[Report] Myriad Games 2-10-07: Gargadon's Day Out, and The Drafting of Flood.dec

This was would no doubt be an epic tournament.

I had tested my four color confection for arduous minutes against my roommate’s Vintage Rakdos deck, and I had finally developed the optimum build, suitable for the highest annals of tournament play.

This would be my finest hour.

Everything Wins Again Version 2.367423
(Dubbed Mr. Peabody’s Technicolor Adventure for the Best Name Contest)

The Combo:

2 Greater Gargadon
1 Hatching Plans
1 Time Walk
1 Balance
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus

The Alternate Win Conditions:

1 Dark Confidant
1 Meddling Mage
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Empty the Warrens
4 Mishra’s Factory
1 Kaervek’s Torch
1 Blazing Shoal

The Engine: 5

1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mystic Remora

The Protection: 20

1 Disrupt
1 Memory Lapse
1 Spellburst
1 Overmaster
2 Repeal
2 Trickbind
1 Spellsnare
4 Duress
2 Pyroblast
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Pyroclasm
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Hide//Seek

Generic Mana:

3 City of Brass
3 Flooded Strand
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Plateau
1 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Scrubland

Sideboard:
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Serenity
2 Shattering Spree
2 Pyrostatic Pillar
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Mystic Remora
1 Darkblast
1 Devastating Dreams
1 Spell Snare
1 Flametongue Kavu
3 Dark Confidant

Why play this deck over Gifts?
Well, I’ll tell you. Two words… ‘Greater Gargadon’.

Greater Gargadon makes your broken cards even more broken.

Balance and Greater Gargadon can clear the board, the opponent’s hand, and still leave you with a 9/7 haste to smash face.

Yawgmoth’s Will, Moxes, and Gargadon can net you ridiculous mana and up the storm count to improve your Will turn.

Time Walk and an unsuspended Gargadon deals 18 damage for three mana.

Hatching Plans… I’ll address that later.

Also, unlike Gifts, this deck is better at winning small by creating marginal card advantage via Confidant, Disrupt, Pyroblasts, Spell Burst, and Mystic Remora, while still supporting a combo win.

Oliver and I arrive with plenty of time before the tourney starts, which allows me to find the last pieces of my deck and sideboard. The field looks tough, sporting a total of 37 players. In order to take home the Mox, I have to keep my wits about me and play tight.

Round 1: Ryan Marek, with Gifts

I have never played against Marek before, so I’m not sure what to expect.

Game 1:

Marek and I both mulligan to six cards. He Duresses, and takes my Demonic Tutor, which is my only business spell. I cast a Duress. He reveals an Underground Sea, Gifts, Drain, Brainstorm, and Merchant Scroll. I take the Scroll, and start beating with a Factory. He soon plays out enough mana to cast Gifts, and gives me a pile of Time Walk, Tinker, Demonic Tutor, and Duress. I have Trickbind in hand, and he knows it, but I don’t have an immediate answer to Colossus, since he already took my Tutor. I decide to give him the Walk and the Duress. In short order he casts Duress, takes my Trickbind, and raises the storm high enough to drop a mob of goblins with an extra turn on top.

Game 2:

I cast an early Duress, and he reveals Tinker, Colossus, Jet, Delta, Duress, Brainstorm, and a Force. I have a Demonic Tutor in hand to answer a Tinker. I consider taking Jet, since he’s light on mana, but I opt to take his Duress instead. He decides to go all in on a Tinker Colossus. I tutor for Hide//Seek and attempt to hide his Colossus. He tries to Force, but I have a counter. In short order he finds Will, makes some mana, and re-Tinkers out Colossus. I don’t have a second answer in hand, so the Big Man body slams me.

Before the next round starts, Ray comes over and draws a hand from my library. A shared library game ensues. I have the advantage, because I know what Ray’s playing, but he doesn’t.

Round 1.5: Ray Robillard, with Half of My Deck

Game 1:

Ray opts to play and drops the Confidant on turn two. I recognize that I will be losing in short order, so I cast Demonic Tutor to get Balance. Ray then casts Gorilla Shaman and Meddling Mage. There are all my non-Gargadon creatures right there! Ray decides to name Brainstorm with Meddling Mage, since I’ve already cast it. I inform him that I only play one. I’ve drawn most of the Fetchlands already, so I start taking the rest of the duals out of the deck, declaring that Ray will have a hard time finding more lands. After taking some beats from a Factory and the other creatures, I empty most of my hand, suspend a Gargadon, cast Balance, and then sacrifice Hatching Plans to draw three cards. (I’ll address this later.) Ray beats me with the Factory for a few more turns, but I draw a Hide//Seek to remove it. Ray concedes.

My Round 2 opponent is Tim, who had GAT the last time I played him.

Round 2: Tim, with Tyrant Oath

Game 1:

I resolve an early Duress and take Tim’s Ancestral. He has Regrowth, Merchant Scroll, Forbidden Orchard among other cards in his hand, so I put him on either Oath or Gifts-Oath. Unfortunately for Tim, I have a nutty hand. I counter both Tim’s Scroll and Regrowth with a Disrupt and a Spell Snare. I then cast the Meddling Mage, naming Oath, suspend a Gargadon, play Confidant, and drop a Mystic Remora.

Gargadon is really good in this matchup, but I don’t draw one in the next two games, and it doesn’t occur to me to mulligan. While we are starting up Game 2, I look over and am pleased to see someone else playing Gargadon. He’s playing Pyrostatic Pillar, so I ask how he’s liked the synergy between Gargadon and Pillar so far. He looks puzzled. I explain that it’s really awesome that Gargadon can sacrifice Pillar if need be, and he tells me that Gargadon can’t sacrifice enchantments. I read Gargadon’s text… I re-read the text… Crap, my combo doesn’t work! Now I have to use a Pyroblast to kill my Hatching Plans! I’m a little distraught, since I now have a near dead slot in my deck, but I don’t let adversity get me down. Thankfully, I don’t get a game loss for sacrificing Hatching Plans in my casual game against Ray, since it’s REL -3.

Game 2:

I Duress Tim and take a Force. He has Orchard, mana, and Brainfreeze in his hand. I take note of the Brainfreeze, but I don’t realize that it means he’s playing Tyrant Oath. Tim draws an Oath and plays it. I play another land, but it will take me another turn to have double red for Devastating Dreams. He Oaths, and I assume that he’ll plop down a Simic Sky Swallower and pass the turn, so I can cast Devastating Dreams for six. (I don’t even consider Akroma as a possibility at the time… With her protection from red and all…) Tidesprout Tyrant hits play and I just stare at it. Oh… Crap… He goes infinite and casts Brain Freeze. We shuffle up for game three.

Game 3:

I’m on the play and my hand is pretty good. I don’t have a Gargadon, but I do have a Spell Snare. I drop my land and tap to play a turn one Remora. This would usually be awesome, except that I disregarded the play of turn one Oath. He plays a Mox Pearl, and drops an Oath off an Orchard while I’m tapped out. I draw the two cards off Remora, and I’m left to stare at the Spellsnare in my hand that could have been my savior. After kicking myself in the butt, I resolve that I still have a chance. I do some math and decide my course of action. I cast Time Walk to drop another land. I then cast Demonic, hoping to get Lotus, to Repeal his Oath, so that I can Spellsnare it. (I don’t have the right mana to cast Hide in the same turn.) I have just enough mana… Until he counters my Demonic. I have to resolve Demonic, so I am forced to disrupt his counter. However, I’m now a mana short of my plan, and I can only choose to either Repeal his Oath to buy a turn, or pop Lotus to cast Ancestral and Repeal his token. I opt for the latter option. He makes a token in response to the Oath trigger and drops a Sky Swallower. I forgot about that. I lose. [Note: It has come to my attention after the fact that my opponent could not have responded to the Oath trigger.]

I am now 0-2. Thankfully, Dan is holding a free side-event ‘Type-1 draft’, with packs he put together from non-valuable cards from Legends, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, and The Dark. I sign up, so I am definitely dropping after round four. Standings are posted, and I am matched up to play another member of Team Ball and Chain.

Round 3: Sara Yarrington, with Kenny Rogers: Gamblin’ Salvagers

I declare that I’ll play first, and Sara asks if I want to reconsider. I decide to play second.

Game 1:

I fire off Duress, and Sara reveals Dark Confidant, Bloodstained Mire, Scrubland, Extirpate, and Hide//Seek. So, someone is playing Extirpate! I decide to take the Hide//Seek because my deck is designed to ignore Extirpate. I only play one Brainstorm. Sara soon drops the Bob, but I have the Kaervek’s torch to answer. Unfortunately, Sara starts drawing more creatures. Salvagers and Bobs start hitting the board and begin pounding me every turn. Luckily for me, I draw into a Greater Gargadon and suspend it. Before Sara can deal enough damage I play an Empty the Warrens for 14 to block, and unsuspend Gargadon. Sara can’t draw her infinite combo and I have far too many blockers.

Game 2:

Sara starts off with early Bobs, followed up by Salvagers for some beats. I’m hard pressed to find an answer to the Salvagers and their big butts, so I tap out while holding a Trickbind. Sara uses the fuel from her Confidants to pump out a mob of gobs’. I didn’t expect that. I lose.

Game 3:

This game starts out very much like the others. Sara drops early Bobs and draws into the big butted Salvagers, which my Factories can’t kill. Having four toughness is busted. I find and cast Balance to answer the first Salvagers. More come, so I play Will, which Sara responds to by Extirpating my Balance. I still have enough cards in my grumper to get an advantage, and it looks like I might actually win this one. Sara then casts Gamble, and wins all the chips. I pick the most useless card in her hand, and Sara builds the storm to ten off a Will, then kills me with a lethal Tendrils. I guess you gotta’ know when to hold’em and know when to fold’em.

I’m currently 0-3, in last place, and Justin Yang gets paired down against me. He’s 0-0-2. Last time I played Justin, he was sporting Goblins, and I was playing four color aggro.

Round 4: Justin Yang, with Bomberman

Game 1:

I keep a decent hand, but I should have followed my first impulse to mulligan. Jason drops an early Meddling Mage, naming Extirpate, because he isn’t sure what I’m playing. Jason then drops more creatures and starts laying the beats with counter backup. I get sat on by Salvagers.

Game 2:

I elect to go second. Jason drops an early Mage and decides to name Duress, which I then draw. I drop my Bob. We start trading blows while I’m drawing cards. I draw enough disruption off Confidant to keep Jason’s threats at bay, as well as a Factory to block the Mage beats. Eventually, I get rid of the Mage and cast Duress. Jason reveals Salvagers, Meddling Mage, and an Island. While he’s vulnerable I unsuspend a Gargadon and cast Time Walk.

Game 3:

The first game nearly repeats itself, with Jason getting three Salvagers into play. I have a suspended Gargadon, and Jason’s tapped out with three cards in hand. I drop a Flametongue, and Jason tries to Force. I have a Pyroblast in hand for his counter, so my Flametongue is free to kill a Salvagers. Since there’s no possibility of a follow up Force, I cast Time Walk and unsuspend Gargadon. Jason takes the nine from Gargadon. On my Walk turn I swing with Gargadon, Flametongue, and two Factories. Jason is forced to block, leaving one Salvagers as his only defense. Jason doesn’t draw the infinite win on his turn and he is forced to block Gargadon.

I drop from the main event with a 1-3 record and enter Dan’s convenient ‘Type-1 Draft’. Dan explains the rules. He has pre-made packs of minor cards from Legends, The Dark, Antiquities, and Arabian Nights. Dan has tried to make the colors and format as balanced as possible, but he warns us that there may be some ‘insane’ cards regardless. After all, card strength is relative. Dan then gives us a general overview of banding, because there is no way that we’ll be able to understand its intricacies in one night.

After gauging my surroundings with the first few picks, I make it my mission to choke blue as much as possible in hopes of making a busted defense deck. I succeed.

Flood.dec

2 Ghost Ship
1 Clay Statue
1 Bone Flute
1 Relic Bind
2 Flood
1 Giant Tortoise
4 Sage of Lat-Nam
1 Coal Golem
4 Necropolis
1 Invoke Prejudice
1 Gaseous Form
1 Urza’s Avenger
1 Wall of Vapor
1 Psychic Allergy
18 Island

Sideboard:
2 Scarecrow
21 Cards That I Don’t Play

I’m paired with Mike, who was sitting on the opposite end of the table.

Round 1: Mike, with U/B

Game 1:

I elect to go second. Mike opens with The Drowned. I have the Giant Tortoise to block. Mike drops a Ghost Ship, which is the last thing I want to see. I was hoping on not facing other flyers. I drop my Ghost Ship. Mike drops a second Ghost Ship, and follows up with Gauntlets of Chaos, which exchanges my Ghost Ship for his Vampire Bats. There is absolutely no way I can beat triple Ghost Ship game one.

I side out two Necropolis for two Scarecrows.

Game 2:

I elect to go second. Mike doesn’t draw his Ghost Ships this game, while I find and cast one. I drop enough ground blockers to stall, and follow up with Urza’s Avenger. Things get scary for a second when Mike casts a Word of Binding and hits me for six. Luckily for me, Mike can’t draw another Word and my flyers swing in for enough damage.

Game 3:

This game is epic. We each get down to below ten cards in our libraries, and Mike draws zero Ghost Ships. On turn six Mike starts dropping his sideboard tech, Giant Sharks. Mike gets three out and I’m forced to start chump blocking. I start sacrificing artifacts to my Sages, in hopes that I draw a Flood. While I’m amassing more blockers to stall, Mike casts a Word of Binding, and drops me to four. I start to get scared that a second Word of Binding might be coming. I finally draw a Flood, but only after I’ve drawn seventeen lands out of my library. With the Flood, and my ridiculous amounts of mana, I can afford to swing in every so often unimpeded. When I drop Mike’s life low enough, I cast a Psychic Allergy to finish him off. This was a really close match.

Round 2: Tim, with R/B

Game 1:

I get a turn one Flood and I follow up with a perfect aggression curve. I get out Ghost Ship and Coal Golem. Flood keeps Tim off blockers and I deal fatal damage before he can mount a counter attack.

Game 2:

I drop a Ghost Ship. Tim removes it with an Oubliette. I drop another Ghost Ship, which is Fissured. Tim starts dropping guys, including multiple Goblin Digging Teams to take care of any Necropolis’ I cast, and Brothers of Fire to remove my Sage of Lat-Nams. I cast Flood to slow down the beats. I then draw into the ridiculous combination of Bone Flute and Relic Bind. With both Flood and Bone Flute, I keep Tim at bay, pinging him for one life per turn. This drops Tim all the way to four. I then drop Psychic Allergy. Tim uses Brothers of Fire to remove some of his red creatures, which slows some of the damage from Psychic Allergy. I have just enough time to Bone Flute for lethal damage. Tim shows me that in two turns he would have drawn Eternal Flame, which would have easily dealt me fatal damage.

The next match determines the first place finisher. Mark Tuttle is the only other undefeated player. After Mark finishes playing Tumblin’ Dice ™ we shuffle up to play.

Round 1: Mark Tuttle, with RWG

Game 1:

I elect to go second, and Mark mulligans. I stall off Mark’s beats with a Flood, and follow up with the endless racism of Invoke Prejudice. Mark can’t get out from under the soft lock produced by my bigotry. I use Flood to deprive him of blockers long enough to deal fatal damage.

Game 2:

I drop an early Flood, but it meets an Active Volcano Mark sided in. We both drop some creatures, including Mark’s Urza’s Avenger, which I enchant with Gaseous Form. I drop Invoke Prejudice again, leaving Mark mana hungry while I keep dropping guys. Mark puts a Venom on his Urza’s Avenger to stop potential flyers from attacking. I eventually get two Ghost Ships into play, start swinging, and regenerate the Ship that’s blocked each turn. By the time Mark gets enough mana to start casting creatures under Invoke Prejudice, I have far too many blockers and a Psychic Allergy to deal fatal damage.

I get a Tropical Island for placing first in the draft, which is really nice because it’s one of the Duals I don’t have. It might find its way into one of my 4-5 color decks.

The remaining rounds of top 8 finish up and the night starts to wind down. When Myriad Games finally closes the remaining members of Ball and Chain go out to eat at Uno’s. It was a very fun tournament.

I hope you enjoyed my report.
Thanks for reading!

Props:

Everyone
Dan’s Side Events
Greater Gargadon
Going Second

Slops:

Hatching Plans