Howdy!
It’s been a while since I wrote about cards with funny artworks. However, I managed to win C’mon Katowice for the second time , which is quite an achievement, considering that no one had ever done it before. I invite you to read something more like a recollection of the tournament than an accurate report, because the course of the games themselves I unfortunately don’t seem to remember anymore. However, I remember the atmosphere and my feelings (that is, some month after the tournament) very well.
Preparations
The last six months, unfortunately, were not rich in either desire or time to play. In fact, after C’mon Poznań 2024, it was difficult for me to devote enough time to cards. The MH3 environment was totally unfamiliar to me, even after finishing second at Paprykarz, where I didn’t play a single game of Affinity with Familiar as part of my preparation, and the decision not to play Sneaky Snackers (this variant was the most popular at the time) was made solely by the lack of access to these fairies.
However, for Katowice I wanted to prepare at least minimally, as it was in my mind the most important tournament of the year. “Somewhat” is a good word, as compared to a few set games played before the tournaments not so long ago, here I managed to play dozens of them - under 50.
For a long time I was unsure about the archetype itself, as I hesitated between Grixis Affinity and Mono U Faeries, which experienced a small renaissance in September and encouraged with solid results on goldfish. However, after playing a dozen games with them in which I was getting beaten, I quickly returned to Plan A.
When you don’t play for a long time, you have to start from scratch. And actually you don’t have to, because you can find everything on the internet. And you can steal someone’s list just like that. I love netdecking…
Anyway, the Internet is a beautiful place where I can find out what some of the best players of a given archetype are playing. The obvious move for me was to simply reach for Luffy’s list, play a few games with it and make changes already under myself.
In the end, the changes were few - giving up a basic land, adding munitions and I guess a sideboard. I had set my sights on an aggressive meta, given the strength of RDW and Madness which on top of that was getting new toys in the latest addition. By the disappearance of Caw-Gates, I decided that my plan for the tournament would be to avoid D2D, as I had no answers for it in 75 cards. I executed the plan 100%, as I didn’t get a single one.
Tournament
We set off to conquer Katowice in two cars, of course, along with the rest of the team from Kielce. After receiving one lemon Percussionist while on the road, I received a sobriety of mind that lasted until the finals.
After entering the site, someone aptly threw to me and Chmielu “hey, don’t you guys have a bye?”. We totally forgot about it. Thanks, whoever you were! I started the tournament with a bye, won earlier on Paprykarz in the first round. We visited the board event a bit, well, and instead of a 1-3 drop and cube plan, a 1-3 drop plan was born and participation in the casting for Must Be The Music which was taking place upstairs. Unfortunately, as it turned out, a music career, the life of a rocker, coke and horny teenage girls will have to wait….
R1 - Bye
R2 - Grixis Affinity 2-0
Mirror, which I was ready for thanks to 2x Kenku and 1x Munitions in the main, so I approached with relative confidence. Thanks to experience, I knew how to play this matchup and how to gain an advantage. G1 ended with a munitions shot, in G2 I think I blew up the opponent’s lands with Shaman.
AFFINITY +2 BEB, +3 shaman -3 krark, -1 toxin, -1 thoughtcast
R3 - Walls 3-0
The shuffle machine in the form of Walls did not deliver. The opponent mulliganed several times in both games, and I started both games with Krark or Krark+Toxin. Rather storyless.
WALLS +1 toxin, +2 cast down -2 kenku -1 candy trail
R4 - RDW 4-0
Here is the game to watch on the stream, I remember most from it my Thoughtcast which I wanted to play incorrectly. After 3 years of tournament play I got my first warning. It was more a lack of playability than the fault of the Lemon Percussionist. A bit of a shame, but I guess it happens to everyone. Sorry!
KULDOTHA +5 BEB, +1 toxin -2 spellbomb, -2 kenku, -1 cast down, -1 munitions
R5 - UB Control 4-1
I remember that the first game was seriously close and exciting until the very end. In the second one I got a first-turn Spell Pierce (second time) and didn’t get a 3rd land, I think. The first and only defeat to an interesting variant of UB Terror
UB Control +4 REB -1 toxin, -3 krark
R6 - GR Ramp 5-1
Here I only remember that I made some strong comeback in G1 from Krark, and defended to the death for a long time being on 1 hp. Somehow I managed, which along with a draw in the next one gave me a place in the top8
GR RAMP +2 cast down, +1 toxin -2 spellbomb, -1 munitions
R7 - Tied 5-1-1
Various decks got into the top8, but my ladder to victory looked not very encouraging. Jund Glee which I didn’t play, and the guys scared me that this MU was tough + Cycling Storm for which I had only 2 Spellbombs in the main. Trouble.
Top8 - Jund Glee
The first game on this deck, even though I won 2-0 I somehow didn’t feel more confident. In the second, the opponent mulliganed several times, which certainly helped a lot
JUND GLEE +1 Toxin +2 Cast Down -2 Kenku -1 Candy Trail
Top4 - Cycling Storm
Unfortunately, it was Storm who won in his duel, so I had to fight this duel without having too many outs. Fortunately, pre-tournament I had watched tiktoks with Diego Maradona, and Grandpa Diego stroked my forehead with his hand of a god. In both games I kept 7 with spellbomb, and in the second game I even selected it as the 8th card. Sometimes I’m just better…
STORM -2 Kenku -1 Krark +3 Gorilla Shaman
Final - Jund Glee
Overall the games looked long and grindy, and I had to improvise while trying to stick to combo answers and not get killed by Chrysalis. I still didn’t know what to expect and how to play this matchup (which the viewers on the stream noticed when I had to read the cards XD).
JUND GLEE +1 Toxin +2 Cast Down -2 Kenku -1 Candy Trail
Wrapping it all up…
Overall, the atmosphere was great. It’s great to see your faces once in a while and chat with friends. Community is the strongest side of Pauper tournaments in Poland. Organization at the highest level, I love these tournaments and playing them. The worst thing about winning tournaments is that you miss the after, not recommended in the long run.
At the Trio we played the team that we always play, that is me + Chmielu + Kuba P. Setup was Madness, Fams and GB Glee (I played 10 games). The games I won’t describe, because I don’t remember much except for the game with Prospero where I again made some total misses, and crosswords from Czacza.
Thanks to everyone for their presence and for the organization. If someone had told me 3 years ago that we would play a pauper tournament in the Spodek for 100+ people I would have laughed at them. Amazing how fast this is growing.
Cheers and see you there!
Check the decks!
All the decklists from the event are available on Melee.gg!
