1.5 Tournament #3

I didn't post my write-up of tournament #2 since I didn't do well.

The decklist:

3 Diminishing Returns
4 Prosperity

2 Helm of Awakening
3 High Tide
4 Turnabout
4 Cloud of Faeries
3 Peregrine Drake
2 Snap

3 Cunning Wish
3 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
4 Impulse
4 Brainstorm

19 Island
1 Thawing Glaciers

//Utility
SB: 1 High Tide
SB: 1 Snap
SB: 1 Mystical Tutor
SB: 1 Mind Bend
SB: 1 Capsize

//Kill
SB: 1 Stroke of Genius
SB: 1 Brain Freeze
SB: 1 Words of Wisdom

//Heh
SB: 2 Force of Will
SB: 1 Misdirection
SB: 1 Wash Out
SB: 3 Mishra's Factory

I didn't think I'd need the FoWs maindeck since almost everyone would be playing some kind of aggro.

I had 30 min before I had to leave for the tournament, which was supposed ot start at 7 but always runs a little late. I laid down to rest my eyes and lo and behold it was 7:05! I jumped up and called the p[lace telling them to wait 10 min. I grabbed my stuff and bolted. When I arrived I was ultra-jittery. Two people kept asking me for help building their decks, but I had a SB to make. I knew most of my wishable stuff, but I figured I would need something against the store owner's monoblue deck he always ends out to someone, so I added the Factories and counters. Capsize was also a last-minute addition.

The tournament had eight players, double-elimintaion. The environment was: 1 High Tide, 1 Monoblue, 1 Burn, 1 U/G madness, 2 R/G madness, 1 White Weenie, 1 unknown.

Round one vs. Angel with U/G pseudo-madness

While shuffling he dropped some islands and I figured I'd be in for a long, tough slough with a monoblue deck. When he played a Tropical Island turn one I knew different. His deck was like 65 cards, and he said it "wasn't true madness," which I think means it lacks Arrogant Wurms. He did have a lot of Quiet Speculation for 3x Roar and 2x Roar, 1x Ray of Revelation. I don't know if he had white, but probbaly not.

Game one, I had a first turn Thawing Glaciers and I milked that for several turns, while baiting some counters with Impulse, which he actually fell for. At some point he tapped out for a Roar token, so I decided to go off. I had to fight through a Force of Will, but I did it.

Game 2 I brought in FoW and MisD and I think Wash Out (buys time, or a counter, plus it smacks Roar tokens). He won this one, I don't remember how.

Game 3 he had a slow start, dropping four basic islands in four turns. I baited some capital-c Counterspells, and eventually went off through a Circular Logic and a Force of Will. This game included him hardcasting a Wonder and beating me with it for something like five turns.

Round two vs. Dillon with R/G Madness-burn

This was the kid who beat me last week with all the hair in his face, again with his same deck. I knew game one wouldn't be hard but he'd be bringing in Scalds and possibly REBs. This was the matchup I put Mind Bend in the SB for.

Game one he sat there farting around while I gooshed in his face turn five.

Game two I left the Mind Bend in the SB to wish for, since I could easily Scroll for Wish. This ended up being real bad, as I'm sure you can tell from your comfy armchair. He landed a Scald and I cursed myself for boarding anti-control cards instead of anti-red BEBs. I tried to Mind Bend the Scald but he Pyroblasted the Cunning Wish and killed me.

Game three I brought Mind Bend and Mystical Tutor in. He again got a Scald but I was able to successfully Bend it to mountains. But the Scald hit me for enough that he untapped and burned me out.

Round three vs. Gurny (? I can never remember this guy's name) with SRB

I like this kid, he's tall and trying (on my advice) to make a Fling-Affinity deck.

Game one he's kind of putzing around. Hit me with a Raging Goblin, which all the new players seem to think is hot shit. I went off on turn whatever. If he hadn't tapped out on his turn to hit me with some weak spell, he would have been able to cast the Bolts I Prosperitied into his hand. He realized this after it was too late.

Game two he got me down very very low. At some point he refused to learn from his error and flashbacked a Firebolt at me. I went off at one life.

Round four vs. Ricky with R/G Madness-burn

Ricky's cool. He has the same deck as Dillon but lacking Fireblast and Taigas.

Game one he gets me to like 2 with a Barbarian Ring on the table, but it's not enough to stop me.

Game two I am in the middle of going off successful at a comfortable 10 life or so when I Diminishing Returns into: island, island, island, Helm, Drake, Tide, Misdirection (which I had wished for in the process of going off with my first hand). Fuck. He untaps and burns me out.

Game three I am going off at seven life facing two Seals of Fire and he has an untaped mountain. At the scariest part of going off I cats Prosperity and have a hand of five islands and Cunning Wish, which I am saving for a MisD to stop the Bolt I am sure is coming. He misses this opportunity and I eventually grab all three Wishes, so I Wish for and cast Stroke. He Bolts me, I wish for MisD and hardcast it with some of my 50+mana. A very near thing.

Round four vs ??? with White Weenie (feat. Cho-Manno, Revolutionary!)

The only card I fear here is Armageddon and he lets it slip that he doesn't have them in his deck (he acquired them throgh trading during the tournament). I breathe a sigh of relief and badly overpower him in two straight. These games were not eventful in the slightest, though he did put up a good faith effort by Plowing a Cloud in response to a Snap in game two. He made a smart choice, playing pro:red guys and Cho-Manno with Empyrial Armors and Pariah, but he ran into the Tide juggernaut and was felled.

So now I've recovered from the loss and am in the finals, facing Dillon again. I know he has no chance game one but he's bringing in Scalds and Pyroblasts and he has a definite edge games two and three. I offer the split and since he doesn't like his chances either (having essentially given up game one) he takes it. I use my $12 store credit on a second Polluted Delta and third Future Sight.

I noticed myself going for the Stroke kill an awful lot, since after Prosperity-ing their hand with about 40 cards I rarely want to give them an upkeep to burn me out. Fireblast in particular was annoying. Against WW and the U/G deck Freeze was a lot more reasonable. The Factories were godawful, and Capsize was definitely sub-par. I always seemed to have one turn less than I was expecting against the burn decks. Ivory Tower would not be unthinkable, even to maindeck in this environment - I spend a lot of turnsplaying hand-size-neutral spells like Brainstorm and Impulse and Merchant Scroll and Cunning Wish.

Later I spike it in the end zone by trading four Order of the Ebon Hand for four Sensei's Divining Top (one foil!). I now have the goods to make a Sight-Helm-Top deck, which I might bring to the next tournament.

I don't think these guys ever saw a combo dekc before. Everyone was complaining how long my rounds were taking because of my ten minute combo turns.