Really- I really was going to play a normal deck this week. That, and JT still has my LEDs from last weekend, and I was too busy cubing to get a deck together. Plus, all the sweet cards- and this one features Uncle Skillz.
sideboard's on top- yes, that is a guardian beast
Did you know that Trading Post has, like, a million abilities? It's like having to cast Primal Command every turn! It is really hard to do that correctly! I'm sure I'm the last person to find out about that, but in case you were curious, it's a tough one.
Having said that, this is a Totally Sweet™ deck (I mean, it has the Post), and it might be one of the 'best' that Sean's handed me.
Turnout was pretty sparse tonight, which wasn't really surprising- the week before a Prerelease is slow, even for Eternal formats. I spent most of the afternoon playing around with the cube before I realized that my last round of additions never actually made it into the cube, which was "a little frustrating".
And my round 1 opponent had Pernicious Deed in his deck!
Game 1 was pretty straightforward- he started on Treetop Village, I Wastelanded it, he only had one other land, I played Chalice on 1, made it a 5/5 with Tezzeret, and still had all these Wastelands.
Fortunately, Sean pointed out this deck's particular vulnerability to Pernicious Deed prior to our match, so I had the foresight to take out 3 Chalice and the Cursed Totem for the Phyrexian Revokers. Also, Sean was sitting next to me, and definitely cast a Thoughtweft Trio.
Game 2 was about as interesting, but less easy for me. Josh Therapied me (for Brainstorm, hah), then GSZed an Explorer on turn 3 and and hit the Tezzeret still in my hand. Luckily, I had only drawn one of the two basics.. he used his extra lands to cast a Liliana. My board of land, land, Baleful Strix got better when I cast a Revoker (on Deed), and I could even check his turn 4 Grave Titan with an Ensnaring Bridge. We went a few turns, he played some spells that were good, then Maelstrom Pulsed my Bridge. While I didn't exactly die on the spot, the plan of "chump with Creeping Tar Pit" is not known for the longevity it provides.
This time, I brought in the Guardian Beasts for a Trinisphere and a Chalice- Chalice seemed "not very good" in this matchup, though I'd really want it in the third game.
I led on Tar Pit into Strix, while he played a Pithing Needle on Tezzeret and Thoughtseized an Ensnaring Bridge. On my turn 4, I tanked for about a minute.. then tapped out to bash him with Strix and my Creeping Tar Pit. He tutored for a Thrun with Green Sun's Zenith, then I played Tar Pit #2 and hit him again. He cast a Top and a Kitchen Finks, putting him to 10. I hit him back for 7, then cast Guardian Beast. On his turn, he looked with Top, cracked a Wooded Foothills, looked again, cast Zenith for 0, looked again.. and had found a Needle for my Tar Pits. I sighed, played my millionth land, and put him to 1 via my Baleful Strix. He untapped, drew his Top, looked, and then said "noncreature artifacts, right?" as I was already putting my Baleful Strix into the bin. I couldn't attack with my Guardian Beast into his Thrun and Finks, and on his next turn he played a Primeval Titan which found 2 Treetop Villages. I had a chance to draw Ensnaring Bridge, but Trading Post couldn't prevent me from taking 16 damage next turn.
I realize now that Guardian Beast is probably better anti-Deed tech than the Revoker. That guy makes things indestructible, which is definitely not what I thought it did*.
And my round 1 opponent had Pernicious Deed in his deck!
Round 1: G/B Explorer w/ Josh
Josh was playing the Veteran Explorer big-mana style deck, with Deeds and Titans and other stuff. Mostly Deeds and Titans is what I remember, though.Game 1 was pretty straightforward- he started on Treetop Village, I Wastelanded it, he only had one other land, I played Chalice on 1, made it a 5/5 with Tezzeret, and still had all these Wastelands.
Fortunately, Sean pointed out this deck's particular vulnerability to Pernicious Deed prior to our match, so I had the foresight to take out 3 Chalice and the Cursed Totem for the Phyrexian Revokers. Also, Sean was sitting next to me, and definitely cast a Thoughtweft Trio.
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| wizened cenn died to counterbalance, kraftwerk trio in his hand |
Game 2 was about as interesting, but less easy for me. Josh Therapied me (for Brainstorm, hah), then GSZed an Explorer on turn 3 and and hit the Tezzeret still in my hand. Luckily, I had only drawn one of the two basics.. he used his extra lands to cast a Liliana. My board of land, land, Baleful Strix got better when I cast a Revoker (on Deed), and I could even check his turn 4 Grave Titan with an Ensnaring Bridge. We went a few turns, he played some spells that were good, then Maelstrom Pulsed my Bridge. While I didn't exactly die on the spot, the plan of "chump with Creeping Tar Pit" is not known for the longevity it provides.
This time, I brought in the Guardian Beasts for a Trinisphere and a Chalice- Chalice seemed "not very good" in this matchup, though I'd really want it in the third game.
I led on Tar Pit into Strix, while he played a Pithing Needle on Tezzeret and Thoughtseized an Ensnaring Bridge. On my turn 4, I tanked for about a minute.. then tapped out to bash him with Strix and my Creeping Tar Pit. He tutored for a Thrun with Green Sun's Zenith, then I played Tar Pit #2 and hit him again. He cast a Top and a Kitchen Finks, putting him to 10. I hit him back for 7, then cast Guardian Beast. On his turn, he looked with Top, cracked a Wooded Foothills, looked again, cast Zenith for 0, looked again.. and had found a Needle for my Tar Pits. I sighed, played my millionth land, and put him to 1 via my Baleful Strix. He untapped, drew his Top, looked, and then said "noncreature artifacts, right?" as I was already putting my Baleful Strix into the bin. I couldn't attack with my Guardian Beast into his Thrun and Finks, and on his next turn he played a Primeval Titan which found 2 Treetop Villages. I had a chance to draw Ensnaring Bridge, but Trading Post couldn't prevent me from taking 16 damage next turn.
I realize now that Guardian Beast is probably better anti-Deed tech than the Revoker. That guy makes things indestructible, which is definitely not what I thought it did*.
Round 2: U/R Delver-burn
He laid into me with Volcanic Island into Goblin Guide on his 1. Strong.. but I played land, Mox Diamond into Chalice for 1, followed by Tangle Wire. A Tezzeret happened, and while Goblin Guide was really pulling its weight, the collection of 1-drops in his hand couldn't really get involved in the game.
I put him on Delvers, so I brought in a Ratchet Bomb for the Cursed Totem.
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| show and tell resolves.. nice blue permanent! also, pay for daze w/ spirit guide |
Also, our neighbors' match had already gotten into game 2. The Show and Tell guy was .. surprised? Shocked? His Brainstorm in response to Pyroblast didn't find anything helpful. I
Sure enough, he opened on Delver in game 2. I played City of Traitors, then Mox Diamond discarding Wasteland. My hand contained a Chalice and a Crucible- I led with the Crucible, since he had started on Volcanic Island. Obviously he Dazed it, but luckily missed on his first blind flip. He pinged me and cast another Delver. Without playing another mana source, I cast a Chalice on 1, which got Spell Pierced. On his turn, he showed me a Banefire, which, while confusing, did cause me to take 6 (down to 12). He cast a Grim Lavamancer. Unbelievably, my Trading Post next turn resolved, so I figured I was a lock to win this one. On his turn, I went to 6, and he passed without making a play. The Post put me to 10, then I untapped and played Ensnaring Bridge!
"Surely any idiot could win this game now," I thought, as I fiddled with my lands. My opponent shot me with the Lavamancer, untapped and passed. I went up to 12, played an irrelevant nonbasic, then said go.
msn.com: Area man takes million damage, all at once, regrets tapping Wasteland for mana
(He actually got me for exact, thanks to the Banefire.)
Having gained some more respect for his deck, I cut the Smokestack for another Ratchet Bomb.
Game 3 was a serious grind. My six was pretty good, and he snap-kept 7.
My turn 1 Chalice off Ancient Tomb got Forced, and my turn 2 Trinisphere got Spell Pierced. He played a Delver on his 2, then countered my Tangle Wire. His first attack put me to 13 (missed his flip), and I luckily had enough lands in play to cast spells without getting shocked. He blanked again, and the Delver put me to 12.
Then, having a bunch of blanks in my hand, the game turned around when I miracled into Trading Post, followed by Ensnaring Bridge. We passed back a few times after that, while I tried to buffer my life total as quickly as possible. At 12 and with 10 minutes on the clock, I cast a Chalice on 2 and a Trinisphere, thinking that I'd lock him out via Crucible/Wasteland. He politely played a third basic, using it for an expensive Ponder. I made a Goat with Post while he was tapped out. On my turn, I cast an Intuition into Tezzeret, using the +1 to draw a Ratchet Bomb.
His next play was a Sulfuric Vortex.
Efff.
So, I was at 13 to his 17. He cleverly redirected the damage to Tezzeret, which was unfortunate- now I was locked out of using the ultimate. Scrambling to figure something out, I drew another Intuition and an irrelevant artifact with Tezzeret. The gears were turning in my head.. maybe I can sac my Ensnaring Bridge to Post, get in with a giant Strix? I was hamstrung again- my Tomb was a blank, the clock was ticking down..
Trying to close out, I cast a Ratchet Bomb and passed. My opponent cast a Lightning Bolt at me, which finished off my last Tezzeret, and I responded with an Intuition for Baleful Strix. After that resolved, a spectator pointed out the Chalice I had played earlier. What a dagger. I tossed my Bomb into the bin and tanked in the end step. An extra Tomb got discarded for value in order to keep my Bridge relevant.
It wasn't enough, though- I had no way to answer the Vortex, the Price of Progress, and the clock all at once.
After the match, Sean pointed out my error- when he had tapped out for Ponder, I could have returned my Tangle Wire and used the Post 2-step to keep him locked out! (I didn't get it at first either.) The plan is: in response to Ponder, make the Goat, then untap and sacrifice it to return the Tangle Wire, cast it. He taps out. I make a Goat and pass, he taps out again, then I start the soft loop again. It doesn't get around the clock, but my Tezzeret doesn't die that way, and surely any idiot could have won the game from there.
As it was, I died, but played out the last round for value.
Round 3: U/R Show and Science
Andrew kindly joined me in the dead bracket.I felt bad 2-0ing him, but, well, Chalice for 1 is quite good.
In game 1, I played stuff which got countered, then stuck a Chalice on 1. A Crucible resolved, and Tezzeret showed up next turn to enhance it. He cast a Burning Wish on his turn, getting a Show and Tell. The Crucible put him down to 7, and I passed with Trinisphere in hand. Sure enough, he showed me an Emrakul, but I raised him an Ensnaring Bridge. I cast a Mox Diamond next turn and drained him out with Tezzeret.
While looking at my sideboard, I got the feeling that I had pre-boarded.
On the draw, I played Ancient Tomb, Chalice on 1, which resolved! * His turn involved him tanking, looking depressed, and playing Volcanic into Burning Wish for a Show and Tell. I hit the Volcanic Island with a Wasteland and passed back, but didn't have enough action to capitalize on my disruptive start. A few turns later, he cast the Show and Tell for Griselbrand and activated it instantly, which put him to 9. He discarded a bunch of 1-drops.
I cast a Cursed Totem on my next turn (timely), which got Forced.. so I attacked with the Baleful Strix I had cast a few turns ago, to the surprise of the people around me. I mean, he went to 7! I figured I might get him. Well, he actually attacked, and -then- drew another 7, casting a Show and Tell. It resolved, and fortunately I had drawn an additional Strix to square off against his Emrakul. I declined to attack this time, and played a Post which got countered. His attack left me with no lands, Chalice on 1, Crucible to his Petal, Petal, Volcanic, Island. (Looking back over my notes, we forgot to have him gain 7 from Griselbrand. Sorry!) He burnt his last Wish on an Eye of Nowhere for my Crucible, which was brutal.
So, it was my Chalice against his two lands- well, one; I peeled another Wasteland to put him on basic Island. I drew an Ancient Tomb, and eventually some more lands. A Trading Post got countered, as did my Crucible, and so did a Tangle Wire (with a hardcast Force). However, the Tezzeret I played last (with my Tomb putting me to 1!) resolved, and the (-4) was enough to get him- he was at 4.
♣
The rundown is brief: This deck has a big game. Sean said he went undefeated for 6 rounds at the SCG Open before getting a game loss for drawing extra cards, then drawing a match and getting knocked out.
We talked about this one for a while, Sean and I, and we agreed that Academy Ruins was terrible- the Post gives you enough recursive effects that it was more annoying to have an extra colorless land. Buried Ruin and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth both got us excited, and we may try that out next time.
Let me know if you liked the pictures of random game states! And I promise I'll try to win a relevant match next time, though it was way closer this time
Until next time, remember what all your cards do. ∎
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