An interview with MPDC 26.06 winner Forli!

Hello guys! I'm sorry for delaying this one, but it is finally here! I hope we can make these winner interviews a tradition.

 

Hello and congratulations on you win, Forli! Could you please introduce yourself?  

I’m Forli on mtgo, I’m 24 years old and live in Spain.

What is your identity as a wizard?(Colors and archetypes you prefer, favourite cards and formats)

I don’t really like one color or archetype more than the others, however I do prefer really grindy games that are won with a lot of small advantadges, so I really like standard pauper.

How did you start playing Magic? MTGO? Standard Pauper?

I had been playing similar online games for some time, so I decided to try magic as well, I discovered standard pauper and PRE when looking for a way to not expend too much money.

What led you to playing the deck you won with?

The W/x auras decks were already some of the most powerful decks in the format before m15, and then they got heliod’s pilgrim, Wb is probably the best version thanks to the  “combo” of auramancer and font of return. Until the rotation I think this is clearly the best deck.

Would you play that deck again in a tournament?

Yes, like  I said it’s really good.

Could you explain some of the more interesting choices in your decklist?

 Sadly this is a deck that pretty much builds itself, I tried to test some interesting cards but nothing seemed to be as powerful as the basic version.

A short recap of the tournament?

R1 - BigBee with monowhite auras:

Game 1 I made a huge mistake looking for a plains instead of a swamp with evolving wilds(I was tired after running home)  and got 3 of  my 4 black cards stuck on my hand, luckily in games 2 and 3 I drew very well.

R2 – Kriss with dimir mill:

Game 1 I mulligan to 5, but his deck was like on removal and thanks to heliod’s pilgrim I managed to get enough threats, game 2 he tried to kill me fast with several mind sculpts but I killed him faster.

R3 - Hero1141 with UW tempo:

This was a cool deck with cards like azorius arrester and frost lynx that are good at slowing down auras decks. Game 1 I mistakenly believe I was ahead and he holds down my creatures long enough to kill me, games 2 and 3 I try to be more careful and I manage to win.

T8 – Godzo with Bw auras:

Game 1 I keep a slow hand and he kills me really fast( I lost a lot of game ones this tournament), games 2 and 3 are more like the mirror match usually plays, I get enough removal for all his creatures with auras but he can’t remove all of mine so I win.

T4 – rremedio with a 6 or 7 colors control deck:

2 long games where a lot of my creatures get killed, eventually I manage to play more threats than he has answers (I really liked stab wound here).

Final – ByeBye with RDW:

Pacifism ended up being the winning card here, I played 3 on game 1 and all 4 on game 2.

What do you consider to be the best archetypes at the moment?

The variants of white auras and the decks that can beat white auras.

What is your strategy against these top decks?

In the mirror it all depends on how much removal and ethereal armors you get to cast, but when I can choose I prefer to be the one removing creatures with armor. Against decks with lots of removal I usually wait to cast armor until I see a chance.

Is there anything intriguing you in Khans? What deck will you play first after KTK release?

As I wild guess I think black devotion will be the best deck at the start,  also  the delve cards seem really strong.

What cards are you sad to see leaving post-rotation?

Mostly celestial flare, that card was usually involved in the most interesting situations in the format. Also the gatekeepers.

Thank you for your time, Forli! I hope I get a chance to interview you again, and best of luck in the future!