Result: 6-3
I feel like the beneficiary of matchmaking variance for this event, in that I had some non-games and my opponents had some great turn-2 bombs that I couldn't deal with. Wasn't my most powerful deck so it feels great to get six wins with this one.
Draft
I first-picked Uthros Psionicist over nothing too exciting. I have a lot of respect for this card. I hate seeing one on my opponent's side. In pack two: Gigastorm Titan. It's happening, we're doing it. The double spells deck is our gameplan. Pack three, I pick up All-Fates Stalker over Alpharael, Dreaming Acolyte. It's fine removal and it plays well with the double-spell plan. I took Susurian Voidborn fourth over Hullcarver. Not sure that was right. Hullcarver seems better on average. Voidborn seems like it should be good but it doesn't often get there. Maybe taking the uncommon over the common on spec. I make a mistake in pack six taking Germinating Wurm. I should have taken Illvoi Galeblade. What was I thinking? I want to be blue and it costs 1 so it's basically Lotus Petal that attacks and draws a card with the Psionicist in play. I get one seventh, but I could've taken Nutrient Block to spec on artifact synergies. In retrospect I would have liked Lost in Space more than Auxiliary Boosters. Alpharael 11th is a good sign.
Pack two, I take Mouth of the Storm over Vote Out. I think this card is basically a bomb, it dominates any board the turn it's played and sometimes it wins you the game outright. In pack two, I speculate on a Breeding Pool over basically nothing. Mental Modulation? Pick three is an interesting one for me. I'm looking at:
The smart pick is probably Cryogen Relic, which has the highest win rate of the group by far. But I take Starwinder because it's a rare and looks cool. (Turns out, it was cool). I'm focusing on taking blue cards because I don't know whether I want to be black or white. Seventh pick Creeping Tar Pit makes up my mind. This card is a bomb too, right? 60% game-in-hand winrate on 17lands and it's in my colors and I got it seventh pick. Yet I take a mid white card eighth.
It's a little disappointing but I don't hate first-picking a second Virus Beetle out of pack three. The blue cards are flowing. Watery Grave is an amazing gift. Despite feeling like I'm in the right colors, the rest of the pack wasn't great. I guess I'm not the only one in blue.
Deckbuilding
Because I have the nonbasic lands, I decide to splash for All-Fates Stalker. It's a lot better than whatever would replace it. Lost in Space number three? Gravblade Heavy? One Plains gives me 11 blue 8 black and 2 white sources. After reviewing the deck, I replaced my second Mental Modulation with the second Lost in Space. I like the look of the deck for the most part, despite it appearing mana-hungry.
Gameplay
I got a few free wins in this one. My first-round opponent gave up at turn six when we had roughly equivalent boards and I had five cards in hand to their zero. To be fair, though they don't know it, my hand was indeed pretty good and I was feeling great. I'm not sure what happened to my second opponent but they conceded on turn six with Plains, 4 Mountain, and two 1/1s in play, six cards in hand. I lose the next game to an aggresive RW deck with turn one Kavaron Harrier into turn two Lumen-Class Frigate. Must be nice!
This deck felt very complex. I'm not sure I piloted it the best. It felt like on any turn you could have two or three impactful decisions. Do I flash in All-Fates Stalker, do I crack the Relic, do I attack with Creeping Tar Pit?
Creeping Tar-Pit is a bomb, by the way. It can't be blocked, it hits for 3! I get to play a turn 4 Gigastorm Titan into Psionicist. I did the thing!
I had an intense game with a BR deck. I stabilized at 6 but my opponent had Dubious Delicacy in hand so I'm virtually at 3. There's a Perigee Beckoner and a Timeline Culler waiting for me in the warp zone. They're stuck on four lands, though. I get both of my big fliers into play. Once I have ample blockers, I attack for lethal and prompt my opponent to gain life with the Delicacy. Starwinder draws me 4 cards. I could have had another 6 from Mouth of the Storm but having a full hand of cards and several unblockable creatures turned this one around.
I lost my last game to turn two Sunset Saboteur. I simply did not have the tools to deal with it. The games I lose are mostly from not having enough defensive speed -- in two of them, I die on turn 7 with six lands in play and Mouth of the Storm in hand. In two of them, my opponent played a turn 2 bomb. I did win a game with four lands and Uthros Psionicist in play.
Starwinder was good in a few games and did draw me a lot of cards. It feels a little win-more but maybe it's a good control win-condition. It's a leviathan that draws cards and can even be cast as a Deep Analysis sometimes. The Relic probably would've been better, though. Alpharael was fine. I don't think I even saw the Susurian Voidborn. Virus Beetle was good, Psionicist was awesome. I only saw All-Fates Stalker once, I think, but it was very good in the game I played it. I think my mana was close to perfect, the Plains never felt like a mistake. Illvoi Light Jammer is nice to have. The deck doesn't feel like a 6-3 deck to me so I think I benefitted from the free games. It was fun to play.