[Report]GAT goes to the finals for Stok's Box

Moderators move if necassary please, as I cannot put in tourny forum.

As a common beginning to these things, I woke up and drove to Stok’s tourny at 10:30 in the morning.

I was originally planning on playing GateKeeper to finalize the build for myself, but it turns out that my wife and I get invited to a baby shower next Sunday. This was a problem because that is the same day as friend Tom’s(MoloDet’s) Ridiculously, Awesome, Insane, Cool, Nutty, Unmissable Lotus Tourny at our stomping ground Gamemaster. (For more info, go to the tournament forum)

So we make a deal that if I at least make 2nd, I can go to Tom’s shindig instead of the other thing. With this in mind, I had to go with what I was most confident about namely, GAT.

The build of GAT I used was a bit different than what has been going around lately, but that is because me and good friend/ fellow GAT partner GI had begun our testing taking a different route to more a synergistic and combo style GAT of old. As well, I have already took first in previous tourneys with this style GAT but didn’t post reports for more time to test and those tourneys I don’t consider big enough (less than 25) to warrant a report. Keep in mind that while a lot of these card choices may look outdated or janky, they are still powerful. Fashioned to work under a Bloodmoon or Back to Basics, this “Neo” GAT still retains some stupid speed with a kill almost as fast as the old GAT.

The build

Kill

2 Psychatog
4 Quirion Dryad

Counters

2 Daze
2 Misdirection
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain

Bombs

1 Mind Twist
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Future Sight

Combo Piece
1 Fastbond
1 Gush

Drawing/ Search

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
3 Cunning Wish
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Brainstorm

Mana

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Stripmine
1 Swamp
3 Island
3 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
4 Polluted Delta

Sideboard

1 Berserk
1 Naturalize
1 Crumble
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Smother
1 Plaguebearer
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Fact or Fiction
2 Stifle
2 Coffin Purge
3 Xantid Swarm

Round 1- friend Marty with Dragon (newest build)

Game 1- I really want to give this game in detail as it is a good description of how nutty GAT can still get without 4 gushs.
I get island, delta, brainstorm, force, wish, yawg will, ak. He goes sea into vamp tutor. While I think he could be going for a bazaar, I don’t want to let my only counter go on a hunch when he could bluffing and holding a bazaar but drawing out the possible wasteland I don’t play. It resolves and I go, draw gush, play delta and pass. He draws, plays bazaar, uses, and drops double-squee and intuition, plays 2 moxs, doesn’t look good already. I sac in endstep for sea and brainstorm into mystical, wish, and land, taking mystical. In my upkeep, I play mystical for ancestral, draw it, play recall and get jet, trop, and fastbond. I play the mox, trop and pass. In my endstep he plays intuition, and I force pitching AK, knowing he hasn’t seen the dragon yet. In his turn, he draws, plays a delta, and plays xantid swarm. I respond by gushing into sea and tog and it resolves. Then he uses bazaar and drops squees and force. On my go, I draw and play emerald, play fastbond, play my lands, and pass. On his turn, he draws, swings with swarm, its good, he plays LimDul’s Vault and uses it 5 times! When he’s done, he uses bazaar, and drops squees, dragon and plays another bazaar and passes.

I was pretty sure that it was over but to my amazement he passed. Now its my go and I draw dryad. Now here’s where it gets crazy. I look at the grave yard,(force, brainstorm, gush, mystical, recall, delta), my hand(dryad, tog, wish, will), my board(jet, emerald, island, 2 seas, tropical) then contemplate for a moment, then I look at Marty and say “that’s it, I WIN buddy.” He says “oh yeah, How?” I say “I think I’ll go off now pal.” I use the 2 moxs and play dryad. Then I play yawg will, Dryad at 2/2. I replay delta, then gush returning a sea and trop, draw into some useless things like brainstorm and future sight, Dryad at 3/3. Then I replay the lands, play mystical for TimeWalk. Then ancestral into Walk, Drain, and another land(yes!), I play the land, play walk then brainstorm, Dryad is 7/7. I show Marty I’m holding Wish, and more spells and he scoops. That was turn 4 that GAT went off BEFORE Dragon, how insane is that.

Game 2- -2 Daze, -2 Cunning Wish, -1 Mind Twist, +2 stifle, +2 Coffin Purge, +1 Plaguebearer (for the xantids/possible tokens)

He mulligans and then plays bazaar, uses, drops some inane crap with a dragon an passes, sighing. I was pretty sure I had this now. I’m holding 2 forces, vamp tutor, ak, mox jet, tropical, brainstorm. I figure I’ll just vamp for stripmine, but to my amazment, I rip it off the top, and strip his bazaar, fucken ridiculous! After that a few more dumb turns go by where I get a dryad out and resolve will again and he scoops again.

1-0

Round 2- best friend and teammate Simon, with Enchantress

Game1- I know Simon’s deck really well and he knows mine. Basically, if I don’t kill him fast without mana denial, he can overwhelm me with blue hate like Choke and City of Solitude as his deck is well tuned to beat blue decks.

This game I more or less get a tog going and try to keep his big stuff off the table, after I draw a few more cards and I show him Wish, he scoops.

Game 2- -2 Daze,-1 Cunning Wish,-1 Future Sight +1 Deed, +2 Stifle, +1 Naturalize

I had a mediocre hand and drew a lot of land. I tried to beat him down with an early tog but he managed to pariah it after resolving a Xantid Swarm(I did not know about him adding those, fucker.) and proceeded to play too many bombs, so I scooped.

Game 3- -1 Wish +1 Plaguebearer

Pretty much the same thing, in that I could not cope with so many bombs ie, 2 Choke, City of Solitude, Moat, Aura of Silence, 4 Replenish.

1-1

Round 3- RG Beats

Game 1- I know the match with sligh very well, so I figure this will be even easier.
I keep a no land hand because my hand is 2 force, misdirection, brainstorm, wish, Ancestral, brainstorm. Basically, I pick up a sapphire and start playing my guys. Fearing dryad, he uses most of his burn to kill it then wheels and I get a retarded hand with Will and he just scoops.

Game 2- -2 Wish, -1 Sight, +1 Smother, +1 Plaguebearer, +1 Deed

I get an early tog out and wastes most of his hand trying to kill it. Then a dryad comes in both beat him to death not picking up enough chumps and I counter his wheel.

2-1

Round 4 – Spoils Mask

Game 1- He gets out a first turn Negator and I get deed but not in time to handle the mask and negator.

Game 2- -1 Sight, -1 Wish, -2 Daze, +1 Crumble,+1 Naturalize, +1 Plaguebearer, +1 Deed

I stop an early mask and he spoils for another. He gets mask and dread going but I deed in time to stabilize. I play plaguebearer and a dryad and he scoops

Game 3 – He gets out first turn mask into nought. I play mystical for crumble. He sees crumble and spoils for another dreadnought and kills himself. Today, I am very lucky as I would have lost had it not been for that.

3-1

Round 5- Friend and Teammate Harriet with Goblins

We split into Top 8, played to waste time and she kicked my ass both games, but I suppose I really didn’t bother to try either.

Top8

Round 1- Scepter Keeper

Game 1 – While I sort of fear this match up, I know from testing that if I play control than I can outdraw and outcounter him until I’m ready to kill. He plays first turn scepter and I force. During my upkeep, he plays recall and I misdirect to myself to reactivate my first turn Library plan. This game ends up with me winning the AK war and me resolving a huge will to scoop motion.

Game 2- -2 Daze, -3 Wish +2 Stifle, +3 Xantid Swarm

Basically, he plays first turn Library, and I play first turn Dryad with force backup. He starts trying to draw but I play another dryad and start playing spells to juice em. He digs for balance but loses by turn 5 to dryad beatdown and my counter back-up.

Semi-Finals- Red/Black Goblins

Game 1- I saw this deck earlier and got to play one with this guy too and wasn’t really worried after. He mulligans to 5 cards and I’m even more confident. I stop his early lackey with force and stabilize to resolve future sight and will which sends him scooping.

Game 2- -2 Daze, -2 Wish, -1 Sight, +1 Deed, +1 Smother, +2 Stifle, +1 Plaguebearer

He mulligans again and plays no threats for 3 turns. I think he was trying to play a more control strategy, so I respond by playing aggressively and playing threats. He tries to burn my men and ends up sacking a lot of mountains to multiple fireblasts. He plays Yawg Will and replays a lot of burn and goblins. I then play my Will and he sees my yard and just scoops.

Finals- Hulk Smash

Game 1- I have played this matchup many times, and know I have to play aggressively because my deck can’t beat his in the long game. He manages, first turn duress, lotus, then merchants for recall and resolves it. He outdraws me on aks and to my surprise, has MD fire/ice to take out my dryads. He resolves yawg will and its over.

Game 2- -1 Wish, -4 AK +3 Xantid Swarm, +1 Smother, +1 Coffin Purge

I played aggressively and started with a first turn fastbond into gush into tog. He sits and starts taking the beatdown. He tries to play a tog to block but I smother it. Then after a few beats builds enough counters to REB my tog. I play xantid swarm and next turn Dryad. I have no counters left and he plays will at just the right time. He replenishes his hand and overwhelms me with 2 Togs.

Final Observations

I don’t think xantid swarm was as helpful as it could be and I often thought about replacing them with just Duresses, so I think that’s what is gonna happen.

Misdirection was absolute gold and I often found myself wanting more of them, therefore, I think that daze will be cut for 2 more misdirections. I think that with the renewed interest in Red Decks along with Deep Anals, Ancestrals, more countermagic, the absence of prison decks, Misdirection is worth playing 4 again for GAT. Additionally, they can be sided out for duresses if need be.

Credits-

Stokinger for a fun tourney.
All my opponents who were nice guys and not assholes.

Slops-

That fucken kid, Adam something, that yelled and made noise every time my opponent in the finals drew a card. If winning means that much where you have to be a total ass, then you must have no life at all, and depend on Magic to have something to do other than jerk off and play video games. So like I said pathetic. Have fun trying to rationalize or forget about it again for another day.