The SS will NEVER top 8 again

I cant remember who it was that said "The SS will never top 8 again" but I'm happy to see that some competent players with the deck proved him so very wrong.

Yes there were 50 day one and 52 day two, but for the most part it was irrelevant. The deck still performed very well placing one guy in the top 8 day one who i like to add lost to the guy that was later DQ'ed for cheating. And day 2 the deck took first and fourth. No matter how you look at it thats kinda ridiculous.

i have already wrote my report over on the drain but its just been sitting int he basic users tourny report section since last night and hasnt been moved yet.

Here is the list me and I@N decided was the best to run for this event

Lands/artifact mana
5 mox
1 lotus
1 petal
4 sea
4 delta
1 strand
1 island
1 swamp
1 strip
3 waste
1 WATERY GRAVE

Creatures
3 erayo
4 bob
4 cutpurse

Instants
4 fow
4 brainstorm
1 ancestral
1 mystical
1 vampiric
1 darkblast
4 stifle
1 river
1 chain

Sorcery
4 duress
2 HYMN
1 walk

Artifact
1 explosive

Side
3 flux
3 edict
3 SWORD OF FIRE AND ICE
3 planar void
1 hurkyls
2 shadow of doubt

Now before everyone starts to go off on me and say i only made top 8 because the field was a lot of random jank just do me a favor and read through my matchups, and see what kind of Shit i had to play against.

Round 1 (sqeek Stax affinity)

We sat down at the table and i honestly thought about doing the play i said you may as well do against goblins and just pick up your deck and leave. I had talked with him a littel the day before and i already knew that he was playing the same deck again, and that he was most likely my worst match up in the entire field.

Game 1 - his decks fast i lose horribly

Game 2 - his decks fast and i don't draw energy flux i lose horribly

0-2

0-0-1

Round 2 (judge from day playing oath)

I go into the match knowing hes playing oath already and realize i may end up going 0-2 drop since i have no oath hate today since ICBM was the only ones playing oath really, and it seem stupid to metagame against your own team.

Game 1 - this game came down to the fact that i played duress his first oath and then was able to hit the second one with and explosive for 2 and win with like 4-5 tokens i had.

Game 2 - i bring in my 3 edicts and ignore the voids. he gets first turn oath but no orchard. i wait a few turns and kinda build up my resources while i duress his hand away. he draws his orchard and plays it. at this point i was ready to start dropping my bobs anyways since i had 2x stifle and 2x edicts. the game came down to i had triple bobs, and my stifles and edicts were enough to keep his big guys off the table.

2-0

1-0-1

Round 3 (guy with shadow creature deck)

Game 1 - the guy play first turn ritual i don't have a force so i think i may be in trouble if hes running storm or something. he plays duress and then a dauthi horror. in the next few turns he follows it up with more shadow guys freaking bad moon and cursed scrolls. the bad moon at least made my guys swing for more but it really did matter.

Game 2 - i bring in 3 edicts, 3 sword of fire and ice. i get an early bob with a sword he doesn't play a creature all game just duress and hymns me a few times.

Game 3 - he plays first turn double shadow guys off ritual and a mox and follows it up with a second turn bad moon, and wings for six. he beats for a few turns until i manage to brainstorm and hit a pair of moxen i need.i play explosive for 2 the turn before i die and blow it. it wipes his board minus his 3 lands and takes out my bob. he has no hand but draws and plays cursed scroll. I'm at 4 so scroll is a major threat but i realize it does cost 3 to activate and i have a waste on board. i waste one of his lands which effectively at least gives me a timewalk basically from possible taking damage from the scroll. i drop a cutpurse and throw a sword on it and he goes the distance.

2-1

2-0-1

round 4 (Jesse pinchot with IT i believe)

game one i end up firring off two duress early and flip and erayo. he scoops a little early considering i had no real pressure on him with a creature yet and i wouldn't have for a while.

Game 2- he plays a first turn bob which i figured he would bring. i end up dropping a cutpurse on second turn, and after chain of vapor on my guy they eventually end up trading with each other. i believe confidant only drew him one extra card maybe 2 since i stifled one of its activations. he try'ed to play a will a few turns later but i have the fow pitching erayo. i draw and pass. he mystical for twister and plays it on his turn. no lands in the twister hand so he just passes. i had 5 mana open so i brainstormed and played mystical for walk at end of turn. i basically comboed him out with like 3-4 duress over a 2 turn period and i still had a fow in hand.

I was pretty happy i actually got my FIRST good match up!!!

2-0

3-0-1

Round 5 (izzet man)

Game one - this may have been the most frustrating game i played all day. late game the situation is i have 3 bobs in play and he has izzet and one card in hand. he mystical during his turn for will. during my turn i have my confidants and 2 brainstorms to see a ton of cards. i need one of 3 things this turn to lock the game up. one of the 3 waste effects i had left, one of my 3 erayos, or one of the 2 fow's i had left. i get nothing and swing in he blacks one bob and goes to 3 life. he does his will which isn't that good but he drew a lotus off his AK. When he was done with will he had killed both bobs, played and izzet, and had 5 in hand. my turn i untap don't have much to do except play double hymn putting him to one card. a few turn go buy and i draw and play erayo. at this tI'me im at 5 life and hes still at 3. during his turn he plays a fetch and has one card in hand. he fetches i have a stifle and think about using it for a while, but i realize hes had no brainstorm effects and only has one in hand my stifle is maybe better used to stifle the izzet. he goes to 2 life gets his land and hardcasts DSC. i untap draw mystical (go figure a turn late) swing put him to one and lose. (guess i should have stifled)

Game 2 - we only have 18 minutes to play I'm worried i wont have time to even beat him so i bring in my swords since i really need a good clock. i managed to flip erayo second turn which was the key play for me that game. i was playing quicker than i ever have before. i really wasn't trying to bluff anything if i drew land i played and passed immediately i end up have 2 swords in play and still cant find a creature for the life of me even after multiple brainstorms. i finally draw erayo and play him. its just in time since the clocks almost out. i double equip erayo which is insane by the way!!!!!!!! he swings for 9. two attack turn 2 or something i win and the match is a draw. I'm still alive and thats all the matters.

1-1

3-1-1

round 5 (ichorid)

Game 1 - i have no clue what the kid is playing, but i have a first turn confidant and a fow so I'm pretty comfortable. we both keep and he drops a leyline. i realize its ichorid and he basically mulled to 6 against me since leyline has no effect. i play my bob and pass he try to vamp eot, but i know he will just get bazaar so i force. he doesn't do a ton he rest of the game.

Game 2 - he has a relatively good opening but i have my darkblast and am not to worried at the moment. he played a chalice cutting my jet in hand off which sucked but i played my underground and passed. he plays his one strip, i brainstorm in response and see no lands. i pretty much just sit there for a while with a strip in play while hes beating me. i manage to get kinda back in the game once i draw my next underground but a fow flips to my bob and really hurts putting me relatively low. i had to darkblast my own bobs at one point since i was at 1 life.

Game 3 - i keep a risky hand with lotus and brainstorm needing to hit some land i hit shit and have to play waste and burn for 2. he plays a first turn rootmaze and passes the turn. i draw and play my second waste and use my first. his turn he draws and plays bazaar but it comes into play tapped so I'm not to worried yet. i draw and waste his bazaar still no colored source of mana. he draws and hit another bazaar. he was excited he drew it played it and immediately activated. i yelled stop right away but he had already drew both cards and kind of threw them on the table. the guy kinda makes a motion like hes going to just shake my hand assuming he would receive a game loss, but the judge is right there. i say the judge thats a game loss right. the judge rules that since bazaar should have come into play tapped that it would become tapped and he would just half to shuffle his deck. i immediately appeal since that was the worst ruling Ive ever seen in REL 3 especially when just a few weeks ago in new York i saw Noah draw an extra card and get a game loss. Unfortunately the judge replies I'm the head judge make your appeal now. i explain my reasoning knowing hes not going to change his mind no matter what i say. the game continues and its getting close to time. i finally have some colored mana On he table and play a void and then edict away his ashen ghoul. his next turn he brings the whole team pretty much and puts me two 3 life but overturing but an ashen ghoul gets sacked and removed. its my turn and its turn 3 of time. i look at his yard and realize he cant beat me so i just play my dimir cutpurse and pass turn. during his upkeep he taps bazaar and double dredges. he sets his 11 aside and then puts them into his yard. i calmly say there removed not in your yard. the dick judge says to me you knew he was going to do that why don't you help him out. i reply by saying i didn't know it was a requirement to help my opponent play better, and how am i supposed to know that he would take the pile of 11 and put it right on top. either way he draws and plays chain on my cutpurse i just sack land and chain back. he follows by conceding to me since he had no way to win except hardcasting creatures at this time, and he had one mana. i really appreciated him doing that so i decided to throw a few cards his way as a thankyou. he said himself after the game that he couldn't believe the judge didn't give him a game loss.

2-1

4-1-1

I'm 7th going into top 8

Top 8 (guy i know is playing ichorid)

Game 1 - he mulls to six and plays land go. i drop a bob and pass he eot vamps i know hes going for bazaar so i just fow the vamp. he really does nothing else beside hardcast an ashen which i was happy to trade with my erayo.

Game 2- he goes first turn bazaar draw drop triple golgari. my turn i play a planar void off jet and a land. 2 turns later my void is still in play and i manage to flip erayo with my 4th spell being my second void (Combo). he manages to play into erayo and destroy one i have fow but decide just to hold it. i played 2 cutpurse over the next 2 turns and they ended it quick with the bob i already had.

2-0

Top 4 (Dan carp)

Before the match even starts i consider scooping to him since hes my teammate, i have no sb against him, and i would love to see him win and shut every one up. but i still wanted to see the SS final so i play it out.

Game 1 - i mull to 5 i get crushed

Game 2 - i brainstorm recall and all kinds of stuff and my hand still looks like mystical stifle and all land. i play mystical for brainstorm end of Dan's turn and actually draw some ok stuff but it really wasn't very good still and i lose was pretty straight forward i drew poorly and was never in either game, but i don't really care I'm just happy to see are team int he finals once more.

know that everyone can see what my matchups were for the day maybe people will give SS More respect. i basically played it into the worst meta possible for the deck. there was like 4 affinity decks day 2. I got one favorable match up all day and that was grim long.

I hope people see what kind of stuff the deck can really handle if you know what your doing. i played against some of the matchups i have nightmares about. as far as the day 2 went for me compared to day one new York, i would consider New York to have been the easier tournament.

Props

For the whole trip being a great time

Our car making of 3/4 of the top 4 day 2 (Ridiculous)

Becker for winning threw chalice 0 , 1 , 3 and a trini

Guy winning with SS even though it was against Dan

My opponent round 6 for being a stand up guy

Slops

Poor judging

SCG for announcing Boston and not chicago

most of the well known players not showing up

Dan for losing to SS

the 16 hour drive