VML Season 13 Top 32 Player Showcase
It is the round of 32 here at the VML, the first round in playoffs that feature players who got first in their division. Those players will choose to be on the play game 1, as they will be the higher seed this round. Today, I interviewed five players that I haven’t interviewed this season.
The Moon Sage
The Moon Sage finished the main season with a 5-2 record, winning their division. They played almost exclusively Gruul Prowess, and are sticking with it this week against Emily Anders on Boros Token Control.
Why did you choose your deck this week?
I chose to play Gruul Prowess this week because I believe it is the best deck in the current format, and it is the deck I have the most experience playing.
How do you feel about your matchup?
I am honestly quite unsure about this matchup. My opponent only has two Bezas mainboard and no Temporary Lockdowns in her 75, but there is a LOT of spot removal that exiles in her list.
What does your testing process look like?
My testing process typically consists of planning how I’m going to sideboard and reviewing my opponents decklist. If I have time I like to play practice matches with my testing team, but a lot of weeks it can be hard to find time for that as I am a full time student.
What was your hardest match this season?
My hardest match this season was my week 6 match against Sophie Miller. She’s a really good player and the deck matchup was harder than expected
What goals do you have for the season and have those goals changed now that you’re in top 32?
Going into this season of VML my goals were to have fun playing magic and get some standard testing in for the many upcoming standard events. Now that I am in top 32 I’m really hoping to make top 8 to get an invite to the VML Championships and an RC invite.
What does the VML mean to you?
VML to me is an inclusive environment where I get to play the game I love while making connections with others
Noor Singh
This is Noor’s 7th season and her 6th time in playoffs. Fae used many different decks to win her division, and is playing Dimir Midrange this week. Her opponent Brittney brought Azorius Token Control.
Why did you choose your deck this week?
My opponent this week switched decks frequently so I wanted to pick something she couldn’t metagame against. I landed on dimir midrange, because enduring curiosity has been an incredible upgrade for the deck and it features a different spread than my usual decks do.
How do you feel about your matchup?
I feel slightly optimistic about the matchup, MonoW tokens is a slightly clunky deck. Ironically, my usual decks beat up on tokens much harder than dimir does.
What does your testing process look like?
I don’t test much for VML these days, for important matches, I’ll play a couple testing matches, this week I tested with my partner Talia
What was your hardest match this season?
I can’t really say, matches all ask for different things. My week two vs Kansaki was the most difficult so far since I played a janky brew week 1 and forgot to resubmit for week two.
What goals do you have for the season and have those goals changed now that you’re in top 32?
My goal for this season is to top8 since this is the first RCQ season I haven’t qualified for the RC and I’m hungry to play at one in driving distance (Portland).
What does the VML mean to you?
The VML is an incredible group for community building and networking and I’m so glad I get to be part of it, I’ve met so many cool people through it and it’s really nice to watch people grow from season to season.
Cora Sabriel Stobie
Cora is playing her 5th VML season, and made top 32 in the previous four. She’s playing Dimir Control versus Catra on Dimir Demons.
Why did you choose your deck this week?
After trying to pick a different deck each week in the Round Robin I had repeated a deck choice for the wildcard round. So I felt I had to pivot this week and picked a deck I had not played before but which belonged to an archetype I am very comfortable on.
How did your match go?
I got pretty lucky and won 2-0. The games were incredibly close and came down to extremely narrow margins. I had to make some difficult calls to let some Faerie Masterminds draw a bunch of extra cards just to line up a potential lethal line in game 1, with my one copy of The End extracting all Jaces. Game 2 was similar but with Unholy Annex on the opposing field making me feel like the underdog for the whole game. Unfortunately for Catra I drew in to Cavern of Souls when she was holding counterspells both games.
What does your testing process look like?
I grind on ladder with the general deck idea, then if I like the concept I throw the deck at my teammates, the Innkeepers. We theorycraft it and I make some whacky additions, then I hit ladder again or test against the team if I have a hard read on a match-up. We also sometimes go over sideboarding philosophy, and share our recordings of our matches for critical feedback (shout out to catgirlmom for our debates on Optimal Plays (TM)).
What was your hardest match this season?
Either Round 3 against Randomchild where they annihilated my Orzhov Faeblade deck with Orzhov Midrange (I also made some non-trivial mistakes I am not proud of), or the Wildcard Round against TheMightyLinguine which I lucked out on by building Phlage (equipping Overlord of the Boilerworks with Dissection Tools).
What goals do you have for the season and have those goals changed now that you’re in top 32?
I’ve made it to the top 32 in VMLs 9, 10, 11, and 12. I’ve then consistently lost the top 32 match. My goal was to at least make top 32 again for consistency reasons, but I’m tentatively hoping to make top 8 so I can qualify for the RC and visit my gf and bf in Europe.
What does the VML mean to you?
The VML is an incredible community to meet like-minded folk and very cool and knowledgeable players. This season my division was the most stacked I’ve been in yet, and it was an honour to fight through such formidable players. But the highlight for me this season has been my testing team, the Innkeepers, who have been full of fun, amazing insights, critical feedback and genuine delight. I hugely appreciate all of you for making this season unforgettable.
Worldwaker2
Season 12 Champion Worldwaker2 is back in their second season. They played a variety of decks in their division, and are playing the Temur Otters combo deck that Sanctum of All brought to worlds. Her opponent is BarelyRebecca, playing Rakdos Lizards.
Why did you choose your deck this week?
I think otters might be the most powerful deck in the format when piloted right, and I thought I was able to tune it to be good into what my opponent was most likely going to bring,
How do you feel about your matchup?
Good! I’m confident in my deck’s inherent power, and I think my interaction lines up really well into Lizards.
What does your testing process look like?
This season I haven’t been able to put in as much time into VML, so I usually try to get a match or two in of whatever matchup I’m playing with a friend and develop an approach & sideboard theory from there.
What was your hardest match this season?
Probably week 4, when I played 60 card sealed against Ryan. We were both working with the same sealed pool so the margins were pretty tight.
What goals do you have for the season and have those goals changed now that you’re in top 32?
My goal is the RC invite. Getting back to back season titles would be cool too though.
What does the VML mean to you?
Community. Possibly my favorite tournament format.
Violet Viatt
VioletViatt won Season 11 in her first season, and is back in playoffs. She’s played mostly control decks this season and is sticking to that on Azorius Token Control against Ashame on Dimir Midrange.
Why did you choose your deck this week?
I expected UB midrange, with a smaller chance of UW oculus from my opponent. I liked the efficient and exile-based removal of caretakers, and the fact that UB struggles with removing caretakers once it resolves.
How do you feel about your matchup?
I feel great, I think my opponent built their maindeck expecting caretakers, but in testing the lack of Kaito or other value engines seemed to cause difficulties with the UB deck gaining value in the midgame.
What does your testing process look like?
Most of it happens in deckbuilding, I think the structure of VML makes this the most important thing to focus on. I do usually play a few matches with the exact decklists, and crowdsource a sideboard plan from my testing groups.
What was your hardest match this season?
I would say my wildcard round was the hardest, I missed a little bit on my deck expectation, and it caused a worse matchup than I’m used to in the VML.
What goals do you have for the season and have those goals changed now that you’re in top 32?
Win (:
What does the VML mean to you?
I think it’s a really cool tournament structure.