Validation

     This is my tournament report from yesterday's Gateway event at Regran.  There were more than sixteen participants so we played four rounds.  Most of the decks there were aggressive or midrange with a couple sporting reanimator.

     I used the werewolf list from the previous article "Growth."  Nothing was changed.  Even though I wasn't confident about the manabase, I decided to enter the tourney hoping to learn more about the deck's strengths and weaknesses.

     Bant was first up.  I kept a fast hand containing a couple of lands, Wolfbitten Captive, Mayor of Avabruck and Full Moon's Rise.  He went down to six cards.  I basically deployed my creatures while he stumbled on mana, which allowed my werewolves to transform.  Wolfpack Alpha was particularly brutal producing three 2/2 tokens that closed out the game quickly.  In the second game his Centaur Healers undid the damage I inflicted which enabled his comeback with Restoration Angels and Tamiyo, the Moon Sage.  For the decider, he kept me at bay with Thragtusks and Restoration Angels but eventually Full Moon's Rise, Instigator Gang and Wolfir Silverheart got through for enough trample damage.

     In the second round I faced Frites.  I tried to race him with my creatures but he flashbacked Unburial Rites to put Angel of Serenity into play which got rid of my pack.  He then summoned a Thragtusk to put himself beyond my reach before stomping my face with his big creatures.  Game two was more of the same: me trying to race him while he dumped cards in the graveyard.  I drew triple Titanic Growth which allowed me to force a third game.  Our last battle was similar to the previous in that my guys bolted out the gates and he was without any defensive spell.

     Jund was my third round match-up, which scared me quite a bit.  He attacked me with Strangleroot Geists while I tried to assemble a team and defend myself.  With three cards in hand, he cast Rakdos's Return which sent Huntmaster of the Fells, Mayor of Avabruck and Instigator Gang to the bin.  I was up a creek without a paddle but I passed the turn to transform my guys and dissuade him from attacking.  He drew and played a Thundermaw Hellkite that put me to thirteen life points.  I struck back and he found himself down to two.  After combat Huntmaster of the Fells upped my life to fifteen.  I was safe for the moment but he still had Kessig Wolf Run to pump his flyer.  He boosted his life back to seven with Thragtusk and Falkenrath Aristocrat arrived on the scene but it had to block instead of swinging in.  I charged in again and the game was mine.  The followup was bad for my opponent as he was mana-screwed.  A Scorned Villager allowed me to cast spells even though I was also stuck on two lands as he was.  I won albeit I expected a harder fight with all of Jund's removals.

     The last match was against Frites.  It was built differently though.  His Restoration Angels provided defense on the fourth turn while he dug for lands and I was unable to make any headway.  It didn't help that I kept a one-lander after I had taken a mulligan to six.  The second game I got him down to eight with two Titanic Growth in my hand but not enough mana to cast them both.  He, of course, gained life with Thragtusk the next turn before reanimating Angel of Serenity and I saw the handwriting on the wall.

     So I was 3-1 and in sixth or seventh place (horrible tiebreaks).  I felt a little sad that my run had ended badly.  A single pack was my reward which didn't brighten my mood a bit until I opened it.  Inside were Temple Garden and a foil Detention Sphere.  Thank you, God! 

     Overall, I thought the deck was right for the metagame as I didn't encounter a lot of bounce spells and countermagic.  The "growth" effects were key as they maximized Full Moon's Rise tremendously.  The mana-base wasn't great but serviceable.  Also the sideboard needed upgrades as I wasn't impressed with Wolfir Avenger, Moonmist, Blasphemous Act, and Grafdigger's Cage.  I was basically playing my mainboard most of the time.