From the Jaws of Victory

I had an amusing (and humbling) experience last week- on the cusp of victory, I managed to lose. Here's how it happened, and what I learned from it.

I was playing my "Millie" deck, which has been my go-to for months because it's a home brew and surprisingly successful. Here's the decklist:

21 Island (ANA) 4

1 Castle Vantress (ELD) 242

4 Overwhelmed Apprentice (ELD) 60

3 Gadwick, the Wizened (ELD) 48

4 Frantic Inventory (M21) 50

4 Opt (ELD) 59

4 Into the Story (ELD) 50

4 Teferi's Tutelage (M21) 78

4 Merfolk Windrobber (ZNR) 70

3 Lullmage's Domination (ZNR) 66

4 Ruin Crab (ZNR) 75

4 Maddening Cacophony (ZNR) 67

Things were going well. I had only 3 life, and my opponent had a 6/6 creature, but I milled him to an empty library on my turn, and victory was at hand. I had a Lullmage's Domination in my hand, so I could have taken control of his 6/6, but why bother? On this turn, on his draw step, he would try to draw from an empty library and trigger an alternate losing condition. Easy. I passed my turn and awaited his defeat.

Oops. He had a Fling (an instant that reads "sacrifice a creature to do damage equal to that creature's power to any target"). And the order of steps is untap, upkeep, draw. Since Fling is an instant, he could (and did) play it after his untap step. Six damage to me; I lose.

The main lesson is so basic: it isn't over until it's over. The secondary is also common: don't let up. It felt almost cruel to take his creature- I had beaten him (so I thought), so no need to humiliate or 'run up the score'- but it cost me the game. Lesson(s) learned.