This is going to be as much a deck discussion as it I a tournament report. Waterbury is always a great event the last time I think I was able to play was the 193 person tournament that I made 5th at losing to Scott Limgoes in the Top 8. My deck choice for Waterbury ended up being a modified version of Turboland (aka Animal Farm *horrible name*) that I pulled from the following thread. I played the deck with some minor variation at Gencon.
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=18586&highlight=turbolandThe deck list:
The Engine (combo pieces:)
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Horn of Greed
4 Exploration
1 Fastbond
1 Trade Routes
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Zuran Orb
Tutor and Card Draw:
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Crop Rotation
2 Living Wish
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Timetwister
1 Regrowth
1 Memory Jar
2 Bazaar of Baghdad2 Engineered Explosives
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Darksteel Colossus1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
4 Tropical Island
3 Polluted Delta
1 Bayou
2 Underground Sea
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Undiscovered Paradise
1 Strip Mine
3 Wasteland
1 Riftstone PortalSideboard Cards
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Wasteland
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Viridian Zealot
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Woodripper
1 Razormane Masticore3 Null Rod
2 Ray of Revelatoin
2 Gaea's BlessingNoticeable differences from the net builds are the missing LOA, Brainstorms and Yawgmoth’s will. Damping Matrix is also missing from the sideboard.
Instead I opted for a 4th Workshop, 2 Bazaars, Darksteel Colossus, an additional Undiscovered Paradise and a Riftstone Portal for sideboard mainly against Blood Moon.
LOA lacks the speed needed to waste a land drop on it. Horns and 2 Bazaars are enough in my opinion. Brainstorms are equally ineffective I think though I admit I never did test them. I dislike Will because you can’t combo that turn if it’s played and there’s little to play from your graveyard that makes will broken like in other decks. Tinker and Memory Jar were already in the deck so a Colossus for Fish and a faster win doesn’t hurt not to mention hard casting the fatty is easy.
I see the deck as having what I’d call blended threats. Cards that while not powerful alone become much powerful with their interaction with other cards. For instance a Horn of Greed isn’t a powerful card on it’s own. But mix that with Exploration or Fastbond and it becomes much more powerful. Likewise Exploration isn’t that powerful on it’s own, but combine that with the aforementioned Horn or a Crucible with a strip effect and everything changes.
Sideboard changes included adding a Razormane that can be wished for against Aggro and Fish. Adding Ray of Revelation to deal with Blood Moon mainly and other bothersome enchantments. Then 2 Gaea’s Blessing’s to deal with Dragon. The one combo deck that Turboland is otherwise unprepared for. (My buddy Tim Shore defeated Dragon in 2 games, the second due to Blessings)
My question going to Waterbury was, “Can this deck be competitive?� It proved OK at Gencon. It proved even better at Waterbury. Anyway on to the report.
It’s been some days since I’ve looked at my notes so details may be fuzzy.
Round 1:
Pete playing TPS
Game 1Pete goes first and I have trouble stopping his combo from accelerating.
(Sideboarding was I believe –Jar -2 Explosives +3 Null rod.)
Game 2
Pete forces an early spell, but I manage to get a Crucible waste effect chain going to slow him down.
Game 3.
Again another early force. However I believe I managed to combo out going to very low life searching for a piece. I ended at 2 life on my notes.
Round 2 1-0 (2-1)Steven playing White Weenie
Game 1
Steven goes first dropping the first of 3 first turn Savannah Lions. I manage to get a strip mine to take care of his plains and with 4 weenies I wish for Tabernacle and play it when he has no land. The board is now clear and I have time to combo him.
WW was actually a somewhat scary matchup. If you think that quick critters with disenchant effects and land tax to stop mana screw. It’s sort of the anti-turboland.
Game 2
Another kitty hits the board then a land tax follows. Disenchant effects slow me terribly and I have problems with the quick weenies dealing damage.
Game 3
Goes to me (I forget details).
Round 3 2-0 (4-2)Andrew playing 3C TOG
Andrew was a very good opponent. We discussed somethings about the deck as we were playing. I remember taking game 2 and game 3 was ended by Andrew deeding for 3 then playing TOG, Time Walk and wasting my glacial chasam. I died on the TW turn. So turboland gets it’s first loss.
Round 4 2-1 (5-4)Derek playing Oshawa Stompy.
Game 1
Glacial Chasm is the victor in this game allowing me to combo out.
Game 2
Glacial Chasm again is helpful Derek sees no Root Mazes or Oxidizes for my artifacts.
Round 5 3-1 (7-4)John playing Aggro Affinity
Game 1
John lays it on with a quick Frogmite and 2 Myr Enforcers. I succumb to the beatdown.
Game 2 (In come Null Rods)
Null Rods and quick waste effects help cripple John this game.
Game 3
John starts with Mana Crypt and a Land. I follow with, Trop, Exploration, Workshop, Null Rod. He can’t drop his fatty early on then sort of gives up as the Turboland locks him up with Exploration/Wasteland. I end up swinging with Colossus on this one.
Round 6 4-1 (9-5)Matt with FCG
Two word for this match…. GLACIAL CHASM.
Matt’s Mana Crypt helps kill him game 1 and game 2 Colossus takes down the Goblins.
Round 7 5-1 (11-5)Bryce Reynolds aka Klown playing his Transmute.dec
First time ever sitting across from Kl0wn. We chat a bit and the start the game.
Game 1
Bryce stall me out early then wins with an infinite slaver lock that he didn’t even see. I was 1 turn late being able to mana screw him with waste effects.
Game 2 (Null Rods come in)
Unclear about specifics but Null Rods help achieve victory though I take some heavy damage this game.
Game 3
I end up comboing Bryce out this game after digging for pieces.
Round 8 Gary BudaWe ID into top 16.
So I end up in Top 16 at 6th place just under Carl Winter for the 19 pointers.
Top 16 matches sucked.
I get paired vs The Method aka Ashok playing Control Slaver
Game 1
I’m at a point where I’d have won next turn. Ashok slaves me casting it from his hand.
I find that I made a mistake when we uses my Bazaar to get a fastbond that I could have found the previous turn. I died to slaved recurring fetch via Crucible.
Game 2
I lead with a hand that consisted of Workshops a Null Rod and Crucible.
I drop Shop Crucible thinking that the play.
Ashok then drop Sapphire, Lotus, Mana Crypt, land. Thirst X2 and Ancestral get him back to 7 cards with 3 mana producers. My fate is sealed early and I scoop some turns later.
Looking back at the standings Pre top 16. Most of my opponents made it into the top 40. One was at 43 I believe only one went on to drop. So out of 186 competitors I defeated mainly members of the top 40 (well 43) to make it to 6th place.
-Keith
