Gatecrash Prerelease part two

When we last left our hero, I had played one pre at Legends and one at Mythic. The choice now was to either complete the trifecta and play in the 6pm one or go home and do laundry. Tough choice!

Gatecrash pre #3
This time I chose Gruul. Having seen a few crushing defeats at the hands of this guild, I decided it'd be fun to be on the other side. Big dudes, pump tricks, red removal - what's not to like? Along for the ride was my day-long companion Ian (lucky #17 last pre), Greg S.(who arrived after being in Vegas on 3 hours sleep), Jordan (up from Marina!), Paul, Greg P., Cartmill, Logan and Nathan. I good showing for the Woodstock gang. Could we all take the top spots and get packs for drafting next week?

Not a bad guild promo. Either a big beefy dude or a huge pump spell? Yes please. What else was there in my pool?

"Bourbon"-Gmos is a bit on the expensive side to play. But if he ever did get there, he'd be a house.
Also:
2x Burst of Strength (a nice combat trick)
3x Mugging (a slow Shock - still good)
Gruul Charm (a must vs. flyers)
Pit Fight (for when your dudes are bigger than theirs)
2x Disciple of the Old Ways
Act of Treason (take their blocker and beat them with it)
2x Ivy Lane Denizen (my all-star!)
Scorchwalker (Scotch-walker? Man, I need a drink)
Crowned Ceratok (so good with the Denizens)
Rust Scarab (a poor man's Acidic Slime)
Adaptive Snapjaw
I also snagged my third dual land of the weekend - Stomping Ground. Running good! Only four rounds this time and about 30 players. Onto the games!

I hadn't played Akemi before and she was shy and quiet. The first game she mulled to 5 and then was stuck on two lands. My Gruul horde reduced her life total quickly. Game two had her playing islands and swamps and then she played this:

If there was ever a target for a mugging, this was it. Hey Ghast, don't go down that dark alleyway!
Unfortunately, she got out some flyers too and then countered all my beefy dudes. Game three, she was stuck on no lands again and I just rolled her. Make sure you mull aggressively, kids!

Round two was against Skylar, a teenage Magic phenom. He felt pretty good about getting this guy out game one:

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS CARD?!?
4 point life swing each turn. 5/5 hasted beats. Can't kill it on my turn. Yeah, that game was fun. I had finally gotten a big beast out with Pit Fight in hand but he extorted me for the last few life points. Ugh. All through the game, he was like "So, this card's pretty good, huh?". Um, yah dude.
Game two was much better for me. He was stuck on 4 lands and I played many red/green beaters. My Rubblehulk pumped an unblocked guy in for the win. Game three was more mana trouble for him, since he never found a swamp. My Gruul horde laughed as they crushed him beneath their hooves!

Compare and contrast time! Check out the earlier version of that card from OG Ravnica:

So... one more mana cost gets you double the life swing, better P/T and you don't have to sac a guy to pay for the blink effect. Yah, that's fair. This is evidence number one in the case for showing creatures have greatly improved from past sets. OMG. At least it's mythic, so we won't see it too much in draft!

Ah, two oh. Say it with me. 2-0. What a nice ring to it. Nothing could go wrong, right? Queue the foreboding music.

Round three was versus Stephen and he was playing Dimir. I started off the game kind of slowly without much creature threats to his Vampire Spy and Bird Raptor. The Bane Alley Broker drew him enough gas to then mill me out with Mind Grind. She's a hottie, tho!

Game two saw my green Denizen get there with bloodrush for lethal. But game three, I was always behind for his counters and removal. He was able to keep up counter mana every turn - so frustrating!

Okay, 2-1 now. I looked over at Greg's game and here was the board:

Yes, that's Greg Peterson's Assemble the Legion vs. Greg Smith's Domri Rade, both with many counters. Greg's planeswalker eventually got there, but what a crazy game!

My last opponent was Paul Sperew, who was rocking Boros. Lots of fast guys with flyers and removal.  Game one was close with beatings from both sides. At mid game, lives 12 to 11, my Denizen worked with the trample rhino for the win.

A 4/3 for four ain't too bad by itself. But with the Denizen giving out +1/+1 counters like they were candy? So good. Game two was also a close one, mid game lives at 8 and 10. But I top decked two Muggings at the right time and then Rubblehulked in for the kill. Sorry Paul!

So the final score was 3-1 and 3rd place. Good for 8 packs! My records all weekend got better as I went and I had a blast playing with new cards. If these articles don't get you fired up for the new set, you beta check yo' pulse, man!!

Props:
Mythic, for a great place to play
The Cheesecake Factory, for excellent appetizers
Russell and Ian, for hanging out and crushing noobs!

Slops:
Waiting forever to start - I'm no doctor, so I ain't got patients!
Madcap Skills, you are so heartless!
Time, where did you go? I wanted to play another!

Shameless selfie in display case reflection. Magic girl in the back is unimpressed!