Another seemingly pointless report after placing 17th out of 29, but I have some free time, so I figured I'd recap to at least give people who didnt attend a feel for how this tournament went (it went very well, IMO).
In the fairly spacious basement of Pandemonium Games in Central Square, Cambridge, the tournament had a 1:00 start time, allowing everyone a more leisurely morning. When all were settled in and ready for round 1, Chester announced that prizes would be scaling up. 5 rounds of Swiss ensue:
My decklist:4 Force/Gush/Merchant/Brainstorm/Duress
3 Solomoxen (G/B/U) + Lotus
Ancestral + Timewalk + Demonic + Vampiric + Mystical + Imperial Seal + Fastbond + Yawg Will
1 Misdirection
1 Mana Drain 4 Flooded Strand
1 Tendrils of Agony 2 Polluted Delta
1 Cunning Wish 3 Undeground Sea
1 Pyroclasm 2 Tropical Island
1 Ancient Grudge 1 Volcanic Island
3 Psychatog 2 Island
2 Quirion Dryad
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Night's Whisper
1 Echoing Truth
S/B - 4 Leyline of the Void
2 BEB 2 REB
1 Ancient Grudge 2 Annul
1 Brain Freeze 1 Berserk
1 Hurkylls 1 Forest
Round 1 vs. 7 Sphere Welder Stax (4 thorn, 2 resist, 1 3sphere) 0-2I'm awful with remembering names, sorry. For some reason, I thought he was playing Ichorid (because I'd played him before, and thought it was ichorid). Unfortunately, it wasnt.
Game1He wins the roll and opens with: Mishra's Workshop, Mox Jet, Mana Crypt>Trinisphere>Thorn of Amethyst
I was so enthralled by this amazing opener that I sat there and watched it unfold and forgot to Force the 3sphere. Ugh, a major mistake on Round 1, Game 1, Turn 1.
Needless to say, the force in my hand was then rendered useless, as was the gush. I had to somehow race to get lands (having only 2 non-basics in my opener) and find a creature. Unfortunately, I just got wastelanded to death and he eventually found crucible, stack, welder, etc...I resolved no threats and pretty much did nothing. I hate trinisphere. Though with the thorn in play and a forthcoming smoke stack, it wouldnt have been long before I was dead anyways, even had I forced the 3sphere.
Game 2Stupidly, I decide not to board in my leylines. I have no idea why I did not, losing both games to welder, more or less. Instead, I thought I'd board in 2 BEBs for the welders, an ancient grudge, an extra basic forest and 2 annuls. I saw none of these, plus all of 1 land in my first 7, mulled to 6 and began my turn with a delta>Underground Sea>mox sapphire and an imperial seal to set up a goyf (didnt want to take the chance that ancestral would not reveal one). I had a tropical island in my hand, as well as a pyroclasm and misdirection, but no fetch or volcanic as of yet.
On the draw, he plays a workshop mox emerald and a crucible, I believe, and passes the turn. I draw ancient grudge (ugh, still no red mana) and play tropical>goyf. Next turn he plays city of brass and smokestack and passes. I draw duress or a brainstorm (dont remember which) and play it, yielding no important results. I swing for 2 or 3. Pass. He adds a counter to stack and plays mishras factory. I sac one of my lands, leaving me with sapphire, goyf, tropical island. I swing for another 2 or 3 damage. He does not add a counter to stack, but plays a wasteland and kills my remaining land, swings with mishras factory, plays welder and passes. I draw a Tog. Useless. I sac my last land and decide to not attack with my goyf so that I could prevent him from swinging next turn. He passes the turn and I sac goyf and draw a land, which I do not play. He plays bazaar, discards memory jar, welds it in and uses it. I draw my volcanic island, which was probably my only way out (pyroclasm the welder and ancient grudge the crucible). I then watch it get discarded at the end of his turn. From there I play a tropical island and draw another land. At least I'll have a tog soon. Meanwhile he's almost killed me swinging with factory. I am on the verge of playing tog when he casts a sphere of resistance. I then scoop as he shows me a vamp tutor (which will go for strip mine) on his upkeep.
Conclusion. Welder+Stack+Crucible+Waste+Bazaar=bad, but all of this could have been prevented by using Leyline of the Void. Lesson learned.
Round 2 vs. Razia Oath 0-2Game 1As if my non-forcing of 3Sphere game 1 round 1 wasnt bad enough, I managed to top that during Round 2 Game 1!!!
This was a good game (minus my mistake) and I thought I was facing GAT at first after he played USea and duress on the play. My opener was Tog, flooded strand, tropical island, merchant scroll, gush, island, duress. He removes my merchant scroll with duress. I draw another gush!! and begin with a strand for an Underground Sea and duress revealing 2 lands, Force, Gush and something else I dont recall. I take the force...
His second turn he lays a land and passes. I draw a misdirection, lay a land, pass. I gush at the end of his turn, gushing in to a third gush and a tropical island. I draw a tendrils (lame), play and use flooded strand for an underground sea and pass. He draws and passes. At this point I draw a lotus, which I play. I have a tropical, underground, lotus in play, so I pass. On his turn, he lays yet another land and then plays oath of druids, which caught me off guard, sort of. Very interesting counter war ensues:
I have 2 gushes, and a misdirection in hand, an a black lotus available. I gush thinking I can always pitch the other gush, if I need to. I draw a brainstorm and a dryad. I then Sac the lotus to brainstorm, brainstorming in to ancestral, tropical island and fastbond. I then use another mana to ancestral, ancestralling in to Fastbond, tropical AND Force of Will, on my last friggin card.
Pretty pleased with myself, I pitch a Tog to Force the Oath. He then Forces back, as I expected, pitching scroll, I believe. I then misdirect his force, pitching something I cant remember (wasnt gush). But then, he taps his two remaining mana to Mana Drain! Wow. Oath with double counter back-up. No wonder he spent the last couple turns doing nothing.
Ok, so oath resolves. Honestly, I'm not too concerned, as from my gush>brainstorm>ancestral I've picked up a fastbond and a dryad, and still have a gush. I also draw a tog (useless) on my turn.
Here's where it goes wrong. Not thinking, or looking at my hand long enough, I quickly play a flooded strand and crack it. As I'm picking up my deck to start looking for the trop, I suddenly realize that both trops are in my hand............AHHHHHHHHH. Needless to say, I then could not play my fastbond that turn, could not play anything that turn, actually.
I fetch a stupid underground sea and pass. He triggers oath, finding Razia, swings for 6, putting me at like 10. Next turn, I lay fastbond, play a dryad and gush, but it's no use. I draw in to imperial seal the next turn, but it's one turn too late (to get yawg will) and I'm already low on life anyways......
Chalk up that awful mistake to my first time playing GAT, I guess......
Game 2I draw Zero mana sources, Mull to six and have...a mox sapphire and an annul with other random stuff. I actually sit and contemplate keeping the hand just to try to annul his oath, but on the play this is just too horrible an idea, so I mull to 5. I get: Brainstorm, Force, Underground, Delta, Sapphire. Yay......
I open with brainstorm to find another brainstorm and a gush. I gush next turn in to a Tog. I then force his oath, on turn 3 which gets forced back and that, folks, is game.
Round 3 vs. Bill Copes with Welder/Sphere/Stax 2-1Game 1I'm pretty anxious to see if my on-the-play hand of mox jet, flooded strand, island, fastbond, gush, underground sea, ancient grudge will pan out to anything. I lay mox strand (fetch for tropical island), island, sea, fastbond, gush. I gush in to absolutely nothing. I dont remember what it was, but it wasnt a tutor, night's whisper, gush or scroll. Big sad face. I also did not gush in to a fetch land or a volcanic island, importantly.
Bill, as it turns out, would draw a timewalk to augment his ancestral recall, tinker and mox opening hand. Needless to say, I was dead to 7/9 very quickly.
Game 2A first turn Goyf was pretty encouraging, and I think I ended up going through 2 brainstorms, a gush, and an ancestral without finding another creature. He found a trike, however, which killed my goyf after only inflicting 2 damage, I think and put us at a topdecking standstill for a while. I forced his Karn, and then ancient grudged his Smokestack, leaving him with 2 crucibles and a mana crypt and my ancient grudge available to flashback.
Bill then proceeded to roll damage on his mana crypt 6 out of the nex 7 turnsIt was funny for me, but not as funny for Bill. He is good at rolling fives....
When he was down to 2 life, he drew a vampiric tutor, which was also funny. I finally found a tog too.
Game 3Bill mulligans down to 4 on the play. Talk about bad luck....
I had an early tog or dryad, and that was that.
Round 4 vs. some random guy with a janky red deck 
I think he was running Magus of the moon, pyrokinesis, root maze and Gathan Raiders....Gathan Raiders was so 3 months ago. Seriously, who still runs that?
Game 1He plays first, playing a tarmogoyf after pitching a spirit guide. I believe I draw a merchant scroll, keeping a hand with a Tarmogoyf, Force of Will, Misdirection, Tog, 2 lands and an ancient grudge.
Not bad, as I knew what this guy was playing beforehand and was very happy to see these creatures in my hand, plus pitches. I play my tarmogoyf turn 2 after he swings once with his and plays a goblin vandal. I then follow with a Tog. He pyrokineses my creatures, which I force. I then draw a force a second force which I use against his magus of the moon. I think I got a dryad eventually. I think I hit an ancestral as well. Not sure, but after struggling to see creatures early on, it was nice to finally get them early in a matchup where I really needed them. I felt bad about having 2 forces and a misdirection (which eventually just got pitched to force) vs. a non-permission deck, but I'll take what I can get.
Game 2He goes first and gets a magus online. Fortunately my opening hand included a pyroclasm. So I took some damage for a turn and then used my two mountains (flooded strand, polluted delta) to cast pyroclasm, clearing the magus and spirit guide. This felt very rewarding.
With a dryad, duress, tog, brainstorm, blue elemental blast a basic island and basic forest, I wasnt too concerned with this one and was able to grow my dryad before he could find a pitch to pyrokinesis and then leverage my tog for the win. I ended up BEBing another magus, I believe, and echoing truthed his gathan raiders.
This guy seem very frustrated by his deck, exclaiming, "This deck Sucks!" very annoyedly, as he was losing the second game. Frankly, I just don't know why anyone would want to play these red/mountain based decks when there are all these great blue cards out there.....
Round 5 vs. Ryan Marek w/ Lavamancer tinker colossus GAT 1-1-1Game 1We played 2 very long and very good games, with neither of us making any mistakes that I was aware of. He was able to get a tog and a lavamancer online and then play ancestral and timewalk. I also ancestralled and timewalked, but lost a counter war over my own tog, which eventually cost me the game, as I then had to save my force of will for his eventual yawg will and then ended up losing to tinker.
Game 2We both had leylines opening and both of us fought over card advantage, taking both our hands down to near zero, with very little left and very little accomplished. It was a long game of topdecking afterwards, but I finally resolved 2 dryads and was able to swing with them for the win, despite him making a nice play of Cunning Wish on his ancestral (which was removed via Leyline).
Overall, I'm not sure if I missed Ponder/Opt. That I could remember, there werent any times where not being able to grow my dryad a few extra counters lost me the game, though as to the other effect of Ponder/Opt, I obviously can't know. Though, I was only running 2 dryads.
Tough to comment on Goyf vs. Dryad. Against Dan's deck, goyf was a bit better out of the gate, but it was still susceptible to pyrokinesis early on and couldnt go the distance like Dryad.
Vs. Stax, it was definitely preferable, as dryads were too difficult to grow against sphere effects.
Pyroclasm was great, though I never got to use it vs. Welder, maybe I will even add a second one main deck, if playing in another Stax heavy environment, so that I could actually get to use it. I'll definitely have to add a second red mana source too.
I think Artifact mutation is coming in for ancient grudge and 1 Night's Whisper was pretty useless (that card seems like it needs to be played 2x at the very least).
Tendrils was worthless, and even though I boarded it out vs. stax, I never even came close to a high storm count with
remaining in non-stax matches. Probably the lack of ponder/opt helped see to that...
Obviously GAT still has something to say, as seen by the top4 at this tourney, despite some murmuring that GAT might be losing a fair amount of ground. It just needs to adapt a little. If Stax continues to increase its meta-share, I think main deck annul might be a good choice, as Grand Inquisitor was insisting. That or artifact mutation.
Thanks to Chester and his staff for a great tourney!
