with Theo Manley
featuring Patrick Dickman
OK guys here it goes again. I've said it before and I'll say it again I'm not a writer. I'm typing this on my tablet, and I'm not the greatest with grammar, but I know Twin like the back of my hand, and my experience in Worcester is full of info. So please just try to get past my writing skills and take the info for what it is. With that said here it is:
Hi everyone, my name is Theo Manley and I've been playing magic since the beginning of Time . It's the one thing in my life I've always had the most passion for and modern is my favorite format. I've been on Twin since day one, and have played every iteration of the deck. This is my story of GP Worcester and the months leading into it.
My journey starts in Richmond where I had the worst showing with the deck ever in my life. I went 2-4 drop with one bye. So I only won one match with the deck. The funny thing is, that's the best thing that could have happened to me. See after dropping from the main event I was outside collecting my thoughts, when I hear someone asking for a light. I look up, and see Patrick Dickmann standing in front of me. I give him a light, and say hey your name is Patrick right? He says, "Yes it is." I respond with " dude you are hands down the best twin player in the world ". That's when his friend Valentin mackl says " ha ! He is how you say scrub" and they laugh. That's when it happens, the moment that I become friends with 2 of the best in the world. I say " now he is no Valentin Mackl but he is alright. They laugh and we hang out after every round day one and two.
Now I know you are thinking, what's this have to do with Worcester? Well everything. They asked me which version I was playing and I tell them American. The frown a little and ask my recor . I say dead, and they laugh and say it's because America wins only in war and Olympics! I laugh. Dickman asks how long I been on twin in general, and why I chose this version. He asks to see it. He tells me,
"It's too cute and all over the place need to tune it to do one thing or the other."
I agree and he tells me to add him on Facebook.
Well between then and now I've been chatting with him day to day . Watching his streams and speaking with Mackl as well . They tell me to go back to the roots and start over so I do I take it back to U/r Twin with ancient grudge . I start playing games. They then tell me to find an angle to make my own like they did with goyf . This because I own no goyfs . I start testing with mystic snake and void slime . I find I like snake but not voidslime so I cut the slimes and start running 2 snakes main . My idea was to become a rug control deck from the board in my bad match ups and twin out in the good ones . It tested well I didn't get a chance to speak with my European mentors for the 2 weeks leading up to Worcester because we were testing with our respective teams . I was set on playing my new idea with extra counters main and a transitional sideboard and telling times!
I get to the event center early Friday afternoon . With plans to play in some side events and hit the vendors instead I run into Dickman and we grab a table to talk. I ask him to look at my list and tell me what he thinks. He looks at it and when he gets to snake he frowns. "Can I be how you say blunt ?"
I answer yeah we are friends honesty is welcomed.
"This card is trash! It is a bad cryptic, and a bad snap caster." Don't play this card for twin.... ever."
You need to play a tight list I like you trying out telling time and more counters just not snake. He tells me to cut snake for cryptic number 2 and remove the transitional board. I listen to him and do just that, he knocked some sense into me.
So I go back to my hotel and I register this list:
Creatures: (12)
4 pestermite
2 deceiver exarch
4 snapcaster Mage
1 Kiki jiki
1 spellskite
Spells: (26)
4 splinter twin
4 remand
3 serum visions
2 gitaxian probe
2 telling time
1 spell snare
1 spell pierce
1 dispel
2 cryptic command
3 lightning bolts
2 flame slash
1 electrolyze
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Lands: (22)
4 steam vents
4 sulfur falls
4 islands
1 mountain
1 stomping ground
1 breeding pool
1 desolate lighthouse
4 scalding tarn
2 misty rainforest
Sideboard: (15)
2 pillar of flame
3 ancient grudge
2 anger of the gods
1 dispel
1 spell pierce
1 spell snare
2 combust
1 batterskull
2 Keranos
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I go to bed and wake up at 6 am shower get my free breakfast and walk the 1 block with my teammates. I have zero byes but I'm ready to come out swinging. I feel great I feel confident in my list I have day 2'd before I can do it again.
Round one fight! My opponent is Jon, not with an h he informs. I introduce myself and begin shuffling . We roll off and I win. I draw my seven and it's perfect. Island, tarn, sulfur falls, pestermite, twin, visions, remand. I play island visions draw steam vents scry see dispel and something I drop to bottom pass turn. He plays tron land map pass I win on turn 4 . He says yup game one is almost always like that . We sideboard I side out 3 bolts,the dispel, and the electrolyze for the 3 grudge, snare and spell pierce . I never seen a colored spell from him so didn't know which version he was but wanted to protect my combo. I mull to 6 with island, sulfur falls,probe, twin, grudge, exarch. He plays mine map go. I draw remand. Probe him to see spellskite, torpor, orb torpor orb, o-stone, and lands.
I'm scared a little but, I draw spell snare off of the top. Play island go. He plays land orb I counter it with snare. He passes. I draw a fetch. Play sulfur falls pass. He plays the last tron land and I'm in trouble. He plays orb, I remand, draw grudge he plays spell skites, and stone passes back. I draw pestermite. Play tarn pass. He goes cracks map gets tower plays it then orb which resolves. Passes back to me, I grudge his orb, he redirects to skite. I crack fetch, stomping ground, flash back grudge on orb. Draw remand for turn pass back to him. He plays grove of burn willows sylvan Scrying for a tower. Passes turn. He is flooding I grudge the stone. Draw island play it pass. He draws, and asks, if I have it? I do not answer he passes I play pestermite, untap twin, and he says if you would have shown me I would have scooped. I said, "you have 4 cards in hand", he shows me 4 lands. I shake his hand, sign my slip, and drop it in the box.
....Guess I had a bye after all .
1-0
Round 2 I play a guy named Jason who informs he has brand new sleeves due to a judge making re sleeve . I say I'll be extremely careful . He shuffles and I pick his deck up and drop half of it face up in my lap. I immediately raise my hand scream judge and apologize. I try not to look because I don't like cheating the judges comes over I say I need a warning for looking at cards and make the judge get the cards from my lap. Now I know that sense I was getting a warning I could look to see what cards were face up in my lap but I don't role like that that's not Theo . He reshuffles and I just cut it . I won the die roll and was on the play . I probe him and it's junk ! Great round 2 and here we go . I draw from probe . I don't remember all the plays from this game because it ends pretty quick .
He goes and cast either thoughtseize or inquisition and take an exarch I go play a land pass he cast the other discard spell I have twin telling time a land and dispel . In response I cast telling time and see pestermite exarch and land . What I do here is just a chance I was willing to take I put exarch into my hand pestermite on top and land on bottom and he takes the exarch. Perfect. I didn't want him to take my twin. And by casting telling time in response, I could immediately start to come back from the disruption. He plays land 3 and plays goyf or bob, not sure exactly, and passes. I draw the pestermite play land go he plays lili plus one I discard dispel he moves to attacks, I play pestermite tap goyf with my trigger on stack, he slaughter pacts my guy. Passes turn I draw the land play it with just twin in hand and pass turn.
He draws. Yes that is right he draws a card and doesn't pay for pact I couldn't yell judge louder!
Yup. won a game I couldn't dream of winning. Game 3 he plays a first turn Grafdiggers cage. I am a little confused, but snap caster is a card. I draw all 4 snaps that game and lose. Game three I play keranos and we grind out one hell of a game which he wins in the end by one draw. I drew a land with keranos and drew another one off his trigger. It was a lot closer than I thought. I was ok with this loss, and seen where I can actually win the matchup! He actually thanked me for the judge call and good games because he is trying to play a lot tighter. He was good.
1-1
Round 3 play tron once again. Win on turn 4 twice!
2-1
Round 4 play affinity a nice younger kid named Nate.
I keep three lands bolt-snap-bolt. Win. Draw snare exarch twin and win on turn 4 .game 2 his turn 4 he taps out to play blood moon with me having 3 lands open. I flash in pestermite in response, he attacks me to 6, I play twin, and win turn 4!
3-1
Round 5 I play a guy name mark from Albany that I've played in local ptq's twice. I win the roll and we get down to business after asking how each other's trips were. I play fetch get a steam vents untapped and he calls the vision I draw my 4th land with combo in hand and dispel back up pass turn and get double archive trapped! I lose a lot of lands. He goes and plays crab. Passes back I play island pass he plays a fetch, mills 3, cracks fetch mills 3, and glimpses me for ten more. I play telling time, putting a stomping ground to the bottom, draw, play a land pass. He plays land, mills me 3, plays thought scour, mills me 2, ....I have like 9 cards left. He casts glimpse, I cast pestermite in response, untap island, snare the the glimpse, draw play fetch, crack fetch, stomping ground is last land in deck. Play twin and win! We side board and I twin out on turn 6 with double dispel back up . I show him what I boarded and he tells me not to cut bolts in match up because snap bolt is best against him . I thank him and wish him luck .
4-1
Round 6 is my favorite round of the day! I play a guy named Jay who owns a shop in Connecticut. He wins the roll and plays first we play a long game of draw go as I put him on twin after he casts 3 visions and 2 remands. I'm able to win on turn 10 with nine lands in play. I have a pestermite that has been out 3 turns. I draw Kiki for the turn with cryptic and remand in hand my opponent has 5 untapped islands I play twin he casts cryptic. I think for a second and put him on swan song in hand so I let cryptic resolve as he chose counter draw. I then tap 5 for Kiki and he shows me swan song I win. Game 2 he plays thrun on turn 4 and that's what kills me, so now I put him on goyf twin after not seeing any green mana game one . Game three I lose to 3 goyfs with 2 combusts in hand. After he wins I go to shake his hand and he informs there is no twins or exarch effects in his 75! I tell him, well played! Bluffed me hard! He was just rug control.
4-2
Round 7 I play against the craziest list ever seen in modern. His name is Oliver and his list should be on reddit as he informed he was posting after the event. The deck is called mana laundering. So I win the roll and play first. Island vision draw exarch scry 2 lands to bottom. He goes plays darksteel citadel into dimir signet. Pass. I draw telling time play land pass he goes plays black blue filter taps citadel to activate signet uses blue to filter into double black with a black floating from signet to cast phalactary lich. Yes turn 2 lich in an esper deck! I play telling time. Draw play land, pass. He draws moves to attacks, I deceiver his lich down, he then plays black white filter activates signet to filter the blue into double black, and the black into double black to cast obliterator on turn 3, in a 3 color deck. Then casts slaughter pact on deceiver. I draw play land pass with remand cryptic land twin in hand. He draws. Yup he draws a cards and doesn't pay for pact! I win again because of pact! I can't believe it.
So we go to board I tank for a bit on what side here. He informs me he has 10 cards for the match up, so I side out 2 flame slash, and electrolyze, for 3 ancient grudge. The game starts the same exact way except turn 4 he plays thoughtseize in response, flash in exarch, he takes remand when I have pestermite, and twin in hand. He then casts Linvala and my shoulders slump, I sided out flame slash. Two turns go by, and I'm at ten with an exarch and pestermite in play, a twin that he knows, about and a mite he doesn't. He moves to attacks, and I play pestermite, tap obliterato,r he attacks with lich and Linvala! Yup that's right folks, he gives me the game! I double block Linvala, take 5, untap, and twin for win. He was so upset. I told him the deck was gas, and he just needs to slow down when he plays. To just get comfortable with his plays. He thanks me, and shakes my hand!
5-2 (2more rounds and I'm good )
Round 8 I play a guy that had the same shirt as the shop owner I played earlier. I introduce myself we chat while shuffling . His name is bobby . He wins roll and plays fetch into swamp thought seize I lose to junk again ! ! ! Not looking good for day 2. We sideboard. He mulls to 5 and I combo on turn 5. Game 3 is the best and worst magic I have ever played. It's a long Grindy game I fight through 3 thought seize, an inquisition, 2 Lilliana's, and a lot of removal to get this state. I'm at 3 with keranos in play with six lands my hand is dispel cryptic batterskull . I have returned batterskull to hand twice now. He has no cards in hand 4 normal lands a stirring wild woods and tree top village. I have this game , I stabilized and am in control I've played the best magic of my life against my worst match up and I'm going to be rewarded for all my hard work with the deck .
Then he activates stirring wildwood, and says move to combat. I make the worst play ever! Instead of casting cryptic to tap his guy I choose to bounce it in response he taps it for green and activates treetop I draw not a bolt and die ! One little play mistake and my run is over with! I was so mad at myself. I told him well played signed the slip wish him luck walked away and raged outside for a cig. I had failed myself!
5-3 drop!
But, what I have learned is never give up. Even when there is no way to win because sometimes people will give you a game for no reason. Always play what you know for big events . Think outside the box, but stay very close to it! Telling time is really good. Like really, really, good in twin .And anytime you bring in keranos you want both spell snares since the 2 spells that can deal with it costs 2. I learned that I need to work on side boarding and just playing tighter with cryptic command. If I could go back and change anything I wouldn't change one card . The list was golden, my play was not. Make sure you eat food and drink water at big events . I was drained, and it might have been a factor. Not trying to make excuses, because it's my fault just sharing what I learned.
Hope I did ok. Thanks for reading!
-Theo
You can connect with Theo on FB.
Theo is an active contributor to the BSB group,
and is a tournament grinder. Standard/Modern is
what Theo mainly plays.
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