Split for Finals at Superstars San Jose (9/20)

[credmond]

We had a 21 person turnout at the Superstars tournament on Sunday in San Jose. This was a good turnout for them compared to the last couple of tournaments so hopefully it can keep boosting up until it can hit 40 or so. Luis Scott Vargas and David Ochoa were in attendance so there were some heavy hitters in the field.

Lots of Tezz, Shops, Fish, and Ichorid. There was even a Lich's Mirror and a Dream Halls deck that were rocking the house and getting an audience.

I split with Dave Peterson for 1st/2nd. Dave was running TPS.

A couple of weeks ago I played Steel City Vault to a split finals at Eudemonia. That deck has lots of raw power and is fun to play. This time I wanted to see if I could ninja strike the Tezz heavy field with a hate deck.

This was the list I ran which is essentially a tuned-up version of a list Wagner (from this forum) posted a couple of weeks ago or so . . .  

BR Suicide Painter
Volcanic Island  1   
Strip Mine   1   
Bloodstained Mire  4   
Badlands   4   
Polluted Delta  1   
Wasteland   4   
Swamp   2   
Mountain    2   
Pyroblast   4   
Red Elemental Blast   2   
Thoughtseize    3   
Duress    3   
Demonic Tutor   1   
Demonic Consultation   1   
Grindstone   2   
Extirpate   2   
Ancestral Recall    1   
Mox Jet   1   
Mox Sapphire   1   
Mox Ruby   1   
Night's Whisper   3   
Black Lotus      1   
Diabolic Edict  2
Shattering Spree   1   
Painter's Servant   4   
Magus of the Moon   2   
Dark Confidant   4   
Grim Lavamancer   2   

Sideboard
Smother   3
Null Rod     3
Yixlid Jailer   2
Viashino Heretic   1
Relic of Progenitus   1
Shattering Spree   3
Diabolic Edict  2

This deck tested real well for me against Tezz, Shops that don't run chalice, and blue fish Aggro. This deck has a real hard time against Oath and chalice set at 1 can be a set back for this deck. Shattering sprees (1 maindeck and 3 sideboard) and the heretic in the sideboard help a lot with the chalice problem but I don't think there is a great answer to oath. Also, non-blue Aggro decks can be a little rough for this deck. I didn't get a chance to do a full testing against Ichorid but I think it should be an okay match up there too with 5 strips, 2 extirpates, a relic, 2 magi of the moon and a combo finish.

Playing with 6 blasts main deck makes you feel like you are pre-sideboarded against Tezz and fish and anything blue. You are in good shape against Tezz unless they go broken real fast before you can do anything. The format is so Tezz heavy that this may be the shape that aggro control decks have to take to compete. I think the format is in a degenerate state right now of Tezz versus anti-Tezz, and at least with this deck the hate you use (namely pyroblasts) combos and is synergistic with the rest of the deck.

I will write up something of a mini-report when I get a chance tomorrow.

[LotusHead]

Congrats on the split and props to Superstars for the 21 turnout without me or my crew.

I hate your decks because I always lose to them (as far as I recall...)

Austin is trying to get back on the team.  Should I let him back in?

At the moment, my demands are 1 Force of Will (so that I have 4 as opposed to 3 currently or 8 usually).

He and Junior share the blame in anything, as they are the same person customarily speaking.


Thoughts TMD and NorCal regulars?

Is 1 Force of Will enough?

[Campee]

Why are they no longer on your team?

[Dr_Tongue]

Congrats on yet another strong finish Cory! I've been toying around with a cross between Steel City Vault and Painter although I never seem to make it outta the house to test lolz. It's either that or Ad Nauseam because I have a bunch of shiny cards I'd like to play.

So they owe you 5 Force of Wills if I read that correct? And you'd be happy with 1x? Myself I'd want everything that was mine to begin with. New teammates?

[LotusHead]

So they owe you 5 Force of Wills if I read that correct? And you'd be happy with 1x? Myself I'd want everything that was mine to begin with. New teammates?

Junior gave 4 Force of Wills up as collateral to someone so he could borrow say, a tundra, underground sea and pithing needle. Then he never got the force of wills back. Like a year ago.  To someone I don't know. (If anyone knows "Sims", I think Sims might know who it was). To be fair, Adventures in Sac stopped doing Vintage around that time, so I've had no reason to go to Adventures for FNM or whatnot.

The 5th Force of Will he sold as he thought it was his. (He was mistaken.  A force that he was was a replacement for one he lost that I borrowed once, but I could see him forgetting that).

So 4 Forces might still be out there, but Junior hasn't followed through. And theirfore Austin didn't follow through (TEAM Vacaville, right?).
But everytime I proxy up a 4th Force of Will I get pissed.  Sorry to derail this thread Cory, but Web started another one for Superstars

Should I admit them back in if they at least do the legwork of getting Force #4 back in the set?

[credmond]

Mini-Report of the Swiss . . .

Round 1 versus Tezz (Michael Sohn)

Opponent wins the die roll

Game 1 I mull to 6 and he goes first and gets ancestral and a lot of mana artifact on board and fires off demonic. I am able to have a pyroblast online and pass the turn. On his second turn he assembles the time vault, key combo. Oops wish I had a duress instead of pyroblast there.

Game 2 I duress away a bomb and in later turns I lay down a magus of the moon. He scoops quickly when he can't get out from under color screw even though he has a divining top and I get a bob online.

Game 3 He expends a lot of his hand to tinker turn 1 for DSC. I have a hand of two edicts but no acceleration so I can't deal with the DSC until I have eaten up a turn of DSC damage and if he gets a drain online or FOW online I am done. He puts a dark confidant in play on his next turn and thats also good enough to do me in since he of course chooses to edict his bob.

Record 0-1-0

Round 2 versus TPS (Tyler Daykin from Reno)

Game 1 and Game 2 I am able to quickly win both games by duressing and then extirpating away all three tendrils in his deck.

Record 1-1-0


Round 3 versus Bob Tezz with Oath transformation SB (Eric Campusano)
I lose the die roll and mull to 6

Game 1 he is able to keep one step ahead of me the whole game. Having to mull and going second sucks against Tezz.

Game 2 his oath sideboard transformation owns my deck. He counters an early magus of the moon that would have kept oath from coming into play and then he lays down an oath. I can't lay down my bob and painter until I get a way in hand to clear the oath and by then he assembles vault/key.

Record 1-2-0

Round 4 versus SCV (not sure of the name of the opponent but he was a nice guy)

I don't remember too much of these games except that extirpate, duresses, pyroblasts, and shattering spree really kept his deck from getting a bomb online in both games. I also had an effective answer to goblin welder in the form of lavamancer. He chose to put mana drains in his SCV build which may have compromised on his density of threats since that deck needs only 1 to get through to put me on my heels. I remember winning one of these games with the painter grindstone combo.


Record 2-2-0

Round 5 versus 5c Stax (Ryan Devine)
I seriously consider scooping to my opponent since he is a cool guy and my overall chances seem slim to get into top 8 but I figure I might have a chance so I choose to play it out. I know he is playing stax and I also know he is not playing chalice so I know my deck has at least a 50/50 versus his deck.

Game 1 I lose the die roll to Stax which is bad and he gets a welder online and blows a lotus to put trinisphere into play. I have enough basics and fetches to build up my mana to 3 mana while he has trouble getting more lands in play and attacks with his welder. When I do put 3 mana I have an extirpate in hand and choose to pass the turn even though I could put bob or magus into play. I figure he might feel the pressure with my 3 lands to start welding lotus for trinisphere. He tries to do exactly that so I extirpate the lotus and then lay magus followed by bob. He manages to get some lands and then some artifact mana and then a smokestack and then a crucible and he is looking to get back into the match until I draw my maindeck shattering spree and can nuke his entire board of all artifacts. Shattering spree works really well even when trinisphere is in play (it can pay trinisphere and replicate with the same mana and I have lots of red with magus in play). He scoops.

Game 2 He gets spheres and tangles and smokestack online to the point where I can't pull out of it so I scoop.

Game 3 comes down to a subtle play he misses to my benefit. He has welder and a crucible on board and a strip in play. I have a bob and relic of progenitus in play and a basic swamp and a mox jet play. I float the mana and relic away his strip and he then plays pithing needle naming bloodstained mire. Even with bob in play it would have been tricky to deal with strip lock. With him missing that play I am able to ride a second bob (the first bob I later trade for his welder in combat) to enough cards to win that critical game 3. After the game he recognizes he could have played pithing needle forcing me to use or lose the relic and then strip safely.

Record 3-2-0

I barely squeeze into top 8 in eighth place after Swiss.


More later.

[c dizzle]

Round 2 versus TPS (Tyler Daykin from Reno)

Game 1 and Game 2 I am able to quickly win both games by duressing and then extirpating away all three tendrils in his deck.

I love it! Tyler was so butt-hurt about you getting the Duress -> Extirpate in two consecutive games. In fact, I think the games went so fast that he didn't realize what you were playing (he told me you played mono-black). Another impressive performance for C-Red.