I decided to run something different from the norm on Thursday night as I had visions of Juzams dancing through my head. However after gold fishing a bit Friday night, Juzam proved once again why he sees no play in type one. When he was in my hand I didn’t want to cast him as it’s four mana and wins in 4 turns or he’s old, and by old I mean geriatric, too slow to keep up with these younger cards.
My little foray into the past didn’t stop with Juzam, oh no, I have always been fascinated with Underworld Dreams. Back in the days of Juzam Control this was a back up kill, nowadays it’s better suited for the primary kill. So I strip the Juzams and get to work on the deck, focusing more on Underworld Dreams.
This is still being refined but from the minimal time I invested recently, and years prior, here is the unorthodox deck I piloted to the top eight of a recent 30 man tournament at Black and Gold
http://www.blackgoldsports.com :
1 Underworld Dreams
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Imperial Seal
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
4 Duress
3 Unmask
3 Leyline of the Void
(20 Black)
1 Time Spiral
1 Time Twister
1 Tinker
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Brainstorm
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Time Walk
(9 Blue)
3 Goblin Welder
1 Burning Wish
1 Wheel of Fortune
(5 Red)
2 Underground Sea
2 Badlands
1 Swamp
1 Blood Stained Mine
3 Polluted Delta
4 City of Brass
1 Tolarian Academy
(14 Land)
1 Memory Jar
1 Platinum Angel
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Lotus Pedal
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
(12 Artifact)
Sideboard:
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Unmask
1 Pyroclasm
2 Shattering Spree
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Zuran Orb
1 Windfall
2 Contagion
1 Leyline of the Void
1 Dark Blast
1 Duplicant
Now it should also be noted that I decide that it’s a good idea to stay up until 4:30 am playing poker and then proceed to get up @ 9am so I can make it to the tournament on time.
From the above list I am disenamored with the Leyline of the Void. It’s a solid card, but I believe the maindeck slots would be better suited for proactive business vs. reactive disruption. Right now I am leaning towards the 4th Brainstorm (it was pulled for a Leyline last minute) and perhaps 2 Winds of Change to help dig and find the win faster and to help keep from stalling out.
Now as I mentioned earlier there were 30 peeps in attendance meaning 5 rounds of sanctioned goodness. Disclaimer - This report is based on minimal notes and my memory combined with less than 4 hours of sleep the night before, some details are hazy...
Round One
Daniel
B/W Rack deck
G1:
I win the roll and Duress away a Hymn to Touarch. He gets a Rat in to play (the one that flips and becomes a Rack, you can also tap 1B to make a player discard a card) I play some acceleration and get low on cards. He Hymn’s me and uses his Rat to wreck my hand and I start taking 6 a turn this combined with a couple of fetches is the game. New deck and I lose to The Rack first game…good times.
G2:
SB – I know he has StP and Balance form last game (Duress). So I bring in Dark Steel Colossus and two other cards (Unmask & Windfall I believe) for the Leylines.
I get a CoB into play and cast Duress taking a Diabolic Edict turn one. He gets out a Nantuko Shade off a ritual. Turn Two I cast Sol ring and Imperial Seal for Tinker. I take some beats from the shade and Rack then cast my Tinker for DSC and finish him off.
G3:
I mull to 6. Play a fetch and some acceleration. He Gerrard’s Verdicts me I discard a land and some other meaningless card as he goes up to 23 life. I take two from the Rack and manage to get a City of Brass in play next its Wheel of Fortune much to his dismay. I drop something like Duress taking StP then play Mana Crypt, Lotus Pedal, Tinker à Colossus and a Welder. He has a Hypnotic Specter in play and is holding a Balance, I have no choice but to attack into the Specter and let him balance as time is running out. He does just this next turn. I Twist it up Vampiric Tutor for the Tinker Brainstorm it into hand and play The Iron Giant and that’s game.
Round Two
Mike
Tog
Game One:
He mulls to 6 and opens with a Duress taking my Lotus. I get a City into play and Duress away his Intuition. Eventually I find Tinker via Vampiric Tutor and Platinum Angel beats him down.
Game Two:
Mike is on the play again and we both keep our opening 7. I take a DT with Duress leaving him with FoW and no blue cards in hand. He Strip’s my land busts out a Tog I run out of gas and am finished off.
Game Three:
I open with a Leyline of the Void to start the game, this was huge vs. Tog… There is not that much time left, I duress his Tinker and Start the Welder beats, but this game ends in a Draw.
Round Three
Wayne
Oath
Game One:
He wins the roll and Mulls to 6, I begin the game with Leyline in play.
He opens with Tropical and Mana Vault. I drop a fetch land and Duress nabbing an Oath, he draws and plays Oath, nice top deck! I fetch again putting me on a potential two turn clock, I am not too worried though as my hand is stacked. I play a Goblin Welder off Ruby. I have all kinds of acceleration and will Tinker Memory Jar next turn. He Oath’s up Platinum Angel, I was not expecting that! I attempt an Ancestral Recall which is FoW’d. That’s too bad. He plays a few AK’s for 1 through out this game due to Leyline.
My Board is something like Underground Sea, Badland, Mox Ruby and Goblin Welder. I play Lotus Pedal, Dark Ritual, Tinker à Memory Jar. Sac the Jar w/ B floating, I draw the nuts. Play Underworld Dreams off dark Rit, drop the dreams. Play Mox Sapphire. Weld the Jar in and the Ruby out. R floating. Draw more acceleration and cast a Wheel of Fortune (he is holding both Razia and Akroma in hand so I take this opportunity to remove the rest of his win conditions from the game). I Brainstorm a Time Twister to the top of my deck, Time Walk. Use the Jar again draw Burning Wish and use it to get Shattering Spree to kill the Angel, Unmask to clear the path and Twist it up for the win.
Game Two:
The first game took awhile and we have like five minutes left to play. I mull to 6, he keeps all seven. He gets out a Oath 1st turn along with Sol Ring, Mana Vault, CoB and I think a random Mox, he Also Enlighten Tutors to put Platinum Angel on the top of his library (perhaps he sided out the other creatures and Blessing and did this so he would not Oath to death or maybe wanted to guarantee it would get oathed into play…). I have Tinker for Platinum Angel 1st turn off Mox, Vault, Underground. He forgets to Oath the Angel into play but hard casts it none the less and drops a Tundra, EOT I VT for Time Walk in response he StP’s my Angel. I draw and cast Time Walk which is Force of Willed, I play a Badland and Imperial Seal for Yawgmoth’s, then lay Lotus Pedal, Brainstorm the Yawgmoth’s will into hand and cast dark Ritual. Time is now called and I have no win condition on the board. I fear he may have something up his sleeve so I cast Time Walk from the Yard replay the Pedal and Imperial Seal for Burning Wish.
Turn One of overtime I Burning Wish for Time Walk and cast it.
Turn Two of extra time I cast Time Twister and drop an Underworld Dreams as well as our good buddy Time Walk.
Turn Three of Extra Turns I Time Spiral, Unmask his counter and then Tutor for Time Walk and cast it .
Turn four of extra turns I tutor for Twister, cast it and then Tutor up the Walk and cast it to steal the fifth and final turn.
There was a lot more action than that but this is the gist of things. Unfortunately due to my massive time walk recurrence I have totally missed the small lunch break and have to move on to play round Four immediately after a quick restroom break.
Round Four
Marcus
Food Chains Goblins
Game One:
He wins the Roll. I get an early Platinum Angel which is no match for his mighty Gempalm Incinerator and hoards of Piledrivers, I am overwhelmed and take 30+ to the dome.
Game Two:
SB:
- 3 Leylines – 3 Unmask
+2 Contagion + 1 Darkblast +1 DSC + 1 Pyroclasm + 1 ToA
I get out an early Underworld Dream and he is taking a point a turn from this and a tapped Mana Vault. I Contagion away a Recruiter and Lackey. And have taken some beats form the 2/2 hasty Goblin that lets you look @ the top 4 cards of your library and put all Goblins in hand. I Burning Wish for Windfall and drop him to 7 then top deck my sixth mana source to cast Time Spiral and win the game.
Game Three:
I mull down to 5 we go back and forth he has a Ringleader and War Chief in play but fails to combo me out in the extra turns as I hold him off with Pyroclasm and Darkblast for the draw.
I am now sitting at 2-0-2 and need to win hear to make it into the top eight. Lou asks if I’m going to get ‘er done, and I go all Joe Namath and guarantee the victory.
Round Five
Tyler
Scepter Chant
Game One
I mull to 6 he mulls to five. I am able to drop Platinum Angel and Underworld into play and cast Time Twister for the W.
Game Two:
I Mull to six. He gets out a quick Scepter imprinted with Orim’s Chant then over extends and taps out to cast another stick imprinted w/ counter spell. I take advantage of this small window of opportunity and go nuts with Ritual -> Underworld. Lotus -> Yawgmoth’s Will, Lotus, Rit, Twister and finish him off with a Wheel of Fortune.
So I am sitting @ 3-0-2 and place top eight.
Top Eight
Jim Gaffney (aka Godot of the Colorado Crew)
Friggorid
Game One
I mull to 6 he keeps him 7 and is on the play. I manage to hard cast a Leyline of the Void and Jim Chain of Vapors it to my hand. He also Strips my land and plays a chalice of the void @ 0. I am able to Burning wish into Shattering Spree to kill the Chalice and replay the Leyline with a Black Lotus but shortly after he bounces it back again and Cabal Therapy’s it away for good. I am mana screwed and he swings with a hard cast Putrid Imp for four turns while I can’t find mana to save my life then Ichorid come to play and that’s game folks.
Game Two:
SB
+ 1 Leyline + 1 Dark Blast + 2 Contagion + 1 Duplicant
3 Unmask - 2 Duress
Once again I mull to 6, he keeps his 7, I am unable to find any mana other than the CoB but I get some nice dark blast action going then he develops him team nicely for the beat down and swings for 18 in one turn, I’m not gonna lie it was pretty hot.
Over all I was impressed with the performance of my pet deck, it was loads of fun to go off with Underworld Dreams and I guarantee no one was expecting to see it in action!
The most savage thing of the whole tournament was stealing all 5 of the extra turns in round three, this is truly Type One in action.
Props:
The Colorado Crew, Jim, Lou, Trav and myself showed up and all four of us made type eight.
Carl and Black and Gold for holding an excellent event.
Wayne, my round three, opponent for putting up with me while I took all 5 extra turns in a row.
Jim Gaffney for his tight play and the beer afterwards.
Underworld Dreams.
Slops:
Bodog for keeping me up until 5am the night before the event.
Myself for playing poker all night and not getting the rest I so needed the next day.
The top eight deck lists can be found
here.
Fixed. Please use the preview button when you use tags so you can see if you've messed up. -Klep
