B-More Vintage 4 2-28-09 Results

[oshkoshhaitsyosh]

i ended up getting 3rd in this tourney. i played a similar list to aj grasso. U/R landstill. I ended up loosing round 1 to mono red workshops. i beat liches mirror.dec, tezz, painter, and drew unintentionally drew with aj in the mirror. So i was 3-1-1. Top 8 i played against Nick playing CS and won. Then in the semis i played agianst the same red shops player i lost to in round 1...continued to loose that match aswell!

so heres the list

4 force of will
3 mana leak
3 daze
4 stifle
4 null rod
4 standstill
1 red elemental blast
1 pyroblast
1 brainstorm
1 black lotus
1 ancestral recall
1 mox sapphire
1 mox ruby
1 time walk
2 gorilla shaman
1 misdirection
2 crucible of worlds
1 mystical tutor
1 chain of vapor
3 fire/ice
4 island
3 volcanic island
2 polluted delta
2 flooded strand
4 wasteland
1 strip mine
4 mishras factory

sb
4 threads of disloyalty
2 old man of the sea
3 relic of progenitus
3 annul
3 energy flux

changes i would make would be not to play annul on sb...its bad imo. maybe play rack and ruin in place. go to 2 bounce spells in the maindeck. also test around with grim lavamancer, and maybe a couple drains in the list

It's customary to use capitals at the start of sentences - please do so in future here.
-Godder

[JustABee]

ANYWAY,
I also Top 8ed. I lost in the quarterfinals to Joe (ashiXIII) so I fell in the place of 5-8.

Here is what I piloted along with a mini report.
(Mod: If this thread is nixed or this is more suited for its own thread please PM me so it can be reposted)

King Oath

2 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
2 Island
1 Strip Mine
2 Wasteland
4 Forbidden Orchard

1 Hellkite Overlord
1 Arkroma, Angel of Wrath

4 Oath of Druids
1 Gaea's Blessing
2 Toughtseize
2 Duress
4 FOW
1 Misdirection
4 Negate
1 Lim-duls Vault
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Scroll Rack
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Lat-Nams Legacy
4 Impulse
1 Wipe Away

sb:
2 Null Rod
2 Pithing Needle
2 Firespout
1 Life From the Loam
3 Oxidize
3 Tormod's Crypt
2 Empyrial Archangel
1 Extripate

Rnd1 John Jones with Shaymora Win
I am now a lifetime 2-1 vs John and its always fun to play him in events. I didn't test at all vs mora, but i found out that it wasn't a very good match up for him.
G1 I got oath down and eventually found an orchard.
G2 He had 1 land which I wasted and tons of artifact mana. I duressed one turn and took his counter. Next turn I ripped DT to get a null rod which shut him out of the game.

Rnd2 Mike Noble with mono red shops Loss
G1 I think I mulled and couldn't deal with the mana denail.
G2 I won a close game by playing needle forcing him to ususpend his gargadon and then oathing up akroma first and then hellkite. I think I would have lost had it been the opposite order.
G3 the mana denial +3 thorns got to me.

Rnd3 Sam with Ichorid Win
G1 Sam bazzared away 1 dreger. I had a waste for his bazzar on turn 1 and it was enough to let me win.
G2 He mulled to 2. My hand was waste, strip, and DT (for tormod's crypt), VT (for oath), orchard, underground and a fetch. It was pretty solid.

Rnd4 Paul with CS Win
I apologize for not remembering much of our matches.
I believe I got down chalice on 1 in G1 and then oathed.
G2 I believe revolved around the mana denial plan with life from the loam before duressing the way for an oath, but that might be completely wrong.

Rnd5 Taylor with ??? ID

I have no idea what Taylor was playing we IDed and he ended up being the 9th placer due to some odd happenings with a group of 2-1-1s who had to play it out.
Very sorry about that. I hope to see you T8ing at future events.

T8
Joe Davis with Tez
G1 Turn 1 Tez nabbing Time Vault GG
G2 It was close I had oathed and swung with Akroma. I passed the turn. Joe has top and key. He Timewalks + tops to find tinker to get the time vault to compliment his Volatic Key. To be fair he showed the other card in and... of course it was Will. GG buddy.

Props
Darryn for running a great event
The whole T8 for being really solid players
Sushi!!!! yum

[ashiXIII]

Okay guys, I talked to Godder and he said it'd be okay to try this thread again. He also said he'd merge the good stuff from the old thread into this one. So please, NO FLAMING OR OFF-TOPIC DISCUSSION. Thanks.

Okay, so I took first. Here's my list with a mini-trip report:

Maindeck

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Misdirection
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral
1 Ponder
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Tinker
1 Sundering Titan
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Tezzeret
1 Echoing Truth
1 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Fire/Ice
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Time Walk
1 Courier's Capsule

3 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
3 Island
3 Volcanic Island
2 Underground Sea
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Library of Alexandria
5 Moxen
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt


Sideboard:
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Platinum Angel
1 Mindslaver
2 Threads of Disloyalty
2 Viashino Heretic
2 Rack and Ruin
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Duress
2 Goblin Welder
1 Extirpate


I'm terrible with names and don't remember many of my opponents names. Sorry about that, guys. If I played you and don't have your name, feel free to post and I'll edit this. Same goes for details in the games. (my memory isn't very good when it comes to this stuff. Sorry again. )

Round 1 vs ??? w/ Mana Drains

I win in 2 games. I remember them being somewhat close, but don't remember the details of either. Man, my memory sucks.

Round 2 vs Marc Frias w/ Mana Drains again

Okay, so our scouting said that this player was playing Combo, probably Ad Nauseum. That turned out to be way wrong. I believe it ended up that he was playing Tez.

Game 1 I win in pretty quick fashion with Time Vault + Key. All I saw from him were lands and a Duress. I 'board way, way wrong, because I still think he's on combo.

I end up taking game 2 after he Duresses me, leaving me with a Mystical for Ancestral, holding Misdirection back up. Shortly after, I extirpate his Duresses (mostly just to get  a peek at his hand.) Then play and resolve a Gifts which wins the game.

Round 3 vs Nat Moes w/ Belcher

I really should remember this player's name. I've played him several times, and he's always a fun opponent.

Our scouting has him on Belcher, which turns out to be correct. ...Or I could've just read his shirt. FML

Anyway, I win the die roll and elect to play.
I end up taking game 1 after I FoW an early Belcher and he's out of steam.
Game 2, I mulligan to 6 and keep a hand w/o FoW. He kills me on turn 1. Awesome. Seriously.
Game 3, he mulligans to 6 I believe and I again FoW a first-turn Belcher. He's out of steam again and I take it from there


Round 4 vs Nick Coss w/ 0-2 Welder Control

Paired against a teammate in round 4 where we both have 3-0 records. We Id.

Round 5 vs Mike Noble w/ Mono-Red Workshop Aggro

I'm 3-0-1 and Mike is 4-0, so we ID into the top 8. At this point, Mike, Nick, Bernie and myself go across the street and have an awesome sushi lunch while we're waiting for the top 8. In the middle of it, our friend AJ joins us after he finished his match. So, 5 of the top 8 were eating lunch together. As we're finishing up, Nick gets a call saying they're going to start the top 8. I thought this was pretty amusing as most of the top 8 wasn't even in the venue. How could they possibly start with only 3 players? Anyway, we finish up and head back.

Quarterfinals vs Bernie Parisi w/ Oath

I win the roll.

Game 1 I play a first turn Tezzeret. All-in, baby. He doesn't have an answer.
Game 2 is much closer. We fight it out for a few turns. I have a top and key in play. He eventually resolves an Oath and Oaths up Akroma. I take 6, staring at lethal next turn. I'm holding Will in hand, and find Tinker with my Top. I Tinker out Vault and win from there.

After this match, Bernie draws a penis on my Tezerret as per our prematch agreement.

Semifinals vs Nat Moes w/ Belcher

 I win the roll and elect to play.

Game 1 I mulligan and keep a fairly bad hand w/ Force. It only had one mana source, a Sapphire. On his first turn, He plays a Wheel of Fortune, and I consider it for a few moments, and eventually choose to Force. He has no gas from here, but I have no mana. For my next 2 draw steps, I draw land, and cast the Thirst that was in my opening. It was busted. I proceed to resolve more draw spells and get pretty far ahead.

Game 2 I'm on the draw and keep a 7 with a FoW, Courier's Capsule and 5 mana sources. He mulligans to 5, and again plays a first turn Wheel, which I Force. He has one card left, I rip some piece of gas, and the game goes on from there.

(I'm pretty sure I have some details wrong/mixed up in this match)

Finals vs Mike Noble w/ Mono-Red Workshop Aggro

I tell Mike I don't want to split, and he has no gripes with that. Why would he? This is a good matchup for him.

Game one is very close, with him applying some pressure with a Juggie and Magus. Eventually, I bounce the Magus and Drain it, leaving him with the Juggie, and a Welder.
Here's the important part of this game. I have a Time Vault in play, from earlier when I Tezzed it up. (Then my Tez got attacked by Juggie.) I have Will in hand, and a Heretic in play. I'm at 4 life. He plays a SoFI, which I mana drain. I have a Mana Crypt and a Fetchland in play, which I need to crack. so, he attacks me with the Juggernaut, I block with the Heretic and eat my own Crypt. He Welds his SoFI in and equips to his Welder. (This turns out to be a mistake because I have Will w/ 2 artifacts in my 'yard) I untap, play Will, replay Tezzeret w/ just enough mana, and win from there.

Game 2 isn't as close. I keep a mana light 7 with some gas, a counter, and Voltaic Key. He opens with Needle, and I'm hoping he calls Time Vault and not Delta, as that's my only land. He does call Time Vault. I draw for my turn... Time Vault. Cool. I end up playing out the combo, and he plays a Magus. I have 1 basic, a mox, and 3 nonbasic. I end up Gifting for a pile that eats his Pithing Needle, and take the game from there.


So, I believe the top 8 was:

1st: Me
2nd: Mike Noble
3/4th: the Belcher player and Josh w/ Landstill
5-8th: AJ Grasso w/ Landstill, Bernie w/ Oath, Nick Coss w/ 0-2 Welder Control, and Darren with what I believe was a Drain deck.

[psyburat]

OK, this thread feels a bit more official, I'll do a mini-report:

Mono Red Workshop

CREATURES (22)
4 Goblin Welder
4 Gorilla Shaman
4 Juggernaut
4 Magus of the Moon
4 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Triskelion

SPELLS (12)
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Trinisphere

MANA (26)
6 Mountain
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Wasteland
2 Ancient Tomb
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy

SIDEBOARD (15)
4 Red Elemental Blast
3 Greater Gargadon
3 Shattering Spree
2 Pithing Needle
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Night Dealings

No ObeyLine this time, which is blasphemy.

Round 1 vs. Josh with Landstill.  Game 1 I get a Magus and a Sword, and a Welder or Two with I think some mana denial.  Game 2 I board in REBs, fight through a Flux and a Null Rod and take the game.

Round 2 vs. Bernie with Hellkite Oath.  I remember pretty much everything he already said, only thing I can add was since I didn't see Chalice game 1 I boarded out more monkeys than I should of, which got remedied for game 3.

Round 3 vs. Taylor with BUG DeezNauts.  Game 1 I deny him playing pretty much anything thanks to Magus, which gets Berserked (lol!) a turn too late.  Game 2 he gets a turn 1 Trygon, I hold back playing artifacts until I get enough mana to play it all for a Trike to kill Predator.  Unfortunately my last activation gets Stifled, but next turn I finally draw the mountain to take down Trygon with REB and beat him, finding out that he ended the game with 3x Dreadnaught in hand.

Round 4 vs. Brad (I think that was his name) with Drains.  Game 1 my plays are first turn Sol Ring, second turn Magus.  He drains that and uses the mana to DT for Vault and KeyVault me.  Game 2 I go to town with Thorn and Juggies, and game 3 I win a close one which involved me making his stuff more expensive again.  I find out that thanks to my series of plays game 1 that he boarded against RG Beats for game 2.

Round 5 vs. Joe, ID and Sushi.

Top 8 vs. AJ with Landstill.  Game 1 I get down some mana denial and beats and swing in.  Game 2 he suspends a Gargadon and I proceed to flood the field with dudes, including having access to Welder-Sad Robot the turn that he'd be able to get Gargadon into play.  Double Magus helped too.

Top 4 vs. Josh again.  I get Juggernaut out this time, which he apparently wasn't sure I was running since he didn't see them the first time we played.  Game 2 he got an Old Man and thanks to it as well as Factory/Pump I'm left with an empty field.  I finally get an active Welder and I swing in for the win, leaving Welder back to take out the Factory that was getting ready to block (which was met with a hilarious Stifle under a Thorn that required tapping the Factory that needed to block to cast.  Scared me at first).  I remember he was pretty mana-light during that last game.  I really should take actual notes.

Top 2 vs. Joe with Tezz.  He pretty much covered it, including my misplay with Welder where I didn't think he had the Yawg's Will (or, more important, I forgot that it was an out to that play).  He was at 3 so having a Juggernaut and a 3/3 Welder seemed good at that moment.

Props to the TO for a well-run event, to King Squee for still accompanying me down after Matt Elias bailed due to stomach flu, and the NJ guys for being there in general.

[ashiXIII]

The Landstill player is Josh, and good games, Mikey. 

[psyburat]

The Landstill player is Josh, and good games, Mikey. 

Fixed.  I should have figured that it rhymed with Osh and Kosh.  GGs.

[02Dporty]

I'm terrible with names and don't remember many of my opponents names.

---

Man, my memory sucks.

---

I end up taking game 2, but don't recall how.

---

I really should remember this player's name.

---

FML

---

After this match, Bernie draws a penis on my Tezerret as per our prematch agreement.

this is the absolute best tournament report i've ever read. congrats joe and congrats 0-2 drop for taking half of the top 8 spots

[ashiXIII]

I'm terrible with names and don't remember many of my opponents names.

---

Man, my memory sucks.

---

I end up taking game 2, but don't recall how.

---

I really should remember this player's name.

---

FML

---

After this match, Bernie draws a penis on my Tezerret as per our prematch agreement.

this is the absolute best tournament report i've ever read. congrats joe and congrats 0-2 drop for taking half of the top 8 spots

oh yeah, this. forgot to mention that out of the 5 people in our car on the way down, 4 of us were in the top 8.

[GrandpaBelcher]

Hey, neat thread!

I'm the Belcher player from Joe's report, Nat Moes.  Here's the list I played:

4x Goblin Charbelcher
1x Tendrils of Agony
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x Memory Jar
1x Tinker
1x Timetwister
1x Yawgmoth's Will
1x Yawgmoth's Bargain
1x Demonic Consultation
1x Demonic Tutor

4x Rite of Flame
4x Tinder Wall
4x Dark Ritual
4x Manamorphose
4x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Simian Spirit Guide
4x Chrome Mox
4x Street Wraith
3x Wild Cantor
1x Channel
1x Black Lotus
1x Lion's Eye Diamond
1x Lotus Petal
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Sol Ring
5x Moxen

Sideboard:
4x Empty the Warrens
4x Goblin Welder
4x Tormod's Crypt
3x Pyroblast

It's different from the Belcher lists I've played recently (including last week's T8 in Pittsburgh).  I never gave the black splash a fair chance after Manamorphose was printed or Chrome Mox was unrestricted (Chrome Mox + Street Wraith = combo!).  This list is far more aggressive but less consistent the RG version.  I haven't decided which is better, quite yet.  I'll probably play it one or two more times to make a decision.  Regardless, I think Belcher is well positioned in this metagame as it forces Tezzeret to interact early (hopefully before it's ready) or die.  I'll probably put something more together on this in the near future.

As for this list, I never played Will or Bargain, and the sideboard was garbage.  I never sided in more than three of anything, and I think I would go with five sets of three cards in future tournaments.  The fifth card would probably be something like Xantid Swarm, maybe some artifact hate, maybe Jester's Caps, depending on what I expect the metagame.

Here's my quick and dirty report.  I'll probably have a more detailed report on my blog later.

Round 1 - Allen - Tezzeret, I think
Game 1 - He plays Island go.  I play mana including a Manamorphose into Black Lotus.  None of it gets countered and Belcher gets him on turn one.
Game 2 - He plays first again and responds to my boarded-in Goblin Welder with Fact or Fiction off Lotus.  Welder and the following Wheel of Fortune resolve and he counters the Belcher that would have killed him.  Good thing I played that Welder.  Weld, Belch, win on turn two.

Round 2 - Kyle - Ponies!  (GWr aggro-control)
Kyle and I rode up together from NOVA, and he was patient with me even after I missed the turn onto 95 and we went all the way around DC because I'm an idiot.  Anyway.
Game 1 - He locks me out with a turn one Glowrider off a Lotus and Kills me with further Glowriders and a Wild Nacatl.
Game 2 - I go first and as if he has Force of Will.  He does not, so I Belcher him.
Game 3 - He goes first and plays Null Rod instead of Thorn of Amethyst, and I my plan was Empty the Warrens all along.  I make 10 goblins which go the distance.

Round 3 - Joe Davis - Tezzeret
His account is correct.
Game 1 - He countered my Belcher and played Thirst, Walk, ACall, and Gifts on his first few turns.  I split the Gifts incorrectly (giving him Time Vault and Tez instead of Key and Tez) and he locked me out.
Game 2 - Lotus, Channel, Belcher.
Game 3 - He plays Sapphire and a land to Drain my Belcher.  Then he plays Gifts for brokenness and Platinum Angel.

Round 4 - Max - Conflux Combo
Game 1 - He Forces my Belcher and we play draw-go for a while until I get Demonic Consultation for Belcher and win.
Game 2 - I play Belcher on turn one but never draw the activation mana over five or six turns.  Eventually he Tinkers for DSC and gets me.
Game 3 - He opens with Leyline and counters my Belcher.  Timetwister resolves on my second turn and he's out of countermagic for the Lotus and the Belcher I draw.

Round 5 - ID with Nick Coss

T8 - Darryn - Tezzeret
Game 1 - I open with Belcher and activation mana on board.  He Walks but can't find an answer and dies on my second turn.
Game 2 - He Annuls my Belcher (first time ever Annul'd!) and tutors for Vault and Key to lock me out.
Game 3 - I open with Empty the Warrens for six and have Pyroblast and SSG to counter his Echoing Truth.  So good!  The goblins go the distance over three turns.

T4 - Joe Davis - Tezzeret
This is like he said too.
Game 1 - I mulligan and he counters my Wheel and draws mana for Thirst.  His Fact or Fiction is ridiculous as is the Will he followed with.  I scoop when Tezzeret hits play.
Game 2 - I mulligan to five and he counters my Wheel.  His Fact or Fiction isn't quite as good, but he still gets Platinum Angel into play and plays a Will that will result in Vault lock.

This was a great tournament, and I'll be sure to come out to the next one!  Thanks to all my opponents and to Darryn the TO.

[ashiXIII]

Hey, Nat. It was good to play against you and congrats on the top 4. I'm sorry I couldn't remember your name, but I fixed it in my report.

[rikimaru75]

ashixiii, I believe I, Marc Frias, was your round 2 opponent.  Also, you were right that I was playing Tezzeret.

Game 1: You had a hand with the nuts (Vault + Key) with Force backup, so when I duressed at the beginning of my turn you FoWed.  It was pretty much the end of that game in short order.

Game 2: I duress your hand, but you still had a misdirection and mystical tutor in hand still afterwards.  You gain the card advantage with a Mystical for Ancestral, and with Misdirection in hand, there was no way I would use the Demonic Tutor in my hand to get my own Ancestral to gain and hopes of card advantage.  Soon after, you extirpate my duresses and cast a gifts to which I scoop.  I suppose for an afterthought, I could have demonic tutored for another duress, but ah well.  Live and learn, I suppose.

Overall, I had a good time.  Hopefully, our match will be a bit more exciting the next time around.

[ashiXIII]

ashixiii, I believe I, Marc Frias, was your round 2 opponent.  Also, you were right that I was playing Tezzeret.

Game 1: You had a hand with the nuts (Vault + Key) with Force backup, so when I duressed at the beginning of my turn you FoWed.  It was pretty much the end of that game in short order.

Game 2: I duress your hand, but you still had a misdirection and mystical tutor in hand still afterwards.  You gain the card advantage with a Mystical for Ancestral, and with Misdirection in hand, there was no way I would use the Demonic Tutor in my hand to get my own Ancestral to gain and hopes of card advantage.  Soon after, you extirpate my duresses and cast a gifts to which I scoop.  I suppose for an afterthought, I could have demonic tutored for another duress, but ah well.  Live and learn, I suppose.

Overall, I had a good time.  Hopefully, our match will be a bit more exciting the next time around.

Thanks, Marc. I updated the report.

[Almighty]

I finished 3-2 with Ponies! A GWR Null Rod Aggro deck.

Quickie!

1 Strip Mine
3 Plateau
3 Savannah
4 Wasteland
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Glowrider
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Tarmogoyf
3 Taiga
4 Windswept Heath
4 Null Rod
3 Kird Ape
4 Tin Street Hooligan
4 Wild Nacatl
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Mox Pearl*
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Ruby*
1 Mox Emerald*
1 Black Lotus
1 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard
4 Ingot Chewer
4 Relic of Progenitus
2 Lightning Bolt
3 Gaddock Teeg
2 Gaea’s Blessing

Round One- Ralph with Painter

Game one involves me dropping a Glowrider off a Lotus, Playing a land, and saying go. I followed up with a Null rod, and that was pretty much it.

Game two was more interactive. He drained a Thorn into Tinker->DSC. I had the sword for it, but he had a force.

Game three, a Glowrider blew him out again. He showed me after the match that he was Painter. I wished him luck and went to round two.

Round Two- Nat with Belcher

He described it pretty well. If I played Thorn first game three, I would have won instead.

Round 3- Darryn with Tezz

Game one I drop a turn one Null Rod followed by a Glowrider. I strip two lands and am well on my way to blowing him out when he rips library. I knew he was waiting to drain something so I never really cast anything relevant until I baited a drain with a Nacatl to resolve a Canonist. He used his drain mana to cast an ugly 5 mana gifts, which I gave him Mystical Tutor and Walk, two quite medicre cards. Library brought him back enough into the game where he could Echoing Truth two Rods, cast Walk, and find that 6th mana source to get Vault/Key out.

Game two was going to be a blowout in my favor, but he ripped Key to go along with the vault in hand to take it down turn two. If I had a better sideboard, I should have won this match. I removed 6 Blasts from my deck to make room for some Ichorid hate. If I had blasts in either game, winning would have been pretty easy. All well. At least I know for next time.

Round 4- Local kid with Ichorid.

Neither game was interesting. My entire deck is Ichorid hate and I blew him out both times. I'm not sure why I even bother with Ichorid hate anymore. In 7 or so matches against it with this deck, I've lost once. If the Relics were Blasts, Round three would have been far more winnable for me. Still, he was a nice kid, and we played an epic type 4 game with our opponents at the table next to us when the round was over. It involved someone Overwhelming Intellecting an Iname as One and drawing 12(!) cards. The rest of the game was the three of us trying to take him down unsucessfully.

Round 5- Max with Conflux Combo deck.

His deck relies on drain as a blue dark ritual. Game one, a single resolved Glowrider went the distance as I just never even bothered casting anything else. Casting anything would have involved him having drain mana to potentially win. Game 2 I had a Thorn, Kird Ape, and Null Rod in play and just just bashed. He resolved Will, drew a couple of cards with it, and passed the turn. When the match was over, I showed him that he could have cast and resolved Tinker using his Will, but it would have been a moot point, and I had he needed to tap out to do so, and my sword would have been uninhibited due to my Glowrider. Still he's a local kid new to vintage, and I traded with him afterwards. Maybe when I start hosting tourneys here in Fredericksburg, I can persuade him to come along.


It was a fun day regardless. I met a bunch of the Mid Atlantic players and had a great time. I'm not going to mention Nat's trip around 495 that looped us around DC. I will mention that while we were going in the wrong direction , there was a car pulled over on the side of the highway that had a girl laying spread eagle face down wearing a purple skirt. As we passed her, she was discovered to have a beard. Creepy.

Props to Darryn for running a fun even. Hopefully I'll be able to make the next one and make believers out of my deck when I blow people out with it once more. :p Cheers!

[TD]

1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
AJ Grasso (3-1-1 in swiss...5-8 after T8)
// Lands
    2  Flooded Strand
    4  Island
    1  Library of Alexandria
    4  Mishra's Factory (4)
    2  Polluted Delta
    1  Strip Mine
    3  Volcanic Island
    4  Wasteland

// Creatures
    2  Gorilla Shaman (2)

// Spells
    1  Ancestral Recall
    1  Black Lotus
    1  Brainstorm
    2  Chain of Vapor
    2  Crucible of Worlds
    2  Daze
    1  Echoing Truth
    2  Fire/Ice
    4  Force of Will
    4  Mana Drain
    2  Misdirection
    1  Mox Ruby
    1  Mox Sapphire
    3  Null Rod
    1  Pyroblast
    1  Red Elemental Blast
    4  Standstill
    3  Stifle
    1  Time Walk

// Sideboard
SB: 3  Annul
SB: 2  Energy Flux
SB: 1  Fire/Ice
SB: 2  Greater Gargadon
SB: 4  Relic of Progenitus
SB: 3  Threads of Disloyalty

This is the list I played in Baltimore. It’s nearly the exact list I piloted to a 1st place finish a few weeks earlier in Blue Bell, PA.
http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=37350.0

This tournament ran a bit smaller than the 40 man event from Blue Bell, -roughly 27 players- but I think with the growing popularity of vintage in the area and the excellent prize support and work the TO provides, the turnout for these events will expand in the future. Going into this event I expected a lot of aggro to make up the majority of the metta game. U/R Landstill has some serious problem against aggro decks which made the decision to play this again extremely hard. I’ve had a lot of success with Control Slaver in the past and I was very tempted to audible back to it. In the end I played this deck because I wanted to test it VS a more diverse field before committing to it for Waterbury. The only change I made was adding 2x Greater Gargadon in the SB to help the oath matchup a bit.

RD1- I GET THE BYE!!!!!
This is awesome for me. I have a real problem with the aggro decks and this immediately puts me in the 1-0 bracket hopefully funneling out some of those aggro decks. I spend the round scouting the tables and jotting down what everyone is playing. And apparently doing a very bad job…

Okay, so our scouting said that this player was playing Combo, probably Ad Nauseum. That turned out to be way wrong.

RD2- Ryan Glacken… (sry bout the spelling man)
Ryan’s playing R/G beats with a splash of white. 
Honestly… games 1 and 2 he gets a 1st turn Kird Ape and the game is over.
My decks good, I promise.

RD3- Ralph…. (what’s your last name?)
Ralph’s playing painter and is also the defending B-More Champion. Game one ends with a quick scoop as I double Fow something and then shut him down with null rod.
Game Two is long a drawn out but I have first turn library and it’s active the entire game. His Viashino Heretic keeps me down for a good 20 turns, but I finial get my bounce spell and the game is over.

RD4- Josh…(I don’t know your last name either!)
Josh is playing a landstill deck modeled after mine. He goes on to finish 3rd in the event.
Game one is long and drawn out but he gets his gorilla shaman to eat my crucible and its GG. Game 2 I miss my early land drops and he wastes the mana I have.  I spend roughly 5 turns without mana but somehow manage to win the game. Game three goes to time. 

RD5- Allen Fulmer
Allen is paying Control Slaver and I love him.
Allen can’t make T8 so he kindly concedes the match to me and I love him.
We play some games for fun, and I love him.

T8- Mike Noble
Mike’s playing Mono Red Workshop Aggro.
Game one is a really good game. We’re both at 7-9 life and the only non-land permanent in play is my gorilla shaman. I think I’m doing ok until he windmill slams down 2x magus of the moon and a triskelion!!
Game two is just a blow out. He beats me, beats josh (playing the close to the same deck) and moves on to the final table with ease. CONGRATS ON YOUR FINISH MIKE!

This deck has an extremely good matchup vs Drains. Tezz, Painter, Control Slaver…. It just eats them alive. The problem matchup is easily aggro. Decks with Goyf are a beating. While 5 color stax lists seem to be a good matchup for this deck, Aggro shop decks are a beating. Again, when the decks goal is to beat you to death with a man, you are in trouble as the landstill player. This deck is an absolute house in a heavy drain metta. It simply doesn’t lose the drain mirror and has enough disruption to keep the ritual based control decks under control. I’ll defiantly be playing a version of landstill at Waterbury in three weeks.

[oshkoshhaitsyosh]

Sorry about the non-caps in my sentences I get lazy with that...and oh yeah 6 of the top 8 were regulars from blue bell  . Great tournament will be attending in the future aswell!

On a last and final note about UR landstill I might consider splashing green or white. This would be for goyf and maybe ancient grudge, and if i would choose the white route that opens up mage, swords, and maybe grunt. Just some thoughts.

[ra_2_soldier]

I am new to vintage and this was my first vintage tournament but i have to say i am in love with the format. I ended up going 2-3 with a ritual tezz list i put together the night before with little to no testing. i lost round one to a close painter's match up and just drew the nuts rounds 2 and 3 against what i believe was a stax aggro deck and tps and then lost round 4 to mike noble playing mono red workshop. and yea my name is brad. I pretty much  threw away round 5 but i didn't have a chance making top 8 anyway. With that said mad props to darryn for a great tourney and i hope we can get a bigger turnout for the next one. I think I'm gonna plan a trip up to the tmd 13 and actually test a little bit and not have to play with the distraction of having my wisdom teeth ripped out the day before!

[TripleAgent]

I also top 8ed, but can't remember much at all as administrative duties kept me super busy the whole time. I would like to send out "good games" to all my opponents (especially Ryan whose deck betrayed him round 5) and to Nat for proving that Belcher isn't dead (but certainly made me dead fast).

Thanks to all who made it, hopefully you all avoided the snowstorm lol. I will be posting the top 8 lists and meta info later today or tomorrow. It was cool seeing some new faces, and the locals are coming in fast. Hopefully the new blood will continue and MD Vintage will take off!

[LordHomerCat]

Nat Moes is my combo hero.  Hooray for Belcher.

[TripleAgent]

Okay, sorry for the wait.

Deck Breakdown

TPS 1
Belcher 1
Tez 4
Slaver 3
Painter 2
Remora 1
Painter/Slaver Hybrid 1
Ponies! (GWR Aggro) 2
Manaless Ichorid 1
Mono Red Shop Aggro 2
IGG/Tendrils COmbo 1
Dream Halls/Conflux Combo 1
Hellkite Oath 1
Deez Naughts 1
Channel Lich's Mirror Combo 1
Staxless Stax 1
Landstill 2
Fish 1

Top 8:

1 Mike Noble (Mono Red Shop Aggro) vs 8 AJ Grasso (Landstill) Mike 2-0
5 Josh Potucek (Landstill) vs. Nick Coss (Tez) Josh 2-1
3 Joe Davis (Tez) vs. Bernie Parisi (Hellkite Oath) Joe 2-0
7 Nat Moes (Belcher) vs 2 Darryn Felton (Tez) Nat 2-1

Top 4

Mike 2-0
Joe 2-0

3rd-4th : Split, but Nat gets 3rd ( that's what he told me lol)

Finals

Joe 2-0

Top 8 Lists:

1st - Joe Davis - See above post (AshXIII)

2nd - Mike Noble - see above post - psyburat

3rd - Josh Potucek - see above post - oshkoshhaitsyosh

4th - Nat Moes - see above Post - Lochinvar81

5th - Darryn Felton - Plain Old UBg (yay Regrowth) Tez


1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Black Lotus
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Echoing Truth
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Force of Will
1 Gifts Ungiven
4 Mana Drain
1 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Duress
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Regrowth
2 Thoughtseize
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
2 Flooded Strand
2 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Library Of Alexandria
2 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
2 Tezzeret the Seeker

SB:
3 Yixlid Jailer
3 Annul
2 Tormod's Crypt
3 Smother
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Extirpate
2 Control Magic

6 - Nick Coss - 0-2 Drop Welder Control

4 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
3 Volcanic Island
2 Underground Sea
2 Island
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Library Of Alexandria
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Black Lotus
1 SOl Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
5 Moxen
1 Sundering Titan
3 Goblin Welder
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
4 Force Of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 TFK
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Brainstorm
1 Echoing Truth
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ponder
1 Fact Or Fiction
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Tinker
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 REB
1 Rack And Ruin
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Engineered Explosives

SB:

4 Master Of Etherium
2 Extirpate
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 REB
2 Thoughtseize
1 Trinisphere
1 Viashino Heretic
1 Engineered Explosives

7th Bernie Parisi - see above pot - JustABee

8th - AJ Grasso - see above post - TD

Again, thanks everyone again for coming, 27 people! Best attendance yet! Hopefully, we'll break 30 next time. I will try for late April, and will be looking for prizes soon. If finances permit I will try for Double Mox over X amount of people. Extra big thanks to all the locals that are trying and falling in love with Vintage! With some work, maybe the power will stay in Baltimore for once, lol. Til next time, peace!

[Wookie Welder]

I would have loved to make it down to my first Baltimore event but sadlley i was not released from the hospital to this day.  Its amazing how much cancer ruins my ability to have a good time. Every event i want to go to im either in chemo or my wife wont let me go cause she does not want me away from my doctors, cry a tear for waterbury.  Congrats to my teamate Mikey for his finish.  Nice job Josh you finish well when Im not there to crush your dreams

[GrandpaBelcher]

No, no, Josh gets third!  I came in fourth!

[oshkoshhaitsyosh]

Dear Herd,

I guess u haven't heard but, landstill eats drains alive all day long...including a "herd" style slaver list with "herd" top decks. I do believe u would have been my ramp to the finals  ! Hope to see you in waterbery if you can make it!

[TripleAgent]

No, no, Josh gets third!  I came in fourth!

Edited.

[Iron_Chef]

This was a fun tournament, and I give props to AJ and Josh for playing decks that are so dominant against the drains.

Looking forward to the next tournament!

-Nick

[ashiXIII]

No, no, Josh gets third!  I came in fourth!

Also, I won my semis match 2-0.

[TripleAgent]

No, no, Josh gets third!  I came in fourth!

Also, I won my semis match 2-0.

Edited.