Chicago Pearl -Jan 2 1st place with Tog

This belongs in the Tourney Forum but I don't have the ability to post there please move if possible.

For those of you who just want the deck list
here you go.
1St Place Chicago
UBR Tog

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
3 Duress
1 Mind Twist
12

4 Brainstorm
4 Accumulated Knowledge
3 Intuition
4 Cunning Wish MVP
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystic Tutor
2 Deep Analysis
1 Time Walk
1 Engineered Explosives
21
2 Psychatog
1 Yagmoth's Will
3

4 Underground Sea
3 Volcanic Island
3 Islands
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Mana Crypt
1 Black Lotus
5 Mox
23

Sideboard
1 Misdirection
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Shattering Pulse
1 Rushing River
2 Rack and Ruin
1 Fling
1 Annul
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Echoing Truth
1 Hurkl's Recall
1 Gush
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Stifle

Background
Team El-Torro decided to travel to Chicago to attempt to win the mox that Mikeatog was throwing. Jeremy drives from Duluth MN to Menomonie WI (between Eau Claire and St. Paul) and we start the long trip down. Just as we get in the car my cell phone rings and my bf warns me that he has just been driving on 94 and there is a winter weather advisory with tons of freezing rain and traffic on the highway has slowed to 15mph with plenty of crashes on both sides of the road. Jeremy and I decide we can either go back home and leave from Menomonie at 4am or brave the roads. Like all true magic players we simply view the storm as another challenge. As we begin the journey the rain hits the windshield immediately freezes into a bizarre pattern of crystals, it’s going to be a long trip. The 3.5 hour car drive stretches to 7 hours and that just takes us to Madison where we stay over at my parents. Over the trip we have plenty of time to discuss the best decks in the format and why. Jeremy is set with playing UBG tog because it has won him an Emerald a few weeks ago and because he doesn’t feel confident switching decks last minute. We talk about my deck hyper-mud a highly seasoned mono-brown deck with several infinite combos (a more tuned version of deck that took 9th at Starcity Games Chicago tourney) we both finally decide that despite tons of top 8s with the deck at power events it lacks the consistency to win this event. I sigh, and realize I have no deck to play, and our conversation turns to his girlfriends, boyfriends, and what’s for dinner. When we arrive at Madison I play hyper mud against Tog and immediately realize the Italian red version is the best deck in the format we agree and I realize I have left all of my tog stuff back in Menomonie.

The Morning of
We get up with plenty of time and to our amazement the roads are clear, and the trip to the Ramada is simple and painless. We get to the event and find 13nova’s Milwaukee crew is already there and they have terrible news: the Ramada has no record of a Magic Tourney or Magic event of any kind and none of the rooms are reserved. Jeremy and I are considerably older then the group of kids who have told us this info so we go in to investigate and confirm everything they have said to be true. After drilling the staff of the Ramada for a while we find out that two months ago a room was inquired about and the paper work drawn up for the reservations but nothing was ever signed and money never changed hands. Its now 11:15 with registration beginning at 12 noon and no one can reach anyone from MikeAtogs crew, and more people have since filtered in. The staff of the Ramada is being professional but they are clearly annoyed that a large group of gamers has flooded their lobby and has no reservations at all, they politely ask us to go to the 15$ breakfast bar no one bites though. A flurry of cell phone calls and some ideas from Jeremy that we simply move the event and as Game Universe or one of the other Chicago tourneys to host the event comes up. I offer to throw up a Mox others want to play for cash, more time passes and I get everything I need from 13novas friends and tog is ready to go if anything ever happens. Its now noon and still no one has shown up, a believe two or three people have left, others have called friends and told them the event will probably not happen no one has been able to get through to the local stores. Just as this happens a organizer from the event shows up apologizes and buys a room. The event starts late but it does start finally. No deck registration, no judges, and tons of scouting a highly informal tourney in general it also appeared that players were switching their deck lists to adapt to the meta after they had already played a few rounds.

Round 1 Dragon

I’m playing against the representative of the event.

Game 1
I don’t feel confident playing this version of tog as I have never played it before and I make tons of mistake, luckily my deck is very forgiving and no matter what you do wrong there is very little that AK for 4 and will don’t make right. He also made a critical error and didn’t take advantage of one of my blunders and simply use Animate Dead on Dragon knowing that I had misdirection in hand. He simply forgot that it doesn’t target like Necromancy and he loses because of this error. He admits to not having much practice with his deck either so it seems pretty fair.

Game 2
I shake my head and get mind back in the game, I board out explosives and get a blue blast. This game seemed really odd to me he gets a turn 2 vault and seems very pleased with the results and simply re-arranges the order of the cards. He does nothing on his next turn while I have drain open I intuition into aks. He tries to get something through next turn I drain. I AK, next turn he duress I let it slide he looks at my hand and concedes seeing to many draw spells and force of wills for his dragon deck to fight through.

Round 2
Transmutate with Orery
Game 1
I rare thing happens this round, I’m paired against a magic player that is actually nice looking, this coupled with his bizarre deck playing Vendalkin Orery which I let slide creates huge problems as even goblin welder can be cast at instant speed. Eventually I stabilize but I’m at one life I can bounce the Colossus but I can’t counter him with my hand of three force of will and 4 available mana. I concede.
Game 2
We have to play more quickly as we run low on time, this game is all me as I don’t let anything exciting through and he makes a mistake transmutating his trinsphere into another trinsphere he realized he had boarded out his crucibles. I build my side of the table for the inevitable win and win on the last turn when time is called dealing him exactly 20 damage.

Round 3
I’m told I’m playing against Jeremy I sigh, but when I sit down I realize it’s a different Jeremy. He asks me an odd question “why do you play magic?” I thought it was some joke but he seems genuine. I tell him I like the strategy and because I like the people. Good he says then that means you like me. I still to this day don’t know if this just his idea of a joke but I never find out as we hear a shrill voice shouting new pairings.

Lee with better Transmutate

Lee is playing a more standardized version of Transmutate. Game shows off the power of cunning wish as I first rack and ruin, and then blue blast the welder. I then counter everything else and run him over with tog.

Game 2
I take a land light hand that forces me to brainstorm on my second turn to find the second blue source, luckily I find both my sideboarded annul and a blue source. I lay the island and pass the turn. He walks into my annul and is rather shocked and doesn’t recognize my foil mirrodin common. The game continues to get better as I’m able to intuition and set up for the kill. Shattering pulse shows up and seals the deal eating up every artifact he had left.

Round 4
James with blue/green/white fish variant?

Game 1
I had played against him before the tourney began with TPS and his deck sported meddling mages, swords as well as mana drains, and forces and the sword of fire and ice.

There isn’t much to say about this match up but I got cocky and lost because of it, I allowed a sword of fire and ice to resolve with the notion that I would counter any creatures he cast. He cycles decree of justice in response to intuition and creates one soldier who he promptly equips and beats the tar out of me. I tried to fight it off but everything I did was met with force of will , or drain, and even an orims chant at one point. Sigh.

Game 2
I mana drain his gush and he can’t recover from the tempo shift.

Game 3
I mindtwist for 5 allows me to walk all over him, and set up the best will ever and beat him on the 4th extra turn with tog.

Round 5
ID

Semifinals
Dan with Transmutate

Game 1
He takes a land light hand and resolves a welder. I wish for blue blast and destroy it. I get a rack and ruin later with another wish, and finally a shattering pulse. Nothing he plays sticks to the board and the tog draw engine starts chugging along he loses in short order.
Game 2
His lotus double welder start seems like doom to me. I don’t have a firestorm or wail in the board (which should have been there) and I see no easy way out. He gets the artifacts he needs and begins swinging through me with Jugg. He welds this into trinsphere. The next turn he actually casts Trike. I have no idea why he made this play but I drain it and have the opening I need. The Cunning fetches echoing truth, and the welders see they don’t belong. I intuition on one of his end of turns, but things are still tight as he has mindslavers in his deck. He has an ability to slave me at one point but either misses it or choices not to either way, two mistakes in an already non favorable match up is to much. The final death knell is when he Ancestral Recalls and I wish for misdirection.

13nova
Control Slavery

Game 1
Control Slavery was designed to beat tog so I’m clearly concerned, although I realize that the deck has since moved away from that goal as tog as dried up and died.
Game one seems like very one sided until I make a silly mistake and forget that my opponent is playing Goth slaver and is playing AK’s. I intuition and AK he AKs in response, I freak and force of will he doesn’t force back. I draw 4 and realize that I need proceed with caution as even one AK from him and he is back in the running. I use the time I have to maneuver into a better board position and tutor up a mindtwist for 4. He is clearly bothered about this. I realize that do accomplish this mindtwist I have left my guard down for one turn and he doesn’t have enough mana to slave me what is the worst that can happen. How about he top decks an AK! Sigh, suddenly he is back in the running. Deep analysis fights back hard as I ride it to keep drawing out the contents of my library. Eventually I duress and drain through a Yag Will and win.

Game 2
All I can remember is he takes a subpar hand and I run him over.

Finals
Manuel with 5/3(team GWS)

I offer a draw and he informs me that the mox pearl is in poor condition and finds it unlikely we will be able to agree on a value and he wants to play anyways.

Game 1
He wins the roll and begins with mox, mox, mine trinsphere, I don’t have force of will and realize that I probably have lost this game. I play island go, he goes turn 2 welder, and I drop a fetchland, his third turn gets him jugg and wasteland, I play library he wastes. He swings, I lay underground, he swings, he wastes again. I get another land and wish for….. this is where I lost he game, I really needed fire storm and I don’t have it I get hurkl’s recall but I probably should have gotten the river, I just didn’t think I would top deck another mana source (which I do). I hurkls recall so he can’t weld at least for a moment. He thirsts titan into the yard and that’s all I got.

Game 2 & 3

My memory has gotten foggy at this point because I’m very tired. Here is what I remember.
I had force turn 1 both of these games.
Rack and Ruin hit twice and shattering pulse with buy back (or flash back as I kept saying for some dumb reason) were played numerous times.
I got the draw engine rolling both games, annul stopped third turn angel.
In each game he slays one tog once with swords, another time with duplicant.
The tournament ended with me running out of counters, him tinkering, I wished and red blasted. Waited a few turns and mindtwisted his whole hand away 2 swords red blast and duplicant I believe. I then cast will and fling tog at him for the win being the only time I actually cast fling the entire tourney.

I win and get a poor mox pearl and Jeremy and I head home.
People were amazed tog won, hope these back to back power wins will help put team El-Torro on the map. Or at the very least let people realize that the hype around worshop is a bit much to say the least and the environment remains healthy despite the so called “axis of evil” workshop trinsphere and crucible.
Now if only someone would give me a timetwister for this pearl I would be set.

Later,

-I@n