I played the same deck (with minor changes) that I have been
playing since late 2011. I like to call it BassBlade, but Starcitygames calls
it Miracles.
Here it is:
Note - the SCG list as posted above is
not correct. The Spell Snare in the Main Deck and the Sideboard should be Spell Pierce.
A few things that I’ve changed in my list over the years:Supreme Verdict
I cut the one of Supreme Verdict for the fourth Terminus.
The Supreme Verdict was much better when RUG (Temur) Delver was more popular
since they couldn’t Stifle or Force of Will the Supreme Verdict. It was also superior
in the mirror match as it could counter a Jace, the Mind Sculptor off of a Counterbalance
trigger. Another reason for the replacement is that Supreme Verdict is too slow
against Blue Red Delver (Editor – Why
do we have to call RUG Delver, Temur Delver but we don’t have to call UR Delver–
Izzet Delver?), which was arguably the most popular deck at the time.
Stoneforge Mystic
I used to play three Stoneforge Mystics but this was much
better when RUG (Temur) Delver was more popular and Miracles was less popular.
Having Stoneforge Mystic game one against Miracles is bad because it turns on
all their dead removal (Terminus and Swords of Plowshares). The only benefit is
that it can make sideboarding awkward for the mirror match though, since your
opponent is incentivized to keep in some number of Swords to Plowshares.
Red Elemental Blast
I’m not exactly sure who did this first, but it was very
smart (Editor – I believe this was so
called “Cheater Miracles” which was a deck from Europe and interestingly
predates Treasure Cruise being printed). Blue decks were on the rise because
they gained the dominant Treasure Cruise and roleplaying Dig Through Time. With
so many fetch lands and Brainstorm effects it was easy to shuffle away any
unwanted Red Elemental Blasts in non-blue matchups. In addition, the non-blue
matches are mostly favorable meaning dead cards hurt less.
Containment Priest
I should’ve played two Containment Priests in this list, but
I couldn’t find them. I think you could trim Rest in Peace for them since they
are good in the same matchups, but if RUG/BUG (Temur/Sultai) Delver becomes big
again, I would still want at least one Rest in Peace.
Next: On to the rounds.
Round One: Nate Kahovec – BUG Delver
I don’t mind this matchup. It’s basically a coin flip, so
that means it mostly comes down to technical play. Jace, the Mindsculptor is
huge in this matchup since BUG delver doesn’t play many answers to him besides
Vendillion Clique and maybe a post board Maelstrom Pulse, but usually Jace, the
Mindsculptor is safe. Game one I drew multiple Counterblances and he drew only
one Abrupt Decay. I eventually killed him by going ultimate with Jace, the
Mindsculptor. Game two I board out all Counterbalances, as every miracles
player should do in this matchup, and turn into a regular, fairer, blue white
control deck. He mulligans, then plays Deathrite Shaman into Tarmogoyf, which I
sweep up with a Terminus two turns later. He doesn’t recover and then I
eventually play Jace, the Mindsculptor and ultimate him once again. 2-0 win, 1-0 record.
Round Two: Jase Phillips - Jeskai Delver
My oppoinent this round was a Texas guy
and I was very impressed at his technical play especially since he had only
been playing since Theros. Game one was very close. I had Counterbalance and Sensei’s
Divining Top in play, but he drew into a Treasure Cruise which drew him a
True-Name Nemesis. I kill that with Terminus and ship it back. He follows up
with a second True-Name Nemesis and I still don’t have a three drop on top of
my deck for Counterbalance nor do I have a Counterspell in my hand, so it
resolves and it goes the distance. Game two was also very long, but this time
the late game favored me (as it should). I end up playing Jace, the
Mindsculptor with Counterbalance and Sensei’s Divining Top in play. I
brainstorm a bunch with Jace, the Mindsculptor and eventually find a Stoneforge
Mystic. For game three, we only had about 12 minutes left in the round, which
is obviously scary for miracles. I played very fast and ended up countering his
Treasure Cruise off of my Counterbalance by playing Brainstorm and putting Dig
Through Time on top of my deck. That was the turning point of the game. I play
a Stoneforge Mystic but he answers it with a Lightning bolt. A few turns later
I drew a Sensei’s Divining Top. Around
turn seven I cast Batterskull and it resolves. He plays a Young Pyromancer
which I counter off of Counterbalance. I attack and then quickly pass turn.
There is about five minutes left on the clock. He draws and passes. I Sensei’s
Divining Top at the end of turn seeing a Force of Will, the second Batterskull
(which I boarded in), and a Spell Pierce. I put the cards back so I’ll draw
Batterskull and leave Force of Will on top. I attack with my Batterskull and
then cast the second one. He chuckles and attempts to Force of Will it. I show
him my Force of Will off of Counterbalance and he concedes. 2-1 win, 2-0
record.
Round Three: Stephen Pierce – Lands
I don’t mind this matchup either. They have a hard time
dealing with Jace, the Mindsculptor and Counterbalance. Game one was very long.
At one point I have Counterblance, Sensei’s Divining Top, and Jace, the
Mindsculptor in play and I play a Snapcaster Mage at the end of his turn. He
says “ok”. I say “target Brainstorm”. He says “ok”. I tap an island for
Brainstorm and exile it. I say “Brainstorm”. He says “ok”. I stare at him for
about 15 seconds while slowly drawing my three cards to make sure that he
doesn’t have a response. The instant the cards touch my hand he says “oh wait,
I want to Punishing Fire your Jace, the Mindsculptor in response”. I call the
judge over and explain the situation. My opponent claimed that when I said
“Brainstorm” that he thought I was just targeting it, not casting it.
Thankfully, the judge did not give me a game loss. I did not think I deserved a
game loss, but these things can be tricky sometimes. The judge basically let us
rewind and then told us to communicate better. I told my opponent after the
match that I had the two drop to counter Punishing Fire on top of my deck
anyways, so I was going to win regardless. I’m not exactly sure if he fishing
for a free win or not, but he seemed like a nice guy. It was most likely bad
communication. Either way, I win game two after he concedes pretty early on
because I had him locked out. 2-0 win, 3-0 record.
Round Four: Hunter Pollock – Infect
I hate this matchup as every Miracles player should. I play
a timely Terminus game one after baiting out his Vines of Vastwood with a
Swords of Plowshares. I then play a Stoneforge Mystic and end up killing him a
few turns later. Game two he destroyed me because I could not draw a third
land. Honestly, I did not think I was going to lose with my hand, but the thing
about infect is that it can win out of nowhere. Game three was close, luckily I
was on the play. I get him turn two with a Pyroclasm, trying to bait out a
Daze, which he told me he boarded out game three because he was on the draw
anyways (totally reasonable). Turn three I play Blood Moon with Force of Will
backup and it resolves. I end up playing Jace, the Mindsculptor a few turns
later and ride Jace, the Mindsculptor to victory. 2-1 win, 4-0 record.
Round Five: Grant Mathers – Elves (or elfs according
to Gerry Thompson)This is probably my best matchup. I love playing against elves because all of my cards are just better than theirs. He mulligans to five in game one and game two so I win quickly. 2-0 win, 5-0 record.
Round Six: Rob Hunsaker – Lands
Game one he had a turn one Manabond (putting 4 lands into
play and a Life from the Loam into his graveyard), so I knew this game was
going to be rough. A few turns later he ended up making a Marit Lage every
other turn. I Swords to Plowshare’d three times and played a Terminus to kill
the fourth. I found a Jace, the Mindsculptor and eventually found a
Counterbalance to be able to counter Life from the Loam every turn.
Surprisingly to me, I won this game with my opponent at 80 life. Game two on
around turn 5 he cast Life from the Loam when I had a Counterbalance and Sensei’s
Divining Top in play. I had to sacrifice a fetch land to shuffle my deck to
find a two drop. I activate Sensei’s Divining Top and see Rest in Peace, Blood
Moon, and Force of Will. So I counter his Life from the Loam. He then slams
Choke, thinking that he’s got me, but then I show him Blood Moon. He starts
laughing like a mad man and scoops up all his cards. I remember talking to my
buddy, Festus Resendez, afterwards and laughing about that. For those that
don’t know, Blood Moon and Rest in Peace are my best cards against lands. 2-0
win, 6-0 record.
Round Seven: Daniel Nguyen – Elves
I got paired down this round, so I had to play, luckily he
was playing elves. I win both games pretty easily. 2-0 win, 7-0 record.
Round Eight: Jeffrey Tang – Blue Red Delver
Draw, 7-0-1 record.
Quaterfinals: Daniel Nguyen – Elves
He ended up sneaking in at eighth place! Daniel was the
funniest magician I have ever had the luxury of playing against. He would even
yell at the crowd of people watching and say “why are you idiots watching this
match?! They’re playing interactive magic over there!” I win game one pretty
easily. During game two I have two Sensei’s Divining Top’s and two
Counterbalances in play along with a Jace, the Mindsculptor and a Batterskull.
So he jokingly says “I think you’re bad at magic unless you get all four Tops
and Counterbalances in play.” I accept this challenge. The next turn I slam
down the last two Tops and Counterbalances and everyone watching starts
laughing their butt off along with Daniel and I. Somebody took a picture of the
board state but sadly I couldn’t find that picture. Next turn I cast a second
Batterskull and kill him a few turns later. I was happy to meet such a funny
and talented magician. 2-0 win, 8-0-1 record.
Semifinals: Shawn Yu – Maverick
I also like this matchup. It can be close since a lot of
their creatures prevent me from casting spells, but as long as you don’t let
them build up too much of a board it should be easy. His maverick build was a
little different from the traditional build. Game one I was on the play because
I was top seed. He kept a one lander and never drew a second land and I
countered his turn one Aether Vial. Game two he went turn one Deathrite shaman.
I went turn one Sensei’s Divining Top. Turn two he played Gaddock Teeg and
Sylvan Safekeeper. I just play a land a pass. On his turn three he plays
Stoneforge Mystic (searching up Sword of Light and Shadow). At this point the
only card that beats him is Pyroclasm, and he even said that, because Gaddock
Teeg shuts off both Terminus and (if I played it) Supreme Verdict. Well I had
the turn three Pyroclasm. After a four for one he couldn’t recover and he ended
up conceding a few turns later. 2-0 win, 9-0-1 record.Finals: Jonathan Salem – Grixis Painter
This was a grudge match. We had played on Friday (in the
invitational) when we were both 4-0 and I had won, but it was close. His deck
was very interesting and it was beautiful (a lot of foils). This matchup is
about 50/50 since we play a lot of the same cards (Sensei’s Divining Top,
Counterbalance, Jace, the Mindsculptor, etc.). I don’t remember exactly what
happened game one except that I was ahead for most of the game and that I beat
him with Jace, the Mindsculptor. Game two I mulliganed. He went turn one Top, I
did the same, he then went turn two Counterbalance to which I countered with
Force of Will. We took a few turns of just playing a land and passing turn and
using our Tops. Throughout the game I had cast three Red Elemental Blasts and
two Blue Elemental Blasts. I drew pretty well and at one point he even said:
“how do you beat the man who has it all?” which made me laugh. Eventually I
jammed a Batterskull and it resolved. That was all I had at that point. My end
of turn he used Top, couldn’t find anything he needed. He then drew and
immediately played his fetch land and cracked it to look at a fresh three cards
(at this point neither of us have cards in hand). He activates his Top and
doesn’t find anything yet again. He is forced to pass the turn. My Batterskull
ends up taking the game, and match, because all he drew (from what I could
tell) were counterspells. 2-0 win, 10-0-1 record.
I won! I added a plaque to my trophy collection along
with my SCG open trophy and Kaijudo championship trophy. Seattle was great, I
always have a blast when I go there. I plan on writing a tournament report for
the invitational too.
Thanks - Joe Bass
#Bassblade Thanks - Joe Bass
