Has it really been two weeks since my last post? Well...crap.
I went to TNM at Beyond Comics, located in Frederick, MD.
A dozen people showed up for a four-round standard tournament.
I took Ian Kendell's R/B Aggro deck to see how it played out.
The Deck:
4 Stromkirk Noble
4 Rakdos Cackler
4 Ash Zealot
4 Knight of Infamy
3 Hellhole Flailer
4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
3 Hellrider
2 Thundermaw Hellkite
4 Searing Spear
4 Pillar of Flame
4 Blood Crypt
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Dragonskull Summit
10 Mountain
2 Swamp
Round 1: Aaron Blough with G/W Werewolves/Humans
Aaron was unable to put any real pressure on me, while my maindeck Knights of Infamy did an excellent job against the White half of his deck. His creature drops were not on par with mine in the Power+Toughness/mana cost department and I was able to overwhelm him in both games.
2-0
Round 2: Megan Hill with Budget Epic Experiment
Megan's deck revolved around ramping up to a large epic experiment to hopefully reveal a worldfire and another burn spell.
Her deck was woefully unprepared for an aggro deck.
2-0
Round 3: Steve Martino with 5-color mythic rares.
Steve built his deck on really good rares and mythic rares. He had Terminus, Bonfire, Thragtusk, Restoration Angel, Huntmaster of the Fells, and others.
Steve easily took the first game on the back of Thragtusk and removal for most of my one-drop creatures. I scooped when he dropped Garruk, Primal Hunter.
I sided out all of my one drops and brought in 2 Duress, 2 Appetite for Brains, 3 Vampire Nighthawks, and an Olivia Voldaren. In game two I cast a turn one Appetite for Brains, he reveals five land, a Searing Spear, and a Sphinx's revelation. I play out Hellrider to get the Spear out of his hand, and then Thundermaw Hellkite and Falkenrath Aristocrat to seal the game.
In game three, Steve got out an early Rhox Faithmender and began to gain a TON of life off of the Thragtusk/Restoration Angel combo. Eventually, he began to run out of threats and dropped a Supreme Verdict when our boards were very full. I was able to get through with a lot of fliers, while I kept Ash Zealot's on the ground to block. I sacrificed all of my creatures to a Falkenrath Aristocrat, making her a 7/4, while Steve was left with a 3/3 Beast from a Thragtusk. I top decked a Thundermaw Hellkite and swung for 12, putting Steve to 2.
All he had was a restoration angel and a Sphinx's Revelation, neither could save him.
2-1
Round 4: Alex Geck with BUG Zombies
As the sole 3-0's, Alex and I decide to split (5 packs each) and play for the Silverblade Paladin promo card.
In game one, Alex dropped a Lotleth Troll. I cast searing spear and asked if he had 3 creature cards to pitch to it. He obliged. On my turn, I cast two Pillar of Flames to see if he had one more. He did. The troll is now 6/5. We begin racing, but since Alex has dropped so many cards into Lotleth troll, I am able to race him with Thundermaw Hellkite and Falkenrath Aristocrat.
In game two, Alex got two lands and conceded when I told him that, yes, I would trade him the Silverblade Paladin.
1-1-1 (ID)
I like this deck, it is fast and can easily side into a control-esque midrange deck.
I went 2-0, 2-0, 2-1, ID, which I think is nice. I will take this deck to FNM tonight to see how it does.
Until next time.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Friday, December 7, 2012
FNM 12/7/12
I went to Gotham Comics in Westminster, MD for FNM.
This FNM was Commander, and the prize was the ability to purchase the arsenal at MSRP. Twenty people showed up (Actually more than that, but due to seating registration was capped to twenty)
We would do two rounds. The first round is five four-person pods. The winner of each of those pods would form a five-person pod for the finals.
I took my Degenerate Hermit Druid self mill deck. Progenitus is my commander.
Round One:
Me: Progenitus
Tyler: Mangara of Corondor
Chris: The Mimeoplasm
John: Child of Alara
The guys spend their first couple of turns building up their board. They are all tapped out when I go off turn five and kill everyone.
We then played another game where I switched decks to Grimgrin.
Round Two (The Finals)
Me: Progenitus
Rob: Karador, Ghost Chieftan
Jordan: Zur, the Enchanter
Paul: Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
Josh: Animar, Soul of Elements
This is a pretty stacked pod, with at least two other decks (Zur and Animar) being combo decks.
Paul (Ob Nixilis) gets a pretty threatening board state immediately with a turn 3 Skithiryx and begin infecting people for four. I drop a turn two Survival of the Fittest. I sit quietly and play no other spells, nor do I activate Survival. They are unprepared when I combo off again on turn five. (It turn out that the person to my left was also going to combo off on turn 5)
So, I end up winning both games by going off on turn five. The deck is completely dirty and I imagine very unfun to play against. Since it accomplished its goal, I will be disassembling it.
Until next time...
This FNM was Commander, and the prize was the ability to purchase the arsenal at MSRP. Twenty people showed up (Actually more than that, but due to seating registration was capped to twenty)
We would do two rounds. The first round is five four-person pods. The winner of each of those pods would form a five-person pod for the finals.
I took my Degenerate Hermit Druid self mill deck. Progenitus is my commander.
Round One:
Me: Progenitus
Tyler: Mangara of Corondor
Chris: The Mimeoplasm
John: Child of Alara
The guys spend their first couple of turns building up their board. They are all tapped out when I go off turn five and kill everyone.
We then played another game where I switched decks to Grimgrin.
Round Two (The Finals)
Me: Progenitus
Rob: Karador, Ghost Chieftan
Jordan: Zur, the Enchanter
Paul: Ob Nixilis, the Fallen
Josh: Animar, Soul of Elements
This is a pretty stacked pod, with at least two other decks (Zur and Animar) being combo decks.
Paul (Ob Nixilis) gets a pretty threatening board state immediately with a turn 3 Skithiryx and begin infecting people for four. I drop a turn two Survival of the Fittest. I sit quietly and play no other spells, nor do I activate Survival. They are unprepared when I combo off again on turn five. (It turn out that the person to my left was also going to combo off on turn 5)
So, I end up winning both games by going off on turn five. The deck is completely dirty and I imagine very unfun to play against. Since it accomplished its goal, I will be disassembling it.
Until next time...
Thursday, December 6, 2012
TNM 12/6/12
I went to Beyond Comics in Frederick, MD for Thursday Night Magic.
Standard was the game, so I brought out the Jund Juggernaut.
Round 1: Andrew Weaver with BUG Zombies.
This version of Zombies utilized Gravecrawler, Lotleth Troll, and a variety of other Zombies to punish opponents.
I had to mulligan down to five in game one and was quickly dispatched by Lotleth Troll, who had grown to a 6/5 .
In game two, it happened even faster. Gravecrawler came down turn one and got double-rancored in turn two. Lotleth Troll followed.
0-2
Round 2: Richard Vera with Izzet Control
Richard had some mana issues in both games. Also, it seemed that his deck may have been a budget deck of some sort.
He never really dropped any threats, and seemed unable to remove any of mine.
2-0
Round 3: Alex Geck with Grixis Walkers
I felt like this matchup should have been good for me, but it was not to be.
Alex had answers for every one of my creatures and planeswalkers. He established control relatively quickly, and except for one game, had me in top-deck mode the entire match. I made an error in game three when I cast Rakdos's Return on him and he redirected it back to me. Even though I am not a legal target, I brain-farted and let it resolve. I discarded two Thundermaw Hellkites, the only cards in my hand.
In the end, he got a board state of Bloodgift Demon, Snapcaster, and Rakdos Charm and laid the beats down.
1-2
This is my absolute worst showing ever for a TNM.
So, some thoughts. I think my iteration of Jund is failing pretty spectacularly. The IQ, SCGOpen, and this TNM have kind of shown that something is wrong with my design. I have no ability to deal with control, and my match up to ANY kind of aggro deck has been shown to be very poor. Something to ponder while I sleep tonight.
Until next time.
Standard was the game, so I brought out the Jund Juggernaut.
Round 1: Andrew Weaver with BUG Zombies.
This version of Zombies utilized Gravecrawler, Lotleth Troll, and a variety of other Zombies to punish opponents.
I had to mulligan down to five in game one and was quickly dispatched by Lotleth Troll, who had grown to a 6/5 .
In game two, it happened even faster. Gravecrawler came down turn one and got double-rancored in turn two. Lotleth Troll followed.
0-2
Round 2: Richard Vera with Izzet Control
Richard had some mana issues in both games. Also, it seemed that his deck may have been a budget deck of some sort.
He never really dropped any threats, and seemed unable to remove any of mine.
2-0
Round 3: Alex Geck with Grixis Walkers
I felt like this matchup should have been good for me, but it was not to be.
Alex had answers for every one of my creatures and planeswalkers. He established control relatively quickly, and except for one game, had me in top-deck mode the entire match. I made an error in game three when I cast Rakdos's Return on him and he redirected it back to me. Even though I am not a legal target, I brain-farted and let it resolve. I discarded two Thundermaw Hellkites, the only cards in my hand.
In the end, he got a board state of Bloodgift Demon, Snapcaster, and Rakdos Charm and laid the beats down.
1-2
This is my absolute worst showing ever for a TNM.
So, some thoughts. I think my iteration of Jund is failing pretty spectacularly. The IQ, SCGOpen, and this TNM have kind of shown that something is wrong with my design. I have no ability to deal with control, and my match up to ANY kind of aggro deck has been shown to be very poor. Something to ponder while I sleep tonight.
Until next time.
Wednesday Night Legacy
Eric, Jimmy, and I went to Xanadu Games in Baltimore MD on Wednesday 12/5/12 to play some Legacy. (With proxies allowed)
I took the only Legacy deck I own, Maverick. We planned on playing four rounds with a cut to top four at the end.
Round 1: Jimmy Peyton with Dredge.
In game one, Jimmy had to mulligan down to three and quickly conceded. In game two, he went off very quickly and it was I who quickly conceded. In game three I was able to get a Scavenging Ooze out early and untap with it to lock down Jimmy's graveyard.
2-1
Round 2: Nick Thompson with RUG Delver.
RUG Delver is a good matchup for me. I got out the beats in games one and three, but was overpowered in game two due to two Delvers flipping early.
2-1
Round 3: Chris Cornwell-Shiel with Aluren
I took game one because Chris got heavily mana screwed. In game two he went off early by dropping a Show and Tell and I scooped to the combo. In game three, I got out Linvala, Keeper of Silence early (with Mother of Runes protection) to lock out the combo. Chris audibled into his backup win condition, Emrakul and Show and Tell. He cast Show and Tell putting in Emrakul and I dropped a Knight of the Reliquary to "tutor" up Karakas. Chris scooped.
2-1
Round 4: Paul Lynch
Paul and I intentionally drew into the top 4.
0-0-1
Round 5: (Top 4): Paul Lynch with U/W Miracles
Paul got me in lockdown in game one with Counter-Top, followed by a Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I scooped to the counter-top fateseal lock.
In game two, Paul got mana flooded and I was able to get creatures in for the kill.
In game three, I got Gaddock Teeg out early, followed by Sigarda, Host of Herons. I hit Paul for lethal while he had ten great but uncastable cards on top of his library.
2-1
Round 6: (Top 4) Nick Thompson with RUG Delver
Even though I am favored in this matchup and have already defeated Nick, we agreed to split. (Plus, Eric and Jimmy wanted to play EDH)
0-0-1
We each walked away with $26.50 in store credit. This is the first time that I have done really well with Maverick. I feel like sticking with the deck has made me better with it.
Until next time.
I took the only Legacy deck I own, Maverick. We planned on playing four rounds with a cut to top four at the end.
Round 1: Jimmy Peyton with Dredge.
In game one, Jimmy had to mulligan down to three and quickly conceded. In game two, he went off very quickly and it was I who quickly conceded. In game three I was able to get a Scavenging Ooze out early and untap with it to lock down Jimmy's graveyard.
2-1
Round 2: Nick Thompson with RUG Delver.
RUG Delver is a good matchup for me. I got out the beats in games one and three, but was overpowered in game two due to two Delvers flipping early.
2-1
Round 3: Chris Cornwell-Shiel with Aluren
I took game one because Chris got heavily mana screwed. In game two he went off early by dropping a Show and Tell and I scooped to the combo. In game three, I got out Linvala, Keeper of Silence early (with Mother of Runes protection) to lock out the combo. Chris audibled into his backup win condition, Emrakul and Show and Tell. He cast Show and Tell putting in Emrakul and I dropped a Knight of the Reliquary to "tutor" up Karakas. Chris scooped.
2-1
Round 4: Paul Lynch
Paul and I intentionally drew into the top 4.
0-0-1
Round 5: (Top 4): Paul Lynch with U/W Miracles
Paul got me in lockdown in game one with Counter-Top, followed by a Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I scooped to the counter-top fateseal lock.
In game two, Paul got mana flooded and I was able to get creatures in for the kill.
In game three, I got Gaddock Teeg out early, followed by Sigarda, Host of Herons. I hit Paul for lethal while he had ten great but uncastable cards on top of his library.
2-1
Round 6: (Top 4) Nick Thompson with RUG Delver
Even though I am favored in this matchup and have already defeated Nick, we agreed to split. (Plus, Eric and Jimmy wanted to play EDH)
0-0-1
We each walked away with $26.50 in store credit. This is the first time that I have done really well with Maverick. I feel like sticking with the deck has made me better with it.
Until next time.
Playing a little catch-up...
I want to "put to paper" my last month or so since 5-0'ing FNM @ Alternate Worlds (my last post). So the following is a recap of several tournaments, playtest sessions and formats for the last several weeks.
The Commander's Arsenal Standard tourney at Alternate Worlds 11/17
I finished this tourney 2-2, not earning any prizes. I lost round 1 to Esper Walkers/Control, an admittedly bad matchup for me (playing Naya Midrange). In game three I made a big mistake... when I stole Sorin with a Zealous Conscripts I told my opponent to just leave it on his side since we were tight on play space and it had glass bead counters on it instead of dice. I made an emblem (Sorin down to 1 loyalty) and attacked. After combat I played Bonfire to kill off the rest of his tokens and Sorin....................... except I controlled Sorin... ugh.... Had I waited a turn I could have gotten Sorin and maybe some more tokens and would have been in a much better position. Lesson learned! ---> Always move the stuff you steal to your side of the board!
The other round I lost was against Jund when in game 3 I had SEVERAL, like 4-5, turns to draw a Mountain, Clifftop Retreat, Rootbound Crag, Cavern of Souls or Borderland Ranger to immediately win with Bonfire, Conscripts or Wolf Run :(
In one of my wins my opponent playing Grixis control had a Desecration Demon in play vs my Sigarda. The judge ruled that I WAS able to still sacrifice creatures to tap the Demon at the beginning of combat. I later learned this to be incorrect.
Jimmy and Nick both top 4'd. Nick scooped to Jimmy as Jimmy had the better matchup against both of the other top 4 decks. Jimmy then ended up splitting the Commander's Arsenal in the top 2.
Black Friday at Mike's
I put together the standard Rakdos deck that made top 8 at GP Charleston. I played a bunch without a sideboard against Mike's Jund and felt Rakdos was favored, especially since it was able to win games even with Mike sideboarded. I also got to test my Tarland EDH that I had super-charged for the Commander's Arsenal FNM coming up. It was pretty sick :)
Standard for Standard Duals @ Xanadu 11/24
I left the house around 11:30 to drop off Lucy at a church near Penn Station (for her niece's baptism) and still make it to Xanadu by 12. (Which is why I didn't join Mike, Jimmy and Nick in Urbana for the IQ). After I drop Lucy off she calls me a couple minutes later crying that it's the wrong church. Where's the church?..... Parkville! I grab her and recklessly speed to Parkville, while calling Xanadu 5 times along the way, but no one is answering :(
I get to the shop at 12:40 hoping to get a 1st round bye and get into the tourney. Even though their phone was unplugged and dead I can only join with a round-1 loss. with 14 players I'll need to win out to make top 4. I win round 2 vs Esper Walkers! I don't remember how but I assume it was due to some awesome plays on my part. Next round I lost to Reanimator after I get trounced so bad in game one that I thought he was only playing Junk midrange and I didn't board in Rest in Peace :( I got hoofed game two.
After two disappointing tournies in a row I'm thinking I need to move off Naya.
I did get to battle Talrand head-to-head with Ben's Krenko. His deck is pretty degenerate as well, but I win about 2 to every 1 he does over about 9 games.
SCG Open 12/1 and 12/2
Well I end up playing NO magic all week and when the weekend gets here I don't feel comfortable going into the Standard Open with Rakdos. After the 4th round I'm 2-2 with Naya having beaten Rakdos twice and lost to Bant Control twice. Round 5 I played mono-red and learned how good Pyreheart Wolf is. I was able to stabilize in game two having handled his initial push and killed his board when I lost to runner-runner Thundermaws. Oh well. I drop, head to pickles and eat dinner. BTW, I also appealed to the head judge when a floor judge ruled I could NOT sac to tap a Desecration Demon while I had Sigarda in play. Head Judge rules that I in fact CANNOT and we get a 7 minute time extension, which I end up going on to win anyway.
Sunday I took Belcher hoping to either get lucky or get knocked out early and head home to watch the Ravens/Steelers game.
Game 1 Round 1 I have a nut draw and even though he goes turn 1 Inquisition of Kozilek on the play and takes LED, I'm still able to play out a Belcher and end my turn with a Mox and Taiga in play. On my turn I topdeck a mana source to kill with the belcher turn two.
Game 2 I mulligan to 5, but he doesn't have discard for me. He plays turn 2 Ethersworn Canonist and my second turn goes Mox, Mox, Lotus Petal, Land Grant for Taiga, play it and play Belcher with the mana necessary to kill him during my upkeep! :) He plays Pithing Needle for "Charbelcher" next turn :( and though he takes a while to kill me I can't find a Burning Wish for the Shattering Spree.. I also just correct him and name "Goblin Charbelcher" instead of calling a judge. It wouldn't have mattered anyway since he has to name a real card.
Game 3 I'm one mana short of Wish for Warrens first turn and pass on the play, without a play. He wrecks me with Inquisition and Thoughtseize the next two turns and I can't claw back.
I won round 2 vs Burn, perhaps my best matchup... Round 3 I have the turn one kill but I'm on the draw and lost to Doomsday without getting a turn. Something he tells me is not very common. Actually he talks a lot this match and is just annoying and my small headache is turning into a much more painful one. :-/
Game 2 I'm a mana away from a turn one Wish for Warrens and pass without a play. Next two turns I brick Chrome Mox after Chrome Mox when I have nothing to imprint on them (because I need all my non-artifacts). He plays Duress for my Wish and then wins on his third turn.... I didn't play a single card. I'm 1-2 and my head is killing me so I walk home from the convention center and watch football.
Wednesday Legacy @ Xanadu last night
I take Belcher in my pocket and don't bring any other decks, cards or dice. I win game one vs RUG Delver, even playing around a Daze on turn 1. Game 3 I got Belcher into play turn one with only a Taiga as a "sticks around" mana source. I should have waited until I could make 4 so that I could Pyroblast, but I went for it on turn two and FoW stopped me. The blast ended up taking out a Delver way later to give me another turn. On my last turn before dying I went for it again and Belcher got Stifled.
Next round was against Jimmy and Dredge. He goes first and Therapies for LED which I don't remember having. I know I win game one but don't remember if it was Belcher or Warrens. Game two I wish for Infernal Tutor, tutor for Wish and Wish for Warrens making 20 Goblins. (Annoyed that I decided against putting a Tendrils in my board). He makes a bunch of 2/2's on his second turn and Dread Returns Flame-kin Zealot. I scoop but some other guys mention that I was one goblin short of taking 6 of the 3/3's to the head, chumping the rest and swinging back for the win since Jimmy had used Tarnished Citadel twice. So I would have lost anyway, but it was a good lesson to at least do the math before scooping.
Round 3 against BUG control I go off first turn 3 straight games with game 2 only getting 14 damage with a Belcher. I didn't see a FoW all match.
Last round against Junk. He's on they play, Therapies and misses and sees that I have a guaranteed first-turn kill. He scoops before I get to take a turn... LOL
Game two I get to learn a bit more about my deck when he plays first turn Thalia off Mox Diamond (also playing a second Mox and dumping his whole hand). I Land Grant for Taiga, paying the Thalia tax with a spirit guide, then Probe, with Taiga for the tax again. Next turn I lay a Chrome Mox, being able to pay the tax again. I have a Burning Wish that I intend to get Pyroclasm with, and because he's only swinging for 2 a turn so far, I'm still in it! He has a Deathrite Shaman in play but I decide to Rite of Flame into Right of Flame to try to get up to 3 mana and wish. He sees the right play and eats the first Rite to nullify the second. Maybe I should have waited but I'm not sure if it mattered. Anyway, game three I mulligan and pass my first two turns with him whiffing on a Therapy for LED along the way. My third turn I get up to 8 with a freshly drawn LED and suspect a Maelstrom Pulse by the way he's acting and talking, so I grab the Diminishing Returns and kill with Belcher same turn. He says he did have the Pulse, though he didn't show it before the shuffle and re-draw, so who knows.
Anyway, I'm really liking the deck and it seems more resilient to non-blue hate than I initially thought, having nearly played through Ethersworn Canonist, Pithing Needle and Thalia, and successfully playing through a potential Maelstrom Pulse.
Tonight I might play Standard at Xanadu if Lucy is OK with it. I've got some Thundermaw Hellkites coming in the mail today and will be trying out the Naya list that won the SCG Standard Open last Saturday... though I've already fudged with the manabase as I'm having serious issues with early green mana for Pilgrim and Farseek in several goldfish games so far. This weekend there are two tournies on Saturday: Standard at Xanadu (GPT for Atlantic City!) and Legacy at Alternate Worlds. I'm leaning toward Xanadu.
See ya!
-Eric
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
SCG Open Baltimore 12/1/12- 12/2/12
I attended both days of the Star City Games (SCG) Open Series held in my birthplace, Baltimore Maryland.
First, I would like to point out that this was my first SCG event. The vendor (Star City Games) was average, catering to Standard and Legacy players, but not to EDH or Foil-enthusiasts (as they did not bring any Foil or Oversized cards with them)
The artists were excellent. I found time to meet with and purchase from most of them. I even got my Grimgrin oversized foils transformed into a 3-D alter (by combining 3 of the cards) by Lindsay Burley. I purchased a very nice playmat from Noah Bradley, and purchased some art prints from Cynthia Sheppard.
Now, on to the games:
DAY 1: Standard: I took the updated Jund Juggernaut.
Round 1: Tyler Eldrad with U/W Flash
This is a good matchup for me. Tyler seemed to have problems piloting the deck as his decisions seemed to take a long time. Unsummon and Azorious Charm are not value cards against Thragtusk...
2-0
Round 2: Matt Mercer with B/R Big Zombies
In an odd coincidence, I was texting with a friend between rounds about this deck and how I did not expect to see it. In the first game I was utterly destroyed as I kept a weak hand.
In game two, I had to mulligan down to five, and even then I had no land. I had just performed my first Farseek to get to three land before I was killed.
0-2
Round 3: Christian Harris with Junk Tokens (a version that had Angel of Serenity and Thragtusks)
I did not expect to see Angel of Serenity in his deck. In my notes, I put down that I made several mistakes in this game. I do not recall them off hand, but I can safely assume that the match was lost due to my own mistakes.
0-2
Round 4: Mike Skinner with Junk Midrange
In game one Mike had to Mulligan to five cards and it was a short game. He took game two as I had not sideboarded and was still unsure what he was playing. In game three I hit him with Slaughter Games and removed all of his Thragtusks, I was then able to get through enough damage with creature advantage.
2-1
Round 5: Graylon Wright with G/W Humans
Graylon was on the play game one and trampled over me. I think I tend to keep hands weak to aggro matchups.
In game two he came out to a quick start. He dropped Thalia on turn 3 and I was one mana short of wiping the board because of her. I lost without playing a spell.
0-2
At 2-3, I decided to drop and join a commander pod. Nine pods had happened already and I was the first one in pod ten. I waited two rounds and no other players showed up. So, I dipped out.
At the end of day one I was 2-0, 0-2, 0-2, 2-1, 0-2 for a combined 4-7. I am not sure whether to be pleased or disappointed in myself with those results. I could have done better, but I could have also done worse.
DAY 2: Legacy: I took the only legacy deck I own, Maverick. I have recently been experimenting with replacing the single Stoneforge Mystic with Thrun, the Last Troll. I was so pleased with Thrun that I decided to make the replacement permanent.
Round 1: Shawn French with U/W Stoneblade Miracles
I was unable to get Gaddock Teeg, Thalia, or a Knight of the Reliquary going in either game. I also set myself nicely for a 5-1 Terminus hit (a Knight, a Pridemage, a Dryad Arbor, and 2 Noble Hierarchs) leaving me with a single Savannah facing down a Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
0-2
Round 2: Zack Mullin with Sneak and Show
Zack went on to make the Top 8. Great job Zack!
Our games went thusly.
Game one: Turn 2 Emrakul.
Game two: Turn 3 Emrakul (via Sneak Attack)
So, both Emrakuls attacked in turn three and wiped me out.
In game two, I had Karakas out and bounced Emrakul before combat. Zack dropped a Lotus Petal and replayed it. I have no defense against draws of that caliber.
0-2
[At this point in the day, I decided I would drop when I got loss number three]
Round 3: Billy Clifford with Nic-Fit
I am very unfamiliar with the deck "Nic-Fit", it just looked to me like a homebrew. I may have made some errors, but was otherwise able to get control in two games leaning on the backs of Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Rafiq of the Many. (The latter of which, I windmill slammed onto the table)
2-1
Round 4: Ben Sturtz with RUG Delver
In game one, Ben got a bit flooded and I was able to get a big enough Knight of the Reliquary to push through Tarmogoyf and Nimble Mongoose.
In game two Ben flipped an early Delver and I could not find a removal spell or flier.
In game three Ben got a little flooded, ending the game with three lands in hand. 2-1
Round 5: Trevor Humphries with Goblins (green splash for Tin Street Hooligan)
In game one, I dropped out Linvala, Keeper of Silence on turn three, which shut off most of his synergy. I was able to keep the Lackeys under control with Mother of Runes.
In game two he hit 4/4 with Goblin Ringleader and finally dropped Krenko to seal the beats.
In game three I got out an early Thrun, the Last Troll. In the following turn, I equipped him with Umezawa's Jitte. He played a Goblin Matron to grab Tin Street Hooligan, but was not able to cast it. On my turn I used two Wastelands to destroy his Taiga and his Cavern of Souls.
2-1
Round 6: John Gatza with RUG Delver.
So, this matchup is very good for me. In game one I got out an early Thrun, the Last Troll who has no problem swinging into Tarmogoyf or Nimble Mongoose, especially when he gets a few Exalted triggers.
In game two I got out an early Sigarda, Host of Herons. The game ended when I cast a Green Sun's Zenith for four and grabbed Rafiq so that Sigarda could swing for fourteen in the air. John was bemused, I was just glad he was not playing Storm.
2-0
I want to mention that Sunday evening the Baltimore ravens were set to play against the Pitsburgh Steelers in Baltimore, one half-mile from the convention center. Between rounds Nick and I were able to have some beer when we semi-crashed a tailgate party. I feel like this fueled my comeback streak.
So, after round 6, Nick and I are both 4-2. Nick convinces me to drop and go to a local sports bar. I feel like an asshole dropping after a win in which my opponent dropped, but I agreed.
At the end of DAY 2 I am 0-2, 0-2, 2-1, 2-1, 2-1, 2-0 for a combined 8-7. Pretty close to .500. Unlike standard, I know how I feel about this record. The answer is very damn proud of myself and my deck. Thrun, Sigarda, and Rafiq have the ability to take over games by themselves and I LOVE having them in the deck.
In summary, I guess I am disappointed, but not surprised, about how I fared in Standard. I am very pleased with how I did in Legacy and will likely be practicing more on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday I have the degenerate EDH tournament.
Until next time.
First, I would like to point out that this was my first SCG event. The vendor (Star City Games) was average, catering to Standard and Legacy players, but not to EDH or Foil-enthusiasts (as they did not bring any Foil or Oversized cards with them)
The artists were excellent. I found time to meet with and purchase from most of them. I even got my Grimgrin oversized foils transformed into a 3-D alter (by combining 3 of the cards) by Lindsay Burley. I purchased a very nice playmat from Noah Bradley, and purchased some art prints from Cynthia Sheppard.
Now, on to the games:
DAY 1: Standard: I took the updated Jund Juggernaut.
Round 1: Tyler Eldrad with U/W Flash
This is a good matchup for me. Tyler seemed to have problems piloting the deck as his decisions seemed to take a long time. Unsummon and Azorious Charm are not value cards against Thragtusk...
2-0
Round 2: Matt Mercer with B/R Big Zombies
In an odd coincidence, I was texting with a friend between rounds about this deck and how I did not expect to see it. In the first game I was utterly destroyed as I kept a weak hand.
In game two, I had to mulligan down to five, and even then I had no land. I had just performed my first Farseek to get to three land before I was killed.
0-2
Round 3: Christian Harris with Junk Tokens (a version that had Angel of Serenity and Thragtusks)
I did not expect to see Angel of Serenity in his deck. In my notes, I put down that I made several mistakes in this game. I do not recall them off hand, but I can safely assume that the match was lost due to my own mistakes.
0-2
Round 4: Mike Skinner with Junk Midrange
In game one Mike had to Mulligan to five cards and it was a short game. He took game two as I had not sideboarded and was still unsure what he was playing. In game three I hit him with Slaughter Games and removed all of his Thragtusks, I was then able to get through enough damage with creature advantage.
2-1
Round 5: Graylon Wright with G/W Humans
Graylon was on the play game one and trampled over me. I think I tend to keep hands weak to aggro matchups.
In game two he came out to a quick start. He dropped Thalia on turn 3 and I was one mana short of wiping the board because of her. I lost without playing a spell.
0-2
At 2-3, I decided to drop and join a commander pod. Nine pods had happened already and I was the first one in pod ten. I waited two rounds and no other players showed up. So, I dipped out.
At the end of day one I was 2-0, 0-2, 0-2, 2-1, 0-2 for a combined 4-7. I am not sure whether to be pleased or disappointed in myself with those results. I could have done better, but I could have also done worse.
DAY 2: Legacy: I took the only legacy deck I own, Maverick. I have recently been experimenting with replacing the single Stoneforge Mystic with Thrun, the Last Troll. I was so pleased with Thrun that I decided to make the replacement permanent.
Round 1: Shawn French with U/W Stoneblade Miracles
I was unable to get Gaddock Teeg, Thalia, or a Knight of the Reliquary going in either game. I also set myself nicely for a 5-1 Terminus hit (a Knight, a Pridemage, a Dryad Arbor, and 2 Noble Hierarchs) leaving me with a single Savannah facing down a Jace, the Mind Sculptor.
0-2
Round 2: Zack Mullin with Sneak and Show
Zack went on to make the Top 8. Great job Zack!
Our games went thusly.
Game one: Turn 2 Emrakul.
Game two: Turn 3 Emrakul (via Sneak Attack)
So, both Emrakuls attacked in turn three and wiped me out.
In game two, I had Karakas out and bounced Emrakul before combat. Zack dropped a Lotus Petal and replayed it. I have no defense against draws of that caliber.
0-2
[At this point in the day, I decided I would drop when I got loss number three]
Round 3: Billy Clifford with Nic-Fit
I am very unfamiliar with the deck "Nic-Fit", it just looked to me like a homebrew. I may have made some errors, but was otherwise able to get control in two games leaning on the backs of Linvala, Keeper of Silence and Rafiq of the Many. (The latter of which, I windmill slammed onto the table)
2-1
Round 4: Ben Sturtz with RUG Delver
In game one, Ben got a bit flooded and I was able to get a big enough Knight of the Reliquary to push through Tarmogoyf and Nimble Mongoose.
In game two Ben flipped an early Delver and I could not find a removal spell or flier.
In game three Ben got a little flooded, ending the game with three lands in hand. 2-1
Round 5: Trevor Humphries with Goblins (green splash for Tin Street Hooligan)
In game one, I dropped out Linvala, Keeper of Silence on turn three, which shut off most of his synergy. I was able to keep the Lackeys under control with Mother of Runes.
In game two he hit 4/4 with Goblin Ringleader and finally dropped Krenko to seal the beats.
In game three I got out an early Thrun, the Last Troll. In the following turn, I equipped him with Umezawa's Jitte. He played a Goblin Matron to grab Tin Street Hooligan, but was not able to cast it. On my turn I used two Wastelands to destroy his Taiga and his Cavern of Souls.
2-1
Round 6: John Gatza with RUG Delver.
So, this matchup is very good for me. In game one I got out an early Thrun, the Last Troll who has no problem swinging into Tarmogoyf or Nimble Mongoose, especially when he gets a few Exalted triggers.
In game two I got out an early Sigarda, Host of Herons. The game ended when I cast a Green Sun's Zenith for four and grabbed Rafiq so that Sigarda could swing for fourteen in the air. John was bemused, I was just glad he was not playing Storm.
2-0
I want to mention that Sunday evening the Baltimore ravens were set to play against the Pitsburgh Steelers in Baltimore, one half-mile from the convention center. Between rounds Nick and I were able to have some beer when we semi-crashed a tailgate party. I feel like this fueled my comeback streak.
So, after round 6, Nick and I are both 4-2. Nick convinces me to drop and go to a local sports bar. I feel like an asshole dropping after a win in which my opponent dropped, but I agreed.
At the end of DAY 2 I am 0-2, 0-2, 2-1, 2-1, 2-1, 2-0 for a combined 8-7. Pretty close to .500. Unlike standard, I know how I feel about this record. The answer is very damn proud of myself and my deck. Thrun, Sigarda, and Rafiq have the ability to take over games by themselves and I LOVE having them in the deck.
In summary, I guess I am disappointed, but not surprised, about how I fared in Standard. I am very pleased with how I did in Legacy and will likely be practicing more on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday I have the degenerate EDH tournament.
Until next time.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Updating the Jund-Juggernaut
After the IQ (see last post) I thought a lot about how I could improve my deck. I worked on these through last night, even having some revelations while sleeping.
First, the changes.
Main:
-1 Deathrite Shaman
-2 Gatecreeper Vine
-3 Garruk Relentless
+2 Victim of Night
+2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
+1 Sever the Bloodline
+1 Slaughter Games
Side:
-2 Deathrite Shaman
-2 Rakdos Charm
-2 Zealous Conscripts
+2 Ground Seal
+2 Magmaquake
+2 Nightshade Peddler
I also revamped the manabase
-10 Basic Lands
-2 Cavern of Souls
+4 Woodland Cemetery
+4 Rootbound Crag
+4 Dragonskull Summit
The manabase is a lot more usable, I have no idea why I had so MANY basic lands. I cut Gatecreeper Vine as it wasn't an impact on the board and it now only has three Forests as a target.
I think I am finally ready to admit that Garruk, Primal Hunter is better than Garruk Relentless. All I was doing was making 2/2 Wolves while not increasing my loyalty all tournament long. I wished they had been 3/3's with an option to draw 5 or more cards. You may now begin with the "I told you so!".
Deathrite Shaman is useless except against a certain kind of deck, same with Rakdos Charm. I feel Ground Seal is better. I could not care less how many "Lingering Souls" are flashed back against me.
I have never sided in Zealous Conscripts, for any reason, ever. I cut it from the sideboard.
I added two "Victim of Night" for some instant speed removal that can kill Trostani, Huntmaster, Thragtusk, Angel of Serenity, Deadeye Navigator, or Restoration Angel.
Magmaquake is additional removal against aggro-decks (Zombies, Humans) and Instant-Speed removal against Craterhoof Behemoth pumpers (except Lingering Souls)
Nightshade Peddler has become popular on MOTO. I know it is a bit of a Noob-combo (Peddler w/Olivia), but that doesn't make it any less effective. Plus, it protects me against the same combo. (Killing an opposing Peddler in response to the Soulbond trigger)
So, I made those changes and think the deck will be more reliable to play with. I am hoping I can find a FNM this week so that I can hopefully practice and improve my play.
Until Next time.
First, the changes.
Main:
-1 Deathrite Shaman
-2 Gatecreeper Vine
-3 Garruk Relentless
+2 Victim of Night
+2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
+1 Sever the Bloodline
+1 Slaughter Games
Side:
-2 Deathrite Shaman
-2 Rakdos Charm
-2 Zealous Conscripts
+2 Ground Seal
+2 Magmaquake
+2 Nightshade Peddler
I also revamped the manabase
-10 Basic Lands
-2 Cavern of Souls
+4 Woodland Cemetery
+4 Rootbound Crag
+4 Dragonskull Summit
The manabase is a lot more usable, I have no idea why I had so MANY basic lands. I cut Gatecreeper Vine as it wasn't an impact on the board and it now only has three Forests as a target.
I think I am finally ready to admit that Garruk, Primal Hunter is better than Garruk Relentless. All I was doing was making 2/2 Wolves while not increasing my loyalty all tournament long. I wished they had been 3/3's with an option to draw 5 or more cards. You may now begin with the "I told you so!".
Deathrite Shaman is useless except against a certain kind of deck, same with Rakdos Charm. I feel Ground Seal is better. I could not care less how many "Lingering Souls" are flashed back against me.
I have never sided in Zealous Conscripts, for any reason, ever. I cut it from the sideboard.
I added two "Victim of Night" for some instant speed removal that can kill Trostani, Huntmaster, Thragtusk, Angel of Serenity, Deadeye Navigator, or Restoration Angel.
Magmaquake is additional removal against aggro-decks (Zombies, Humans) and Instant-Speed removal against Craterhoof Behemoth pumpers (except Lingering Souls)
Nightshade Peddler has become popular on MOTO. I know it is a bit of a Noob-combo (Peddler w/Olivia), but that doesn't make it any less effective. Plus, it protects me against the same combo. (Killing an opposing Peddler in response to the Soulbond trigger)
So, I made those changes and think the deck will be more reliable to play with. I am hoping I can find a FNM this week so that I can hopefully practice and improve my play.
Until Next time.
SCG IQ 11/24/12
I, along with Nick Ditizio and Jimmy Peyton, went to the Star City Games (SCG) Independent Qualifier (IQ) held at "Thanks for Playing" in Ijamsville, MD.
About 44 people showed up for the event, so we would be playing 6 rounds with a cut to the top 8.
I took my Jund-Juggernaut deck.
Round 1:Dylan Jennings with U/W/B Tokens.
I did not get to see a great deal of Dylan's deck as he got flooded in both games (seriously flooded in the second game) The few threats he presented were dealt with by playing Bonfires for minimal cost to clear the board, then to attack.
2-0
Round 2: Jeremy Bowman with Jund
I remembered Jeremy from the Commander's Arsenal game at J&M from the last post.
Jeremy and I traded games one and two. In game three, he had me on the ropes, at 5 life with 4 creatures and a Kessig Wolf Run in play. I had Olivia Voldaren in play with 4 untapped lands, able to block an attacker, and kill whomever gets pumped by the Wolf Run. We play the blocks out for a bit, then Jeremy reminds me that I die during my upkeep when Huntmaster transforms. I reply that I can kill it with the trigger on the stack, but the trigger still resolves. I block for show, kill a guy then concede.
After the game, I thought about it and I misplayed completely. The Huntmaster trigger is to transform the huntmaster, when it resolves, the damage ability then triggers. I could have indeed killed the huntmaster (and his other creature) during my upkeep and live another turn. I am not saying the outcome of the game would have been different, but I would have had a chance to draw a card and force Jeremy to deal with my Thundermaw Hellkite and 9/9 Olivia Voldaren.
1-2
Round 3: Darryl Donaldson with G/W Seance.
In game one, Darryl curved out perfectly and layed a serious beatdown on me. He curved Farseek, Trostani, Thragtusk, then Armada Wurm. I scooped to the overwhelming life/board presence.
In game two, I sided into a control deck and started to get Slaughter Games going. Leafing through his deck, I notice that he is actually a reanimator deck with tons of self-mill spells, Seance, and Unburial Rites. My back-to-back Slaughter Games caused enough disruption to get me the game two win.
In game three, Darryl got out a Craterhoof Behemoth and hit me for a lot. I stabilized barring any other threats. He cast Restoration Angel on his turn targeting "The Hoof" and that was game. (I could block as long as nothing had trample)
1-2
Round 4: James Lawson with Mono-White Humans.
Now for the most disappointing match of the day.
Game one I get no green lands and die with six green cards in hand.
Game two I keep a two-land hand and turn two Farseek into three lands.
I die on turn eight with three lands, seven uncastable cards in hand, and several more in my graveyard.
I did not provide James with much of a match, casting about four spells total in two games.
0-2
At 2-0, 1-2, 1-2, 0-2 (1-3; 4-6) I dropped.
A very poor showing by me. I made a huge mistake in round 2 and probably MANY more in round 3, as I was unfamiliar how to handle his deck, should I have cast Rakdos's Return into reanimator?
I have a lot of work to do before the SCG Open, in Baltimore, coming up next weekend.
Until next time.
About 44 people showed up for the event, so we would be playing 6 rounds with a cut to the top 8.
I took my Jund-Juggernaut deck.
Round 1:Dylan Jennings with U/W/B Tokens.
I did not get to see a great deal of Dylan's deck as he got flooded in both games (seriously flooded in the second game) The few threats he presented were dealt with by playing Bonfires for minimal cost to clear the board, then to attack.
2-0
Round 2: Jeremy Bowman with Jund
I remembered Jeremy from the Commander's Arsenal game at J&M from the last post.
Jeremy and I traded games one and two. In game three, he had me on the ropes, at 5 life with 4 creatures and a Kessig Wolf Run in play. I had Olivia Voldaren in play with 4 untapped lands, able to block an attacker, and kill whomever gets pumped by the Wolf Run. We play the blocks out for a bit, then Jeremy reminds me that I die during my upkeep when Huntmaster transforms. I reply that I can kill it with the trigger on the stack, but the trigger still resolves. I block for show, kill a guy then concede.
After the game, I thought about it and I misplayed completely. The Huntmaster trigger is to transform the huntmaster, when it resolves, the damage ability then triggers. I could have indeed killed the huntmaster (and his other creature) during my upkeep and live another turn. I am not saying the outcome of the game would have been different, but I would have had a chance to draw a card and force Jeremy to deal with my Thundermaw Hellkite and 9/9 Olivia Voldaren.
1-2
Round 3: Darryl Donaldson with G/W Seance.
In game one, Darryl curved out perfectly and layed a serious beatdown on me. He curved Farseek, Trostani, Thragtusk, then Armada Wurm. I scooped to the overwhelming life/board presence.
In game two, I sided into a control deck and started to get Slaughter Games going. Leafing through his deck, I notice that he is actually a reanimator deck with tons of self-mill spells, Seance, and Unburial Rites. My back-to-back Slaughter Games caused enough disruption to get me the game two win.
In game three, Darryl got out a Craterhoof Behemoth and hit me for a lot. I stabilized barring any other threats. He cast Restoration Angel on his turn targeting "The Hoof" and that was game. (I could block as long as nothing had trample)
1-2
Round 4: James Lawson with Mono-White Humans.
Now for the most disappointing match of the day.
Game one I get no green lands and die with six green cards in hand.
Game two I keep a two-land hand and turn two Farseek into three lands.
I die on turn eight with three lands, seven uncastable cards in hand, and several more in my graveyard.
I did not provide James with much of a match, casting about four spells total in two games.
0-2
At 2-0, 1-2, 1-2, 0-2 (1-3; 4-6) I dropped.
A very poor showing by me. I made a huge mistake in round 2 and probably MANY more in round 3, as I was unfamiliar how to handle his deck, should I have cast Rakdos's Return into reanimator?
I have a lot of work to do before the SCG Open, in Baltimore, coming up next weekend.
Until next time.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
EDH Tournament for a Commander's Arsenal
On Saturday 11/17/12, I went to an EDH tournament to attempt to get my hands on a Commander's Arsenal. The tournament was held at J&M Comics in Sykesville, MD. The cost to enter was $20 and the event attracted the following six players and their decks.
Mike Somerville (Me): Grimgrin, Corpse-Born aggro-control.
Andrew: Oona, Queen of the Fae aggro-control.
Tien: Kemba, Kha Regent voltron-aggro.
Rich: Kaervek the Merciless control.
DJ: Arcum Dagsson combo.
Jeremy: Merieke Ri Berit combo-control.
With only 6 people, we do 3 person pods for two rounds followed by a final pod of any/all winners of the previous two rounds of pods.
Round 1:
Pod 1
-Me
-Tien
-Andrew
(I will get to pod 2 in a moment) We being rather slowly on turn 3, I Spell Crumple Tiens commander. Andrew gets a creature into play with Sword of Feast and Famine and starts bringing the beats to me. I retaliate with Grimgrin and hit him for 6. I have a good amount of acceleration at this point with a few mana-producing artifacts. I top deck Army of the Damned and swing to kill him with Grimgrin via sacrificing Zombie Tokens. Tien hits Grimgrin with Oblivion Ring, but I top-deck Grave Titan and beat him for lethal over the course of two turns.
Pod 2
-DJ
-Jeremy
-Rich
3 control decks, two of which are combo are wiping the board every other turn. I stood there and literally watched a guy use Nevinyrral's Disk three times. Rich finally cast Decree of Annihilation stalling the game to a draw (they would not send a winner to the finals)
Round 2:
Pod 1
-Me
-DJ
-Jeremy
So, I get matched up with the two combo decks. The TO told us that if our match had another draw, or that I won and the other pod drew, that we would have to have another round to get enough people into the finals. I told both of opponents at the start of the match "The first of you to attack me is going to lose this game, as I will kill you. If one of you combos out and kills me and the other combo player, THAT IS FINE". I did NOT want to face two combo decks in the finals. As odds are I could not deal with both. DJ decided to be cheeky and hit me with a Blinkmoth nexus. I then allowed Jeremy to combo-off and hit us both for an infinite-mana exsanguinate. DJ proceeded to complain endlessly about being picked on. Bro, you are playing a mono-blue combo deck that bragged about killing us on turn one. Maybe that is why people balls-out attack you. Just saying.
Pod 2:
-Rich
-Tien
-Andrew
Andrew's deck is just so much better than the other two. They eliminate Rich quickly because he plays a lot of board wipers (like Decree of Annihilation). Andrew is then able to overpower Tien.
FINALS:
-Me (Grimgrin, Tribal Zombies Aggro-Control)
-Jeremy (Merieke Ri Berit combo-control) [IMO, the best deck there]
-Andrew (Oona Aggro-Control)
Before the game we decide to split the Arsenal, rochester-draft style. First place gets the Loyal Retainers.
The game ambiance is quite light, since we know we are all getting something good.
Andrew and I begin by fucking whaling on Jeremy since he is the combo deck. He conceded at 1 life before my combat phase. After that I made some errors and lost to a Vendilion Clique with Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of War and Peace equipped. I do not mind as I don't actually want Loyal Retainers. (In fact, Andrew had borrowed the TO's deck in exchange to give the TO a card of his choice if he won. The TO got Loyal Retainers.
1st: Andrew
2nd: Me
3rd: Jeremy
Of the three decks in the finals, there were only 3 colors; Blue, Black, and White (and only Jeremy played White) this should tell you something about EDH. Blue is definitely king.
I picked up the following out of the Arsenal:
-Sylvan Library ($50)
-Mirari's Wake ($15)
-Mind's Eye ($8)
-Duplicant ($12)
-Decree of Pain ($12)
-Kaalia of the Vast ($18)
I also got the oversized Grimgrin, Karn, Sliver Queen, and Godo.
I also picked up the Foil sleeves. BALLER.
So, $20 got me $115 dollars in playable cards plus some extras. Not bad for 3 hours of my time. Jimmy, Eric, and Nick are still in playing Standard.
Until next time.
Mike Somerville (Me): Grimgrin, Corpse-Born aggro-control.
Andrew: Oona, Queen of the Fae aggro-control.
Tien: Kemba, Kha Regent voltron-aggro.
Rich: Kaervek the Merciless control.
DJ: Arcum Dagsson combo.
Jeremy: Merieke Ri Berit combo-control.
With only 6 people, we do 3 person pods for two rounds followed by a final pod of any/all winners of the previous two rounds of pods.
Round 1:
Pod 1
-Me
-Tien
-Andrew
(I will get to pod 2 in a moment) We being rather slowly on turn 3, I Spell Crumple Tiens commander. Andrew gets a creature into play with Sword of Feast and Famine and starts bringing the beats to me. I retaliate with Grimgrin and hit him for 6. I have a good amount of acceleration at this point with a few mana-producing artifacts. I top deck Army of the Damned and swing to kill him with Grimgrin via sacrificing Zombie Tokens. Tien hits Grimgrin with Oblivion Ring, but I top-deck Grave Titan and beat him for lethal over the course of two turns.
Pod 2
-DJ
-Jeremy
-Rich
3 control decks, two of which are combo are wiping the board every other turn. I stood there and literally watched a guy use Nevinyrral's Disk three times. Rich finally cast Decree of Annihilation stalling the game to a draw (they would not send a winner to the finals)
Round 2:
Pod 1
-Me
-DJ
-Jeremy
So, I get matched up with the two combo decks. The TO told us that if our match had another draw, or that I won and the other pod drew, that we would have to have another round to get enough people into the finals. I told both of opponents at the start of the match "The first of you to attack me is going to lose this game, as I will kill you. If one of you combos out and kills me and the other combo player, THAT IS FINE". I did NOT want to face two combo decks in the finals. As odds are I could not deal with both. DJ decided to be cheeky and hit me with a Blinkmoth nexus. I then allowed Jeremy to combo-off and hit us both for an infinite-mana exsanguinate. DJ proceeded to complain endlessly about being picked on. Bro, you are playing a mono-blue combo deck that bragged about killing us on turn one. Maybe that is why people balls-out attack you. Just saying.
Pod 2:
-Rich
-Tien
-Andrew
Andrew's deck is just so much better than the other two. They eliminate Rich quickly because he plays a lot of board wipers (like Decree of Annihilation). Andrew is then able to overpower Tien.
FINALS:
-Me (Grimgrin, Tribal Zombies Aggro-Control)
-Jeremy (Merieke Ri Berit combo-control) [IMO, the best deck there]
-Andrew (Oona Aggro-Control)
Before the game we decide to split the Arsenal, rochester-draft style. First place gets the Loyal Retainers.
The game ambiance is quite light, since we know we are all getting something good.
Andrew and I begin by fucking whaling on Jeremy since he is the combo deck. He conceded at 1 life before my combat phase. After that I made some errors and lost to a Vendilion Clique with Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of War and Peace equipped. I do not mind as I don't actually want Loyal Retainers. (In fact, Andrew had borrowed the TO's deck in exchange to give the TO a card of his choice if he won. The TO got Loyal Retainers.
1st: Andrew
2nd: Me
3rd: Jeremy
Of the three decks in the finals, there were only 3 colors; Blue, Black, and White (and only Jeremy played White) this should tell you something about EDH. Blue is definitely king.
I picked up the following out of the Arsenal:
-Sylvan Library ($50)
-Mirari's Wake ($15)
-Mind's Eye ($8)
-Duplicant ($12)
-Decree of Pain ($12)
-Kaalia of the Vast ($18)
I also got the oversized Grimgrin, Karn, Sliver Queen, and Godo.
I also picked up the Foil sleeves. BALLER.
So, $20 got me $115 dollars in playable cards plus some extras. Not bad for 3 hours of my time. Jimmy, Eric, and Nick are still in playing Standard.
Until next time.
Friday, November 16, 2012
I volunteered to scout out the standard metagame at Alternate Worlds tonight, before the standard tourney for Commander's Arsenal tomorrow. There were 22 players for FNM with Jund the most represented w/ 5+ players. G/W aggro followed with at least 4 players, two of which seemed competent (two were kids). I didn't notice anything else with more than two players. I was the only Naya player, but before I get into the report...
I put together U/W Flash this week, dismantling that crumby U/W Humans I played last week. Despite talking some trash with Nick while play testing it earlier today, I really wasn't impressed. The deck struggles to have the right answers at the right times as the counters are situational and the removal is all temporary. The games it does win are the ones it can play it's cantrips the first few turns and survive long enough to turn Restoration Angels into 4-mana Snapcaster Mages. Augur of Bolas disappoints as well, hitting an Instant maybe 2/3's of the time, as well as frustratingly putting your Runechanter's Pikes (only 2 in the deck) on the bottom of your deck. Combine all that with the inevitable mirror matches that will come with the hype this deck is generating AND every single deck now running at least two Cavern of Souls (including this one!).... I do not want to be playing this deck.
So, yeah, I rocked the Naya that's been performing well for me. I swapped out a basic plains and a basic mountain for two Caverns and moved the three Pillar of Flames to the board for two main-deck Garruk, Primal Hunters and a fourth Loxodon Smiter.
Round 1 vs Tim w/ Golgari
Tim was super nice, running Corpsejack Menace with dumb scavenge dudes. Game one I just trampled over everything with Kessig Wolf Run. Game two he managed to get half my life by exiling sorceries with Deathrite Shaman while sitting on a 12/12 corpsejack menace on defense. I had to over extend this game to get through damage and finished him with a non-miracled Bonfire of the Dammed.
1-0
Round 2 vs Jared w/ Reanimator
Jared certainly wasn't playing a budget deck. I was able to bonfire away spirit tokens and Centaur Healers and used Angel of Serenity to take out his Angel of Serenity to get through for lethal. Game two I muliganed to 6 and get 4 mana dorks and 2 lands. At the end of turn two I had 2 Pilgrims, 2 Elves and 2 Forests in play. I think we both played 3 Thragtusks this game, but I ultimately lost to a Reanimated Craterhoof. Game 3 I started slow and held a Rest in Peace in hand, hoping he would Mulch/Grisly Salvage some good stuff before his turn 4. After dropping Rest in Peace on my turn 4 he followed with Slaughter Games naming Selesnya Charm and saw my hand of Bonfire, Angel of Serenity, Thragtusk and Armada Wurm. I curved 5, 6 and 7 drops for the win before he could get anything going.
2-0
Round 3 vs Bryan w/ U/W Flash (Delvers instead of Augurs)
I actually battled these two decks against each other by myself last night, to learn the matchup. I found out the following:
1) Just run threats into counters.. the flash deck will run out (or have the wrong situational counter).
2) Don't side out Huntmasters, though I do side them out all the time against control and mid-range. The flash deck really doesn't want to play anything sorcery speed and Huntmaster is either going to become 4/4 trample, or they'll have to tap some lands on THEIR turn
3) Rest in Peace hurts them hard! Snapcaster becomes worse than Ambush Viper, Runechanter's Pike becomes worse than Sharpened Pitchfork, Thought Scour becomes worse than Peek, Think Twice becomes worse than any blue card with cycling....
Because of all this I'm super confident about the matchup. I get to overextend game one as the flash deck doesn't maindeck Verdicts. He counters a couple things, puts a couple dudes on top my deck and I think even gets to Sphinx for 3 but dies anyway... my deck is just too dense with threats.
I side out Bonfires, Serenity and a Borderland Ranger for Sundering Growths and Rest in Peace's and he learns first hand how bad his cards become as he didn't have the Syncopate for 1 for my turn two RIP.
3-0
Round 4 vs Eric w/ Jund.
Game 1 he mulls to 5 and stalls on 3 land... meh
Game 2 I mulligan to 4 and keep 2 land, 2 bonfire. I don't think I missed a land drop this game as I was able to bonfire for 2, taking out 2 huntmasters then bonfire for 3 two turns later getting Garruk, Primal Hunter, a beast token and a Thragtusk... unfortunately he drew 5 with Garruk and I couldn't fight back. Game three I had the Bonfires again and was able to draw 5 with Garruk which swung the game in my favor.
4-0
Round 5 vs Chris w/ U/W/R Control
I'd seen Chris go to time the last 3 rounds and he had a record of 3-0-1. Game one is drawn out as he Verdicts twice (2-for-1-ing each time), but I'm able to keep one threat in play and Wolf Run it over chumpers and eat away at extra Sphinx life. Eventually I burn him out with a non-miracled bonfire with about 12 cards left in his deck. Dude seriously needs some Geists or Hellkites.
Game two I can't get the Huntmasters and Bonfires out of my deck fast enough, and bring in Sundering Growth, RIP and Selesnya Charm. Around turn 3 or 4 of game two I witness Chris draw two cards of a flashed back Think Twice. I know I saw it, but hadn't been keeping tabs on the cards in his hand and no one else was paying attention.. I go into a sort of quiet rage and become the card-in-hand Nazi, staring straight into his eyes when not staring at his library every time he draws a card. I want him to know I caught him and that I'm going to beat him anyway. RIP nerfs his Snapcasters and Sundering Growth takes out a Keyrune and nets me a beast. I keep a steady stream of two threats in play and am able to Angel of Serenity his Angel of Serenity to keep the beats going. I sit on my Angel, not allowing him to charm it and finish him off. It felt good.
5-0
It also felt good to roll into a store I don't normally play at and take down 1st place. Honestly, going into tomorrow's tourney at the same store, I'm more worried about facing Mike, Nick and Jimmy than anyone I battled tonight.
-Eric
I put together U/W Flash this week, dismantling that crumby U/W Humans I played last week. Despite talking some trash with Nick while play testing it earlier today, I really wasn't impressed. The deck struggles to have the right answers at the right times as the counters are situational and the removal is all temporary. The games it does win are the ones it can play it's cantrips the first few turns and survive long enough to turn Restoration Angels into 4-mana Snapcaster Mages. Augur of Bolas disappoints as well, hitting an Instant maybe 2/3's of the time, as well as frustratingly putting your Runechanter's Pikes (only 2 in the deck) on the bottom of your deck. Combine all that with the inevitable mirror matches that will come with the hype this deck is generating AND every single deck now running at least two Cavern of Souls (including this one!).... I do not want to be playing this deck.
So, yeah, I rocked the Naya that's been performing well for me. I swapped out a basic plains and a basic mountain for two Caverns and moved the three Pillar of Flames to the board for two main-deck Garruk, Primal Hunters and a fourth Loxodon Smiter.
Round 1 vs Tim w/ Golgari
Tim was super nice, running Corpsejack Menace with dumb scavenge dudes. Game one I just trampled over everything with Kessig Wolf Run. Game two he managed to get half my life by exiling sorceries with Deathrite Shaman while sitting on a 12/12 corpsejack menace on defense. I had to over extend this game to get through damage and finished him with a non-miracled Bonfire of the Dammed.
1-0
Round 2 vs Jared w/ Reanimator
Jared certainly wasn't playing a budget deck. I was able to bonfire away spirit tokens and Centaur Healers and used Angel of Serenity to take out his Angel of Serenity to get through for lethal. Game two I muliganed to 6 and get 4 mana dorks and 2 lands. At the end of turn two I had 2 Pilgrims, 2 Elves and 2 Forests in play. I think we both played 3 Thragtusks this game, but I ultimately lost to a Reanimated Craterhoof. Game 3 I started slow and held a Rest in Peace in hand, hoping he would Mulch/Grisly Salvage some good stuff before his turn 4. After dropping Rest in Peace on my turn 4 he followed with Slaughter Games naming Selesnya Charm and saw my hand of Bonfire, Angel of Serenity, Thragtusk and Armada Wurm. I curved 5, 6 and 7 drops for the win before he could get anything going.
2-0
Round 3 vs Bryan w/ U/W Flash (Delvers instead of Augurs)
I actually battled these two decks against each other by myself last night, to learn the matchup. I found out the following:
1) Just run threats into counters.. the flash deck will run out (or have the wrong situational counter).
2) Don't side out Huntmasters, though I do side them out all the time against control and mid-range. The flash deck really doesn't want to play anything sorcery speed and Huntmaster is either going to become 4/4 trample, or they'll have to tap some lands on THEIR turn
3) Rest in Peace hurts them hard! Snapcaster becomes worse than Ambush Viper, Runechanter's Pike becomes worse than Sharpened Pitchfork, Thought Scour becomes worse than Peek, Think Twice becomes worse than any blue card with cycling....
Because of all this I'm super confident about the matchup. I get to overextend game one as the flash deck doesn't maindeck Verdicts. He counters a couple things, puts a couple dudes on top my deck and I think even gets to Sphinx for 3 but dies anyway... my deck is just too dense with threats.
I side out Bonfires, Serenity and a Borderland Ranger for Sundering Growths and Rest in Peace's and he learns first hand how bad his cards become as he didn't have the Syncopate for 1 for my turn two RIP.
3-0
Round 4 vs Eric w/ Jund.
Game 1 he mulls to 5 and stalls on 3 land... meh
Game 2 I mulligan to 4 and keep 2 land, 2 bonfire. I don't think I missed a land drop this game as I was able to bonfire for 2, taking out 2 huntmasters then bonfire for 3 two turns later getting Garruk, Primal Hunter, a beast token and a Thragtusk... unfortunately he drew 5 with Garruk and I couldn't fight back. Game three I had the Bonfires again and was able to draw 5 with Garruk which swung the game in my favor.
4-0
Round 5 vs Chris w/ U/W/R Control
I'd seen Chris go to time the last 3 rounds and he had a record of 3-0-1. Game one is drawn out as he Verdicts twice (2-for-1-ing each time), but I'm able to keep one threat in play and Wolf Run it over chumpers and eat away at extra Sphinx life. Eventually I burn him out with a non-miracled bonfire with about 12 cards left in his deck. Dude seriously needs some Geists or Hellkites.
Game two I can't get the Huntmasters and Bonfires out of my deck fast enough, and bring in Sundering Growth, RIP and Selesnya Charm. Around turn 3 or 4 of game two I witness Chris draw two cards of a flashed back Think Twice. I know I saw it, but hadn't been keeping tabs on the cards in his hand and no one else was paying attention.. I go into a sort of quiet rage and become the card-in-hand Nazi, staring straight into his eyes when not staring at his library every time he draws a card. I want him to know I caught him and that I'm going to beat him anyway. RIP nerfs his Snapcasters and Sundering Growth takes out a Keyrune and nets me a beast. I keep a steady stream of two threats in play and am able to Angel of Serenity his Angel of Serenity to keep the beats going. I sit on my Angel, not allowing him to charm it and finish him off. It felt good.
5-0
It also felt good to roll into a store I don't normally play at and take down 1st place. Honestly, going into tomorrow's tourney at the same store, I'm more worried about facing Mike, Nick and Jimmy than anyone I battled tonight.
-Eric
FNM 11/16/12 Legacy
I went to Gotham Comics in Westminster, MD tonight for FNM. Tonight was Legacy! The cost to enter was $10 and we had 10 players for 4 rounds.
I took the only Legacy deck I have, Maverick.
Round 1: Alex Gradinetti (apologies if misspelled) with Bloodchief Ascention/Mindcrank combo.
In game one, Alex got a bit of a mana screw on both color and amount. In game two he only got one piece of his combo going and could not stop my bum rush, as it were.
2-0
Round 2: Mike with Reanimator/Dredge
In game one I was on the play and got out a turn 2 Scavenging Ooze with green mana available, he cast a Duress and we went to game two.
In game two he had to mulligan down to five, he was on the play and cast Entomb at the end of my turn for Iona, Shield of Emeria. He cast Animate Dead on it during his turn and named Green. I then hit Iona with Swords to Plowshares and commenced Scavenging Ooze beats.
2-0
Round 3: DJ with Elves
In game one Dj was able to combo off on turn 5, flooding the board with elves, elf lords and, finally, Concordant Crossroads for the beats.
In game two, I got out a turn 3 Linvala, Keeper of Silence to negate the elves, I then equipped an Umezawa's Jitte and commenced elf-slaying.
In game three, I played it slow since he was on the play.
He dropped a turn one Forest into Llanowar Elf, I dropped a Savannah into a Mother of Runes (MoM).
He put 3 more elves and a Gaea's Cradle into play. I played a wasteland and destroyed the Cradle.
On his turn, he played an Elvish archdruid and swung in with 2 2/2 elves. I blocked one with MoM and gave her protection from green. I then cast Path to Exile at the end of his turn, exiling the Archdruid and killing the Elf I had damaged in Combat. I then played a Dryad Arbor and a Noble Hierarch. He played a Priest of Titania and another Forest on his turn and declined an attack.
On my turn I dropped Umezawa's Jitte, equipped it to MoM and swung for 2. He took it and I killed two elves. He scooped after I wiped his board. It turns out he was holding Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in hand the entire time.
2-1
Round 4: Rob Eggert playing Elves.
Rob and I decided to ID and play some EDH, lol. We waited for the round to end.
0-0 (Intentional Draw)
In the end I went 2-0, 2-0, 2-1, ID for a 3-0-1. My tiebreakers put me in first and I received the following for my $10 entry fee.
-Promo Pillar of Flame
-Sylvan Library (not the Foil)
-Foil Grave Titan
-Sudden Spoiling (wut.)
-Declaration of Naught (wut.)
So, the library alone is worth it, IMO.
Tomorrow I have to decide if I am going to play EDH close by or Standard far away, both for a chance to win a Commander's Arsenal. Stay tuned.
Until next time...
I took the only Legacy deck I have, Maverick.
Round 1: Alex Gradinetti (apologies if misspelled) with Bloodchief Ascention/Mindcrank combo.
In game one, Alex got a bit of a mana screw on both color and amount. In game two he only got one piece of his combo going and could not stop my bum rush, as it were.
2-0
Round 2: Mike with Reanimator/Dredge
In game one I was on the play and got out a turn 2 Scavenging Ooze with green mana available, he cast a Duress and we went to game two.
In game two he had to mulligan down to five, he was on the play and cast Entomb at the end of my turn for Iona, Shield of Emeria. He cast Animate Dead on it during his turn and named Green. I then hit Iona with Swords to Plowshares and commenced Scavenging Ooze beats.
2-0
Round 3: DJ with Elves
In game one Dj was able to combo off on turn 5, flooding the board with elves, elf lords and, finally, Concordant Crossroads for the beats.
In game two, I got out a turn 3 Linvala, Keeper of Silence to negate the elves, I then equipped an Umezawa's Jitte and commenced elf-slaying.
In game three, I played it slow since he was on the play.
He dropped a turn one Forest into Llanowar Elf, I dropped a Savannah into a Mother of Runes (MoM).
He put 3 more elves and a Gaea's Cradle into play. I played a wasteland and destroyed the Cradle.
On his turn, he played an Elvish archdruid and swung in with 2 2/2 elves. I blocked one with MoM and gave her protection from green. I then cast Path to Exile at the end of his turn, exiling the Archdruid and killing the Elf I had damaged in Combat. I then played a Dryad Arbor and a Noble Hierarch. He played a Priest of Titania and another Forest on his turn and declined an attack.
On my turn I dropped Umezawa's Jitte, equipped it to MoM and swung for 2. He took it and I killed two elves. He scooped after I wiped his board. It turns out he was holding Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in hand the entire time.
2-1
Round 4: Rob Eggert playing Elves.
Rob and I decided to ID and play some EDH, lol. We waited for the round to end.
0-0 (Intentional Draw)
In the end I went 2-0, 2-0, 2-1, ID for a 3-0-1. My tiebreakers put me in first and I received the following for my $10 entry fee.
-Promo Pillar of Flame
-Sylvan Library (not the Foil)
-Foil Grave Titan
-Sudden Spoiling (wut.)
-Declaration of Naught (wut.)
So, the library alone is worth it, IMO.
Tomorrow I have to decide if I am going to play EDH close by or Standard far away, both for a chance to win a Commander's Arsenal. Stay tuned.
Until next time...
FNM 11/9/12 and Legacy
I went to FNM on 11/9/12 at Gotham Comics in Westminster, MD.
I took my Jund as it seems to be more consistent than the Bant Blink Control.
This occurred a week ago so I am a little fuzzy about the details, but here we go.
Round 1: Tim with Epic Experiment.
This was Tim's first FNM in a couple of months, he borrowed the TO's deck which he was unfamiliar with. I also happen to think that the deck sucks.
Bonfire was a key card here as Tim only had Increasing Devotion for a win-con.
2-0
Round 2: Jimmy Cannon with U/W Control.
Have you ever cast Sphinx's Revelation at the end of your own turn and then been Rakdos's Return'd by your opponent? Jimmy has.
His deck gave me little trouble as he did not apply any pressure. In game two I sided out my bonfires for Slaughter Games and Sever the Bloodline. He just did not have anything to threaten me. (It helps that I never walked into a Supreme Verdict)
2-0
Round 3: Eric Berlett with U/W Humans.
Eric and I had playtested this matchup about 9 times earlier in the day.
My deck turns out to be favored. In game one, I hit him with Rakdos's Return early to empty his hand and overpowered him. In game two, I just drew timely Bonfires.
2-0
Round 4: Chris with RUW midrange?
Sadly, since we had 14 people, I could not offer the draw to Chris. (Well, I could have, but he would have been foolish to accept)
I wasn't exactly sure what Chris's plan was. He played a few good cards, but nothing seemed cohesive. He also had some color issues with his mana.
He seemed unprepared to deal with Thragtusk, which I cast in each of our games.
In this FNM I went 2-0, 2-0, 2-0, and then 2-0 for a 4-0 record and first place.
I received a promo Pillar of Flame and a few packs.
On Sunday, a mere two days later, I played in a Legacy Event at Xanadu Games in Baltimore, MD. I took my only Legacy deck, Maverick.
Round 1: Evan Morris with Sneak and Show.
I lost the roll and Evan is on the play. He drops a fetch for a Volcanic Island, drops an Ancient Tomb and casts Show and Tell for Emrakul. I concede.
I feel much more confidant in this matchup after board.
In game two he doesn't have as fast of a start and needs to get sneak attack in play before he can bring in the fatties. He drops Sneak Attack while I have a small armada of Sigarda, Linvala, MoM, and a Knight in play. He sneaks in Griselbrand and Emrakul and attacks. Sigarda nullifies the Annihilator trigger and blocks Griselbrand. MoM gives her pro-black so Grissles gains Evan no life. I swing back and kill him.
In game three Evan gets another big start and plays an early-game Show and Tell. He drops Progenitus, I reveal Sigarda. On my turn I exclaim "Let's Race", as I drop a Basilisk Collar on Sigarda. I win the race through basilisk collars lifegain, even though Progenitus hit me for 30.
2-1
Round 2: Nate Sturm with Maverick
I have never played the Maverick Mirror before.
In game one, my hand has a Savannah and two plains. I play my Savannah first, like an idiot, into a wasteland. I lose the game with 6 green cards in hand.
In game two I am faring a bit better, getting out an early Sylvan Library. I mis-drew Noble Hierarch instead of MoM and get my Sigarda killed. He plays a Jitte and I lose.
Two huge misplays by me.
0-2
Round 3: Chris Smith with Enchantress
Neither of these games were actually close. Chris plays Humility, Worship, and a ton of other hard lock cards including a couple of hard lock combos.
There was literally nothing I could do around turn 5-6 both games.
0-2
Round 4: Jeff Warwick with Sneak and Show.
In game one he gets out a Sneak Attack through Thalia, he then drops Griselbrand, Emrakul, and Progenitus. LOL game over.
In game two he played another Sneak Attack, which I Krosan Grip before he can activate it. I got out the mandatory Karakas and won game two.
In game three Jeff drew 3 non-land cards, a Brainstorm and two Blood Moons.
Game me.
2-1
Round 5: John Gatzo (spelling?) with Storm
In game one I lost on his turn 2.
In game two, I got out Thalia and Gaddock Teeg, which is super hard for him to deal with.
In game three, I got out Teeg, but he was hit by Grapeshot and killed. I never got out a Thalia, but got John down to three before he went off.
1-2
So I went 2-1, 0-2, 0-2, 2-1, 1-2 (5-8) for a a 2-3 record. I dropped after this round as there was no way I could top 8.
It kind of sucks playing a "fair" deck against so many "unfair"decks. But despite that I felt that I could compete in every game (except the enchantress match-up).
I really liked having Basilisk Collar in the maindeck, although I have yet to test it against Goblins or RDW.
So, one good showing and one not-so-good showing. Well, off to FNM, which is Legacy this week.
Until next time.
I took my Jund as it seems to be more consistent than the Bant Blink Control.
This occurred a week ago so I am a little fuzzy about the details, but here we go.
Round 1: Tim with Epic Experiment.
This was Tim's first FNM in a couple of months, he borrowed the TO's deck which he was unfamiliar with. I also happen to think that the deck sucks.
Bonfire was a key card here as Tim only had Increasing Devotion for a win-con.
2-0
Round 2: Jimmy Cannon with U/W Control.
Have you ever cast Sphinx's Revelation at the end of your own turn and then been Rakdos's Return'd by your opponent? Jimmy has.
His deck gave me little trouble as he did not apply any pressure. In game two I sided out my bonfires for Slaughter Games and Sever the Bloodline. He just did not have anything to threaten me. (It helps that I never walked into a Supreme Verdict)
2-0
Round 3: Eric Berlett with U/W Humans.
Eric and I had playtested this matchup about 9 times earlier in the day.
My deck turns out to be favored. In game one, I hit him with Rakdos's Return early to empty his hand and overpowered him. In game two, I just drew timely Bonfires.
2-0
Round 4: Chris with RUW midrange?
Sadly, since we had 14 people, I could not offer the draw to Chris. (Well, I could have, but he would have been foolish to accept)
I wasn't exactly sure what Chris's plan was. He played a few good cards, but nothing seemed cohesive. He also had some color issues with his mana.
He seemed unprepared to deal with Thragtusk, which I cast in each of our games.
In this FNM I went 2-0, 2-0, 2-0, and then 2-0 for a 4-0 record and first place.
I received a promo Pillar of Flame and a few packs.
On Sunday, a mere two days later, I played in a Legacy Event at Xanadu Games in Baltimore, MD. I took my only Legacy deck, Maverick.
Round 1: Evan Morris with Sneak and Show.
I lost the roll and Evan is on the play. He drops a fetch for a Volcanic Island, drops an Ancient Tomb and casts Show and Tell for Emrakul. I concede.
I feel much more confidant in this matchup after board.
In game two he doesn't have as fast of a start and needs to get sneak attack in play before he can bring in the fatties. He drops Sneak Attack while I have a small armada of Sigarda, Linvala, MoM, and a Knight in play. He sneaks in Griselbrand and Emrakul and attacks. Sigarda nullifies the Annihilator trigger and blocks Griselbrand. MoM gives her pro-black so Grissles gains Evan no life. I swing back and kill him.
In game three Evan gets another big start and plays an early-game Show and Tell. He drops Progenitus, I reveal Sigarda. On my turn I exclaim "Let's Race", as I drop a Basilisk Collar on Sigarda. I win the race through basilisk collars lifegain, even though Progenitus hit me for 30.
2-1
Round 2: Nate Sturm with Maverick
I have never played the Maverick Mirror before.
In game one, my hand has a Savannah and two plains. I play my Savannah first, like an idiot, into a wasteland. I lose the game with 6 green cards in hand.
In game two I am faring a bit better, getting out an early Sylvan Library. I mis-drew Noble Hierarch instead of MoM and get my Sigarda killed. He plays a Jitte and I lose.
Two huge misplays by me.
0-2
Round 3: Chris Smith with Enchantress
Neither of these games were actually close. Chris plays Humility, Worship, and a ton of other hard lock cards including a couple of hard lock combos.
There was literally nothing I could do around turn 5-6 both games.
0-2
Round 4: Jeff Warwick with Sneak and Show.
In game one he gets out a Sneak Attack through Thalia, he then drops Griselbrand, Emrakul, and Progenitus. LOL game over.
In game two he played another Sneak Attack, which I Krosan Grip before he can activate it. I got out the mandatory Karakas and won game two.
In game three Jeff drew 3 non-land cards, a Brainstorm and two Blood Moons.
Game me.
2-1
Round 5: John Gatzo (spelling?) with Storm
In game one I lost on his turn 2.
In game two, I got out Thalia and Gaddock Teeg, which is super hard for him to deal with.
In game three, I got out Teeg, but he was hit by Grapeshot and killed. I never got out a Thalia, but got John down to three before he went off.
1-2
So I went 2-1, 0-2, 0-2, 2-1, 1-2 (5-8) for a a 2-3 record. I dropped after this round as there was no way I could top 8.
It kind of sucks playing a "fair" deck against so many "unfair"decks. But despite that I felt that I could compete in every game (except the enchantress match-up).
I really liked having Basilisk Collar in the maindeck, although I have yet to test it against Goblins or RDW.
So, one good showing and one not-so-good showing. Well, off to FNM, which is Legacy this week.
Until next time.
Monday, November 5, 2012
GPT for Charleston at Xanadu this past Saturday
After the game-day tourney and before the GPT I had tested my Naya deck a bit more against Mike's Jund at his house and against Jimmy's (Shaheen's) Esper Control. I wanted some answers to Thundermaw Hellkite, opposing Angel of Serenity's and planeswalkers, so I make the following changes to the sideboard from the last post:
- 1x Mizzium Mortars
- 1x Ray of Revelation
- 1x Ancient Grudge
- 1x Purify the Grave
+ 2x Zealous Conscripts
+ 2x Selesnya Charm
Nick picks me up Saturday morning and we get to Squabbles as they're "last calling" for SCG IQ sign-ups. Jimmy gets there just in time too and the three of us are registered... One of us jokingly mentions dropping out this 97 person tourney and heading over to Xanadu for the GPT instead... I like this idea and we end up doing just that. We get our money back and head to Xanadu. They end up having only 12 players including the 3 of us, which ends up being 5 rounds w/ cut to top 4.
Round 1 against Hanna playing Junk Tokens. Lots of Lingering Souls, Call the Conclaves and main deck Rootborn Defenses and Druid's Deliverance. Sorin made some Vampire tokens and one emblem this game as well. I remember fearing Intangible Virtue the entire game and was lucky not to see one. Huntmaster flipping and unflipping along with a non-miracled Bonfire while she was tapped out allow me to eek out game 1 with Kessig Wolf Run. I board in my Sundering Growths and Oblivion Rings to make sure Sorin and Intangible Virtue don't stick around. Game 2 Hanna can't find any black sources and I'm able to once again trample over tokens with Wolf Run in not nearly as close of a game, although she did nerf my double Huntmasters and kill the Bonfire in my hand with an unexpected Witchbane Orb.
1-0
Round 2 vs Joe playing Junk Reanimator. I like Joe's build with maindeck Lotleth Troll's and Deathrite Shammans, but he can't find an Unburial Rights game 1 and I beat down with wurms. We then get to take a quick break as we're deck-checked. Game two I open with an Avacyn's Pilgrim followed on consecutive turns by Loxodon Smiter, Restoration Angel, Sigarda and Armada Wurm (each on curve, and a turn early from the pilgrim :). Joe dies with me holding Angel of Serenity in hand.
2-0
Round 3 vs Stephen playing Bant Control. Game one takes a little more than half the time in the round with Stephen overrunning me with Garruk, Primal Hunter's beast tokens. While sideboarding I ask the judge when the round ends as a "polite" way of trying to get my opponent to play faster. I bring in Garruk's to battle his as well as Selesnya Charms and Zealous Conscripts, opting not to bring in Oblivion Rings or Sundering Growths... I'm not sure if that's correct, but I wanted to stay aggressive on the play. Several turns into the game and Stephen is still playing slow as shit. Maybe it was a jerk move but after he taps out for a main phase Sphinx's Revelation and stares at his hand for like 60 seconds I say "you've already played a land and you're tapped out, dude." while the judge is watching. He then passes the turn without attacking, though he probably should have attacked. I get Sigarda into play and bash three or four times, tapping out for Kessig Wolf Run each turn, which is enough to take game 2. He sideboards again, I assume adding Sigarda's and we begin game 3 with about 12 minutes left in the round. Stephen seems to have never ending Thragtusks this game while I'm sitting on Garruk, making beasts and losing board position. He finally swings with enough to definitely kill Garruk so I don't defend. This is pretty pivotal as it was his last turn before time was called and he probably would have won if he'd just come at me instead. In extra turns I steal a Thragtusk with Conscripts, swing him alone then O-ring my temporary Thragtusk turning it into a permanent beast. This ends up being enough to not die on turn 5 and we draw.
2-0-1
Round 4 and Nick and I are paired. He's able to take game one as I mulliganed then leaned on a mana dork heavy hand that doesn't do much after my dorks are Tragic Slipped. Game two I draw all three Pillar of Flames to handle Gravecrawlers and Nick scoops when I Restoration Angel my Thragtusk. Game 3 Nick misses his second land drop 2 or 3 times and Thragtusk and Armada Wurm take the match.
3-0-1
Round 5 vs Dave playing Epic Experiment. Dave is the only 3-1 with Stephen and I 3-0-1 and everyone else 2-2 or worse. Dave and I will both make top 4 regardless, but I want to play. Game one I have multiple Huntmasters that I'm flipping and he's unflipping, so I never get to swing with my 4/4 tramplers. He takes game 1 after a couple experiments. It seems the second Epic Experiment is always WAY better than the first. Game 2 I hit my curve similar to my round 2 and he can't find a Terminus. He dies without any experimenting. Game 3 I have two consecutive turns to find Bonfire and attack for the win but can't find one. Dave kills me with a ton of soldiers the next turn and I die with a Bonfire on top of my deck :(
3-1-1
Nick is the only 3-2 to make top 4 on tie-breakers, along with me, Stephen and Dave. We split the store credit $65-$65-$65-$35 and give Dave the byes for Charleston.
I'm really liking this deck. I want to try out G/W aggro and U/W aggro as well, but need to pick up Silverblade Paladins and Sublime Archangels for both, so I'll be sticking with Naya until that happens.
There's a Legacy tourney at Xanadu next Sunday for a Judge Promo Karakas (like $160). I'm not sure if I'm going, but we'll see. I hate missing Ravens games on Sundays, but have done it once this season already.
-Eric
- 1x Mizzium Mortars
- 1x Ray of Revelation
- 1x Ancient Grudge
- 1x Purify the Grave
+ 2x Zealous Conscripts
+ 2x Selesnya Charm
Nick picks me up Saturday morning and we get to Squabbles as they're "last calling" for SCG IQ sign-ups. Jimmy gets there just in time too and the three of us are registered... One of us jokingly mentions dropping out this 97 person tourney and heading over to Xanadu for the GPT instead... I like this idea and we end up doing just that. We get our money back and head to Xanadu. They end up having only 12 players including the 3 of us, which ends up being 5 rounds w/ cut to top 4.
Round 1 against Hanna playing Junk Tokens. Lots of Lingering Souls, Call the Conclaves and main deck Rootborn Defenses and Druid's Deliverance. Sorin made some Vampire tokens and one emblem this game as well. I remember fearing Intangible Virtue the entire game and was lucky not to see one. Huntmaster flipping and unflipping along with a non-miracled Bonfire while she was tapped out allow me to eek out game 1 with Kessig Wolf Run. I board in my Sundering Growths and Oblivion Rings to make sure Sorin and Intangible Virtue don't stick around. Game 2 Hanna can't find any black sources and I'm able to once again trample over tokens with Wolf Run in not nearly as close of a game, although she did nerf my double Huntmasters and kill the Bonfire in my hand with an unexpected Witchbane Orb.
1-0
Round 2 vs Joe playing Junk Reanimator. I like Joe's build with maindeck Lotleth Troll's and Deathrite Shammans, but he can't find an Unburial Rights game 1 and I beat down with wurms. We then get to take a quick break as we're deck-checked. Game two I open with an Avacyn's Pilgrim followed on consecutive turns by Loxodon Smiter, Restoration Angel, Sigarda and Armada Wurm (each on curve, and a turn early from the pilgrim :). Joe dies with me holding Angel of Serenity in hand.
2-0
Round 3 vs Stephen playing Bant Control. Game one takes a little more than half the time in the round with Stephen overrunning me with Garruk, Primal Hunter's beast tokens. While sideboarding I ask the judge when the round ends as a "polite" way of trying to get my opponent to play faster. I bring in Garruk's to battle his as well as Selesnya Charms and Zealous Conscripts, opting not to bring in Oblivion Rings or Sundering Growths... I'm not sure if that's correct, but I wanted to stay aggressive on the play. Several turns into the game and Stephen is still playing slow as shit. Maybe it was a jerk move but after he taps out for a main phase Sphinx's Revelation and stares at his hand for like 60 seconds I say "you've already played a land and you're tapped out, dude." while the judge is watching. He then passes the turn without attacking, though he probably should have attacked. I get Sigarda into play and bash three or four times, tapping out for Kessig Wolf Run each turn, which is enough to take game 2. He sideboards again, I assume adding Sigarda's and we begin game 3 with about 12 minutes left in the round. Stephen seems to have never ending Thragtusks this game while I'm sitting on Garruk, making beasts and losing board position. He finally swings with enough to definitely kill Garruk so I don't defend. This is pretty pivotal as it was his last turn before time was called and he probably would have won if he'd just come at me instead. In extra turns I steal a Thragtusk with Conscripts, swing him alone then O-ring my temporary Thragtusk turning it into a permanent beast. This ends up being enough to not die on turn 5 and we draw.
2-0-1
Round 4 and Nick and I are paired. He's able to take game one as I mulliganed then leaned on a mana dork heavy hand that doesn't do much after my dorks are Tragic Slipped. Game two I draw all three Pillar of Flames to handle Gravecrawlers and Nick scoops when I Restoration Angel my Thragtusk. Game 3 Nick misses his second land drop 2 or 3 times and Thragtusk and Armada Wurm take the match.
3-0-1
Round 5 vs Dave playing Epic Experiment. Dave is the only 3-1 with Stephen and I 3-0-1 and everyone else 2-2 or worse. Dave and I will both make top 4 regardless, but I want to play. Game one I have multiple Huntmasters that I'm flipping and he's unflipping, so I never get to swing with my 4/4 tramplers. He takes game 1 after a couple experiments. It seems the second Epic Experiment is always WAY better than the first. Game 2 I hit my curve similar to my round 2 and he can't find a Terminus. He dies without any experimenting. Game 3 I have two consecutive turns to find Bonfire and attack for the win but can't find one. Dave kills me with a ton of soldiers the next turn and I die with a Bonfire on top of my deck :(
3-1-1
Nick is the only 3-2 to make top 4 on tie-breakers, along with me, Stephen and Dave. We split the store credit $65-$65-$65-$35 and give Dave the byes for Charleston.
I'm really liking this deck. I want to try out G/W aggro and U/W aggro as well, but need to pick up Silverblade Paladins and Sublime Archangels for both, so I'll be sticking with Naya until that happens.
There's a Legacy tourney at Xanadu next Sunday for a Judge Promo Karakas (like $160). I'm not sure if I'm going, but we'll see. I hate missing Ravens games on Sundays, but have done it once this season already.
-Eric
RtR Game Day & a GPT the last two weekends
So we've been playing a bunch of Standard lately with tourneys each of the last two weekends. The first was RtR Game Day, which Nick also wrote about below. It was my first sanctioned Standard since playing in Games and Stuff's PTQ this past summer. I hadn't played any new Standard yet as I didn't like any of the top decks until I found a Naya list that did well at a SCG IQ in Ijamsville, MD. It didn't hurt that I had opened the required Mythics out of my two boxes when the new set came out. Here's the list I ran that day:
1 Clifftop Retreat
7 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Mountain
2 Plains
3 Rootbound Crag
3 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden
4 Arbor Elf
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
3 Bonfire of the Damned
3 Pillar of Flame
3 Borderland Ranger
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Restoration Angel
2 Sigarda, Host of Herons
4 Thragtusk
2 Armada Wurm
1 Angel of Serenity
Sideboard:
3 Purify the Grave
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Ray of Revelation
2 Sundering Growth
2 Centaur Healer
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Round 1 I lost to a Steelers fan playing Red Deck Wins. I took the first game easily with Thragtusk and Bonfire. Centaur Healers and a Mizzium Mortars came in for game two, in which I kept a land light hand with multiple mana dorks... dorks died and then so did I as I couldn't find lands. Game 3 lasted a bit longer, but I eventually died with two Bonfires and two Pillars in my hand and no red lands :(
0-1
Round 2 I played against a Junk Reanimator/Midrange thing that wasn't very focused. He had Jarad's Orders and lots of odd one-of's like Deathrite Shaman, Jarad, and like 2 each of Mulch and Grisly Salvage. The guy seemed new and took FOREVER to take each turn. It was just a game-day tourney and because he seemed new I didn't hound him about it. I took game one after he dealt with my first Armada Wurm (and token) but I followed with another. Second game he was able to cast Angel of Serenity the turn before I would have won and I couldn't claw back. Game three we drew in extra turns without either of us doing much as the first two games took so long.
0-1-1
Round 3 I was paired up against a 1-1 playing B/R Vampires. Just straight Vampires... with like 3 and 4-drop Stromkirk Noble-like guys. Neither game was eventful or close.
1-1-1
Round 4 I get paired up again against Pete at 2-1. He's playing Epic Experiment! I'm able to Bonfire a couple times to take out pre-experiment Spirits and Soldiers and take game 1. Game 2 Pete makes a lot of tokens, takes a bunch of extra turns and takes me down. Game 3 Pete starts to experiment and makes Soldier tokens but not enough to get me dead through my blockers even though he takes 3 straight turns. And he's not able to make more soldiers during his extra turns thanks to a Purify the Grave taking out both of his Increasing Vengeance's. Pete chumps for a few turns before realizing he has no win conditions left in his deck and scoops.
2-1-1
Round 5 I'm paired up against Jimmy at 2-0-2. The winner of our match will make top 8, but needed to get out of there and buy green pants for my Peter Griffin costume before a Halloween party that night. I scooped to Jimmy and he said he'd split with me. Since he ended up making the finals with Nick I get 4 packs for my $5 entry fee! Not bad at all, especially starting at 0-1-1.
GPT report in the next post!
-Eric
1 Clifftop Retreat
7 Forest
1 Kessig Wolf Run
2 Mountain
2 Plains
3 Rootbound Crag
3 Sunpetal Grove
4 Temple Garden
4 Arbor Elf
4 Avacyn's Pilgrim
3 Bonfire of the Damned
3 Pillar of Flame
3 Borderland Ranger
3 Loxodon Smiter
4 Huntmaster of the Fells
4 Restoration Angel
2 Sigarda, Host of Herons
4 Thragtusk
2 Armada Wurm
1 Angel of Serenity
Sideboard:
3 Purify the Grave
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Mizzium Mortars
1 Ray of Revelation
2 Sundering Growth
2 Centaur Healer
3 Oblivion Ring
2 Garruk, Primal Hunter
Round 1 I lost to a Steelers fan playing Red Deck Wins. I took the first game easily with Thragtusk and Bonfire. Centaur Healers and a Mizzium Mortars came in for game two, in which I kept a land light hand with multiple mana dorks... dorks died and then so did I as I couldn't find lands. Game 3 lasted a bit longer, but I eventually died with two Bonfires and two Pillars in my hand and no red lands :(
0-1
Round 2 I played against a Junk Reanimator/Midrange thing that wasn't very focused. He had Jarad's Orders and lots of odd one-of's like Deathrite Shaman, Jarad, and like 2 each of Mulch and Grisly Salvage. The guy seemed new and took FOREVER to take each turn. It was just a game-day tourney and because he seemed new I didn't hound him about it. I took game one after he dealt with my first Armada Wurm (and token) but I followed with another. Second game he was able to cast Angel of Serenity the turn before I would have won and I couldn't claw back. Game three we drew in extra turns without either of us doing much as the first two games took so long.
0-1-1
Round 3 I was paired up against a 1-1 playing B/R Vampires. Just straight Vampires... with like 3 and 4-drop Stromkirk Noble-like guys. Neither game was eventful or close.
1-1-1
Round 4 I get paired up again against Pete at 2-1. He's playing Epic Experiment! I'm able to Bonfire a couple times to take out pre-experiment Spirits and Soldiers and take game 1. Game 2 Pete makes a lot of tokens, takes a bunch of extra turns and takes me down. Game 3 Pete starts to experiment and makes Soldier tokens but not enough to get me dead through my blockers even though he takes 3 straight turns. And he's not able to make more soldiers during his extra turns thanks to a Purify the Grave taking out both of his Increasing Vengeance's. Pete chumps for a few turns before realizing he has no win conditions left in his deck and scoops.
2-1-1
Round 5 I'm paired up against Jimmy at 2-0-2. The winner of our match will make top 8, but needed to get out of there and buy green pants for my Peter Griffin costume before a Halloween party that night. I scooped to Jimmy and he said he'd split with me. Since he ended up making the finals with Nick I get 4 packs for my $5 entry fee! Not bad at all, especially starting at 0-1-1.
GPT report in the next post!
-Eric
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Franken-storm Magic
This weekend’s Magic playing resulted in a standard Game Day RTR tournament at Games & Stuff. I really wanted to play limited, but Game Day was going on at every store so I opted for it. Jimmy and Eric joined in the fun. Mike was unable to join as he had surgery on his vagina (j/k his arm) earlier in the week. I had to scrounge up some last cards for both Jimmy and Eric heading to a store that just opened in Glen Burnie crap-hole mall. Glen Burnie would be an ok place if it wasn’t for all the people…lots of white trash…and not even the country bumpkin kind of trash, but the gross disgusting stupid white trash. I digress, the store is called Squabbles and I only found out about it after looking up events on StarCityGames. They are holding a SuperIQ soon. I was able to pick up some cards for all of our decks as well as a Rashadan Port for my Goblins deck. Anyway, I got to G&S with just enough time to throw my cards in the deck. I was playing a B/R zombies variant with 2x Vexing Devils. I’m not sure if Vexing Devil is house in this deck, but it is definitely a good card and one that should be in every burn deck. My sideboard was thrown together and not well thought out, but this tourney was not a big one so I didn’t mind. Jimmy through together Shaheens U/B/W Esper control minus 2 Sorin of Innistrad due to not finding non foiled ones. Instead he ran 1 extra Tamiyo and 1 extra Jace. Eric was running W/G/R Midrange deck with Huntsmasters and Thragtusks.
The tourney had about 26 players. I ended up getting paired round 1 to a player that had just built a new deck the night before and hadn’t tested it. It was B/G/W and I didn’t have trouble dismantling it cheap burn and fast creatures. I must say that if I opened with land 2/2 then played another 2/2 on my second turn and was on the play I was about 80% to win that game. Round 2 I got paired against a B/G Zombies running the new Elf Shaman and no Geralfs Messenger??? Lolleth Troll was clutch both games I dropped as I could not deal with him. Round 3 I got paired against a Rakdos burn deck. Now, let me say something about the burn decks. They are currently not built correctly. They should be running Vexing Devil and should not contain any Stromkirk Noble. Stromkirk Noble if left unchecked, yes will grow big, but he doesn’t have haste and is running around in an environment where people play lots of 1 and 2 drops. I never was worried about blocking him, more so worried about using him as a blocker to my 2/2’s. The games against Rakdos could be determined on a die roll as I won the die roll I won the match. Game 3 I was on the play and my opponent seemed to claim he made some play mistake that cost him the turn he lost, but I’m not sure as I had another piece of burn left when I killed him. Another trick card I believe is the Gore-House Chainwalker. Yes he is a 3/2 for R1, but that’s it. Burn needs fast (haste) creatures or creatures with trample. Or a creature that deals a point or 2 every turn. Anyway on to round 4. I get paired against Jimmy’s 3rd round opponent that went to time when Jimmy could have beaten him. He was playing a U/R Delver, Snapcaster, counter burn deck. I kind of liked it as you could flashback searing spear which is pretty good. I was able to beat him in game 3 after he had every perfect spell for my dudes. Flashing back pillar of flame is pretty good against Zombies. I was able to ID round 5 into top 8. I checked in with Jimmy and Eric. Jimmy was 2-0-2 and I believe Eric was 2-1-1 making it possible for either to get in. Eric wanted to leave for some early Halloween activities so he scooped Jimmy in.
Top 8
I got paired against…drawing a blank…well whatever it was I took it down J. The more memorable was another Rakdos burn deck that had given Eric his loss. He was wearing Steelers fan gear so he already had to be beaten. He informed me of how he had already beaten B/R Zombies twice today. That got me excited for the match as I had already dismantled Rakdos today. We sit down and he wins the die roll. I miss an important land drop turn 3 and he runs me over. Game 2 we are shuffling up talking about Vexing Devil. He’s not running it and I can’t understand why not. I play one, game 2, where he eats 4 damage. I reiterate me paying 1 mana to deal 4 damage. He claims he was not winning the game anyway. Game 3 I get 2 2/2’s by turn 2 and slowly deal with his Stromkirk Noble after is gets to 3 with Searing Spear and that’s the game. I am anxiously awaiting the results of Jimmy’s game 3 against his opponent. If he wins, we top two and play for the playmat. I also, want it to be over as my girlfriend is waiting to go to some Halloween festivities. Jimmy takes him down in extra turns and we both race out of there with the playmat and 9 packs each.
The next day I went to Jimmy’s house and played the final match taking him down 2-0 as the Game Day Champion. I feel with a little more tweaking the Zombies deck will have a 50% chance to win its worst matchup.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Eric here, with an EDH FNM report
I was able to convince Mike to take a break from Standard and play EDH FNM at Gotham with me last night. Yay!
I was looking forward to playing my U/W Blink deck, formerly commanded by Rasputin, and now lead by the new Isperia from Return to Ravnica and updated with a handful of the new cards. With the change in commander, the top end of my curve shrunk with Eldrazi and Storm Herd getting the axe.
I got to Gotham early and played some standard with Mike using his decks. I liked his Bant deck I was piloting though I think it needs Avacyn's Pilgrim and Farseeks. Chromatic Lantern not so much. On to the tourney!
Round 1 vs Dayne w/ Sen Triplets and Chris w/ Jarad, Glolgar Lich Lord
I'd never seen Sen Triplets before and was very scared of him. I actually misread him, so some of my fear was probably unwarranted (I thought I wouldn't be able to play spells on my turn). Still, Sen would most likely target me every turn possible since Dayne would be able to cast any card in my hand.
I would go on to dominate the match however with Galepowder Mage blinking Duplicant and Phyrexian Ingester to exile every opposing creature - literally. By the end I felt a little bad about taking out Dayne as fast as possible when it turned out he had a Sphinx themed deck and was in hindsight not nearly as much of a threat as I treated him as. He was a good sport though, as was Chris who played lots of cool equipment but couldn't find enough creatures to get things going. One play of note: I did Ghostaway + Supreme Verdict one turn :)
Round 2 vs Jack w/ Maelstrom Wanderer and Tom w/ Isperia, Supreme Judge
So I'm playing against the RUG combo deck that took a 15 minute turn 5 in the last round, knocking Mike out, and a U/W control that I witnessed dominate his first table. I felt a little underpowered having cut my explosive Rasputin powered starts and top end haymakers in Storm Herd and Eldrazi before the tourney.
I copied Jack's Magus of the Library with Phyrexian Metamorph in hopes of ramping a bit and I was able to steal a Grand Arbiter Augustine with Gilded Drake early, but Supreme Verdict from Tom ended that.
I then rebuilt my board quickly by copying Tom's Sun Titan with Rite of Replication, returning Gilded Drake and stealing the actual Sun Titan, then blinked Drake with Galepowder Mage and let it be sacrificed as neither other guy had any creatures left. Readying drake to be returned by either Sun Titan if they played any creatures. Unfortunately, another sweeper from Tom knocked me back down.
I pointed out that while Tom and I were battling each other, Jack was appearing to get close to going off... He had Eladamri's Vineyard in play with Garruk (the one that untaps two lands) and a full seven cards in hand thanks to the early Magus and multiple Fact or Fictions.
I pass a couple turns in a row having run out of gas after two awesome "starts". Tom then casts Hive Mind followed by.......................................... Shahrazad!
me: "Um, what do we do now?"
Jack: "JUDGE!"
Judge: "You guys are gonna be here 'til 2AM!"
Tom: "I don't have anything to do tomorrow"
me: "me neither. but I have to take a picture of this"
Jack: "Fuck this! I have a fucking life!" throws hand across the table and onto the floor, packs up his stuff and is literally out the door within minutes.
Tom is looking a bit regretful at this point, but there's little I enjoy more in EDH than one of my opponents rage-quitting. I can't stop laughing at Jack. This lightens the mood for Tom who also starts laughing which only sends Jack further over the edge. The judge rules that we only have two subgames to play since Jack scooped and Jack actually argues with him that Tom and I have to play three!
Anyway, with Jack gone Tom and I push our cards to the side, I switch to the other side the table and we start subgame1 (at 40 life each!). I get stomped as I stall on two islands and a colorless land with Wall of Omens and white blink instants in hand. The game lasts maybe 10 minutes. On to subgame2!
I keep a one land hand and Enlightened Tutor for Land Tax, determined not to get land screwed this game. We both skip land drops a couple turns until I get Tom to play a land by telling him I have an infinite combo in my deck, and Land Tax goes to work. I can't remember what happened the next 5 or so turns, but no one had any board advantage until I played Venser, the Sojourner and blinked Wall of Omens for a couple turns. Tom gets a flier on the board to try to control Venser, but I play Angel of Serenity (with Cavern of Souls), take out his flier and the Mulldrifter in my yard. With Venser a turn from his ultimate Tom scoops. The game lasted only about 15 minutes.
We go back to the original game with each of us halving our life totals. I'm also short on cards in hand and permanents in play. After Tom casts Kozilek and draws 4 I'm able to Overload Cyclonic rift while I have zero non-land permanents in play (so Hive Mind doesn't effect me). He discards Kozilek to use the shuffle effect. Disaster averted! Trinket Mage for Pithing Needle to shutdown his Sensei's Divining Top slows down his card advantage (he also has Future Sight). Isperia joins the table and starts drawing me cards while Tom is beating me down and Maze of Ith-ing whoever Isperia blocks.
I'm dangerously low on life now (having come back to this game with only 19 life instead of 38). Isperia has drawn me into Blasting Station and I cast Enlightened Tutor unsure if I should get Scroll Rack and try to dig for Karmic Guide and Reveillark/Body Double, or if I should just grab Parallax Wave and stall. I decide to stall and it works for a couple turns. But Tom plays Chancellor of the Spires and plays my Rite of Replication 9000 times (while I have Grafdigger's Cage in hand :'( ), with the last Chancellor targeting my Enlightened Tutor, grabbing Phyrexian Metamorph, playing it off the top with Future Sight, copying my Blasting Station, then casting Wipe Away on my Parallax Wave (that has zero counters left) and shoots me three times with his cloned Blasting Station.
A very cool way to finish a very crazy Commander game.
-Eric
I was looking forward to playing my U/W Blink deck, formerly commanded by Rasputin, and now lead by the new Isperia from Return to Ravnica and updated with a handful of the new cards. With the change in commander, the top end of my curve shrunk with Eldrazi and Storm Herd getting the axe.
I got to Gotham early and played some standard with Mike using his decks. I liked his Bant deck I was piloting though I think it needs Avacyn's Pilgrim and Farseeks. Chromatic Lantern not so much. On to the tourney!
Round 1 vs Dayne w/ Sen Triplets and Chris w/ Jarad, Glolgar Lich Lord
I'd never seen Sen Triplets before and was very scared of him. I actually misread him, so some of my fear was probably unwarranted (I thought I wouldn't be able to play spells on my turn). Still, Sen would most likely target me every turn possible since Dayne would be able to cast any card in my hand.
I would go on to dominate the match however with Galepowder Mage blinking Duplicant and Phyrexian Ingester to exile every opposing creature - literally. By the end I felt a little bad about taking out Dayne as fast as possible when it turned out he had a Sphinx themed deck and was in hindsight not nearly as much of a threat as I treated him as. He was a good sport though, as was Chris who played lots of cool equipment but couldn't find enough creatures to get things going. One play of note: I did Ghostaway + Supreme Verdict one turn :)
Round 2 vs Jack w/ Maelstrom Wanderer and Tom w/ Isperia, Supreme Judge
So I'm playing against the RUG combo deck that took a 15 minute turn 5 in the last round, knocking Mike out, and a U/W control that I witnessed dominate his first table. I felt a little underpowered having cut my explosive Rasputin powered starts and top end haymakers in Storm Herd and Eldrazi before the tourney.
I copied Jack's Magus of the Library with Phyrexian Metamorph in hopes of ramping a bit and I was able to steal a Grand Arbiter Augustine with Gilded Drake early, but Supreme Verdict from Tom ended that.
I then rebuilt my board quickly by copying Tom's Sun Titan with Rite of Replication, returning Gilded Drake and stealing the actual Sun Titan, then blinked Drake with Galepowder Mage and let it be sacrificed as neither other guy had any creatures left. Readying drake to be returned by either Sun Titan if they played any creatures. Unfortunately, another sweeper from Tom knocked me back down.
I pointed out that while Tom and I were battling each other, Jack was appearing to get close to going off... He had Eladamri's Vineyard in play with Garruk (the one that untaps two lands) and a full seven cards in hand thanks to the early Magus and multiple Fact or Fictions.
I pass a couple turns in a row having run out of gas after two awesome "starts". Tom then casts Hive Mind followed by.......................................... Shahrazad!
me: "Um, what do we do now?"
Jack: "JUDGE!"
Judge: "You guys are gonna be here 'til 2AM!"
Tom: "I don't have anything to do tomorrow"
me: "me neither. but I have to take a picture of this"
Jack: "Fuck this! I have a fucking life!" throws hand across the table and onto the floor, packs up his stuff and is literally out the door within minutes.
Tom is looking a bit regretful at this point, but there's little I enjoy more in EDH than one of my opponents rage-quitting. I can't stop laughing at Jack. This lightens the mood for Tom who also starts laughing which only sends Jack further over the edge. The judge rules that we only have two subgames to play since Jack scooped and Jack actually argues with him that Tom and I have to play three!
Anyway, with Jack gone Tom and I push our cards to the side, I switch to the other side the table and we start subgame1 (at 40 life each!). I get stomped as I stall on two islands and a colorless land with Wall of Omens and white blink instants in hand. The game lasts maybe 10 minutes. On to subgame2!
I keep a one land hand and Enlightened Tutor for Land Tax, determined not to get land screwed this game. We both skip land drops a couple turns until I get Tom to play a land by telling him I have an infinite combo in my deck, and Land Tax goes to work. I can't remember what happened the next 5 or so turns, but no one had any board advantage until I played Venser, the Sojourner and blinked Wall of Omens for a couple turns. Tom gets a flier on the board to try to control Venser, but I play Angel of Serenity (with Cavern of Souls), take out his flier and the Mulldrifter in my yard. With Venser a turn from his ultimate Tom scoops. The game lasted only about 15 minutes.
We go back to the original game with each of us halving our life totals. I'm also short on cards in hand and permanents in play. After Tom casts Kozilek and draws 4 I'm able to Overload Cyclonic rift while I have zero non-land permanents in play (so Hive Mind doesn't effect me). He discards Kozilek to use the shuffle effect. Disaster averted! Trinket Mage for Pithing Needle to shutdown his Sensei's Divining Top slows down his card advantage (he also has Future Sight). Isperia joins the table and starts drawing me cards while Tom is beating me down and Maze of Ith-ing whoever Isperia blocks.
I'm dangerously low on life now (having come back to this game with only 19 life instead of 38). Isperia has drawn me into Blasting Station and I cast Enlightened Tutor unsure if I should get Scroll Rack and try to dig for Karmic Guide and Reveillark/Body Double, or if I should just grab Parallax Wave and stall. I decide to stall and it works for a couple turns. But Tom plays Chancellor of the Spires and plays my Rite of Replication 9000 times (while I have Grafdigger's Cage in hand :'( ), with the last Chancellor targeting my Enlightened Tutor, grabbing Phyrexian Metamorph, playing it off the top with Future Sight, copying my Blasting Station, then casting Wipe Away on my Parallax Wave (that has zero counters left) and shoots me three times with his cloned Blasting Station.
A very cool way to finish a very crazy Commander game.
-Eric
Friday, October 19, 2012
ThNM 10/18/12
Thursday night Magic at Beyond Comics in Frederick, MD.
I took my Jund, but before I did, I opted to take out three Falkenrath Aristocrats (moving them to the sideboard) and put back in Deadbridge Goliath. I felt that against aggressive decks, having the ability to be a 5/5 blocker was very good.
We had 10 people and played three rounds.
Round 1: Stephen with B/W/G tokens
Stephen came out swinging in game 1 with multiple Rancors, Lingering Souls, and Intangible Virtue. I played my Deathrite Shaman poorly (forgetting to exile Lingering Souls before he could flash it back in the next turn.) In games two and three I was able to get Olivia Voldaren and Bonfire of the Damned working to take control of his creatures (getting them to block each other) and wiping his board in general. He did make at least one error as he played and flashed back a Lingering Souls in the same turn which let my Bonfire of the Damned get full value when I swept his board again. Vraska the Unseen performed very well here, taking out the Intangible Virtues. (2-1)
Round 2: George with B/R aggro. George opened up early with an unleashed Rakdos Cackler followed by back to back Vexing Devils. I got out a Huntmaster of the Fells followed by Thragtusk and played defensively until I drew a Bonfire to sweep him up. In game two, he drew too many "dependency cards" (Cards that depend on another permanent to use) and was facing down Garruk Relentless and a Vampire Nighthawk. I finally was able to cast the face-rape-o-matic (Thundermaw Hellkite) to win but it was not close. George showed his hand of two Flings and two other creature enchantments, perfect for his 9 lands and lone Grafdigger's Cage...
(2-0)
We then played some practice games with me piloting my Bant control deck.
Round 3: Tim with B/R Zombies.
[At this point Tim and I are the only 2-0's and choose to ID to lock up 1 and 2, we decide to play for fun]
Tim: Turn 1: Unleased Rakdos Cackler; Turn 2: Unleased Rakdos Cackler, Gravecrawler, Swing for 2.
I then spent two turns Ramping into a 2 point Bonfire of the Damned. He finally dropped a Falkenrath Aristocrat (he was having issues getting BBB for Geralf's messenger) who died to FRoM (Face-Rape-o-Matic). Blood Artist and Geralf's Messenger came down to hang. I dropped some Thragtusks and Olivia Voldaren and was able to ping and swing.
In game two he got a similar start (Unleashed Rakdos Cackler, Gravecrawler, Gravecrawler)
I went Tapped Blood Crypt, Forest, Farseek for Overgrown Tomb, Forest into two Gatecreeper Vines, Bonfire for 2. I then asked "cards in hand?" he said five and I Rakdos's Returned him for four of them. I then dropped Thragtusk and Deathrite Shaman. He dropped Geralf's messenger. Messenger attacked, I blocked with Thragtusk, they traded, then with "Undying" on the stack, Deathrite Shaman exiled Geralf's Messenger. It pretty much ended there.
(ID) [2-0]
So I went 2-1, 2-0, ID(2-0). My tiebreakers
Got four packs, a Silverblade Paladin Promo, and a Staff of Nin promo. (Not bad)
I am really liking having Deadbridge Goliath instead of Falkenrath Aristocrat for the added value of a Body that does not die to Mizzium Mortars and the ability to Scavenge it out of the Graveyard. (Which I did to a Vampire Nighthawk, giving him 'swing like you are Griselbrand' status).
Vraska the Unseen was excellent as a remover of trouble permanents, although I did not face any Planeswalkers. Garruk Relentless continues to win games. Bonfire (despite dropping in price) continues to impress.
Until next time.
I took my Jund, but before I did, I opted to take out three Falkenrath Aristocrats (moving them to the sideboard) and put back in Deadbridge Goliath. I felt that against aggressive decks, having the ability to be a 5/5 blocker was very good.
We had 10 people and played three rounds.
Round 1: Stephen with B/W/G tokens
Stephen came out swinging in game 1 with multiple Rancors, Lingering Souls, and Intangible Virtue. I played my Deathrite Shaman poorly (forgetting to exile Lingering Souls before he could flash it back in the next turn.) In games two and three I was able to get Olivia Voldaren and Bonfire of the Damned working to take control of his creatures (getting them to block each other) and wiping his board in general. He did make at least one error as he played and flashed back a Lingering Souls in the same turn which let my Bonfire of the Damned get full value when I swept his board again. Vraska the Unseen performed very well here, taking out the Intangible Virtues. (2-1)
Round 2: George with B/R aggro. George opened up early with an unleashed Rakdos Cackler followed by back to back Vexing Devils. I got out a Huntmaster of the Fells followed by Thragtusk and played defensively until I drew a Bonfire to sweep him up. In game two, he drew too many "dependency cards" (Cards that depend on another permanent to use) and was facing down Garruk Relentless and a Vampire Nighthawk. I finally was able to cast the face-rape-o-matic (Thundermaw Hellkite) to win but it was not close. George showed his hand of two Flings and two other creature enchantments, perfect for his 9 lands and lone Grafdigger's Cage...
(2-0)
We then played some practice games with me piloting my Bant control deck.
Round 3: Tim with B/R Zombies.
[At this point Tim and I are the only 2-0's and choose to ID to lock up 1 and 2, we decide to play for fun]
Tim: Turn 1: Unleased Rakdos Cackler; Turn 2: Unleased Rakdos Cackler, Gravecrawler, Swing for 2.
I then spent two turns Ramping into a 2 point Bonfire of the Damned. He finally dropped a Falkenrath Aristocrat (he was having issues getting BBB for Geralf's messenger) who died to FRoM (Face-Rape-o-Matic). Blood Artist and Geralf's Messenger came down to hang. I dropped some Thragtusks and Olivia Voldaren and was able to ping and swing.
In game two he got a similar start (Unleashed Rakdos Cackler, Gravecrawler, Gravecrawler)
I went Tapped Blood Crypt, Forest, Farseek for Overgrown Tomb, Forest into two Gatecreeper Vines, Bonfire for 2. I then asked "cards in hand?" he said five and I Rakdos's Returned him for four of them. I then dropped Thragtusk and Deathrite Shaman. He dropped Geralf's messenger. Messenger attacked, I blocked with Thragtusk, they traded, then with "Undying" on the stack, Deathrite Shaman exiled Geralf's Messenger. It pretty much ended there.
(ID) [2-0]
So I went 2-1, 2-0, ID(2-0). My tiebreakers
Got four packs, a Silverblade Paladin Promo, and a Staff of Nin promo. (Not bad)
I am really liking having Deadbridge Goliath instead of Falkenrath Aristocrat for the added value of a Body that does not die to Mizzium Mortars and the ability to Scavenge it out of the Graveyard. (Which I did to a Vampire Nighthawk, giving him 'swing like you are Griselbrand' status).
Vraska the Unseen was excellent as a remover of trouble permanents, although I did not face any Planeswalkers. Garruk Relentless continues to win games. Bonfire (despite dropping in price) continues to impress.
Until next time.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
FNM 10/12/12
I went to FNM on 10/12/12 at Gotham Comics in Westminster, MD.
I took an early iteration of my Jund mid-aggro deck. The format was only a week old at this point.
1 Deathrite Shaman
2 Gatecreeper Vine
3 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Deadbridge Goliath
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Olivia Voldaren
4 Thragtusk
3 Thundermaw Face-raper
4 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Farseek
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Garruk Relentless
2 Vraska the Unseen
4 Blood Crypt
7 Forest
2 Kessig Wolf Run
5 Mountain
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Swamp
Sideboard:
2 Deathrite Shaman
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Dreadbore
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Sever the Bloodline
2 Slaughter Games
2 Zealous Conscripts
Round 1: Paul with Red/White/Blue Miracles
Pauls deck was a lot like the deck that won the SCG event the weekend before. The combination of Jace, Architect of Thought and Tamiyo, the Moon Sage was a little much for me to deal with after being hit by Terminus. In game two, I sided in Slaughter Games, but went for Terminus rather than Entreat the Angels, which I lost to. Definitely a misplay on my part.
(0-2)
Round 2: Eric with Budget Mono Blue Mill
Eric has very little board interaction in his deck, opting just to mill the opponent. In both games, he died to Vraska's Assassins, while I was above 20 life.
(2-0)
Round 3: Brandon {For the life of me I cannot recall what he played}
Brandon probably did not build his deck very well as he had all sorts of mana issues in both games. We didn't really play magic so much as Thragtusk and Huntmaster ran all over the board, while he got mana screwed and then color screwed.
I did however, get some practice games in with my Bant deck.
(2-0)
Round 4: Tyler with Red/Blue Control
This was my most unpleasant match-up in a long time. I won both games handily. It was the attitude of my opponent that made the match unpleasant. To be fair to him, he did not start becoming angry until after game one.
For example:
So I went 0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0. I took third, I got a few packs and a promo Evolving Wilds. Not too bad!
I have since made changes to Jund by subtracting a Thragtusk and adding in a second Olivia. I subbed out the three Deadbridge Goliaths and threw in three Falkenrath Aristocrats.
Until next time.
I took an early iteration of my Jund mid-aggro deck. The format was only a week old at this point.
1 Deathrite Shaman
2 Gatecreeper Vine
3 Vampire Nighthawk
3 Deadbridge Goliath
3 Huntmaster of the Fells
1 Olivia Voldaren
4 Thragtusk
3 Thundermaw Face-raper
4 Bonfire of the Damned
4 Farseek
2 Rakdos's Return
3 Garruk Relentless
2 Vraska the Unseen
4 Blood Crypt
7 Forest
2 Kessig Wolf Run
5 Mountain
4 Overgrown Tomb
3 Swamp
Sideboard:
2 Deathrite Shaman
3 Pillar of Flame
2 Dreadbore
2 Mizzium Mortars
2 Sever the Bloodline
2 Slaughter Games
2 Zealous Conscripts
Round 1: Paul with Red/White/Blue Miracles
Pauls deck was a lot like the deck that won the SCG event the weekend before. The combination of Jace, Architect of Thought and Tamiyo, the Moon Sage was a little much for me to deal with after being hit by Terminus. In game two, I sided in Slaughter Games, but went for Terminus rather than Entreat the Angels, which I lost to. Definitely a misplay on my part.
(0-2)
Round 2: Eric with Budget Mono Blue Mill
Eric has very little board interaction in his deck, opting just to mill the opponent. In both games, he died to Vraska's Assassins, while I was above 20 life.
(2-0)
Round 3: Brandon {For the life of me I cannot recall what he played}
Brandon probably did not build his deck very well as he had all sorts of mana issues in both games. We didn't really play magic so much as Thragtusk and Huntmaster ran all over the board, while he got mana screwed and then color screwed.
I did however, get some practice games in with my Bant deck.
(2-0)
Round 4: Tyler with Red/Blue Control
This was my most unpleasant match-up in a long time. I won both games handily. It was the attitude of my opponent that made the match unpleasant. To be fair to him, he did not start becoming angry until after game one.
For example:
- When I cast Slaughter Games in game two naming "Jace, Architect of Thought", he revealed his hand, which had a Jace, Cyclonic Rift, and a Bonfire of the Damned. He asked if I was going to search his library to which I replied that I wanted to write down the two cards in his first. Then he exploded with "Are you one of those people? You are THAT guy! This is fucking FNM! Do you want to search my fucking sideboard too?" Ugh.
- Later, he had managed to flip two delvers, he hit me for 6. I bonfired (non-miracle) for two. He literally shook with rage. He then mentioned that he was "fine until his third round". (The one he lost to get paired with me) I think I see a pattern.
- I cast Rakdos's Return, for two to play around Izzet Charm and he scooped. He refused a handshake offer. I told him "be sporting". He replied "if I was anything it is not a good sport".
- He then proceeded to mention about how much he hates playing me, but I could not remember ever playing him. (apparently I had) The reason that he gave was "because I was too full of myself. I do not know exactly what I said to him, but apparently he has a big issue with losing games of Magic: The Gathering.
- He then complained to the store owner about the game and how bullshit it was.
So I went 0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 2-0. I took third, I got a few packs and a promo Evolving Wilds. Not too bad!
I have since made changes to Jund by subtracting a Thragtusk and adding in a second Olivia. I subbed out the three Deadbridge Goliaths and threw in three Falkenrath Aristocrats.
Until next time.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Limited RTR Weekend 6-1-1, 2-1-1, 2-0
Magic, magic, and more magic. After picking up my two boxes of RTR (Return to Ravnica) I decided on building a GWB Rock standard deck. After spending $200 on the cards I needed, I goldfished the deck and hated it. My deck kept morphing over the next couple of days from G/W midrange to Bant midrange back to G/W. Finally, I decided on G/W, but still needed to pick up some Tristoni’s. This weekend had States standard event on Sunday at Dreamwizards, but also had a sealed PTQ on Saturday. Since my better half was working this weekend I decided to part take in the all day PTQ on Saturday with James Peyton. I was passed a decent pool with Isperia, Supreme Judge, Mercurial Chemister, and Righteous Authority. I had some decent detain guys packed with a few good removal spells. Jimmy and I both started out 2 -0. We got paired in the 3rd round and ID’d so that we could get some PHO noodles. Our 4th round we both lost, but the games were close. I continued to dismantle opponents until the 8th round where before I sat down I told the guy I am X-1-1 and can make top 8 so whatever you are thinking the answer is yes, followed with a chopping motion in my hand to signify half the box prize split. He scooped and we played for fun, which he ended up beating me. The round ended with 5th-10th all having the same records. I got 10th. A guy whom I thought to be a nice individual, Ty Dobbertin, got 9th and was very pissed that my opponent who he knew scooped to me. Ty claims he could have gotten in as he had already played and beaten him earlier, screw Ty. I was not upset, I guess because it had been awhile since I had done well at a medium level event. I was also tired and wanted to go home (9 hours of magic). I received 12 packs for 10th and gave 9 to the guy who scooped to me as that’s what he would have gotten had he beat me with an X-2 record. I did also pick up an Overgrown Tomb and a Loelth Troll so I at least got my money back as rage busting the packs got nothing.
Sunday I was overwhelmed with many choices in States (Rockville), GPT (Sealed – Frederick), Colorfest with Jimmy (Thumont), Ravens game (Scalp Tickets), or fishing. States was immediately thrown out as Saturday I tested my G/W against a U/W control and got crushed. I could play my zombies, but didn’t feel like it. I decided to organize my cards and go to the GPT for another whack at sealed after doing so well the day before. Some guys I haven’t played with for awhile were there and Dave’s “Thanks for Playing” had moved to a new location, 5 mins from its old. I immediately sold off my extra Badlands for $40 and wanted to sell lots of cards I don’t use ever. I unloaded $350 to the store getting about half of Star City pricing. I didn’t mind as one day these cards will be worth less than it costs to make them. The tourney only had 16 kids which was nice as it was cut to top 8 with a draft. I opened a pretty good pool with 2 chaotic imps and the rakdos lord, but unfortunately had to pass it. I ended up building a bant deck. It didn’t have any real bombs just some good cards that worked well together. I ended up going 2-1 and everyone in the last round could draw in so we saved some time and started the draft. I had never drafted the new set RTR, but after playing so much limited I knew which cards were good. I opened a terrible rare, but the pack contained the u/w detain guildmage. This pick was a poor first pick as it could lock me into u/w off the bat. I didn’t mind though because this set has multiple fixers. Pack 2 opened a Supreme Verdict and pack 3 opened a Detention Sphere so it was probably a good choice going with u/w/g. I managed to pick up some detain creatures, lots of removal, 7 I believe. My bant deck came together nicely. I won the first 2 rounds. After finding out that Gran Prix Philly is the weekend before Halloween (P-A-R-T-I-E-S) I decided to drop before the finals with Nick Stone, giving him the 3 byes. I did want to play him for fun to see if my bant could beat his Rackdos, but it was getting late and I needed to get some stuff done. So another fun filled Magic weekend…
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Deck Tech: Bant Mid Blink Control
Back when Avacyn Restored was released, I toyed with the idea of a Flicker deck using (then the new) Deadeye Navigator and a bunch of utility creatures with Havengul Lich. The deck, at the time, turned out to be bad. The mana was funky and there were not a lot of good creature targets in the colors I had.
With the addition of M13 and RtR, I found a more suitable host of creatures, stall cards, and mana fixers to make this deck a reality.
Creatures(25)
3 Centaur Healer
3 Fiend Hunter
2 Lyev Skyknight
2 Azorious Justicar
2 Restoration Angel
3 Acidic Slime
3 Thragtusk
4 Deadeye Navigator
3 Angel of Serenity
Instant(2)
2 Sphinx's Revelation
Artifact(4)
4 Chromatic Lantern
Enchantment(2)
2 Detention Sphere
Planeswalker(2)
2 Garruk Relentless
Lands(25)
6 Forest
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
3 Island
4 Plains
4 Temple Garden
Centaur Healer: Great 3-drop, especially against all of the two power creatures out there. 3/3 and gain three life.
Fiend Hunter: Almost a necessity against LOLtroll and others. You can play some fun games with him and Deadeye Navigator.
Lyev Skyknight: Good for stalling (through Detain) and can lock down any Non-Land permanent. (Including Planeswalkers)
Azorious Justicar: An exceptional value four-drop. The ability to detain two creatures can get you out of some early games LOLtroll/Geralf's Messenger messes.
Restoration Angel: Makes all other creatures around her better. A fun utility target for Deadeye Navigator.
Acidic Slime: If you are not a creature, you are going to die. One of my favorite green cards of all time for his utility and chump-blockerness. When paired with Deadeye, he can level your opponents game-state.
Thragtusk: 5/3, gain 5 life, when Deadeye blinks him, the game can get out of hand. He is my go-to aggro finisher.
Deadeye Navigator: My only 6 drop in the deck, he is also the lynchpin of the deck. When he is paired with any other creature in this deck, he provides an incredible impact to the board-state. Also allows for instant speed shenanigans with Fiend Hunter and Angel of Serenity.
Angel of Serenity: This card lives up to the hype. It is pricey in terms of mana cost as a seven-drop that needs three white. If I can untap with her and a Deadeye Navigator, I feel it is hard to lose.
Sphinx's Revelation: Pretty much a stall-breaker if I am getting flooded.
Chromatic Lantern: An mana accelerator and the ultimate color fixer.
Detention Sphere: I do not know if Populate is a thing yet, but I want to make sure I am not caught unawares. Also, Entreat the Angels is still legal, and awesome.
Garruk Relentless: My love for this jack-of-all trades is nothing new. This card does it all.
The sideboard for this deck is still a work in progress. See how the landscape develops. Right now I put in some Supreme Verdicts, Nevermore, Pithing Needle, and Rest in Peace.
There are a distinct lack of one-drops and two-drops in this deck. I feel decks that utilize a ton of them, tend to falter in the mid-to-late game. Unless those decks can kill me in 4-5 turns, I feel like I can come back and regain control of the board.
I think that playing against this deck might be frustrating to an opponent, as I have many ways of locking them down and unless they concede, it might take a few turns before I can actually kill them.
I do not know this deck fares against any kind of disruption. Discard cards and mass removal certainly can rain on my parade. I am not sure how vulnerable I am to a pure creature-aggro deck. I am certainly vulnerable in the first few turns. I will see how playtesting pans out.
Until next time.
With the addition of M13 and RtR, I found a more suitable host of creatures, stall cards, and mana fixers to make this deck a reality.
Creatures(25)
3 Centaur Healer
3 Fiend Hunter
2 Lyev Skyknight
2 Azorious Justicar
2 Restoration Angel
3 Acidic Slime
3 Thragtusk
4 Deadeye Navigator
3 Angel of Serenity
Instant(2)
2 Sphinx's Revelation
Artifact(4)
4 Chromatic Lantern
Enchantment(2)
2 Detention Sphere
Planeswalker(2)
2 Garruk Relentless
Lands(25)
6 Forest
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Hinterland Harbor
3 Island
4 Plains
4 Temple Garden
Centaur Healer: Great 3-drop, especially against all of the two power creatures out there. 3/3 and gain three life.
Fiend Hunter: Almost a necessity against LOLtroll and others. You can play some fun games with him and Deadeye Navigator.
Lyev Skyknight: Good for stalling (through Detain) and can lock down any Non-Land permanent. (Including Planeswalkers)
Azorious Justicar: An exceptional value four-drop. The ability to detain two creatures can get you out of some early games LOLtroll/Geralf's Messenger messes.
Restoration Angel: Makes all other creatures around her better. A fun utility target for Deadeye Navigator.
Acidic Slime: If you are not a creature, you are going to die. One of my favorite green cards of all time for his utility and chump-blockerness. When paired with Deadeye, he can level your opponents game-state.
Thragtusk: 5/3, gain 5 life, when Deadeye blinks him, the game can get out of hand. He is my go-to aggro finisher.
Deadeye Navigator: My only 6 drop in the deck, he is also the lynchpin of the deck. When he is paired with any other creature in this deck, he provides an incredible impact to the board-state. Also allows for instant speed shenanigans with Fiend Hunter and Angel of Serenity.
Angel of Serenity: This card lives up to the hype. It is pricey in terms of mana cost as a seven-drop that needs three white. If I can untap with her and a Deadeye Navigator, I feel it is hard to lose.
Sphinx's Revelation: Pretty much a stall-breaker if I am getting flooded.
Chromatic Lantern: An mana accelerator and the ultimate color fixer.
Detention Sphere: I do not know if Populate is a thing yet, but I want to make sure I am not caught unawares. Also, Entreat the Angels is still legal, and awesome.
Garruk Relentless: My love for this jack-of-all trades is nothing new. This card does it all.
The sideboard for this deck is still a work in progress. See how the landscape develops. Right now I put in some Supreme Verdicts, Nevermore, Pithing Needle, and Rest in Peace.
There are a distinct lack of one-drops and two-drops in this deck. I feel decks that utilize a ton of them, tend to falter in the mid-to-late game. Unless those decks can kill me in 4-5 turns, I feel like I can come back and regain control of the board.
I think that playing against this deck might be frustrating to an opponent, as I have many ways of locking them down and unless they concede, it might take a few turns before I can actually kill them.
I do not know this deck fares against any kind of disruption. Discard cards and mass removal certainly can rain on my parade. I am not sure how vulnerable I am to a pure creature-aggro deck. I am certainly vulnerable in the first few turns. I will see how playtesting pans out.
Until next time.
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