I realize I haven't updated my blog in over 5 months but there reall hasn't been anything for me to write about except for those 2 PTQ wins and the money in PT Honolulu. Today I'm here to write about my latest PTQ win last weekend in the scenic Wichita, KS.
The week leading up to the PTQ I had no idea what I wanted to play. I had had minor sucess with 5cb and Elementals but only on a local level and I didn't really like the decks enough to PTQ with. There weren't any decks that I liked but Boss and Kenny kept talking about this Elf deck. It had been a while since I modo'd for anything other than draft so I didn't know it had been putting up some decent results. When I saw other people who's opinions I actually respect saying the deck is good I decided I would give B.J. and Kenny a chance. I put the deck together in MWS and goldfished the deck a few times then beat up on some randoms. The Thursday before the PTQ I decided I would be gaming with 4x Regal Force and maybe even some Mosswort Bridges.
After borrowing what Boss had put together, changing some cards around and finding the Sunpetal Groves and Archdruids I had my deck. The plan was to meet up at Win More and drive down in the morning with Coonan and Scott. I got back to Danielles place around 1:30, she got home at 2:00 and I got to sleep around 3:30. Next thing I know my alarm is going off and I'm having thoughts of calling up Scott and telling him they can leave without me because there is no possible way I'm getting out of this bed right now. Then I remember I have cards that I have to loan out to Brett McCleaf and Loren Canady. Couldn't bring myself to end the PTQ for these guys because I was too lazy so I get up and head out.
The drive down was uneventful. I head my headphones on and tried to sleep in the back but that didn't work out. When we got there we saw that the place it was being held at was also having a farmers markey outside. SCORE! There was enough vegetables, wooden crafts and old people to go around.
I register this:
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Heritage Druid
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Devoted Druid
4 Elvish Visionary
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Ranger of Eos
4 Regal Force
1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
1 Vampire Aristocrat
1 Elvish Promenade
2 Manamorphose
4 Primal Command
1 Mosswort Bridge
4 Sunpetal Grove
4 Wooded Bastion
10 Forest
SB:
1 Quasili Pridemage
2 Burrenton Forge-Tender
2 Silence
3 Path to Exile
3 Cloudthresher
4 Great Sable Stag
The event finally started almost an hour late but I guess I'm only complaining because I'm a KC player and have been spoiled rotten by Feral Events, Lloyd Dodson and Josh Olson.
DISCLAIMER: I HAVE NO NOTES FROM THIS TOURNAMENT SO THIS IS ALL WHAT I CAN REMEMBER.
Round 1: Justin Boyle - Doran
Before the match starts he has his SB laying face up on the table and I see some Canonists and Fallouts. Couldn't really tell what he was playing from this but I knew what I was going to want to bring in. He plays a turn 2 Rhox War Monk and a Doran on 3. I have Devoted Druid and an Archdruid before I play Ranger of Eos for Nettle and Heritage. I chump block the next turn and easily go off the next turn by putting 2 of his lands on top and making a huge army before he scoops.
-2 Manamophose -1 Vampire -1 Promenade
+3 Path to Exile +1 Pridemage
Game 2 is a turn 2 Doran who beats down for a little while before I can lay down a Regal Force to draw 4-5 cards and go off next turn.
1-0
Round 2: Random - Kithkin
Game 1 I get ran the fuck over. I didn't come out nearly fast enough and there came a turn where I set it up to win next turn if he didn't have another Honor of the Pure or an Ajani. He had the Honor and took me down with Spirit tokens.
-1 Manamorphose -1 Vampire -1 Promenade -1 Burrenton Forge-Tender
+3 Path +1 Pridemage
Game 2 my opponent plays a Snow-Covered Plains on turn 2 and I put my hand in the air and call for a judge. Some guy sitting next to me starts saying, "You're calling him on a Snow-Covered Plains? Wow, wow." I told him if I don't call a judge and just allow it I'm cheating too but he is having none of it. I'm just a huge douchebag, obviously. He then asks me what my name is and says to the rest of the table we're at, "Quick, somebody twitter this, this guy is calling a judge on a Snow-Covered Plains." Zandi GL's him and has him replace it with a normal Plains.
Game 3 my opponent has this sick curve:
Turn 1: Plains
Turn 2: Windbrisk Heights
Turn 3: Plains, Honor of the Pure
Turn 4: Plains, Honor of the Pure
Turn 5: Plains, Figure of Destiny.
This game was CLOSE.
2-0
Round 3: 5cCascade - Ben Jackson
Ben is a friend of mine and before the tournament he had shipped me the list that he was playing since I gave him the Reveillark list he had used to Top 8 a PTQ in Texas at the begining of the season. I just told him I was playing Elves since I hadn't decided on a list yet. Game 1 I get a fast draw and he has one turn in which to Jund Charm me, but my hand was stocked as I just Regal Forced so I was probably going to win anyways, his Bloodbraid Elf misses and we are on to game 2.
-1 Vampire -1 Promenade
+2 Forge-Tenders
I know after board he has Fallouts and Infests.
It ends up not mattering as he never hits a 3rd land to play either.
3-0
Round 4: Tyler Kozal - 4cCascade
His deck is like Bens but has stuff like Primal Command and Baneslayer where Ben has Esper Charms and Grixis Charms. I really can't remember much about this match. I think he may have gotten mana screwed in game 2 and wasn't able to play his Hallowed Burials but this match is really foggy in my head for some reason.
4-0
Round 5: John - Elf Combo
There isn't anything to say about the mirror, a lot is the die roll and whoever gets faster hands. I mulled to 6 all three games. I won game 2 on the back of Silence and kept a 1 lander in game 3 and didn't even come close to getting there.
4-1
Round 6: Jason Goliher - 5cc
Game one goes like it probably should. I sand bag combo pieces, play other guys, they all die to sweepers (or Plumeveils and Cloudthreshers in combat) in pairs until he runs out of sweepers and I play Primal Command to shuffle my graveyard in and search up a Ranger of Eos (Best card in the deck by far). The turn after I do that he draws a MD Haunting Echoes and exiles all my Primal Commands. After that I play Nettle, Heritage, Devoted Druid and tap those 3 for Archdriud. Put a counter on Devoted and tap Nettle, Devoted and Archdriud for a Promenade for 4. He draws a Mulldrifter, plays it and passes. I am able to draw most of the cards in my deck without tapping any of the tokens or the Heritage Druid, play 2 more Archdruids and attack for lethal past his 2 blockers.
-1 Promenade -1 Vampire -1 Manamorphose
+1 Burrenton Forge-Tender +2 Silence
I know he has mostly sorcery removal in Firespout, Hallowed Burial, and Maelstrom Pulse not to mention Cruel Ultimatum so I figure the Silences will be practically Time Walks and better than more Forge-Tenders or the cards I had in the main.
Game 2 was all about the little green man beat down. Since I knew he would take out Plumeveil I was free to swing in as much as I wanted. I forget a lot of the specifics but it mostly came down to playing a second Regal Force off the Bridge before he killed my guys and played Cruel Ultimatum. The game ended like this. I attack him down to 3 after Cruel resolves and then attack with Regal Force, he flashes in Cloudthresher and blocks putting him down to 1. I play Visionary, Visionary, Llanowar Elf and pass the turn. In his upkeep I play Silence and he looks like he just died a little inside. He tanks, looking at the cards in his hand like the actually matter, and passes. I untap a put a card into my hand from my library without looking at it and turn my 3 guys sideways and he shrugs and scoops. His hand after I played Silence was Firespout, Cruel, and Maelstrom Pulse.
5-1
Round 7: Some guy - doesn't matter
We draw into Top 8.
5-1-1
Top 8: Kenny Punter - Elf Combo
I actually don't remember much about these matches except I lost the die roll, he won game 1, I won game 2 and then Silence got him game 3. He took it like a man though.
6-1-1
Top 4: Some guy - Boat Brew(ish?)
Kenny lost to this guy earlier in the tournament so I knew he had Canonist and Firespouts in his board. Agains, I'm sorry I don't remember too much about this match. I was way to fast for him game 1. I brought in Paths, Pridemage, and a Forge-Tender. Game two I didn't have much gas and he killed my guys then me. Game 3 I Primal'd for a Pridemage twice to kill his Canonist then I just sat back and held a hand of Llanowar Elves, Llanowar Elves, Nettle, Nettle, Nettle, Heritage, Regal Force until he did something about my 2 Ranger of Eos that were beating him down. Finally he tapped down to play Austere Command leaving 2 mana up and 1 card in hand. On my turn I draw Ranger of Eos (!!FUCK YEAH!!) and play Nettle, Nettle, Heritage. I tap for 3 and he Paths my Heritage Druid in resp to the other Nettle. I play Ranger for 2 Heritage Druids, play all my guys but don't draw a Primal to put the game away. He has one turn to draw another Austere Command. He doesn't and I'm on to finals.
7-1-1
Finals: Another some guy - Elementals
Normally this matchup should be a bye as they have almost no ways to interact with you and not a fast enough clock to race me. Their Soul Wardens don't matter since you can go infi with Vampire Aristocrat and Primal Command. Game 1 he gets a redic draw with turn 4 Horde of Notions with an active Bloom Tender in play so he can regrow Mulldrifter. Doesnt' matter cause I kill him the turn before he attacks me for ~40 in the air. He seems really shocked and off put and says, "I really don't know how I can lose with that hand especially when you mulligan."
The only way for me to lose this matchup is if he starts recuring creature kill with Horde of Notions so I board in 3 Path for 1 Elvish Promenade 1 Forge-Tender and 1 Manamorphose.
Sooooo he started recuring Nameless and Shriekmaw with Horde of Notions and I scooped.
Game 3 I played turn 1 Llanowar turn 2 Archdruid turn 3 Primal to Plow Under you and get a Regal Force and Mosswort Bridge finding another Regal. He just has lots of guys that make tons of mana but nothing to do with it. When I played the second Regal next turn I am able to find the combo pieces, I show him but he wants me to go a few steps farther to see if I actually have the mana. So I play a Devoted Druid and he scoops 'em up.
8-1-1
Ended up I was lucky my tie breakers were shit in Honolulu so I could miss being q'd and be able to PTQ for the ticket. It seems like these PTQ's just keep getting easier and easier to win. Hopefully with Honolulu, Nats, and Austin I'll be able to level up this year.
Look out next week for my Nats report, thanks for reading.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
My First SSC Draft
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this draft since I didn't know how the Conflux pack would change the draft.
I did the normal stay in a few colors for as long as possible and read signals.
I was basically in mono black until pack three which put me in Buw since I already had a Arcane Sanctum.
3 Dregscape Zombie
2 Tidehollow Strix
1 Zombie Outlander
1 Rotting Rats
2 Brackwater Elemental
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Nyxathid
1 Cunning Lethemancer
2 Viscera Dragger
1 Ethersworn Adjusticator
1 Corpse Connoisseur
1 Tar Fiend
1 Grixis Slavedriver
1 Undead Leotau
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Bone Splinters
1 Scepter of Fugue
1 Absorb Vis
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Plains
6 Island
9 Swamp
As you can see it is basically a UB deck with Unearth and discard themes that worked really well together. I even have 5(!!) rares in the deck.
Round 1: Matt something
Matt had a pretty good start with 2 Akrasan Squires and a Quisali Ambusher for my first Dregscape Zombie attack. I got down a Strix and a Zombie Outlander to hold back his guys and eventually finished him off with a few big Unearth turns and a Adjusticator. Game two I found out he wasn't playing a WG Exalted deck but some 5c abortion that just got lucky and drew that part of the deck last game. I held back his guys and emptied his hand with Scepter then finished him with another 2 big swings.
Round 2: Yosie
He seemed like he new how to play but had been out of the game for a while and was a little rusty on the rules. He had a decent Naya deck but it was pretty slow and just one removal spell on a big guy was enough for me to race the rest of them. Game two I got Adjusticator online and mowed down some guys, traded with some Unearth guys, then brought them back a few at a time to take him out.
Round 3: Rader
I had watched a few of Raders matches before this one and he had all the good rares for the Esper deck (Master of Etherium, Master Transmuter, Sphinx Summoner, and Sharuum) but not a lot of the early stuff so I was pretty sure I could handle it if I kept an aggresive hand. Game one he mulliganed to 5 on the play and wasn't able to keep up. Game two my discard and his not being able to hit his 6th land for 3-4 turns made it possible for me to just build up an army and swarm him out in two attacks.
Round 4: Boss
Once again my opponent had to mulligan to 5 on the play and I kept a 2 lander with lots of cheap gas. He hit Sphere to go get the lands he needed and I ended up drawing 10 lands and 4 spells that game. He was able to stabilize at one life and finish me off with an artificial Craw Wurm after having the random land cycling Counterspell for my random land cycling Drain Life. Game two was a much better game. I just got in for as much damage as I could when I could. Brackwater got in for lots of damage and he couldn't handle the second wave of creatures out of the graveyard. Game three he mulliganed to 5 on the play again. I killed his first guy which was a Sludge Strider but then he played a Tower Gargoyle and my Nyxathid was only a 3/3. I drew the Lethemancer and devised I plan of just sitting back until he did something because he was just drawing and passing with 4 mana up then discarding a land every turn. I wasn't about to walk into a Resounding Silence, I had him on this because at first I thought it was Agony Warp but he would have used that on the Lethemancer. Eventually he tapped lands for a Skill Borrower (SHITS WEEAAAAKKK!) and I emptied his hand with a Rotting Rats and got in there with Nyxathid and my Unearth guys. He drew a land for turn and it was all over.
The deck was amazing. Would draft again. I really like the format and am looking forward to drafting SSC again and again.
I did the normal stay in a few colors for as long as possible and read signals.
I was basically in mono black until pack three which put me in Buw since I already had a Arcane Sanctum.
3 Dregscape Zombie
2 Tidehollow Strix
1 Zombie Outlander
1 Rotting Rats
2 Brackwater Elemental
1 Fleshbag Marauder
1 Nyxathid
1 Cunning Lethemancer
2 Viscera Dragger
1 Ethersworn Adjusticator
1 Corpse Connoisseur
1 Tar Fiend
1 Grixis Slavedriver
1 Undead Leotau
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Bone Splinters
1 Scepter of Fugue
1 Absorb Vis
1 Arcane Sanctum
1 Plains
6 Island
9 Swamp
As you can see it is basically a UB deck with Unearth and discard themes that worked really well together. I even have 5(!!) rares in the deck.
Round 1: Matt something
Matt had a pretty good start with 2 Akrasan Squires and a Quisali Ambusher for my first Dregscape Zombie attack. I got down a Strix and a Zombie Outlander to hold back his guys and eventually finished him off with a few big Unearth turns and a Adjusticator. Game two I found out he wasn't playing a WG Exalted deck but some 5c abortion that just got lucky and drew that part of the deck last game. I held back his guys and emptied his hand with Scepter then finished him with another 2 big swings.
Round 2: Yosie
He seemed like he new how to play but had been out of the game for a while and was a little rusty on the rules. He had a decent Naya deck but it was pretty slow and just one removal spell on a big guy was enough for me to race the rest of them. Game two I got Adjusticator online and mowed down some guys, traded with some Unearth guys, then brought them back a few at a time to take him out.
Round 3: Rader
I had watched a few of Raders matches before this one and he had all the good rares for the Esper deck (Master of Etherium, Master Transmuter, Sphinx Summoner, and Sharuum) but not a lot of the early stuff so I was pretty sure I could handle it if I kept an aggresive hand. Game one he mulliganed to 5 on the play and wasn't able to keep up. Game two my discard and his not being able to hit his 6th land for 3-4 turns made it possible for me to just build up an army and swarm him out in two attacks.
Round 4: Boss
Once again my opponent had to mulligan to 5 on the play and I kept a 2 lander with lots of cheap gas. He hit Sphere to go get the lands he needed and I ended up drawing 10 lands and 4 spells that game. He was able to stabilize at one life and finish me off with an artificial Craw Wurm after having the random land cycling Counterspell for my random land cycling Drain Life. Game two was a much better game. I just got in for as much damage as I could when I could. Brackwater got in for lots of damage and he couldn't handle the second wave of creatures out of the graveyard. Game three he mulliganed to 5 on the play again. I killed his first guy which was a Sludge Strider but then he played a Tower Gargoyle and my Nyxathid was only a 3/3. I drew the Lethemancer and devised I plan of just sitting back until he did something because he was just drawing and passing with 4 mana up then discarding a land every turn. I wasn't about to walk into a Resounding Silence, I had him on this because at first I thought it was Agony Warp but he would have used that on the Lethemancer. Eventually he tapped lands for a Skill Borrower (SHITS WEEAAAAKKK!) and I emptied his hand with a Rotting Rats and got in there with Nyxathid and my Unearth guys. He drew a land for turn and it was all over.
The deck was amazing. Would draft again. I really like the format and am looking forward to drafting SSC again and again.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Pauper on MODO
I started playing this new format they have on MODO last night called Pauper. Deck construction rules are the same as for Classic except you can only use commons and Cranial Plating is banned. Didn't get to bed until 5 in the morning due to a mixture of Pauper and Zombie mode on Call of Duty: World at War (who doesn't love mowing down Nazi zombies?). Before I started I read two articles by Jake Van Lunen about the format over on mtg.com. Then I built one of the decks he suggested and it only cost ~12 tickets. He called it UW Artifacts but it is really a 5c Momentary Blink deck that has Trinket Mage, Leonin Squire and a crazy mana base. Here is what I played.
1 Ancient Den
3 Azorious Chancery
2 Dimir Aquaduct
1 Orzhov Basilica
4 Plains
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Tree of Tales
4 Island
1 Mountain
1 Great Furnace
3 Aven Riftwatcher
3 Man-o`-War
4 Trinket Mage
4 Mulldrifter
4 Leonin Squire
4 Blind Hunter
4 Chromatic Star
4 Chromatic Sphere
1 Terrerion
2 Executioner's Capsule
2 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Bonesplitter
4 Momentary Blink
SB:
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Echoing Truth
2 Rain of Embers
2 Steamcore Weird
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Bonesplitter
1 Aven Riftwatcher
The deck ran really well and was really fun to pilot. I only played about 5 matches but I x-1'd my only loss being to a Grapeshot Storm deck. I played that guy twice, won the first round because he fizzled his combo in games 1 and 3. He finally got me the second time around. I beat an Affinity deck, a Mono Red Burn deck, a UR Control deck with suspend and storm synergies, and some 5c Green abortion.
I think next I'm going to try my own take on the Affinity deck. As soon as I get home from work I'm gunna hit up the bots and put this bad boy together.
4 Ornithopter
2 Shield Sphere
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Krark-Clan Shaman
4 Frogmite
4 Somber Hovergaurd
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Lotus Petal
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Chromatic Star
2 Chromatis Sphere
4 Thoughtcast
2 Rush of Knowledge
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Great Furnace
4 Vault of Whispers
2 Tree of Tales
SB:
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Duress
4 Pyroblast (or which ever red blast is legal)
3 Executioner's Capsule
I've seen a few other Affinity builds when looking over some forums and the ones that I've seen with Disciple have either Thermal Navigator or Krark-Clan Grunt where I have the Shamans. I have the Shamans to give me a MD answer to the Goblin Storm decks (Empty the Warrens Combo) and Elf decks. Haven't played a game yet though so I have no idea.
From what I can tell there are plenty of vaible decks and lots of room for innovation since the format is relatively unexplored. I think the fun of playing the format is well worth the $10 so build a deck and I'll see you in the TP room!
1 Ancient Den
3 Azorious Chancery
2 Dimir Aquaduct
1 Orzhov Basilica
4 Plains
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers
1 Tree of Tales
4 Island
1 Mountain
1 Great Furnace
3 Aven Riftwatcher
3 Man-o`-War
4 Trinket Mage
4 Mulldrifter
4 Leonin Squire
4 Blind Hunter
4 Chromatic Star
4 Chromatic Sphere
1 Terrerion
2 Executioner's Capsule
2 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Bonesplitter
4 Momentary Blink
SB:
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Echoing Truth
2 Rain of Embers
2 Steamcore Weird
1 Executioner's Capsule
1 Bonesplitter
1 Aven Riftwatcher
The deck ran really well and was really fun to pilot. I only played about 5 matches but I x-1'd my only loss being to a Grapeshot Storm deck. I played that guy twice, won the first round because he fizzled his combo in games 1 and 3. He finally got me the second time around. I beat an Affinity deck, a Mono Red Burn deck, a UR Control deck with suspend and storm synergies, and some 5c Green abortion.
I think next I'm going to try my own take on the Affinity deck. As soon as I get home from work I'm gunna hit up the bots and put this bad boy together.
4 Ornithopter
2 Shield Sphere
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Krark-Clan Shaman
4 Frogmite
4 Somber Hovergaurd
4 Myr Enforcer
4 Lotus Petal
4 Springleaf Drum
4 Chromatic Star
2 Chromatis Sphere
4 Thoughtcast
2 Rush of Knowledge
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Great Furnace
4 Vault of Whispers
2 Tree of Tales
SB:
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Duress
4 Pyroblast (or which ever red blast is legal)
3 Executioner's Capsule
I've seen a few other Affinity builds when looking over some forums and the ones that I've seen with Disciple have either Thermal Navigator or Krark-Clan Grunt where I have the Shamans. I have the Shamans to give me a MD answer to the Goblin Storm decks (Empty the Warrens Combo) and Elf decks. Haven't played a game yet though so I have no idea.
From what I can tell there are plenty of vaible decks and lots of room for innovation since the format is relatively unexplored. I think the fun of playing the format is well worth the $10 so build a deck and I'll see you in the TP room!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
PTQ Omaha 1/17
I've never actually written a tournament report before so I think I'll just mimic what I've read on SCG until I find something that feels right.
I had made plans to drive up to Lincoln with Jesse and crash with Luke Goodwin then drive to Omaha that morning but at the last minute Eric Knight decided he wanted to go. Which was great for me as I wasn't looking forward to spending the night at Lukes anyways, no offence. So I met Jesse and Eric at Eric's new place which is just gigantic and resembles a castle. We hung out for a while and talked strategy. Eric was going to play UR Swath Storm and Jesse was on Goblins obviously since that is all he has played in the last few ext seasons. I hadn't decided on BG Loam or UR Swath Storm and was going to choose once we got to the venue in the morning. I conviced Eric that he wanted a 3rd Swath main and Martyr of Ashes in the board over Firespout. The drive was pleasant and we street raced some random Omahaians and put them to shame. We got up early and Jesse demolished the breakfast they had for us at the hotel. Once we got to the comic shop that was going to host the PTQ I saw quite of bit of Faeries and BG decks and not as much Zoo and burn. I decided on Loam and registered this list.
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Ravenous Baloth
3 Raven's Crime
4 Thoughtseize
4 Life from the Loam
1 Slaughter Pact
4 Putrefy
1 Worm Harvest
2 Death Cloud
3 Damnation
3 Forest
4 Swamp
2 Wooded Foothills
3 Polluted Delta
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Mutavault
2 Twilight Mire
2 Overgrown Tomb
4 Barren Moor
4 Tranquil Thicket
SB:
1 Damnation
3 Choke
3 Krosan Grip
4 Darkblast
4 Extirpate
My list was only a few cards off of the list that GerryT posted in an article on SCG last week. I had talked to Ben Jackson about the deck earlier that week and he gave me his list that was very similiar to Gerrys. I disagreed on a few of the card choices but after reading what Gerry had to say about those choices it all made more sense and I went with it.
The tournament had 83 and 7 rounds until a cut to Top 8.
0-0 / 1914
Round 1: Adam Knudsen w/ Burn
Adam flashed me a Lava Spike while shuffling so I knew what I was in for. He won the die roll and Lava Spiked me on turn 1 and followed it up with Keldon Marauders on turn 2. Thats a pretty good opening for his deck against me. All I did was Ravens Crime him before turn 3 when I layed a Finks. Finks blocked a second Marauders then started getting in there. Eventually he layed a Vortex and the turn before I died I played Baloth to put lethal damage on the table and Raven Crimed the last two cards out of his hand (two Magma Jets). He had a turn to draw anything that would do two damage to me which was pretty much anything except one of his creatures or land. He drew land and we were off to game 2.
-3 Damnation
-4 Putrefy
+3 Krosan Grip
+4 Darkblast
Game 2 was uneventful. He had four three damage spells for a R with a Shrapnel Blast and an Incinerate. I got blown out.
Game 3 I went on the beat down with double Baloth and I had the Krosan Grip for his Ensnaring Bridge. It wasn't close as he drew lots of land.
1-0 / 1919
It felt good to win round 1 against my worst matchup. We had a lunch break at this point so we went to Subway and Jesse explained to me his slick manuver of ordering water and filling it up with whatever he wanted right infront of the cashier and more than loud enough for her to overhear and just not care.
Round 2: David Andrews w/ Fae (Nassif)
David had a 9 hour drive to get here so just from that I could tell he wasn't going to be easy to take down. Game one took well over 20 minutes but basically he drew his best cards against me (Glen Elendra Archmage and Jitte) and I tried to keep in the game but couldn't get my spells to resolve.
-3 Damnation
-3 Ravenous Baloth
-4 Kitchen Finks
+3 Choke
+4 Darkblast
+3 Krosan Grip
Game two I got my engine going with Loam and Crime and he never had any cards in hand. Regardless he did lots of beating down with Mutavault until I got to a point where I was blocking with my Mutavault every turn and he was returning his with damage on stack with Riptide Lab. Eventually I hit my Worm Harvest and he scooped.
At this point we had 5 minutes left in the round so I brought back in 3 Baloth and 4 Finks for 3 Choke 3 Krosan Grip and a Ravens Crime.
Game three he mulliganed and played a land and passed. I Thoughtseized him and saw; Glen Elendra Archmage, Vendilion Clique, Mana Leak, Chrome Mox, Land. I took the Glen Elendra but maybe it should have been Vendilion Clique. He drew, played a land, Mox inprinting Leak, and Vendilion. I think he took a Putrefy with the Clique. I drew and played STE. He had Venser off the top to bounce a land and then two Jittes in the row. I could not keep up and I picked up my first loss.
1-1 / 1902
Round 3: Tyler Kozal w/ BG feat. Chrome Mox and Smallpox
Game one we trade some Finks with each other then I get a Loam and start dredging. I get myself down to 2 cards in my library before he hits and Loam and before I hit a Worm Harvest. So the Harvest has to be the top card and not the bottom or I lose. It is and I am able to Damnation his tokens and Harvest for enough to kill him the next turn before I deck myself.
-4 Putrefy
-1 Slaughter Pact
+4 Extirpate
+1 Damnation
Game two there isn't any action besides cycling lands until turn 3 when he transmutes Shred Memory for Loam. On my turn I Ravens Crime him and he pitches Loam and asks if I have it. I assure him that I do and Extirpate his Loams. A few turns go by of me dredging and attacking with Finks and he scoops.
2-1 / 1916
Round 4: Daniel Pantoja w/ Zoo
He is playing a version with Dark Confidant, Sculler, and Figure of Destiny. He gets some really early beats game one backed by double Sculler. I get burned out from 7.
-1 Ravens Crime
+1 Damnation
Game two is blurry but I think I had double Damnation then started harvesting Worms and picking off Tarmogoyfs with Putrefies until he fell.
Game three involed me gaining 16 life and him conceding when we were tied at 14.
3-1 / 1930
Round 5: Phillip Johns w/ Zoo
I know he is playing Zoo because I had just watched Boss smash him at the feature match table last round. Needless to say he is disheartened when he finds out I'm playing the same deck. Game one he is mana flooded and I make a big mistake when I decide to just draw cards with cycling lands instead of emptying his hand and he burns me out from 11.
Same boarding as last round.
Game two I have double Damnation that each get 2 dudes followed by 2 Finks and a Baloth. I finished the game at 21 life.
Game three was much of the same as game two. I had double Damnation again, obv. A Finks and a Baloth later he scoops while I'm at 22.
4-1 / 1936
Round 6: Kyle Schouten w/ Fae
Game one I had a great hand with Thoughtseize, Ravens Crime and Loam. He never has a hand and dies to an uncontested Baloth.
Same boarding at round two.
About the same thing happens game two except this time I have Choke in play and he tries to get in there with Mutavault but eventually I start recuring Mutavaults to block once I have enough mana to do other things as well. This game he is done in by 13 Worms.
5-1 / 1945
Round 7: Erik Peters w/ Protean Hulk Combo
Game one I Ravens Crime him every turn starting turn 3 while keeping mana up for Putrefy. I was hoping if he had the combo I would be able to break it up with that but I guess it would have been futile.
-4 Putrefy
+4 Extirpate
Game two I mull to 5 looking for disruption, didn't find any and he killed me on turn 2.
Game three I keep this hand:
Swamp
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize
Extirpate
Extirpate
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Ravenous Baloth
Thoughtseize him twice and he still goes off turn 3 but I have the Extirpate. After a few turns of drawing dead he scoops.
6-1 / 1958
I finish at the top of the swiss and have the honor of facing Mr. John Rolf in the Top 8.
Top 8: John Rolf w/ Fae
Game one was just weird. Not how it is supposed to play out. I draw all my bad cards against him ( the creatures; 3 Baloth, 3 Finks, 3 STE) and he draws all his good cards against me (2 Glen Elendra, Jitte, Riptide Lab). I have to try to get my beat down on but he stabilizes at one life and kills me from 16.
Same boarding at rounds 2 and 6 except I brought in Extirpate over Krosan Grip since I had him on a full 4 Glen Elendra.
Game two my engine comes out perfectly. He resolves 2 Ancestral Visions and 3 Thirst but never has any cards in play. Eventually I Extirpate Engineered Explosives and Worm Harvet him out. When I Extirpated I noticed his board for me was more Glen Elendra and Negate.
Game three was just stupid. He had susprise Extirpates from his reboarding. Cannot imagine why these weren't in the deck game 2. Anyways, he gets my Loams real early. When I go for a Worm Harvest it gets Mana Leaked and Extirpated. Alright, now I have to get you from 20 to 0 with STEs, Mutavault and a Death Cloud to finish you off. I keep all his guys off the table with Darkblast and have him down to 7 before he draws the 3rd Extirpate. Now he has Spellstutters and Riptide Lab but his mana is tied down because of my double Choke. He draws a second Chrome Mox so he can play his guy and bounce it without using any of his untapped Islands every turn. This is where I draw Death Cloud and he is at 4 and I am at 5. Obviously I have to go FTW or I just lose the race. I know his outs are the 3ish Negates and whatever Leaks he kept in after going though one. He ended up having the Leak and when I didn't draw the second Death Cloud next turn I scooped. Turned out he had 2 Negates and the Leak so I was drawing dead.
7-2 / 5th place / 1941
I was happy with my performance. I was more happy that John went on to beat Boss in Top 4. Whew.
If I was going to play this style of deck again I would probably play another Ghost Quarter in there somewhere but I really think that Michael Jacobs list kinda makes this deck obsolete as it is practically strickly better.
I had made plans to drive up to Lincoln with Jesse and crash with Luke Goodwin then drive to Omaha that morning but at the last minute Eric Knight decided he wanted to go. Which was great for me as I wasn't looking forward to spending the night at Lukes anyways, no offence. So I met Jesse and Eric at Eric's new place which is just gigantic and resembles a castle. We hung out for a while and talked strategy. Eric was going to play UR Swath Storm and Jesse was on Goblins obviously since that is all he has played in the last few ext seasons. I hadn't decided on BG Loam or UR Swath Storm and was going to choose once we got to the venue in the morning. I conviced Eric that he wanted a 3rd Swath main and Martyr of Ashes in the board over Firespout. The drive was pleasant and we street raced some random Omahaians and put them to shame. We got up early and Jesse demolished the breakfast they had for us at the hotel. Once we got to the comic shop that was going to host the PTQ I saw quite of bit of Faeries and BG decks and not as much Zoo and burn. I decided on Loam and registered this list.
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Kitchen Finks
3 Ravenous Baloth
3 Raven's Crime
4 Thoughtseize
4 Life from the Loam
1 Slaughter Pact
4 Putrefy
1 Worm Harvest
2 Death Cloud
3 Damnation
3 Forest
4 Swamp
2 Wooded Foothills
3 Polluted Delta
1 Ghost Quarter
2 Mutavault
2 Twilight Mire
2 Overgrown Tomb
4 Barren Moor
4 Tranquil Thicket
SB:
1 Damnation
3 Choke
3 Krosan Grip
4 Darkblast
4 Extirpate
My list was only a few cards off of the list that GerryT posted in an article on SCG last week. I had talked to Ben Jackson about the deck earlier that week and he gave me his list that was very similiar to Gerrys. I disagreed on a few of the card choices but after reading what Gerry had to say about those choices it all made more sense and I went with it.
The tournament had 83 and 7 rounds until a cut to Top 8.
0-0 / 1914
Round 1: Adam Knudsen w/ Burn
Adam flashed me a Lava Spike while shuffling so I knew what I was in for. He won the die roll and Lava Spiked me on turn 1 and followed it up with Keldon Marauders on turn 2. Thats a pretty good opening for his deck against me. All I did was Ravens Crime him before turn 3 when I layed a Finks. Finks blocked a second Marauders then started getting in there. Eventually he layed a Vortex and the turn before I died I played Baloth to put lethal damage on the table and Raven Crimed the last two cards out of his hand (two Magma Jets). He had a turn to draw anything that would do two damage to me which was pretty much anything except one of his creatures or land. He drew land and we were off to game 2.
-3 Damnation
-4 Putrefy
+3 Krosan Grip
+4 Darkblast
Game 2 was uneventful. He had four three damage spells for a R with a Shrapnel Blast and an Incinerate. I got blown out.
Game 3 I went on the beat down with double Baloth and I had the Krosan Grip for his Ensnaring Bridge. It wasn't close as he drew lots of land.
1-0 / 1919
It felt good to win round 1 against my worst matchup. We had a lunch break at this point so we went to Subway and Jesse explained to me his slick manuver of ordering water and filling it up with whatever he wanted right infront of the cashier and more than loud enough for her to overhear and just not care.
Round 2: David Andrews w/ Fae (Nassif)
David had a 9 hour drive to get here so just from that I could tell he wasn't going to be easy to take down. Game one took well over 20 minutes but basically he drew his best cards against me (Glen Elendra Archmage and Jitte) and I tried to keep in the game but couldn't get my spells to resolve.
-3 Damnation
-3 Ravenous Baloth
-4 Kitchen Finks
+3 Choke
+4 Darkblast
+3 Krosan Grip
Game two I got my engine going with Loam and Crime and he never had any cards in hand. Regardless he did lots of beating down with Mutavault until I got to a point where I was blocking with my Mutavault every turn and he was returning his with damage on stack with Riptide Lab. Eventually I hit my Worm Harvest and he scooped.
At this point we had 5 minutes left in the round so I brought back in 3 Baloth and 4 Finks for 3 Choke 3 Krosan Grip and a Ravens Crime.
Game three he mulliganed and played a land and passed. I Thoughtseized him and saw; Glen Elendra Archmage, Vendilion Clique, Mana Leak, Chrome Mox, Land. I took the Glen Elendra but maybe it should have been Vendilion Clique. He drew, played a land, Mox inprinting Leak, and Vendilion. I think he took a Putrefy with the Clique. I drew and played STE. He had Venser off the top to bounce a land and then two Jittes in the row. I could not keep up and I picked up my first loss.
1-1 / 1902
Round 3: Tyler Kozal w/ BG feat. Chrome Mox and Smallpox
Game one we trade some Finks with each other then I get a Loam and start dredging. I get myself down to 2 cards in my library before he hits and Loam and before I hit a Worm Harvest. So the Harvest has to be the top card and not the bottom or I lose. It is and I am able to Damnation his tokens and Harvest for enough to kill him the next turn before I deck myself.
-4 Putrefy
-1 Slaughter Pact
+4 Extirpate
+1 Damnation
Game two there isn't any action besides cycling lands until turn 3 when he transmutes Shred Memory for Loam. On my turn I Ravens Crime him and he pitches Loam and asks if I have it. I assure him that I do and Extirpate his Loams. A few turns go by of me dredging and attacking with Finks and he scoops.
2-1 / 1916
Round 4: Daniel Pantoja w/ Zoo
He is playing a version with Dark Confidant, Sculler, and Figure of Destiny. He gets some really early beats game one backed by double Sculler. I get burned out from 7.
-1 Ravens Crime
+1 Damnation
Game two is blurry but I think I had double Damnation then started harvesting Worms and picking off Tarmogoyfs with Putrefies until he fell.
Game three involed me gaining 16 life and him conceding when we were tied at 14.
3-1 / 1930
Round 5: Phillip Johns w/ Zoo
I know he is playing Zoo because I had just watched Boss smash him at the feature match table last round. Needless to say he is disheartened when he finds out I'm playing the same deck. Game one he is mana flooded and I make a big mistake when I decide to just draw cards with cycling lands instead of emptying his hand and he burns me out from 11.
Same boarding as last round.
Game two I have double Damnation that each get 2 dudes followed by 2 Finks and a Baloth. I finished the game at 21 life.
Game three was much of the same as game two. I had double Damnation again, obv. A Finks and a Baloth later he scoops while I'm at 22.
4-1 / 1936
Round 6: Kyle Schouten w/ Fae
Game one I had a great hand with Thoughtseize, Ravens Crime and Loam. He never has a hand and dies to an uncontested Baloth.
Same boarding at round two.
About the same thing happens game two except this time I have Choke in play and he tries to get in there with Mutavault but eventually I start recuring Mutavaults to block once I have enough mana to do other things as well. This game he is done in by 13 Worms.
5-1 / 1945
Round 7: Erik Peters w/ Protean Hulk Combo
Game one I Ravens Crime him every turn starting turn 3 while keeping mana up for Putrefy. I was hoping if he had the combo I would be able to break it up with that but I guess it would have been futile.
-4 Putrefy
+4 Extirpate
Game two I mull to 5 looking for disruption, didn't find any and he killed me on turn 2.
Game three I keep this hand:
Swamp
Thoughtseize
Thoughtseize
Extirpate
Extirpate
Sakura-Tribe Elder
Ravenous Baloth
Thoughtseize him twice and he still goes off turn 3 but I have the Extirpate. After a few turns of drawing dead he scoops.
6-1 / 1958
I finish at the top of the swiss and have the honor of facing Mr. John Rolf in the Top 8.
Top 8: John Rolf w/ Fae
Game one was just weird. Not how it is supposed to play out. I draw all my bad cards against him ( the creatures; 3 Baloth, 3 Finks, 3 STE) and he draws all his good cards against me (2 Glen Elendra, Jitte, Riptide Lab). I have to try to get my beat down on but he stabilizes at one life and kills me from 16.
Same boarding at rounds 2 and 6 except I brought in Extirpate over Krosan Grip since I had him on a full 4 Glen Elendra.
Game two my engine comes out perfectly. He resolves 2 Ancestral Visions and 3 Thirst but never has any cards in play. Eventually I Extirpate Engineered Explosives and Worm Harvet him out. When I Extirpated I noticed his board for me was more Glen Elendra and Negate.
Game three was just stupid. He had susprise Extirpates from his reboarding. Cannot imagine why these weren't in the deck game 2. Anyways, he gets my Loams real early. When I go for a Worm Harvest it gets Mana Leaked and Extirpated. Alright, now I have to get you from 20 to 0 with STEs, Mutavault and a Death Cloud to finish you off. I keep all his guys off the table with Darkblast and have him down to 7 before he draws the 3rd Extirpate. Now he has Spellstutters and Riptide Lab but his mana is tied down because of my double Choke. He draws a second Chrome Mox so he can play his guy and bounce it without using any of his untapped Islands every turn. This is where I draw Death Cloud and he is at 4 and I am at 5. Obviously I have to go FTW or I just lose the race. I know his outs are the 3ish Negates and whatever Leaks he kept in after going though one. He ended up having the Leak and when I didn't draw the second Death Cloud next turn I scooped. Turned out he had 2 Negates and the Leak so I was drawing dead.
7-2 / 5th place / 1941
I was happy with my performance. I was more happy that John went on to beat Boss in Top 4. Whew.
If I was going to play this style of deck again I would probably play another Ghost Quarter in there somewhere but I really think that Michael Jacobs list kinda makes this deck obsolete as it is practically strickly better.
Introduction
I don't expect a load of people to read this but many of my friends have started magical blogs recently so I figured I should give it a try if only to give me a place to vomit my ideas. I'm probably going to talk mostly about magic but I bet there will be a sprinkling of other subjects depending on what I want to talk about that day. My job at the bank gives me loads of free time. I expect this will become something I'll spend at least a decent amount of time on and I will probably update at least every other day.
So I am right at the begining of my Ext PTQ season. I played in the first last weekend in Omaha and will probably right up a tournament report later today or tomorrow. I have 6 more that I will be playing in this season. I really want to qualify for Honolulu and will be spending a lot of time over the next few months testing and preparing myself.
The PTQ in Omaha had a Top 8 that had 5 Fae decks, 2 BG Loam (Boss and I) and one Mono Red Burn. The GP in LA was mostly Fae also. The other "break out" decks were UR Storm and BG Loam. I've heard lots of talk about Michael Jacob's deck from the tournament. If you haven't seen it it is basically a Loam deck that cut the slower cards like Death Cloud, Sakura-Tribe Elder and Baloth in favor of faster cards like MD Darkblast, Bitterblossom, Jitte, and Tarmogoyf. It still has the part of the deck that I liked the most which is obviously the Loam engine and Raven's Crime. His deck just seems to solve most of the problems I had with the deck over the weekend because with Jitte and Goyf he isn't nearly as relient on his graveyard. I would like to have the 4th Thoughtseize in the main and a 27th land (probably a 3rd Tranquil Thicket) and will probably end up moving one of the Jittes to the board and maybe cutting a Darkblast to fit them in. If I were to PTQ tomorrow I would play MJs deck for sure.
So I am right at the begining of my Ext PTQ season. I played in the first last weekend in Omaha and will probably right up a tournament report later today or tomorrow. I have 6 more that I will be playing in this season. I really want to qualify for Honolulu and will be spending a lot of time over the next few months testing and preparing myself.
The PTQ in Omaha had a Top 8 that had 5 Fae decks, 2 BG Loam (Boss and I) and one Mono Red Burn. The GP in LA was mostly Fae also. The other "break out" decks were UR Storm and BG Loam. I've heard lots of talk about Michael Jacob's deck from the tournament. If you haven't seen it it is basically a Loam deck that cut the slower cards like Death Cloud, Sakura-Tribe Elder and Baloth in favor of faster cards like MD Darkblast, Bitterblossom, Jitte, and Tarmogoyf. It still has the part of the deck that I liked the most which is obviously the Loam engine and Raven's Crime. His deck just seems to solve most of the problems I had with the deck over the weekend because with Jitte and Goyf he isn't nearly as relient on his graveyard. I would like to have the 4th Thoughtseize in the main and a 27th land (probably a 3rd Tranquil Thicket) and will probably end up moving one of the Jittes to the board and maybe cutting a Darkblast to fit them in. If I were to PTQ tomorrow I would play MJs deck for sure.
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