3CB #82 Results and Discussion/3CB Tournament #83

[combo_dude]

I'd like to congratulate ReAnimator as the winner of 3CB Tournament #82!
Another good turnout, and the old standby deck taking the tournament - an altogether slightly slower format than usual, with far fewer Loti than have been seen of late, which allowed the deck that can sit there and win late possibly better than any other to take down my last tournament as 3CB moderator! Well done!

Banned list:
Portal (in ALL its forms)
Unglued AND UNHINGED
[card]Form of the Dragon[/card]
[card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card]
[card]Nezumi Shortfang[/card]
[card]Blackmail[/card]
[card]Ghost Quarter[/card]
[card]Cabal Therapy[/card]
[card]Abandon Hope[/card]
[card]Nullstone Gargoyle[/card]
[card]Coercion[/card]
[card]Strip Mine[/card]
[card]Wasteland[/card]
[card]The Rack[/card]
[card]Balance[/card]
[card]Meddling Mage[/card]
[card]Pulse of the Dross[/card]
[card]Leonin Squire[/card]
[card]Show and Tell[/card]
[card]Misguided Rage[/card]
[card]Abandon Hope[/card]
[card]Glacial Chasm[/card]
All decks that can force mass-discard
All decks that can goldfish on turn 1

Decks:

1.   combo_dude    -    Dig Dig Dig Dig Dig    -    Black Lotus,   Glowrider,   Treasure Hunter
2.   BweeBwee    -    EVIL!!!    -    Bayou,   Thallid,   Evil Presence
3.   wonkey_donkey    -    <3 sphere    -    Mishra's Workshop,   Steel Golem,   Trinisphere
4.   Moonkeeper    -    The Lone Apprentice    -    Underground Sea,   Stormscape Apprentice,   Vendetta
5.   Naphtali    -    Watch the Tail    -    Mox Sapphire,   Mishra's Factory,   Spiketail Hatchling
6.   Franz Ferdinand    -    Down in the Assless Chaps    -    Volcanic Island,   Roc Hatchling,   Daze
7.   ReAnimator    -    (no name)    -    Sand Silos,   Darksteel Reactor,   Energy Field
8.   Cross    -    Blue experiment    -    Mox Sapphire,   Mishra's Factory,   Spiketail Hatchling
9.   parallax    -    Snakes in a tree    -    Hollow Trees,   Sakura-Tribe Springcaller,   The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
10.   Godder    -    Down in the Swamp    -    Bayou,   Thallid,   Duress
11.   combo_dude    -    Black Maria    -    Black Lotus,   Horobi, Death's Wail,   Urborg
12.   BweeBwee    -    Revenge of the Nerds    -    Orzhov Basilica,   Mishra's Factory,   Vindicate
13.   Moonkeeper    -    The Death of the Predator    -    Black Lotus,   Hunted Horror,   Despotic Scepter
14.   Naphtali    -    The Crush    -    Hollow Trees,   Crush of Wurms,   Maze of Ith
15.   ReAnimator    -    woefully slow    -    Sand Silos,   Empress Galina,   Leyline of Singularity
16.   Godder    -    Zzzap!    -    Black Lotus,   Anurid Scavenger   Arc Lightning
17.   parallax    -    Mono-Black Control    -    Bottomless Vault,   Visara the Dreadful,   Evil Presence
18.   Franz Ferdinand    -    Final Justice    -    Mishra's Workshop,   Steel Golem,   Trinisphere

Results:

      1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8 Total Position
1|   X   6   1   2   0   1   0   0   0   3   3   2   3   6   6   4   6   1   44   (14)
2|   0   X   0   0   3   6   6   3   6   2   0   6   0   6   6   0   6   0   50   (11)
3|   4   6   X   6   3   6   0   3   0   6   3   0   3   0   0   6   3   2   51   (9)
4|   2   6   0   X   0   0   6   0   2   0   0   0   0   0   6   0   0   0   22   (18)
5|   6   3   3   6   X   3   0   2   2   3   3   2   3   0   6   3   0   3   48   (12)
6|   4   0   0   6   3   X   0   3   6   0   3   6   3   0   0   3   0   0   37   (15)
7|   6   0   6   0   6   6   X   6   6   0   6   0   3   6   6   6   0   6   69   (1)
8|   6   3   3   6   2   3   0   X   2   3   3   2   3   0   6   3   0   3   48   (12)
9|   6   0   6   2   2   0   0   2   X   0   0   0   6   0   0   6   0   6   36   (16)
0|   3   2   0   6   3   6   6   3   6   X   3   6   3   6   0   3   0   0   56   (6)
1|   3   6   3   6   3   3   0   3   6   3   X   0   6   0   6   1   6   3   58   (5)
2|   2   0   6   6   2   0   6   2   6   0   6   X   6   2   6   0   3   6   59   (4)
3|   3   6   3   6   3   3   3   3   0   3   0   0   X   0   6   6   6   3   54   (7)
4|   0   0   6   6   6   6   0   6   6   0   6   2   6   X   6   0   0   6   62   (3)
5|   0   0   6   0   0   6   0   0   6   6   0   0   0   0   X   0   0   6   30   (17)
6|   1   6   0   6   3   3   0   3   0   3   4   6   0   6   6   X   6   0   53   (8)
7|   0   0   3   6   6   6   6   6   6   6   0   3   0   6   6   0   X   3   63   (2)
8|   4   6   2   6   3   6   0   3   0   6   3   0   3   0   0   6   3   X   51   (9)

Well, it's my last tournament running this, and in some ways this confirms that I've done the right thing to unban Lotus - all of the top 3 decks ran off storage lands, and a Factory-powered deck took 4th! I think this can safely dispel any fears that it speeds up the format too much! Granted, there wasn't an awful lot of Lotus around this time, but it's still seen a few new decks - the Hunted Horror one is interesting, although I think that it's going to be weaker than decks like Dreadnought or Leveler, which are more vulnerable, but are also balls-to-the-wall and win a turn faster; maybe it would work with Peat Bog and Powder Keg? There's also a surprising lack of Workshop of late, though this may be that it's pretty hard to justify playing it without Trinisphere or Ensnaring Bridge now.

For next week: Same Again!

Banned list:
Portal (in ALL its forms) NOT BANNED ANY MORE!
Unglued AND UNHINGED
[card]Form of the Dragon[/card]
[card]Mesmeric Fiend[/card]
[card]Nezumi Shortfang[/card]
[card]Blackmail[/card]
[card]Ghost Quarter[/card]
[card]Cabal Therapy[/card]
[card]Abandon Hope[/card]
[card]Nullstone Gargoyle[/card]
[card]Coercion[/card]
[card]Strip Mine[/card]
[card]Wasteland[/card]
[card]The Rack[/card]
[card]Balance[/card]
[card]Meddling Mage[/card]
[card]Pulse of the Dross[/card]
[card]Leonin Squire[/card]
[card]Show and Tell[/card]
[card]Misguided Rage[/card]
[card]Abandon Hope[/card]
[card]Glacial Chasm[/card]
[card]Pox[/card] <--- NEW ADDITION
All decks that can force mass-discard
All decks that can goldfish on turn 1

What is 3cb?

3-Card Blind (3CB) is a very unique game. The rules are as follows

Your deck is composed of 3 cards, all of which start in your hand.
You have no library (technically, the library exists, but starts at 0 cards) and no sideboard (Wishes fetch nothing).
Random effects always go in your opponent's favour.
You can see your opponent's hand, so you can always make the best possible play.
You don't lose as a result of not being able to draw a card.
You will play each opponent twice, once going first, once going second.
For each win, you score 3.
For each draw, you score 1.
For each loss, you get nothing.
Other than the aforementioned, EVERYTHING IS HANDLED EXACTLY LIKE A REAL GAME OF MAGIC!

To make an entry, PM your deck to GODDER in the following format:

Subject: 3cb Tournament #83 Entry or 3cb Tournament#83 Revision
Deck Name
Card #1
Card #2
Card #3

Optional Deck discussion, random sucking up, etc.

Craig - can you post to give a deck deadline? I'm off on holiday for a month now, but I'll be back for the 4CB after that; in a few weeks, there'll be a new X-card-blind tournament running every week on TMD! Coldsnap is legal from here onward.

Well, that's all from me - from now on, Godder's in charge of this. It's been a pleasure, guys.

Thanks,
Adam

[Godder]

Because I intend to calculate the results of these over the weekend, the closing date for 3CB #83 is 12pm, August 6 NZT (note, NZT=GMT+12, so for Americans, you'll find that it's August 5 - I time travel). Also, to clarify something, despite what it says on the banned list, Portal is legal, as is Coldsnap.

[Cross]

horsemanship, here i come!

[zeus-online]

How does evil presence help against anything? :/

/Zeus

[parallax]

How does evil presence help against anything? :/

Mostly by turning storage lands into swamps.

[combo_dude]

OK, I'll edit the banned list.

Also, Godder - if there are any results that need changing, as you're a mod and I'm not going to be around, can you edit my results posting?

Adam

[zeus-online]

How does evil presence help against anything? :/

Mostly by turning storage lands into swamps.

Aha...but against all non-storage decks it does nothing...hmmm this format is really weird.

/Zeus

[combo_dude]

Not so - it also makes a mess of Mishra's Factory decks, which is - more often than not - a pretty big chunk of the tournament. However, it's usually not worth it, as Duress is usually just better.

[ReAnimator]

Yay i won again! 

Thanks so much for running these combo dude, through large and small turn outs you still kept these running like clockwork for the most part, and i thank you for that. Have a great vacation.

I look forward to your 4CB as i know nothing about that format, should be fun.

[parallax]

How does evil presence help against anything? :/

Mostly by turning storage lands into swamps.

Aha...but against all non-storage decks it does nothing...hmmm this format is really weird.

/Zeus

Not so - it also makes a mess of Mishra's Factory decks, which is - more often than not - a pretty big chunk of the tournament. However, it's usually not worth it, as Duress is usually just better.

Duress is better with Thallid. But Evil Presence combined with Visara let's me beat: Any storage land based deck (including Energy Field/Reactor), manlands (Treetop Village, Mishra's Factory, although Eladamri's Vineyard can sometimes still race me), Maze of Ith, and non-Black removal (Swords to Plowshares).

Visara beats most decks that Evil Presence is useless against by herself anyway, like most Thallid decks. The deck only has serious weaknesses against Lotus decks, which have been losing popularity.

[Godder]

I have received an entry with Chaos Orb, but am unsure how to handle it since the card itself isn't banned. Combo_dude is away, but I know there are some entrants here who also run 3CB (etc) events at other forums, so any advice on how to handle it would be much appreciated.

[Illissius]

I have received an entry with Chaos Orb, but am unsure how to handle it since the card itself isn't banned. Combo_dude is away, but I know there are some entrants here who also run 3CB (etc) events at other forums, so any advice on how to handle it would be much appreciated.

While I've never held one of these things, given that "random effects always go in your opponent's favor", and I would classify Chaos Orb as a random effect, I'd say it does nothing.

[parallax]

How did 16 (Lotus, Scavenger, Arc Lightning) get a point against 1 (Lotus, Glowrider, Treasure Hunter)? It seems like Glowrider is a death sentence on the play or draw.

In your opponents favor would mean that Chaos Orb hits whichever permanent(s) your opponent wants.

[scutakicker]

My argument in favor of Chaos Orb is that it is not actually a random effect. Watch any 5-color tournament and you'll see what I mean. I'll admit I'm not completely disinterested since I submitted the deck. I don't know exactly how to resolve the issue, but whether treated as random or non-random I'd still like to see how the deck does since I still think its strong.

Edit: As far as what "going in you opponent's favor" would mean, the assumption is that you hit *something* with Chaos Orb so it should at least blow up a permanent of their choice. Saying it wouldn't do anything strikes me as essentially nerfing the card through rules interpretation. I'd say make a decision and let the deck run its course. If it proves overly powerful there's always the banned list.

[Matt]

Choas Orb landing in opponent's favor would mean it lands on all your stuff and none of his.

[Godder]

Choas Orb landing in opponent's favor would mean it lands on all your stuff and none of his.

That's my reading of it if I rule that the effect is a random one.

Edit: Time was almost up, but entries are pretty dismal. More would be good, and second entries are being accepted. Please note that entries close in approximately 48 hours.