GP Lille has come and gone. What did it show us? There were a lot of Delver decks on coverage, especially grixis delver. Surprisingly it was the more "traditional" 4 colour / Castelvania Delver decks that made the top 8 rather than the newer Angler versions of the deck. The big take away for me is that Dig Through Time is excellent. I already knew that but after watching a bunch of games play out and playing with Dig Through Time more on MODO I am even more convinced of its power. I will be jamming as many decks with Dig Through Time over the coming months. Dig Through Time feels almost as good as treasure cruise and that is likely not a good sign for the card or the health of legacy...
The two decks (other than the 4c Delver) that interested me the most were the following:
http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=10022&d=257797&f=LE
I have Infect built online and I have played it to a few good finishes, including my first daily event 4-0. This update is similar to one that Tom Ross has talked about several times. I have always been a little leery of the white splash in the past, as I am not sold on whether it is needed or not. In such a large and diverse field having access to the powerful white sideboard cards seems to have paid off in this case.
http://www.mtgtop8.com/event?e=10022&d=257800&f=LE
Saito's Grixis Delver is the other deck that interested me. While Saito did not top 8 he did go 9-0 on day 1 with his take on Grixis. The main thing of note is the Dig Through Time's replacing what used to be Treasure Cruise.
I have played the deck in 1 daily event so far and went 3-1. I lost to MUD through a game where he was on the play and went turn 1 COTV. Then I lost another game because I misclicked on my brainstorm and put the cards back in the wrong order which meant I didn't have a blue card for his Trinisphere...and I never drew a 3rd land. The main deck looks pretty perfect to me but I think there is some work in the sideboard. I would like to shoehorn in a Rakdos Charm since it gives another artifact hate card as well as a graveyard hate card which is something the deck currently has 0 of.
Oh yeah and before I forget, I have finally bought my power 9, set of Mishra's Workshops and Bazaar of Baghdad's online. So I should be able to start jamming some vintage in the near future.
Cheers,
Simon
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
MTG Origins Legacy & Modern Set Review
It's that time again for my Legacy and Modern Review of the newest set MTG Origins!
Despite being a "Core Set" with several reprints and only a handful of new cards, there are some pretty spicy cards in this set. My prediction is that MTG Origins has the largest impact of any core set on Standard and Modern. In addition, the card prices from this set could be very interesting to watch. We will have to wait and see how popular the draft format is but traditionally core set chase cards have gone for some serious money (see Baneslayer Angel, etc.). This time around I think we have more sleepers compared to chase rares like Baneslayer Angel but sometimes it is the slow and steady gainers that you want to keep track of.
White
Hallowed Moonlight - More ways to disrupt Reanimator and Elves are always appreciated but costing 2 mana in legacy is a tall order (especially when we could just play containment priest). For modern we probably don't have enough targets to make this worthwhile but it is worth mentioning that it has some interesting interactions with Kikki-Jikki and Splinter Twin. Buying you 1 turn though is likely not enough.
Vryn Wingmare - Thalia is the best of these effects but Vryn can also trade with a Delver of Secrets which is a nice bonus. More 1 butt's in Death and Taxes seems like it could be asking for trouble though. When Death and Taxes first came around as a deck some people were really high on Glowrider and Vryn is a big upgrade from that.
Starfield of Nyx - Enchantress has been aching for some new cards for the past several blocks. Enchantress lovers thought that their time had come when Theros block was announced but they were left wanting. Starfield of Nyx adds a win condition and a slow Replenish effect to the deck, all while being an enchantment while you are "going off." Also this card will likely look awesome in foil because of the art and colouring.
Blue
Harbinger of the Tides - Holy Tempo batman. This guy is pretty sweet, as a quasi time walk you can put your opponent quite far behind all while laying out your army of little fish. The added bonus of using him later as a Venser creature bounce is also a nice option. This guy is going to make racing merfolk quite difficult for fair decks. The downside is that if your opponent is not sure whether they should attack, then not is often the answer now because of the creature being tapped clause.
Jhessian Thief - Is it too much to ask for Ophidian to be playable again? This is likely the best Ophidian that we have seen in a while with the exception of Ohran Viper who I still think is an excellent creature and wildly underplayed. This little thief will probably see 0 play but that doesn't mean that I wont try and play it in some format...Maybe Pauper or Vintage?
Mizzium Meddler - This guy could see some play in modern, he survives lightning bolt and can mess with your opponents Splinter Twin, etc.
Black
Dark Petition - An obviously powerful Tutor + Dark Ritual. In legacy 5 mana is a huge wall to overcome. If people start playing this, then I think I will be dazing and spell piercing a lot of these. For Modern, there aren't any black rituals so I am not sure how good this card is. Also worth mentioning is that flipping this to an Ad Nauseam will hurt a lot.
Gnarlroot Trapper - This guy is like a reverse elves of the Deep Shadow that has an extra ability! Unfortunately, his mana ability only casts elves which means he is probably a no-go in legacy due to having to cast Natural Order and Glimpse of Nature but for modern this guy is sweet. This guy lets elves play defense as well, which is something that elves have often struggled with in the past.
Green
Animist's Awakening - I have no doubt that Travis Woo will try something with this card. For legacy, the easiest deck to look at is lands. Honestly, I am not sure if lands is the right home for this card but this is the powerful sort of card that could change how a deck plays. What other land win conditions are there other than Thespian Stage + Dark Depths and Man Lands? If there is something spicy out there, we could have a fun brew on our hands.
Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen - This guy has the right stats to block Delver and pump your elf team. He is probably a little corner case and may be a sideboard card but fetching him up with Green Sun Zenith and attacking with your team is going to gain you a lot of life.
Evolutionary Leap - I like where Wizards head is at, this card could be totally busted or complete trash, only time will tell. This is probably more of a modern card than anything else though. For modern I think we want to utilize Persist, Dredge, Vengevine, etc. to gain some value. In legacy, I am not sure what we want to do with creatures in hand...
Herald of the Pantheon - This guy isn't going to resurrect enchantress from the dead but he will be a welcome addition to the sideboard of the people who still play the deck (anybody out there?). He can buy you some time which is all you really want if you are playing that deck.
Red
Abbot of Keral Keep - I think we will end up calling this guy the red Snapcaster Mage. He seems very good for both Standard and Modern. Could UR Burn become a thing in modern with this guy and Snapcaster Mage? I don't see this guy being strong enough in legacy, if he had flash then we could talk.
Goblin Piledriver - A reprint for legacy but a first printing for modern. This little guy will put goblins on the map but the world is pretty hateful to goblins with all those bolts, etc. I also do not think pro-blue is particularly valuable in modern at the moment, with the exception of merfolk and Pestermite / Deceiver Exarch.
Magmatic Insight - A potential combo card for Goblin Charbelcher/ Empty the Warrens, or some other red based combo deck in Legacy or Modern? Someone more combo inclined will have to bust this card but it is definitely on my "to watch list."
Molten Vortex - This might be my favorite card in the set (until I start losing to it). A small upfront mana investment, a largely irrelevant downside and its in the correct colour. I have been mulling the idea of putting Cursed Scroll in more decks lately (mostly Delver decks)...this is likely just better and slightly harder to kill. I think most decks only want 1 or 2 of this effect but if you can get two activations from this in an aggressive deck then you have likely won the game. It also "combos" well with Grim Lavamancer by putting lands into the graveyard.
Pia and Kiran Nalaar - A human siege-gang commander but with tokens that have evasion? There is a Death and Taxes list which is currently popular online that runs Imperial Recruiter and Magus of the Moon. I could see wanting one Pia and Kiran Nalaar in the 75 since you can search for it with Imperial Recruiter. It is very awkward that Pia and Kiran Nalaar costs 4 mana since you never want to set your vial to 4...also worth noting is that with Pia and Kiran Nalaar in play you have a use for those extra dead Aether Vials, Phyrexian Revokers and any additional Equipment. Also worth mentioning is that Cavern of Souls on Human will help you pay for an uncounterable Pia and Kiran Nalaar. Note - Pia and Kiran Nalaar is an annoyingly long name...I vote we rename it PKN which sounds like a political party from North Korea..
Land
None.
Artifact
Hangarback Walker - I like this guy quite a lot. He can fit in most parts of your curve and can gain some value if you have some time. I see this guy having potential in Modern (Affinity) and Legacy (MUD). The fact that he insulates you from spot removal and sweepers is very nice and providing flying attackers/blockers is icing on the cake. This guy is also a complete and utter house in Standard, I see this guy being played a lot in all sorts of archetypes...
Gold
Shaman of the Pack - Shaman of the Pack could be the missing piece of the Modern Elves deck to push it into true Tier 1 status.
This is the biggest bunch of potential payable's in a while from ANY Magic set. I think Magic Origins will be an understated hit in eternal formats.
Cheers,
Simon
Despite being a "Core Set" with several reprints and only a handful of new cards, there are some pretty spicy cards in this set. My prediction is that MTG Origins has the largest impact of any core set on Standard and Modern. In addition, the card prices from this set could be very interesting to watch. We will have to wait and see how popular the draft format is but traditionally core set chase cards have gone for some serious money (see Baneslayer Angel, etc.). This time around I think we have more sleepers compared to chase rares like Baneslayer Angel but sometimes it is the slow and steady gainers that you want to keep track of.
White
Hallowed Moonlight - More ways to disrupt Reanimator and Elves are always appreciated but costing 2 mana in legacy is a tall order (especially when we could just play containment priest). For modern we probably don't have enough targets to make this worthwhile but it is worth mentioning that it has some interesting interactions with Kikki-Jikki and Splinter Twin. Buying you 1 turn though is likely not enough.
Vryn Wingmare - Thalia is the best of these effects but Vryn can also trade with a Delver of Secrets which is a nice bonus. More 1 butt's in Death and Taxes seems like it could be asking for trouble though. When Death and Taxes first came around as a deck some people were really high on Glowrider and Vryn is a big upgrade from that.
Starfield of Nyx - Enchantress has been aching for some new cards for the past several blocks. Enchantress lovers thought that their time had come when Theros block was announced but they were left wanting. Starfield of Nyx adds a win condition and a slow Replenish effect to the deck, all while being an enchantment while you are "going off." Also this card will likely look awesome in foil because of the art and colouring.
Blue
Harbinger of the Tides - Holy Tempo batman. This guy is pretty sweet, as a quasi time walk you can put your opponent quite far behind all while laying out your army of little fish. The added bonus of using him later as a Venser creature bounce is also a nice option. This guy is going to make racing merfolk quite difficult for fair decks. The downside is that if your opponent is not sure whether they should attack, then not is often the answer now because of the creature being tapped clause.
Jhessian Thief - Is it too much to ask for Ophidian to be playable again? This is likely the best Ophidian that we have seen in a while with the exception of Ohran Viper who I still think is an excellent creature and wildly underplayed. This little thief will probably see 0 play but that doesn't mean that I wont try and play it in some format...Maybe Pauper or Vintage?
Mizzium Meddler - This guy could see some play in modern, he survives lightning bolt and can mess with your opponents Splinter Twin, etc.
Black
Dark Petition - An obviously powerful Tutor + Dark Ritual. In legacy 5 mana is a huge wall to overcome. If people start playing this, then I think I will be dazing and spell piercing a lot of these. For Modern, there aren't any black rituals so I am not sure how good this card is. Also worth mentioning is that flipping this to an Ad Nauseam will hurt a lot.
Gnarlroot Trapper - This guy is like a reverse elves of the Deep Shadow that has an extra ability! Unfortunately, his mana ability only casts elves which means he is probably a no-go in legacy due to having to cast Natural Order and Glimpse of Nature but for modern this guy is sweet. This guy lets elves play defense as well, which is something that elves have often struggled with in the past.
Green
Animist's Awakening - I have no doubt that Travis Woo will try something with this card. For legacy, the easiest deck to look at is lands. Honestly, I am not sure if lands is the right home for this card but this is the powerful sort of card that could change how a deck plays. What other land win conditions are there other than Thespian Stage + Dark Depths and Man Lands? If there is something spicy out there, we could have a fun brew on our hands.
Dwynen, Gilt-Leaf Daen - This guy has the right stats to block Delver and pump your elf team. He is probably a little corner case and may be a sideboard card but fetching him up with Green Sun Zenith and attacking with your team is going to gain you a lot of life.
Evolutionary Leap - I like where Wizards head is at, this card could be totally busted or complete trash, only time will tell. This is probably more of a modern card than anything else though. For modern I think we want to utilize Persist, Dredge, Vengevine, etc. to gain some value. In legacy, I am not sure what we want to do with creatures in hand...
Herald of the Pantheon - This guy isn't going to resurrect enchantress from the dead but he will be a welcome addition to the sideboard of the people who still play the deck (anybody out there?). He can buy you some time which is all you really want if you are playing that deck.
Red
Abbot of Keral Keep - I think we will end up calling this guy the red Snapcaster Mage. He seems very good for both Standard and Modern. Could UR Burn become a thing in modern with this guy and Snapcaster Mage? I don't see this guy being strong enough in legacy, if he had flash then we could talk.
Goblin Piledriver - A reprint for legacy but a first printing for modern. This little guy will put goblins on the map but the world is pretty hateful to goblins with all those bolts, etc. I also do not think pro-blue is particularly valuable in modern at the moment, with the exception of merfolk and Pestermite / Deceiver Exarch.
Magmatic Insight - A potential combo card for Goblin Charbelcher/ Empty the Warrens, or some other red based combo deck in Legacy or Modern? Someone more combo inclined will have to bust this card but it is definitely on my "to watch list."
Molten Vortex - This might be my favorite card in the set (until I start losing to it). A small upfront mana investment, a largely irrelevant downside and its in the correct colour. I have been mulling the idea of putting Cursed Scroll in more decks lately (mostly Delver decks)...this is likely just better and slightly harder to kill. I think most decks only want 1 or 2 of this effect but if you can get two activations from this in an aggressive deck then you have likely won the game. It also "combos" well with Grim Lavamancer by putting lands into the graveyard.
Pia and Kiran Nalaar - A human siege-gang commander but with tokens that have evasion? There is a Death and Taxes list which is currently popular online that runs Imperial Recruiter and Magus of the Moon. I could see wanting one Pia and Kiran Nalaar in the 75 since you can search for it with Imperial Recruiter. It is very awkward that Pia and Kiran Nalaar costs 4 mana since you never want to set your vial to 4...also worth noting is that with Pia and Kiran Nalaar in play you have a use for those extra dead Aether Vials, Phyrexian Revokers and any additional Equipment. Also worth mentioning is that Cavern of Souls on Human will help you pay for an uncounterable Pia and Kiran Nalaar. Note - Pia and Kiran Nalaar is an annoyingly long name...I vote we rename it PKN which sounds like a political party from North Korea..
Land
None.
Artifact
Hangarback Walker - I like this guy quite a lot. He can fit in most parts of your curve and can gain some value if you have some time. I see this guy having potential in Modern (Affinity) and Legacy (MUD). The fact that he insulates you from spot removal and sweepers is very nice and providing flying attackers/blockers is icing on the cake. This guy is also a complete and utter house in Standard, I see this guy being played a lot in all sorts of archetypes...
Gold
Shaman of the Pack - Shaman of the Pack could be the missing piece of the Modern Elves deck to push it into true Tier 1 status.
This is the biggest bunch of potential payable's in a while from ANY Magic set. I think Magic Origins will be an understated hit in eternal formats.
Cheers,
Simon
Monday, June 29, 2015
Magic Online / MODO / MTGO Daily Event Legacy - June 2015
It finally happened...I have RUG built on MODO.
http://mtgo-stats.com/decks/player/samuraisocks
http://mtgo-stats.com/decks/17953
http://mtgo-stats.com/decks/17749
See above for the RUG lists I have been playing. The deck has been doing great other than I keep losing my last round to Miracles or Jeskai Stoneblade... The main deck is pretty stock minus the Forked Bolt / Dismember split. There is a lot of Grixis Delver running around at the moment with Gurmag Angler so I could see going back to x2 Dismember. As a general rule, I hate having dismember in my deck since it is dead vs. combo decks and control decks (usually) but it has been pretty good for me online so far.
Moving to the only part that I am not sure of...the sideboard.
Sideboard 1:
I like that I have managed to cut the targets for Wear/Tear against Miracles in sideboard 2. The downside it is that it makes me cut the cards that are best against Miracles. I haven't fully fleshed out if it is better to have the powerful cards or turn off 1/2 of their post sideboard cards.
The cards I am talking about are:
Pithing Needle
Null Rod
Sulfuric Vortex
Sylvan Library
Winter Orb
The jury is still very much out on this one.
-Cheers-
http://mtgo-stats.com/decks/player/samuraisocks
http://mtgo-stats.com/decks/17953
http://mtgo-stats.com/decks/17749
See above for the RUG lists I have been playing. The deck has been doing great other than I keep losing my last round to Miracles or Jeskai Stoneblade... The main deck is pretty stock minus the Forked Bolt / Dismember split. There is a lot of Grixis Delver running around at the moment with Gurmag Angler so I could see going back to x2 Dismember. As a general rule, I hate having dismember in my deck since it is dead vs. combo decks and control decks (usually) but it has been pretty good for me online so far.
Moving to the only part that I am not sure of...the sideboard.
Sideboard 1:
| 1 Blue Elemental Blast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Envelop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Flusterstorm | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Spell Pierce | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Forked Bolt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 Grim Lavamancer | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Pyroblast | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Sudden Demise | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Sulfuric Vortex | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 Destructive Revelry | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 Grafdigger's Cage Sideboard 2:
|
I like that I have managed to cut the targets for Wear/Tear against Miracles in sideboard 2. The downside it is that it makes me cut the cards that are best against Miracles. I haven't fully fleshed out if it is better to have the powerful cards or turn off 1/2 of their post sideboard cards.
The cards I am talking about are:
Pithing Needle
Null Rod
Sulfuric Vortex
Sylvan Library
Winter Orb
The jury is still very much out on this one.
The rest of the sideboard feels very good. I think I am still the only person running 3 Destructive Revelry but it is good for me every time I cast it. I have blown up several Counterbalances and Bloodmoons which always feels good. Ancient Grudge doesn't do that. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| -Cheers- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
-Cheers-
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Magic Online / MODO / MTGO Daily Event Legacy - May 2015
I finally got around to playing in my first Legacy Daily event thanks to the huge mother of a storm that came through Houston and flooded most of the city.
For those not in Houston:
http://www.weather.com/safety/
Hence work was cancelled, daycare was cancelled, court was cancelled, etc. Having the day at home with the family was great and thankfully we had electricity and Internet!
My weapon of choice for the Legacy Daily was Infect. I have played infect a few times in small legacy events in paper and I played quite a lot of modern infect online several months ago. I felt pretty comfortable with the deck since it bridges the gap between Modern Infect and Legacy Delver. I had just bought my Wastelands, so I had the entire deck complete minus 1-2 cards which are not 100% essential to run (Stifle & Karakas). After playing 1 random match in the tournament practice room versus a Storm opponent (Won 2-1) to get rid of the MODO rust, I was ready to enter my first Legacy Daily.
List:
(Will link to Daily Decklists)
For some reason I am not having any luck finding the daily decklists for the event I played in. I will list the event # and maybe someone who is more familiar with MODO can help me out.
Round 1 - Miracles
G1 - He played land go and I just chipped away at him until he died.
G2 - I beat his Bloodmoon because I had a guy in play and then force of willed his removal spell.
2-0
Round 2 - Storm
G1 - Quick clock and a few counterspells is good enough to get it done.
G2 - My opponent went lotus petal, brainstorm. I force of willed his brainstorm and then won from there.
2-0
Round 3 - UR Delver (or Mono Red with Gitaxian Probe)
G1 - My opponent probed me and played some red spells.
G2 - I dazed his Eidolon of the Great Revel and then he conceded...
2-0
Round 4 - COTV Affinity
G1 - I am ahead but we are racing when my opponent plays Tezzeret and uses the get an artifact in the top 5 ability. He finds...and Ornithopter which will work great against my Inkmoth Nexus...I manager to squeak out the game anyway but it feels way closer than it should be.
G2 - I counter his COTV and slowly grind him out from there.
2-0
Playing 4 rounds and winning each 2-0 is pretty nice. The deck played very well but I would probably add the 2 cards into the deck even though I didn't miss them too much for this tournament (Add +1 Stifle, +1 Karakas & Remove -1 Crop Rotation, -1 Spell Pierce).
Now I need to decide what to do with the 11 Tempest Remastered Booster Packs I won...
Next purchase is a playset of Tarmogoyf's when Modern Masters comes out...I hope they drop to around $50 a pop from the $65 or so that they are at right now.
Cheers,
Simon
MODO SN - samuraisocks
For those not in Houston:
http://www.weather.com/safety/
Hence work was cancelled, daycare was cancelled, court was cancelled, etc. Having the day at home with the family was great and thankfully we had electricity and Internet!
My weapon of choice for the Legacy Daily was Infect. I have played infect a few times in small legacy events in paper and I played quite a lot of modern infect online several months ago. I felt pretty comfortable with the deck since it bridges the gap between Modern Infect and Legacy Delver. I had just bought my Wastelands, so I had the entire deck complete minus 1-2 cards which are not 100% essential to run (Stifle & Karakas). After playing 1 random match in the tournament practice room versus a Storm opponent (Won 2-1) to get rid of the MODO rust, I was ready to enter my first Legacy Daily.
List:
(Will link to Daily Decklists)
For some reason I am not having any luck finding the daily decklists for the event I played in. I will list the event # and maybe someone who is more familiar with MODO can help me out.
Round 1 - Miracles
G1 - He played land go and I just chipped away at him until he died.
G2 - I beat his Bloodmoon because I had a guy in play and then force of willed his removal spell.
2-0
Round 2 - Storm
G1 - Quick clock and a few counterspells is good enough to get it done.
G2 - My opponent went lotus petal, brainstorm. I force of willed his brainstorm and then won from there.
2-0
Round 3 - UR Delver (or Mono Red with Gitaxian Probe)
G1 - My opponent probed me and played some red spells.
G2 - I dazed his Eidolon of the Great Revel and then he conceded...
2-0
Round 4 - COTV Affinity
G1 - I am ahead but we are racing when my opponent plays Tezzeret and uses the get an artifact in the top 5 ability. He finds...and Ornithopter which will work great against my Inkmoth Nexus...I manager to squeak out the game anyway but it feels way closer than it should be.
G2 - I counter his COTV and slowly grind him out from there.
2-0
Playing 4 rounds and winning each 2-0 is pretty nice. The deck played very well but I would probably add the 2 cards into the deck even though I didn't miss them too much for this tournament (Add +1 Stifle, +1 Karakas & Remove -1 Crop Rotation, -1 Spell Pierce).
Now I need to decide what to do with the 11 Tempest Remastered Booster Packs I won...
Next purchase is a playset of Tarmogoyf's when Modern Masters comes out...I hope they drop to around $50 a pop from the $65 or so that they are at right now.
Cheers,
Simon
MODO SN - samuraisocks
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
May Update
Life has been super busy. Work + Baby + Wife has left me with little time for Magic (paper or electronic).
Next week I will be in Norway/Sweden so things are not going to calm down any time soon.
Hopefully when I get back I can buy some cheap MODO wastelands. While I am gone you guys need to get busy drafting Tempest Masters...
-Cheers-
Next week I will be in Norway/Sweden so things are not going to calm down any time soon.
Hopefully when I get back I can buy some cheap MODO wastelands. While I am gone you guys need to get busy drafting Tempest Masters...
-Cheers-
Monday, April 20, 2015
Will Power Gaming Mox Jet Tournament April 18 2014 - Standard 2nd Place Report Simon Christie
The list -
Mono Red
Game 1 - This is likely mono reds best matchup. The game plan is simple play guys + smash face, then when he is close to stabilizing + tapped out you burn them out.
Game 2 - See game 1, only this time your opponent has 2/3 mana sweepers. Before the tournament I thought about running 1 Collateral Damage to mitigate Bile Blight, I still like the idea but I don't know if we need it.
I think I may have made a slight misplay in game 2 when I played a Hordeling Outburt on turn 3 and my opponent cast Silumgar's Scorn without revealing a dragon. I could have played Dragon Fodder which would have meant he would have had to reveal a dragon or not cast the card (since I could then have paid 1 mana). This is a tough spot, I am not sure if you are supposed to play around Force Spike/Counterspell in this situation or not.
Round 4 - (GR Dudes)
My opponents asks if I will concede. I say we can play or draw. He chooses to play.
Game 1 - We get into a race in the mid game due to his Surrak coming down and creating some additional hasty damage.
Game 2 - Turn 3 Hornet's Nest. Ouch. I play on and hope to draw a Goblin Heelcutter and/or Frenzied Goblin. It doesn't ever happen though.
Round 5 - (Abzan Aggro/Mid)
ID
Semi - (GR Dudes)
This is the same guy as Round 4. So I know what I am up against.
Game 1 - He is on the play but I manage to make some favorable trades which put him in an awkward position for racing. I manage to burn out his final life points.
Game 2 - He accelerates into some quick fat dudes and I am unable to keep up.
Game 3 - My opponents first play is a flashed in Boon Satyr. I have the searing blood though. I easily take the game from there.
I forget which game I made the mistake but I made the first glaring mistake on the day in this match. I had played a turn 1 Lightning Berserker and my opponent had played a turn 1 Elf. I have a wild slash in hand and a bunch of two drops. I attack with Lightning Berserker (I am fine with the trade) and my opponent declines to trade...only I don't pump the Berserker even though I know I am going to kill the elf. That 1 point didn't end up mattering but it could have.
Quarter - (Abzan Control) Joe Bass
Game 1 - I play guys and smash but Joe is able to slow the game down enough to get double Courser and a Siege Rhino down. Too many big butts.
Game 2 - I curve out and get hit with some removal but I keep playing my cards conservatively while whittling away at his life total.
Game 3 - My opponent mulligans and my quick draw punishes him hard.
Also worth noting is that Joe played turn 1/2 thoughtseized me all 3 games...I don't think this is a valid plan (especially on the draw). Thoughseize does nothing if it is not in your opening 7 since it is so hard to play mid/late game.
Finals - (Abzan Aggro/Mid)
No split finals...so this is for all the marbles.
Game 1 - My opponent is on the play. I mulligan to 5...If I had drawn a second land a turn or two sooner (not like turn 5) then I think I win this game. I got my opponent down to ~7 before he manages to play Surrak into Sorin (the 1 of Sorin obviously). If I had my second land then I would have been able to Stoke the Flames....
Game 2 - I curve out pretty perfectly but my hand is kind of clogged with Goblin Token cards, so I am forced to play them out. My opponent casts x2 Drown in Sorrow and x2 Bile Blight during this game...I can still win if I draw a burn spell over x2 turns in the mid-game while my opponent is at 5 life and I have a Wild Slash in Hand.
It would have been nice to at least get a game 3 against my opponent but it was not to be. I was so looking forward to winning my second Mox Jet.
All in all it was a good day for Mono Red and I will be slinging mountains again if I have any other Standard tournaments coming up.
Cheers,
Simon
Mono Red
Creatures (20)
3 Zurgo Bellstriker
4 Foundry Street Denizen
1 Frenzied Goblin
3 Lightning Berserker
4 Monastery Swiftspear
2 Eidolon of the Great Revel
3 Goblin Heelcutter
Lands (20)
20 Mountain
Spells (20)
4 Wild Slash
4 Stoke the Flames
3 Lightning Strike
1 Titan's Strength
4 Dragon Fodder
3 Hordeling Outburt
1 Hall of Triumph
Sideboard [15]
3 Prophetic Flamespeaker
1 Hall of Triumph
4 Searing Blood
4 Roast
2 Arc Lightning
1 Harness by Force
The main deck was pretty close to perfect but I think the sideboard could take a little tweaking.
I decided that I would stick with Mono Red rather than pushing for the RG Atarka version which has a terrible mana base.
The first thing I had to do Saturday morning was buy some cards to complete the new list. After spending $1.28 on a couple of roasts and a dragon fodder my deck was ready to go. :)
Round 1 - (Abzan Aggro) Collin Rountree
Game 1 - I play dudes and proceed to smash him down to ~9 life, then I start to get brick walled as he continues to hit his mana and keeps playing 3/3s. He then gains some life off of Siege Rhino and I end the game with 8 mountains in play and 2 more in hand...oh buddy.
Game 2 - I curve out and Roast all of his guys. Wow Roast is a crazy good magic card for mono red. Being able to kill Siege Rhino is all kinds of spicy. Usually, I am just happy if he cannot block.
Game 3 - I re-sideboard since I am on the draw and bring in a miser Searing Blood. I end up killing his Rakshasa Deathdealer with that Searing Blood. That extra damage lets me easily win the race. He had a turn where he played and attacked with a Siege Rhino instead of a Surrak. If he had attacked with Surrak I would have had a hard time racing him back. Also I Roasted a bunch of his critters.
Round 2 - (Jeskai Tokens)
Game 1 - This is not a great matchup but I manage to kill him when he is forced to tap his guys to Stoke the Flames and it lets me get in with a huge hasty Lightning Berserker for a bunch (~5/6).
Game 2 - I side out all the guys with a 1 butt and you know what card is super sweet? Prophetic Flamespeaker. :)
Round 3 - (UB Control) David
Game 2 - See game 1, only this time your opponent has 2/3 mana sweepers. Before the tournament I thought about running 1 Collateral Damage to mitigate Bile Blight, I still like the idea but I don't know if we need it.
I think I may have made a slight misplay in game 2 when I played a Hordeling Outburt on turn 3 and my opponent cast Silumgar's Scorn without revealing a dragon. I could have played Dragon Fodder which would have meant he would have had to reveal a dragon or not cast the card (since I could then have paid 1 mana). This is a tough spot, I am not sure if you are supposed to play around Force Spike/Counterspell in this situation or not.
Round 4 - (GR Dudes)
My opponents asks if I will concede. I say we can play or draw. He chooses to play.
Game 1 - We get into a race in the mid game due to his Surrak coming down and creating some additional hasty damage.
Game 2 - Turn 3 Hornet's Nest. Ouch. I play on and hope to draw a Goblin Heelcutter and/or Frenzied Goblin. It doesn't ever happen though.
Round 5 - (Abzan Aggro/Mid)
ID
Semi - (GR Dudes)
This is the same guy as Round 4. So I know what I am up against.
Game 1 - He is on the play but I manage to make some favorable trades which put him in an awkward position for racing. I manage to burn out his final life points.
Game 2 - He accelerates into some quick fat dudes and I am unable to keep up.
Game 3 - My opponents first play is a flashed in Boon Satyr. I have the searing blood though. I easily take the game from there.
I forget which game I made the mistake but I made the first glaring mistake on the day in this match. I had played a turn 1 Lightning Berserker and my opponent had played a turn 1 Elf. I have a wild slash in hand and a bunch of two drops. I attack with Lightning Berserker (I am fine with the trade) and my opponent declines to trade...only I don't pump the Berserker even though I know I am going to kill the elf. That 1 point didn't end up mattering but it could have.
Quarter - (Abzan Control) Joe Bass
Game 1 - I play guys and smash but Joe is able to slow the game down enough to get double Courser and a Siege Rhino down. Too many big butts.
Game 2 - I curve out and get hit with some removal but I keep playing my cards conservatively while whittling away at his life total.
Game 3 - My opponent mulligans and my quick draw punishes him hard.
Also worth noting is that Joe played turn 1/2 thoughtseized me all 3 games...I don't think this is a valid plan (especially on the draw). Thoughseize does nothing if it is not in your opening 7 since it is so hard to play mid/late game.
Finals - (Abzan Aggro/Mid)
No split finals...so this is for all the marbles.
Game 1 - My opponent is on the play. I mulligan to 5...If I had drawn a second land a turn or two sooner (not like turn 5) then I think I win this game. I got my opponent down to ~7 before he manages to play Surrak into Sorin (the 1 of Sorin obviously). If I had my second land then I would have been able to Stoke the Flames....
Game 2 - I curve out pretty perfectly but my hand is kind of clogged with Goblin Token cards, so I am forced to play them out. My opponent casts x2 Drown in Sorrow and x2 Bile Blight during this game...I can still win if I draw a burn spell over x2 turns in the mid-game while my opponent is at 5 life and I have a Wild Slash in Hand.
It would have been nice to at least get a game 3 against my opponent but it was not to be. I was so looking forward to winning my second Mox Jet.
All in all it was a good day for Mono Red and I will be slinging mountains again if I have any other Standard tournaments coming up.
Cheers,
Simon
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Hearthstone Update (April 2015)
Since my foray into MODO I have almost completely forgot about Hearthstone...I guess the $100 I spent on that game was a waste. This is why I always stick with Magic even if another game looks good or interesting to me. Magic is such a proven product and it is simply a safer bet. In addition, any money you do invest money into Magic you can get back out pretty easily by selling. Other games just do not have this ability.
I still think Hearthstone Online is > MODO from a program, technology, visual and pretty much every other standpoint except the actual game itself. While Hearthstone stands up to Magic quite well it just isn't the same.
I could have bought 2 Wastelands online with the $100! Sigh.
-Cheers-
PS - I am not ruling out going back to Hearthstone at some point but the idea of spending any money on it is very unappealing.
I still think Hearthstone Online is > MODO from a program, technology, visual and pretty much every other standpoint except the actual game itself. While Hearthstone stands up to Magic quite well it just isn't the same.
I could have bought 2 Wastelands online with the $100! Sigh.
-Cheers-
PS - I am not ruling out going back to Hearthstone at some point but the idea of spending any money on it is very unappealing.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Magic Online _ MODO _ MTGO Basic Lands
I finally took the plunge and decided on my basic lands for MODO. The prices for some of the basics are pretty weird online and I wanted to to buy 20-25 of each basic which will be enough for any deck I want to play, barring something really weird.
Behold in all their glory:
Plains
Island
Swamp
Forest
Mountain
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The hardest choice was choosing a good forest (I still don't know if I picked right) and other than that, most of the choices were between 1-2 for each basic land (other than Plains which was always going to be Sunflowers).
-Cheers-
Behold in all their glory:
Plains
Island
Swamp
Forest
Mountain
The hardest choice was choosing a good forest (I still don't know if I picked right) and other than that, most of the choices were between 1-2 for each basic land (other than Plains which was always going to be Sunflowers).
-Cheers-
Monday, March 23, 2015
MTG Dragons of Tarkir Legacy Set Review
I am running a little late for this set review but I wanted to share anyway.
Usually I go through colour by colour but we are pretty light on payable's this time around, so lets get straight to the meat (with my ranking).
1. Dromoka's Command & Zurgo Bellstriker
- These look to be the best cards in the set by far for Legacy. I can see both of these popping up as 1/2 ofs in the only decks that they make sense to be in (GWx and Mono Red).
- Dromoka's Command is extremely versatile and will give some good edges to Mirror Matches and the other fair matches (Delver, Death and Taxes, etc.).
- Zurgo is likely a 1/2 of in Mono red decks with are forever present in Texas at least. He is a legend so I don't think you want too many of him. He also isn't quite a Goblin Guide but this guy is going to do some damage when combined with Goblin Guide.
2. Rending Volley
- Another way to Kill Delver of Secrets, Stoneforge Mystic, etc..
3. Myth Realized
- This cards has sweet design but I think it is too much of a dream. When you have this card work it will look like the best card in your deck but when you top deck it on turn X it will look like poop. If this card does see any play I think it would more likely be as a sideboard card.
- Also insert obligatory reference to Enchantress. Done.
Other (Even more Tenuous)
4. Self-Inflicted Wound
- This is a narrow sideboard card but a nice way to kill off Green and White guys that will also kill off a Progenitus if that ever become relevant again. Unitl then I will stick with Deathmark though.
5. Shambling Goblin
- I don't know if having 8 of this effect is good enough to see play with something like Goblin Bombardment. I will leave that for Sam Black to decide.
6. Roast
- In the RUG mirror match this does kill Tarmogoyf. I still don't know that you want this in your 75 though. Maybe if Tombstalker/ Tasigur became a bigger thing.
7. Twin Bolt
- So, so close. When they make this cost R aka Instant Speed Forked Bolt, they will have printed maybe my favorite Magic card. Until then I will keep playing Forked Bolt.
8. Collected Company
- I will leave some mad genius to figure out how to get this to work.
9. Atarka's Command
- A must play in Modern but a pretty good card in legacy too if you care about the life gain.
10. Kolaghan's Command
- All of these modes are pretty good in a Grixis Type deck. It is a shame that it costs 3 mana but playing 1 of these in your 75 is reasonable.
All she wrote.
Cheers,
Simon
Usually I go through colour by colour but we are pretty light on payable's this time around, so lets get straight to the meat (with my ranking).
1. Dromoka's Command & Zurgo Bellstriker
- These look to be the best cards in the set by far for Legacy. I can see both of these popping up as 1/2 ofs in the only decks that they make sense to be in (GWx and Mono Red).
- Dromoka's Command is extremely versatile and will give some good edges to Mirror Matches and the other fair matches (Delver, Death and Taxes, etc.).
- Zurgo is likely a 1/2 of in Mono red decks with are forever present in Texas at least. He is a legend so I don't think you want too many of him. He also isn't quite a Goblin Guide but this guy is going to do some damage when combined with Goblin Guide.
2. Rending Volley
- Another way to Kill Delver of Secrets, Stoneforge Mystic, etc..
3. Myth Realized
- This cards has sweet design but I think it is too much of a dream. When you have this card work it will look like the best card in your deck but when you top deck it on turn X it will look like poop. If this card does see any play I think it would more likely be as a sideboard card.
- Also insert obligatory reference to Enchantress. Done.
Other (Even more Tenuous)
4. Self-Inflicted Wound
- This is a narrow sideboard card but a nice way to kill off Green and White guys that will also kill off a Progenitus if that ever become relevant again. Unitl then I will stick with Deathmark though.
5. Shambling Goblin
- I don't know if having 8 of this effect is good enough to see play with something like Goblin Bombardment. I will leave that for Sam Black to decide.
6. Roast
- In the RUG mirror match this does kill Tarmogoyf. I still don't know that you want this in your 75 though. Maybe if Tombstalker/ Tasigur became a bigger thing.
7. Twin Bolt
- So, so close. When they make this cost R aka Instant Speed Forked Bolt, they will have printed maybe my favorite Magic card. Until then I will keep playing Forked Bolt.
8. Collected Company
- I will leave some mad genius to figure out how to get this to work.
9. Atarka's Command
- A must play in Modern but a pretty good card in legacy too if you care about the life gain.
10. Kolaghan's Command
- All of these modes are pretty good in a Grixis Type deck. It is a shame that it costs 3 mana but playing 1 of these in your 75 is reasonable.
All she wrote.
Cheers,
Simon
Monday, March 16, 2015
SCG Dallas March 16 2015 - Legacy Premier IQ 10th Place Report Simon Christie
Standard
I was at a birthday party drinking beer all day Saturday so I couldn't play Standard (terrible right?) but one of my SCG Houston opponents ended up playing a variation of mono-red after I crushed him in Houston. He said the deck worked out great all weekend and he ended up making top 8 with it. He was particularly enamored with the sideboard Prophetic Flamespeakers. :) Good Job JB!
His List:
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=81024
Saturday night we got up to Dallas and grabbed a burger at the now semi-regular stop of Rodeo Goat (no fish and chips this time). Some burgers and beer were consumed and I hit the hay around Midnight. I was out like a light until ~7am. Sleeping all the way through the night with no baby crying, that is pretty crazy stuff for me these days. I woke up feeling sluggish, maybe I slept for too long and had too much uninterrupted sleep? Some people are just never happy...Sigh. A cup of tea later and things were at least looking a little better.
Legacy - RUG Delver (Get out of here Temur Delver)
I am not entirely sure how many people played in the Legacy PIQ but we played 8 rounds so ~200ish+ people.
Round 1 - Burn (Barnett, Keifer)
Red hat, red shirt and red deck box. I knew exactly what I was in for this round. Oh yeah and no playmat.
G1 - I lose game 1 because I choose to keep up spell pierce instead of deploying a nimble mongoose when I am at 11 life. My mana was quite constrained this game (1 Trop and 1 Wasteland). Eventually he gets down an Eidolon and it is too much for me to break through.
G2 - He gets me down to 12 before I just start smacking him with a giant Tarmogoyf.
G3 - I manage to leverage my dazes and spell pierces to force him to overcommit with a fireblast which I counter.
Phew. Burn is a bad matchup and it always sucks to lose to it in round 1 so i feel pretty good that i dodged the bullet.
Round 2 - Burn (Ullom, Brock)
I heard this guy playing while I was playing my round 1 opponent. What I heard as he screamed his actions at his opponent. "Sac two mountains, Fireblast you!" Ugh...
G1 - I am never in this game...his start is perfect with double goblin guide into my death. He ends the game at 20...Do the wheels start to fall off now?
G2 - This game is odd as I have enough pressure to race him with my turn 1 flipped Delver which he doesn't kill. I end that game at 4 life and he was at 3 before I deal him lethal. I think I likely lose this game if he is a little more patient.
G3 - I land a huge goyf and smack him with it.
Round 3 - RG Lands (Pierce, Stephen)
I recognize this guy so I ask him if he recognizes me. He does but doesn't want to say...I am racking my brain to try and figure out where I recognize him from. Finally I realize that it is from SCG Dallas last year (Here). I remember why our game was so funny and I ask him - "Forest?" I tell him how Forests always fail you and we proceed to play. He tells me he can play his deck better now. Good news for me to know what I am playing or just a super bluff?
G1 - We both mulligan to 6 and he is on the play. He take a long time to think about his hand. I snap keep my terrible hand of - X2 Fetch, Goose, x2 Goyf, Forked Bolt. He leads with mana bond but doesn't dump his hand (which I thought was likely after him thinking about his mulligan). I proceed to play dudes every turn and the forked bolt him to grow goose.
G2 - I counter Life From the Loam 5 or 6 times in this game and win.
Round 4 -BUG Delver (Williams, Keith H)
G1 - This is a really weird game and I am on 6 cards and on the draw. I manage to stabilize to the mid-game but I have to use a Force of Will on a Tarmogoyf putting me way behind. He lands a True-Name Nemesis and we are racing each other. He eventually draws removal for my Delver and I lose to the True Name.
G2 - I tempo him out.
G3 - This game was very interesting and I had a tough decision on turn 2/3 of the game. We have both wastelanded each other and he looks to be short of land but has a tropical island in play and a deathrite. Then he taps out to play a tarmogoyf. My board is Volcanic and Grim Lavamancer. Goyf is a 1/2 (just lands in yard). I untap and have the option to kill the Deathrite or the goyf. My instinct is to kill the Goyf and I remove the lands with the intention to do that but as I am point at which creature to kill I change my mind and select Deathrite. Honestly I think there is a good argument either way. It is also relevant that I have a Submerge in hand. So I am not too worried about getting rid of Goyf at some point. I end up losing because he manages to super charge his Goyf on the next turn and start smacking me for a lot of damage. Oh yeah and at some point in the game I get another Grim Lavamancer active and almost try to double ping his Tarmogoyf that is a 4/5. That would have been awkward.
This was a pretty frustrating game to lose.
Round 5 - RW Painter (Williams, Harold)
G1 - I have played against this deck a lot and drawing my Gitaxian probe gives me a lot of info to help navigate the game even more smoothly.
G2 - Again I slow the game down then land a Goyf. He lands a Blood Moon which I let him resolve even though I have a Force of Will in hand since I figure I can just counter his next spell.
This version is so much worse again RUG Delver since they care about their fetches a lot more than other version and also get hit by Wasteland.
Round 6 - Storm (Stanley, Kevin)
G1 - We both mull and my hand is a little mediocre but I do land a delver and attack him down to 17! My opponent goes off on turn 3 with Ad Nauseam and Cabal Rituals. He goes all the way down to 3 and stops. He then thinks for a while plays a polluted delta and fetches. He picks up his library and starts to look through it. I quickly stop him and play a stifle...he looks at me and his hand and goes in the tank. Two minutes later I am the winner.
G2 - I have quite a few cards to bring in from my sideboard and I counter his spells.
Round 7 - UWR Delver (Palmer, Austin)
G1 - This was an odd game. My opponent played 3 Swords to Plowshares making me gain 11 life this gain (killing 2 Tarmogoyfs and a Delver of Secrets). Eventually I land a Delver and start going to town. He lands a True Name and starts swinging back but I have 11 extra life...so I win.
G2 - I probe him early and proceed to play around his hand.
This is the type of Delver match that I love to play. I am physically and mentally exhausted (not to mention hungry). Oh yeah and I was paired down this round
Round 8 - Burn (Avera, Trent)
We look at standings and I know I have to play to make it to Top 8. I really just wanted to go eat and go home...My opponent says "we can draw," I tell him that I don't think we can but he just keeps saying it over and over again. I saw my opponent playing earlier that day and I know he is playing Burn. I am tired, exhausted and really don't want to play vs burn so I take the draw. Not the smarted thing in the world I know but there you go. It is worth noting that I likely would have made top 8 if the other two table that we cared about drew. One of the tables went to time and the guy did manage to kill his opponent on turn 3 of turns...
List on SCG:
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=81094
Note - SCG missed the 2nd Destructive Revelry from the sideboard.
The Sideboard is where the real work came into play.
So yeah another 10th place finish. I should probably start making top 8 finishes instead. I only have myself to blame for this one though. On the plus side I did play pretty well all day despite how tired I was with the exception of trying to Grim Lavamancer a Goyf).
Cheers,
Simon
I was at a birthday party drinking beer all day Saturday so I couldn't play Standard (terrible right?) but one of my SCG Houston opponents ended up playing a variation of mono-red after I crushed him in Houston. He said the deck worked out great all weekend and he ended up making top 8 with it. He was particularly enamored with the sideboard Prophetic Flamespeakers. :) Good Job JB!
His List:
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=81024
Saturday night we got up to Dallas and grabbed a burger at the now semi-regular stop of Rodeo Goat (no fish and chips this time). Some burgers and beer were consumed and I hit the hay around Midnight. I was out like a light until ~7am. Sleeping all the way through the night with no baby crying, that is pretty crazy stuff for me these days. I woke up feeling sluggish, maybe I slept for too long and had too much uninterrupted sleep? Some people are just never happy...Sigh. A cup of tea later and things were at least looking a little better.
Legacy - RUG Delver (Get out of here Temur Delver)
I am not entirely sure how many people played in the Legacy PIQ but we played 8 rounds so ~200ish+ people.
Round 1 - Burn (Barnett, Keifer)
Red hat, red shirt and red deck box. I knew exactly what I was in for this round. Oh yeah and no playmat.
G1 - I lose game 1 because I choose to keep up spell pierce instead of deploying a nimble mongoose when I am at 11 life. My mana was quite constrained this game (1 Trop and 1 Wasteland). Eventually he gets down an Eidolon and it is too much for me to break through.
G2 - He gets me down to 12 before I just start smacking him with a giant Tarmogoyf.
G3 - I manage to leverage my dazes and spell pierces to force him to overcommit with a fireblast which I counter.
Phew. Burn is a bad matchup and it always sucks to lose to it in round 1 so i feel pretty good that i dodged the bullet.
Round 2 - Burn (Ullom, Brock)
I heard this guy playing while I was playing my round 1 opponent. What I heard as he screamed his actions at his opponent. "Sac two mountains, Fireblast you!" Ugh...
G1 - I am never in this game...his start is perfect with double goblin guide into my death. He ends the game at 20...Do the wheels start to fall off now?
G2 - This game is odd as I have enough pressure to race him with my turn 1 flipped Delver which he doesn't kill. I end that game at 4 life and he was at 3 before I deal him lethal. I think I likely lose this game if he is a little more patient.
G3 - I land a huge goyf and smack him with it.
Round 3 - RG Lands (Pierce, Stephen)
I recognize this guy so I ask him if he recognizes me. He does but doesn't want to say...I am racking my brain to try and figure out where I recognize him from. Finally I realize that it is from SCG Dallas last year (Here). I remember why our game was so funny and I ask him - "Forest?" I tell him how Forests always fail you and we proceed to play. He tells me he can play his deck better now. Good news for me to know what I am playing or just a super bluff?
G1 - We both mulligan to 6 and he is on the play. He take a long time to think about his hand. I snap keep my terrible hand of - X2 Fetch, Goose, x2 Goyf, Forked Bolt. He leads with mana bond but doesn't dump his hand (which I thought was likely after him thinking about his mulligan). I proceed to play dudes every turn and the forked bolt him to grow goose.
G2 - I counter Life From the Loam 5 or 6 times in this game and win.
Round 4 -BUG Delver (Williams, Keith H)
G1 - This is a really weird game and I am on 6 cards and on the draw. I manage to stabilize to the mid-game but I have to use a Force of Will on a Tarmogoyf putting me way behind. He lands a True-Name Nemesis and we are racing each other. He eventually draws removal for my Delver and I lose to the True Name.
G2 - I tempo him out.
G3 - This game was very interesting and I had a tough decision on turn 2/3 of the game. We have both wastelanded each other and he looks to be short of land but has a tropical island in play and a deathrite. Then he taps out to play a tarmogoyf. My board is Volcanic and Grim Lavamancer. Goyf is a 1/2 (just lands in yard). I untap and have the option to kill the Deathrite or the goyf. My instinct is to kill the Goyf and I remove the lands with the intention to do that but as I am point at which creature to kill I change my mind and select Deathrite. Honestly I think there is a good argument either way. It is also relevant that I have a Submerge in hand. So I am not too worried about getting rid of Goyf at some point. I end up losing because he manages to super charge his Goyf on the next turn and start smacking me for a lot of damage. Oh yeah and at some point in the game I get another Grim Lavamancer active and almost try to double ping his Tarmogoyf that is a 4/5. That would have been awkward.
This was a pretty frustrating game to lose.
Round 5 - RW Painter (Williams, Harold)
G1 - I have played against this deck a lot and drawing my Gitaxian probe gives me a lot of info to help navigate the game even more smoothly.
G2 - Again I slow the game down then land a Goyf. He lands a Blood Moon which I let him resolve even though I have a Force of Will in hand since I figure I can just counter his next spell.
This version is so much worse again RUG Delver since they care about their fetches a lot more than other version and also get hit by Wasteland.
Round 6 - Storm (Stanley, Kevin)
G1 - We both mull and my hand is a little mediocre but I do land a delver and attack him down to 17! My opponent goes off on turn 3 with Ad Nauseam and Cabal Rituals. He goes all the way down to 3 and stops. He then thinks for a while plays a polluted delta and fetches. He picks up his library and starts to look through it. I quickly stop him and play a stifle...he looks at me and his hand and goes in the tank. Two minutes later I am the winner.
G2 - I have quite a few cards to bring in from my sideboard and I counter his spells.
Round 7 - UWR Delver (Palmer, Austin)
G1 - This was an odd game. My opponent played 3 Swords to Plowshares making me gain 11 life this gain (killing 2 Tarmogoyfs and a Delver of Secrets). Eventually I land a Delver and start going to town. He lands a True Name and starts swinging back but I have 11 extra life...so I win.
G2 - I probe him early and proceed to play around his hand.
This is the type of Delver match that I love to play. I am physically and mentally exhausted (not to mention hungry). Oh yeah and I was paired down this round
Round 8 - Burn (Avera, Trent)
We look at standings and I know I have to play to make it to Top 8. I really just wanted to go eat and go home...My opponent says "we can draw," I tell him that I don't think we can but he just keeps saying it over and over again. I saw my opponent playing earlier that day and I know he is playing Burn. I am tired, exhausted and really don't want to play vs burn so I take the draw. Not the smarted thing in the world I know but there you go. It is worth noting that I likely would have made top 8 if the other two table that we cared about drew. One of the tables went to time and the guy did manage to kill his opponent on turn 3 of turns...
List on SCG:
http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=81094
Note - SCG missed the 2nd Destructive Revelry from the sideboard.
Main Deck
Creatures (12)
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Tarmogoyf
Lands (18)
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
Spells (30)
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
4 Stifle
1 Forked Bolt
1 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
The Main Deck is pretty Standard with the following being the final 6 flex slots -
3 Spell Pierce - I think 2 of these are mandatory in the deck but most people don't play a third. I like spell pierce in almost every matchup and when it is good it is very, very good. I thought there was going to be a lot of miracles and a lot of burn so more spell pierces seemed good.
1 Forked Bolt - I usually run between 5 & 7 burn spells main deck. I decided to go a little lower on my main deck burn and have the extra burn/red spells in my board for this weekend.
1 Gitaxian Probe - I like the 9th cantrip for helping find lands/burn spells and the information is great.
1 Spell Snare - To name just a few things I countered this weekend - Tarmogoyf, Painter's Servant and Price of Progress. Almost every deck has a good target for spell snare and sometimes you just need a hard counter (even if it is situational).
Sideboard
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sulfuric Vortex
2 Destructive Revelry
1 Envelop
1 Izzet Charm
1 Pyroblast
2 Submerge
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Sudden Demise
The Sideboard is where the real work came into play.
1 Grafdigger's Cage - This should probably be 2 Grafdiggers Cage but I hate graveyard hate and I changed the second Cage for a Scavenging Ooze because I like ooze in the Delver matchups as well as against burn. The second cage also helps against Elves but I felt like I had that covered with Grim Lavamancer and Sudden Demise.
2 Grim Lavamancer - This was the best card in my sideboard by far. I side boarded it in 5/8 rounds and if I had played the last round it would have been 6/8). Little lavaman did everything, he controlled the board, he shot my opponent for two and he sometimes even attacked for one.
1 Scavenging Ooze - A loose graveyard hate card that can also come in versus the delver matches as well as vs. burn.
1 Sulfuric Vortex - My favorite way to beat miracles and Batterskull that is not named Destructive Revelry.
2 Destructive Revelry - My favorite Artifact/Enchantment Hate. Sure it isn't as good as Ancient Grudge at blowing up artifacts BUT it blows up enchantments and domes your opponent for two...Also nobody play affinity...
1 Envelop - Envelop was good versus Burn and Storm but I also like it versus Miracles, Show and Tell as well as versus Elves.
1 Izzet Charm - I had a flex spot left in my list that was a miser Divert (which is prettyspicy). I felt like I needed to not be so cute though. My options were a Forked Bolt or the 4th Spell Pierce/Flusterstorm. I decided to split the difference and run the multi functional swiss army knife. I sideboarded Izzet Charm in several times and I was pretty impressed with its functionality and I countered several spells and killed a Delver of Secrets.
1 Pyroblast - I could handle having another Pyroblast in the Sideboard but space is super tight. Thankfully the main deck has a bunch of good cards versus Miracles which is the matchup where you want more Pyroblasts.
2 Submerge - This is for BUG, the mirror match and Dark Depths, as well as versus anybody with Forests. I am unsure of how good this is versus elves since you want to keep all your burn and also your counters against them...slightly awkward.
1 Vendilion Clique - This for the Combo and Control matchups.
2 Sudden Demise - I love Grim Lavamancer and I love Rough//Tumble but they don't work well together. So my solution was to run Sudden Demise. The theory is sound but I didn't get the matchups (Tribal (Merfolk, Goblins, Elves) and Death & Taxes) to see how well it would have worked. It is also worth noting that with Death and taxes going to the Skies and to Brimaz, Rough//Tumble is pretty bad versus them these days. Sudden demise can at least kill their dudes if you can get to enough mana which admittedly can be a big task in the face of Rishadan Port and Wasteland.
So yeah another 10th place finish. I should probably start making top 8 finishes instead. I only have myself to blame for this one though. On the plus side I did play pretty well all day despite how tired I was with the exception of trying to Grim Lavamancer a Goyf).
Cheers,
Simon
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Preview - SCG Dallas March 14-15
I guess this is what it is like living on the East-Coast around Virginia area, two SCGs in two months...must be nice (or exhausting). This weekend marks my annual/bi-annual pilgrimage to Dallas (or really Fort Worth but enough e-ink has been slung in regards to that). It is my time to go eat fish and chips (feel free to ask me where) and sling some cardboard. Due to a birthday party, spring break and baby/family time; I will be giving Saturdays Standard tournament a miss. I am a little sad to be unable to battle with mountains on Saturday but I do get to play Legacy so I cannot be too unhappy.
For anyone interested here is my updated version of Red:
Mono Red
For legacy I am 99% on the usual.
RUG
Land [18]
Sideboard [15]
The main deck is pretty set except for whether I want the 3rd Spell Pierce or a 6th burn spell (forked bolt). Running a 2nd Gitaxian Probe or 1st Thoughtscour is also an option in that flex spot. It has been a while since I have played instand speed 3/3 on turn 2 with nimble mongoose. Eating your opponents creatures is fun...even if they are snakes.
There is also a small part of me that is thinking about bringing a modern deck so that I can audible over to modern if the modern tournament looks smaller/easier but I have a new miscut Forked Bolt which I have yet to play with so that is probably the clincher.
Good Luck to everyone in Dallas this weekend!
Cheers,
Simon
For anyone interested here is my updated version of Red:
Mono Red
Creatures (20)
4 Firedrinker Satyr
4 Foundry Street Denizen
3 Frenzied Goblin
1 Goblin Heelcutter
2 Mardu Scout
4 Monastery Swiftspear
2 Goblin Rabblemaster
Lands (19)
19 Mountain
Spells (21)
4 Wild Slash
4 Searing Blood
4 Stoke the Flames
4 Lightning Strike
3 Titan's Strength
2 Hordeling Outburt
Sideboard [15]
3 Eidolon of the Great Revel
3 Prophetic Flamespeaker
3 Peak Eruption
2 Scouring Sands
2 Arc Lightning
1 Harness by Force
1 Mountain
For legacy I am 99% on the usual.
RUG
Creature [12]
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Nimble Mongoose
4 Tarmogoyf
Instant [24]
1 Spellsnare
3 Spell Pierce
4 Brainstorm
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Stifle
Sorcery [6]
1 Forked Bolt
1 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
Land [18]
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
4 Wasteland
Sideboard [15]
1 Flusterstorm / Divert
1 Envelop
2 Destructive Revelry
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Sulfuric Vortex
2 Submerge
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Sudden Demise
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Pyroblast
The main deck is pretty set except for whether I want the 3rd Spell Pierce or a 6th burn spell (forked bolt). Running a 2nd Gitaxian Probe or 1st Thoughtscour is also an option in that flex spot. It has been a while since I have played instand speed 3/3 on turn 2 with nimble mongoose. Eating your opponents creatures is fun...even if they are snakes.
There is also a small part of me that is thinking about bringing a modern deck so that I can audible over to modern if the modern tournament looks smaller/easier but I have a new miscut Forked Bolt which I have yet to play with so that is probably the clincher.
Good Luck to everyone in Dallas this weekend!
Cheers,
Simon
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