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cheron
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« on: June 14, 2004, 05:17:50 pm » |
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If a mod could move this to the tournament report area, that would be great.
I thought I would offer my thoughts on yesterday's tournament at Dreamer's in Minneapolis. I've read many postings on this site but never felt I had anything useful to offer. But, since I won yesterday in a pretty big field (somebody said 68 players), somebody might be interested in my deck/matchups. I've been playing Magic since the Dark and never really won anything major, but enjoy the game like the rest of you.
The deck I ran is pretty familiar. I'm not sure whether it is Germbus, or 4CC, I still refer to it as Keeper, but I suppose that's an antiquated term for it. Here's the list:
1Mox Sapphire
1Mox Ruby
1Mox Pearl
1Mox Jet
1Black Lotus
1Sol Ring
1Demonic Tutor
2Skeletal Scrying
1Vampiric Tutor
1Mind Twist
1Yawg's Will
2Cunning Wish
4Brainstorm
4Mana Drain
4Force of Will
1Ancestral Recall
1Time Walk
2Gorilla Shaman
1Fire/Ice
1Swords to Plowshares
3Exalted Angel
1Decree of Justice
1Balance
1Library of Alexandria
4Tundra
4Volcanic Island
1Island
3Underground Sea
5Fetchland
1Strip Mine
4Wasteland
SB:
1Moat
1Damping Matrix
1COP Red
3Red Elemental Blast
1Stifle
1Misdirection
1Ebony Charm
1Swords
1Blue Elemental Blast
1Coffin Purge
2Rack and Ruin
1Disenchant
I suppose the only notable things about my maindeck are:
Vampiric tutor over mystical tutor: I have seen many decks that stick the Vampiric in the sideboard to wish for. This just seems like an inelegant solution--giving up four mana to get the card next turn. I understand the flexibility it offers with the wish, but it seems to belong in the maindeck to me. I got the Vamp. several times in game 1 where I wouldn't have had the mana to C. Wish for it. This early game difference is huge. Most times, if this deck can extend the game past the 5th turn, it will win.
2 Gorilla Shaman: I'm not sure what the current trend is, but this is a massively important card against the mirror (I played the mirror three times) along with workshop/belcher/tog decks.
4 Wastelands: Again, I think this many has not been in vogue for a while, but the mana denial portion of keeper has always seemed critical. It won me many games yesterday where the opponent was complaining about being mana screwed all game and I look in my graveyard to see two or three wastelands.
Library of Alexandia: Somebody asked me after the tournament if I ran this. Who wouldn't? My win percentage if I get this in my opening hand is probably around 80-85%. I love the occasional posts that people have about unrestricting this card--it doesn't get much less insightful than that.
2 Skeletal Scrying: I took way too long to come around to this card, but it is amazing. If any of you are holding out like I was until recently, it needs to go in your decks. Don't worry about the life loss, that's what Angels are for. Don't worry about losing cards to your massive Y. Will--just dump the fetch's. I can't believe it took me so long to come around to this.
SB:
Moat: Dreamer's has always had a red/green creature heavy metagame. This tournament, with only three proxies allowed, didn't seem like it opened the door to all the expensive decks so I fully expected to see these decks, and did. I have always loved the Abyss, but without Morphling, my win condition suffers. Moat is a pretty good substitute, and it is an amazing, stabilize at 1 life card that forces many decks to scoop.
Ebony Charm: I understand the flashback appeal of Coffin Purge, but this can wreck the flashback decks I have seen alot of recently.
Misdirection: I wished for this only once yesterday when an Angel was getting bolted. I'm not sure I am going to keep it in.
Stifle: I still love this card. I wished a couple of times to stop key wastelands.
Damping Matrix: Never saw time in play, but I never played any Welder decks, despite 10 matches (I never saw tog either, maybe I just got lucky yesterday).
On to the tournament report. Like many folks, I didn't take notes (didn't really plan on winning), but here's what I remember:
Round 1 vs. Red Green: Early River Boa's and Kird Apes got me down to 1. If Josh topdecks a bolt, I lose, but he doesn't and my Angel starts gaining life and I swords his guys.
2. I sideboard in Moat and it gets in play. The Angel is out and he scoops.
Match: 1-0, Games 2-0
Round 2 vs. the Mirror: A preview of my final four matchup with Shawni Ahern (hope I got the spelling right).
The first game, I outcountered him on an early Ancestral and went on to win.
The second game was a long drawn out affair where I was decked.
We didn't have time for a third.
Match: 1-0-1, Games 3-1
Round 3 vs. FCG: Jason played a first turn lackey and second turn recruiter. I had my most broken stuff of the tourney and played turn 2 walk/ancestral followed by turn 3 Y. Will/walk ancestral. I was able to waste his two lands and twist him leaving him with no cards, no land and a whole bunch of goblins coming up next. I've had success with mana denial before against this deck, it seems like it's inherent flaw.
Game two was a very slow start on his part, not really due to anything I did, just a bad draw.
Match: 2-0-1, Games 5-1
Round 4 vs. Green/Black: Andrew's deck had the "hidden" stuff, where if I played an enchantment or an instant, he would get big fat green guys. I'm not sure if it has a name. In the first game, I got mana flooded with land, which was good because he had a first turn null rod. I eventually cast an Angel and flew over.
Game 2 featured my worst play error of the day. He had a Negator on the table and a Skyshroud Elite with two Hidden guys (the ones that activate with the instants). He tried to cast Rancor on the Elite and I FOW'ed it because I was planning on Vampiric Tutoring for Balance at the end of turn. He attacked for 16 or 17 (instead of the nine) that I would have taken if I hadn't cast the FOW. I cast Vamp, leaving me at 1. I then proceeded to draw on subsequent turns a Fetch and a scrying, neither one doing me much good at 1 life. He went on to find another body to off me with.
Game 3 is a bit fuzzy, but I think I got out a quick Angel and went from there.
Match: 3-0-1, Games 7-2
Round 5: Blue/Green Madness: My only loss of the day, Simon beat me up fast with Basking Rootwalla's/Arrogant Wurms. In the first game, I think I may have kept a suboptimal hand, but this matchup is quite difficult for me.
Game 2: Same story. Maybe I don't know how to play against this deck. Maybe I should side out some countermagic and bring in something else not yet in my sideboard. Anyhow, I lost 2-0. I had no idea then, but this would be the last game I would lose.
Match: 3-1-1, Games, 7-4
Round 6: Masknaught: Bryan got a first turn duress/dreadnought into play. When he duressed, he took my cunning wish, but left the ancestral and vamp. I vamped at the end of turn 1 for a swords which stopped him with me at 6. He had obviously dumped most of his hand to achieve turn 1 greatness and I was able to gain control soon thereafter.
Game 2: He did not get anywhere near the ideal start, and the game was very brief with an Angel flying well. I did have to Rack and Ruin an Eater of Days (I don't think I ever read the card before--it flies!!).
Match: 4-1-1, Games, 9-4
Round 7: Red/Green: Jeremy was probably playing a similar deck to the one I saw in round 1, but he never really got going. Although I did some wasting, both games were very lopsided largely due to the fact that he never seemed to have much mana. This was almost like a bye because his mana was pretty low.
Match: 5-1-1, Games, 11-4
Final Eight:
3 decks like mine
1 7-10 (I think that's what Chris played)
1 Combo-Long like deck
1 Workshop slaver
1 Charbelcher
1 Deck with Ravager--I never saw it all day, and as you would expect, with my kind of deck you don't end many games early.
Final Eight: Craig Olson: Craig and I have played against each other at Dreamer's for what, five years now? It was great to play him at this high level and both of us were happy that one of us would have a shot at the big prize.
Craig played a mirror, there may have been some differences, but I never looked through his deck. Having played the mirror earlier, and having played Keeper for years, I focused on mana denial. We had a couple of counter wars over Mox monkeys on both sides, but Craig was essentially mana flooded in game 1.
Game 2 was a bit different, and featured a counter war over his scrying for two at the end of a turn. I think he ended up dumping 4 counters to get his two scrying cards which he later seemed to think was a mistake. I went on to gain control after this.
Match: 6-1-1, Games: 13-4
Final Four: Shawni with the mirror: We played in round two to a draw, now, there would be no time limits. The winner was guaranteed an Ancestral--maybe a Lotus, so we were both a little nervous. This is also where I started to get a pretty serious headache from 9 hours in a room with sweaty guys and not enough proper nutrition.
Game 1 featured Shawni keeping a three wasteland opening with no colored mana (he told me later). The problem was that I had a jet and kept drawing mana sources (although I used two tiny scryings, 1 for 1 card and 1 for 2) to keep digging. He never got the mana he needed and I got a Library out which is usually game in this mirror.
Game 2: Again, mana denial was an issue as he never got the fuel to start the engine. I played a turn 5 Y. Will getting back a wasteland/Ancestral. I made a couple of play errors during the Will that didn't cost me, but I was definitely no longer as focused as I had been earlier in the day.
Match: 7-1-1, Games: 15-4
Finals: Goblin Charbelcher: I have to admit, I don't always read everything about every deck. I have only played against this deck once before and never really paid much attention to it.
I asked Jason, the store owner, about splitting the prizes somehow (1st was a Lotus and second was an Ancestral. I thought for sure he would offer loads of store credit or even cash, but he said it was up to Luke (the other finalist) and I. I asked Luke what he wanted to do, and he said, "How about the guy that wins gets the Lotus and the guy that loses gets the Ancestral?" Creative split. Not that it matters much, but whenever anyone says anything like that in Magic, it bugs me a little bit, even though he said it somewhat tongue-in-cheek.
Luke started out game 1 with a Land Grant. I dutifully wrote down all the cards in his hand, which included a Spoils, a Tinder Wall, and some other stuff. He went and fetched his bayou.
A couple turns went by where he built up his mana. I think I had a mana drain (with two blue) along with a force of will + another blue card in my hand when he played his now-famous (at least locally) Spoils of the Vault, naming Belcher. I re-read the card and watched him peel off 20 cards. I never really did anything in this game, but was ready to start countering anything that may kill me.
Game 2 I sideboarded out STP and 2 Wishes and put in Disenchant and 2 Rack of Ruins. He got an early Bayou which I quickly wasted. He never really got his combo running while I very cautiously put out an Angel, never forgetting to leave 2 blue untapped for the Drain that was waiting for whatever card might come next (along with the Vamp. in my hand just in case). People told me after the match that I could have won 1 turn earlier than I did by Decreeing at the end of his turn after I had seen his hand with his Land Grant (he played it just to bluff me into playing a counter). I didn't think of it, but, luckily it didn't cost me the game.
Matches:8-1-1, Games: 17-4
For all of this, I won an Unlimited Lotus signed by the artist. It wasn't in perfect shape, but a pretty cool prize, nonetheless. As I said, I saw no Welders or Tog decks all day. The madness deck really frustrates mine, but I suppose every deck has a weakness. The Charlbelcher may be able to crush my deck usually, but I'm career 2-0 against it.
I brought my deck for 2 reasons. First, it is what I am most comfortable with, which matters a lot. I see people playing fish decks that don't seem to know what they are doing and they tend to get frustrated. Just copying a deck and bringing it to a tournament doesn't mean success. I have probably played 40-50 matches with some version of keeper. I'm not the best in the world at it, but I have a high comfort level with it, which hopefully translates into fewer mistakes.
Second, I thought this was the best deck to get me a shot at the top eight. If you top eight, you have a chance to win. Against this field, I properly predicted the red/green (2 matches in 7), which my deck handles pretty well. I thought I would see more workshop, which is no easy fight, but I think I have a shot against it.
Hope this was useful for somebody out there. This may be my only post ever, but thanks to all the continuing contributors.
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