Yeah, after my loss to you I fought and clawed my way to 9th place .  I finished just a few fractions of a percentage point out of the top 8.
Also, the Icy's were in the board not main.
Congrats on the finish.  You deserved it you played flawlessly.
Chris

@jCoKn
I boarded in the elf replica vs. TPS.
I believe it is a necessary evil in the sideboard.  The ability to tutor for a enchanment removal is sometimes too important.  It lets me remove standstill without giving my opponent three cards. In addition, it is plan A vs. dragon.

@Methuselahn
You know, I never once saw a razormane masticore in my opening hand.  I also never had a need to go get one, but then again I never played a match where it would be a bomb.
The trike count was just right.  Two lets me reoccur without losing a permanent every time.

Ok, so on Monday at like 8pm I noticed that there was a post in the Tournament section, posted earlier that night reading:



And I thought for a few seconds:



Next big question was what to play and while thinking about that I formalized my current thoughts on the Crucible meta game.  First, Wastelands and Strip Mines are everywhere (especially in Minneapolis) and decks that have never had a broken land destruction element to them now do.
Second, because of this decks are being built with larger mana bases and more fetch/dual lands to even things out.  
Third, mana bases are becoming more polluted and less consistent (mulliganing is more prevalent than I have ever seen it).
In addition, locally, blue based decks have multiplied like rabbits making control more common here than I have seen it in years.
I concluded, therefore, that this meta game was ripe for both Bloodmoon and cheap efficient fat.
 
 I played:
TNT

4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Taiga
4 Wooded Foothills
1 Windswept Heath
5 Forest
1 Mountain
7 SoLoMoxen
1 Grim Monolith
1 Mana Crypt

4 Goblin Welder
4 Juggernaut
3 Su-chi
1 Karn
1 Duplicant
1 Sundering Titian
1 Razormzne Masticore
1 Platinum Angel
2 Triskelion
1 Anger
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Quirion Ranger
1 Squee

4 Survival
4 Bloodmoon
2 Naturalize

SB:
3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Aftifact Mutation
3 Trinisphere
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Winter Orb
1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Elf Replica


When I got there I was surprised by the turn out (40 people) for a weekday magic tournament.  I chatted with the regulars, play tested with Craig (Milton) and got ready for what was to become a marathon tourney.

Round one.
The judges computer would not print and he had to announce the parings verbally while we all had to sit quietly and wait for our number to be called.
My opponent was playing two land belcher (so much for Bloodmoon)   I got first and drop a survival. He land grants and drops a bunch of cheap mana acceleration.  I realize what I was playing against and go get both welder and mox monkey.  He finally manages to get belcher both in play and activated the turn before I beat him to death with a Juggy but he goes thirteen cards before finding his other land. Wow.  I had no right to win that game.
 SB: - 4 Bloodmoon,  -1 Sundering Titian, -1 Duplicant, + 3 Artifact Mutation, +3 Trinisphere

Game 2: He goes first and goes really fast.  I stand no chance.
Game 3: First turn Trinisphere.  My opponent scoops.

Round 2  Jeremy playing the Man Show
Game 1:
I mulligan to 5.  Jeremy goes first and drops workshop Trinisphere.  I look at my hand with :Welder, Mox, 2 fetch, and survival and realize that I am going to lose the game.  So I make it look like I am playing R/G Beatz (badly) and keep fetching out land that can be wasted and only managed to cast a naturalize on a tangle wire (after asking several stack questions to make me look dumb).

SB: - 1 Sundering Titian, -1 Razormane, -1 Su-Chi, +3 Artifact Mutation

Game 2:
I go turn 1:  My opponent mulliganed  and kept a hand full of wastes and strips.  I survival off a forest and a mox.  Jeremy blinks.  I quickly gain tempo and use mox monkey to keep jewelry off the board.  Bloodmoon seals the game a few turn later. My opponent immediately reaches for his sideboard again.

Game 3:
We both finally got playable hands, this was a long skill intensive game.  I ultimately won because of Anger.  I got to use my welders the turn they hit the board and he had to wait for the Pimpbot to splat them.

Round 3 (now almost 8pm)
Some home built rogue 5 color artifact aggro deck.  It was pretty cool with lots of tutors and plowshears.
Game 1: I play a Juggernaut all of the first four turns, but ultimately a welder kills him.

I only sided in artifact mutations (same choices as above) because I was unsure of what my opponent was playing but I should have also put in winter orb.

Game 2:
I mulligan into a keepable but losing hand.

Game 3:
Yuck, again, another long drawn out artifact deck showdown. My mana base (basic land) and Anger again win it for me.

Round 4: Craig (Milton) with 4cc
I get out an early survival and welder, and proceed to use sundering titan and mox monkey to destroy his whole board in one turn.

SB: -1 Su-chi, -2 disenchant, - 1 Quirion Ranger, -1 Triskelion, +3 REB, +2 Winter Orb

Game 2 : Bloodmoon.

Round 5 Mike Vraa with 4cc
We ID but decide to play for ante rather than just sit and think about how tired we were.  We flip through each other trade books for a while and settle on : WHITE BOADERED MANA VAULTS.  With big money on the line I smash him silly.  Only after the match do I realize that I put up a revised card and him a 4th edition.  I was grifted.  The nerve of some players.

Top 8:  Jon Tschida (Frost) with TPS (Almost 11)
 I scan the top 8 and see all other players playing control decks. I get the one combo deck.
I honestly do not remember much of this match I was so tired by this point.  I took few notes.  I won in 3 games.  The matches were grueling, aggro vs. combo took longer than all the other control vs. control games.  Bloodmoon and trinisphere were both the MVPs.
 My sideboarding consisted of:
-   10 non essential creature cards cards, + 3 REB, +3 Trinisphere, +3 Artifact Mutation, +1 Elf Replica

Semi’s vs. Grow
Game 1: An early juggy combined with bloodmoon win.

SB: same as 4cc

Game 2: Winter Orb was not expcted and slowed the game way down.  I finally got an active welder with like 10 lands in play.  I welded out the orb for some creature untapped and used survival + anger to go apeshit, killing him (14 damage or so) in one massive turn.

Finals with Mike Vraa now just after 12:30
Game one.  I keep a risky hand: Bloodmoon, Welder, Mox Monkey, mana Crypt, Taiga, Juggy, anger.
I try for the turn one bloodmoon but it is forced.  He goes lotus mox monkey, wasteland.
I never see another land but find lots of off color jewelry. I still am unsure about keeping this hand I have gone back and forth on it all day.  

Game 2:
My first hand is: Ruby, REB, Welder, Fetch, Fetch, Fetch, Forest.  I toss it.  Craig (who was watching over my shoulder objects but I still think its crap.  My hand of 6 is worse.  I finally settle on a hand with both a survival and bloodmoon but no acceleration.  I ultimately end up getting worked over by an active library and a card disadvantage that I can never recoup.

Over all it was a blast but it was over WAY to late at night.  The traffic jam at 1:30 am on the interstate (WTF?) did not help either.

Yeah the 4 wastes + 1 in the side was a typo.  Its fixed in the original post.
 Now to answer some questions:



Whenever possible this deck attempts to slow the opponent down through waste/strip recursion, but olny as a means to push through the combo.  Also, beats are generally not a problem.  Many of the decks that rely on creatures for a win condition cannot kill fast enough.  If a Juggernaut hits the board that still means that you have 3-4 turns to win and that should be enough 99% of the time.



I believe that gush was bad because it did nothing to help further the combo in they early game. It was not another combo piece nor was it a tutor/broken card.  It drew more cards but the card draw had no synergy.


Brian sided out all his moxen and his lotus to bring in the null rods and the Zuran Orb does not matter.  All you need it Glacial Chasm + Fastbond then you can still play an infinate number of lands per turn.




The kill generally needs Glacial Chasm, Fastbond, Crucible of Worlds, Barbarin Ring, Undiscovered Paridise & Wasteland.  Then you produce red mana, sac the ring, waste the undiscovered and replay all three.  Wash rinse & repeat.  You can also win with just a Barbarian Ring & a Wasteland by using the ring to produce red mana then wasting it and replaying them.
Brian never once wished for a beatstick.  He did have to get a Gorilla shaman to destroy a pesky Chalice but he always killed with a Barbarian Ring.


The ZOrb is not needed to win at all.  The two cards that it is most vunerable to losing are Fastbond and Barbarian Ring.  It can wish the Ring back in the game if it looses fastbond it is forced to go for a more inelegant kill.  It uses the ring up to five times a turn with exploration + Trade Routes and takes two or more turns to kill instead of just one.



They don't.  The deck is stupidly redundant and has tons of was to get combo pieces from the deck itself or to recur them from the graveyard.

The following Turboland deck just won the 54 person Lotus tournament in Minneapolis.  Brian Cox designed it and has been play testing it for months.  It was well built, extremely consistent and surprisingly resilient.  This build has been discussed for a while on brainburst in the following forum: http://www.brainburst.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=129390
The version presented below represents the most current of its many itterations.

Animal Farm
Mana/Land:
4   Tropical Island
4   Fetch
2   Underground
3   Mishras Workshop
3   Wasteland
2   Undiscovered Paradise   
1   LOA
1   Stripmine
1   Barbarian Ring
1   Tolarian Academy
1   Black Lotus
1   Mox Jet
1   Mox Sapphire
1   Mox Emerald
1   Glacial Chasm

Spells:
4     Brainstorm
4   Crucible of Worlds
4   Horn of Greed
4   Exploration
2   Living Wish
2   Engineered Explosives
1   Ancestral Recall
1   Timewalk
1   Fastbond
1   Yawgmoth’s Will
1   Tinker
1   Time Twister
1   Trade Routes
1   Regrowth
1   Memory Jar
1   Vampiric Tutor
1   Demonic Tutor
1   Zuran Orb
1   Crop Rotation

SideBoard
       1   Gorilla Shaman
       4   Damping Matrix
       4   Null Rod
       1   Xantid Swarm
       1   Wasteland
       1   Veridian Zealot
       1   Wood Ripper
       1   Glacial Chasm
       1   Tabernacle at Pendrill Vale

This build wins by reoccurring Barbarian Ring an infinite number of times.  The mana development is staggering and is amazingly consistent.  It does not always go off quickly (turn 3.5 average) but with Glacial Chasm, and Engineered explosives it can set up and protect the win very effectively.  I even watched a victory with a chalice for 3 on the board.
In watching and speaking with (at extreme length) the builder I learned that Gush was considered a win more card and was unnecessary. Also, the Xantid Swarm in the SB is not necessary.  The deck is redundant enough plow through some counter and fetching it just wastes a turn.

Discuss.

Knowing first hand how this deck runs my suggestion would be to find room for a few Dazes.  They provide you the counters that you need early to disrupt your threats onto the board.  Spiketail hatchling would work well also.

I have been messing around with Long for a few weeks.  Recently I have had some success with 2 maindeck Helms of Awakening.   The reasoning being that:
1) They are more threats that control has to deal with early.
2) They make Cabal Ritual even better.
3) They make the chromatic sphere's not suck quite so much.
4) They help fight against a workshop decks sphere of resistance.

In general I have found that a Helm can often provide the inertia necessary to "go off."

On the other hand I have had them be dead cards when staring down a hand of 1 & 2 cc spells.  Also, they were less tasty when you saw them as part of a draw 7.

It's just a thought I had that maybe someone else can run with.
Chris