The tournaments being held in New Berlin are fantastic. I just want to say thanks to Ben Carp for producing such great tourneys with phenomenal prize support. These tourneys are no walk in the park either. The field is littered with multiple SCG power 9 top 8’ers and other big named players.
I have been working on multiple colored Workshop shells since the release of Dark Confidant. After being granted permission to view a super secret workshop primer(thanks Princess) I was able to compare my testing result vs. someone else’s. The metagame was ripe with Gush.dec, Nonbasic lands, and 1cc cost spells. It was time for the unveiling and some dojo domination. This is the concoction that I decided to play.
Anthony Michaels
Team GWS
BR Stax
2 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Badlands
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Polluted Delta
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Barbarian Ring
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Black Lotus
5 Moxen
1 Sol Ring
4 Goblin Welder
4 Dark Confidant
1 Karn, Silver Golem
4 Smokestack
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Sphere of Resistance
2 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Trinisphere
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
2 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Darkblast
SB:
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Extirpate
1 Rack and Ruin
2 Duplicant
2 Pyroclasm
2 Triskelion
4 Leyline of the Void
Post tourney Shenanigans:
I slept through a final Friday mourning and woke up an hour before Snoop Trogg, Yangtime and Juan Rod(Team Meandeck) where scheduled to pick me up. I emailed my professor and hoped for the best. Nice way to start off the weekend. Well, they made it to Toleeds and we shipped out to LordHomerCat’s house in Milwaukee, who was friendly enough to let us crash at his house. We had dinner reservations at a restaurant where LHC’s brother worked at called Eddie Martini’s. It was ballin and we ate like Kings! We then went back to LHC’s and listed to Juan and Jimmy talk shit to each other about the Slaver vs. Oath match up. It was great! We all went to be fairly early in preparation for the long day ahead. I couldn’t sleep for shit and woke up from a nightmare about Aliens the movie. My nightmare involved me being attacked by a facehugger and I woke up from fright only to notice Jimmy’s cat going nutzors on my head. We all laughed about it in the mourning when I told everyone about it. We then left for the tourney.
Walking into the event we all saw top notch players every where. It was not going to be easy. Registration, BSing and then it was finally time for the tourney.
I did not take notes so I apologize if there are any discrepancies.
Rd 1 Ian Degraff with Experimentalblue.dec
G1-
I see and Island and a Force of Will pitching an Accumulated Knowledge. My lock components, Wastelands, and Smokestack seals the deal and it is off to game 2
G2-
Ian leads with Basic Island which is pretty good vs. stax. My opening of Workshop Sphere of Resistance meets Brainstorm then Force of Will. I then play Mox Jet Thorn of Amethyst. His next turn is draw go. I lay down a Wasteland and resolve a Dark Confidant. Over the next few turns Bobby sculpts my hand and board position where Ian is locked out by a Smokestack and Thorns. Ian plays it out until I plink his life down to Zero. I end the game at 3 life and a Driving Top out in play to sculpt my draws.
1-0 2-0-0
Rd 2 ?(for some reason I did not right my opponents name down) EmptyGush.gec
G1-
I keep an average hand of lock components Dark Confidant and stuff.
My opponent opens with land, Black Lotus, Merchant Scroll, Ancestral Recall, and Pass. On my Turn I drop a Sphere of Resistance and it gets forced. Next turn my opponent drops a land casts Moxen, Regrowth, Ancestral Recall, and Empty the Warrens. I reply “Must be nice to live in Christmas Land.” We laughed as it was off to the next game.
G2-
I am able to drop 3 lock components by turn two followed up by Dark Confidant. My opponent packed it up at 14 life when the soot counters got upped to 2 and Bobby was fueling my hand.
G3-
My opener is 2 Rebs, 1 Extirpate, 1 Bazaar, 1 Dark Confidant, 1 Badlands, 1 Mox Jet, and 1 Badland. I give Vroman a personal shout out in my head and keep. My opponent leads with Polluted Delta and passes. I draw a Wasteland, drop Badlands, Jet, and pass. End of Turn he announces sacking Polluted Delta for Underground Sea and Vampiric Tutor putting both vamp and sea in his bin at the same time. He asks if he can do it all at once and I ask him to do it in order. He gets his land and I Extirpate his Polluted Delta after he vamps. I blow apart is manabase from the inside out, see his grip of 2x Brainstorm, Force of Will, Volcanic Island. He plays his Volcanic Island, Duress and takes one of my Red Elemental Blasts, and passes. I play Wasteland, cast Bobby of Wasteland and Jet. He floats blue and Brainstorms then Forces. I Reb and get Bobby to stick. The next few turns I build a hand and drop lock pieces. His life total is slowly eaten away by the guy who is very dark and very confidant.
2-0 4-1-0
Rd 3 I get paired against teammate Mike “The Salad” Solomossy. We decide to play and I mull into oblivion. The Ben announces repair and we are both happy.
Rd 3 2nd Edition. I get paired against another Mike playing gush.dec
G1-
I get blown out by an Emty the Warrens for 8 dude sweats and can never recover. I did however resolve a Dark Confidant though. W00t!
G2-
I open up with a hand that leads with a complete lock out by turn 3 with Confidant on board. Mike scoops it up at 16 life.
G3-
I keep a hand that resembles B/R hate.dec. similar to the hand I had in the previous round. After Rebs and a Confidant the Lock pieces started to come down and it was gg’s.
3-0 6-2-0
Rd 4 Red dudesweat.dec. a.k.a. Goblins This it the one match up that I fear most.
G1-
He opens with Badlands Goblin Lackey go. I waste his land, drop Ruby and welder then pass. He swings with lackey and I block with welder. He misses his land drop and passes. I shit my pants. Draw Mishra’s Workshop drop a Sphere of Resistance and pass. He lays down a land and passes. I drop Smokestack and pass. He draws a Fetchland and passes. I drop a Crucible of Worlds and it is off to game 2.
G2-
He opens with Mountain and a 1st turn lackey that is met by my first turn Badlands into Dark Blast. His next turn is Skirk Prospecter and no land drop. I shit my pants for the second time. I dredge D-blizzy back and play Mox Jet and Goblin Welder. Next turn he drops a land and does not play any dudes. I draw an Imperial Seal and tutor up a Bazaar of Baghdad since I had 2 Triskelions in my hand along with some other shitters. He plays a land and does not play anything. I get the Bazaar thing going develop my manabase and get one Trike in bin and one in play. I play Chicago Typewriter for a while. He develops his mana through moxen and a mana crypt, gets me with a Mogg Fantastic along with a Shattering Spree after I got a Trinisphere in play. I ramp up a stack to 2, play a welder, Dark Blast his dude sweat and weld in a Trinishphere over the course of two turns. He scoops up his cards without even saying anything and walks away. I got the impression he was not pleased. I look up and see Snoop Trogg laughing and giving me the ol’ thumbs up. I reply with the
Swash Buckler.
4-0 8-2-0
Rd 5 Owen the Enchanter
We I.D. and get food
4-0-1 8-2-1
Rd 6 Duby Duby
We I.D. Into the top 8 since it does not matter if we win or lose.
4-0-2 8-2-2
Top 8
Rd 1 in top 8 Dave Carhart Flash.dec
Apparently there was a discrepancy in Dave’s list so he received a game loss this round. I felt for Dave, but in the back of my head I was thinking that this situation was ballin.
G1-
I win due to match loss.
G2-
Dave opens with Sapphire, Ponder, Island, Jet, Carrion Feeder, go. Twenty turn clock, no first turn Flash, I open up with this busted ass hand, Workshop, Sol Ring, Ruby, Welder, Chalice @ 2. Sphere of Resistance, Badlands(card I drew for turn), and Crucible of Worlds was left in my hand. Dave Brainstorms on his turn and passes. I play Crucible and SoR and weld it in. After a few turns of Carrion Feeder vs. Welder beats and mana development I D-Blizzyed the Feeder and dreadged it up to to find lock components. It puts a Bazaar of Baghdad in the bin and I started to bazaar away. Smokestack eventually found his way in and the soot counters started to eat away at Dave’s board.
Rd 2 of top 8 Chris Nighbor Painters Servant combo
G1-
Nighbor opens with the dreaded 1st turn Black Lotus into Ancestral Recall + other busted stuff and painters servant. I respond “This guy is good”. I open with a lock component and a welder I believe. Once again I am on a 19 turn clock. I dig and dig and find nothing and it is eventually off to game 2.
G2-
I open with Ruby, Goblin Welder, Workshop, Driving Top, and Chalice @ 1. Life is looking good, but to my dismay it would not be enough. Chris fetches out his one basic island lays down a Tormod’s Crypt, Mox, and drops a Painters Servant and starts beating. I start Topping and find Bazaar of Baghdad to start digging. I dig, Top, Dig Fetch, Dig and Top for 5 turns only to reveal land(no wasteland) and moxen. Seriously, you can ask Jimmy McCarthy he was right next to me. Without any pressure Nighbor plays sculpt a hand until he can Rack and Ruin my only 2 important artifacts in play. I lose to a Willennium that got Grindstone into play with activation. What is a Care Bear to do?
Ben hooks me up with an Illusionary Mask for my efforts and I am happy.
This deck was a beating all day and only pooped on me during my last match.
Once again I would like to say thank you to Ben for being such a great T.O.
Props:
-Hanging out with my friends all weekend
-Juan for being weird
-Snoop Trogg, Yangtime, and Juan for picking me up.
-Jimmy for hosting us
-Jimmy and Juan’s shit talking
-GWS for letting me into there secret lair.
-Snoop Trogg for making top 8 "That guy is Good"
-Crisp Pokemon bills
Slops:
-My deck pooping on me in top 8
-The Salad for blowing games in top 8
-cats attacking my head
-having to wait for the next one
-having to listen to "where is Steve at?" Seriously, you need to make it up there.
