Trying to figure out a deck to play I had three options. Meandeck Gifts, Keeper (4c control or w/e it’s called), or stacks. Without many of the random cards for stacks I was going to play either gifts or keeper. Gifts has much more innate power so I chose that over keeper even though I had very little experience with the gifts deck.
So the tournament is at CollegeVille Card and Games. I’ve preregistered and I look up on the website and the time says 1pm. I think great this will give me plenty of time to sleep in. So I wake up at 11:30 and remember the time was different on TheManaDrain. I call in and I have to make my lunch and rush over because it starts at 12. I get there to find that I have plenty of time as my proxies are good and my deck list is ready. They take a bit to start up and we get going.
Round 1 Brian Beauregard ( rogue drain w/shops aggro control) 1 of my two friends that are there.
Game 1 He gets out a first turn juggernaught. The pressure is on as my life total starts to drop. I draw a bunch of cards with ancestral and gifts. I figure my tinker is good if ancestral went through. I stabilize at 6 with colossus out and he has to attack into me. I attack and timewalk that’s game.
Game 2 I get out a fast colossus and timewalk for the win. He draws no gas or forces.
Games 2-0
Matches 1-0
Round 2 UGw Aggro Control WTF type deck
Game 1 He gets a rancor on a birds and starts beating me down with river boa and a ninja. I bounce the two creatures with rushing river and then colossus finishes the job. I was at 3. Pretty close.
Game 2 Fast beats with river boa and ninja. I stabilize at 8 life when I yawgwill and go nuts after that.
2-0
Games 4-0
Matches 2-0
Round 3 John – Custom TPS type variant
This is the second friend I have to play. It was a small tournament but it still sucks as Brian and him are the only two guys I really know there.
Game 1
He does his crazy combo thing and goes for the yawg will. I have the force. He probably had to go for it. I setup colossus quickly for the win.
Game 2 He gets out defense grid early. He has extract but I have colossus in hand fortunately or unfortunately. I get out a gorilla shaman I try to get setup on mana for the win but he gets me a turn before I can go off. If I had played more aggressively I might have had a better chance. He did have bounce and other nasty stuff that could have stopped me.
Game 3
I decide to just race him and get out a turn 2 colossus. It goes the distance.
Matches 3-0
Games 6-1
Round 4 Jake Death Wish and Tainted Pact Type Combo
His report is here
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/index.php?topic=23987.0Game 1
He sets up for the combo on turn two and he has 3 cards left. I mind twist him and take 2. He can’t get going after that and I do some cool yawg winning. I do such cool things as play time walk yawg will it and tinker. Then burning wish time walk back for a good time.
Game 2 He goes nuts time walks into a first turn win and I have no force.
Game 3 I have to mull to six and keep a 1 land hand just because it had a force. He takes the force with duress. I play my one land and he takes my gifts and wheels me into good stuff. I kill him shortly after as he drew no gas. I have mystical but only need tinker and not will. I tinker then recoup walk. Then wish walk back and win. I thought that was pretty clever but I am not the best player ever.
Matches 4-0
Games 8-2
Round 5 Intentional Draw
Matches 4-0-1
Top 4 Not sure of the guy’s name sorry. Playing workshop aggro.
Game 1. I have a turn two tinker colossus. The good hand is too much. I force his razormane and swing for the kill.
Game2
He gets out some early pressure with chalice and crucible. I time walk into lands and yawg will into some more ability to stabilize. I eventually tinker. He gets jar out and looks for an answer. He finds none and I win shortly after.
Matches 5-0-1
Games 10-2-0
Finals Again forgot name Sorry. Playing UG fish (Jacob orlove’s version I think)
Game 1
I get an early colossus out an kill him while still at 11.
Game 2 I deal no damage to him as I play really sloppy and get overwhelmed with his threats
Game 3. I keep a hand I shouldn’t have. He plays first turn chalice for zero. I have a hard time getting stuff going. He kills me shortly after with rootwalla and factories.
Matches 5-1-1
Games 11-4-0
Top 4 was
UG fish
Workshop Aggro
Witness Oath Combo
Gifts
Heres the decklist I played. Its essentially Gifts I got from morphling.de
Maindeck (61 cards):
1 Black Lotus
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mind Twist
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Force of Will
4 Gifts Ungiven
4 Mana Drain
3 Merchant Scroll
2 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Rebuild
1 Rushing River
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Burning Wish
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Recoup
Lands (15):
3 Flooded Strand
3 Island
2 Polluted Delta
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Underground Sea
3 Volcanic Island
Sideboard
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Bosejiu, Who Shelters All
1 Chainer's Edict
1 Coffin Purge
1 Cranial Extraction
1 Pyroblast
2 Pyroclasm
2 Rack and Ruin
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Old Man of the Sea
1 Spawning Pit
1 Tendrils of Agony
The sideboard should have hurkyll’s recall in it. Also I think 3 pithing needle belong in the sideboard. They would help against fish which I had a problem with even in testing. I think though that playing more aggressively would have helped that. Overall I was happy with my performance other then in the finals. Oh well that’s what happens when you don’t play test as much as you should. I still received 4 dual lands out of the tournament and had a good time.
Also I know the maindeck has 61 cards. I do not like that idea but waiting till the last minute does not allow one to make easy cut decisions so I just kept it as is. I am still not sure what to cut and insight in that area would be welcomed. The vampiric tutor and mindtwist were awesome all day.
Props:
Mike the TO for holding a great tournament
Everyone at the tournament for being friendly
My Mom for driving me since I am a bum and don’t have a car.
The deck for getting me to the finals.
Slops
Me for screwing up in the finals.
Everyone else who lives in the area, plays type 1, and didn’t show.
