We all have fond memories growing up right?  Mine include Donkey Kong, Zelda and seeing my Uncle's Bug Collection, he was a science teacher after all.  I also can't forget my first baseball game where I got a chance to watch Eric Davis (my favorite baseball player) hit in a few runs while playing for the Cincinnati Reds.  Sometimes the memories are vague, sometimes they are detailed.  One thing is for sure, we all have memories good and bad.

I was never a big reading type of kid.  I usually preferred playing some type of organized sports, chasing spiders/bugs or playing some type of video game.  One thing I do remember from my childhood was loving to read the Choose your Own Adventure books.

After taking a trip down memory lane, I decided it was time to get you, the reader, more involved.  I decided it was time to write an article where you choose your own Adventure, Legacy style.  I am at a point in my magic life where I want to be challenged.  I want to learn, not just the basics, but to figure out more specifically which play is correct.  The greatest thing about this game is the willingness of other players to help teach you to improve.  They may do this directly through obvious methods or indirectly through the replays you should be watching of those more successful than you.  So I figured, what better way to improve my own game than to include all of YOU in the decision making process.

It is time to Choose your own adventure.

Over the next several articles, we will be focusing on these 3 decklists.  Imagine yourself as the tournament player ready to upload these lists and begin tournament play. 

Decklist #1

Bant Aggro

Choose Your Own Adventure Decklist #1

Creatures 2 Knight of the Reliquary 4 Noble Hierarch 4 Qasali Pridemage 2 Rhox War Monk 4 Tarmogoyf 2 Vendilion Clique 18 cards Other Spells 4 Brainstorm 4 Daze 4 Force of Will 3 Spell Pierce 4 Swords to Plowshares 4 Ponder 23 cards

Lands 2 Flooded Strand 1 Forest 1 Island 2 Misty Rainforest 1 Plains 3 Tropical Island 3 Tundra 4 Wasteland 2 Windswept Heath 19 cards Sideboard 2 Hydroblast 2 Hydroblast 2 Krosan Grip 2 Path to Exile 2 Engineered Explosives 2 Pithing Needle 3 Relic of Progenitus 15 cards

Decklist #2

Zoo

Choose Your Own Adventure Decklist #2

Creatures 3 Grim Lavamancer 4 Kird Ape 2 Knight of the Reliquary 4 Qasali Pridemage 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Wild Nacatl 21 cards Other Spells 2 Fireblast 4 Lightning Bolt 4 Lightning Helix 4 Path to Exile 3 Price of Progress 2 Sylvan Library 16 cards

Lands 2 Arid Mesa 1 Forest 1 Horizon Canopy 1 Mountain 1 Plains 2 Plateau 2 Savannah 3 Taiga 3 Windswept Heath 4 Wooded Foothills 20 cards Sideboard 1 Ethersworn Canonist 2 Gaddock Teeg 2 Krosan Grip 2 Pyroblast 3 Volcanic Fallout 2 Choke 1 Relic of Progenitus 2 Tormod's Crypt 15 cards

Decklist #3 

Death and Taxes

Decklist #3

Creatures 4 Benevolent Bodyguard 3 Ethersworn Canonist 4 Flickerwisp 3 Jotun Grunt 3 Mangara of Corondor 4 Serra Avenger 3 Stoneforge Mystic 24 cards Other Spells 4 Aether Vial 2 Oblivion Ring 1 Runed Halo 1 Sword of Fire and Ice 1 Sword of Light and Shadow 4 Swords to Plowshares 1 Umezawa's Jitte 14 cards

Lands 2 Flagstones of Trokair 4 Karakas 2 Mishra's Factory 10 Plains 4 Wasteland 22 cards Sideboard 1 Aura of Silence 2 Burrenton Forge-Tender 1 Ethersworn Canonist 2 Ravenous Trap 3 Silence 2 Tariff 2 Tivadar of Thorn 2 Tormod's Crypt 15 cards

You select Death and Taxes as your decklist this week, join the tournament and pairings begin.  You briefly look at the pairings and see the following 16 players (the event fired at the minimum amount required).

1. Soron
2. Relopsist
3. Jumman
4. BarelyKnew
5. FarfromTruth
6. I8Pizza
7. Framer
8. Hero's Welcome
9. Mythea
10. Sections
11. SilentAcceptance - You
12. Darkside
13. FivO
14. Tristan
15. Rathmon
16. GymDandy

You are a relatively seasoned tournament player.  You know it is bad to make assumptions, but you have some based on frequent players in the tournament who usually play the same decks.

Here are your assumptions before sitting down to play round 1.

• Sections has played Mono Blue Merfolk in the last three Daily Events
• Rathmon plays several decks including New Horizons, UGR Thresh and Landstill
• BarelyKnew is a clanmate and you know he is playing Reanimator
• I8Pizza is known as a rogue type player, usually playing something controlling
• Darkside is known as a zoo player, but has also played Ad Nauseam and Belcher in the past
• Framer is also a clanmate, but you are unsure of which type of deck he might play this time,  Your guess is Landstill or Merfolk
• Mythea you have never seen in a Legacy Tournament
• FivO was seen playing Dredge in the Tourney Practice room a few days ago
• You played Jumman in a 2man about a week ago and he was running a Rockish Type of Deck which you beat easily.
• GymDandy is probably playing Goblins, although he sometimes throws in Affinity.

 You mentally prepare yourself, pop a few Tylenol and take a gulp of Mountain Dew.  You see your first round opponent is Sections and you begin to assume Merfolk.  He wins the dice roll and elects to go first.

Here is your opening hand:

What is the play here?

• A.  You decided to Mulligan in hopes of something better?
• B.  You take your chances and roll with the punches?

So let's think about the possible plays on both ends?

We assume he is playing merfolk so what are his options?

• Lay Island and Play Cursecatcher
• Lay Land and play Aether Vial
• Lay Land and do nothing
• If he lays an Island and plays vial, is he holding Daze?

What are our options?

• Lay Karakas into Bodyguard
• Lay Wasteland and kill his Mutavault if he plays it
• If he plays Mutavault into Vial, is Wasteland a good play?
• If he plays Island into Vial, do we play around Daze and not cast Bodyguard?

So Tell me in the comments, what would you do for Scenario #1?

Onto the next part of the adventure:

We kept the hand, he played Island into Vial.  We cast Bodyguard and it resolves.  Is he sandbagging Daze?

On his turn, he plays Mutavault after putting a counter on Vial, plays Silvergill Adept, then passes the turn.

We draw Jotun Grunt, so what is the play now?

• We can attack into Adept hoping he will block the bodyguard
• We can play Wasteland and kill his Mutavault, or just play Wasteland.
• We can Swords to Plowshares his Adept
• We can play Jotun Grunt and hope he didn't sandbag Daze
• We can play around Daze and just play Wasteland and Pass

So Tell me in the comments, what would you do for Scenario #2?

You decide to play Wasteland and pass the turn.  At the end of turn, he casts Cursecatcher via Vial.

He sets his vial to 2, lays another Island, he taps an Island to set up Mutavault and attacks.

So here is what you are facing.

• Do you block the Adept with Bodyguard, hoping he doesn't have Lord of Atlantis to trigger Vial?
• Do you block the Adept and kill the Lord with Swords if he Vials?
• Do you worry about Spell Pierce maindeck in Merfolk
• If he does have Daze and you block Adept then Swords his Lord, will he Daze and Cursecatcher you?
• Did you even think he might be holding Force of Will
• If you don't block and he vials Lord, you would take 8 damage

These are all thoughts that should be going through your head during a match.

So Tell me in the comments, what would you do for Scenario #3?

 You decide to not block, he Vials out Lord, you cast Swords on it, he Dazes, then sacrifices Cursecatcher.  You take six damage.

You draw Plains (woo hoo), what are your plays?

So Tell me in the comments, what are your plays for Scenario #4?

 You end up scooping after Game 1 and late in Game 2 you are faced with the following scenario:

You have these cards on your board:  You are at 12 life and he is at 14 life.

hiding his Merfolk Sovereign

set to two

with enough cards in graveyard to keep him active at least 3 turns

Your lands are Karakas, 2x Plains, Wasteland.  You Hand consists of Stoneforge Mystic, Serra Avenger, Oblivion Ring

His board looks like this:

with 3 Level counters

set at 3

His lands are 2x Island, 2x Mutavault and he has 3 cards in hand.

For Scenario #5 I want you to answer these questions.

• What are all your plays?
• What plays could he possibly have?
• Which creatures should you attack with or should you attack at all?
• What is the clock for you and for him?
• What is the correct play?

You end up winning this game and it's onto Game 3. 

For Scenario #6 I want you to answer these questions.

• What are the 5 most important plays you can make with your deck against Merfolk?
• What are the 5 most important plays he can make against you?

 You pull out the Match Victory like a Champ and head onto Round 2.  You watch as many replays as you can and find yourself paired up against GymDandy who is playing RB Goblins.

Here is your opening hand, you win the Dice Roll and elect to go first.

 For Scenario #7 I want you to answer the following questions.

• What are your turn one plays?
• What could your opponent do turn one?
• Do you keep this hand?

 For Scenario #8 I want you to answer the following questions.

• What are the 5 most important plays you can make in this matchup?
• What are the 5 most important plays your opponent can make against you?

That ends the adventure today.  I know responding to the scenarios will be lengthy, if you don't wish to respond to all, you could respond to some.  Remember, this is your opinion.  Hopefully this article will challenge your thought process during your matches.  We should be thinking of not only the plays we currently have, but also the plays we have next turn and the turn after.  There is an old saying that says, "Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance".   Make sure you are prepared during your matches. Make sure you know the decks you will be facing by doing research prior to entering the tournament.  Make sure you know your own deck in and out.  Don't forgot to take time to review replays inbetween rounds, I guarantee people are watching yours.  I would love to make this series productive to you and your game play.  Please add any ideas to further this agenda in the comment section.

Join me next time as our adventure sends us off with playful Banter.

Thanks for reading,

Graig W.

-ImpinAintEasy on Mtgo-