Well, I've been keeping this under wraps for quite awhile now and I figure it's time to share my creation with the world. Now obviously this is just a modification of GroAtog, but that doesn't mean I haven't put my own little touch into it.
DogAtogLeviat ~ May 25th, 2003Creatures (8)4 Wild Mongrel*
4 Psychatog
Control (10)4 Force of Will
3 Circular Logic*
3 Misdirection
Draw (11)4 Brainstorm
4 Gush
1 Timetwister*
1 Wheel of Fortune*
1 Ancestral Recall
Tutor (5)1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Cunning Wish
Utility (5)3 Berserk*
1 Fastbond
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Time Walk
Mana (21)1 Library of Alexandria
4 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Black Lotus
Sideboard (15)4 Naturalize
3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Smother
2 Submerge
1 Waterfront Bouncer
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Hurkly's Recall
Cards of InterestWild Mongrel: I get so much crap for playing this card but it's the basis for my variant of GroAtog. It can grow faster than a Dryad at the expense of only a temporary power boost. However, since you typically kill in one turn this drawback can be overcome if you play it properly.
Circular Logic: One of the major benefits of running this build. With eight creatures that can discard, Circular Logic will most often be a solid counterspell for just one blue mana.
Berserk: I found that with Mongrels, it's better to have more maindeck. It gives the deck even more of an "Oops, I just won" factor. If you don't feel comfortable with it, then I would suggest running four Logics and only two Berserk (one in sideboard?).
Wheel/Twister: These cards give the deck a more comboish feel. They can do amazing things with 'Togs and Mongrels and when playing against a deck without strong control elements, they are almost always instant wins. (I must admit though that they are often the first cards to get sideboarded out).
Sideboard: A sideboard should always be modified to reflect your metagame so I'm not going to spend anytime to explain it, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Notes: I'm very happy with the performance of this deck and it's a lot fun to play. The only changes that I plan on making are possibly cutting the Mox Ruby from the deck to bring it back down to 60 cards. (On further thought, I'm going to try a fourth Circular Logic in it's place to me back up to 61 cards).
TournamentRound 1: Dan ~ Pernicious Dude (GW Enchantress)Game 1:It was a very quick win for me and I ended up winning on my third turn.
Me | 20 19 18 17 15 13 11 (P)
Op | 20 Dead
*(P) ~ Played First
Game 2:I had a slow hand and he managed to force a Balance through. I only had one land in play and he only had one card in hand. So I sac'd all my creatures and discarded down to one card, which just happened to be a Yawgmoth's Will. After that it was just a matter of waiting around until I had enough mana to cast the Will.
Me | 20 19 18 17 16 14 12 8 6 4 3
Op | 20 16 15 11 10 Dead (P)
Dan was a really great guy and I enjoyed playing him. Unfortunately, I was playing a form of GrowAtog so I understand if he doesn't like me very much
. I also give him props for playing a very nice stream-lined version of G/W Enchantress.
Round/Match: 2-0 / 1-0Round 2: Carl ~ CrazyCarl (Keeper)It's only the second round and I already have to play a fellow Binghamton homie.
Game 1:This game wasn't very exciting, I just kept dropping a creature or two and then smacked down with a berserked Mongrel.
Me | 20 19
Op | 20 19 18 15 Dead (P)
Game 2:Carl dropped a second turn Future Sight. Nuff' said .
Me | 20 19 21 19 Scoop (P)
Op | 20 19 18 17 15 13
Game 3:I didn't draw very well and Carl ALWAYS seemed to have an answer for everything. REB pretty much owned me and Carl eventually dropped Morphling for the win.
Me | 20 19 17 16 18 20 15 10 Dead (P)
Op | 20 10 9 7
The Force is strong in Carl and I always have a tough time trying to beat him. Oh well, at least he's Binghamton.
Round/Match: 3-2 / 1-1Round 3: Sam ~ Pernicious Son ({L}ich{D}onate)Sam was young player but he certainly seemed to know his stuff.
Game 1:Unfortunately, my deck just completely out brokened him and I quickly won with a Berserked Psychatog.
Me | 20 (P)
Op | 20 Dead
Game 2:Dropped a Mongrel after Naturalizing a Chain of Mephistopheles. The following turn I cast Gush floating two green mana, cast Ancestral off my Mox Sapphire, discarded three lands to Mongrel and then double Berserked it.
Me | 20
Op | 20 19 Dead (P)
I felt kind of bad. The round was over in about 8 minutes and poor Sam only got a total of around four (maybe five) turns for the entire round. However, I was also happy because I had time to get over to McD's (blech!) for some much needed food.
Round/Match: 5-2 / 2-1Round 4: Pat (B/G Sui Deed)Game 1:Not too much happened this game. He dropped an early Hippie which was a little annoying. I cast a couple creatures to put the pressure on but he managed to force a Deed through to clean the board. Shortly after that I dropped another Tog and the next turn I fed the Tog a bunch of stuff and then Timetwistered to give Tog enough food for the kill.
Me | 20 19 17 15 13 12 11 8 7 5 4 (P)
Op | 20 19 18 17 Dead
Game 2:He did an early Duress but my Brainstorm hid all the goodies, after that it was a quick kill with a Berserk'd Tog.
Me | 20 17 14
Op | 20 19 Dead (P)
Pat seemed like a really cool guy but he was bummed because he knew GroAtog was a rough matchup for him and he got stuck playing it a few times.
Round/Match: 7-2 / 3-1Round 5: Nick ~ Bill The Duck (EBA)Game 1:He had mildly strong early game by casting a quick Powder Keg and then following it up on the next turn by dropping an Ophidian. I was worried about the possible card advantage so I Berserk'd his Ophidian to kill it. It wasn't necessary however as I went combo mode the following turn with Gush Gush Will etc..
Me | 20 19 18 17 16 15 13 11
Op | 20 19 18 Dead (P)
Game 2:This game wasn't very exciting, he just sat on a land or two while I cast Gush and Ancestral. I then dropped a Mongrel and a Tog and kept all his threats away with my Circular Logics and REBs. He dropped a Meddling Mage at some point but he didn't name Gush or Berserk so it didn't really matter.
Me | 20 19 18
Op | 20 19 18 17 14 Dead (P)
Nick seemed pretty tired while we were playing and he may have made a few play errors. However, he was still very nice and pleasent opponent and I would be happy to play him anytime. It was cool to see EBA in action, but I just don't think it can handle the combo nature of DogAtog (or any GushAtog for that matter).
Round/Match: 9-2 / 4-1Top 8: Steve ~ Grand Inquisitor (Your Mother)Not again! It seems that I shall always be doomed to play Steve in the Top 8 at Concord. I was actually pretty happy though because I was very confident I could take his weird combo deck and I needed to get my revenge for the last time I was here.
Game 1:This was a good game but very long and drawn out. He managed to Plow away or Balance all my early threats and then had an active Library going to get card advantage. After lots and lots of drawing and countering he finally managed to kill me with a very large Fireball. It was good that he killed me when he did though because he didn't have a single card left in his library.
Me | 20 17 16 18 Dead (P)
Op | 20 19 17 13 12 9 7 5
Game 2:I'm not sure what to say about this game as my deck just completely crapped out on me. I dropped an early Mongrel with a Berserk in my hand. On the next turn I Gushed and did the math, if I discarded everything and Berserked the Mongrel I would still leave him with 2 life (I just needed one more card), so I decided to attack for two and kill him the next turn. However, he Edicted the Mongrel on his next turn and I just drew dead card after dead card after dead card for like six straight turns. I'm not even exagerating, I drew all but two mana sources in my entire deck! Needless to say, I lost AGAIN to Steve. Argh!!!
Me | 20 19 17 16 14 13 14 Dead (P)
Op | 20 19 18
It was great to play Steve again but I was hoping he would be playing Emerald Alice so I could get the rematch. Instead I got womped on by "Your Mother" and had to hang my head in shame. Next time Steve... Oh yes... I
will get my revenge upon you!
Round/Match: 9-4 / 4-2All in all it was a good day and I had a lot of fun showing off my Wild Mongrels. In the next day or so I'll give the rest of the tournament report to Carl so he can post it up.
Props:
- Steve (Zherbus) for hosting the tournament.
- Steve (Store owner) for keeping the place open late.
- Steve (Grand Inquisitor) for winning the tourny.
- To everyone else for NOT being named Steve
.
- Ed because it was nice not driving for a change.
- CT Crew for hanging out at Friendly's.
- Carl for letting me borrow a Hurkyl's Recall at the last minute.
Slops:
- Vermont for sucking oh so very bad (more on this later).
- Everyone who found the Taco Bell.
Edit: After analyzing my matches and my deck, I think I'm going to cut the Mox Ruby for the fourth Circular Logic and leave the deck at 61 cards. The fourth Mox was often just a dead draw that I wish could have had some substance to it. If I find that I miss having an extra source of red mana, I may consider swapping the basic Island for another Volcanic Island. There have been very few instances where having a basic Island made a difference (but I'm still nervous about getting rid of it).
Also, a quick note on the Circular Logics. I am whole heartedly convinced that this card is superior to Counterspell and Mana Drain. Leaving two blue mana open is nigh impossible and it's 101% easier to leave just one blue. While you might be worried about it's actual 2U casting cost, you will find that most often you don't need to counter something unless you already have your 'Tog or Mongrel out. This deck is amazing in that it can ignore oh so many things.
