T8 Eindhoven
Only 20 players showed up this time. It's usually pretty slow during vacation time, so no germans or
belgians this time around, and a lot of dutch regulars not present. In any case, pretty much everyone
is well prepared with good decks, so it's still a tough field.
T8: (between brackets is standings after swiss rounds)
1 (6): Roy Thijssen, Crucible Control (ANCESTRAL)
2 (1): Tom vd Logt, Meandeck Gifts (gotreallucky)
3 (2): Steven Bukkems, Workshop Aggro (goblinchirurgeon)
4 (4): Koen vd Hulst, Meandeck Gifts (Thug)
5 (3): Bram Verhees, Tinker 4cc (Bram)
6 (5): Danny de Rooij, Ravager
7 (7): Rudy van Soest, Affinity (rvs)
8 (8): Remco van Stein Callenfels, TPS
1, Roy Thijssen, Crucible Control
1 Black Lotus
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
3 Nevinyrral's Disk
1 Sol Ring
1 Darksteel Collosos
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Force of Will
3 Mana Drain
4 Mana Leak
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Yawgmoth's Will
2 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Polluted Delta
1 Strip Mine
1 Tropical Island
1 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
4 Wasteland
1 Tolarian Academy
SB:
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Nevinyrral's Disk
2 Phyrexian Furnace
3 Oath of Druids
2 Lava Dart
3 Rack and Ruin
2 Pithing Needle
2, Tom vd Logt, Meandeck Gifts
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
3 Misdirection
4 Brainstorm
4 Merchant Scroll
4 Gifts Ungiven
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Recoup
1 Burning Wish
1 Darksteel Collosos
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Rebuild
1 Echoing Truth
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
3 Islands
1 Snow-Covered Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
2 Volcanic Island
2 Underground Sea
1 Tolarian Academy
1 MOx Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 MOx Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Lotus Petal
SB:
2 Rack and Ruin
1 Rebuild
2 Pithing Needle
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Eye of NOwhere
2 Pyroclasm
2 Old man of the Sea
2 Red Elemental
1 Pyroblast
1 Blue Elemental Blast
3, Steven Bukkums, Workshop Aggro
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
1 Island
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Volcanic Island
4 Goblin Welder
4 Juggernaut
2 Razormane Masticore
2 Triskelion
1 Sundering Titan
1 Duplicant
1 Karn, Silver Golem
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Darksteel Collosos
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Memory Jar
2 Rack and Ruin
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Sol Ring
1 MOx Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 MOx Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mana Crypt
SB:
1 Rack and Ruin
2 Blue Elemental Blast
3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Damping Matrix
3 Aether Spellbomb
4, Koen vd Hulst, Meandeck Gifts
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Volcanic Island
3 Underground Sea
2 Island
1 Snow-Covered Island
3 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
1 MOx Apphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 MOx Ruby
1 MOx Emerald
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Darksteel Collosos
4 Brainstorm
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
4 Gifts Ungiven
4 Merchant Scroll
3 Misdirection
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Tinker
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Rebuild
1 Fire/Ice
1 Recoup
1 Burning Wish
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
SB:
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Pyroclasm
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Coffin Purge
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Rack and Ruin
2 Seasinger
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Pyroblast
1 Spawning Pit
1 Eye of NOwhere
1 Pitching Needle
1 Echoing Truth
1 Gorilla Shaman
5, Bram Verhees, Tinker-4cc
1 Black Lotus
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Mox Emerald
1 MOx Jet
1 MOx Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Demonic Tutor
2 Duress
3 Skeletal Scrying
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
3 Cunning Wish
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Time Walk
1 Balance
1 Tinker
1 Darksteel Collosos
1 gorilla Shaman
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Exalted Angel
1 Decree of Justice
1 City of Brass
3 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
1 Strip Mine
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
3 Wasteland
SB:
1 FAct or Fiction
1 Fire/Ice
2 Rack and Ruin
3 Red Elemental Blast
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Misdirection
1 Mind Twist
2 Disenchant
6, Danny de Rooij, Ravager
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 WAsteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
1 Mox Ruby
1 MOx Pearl
1 MOx Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
4 Metalworker
4 Tangle Wire
4 Skullclamp
4 Sphere of Resistance
3 Triskelion
1 Memory Jar
1 Arcound Worker
4 Myr Servitor
4 Myr Retriever
4 Arcbound Ravager
3 Razormane Masticore
SB:
3 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sundering Titan
1 Lotus Petal
1 Triskelion
1 Darksteel Collosos
2 Duplicant
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Defense Grid
1 Soul Foundry
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Rebuild
1 Chain of Vapor
7, Rudy van Soest, Affinity
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Arcbound Worker
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Frogmite
4 Aether Vial
3 Atog
3 Fling
2 Glimmervoid
3 Great Furnace
3 Myr Enforcer
4 Seat of the Synod
4 Thoughtcast
3 Vault of Whispers
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Black Lotus
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Yawgmoth's Will
SB:
3 Welding Jar
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Goblin Welder
3 Pyrostatic Pillar
8, Remco van Stein Callenfels, TPS
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 MOx Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
4 Dark Ritual
2 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Memory Jar
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Duress
1 Necropotence
2 Tendrils of Agony
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
1 Frantic Search
2 Gifts Ungiven
1 Mind's Desire
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Rebuild
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
1 Lim-Dul's Vault
1 Wheel of Fortune
SB:
1 Darksteel Collosos
3 Defense Grid
2 Skeletal Scrying
3 Chain of Vapor
3 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Hydroblast
Q'n'D Report from myself:
About my deck: I played it because I had been testing some Legacy with friends, and I like Affinity (not
that it is superb in that particular format, but I just like the deck :p). I also played it because I like
to surprise people about what I'm playing, although I was playing it before the rounds loudly, and me and Hero
(Pyromaniac) were gathering quite a croud. Oh well, I really just choose the deck because I thought the
JesseRiver Ravager deck was horrible, and didn't want to play Meandeck Gifts, because well, I just didn't
want to :p
In any case, I checked out some internet lists, and they were all using the horrible skullclamp. I know it's insane,
but in T1 it's useless, since you're drawing a bunch of cards, and then passing the turn, which is not very good.
The only deck it works in is Kobolds guys! Anyway, I also love Fling ofcourse.
The only change I would make, is that the Welders should be Pithing Needles. Also, 2 Enforcers is enough I think,
but I'm not sure what I would want to play in that slot.
Round1: Adriaan with Mark Perez' Time Walk recursion deck.
G1: He manages to Ancestral Twice with the help of 2 Witnesses (he had to Remove time walk for Force) and Tinkered
for Collosos. However, he was already really low, and when I played thoughtcast into my 2nd Desciple and 5th
Artifact (either was enough for the win with Ravager and 1 Desciple on the board), I won.
I side in 3 REB for 1 Myr Enforcer, 1 Fling and 1 Atog (I think!)
G2: I get an insane start when I go Lotus, Jet, Academy, Sol Ring, Worker, Frogmite, Desciple (meets Fow), Desciple #2,
thoughtcast into Vault of Whispers and <something>. I TD Frogmite (lol!) next turn.
He Vamps for Lotus so he drops Energy Flux, but I can pay for all my guys and Sol Ring, thanks to Academy. He also
loses some life since I don't pay for all my artifacts :p - Since that Energy Flux pretty much was his whole
gameplan, he lost.
Round2: Tom with MD Gifts
G1: I get an okay start with Ravager beating for 3. He Misdirects My ancestral, and then my hand is Twister,
Will and Lotus next turn. I play Twister, expecting a counter, so I could drop Lotus and Will and try to win. HOwever,
he surprises me with Rebuild, and then lets Twister resolve. I have no board, but get a Ravager again. HOwever,
he can quickly tinker for collosos and own me.
I side out 2 Fling, 3 Myr Enforcer and 1 Atog for 3 Reb and 3 Welder (a mistake, I guess)
G2: I have to mull, but still get an okay start, but he goes TOTALLY INSANE and has almost all of his accel,
Ancestral, Will, and Tinker Collosos, with a setup to Walk the next turn. I obv lose.
Round3: Koen with MD Gifts
G1: I mull, and get a Ravager that beats for 3. He only gets to do it once though, since Koen Tinkers really early
after Draining a Thoughtcast when I thought it was safe. (he played Double Gifts off it, which is enough :p)
After discussing my SB plan with Tom last round, I decide to try a different Approach by taking out 3 Myr Enforcer,
2 Fling and an Atog again, for 3 Pyrostatic Pillar and 3 Crypt. Reb is not very good, since I don't want to try and
be reactive, since it doesn't work. I want to be aggresive. Reb is really only for dealing with Energy Flux, since
I cannot support white for Kami of the Ancient Law. I knew all of this ofcourse, but I got re-affirmed today.
G2: I get him down to 9 with some dorks, but it's not enough. He kills me.
Round4: Jeroen with some Crucible, Zuran Orb, Exploration deck.
He likes playing his own decks, and is really a casual player. I catch him a few times flipping too many cards, and after
the 3rd time I call the judge, and then he start playing more cleanly, at least with his Sensei Top. To be fair,
he definately wasn't trying to cheat, but he's just not experienced for tournament play.
G1: He thinks his Platinum will stop me from killing him (he manages to get rid of my Ravagers and I didn't draw an
Atog for my Fling). In the End I was happy, since I draw Myr Enforcer, bring him under 0, and Fling it on his Angel.
I sideboard nothing. I knew about Crucible, but not about the rest. I figured it was something worth boarding in Crypt
for, but I didn't bother to think about what to take out.
G2: He gets going, and I don't draw many creatures, so I can only keep up so far. I get him down to 8, but then he
builds up to 23. At this point, I go nuts with Wheel, drop stuff, Twister, attack for 5 or something, and then Atog
and eat up my board for 9 life loss though Disciple, and Fling for 17. His extra 6 life didn't help :p
Round5: If I win this I'm almost certainly in the T8. I'm against Tim with Dragon.
He has been playing Dragon for months, so I guess I'm in for a rough match to make the T8. However, it turned weird.
G1: I have to mull to 5, but still get 5 damage each turn on the board through Ravager, Worker + Desciple dropping in the course
of 2 turns. He randomly does nothing, then intuitions for 3 Dragons (mistake#1 and #2: If you intuition for a Dragon, either
go for 2 Dragons + win, or 1 Dragon and 2 Squees, since you're gonna BAzaar right? He had none, so he should've
intuitioned for Bazaars
- I told him, and he doesn't seem to care. Still, I just keep attacking, waiting with a
Fling in my hand to either kill his Dragon when he goes off, or kill him when I think it's possible. He has 1 Mox, 3 Lands
and 2 Fetchlands. He's lazy enough to sac them both at once, so I fling my Frogmite in his face. Woohoo! He had the Fow,
but not the blue card.
I side in 3 Crypts for 1 Enforcer, 1 Wheel and er.... 1 Fling maybe? I don't know.
G2: I get him to 11, and then he goes off. However, he makes 3 mana each time, and mills for 2. I just ask him to
call them as shortcuts, since I"m not responding until something relevant happens, and I told him I would make sure
I would make it clear to him. I had Ravager on the board with Desciple, only B open, and a few artifacts to sac, but
not nearly enough. However, he fucks it up, since he starts milling without adding infy mana first (I even asked him
about it!), so he mills until he sees Eternal Witness. He changes the target with only 9 mana in pool, and
sees he didn't get another Animate in the yard. He quickly says he'll play Entomb, and starts searching through his deck,
so I call the judge on that. He finishes the entomb, tries to draw an animate in 1 flashed Deep Anal, but doesn't get it, manaburns,
and my ravager gets 1 more counter to kill him.
I guess I didn't have the most difficult matches, and got a little lucky, but hey, Affinity is still a good deck, and
really underestimated I guess.
IN the T8 I have to play Steven workshop aggro with quite some hate already for G1. We talk about it a little (we're
teammates), and figure out G1 is in his favor, while g2 and possible 3 really could go either way. I think I have a
slight advantage there, but I have nothing to back it up with.
Anyway:
G1: I get him to 17 with dorks, before he manages to Tinker away his Chalice=1, drop Welders and Duplicant, and make it difficult for me.
I miss 2 damage somewhere, and don't play it out cleanly enough when an unusual block from his part messes up my combat math,
and my Fling can only do 14 damage. It's not enough, and he decimates my team with his Welders / Trike, and kills me.
I side out 1 Enforcer, Wheel of Fortune and 4 Vial for 3 Welding Jar and 3 Welders (god I wish they were pithing needles!)
G2: I mull into Mox, Seat, Frogmite, Enforcer, Academy. I drop Frogmite, next turn drop Enforcer with Academy, and start beating.
We both get a Welder, and then I just draw Atog and had the Fling ready when he finally drops something that matters (I think
a Razormane).
G3: This was just insane. I get good draws, but he has all the answers. He drops his hands with Time walk in 2 turns on me,
and then when I kill his welder, he drops a new one. I can't really develop my board, and when I have a welder myself, he draws
the BEB (if they were pitching needles, I could've stopped his welders first, and after that his Cruci-Strip Mine lock, which would've
kept me in the game, and quite possible won it, since he didn't get attackers until I had like 0 permanents). It was just total
and continous lucky topdecking from his part.
Oh well, I suppose I came to just lose and have some fun, and should be happy to be in the T8.
I think the deck is actually viable enough, and with a little more tuning and testing, it can be an fun outsider
to play if you like affinity. It's also a good budget alternative for 10 proxy enviroments I suppose.
