dual report 2nd at tmc and 4th at the dan herd memorial torney

Hi there after 2 weekends of playing some insane tourneys, I've decided to write reports for the last 2 i played in.

Tmc 5/31
James Hangley's 5c Staxxx

1x Crop Rotation
1x Trinisphere
1x Pithing Needle
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Sol ring
1x triskelion
1x Barbarian Ring
1x vampiric tutor
1x tinker
1x mox emerald
1x memory jar
1x mana vault
1x strip mine
1x inkwell leviathan
1x demonic tutor
1x mox pearl
1x mox jet
1x mox ruby
1x bazaar of Baghdad
1x mana crypt
1x black lotus
1x sundering titan
4x goblin welder
2x powder keg
4x tangle wire
3x smokestack
2x gorilla shaman
3x gemstone mine
4x wasteland
4x city of brass
4x mishra’s workshop
2x crucible of worlds
4x sphere of resistance

SIDEBOARD:
1x tormod’s crypt
1 jesters cap
1x platinum angel
2x choke
2x null rod
1x balance
3x REB
4x chalice of the void

The last time i played in a tourney was the philly open 3 where in the last round i got dream crushed by ichorid and failed to make top 8 after the loss. i had negitive board for ichorid at that time i had cards i needed to take out but nothing i wanted to put in except the cap... which... isnt very good so i cut out viashino heretic and an ancient grudge for those 2. I also cut a crucible for a main deck needle. I was half prepaired for ichorid and didnt face it all day.

im sorry about the names i did not write them down.

Round 1 Jay stern some sort of deck with megrim mind twist... idk...

Game 1 i lose the die roll and keep an opener of shop sphere 3sphere mine welder and 2 moxes. he leads off the game with a duress and take the 3 sphere i top deck a crucible and play mine welder 2 moxes sphere pass. he plays lotus pitches a sprite guide and wheels. my wheel had gave me academy tinker memory jar crypt lotus... just insanity. he then attempts to play a duress and i tell him he cant because of sphere. he looks at my yard and passes. i play jar on my turn and he scoops.

i side nothing

game 2 he scoops after a duress seeing my opener of crypt shop 3sphere sphere lotus stip crucible
he tells me after the match that he sided in negates forces and drains...

round 2 mono blue telemin preformance deck

game 1 i dont really see much of his deck except for a few counters and a standstill. he plays the standstill while needing mana but ive got him in a strip lock. he eventually breaks his standstill and i go nuts.
i board in rebs and cap

i board in chalices rebs and cap. i board out trike leviathan and crop rot green mox white mox and some other stuff. my reason for boarding out the bots were that i saw him cast the preformance in a previous game and did not want him with either the leviathan or the trike.

game 2. if i could forget this game i would. the game progresses where i basically have a redicilious board but he had over 12 islands in play. i swung for 14 damage with a shaman. everytime i attempted to play a welder it for forbid'd with buyback. i even had reb backup for the welders. eventually at one point i ask him how many cards were in his his hand. he holds up a stack of cards... i then realize he has a reliquary tower in play. i attempt a vamp. vamp resolves and i get strip. before his discard step i stip the tower forcing him to discard 12 cards. i then top deck a cap so i can look at what i am playing against. he hardcasts commandeers cap and caps me. ... he takes my last welder a gorilla shaman and my last smokestack. a few turns later he telemin preformances me and take titan which was my last card in my deck. i scoop.

game 3.
i blow him out as time is called.

round 3.
storm combo

i lose the die roll and keep an opener of shop ruby welder wire sphere waste mox monkey. he leads with a duress on me looks at my hand and says something like... didnt want to see this deck. i assume its tez but dont know. he takes wire and passes. i top deck an crypt and waste his land ruby crypt welder sphere and pass. a few turns later he scoops.
i dont board other than rebs
game 2. i keep an opener of waste needle mox mox sphere and some other stuff.
he mulls to 5 plays a delta and passes. i play waste mox mox needle.... resolves... polluted delta he scoops.

round 4 and 5 i id with matt mcnally and brassman.

i get to watch my friends play for 2 rounds somewhere in there i go to my car and eat a mcgriddle which was terrible (it was also about 3pm after getting it at like 9am)

i watch rnd 5 of my friend Austin playing Stefan Ellsworth. i watch the game Stefan wins and top 8 is decided. and i get to play Stefan!

I sit down and he says this time he doesn't have his energy fluxes. i tell him i brought mine. We then decided if we have to play this out or can we decided it through a dance off. We ask the judge and he sadly tells us no. So we play
top 8 Stefan tez
Game 1. He has an opener of like land 3 moxes and a time vault. my opening was city vault wire pass. i eventually get a some spheres down and a gorilla shaman to eat his board. I then vamp for a land to cast a sundering titan and end it.
i side in chokes rebs and null rods
game 2.
i keep a double wasteland opener along with a shaman barbarian ring gemstone mine and double sphere . he leads off with volcanic island pithing needle naming wasteland and passes turn. Sneaky pickle. this double wasteland hand isnt as good. i top deck a reb and play a shaman. a few turns turn he drops like the house on me. vault key saphire like everything u could ask for but 1 mana off going infinite. i topdeck a null rod and drop it. i eventually eat his board and end it with a titan.

top 4
my round 3 opponent
game 1.
all i remember about game 1 was he necro'd to 4 while i had a shaman out. i top decked a memory jar played it and swung for 4 turns.

game 2. he plays a land and passes
i play a city and pas his turn 2 was land mox tinker. i reb he forces. he is left with either 1 or 0 cards in hand. i have a wire. i play the wire strip a land the next turn i drop a stack. i took 1 hit from his leviathan before it got removed. at one point in the game i had a sphere a chalice on 2 and a stack on 1. in holding tinker with only 3 mana that can play it. on my upkeep i sac the sphere and tinker out the stack for a 3sphere. i eventually drop a memory jar and a welder that brings back the jar 3 times and i eventually see titan. after the game he asks me why i didnt find a bot on my tinker play. i told him i would eventually get one before he was going to cast a spell through 3 sphere

ok so now im in the finals.
My opponent sits down and i know he is playing g/w. He offers a split. I think about it. think some more. ask what the difference is between 1st and second and if we split. Then I think about what someone told me. and i decided to play it out.
yea big mistake.

Finals
Game 1 i win the die roll and go ancient tomb mox sphere. he wastes it passes turn. i play a waste land and pass back to him. He then goes esg into lotus into kataki. waste my land and pass. Im looking at that kataki thinking i should have split. i pay for the mox sphere dies. i play a city and a welder. he plays a goyf he plays a pride mage. i play a smokestack pridemage blows it up. i play a keg. and hold on to it until it gets to 2. then blow it up taking goyfs and a kataki with it. he then plays a knight of the reliquary and a kataki and i realize im done.

game 2 i play mox needle on knight land pass. he leads with land lotus kataki and pridemage. i realize im done and basically mail in this one. there was literally nothing i could do. his board got nasty after his turn 1. with like mindcensors and goyfs.

so second place not bad should have split. I left with 90 cash.

6/6 the Dan Herd Memorial torney

ok so i made a few changes to the list from the previous week.

1x Crop Rotation
1x Trinisphere
1x Pithing Needle
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Sol ring
1x triskelion
1x Barbarian Ring
1x vampiric tutor
1x tinker
1x mox emerald
1x memory jar
1x mana vault
1x strip mine
1x inkwell leviathan
1x demonic tutor
1x mox pearl
1x mox jet
1x mox ruby
1x bazaar of Baghdad
1x mana crypt
1x black lotus
1x sundering titan
4x goblin welder
2x powder keg
4x tangle wire
3x smokestack
2x gorilla shaman
3x gemstone mine
4x wasteland
4x city of brass
4x mishra’s workshop
2x crucible of worlds
4x sphere of resistance

SIDEBOARD:
1x tormod’s crypt
2x relic of progenitus
1x platinum angel
2x choke
2x null rod
1x balance
3x REB
3x chalice of the void

i cut the chalice and the cap for the 2 relics.

Round 1 Daveshotme playing Oath

so i sit down and lose the die roll. I have no idea what he is playing so i keep a hand that has 2 spheres in it. he leads with orchid into a thought seize taking a sphere. i ply the second sphere and swing with my little guy for a while until i get a jar and go nuts with it.

game 2

he plays a land and passes i have an opener of chalice on 2 which i cast. he eot oxides it. he then drops oath on me. i drop a stack a few turns later. Eventually i ramp the stack to 2 and he oxides it. i then top deck a welder and play him...with out thinking he oaths up mr inkwell. i drop a wire and bazzar he knocks swings and knocks me down to six after 2 turns of swinging. i top deck a platinum and pass he swings. I block with welder activate bazzar pitching the angel and welding him back in. He thinks about scooping after saying he sided out his wipe away and all his oxides were in the yard. I bring him to 8 after 3 swings. He then drops an orchid. i top deck a welder and play it. If i dont play it he gives me a token. If i do well ive got something going for me. he oaths up a hellkite. he then swings with the hellkite bringing me into the negatives. I swing back bringing him to 4. He then top decks a dt and looks to see if he had anything. on his hellkite oath he put yawg into the yard. He then goes oh i have one oxides left and kills the angel. gg
game 3
he mulls to 5 i drop a chalice on 2 on turn 1. a stack on turn 2 and a titan on turn 3. no force good game

round 2 ichorid

i sit down and win the die roll my opener had shop crucible strip keg ring welder mox ruby. i keep he keeps. i go shop crucible ruby welder pass. he plays bazaar and i cry inside. he activates it putting something like 2 trolls and a bridge. i draw a card and stip his bazaar and drop a keg along with a sphere i topdecked. he dredges for turn gets 2 ichorids in yard along with 2 narcomebas that come into play. he then lays a bazaar and dredges away putting in multiple bridges and ichorids. the game ended badly for me.

i keep an opener of keg waste mox and crypt on turn 1. i eventually get a welder out there. he dredges at one point and gets 4 narcomebas into play and begins triggering ichorids. im at low life top deck an angel with not enough mana to cast him so i crypt him. he drops a bazaar. his activation gives him 3 bridges a return and a hypnotist. he flashes the return for the hypnotist and makes me pitch the angel. i weld in the angel and he goes the distance.

game 3 he mulls into oblivion and i keep an opener of saphire relic lotus tinker.

round 3. combo

game 1.

i lose the die roll he plays and breaks a mire into a badland. i get thoughtseized. i have a double sphere hand along with a shop and a keg. he takes keg, plays out like 3 0 mana sources and passes i play a sphere burn for 1. he plays a land and pass. i play a wire and make him tap his board. eventually i top deck a welder and play him. i weld out a wire for the keg and ruin his day.

game 2.

he wins the die roll mulls to 5 plays a land and passes. i go nuts play out my hand which had a welder. he then plays out lotus ritual ritual wheel duress duress. my wheel hand had alot of juicy bombs in it like memory jar. he scoops after i reoccur the jar a few times.

round 4.

Jeff folinous playing combo

i mull to 5 and keep a terrible hand which was like needle mine crucible shop mox. im on the play so i go mine pass. my turn 2 was shop crucible needle on vault. on his turn he drops a lotus passes. i draw nothing and pass. he eot vamps. on his turn he casts a twister with 9 mana floating. he storms me out for16 putting me at 4. his board was swamp sea crypt. my hand was waste crop rotation emerald pearl shaman. he duressed a stack and a mem jar out of my hand while he was storming off. i play shaman pearl waste his sea crop rot the mine stip his swamp and eat his crypt. he plays an academy and passes. i top deck 3sphere and hard lock him.

i board out stacks for rebs.

i keep an redicilous opener of sphere crypt lotus stripmine keg shop crucible. he plays out a fetch and passes. i drop my hand minus the shop. he plays another fetch and passes. i eot strip a fetch. he cracks it find a swamp. i strip the swamp on my turn. i pass back. he plys a fetch breaks it and plays a crypt. i strip his next swamp and he rituals and vamps. eventually i drop a second sphere and win a turn after being h. recalled during his upkeep.

round 5 and 6 i draw in being the 1 seed i then sit as the 4th seed.

top 8 matchup.
Mark Hornung playing ichorid

he sits down and is wearing a phillies shirt. i am wearing a mets jersey... how appropriate.

game 1
i make a terrible misplay that cost me the game. i drop a jar with a welder in hand. i needed to play the welder if i was going to win. during me upkeep i break the jar sending the welder off into my rfg'd hand. Mark dredges like a champ after he replied that this was his second vintage event. He litterally dredges something like 40 cards. i needed him to. he had less than 7 in his library after the jar i draw a vamp and the mana to play the welder. i vamp off a jet for a keg. to buy me the turn to get the welder online. i then look for my welder. who is sitting on the sidelines watching the game. i am disgusted with myself for that and basically lose the game because of not having the welder.

my turn 1 was relic waste lotus 3sphere i eventually remove everything from his yard and play a second relic.

game 3 he mulls to 1. at the end of the game i have relice crypt needle on bazaar 3 sphere and an angel. my potential turn 1 could have been a crop rotation for a bazaar and pass but opted not to due to not being very sportsman like.

top 4 Paul mastriano

My opener was lotus vamp sphere sphere bazaar needle and something else. i forget who wins the roll but i drop the lotus and the bazaar vamp for the shop and play a sphere. eventually i get him into a wastelock with 4 spheres on the board. he has a bob swinging for 2 each turn. i dig to find a strip mine but find nothing. eventually paul h. recalls me off 2 basic islands a crypt and a sol ring. he goes infinite at 3 life im at either 5 or 7. he eventually wins it because of a top.

game 2 i have a bad hand and know it. he has an amazing hand which was tinker for an inkwell with infinite counter backup. whoops too good for a turn 1 welder... and sadly my day ends.

over all i had an amazing time at both events. I always love Ray's events and Nick's events are always well attended and fun to be around.

Props: Nick Detwiller for winning the tourney
vodka in between my round 6 and top 8 match
max brown for being a champ
Austin for not dying
Slops
Nick for winning the tourney
Austin for not dying
Inkwell leviathan for just being there
and this random guy who wanted to fight me in the market because i had on a mets jersey.

So long and thanks for all the shoes!!!