[disclaimer] I actually took notes for this event, but I didn't write down my sideboarding strategies, and they change too much based on the deck, so I will just write down the theory and let you figure out my boarding, as your experiences, shall you play this deck, will be different[/i]
I hadn't had much time to test due to my school and work schedule, but I had been reviewing JeffTheFobb and LSV's Tezzeret decks the week leading up to the event, and after also reviewing G.I.'s build, realized that a Trinket Mage has been seeing play in both coasts, and I decided to give it a try in my build. I had been playing 5Color Tezzeret for awhile, but I felt a more aggressive strategy would pay out in the end. I also have been unimpressed with Echoing Truth, but realized I still needed a bounce spell, and decided to play Cryptic Command Instead. Unfortunately, I'm not sure this is right, as I only removed it to force all day, but there were two times where I did have a counterspell up where I otherwise wouldn't need to. The last change was to cut mana vault for an island, or at least, I thought so. In goldfishing, I realized I didn't want to have both Gifts Ungiven AND Fact Or Fiction without playing mana Vault, and decided that I would cut Fact or Fiction. But for what?
Courier's Capsule...
That's right! Compaire it to buying a new car. Would you rather pay $12,000 now and own iit, or 6,000 now and the other 6,000 later? Depending on your Resources, buying it upright is better. Unfortunately, My deck was poor, so it had to buy a car I could invest a little into one turn, and the rest into a turn later.
It was actually TEH NUTZ! As I always had Drain up when I cast the shitter... You'll also notice the lack of Regrowth. I've felt that Regrowth hasn't been as strong as others have stated, and in an agressive control deck, you want as many cards as possible to be immediately usable.
My list:
Mike Solymossy (GWS)
Time Capsule
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 black Lotus
1 couriers Capsule
1 Cryptic Command
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Flooded Strand
4 Force of Will
1 Gifts Ungiven
3 Island
1 Mana Crypt
4 mana Drain
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Misdirection
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mystical Tutor
4 Polluted Delta
1 Ponder
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Sol Ring
1 Sundering Titan
1 Tezzeret The Seeker
1 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Thoughtseize
1 Time Vault
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Trinket Mage
2 Tropical island
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Voltaic Key
3 Underground Sea
1 Yawgmoths Will
----------
1 Duresss
2 Empyrial Archangel
1 Gaea's Blessing
1 Krosan Grip
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Oath of Druids
1 Trinisphere
1 Hurkyls Recall
Round 1 pairings go up, and I'm paired against Ben Chapman, a 5 color player who plays vintage occasionally.
Red Shop Aggro
Game 1, he wins the die roll, and I mulligan. He leads the game off with a Turn 1 Juggernaut, but doesn't have any other action. I play some mana and a voltaic key. He sets a Chalice @ 2 on his next turn, which is frustrating because I have Drains and other goodies in hand. I draw a Demonic Tutor, play a land, and pass back at 15. He swings, and puts me to 9 after a fetchland, and then plays Triskelion. Well this is great, I think. I cast EOT gifts for Trinket Mage, Mystical Tutor, Ancestral Recall, and Tezzeret, knowing he has to give me Trinket Mage and Recall, as my 6 Mana on board would definitely kill him. I cast EOT recall, and then go to my turn. I cast the Trinket Mage, find Explosives, Set it at Zero, Blow it up to get his chalice out as well as my Mana Crypt, and then Time Walk. On my Time Walk turn, I leisurely Demonic for Time Vault, and he scoops.
Sideboard Strategy: Out: Anything High-casting costed + Misdirection and thoughtseize IN: Oath + KGrip and Hurkyls
Game 2 I keep a sketchy 7 with a fetchland and Academy after Mulliganing again, and he opens after mulligan with Lotus, Ancient Tomb, Magus of the Moon. I draw a card play my top, and pass. Next turn, I absorb 2 he passes back. I draw blind for turn, hoping to get a land so I could spin top plus mystical if need be, and I draw the Island. I pass back. He Swings for 2 more, and then plays another Magus. As I boarded out Cryptic, I guess I have no choice but to play the Oath game. I spin the top, find lotus, and play an oath, and filter the mana through Top. He swings, and then Attempts to cast wheel of Fortune. I mystical for force, hit my sensei's top, and force it. He passes back, stares at Empyrial Archangel, and that's all she wrote.
1-0, 2-0
Round 2 Danny Friedman team ICBM
Tinker Deck
Game 1, I elect to play, and Open up with turn 1 recall. I have force backup, but I don't need it. He drops a Lotus, and then we stand still for awhile, until I merchant Scroll for Mana drain, he Mystical Tutors for one, and we have a drain war over a spell of his, which I win with force. I eventually Tinker out Sundering Titan, to blow up both of his lands, and at the end of the game, my hand is Cryptic Command, Force, Force, Drain, Misdirection. GeeG.
Board in: 1 Leyline, 1 Duress, 1 Krosan grip
Board out: 1 Mystical Tutor, 1 Merchant Scroll, 1 Engineered Explosives
Game 2, he plays, and opens with land,, mox, go. I open with Jet, Emerald, Academy, brainstorm, time walk and he responds with Ancient grudge. Then I take my time walk turn, play a second land, and pass back. I expect He will grudge my other mox, so I vampire Tutor for Black Lotus. it passes back to him, he draws, and passes turn. The game draws out, and finally I have Thoughtseize to protect the Yawgmoths Will (The reason I vamped for Lotus). I eventually set up a play but am out of mana, so the game drags on a couple more turns. Eventually I play Tezzeret, Time Vault, and Voltaic Key, expecitng that he will grudge in response to my tezzeret's untap, and I can respond with Voltaic Key, take an extra turn, and then bash him for lethal via tezzeret. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have a single Counterspell to trump my force, and I win 2-0.
2-0, 4-0
round 3: Kurt Maske playing Bob Naseum
Kurt and I played the finals of the Astro City Games tournament, just as an FYI.
He elects to play GAme 1, and mulligans. I keep a hand that is INSANE *IF* i Draw a land, but I realize I have many topdecks to get out of it, and I know that Ad Naseum has a VERY hard time winning until turn 3 unless they draw the nuts after a mulligan. He plays land, go, and I mise the land, recall myself, counter some stuff of his, and he draws dead. I thoughtseize a 4 card hand and see triple chrome mox + mana vault. I combo with ease.
Game 2, he elects to play again, and opens with Sea, Jet, pass turn. I am THRILLED, and open sapphire, jet, emerald, island, Tinker. He lets it resolve, and I get Trinisphere. Unfortunately, his play is a little better as he drops a second Underground Sea and Rawdog's Necropotence. This is bad. He draws 10 and passes,and I draw, play a land, and pass back. He does nothing but play a land, and pass back. I draw, play yet another land, and pass. He attempts the EOT Chain, but I have force and he takes another 5 on his turn. I untap, and draw. My hand is dead, but I have hit 5 mana and can play Tezzeret. My choice is to bluff counter, but I figured he'd play into them anyway at this point, or push out tezz. So I tap down and cast Tezzeret. Kurt taps 3 of his 4 mana, and casts pact of Negation. I pass back to him. In his upkeep, he plays dark Ritual, pays for pact, and announces his draw. I stop him, and ask him where he's getting the
to payfor pact. He points at his 2 Underground Sea's, and I say "that's got the ritual covered for the trinisphere, now what?
3-0, 6-0
Round 4 ID with TK
Round 5 ID with James King
Top 8: Chris Osinski with Extended Domain
He wins the Die roll, and Mulligans. I keep my 7, and he goes down to 17 turn 1 to thougthseize me. I return the favor, and see that he has a gaddock teeg, a meddling mage, a vendilion clique, and a thoughtseize, but no second mana. I take his gaddock, as my deck is stone dead to it game 1. Unfortunately for me, he rips a fetch, and drops meddling mage. I force it. I play Key and Sensei's Top, and pass. He Draws YET ANOTHER land, and Vendilion Clique's me on my draw step. I think wow, that's great. Now you just have thoughtseize. I dig for answers, but don't find any, and he draws, plays the thoughtseize, and then plays Tarmogoyf! RunnerX5, royal flush. Nutty McGee.
Board in: Oaths
Board out: Drainx2 and other bad cards
Game 2 is ridiculous, as it comes down to me AGAIN having Voltaic Key, and having only 1 card in hand. I cast Gea's Blessing, and Shuffle up. I DRAW OATH! My turn to mise his ass. He scoops when the Empyrial Archangel owns his whole team.
Game 3 he drops turn 1 nacatl. I play a top and thoughtseize his sculler, sculler, delta, time walk hand, and take time walk. Eventually through this game, Im hiding empyrial ARchangel and Gaea's Blessing, looking for a shuffle effect. It comes down to me Activating the Spin Ability of the top, Tapping it to draw, responding by untapping it with Key, and tapping it again.
For those of you confused, this is how it works:
I draw Card #1, and replace it with top.
I draw Top.
I spin cards 2, 3, and 4.
This way, I get to see an aditional card each turn. Unfortunatley, I'm completely dead on baord to awful creatures, because I draw no way to get time vault.
A really REALLY disapointing end to a day that started out flawless for me. I Get a minty Force of Will for my troubles.
props:
Couriers Capsule: You're not good ENOUGh, but you really pushed through when I used you against Danny.
Xtreme Games: Awesome Tournament, as always.
LSV/Jeff The Fobb: I stole a lot of asepcts of your decks.
Trinket Mage: The Nutty McFlush
Slops:
Bad Extended decks drawing insane cards like it's their job.
the oath sideboard, for overall being unimpressive. Firespout and Sower would have been better.
People for not trading me a time Vault.
Until next week @ The ICBM Open!
