[report] saint louis decides to play TYPE ONE

[kakeboy07]

Friday night i went out and decided that 12 Miller lights and a 1/4 bottle of Gin sounded like a good time. Additionally 3 Hours of sleep and a horrible hangover headache is not the way you want to wake up, especially when you wake up to an angry Girl friend calling you and 3 Hours until a tournament starts, and you with nothing in your stomach.

I woke up got up near 11 o'clock... buttnaked except i was wearing my sox (obscure atmosphere refrence)... but thats sort of what happened. I woke up  (around 10) and called Chad to chit chat some magic and hear how cocky he was about his deck winning the tournament today. After about an hour of getting ready/ talking to him, I walked to Jimmy John's and ate 2 sandwiches at 11 am. Chad arrived at around 12 and we drove the whole 6 Minute drive through the ghetto of central st louis to the haven that is the LOOP.

Inset actual information here:

There was a total of 27 players in the tournament and from looking at decklist submissions i noticed:

3 Food Chain goblins
2 Maddness-based decks (one unpowered,no bazaars) (one really foily :shock: )
4 sui decks *(one bloody suicide  )
3 Tog/Gat/Gad decklists (jeff (layerties), andrew, and myself)
5 Keeper variants (some with strange kill mechanisms)
1 Ravanger Affinity (Marc)
1 Slaver (no drains/no shops, was basically meandeck sans shops)
1 U/b finkel ophidian (guy from rivals)
1 Mask deck (twister was only power, lots of tutoring (fabricate), and ran mass hysteria     )  (robert)
2 R/g Beats (keith)
1 Sligh deck

NO landstill (sorry shockwave ), no dragon, and almost no slaver... i was shocked


Theres 24 of the decks (if anyone picked up the decklist submission forms (i was on 3 hours of sleep or else i would have) I would love to see at least the top 8 posted.

From memory the top 8 was:

2 Gat/Tog (andrew and Jeff (layerties from tmd) respectively)
1 Suicide
1 ravanger affinity (marc)
1 keeper (chad (metabubbles from tmd))
1 Maddness (jeff)
1 slaver (meandeck sans shops)
1 Food Chain Goblins (Jackoff (I was told he played like an asshole))  (unpowered)


Back to the story:

I arrived to the 1 PM tournament almost an hour early. I was planning on giving out shops to Andy Vick to play Meandeck slaver; however, he never showed up and Marc from Rivals  the hottest (literally) place in st louis, decided he was going to borrow my Twister, pearl, and 2 shops to complete his ravanger deck. I loaned out a drain to Robert, who was playing Mask, and talked to jeff for a while about tech and how i had a great new mechanism to show people who played tog and grow, and keeper, AND EVERY DECK THAT RUNS at least 7 Artifacts (solomoxen/crypt).


My decklist:

4 Q Dryad
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Tinker          (see my game notes, the best "~1" card combo in vintage).
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic tutor
1 Mind Twist
1 Yawgmoths will
3 Thirst for knowledge
4 Brainstorm
2 Cunning Wish
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Damping Matrix
1 Gush
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fact or Fiction
2 Misdirection
4 Force of will
2 Fire/ice
4 Mana Drain

5 Fetchlands
2 Volcanic Island
4 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
2 Island

4 Moxen
1 Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus

60 Cards

Sideboard:

1 Thirst for knowledge
1 Artifact mutation
1 Rack and ruin
1 Naturalize
1 Oxidize
1 Smother
1 Stifle
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Pernicious deed
1 Damping Matrix
2 Blue elemental Blast
1 Red elemental blast
1 Fire/ice
1 Berserk


Pairings went up for the first round and i sat next to Jeff and Chad and across the table from Keith, who i had never met before. I opened with a mana crypt and delta, and he followed with a wooded foothills finding Taiga. I thirsted into a mox and dryad and pitched the mox. My next turn i played a dryad and pumped it one with a brainstorm. He played a 2/2 something or other and passed the turn. I draw/go. He draws and attacks... and I BLOCKED... and didnt have an instant in hand (mistake #1) (i could have sworn i had another brainstorm in hand and then i drew and realized i had set it on top of lib). After that i get beat down by a Wild Dog and some Kird Apes.

Game 2 I opened with island Sol ring and he opened with barbarian ring kird ape. Turn 2 i played tinker and went and got Darksteel colossus. 2 turns later... I tossed his salad for 11 and he scooped.

Game 3 he mulls to 5 and i keep a God hand with lotus and Underground sea ancestral and timewalk. I use the ancestral and demonic tutor that i get off the ancestral to Find tinker/Colossus turn 2. I then proceed to berserk and kill turn 3.

1-0 (2-1)

Round 2 I was paired with Micah who was playing bloody suicide

He goes first turn dark ritual duress null rod, and follows it up with a second turn hymn to tourach. I get a cunning wish and oxidize his null rod so that i can start tapping moxen and i fetch for a volcanic which is promptly wasted to prevent any crazy fire/ice topdecking and a shade and negator eat me up.

Game two he goes ritual hypnotic spectre. Turn 2 he gets another ritual for duress hymn, and a shade and hyppie finish me.

_Humiliating_

1-1 (2-3)

Round three i play tom edwards with food chain goblins. Game one he gets an early food chain. I counter recruiter, but not a lackey and he uses the lackey ability to get a piledriver on the table, then foodchains to play another one the same turn. I lose to 2 piledriver beatdown.

I side in my amazing smother, 1 blue blast, fire/ice, and a deed. Game 2 I keep a hand with lotus and crypt, but no lands. I have timewalk and 2 brainstorms in hand. Turn 1 i drop both artifacts and say go. I topdeck Ancestral Recall and after a recall and 2 brainstorms find both tinker and a tropical island. Colossus comes out and eats up all his goblins.

Game 3 I get a turn 1 dryad and drain a turn 2 food chain. I brainstorm and find fact or fiction, and keep demonic tutor and a fetchland. I go find yawgmoths will and win after a twist knocks his hand to 0 and his lackeys get fired.

2-1 (4-4)

Round 4 i play against jeff playing TOG

I HATE THIS MATCHUP... I cant stand it, but i think that if i play aggressively enough and slip one or 2 spells through i can win an early game, and then just play conservatively.

Game 1 i keep a good hand with twist yawgmoths will and lotus. Jeff plays first. He forces my 5 card twist turn 1, He follows that up with a duress to steal my ancestral (i figured id try to push the twist over the top right away). He forced something else that i cast as well.  End of his turn i thirst, and without thinking PITCHED DAMPING MATRIX to thirst!!!!!. NOT smart joel, especially after he already pitched all 3 of his cunning wishes to Force of will!  After a third force stops my yawgmoths will, Im pretty much feeling crappy about this game, and looking forward to game 2. Of course he adds insult to injury by having his one card in hand eot being skeletal scrying... +4 card advantage for jeff.
Game2 (in d matrix, red blast, smother)

I go tropical island sol ring. He duresses,and i force. I have tinker in hand and darksteel colossus turn 2. He goes the distance.

Game 3 I have to mull to 6 but keep a hand that has a turn 1 Colossus win (crypt tropical tinker thirst delta and something i didnt write down)

Jeff starts the game going fetch underground sea, duress. I was so stoked to have the combo... that move wrecked my hand. He takes tinker, and i know turn 2 that i dont have the game. He puts out an early tog, and pings for 1 for a while... however time gets called with me at 17. and with 5 more turns, he gets me to 15 and then with us both doing math, we note he has the win exactly.

That was a fun match... i really enjoy playing against jeff.

2-2 (5-6)

Round 4 I played against Robert who i loaned a drain to playing mask. Game 1 I get an early darksteel colossus, and counter his mask (he played mass hysteria turn 1 to make my colossus fast.

Game 2 I really dont know exactly what cards hes playing, and just opt to put in Rack and ruin, and artifact mutation, and oxidize for 2 fire/ice and 1 wish. He gets a turn 1 nought, and i get a turn 2 colossus. I dig hard for both oxidize and damping matrix. He plays a second nought, and i dig yet again and find rack and ruin, but have no red source. I attempt to matrix (he forces) It was good bait. I oxidize one nought and next turn fetch a volcanic to rack and ruin the mask and the other nought. It was a pretty nice comeback win.

3-2 (7-6)


Thats where my day ended. I had 9 points and 10 made the top 8. If jeff and i would have drawn, which i thought would have screwed us both, we would have made top 8 as 7 and 8 after our last round.  I guess i need to learn how to do tournament math.


The top 8 as mentioned before were:

2 Gat/Tog (andrew and Jeff (layerties from tmd) respectively) ( 4-1) and (3-0-2)
1 Suicide (3-1-1)
1 ravanger affinity (marc) 3-0-2
1 keeper (chad (metabubbles from tmd)) 3-0-2
1 Maddness (jeff) 4-1
1 slaver (meandeck sans shops) 3-1-1 (i think)
1 Food Chain Goblins (Jackoff)  (3-1-1) (i think)

I spent the top 8 watching matches, eating subway, and counting play mistakes.

Suicide vs Ravanger affinity:

Marc was playing very confidently... however he was just playing too fast and almost lost to a very bad suicide build. He ended up getting away with 3 playmistakes that should have cost him both games 2 and 3 and he narrowly escaped losing.

Keeper versus GAT:

Chad was perfect all day 6-0-4 games. He also swept GAT 2-0 and his deck was really clicking.

Maddness Vs Tog:

Jeff VS jeff. A very good set of games, with Tog making a crucial mistake of leaving jeff a blue source in game 3. Because of that, the other jeff drew 6 cards off 3 deep analysis(es).


Food Chain Goblins VS Slaver:

I heard that a play mistake cost slaver the game in a matchup where he should have definately had the upper hand.


TOP 4:

Keeper VS madness:

Chad's deck finally hits a roadblock and he is overrun in both games. Even with balance and 2stp, he cannot find enough to stop jeffs onslaught of creatures. He dies to a Pompus wurm game1 and to a fiery temper game 2.

Food Chain Goblins VS Ravanger Affinity:

I did not watch this match because i was in subway (this is what i was told happened) (lmk if im wrong):

Game One food chain has a great hand and goes off turn 2. Wins turn 3. Marc draws 4 ravangers durning the game.. .and sacs them all to try and get more cards to win... i dont really know what his plan was there... however i guess he was just desperate to get his deck to work right away.

Game Two Marc mulls to a sub-par hand of 5 and Loses again. He had way too many non-artifact cards boarded in and drew a workshop that he was not able to utilize. FCG had another great hand.



THE FINALS:

FCG vs Madness
Madness already beat this FCG build earlier that day, and i was looking forward to jeff taking home the mox sapphire...

Then they decided to split... BOOOOO!!!!!!

So after some swapping jeff took home an alpha sapphire and FCG boy took home an unlimited Sapphire and 4 Italian legends packs...




After the Tourney we went to rivals where the temperature was about 900000000 deg because the AC was broken and st louis is hot.

We played some dick around games until about 12-12:30 and relaxed and drank alot of beverages.


I really think that this combo will become THE combo to put into almost any deck that runs both blue and moxen.

Darksteel Colossus
Tinker

It won 6 games for me... all on/before turn 4. Pretty sweet stuff.




Props:

Darksteel Colossus

Tinker  (The Tink/Col combo is soooooooooooooooo good)[/b]

Thirst for Knowledge

Jeff (both of you)

Rivals (for fixing the ac quickly)

Marc (for giving me back my cards)

Chad (for giving me a ride (even though i had to learn how to use his "stick shift" ))


Poops:

Andy Vick... for being a pussy and not showing up

Me... for not seeing any artifact based decks when i had tested all week against them.

Bloody Suicide ... for sucking ass

Q. Dryad ... for only winning me one game.

Skeletal Scrying... for helping jeff beat me.

[BreathWeapon]

The atmosphere was enjoyable and most of my opponents were very kind people. I didn't seem to have much luck that day with FCG, Ravager Affinity, Tinker/Colossus, Mask ... I love combo thats faster than I am. Heh, I must have dropped 250$ on FCG to go 2-3. One of those was a bye and the other was Suicide On top of that, I got accused of abusing an illegal substance by the owner of The Gathering Grounds when I was making a phone call behind his building on my cell, waiting for the doors to open. I strongly suggest everybody on TMD bans that shop altogether ... I'm almost sure he purposely over charged me on every card I purchased at his shop, on top of accusing me of smoking a joint ... can we say WTF? I definately wont be shopping there ever again. It was by far the most offensive thing anybody has ever accused me of in my life ... what a total dick.

Anyway, props for the mad Tinker tech ... its soo going into a few of my decks (Oath). I was dude #3 on your list, by the way.

[yodoblec]

Pretty interesting Tinker-Colossus, I do that in a multiplayer deck, it's good vs. Tog. If you woulda thrown in a couple togs, the deck would be just like GAT. I like the twist on it though.

[iccarus]

Andrew = me

My GAT list was bacially Ultima's (GUB) with Duress over MisD. After scoping a bit, I felt it was a stronger choice.  I also played crypt over sol ring and FoF/DA instead of 2x DA.

SB looked like this:
1x Berserk
2x Damping Matrix
1x Coffin Purge
1x P. Deed
2x BEB
2x Stifle
1x Oxidize
1x Naturalize
2x Ground Seal
1x Diabolic Edict
1x Engineered Plague

My notes were kind of weak, but here's the rundown:

Rnd 1 - Ryan Donahue - playing EBA variant (WUB)

Game 1: He lays an early mage for tog and then drains my deed.  This game went very slowly with a slow death from mages.  I can't pull up a dryad to save my life.  He duresses and I mystical up yawg's win to try and clear things up.  He follows with a mage naming will then lays an angel.

Game 2: I lay an early tog and dryad and am able to protect them.  He lays a turn 1 maze though.  I get some beats going, but he's able to remove one of my threats everytime I get two on the board.  I deed away everything but tog.  Tog swings and he tries to maze it, I wish for stifle and he scoops.

Time was called as we are shuffling up for game 3.  We agree to a draw.

0-0-1 (1-1)

Rnd 2 - Keith Steinacher - playing R/G beats

Game 1: I mull to 5 and keep a hand that's decent, I force a turn 2 challice for 0 and clear the way for tog and 2 dryads for the win.

Game 2: I keep a strong hand, but no force.  He was unpowered so I didn't think it would hurt too much.  Wrong.  He goes turn 1, lotus petal, mox diamond, taiga into bloodmoon.  I scoop at 7 life when I can't find a basic Island or sapphire to BEB his blood moon.

Game 3: This went super fast.  I lay an early tog and start chipping away while countering his threats.  I have a full yard when he's at 15 and no blockers.  I show him cunning wish for berserk and he concedes.

1-0-1 (3-2)


Rnd 3 - Allen Cavaness - playing SUI black with racks

Game 1: He goes turn 1 ritual into Duress and Shade.  I get a tog out that plays defense, but he edicts it away and I can't stop the negator that follows it.  I take alot of damage from double "The Rack" and his discard.

Game 2: He has some serious land issues and I have an early 5/5 Dryad.  A tog soon joins it and runs him over for the win.

Game 3: We play draw go for awhile.  He can't get a creature out and I stop most of his disruption.  I go off in only the way that GAT can with almost every land in my library out.  I resolve a will that allows me to throw out the fastbond in my yard and gush in hand.  I have a Dryad in play that gets to about 9/9 when he concedes at 12 life.

2-0-1 (5-3)


Rnd 4 - Nick Woolery - the previously mentioned slaver sans shops
-notes are kind of sparse here, so most of this is from memory.

Game 1: He mulls to 6 and I lay a turn 1 Dryad.  It was over very shortly when I cunning wished for berserk.

Game 2: Turn 1 Dryad wins the day again.  Nick just had a really bad draw.

3-0-1 (7-3)


Rnd 5 - Chad Daughtery - playing Keeper

We ID and go search for food together.  We went the wrong way and could not find the Subway, so I gave up some of the granola bar I had with me.

3-0-2


T8 - Chad w/keeper (I'm 4th seed into T8)

Game 1: I keep a weak hand but try to power through.  He just has way too much counter magic for me to get through and 3 angel tokens take care of me.

Game 2: My hand is somewhat better (double dryad, but no green) and I decide to keep it, hoping I'll draw into something.  I never see a green source though and an eternal dragon starts beating down.  I end up dying to my own crypt.


Overall, it was a good time.  It was great to play in a T1 event that actually seemed rather strong for a change (I have little to play against around here).  This was the first event I'd tried GAT at, opting for it over my usual stand-by of dragon.  The day brought in 2 packs of Italian Legends (1 was a door prize) for my time and drive.  I did open them and the only thing of note was an Underworld Dreams.  Somebody who won a pack as a door prize did open a drain.  Oh well, should have sold mine.

I joined the others at rivals afterwards (where I felt like my skin was melting), splitting with Chad in a T1 pick-up game for the store credit prize.  

I'll also 2nd the FCG jackoff deck.  I didn't face him all day, but I've hit him at PTQ's in the past.  He's pretty much one of those 16 year-olds that thinks he's god.

[Methuselahn]

Congrats, i think.

Have you given any thought to putting search in the deck to wish for?  With the abundant amount of search that the deck does, you can run alot more one-of's (which you have obviously done)  In my own colossus deck, I often wish for Consultation to consult for Tinker.  lmk what you think.

[waSP]

Couldn't the 3 Thirsts for Knowledges be Merchant Scroll.  In some matchups you really want to have FoW early and often.  Others you need to get lots of draw.  Or it chains to get the Tinker -> Colossus.  Also it gives you an early play when tapping out isn't game over (earlier than Thirst).

Targets
Ancestral Recall
Gush
Force of Will
Cunning Wish
Mystical Tutor (-> Tinker, Demonic Tutor, Yawgmoth's Will, Mind Twist)
Fact or Fiction
Mana Drain
Misdirection  (maybe)
Fire/Ice


It seems like you are running enough good blue instants to merit 1-3 Merchant Scrolls.  What do you think?

[kakeboy07]

Congrats, i think.

Have you given any thought to putting search in the deck to wish for?  With the abundant amount of search that the deck does, you can run alot more one-of's (which you have obviously done)  In my own colossus deck, I often wish for Consultation to consult for Tinker.  lmk what you think.

I actually Cut vamp tutor at the last second in favor of another blue blast mostly because it sucked alot in testing... After that day im running Vamp in the side again.

Couldn't the 3 Thirsts for Knowledges be Merchant Scroll.  In some matchups you really want to have FoW early and often.  Others you need to get lots of draw.  Or it chains to get the Tinker -> Colossus.  Also it gives you an early play when tapping out isn't game over (earlier than Thirst).

Targets
Ancestral Recall
Gush
Force of Will
Cunning Wish
Mystical Tutor (-> Tinker, Demonic Tutor, Yawgmoth's Will, Mind Twist)
Fact or Fiction
Mana Drain
Misdirection  (maybe)
Fire/Ice


It seems like you are running enough good blue instants to merit 1-3 Merchant Scrolls.  What do you think?

Thanks for chiming in steve. Im taking a look at merchant scroll right now, and the only problem that i really see is the Sorcery word... Is merchant scroll too narrow to use to fetch a card that you need at the very instant (FOW) or a card that youd like to cast EOT (mystical)???

I really liked Thirst and i feared Chalice for 2... (which i didnt see) i think that thirst really helped, and while it did cost 1 mana more, I only had one occasion where i had to mull and 1 occasion where i drew it without being able to cast it turn 2-3.

I still really like the idea... and im looking into it. Im almost thinking of cutting mana drain after how horrible they were for me yesterday.

[TheAdvantage]

Joel...hey, Nick here.  I was definitely the lone Slaver pilot, but to say it was Meandeck sans shops is really a disservice to Meandeck and myself.  Meandeck obviously runs 5 Moxen and 4 Shops while I own none of those, otherwise I would be playing Meandeck card for card.

They run 15 lands, I have to run 22(and 31 total sources, 5 Strips); I decided to run Tangle Wire and lands instead of Force and Brainstorm.  I realize how brash this sounds, but seeing as I'm semipowered, its often better to drop Wire and develop your mana base while your opponent is slowed so you just go broken when the Wire is starting to expire.

If anyone would like to see the actual list, feel free to PM me, but I dont want to cloud the thread with such nonsense as it accomplishes nothing short of stroking my ego.

I was indeed 3-1-1(id) at the cut.

Round one was some Scepter control deck where a 1st turn Welder drew out the Force for 2nd turn Chalice for two----> just win.
1-0

Round 2
I'm pretty sure this was EBA.  Game one goes quickly to him via 1st turn Duress nabbing Ancestral, second turn Meddling Mage(Welder) going all the way while I draw poop.  Game 2 Memnarch steal some perms and induces a scoop.  Game 3 involves him going Flooded Strand, Sapphire, go to my Strip, go; he then drops another fetch, go while I drop Waste and pass.  He then drops lotus and plays Angel face up.  I drop a blue source, Crypt--->Grim Monolith Tinker Memnarch and double strip his lands leaving him with Sapphire and Angel and me with Memnarch, Academy, Crypt.  I take beats from the Angel and Crypt for two turns and then steal her and get a scoop(Perfectionists, please realize I didnt take notes and this account is slightly off, but it serves the purpose).  My buddy Jeff(Blyden) and I were talking about the life gaining whore pretourney.  He asked how he deals with her(Madness) and I replied "um...win....fast."  He asked me and I said Memnarch...nice precursor to my 2-0.

Round 3 was against the other Jeff(Tog).  Not really much to say about this one...I consider Jeff to be a better player than myself and I just drew the cards I needed.  Game 2 involved him dropping Tog early and then Twisting my hand away after I had developed my manabase only to top deck Slaver with a Tog on board and Will in hand while he was tapped out.  A complete mise.

Round 4
I got paired down somehow so while everyone else is eating yummy food I'm getting beatdown by Andrew(iccarus, I believe) riding first turn Dryads both games to my mulls to 5.

I then draw into the top 8 and get paired against FCG.  Game one I get broken and win.  Game two I get more broken into second turn Gilded Lotus-->Jar, but cant pop yet.  3rd turn, 2nd Lotus, then Jar...play some brown spells and the twist, drawing into 2x Welder and Trinisphere(sb) with 4 mana up.  I get cocky/stupid and play the Trinisphere first.  I realize how bad this is as I'm placing it on the board while simultaneously announcing it.  I deserve to lose this game and I do.  Game 3 involves me making more mistakes and losing to a better player, but an inferior deck.  As embarassed as I am about the completely obvious bonehead mistakes I make during this match, Sean deserved to win.

Props:
My deck for being optimal given my cardpool.
Artificial Angels for racing my Crypt and winning.
Opposing Ancestral Recalls targetting me.
Seeing 3 Isochron's in your opponents(slavered) hand with Chalice for 2 on board.
Memnarch for stealing Angels and 2nd turn Isochrons imprinted with counterspell on the third turn.
Slops:
Me, for being a fucking moron in the T8 and losing despite the fact that my deck very obviously wanted me to win.  Please continually ridicule me for this so it never happens again!

Ok, peace out!
-Nick