Here's a quick and dirty one for everybody.
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| there's a dryad arbor in the bottom left |
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| #cutz |
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| might want thoughtseize over duress |
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| top getting cut for sylvan library pdq |
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| uhh, don't ask about keening stone |
I went 4-0 tonight (8-0 in games) at Card Kingdom with this list. Many thanks to my sugar daddy Greg / phazonmutant for the borrows of the pimp stuff.
Round 1: Dredge
First and foremost, my opponent was a good sport despite mulling to five in both games.
He led with Tireless Tribe off City of Brass, which got me excited- Tireless Tribe is so old school, he drives a bus with gothic arches in the windows. I considered Duressing him on turn 1, but instead used my Green Sun's Zenith to accelerate. The Tribe put a Grave-Troll in his bin, though his top six cards were unexciting. My Dark Confidant revealed a Deathrite Shaman, which was bad for him, and his Tribe ate a Swords once he revealed a Bridge from Below. Kavu Predator dealt him a lot of damage soon after.
I boarded in the Ooze and Explosives, cutting the Sylvan Safekeeper and a Thoughtseize.
We went to five together, with me to four afterwards. I kept a no lander with Deathrite Shaman, Scavenging Ooze, Kavu Predator, and the Cutz, because, well, build me a better 3 card hand.
He had Putrid Imp, I peeled an Invigorate. Well, if he boarded in Firestorm, this is gonna get awkward. Another Grave-Troll found its way into his graveyard, if for just a moment, and he revealed both an Ichorid and a Narcomoeba. Luckily, a Bayou was waiting for me.
On his next turn, after finding another Narcomoeba, he dumped his hand and board to make a 9/9 Troll with me at 16. That wouldn't be enough, as I drew another land and summoned the Ooze and ate his Ichorid. While his 9/9 regenerator was a huge threat, he couldn't deal with the tag-team of graveyard hate and succumbed to an Invigorated Predator.
Round 2: Jeremy w/ Enchantress
Again, I kick myself for having no Reverent Silences.
Jeremy leads with two Wild Growths on his single land, a basic Forest, while I summon a Deathrite Shaman and a Dark Confidant. I Duress him after he plays an Argothian Enchantress, and he reveals a hand of white cards and Carpet of Flowers. I'm bad, so I leave him with Oblivion Ring, Sigil of the Empty Throne, and Solitary Confinement, and he (obviously) draws Serra's Sanctum into Oblivion Ring to axe my fresh Predator. Dark Confidant and the Shaman take him down to 13, and he plays the Sigil, a fresh Serra's Sanctum, Solitary Confinement, and an Elephant Grass. Unfortunately for him, I'm done attacking- the Dark Confidant has drawn me into False Cure and two Cutters, and his Angels had given me a target for my incredible awkward Swords to Plowshares.
I brought in the Enlightened Tutors, an Ethersworn Canonist, Explosives, and the Oblivion Ring. (I was saving the Keening Stone for my inevitable match against Greg, against whom it would have been automatically lethal.)
Jeremy led with a Utopia Sprawl (an Utopia Sprawl? whatever) and I accelerated with one of the three Green Sun's Zenith's in my opener. He had another Utopia Sprawl, and I tutored for and cast my one-of Ethersworn Canonist. He had back-to-back Enchantresses, while I built up my board with a Kavu Predator and Deathrite Shaman. His follow up of Elephant Grass slowed me down, but I paid 4 retail to bash with my pair of 2/2s. When he used his next spell on a second Elephant Grass, I paid 4 again and made a second Deathrite Shaman. His oldest Grass died while he made a Sterling Grove, and I, again, paid 4 to bash with my idiots. He tutored for a Solitary Confinement, which bought him some time, but as you know, Deathrite Shaman neither targets nor deals damage. The pair of them eventually did him in, after I ran out an end-step False Cure just for a spell for the pair to eat.
Round 3: Chase w/ Reanimator
In game 1, Chase drew, and cast, 4 Hapless Researchers, off of one Underground Sea. I also had kept a one-lander with two one-drops, but Deathrite Shaman is, well, good in this matchup. He dug with Brainstorms and Ponders, but those were just fuel for the Shamans. Kavu Predator may have shown up at one point, but that was just for show.
Chase boarded in roughly 20 cards, it seemed, so I left the Ooze in the board and brought in the Therapies and Oblivion Ring, in case he was going for Show and Tells.
He led with a Careful Study via basic Island, discarding a Jin-Gitaxias. The following options were available to me:
1. Duress him
2. Play Deathrite Shaman
3. Green Sun's for 0
I went for the third option, as I think it has the most game against his range of keeps plus the cards from Careful Study. As it turned out, he Studied again, played a Swamp, then Submerged my Dryad Arbor. Well.
So I played my Duress and Deathrite Shaman, leaving him with a land and a Force of Will. Kavu Predator showed up too, but Deathrite Shaman had already strapped up and put the team on its back.
Round 4: Tanner w/ UR Delver
As part of Team Pizza Bracket™, it's my goal to be done with the tournament by 9:50. The local pizza place does $2 slices at 10pm, and they are huge and delicious, but you gotta get there early to have the best pick.
Anyway, I offered to split and play until it was Pizza Time™. Turns out..
In game 1, I played a Forest, he played an Island. Some basic plays. I made a Dark Confidant, and he responded with a Delver. Bob revealed a fetchland, which I played after a Kavu Predator. He set up his flip with a Brainstorm in his upkeep, then followed up with an aggressive Goblin Guide, which joined the Insect in the red zone. Combat got awkward for him when I killed his Insect with a Swords, then ate his Goblin Guide. Sure, I revealed The Cutter to Dark Confidant, but that and False Cure put him dangerously low on my attack step. Even double Price of Progress wasn't enough to kill me on his last turn.
As for game 2, well, I played turn 1 Deathrite, turn 2 False Cure, Cutter, Cutter, Cutter, Invigorate. Hey, I wouldn't be playing all these bad cards if they didn't work well together! ♣
Deathrite Shaman might be my favorite card in Legacy. It's so good.
This deck is a ton of fun to play! Your role is incredibly fluid, and knowing when to jam vs. when to hold Cutters is still something I struggle with, even four tournaments later.
I continue to avoid decks with both Wasteland and Swords to Plowshares- I bring up this point in next week's article. In fact, I'm working on the write up from the first week I played this deck- featuring some spicy plays, and the back story. A preview:
(r1 against greg, responding to a vendilion clique with false cure, invigorate the clique, swords the clique, giggle uncontrollably)
(beating the guy who had 4 knight of the reliquary in play with 11 lands in his bin)
(losing to a batterskull DESPITE HAVING KAVU PREDATOR IN PLAY)
Until next time, stay hungry. Unless you are eating pizza. Then eat some pizza.
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