C&J's Tournament Report 7/22 , GAT IS REBORN!!!

[TheLegendOfMagic]

Greetings vintage addicts, this is yet another report from the "Legend", and this week at C&J's the quality of players and decks were at a all time high. This week alot of tier 1 decks were present for example, 4cControl,  R/U Fish, 1 Land Belcher, TNT and GAT. This week I played the 5th dawn updated version of GAT, with some of my own modifications.

Decklist

Spells:
4 fow
4 daze(I ran these over duress)
4 brainstorms
4 serum visions
4 night's whisper
3 cunning whish
3 misdirections
1 ancestral recall
1 timewalk
1 mystical tutor
1 yawgmoths will
1 demonic tutor
1 gush

Win Conditions:
4 quirion dryads
3 psychatog

Mana Sources
5 moxen
1 black lotus
4 polluted deltas
1 flooded strand
2 islands
4 underground seas
4 tropical islands

Sideboard:
2 BEB
2 groundseals
2 smothers
2 naturalize
1 berserk
1 vampiric tutor
1 pernicious deed
3 tsabo's web
1 stifle

Round 1: GAT vs TNT (Dennis)

Game 1: Dennis wins the die roll and plays. He keeps a no land hand, but does have a turn 1 black lotus into survival and birds of paradise, the survival and birds resolve as I do not have a FoW. I play land and pass. Eventually Dennis survives my early dryad beatings to go on and survival into madness, via 2 active welders and a trike to recurse, I lose to trike shooting me, while I had a huge dryad in play.

Game 2: -3 misdirection -1 mystical tutor- 2 daze , +2 ground seals, +2 naturalize,+1 pernicious deed +1 vampiric tutor. I keep a lotus only mana source hand, with a compliment of a ground seal, brain storm and serum visions. I manage to brainstorm into mana and drop ground seal turn 1. Dennis apparently kept a 6 land squee hand and passed his turn after playing a land. I resolve dryad and pass. Dennis drops a turn 2 grim monolith and passes. I drop psychatog and hit him with dryad. Dennis's next turn he drops quirion ranger and maze of ith! So my plans of killing him next turn are thwarted. I attack with both, he mazes tog and all I can do is set up for DT into time walk for win. Next turn he lays down a workshop and drops a masticore. I EoT vampiric for time walk. I attack he mazes and I cast time walk. I topdeck yawgmoths will and he loses this turn. We are unable to go to game 3 since time was called

1-1

Round 2: GAT vs. Sligh(variant)

Game 1: I feared this matchup, since the nights whisper would bring me to low life very fast, so I had to becareful of getting burned or getting Price of progressed to death. I win the die roll, I play a turn 1 dryad with daze to protect it. He drops skirt prospector and passes. I drop a psychatog, he sacks the prospector to REB, apparently he maindecked REB, I daze and his game goes down the tubes a few turns later as tog became an abyss to all his creatures and I out draw and out tempo him. However, he did get me down to 5 life, he tried to goblin grenade for the win, which I misdirect back to him.

Game 2: -2 dazes, +2 BEB. He plays a land and passes( he kept a slow hand). I drop two dryads turn 1 via a black lotus in my opening hand. He EoT bolts one of them, I daze. Eventually my men get big enough to crush his weenies as he is resorted to chump blocking and I go on to berserk my dryad for the win.

2-0

Round 3: GAT vs. 4cControl(Christiaan)

Game 1: I win the dice roll and play first and cast a serum visions and end my turn. Christiaan starts off with turn 1 wasteland and killing my tropical and ended his turn. I brainstorm  and pass my turn. Nothing happens until turn 3, when on Christiaan's turn, he attempts to play a morph (angel), which resolves, I EoT wish for smother, and smother it during my turn, he doesnt forces so I assume he does not have FoW. I set up a yawgmoths will which resolves and I win shortly after with a psychatog and timewalk. On a side note: the turn before I yawg will'd, Christiaan tapped out to cast mindtwist for 4, which I dazed. Go daze!

Game 2: Nothing boarded. In this game I get completely massacred as I cannot answer his face up angel as Christiaan out draws me and kills all my men with STP and REB, I was never in this game and I lose shortly after.

Game 3: I mulligan down to 6. My opening hand is Ancestral, FoW, tropical island , nights whisper and dryad( and 1 other card I cant remember). I contemplate whether to drop a turn 1 dryad or cast a blind ancestral with no FoW back up. I opt to go for the ancestral gambit, and it works, Christiaan does not have the FoW. He plays land and passes. I drop dryad, mox and underground to resolve a nights whisper. I hit him for a few turns with a small dryad, until Christiaan is forced to tap out and play an exalted angel, I FoW it, and cast yawgwill for the win. Very close match I think this match favors 4cControl, but I havent played many games against 4cControl to be sure.

2-1

Round 4: GAT vs. 1 Land Belcher.

Game 1: I lose the dice roll. My opponent keeps an iffy hand and loses fast, as I am able to counter the crucial spell that would of let him get belcher into play. I countered his mystical and the game ended, on my next turn.

Game 2: -3 misdirections, +1 stifle, +2 naturalize. He plays first, drops his tropical island and lions eye diamond and passes his turn. I play an undeground and a mox emerald and resolve a night's whisper. Next turn he still has no business and passes his turn. I top deck jet and cast 2 night's whisper and pass my turn. My opponent tries to resolve a goblin welder, FoW and he ends his turn. I cast Nights whisper #4 and he loses shortly after as I have massive card advantage and he has nothing, I drop my men after establishing control and my dryads go on to pound him him to death.

2-0

Despite finishing 3-0-1, I could only take second place as the person playing fish went 4-0, but I still think that taking second place is still a strong indication that GAT cannot be taken lightly.

Nights whisper? Im not totally sold on this option over A.K., but perhaps if I ever face a hulk smash deck I can perhaps better appreciate the alternate card drawing vs hulk.

[rvs]

Nights whisper? Im not totally sold on this option over A.K., but perhaps if I ever face a hulk smash deck I can perhaps better appreciate the alternate card drawing vs hulk.

Can I conclude that you decide over these things in the course of 1 game you play at some tournament? Since that, dear sir, would be a very bad way of going about things.

[AngryPheldagrif]

Dare we ask how Salvagers did ?

[TheLegendOfMagic]

Lotushead did pretty well, I think he finished with 2-1-1 score tonight. His last round was rough, he had to play against fish and null rod is a house versus combo.

[LotusHead]

I posted my report in Newbie! I'm to chicken to post it in Open Type 1! I finished 4th out of 13. (two easy games and two hard ones.)

[raziel]

@ Brian

this is yet another report from the "Legend", and this week at C&J's the quality of players and decks were at a all time high

Brian you are just too modest. I hope to return next week after a month layoff due to schedule conflicts. 13 players, unpowered 2 Land Belcher,  a rogue deck with elements of tnt? All time high?  

@ LotusHead

I posted my report in Newbie! I'm to chicken to post it in Open Type 1! I finished 4th out of 13. (two easy games and two hard ones.)

I have to say I like the core of your deck. I can see that it can be pretty explosive. I was sitting next to you watching your game against Dennis. Have you considered running Seal of Cleansing main or side? It's benefits are obvious so I won't go into it. It seems that you need a way to get around resolved Null Rods. They are proven tech in other combo decks.

[Zherbus]

Greetings vintage addicts, this is yet another report from the "Legend", and this week at C&J's the quality of players and decks were at a all time high.

We already have 1 "Legend" and he's more than earned the title.

[KiL0]

... this week at C&J's the quality of players and decks were at a all time high.

Not even close. Last summer, C&J had weekly tournies with roughly 50 people and three times the fully powered players.

However, congrats on another strong finish. Third week in a row finishing second, right?

Congrats to the Fish player.

I, on the other hand, was complete crap.

[UnstableCornbread]

Brian.. I ask you, please dont state fallacies knowing they are just that. I don't mean to flame, but you stating certain things seems to be bringing down our stores reputation. Just think before you post.. You will always be a legend at least in your own mind.

Perhaps soon, our pool of fully powered players will increase. Raz will make his return, Web, Myself, Fishhead, Dennis, Zhalfirin, and possibly one last showing of the infamous Saucemaster before he moves away.

But now on to comments concerning your deck. How did the misdirections fare for you? I noticed you sideboarded them out in 50% of your matches. Are the worth the maindeck slots?

How did this deck fare vs any type of prison in your playtesting? Is seems chalice and other 'lock' parts would be horrid to this deck. Did you ever want an Oxidize over Naturize #2 in the board?

Awaiting your reply, this is Cornbread signing off.

[TheLegendOfMagic]

In response to Kilo, yea I finished 2nd for two weeks straight, however this past weekend I did win two type 1 tourneys in a row at Who's on First and at Eudemonia, I missed "The Triple Crown of Vintage" by finishing 2nd last thursday. Oh yeah, I havent lost a match in a month, I have discovered that the best way to survive a metagame is to switch decks week by week, I havent played the same deck back to back, so I kept my deck choices secret and random. The one thing I learned is not to be predictable with deck choices, otherwise following weeks other players may modify there deck to hate out your deck , leaving you with a bad metagame since as this week shows, the example I am referring to is the maindeck 8 blasts in sligh, which I found to be suspect.

In Response to UnstableCornbread, I dont know about the board choices, the oxidize does seem a little better, but I went with double naturalize since I can hit multiple survivals and maybe a necro. The whispers seemed okay, however they nearly cost me a game vs. sligh. I am not convinced totally that the whispers makes GAT a whole lot better, however OTOH, they would have gave me a better game vs. Hulk.

Signing off,

              TheLegendOfMagic (playing vintage since 1993)

[TheLegendOfMagic]

Misdirection was good only 50% of the time, I had hoped to face more control decks, however I did get paired up versus a TNT variant and a Combo deck, which made the misdirections a dead draw. But, having them did help a bit versus the one control deck and one sligh deck I faced.

[raziel]

however this past weekend I did win two type 1 tourneys in a row at Who's on First and at Eudemonia, I missed "The Triple Crown of Vintage" by finishing 2nd last thursday. Oh yeah, I havent lost a match in a month

"The Triple Crown of Vintage"
So we're talking 5 people at Who's on First, 8 people at Eudemonia, and 13 last night? O.k.

[TheLegendOfMagic]

I personally think that the new updated version of GAT wont be able to survive any of the prison decks, since tanglewires, wastes lands and even maindeck trinispheres can spell autowin vs GAT. I think against any prison deck in general , the match up is unfavorable for GAT. I havent tested the new GAT deck versus any prison decks, but I suspect my hypothesis to be correct in concluding that the match up versus prison, is dependant on the die roll and whether or not u can get an early FoW or 1st turn dryad.

TheLegendofMagic(Beating the best since 1993)

[Mr Pink]

Congrats to the Fish player.

Hey, this is Joe, aka the fish player. Thanks for the props Ken, I'm glad I was able to win my first t1 tournament at c&j's.

Look out Brian Woo, here comes a new "legend".

Mr Pink (Stealing vintage crowns from good players since 2004)

[TheLegendOfMagic]

Sorry Mr. Pink, in the bay area I am the oldest and longest playing magic player here, if you go to all the Cons, people will tell you about how many tourneys I've won and how I was the one that kept vintage alive around here, while everyone coverted to type 2, of course I am much older than you, when I was doing all this you were probably watching power rangers still.  Hence, I earned the name TheLegendofMagic, since my carreer in magic has its roots at the FIRST PTQ, and of course I've even played with other legends, such as Zak Dolan, you are pretty young, if you dont know who his is he was the first magic the gathering world champion. Oh yea you totally missed the "triple crown analogy" so I wont go into that with detail, since that was something me and Kilo were kidding about which did not concern you. I am part of a very small circle of pioneers of magic  or legends, and right now membership is closed so I guess you can claim to be a legend, but you lack any great accomplishment or any influence that has changed the game of magic... Anyhow further attempts at a personal attack will be ignored, since you and I are not in the same level.

TheLegendofMagic(putting newbies in there place)

[UnstableCornbread]

You cannot be serious.. After roughly 18 MONTHS of playing at C&J's, you have yet to win a real tournament sir. You call yourself the LegendOfMagic Brian, only thing I see you as, is the legend of run on sentences and lack of proper punctuation skills. You very often make very rash card choices, and random plays.

Get off the high horse, it does not do you justice.  If you truly that great sir, why are you rated at barely over 1800. This is slowly turning a I'm better than you thread and I am starting to see flames igniting. So lets drop the crap talk and focus on the decks, k?


Cornbread, (Stalking DaveHernadez since 1998)

[TheLegendOfMagic]

Sorry, I dont have grammer check while typing my post, max vintage K value= 16 in any given tourney, Ive only played 16 k most of the time, if they had been full K value I would well be over 2200+ rating, 1860= 2200, since the K value is lower for our vintage events.
 And I agree, this thread was just a tournment report and should remain about discussing about GAT...

[Machinus]

You call yourself the LegendOfMagic Brian, only thing I see you as, is the legend of run on sentences and lack of proper punctuation skills.

Why can't East Coast smack talk be this funny?

[C-Groove Balrog]

The legendofmagic is pretty good, Ive played with him for a long time and let me say, when he makes all the right plays, there is NO ESCAPE.


Regards, DVN

[Zherbus]

LOL, this guy posted with TheLegendOfMagic's IP!

Consider yourself warned, making duplicate accounts for reasons such as this is a no-no.[/color]