entire arsenal took! Affinity looked like the U/G Madness decks of old; quick pressure with light counter backup. And aside from the fact Akroma's Vengeance single handedly makes you scoop, it seemed like fun.

Except every control deck packed Akroma's Vengeance. *sigh*

Well, it can't be too bad. So I tried to gather some time and test. Well needless to say, the deck was finished on Thursday, I had to work a twelve-hour shift on Friday, so as soon as I got off work, I was going to be in a car for a two-hour drive to play in the State Championships... I guess my ratings are gonna take a beating.

Quick recap: Zero testing, zero sleep... Sounds like fun.

When all else fails... Go Affinity.

4 Myr Enforcers
4 Frogmite
3 Broodstar
2 Lodestone Myr
4 Thoughtcast
4 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Shrapnel Blast
1 Stifle
4 Aether Spellbomb
3 Talisman of Progress
1 Talisman of Impulse
2 Lightning Greaves
4 Welding Jar
4 Mana Leak

Lands:
4 Glimmervoid
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Ancient Den
2 Islands

Sideboard:
3 Pyroclasm
3 Shatter
3 Assert Authority
1 Stifle
3 Annul
2 Second Sunrise

I'm not gonna bore you with intricate details of each match; to be honest, I lost my notes. I have none of my opponent's names, either... I'm on a roll here, folks.

Round 1: Goblins
Well, this match went a lot better than I had expected.

Game 1: I got smashed.

Game 2: My opponent couldn't deal with my 4/4 army attacking him on turn 3. A timely Pyroclasm saves the day when it looks like I'm about to lose the race; Pyroclasm makes the matchup a little better.

And we're onto game 3. I mulligan down to four cards: A Seat of the Synod, an Ancient Den, and 2 Pyroclasm... Deck, please!

My opponents goes turn 2 Goblin Warchief, turn 3 Goblin Warchief, Goblin Piledriver, Turn 4 Siege-Gang Commander... and that's that.

Well I'm 0-1. Drafting is sounding really good right about now.

Round 2: U/W Control
I'm cussing under my breath at this point; drafting is definitely sounding good...

Game 1: My opponent couldn't deal with my army of large men. I had Mana Leak at the ready for anything fresh. I sided in Assert Authority and Stifle #2.

Well, the army came down quickly again, but I had to tap low on my turn - waaaay too low. Akroma's what?

Thank God for Welding Jar.

Well I'm 1-1 and I just beat one of my worst matchups.

Round 3: R/W Control
Another terrible matchup. Someone upstairs is laughing at me today.

Game 1: I came out of the gates swinging, and the game was over pretty quickly. I sided in Assert Authority, and Annul (Lighting Rift is the Devil, mmmkay?).

Once again, I came out quickly, Shrapnel Blast dealt with an early mystery Morph (maybe it was Gravel Slinger?), and Assert Authority is pretty fresh when your opponent tries to cast Eternal Dragon.

So far so good. 2-1

Round 4: G/B Cemetery
Turn 1 City of Brass, Birds of Paradise...And I was smiling. G/B Cemetery is a cakewalk for Affinity. I then proceed to crap myself as my opponent drops a turn 2 Krosan Warchief, followed with a Ravenous Baloth! Now it was a race, I drew the one maindeck Stifle, during a crucial swing with Broodstar my opponent tried to sac the Warchief and the Baloth for eight life. He's at three life, Broodstar is swinging in for eight.

I got to Stifle a Baloth for a win.

Game 2 was much quicker. Assert Authority is some good versus a recursion-based deck. (So why aren't these main?)

3-1. Well, drafting will have to wait for a bit.

Round 5: R/B Slivers... Yes, Slivers.
I have no clue why this guy is sitting at table 8 (Out of a hundred-plus tables), but I guess it's a decent deck.

Game 1: My deck does nothing fresh. I saw a total of three spells, and he dropped every Red and Black Sliver possible - Hunter Sliver, Crypt Sliver, Toxin Sliver, and Magma Sliver. That's just creepy. By this time, some of my friends crept over to watch... How embarrassing.

Game 2: I sided in Pyroclasm and Assert Authority. This one was actually tough; Crypt Sliver is just horrible, but in conjunction with Toxin Sliver? Sheesh. Well, Pyroclasm and Aether Spellbomb are some good, not to mention countering their stuff when they try to re-play it.

Game 3: Not a chance, my large people came out quickly. Mana Leak, Assert Authority, and Aether Spellbomb were too much. It's simply embarrassing.

4-1. Well, maybe we're onto something here.

Round 6: Mirror
This should be interesting. The only thing I learned from the Mirror is this: Lands are key. Drawing three Thoughtcasts isn't too shabby, either. It wasn't even close, though; Broodstar with Lightning Greaves does him in rather quickly.

Game 2... Well, I bring in Shatter, Annul, and Assert Authority. I just dropped a Myr Enforcer and sat back.

5-1 Wow.

Round 7: R/W Control
Well, another something with Akroma's Vengeance in it...

Game 1: He couldn't keep up with my fast-hitting threats. I had Mana Leaks at the ready for Wrath of God. Game 2, I walked right into a Vengeance; sometimes you'll have to do that.

Game 3: He couldn't keep up, Second Sunrise is pretty good. I got to Assert Authority another Eternal Dragon - yeeeeesssssss!

6-1

Removed Eternal Dragon Count: 2

At this point, I'm feeling pretty good about things. There are only nine rounds (Only? - The Ferrett), so 7-1-1 should make it in.

Round 8: Mirror
I'm pretty geared for the Mirror, and having two maindecked Shrapnel Blasts isn't too shabby, either. It wasn't even close; I took it in two straight.

7-1

Round 9. The pairings come up, I'm in sixth place with terrible tiebreakers (54%) me and my opponent try to do the math. I'm running on no sleep, and things just don't make sense. So we decide to draw; my opponent will definitely be in the top 8, while I have a shot to squeak in.

7-1-1

Cut to the top 8. Well, two of my friends were a lock into the top 8. Congrats to Kyle Boddy and Marty Porter.

So we wait, and hope.

Professional Events Services begin to announce the Top 8, and a pretty funny thing happened when they got to Randy Wright. See, most people will clap, or cheer out of common courtesy - but when P.E.S announced Randy Wright, people booed...

Anticipation aside, I came in at 8th.

Top 8: Mary Porter, R/W Control with a twist
Game 1 was a beating; I can't deal with one Exalted Angel, let alone two of 'em, and especially not when they follow that up with an Akroma, Angel of Flavor-text, and that is that.

I sided in Assert Authority, Stifle #2, and Second Sunrise.

Game 2: I came out too quickly and was able to counter Marty's early threats.

Game 3: Well, I did all I could, but I tapped low just to get 'faced with an Akroma's Vengeance.

Well, it was fun. No sleep, no testing, and a top 8. I got one and a quarter boxes and a cool playmat. If I had to do it all over again, I'd definitely try to make room for Assert Authority main.

Here's a list of what I'm testing now:

4 Myr Enforcer
4 Frogmite
3 Broodstar
4 Thoughtcast
4 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Aether Spellbomb
3 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Talisman of Progress
3 Lightning Greaves
4 Chrome Mox
4 Mana Leak
3 Assert Authority
4 Glimmervoid
4 Great Furnace
4 Seat of the Synod
3 Ancient Den
2 Tree of Tales

Sideboard:
3 Naturalize
3 Stifle
3 Annul
3 Pyroclasm
3 Circle Of Protection: Red

Well, that's it for me. 'Til next time, keep smashing face.

Adam