IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE IN THIS REPORT GO READ ROUND THREE (though you will be missing out on a lot of other interesting stuff, round three is the reason I wrote this report)
I played in Hadley yesterday with a new deck, 'Cerebral Assassin'. I know what you're thinking, the name is a bit middle school, but keep in mind it's a production of the team that brought you 'eon blue apocalypse', so it could be worse. Incidentally we are plainswalkers and frankly, cool names help pimpify our dorky hobby.
My brother drove up from RI for this one, and the real story is that he's hit two t8's in a row now, having never made one before. He's still a new player but is learning tremendously fast, and I'm ultra pleased that he's done so well of late. Unfortunately I had to eliminate him, but more on that later.
I'll write up the deck for the main forum. It's really more like two decks, which matters a bit to my report. I have a conversional sideboard so 'Cerebral Assassin' is actually both 6/10 split (an animated titan is a 6/10) AND Hadley Reanimator.
Here's the link to the list and some commentary. ROUND ONE: Some guy playing 5/3
He won game 1, I forget how
Now what's important here is my deck's conversional sideboard. I can make a conversion to Dragon if I so choose. This is a case where I converted to Dragon for game 2 because I expected him to bring in hate for welder/artifacts
Game 2: I side into dragon, he doesn't see it coming.
Now again I was able to make use of the conversional board. I saw him go to his SB after game 2 when I animated the dragon, so I went ahead and turned back into 6/10
Game 3: I'm back to welder and beats. I mulled and kept 3 lands, a squee, and 2 rack and ruin. On turn 3 I cast R&R on his eot taking out a trinisphere and chalice for 2. I think took two turns in a row and I did the broken thing that happens when yawgmoth's will and bazaar of baghdad appear in the same deck.
1-0
ROUND TWO: Another 5/3 (I think it was Kyle Leith playing)
Kyle is actually a regular opponent of mine for some reason. It seems like the pairings program just likes putting us together. Kyle had NO idea what was going on.
Game 1: I have next to nothing but a welder and I manage to last chance weld out his trinisphere as his tinkered trisk comes into play. I proceed to abuse various tutors and my bazaar in making sure yawg will worked riduclously well.
Game 2/3: I don't remember
I won.
2-0
ROUND 3: Another undefeated guy playing Dragon
We're at table 1 for this round, so it's fairly contentious and I expect to have to fight it out as he wins the die roll and I think he's playing combo.
Game 1: Sure enough he goes first and bazaars some dragon things into play.
My turn 1 is sort of ridiculous. It goes something like this:
I play land, mox, lotus,
sack lotus for RRR
Play: Welder, Welder, Mana Vault ---> Tinker Vault into Possessed Portal.
At this point I can prevent all his draws and make him go to 0 cards while keeping my welders and the portal alive indefinitely. Though I don't have a way to kill him quite yet, coming back from 0 permanents and cards is tough, he scoops them up.
Game 2:
Now THIS is something: I make the dragon conversion for game 2 because, well I know he's playing dragon and the mirror is hard to play when you don't think you're playing it and you sided in anti-artifact cards.
He plays... : Turn 1, Bayou, Mana Crypt ---> Buried Alive
He puts Ambassador Laquatus, Worldgorger Dragon, and Caller of the Claw in his graveyard.
My turn: Land, Mox Pearl, Sol Ring, NECROMANCY
It was by far the most savage thing I have ever done to someone turn 1. GG BUDDY (sorry about that btw if you're reading this, sometimes shit happens) IF YOU JUST FOLLOWED MY NOTE WHERE I SAID TO ONLY READ THIS, GO READ ROUND FIVE GAME TWO
3-0
ROUND 4: Vs. top seated Ray Robillard.
Ray went on to beat me in the finals so I'm sure he'll do write ups of our matches. Suffice it to say they were EXTREMELY contentious. In this round we wound up going to time and getting a draw, though I'm sure ray would agree that I had the win had we not run out of time. Later in the finals he beat me in 3 games, so on the day I was 3-3 against him.
ROUND 5: Corey with 5c 5/3
Game 1: He has some early gas but I have the force of will. He winds up tinkering up trisk to kill my welder. Shortly after I tink up my own trisk and kill HIS trisk with it. Animate Dead then proceeded to act as welders 5-8 and I won.
Game 2: I make the dragon conversion because it has been working pretty well against 5/3 all day.
At the end of my first turn eot, Corey casts vampiric tutor. He untaps and casts ground seal.
Now at this point I come pretty close to scooping, because I have absolutely no way to remove the ground seal. I do have bazaar double squee going, so I decide that may I can at least stall or something.
Four turns later after bazaar/squeeing and drawing insane cards, I tap 3 Cities of Brass, a Mana Crypt, and a Mox Pearl to go ALL IN with my pocket 7's (for those of you who don't know poker, I'm saying that I hardcast a worldgorger dragon).
The flop comes up, Corey gets nothing, though he's working on a straight... Fourth Street... still nothing, Finally on the river he's at 2 life, so he can't use city of brasses (his only sources), so he has to muck his winning hand. HARDCAST DRAGON TAKES IT... Bowers would be so proud
Round 6: I get paired against my brother matt, and we can draw into the top 8, so we do.
TOP 8. I get paired against my brother Matt, who is playing a deck I had built for him that morning. It featured Workshop/Trinisphere and Waste/Crucible as well as some big artifact fat like slaver. It was pretty hot actually.
Game 1: I win
Game 2: He wins
Game 3: I win
I have to say I'm very proud that he made it this far. This is the 2nd week in a row he's made top 8. Prior to the round I agree to a 1/3 prize split for the loser of the round since one of us was at least in top 4.
TOP 4I play against ? with that deck with drains and aks and thirsts and titans. It's sort of weird.
Game 1: I pwn him with a nasty hand that finds possessed portal.
Game 2: I convert to dragon and his lack of wastes does not answer the inevitability of winning with a bazaar and a squee. I win.
Finals!
Ray and I agree to a 55/45 prize split. This isn't the first time I've met Ray in the finals and he is an absolutely terrific opponent. We drew in the swiss so we agree to play it out for a $30 prize difference and bragging rights.
I don't remember the games in great detail, and I'm sure Ray will write them up, so I'll leave that to him. The moral is that he DID win in 3, and, to quote Pedro Martinez, I guess I just have to call him my daddy.
All in all it was a great tournament.
Props:
Kowal, for running a good event and only charging $10 - good play
Matt - for making two top 8's in a row now.
Mykeatog, Bob, and Jen - for being a good time
Jeff Anand - for being incredibly generous.
Ray Robillard - for being a great opponent
Slops:
Goblin Charbelcher (obviously)
Sweaty magic guys - for not bathing and making the store reek.
hulk3rules, for missing another good time for no good reason. We miss you man.
