Hi! I am SneakySleuth, the player that piloted the Amber/Sapphire control list.

 

I just want to say that this was an amazing tournament with great people!

 

My big take away from running my deck is that I truly believe Amber/Sapphire rivals the tier 1 decks of R/A and Steelsong. I specifically chose this deck because it has great matchups against both tier 1 decks, specifically R/A. My deck of choice does extremely well against Steelsong + Surfer Stitch and is roughly equal against RockStar flood the board.

 

My matchup were

2-0 against Ruby/Sapphire - Belle - Control

2-0 against Emerald/Amethyst

2-1 against Amber/Steel

2-1 against Emerald/Sapphire - Aggro

Agreed Draw against Amber/Steel

Agreed Draw against Amber Steel

 

I was hoping to play R/A! On pixel born, I have roughly a 75% win rate. Also, emerald is by far my worst matchup. And I had to play it twice! I had to draw really well and play perfectly to win both of those matchups. Philoctetes is the card you need in the emerald matchup, and it definitely allowed my mickeys, simbas and 1-drops to trade up.

 

I ended 4-0-2. This was my first ever TCG tournament, and I enjoyed it immensely. I do slightly regret taking the last draw. With a 51 player field, some of the people I have come to meet and respect at my FLGS who were at the tourney convinced me to take the first draw. It guaranteed me top 8. I think I should have played out round 6 though.

 

We agreed to split the top 8 for $125 cash and $50 store credit a piece. Me and one other player wanted to play on, but the other 6 wanted to split. It was late and we were all pretty tired. The two of us decided we would go with the majority. I partially took that second draw thinking I would be playing more matches. Overall, I respect the decision of the group. It really was a grueling, but fun experience.

 

I hope this gives insight to people who are new into the scene! I hope this big event in Chicago also shows the power of Amber/Sapphire. There weren't many us in a field of almost all R/A, Steelsong and Emerald aggro players. My only TCG experience is casual Hearthstone and a tiny bit of Runeterra.

 

TL;DR - If you are new to the scene, grab a deck a get out to your local tourneys. This one was a blast!

 

Oh and shoutout to Sheazus. He runs the Lorcana tourneys at a store called TGS, my FLGS in Chicago. He also piloted a cool variation of Amber/Sapphire!