Hi,
another Championships event, another report. True, the one from the
Belgian Champs wasn't big, but since wine/beer... actually... headaches prevented me from thinking clearly whether pondering to mulligan or not in the first two rounds, it wasn't worth writing a long one.
Anyway, I go along with Horace Andy (Mr Bassie) and Ruben Gonzalez (Introducing...) and no problems arose until I want to register: they are sold out, I have to register on a waiting list
Turns out everybody who shows up manages to enter
Then, I need some good cards to complete my deck: 2 Sensei's Divining top, a Rack and Ruin and a Crucible of Worlds. Fortunately, I meet Serge Metz and his crew and they can provide the cards I needed.
I wanted to play a Workshop aggro variation and looked what was out to settle on Jacob Orlove's Dreidel.dec:
3 Goblin Welder
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Thirst For Knowledge
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Black Lotus
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Crucible Of Worlds
1 Duplicant
4 Juggernaut
1 Karn, Silver Golem
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
3 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Sundering Titan
1 Trinisphere
3 Triskelion
1 Ancient Tomb
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
Sideboard:
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Pyroclasm
3 Rack and Ruin
2 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Rushing River
1 Duplicant
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Triskelion
I practiced just a bit to get a grip on it, and it looked like I would enjoy playing it.
There were over 150 players (might be 176), so I could hope for an easy round 1, to no avail.
Round 1: Bram Verhees - 5C Stax
It's not the first time we meet, Bram is always a pleasure to play, like most of the regulars from the Netherlands.
He gets a good start with Lotus, Crucible of Worlds, and a Demonic Tutor.
I answer with my own Crucible and a Top, followed by a Tinker on Trike on my second turn. I also topdeck a Mox Monkey while Bram plays Tangle Wire and Smokestack. Unfortunately for him, I have more permanents than he does, so Trike beatings take the game for me.
Bram starts the second game with a turn one Karn, second turn Crucible and Viashino Heretic. I pull a second turn Triskelion with the help of a Top to get rid of the latter. Bram is relentless as he summons a Razormane Masticore on his third turn. Again, I get out an answer in form of Duplicant. Still, my life total has been dwindling from using Ancient Tomb, so Bram attacks with Karn, 2 Crucible and a Sol Ring to get me exactly to zero.
I open in the decider with Juggernaut and Chalice at zero while Bram answer wit a Welder. I hit him for five. He casts Seal of Cleansing and Duplicant to take care of the Juggie. I rip a Volcanic Island and cast a Welder I was holding, followed next turn by Gorilla Shaman with a topdecked Triskelion while Bran doesn't cast anything to come back.
2-1, 3 points.
Round 2: Hans Van Schie - Dragon.dec
While shuffling, he accidentally reveals a Dragon.
I have a hand with few disruption, but stick with it. I drop a first turn Jug. He goes Land, Mox, Time Walk. Walks into Demonic Tutor, Lotus Intuition and Bazaar of Baghdad. Then pulls the combo next turn.
I keep the following hand: 3 Moxen, Crypt, Chalice, BEB and Welder. I drop the jewelry and the Chalice at 0. He duresses away the blast. He gets a second turn Time Walk. Turn 3 Lim Dul's Vault. I think he will go off next turn, so I want to set another Chalice at 3, I am one mana short, so I set it on 2 and he goes off.
0-2, 3 points.
Round 3: Peter Huisman - 5C Stax
After two mulligans, I start with Underground Sea, Lotus and Mox Emerald. My opponent also has Lotus and Emerald, he plays a Sphere of Resistance. I mystical at the end of the turn for Tinker and take Karn over Triskelion so I can kill his Emerald. He gets out a second Sphere and locks me with Wasteland recursion.
Again Lotus in my opening hand. Turn 1 Demonic Tutor to get Sol Ring, Wasteland, Trinisphere. I follow with Tral, Crucible. He has no permanents while I beat him with the Mighty Mox Monkey. He concedes.
Game 3, he plays 2 Moxen, a Wasteland and passes. I go Crucible, Welder and Chalice at 0. He responds with Tangle Wire. Next turn Ancestral myself, Chalice at one and start the Wasteland recursion. He is too far behind to come back...
2-1, 6 points.
Round 4: Maarten Koelemij - Shop Slaver
He mulligans, I get a first turn Juggie, second turn Top. He is screwed, plays 2 Tops and concedes when I eat his Mox with a monkey.
Game 2 he is screwed again: Jet, Duress which reveal: 2 Trikes, Juggie, 2 Volcanic Island, Top and Mox Emerald (which he picks). I draw a Shaman and play it. His second turn consists of Sol Ring, Crypt, Jester's Cap. WTF? I eat his 0 MC artifacts. He activates the Cap and pulls Tinker, Trinisphere and a Welder. I plop a Jug. He plays a Gilded Lotus out of a Workshop. I kills all his permanents except for the Lotus and drop a Welder. He goes Workshop, Trike and kills the Welder. We trade Jug and Trike and he also shoots the Mox Monkey. Now, that's card advantage. The second Juggernaut comes out. He casts Echoing Truth, naming CotV I get back 3 of them which were set on 0, 1 and 3. He drops some jewelry, a Jar which he cracks but finds nothing and concedes.
2-0, 9 points.
Round 5: Abbas v/d Kerkhof - U/R Stax
Not knowing what he plays, I open with 2 chalices set at 0 and 2. He strips my Workshop. I get out a Trike, he answers with Memnarch, I casts a second Trike and shoot Memnarch. It seems that I am putting a lot of pressure on him because his nose starts suddenly bleeding (growing pain
and has to leave for the bathroom. Several attack phases later, he is dead.
Game 2 he gets out a second turn Karn thanks to Mana Vault. I have the 2 remaining CotV in my opening hand and consult for Wasteland to try to lock him with Crucible, but he plays his own Crucible and has Academy out. I summon a Welder to hold Karn, but he has Smokestack and Crucible of Worlds. Duplicant hits just before I will die and the 4/4 Shapeshifter goes all the way. He took 6 or 7 damage from the Vault.
2-0, 12 points.
Round 6: Evert - Rector Bargain
I start with Time Walk, then DT for Trinisphere and cast it, but he forces. He plays Mana Vault. I ancestral, then play a Titan. I beat him while he can't do much without lands. I think he plays TPS.
I mulligan into 4 mana, Shaman and Crucible. He starts with Underground Sea, go. I rip Ancestral, then cast Ruby, Shaman and Crypt. His second turn sees another Sea. I hit him for one, and play a Juggie out of a Workshop. He tutors at the end of my turn, then plays a Rector. I am not that happy to attack with Juggernaut, he gets Bargain. Next turn, he plays another rector, sacrifice it to get Form of the Dragon that I can't deal with.
Game 3, I play Chalice at zero and Crucible. He duresses me turn 2. I play another Crucible turn 2, then Juggie turn 3 and topdeck a Wasteland. He doesn't come back and tells me he made a mistake: he should have bounced Chalice, played his Pearl and ritualed out a Rector before I started recursing Wasteland.
2-1, 15 points.
Round 7: Hero 't Mannetje - Mono-Ravager
He drops insignificant 1/1 followed by Tangle Wire. My hand is a bit slow and the Wire prevents me from doing anything relevant before it's too late.
Game 2, I lay mana on my first turn. He goes Workshop, 1/1, Skullclamp, burn for 1. I cast Engineered Explosive to get rid of his artifacts, Wasteland, Wasteland again and he is screwed. Mox Monkey does its dirty job (hitting for 1 a turn) and Crucible takes care of any upcoming lands. He concedes when Trinisphere hits.
He opens with Ravager and Chalice for zero, I play Ancient Tomb. He plays a turn 3 Tangle Wire that I Rack and Ruin along with the Chalice at the end of his turn. I play Welder, he gets out Metalworker with one card in hand. I rip a Duplicant to take care of Ravager and take the game.
2-1, 18 points.
I am 13th with a bad resistance, so I will have to play. My next opponent thinks the same.
Round 8: Steffen Van der Veen - Gifts
His build kills with Flame Vault and also has Sundering Titan.
I double waste him, he only has a Shaman out. He forces my Welder, I lock him with Crucible.
I have to mulligan. He opens with a turn one Tinker, getting Titan. I answer with turn 1 Karn, emptying my hand in the process. Mox Monkey comes out on his side to cripple my mana base, while Welder is on mine but I am screwed. It takes him some time to finish me off, meaning we have like 5 minutes for game 3.
He is able get his combo going on the 4th extra turn with gifts on Will, Walk, Recoup and DT. I give him Will and DT. He flashes Recoup to Walk. Next turn he wills but isn't able to combo me, meaning we are probably both out.
1-1-1, 19 points.
It turns out that he is 7th seed while I squeeze in as 8th
We have to leave the fair to play the top 8 in a hotel nearby.
Quarter finals: Stefan Gussenhoven - Oath
He plays the Boros version, with 4 Duress in the board and 2 Muddle in the Mixture main.
I win the toss and get a hand with Mox, 2-3 lands, Top, Consult and Tinker. He mulligans and looks happy about his new hand. I ponder consulting for Chalice, but settle for Workshop, play and activate the Top and get nothing (Strip Mine, 2 Welders), taking 2 burn.
He goes Mox, Orchard, Oath of Druids.
I play a Welder which resolves. He activates Oath, get Akroma and hit me, down to 12; He casts Demonic Tutor to get a Force of Will. I cast Tinker to get Duplicant, but he forces. He activates Oath again, getting Razia, Boros Archangel and kills me. One extra turn would have allowed me to consult for Duplicant, but I would have gotten rid of only one angel anyway.
Game 2, I get a Top and activate it again, but don't get a Chalice. He goes Emerald, Ruby, Oath and lays an Orchard. I don't draw anything to match it.
He activates it, hits for 6 (down to 12). At the end of my 2nd turn, he tutors for Time Walk and it's game.
I really enjoyed myself. Thanks Jacob for the decklist.
