4 Consign to Dreams
4 Grixis Charm
4 Fulminator Mage
4 Bloodbraid Elf
2 Ajani Vengeant
4 Cryptic Command
3 Deny Reality
2 Primal Command
2 Incendiary Command
2 Acidic Slime
2 Enlisted Wurm
1 Cruel Ultimatum
4 Vivid Creek
3 Vivid Marsh
2 Vivid Crag
2 Vivid Grove
4 Reflecting Pool
1 Exotic Orchard
2 Cascade Bluffs
1 Fire Lit Thicket
1 Flooded Grove
3 Sunken Ruins
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Swamp
Sideboard:
3 Thought Hemmorhage
1 Identity Crisis
4 Great Sable Stag
3 Volcanic Fallout
2 Infest
2 Hallowed Burial
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Random Reveillark List Ive been testing on MODO
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
4 Reveillark
4 Mulldrifter
3 Acidic Slime
2 Wall of Reverence
4 Borderland Ranger
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Cryptic Command
4 Path to Exile
2 Austere Command
2 Martial Coup
2 Wildfield Borderpost
2 Fieldmist Borderpost
6 Island
5 Plains
3 Forest
4 Mystic Gate
2 Flooded Grove
1 Gargoyle Castle
Sideboard:
4 Great Sable Stag
3 Stillmoon Cavalier
3 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Burrenton Forge Tender
2 Negate
1 Planar Collapse
Not really happy with the sideboard so far except that I have been considering moving Great Sable Stag to the main in place of Kitchen Finks. Faeries and 5 color are pretty heavily favored online so it just increases that matchup. Have been considering some amount of Essence Scatters ect.
4 Reveillark
4 Mulldrifter
3 Acidic Slime
2 Wall of Reverence
4 Borderland Ranger
4 Kitchen Finks
4 Cryptic Command
4 Path to Exile
2 Austere Command
2 Martial Coup
2 Wildfield Borderpost
2 Fieldmist Borderpost
6 Island
5 Plains
3 Forest
4 Mystic Gate
2 Flooded Grove
1 Gargoyle Castle
Sideboard:
4 Great Sable Stag
3 Stillmoon Cavalier
3 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Burrenton Forge Tender
2 Negate
1 Planar Collapse
Not really happy with the sideboard so far except that I have been considering moving Great Sable Stag to the main in place of Kitchen Finks. Faeries and 5 color are pretty heavily favored online so it just increases that matchup. Have been considering some amount of Essence Scatters ect.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Its Time to Paint!
The Chicago PTQ has come and gone. I have learned some valuable lessons out of this most recent PTQ. I had been testing Time Sieve all week and should have just played it since I had shifted knowledge in that direction. I did not get home until about 130am Saturday morning and questioned if I should really play that deck. I knew I did not want to play 5 color control because I expected Jund and 5CB to be out like crazy. I was definitely right about that assumption. The metagame was super awkward as the amount of Kithkin/5 color control/5CB/Blightning was unreal. I expected Blightning and 5CB to be in force to shut down 5cc, but assumed Kithkin would be dead. Flash back to earlier in the week. I had been watching some friends testing a Jund Painter Combo on MODO beta. The deck basically sets up a Violent Outburst cascading into a Painter's Servant that will name Blue. Then untap and Chaotic Backlash for lethal damage. I wanted to put this deck on hold as I thought the metagame was not right yet as Maelstrom Pulse or Lightning Bolt would set me back horribly. Something else also went wrong. One of the kids who was also playtesting the deck did well in a Magic League tournament. The list got posted that night/morning. I was not sure how many people would catch on to the deck or write off the idea. Just took some of the surprise factor out, which was awful at times. Sometimes I was forced to rawdog the Servant out the turn before I was going to backlash and it was easily removed. The deck is very solid and I feel there needs to be some changes and the manabase needs changed around for sure. I would probably even consider dropping a chaotic backlash to the board and playing a 26th land. Here is the deck for reference:
1 Gargoyle Castle
1 Swamp
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Savage Lands
4 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Twilight Mire
2 Graven Cairns
3 Mountain
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
2 Forest
4 Shriekmaw
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Great Sable Stag
4 Painter's Servant
4 Chaotic Backlash
4 Violent Outburst
3 Bituminous Blast
4 Flame Javelin
4 Volcanic Fallout
Sideboard:
2 Infest
4 Thought Hemorrhage
4 Anathemancer
4 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Jund Charm
Round 1 I played against Mark Ruby playing Boat Brew. Game 1 I Outburst for Servant EOT turn 4. Untapped and cast Backlash for 24 damage. I boarded in infest and maelstrom pulses to get rid of Burrenton Forge Tenders and out of control spectral prosession tokens. Game 2 he got the nut draw. Stalwart into Forge Tender into Spectral into Bashing. Game 3 was really close and I totally punted the match. He attacked all in turn 4 for 16 damage, was 10 damage, but calculated him having another Honor the Pure under the Heights. My board position was GSS, and 2 Painters Servants. He would have one mana open after activating the heights. I had him on Path to Exile, which seemed about right. So I blocked with GSS and 1 Painter's Servant. He had the path and I took 14. It was looking pretty slim to win. Of course I drew the Chaotic backlash, but the Forge Tender was still in play. I bashed in with my dudes and he went to 13. During his upkeep I tried to Backlash him. At first I thought he was going to scoop them up then he looked at backlash. I pointed out the source was blue, trying to mise a win. Then he asked oracle text of Painter's Servant and I scooped up the cards. I dont regret trying to Jedi Mind Trick there because it almost worked, but at the same time it was a scum move.
1-2 (0-1)
Round 2 I played Charles Hendricks playing 5CB. This matchup is kind of funny because there is a rivalry between us from playing at the same store ect. I knew it would be a solid game of Magic. Cj won the die roll and lead with a vivid. I followed and he played a putrid leech. My first play was a GSS. I then played BBE which hit a Outburst which lead into a Painters Servant. I was down in the point of the game where I kind of didnt want to expose the alt win condition, but it happened. I also was at the point to where if he doesnt have maelstrom pulse in hand I untap and backlash for lethal. He pulses and I scoop them up to game 2. I bring in Anathemancers and a jund charm. I start off with a mulligan and hand seems solid except both lands are CIPT. I missed a landdrop turn 3. Hit one turn 4 and 5. Had back to back BBE, but hit mancer and fallout. When I played the Servant it got pulsed and that shut off the backlash. CJ had double Cryptic command and I had no outs with my troop tapped out. I probably should have mulliganed to 5 game 2, but luckily hit some land. 0-2 (0-2) Should have dropped, but played to get some points back.
Round 3 played against some random guy playing Elf Combo. I turn 5 backlashed him both games when he had infinite guys out. Thanks for playing. 2-0 (1-2)
Round 4 played against some guy playing Kithkin. Game 1 was close but not needing to hit Servant is always nice. Game 2 I had the nut draw minus a painters servant. A key infest from BBE set up an outburst into Servant. 2 turns later I hit a backlash after he had played a CGR. I show him the backlash and he scoops them up.
2-0 (2-2) At this point I decided to call it a day as I was tired/hungry and had no chance to make top 8. I had gained some points back and was back to the drawing board. Also turned out for the better because I was able to attend a birthday party for my girlfriends sister. Cant go wrong with 7 and 7.
As I look ahead this week into the PTQ in Madison and PTQs at gencon; I think Jund decks are going to be all over. They have favorable matchups against the field and are rather resilient. Sullivans Merfolk deck was very solid and I expect that to be played a lot this weekend in Madison. I also expect Kowal/Van Lunans Zoo deck to be played once a list appears. Currently Im leaning towards playing the same deck. Tweaking some of the weaker points and boarding for a more current field.
1 Gargoyle Castle
1 Swamp
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Savage Lands
4 Fire-Lit Thicket
1 Twilight Mire
2 Graven Cairns
3 Mountain
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
2 Forest
4 Shriekmaw
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Great Sable Stag
4 Painter's Servant
4 Chaotic Backlash
4 Violent Outburst
3 Bituminous Blast
4 Flame Javelin
4 Volcanic Fallout
Sideboard:
2 Infest
4 Thought Hemorrhage
4 Anathemancer
4 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Jund Charm
Round 1 I played against Mark Ruby playing Boat Brew. Game 1 I Outburst for Servant EOT turn 4. Untapped and cast Backlash for 24 damage. I boarded in infest and maelstrom pulses to get rid of Burrenton Forge Tenders and out of control spectral prosession tokens. Game 2 he got the nut draw. Stalwart into Forge Tender into Spectral into Bashing. Game 3 was really close and I totally punted the match. He attacked all in turn 4 for 16 damage, was 10 damage, but calculated him having another Honor the Pure under the Heights. My board position was GSS, and 2 Painters Servants. He would have one mana open after activating the heights. I had him on Path to Exile, which seemed about right. So I blocked with GSS and 1 Painter's Servant. He had the path and I took 14. It was looking pretty slim to win. Of course I drew the Chaotic backlash, but the Forge Tender was still in play. I bashed in with my dudes and he went to 13. During his upkeep I tried to Backlash him. At first I thought he was going to scoop them up then he looked at backlash. I pointed out the source was blue, trying to mise a win. Then he asked oracle text of Painter's Servant and I scooped up the cards. I dont regret trying to Jedi Mind Trick there because it almost worked, but at the same time it was a scum move.
1-2 (0-1)
Round 2 I played Charles Hendricks playing 5CB. This matchup is kind of funny because there is a rivalry between us from playing at the same store ect. I knew it would be a solid game of Magic. Cj won the die roll and lead with a vivid. I followed and he played a putrid leech. My first play was a GSS. I then played BBE which hit a Outburst which lead into a Painters Servant. I was down in the point of the game where I kind of didnt want to expose the alt win condition, but it happened. I also was at the point to where if he doesnt have maelstrom pulse in hand I untap and backlash for lethal. He pulses and I scoop them up to game 2. I bring in Anathemancers and a jund charm. I start off with a mulligan and hand seems solid except both lands are CIPT. I missed a landdrop turn 3. Hit one turn 4 and 5. Had back to back BBE, but hit mancer and fallout. When I played the Servant it got pulsed and that shut off the backlash. CJ had double Cryptic command and I had no outs with my troop tapped out. I probably should have mulliganed to 5 game 2, but luckily hit some land. 0-2 (0-2) Should have dropped, but played to get some points back.
Round 3 played against some random guy playing Elf Combo. I turn 5 backlashed him both games when he had infinite guys out. Thanks for playing. 2-0 (1-2)
Round 4 played against some guy playing Kithkin. Game 1 was close but not needing to hit Servant is always nice. Game 2 I had the nut draw minus a painters servant. A key infest from BBE set up an outburst into Servant. 2 turns later I hit a backlash after he had played a CGR. I show him the backlash and he scoops them up.
2-0 (2-2) At this point I decided to call it a day as I was tired/hungry and had no chance to make top 8. I had gained some points back and was back to the drawing board. Also turned out for the better because I was able to attend a birthday party for my girlfriends sister. Cant go wrong with 7 and 7.
As I look ahead this week into the PTQ in Madison and PTQs at gencon; I think Jund decks are going to be all over. They have favorable matchups against the field and are rather resilient. Sullivans Merfolk deck was very solid and I expect that to be played a lot this weekend in Madison. I also expect Kowal/Van Lunans Zoo deck to be played once a list appears. Currently Im leaning towards playing the same deck. Tweaking some of the weaker points and boarding for a more current field.
Friday, July 31, 2009
A Land Before Time Sieve...
So 2 weeks ago I was 100% sure I wanted to continue playing 5cc as I know the deck inside out. Well after Shuhei winning Japanese Nationals the same weekend I made top 8 with the deck and this past weekend with Gindy, Yurchick, and Anderson making top 8 with 5cc it looks like it will be hated out to the max. Kithkin is dead and their Advisor, Cedric Phillips has buried them. So I think if you want to continue to play 5cc the Runed Halos need to come back into the main for Plumeveils. I have a feeling this weekend will see a rise in Blightning decks, 5 color blood/mannequin with anathemancer main, and time sieve combo.
Earlier this week I had text my friend Jon Knapp about playing the Time Sieve combo deck at the upcoming PTQ in Chicago. I told him about the favorable matchups it had against the 5 color control decks. The only downside was that the deck gets completely hosed by Faeries, which I hope are still dead after the results of last weekend with 32 Great Stable Stags and 31 Volcanic Fallouts.
Oliver Ruel made top 8 in French Nationals with the following:
Mainboard:
7 Island
3 Mystic Gate
3 Plains
3 Swamp
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Cryptic Command
4 Elsewhere Flask
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Howling Mine
2 Jace Beleren
3 Kaleidostone
4 Mistvein Borderpost
4 Open the Vaults
4 Pollen Lullaby
3 Silence
2 Tezzeret the Seeker
3 Time Sieve
4 Time Warp
# 61
Sideboard:
1 Jace Beleren
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Cryptic Command
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
3 Meddling Mage
2 Negate
1 Silence
2 Vedalken Outlander
# 15
I think this version seems better than the Finnish Nationals version. The maindeck Silences are very good and set up turns for you. After playing this deck a few times I was not too happy with the maindeck Ethersworn Canonist. I know they are there to fight off Elf Combo which is a turn or 2 faster than our own combo. The deck has no maindeck answer to Gaddock Teeg. Many people like their G/W decks and this guy will be in them considering how popular big spells have been over the last couple of weeks. I like to have at least one out main to have a chance and not be entering scoop mode. I know it is possible to take tons of turns under Teeg and hope to mill them with Jace and then pass turn and have them die to Howling Mine effects, but that will not always get there. I have been testing a disperse main and it has been pretty solid. Another idea I have been working with my playtest group has been the inclusion of 1 Magister Sphinx and 1 Thopter Foundry. These inclusions have given me outs in games in which I should have no chance in winning. The Sphinx is always discarded if drawn. When an Open the Vaults is cast your opponent will goto 10. Depending on board position you may be free to kill with just the Sphinx. The Thopter Foundry is also an out for lethal damage to chump block and hope to combo the next turn. I propose the following list which I have been testing this week.
Mainboard:
7 Island
3 Mystic Gate
4 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Cryptic Command
4 Elsewhere Flask
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Howling Mine
2 Jace Beleren
2 Kaleidostone
4 Mistvein Borderpost
4 Open the Vaults
4 Pollen Lullaby
3 Silence
2 Tezzeret the Seeker
3 Time Sieve
4 Time Warp
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Magister Sphinx
1 Disperse
# 61
Sideboard:
3 Path to Exile
3 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Silence
3 Negate
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Thopter Foundry
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Platinum Angel
# 15
The board still has some things to work out. The alternate guys package in the board has been alright. Not too impressed with it, but when needed it has been game changing. There might be some Meddling Mages added to get around being Thought Hemmorhaged or to name Maelstrom Pulse. I have one more solid night of playtesting before the PTQ. If I could only take an extra turn to see where I would end up the following day. See you next time with a full report from PTQ Austin:Chicago.
Earlier this week I had text my friend Jon Knapp about playing the Time Sieve combo deck at the upcoming PTQ in Chicago. I told him about the favorable matchups it had against the 5 color control decks. The only downside was that the deck gets completely hosed by Faeries, which I hope are still dead after the results of last weekend with 32 Great Stable Stags and 31 Volcanic Fallouts.
Oliver Ruel made top 8 in French Nationals with the following:
Mainboard:
7 Island
3 Mystic Gate
3 Plains
3 Swamp
2 Ethersworn Canonist
2 Cryptic Command
4 Elsewhere Flask
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Howling Mine
2 Jace Beleren
3 Kaleidostone
4 Mistvein Borderpost
4 Open the Vaults
4 Pollen Lullaby
3 Silence
2 Tezzeret the Seeker
3 Time Sieve
4 Time Warp
# 61
Sideboard:
1 Jace Beleren
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Cryptic Command
3 Burrenton Forge-Tender
3 Meddling Mage
2 Negate
1 Silence
2 Vedalken Outlander
# 15
I think this version seems better than the Finnish Nationals version. The maindeck Silences are very good and set up turns for you. After playing this deck a few times I was not too happy with the maindeck Ethersworn Canonist. I know they are there to fight off Elf Combo which is a turn or 2 faster than our own combo. The deck has no maindeck answer to Gaddock Teeg. Many people like their G/W decks and this guy will be in them considering how popular big spells have been over the last couple of weeks. I like to have at least one out main to have a chance and not be entering scoop mode. I know it is possible to take tons of turns under Teeg and hope to mill them with Jace and then pass turn and have them die to Howling Mine effects, but that will not always get there. I have been testing a disperse main and it has been pretty solid. Another idea I have been working with my playtest group has been the inclusion of 1 Magister Sphinx and 1 Thopter Foundry. These inclusions have given me outs in games in which I should have no chance in winning. The Sphinx is always discarded if drawn. When an Open the Vaults is cast your opponent will goto 10. Depending on board position you may be free to kill with just the Sphinx. The Thopter Foundry is also an out for lethal damage to chump block and hope to combo the next turn. I propose the following list which I have been testing this week.
Mainboard:
7 Island
3 Mystic Gate
4 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Cryptic Command
4 Elsewhere Flask
4 Fieldmist Borderpost
4 Howling Mine
2 Jace Beleren
2 Kaleidostone
4 Mistvein Borderpost
4 Open the Vaults
4 Pollen Lullaby
3 Silence
2 Tezzeret the Seeker
3 Time Sieve
4 Time Warp
1 Thopter Foundry
1 Magister Sphinx
1 Disperse
# 61
Sideboard:
3 Path to Exile
3 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Silence
3 Negate
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Thopter Foundry
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
1 Platinum Angel
# 15
The board still has some things to work out. The alternate guys package in the board has been alright. Not too impressed with it, but when needed it has been game changing. There might be some Meddling Mages added to get around being Thought Hemmorhaged or to name Maelstrom Pulse. I have one more solid night of playtesting before the PTQ. If I could only take an extra turn to see where I would end up the following day. See you next time with a full report from PTQ Austin:Chicago.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Justice Replaced by Revenge
Last weekend was the Kentucky Open. It is usually one of the bigger tournaments besides other countries Nationals before USA Nats. In the past it has set up metagames for Nationals and some awesome decks have come from the tournament, the UGW Blink deck to name one. So my friends and I head there after testing all week with our decks. I felt that 5cc was one of the stronger decks entering the weekend. It has a good game against Kithkin, Elves, and aggrobased decks, while can still battle the mirror and Faeries matchup.
Saturdays tournament was less than stellar for me so I won't talk too much about it. I ended up dying round 6. My 2 losses on the day were to 4 color cascade control and Elves. I thought I had kept a fairly solid hand game 2 against the cascade control, but could not find a runed halo in time before I was taking 6-7 damage from anathemancer. Liliana Vess also destroyed me game 1. Was not expecting that card at all. Against Elves it was very close. Game 3 I had reset his board with a volcanic fallout, but the next turn he was able to make a bunch of dudes again. I drew 2 cards deeper and found a firespout. Mind you he had double Elvish Archdruid out. So I cast firespout thinking I was good, until he activates his land and out pops another Archdruid. The ultimate blowout. I was a manaoff of being able to play cryptic command and that was game. My next card was Hallowed Burial, so seeing that card was definitely a dagger in my side.
Sundays PTQ was a bit different. We had all planned to wake up around 630 and get ready and head to the tournament site. I wouldnt say I had the best sleep because I kept waking up and texting with a friend and then a kid's mom called him drunk at 3am wondering where he was. So I woke up in panic mode and it was 830. I woke everyone up and we were out of the room quick. We show up to the tournament site only to find out we were the first ones there. The tournament didnt start until 11am, which most start at 10am. So we had a bunch of time to waste. I played the same deck as the day before. Here is the list for reference.
Bryan Mohr
5th Place - Kentucky - Louisville - 7/19
Main Deck
61 cards
2 Cascade Bluffs
2 Exotic Orchard
3 Island
3 Mystic Gate
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Sunken Ruins
4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Marsh
3 Vivid Meadow
27 lands
1 Bogardan Hellkite
2 Broodmate Dragon
3 Mulldrifter
1 Platinum Angel
7 creatures
3 Broken Ambitions
2 Cruel Ultimatum
4 Cryptic Command
1 Doom Blade
4 Esper Charm
2 Firespout
3 Hallowed Burial
2 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Obelisk of Alara
3 Runed Halo
2 Volcanic Fallout
27 other spells
Sideboard
1 Banefire
2 Celestial Purge
4 Great Sable Stag
1 Identity Crisis
1 Pithing Needle
1 Planar Cleansing
3 Plumeveil
2 Volcanic Fallout
15 sideboard cards
Round 1 I played against Joseph Wildermuth playing GW Little Kid deck.
The only thing I worry about in this matchup is when he resolves Gaddock Teeg or Wilt Lead Liege. If I can take care of those threats I am golden. Game 1 I blew him out, also he didnt see any green sources. Game 2 he had a pretty insane draw of 2 land and dudes. He was able to kill me before I could find a hallowed burial. Game 3 was back and forth. After I had Burialed he played a Cloudgoat Ranger, which I had a firespout for. Then I dropped a Broodmate Dragon and was off to victory. 2-1 (1-0)
Round 2 I played against Rj Epperson playing 5 Color Control
Game 1 he missed land drops 4 turns in a row. This is usually bad for the mirror. I was able to resolve a Cruel and get some dragon beats in. Game 2 I rode Great Stable Stag for a while, until he was able to clear them away. He resolved an Obelisk and started shooting me. I had drawn a banefire, but was trying to attack with a Drifter and Dragon into his Wall of Reverence and hope he would kill off a guy with the Obelisk then I could dome him for the win. I was always 1 short of being able to kill him. He resolved 2 Cruels and we were off to game 3. I opened with turns 3 and 4 Great Stable Stags and rode them to Victory. From what I was told he had kept in a bunch of bad cards. 2-1 (2-0)
Round 3 I played against Mike Bennett playing GW Little Kid.
We got deckchecked this round and we were both good to go and off. Game 1 and 2 were blowouts for both of us. Game 3 He had a Teeg which I pulsed. He had another Teeg. I had the Doomblade. I drew some cards. Countered his Colossus and then Crueled his hand away. I played a Dragon and started beating. It was close. but he couldnt keep enough pressure on me.
2-1 (3-0)
Round 4 I played Justin Warbington playing Elves!
Game 1 he starts comboing off and I respond with a volcanic fallout and blowout his board. He starts rebuilding his hand. Turn 7 I dropped a Platinum Angel and he scoops them up since he has no maindeck answer. Game 2 was pretty similar to game 1 except I cleared his board twice with Hallowed Burial. Then resolved a Broodmate Dragon and got to work. 2-0 (4-0)
Round 5 I played against Chad Page playing Elves!
Game 1 and 2 of this round were like Deja vu of round 4. Platinum Angel got there again. And game 2 was all about the board sweepers. It was funny because the guy was next to me the round before and had said something about hoping I would never draw Platinum. I mean he did get a turn 3 primal command on me, but never could fully combo me. 2-0 (5-0)
Round 6 I played againt William Kerns playing Kithkin
If I won this round I would be able to draw in the next 2 so no pressure here, plus it was a favorable matchup. He also thought I was playing Kithkin and got very sad when I dropped a vivid turn 1. I missed a few land drops against him. Had a well timed doomblade and firespout. He played some more dudes and I tapped him down a couple turns. Drew some cards until I could find a Hallowed Burial. Played Burial and Broodmate and was off to the races. Game 2 was similar to the first except I always had removal for him. 2-0 (6-0)
Round 7 I drew with George Taylor playing Elves!
We were the only undefeated players left so we played it safe and drew. I kind of wanted to play as I had been dominating the matchup all day and I wanted some justice from the day before as he had knocked me out from the Open. ID (6-0-1)
Round 8 I drew with Jared Sharp playing 5 Color Control.
I had the highest breaks so I thought about playing him so I could position myself against an Elves player and avoid the mirror. He asked me to draw so I accepted and chilled until the top 8. ID (6-0-2)
Quarterfinals of Top 8 I played Justin Brown playing 5 Color Control
Game 1 was pretty epic. We played draw go for the first 20 turns. At the end of his turn I decided to try and flash in a Bogardan Hellkite. He let the dragon resolve. He had 2 plumeveils to block the dragon. My hand was pretty weak as far as counter magic went. Broken Ambitions is not as good as Cryptic Command haha. So he attempts to Cruel I attempt to Cryptic, he shows Cryptic I play broken to at least tap him out and would leave me with 1 card in hand after the cruel. I play Cruel the turn after and he has 1 card left which is obviously Cruel. I ripped a Cruel off the top played it and returned Platinum Angel. I honestly was drawing dead at this point. I had 1 Broken Ambitions in hand and 1 Mulldrifter plus 5 lands left in my deck. I knew he had a Hallowed Burial on the bottom of his library from an earlier clash. He also had a cryptic command and bounced my Platinum Angel during upkeep and I died.
Game 2 was not as good. I played a Great Stable Stag. Got in with it a few turns. He played his own. Then played a Jace Followed by Ajani Vengeant. The Planeswalkers literally destroyed me this game. I couldnt keep up with their advantages on me. So I lost and got 5th place. Justin ended up winning the tournament. His deck was really solid and the board was very good against the mirror. I definitely will be playing Jace over Mulldrifter as the pros outweigh the cons. I think I will be playing negate in my board again as well as Ajani Vengeant. I think 5 color is going to be one of the top decks again and feel the deck needs to advance towards being able to beat control. Im taking a break this week from playing and watching some Nationals coverage. Hopefully the field changes a little bit and there is a breakout deck.
Saturdays tournament was less than stellar for me so I won't talk too much about it. I ended up dying round 6. My 2 losses on the day were to 4 color cascade control and Elves. I thought I had kept a fairly solid hand game 2 against the cascade control, but could not find a runed halo in time before I was taking 6-7 damage from anathemancer. Liliana Vess also destroyed me game 1. Was not expecting that card at all. Against Elves it was very close. Game 3 I had reset his board with a volcanic fallout, but the next turn he was able to make a bunch of dudes again. I drew 2 cards deeper and found a firespout. Mind you he had double Elvish Archdruid out. So I cast firespout thinking I was good, until he activates his land and out pops another Archdruid. The ultimate blowout. I was a manaoff of being able to play cryptic command and that was game. My next card was Hallowed Burial, so seeing that card was definitely a dagger in my side.
Sundays PTQ was a bit different. We had all planned to wake up around 630 and get ready and head to the tournament site. I wouldnt say I had the best sleep because I kept waking up and texting with a friend and then a kid's mom called him drunk at 3am wondering where he was. So I woke up in panic mode and it was 830. I woke everyone up and we were out of the room quick. We show up to the tournament site only to find out we were the first ones there. The tournament didnt start until 11am, which most start at 10am. So we had a bunch of time to waste. I played the same deck as the day before. Here is the list for reference.
Bryan Mohr
5th Place - Kentucky - Louisville - 7/19
Main Deck
61 cards
2 Cascade Bluffs
2 Exotic Orchard
3 Island
3 Mystic Gate
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Sunken Ruins
4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Marsh
3 Vivid Meadow
27 lands
1 Bogardan Hellkite
2 Broodmate Dragon
3 Mulldrifter
1 Platinum Angel
7 creatures
3 Broken Ambitions
2 Cruel Ultimatum
4 Cryptic Command
1 Doom Blade
4 Esper Charm
2 Firespout
3 Hallowed Burial
2 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Obelisk of Alara
3 Runed Halo
2 Volcanic Fallout
27 other spells
Sideboard
1 Banefire
2 Celestial Purge
4 Great Sable Stag
1 Identity Crisis
1 Pithing Needle
1 Planar Cleansing
3 Plumeveil
2 Volcanic Fallout
15 sideboard cards
Round 1 I played against Joseph Wildermuth playing GW Little Kid deck.
The only thing I worry about in this matchup is when he resolves Gaddock Teeg or Wilt Lead Liege. If I can take care of those threats I am golden. Game 1 I blew him out, also he didnt see any green sources. Game 2 he had a pretty insane draw of 2 land and dudes. He was able to kill me before I could find a hallowed burial. Game 3 was back and forth. After I had Burialed he played a Cloudgoat Ranger, which I had a firespout for. Then I dropped a Broodmate Dragon and was off to victory. 2-1 (1-0)
Round 2 I played against Rj Epperson playing 5 Color Control
Game 1 he missed land drops 4 turns in a row. This is usually bad for the mirror. I was able to resolve a Cruel and get some dragon beats in. Game 2 I rode Great Stable Stag for a while, until he was able to clear them away. He resolved an Obelisk and started shooting me. I had drawn a banefire, but was trying to attack with a Drifter and Dragon into his Wall of Reverence and hope he would kill off a guy with the Obelisk then I could dome him for the win. I was always 1 short of being able to kill him. He resolved 2 Cruels and we were off to game 3. I opened with turns 3 and 4 Great Stable Stags and rode them to Victory. From what I was told he had kept in a bunch of bad cards. 2-1 (2-0)
Round 3 I played against Mike Bennett playing GW Little Kid.
We got deckchecked this round and we were both good to go and off. Game 1 and 2 were blowouts for both of us. Game 3 He had a Teeg which I pulsed. He had another Teeg. I had the Doomblade. I drew some cards. Countered his Colossus and then Crueled his hand away. I played a Dragon and started beating. It was close. but he couldnt keep enough pressure on me.
2-1 (3-0)
Round 4 I played Justin Warbington playing Elves!
Game 1 he starts comboing off and I respond with a volcanic fallout and blowout his board. He starts rebuilding his hand. Turn 7 I dropped a Platinum Angel and he scoops them up since he has no maindeck answer. Game 2 was pretty similar to game 1 except I cleared his board twice with Hallowed Burial. Then resolved a Broodmate Dragon and got to work. 2-0 (4-0)
Round 5 I played against Chad Page playing Elves!
Game 1 and 2 of this round were like Deja vu of round 4. Platinum Angel got there again. And game 2 was all about the board sweepers. It was funny because the guy was next to me the round before and had said something about hoping I would never draw Platinum. I mean he did get a turn 3 primal command on me, but never could fully combo me. 2-0 (5-0)
Round 6 I played againt William Kerns playing Kithkin
If I won this round I would be able to draw in the next 2 so no pressure here, plus it was a favorable matchup. He also thought I was playing Kithkin and got very sad when I dropped a vivid turn 1. I missed a few land drops against him. Had a well timed doomblade and firespout. He played some more dudes and I tapped him down a couple turns. Drew some cards until I could find a Hallowed Burial. Played Burial and Broodmate and was off to the races. Game 2 was similar to the first except I always had removal for him. 2-0 (6-0)
Round 7 I drew with George Taylor playing Elves!
We were the only undefeated players left so we played it safe and drew. I kind of wanted to play as I had been dominating the matchup all day and I wanted some justice from the day before as he had knocked me out from the Open. ID (6-0-1)
Round 8 I drew with Jared Sharp playing 5 Color Control.
I had the highest breaks so I thought about playing him so I could position myself against an Elves player and avoid the mirror. He asked me to draw so I accepted and chilled until the top 8. ID (6-0-2)
Quarterfinals of Top 8 I played Justin Brown playing 5 Color Control
Game 1 was pretty epic. We played draw go for the first 20 turns. At the end of his turn I decided to try and flash in a Bogardan Hellkite. He let the dragon resolve. He had 2 plumeveils to block the dragon. My hand was pretty weak as far as counter magic went. Broken Ambitions is not as good as Cryptic Command haha. So he attempts to Cruel I attempt to Cryptic, he shows Cryptic I play broken to at least tap him out and would leave me with 1 card in hand after the cruel. I play Cruel the turn after and he has 1 card left which is obviously Cruel. I ripped a Cruel off the top played it and returned Platinum Angel. I honestly was drawing dead at this point. I had 1 Broken Ambitions in hand and 1 Mulldrifter plus 5 lands left in my deck. I knew he had a Hallowed Burial on the bottom of his library from an earlier clash. He also had a cryptic command and bounced my Platinum Angel during upkeep and I died.
Game 2 was not as good. I played a Great Stable Stag. Got in with it a few turns. He played his own. Then played a Jace Followed by Ajani Vengeant. The Planeswalkers literally destroyed me this game. I couldnt keep up with their advantages on me. So I lost and got 5th place. Justin ended up winning the tournament. His deck was really solid and the board was very good against the mirror. I definitely will be playing Jace over Mulldrifter as the pros outweigh the cons. I think I will be playing negate in my board again as well as Ajani Vengeant. I think 5 color is going to be one of the top decks again and feel the deck needs to advance towards being able to beat control. Im taking a break this week from playing and watching some Nationals coverage. Hopefully the field changes a little bit and there is a breakout deck.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Ponderings and the Kentucky Open 2009
So it has been a while since I have even thought about writing in this blog about Magic. I had a less than stellar performance at the PTQ in Indianapolis and there has not been any events within range to justify traveling for. I have been playing a lot of MODO most recently. Unfortunately my favorite deck will be coming to an end when M10 comes into digital form. The Cascade LD deck has been pretty insane. With the loss of rain of tears and boomerang this deck is basically garbage, which some may say it was in the first place LOL. Anyways we are onto new things in this new M10 meta. The elephant in the room is Kithkin followed by those always dominating faeries. Red Deck Wins will see some play, but I think the deck will not be able to hold its own. The Jund Cascade decks are still very strong and will still be at the top tables. Im not sure how I feel about Reveillark. Most of my friends have moved onto other decks and left this behind so I think I will follow. Although I do like my Reveillarks in the Elementals deck which is very strong at the moment. Elfball is fairly sick and will seem some rise in popularity now that wrath is gone.
This past weekend was the M10 prerelease. I showed up to the site to sell some cards and hang for a bit. Low and behold some old friends from GO Games had started playing again. Austin and Steve were 2 of the younger players at the old store that had very solid game and minimal play mistakes. They both did very well for themselves when JSS was still around. Anyways after chatting with them a while we decided we would start playtesting again for the Kentucky Open this upcoming weekend. Steve is looking at Kithkin as being the best aggro deck is something he is used to playing. Austin is looking into Faeries as he played it for a bit before he took his break from the game. On the other hand Joe Hein and myself have been looking into 5 Color Control again as I think Anathemancer is taking a seat on the bench for a bit. Here is the list we have been testing.
3 Mulldrifter
2 Broodmate Dragon
1 Platinum Angel
1 Bogarden Hellkite
4 Esper Charm
3 Broken Ambitions
4 Cryptic Command
2 Pyroclasm
2 Firespout
3 Hallowed Burial
1 Doomblade
2 Cruel Ultimatum
3 Runed Halo
2 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Makeshift Mannequin
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Exotic Orchard
4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Marsh
3 Vivid Meadow
3 Sunken Ruins
3 Mystic Gate
1 Cascade Bluffs
3 Island
The deck has been performing very well against the top tier decks. There have been many times to where Kithkin has gotten the nuts and we have been able to stabilize around 4-6 life. The sideboard is still in progress and will change throughout testing in the week. Right now it looks like there will be a handful of Plumeveils, some Volcanic Fallouts, possibly a couple Essence Scatters, and a lot of 1 ofs. The deck is already playing so many threats that some choices seem suboptimal. Anyways check back next week as I report back with how we all did. We will be heading the the PTQ in Kentucky the next day also. Check for live feeds at Twitter PHILAPHUNK
This past weekend was the M10 prerelease. I showed up to the site to sell some cards and hang for a bit. Low and behold some old friends from GO Games had started playing again. Austin and Steve were 2 of the younger players at the old store that had very solid game and minimal play mistakes. They both did very well for themselves when JSS was still around. Anyways after chatting with them a while we decided we would start playtesting again for the Kentucky Open this upcoming weekend. Steve is looking at Kithkin as being the best aggro deck is something he is used to playing. Austin is looking into Faeries as he played it for a bit before he took his break from the game. On the other hand Joe Hein and myself have been looking into 5 Color Control again as I think Anathemancer is taking a seat on the bench for a bit. Here is the list we have been testing.
3 Mulldrifter
2 Broodmate Dragon
1 Platinum Angel
1 Bogarden Hellkite
4 Esper Charm
3 Broken Ambitions
4 Cryptic Command
2 Pyroclasm
2 Firespout
3 Hallowed Burial
1 Doomblade
2 Cruel Ultimatum
3 Runed Halo
2 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Makeshift Mannequin
4 Reflecting Pool
2 Exotic Orchard
4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Marsh
3 Vivid Meadow
3 Sunken Ruins
3 Mystic Gate
1 Cascade Bluffs
3 Island
The deck has been performing very well against the top tier decks. There have been many times to where Kithkin has gotten the nuts and we have been able to stabilize around 4-6 life. The sideboard is still in progress and will change throughout testing in the week. Right now it looks like there will be a handful of Plumeveils, some Volcanic Fallouts, possibly a couple Essence Scatters, and a lot of 1 ofs. The deck is already playing so many threats that some choices seem suboptimal. Anyways check back next week as I report back with how we all did. We will be heading the the PTQ in Kentucky the next day also. Check for live feeds at Twitter PHILAPHUNK
Friday, June 19, 2009
Victory Comes One Land Drop at a Time....
This is the first PTQ of the season I had been able to goto for Austin. I was looking for other people in our group to go, but the drive kind of made people not want to go. So Ben Swartz and myself were on our way to Detroit Friday evening. We get to RIW around midnight and see everyone up there. Most of the sharks in Detroit are already qualified from the GP or the PT so the field is more watered down than usual which is a good thing. Anyways we end up finding a cheap hotel and call it a night. The next day we goto Pandemonium and sign up. I decide to run the 5 color Cascade LD deck that I had been running online all week thanks to my friend Christian(who I had talk to on b9/MODO and awkwardly met sitting next to each other at GP Tacoma) Anways here is my 75 I ran for the tournament:
4 Boomerang
4 Rain of Tears
4 Fulminator Mage
2 Grixis Charm
2 Kathari Remant
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Cryptic Command
3 Deny Reality
2 Primal Command
2 Incendiary Command
2 Enlisted Wurm
1 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Fire Lit Thicket
1 Flooded Grove
4 Sunken Ruins
2 Casacde Bluffs
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Crag
3 Vivid Marsh
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Mountain
1 Island
Sideboard:
1 Cruel Ultimatum
3 Thought Hemorrhage
2 Primal Command
1 Wrath of God
3 Hallowed Burial
1 Austere Command
4 Consign to Dream
Round 1 Tiffany Kelly playing Budget White Weenie with Random Cards Game 1 she came out the door quick and I got smashed. I also kept a weak hand and didnt hit my 4th land until turn 7. Game 2 I side out Fulminator Mage for wrath effects. I hit a key wrath off an Enlisted Wurm and he goes all the way. Game 3 was too close for comfort. She had a couple dudes and a Stillmoon. I had a lot of land out and 3 land in hand. I ripped into Cruel Ultimatum and proceded to draw Cryptic, Bloodbraid and a land. I tap her guys draw a card. It was another Cryptic. I play bloodbraid cascade into grixis charm kill a dude. I attack she goes to 9. She attacks all in I assume she will pump her knight for lethal so I let her attack she does as expected I command her dude back to hand and draw the 2nd ultimatum. How lucky. 2-1 overall 1-0
Round 2 Lazorus Jackson playing Red Deck Wins with Black. Dont recall too much. Game 1 he had 0 land in play and Bloodbraid Elf went the distance. Game 2 he hits a key anathemancer and flame javelins for lethal.. Game 3 was very close. He has 2 land and a ram gang. Im at 7. He attacks in I goto 4. He passes. I draw a blank and he hits a land and Javelins me for the win.
1-2 overall 1-1
Round 3 Justin McComb playing BW Tokens. Game 1 I keep him on 2 land the whole game and try to race his bitterblossom. I think I cast incendiary command to early because it killed 4 dudes and my bloodbraid but I needed to keep him off his 2nd white source. I he ends up at 1 and is swings in with 7 tokens. Game 2 and 3 I get solid LD spells and dudes. Game 3 he said he kept a risky hand and it did cost him. He had no permanents and Enlisted Wurm went the distance. 2-1 overal 2-1
Round 4 Jack Nowakowski playing Red Deck Wins with Black. Thankfully these decks are chocked full of nonbasic goodness so the matchup isnt too terrible. I just have to make sure my life total is out of javelin range. This round not much happened. Dudes were played and killed. He had no land both games and I eventually ground out a win finding guys and swinging. 2-0
overall 3-1
Round 5 Kurtis Droge playing UW Reveillark. This matchup is god awful. They play so many basic lands that it makes me never want to play Fulminator Mage. He eventually gets Sowered and blows up my own land. I can never get a real advantage on this deck and lose in 2 quick games. Later to find out that Kurtis did eventually win the PTQ. His deck was very different in the fact that he ran Figure. Also the singleton Heap Doll in the sideboard lol. 0-2 overall 3-2
Round 6 Matt Cafferty playing 5 color Bloodbraid. This deck was designed to punish this deck. He never gets over 2 lands and gets the Bloodbraid beatdown. Game 2 was very similar. My opponent told me I was a horrible person for playing a deck like this and I thought it was pretty funny. 2-0 overall 4-2
Round 7 Josh Edelman playing Elementals. Turns out Manuel Bucher had been playing this deck on MODO during the week and ended up doing well with it at GP Sao Paulo. Horde of Notions can be very scary as can Infinite Fulminator Mages. The engine of Smokebraider and Bloomtender is quite ridciulous. Anyways game 1 I hit the nut cascade of wurm into reality into bloodbraid into fulminator mage. He has no colored source and has no answer to the wurm. Game 2 my oppoenent fetches up fulminator mage with his guy. Then procedes to play pithing needle turn 2 naming fulminator mage. LOL nice play idiot. Turn 3 he plays Mage and tries to sac it I point to needle and he has a retarded look like wow did I just do that. I procede to bash this mongoloid for his bad plays. 2-0 overall 5-2.
Round 8 Erik Robertson playing UW Revillark. Not much to say about this round. The matchup is really awful and I barely lost in 3. Game 3 he had no cards in hand. Rips into an Archmage with mana up. My only card in hand was Cruel Ultimaum which was going to be lethal with my dudes getting in. I am never able to get around the archmage the rest of the game. 1-2 overall 5-3
The deck wasnt too bad, but it does have a problem with Reveilark. I also see that deck getting very popular and has been making quite a few top 8's. Therefore I would not recommend this deck for the upcoming weekend. As I think Faeries will be out in fullforce. I think I will be playing an updated version of 5 color bloodbraid or rocking the Fae.
4 Boomerang
4 Rain of Tears
4 Fulminator Mage
2 Grixis Charm
2 Kathari Remant
4 Bloodbraid Elf
4 Cryptic Command
3 Deny Reality
2 Primal Command
2 Incendiary Command
2 Enlisted Wurm
1 Cruel Ultimatum
1 Fire Lit Thicket
1 Flooded Grove
4 Sunken Ruins
2 Casacde Bluffs
4 Reflecting Pool
4 Vivid Creek
4 Vivid Crag
3 Vivid Marsh
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Mountain
1 Island
Sideboard:
1 Cruel Ultimatum
3 Thought Hemorrhage
2 Primal Command
1 Wrath of God
3 Hallowed Burial
1 Austere Command
4 Consign to Dream
Round 1 Tiffany Kelly playing Budget White Weenie with Random Cards Game 1 she came out the door quick and I got smashed. I also kept a weak hand and didnt hit my 4th land until turn 7. Game 2 I side out Fulminator Mage for wrath effects. I hit a key wrath off an Enlisted Wurm and he goes all the way. Game 3 was too close for comfort. She had a couple dudes and a Stillmoon. I had a lot of land out and 3 land in hand. I ripped into Cruel Ultimatum and proceded to draw Cryptic, Bloodbraid and a land. I tap her guys draw a card. It was another Cryptic. I play bloodbraid cascade into grixis charm kill a dude. I attack she goes to 9. She attacks all in I assume she will pump her knight for lethal so I let her attack she does as expected I command her dude back to hand and draw the 2nd ultimatum. How lucky. 2-1 overall 1-0
Round 2 Lazorus Jackson playing Red Deck Wins with Black. Dont recall too much. Game 1 he had 0 land in play and Bloodbraid Elf went the distance. Game 2 he hits a key anathemancer and flame javelins for lethal.. Game 3 was very close. He has 2 land and a ram gang. Im at 7. He attacks in I goto 4. He passes. I draw a blank and he hits a land and Javelins me for the win.
1-2 overall 1-1
Round 3 Justin McComb playing BW Tokens. Game 1 I keep him on 2 land the whole game and try to race his bitterblossom. I think I cast incendiary command to early because it killed 4 dudes and my bloodbraid but I needed to keep him off his 2nd white source. I he ends up at 1 and is swings in with 7 tokens. Game 2 and 3 I get solid LD spells and dudes. Game 3 he said he kept a risky hand and it did cost him. He had no permanents and Enlisted Wurm went the distance. 2-1 overal 2-1
Round 4 Jack Nowakowski playing Red Deck Wins with Black. Thankfully these decks are chocked full of nonbasic goodness so the matchup isnt too terrible. I just have to make sure my life total is out of javelin range. This round not much happened. Dudes were played and killed. He had no land both games and I eventually ground out a win finding guys and swinging. 2-0
overall 3-1
Round 5 Kurtis Droge playing UW Reveillark. This matchup is god awful. They play so many basic lands that it makes me never want to play Fulminator Mage. He eventually gets Sowered and blows up my own land. I can never get a real advantage on this deck and lose in 2 quick games. Later to find out that Kurtis did eventually win the PTQ. His deck was very different in the fact that he ran Figure. Also the singleton Heap Doll in the sideboard lol. 0-2 overall 3-2
Round 6 Matt Cafferty playing 5 color Bloodbraid. This deck was designed to punish this deck. He never gets over 2 lands and gets the Bloodbraid beatdown. Game 2 was very similar. My opponent told me I was a horrible person for playing a deck like this and I thought it was pretty funny. 2-0 overall 4-2
Round 7 Josh Edelman playing Elementals. Turns out Manuel Bucher had been playing this deck on MODO during the week and ended up doing well with it at GP Sao Paulo. Horde of Notions can be very scary as can Infinite Fulminator Mages. The engine of Smokebraider and Bloomtender is quite ridciulous. Anyways game 1 I hit the nut cascade of wurm into reality into bloodbraid into fulminator mage. He has no colored source and has no answer to the wurm. Game 2 my oppoenent fetches up fulminator mage with his guy. Then procedes to play pithing needle turn 2 naming fulminator mage. LOL nice play idiot. Turn 3 he plays Mage and tries to sac it I point to needle and he has a retarded look like wow did I just do that. I procede to bash this mongoloid for his bad plays. 2-0 overall 5-2.
Round 8 Erik Robertson playing UW Revillark. Not much to say about this round. The matchup is really awful and I barely lost in 3. Game 3 he had no cards in hand. Rips into an Archmage with mana up. My only card in hand was Cruel Ultimaum which was going to be lethal with my dudes getting in. I am never able to get around the archmage the rest of the game. 1-2 overall 5-3
The deck wasnt too bad, but it does have a problem with Reveilark. I also see that deck getting very popular and has been making quite a few top 8's. Therefore I would not recommend this deck for the upcoming weekend. As I think Faeries will be out in fullforce. I think I will be playing an updated version of 5 color bloodbraid or rocking the Fae.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)