How I Reached Top 1200 in September
It always feels good to fire up Arena and see this:
By ending the September season at #414, this marks the fourth time in the past five months I’ve reached the Mythic Top 1200. I’m all about acting like you’ve been there, but it’s important to celebrate the victories along the way - and this is definitely one of those achievements worth celebrating.
Additionally, qualifying during a month when a new set released is even more challenging than usual. That’s why it’s critical to reach Mythic, or at least reach Diamond before the new set comes out. Trying to figure out a new meta and grind to Mythic from Gold or even from Platinum can be a trying, frustrating and sometimes unsuccessful effort.
In fact, simply aiming to reach Diamond before a new set comes out can be most beneficial, as it gives you maximum freedom to test and experiment with new decks on the ladder in a low risk environment. On the other hand, testing decks on the Mythic ladder comes with some risk if you’re trying to reach Top 1200, considering the regressive nature of percentage-based rankings.
That doesn’t mean that you should avoid the Mythic ladder until you have a winning list - I actually advise against that. If you’re at Mythic after the set drops and you’re aiming for Top 1200, just be careful about how much you play on the ladder with unproven lists - and try not to let your rank fall too low. Test with friends, play Constructed events and jam any free tournaments you can find on mtgmelee.
Keep in mind that grinding back from low percentages can take as long as a few days, so make sure you’re giving yourself a buffer zone of time before the end of the season in the event that you need time to climb back. This is actually the exact approach I took in September, falling as low as 90% on the 26th. However, I factored this potential ascension period into my monthly gameplan, which made the comeback doable.
Going into the month with a clear objective (reach Top 1200) and a flexible timeline for reaching that objective helped me stay on track. I highly recommend you also approach each season with a vision for how your progress will play out through the month. Some months you’ll be behind your timeline, some months you’ll be way ahead. Be reasonable in your expectations of yourself, and don’t let a slump get you off track from the larger objective. Remember - all losing streaks are temporary.
By the same token, if you’re way ahead of your timeline, keep pushing and don’t rest on your laurels. I can sit here and tell you how many times I’ve reached Top 1200, but reaching Top 10 or Top 100 is a whole other level of achievement that other players are out there pursuing. If you’re aiming to improve at MTG, it’s in your interest to pursue those heights too.
Post-release Grind
After reaching Top 1200 with Sultai in Historic on the 16th, I jumped right into the new Standard playing Temur Elementals - with some success. And yes - that’s Temur - meaning no Omnath. I went 6-6 over 12 matches, before jamming a few matches with a Mardu Yorion brew my friend Kyle Cramer and I built (you can catch Kyle on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/kcmtg1136 - he’s one of the best overall players I know and he has a singular talent for deckbuilding, so be sure to check out his streams). Here’s the Mardu list, in case you’re interested:
I typically don’t play brews on the ladder, but fortunately I had a pretty decent buffer before the end of the season. The Mardu deck still has a ways to go, so on Saturday the 26th I took Gerry Thompson’s take on 4C Omnath for a spin. In case you’re unfamiliar with it, this list aims to dig through the deck with Genesis Ultimatum and Escape to the Wilds, made possible by near-infinite mana produced by Dryad of the Ilysian Grove and Lotus Cobra. Once you’ve dug through your deck enough and you have a devotion to blue to support, you cast Thassa’s Oracle and win.
I typically don’t play combo decks, but I knew that learning this deck and getting a handful of matches in with it would be a great learning experience. Admittedly, in my first match I didn’t realize I was actually comboing off until I was about four or five plays into the combo. All I knew is that I had a mess of cards and I was trying my best to make sure I was using them.
Though I won my first match with the deck, I know that I ended that day with more losses than wins. A good bit of it was due to user error, and there was definitely a bit of variance at play. Ultimately (no pun intended), I’m glad I tried the deck and gave it my best effort - it was definitely one of the most obscenely powerful decks I’ve ever played, and comboing off with it feels incredible.
Sunday, 9/27
I started my Sunday feeling refreshed, well-rested and super focused, despite a trying Saturday on the ladder. At 92%, I still felt highly confident in my ability to reach Top 1200 before Wednesday, but I knew that I would need to be on my A-game mentally.
After having brunch with my wife and planning out my week, I jumped on Arena around 2. I didn’t have room to experiment with difficult or unproven lists, so I went back to a list I previously had some success with: Temur Ultimatum.
Considering that everyone was on 4C Omnath at that point, I decided to stick with three colors for consistency and prepare for Ultimatum mirrors by maindecking three copies of Dispute. My goal that day was to get to the 97-99% range, and I came in ready to grind hard and play some tough matches.
But sometimes behind a losing skid lies a huge winning streak, and that was the case that weekend. I went 9-0 that Sunday, going from 92% to 1230ish. I thought of stopping when I reached 98%, but I decided to keep playing and see if I could reach ranked. I’m glad I did. Here’s the list that got me there:
I was so pleased with the win streak that I didn’t even think about whether or not that night would be my last time playing with Uro in Standard. Had I thought of that it’s probable I still would have stopped once I reached numbered ranks, but in hindsight it’s a wistful thing to think about - as broken as Uro is.
Monday, 9/28
The entire MTG world went to bed on Sunday knowing that it was just a matter of hours before the ban hammer would drop again. Many hoped that the bannings would at least include Uro and Omnath, and some even hoped that cards like Embercleave and Lucky Clover would also get squashed. Of course, we all know what happened - and I will say that I’m REALLY disappointed in Wizards’ decision and in their rationale for deciding what to ban and what NOT TO BAN.
I’m not going to levy judgment or further express my disappointment in this decision - but I agree with many who believe that the game is going in a very self-destructive direction. Hoping they find a way to get things right in the next few sets.
As the MTG world rightfully erupted after the banning announcement, I knew I needed to move quickly if I were to achieve my goal for the month (reach Top 1200) and pursue my greater goal (qualify for the Zendikar Rising Championship). Competitive players don’t pull punches - and neither do folks who want to reach the top of the Mythic ladder. Omnath was not banned, and for the next couple days I could play with him or against him.
I decided to go team Omnath and embrace the struggle of Omnath mirrors. That said, I decided to use him in an archetype I know very well: Adventures. I found a list online but removed a single Bala Ged Recovery for a third Brazen Borrower to help in the aggro matchups and for further catch-all removal.. Here’s the list I ran.
I ended up going 5-1 that afternoon and stopped at 220 with 48 hours to go in the season - and that was all I needed. Here’s how the matches went:
1355 - 4C Ramp. Win, 2-0
1020 - Mono Green. Loss 1-2
1395 - Gruul. Win 2-0
1062 - Mardu Yorion. Win 1-0
760 - Gruul. Win 2-0
413 - Dimir Control. Win 2-0
From there I prepared myself to grind throughout Tuesday and potentially Wednesday, but fortunately my rank held really well. I closely monitored my rank for the next 48 hours, decaying to 251 on Tuesday and to 356 by 11:30AM Wednesday. That was enough for me to call it a season.
The higher you’re ranked, the more stable your rank is. Additionally, Arena rewards win streaks well, and your rank is even more stable if you camp after a huge run of wins. Finally, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people avoided Arena when they learned that Omnath wasn’t banned. Either way, I’m happy I qualified for the upcoming Qualifier Weekend, and I’m looking forward to preparing for it over the next few weeks. Who knows if Omnath will be banned by then, but in the meantime I’m testing some Abzan alternatives with Kyle. Stay tuned for a list - this one has some serious potential.
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Thanks for reading - and here’s to a successful October.
Conquer.
you’re testing with friends, playing Constructed Events and playing any casual tournaments you can find on mtgmelee.
In fact, this month I actually fell as low as 90%
As should be the case during any season, make sure you go into each month with a clear objective and a gameplan for how you’ll achieve it. Going into September, I knew that one of my goals would be to try to reach Top 1200, and I knew that doing so would be much easier if I at least reached Mythic by 9/16.
After that,
