[report]TPS Slaughters at Swedish Nats

[dexter]

DISCLAIMER: This might be the most boring tournament report you will ever read so continue reading at own risk. You have been warned.

During the 29-31 of july this year the swedish nationals in vintage were held in the town of Gothenburg. During the Friday there was a bye awardning tourney for the real nats on Sunday. Fridays tournament wasnt that exciting for me so I wont bore you with details. The plan for nationals had been that I was gonna play UB Dragon, but when for some reason it seemed like 50% of the players started to hunt for pithing needles during the Saturday so I decided that piloting dragon through a needle filled field wouldnt be the best of ideas, and since just the thought of playing controll makes me wanna find sharp objects and hurt myself I decided to throw together a TPS instead. For the ones of you intrested in decklists here it is.

// Lands
    1 Snow-Covered Island
    1 Snow-Covered Swamp
    1 Swamp
    4 Underground Sea
    4 Polluted Delta
    1 Flooded Strand
    1 Tolarian Academy
    2 Island

// Spells
    1 Mox Pearl
    1 Mystical Tutor
    1 Vampiric Tutor
    1 Tinker
    1 Memory Jar
    1 Mox Sapphire
    1 Mox Emerald
    1 Mox Ruby
    1 Necropotence
    1 Mox Jet
    1 Sol Ring
    1 Mana Vault
    1 Lotus Petal
    1 Mana Crypt
    1 Black Lotus
    2 Rebuild
    2 Gifts Ungiven
    1 Mind Twist
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Force of Will
    4 Dark Ritual
    3 Duress
    1 Timetwister
    1 Time Spiral
    1 Mind's Desire
    1 Tendrils of Agony
    1 Ancestral Recall
    1 Demonic Tutor
    1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
    1 Yawgmoth's Will
    1 Cunning Wish
    1 Time Walk

// Sideboard
SB: 1 Rebuild
SB: 2 Defense Grid
SB: 1 Darksteel Colossus
SB: 2 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 1 Hurkyl's Recall
SB: 1 Brain Freeze
SB: 1 Misdirection
SB: 2 Rushing River
SB: 1 Fact or Fiction
SB: 2 Coffin Purge
SB: 1 Meditate

The second river is nowadays switched for a echoing truth. And DSC in the SB will probably go out at some point. I REALLY HATE HIM! Every good deck can handle him and im sure theres something better to throw in there. There were 54 players during the main event and for thoose of you intrested ill list what I know of the meta:

9 TPS
2 Fish
2 Controll Slaver (1 running erayo instead of drains)
3 Staxx (1 UR, 1 prismatic, 1 Monored w. Serum Powders)
2 Workshop Aggro
2 Dragon
2 Landstill
1 UR Phid

Im not sure what the rest of the 31 people were playing but im pretty sure almost every archetype was represented.

Round 1.

For some reason I been paired against someone that never have or never will play vintage but he has payed for the tournament and since he didnt show up I win the game.

Round 2.

Playing vs UR Phid.

Duell 1.

Keeping a slow hand with force, duress and a wished FoF round 3. Decent enough to keep when the opponent has mulliganed to 5 and im not sure at this point what hes playing so. As planned I get enough fuel to win thanks to the FoF.


Sideboarding: -1 duress -1 TT -1 brainstorm
              +2 Defence Grid +1 Fact or Fiction

Duell 2.

I mulligan to six having a hand with something like land, brainstorm, brainstorm and something more. Play the brainstorm finding Dark Ritual, Necropotence and a FoW. Best brainstorm of the day and round 2 necro does what its supposed to do.

2-0 in duells so far.

Round 3.

Playing vs Controll Slaver piloted by Wollblad. Bad vibes this is the guy who beat me in matchups he was supposed to have autolosses in twice last year and I never managed to beat him in a bigger tourney. And since Controll Slaver should have autoloss vs combo I get a really bad dejavu feeling.

Duell 1.

He mulligans to 5. I think I played a gifts round 2 getting more than enough fuel to win the next round.

Sideboarding: -1 duress -1 TT -1 brainstorm
              +2 Defence Grid +1 Fact or Fiction

Duell 2.

I resolve Defense Grid round 1. He strips my island and thats the last thing he does that game since he didnt seem to wanna draw any more mana sources.

4-0 in duells.

Duell 4.

First TPS mirror for the day. My opponent for this round is a man who is known to be perhaps the luckiest person ever to pilot TPS.

Duell 1.

I should have lost this game. I keep a hand with first round necro but he has the counter. After a few rounds of draw go from both sides the opponent decides its time to start spinning. He plays Time Spiral, TimeTwister, Time Walk, Necropotence going down to 6 life BUT the miracle is that he cant seem to win and passes the turn. Thanks to the draw7´s he has played my hand is. Dark Ritual x2, Tendrils, Lotus Petal, Desiree, Mox, Mox and when the opponent happens to be at six life its game.

Sideboarding: -1 TT, -1 Brainstorm -1 Duress
              +2 Tormods +1 Fact or Fiction

Duell 2.

He goes broken round 1 I think.

Duell 3.

The round starts with only a few minutes left to time so its time to start playing faster. My opponents luck has run out and he gets stuck on 1 mana source despite the fact that he brainstorms twice and I can easily set up for a Yawgmoths Win.

6-1 in Duells.

Round 5.

Paired vs Workshops aggro and we can just draw into the Top8 at this point so no need to play.

Round 6.

Getting paired down once again vs Workshop aggro but since it seems like we both are safe with a draw we take it. My opponent later got pwned by ending up in 9th place missing 1 point from the top8.

Time for the Top8. At this point im happy either way. First time I didnt randomly scrub out in a big tourney, been to close several times during the last year usually just missing with 1 more win for it so. Anything from here on is a bonus for me. The Top8 is made out by the following decks:

5 TPS (There were some variations in the builds though)
1 Workshop Aggro
1 Controll Slaver
1 Landstill (UNPOWERED!)

Quarterfinals.

Playing vs Controll Slaver this time the version that runs Erayo instead of mana drains and not to much hate in the Sideboard so it should be a walk in the park. But then again. Vintage is vintage everything can happen.

Duell 1.

My opponent starts and plays Mox Jet, duress, go. Very confused I start to develop mana. Casting round 2 Gifts getting me Mind Twist and Mystical. Twists his hand and goldfish from there on.

Sideboarding: -1 TT, -1 Duress
                   +1 Hurkyls Recall, +1 Rushing River

Duell 2.

He gets a round 3 activated slaver and with Necropotence in hand and mana to play it theres not much I can do.

Duell 3.

Keeping hand that is a 2nd round kill as long as hes not holding a FoW. His first turn was. Lotus + mox + mox + thirst + tinker for platz + chalice for 0. Hes sitting with 1 card left in hand so I continue to “kill� him with alot of rituals, will, demonic and a tendrils for 22 and putting a Hurkyls on top hoping he doesnt have the answer. He doesnt and I make it through to the Semis.

8-2 in Duells.

Semifinals.

Second TPS mirror for the day this time vs drain version of the deck piloted by the guy who put GothSlaver on the vintage map.

Duell 1.

We both mulligan to 6. I get round 1 Ancestral to compensate and round 3 Bargain with FoW backup.

Sideboarding: -1 TT, -1 Brainstorm -1 Duress
              +2 Tormods +1 Fact or Fiction

Duell 2.

Both starts with round 1 brainstorms but I follow up with round 2 Bargain with FoW backup.

10-2 in duells.

Finals.

Nice finals the problem is that I hadent slept last night and was on my 36th hour without sleep, and my 24th hour without food so my brain isnt following me as it should anymore at this point but hey, everything above the Top8 was a bonus anyway so.

Third TPS mirror of the day piloted by an old timer that have been playing for far more years than I have (at least on a competetive level of vintage).

Duell 1.

Im going first and my starting hand was one of the best of the day. Mox, Mana Vault, UG Sea, Black Lotus, Necropotence, Yawgmoths Bargain. But like I said my brain isnt with me so I go for Round 1 Bargain, he has the FoW but nothing really to follow up with so I get the ritual for Necro a round later.

Sideboarding: -1 TT, -1 Brainstorm -1 Duress
              +2 Tormods +1 Fact or Fiction

Duell 2.

His time to get Round 2 Bargain.

Duell 3.

My starting hand is Bargain round 2-3 IF i draw 1 more mana source of the brainstorm I have. Unfortunattly the brainstorm gives me 3 cards I cant use at this point. I dont even a FoW so my opponent gets the oppertunity to Goldfish for 3 rounds. The problem is that he seems to draw worse than me. And by the point that he even finds a TT I finally found some fuell and got the FoW. Round 6 the Bargain comes. -16 life later and a bunch of spells later its over.

Total trackrecord of the day. 12-2 in duells (14-2 if you count the no show opponent I got round 1)

I did recive the byes for gencon but since a trip to america costs about 2000$ from sweden and I didnt have the money I decided to stay at home instead. I might show up next year if I have the cash and still am wasting my time on this game.

The event in itself is probably the best Magic event I will be or have been attending to this year. And I hope it will come back next year, although romuors says that it wont.

Well I hope you got anything out of reading this.

Respects out to: Everyone who is nice enough to make it possible for me to play without owning a single card myself, A-Laget, The organizer who took a risk for arranging this on a new convention. Everyone in GBG that deserves it.

Peace out.

// dexter af delüxe