Lorwyn League: Week Three

The league table crystallises as the top contenders try to break ahead.

“If you’re here for Commander, it’s sold out,” said Kim.

“Nope,” said Derek. “I’m here for Standard.”

It’s three degrees in Bath. Heavy rain and twenty-five-mile-an-hour winds threaten the walls of a small game shop on a roundabout next to a sushi place. Inside, a crowd of people prepare to play a version of Dr. Richard Garfield’s Magic: The Gathering, a card game from the early 1990s. The Commander players crowd the store, spilling into the back room, where nine others shuffle smaller decks and wait for their first round pairings. This quieter group compete in a ten-week league, playing a more obscure variant of the game known as ‘Standard’.

“Nice!” said a pod of three at the back table. “We get to play Commander and watch real Magic at the same time!”

The league’s top contenders have all returned, sitting elbow-to-elbow and catching up on the week’s events. Dom leads the league. Surrounding him is Sami, the reigning champion; Alex, the aggro player; Roland, the brewer; and Derek, the newcomer, who went undefeated last week in his league debut. These four are all tied for second place - or would be, except that Roland ended one of his recent matches in a draw, inching him into second by a single point. With Dom, they make up the leaderboard’s top five places. Alex calls them the Lorwyn Five.

Tonight, these players are aiming to edge their way out of the pack. For others, it’s a chance to break through from below. Georgia returns tonight with her Rakdos deck built around The Infamous Cruelclaw. She’s currently tied for last in the standings.

“I just wanna get some points on the board,” she says. Georgia’s turned up with a well-crafted sideboard. She’s had two weeks to observe everyone’s decks and curate the perfect answers for them. With a hierarchy forming, Georgia wants to rattle the elites at the top.

Now, along with the others, she sits, waiting, in the moments before the night begins.

Round one pairings are up. Someone has the bye; there’s an odd number of players, gifting one of them a free win.

When Georgia checks her phone, she finds no opponent waiting for her.

“Points on the board!” says Alex, shuffling past her to take his seat.

“I wanna earn it!” she grumbles. Georgia takes her place to the side, watching Derek and Martin shuffle and cut each other’s decks. She frowns when Derek starts with a Watery Grave.

Georgia is prepared for Derek’s red and white fliers. Watery Grave generates blue and black mana. Martin’s normally the one on those colours. His first land is different, too - Floodfarm Verge, which taps for blue or white. Sami’s always been the white player, but he’s in the corner tapping two green to evoke an elemental creature; he’s casting abstract beings that represent deep emotions, with names like Vibrance and Deceit. Brandon, playing Avatar’s Allies last week, has borrowed Sami’s angels tonight. And Stephen, known for his Temur Battlecrier deck, has just cast No More Lies, a blue-and-white counterspell.

“It’s Spider-Man!” says Martin, flashing in Spectacular Spider-Man.

“I have my own!” replies Derek, casting Superior Spider-Man.

The two Spider-Men face off against each other, while Georgia stares in horror, her sideboard in shambles. Almost everyone has changed their strategy.

Alongside Roland’s meta-defying colorless ramp deck, the only people still playing the same decks are Alex and Dom, who face each other this round. It’s the red player’s chance to cement himself at the league’s top tier, but he’s lost game one and the second isn’t going much better. He’s only just holding off Dom’s Ouroboroid as it grows in strength, throwing chump blockers in the way until Dom clears the last remaining creature and swings with his juiced team, sending Alex from 18 down to 5 in a single turn. Dom’s still on 16 life, and that’s only because he hurt himself with his own lands in the early game. Dom passes to Alex, leaving himself undefended, but safe knowing Alex has an empty board.

Alex smiles, and casts Twisted Fealty.

This is the spell that lets Alex borrow one of Dom’s creatures for a single turn. He’s been stalling, keeping the Ouroboroid at bay while it made itself bigger and bigger. Now, with the green monster on Alex’s side, it becomes a deadly weapon aimed at its original owner. Alex doesn’t hesitate, striking Dom for lethal damage while his guard is down. They go to a tiebreaker game.

Next to them, Derek has cast Superior Spider-Man, which enters as a copy of any creature in his graveyard. He chooses the flying demon Doomsday Excruciator. When this creature enters play, it exiles every player’s entire deck, save for the bottom six cards. That puts both players on a short clock before their deck runs out of cards and they lose the game on the spot.

“I’ll trigger this, gain three life,” says Martin.

“Gain as much life as you like,” says Derek, who proceeds to run Martin out of cards.

Derek, too, needs this win to get a foothold on the league’s highest places, but Martin proves a formidable gatekeeper to the league’s highest highs. His blue-white enchantments deck closes it out; for the first time in league history, Derek loses a match.

As the round timer falls to critical levels, eyes fall on Alex, still locked in his final game with Dom in what might be the longest match of Magic the aggro player has ever endured. He has to mull to four, keeping two lands, a one-drop, and a Seek the Beast. This card is crucial for helping him recover his hand; the spell lets him access the next two cards of his deck, but only for use during the game’s next turn. When he casts it, he hits Twisted Fealty (the temporary creature-stealing spell) and Burn Together, a card that turns one of Alex’s creatures into a living grenade he can throw in any direction. The creature is destroyed, but inflicts damage on any target he chooses.

Alex has three lands, enough for Twisted Fealty but not enough to cast both cards. If he doesn’t cast them now, however, the terms of Seek the Beast mean he never can again. Dom has a Badgermole Cub and a Spider Manifestation, which itself taps for mana. Alex’s only out is, once again, to use Dom’s creatures against him.

Alex taps out to cast Twisted Fealty and steal the spider. Then, tapping the stolen creature to generate the last bit of mana needed for Burn Together, he throws the Spider Manifestation into Badgermole Cub and clears Dom’s board of threats.

“That’s pretty good,” says Dom. Now both players have an empty board, but Alex is out of tricks. Dom rebuilds before Alex can stop him, and wins the match as the round timer ticks down to zero.

While the next round gets underway, children buy hot chocolates and Twix bars. A couple peruse a gallery of shiny Pokémon cards in a glass cabinet. Someone in a Commander pod casts a Doubling Season and, thousands of miles away, Mark Rosewater smiles.

The second round is coming to a close. Derek has the bye, and spends the time watching a grindy match between Stephen and Roland, both on control decks. Stephen’s running blue and white, while Roland continues to boycott Magic’s colour pie altogether. It’s game two. Stephen’s on 17, Roland’s still on 20.

Alex wanders over, peering first at the round timer, then the board state. He’s just defeated Brandon, managing to overcome three consecutive copies of Authority of the Consuls.

“How’s it looking?” Alex asks.

“Looks like two control decks,” says Derek.

Martin joins the two spectators. “I lost to Wistfulness.”

“Been there,” says Alex. They watch the two control players trade resources in a chess-like dance. When Roland summons Ugin, the engine he uses to cheat out his deck and close out games, Stephen threatens it with Ezrim, Agency Chief, a mystical flying creature.

Check.

Roland attempts to destroy Ezrim, but Stephen can give the creature hexproof for the turn, protecting it from danger; so, in response to Roland’s kill spell, Stephen performs Ezrim’s trick. In a flash, Roland casts Get Lost before the protection can apply. Unable to activate the ability a second time, Stephen is forced to put his creature aside. The board is empty, save for Ugin.

Check.

On Stephen’s next turn, he invokes Aang’s Iceberg to take Ugin off the board. This works, but Roland casts his own Aang’s Iceberg to target Stephen’s Iceberg, removing the removal and getting the Ugin back. Stephen counters by re-summoning Ezrim, but Roland deploys a third Iceberg to put that on ice too.

Check.

The players are so invested in the back-and-forth that the entire room jolts when, from the front of the shop, a voice bellows, “five turns remaining!”

Their round has run out of time.

Roland has the advantage, but while ticking up Ugin every turn, he can’t kill Stephen quickly enough. They play through their final turns and shake hands with no winner. It appears Roland is about to add a second draw to his seasonal collection.

“No,” says Roland, correcting the spectators. “That was game two.”

With Roland winning the first game, and the second ending with no winner, Roland takes the match with a 1-0 result and adds three more points to the board.

There is one round left. Here’s how it’s looking for the Lorwyn Five:

1. Dom: 2-0.

2. Roland: 2-0.

3. Sami: 2-0.

4. Alex: 1-1 (lost to Dom).

5. Derek: 1-1 (lost to Martin).

Round three pairings are up.

“Hey, I got the bye!” says Brandon, wandering outside for a vape.

Sami and Roland are both undefeated, and face each other. One of them will win the night 3-0. Our third undefeated player, Dom, has to beat Martin to secure victory, further cementing Martin’s role as the gatekeeper. If you want to climb the league’s ladder, expect his rung to be well-guarded.

In game one, Martin immediately mulls to five. But Dom knows Martin had the biggest comeback of anyone in the league last season, fighting from last place to finish third in the standings. Martin keeps two lands, two Sheltered by Ghosts, and a Silent Hallcreeper.

On turn two, he plays the Hallcreeper, a creature that cannot be blocked from attack.

On turn three, he enchants his creature with the first Sheltered by Ghosts; this gives the Hallcreeper a protective ward, the ability to gain life, and removes Dom’s Badgermole Cub from the board all at once. Martin swings with an attack that can’t be stopped.

On turn four, he blesses his creature again with the last card in his hand, the other Sheltered by Ghosts, granting further protections and taking Ouroboroid from the board.

“What a hand!” says Dom, shaking his head in disbelief as Martin steals the first game.

While our top players compete for their final points, Georgia is in a cold war with Alex, fighting for her last shot at earning points on the board. Alex won the first game, and now he’s attacking her with a Slickshot Show-Off, a magical bird in a stetson. It’s a bird, a wizard, and a cowboy, and can increase its own power whenever Alex casts other spells. Alex has the cards to pump the bird’s strength to lethal levels, but casting them would leave him vulnerable to a kill spell. Georgia has the kill spell in hand, but won’t risk casting it while Alex can respond. It’s a quick-draw shootout, with both players hovering at the trigger, both hoping to catch the other unaware.

Georgia lets Alex draw cards and chip away at her life total, neither of them firing their gun first. But the status quo benefits Alex; the threat has to be dealt with, or Georgia will eventually lose the game, and with it, her last chance tonight to earn points of her own.

When Alex goes to combat again, Georgia takes the first shot.

“Cast Requiting Hex.”

“Cast Blossoming Defence,” says Alex. Georgia’s hex should kill the bird, but Alex’s protection spell will save it.

“Cast another Requiting Hex,” says Georgia.

“Cast another Blossoming Defence.”

Georgia’s spent all her mana, and can fire no more bullets. The stack of spells resolves. Alex’s spells all boost the bird and it swipes for 9, taking nearly half Georgia’s life in one swing.

The bird lands back on Alex’s side, shrunk back to its original size, as he ends his turn.

Georgia untaps her lands, reloading for another volley, and -

“Tragic Trajectory,” she says. This spell kills weak creatures, perfect while the Slickshot’s magic has worn off.

“Giant Growth,” Alex fires back, growing the Slickshot out of lethal range.

“Requiting Hex!” cries Georgia, firing the last round in her chamber.

Alex is out of ammo. His lands are all tapped out. The bird is banished to Alex’s graveyard, which spills across the table with all the other spells he cast to try and save it.

Having vanquished her enemy, Georgia plays the nightmarish Fear of Missing Out, a spider-like horror with wailing ghouls pouring from its mouth. This creature gets supercharged by the graveyard; it can attack twice if enough different cards have been buried during the game. Thanks to the shootout, her creature powers up.

Alex is out of cards and out of luck. He can’t stop Georgia from sending him to zero. They’re tied, and must play one final game.

Across the room, Roland is also out of options. He’s talking aloud to himself, narrating his own demise at Sami’s hand.

“Yep, that’ll do it,” he mutters. “Nothing I can do here, and draw -” he glances at his last card of the night - “and I’m dead.” Roland shakes Sami’s hand. The champion is back on form. It’s Sami’s first undefeated night this season. He only needed two to win the last one.

Back at the table, Alex and Georgia begin game three. This time, Alex doesn’t hesitate to strike. With Georgia down to 14, he pumps one of his creatures to hit for 7, then casts one final Burn Together, throwing the other 7 directly at her life total.

Georgia will get more points on the board, but not tonight.

Next to them, a set of giant dice is scooped into a fabric bag as another match ends. Dom stands and stretches his back. Martin defended well, but has let another challenger past the gate.

The result ripples through the room as the night’s contenders realise what’s happened: Sami and Dom have both finished 3-0, and for the first time in the league’s history, the night finishes with two undefeated players.

Overall, Sami surges ahead of the pack. He sits in second, just behind Dom, who retains first place with a six-point lead. Roland, Alex and Derek remain tied behind them (save for Roland’s single-point advantage), rounding out the top five. Derek would be second if he hadn’t been denied by Martin, who sits one place back in sixth.

As they leave, Dom says to no-one in particular, “I reckon I’ve only got a couple more of these in me. It’s a pain, this commute.”

There are seven weeks left.