http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT6hiajuLhs&feature=related
I gotta see this! ATCQ has been my shit since '89 or some shit. This looks like the hotness...
Quick aside on Michael Rappaport the director of the documentary:
my wife saw him jacking off in a parking lot when she lived in LA. Or she thought it was him. LOL jk
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
SPARKFINDER: Project 1.0: PSILL - Battle Mage
As my initial run on this Sparkfinder track I wanted to get something down. This is a pen sketch turned Photoshop Illustration. This is the initial rough to be fleshed out.
After getting down the rough composition and body I'll start fleshing out the rest of the detail. I wanted to block in the major light source, being the energy blast and glow from the eye. To be continued on Sparkfinder.
I also want to spend some time finding some references for my digital graphic novel Getting It On. I did a series of designs in grad school that used an all Illustrator pencil style that I think could work for the graphic novel in order to get it done quickly.
I'll find some examples and post. I'm starting to come up with cover thumbnails and logo designs for Getting It On as well. Next time my ninjas.
After getting down the rough composition and body I'll start fleshing out the rest of the detail. I wanted to block in the major light source, being the energy blast and glow from the eye. To be continued on Sparkfinder.
I also want to spend some time finding some references for my digital graphic novel Getting It On. I did a series of designs in grad school that used an all Illustrator pencil style that I think could work for the graphic novel in order to get it done quickly.
I'll find some examples and post. I'm starting to come up with cover thumbnails and logo designs for Getting It On as well. Next time my ninjas.
SPARKFINDER!!!
Over the last few weeks I have been feeling a little disjointed from what I can call...life. So I've come to the realization that making the move to Florida, although amazing for my family-life, has been kinda sorta horrible for me.
I lost my lust for all things I used to love, i.e. comicbooks, movies, music, art, design, illustration, gaming, etc.
I've lost my inner "spark."
My wife and I have had a few discussions on why I am the way I am. I truly believe it is because all the things I just listed above, I have nobody to discuss those things with. Back home I had my friends, my students, my cousins, and the playgroup at school. Here in Florida, I basically have nobody on the same nerdastic level that I am on. Not coworkers, family members, nobody. My students have been cool, our discussions on fanboy shit are epic but its just not the same.
What can I do about finding my spark!?! I could find new friends, which I sort of did with some of the people at the comicbook store, but beyond Magic, we have nothing in common. And, plenty of them cannot relate to me since I'm a little older and don't live in my mom's basement (I live in my mom's guestroom for the time being, more on that later).
The other thing was I try following people I know back home on various social networks, i.e. Facebook and Twitter, plenty of my creative peers are doing cool things like coming up with new illustrations, doing Wizard World and C2E2, having solo shows on Clark and Belmont, running a letterpress company on Etsy, and interesting logos for business clientele, while I'm fucking designing Tater Man logos for a produce company in bumpkin Lakeland, FL. I've made my bed with that so I really can't complain (I do some other epic shit for work BTW).
Lastly, I've always told my wife to find her passion in life, beyond working and family, to find a hobby, and in turn she has. She has started to dabble in eBaying items as her pastime. AND SHE LOVES IT! I'm very happy for her for sure and at the same time kind of envious that she found that spark and mine has been fading away. She gets to be creative, business savvy and shopper savvy all at the same time. I'm glad she is happy and has found her niche.
After a few weeks, some soul searching, talks with my awesome wife, and watching Thor, I decided that finding that spark was critical. I feel like the Autobots in the live action Transformer movies looking for that damn cube.
My blog Funcrusher Plus will now incorporate this amazing idea, Sparkfinder, that my wife, my muse, has given me. Sparkfinder is a way to be creative, even on the smallest level, on a day-to-day basis. What is Sparkfinder going to be? It's like the Julie & Julia of art and design. I will try to create something new, large or small, creatively and report it to my Sparkfinder Blog, but on a DAILY BASIS.
Yes, DAILY.
I want to make sure that is known. I will try my best to upkeep the Sparkfinder part of my blog as best as I can. Funcrusher Plus also encompasses Sparkfinder but this new idea is more direct and to the point of what I want to accomplish.
IDEAS?
I have created a creative bucketlist which I've discussed in the past. I will revisit that list and try to accomplish the things I want to do.
First few things on the list: Children's Book and Original Graphic Novel
CHILDREN'S BOOK
Almost every night I read a story to my son Phoenix. It has given me some inspiration to create from an idea I had the last time I lost my spark (and my muse/wife got me out of that funk too. God, I love her). My children's idea will be called The Adventures of Kobi & Christopher. Not it is not about me as a kid. It is about a kid with a huge imagination. Think Calvin & Hobbes to get an idea.
GRAPHIC NOVEL
After reading such awesome graphic novels as Blankets, Box Office Poison, Strangers in Paradise, etc. I have always wanted to write and illustrate my own book. I'll take an idea for a script I wrote in my college filmwriting class, practice some of my storyboarding skills, and create a page at a time until he book is done. I'll post each page on the blog as it progresses. I want to create the book entirely digital but using mainly Illustrator as the creative platform. The script is called Getting It On, it follows 3-4 narratives involving different college kids and takes place one night in the city of Chicago. Hope I get there.
Wish me luck!
I lost my lust for all things I used to love, i.e. comicbooks, movies, music, art, design, illustration, gaming, etc.
I've lost my inner "spark."
My wife and I have had a few discussions on why I am the way I am. I truly believe it is because all the things I just listed above, I have nobody to discuss those things with. Back home I had my friends, my students, my cousins, and the playgroup at school. Here in Florida, I basically have nobody on the same nerdastic level that I am on. Not coworkers, family members, nobody. My students have been cool, our discussions on fanboy shit are epic but its just not the same.
What can I do about finding my spark!?! I could find new friends, which I sort of did with some of the people at the comicbook store, but beyond Magic, we have nothing in common. And, plenty of them cannot relate to me since I'm a little older and don't live in my mom's basement (I live in my mom's guestroom for the time being, more on that later).
The other thing was I try following people I know back home on various social networks, i.e. Facebook and Twitter, plenty of my creative peers are doing cool things like coming up with new illustrations, doing Wizard World and C2E2, having solo shows on Clark and Belmont, running a letterpress company on Etsy, and interesting logos for business clientele, while I'm fucking designing Tater Man logos for a produce company in bumpkin Lakeland, FL. I've made my bed with that so I really can't complain (I do some other epic shit for work BTW).
Lastly, I've always told my wife to find her passion in life, beyond working and family, to find a hobby, and in turn she has. She has started to dabble in eBaying items as her pastime. AND SHE LOVES IT! I'm very happy for her for sure and at the same time kind of envious that she found that spark and mine has been fading away. She gets to be creative, business savvy and shopper savvy all at the same time. I'm glad she is happy and has found her niche.
After a few weeks, some soul searching, talks with my awesome wife, and watching Thor, I decided that finding that spark was critical. I feel like the Autobots in the live action Transformer movies looking for that damn cube.
My blog Funcrusher Plus will now incorporate this amazing idea, Sparkfinder, that my wife, my muse, has given me. Sparkfinder is a way to be creative, even on the smallest level, on a day-to-day basis. What is Sparkfinder going to be? It's like the Julie & Julia of art and design. I will try to create something new, large or small, creatively and report it to my Sparkfinder Blog, but on a DAILY BASIS.
Yes, DAILY.
I want to make sure that is known. I will try my best to upkeep the Sparkfinder part of my blog as best as I can. Funcrusher Plus also encompasses Sparkfinder but this new idea is more direct and to the point of what I want to accomplish.
IDEAS?
I have created a creative bucketlist which I've discussed in the past. I will revisit that list and try to accomplish the things I want to do.
First few things on the list: Children's Book and Original Graphic Novel
CHILDREN'S BOOK
Almost every night I read a story to my son Phoenix. It has given me some inspiration to create from an idea I had the last time I lost my spark (and my muse/wife got me out of that funk too. God, I love her). My children's idea will be called The Adventures of Kobi & Christopher. Not it is not about me as a kid. It is about a kid with a huge imagination. Think Calvin & Hobbes to get an idea.
GRAPHIC NOVEL
After reading such awesome graphic novels as Blankets, Box Office Poison, Strangers in Paradise, etc. I have always wanted to write and illustrate my own book. I'll take an idea for a script I wrote in my college filmwriting class, practice some of my storyboarding skills, and create a page at a time until he book is done. I'll post each page on the blog as it progresses. I want to create the book entirely digital but using mainly Illustrator as the creative platform. The script is called Getting It On, it follows 3-4 narratives involving different college kids and takes place one night in the city of Chicago. Hope I get there.
Wish me luck!
It's going to be...wait for it...
LEGEND...I hope you're not lactose intolerant...
NPH has finally dropped. Ever since the God-book spoiled all of us Magic players, we are finally able to rock the set in formats.
I didn't get a chance to play in any Standard FNMs nor the SCG Orlando. Sad face. Here is some backstory: I had a chance to rock at least two FNMs since the last time I played with Tezzeret Deck Wins. But I decided to just chill with my son, Phoenix, instead. Its infinitely more awesome hanging out with the kid then a bunch of sweaty-stinky nerds (actually, a lot of them are pretty cool but the D-bags know who they are). And SCG Orlando was a pipe dream because here is the realization: I'm never going to be a professional Magic player so why bother. I made a run back in the day during the days of Ernham Djinn's dominance. I even made some Top 8s and a 2nd place finish to qualify for a PT. But I was young, still in school, wasn't married or have kids, which are infinitely more important to me these days. PTQ grinding is not a priority and wasting time and money at an SCG event, although probably would have been cool, wasn't a good idea. I honestly hate the rooms filled with all those guys that take this game WAAAAAY to seriously. In my opinion, unless you're a qualified pro and Magic is your livelyhood like Gerry T, AJ Sacher, Edgar Flores, LSV, etc. doing all the traveling and competing is a pipe dream. I understand that. So my dreams of taking RDW to a Top 8 finish of an SCG event is just that, a dream. Plus, I never really test anymore or have anyone to play with to any degree of consistency so I'm sure I would have had my ass handed to me, went 0-4 and dropped. Instead I hung out with the wife and kid. Had some sushi and chilled.
Rant over, back to some Magic talk...
So why do I keep blogging about this dumb game that I'm never going to go professional at, nor have the time to play?
BECAUSE I'M ADDICTED.
Okay, Neil Patrick Harris is now legal in Magic. What have all the pros gleaned from this fact?
The obvious answers that must be prepared for are as follows:
1. Splinter Twin/Deciever Exarch is legit. If your deck cannot deal with the EOT Flash monster into turn 4 you're dead? Then your deck has no business in Standard.
2. Mental Mistep is the big news for Legacy and it has made a splash in SCG Orlando. Plenty of the Top 16 decks rocked a playset because it stops SOOOO many of the important spells in Legacy. Since the curve in the format is so low and the format is so fast, 1-drops are abundant. Mistep stops some important cards such as: Thoughtseize, Brainstorm, Sensei's Divining Top, Swords to Plowshares, High Tide, Candelabra of Twanos, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Goblin Lackey, etc.
3. Spellskite is also a bomb card. For a 2cc 0/4 blocker and its ability to redirect spells AND abilities to it changes the way the game is played. There are plenty of articles and podcasts that get into it so I won't. But the card is good. I need to finish a playset because I think it can be Legacy playable.
In Standard every deck needs to deal with the Turn 4 kill you combo that is Splinter/Exarch. Here are some of the concoctions I'm thinking about:
Naya Vengeine
Boros
Big Red One
Vampires
Aggro Valakut
Eldrazi Green
I'll run down a few of the lists with the new cards from Neil Patrick Harris and talk about why I think the decks could be good. Here we go!
Here are just a couple of other deck ideas I've had since NPH Godbook dropped. For some reason I'm in love with Volt Charge and Beast Within.
NPH has finally dropped. Ever since the God-book spoiled all of us Magic players, we are finally able to rock the set in formats.
I didn't get a chance to play in any Standard FNMs nor the SCG Orlando. Sad face. Here is some backstory: I had a chance to rock at least two FNMs since the last time I played with Tezzeret Deck Wins. But I decided to just chill with my son, Phoenix, instead. Its infinitely more awesome hanging out with the kid then a bunch of sweaty-stinky nerds (actually, a lot of them are pretty cool but the D-bags know who they are). And SCG Orlando was a pipe dream because here is the realization: I'm never going to be a professional Magic player so why bother. I made a run back in the day during the days of Ernham Djinn's dominance. I even made some Top 8s and a 2nd place finish to qualify for a PT. But I was young, still in school, wasn't married or have kids, which are infinitely more important to me these days. PTQ grinding is not a priority and wasting time and money at an SCG event, although probably would have been cool, wasn't a good idea. I honestly hate the rooms filled with all those guys that take this game WAAAAAY to seriously. In my opinion, unless you're a qualified pro and Magic is your livelyhood like Gerry T, AJ Sacher, Edgar Flores, LSV, etc. doing all the traveling and competing is a pipe dream. I understand that. So my dreams of taking RDW to a Top 8 finish of an SCG event is just that, a dream. Plus, I never really test anymore or have anyone to play with to any degree of consistency so I'm sure I would have had my ass handed to me, went 0-4 and dropped. Instead I hung out with the wife and kid. Had some sushi and chilled.
Rant over, back to some Magic talk...
So why do I keep blogging about this dumb game that I'm never going to go professional at, nor have the time to play?
BECAUSE I'M ADDICTED.
Okay, Neil Patrick Harris is now legal in Magic. What have all the pros gleaned from this fact?
The obvious answers that must be prepared for are as follows:
1. Splinter Twin/Deciever Exarch is legit. If your deck cannot deal with the EOT Flash monster into turn 4 you're dead? Then your deck has no business in Standard.
2. Mental Mistep is the big news for Legacy and it has made a splash in SCG Orlando. Plenty of the Top 16 decks rocked a playset because it stops SOOOO many of the important spells in Legacy. Since the curve in the format is so low and the format is so fast, 1-drops are abundant. Mistep stops some important cards such as: Thoughtseize, Brainstorm, Sensei's Divining Top, Swords to Plowshares, High Tide, Candelabra of Twanos, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, Goblin Lackey, etc.
3. Spellskite is also a bomb card. For a 2cc 0/4 blocker and its ability to redirect spells AND abilities to it changes the way the game is played. There are plenty of articles and podcasts that get into it so I won't. But the card is good. I need to finish a playset because I think it can be Legacy playable.
In Standard every deck needs to deal with the Turn 4 kill you combo that is Splinter/Exarch. Here are some of the concoctions I'm thinking about:
Naya Vengeine
Boros
Big Red One
Vampires
Aggro Valakut
Eldrazi Green
I'll run down a few of the lists with the new cards from Neil Patrick Harris and talk about why I think the decks could be good. Here we go!
The implications of Caw-Blade's dominance and the rise of Splinter Twin/Exarch combo has changed the way Standard looks. Valakut is completely a dead format, although still good, just cannot beat Caw-Blade. The same goes for Vengevine strategies. Caw-Blade is basically a mid-range deck that can go aggro when need be or control versus the aggressor. It wins off the back of a ton of card advantage. Every card is either a cantrip or more. So how can you beat that strategy and not be Caw-Blade? Let's face it, I'm probably not going to buy into Jace until he is gone why down in price and only to play him in Legacy and upcoming Extended or God willing Over-Extended format (fingers crossed on that one). So I really just refuse to go get a playset of Jace (I could, I just don't. Not really my playstyle).
In order to beat the sea of card advantage you must be just as equal in card advantage or better and play a similar game. If I'm not Caw-Blade then what am I?
BLOOD BLADE:
Squadron Hawk x 4
Stoneforge Mystics x 4
Inferno Titan x 2
Squadron Hawk x 4
Stoneforge Mystics x 4
Inferno Titan x 2
Cunning Sparkmage x 3
Koth of the Hammer x 4
Chandra Nalaar x 3
Lightning Bolt x 4
Volt Charge x 3
Tezzerets Gambit x 4
Sword of Feast and Famine x 1
Sword of War and Peace x 1
Batterskull x 1
Basilisk Collar x 1
Arid Mesa x 4
Koth of the Hammer x 4
Chandra Nalaar x 3
Lightning Bolt x 4
Volt Charge x 3
Tezzerets Gambit x 4
Sword of Feast and Famine x 1
Sword of War and Peace x 1
Batterskull x 1
Basilisk Collar x 1
Arid Mesa x 4
Scalding Tarn x 3
Marsh Flats x 2
Plains x 7
Mountains x 9
I have been known to play some blue spells but if you're playing Standard and not playing Jace the Mindsculptor then you are playing wrong. Since I am more of an aggro player and have a lust for Lightning Bolt I figured I'd try to mash-up a couple of different strategies, mainly the aggro side of Boros and card advantage side of Caw-Blade.
Squadron Hawk/Stoneforge/Sword Package: This package is also relevant in both strategies as it is your main card advantage engine. I decided to cut SoBoM in lieu of Basilisk Collar to equip with my red dudes. Squad Hawk is good as an aggressor as well as a defender. Stoneforge is a great tutor engine that gets you all of your bombs, especially the newest and sickest equipment, Batterskull.
Red Dudes: The Inferno Titan and Cunning Sparkmage package can act as a renewable source of card advantage. They can continually assassinate creatures on board or nug opponents' life total. Combo'd with Basilisk collar, most creatures are not safe on board. Also, Sparkmage and Collar is a good renewable way to deal with Spellskite and if you can get the jump it can beat Splinter Twin/Exarch combo as long as they don't have a Spellskite already in play.
Planeswalkers: Instead of the blue of Cawblade in Jace and Gideon I turned to their red "equals" if you will: Koth of the Hammer and Chandra Nalaar. Since day 1 of his spoiling and reading Mike Flores's article, I have been crazy for some Koth. He just does so many awesome things: he's a renewable source of 4 damage, can help you ramp if need be, and if his ultimate is turned on, you should probably win that game. Chandra may seem a bit questionable because of her high casting cost but Gideon is also a 5cc and sees a lot of play. Her pinging ability isn't her greatest asset, its her pinpoint sniper ability that does it for me. She can either trade with a Titan at six or start assassinating dudes on board but the fact she is a re-useable source or creature kill she can generate card advantage.
Spells: I'm sure you can guess from the list that there is a small proliferate sub-theme in the deck in Volt Charge and Tezzeret's Gambit. Volt Charge can kill a dude and power-up Koth and Chandra. Gambit will draw you two and power-up. It is something I want to test and think could be solid if you can set up that line of play. I just want to drop Koth and swing for 4/4 mountain then follow it up next turn with Volt Charge and have Koth at ultimate already. Seems like it could be good. I dunno yet. And of course Lightning Bolt maindeck seems good too.
Here are just a couple of other deck ideas I've had since NPH Godbook dropped. For some reason I'm in love with Volt Charge and Beast Within.
BIG RED ONE:
Inferno Titan x 3
Kuldotha Phoenix x 3
Tumble Magnet x 4
Everflowing Chalice x 3
Sphere of the Suns x 3
Lightning Bolt x 4
Galvanic Blast x 4
Volt Charge x 4
Tezzerets gambit x 4
Shrine of the burning rage x 2
Mox Opal x 3
Contagion Clasp x 1
Ratchet Bomb x 1
Tectonic Edge x 3
Valakut Molten Pinnacle x 4
Mountains x 14
Inferno Titan x 3
Kuldotha Phoenix x 3
Tumble Magnet x 4
Everflowing Chalice x 3
Sphere of the Suns x 3
Lightning Bolt x 4
Galvanic Blast x 4
Volt Charge x 4
Tezzerets gambit x 4
Shrine of the burning rage x 2
Mox Opal x 3
Contagion Clasp x 1
Ratchet Bomb x 1
Tectonic Edge x 3
Valakut Molten Pinnacle x 4
Mountains x 14
NAYAVINE:
Basilisk collar x 1
Batterskull x 1
Sword of feast and famine x 1
Sword of war and peace x 1
Lightning bolt x 4
Beast from within x 2
Stoneforge mystic x 4
Birds of paradise x 4
Llanowar elves x 2
Nest invader x 2
Vengevine x 4
Fauna shaman x 4
Baneslayer angel x 1
Acidic slime x 1
Inferno titan x 2
Cunning sparkmage x 3
Stirring wildwood x 3
Raging ravine x 3
Razorverge thicket x 4
Copperline gorge x 4
Sunpetal grove x 1
Rootbound crag x 1
Arid mesa x 2
Verdant catacombs x 2
Plains x 1
Mountain x 1
Forests x 2
I'll build, test at FNM and see what happens.
I also am looking to finally try and build some Legacy decks I've been talking about for months. Crazy Talk podcast has really gotten me back on the bandwagon for Legacy. We'll see what happens there.
Peace out bitches!!!
...DARY!!!
Basilisk collar x 1
Batterskull x 1
Sword of feast and famine x 1
Sword of war and peace x 1
Lightning bolt x 4
Beast from within x 2
Stoneforge mystic x 4
Birds of paradise x 4
Llanowar elves x 2
Nest invader x 2
Vengevine x 4
Fauna shaman x 4
Baneslayer angel x 1
Acidic slime x 1
Inferno titan x 2
Cunning sparkmage x 3
Stirring wildwood x 3
Raging ravine x 3
Razorverge thicket x 4
Copperline gorge x 4
Sunpetal grove x 1
Rootbound crag x 1
Arid mesa x 2
Verdant catacombs x 2
Plains x 1
Mountain x 1
Forests x 2
I'll build, test at FNM and see what happens.
I also am looking to finally try and build some Legacy decks I've been talking about for months. Crazy Talk podcast has really gotten me back on the bandwagon for Legacy. We'll see what happens there.
Peace out bitches!!!
...DARY!!!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
40 Days and 40 Nights
So I technically didn't give up Magic for Lent but I haven't played since before Lent began. It was like giving up a vice for sure.
I finally have a chance to play at last week's FNM rocking Martin Juza's Tezzeret Forgemaster deck. Its kind of a combo/control deck that uses Kuldotha Forgemaster to search up a few win conditions: Mindslaver, Myr Battlesphere, or Blightsteel Colossus.
Here is the deck I rocked:
Kuldotha Forgemaster x 4
Blightsteel Colossus x 1
Myr Battlesphere x 1
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas x 4
Jace Beleren x 3
Ratchet Bomb x 3
Sphere of the Suns x 4
Everflowing Chalice x 4
Contagion Clasp x 3
Tumble Magnet x 4
Mindslaver x 1
Inquisition of Kozilek x 4
Duress x 1
Halimar Depths x 2
Inkmoth Nexus x 4
Creeping Tarpits x 4
Darkslick Shores x 4
Drowned Catacombs x 4
Islands x 2
Swamps x 3
Sideboard:
Wurmcoil Engine x 3
Go for the Throat x 4
Duress x 3
Jace Beleren x 1
Ratchet Bomb x 1
Black Sun's Zenith x 3
My reason for rocking the deck is because of the acquisition of Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and the STOOPID GOOD things he is able to accomplish. The problem with the deck is that it is part blue and without Jace the Mind Sculptor, I would be at a disadvantage. I didn't care. OG Jace worked out for me actually. Being able to net all the card advantage is so important in the game.
What I learned about the deck is the various roads to victory it can take. The combo with Forgemaster is nice and your first strategy IMO. Being able to tutor out Blightsteel basically ends games. And it can totally be a sucker-punch to the neck for the unprepared. EOT Blightsteel, untap, swing for the win? Good game. Tutoring up Mindslaver seemed less relevant to me and underperformed IMO. There was only 2 situations where I played it. Both times lead to victories but it was still weak to me. I'll get there. Myr Battlesphere also seemed weak to me and I only tutored it up once in all the games I played.
The other roads to victory are obvious Tezzeret 5/5 beatdown mode. Turning Spheres or Chalices into 5/5s is funny. Another victory, which is fucking hilarious, turning Inkmoth Nexus into a 5/5, getting two hits in and poisoning dude out. That's awesome. The other plans: C and D are Jace mill and Creeping Tarpit beats.
I got there a bit early and played some games with George, an older dude who is very nice and always brings his rogue builds to FNM. Props to him for that. I played Tezzeret to get a feel for the deck and it was pretty fucking money. I beat him handedly in two games then lost with my GW Aggro list. I tossed my board together and decided to rock the deck for the night.
Usually I'm a Green and/or Red player but that night I wanted to take the powerful Planeswalker for a spin.
Round 1: John playing RB Homebrew Control
This dude looked exactly like my friend JACO from back in the day. While I played him I kept thinking he was Jaco, when we used to rock Type 1 and 2 tournaments 10 years. Feels like forever ago. John is a very solid player and does not make many mistakes. He knows his deck to a "T" and all the interactions it provides him.
Game 1: I ramp up with Chalice and stick Tezzeret turn 3 and start digging and going for cheap artifacts because I have Forgemaster in hand. John plays out Hexmage which I contagion clasp. He sticks Abyssal Prosecutor and I stick a tumble magnet and tap it down a few times. I stick Jace and let him draw to keep him out of Bolt range. I stick a Forgemaster and pass. He comes at me to get rid of my last
Magnet counter. I declare a Proliferate off of Clasp, increase counters on Chalice, Jace, Tez, and Magnet. He's like, "Wait! What?!?" He reads the card, shakes his head and passes. I EOT sack some shit and fetch out Blightsteel. He scoops.
I curved out perfectly and hit all my guys with little disruption from him. From what I can gather he's playing a deck a dude I know, Flavio, was rocking a time ago. Its a solid deck with tons of 2-for-1ing and mad card advantage. In his defense, I was running on all cylinders while he was stuck on 4 lands. I side out Battlesphere and put in Jace. I also take out some shit for 2 more duress.
Game 2: He goes first and Inquisitions me. He snags a Chalice. I have Tez in hand too. No ramping for me. I draw a Sphere, play Tarpit and pass. He plays Hexmage. I play Clasp instead of Sphere. He plays Mimic Vat, I'm like, "Fuck." I play Tez and dig getting a Forgemaster. He plays a Prosecutor and Bolts Tez to 1. I play Jace and just draw for myself. He untaps, Bolts Jace and swings in to Tez. FML. I stick a late Tumble Magnet which I use to stall the game for a while with Clasp. He eventually sticks Liliana and start searching up his Silver Bullets. He eventually Into the Core (2-for-1) my Magnet and Clasp, 4cc destroys land or artifacts, my other magnet. He sticks Sarkhan the Mad, turns his prosecutor into a 5/5 Dragon, imprints Mimic Vat with Prosecutor and I scoop.
Not killing his Vess was the biggest mistake I made that game. He was able to get all his sideboard action to hate out my artifacts. I put in one more Duress to snag his hate cards.
Game 3: Epic rubber match. I go first get an early Jace and some ramp along with Magnet and Clasp out. He gets his Vat and a Clasp out (which I assume is to pump his Planeswalkers). I get Tez and dig for a Ratchet Bomb to pop his Vat. I Duress him multiple times this game drawing all his destroy artifact hate and just out play him this game. Everything he dropped I had an answer. Vat gets Ratchet Bombed, Persecutor is locked down with never ending Magnet/Clasp, Vess gets smacked with a Creeping Tarpit to death. I even Mindslaver him, use his spell to kill another Vat and his clasp and bolt his own dude. I eventually get enough artifacts out to ultimate Tezzeret and bullseye him for 16. Fucking epic.
After the game, he admitted to just straight up being outplayed, which makes me feel good because he ended up going 3-1-1 for the night, his only loss was to me. :) Hope to play this dude again in the future. He forced me to play super tight.
Round 2: Douche Bag guy playing Kuldotha Red!
This guy was like a ripped out oompa loompa with bad teeth. His play mechanics were tight for sure but he was kind of a dick so I really hated playing this dude. He was on Kuldotha Red, basically taking two event packs, mashing them together and calling it a deck. Its a fine deck if you like that strategy, it is kind of difficult to play optimally as well. Doing the math and knowing your drops for maximum damage is critical. He seemed like a veteran player but was noobish to the entirety of the latest sets.
Game 1: I opens with Mountain, Signal Pest and I know already what's coming. I go Tarpit pass. He goes Mountain, two more Signal Pests and passes. I'm like, "Shit." I go Shores, Chalice. He goes Bushwacker kicked and swings for 14. I go Tezzeret and make a 5/5 but it's irrelevant since he has the bolt in hand. I can block one guy but his battle cryers go off all over my face.
I side in another Ratchet Bomb, 3 Black Sun Zenith's and 2 Duress.
Game 2: I have a choice to make: either play my tapped land so I can ramp into Tez by turn 3 or open with Shores into Inquisition and hopefully grab a Signal Pest, Kuldotha Rebirth, Bushwhacker or anything that will end my life. I choose to go for a ramp into Tez. He goes Mountain, Chimeric Mass for 0 and Kuldotha Rebirth. FML. I told him I made the wrong play. I untap, play a Shores THEN Inquisition thinking it was too late. FML. He has another Kuldotha Rebirth, Signal Pest, Wardriver, Mountain and Bushwhacker. Either way I'm fucked. I take the Rebirth. He plays Signal Pest and swings for 3. I play land, Ratchet Bomb and pass. He goes Contested War Zone and swings for 6. Second mainphase he plays another Rebirth sacing the Pest and passes. I play Tez, make a 5/5 and pass. He plays Mountain, Bushwhacker kicked and says, "Attack step?" I pop the Ratchet Bomb for 0. He turns the card around and says, "I should be better at this game!" and laughs. It doesn't matter though. His next few turns go like this. War Driver, Bushwhacker kicked and Goblin Lord dude and I'm dead. FML.
Kuldotha Red is a solid strategy, very fast and just destroys dreams. But it is so single-minded I find it difficult to sleeve up and rock.
Round 3: Christian with Esper Rogue
Not sure if this is the dude's name. I've played him before and he's a nice guy and really only started playing late last year. Last time I played him I ran Boros and aggroed him out but this time it was a long drawn out match for sure.
Game 1: He pretty much does irrelevant things while I play Tez, into Kuldotha for a Blightsteel EOT for the win. I don't remember much.
Game 2: He actually gets going with some critical removal by snagging my Tumble Magnet with Inquisition and gets his Blightsteel out using Shape Anew. I lay a Tez and he infects me out. What are the chances of back to back Blightsteel kills from two different decks? LOL.
Game 3: This is the oddest game I played all night. He plays some cantrips in Wall of Omens which is pseudo irrelevant since I don't really have dudes that swing. He Trinket Mages his only artifact in Chalice so he can Shape Anew next turn, knowing I don't run counterspells. I snag the only artifact with Duress. He Shape Anews my Clasp and I hit a Chalice for 0. "That's the best outcome I could have hoped for." Awkward for me. I'm holding my Blightsteel in hand. So my outs are to stall and play the Blightsteel. By this time we are trading Creeping Tarpit hits back and forth. I get a few Inkmoth hits in as well and I'm digging with Tez to find artifact mana accelerants to get this Blightsteel out. He eventually Go for the Throats my Tarpit to shut down my free damage. I get enough artifacts out to ultimate with Tezzeret for the win. Just in time too because he had Elspeth AND Venser out. Sick.
Round 4: Danny playing UB Tezzeret Control (with only 2 Tez that he comments about numerous times). He is probably around my age and talks as if he's been playing a while. He name drops Legacy a lot. He is a tight player but I get the feeling he's been away from the game for while or he is off and on playing, just like me.
I finally have a chance to play at last week's FNM rocking Martin Juza's Tezzeret Forgemaster deck. Its kind of a combo/control deck that uses Kuldotha Forgemaster to search up a few win conditions: Mindslaver, Myr Battlesphere, or Blightsteel Colossus.
Here is the deck I rocked:
Kuldotha Forgemaster x 4
Blightsteel Colossus x 1
Myr Battlesphere x 1
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas x 4
Jace Beleren x 3
Ratchet Bomb x 3
Sphere of the Suns x 4
Everflowing Chalice x 4
Contagion Clasp x 3
Tumble Magnet x 4
Mindslaver x 1
Inquisition of Kozilek x 4
Duress x 1
Halimar Depths x 2
Inkmoth Nexus x 4
Creeping Tarpits x 4
Darkslick Shores x 4
Drowned Catacombs x 4
Islands x 2
Swamps x 3
Sideboard:
Wurmcoil Engine x 3
Go for the Throat x 4
Duress x 3
Jace Beleren x 1
Ratchet Bomb x 1
Black Sun's Zenith x 3
My reason for rocking the deck is because of the acquisition of Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas and the STOOPID GOOD things he is able to accomplish. The problem with the deck is that it is part blue and without Jace the Mind Sculptor, I would be at a disadvantage. I didn't care. OG Jace worked out for me actually. Being able to net all the card advantage is so important in the game.
What I learned about the deck is the various roads to victory it can take. The combo with Forgemaster is nice and your first strategy IMO. Being able to tutor out Blightsteel basically ends games. And it can totally be a sucker-punch to the neck for the unprepared. EOT Blightsteel, untap, swing for the win? Good game. Tutoring up Mindslaver seemed less relevant to me and underperformed IMO. There was only 2 situations where I played it. Both times lead to victories but it was still weak to me. I'll get there. Myr Battlesphere also seemed weak to me and I only tutored it up once in all the games I played.
The other roads to victory are obvious Tezzeret 5/5 beatdown mode. Turning Spheres or Chalices into 5/5s is funny. Another victory, which is fucking hilarious, turning Inkmoth Nexus into a 5/5, getting two hits in and poisoning dude out. That's awesome. The other plans: C and D are Jace mill and Creeping Tarpit beats.
I got there a bit early and played some games with George, an older dude who is very nice and always brings his rogue builds to FNM. Props to him for that. I played Tezzeret to get a feel for the deck and it was pretty fucking money. I beat him handedly in two games then lost with my GW Aggro list. I tossed my board together and decided to rock the deck for the night.
Usually I'm a Green and/or Red player but that night I wanted to take the powerful Planeswalker for a spin.
Round 1: John playing RB Homebrew Control
This dude looked exactly like my friend JACO from back in the day. While I played him I kept thinking he was Jaco, when we used to rock Type 1 and 2 tournaments 10 years. Feels like forever ago. John is a very solid player and does not make many mistakes. He knows his deck to a "T" and all the interactions it provides him.
Game 1: I ramp up with Chalice and stick Tezzeret turn 3 and start digging and going for cheap artifacts because I have Forgemaster in hand. John plays out Hexmage which I contagion clasp. He sticks Abyssal Prosecutor and I stick a tumble magnet and tap it down a few times. I stick Jace and let him draw to keep him out of Bolt range. I stick a Forgemaster and pass. He comes at me to get rid of my last
Magnet counter. I declare a Proliferate off of Clasp, increase counters on Chalice, Jace, Tez, and Magnet. He's like, "Wait! What?!?" He reads the card, shakes his head and passes. I EOT sack some shit and fetch out Blightsteel. He scoops.
I curved out perfectly and hit all my guys with little disruption from him. From what I can gather he's playing a deck a dude I know, Flavio, was rocking a time ago. Its a solid deck with tons of 2-for-1ing and mad card advantage. In his defense, I was running on all cylinders while he was stuck on 4 lands. I side out Battlesphere and put in Jace. I also take out some shit for 2 more duress.
Game 2: He goes first and Inquisitions me. He snags a Chalice. I have Tez in hand too. No ramping for me. I draw a Sphere, play Tarpit and pass. He plays Hexmage. I play Clasp instead of Sphere. He plays Mimic Vat, I'm like, "Fuck." I play Tez and dig getting a Forgemaster. He plays a Prosecutor and Bolts Tez to 1. I play Jace and just draw for myself. He untaps, Bolts Jace and swings in to Tez. FML. I stick a late Tumble Magnet which I use to stall the game for a while with Clasp. He eventually sticks Liliana and start searching up his Silver Bullets. He eventually Into the Core (2-for-1) my Magnet and Clasp, 4cc destroys land or artifacts, my other magnet. He sticks Sarkhan the Mad, turns his prosecutor into a 5/5 Dragon, imprints Mimic Vat with Prosecutor and I scoop.
Not killing his Vess was the biggest mistake I made that game. He was able to get all his sideboard action to hate out my artifacts. I put in one more Duress to snag his hate cards.
Game 3: Epic rubber match. I go first get an early Jace and some ramp along with Magnet and Clasp out. He gets his Vat and a Clasp out (which I assume is to pump his Planeswalkers). I get Tez and dig for a Ratchet Bomb to pop his Vat. I Duress him multiple times this game drawing all his destroy artifact hate and just out play him this game. Everything he dropped I had an answer. Vat gets Ratchet Bombed, Persecutor is locked down with never ending Magnet/Clasp, Vess gets smacked with a Creeping Tarpit to death. I even Mindslaver him, use his spell to kill another Vat and his clasp and bolt his own dude. I eventually get enough artifacts out to ultimate Tezzeret and bullseye him for 16. Fucking epic.
After the game, he admitted to just straight up being outplayed, which makes me feel good because he ended up going 3-1-1 for the night, his only loss was to me. :) Hope to play this dude again in the future. He forced me to play super tight.
Round 2: Douche Bag guy playing Kuldotha Red!
This guy was like a ripped out oompa loompa with bad teeth. His play mechanics were tight for sure but he was kind of a dick so I really hated playing this dude. He was on Kuldotha Red, basically taking two event packs, mashing them together and calling it a deck. Its a fine deck if you like that strategy, it is kind of difficult to play optimally as well. Doing the math and knowing your drops for maximum damage is critical. He seemed like a veteran player but was noobish to the entirety of the latest sets.
Game 1: I opens with Mountain, Signal Pest and I know already what's coming. I go Tarpit pass. He goes Mountain, two more Signal Pests and passes. I'm like, "Shit." I go Shores, Chalice. He goes Bushwacker kicked and swings for 14. I go Tezzeret and make a 5/5 but it's irrelevant since he has the bolt in hand. I can block one guy but his battle cryers go off all over my face.
I side in another Ratchet Bomb, 3 Black Sun Zenith's and 2 Duress.
Game 2: I have a choice to make: either play my tapped land so I can ramp into Tez by turn 3 or open with Shores into Inquisition and hopefully grab a Signal Pest, Kuldotha Rebirth, Bushwhacker or anything that will end my life. I choose to go for a ramp into Tez. He goes Mountain, Chimeric Mass for 0 and Kuldotha Rebirth. FML. I told him I made the wrong play. I untap, play a Shores THEN Inquisition thinking it was too late. FML. He has another Kuldotha Rebirth, Signal Pest, Wardriver, Mountain and Bushwhacker. Either way I'm fucked. I take the Rebirth. He plays Signal Pest and swings for 3. I play land, Ratchet Bomb and pass. He goes Contested War Zone and swings for 6. Second mainphase he plays another Rebirth sacing the Pest and passes. I play Tez, make a 5/5 and pass. He plays Mountain, Bushwhacker kicked and says, "Attack step?" I pop the Ratchet Bomb for 0. He turns the card around and says, "I should be better at this game!" and laughs. It doesn't matter though. His next few turns go like this. War Driver, Bushwhacker kicked and Goblin Lord dude and I'm dead. FML.
Kuldotha Red is a solid strategy, very fast and just destroys dreams. But it is so single-minded I find it difficult to sleeve up and rock.
Round 3: Christian with Esper Rogue
Not sure if this is the dude's name. I've played him before and he's a nice guy and really only started playing late last year. Last time I played him I ran Boros and aggroed him out but this time it was a long drawn out match for sure.
Game 1: He pretty much does irrelevant things while I play Tez, into Kuldotha for a Blightsteel EOT for the win. I don't remember much.
Game 2: He actually gets going with some critical removal by snagging my Tumble Magnet with Inquisition and gets his Blightsteel out using Shape Anew. I lay a Tez and he infects me out. What are the chances of back to back Blightsteel kills from two different decks? LOL.
Game 3: This is the oddest game I played all night. He plays some cantrips in Wall of Omens which is pseudo irrelevant since I don't really have dudes that swing. He Trinket Mages his only artifact in Chalice so he can Shape Anew next turn, knowing I don't run counterspells. I snag the only artifact with Duress. He Shape Anews my Clasp and I hit a Chalice for 0. "That's the best outcome I could have hoped for." Awkward for me. I'm holding my Blightsteel in hand. So my outs are to stall and play the Blightsteel. By this time we are trading Creeping Tarpit hits back and forth. I get a few Inkmoth hits in as well and I'm digging with Tez to find artifact mana accelerants to get this Blightsteel out. He eventually Go for the Throats my Tarpit to shut down my free damage. I get enough artifacts out to ultimate with Tezzeret for the win. Just in time too because he had Elspeth AND Venser out. Sick.
Round 4: Danny playing UB Tezzeret Control (with only 2 Tez that he comments about numerous times). He is probably around my age and talks as if he's been playing a while. He name drops Legacy a lot. He is a tight player but I get the feeling he's been away from the game for while or he is off and on playing, just like me.
Game 1: He wins the roll and opens with Creeping Tarpit and Contagion Clasp. I open with Tarpit and Sphere of the Sun. He plays land and passes. I drop little Jace and draw. He plays Phyrexian Revoker and calls Jace Beleren. Damn. I play Tezzeret and dig. He plays land, Tumble Magnet and passes. I play Kuldotha Forgemaster, which he Doom Blades EOT. I basically have a dead Jace on board and in hand because I cannot actually kill the Revoker. I keep making artifacts 5/5 and swing until I drain my own Tez. He goes, "Let me guess. You have another Tezzeret in hand?” I drop Tez and dig for a Forgemaster. I stick the Forgemaster and pass. He plays a land and passes with no action. I draw, play land, play Tumble Magnet and pass. He plays a land and passes. I EOT his Tumble Magnet then EOT Forgemaster for Blightsteel and he scoops.
Game 2: He is shaking his head the whole time since he had a Jace the Mindsculptor in his grip the entire time, which probably would have won him the game since the only thing I have against a Jace is Ratchet Bomb (or beat it down). This game isn’t even fair. I am able to clog the board enough with Tez and Jace and Forgemaster. I can stick Tumble Magnets for days but when he hits double Precursor Golem it spells the end of my game and we are one to Game 3 with 10 minutes left.
Game 3: With only 10 minutes left we know we will go to time on this game. Danny exclaims, “I’m going aggro on you brother!” He sides back in more Pre-Cursors and Phyrexian Revokers I’m sure. I take out some discard action for 3 Wurmcoil Engines hoping to ramp into them.
We both go Tarpit and I go ramp spell. He goes Clasp and passes. I go Tez and dig. I realize when time is called that going for a 5/5 would have been the optimal play since the following turn Danny goes Revoker set to Tezzeret. FML. I smack him with my Tarpit for a few turns while he tags me with a Revoker as I Magnet his Tarpit and we go to a draw.
We decided to roll for the win and he got it. No biggie. He got paired up with this rogue deck builder named George who SMASHED him with his Red-Green Aggro deck. It was a slaughter. Had I got the win I would have played that. No thanks.
Round 5: Christian with Pyromancers Ascension combo. This is the last round and really being 2-1-1 but taking the 2-2 I got super paired down since many players drop at this point. Christian is 1-3. He’s a good kid that needs to learn a lot to become a better player. Padawan anyone?
Game 1: I get a Ratchet Bomb and set it to 2 for his Ascension action that he never gets online. I eventually ramp and ramp into Kuldotha Forgemaster as he continues to dig and bolt me trying to get his combo going. Next turn I tutor out Blightsteel and he scoops.
Game 2: He sideboards nothing as I side in the 4th Ratchet Bomb and the balance of my Duresses to snag his action early. Doesn’t matter as I ramp and ramp into Tezzeret and start being him down with 5/5 Inkmoth Nexus for a few turns.
Christian is a good kid but has tons to learn about the game. Like he never left mana open for EOT or response effects. He could easily have killed my Inkmoths or countered Tez had he left mana open. Shrugs.
All in all it was a fun night of FNM. As I write this it’s a week later. Another FNM has passed that I could have played in but didn’t want to deal with driving to Tampa. Tezzeret is a superr fun deck with tons of options and outs. I really like the Infect plan as odd as that is to say. One-hit Wonder Blightsteel is the way to go. In no match up did I ever have the same kill two games in a row. Either it was Blightsteel, ultimating Tez, Inkmoth beat down, Mindslaver, Forgemaster into Battlesphere, etc. Good times to be had.
By the time I’m done writing my mind is set on playing in SCG Orlando Open Series. I think Red Deck Wins will be a good option because people will be going Phyrexian Mana crazy since it will be the first even that NPH (Neil Patrick Harris? LOL) is legal. At a large event like a Standard Open with maybe 400-500 players, playing Red Deck Wins will feel comfortable. Funny how when I started getting back into Standard RDW was the first deck I tried then graduated up to other archetypes. Now I’m back where I started, throwing Lightning Bolts at a ninja’s face. Can’t wait. Plus, the deck is super easy to build.
Other options include: Valakut with Beast Within added, Boros (not a real deck anymore L), BR Vampires (which is my second option), Big Red or GW Vengevine action. I doubt I’ll be able to test since I don’t know anyone.
Til next time! I’ll have at least one more FNM to play then SCG Orlando. Funny story too: my cousin asked if I wanted to do a family Moffit 5K run for cancer. I initially said yes. She’d run for her dad. My other cuzo would naturally run in honor of his mom (my aunt) and I’d run in honor of my brother (who died 11-12 years ago of cancer). But I realize that playing in the Magic tournament would probably be more honoring for my brother in a 5K since he was the one that got me addicted to this dumbass game more then 15 years ago. Hopefully I won’t completely scrub out.
My next blog will probably be some deck ideas with NPH added. Beast Within should probably be in EVERY deck. Peace out my ninjas!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Inconceivable!!!
"I don't think this word means what you think it means?"
Yeah, I rarely get to rock the cards these days.
Back to Back FNMs?!? Unheard of!...well, at least for me.
I haven't been rocking the cards that much since moving down to the Flo.Rida. So back to back FNMs is crazy for me. Last FNM I rocked Valakut and sat through 4 rounds of grueling matches all going to time, expect for round 1 which was against Infect.
I decided that I wanted to be the beatdown so I had a choice of which aggressive deck I wanted to do battle with: Boros, Vampires or Quest.
Boros was a good choice because it has explosive starts, isn't weak to too many hate cards, and has good reach. Vampires is much the same but is weak to mass removal but makes up for it with a pimp combo with Highborns and Bloodghasts. Vamps also has tons of reach with burn, the built in combo, 12 dual lands, and the all-star of the deck: Dark Tutelage. Quest is also explosive, has a great combo that causes dudes to scoop on turn 2 or 3 and has good mana with access to 12 dual lands.
Vampires, although a good deck, sometimes doesn't get there if you don't draw Dark Tutelage or Kalastria Highborn. Plus, I didn't have enough of the good sideboard cards to fight that evening.
Quest is gangster as hell and can blow up on an opponent's face. It has excellent draws that force people to scoop BUT if it doesn't get the Argentum Armor combo OR the Fauna Shaman/Vengevine combo, its a terrible, horrible, GHASTLY weenie white deck. Blah.
Despite the off colored Red and White with no dual lands...I played Boros. Boros can get there and I had tons of cards for my sideboard.
Here's what I rocked last Friday night:
Steppe Lynx x 4
Plated Geopede x 4
Goblin Guide x 4
Squadron Hawk x 4
Stoneforger Mystic x 3
Mirran Crusader x 2
Hero of Oxid Ridge x 2
Lightning Bolt x 4
Journey to Nowhere x 2
Arc Trail x 2
Koth of the Hammer x 1
Adventuring Gear x 2
Sword of Body and Mind x 1
Bonehoard x 1
Scalding Tarn x 4
Arid Mesa x 4
Marsh Flats x 4
Terramorphic Expanse x 3
Mountain x 5
Plains x 5
Sideboard:
Cunning Sparkmage x 4
Sword of Feast and Famine x 1
Basilisk Collar x 1
Journey to Nowhere x 2
Goblin Ruinblaster x 4
Koth of the Hammer x 1
Mark of Mutiny x 2
I decided to just throw a board together but looked at the Paul Rietlz list from PT Paris for ideas. I basically just toss some crap together, worrying about creature heavy decks, Valakut and Caw Blade.
Before getting into the report a little narrative to the night is in order. I was initally planning on going to Armada Games in Tampa because I knew that Coliseum of Comics (where I normally FNM) was having Draft since I rocked FNM last Friday with Valakut. I decided to stop by just to see what Edward had in the case. I had a little time and the drive to Tampa is fairly quick. As I walked in I saw that Mike was already there and Standard was on the docket for FNM. Awesome.
I talked to Mike for a while and picked up some cards to update my Boros build (which, in hindsight I think weakened the deck for me). Prior to picking up Mirran Crusaders, Hero of Oxid Ridge and a third Stoneforger, my decklist was mana light at 24 and curved to 3 (technically 4 with Bonehoard but that usually gets in with Mystic). Basically I got greedy and wanted to rock Koth and Hero, both with double red AND I wanted to play Mirran Crusader at double white. Damn. Let me explain why. Koth is the nuts. Its basically a 4/4 haster that if not dealt with will end games even if the deck only has 5 mountains in it. Hero does a good job of getting around Walls, Hawks, and opposing Mystics. Plus, Hero can close out games extremely quickly. If you know you have the Hero in hand and can curve to 4 consecutively you will win that game. Imagine this line of play. Turn 1 Lynx. Turn 2 Plated Geopede. Turn 3 Goblin Guide. Turn 4 Hero of Oxid Ridge (and all those turns had double landfall triggers). You win. It's insane. Mirran Crusader I thought was good because imagine equipping a Bonehoard to Crusader in the mid to late game. He swings TWICE. Good game.
The problem that I found with all my deck changes was this: I got greedy with the mana and found myself light or color screwed a few games. If I kept my original plans with Kor Skyfishers to pick up Tettering Peaks and Stoneforgers along with equipped up Spikeshot Elders, I think I would have done infinitely better. In prior testing I ran out a Mystic and tutored a Sword. The next turn drop the Sword with Mystic's activated ability then picked her up with Skyfisher for EVEN MORE card advantage the following turn. Its sick really. And Spikeshot, double equppied ends games with a bit of reach the deck had lost. Plus, the converted mana costs was down, I ran only 24 lands, I had more 1-drops and no double reds or whites. I wish I didn't get greedy.
A quick aside: I really miss playing casually with all my fun decks and with the playgroup back home. Those guys made the game super fun for me. Grinding out FNMs is fun, but can really make me HATE this game. But its my only time to play. Damn.
Before the tourney I played a few games with Ian and Mike, a couple of the players I've befriended. I let Ian rock my Boros deck so I can run Vampires. I went 2-1 then 1-2 in that matchup but had fun with Vamps. Vamps is such a good deck versus aggro matchups. I played Mike with my Jank Mono-Black Control deck and lost to his Cawblade that he used to like Top 32 or something at a TCG 5K in Miami. More on the Caw Blade matchup later.
Round 1: Flavio playing GW Quest 1-1-1
Flavio is kid I've played casually a few times before. Regardless of only starting a few months ago, he is a very tight player and knows his shit. He has a very casual and loose play style but I think that actually masks how good of a player he truly is. He actually threw together a GW Quest deck and I actually let him borrow the namesake of the deck itself: Quest for Holy Relic since I wasn't planning on playing mine.
Game 1 is ridiculous. This game goes about 30 minutes, him with no Quest and me with no landfall dudes. But both of us kept dropping Squadron Hawks. He even couldn't get a Vengevine plan going. I ended up grinding the win with Hawks, Mystics and Bonehoard. I kept putting him on awkward blocks until my Sworded up protected birds could get there. Bonehoard gave +9/+9 by the time I won.
Game 2 I curve out pretty well and get a great start putting him on early blocks with his artifact dudes. He gets a Quest active at 3 counters and Fauna Shaman pitches Vengevine. I drop a Mystic and tutor Bonehoard again and it looks very good for me considering I have Hero of Oxid Ridge in hand. When I swing with a Feast and Famined hawk he pitches Vengevine. At this point I was tapped out but would win next turn when I Mystic in Bonehoard and Equip on my Hawk. Doesn't happen. He proceeds to pitch another Vengevine with Shaman, and play Skyfisher on his Thopter (which he didn't chump with) and replay Thopter to trigger double Vengevines AND Argentum Armor off the Quest. He slams into me for like 14 and destroys my sword. Bringing back his Vengevines puts him out of reach because Bonehoard becomes weaker. I proceed to lose that game at time.
Game 3 we decide to just draw but play it through. Unfortunately for me I think I have the game well in hand when Edward calls time and I take the draw. Also unfortunately for me, Mike and Ian actually drew as well and I get paired up with Mike playing the monster of the format: Caw Blade.
Round 2: Mike playing Caw-Blade 1-2
Caw Blade is the best deck in Standard since it dominated PT Paris and won SCG Open in DC. Its basically a midrange styled deck that plays either aggro versus control and control versus aggro. The original deck conceived by the Japanese at Worlds last year made Top 8 in the hands of Hall of Famer Brian Kibler. With the addition of Stoneforgers and Swords has pushed the strategy over the top and gave the deck exactually what it needed: additional untap steps. The deck is oozing with card advantage and getting to untap lands after a Sword of Feast and Famine strike (plus discarding a card) is amazing since it now has mana to bring in more equipment or counter spells. Mike is very good player since his return to the game 7 months ago (I played him his first FNM back when he played a budget version of that season's best deck: Jund). Mike and I have played casually since then, me just throwing janky Standard decks together and him, his powers growing rapidly.
Game 1 I'm on the draw and proceed to curve out pretty well with Lynx, Goblin Guides and Geopedes. I'm able to get some Swords down while he plays defense. Journey to Nowhere on a Mystic takes some tempo away from him. I have to grind out a win past Jace but eventually get there. Mike was still boarded from the previous round though so some cards he had out would have been good game 1 but I don't know what those cards were.
Game 2 is a long drawn out game with him Ousting and Condemning my Goblin Guide and my Geopede. That basically shuts me down. I was able to get some Hawks going with Swords off of Mystics. Luckily Boros can play Caw Blade too. He drops Gideon and proceeds to let my dudes beat on him for 3-4 turns and gets him to 1 loyalty while he digs for a Day of Judgement. In my defense I was stuck on 2 lands for a while and then 3 lands: 2 Mountains and Plains with 2 Mirran Crusaders, Koth and 2 Oxid Ridges in hand. I never got the 4th land or 2nd plains as The Superfriends, Jace and Gideon got there. Tough beat. I feel that the 3cc to 4cc curve is bad for the deck. I was rocking 25 lands and was mana screwed. Had I stuck with my old version I think I could have taken that game. At the same time, had I hit the 4th land on turn 4 I think my hand had enough gas and reach to get past Gideon sooner and win prior to DoJ going off. Shrugs. Game 3 with only 9 minutes to go.
Game 3 is similar to game 2. I get stuck on 3 lands for the entire game and a timely Day of Judgement rocks my world. I still have gas with Hawks and Stoneforgers but my missed land drops don't help as Mike proceeds to hit all his land drops with the help of Preordains, turn 5 Jace, turn 6 Gideon, turn 7 Baneslayer. Good game. I really don't want to blame manascrew since its part of the game. I rocked enough lands it just didn't happen for those two games. Again, in hindsight, had I kept my original build I think I would have operated with just 2-3 lands and could have competed more in these losses.
Oh well. I'm 0-1-1.
Round 3: Gabe playing UB Homebrew 2-0
This dude is new to the game as well but doesn't have the same swagger that the other kid, Flavio has. Gabe still plays very noobish and is rocking an interesting, yet suboptimal deck. His first mistake is playing a deck that's half Blue but has 0% Jace the Mind Sculptor. Notice, whenever I do an FNM report, I never play Blue because I don't have any JACES. Don't play Blue if you don't have the best card in the format. Its like playing Faeries without Bitterblossoms. Jund without Bloodbraid. Naya Lightsabre without Vengevines, UG Survival without Survival of the Fittest. JUST DON'T DO IT. If you're going to play Standand and want to play Blue, you must be playing Jace. If you're not you're most likely 99% wrong (albiet Ali Andrazi (sp?) used only 2 in his Mono-Blue Thrummingbird deck to a Top 8 finish).
Game 1: I know he has some Jank combo with Shape Anew into Blightsteel Colossus so I try to play accordingly. I know this to be a fact when he plays Trinket Mage into Everflowing Chalice. I think he's about to combo turn 3 when he ultimately doesn't. I curve out properly and just get there with the beatdown strategy mixed with some Sword action and we're on to game 2. I think he dropped Abyssal Persecutor at some point that I Journey to Nowhere. This prompts me to side in Mark of Mutiny and more Journies.
Game 2 I admittedly play loose this game and am already thinking about the next round. I have a Journey, a Geopede and a Mark in hand as he Inquisitions me and steals my landfaller. I stick some Hawks and Stoneforger for a Sword. He sticks an Abyssal Persecutor full well knowing I have the Mark in my hand. I think I'm going to outrace him with the Oxid Ridge in my hand. He proceeds to Mana Leak it and there goes my win condition. I take some Abyssal beatings for a few turns and have him dead to rights the next turn after I drop him to 4. I was at 18 after some fetching and due to two Abyssal strikes I'm at 6 as he swings into me dropping me to 0 but with Persecutor he can't win. The moment he hits me I know he has the removal and a totally fucking punt this game away since I could have blocked with a Hawk, gone to 1 and counterstriked for lethal. I ask, "Go for the Throat?" He shakes his head, No. Into the Roil his Persecutor and I lose the game. Damn.
Game 3 I play tight as I can and curve out exactly as the deck should. I hit all my landfall triggers, don't pop fetches when he chumps for maximum damage. He even questioned an equipped Adventuring Gear, Landfall trigger, re-equip to another creature, crack fetch for landfall trigger. I explain that I do this for a few reasons: for him to rethink his blocks, since he had a Persecutor out, and me spread the damage around to maximize my reach. I take the game as we go to time. Whew.
I'm 1-1-1. The Trifecta.
Round 4: Christian playing UB Infect Homebrew 2-0
I've played this kid before a few FNMs ago. He was the kid that sacced all his gangster cards for a Pyromancer's Ascension deck you could build for $20. He's a good kid but has tons to learn still. He's playing some homebrew that I don't even want to get into.
Game 1 he plays Forest and an Llanowar Elf. I immediately think Elves but don't burn the Arc Trail in my hand. I just play my landfallers and swing into him. When he sticks some jank Infect dude I 2-for-1 his dudes and get in there with Geopede, Lynx and Goblin Guide for the win.
Game 2: See game 1 but to make it worse he kept a one land hand.
2-1-1 and I get like 6th place. Surprise surprise, Mike takes first place with the best deck in the format, and the room. The only other Tier 1 deck I saw in the room was my own and GW Quest (built suboptimally but played well). Mike's final match for First Place came down to game 3 with Mike letting the other undefeated kid misplay like a motherfucker. The kid most likely had Mike dead to rights with an Alpha Strike on Gideon and would have finished off next turn but the kid misplayed a Brave the Elements. He should have played Brave the Elements then attacked which would have given his team Protection from White and no blockers could have been assigned. Instead he attacked and then cast the Brave. Mike sweet talked some "pass the priority" rules lingo, which ultimately confused the kid and let Mike Jedi Mind Trick him instead of backpedalling and playing it proper. With the passing of priority it allowed Mike to assign blockers, which meant although the kid's guys were protected, were ultimately blocked. But I probably would have done the same thing had it come down to Game 3 for First Place. In a learning situation, I would back up the gamestate, explain to the kid what he should have done and allowed it to be played proper. Fuck it. I would have done the same thing. We explained it to him after the kid lost a long and drawn out game. I bet he'll never allow that shit to happen again.
All in all a fun time for Boros but I think I want to tweak the deck more for the future. Things I learned: Hero of Oxid Ridge is not the tits. Not once did I cast him FTW. Nor is Mirran Crusader. I sided out Crusader in EVERY match. There is no optimal time to play the Crusader. At three mana you want to be casting or flashing in a Sword not over extending. But I'll just have to tweak and test. Then maybe give Boros another run.
But, an old school player took down an SCG Open with fucking Red Deck Wins, so maybe I'll sleeve up the old burn spells and give it a proper whirl next FNM. Searing Blaze with fetches is money as hell. Best 2-for-1 spell next to Arc Trail.
There is also a GW Aggro deck called Jumanji I wouldn't minding testing. But I'd have to take apart Quest to do so. We'll see.
Until next time fellow nerds...
"Anybody want a peanut?"
Yeah, I rarely get to rock the cards these days.
Back to Back FNMs?!? Unheard of!...well, at least for me.
I haven't been rocking the cards that much since moving down to the Flo.Rida. So back to back FNMs is crazy for me. Last FNM I rocked Valakut and sat through 4 rounds of grueling matches all going to time, expect for round 1 which was against Infect.
I decided that I wanted to be the beatdown so I had a choice of which aggressive deck I wanted to do battle with: Boros, Vampires or Quest.
Boros was a good choice because it has explosive starts, isn't weak to too many hate cards, and has good reach. Vampires is much the same but is weak to mass removal but makes up for it with a pimp combo with Highborns and Bloodghasts. Vamps also has tons of reach with burn, the built in combo, 12 dual lands, and the all-star of the deck: Dark Tutelage. Quest is also explosive, has a great combo that causes dudes to scoop on turn 2 or 3 and has good mana with access to 12 dual lands.
Vampires, although a good deck, sometimes doesn't get there if you don't draw Dark Tutelage or Kalastria Highborn. Plus, I didn't have enough of the good sideboard cards to fight that evening.
Quest is gangster as hell and can blow up on an opponent's face. It has excellent draws that force people to scoop BUT if it doesn't get the Argentum Armor combo OR the Fauna Shaman/Vengevine combo, its a terrible, horrible, GHASTLY weenie white deck. Blah.
Despite the off colored Red and White with no dual lands...I played Boros. Boros can get there and I had tons of cards for my sideboard.
Here's what I rocked last Friday night:
Steppe Lynx x 4
Plated Geopede x 4
Goblin Guide x 4
Squadron Hawk x 4
Stoneforger Mystic x 3
Mirran Crusader x 2
Hero of Oxid Ridge x 2
Lightning Bolt x 4
Journey to Nowhere x 2
Arc Trail x 2
Koth of the Hammer x 1
Adventuring Gear x 2
Sword of Body and Mind x 1
Bonehoard x 1
Scalding Tarn x 4
Arid Mesa x 4
Marsh Flats x 4
Terramorphic Expanse x 3
Mountain x 5
Plains x 5
Sideboard:
Cunning Sparkmage x 4
Sword of Feast and Famine x 1
Basilisk Collar x 1
Journey to Nowhere x 2
Goblin Ruinblaster x 4
Koth of the Hammer x 1
Mark of Mutiny x 2
I decided to just throw a board together but looked at the Paul Rietlz list from PT Paris for ideas. I basically just toss some crap together, worrying about creature heavy decks, Valakut and Caw Blade.
Before getting into the report a little narrative to the night is in order. I was initally planning on going to Armada Games in Tampa because I knew that Coliseum of Comics (where I normally FNM) was having Draft since I rocked FNM last Friday with Valakut. I decided to stop by just to see what Edward had in the case. I had a little time and the drive to Tampa is fairly quick. As I walked in I saw that Mike was already there and Standard was on the docket for FNM. Awesome.
I talked to Mike for a while and picked up some cards to update my Boros build (which, in hindsight I think weakened the deck for me). Prior to picking up Mirran Crusaders, Hero of Oxid Ridge and a third Stoneforger, my decklist was mana light at 24 and curved to 3 (technically 4 with Bonehoard but that usually gets in with Mystic). Basically I got greedy and wanted to rock Koth and Hero, both with double red AND I wanted to play Mirran Crusader at double white. Damn. Let me explain why. Koth is the nuts. Its basically a 4/4 haster that if not dealt with will end games even if the deck only has 5 mountains in it. Hero does a good job of getting around Walls, Hawks, and opposing Mystics. Plus, Hero can close out games extremely quickly. If you know you have the Hero in hand and can curve to 4 consecutively you will win that game. Imagine this line of play. Turn 1 Lynx. Turn 2 Plated Geopede. Turn 3 Goblin Guide. Turn 4 Hero of Oxid Ridge (and all those turns had double landfall triggers). You win. It's insane. Mirran Crusader I thought was good because imagine equipping a Bonehoard to Crusader in the mid to late game. He swings TWICE. Good game.
The problem that I found with all my deck changes was this: I got greedy with the mana and found myself light or color screwed a few games. If I kept my original plans with Kor Skyfishers to pick up Tettering Peaks and Stoneforgers along with equipped up Spikeshot Elders, I think I would have done infinitely better. In prior testing I ran out a Mystic and tutored a Sword. The next turn drop the Sword with Mystic's activated ability then picked her up with Skyfisher for EVEN MORE card advantage the following turn. Its sick really. And Spikeshot, double equppied ends games with a bit of reach the deck had lost. Plus, the converted mana costs was down, I ran only 24 lands, I had more 1-drops and no double reds or whites. I wish I didn't get greedy.
A quick aside: I really miss playing casually with all my fun decks and with the playgroup back home. Those guys made the game super fun for me. Grinding out FNMs is fun, but can really make me HATE this game. But its my only time to play. Damn.
Before the tourney I played a few games with Ian and Mike, a couple of the players I've befriended. I let Ian rock my Boros deck so I can run Vampires. I went 2-1 then 1-2 in that matchup but had fun with Vamps. Vamps is such a good deck versus aggro matchups. I played Mike with my Jank Mono-Black Control deck and lost to his Cawblade that he used to like Top 32 or something at a TCG 5K in Miami. More on the Caw Blade matchup later.
Round 1: Flavio playing GW Quest 1-1-1
Flavio is kid I've played casually a few times before. Regardless of only starting a few months ago, he is a very tight player and knows his shit. He has a very casual and loose play style but I think that actually masks how good of a player he truly is. He actually threw together a GW Quest deck and I actually let him borrow the namesake of the deck itself: Quest for Holy Relic since I wasn't planning on playing mine.
Game 1 is ridiculous. This game goes about 30 minutes, him with no Quest and me with no landfall dudes. But both of us kept dropping Squadron Hawks. He even couldn't get a Vengevine plan going. I ended up grinding the win with Hawks, Mystics and Bonehoard. I kept putting him on awkward blocks until my Sworded up protected birds could get there. Bonehoard gave +9/+9 by the time I won.
Game 2 I curve out pretty well and get a great start putting him on early blocks with his artifact dudes. He gets a Quest active at 3 counters and Fauna Shaman pitches Vengevine. I drop a Mystic and tutor Bonehoard again and it looks very good for me considering I have Hero of Oxid Ridge in hand. When I swing with a Feast and Famined hawk he pitches Vengevine. At this point I was tapped out but would win next turn when I Mystic in Bonehoard and Equip on my Hawk. Doesn't happen. He proceeds to pitch another Vengevine with Shaman, and play Skyfisher on his Thopter (which he didn't chump with) and replay Thopter to trigger double Vengevines AND Argentum Armor off the Quest. He slams into me for like 14 and destroys my sword. Bringing back his Vengevines puts him out of reach because Bonehoard becomes weaker. I proceed to lose that game at time.
Game 3 we decide to just draw but play it through. Unfortunately for me I think I have the game well in hand when Edward calls time and I take the draw. Also unfortunately for me, Mike and Ian actually drew as well and I get paired up with Mike playing the monster of the format: Caw Blade.
Round 2: Mike playing Caw-Blade 1-2
Caw Blade is the best deck in Standard since it dominated PT Paris and won SCG Open in DC. Its basically a midrange styled deck that plays either aggro versus control and control versus aggro. The original deck conceived by the Japanese at Worlds last year made Top 8 in the hands of Hall of Famer Brian Kibler. With the addition of Stoneforgers and Swords has pushed the strategy over the top and gave the deck exactually what it needed: additional untap steps. The deck is oozing with card advantage and getting to untap lands after a Sword of Feast and Famine strike (plus discarding a card) is amazing since it now has mana to bring in more equipment or counter spells. Mike is very good player since his return to the game 7 months ago (I played him his first FNM back when he played a budget version of that season's best deck: Jund). Mike and I have played casually since then, me just throwing janky Standard decks together and him, his powers growing rapidly.
Game 1 I'm on the draw and proceed to curve out pretty well with Lynx, Goblin Guides and Geopedes. I'm able to get some Swords down while he plays defense. Journey to Nowhere on a Mystic takes some tempo away from him. I have to grind out a win past Jace but eventually get there. Mike was still boarded from the previous round though so some cards he had out would have been good game 1 but I don't know what those cards were.
Game 2 is a long drawn out game with him Ousting and Condemning my Goblin Guide and my Geopede. That basically shuts me down. I was able to get some Hawks going with Swords off of Mystics. Luckily Boros can play Caw Blade too. He drops Gideon and proceeds to let my dudes beat on him for 3-4 turns and gets him to 1 loyalty while he digs for a Day of Judgement. In my defense I was stuck on 2 lands for a while and then 3 lands: 2 Mountains and Plains with 2 Mirran Crusaders, Koth and 2 Oxid Ridges in hand. I never got the 4th land or 2nd plains as The Superfriends, Jace and Gideon got there. Tough beat. I feel that the 3cc to 4cc curve is bad for the deck. I was rocking 25 lands and was mana screwed. Had I stuck with my old version I think I could have taken that game. At the same time, had I hit the 4th land on turn 4 I think my hand had enough gas and reach to get past Gideon sooner and win prior to DoJ going off. Shrugs. Game 3 with only 9 minutes to go.
Game 3 is similar to game 2. I get stuck on 3 lands for the entire game and a timely Day of Judgement rocks my world. I still have gas with Hawks and Stoneforgers but my missed land drops don't help as Mike proceeds to hit all his land drops with the help of Preordains, turn 5 Jace, turn 6 Gideon, turn 7 Baneslayer. Good game. I really don't want to blame manascrew since its part of the game. I rocked enough lands it just didn't happen for those two games. Again, in hindsight, had I kept my original build I think I would have operated with just 2-3 lands and could have competed more in these losses.
Oh well. I'm 0-1-1.
Round 3: Gabe playing UB Homebrew 2-0
This dude is new to the game as well but doesn't have the same swagger that the other kid, Flavio has. Gabe still plays very noobish and is rocking an interesting, yet suboptimal deck. His first mistake is playing a deck that's half Blue but has 0% Jace the Mind Sculptor. Notice, whenever I do an FNM report, I never play Blue because I don't have any JACES. Don't play Blue if you don't have the best card in the format. Its like playing Faeries without Bitterblossoms. Jund without Bloodbraid. Naya Lightsabre without Vengevines, UG Survival without Survival of the Fittest. JUST DON'T DO IT. If you're going to play Standand and want to play Blue, you must be playing Jace. If you're not you're most likely 99% wrong (albiet Ali Andrazi (sp?) used only 2 in his Mono-Blue Thrummingbird deck to a Top 8 finish).
Game 1: I know he has some Jank combo with Shape Anew into Blightsteel Colossus so I try to play accordingly. I know this to be a fact when he plays Trinket Mage into Everflowing Chalice. I think he's about to combo turn 3 when he ultimately doesn't. I curve out properly and just get there with the beatdown strategy mixed with some Sword action and we're on to game 2. I think he dropped Abyssal Persecutor at some point that I Journey to Nowhere. This prompts me to side in Mark of Mutiny and more Journies.
Game 2 I admittedly play loose this game and am already thinking about the next round. I have a Journey, a Geopede and a Mark in hand as he Inquisitions me and steals my landfaller. I stick some Hawks and Stoneforger for a Sword. He sticks an Abyssal Persecutor full well knowing I have the Mark in my hand. I think I'm going to outrace him with the Oxid Ridge in my hand. He proceeds to Mana Leak it and there goes my win condition. I take some Abyssal beatings for a few turns and have him dead to rights the next turn after I drop him to 4. I was at 18 after some fetching and due to two Abyssal strikes I'm at 6 as he swings into me dropping me to 0 but with Persecutor he can't win. The moment he hits me I know he has the removal and a totally fucking punt this game away since I could have blocked with a Hawk, gone to 1 and counterstriked for lethal. I ask, "Go for the Throat?" He shakes his head, No. Into the Roil his Persecutor and I lose the game. Damn.
Game 3 I play tight as I can and curve out exactly as the deck should. I hit all my landfall triggers, don't pop fetches when he chumps for maximum damage. He even questioned an equipped Adventuring Gear, Landfall trigger, re-equip to another creature, crack fetch for landfall trigger. I explain that I do this for a few reasons: for him to rethink his blocks, since he had a Persecutor out, and me spread the damage around to maximize my reach. I take the game as we go to time. Whew.
I'm 1-1-1. The Trifecta.
Round 4: Christian playing UB Infect Homebrew 2-0
I've played this kid before a few FNMs ago. He was the kid that sacced all his gangster cards for a Pyromancer's Ascension deck you could build for $20. He's a good kid but has tons to learn still. He's playing some homebrew that I don't even want to get into.
Game 1 he plays Forest and an Llanowar Elf. I immediately think Elves but don't burn the Arc Trail in my hand. I just play my landfallers and swing into him. When he sticks some jank Infect dude I 2-for-1 his dudes and get in there with Geopede, Lynx and Goblin Guide for the win.
Game 2: See game 1 but to make it worse he kept a one land hand.
2-1-1 and I get like 6th place. Surprise surprise, Mike takes first place with the best deck in the format, and the room. The only other Tier 1 deck I saw in the room was my own and GW Quest (built suboptimally but played well). Mike's final match for First Place came down to game 3 with Mike letting the other undefeated kid misplay like a motherfucker. The kid most likely had Mike dead to rights with an Alpha Strike on Gideon and would have finished off next turn but the kid misplayed a Brave the Elements. He should have played Brave the Elements then attacked which would have given his team Protection from White and no blockers could have been assigned. Instead he attacked and then cast the Brave. Mike sweet talked some "pass the priority" rules lingo, which ultimately confused the kid and let Mike Jedi Mind Trick him instead of backpedalling and playing it proper. With the passing of priority it allowed Mike to assign blockers, which meant although the kid's guys were protected, were ultimately blocked. But I probably would have done the same thing had it come down to Game 3 for First Place. In a learning situation, I would back up the gamestate, explain to the kid what he should have done and allowed it to be played proper. Fuck it. I would have done the same thing. We explained it to him after the kid lost a long and drawn out game. I bet he'll never allow that shit to happen again.
All in all a fun time for Boros but I think I want to tweak the deck more for the future. Things I learned: Hero of Oxid Ridge is not the tits. Not once did I cast him FTW. Nor is Mirran Crusader. I sided out Crusader in EVERY match. There is no optimal time to play the Crusader. At three mana you want to be casting or flashing in a Sword not over extending. But I'll just have to tweak and test. Then maybe give Boros another run.
But, an old school player took down an SCG Open with fucking Red Deck Wins, so maybe I'll sleeve up the old burn spells and give it a proper whirl next FNM. Searing Blaze with fetches is money as hell. Best 2-for-1 spell next to Arc Trail.
There is also a GW Aggro deck called Jumanji I wouldn't minding testing. But I'd have to take apart Quest to do so. We'll see.
Until next time fellow nerds...
"Anybody want a peanut?"
Friday, March 4, 2011
"You hear me hillbilly boy?–
I'm 'bout to get Primeval on your ass."
That about sums up an evening of FNM.
I couldn't decide on which deck to run since I had plenty of Tier 1 options: Valakut, Boros, BR Vampires, or GW Quest.
I settled on Valakut because I think its hilarious to get a Turn 3 or 4 Primeval and win next turn. Basically if you can untap with an active Primeval Titan, you win most of the time. The other reason I wanted to play it is because the consistency of the turn 3-4 Titan off the back of the turboland package: Lotus Cobra, Oracle of Mul Daya and ramp spells. Oracle is an all-star in a deck with 27 lands, hitting multiples off the top to ramp with Cobra is absurd. Also, if played properly, the mixture of fetchlands and shuffle effects helps even more. I don't know how many times I had Oracle out with a non-land card on top, played and cracked a fetch for a mountain, domed for 3-9, shuffled and hit another mountain off the top FTW. I found the other all-star in the build is Green Sun's Zenith. It is perfect for this deck. My only issue is it doesn't have the instant speed trickery that Summoning Trap afforded. But being able to tutor into play your win conditions is pretty good.
Here is the decklist I rocked:
Primeval Titan x 4
Overgrown Embattlement x 4
Lotus Cobra x 4
Oracle of Mul Daya x 3
Avenger of Zendikar x 2
Harrow x 4
Explore x 4
Khalni Heart Expedition x 4
Green Sun's Zenith x 4
Mountains x 11
Forests x 6
Misty Rainforests x 4
Terramorphic Expanse x 1
Evolving Wilds x 1
Valakut the Molten Pinnacle x 4
Sideboard:
Tumble Magnet x 3
Acidic Slime x 4
Pyroclasm x 4
Creeping Corrosion x 2
Ratchet Bomb x 2
Round 1: Logan playing Mono-Green Infect
I half expected to at least SEE some infect decks but never actually PLAY against an infect deck. Infect can be a powerful mechanic but I just don't respect a deck that is all in on ONLY one plan. If you can't infect them out you lose. I don't like nor respect that. There are plenty of aggro decks that have a Plan B, i.e. Boros: if the fast turn 4-5 kill doesn't happen there is the Spikeshot equip or Koth Emblem back-up plan, BR Vampires has enough reach to get there OR the nice Highborn/Bloodghast rebuy combo works too, GW Quest doesn't NEED to have Armor up because it has the 4 Vengevines in the graveyard Plan B, etc. Infect just needs to Infect. That's lame. Just like I think Kuldotha Red is lame. If you don't turn 2-3 kill then your game is done. That being said...
Game 1: He wins the die roll and goes Forest Infiltrator Lens. I immediately think I'm playing a noob. I'm half right. I ask him how long he's been playing. He says, "Since December of last year." Yeah, that's like 2 months ago. I play Valakut and pass. He plays Inkmoth Nexus and Blightmamba. I make him on a derivative of Jacob Van Lunen's Mono-Green Infect. I play Forest Lotus Cobra. I plays a second Blightmamba and attacks. I don't block and he pumps. I'm at 4 poison. I go Cobra number two, Misty Rainforest, Harrow, sac a Forest and fetch a Mountain and drop a Primeval. It doesn't get any better then that. I bring in a Valakut and mountain. He plays Panic Spellbomb and makes my Titan unblockable. He swings and Giant Growths and uses the Landfall pumper for +4/+4. I die to poison sickness on his turn 4. Ouch.
I'm almost on Tilt.
Game 2: I sideout Avengers of Zendikar (which feel are too slow) and a mixture of ramp for 4 Pyroclasms. I draw and keep a Valakut, 3 Mountain, Explore, Oracle, mana Wall, hand and hope to hit a Forest. It doesn't matter. I'm poisoned out by turn 4 again.
Un-fucking-believable. I was super mad at myself because against my own judgement I took out the maindeck Lightning Bolt x 4 for a faster Titan clock Cobra ramp package. The day I don't play Lightning Bolt in a red deck it fucks me in the ass. FML. Logan, a tight player for sure, and not noobish (albeit dorky) ended up 4-1'ing as well and infecting out a lot of the players at my table. Ended up getting 3rd place with the budget Infect deck. Props (to a degree because I fucking hate infect).
Round 2: Aaron playing UW Control (Superfriends derivative)
Aaron (I'm like 85% sure that's his name) is a nice kid who I've stomped on before. When I first started playing FNMs again he was present at one of them. He played a horrible horrible discard deck with Liliana's caress and Spectres. So I was shocked to see Jace the Mindsculptor come down for him. But he's a good kid apparently a Level 1 judge and does all the local and area events at Phoenix. He is a decent player. I don't know if it's his play or his deck that makes him good. A Turn 0 Leyline can fuck up many the red decks.
Game1: He doesn't really do anything relevant this game but Journeys my Lotus Cobra. I play around blue and make sure not to walk into a Spell Pierce or even a Mana Leak. I quickly develop my mana and eventually stick a Primeval and finishe the game in short order. It wasn't even fair.
Game 2: I side in Acidic Slimes for control matchups because I like to slow them down by hitting their lands. I also know the sideboard tech for UW Control vs. Valakut is Leyline of Sanctity, which I think is a bitch move. Its such a little girl card it makes me sick. He Turn 0 Leylines (as expected), Island and Preordains. I play Valakut. And am praying for mana since I kept a mana light hand with 2 Acidic Slimes. He eventually sticks a Jace the Mind Sculptor and bounces my wall. I do some irrelevant things with Lotus Cobras and he fateseals me so I can't hit lands. I end up with two Titans and 3 Acidic Slimes in hand before I scoop to Sun Titan and Gideon Jura.
Game 3: This is a hard fought rubber game. He sticks turn 1 Leyline again and eventually gets a Jace. As he's tapped out I play a Green Sun's Zenith and hit his Leyline with an Acidic Slime. Later he told me he Scryed his second Leyline to the bottom the turn before I killed his first Leyline. He taps out again to play Sun Titan and I resolve a Primeval and just combo him out with a mixture of Oracle, Cobra snake, Khalni Heart, Terramorphic and Harrow. I really had the turboland engine running on all cylinders. I also used a Green Sun to get another Primeval and domed him for 24.
We played some friendly games afterwards and I rocked Boros. Turns out that Boros versus the traditional UW is a good matchup for the Aggro deck. I tried my best to not overcommit to the board and raced him before he could hit Sun Titan mana. I realized then that I should have played an aggro deck because I am better at that deck archetype. I really don't like drawn out and super long games that Valakut seems to come across.
Round 3: Frank playing Boros
Frank is a nice kid whom I played prior to the tourney starting. The last time I was at FNM he was the Boros deck that went 4-1 to take second as I tied for 1st at 4-0-1. During that tourney I didn't want to play against Boros because that is a horrible matchup for Eldrazi Green. We played a handful of games prior to the tourney starting so I got to know him a little. Thankfully he was half-baked so he made a few errors in my favor.
Game 1: Admittedly this is a very bad matchup for me. The Boros deck is too fast. Our first game takes 25 minutes as a contemplate a turn 3 with tons of gas and a Lotus Cobra out. With my shennanigans I'm able to Green Sun for an Oracle. He's beating me down with Lynx, Skyfisher, has a Feast and Famine out. We trade back and forth for a few turns. I resolve a Primeval but I'm at 7 life. If he can kill me or stop my Titan he wins. He is unable to too and a long drawn out game I win on turn 6 with Titan combo.
Game 2: Pyroclasms and Slimes went in. He hits the God draw of Turn 1 Lynx Turn 2 Geopede with Fetches on the following turn. I luckily have the Pyroclasm but am dangerously low at 7. I ramp like a mofo and stick a Titan with one Valakut out and a Valakut in hand (which I didn't play in order to crack fetches for optimal Cobra mana. Frank needs to kill me on his next turn or he's finished. He does hit a land but not a fetch, plays a Stoneforger for a Sword of Feast and Famine and swings into my team. I kill Lynx with Titan for fear of Lightning Bolt and first strike from the Geopede which I eat and go to 4. He's at 18 from a previous Cobra strike. I draw a Khalni Heart Expedition and play it, then my Valakut (1 counter on Expedition) then attack with my team. I hit with my team for 6 after he trades my Cobra for his Stoneforger. I bring in 2 mountains and double trigger (3 counters on Expedition) sack the Khalni Heart for 2 more mountains for the epic win no time left in the round.
Round 4: Tyler playing UB Control (Traditional version, non-Tezzeret aggro/combo)
I haven't played this kid before (kid? He was probably 21 - 22. That's a kid to me) but he seemed competent at Magic. I did feel he pulled the trigger on some removal too soon and didn't counter some ramp spells but all in all he put up a good battle.
Game 1: He is mana fucked and I am not. I Titan on his face. That's about how hit went. He is stuck on 4 lands for a while but I still play around Mana Leak and Spell Pierce because I don't want my Harrow to blow me out. He Disfigures and Go For the Throats my Cobra and Oracle but I eventually have something like 15 mana out doming him with mad Valakut triggers FTW.
Game 2: I side in Slimes to fuck with his mana even more and Tumble Magnets to shut down his Titans. He is still mana fucked but I still have to play around counters as he kills all my ramp guys. He hits Memoricide for my Primeval Titans. I sided out my alternate win condition, Avenger of Zendikar because I thought I could get there with Primevals. Mistake. I'm basically neutered but continue to play as I Slime his 5th land. I play draw go for a while as he sticks a Frosty and I scoop.
Game 3: I side back in the Avengers so I at least have an out if he can resolve a Memoricide. He does some Preordaining so fix his lands as I stick ramp guys that he eventually kills. I destroy two of his dual lands with a Green Sun for a Slime and a hardcast Slime. I want to race his Memoricide so I stick a turn 4 Titan after the first Slime. Oracle goes to work dropping land after land. He eventually clears my board, Go for the Throat on my Titan and his all-star, Black Sun's Zenith to clear my 2/2s.He never got a threat out. I get Valakut and 5 Mountains but am working off the top of my deck. He plays draw go while I play Forests and eventually get a Mountain to dome him for 3. I later draw a Harrow to finish him off.
It was a well fought match. Even though he wasn't able to stop me from comboing he did slow me down. If he didn't get stuck on lands he probably would have countered all my threats and stick a Frosty or Grave Titan. UB Control usually gains control and wins AFTER turn 10. It could have gone either way.
Round 5: John (we'll call him John since I forgot the kid's name) playing Mono-White Quest
This kid is really just a kid. Literally like 14 years old. He's playing the Quest deck but a White Weenie version, but not the updated Frank Karsten version with a Battle Cry back up plan. Since taking out all the red removal from my deck this is a bad matchup. What I wouldn't give for 4 maindeck Lightning Bolts and some Slagstorms.
Game 1: He has to mulligan to 6 while I keep my 7. He turn 2 Argentum Armors (me with no Bolts! Gah!!!) and we're on to game 2. Shit happens.
Game 2: I sideboard like a champ: Tumble Magents, Pyroclasms and Acidic Slime. He gets an early Armor but I have a Magnet to lock that equipped Ornithopter down for a few turns so I can ramp into a Slime to kill the Equipment. He also sticks a Sword of Vengeance on a Menmite which I have to take for a few turns while I was busy with the Armored Thopter, before I can stick a Wall to block it. I eventually kill all of his stuff with Green Sun's into Slime and Valakut FTW. Tumble Magnet was a champ in that game. It bought me enough time to build up to my combo.
Game 3: See Game 2. We go to time but I pull it out with a commanding board position late in the game as I dome him for 24 with Valakut triggers. I am able to crack fetches to keep the land coming in off of Oracle and I eventually combo out on him. Tumble Magnet and Acidic Slime were all-stars in this match up. I was also able to Pyroclasm to clear his team of little dudes early in this game.
4-1 for the evening as I get 4th with the same record as 2nd and 3rd places. I think 1st place went 5-0. All in all I was happy with all the games I played. Even the loss to Infect didn't put me on tilt because he ended up at 3rd with the same record. Every game I played I think I played like a champ. All the matches were difficult for me. As an Aggro/Combo deck, Valakut is difficult to pilot. You really have tough choices to make whether to ramp or try and slow your game down when it comes to sideboarding. I think I played it well enough though.
I got tons of fun play, an FNM foil which I traded for a Basilisk Collar and three packs of Besieged, getting a Massacre Wurm in the process. Not terrible.
Until next time...
That about sums up an evening of FNM.
I couldn't decide on which deck to run since I had plenty of Tier 1 options: Valakut, Boros, BR Vampires, or GW Quest.
I settled on Valakut because I think its hilarious to get a Turn 3 or 4 Primeval and win next turn. Basically if you can untap with an active Primeval Titan, you win most of the time. The other reason I wanted to play it is because the consistency of the turn 3-4 Titan off the back of the turboland package: Lotus Cobra, Oracle of Mul Daya and ramp spells. Oracle is an all-star in a deck with 27 lands, hitting multiples off the top to ramp with Cobra is absurd. Also, if played properly, the mixture of fetchlands and shuffle effects helps even more. I don't know how many times I had Oracle out with a non-land card on top, played and cracked a fetch for a mountain, domed for 3-9, shuffled and hit another mountain off the top FTW. I found the other all-star in the build is Green Sun's Zenith. It is perfect for this deck. My only issue is it doesn't have the instant speed trickery that Summoning Trap afforded. But being able to tutor into play your win conditions is pretty good.
Here is the decklist I rocked:
Primeval Titan x 4
Overgrown Embattlement x 4
Lotus Cobra x 4
Oracle of Mul Daya x 3
Avenger of Zendikar x 2
Harrow x 4
Explore x 4
Khalni Heart Expedition x 4
Green Sun's Zenith x 4
Mountains x 11
Forests x 6
Misty Rainforests x 4
Terramorphic Expanse x 1
Evolving Wilds x 1
Valakut the Molten Pinnacle x 4
Sideboard:
Tumble Magnet x 3
Acidic Slime x 4
Pyroclasm x 4
Creeping Corrosion x 2
Ratchet Bomb x 2
Round 1: Logan playing Mono-Green Infect
I half expected to at least SEE some infect decks but never actually PLAY against an infect deck. Infect can be a powerful mechanic but I just don't respect a deck that is all in on ONLY one plan. If you can't infect them out you lose. I don't like nor respect that. There are plenty of aggro decks that have a Plan B, i.e. Boros: if the fast turn 4-5 kill doesn't happen there is the Spikeshot equip or Koth Emblem back-up plan, BR Vampires has enough reach to get there OR the nice Highborn/Bloodghast rebuy combo works too, GW Quest doesn't NEED to have Armor up because it has the 4 Vengevines in the graveyard Plan B, etc. Infect just needs to Infect. That's lame. Just like I think Kuldotha Red is lame. If you don't turn 2-3 kill then your game is done. That being said...
Game 1: He wins the die roll and goes Forest Infiltrator Lens. I immediately think I'm playing a noob. I'm half right. I ask him how long he's been playing. He says, "Since December of last year." Yeah, that's like 2 months ago. I play Valakut and pass. He plays Inkmoth Nexus and Blightmamba. I make him on a derivative of Jacob Van Lunen's Mono-Green Infect. I play Forest Lotus Cobra. I plays a second Blightmamba and attacks. I don't block and he pumps. I'm at 4 poison. I go Cobra number two, Misty Rainforest, Harrow, sac a Forest and fetch a Mountain and drop a Primeval. It doesn't get any better then that. I bring in a Valakut and mountain. He plays Panic Spellbomb and makes my Titan unblockable. He swings and Giant Growths and uses the Landfall pumper for +4/+4. I die to poison sickness on his turn 4. Ouch.
I'm almost on Tilt.
Game 2: I sideout Avengers of Zendikar (which feel are too slow) and a mixture of ramp for 4 Pyroclasms. I draw and keep a Valakut, 3 Mountain, Explore, Oracle, mana Wall, hand and hope to hit a Forest. It doesn't matter. I'm poisoned out by turn 4 again.
Un-fucking-believable. I was super mad at myself because against my own judgement I took out the maindeck Lightning Bolt x 4 for a faster Titan clock Cobra ramp package. The day I don't play Lightning Bolt in a red deck it fucks me in the ass. FML. Logan, a tight player for sure, and not noobish (albeit dorky) ended up 4-1'ing as well and infecting out a lot of the players at my table. Ended up getting 3rd place with the budget Infect deck. Props (to a degree because I fucking hate infect).
Round 2: Aaron playing UW Control (Superfriends derivative)
Aaron (I'm like 85% sure that's his name) is a nice kid who I've stomped on before. When I first started playing FNMs again he was present at one of them. He played a horrible horrible discard deck with Liliana's caress and Spectres. So I was shocked to see Jace the Mindsculptor come down for him. But he's a good kid apparently a Level 1 judge and does all the local and area events at Phoenix. He is a decent player. I don't know if it's his play or his deck that makes him good. A Turn 0 Leyline can fuck up many the red decks.
Game1: He doesn't really do anything relevant this game but Journeys my Lotus Cobra. I play around blue and make sure not to walk into a Spell Pierce or even a Mana Leak. I quickly develop my mana and eventually stick a Primeval and finishe the game in short order. It wasn't even fair.
Game 2: I side in Acidic Slimes for control matchups because I like to slow them down by hitting their lands. I also know the sideboard tech for UW Control vs. Valakut is Leyline of Sanctity, which I think is a bitch move. Its such a little girl card it makes me sick. He Turn 0 Leylines (as expected), Island and Preordains. I play Valakut. And am praying for mana since I kept a mana light hand with 2 Acidic Slimes. He eventually sticks a Jace the Mind Sculptor and bounces my wall. I do some irrelevant things with Lotus Cobras and he fateseals me so I can't hit lands. I end up with two Titans and 3 Acidic Slimes in hand before I scoop to Sun Titan and Gideon Jura.
Game 3: This is a hard fought rubber game. He sticks turn 1 Leyline again and eventually gets a Jace. As he's tapped out I play a Green Sun's Zenith and hit his Leyline with an Acidic Slime. Later he told me he Scryed his second Leyline to the bottom the turn before I killed his first Leyline. He taps out again to play Sun Titan and I resolve a Primeval and just combo him out with a mixture of Oracle, Cobra snake, Khalni Heart, Terramorphic and Harrow. I really had the turboland engine running on all cylinders. I also used a Green Sun to get another Primeval and domed him for 24.
We played some friendly games afterwards and I rocked Boros. Turns out that Boros versus the traditional UW is a good matchup for the Aggro deck. I tried my best to not overcommit to the board and raced him before he could hit Sun Titan mana. I realized then that I should have played an aggro deck because I am better at that deck archetype. I really don't like drawn out and super long games that Valakut seems to come across.
Round 3: Frank playing Boros
Frank is a nice kid whom I played prior to the tourney starting. The last time I was at FNM he was the Boros deck that went 4-1 to take second as I tied for 1st at 4-0-1. During that tourney I didn't want to play against Boros because that is a horrible matchup for Eldrazi Green. We played a handful of games prior to the tourney starting so I got to know him a little. Thankfully he was half-baked so he made a few errors in my favor.
Game 1: Admittedly this is a very bad matchup for me. The Boros deck is too fast. Our first game takes 25 minutes as a contemplate a turn 3 with tons of gas and a Lotus Cobra out. With my shennanigans I'm able to Green Sun for an Oracle. He's beating me down with Lynx, Skyfisher, has a Feast and Famine out. We trade back and forth for a few turns. I resolve a Primeval but I'm at 7 life. If he can kill me or stop my Titan he wins. He is unable to too and a long drawn out game I win on turn 6 with Titan combo.
Game 2: Pyroclasms and Slimes went in. He hits the God draw of Turn 1 Lynx Turn 2 Geopede with Fetches on the following turn. I luckily have the Pyroclasm but am dangerously low at 7. I ramp like a mofo and stick a Titan with one Valakut out and a Valakut in hand (which I didn't play in order to crack fetches for optimal Cobra mana. Frank needs to kill me on his next turn or he's finished. He does hit a land but not a fetch, plays a Stoneforger for a Sword of Feast and Famine and swings into my team. I kill Lynx with Titan for fear of Lightning Bolt and first strike from the Geopede which I eat and go to 4. He's at 18 from a previous Cobra strike. I draw a Khalni Heart Expedition and play it, then my Valakut (1 counter on Expedition) then attack with my team. I hit with my team for 6 after he trades my Cobra for his Stoneforger. I bring in 2 mountains and double trigger (3 counters on Expedition) sack the Khalni Heart for 2 more mountains for the epic win no time left in the round.
Round 4: Tyler playing UB Control (Traditional version, non-Tezzeret aggro/combo)
I haven't played this kid before (kid? He was probably 21 - 22. That's a kid to me) but he seemed competent at Magic. I did feel he pulled the trigger on some removal too soon and didn't counter some ramp spells but all in all he put up a good battle.
Game 1: He is mana fucked and I am not. I Titan on his face. That's about how hit went. He is stuck on 4 lands for a while but I still play around Mana Leak and Spell Pierce because I don't want my Harrow to blow me out. He Disfigures and Go For the Throats my Cobra and Oracle but I eventually have something like 15 mana out doming him with mad Valakut triggers FTW.
Game 2: I side in Slimes to fuck with his mana even more and Tumble Magnets to shut down his Titans. He is still mana fucked but I still have to play around counters as he kills all my ramp guys. He hits Memoricide for my Primeval Titans. I sided out my alternate win condition, Avenger of Zendikar because I thought I could get there with Primevals. Mistake. I'm basically neutered but continue to play as I Slime his 5th land. I play draw go for a while as he sticks a Frosty and I scoop.
Game 3: I side back in the Avengers so I at least have an out if he can resolve a Memoricide. He does some Preordaining so fix his lands as I stick ramp guys that he eventually kills. I destroy two of his dual lands with a Green Sun for a Slime and a hardcast Slime. I want to race his Memoricide so I stick a turn 4 Titan after the first Slime. Oracle goes to work dropping land after land. He eventually clears my board, Go for the Throat on my Titan and his all-star, Black Sun's Zenith to clear my 2/2s.He never got a threat out. I get Valakut and 5 Mountains but am working off the top of my deck. He plays draw go while I play Forests and eventually get a Mountain to dome him for 3. I later draw a Harrow to finish him off.
It was a well fought match. Even though he wasn't able to stop me from comboing he did slow me down. If he didn't get stuck on lands he probably would have countered all my threats and stick a Frosty or Grave Titan. UB Control usually gains control and wins AFTER turn 10. It could have gone either way.
Round 5: John (we'll call him John since I forgot the kid's name) playing Mono-White Quest
This kid is really just a kid. Literally like 14 years old. He's playing the Quest deck but a White Weenie version, but not the updated Frank Karsten version with a Battle Cry back up plan. Since taking out all the red removal from my deck this is a bad matchup. What I wouldn't give for 4 maindeck Lightning Bolts and some Slagstorms.
Game 1: He has to mulligan to 6 while I keep my 7. He turn 2 Argentum Armors (me with no Bolts! Gah!!!) and we're on to game 2. Shit happens.
Game 2: I sideboard like a champ: Tumble Magents, Pyroclasms and Acidic Slime. He gets an early Armor but I have a Magnet to lock that equipped Ornithopter down for a few turns so I can ramp into a Slime to kill the Equipment. He also sticks a Sword of Vengeance on a Menmite which I have to take for a few turns while I was busy with the Armored Thopter, before I can stick a Wall to block it. I eventually kill all of his stuff with Green Sun's into Slime and Valakut FTW. Tumble Magnet was a champ in that game. It bought me enough time to build up to my combo.
Game 3: See Game 2. We go to time but I pull it out with a commanding board position late in the game as I dome him for 24 with Valakut triggers. I am able to crack fetches to keep the land coming in off of Oracle and I eventually combo out on him. Tumble Magnet and Acidic Slime were all-stars in this match up. I was also able to Pyroclasm to clear his team of little dudes early in this game.
4-1 for the evening as I get 4th with the same record as 2nd and 3rd places. I think 1st place went 5-0. All in all I was happy with all the games I played. Even the loss to Infect didn't put me on tilt because he ended up at 3rd with the same record. Every game I played I think I played like a champ. All the matches were difficult for me. As an Aggro/Combo deck, Valakut is difficult to pilot. You really have tough choices to make whether to ramp or try and slow your game down when it comes to sideboarding. I think I played it well enough though.
I got tons of fun play, an FNM foil which I traded for a Basilisk Collar and three packs of Besieged, getting a Massacre Wurm in the process. Not terrible.
Until next time...
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