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2012)

Hello all!

My name is Lucas. Some of you may know me from Youtube as MrLuBuFu. I have made a ton of Magic content in video form and I am pretty sure I have figured out how to make it entertaining. I will try and make my first article for CardShark.com in the same sort of casual tone.

This is the story of how I placed 6th at my local PTQ playing Esper Control.

Deck Name: E-Walks
Decklist:
Lands (25)
2 Island

Island
	Set: Oversize Cards Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: X Artist: Tony Roberts Text: T: Add U to your mana pool.

3 Plains

Plains
	Set: Oversize Cards Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: X Artist: Tony Roberts Text: T: Add W to your mana pool.

4 Swamp

Swamp
	Set: Oversize Cards Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: X Artist: Tony Roberts Text: T: Add B to your mana pool.

4 Seachrome Coast

Seachrome Coast
	Set: Scars of Mirrodin Cost: 0 Color: Colorless Type: Land Rarity: R Number: 229 Artist: Lars Grant-West Text: Seachrome Coast enters the battlefield tapped unless you control two or fewer other lands. {T}: Add {W} or {U} to your mana pool.

1 Evolving Wilds

Evolving Wilds
	Set: Rise of the Eldrazi Cost: 0 Color: Colorless Type: Land Rarity: C Number: 228 Artist: Steven Belledin Text: {T}, Sacrifice Evolving Wilds: Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.

1 Vault of the Archangel

Vault of the Archangel
	Set: Dark Ascension Cost: 0 Color: Colorless Type: Land Rarity: R Number: 158 Artist: John Avon Text: {T}: Add {1} to your mana pool. {2}{W}{B}, {T}: Creatures you control gain deathtouch and lifelink until end of turn.

3 Drowned Catacomb

Drowned Catacomb
	Set: Magic 2010 Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: R Number: 224 Artist: Dave Kendall Text: Drowned Catacomb enters the battlefield tapped unless you control an Island or a Swamp. {T}: Add {U} or {B} to your mana pool.

3 Glacial Fortress

Glacial Fortress
	Set: Magic 2010 Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: R Number: 226 Artist: Franz Vohwinkel Text: Glacial Fortress enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a Plains or an Island.{T}: Add {W} or {U} to your mana pool.

4 Isolated Chapel

Isolated Chapel
	Set: Innistrad Cost: 0 Color: Colorless Type: Land Rarity: R Number: 242 Artist: Cliff Childs Text: Isolated Chapel enters the battlefield tapped unless you control a Plains or a Swamp. {T}: Add {W} or {B} to your mana pool.

Black(9)
2 Tragic Slip

Tragic Slip
	Set: Dark Ascension Cost: 1 Color: Black Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 76 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn. Morbid — That creature gets -13/-13 until end of turn instead if a creature died this turn.

1 Doom Blade

Doom Blade
	Set: Magic 2010 Color: Black Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 93 Artist: Chippy Text: Destroy target nonblack creature.

2 Go for the Throat

Go for the Throat
	Set: Mirrodin Besieged Cost: 2 Color: Black Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 43 Artist: David Rapoza Text: Destroy target nonartifact creature.

2 Liliana of the Veil

Liliana of the Veil
	Set: Innistrad Cost: 3 Color: Black Type: Planeswalker Sub Type: Liliana Rarity: M Number: 105 Artist: Steve Argyle Text: +1: Each player discards a card. -2: Target player sacrifices a creature. -6: Separate all permanents target player controls into two piles. That player sacrifices all permanents in the pile of his or her choice.

2 Curse of Death's Hold

Curse of Death's Hold
	Set: Innistrad Cost: 5 Color: Black Type: Enchantment Sub Type: Aura Curse Rarity: R Number: 94 Artist: Clint Cearley Text: Enchant player Creatures enchanted player controls get -1/-1.

Blue(10)
3 Mana Leak

Mana Leak
	Set: Stronghold Cost: 2 Color: Blue Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 36 Artist: Christopher Rush Text: Counter target spell unless its caster pays an additional 3.

3 Think Twice

Think Twice
	Set: Time Spiral Cost: 2 Color: Blue Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 86 Artist: Jim Nelson Text: Draw a card. Flashback 2U (You may play this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then remove it from the game.)

2 Forbidden Alchemy

Forbidden Alchemy
	Set: Innistrad Cost: 3 Color: Blue Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 55 Artist: David Rapoza Text: Look at the top four cards of your library. Put one of them into your hand and the rest into your graveyard. Flashback {6}{B} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

2 Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

Set: Avacyn Restored
Cost: 5
Color: Blue
Type: Planeswalker
Sub Type: Tamiyo
Rarity: M
Number: 79
Artist: Eric Deschamps
Text: +1: Tap target permanent. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step. -2: Draw a card for each tapped creature target player controls. -8: You get an emblem with "You have no maximum hand size" and "Whenever a card is put into your graveyard from anywhere, you may return it to your hand."

White(12)
4 Lingering Souls

Lingering Souls
	Set: Dark Ascension Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: U Number: 12 Artist: Bud Cook Text: Put two 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Flashback {1}{B} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

1 Day of Judgment

Day of Judgment
	Set: Zendikar Cost: 4 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 9 Artist: Vincent Proce Text: Destroy all creatures.

2 Terminus

Terminus
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 6 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 38 Artist: James Paick Text: Put all creatures on the bottom of their owners' libraries. Miracle {W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

2 Gideon Jura

Gideon Jura

Set: Rise of the Eldrazi
Cost: 5
Color: White
Type: Planeswalker
Sub Type: Gideon
Rarity: M
Number: 21
Artist: Aleksi Briclot
Text: +2: During target opponent's next turn, creatures that player controls attack Gideon Jura if able. -2: Destroy target tapped creature. 0: Until end of turn, Gideon Jura becomes a 6/6 Human Soldier creature that's still a planeswalker. Prevent all damage that would be dealt to him this turn.

3 Entreat the Angels

Entreat the Angels
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: M Number: 20 Artist: Todd Lockwood Text: Put X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Miracle {X}{W}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

Multicolored(2)
2 Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Set: Dark Ascension
Cost: 4
Color: Multicolor
Type: Planeswalker
Sub Type: Sorin
Rarity: M
Number: 142
Artist: Michael Komarck
Text: +1: Put a 1/1 black Vampire creature token with lifelink onto the battlefield. -2: You get an emblem with "Creatures you control get +1/+0." -6: Destroy up to three target creatures and/or other planeswalkers. Return each card put into a graveyard this way to the battlefield under your control.

Artifact(1)
1 Batterskull

Batterskull
	Set: New Phyrexia Cost: 5 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Sub Type: Equipment Rarity: M Number: 130 Artist: Mark Zug Text: Living weapon (When this Equipment enters the battlefield, put a 0/0 black Germ creature token onto the battlefield, then attach this to it.) Equipped creature gets +4/+4 and has vigilance and lifelink. {3}: Return Batterskull to its owner's hand. Equip {5}

Sideboard (15):
2 Nihil Spellbomb

Nihil Spellbomb
	Set: Scars of Mirrodin Cost: 1 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: C Number: 187 Artist: Franz Vohwinkel Text: {T}, Sacrifice Nihil Spellbomb: Exile all cards from target player's graveyard. When Nihil Spellbomb is put into a graveyard from the battlefield, you may pay {B}. If you do, draw a card.

2 Day of Judgment

Day of Judgment
	Set: Zendikar Cost: 4 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 9 Artist: Vincent Proce Text: Destroy all creatures.

2 Celestial Purge

Celestial Purge
	Set: Conflux Cost: 2 Color: White Type: Instant Rarity: U Number: 5 Text: Remove target black or red permanent from the game.

2 Torpor Orb

Torpor Orb
	Set: New Phyrexia Cost: 2 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: R Number: 162 Artist: Svetlin Velinov Text: Creatures entering the battlefield don't cause abilities to trigger.

2 Revoke Existence

Revoke Existence
	Set: Scars of Mirrodin Cost: 2 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: C Number: 18 Artist: Allen Williams Text: Exile target artifact or enchantment.

2 Phantasmal Image

Phantasmal Image
	Set: Magic 2012 Cost: 2 Color: Blue Type: Creature Sub Type: Illusion Rarity: R Number: 72 Artist: Nils Hamm Power: 0 Toughness: 0 Text: You may have Phantasmal Image enter the battlefield as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it's an Illusion in addition to its other types and it gains "When this creature becomes the target of a spell or ability, sacrifice it."

2 Timely Reinforcements

Timely Reinforcements
	Set: Magic 2012 Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: U Number: 40 Artist: Tomasz Jedruszek Text: If you have less life than an opponent, you gain 6 life. If you control fewer creatures than an opponent, put three 1/1 white Soldier creature tokens onto the battlefield.

1 Oblivion Ring

Oblivion Ring
	Set: Lorwyn Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Enchantment Rarity: C Number: 34 Artist: Wayne England Text: When Oblivion Ring comes into play, remove another target nonland permanent from the game. When Oblivion Ring leaves play, return the removed card to play under its owner's control.

I originally got the idea for this deck by watching (who other than) Luis Scott-Vargas trudge through his Esper Control Online Queues. I quickly realized that, if I built it correctly, I could gain ground on the most played deck at the time, RG Aggro. Denver Magic players are known for their aggressive strategies, so I decided to build this deck focused against them, with the goal of being able to beat Delver in 50% of all matches played against it.

The first cards I started with were the finishers. The moment Entreat the Angels

Entreat the Angels
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: M Number: 20 Artist: Todd Lockwood Text: Put X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Miracle {X}{W}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

was released, I knew it would be absolutely unbeatable in a deck that consistently hit its land drops. Getting two angels for seven mana is decent, and anytime you Miracle the card the game is all but over. After fiddling with the numbers, I realized that three copies of Entreat the Angels

Entreat the Angels
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: M Number: 20 Artist: Todd Lockwood Text: Put X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Miracle {X}{W}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

in the deck would be a nice, stable number in drawn out games, especially with the typical card draw/filter that Esper Decks run.

Another card that I decided to try to jam into the deck is Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

Tamiyo, the Moon Sage

. She is to control matchups as Gideon is to aggressive decks, that is to say a giant pain that cannot be dealt with. There were two things that truly won me over. First, the interaction with Gideon is insanely awesome. I mean, Tamiyo is already extremely strong when coupled with any other planeswalker in the deck, allowing them to ramp up loyalty counters, and while play-testing I never lost when I had both Gideon and Tamiyo. Secondly, with such a controlling deck, it is plausible that one would be able to use her ultimate. Now, any deck able to somewhat consistently use planeswalker ultimates seems dangerous, and to be honest, it feels unfair. Consider this: while play-testing the deck, I used Tamiyo’s ultimate and received my emblem. Then, I made all my opponent’s creatures attack my Gideon. But wait, my opponent miracled his Entreat the Angels

Entreat the Angels
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: M Number: 20 Artist: Todd Lockwood Text: Put X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Miracle {X}{W}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

for ten and attacked Gideon. No problem, I just recast him. This repeated for 3 consecutive turns until he finally conceded. On another occasion I did the following: I used Tamiyo’s ultimate and passed the rest of my turn. My opponent drew a Ponder

Ponder
	Set: Lorwyn Cost: 1 Color: Blue Type: Sorcery Rarity: C Number: 79 Artist: Mark Tedin Text: Look at the top three cards of your library, then put them back in any order. You may shuffle your library. Draw a card.

and tried to cast it. In response, I cast Mana Leak

Mana Leak
	Set: Stronghold Cost: 2 Color: Blue Type: Instant Rarity: C Number: 36 Artist: Christopher Rush Text: Counter target spell unless its caster pays an additional 3.

. He paid the three mana, only to have me cast the spell twice more before he ran out of mana.

After testing the deck at a couple of local Standard tournaments, and finishing with winning records in both, I decided to run it at the PTQ.

When I filled-out the deck entry form I was struck with the realization that I needed a deck name. I wanted to come up with a name to fit the beauty of the cards as well as my playing style. I fiddled with puns on ‘Esper,’ ‘Control,’ and ‘Planeswalkers,’ then it hit me: E-Walks! With a grin, I scribbled down the name and my cards.

As I wrote the names of my cards down, a friend turned to me and said, “Hey, what do you think about Terminus

Terminus
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 6 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 38 Artist: James Paick Text: Put all creatures on the bottom of their owners' libraries. Miracle {W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

?” I looked down at my copies of Day of Judgment

Day of Judgment
	Set: Zendikar Cost: 4 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 9 Artist: Vincent Proce Text: Destroy all creatures.

, peered at my neighbor sleeving up Strangleroot Geist

Strangleroot Geist
	Set: Dark Ascension Cost: 2 Color: Green Type: Creature Sub Type: Spirit Rarity: U Number: 127 Artist: Jason Chan Power: 2 Toughness: 1 Text: Haste Undying (When this creature dies, if it had no +1/+1 counters on it, return it to the battlefield under its owner's control with a +1/+1 counter on it.)

, and across from him I could see someone else holding an Unburial Rites

Unburial Rites
	Set: Innistrad Cost: 5 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: U Number: 122 Artist: Ryan Pancoast Text: Return target creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. Flashback {3}{W} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

. After extensive playtesting I felt comfortable with my deck and took a gamble: swapping-out two of my Day of Judgment

Day of Judgment
	Set: Zendikar Cost: 4 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 9 Artist: Vincent Proce Text: Destroy all creatures.

s for two Terminii. I knew it was a somewhat risky move, but I guess that just goes to show that I live on the wild side.

Round 1: Esper Mirror
My first round was against a similar (though outdated) version of an Esper Control deck. My opponent played considerably more counterspells/boardwipe than I did, but had a major weakness to the number of planeswalkers I cast. Eventually, slamming Curse of Death’s Hold against his Lingering Souls

Lingering Souls
	Set: Dark Ascension Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: U Number: 12 Artist: Bud Cook Text: Put two 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Flashback {1}{B} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

tokens and baiting out his boardwipe in both games led me to victory.

Round 2: Heartless Summoning

Heartless Summoning
	Set: Innistrad Cost: 2 Color: Black Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Number: 104 Artist: Anthony Palumbo Text: Creature spells you cast cost {2} less to cast. Creatures you control get -1/-1.

This was the first time I played against a rogue deck. He was playing UBG Heartless Summoning

Heartless Summoning
	Set: Innistrad Cost: 2 Color: Black Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Number: 104 Artist: Anthony Palumbo Text: Creature spells you cast cost {2} less to cast. Creatures you control get -1/-1.

. Basically his deck was all about ramp and enter the battlefield effects. Game one he ramped out quickly, nabbing an early Rune-Scarred Demon

Rune-Scarred Demon
	Set: Magic 2012 Cost: 7 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Demon Rarity: R Number: 106 Artist: Michael Komarck Power: 6 Toughness: 6 Text: Flying When Rune-Scarred Demon enters the battlefield, search your library for a card, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.

, that got Griselbrand

Griselbrand
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 8 Color: Black Type: Legendary Creature Sub Type: Demon Rarity: M Number: 106 Artist: Igor Kieryluk Power: 7 Toughness: 7 Text: Flying, lifelink Pay 7 life: Draw seven cards.

and steamrolled me with card advantage. Game two I just locked him out of the game with a turn two Torpor Orb

Torpor Orb
	Set: New Phyrexia Cost: 2 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: R Number: 162 Artist: Svetlin Velinov Text: Creatures entering the battlefield don't cause abilities to trigger.

and killed his Griselbrand

Griselbrand
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 8 Color: Black Type: Legendary Creature Sub Type: Demon Rarity: M Number: 106 Artist: Igor Kieryluk Power: 7 Toughness: 7 Text: Flying, lifelink Pay 7 life: Draw seven cards.

anytime I got the chance. Game three he did not draw a swamp until turn ten, at which point the game was firmly in my grasp.

Round 3: GR Aggro
First time PTQers are widely known to pilot a stock RG Aggro deck, and my third opponent was no exception. Game one I was able to lock him out after stabilizing with a few Lingering Souls

Lingering Souls
	Set: Dark Ascension Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: U Number: 12 Artist: Bud Cook Text: Put two 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Flashback {1}{B} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

tokens and getting Gideon and Tamiyo to stall his board. Miracling an Entreat the Angels

Entreat the Angels
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: M Number: 20 Artist: Todd Lockwood Text: Put X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Miracle {X}{W}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

made it that much sweeter. The second game went his way with a fantastic curve and topdecking a Bonfire of the Damned

Bonfire of the Damned
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 1 Color: Red Type: Sorcery Rarity: M Number: 129 Artist: James Paick Text: Bonfire of the Damned deals X damage to target player and each creature he or she controls. Miracle {X}{R} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

to wipe out my spirit tokens and swing for lethal. The last game was very close. Early in the match, he was able to use Sword of War and Peace

Sword of War and Peace

Set: New Phyrexia
Cost: 3
Color: Colorless
Type: Artifact
Sub Type: Equipment
Rarity: M
Number: 161
Artist: Chris Rahn
Text: Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has protection from red and from white. Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to a player, Sword of War and Peace deals damage to that player equal to the number of cards in his or her hand and you gain 1 life for each card in your hand. Equip {2}

(this deck’s kryptonite) on a Wolfir Avenger

Wolfir Avenger
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 3 Color: Green Type: Creature Sub Type: Wolf Warrior Rarity: U Number: 205 Artist: Daniel Ljunggren Power: 3 Toughness: 3 Text: Flash (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.) {1}{G}: Regenerate Wolfir Avenger.

to nearly kill me. Luckily, I was able to cast Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

and make my Vampire tokens chump block. Slamming a Gideon and a Tamiyo on consecutive turns allowed me to slow the game to a crawl until I could miracle Entreat the Angels

Entreat the Angels
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: M Number: 20 Artist: Todd Lockwood Text: Put X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Miracle {X}{W}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

and use Sorin’s ultimate on his board for good measure.

Round 4: GR Aggro
This round was not terribly eventful. Game one he got severely mana-screwed and never recovered. Game two he overcommits as I miracle Terminus

Terminus
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 6 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 38 Artist: James Paick Text: Put all creatures on the bottom of their owners' libraries. Miracle {W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

. Two turns later, the exact same thing happens, and the game was done from there.

Round5: UW Control
This was an interesting match. He was playing a hardcore UW control deck, playing Karn Liberated

Karn Liberated
	Set: New Phyrexia Cost: 7 Color: Colorless Type: Planeswalker Sub Type: Karn Rarity: M Number: 1 Artist: Jason Chan Text: +4: Target player exiles a card from his or her hand. -3: Exile target permanent. -14: Restart the game, leaving in exile all non-Aura permanent cards exiled with Karn Liberated. Then put those cards onto the battlefield under your control.

as one of his finishers. Game one was fairly close, though Tamiyo kept me in charge most of the game, until I was able to resolve three instances of Lingering Souls

Lingering Souls
	Set: Dark Ascension Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: U Number: 12 Artist: Bud Cook Text: Put two 1/1 white Spirit creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Flashback {1}{B} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

. Game two was quite an affair, with Sorin making two emblems for my two spirit tokens as they beat down. Then he slammed Karn

Karn
	Set: Vanguard Sub Type: Character Rarity: X Number: 3 Artist: Anthony S. Waters Power: +1 Toughness: +6 Text: Each of your noncreature artifacts is also an artifact creature with power and toughness each equal to its total casting cost.

, exiling my Sorin. Luckily I had another in hand, and three Sorin emblems were enough to carry me onto the next round.

Round 6: RUG Pod
This match was against a friend of mine who was in it to win it. He was playing an amazing deck, full of Zealous Conscripts

Zealous Conscripts
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 5 Color: Red Type: Creature Sub Type: Human Warrior Rarity: R Number: 166 Artist: Steve Prescott Power: 3 Toughness: 3 Text: Haste When Zealous Conscripts enters the battlefield, gain control of target permanent until end of turn. Untap that permanent. It gains haste until end of turn.

, Frost Titan

Frost Titan

Set: Magic 2011
Cost: 6
Color: Blue
Type: Creature
Sub Type: Giant
Rarity: M
Number: 55
Artist: Mike Bierek
Power: 6
Toughness: 6
Text: Whenever Frost Titan becomes the target of a spell or ability an opponent controls, counter that spell or ability unless its controller pays {2}. Whenever Frost Titan enters the battlefield or attacks, tap target permanent. It doesn't untap during its controller's next untap step.

, Acidic Slime

Acidic Slime
	Set: Magic 2010 Color: Green Type: Creature Sub Type: Ooze Rarity: U Number: 165 Artist: Karl Kopinski Power: 2 Toughness: 2 Text: Deathtouch (Creatures dealt damage by this creature are destroyed. You can divide this creature's combat damage among any of the creatures blocking or blocked by it.) When Acidic Slime enters the battlefield, destroy target artifact, enchantment, or land.

, and most importantly, Deadeye Navigator

Deadeye Navigator

Set: Avacyn Restored
Cost: 6
Color: Blue
Type: Creature
Sub Type: Spirit
Rarity: R
Number: 47
Artist: Tomasz Jedruszek
Power: 5
Toughness: 5
Text: Soulbond (You may pair this creature with another unpaired creature when either enters the battlefield. They remain paired for as long as you control both of them.) As long as Deadeye Navigator is paired with another creature, each of those creatures has "{1}{U}: Exile this creature, then return it to the battlefield under your control."

. Once he destroyed four lands, and tapped the other two I knew I was done. Game two I kept a sketchy hand of Torpor Orb

Torpor Orb
	Set: New Phyrexia Cost: 2 Color: Colorless Type: Artifact Rarity: R Number: 162 Artist: Svetlin Velinov Text: Creatures entering the battlefield don't cause abilities to trigger.

+ 1 land and did not get anything from my deck, leading to the loss of the match.

Round 7: Draw into top 8

Round 8: Delver
Game one my opponent was able to ride a turn one flipped Delver of Secrets

Delver of Secrets
	Set: Innistrad Cost: 1 Color: Blue Type: Creature Sub Type: Human Wizard Rarity: C Number: 51 Artist: Nils Hamm Power: 1 Toughness: 1 Text: At the beginning of your upkeep, look at the top card of your library. You may reveal that card. If an instant or sorcery card is revealed this way, transform Delver of Secrets.

and a Geist of Saint Traft

Geist of Saint Traft

Set: Innistrad
Cost: 3
Color: Multicolor
Type: Legendary Creature
Sub Type: Spirit Cleric
Rarity: M
Number: 213
Artist: Igor Kieryluk
Power: 2
Toughness: 2
Text: Hexproof (This creature can't be the target of spells or abilities your opponents control.) Whenever Geist of Saint Traft attacks, put a 4/4 white Angel creature token with flying onto the battlefield tapped and attacking. Exile that token at end of combat.

to victory. The second game, I was able to stabilize until a miracled Entreat the Angels

Entreat the Angels
	Set: Avacyn Restored Cost: 3 Color: White Type: Sorcery Rarity: M Number: 20 Artist: Todd Lockwood Text: Put X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying onto the battlefield. Miracle {X}{W}{W} (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

carried me to the victory. The final game was really close, with him countering my first two board-wiping spells, only to have me cast a third. Unfortunately, I drew four lands, thus rendering me unable to capitalize on the empty board.

All in all, it was a relatively amazing experience. I had been to several limited PTQs, but this was by far my best showing. If you are having some trouble against RG aggro decks, this is certainly one idea worth trying out.

Thanks for reading!

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