Top 4 at F2F Edmonton with 5c Niv to Light

I got pretty lucky.

F2F Edmonton was coming around the corner, and frankly, I wasn't sure what I was going to play. My first foray into the format was a combo-centric build of GB Elves, with a couple of Panharmonicons and a Woodland Bellower for spice. It did quite well against the heavy amounts of midrange that was in Calgary, but was basically an auto-loss to Mono-Red decks. Following that, I built the deck that I played in Modern, 5c Niv to Light.

I hated it.

The mana felt inconsistent and the answers were poor. It felt like it just folded to combo, and I wasn't very high on the deck, especially after playing some very poor games against Mono-G Ramp and even Mono-Red. But I didn't really have anything else, and it was a deck I had at least an amount of experience playing. The night before, I stayed up quite late to figure out some deckbuilding choices, which I'll go over now.

Here's the list:
Creatures (15)
2 Paradise Druid
4 Sylvan Caryatid
2 Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wrath
1 Hostage Taker
2 Siege Rhino
3 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
1 Tolsimir, Friend to Wolves
Planeswalkers (5)
4 Teferi, Time Raveler
1 Nahiri, the Harbinger
Spells (14)
1 Thoughtseize
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Dreadbore
1 Slaughter Games
1 Solar Blaze
1 Utter End
4 Bring to Light
1 Hour of Devastation
1 Repudiate // Replicate
Lands (27)
2 Blooming Marsh
2 Breeding Pool
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hinterland Harbor
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Sunpetal Grove
2 Temple Garden
1 Watery Grave
1 Woodland Cemetery
1 Frontier Bivouac
1 Sandsteppe Citadel
2 Mana Confluence
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
1 Forest
4 Fabled Passage
Sideboard (15)
1 Infernal Reckoning
3 Thoughtseize
2 Voice of Resurgence
1 Rakdos’s Return
1 Rest in Peace
1 Selesnya Charm
1 Thought Erasure
2 Mystical Dispute
1 Deafening Clarion
1 Questing Beast
1 Enter the God-Eternals

The two copies of Siege Rhino and single copy of Tolsimir was a concession to the fact that I was playing in Alberta. I knew Mono-Red decks were still popular. Indeed, it was the most popular deck at the event, along with UW Control. I went with trilands over Temples purely because I believed Paradise Druid was better over Gilded Goose. I moved up to three Abrupt Decay to fight the aggro, as well as Hour of Devastation.

Then there's the 61st card. I love Repudiate // Replicate in Modern, and I believe that it's very good in Pioneer. It gives you game against Inverter and Ballista combo, and there are more creatures to copy with the Replicate side, though you rarely cast it. I didn't know what to replace in the maindeck, so I simply added it in.

Matchups:
UW Control (2-0)
	My first and second rounds were against UW Control. The first round felt like a bye unfortunately, as my opponent was missing on land drops. The second round was a very tough grind. A 43 minute G1 ended basically when my opponent couldn't clock me with 2 Dream Trawlers because their deck was too small, and my life total was too high due to Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath. Dream Trawler tapping down when given hexproof was a very big deal, as it allowed Tolsimir and Voja to take care of a Teferi, Hero of Dominaria + Narset on board. This matchup seems close, but I think Niv can definitely outgrind UW, mainly due to Uro.

	Sideboard:
	In: 2 Voice of Resurgence, 1 Rakdos’s Return, 2 Mystical Dispute, 1 Questing Beast
	Out: 1 Hostage Taker, 2 Siege Rhino, 1 Slaughter Games, 1 Tolsimir, 1 Bring to Light

Izzet Ensoul (1-0)
	My third round was against Izzet Ensoul. Sylvan Caryatid was a very big deal in this matchup, as blocking a Stonecoil Serpent was huge. Paradise Druid was similar, and trading is pretty nice. Hour of Devastation overperformed here, as it takes care of basically every creature, including Hazoret. Obviously, Infernal Reckoning carried in game two. At the end of game two, I swung in with a Niv for lethal. My opponent Shrapnel Blasts Niv, saccing a Hangerback Walker, with the hope of blocking and killing Niv. Fortunately, an extremely sick Repudiate to counter the death trigger sealed the game.

	Sideboard:
	In: 1 Infernal Reckoning, 1 Selesnya Charm, 1 Enter the God-Eternals
	Out: 1 Thoughtseize, 1 Niv-Mizzet Reborn, 1 Bring to Light

5c Niv to Light (1-0)
	Man, the mirror is incredibly stressful. Game 1, I cast a Teferi, Time Raveler on turn 3, and a Slaughter Games on turn 5, naming Niv-Mizzet Reborn. I looked at his hand, and cried a little, as I saw a very dead Bring to Light in their hand. This was swiftly followed up in Game 2 by the exact same scenario, except in reverse. Game 3, I had a Teferi out once more, and a couple of Bring to Lights. I decided that the correct play was to BtL for Niv, as the only way I get punished was for my opponent to naturally have Niv. I get a couple of cards, but he punishes me with his own Niv. They end up trading, and I follow up with a second Niv from BtL, as I figure the window for Slaughter Games is over, and I need to start being the beatdown. I completely whiff for the first time ever with Niv, but having a 6/6 is plenty fine. He stumbles on lands, and I follow up with Uro, but I start to run out of gas. He eventually drops a T3feri, which I respond to with instant-speed BtL for Questing Beast. After a stressful few minutes, I manage to punch through with the few creatures I had. Uro was insane for my opponent, allowing him to stabilize his life total while adding to the board. Fortunately, my opponent also makes top 8, which I was very happy about.

	Sideboard:
	In: 1 Rakdos’s Return, 1 Selesnya Charm, 2 Mystical Dispute, 1 Questing Beast
	Out: 2 Siege Rhino, 1 Solar Blaze, 1 Hour of Devastation, 1 Tolsimir

Mono-Red Aggro (2-0)
	After the mirror, I played against two Mono-Red aggro decks. The first match, Siege Rhino and Hour of Devastation were all-stars, and Tolsimir finished the game very well.
	My win and in was supremely unfortunate, as my opponent got a game loss for a deck error. I doubt that they were cheating, but it was very unfortunate how it played out. Game 2, I stabilized with Hour of Devastation into Siege Rhino to end the game.

	Sideboard:
	In: 2 Voice of Resurgence, 1 Deafening Clarion, 1 Enter the God-Eternals
	Out: 1 Hostage Taker, 1 Thoughtseize, 1 Slaughter Games, 1 Repudiate // Replicate

Sultai Delirium (1-0)
	My top 8 was against Sultai Delirium, which I was very confident in facing. In Game 1, even though I got wrecked by To the Slaughter, my hand was incredibly stacked, and I found enough land drops to start outvaluing my opponent. BtL to Utter End their Uro was backbreaking for sure, and he stumbled on lands, allowing me to pull ahead. Game 2 was also a grind. I was hoping to find my game-ending Rest in Peace, but it wasn't needed, and Niv-Mizzet + Uro gained me enough value against his Uro to fight through to Top 4.

	Sideboard:
	In: 1 Rest in Peace, 1 Selesnya Charm, 1 Questing Beast
	Out: 1 Slaughter Games, 1 Solar Blaze, 1 Tolsimir

Bant Spirits (0-2-1)
	Bant Spirits was the only deck I lost to, both in Swiss and Top 8. Mausoleum Wanderer is a very annoying card. My hope in the matchup is landing Teferi, and being able to deal with the early threats to lead into a game winning Niv. The Swiss games were close, but in top 4, I stumbled on mana, and I missed a game-winning Hour of Devastation when I couldn't find my 3rd land drop with two dorks. It would have unlocked a Caryatid under a Spell Queller, allowing me to stabilize with a relatively fine board. Alas, I missed, and Top 4 was where I ended.

	Sideboard:
	In: 2 Mystical Dispute, 2 Voice of Resurgence, 1 Questing Beast
	Out: 1 Thoughtseize, 1 Solar Blaze, 1 Slaughter Games, 1 Repudiate // Replicate, 1 Bring to Light

Conclusions
	Overall, I felt like I played very well, but I also recognize that I dodged quite a few bad matchups, such as Inverter, Lotus Breach, and Mono-G Ramp. I was under-prepared for Bant Spirits, and got punished for it, but I was able to fight off the Mono-Red that was around. Solar Blaze underperformed immensely, but Hour of Devastation overperformed. I'm also going to try Temples + Arboreal Grazer over trilands and Paradise Druid, to see how they compare. I expect it to feel quite good. Top 4 was far higher than I could have hoped, and the fact that 61 cards were in the maindeck made it that much sweeter, even if it wasn't optimal. I guess I like Pioneer now.

	Also, I'm keeping Repudiate // Replicate.

Decklist: https://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/2780072#paper
Event: https://magic.facetofacegames.com/a-massive-weekend-for-pioneer-on-the-f2f-tour/?_ga=2.233614680.796360725.1581979498-1179996784.1528146527