[Report] Top 4 at Myriad Games

This is being posted on behalf of Tim Greenfield (TMD name is Pure Scrubbery)

Ancient History (circa survivor 3, one of the island ones): I’m Tim Greenfield, and I often play vintage magic. It has always been this way, as the local shop held T1 tourneys every Saturday for multiple years. Eventually some folks there and I formed a testing group, which eventually morphed into our “team”. It’s called Team Marauder, mostly because they are Pirates, but pirate was censored on TMD at the time.

The Past Year or Two: The past year or two truly saw each of us develop as magic players. While only Dan (Jank Golem) won power during this time, each of us had a far better understanding of the format and playing in general. Eventually each of us chose an archetype we liked, and ran with it. I was predominantly an Oath player up until very recently, as I had the cards and felt comfortable playing it. Justin has the most problems, as he plays mono red with an ever-decreasing land count. First it was 10 mountains at the battleground mox tournament, and finally 9 were run at Myriad. We always make his deck in the car, so it’s his fault for not being prepared.

Side note: Dan really tries to play other archetypes besides fish, but they all end up being totally awful. READ: Griffin Canyon Combo

The Team Currently: Our team certainly has a few pitfalls. Justin is intent of playing aggro, as you will see from the first round. Dan likes to play mono colored decks, and Emery (our missing member) is absolutely obsessed with Guild Wars. We think he skipped Myriad to play it. He generally plays stax when he comes.

Prelude: With my WoW account expired, and no will to continue onward; I decided I would spend at least a portion of the weekend flopping cards. There had been a lot of discussion here on TMD about the viability of fish, and how it could never win tournaments. This in turn led me to adopt a version of bomberman (more bob-bomberman) that was fishy in nature.

Testing: During goldfishes, or tests against other matchups there was something that struck me as being sub par in the deck. At the time I was running the full suite of 4x Force of Will and 2x Misdirection. I later realized however, that these cards were indirectly responsible for whatever random blue cards I put in to up the count. Though we dared not to even consider it, it was decided nonetheless. I would play a tournament without Force of Will, even though I was running blue. (I do own them!)

The Fatal IM log
4:24:47 PM Me: like I would like duress maybe, but I wouldn't have enough blue
4:25:02 PM Jank Golem: you could cut FOW
4:25:05 PM Jank Golem: omg I said it
4:25:16 PM Jank Golem: maybe cut FOW and add duress/cabal therapy

This pretty much determined my tournament. I had second thoughts in the car, but I had wasted 25 dollars playing crap before, so if I scrubbed I wouldn’t feel bad.

Here is the list I ran at Myriad:

Artifacts: 11
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Sol Ring
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Aether Spellbomb
1 Engineered Explosives

Creatures: 14
4 Dark Confidant
4 Trinket Mage
3 Jötun Grunt
3 Random 2/4s with some little used ability

Instants: 6
4 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Vampiric Tutor

Sorceries: 13
4 Duress
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Night’s Whisper
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Time Walk

Land: 16
3 Tundra
3 Island
3 Flooded Strand
2 Underground Sea
2 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Plains
1 Strip Mine

Sideboard: 15
3 Kataki, War’s Wage
3 Orim’s Chant
3 True Believer
3 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Echoing Truth
1 Tinker
1 Darksteel Colossus

Interesting Choices

1) I do not run Force of Will. This deck is not an example saying it shouldn’t be run, but simply some evidence showing that it is not the most necessary tool in fish archetypes. I think it is a great card, and well deserving of the praise it gets. It was cut because it was watering down some elements of the deck, and I thought proactive disruption could take its place. It was also cut because the blue count was way too low, and I couldn’t increase it without replacing elements I really liked. This was an experiment, and I in no way advocate cutting force of will. I am merely saying it was ok to do so in this specific situation.

2) This deck is definitely more beat down oriented than combo oriented. Over the course of seven matches I combo’d out exactly one time. The game plan is to use some proactive disruption, and delay them long enough to win. The creature base I was running was predominantly larger than other fish creatures, and this allowed me to win games where I otherwise could not.

The Report

Round 1: Justin Yang with Goblins

Having driven up with Justin, I not only know exactly what he is playing, but also what is in his sideboard. Unfortunately, he knows the same about my deck. I had not tested the actually aggro matchup too much, and I was in for a surprise.

Game 1: Game 1 I remember going by rather quickly, as I quickly found myself amidst a sea of angry red creatures. I tried to get some trinket mages out there to block while I found a grunt, but they were quickly gempalmed away.

Game 2: I lead with the casual island pass. He plays first turn siege gang off a lotus, and a mana crypt. He has no other red source that I can see. As he starts to chip away I work up my mana until I can start getting my guys in there. I was playing around his siege gang sac ability, even though he had no red mana. Finally he lays a mountain, but at this time he has played orb of dreams and it comes into play tapped. Next I proceed with the crucial play of the match; I drop strip mine and grunt, leaving 2 mana open. Then I timewalk, untapping my strip and destroying his mountain before he could get a red source. I ran him over after this.

Game 3: Game three involved some trades between creatures, followed by him sharpshootering down the majority of my team, and leaving me at four. He had miscalculated, and would not be able to kill me. I stabilized with a grunt and a trinket, followed by a salvagers. Time was called and though I couldn’t win on turn 5, it was obvious to both of us that I would win on turn 7, so he conceded the game to me.

Round 2: Dan Perovich with Mono Blue Fish

Dan was the other person we drove to the tournament with, so we had basically paid twenty five bucks to do what we could do at home. I thought the matchup would be an easy one for me, but it turned out to be a lot harder than expected.

Game 1: Fearing the early stifle, I fetch immediately on my turn. I open up with a therapy, trying to hit force of will. It hits one, and as I see his hand I feel slightly sick inside. I drop my sapphire and pass the turn. He plays null rod off his own mox and a wasteland. I desperately try to draw into some other mana sources, but I eventually die to a stifled fetch and factory beats.

Game 2: It was a lot like game one. He managed to stifle the early fetch, and got an old man of the sea to stick before I could threads one of his creatures. His old man took my trinket mage (fetching EE), and it was pretty much game from there. I couldn’t stem the tide of his beats and mine.

It was rather annoying that as a result of the first two rounds only one of us could be 2-0. I guess that’s random numbers for you.

Round 3: Mike Bergeron with TMWA

The mountains aren’t a particularly scary matchup for my deck, as the creatures are smaller, and likely can burn all mine down. They are geared to fighting decks other than mine, so a lot of their MD hate is useless. However I knew Mike was a good player, and resolved to play the best I could.

Game 1: I open up with a fetch for sea, and therapy, naming STP. Mike’s hand is something along the lines of 3x Orim’s Chant, Mire, Children of the Koralis, and the dwarf that owns EtW. He proceeded to eventually orim’s chant me four consecutive times, beating for 2 on each of his “time walk” turns. I came back when I was finally able to cast, and played a lot of creatures which I rode to victory.

Game 2: I brought in the threads for this matchup as well, thinking it would be very fun to ninja his confidants. The early game was mostly back and forth involving the dwarf killing a confidant and some other exchanges. It came down to me having a confidant, and him having a confidant. I cast threads on his, and then played another of my own. He responded by casting a confidant, which I promptly used threads on during my next turn. However I was faced with a problem, I was at 9, and he was at something like 14. (Additional note: I was holding another confidant, but bob can only get around so much) I had sensei’s top out at the time, so I wasn’t particularly worried. I sacrificed his two confidants to cabal therapy flash back, and survived to swing in for the win with my three.

Round 4: Steve Morency with TMWA (very similar build, to my knowledge)

I was excited about facing the mountains as the matchup seemed genuinely good in testing, and I had just survived it through four consecutive “time walks”.

Game 1: The first game was a rather interesting. I keep a hand with not enough beats, and more heavy on disruption elements. We trade duresses, and I therapy him a few times, hitting some stuff. (Memory rather flaky of this match). Eventually I get the trinkets to block his guys, and he uses a dwarf to kill my bob. I finally find salvagers, and with the combo assembled, I go off.

Anecdotal side note: This was the first and only time I used the salvagers combo all day. I was caught up using trinket mage for disruptive aspects, or to protect myself from the “whoops I won” factor. I generally fetched explosives or crypt all day long; with spellbomb coming in after those, and mana sources last.

Game 2: This game was rather depressing. It starts off vaguely similar, with a trinket mage vs. the dwarf. He drops bob, which I promptly threads. He pops the dwarf, and I start to beat him for two a turn, until he starts to stabilize around 10 life. I am at a quite low life total, as he is swinging in every turn and I have a lone trinket mage fending them off. I have held off his hordes, but then he topdecks something huge. Something you would never expect. The only card to have its own format named after it. Two-Headed Giant of Forlys. It has trample. I lose.

Depressed at being killed by the giant, I filled with the resolve to win the match. As I had never top-8ed before, it was an opportunity to do so, and if I lost I would not.

Game 3: My hand is perfect for the matchup, some creatures, some mana, and perhaps one disruption spell. I played bob, and then trinket mage. I had explosives for 1 to destroy his 1 drops, as well as spellbomb to bounce permanents to swing through. I probably could have combo’d off via spellbomb tricks, but I won before I had the mana to do so. So it was beats for the win once again. He had the two headed giant at one point, and he double blocked my salvagers+trinket mage, killing the salvagers. It did not stop me this time however. I used some spellbomb recursion in there to keep blockers away and get damage through.

I vaguely remember showing a lot of respect during this match (though I try to be as respectful as possible at all times during tournaments) often saying sir throughout. If this came off as sarcastic I apologize, it was not intended to be at all.

Round 5: Sara Yarrington with 2 Land Belcher

Game 1: I’m on the play, and I keep a grip with 2 duress and a therapy. I open with duress, and nab belcher, leaving her scrambling off the top for a win condition. I follow up with other forms of disruption on subsequent turns, and eventually win via beats.

Game 2: I sided in True Believer, Kataki, and Orim’s Chant I believe. I keep a hand with turn 2 true believer and turn three trinket mage. I hope she doesn’t empty or win first turn, as I don’t have an out until turn 2. She casts Rite of Flame three times before casting belcher and activating it. I was worried, as she had played the taiga, and there was only one other land in the deck. It comes up 12th, a bayou, and I’m saved. She is trying to get a black source for rituals in her hand, but I drop the turn 2 believer. On turn 3 I topdeck Kataki like a champ, and ride him to victory.

I was sorry that both games weren’t enjoyable really, but that’s sometimes the way things go. She had me game 2, but the cards were just unlucky. I had been paired down, so I was now the only person with 12 points. In for sure anyways, which is always a good thing.

The top 8 was announced, and I was to be playing Jim with counterbalance control. I had seen him playing a friend earlier in the day, and it was fairly intriguing. I was fairly confidant of the match, simply because salvagers is a 2/4, and he can’t stop that.

Quarterfinals: Jim Burlison with Counterbalance control (U/B)

Game 1: Game one goes entirely as planned. I rip his hand up a bit with duresses and therapies before dropping bob and starting the beats. He drops cutpurse, and I keep bob back to block. He swings and I block him, which came off as surprising to him. I drop salvagers and grunt, and ride them to victory.

I incorrectly sided for this game, as I really didn’t know what kinds of creatures he was playing. I sided in threads, which was a mistake that probably cost me the game.

Game 2: It starts in a similar fashion, except he has the innocent blood for my resolved creatures and the counters for ones I’m trying to resolve. I get literally no disruption this game. He counters trinket mage, and then extirpates him. While this in and of itself is a winnable situation, he then gets top, cutpurse, and counterbalance online. I lose over the course of many turns.

He commented on threads earlier saying how it was useless, so I took his advice and it came out. I put in the orim’s chants so that I could stop a potential willàtendrils, and to act as miniature time walks against him.

Game 3: I don’t remember a great deal about this game, but I do know he didn’t get in with cutpurse until my hand was empty. I had a lot of creatures and just outaggro’d him. 2/4s will do that I suppose.

The top four congregated in a corner of the room, and we discussed possible splitting options. I think people were ok with the top 4, basically passive as to whether we wanted to play it out or not. Arik said he wouldn’t mind playing it out, as fish needed to win a tournament. Nobody else really voiced an opinion, and money wasn’t an obligation to them, so we continued onward. Dana scooped to Dan so that they could get food, and so fish would have a shot at winning. If Arik won, fish would win the tournament regardless.

Semifinals: Arik Pogrebinsky with perfect fish UBW

Game 1: The first game my deck did what it was supposed to do. He had a strong first turn, consisting of something like null rod and bob due to a lot of accel. He looked at me incredulously as I “allowed” these two spells to resolve. However, he drew over the next few turns, getting pretty much nothing. I drew into enough mana to start casting dudes, and got a bob of my own. I eventually overran him with the power of my vanilla 2/4s.

Game 2: As Arik says in his report, this game is pretty bad. He again plays first turn rod, kinda ruining my hand. I am stuck on 1 land for probably 5+ turns, not getting anything off multiple brainstorms. My graveyard fills up, and he starts discarding as well. He gets the bob, and it was pretty much game from there.

Game 3: Locked under a rod yet again, and due to bad randomization, I was drawing first not enough lands, and then I got flooded. I was down to four, and an opportunity to stabilize occurred. He had something like Bob/Isamaru, and I had nothing on the board that was relevant. I brainstormed into whisper and two lands. I cast whisper, going to two, and drew into land and trinket mage. I maged into spellbomb, which would have given me an out. I was tired at the time, and did not see the null rod on the other side of the table. Oh well.

While Arik may have found it odd that I didn’t run force of will, I found it vaguely refreshing. Force of will does prevent brokenness, but in an environment predominantly consisting of decks trying to prevent brokenness; I figured what the hell.

Exodus: We went to the mall food court for food. At the Master Wok’s restaurant we struggled to understand the man. While Justin does have a mother who can barely speak English, he could not understand the man, claiming he did not speak “idiotnese”. We pay for the food and get out of there.

For the TLDR crowd: I didn’t run force of will. I top 4ed. I played Bob-Bomberman.

Obligatory Props/Slops

Props: 2/4s, which apparently own the current environment.
Slops: Random numbers, language barriers.